“Best of Colbert Report” DVD Review

I recieved this review a few days ago, but with all the hubbub with the strike, it got lost in the shuffle. But ChicaLolita worked hard to get this review done for us, so I’d like to share it with everyone now.

Hi, I have now finished watching The Best of The Colbert Report DVD. Here is what I made of it.

If you are looking for a DVD with juicy behind the scenes footage, insights into the making of the show and never-before-seen footage… then go elsewhere. This really is not it. Essentially this is great if you want somewhere to quickly find all the most famous clips – Truthiness, Wikiality, Sigh, Robert Wexler, Bill O’Reilly, Jane Fonda, Sean Penn and Guitarmaggeddon – in DVD quality. But really it could have been put together by any fan with a TV and some sort of basic editing program. Now while I can understand there may not be time or energy to create any extras like a commentary or making-of, a brief filmed intro would not have been difficult and I find it rather insulting they didn’t even take the credits off moments like the Manilow duet or the final guitar jam with Peter Frampton and The Decemberists, so the images remain squished in a corner.

My other problem with this compilation is the selection of clips. As I mentioned earlier, this is a collection of the most famous moments of the show, not necessarily the funniest. Ben’n'Jerry are included with their interview and the lead-up to the Hungarian bridge naming is there, but not the episode when the Hungarian ambassador turned up to reveal the results. There are some elements of Stephen Jr’s tale, but not the very funny Tad segment when he went to find a female eagle. No tumbling with Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. Even the BKADs don’t have the 10 commandments guy or the one who completely ignored him as Stephen did a silly dance (can’t remember his name, but it appears in the end credits repeatedly). Basically it reads more like an introduction to newbies than a package for the fans. This is why I am utterly convinced of two things. a) This is the DVD that was originally promised as a freebie with I Am America. b) The TCR crew had absolutely no input into it whatsoever, it was a Comedy Central compilation.

Basically, it’s cheap and it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but worth having if you don’t have all these clips recorded somewhere. Here’s hoping we get a proper TCR DVD sometime soon.

So again, the video is ok, but nothing that just blows the mind. There are some who are waiting until the WGA strike is over to purchase this DVD because DVD rights is one of the issues in the strike negotiations, so it sounds like for those who are waiting, you aren’t missing anything mindblowing.

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