While some fans seem a bit disappointed with the long awaited ‘Best Of’ dvd, the press has been quite positive about it. I know we’ve seen all these episodes before, so a few extras would have been nice. But a majority of the population has never seen ‘The Report’ so a 3-hour collection of ‘Report’ segments would be a bumper crop of Colbert to reap. As one reviewer noted:
There are no bonus features, no making-of featurettes or interviews with cast or crew members. In fact, the only new material is a single deleted scene with Norton, which, while funny, only points out this DVD’s considerable limitations.
On the other hand, it’s hard to argue against any DVD that features Henry Kissinger declaring, “It’s time to rock!”
Frankly, how could it not be an awesome DVD?
Cinamatic Happenings Under Development has what MsInterpreted described as “an awesome review” … filled with details and screencaps by an obviously enthusiastic fan whose love of the show is infectious.
DVD REVIEW: BEST OF THE COLBERT REPORT, THE
By Tom Fuchs
The Pitch
A glorious three hour high from a truth and freedom freebase.
The Humans
Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA
…
The Lowdown
We seem to be reaching critical mass on Stephen Colbert in the realm of pop culture lately; with his (sadly, especially now with the WGA strike in full effect*) failed presidential run and his I’m America and So Can You topping the NYT best-seller list, so what better time to capitalize on his increased prominence in the mainstream media by releasing a compilation of some of the more memorable moments of his first two-hundred plus episodes of the show that started the entire phenomenon, The Colbert Report.
The Colbert Report is one of the most consistently brilliant shows currently airing on TV and perhaps the only show where the viewer can truly say anything could happen and they wouldn’t be surprised; after ending episodes with duets, lightsaber duels and most recently having Viggo Mortensen run out fully in character as Aragorn and run off camera right screaming about fighting orcs, there isn’t a whole hell of a lot that wouldn’t make sense in the context of the show at this point (boxing J.D. Salinger with Kofi Annan as the guest ring announcer feels possible, if not downright probable). And beyond the excitement that an ‘anything can and will happen!’ vibe can bring, it’s never less than amusing, and often laugh-out-loud hilarious. It utilizes a lot of Daily Show-esque crude photoshop sight gags combined with a more refined verbal humor to suit the Colbert-as-character sensibility while keeping its satirical edge (often more so than its predecessor, on account of the character these bits are being funneled through). It’s one of the most exhilarating experiences on television today.
I don’t know if enough can be said about Colbert’s performance as the host of the program: its a constant high-wire act that somehow finds a happy balance between playing the character to the hilt (a solid example of which being his silent ‘The Word’ segment on this disc or perhaps his sweeps week pill addiction during his wrist awareness campaign) with small character breaks whenever Stephen Colbert the human being finds something amusing or ridiculousness enough (perhaps better than both of those are his ‘amazed at what he’s accomplishing as he does it’ character breaks; you can genuinely see him beaming with pride as he shows the montage of his green screen challenge submissions and he’s clearly having a geekgasm when given the opportunity to wield a lightsaber and duel with George Lucas). And this is all done while still delivering powerful satire of the punditry-laden news-scape where self-promotion and fits of illogic take precedence over fact or truth any day of the week.
…
The segments look exactly as they do on television, so this set isn’t an upgrade in quality, just a nice collection for posterity’s sake. So while my head is telling me that this is simply a bare-bones compilation that skimps on the extras, if this show has taught me anything, it’s that I should think with my gut. Hence…
10,000,000 out of 10
And don’t forget that there are entire United Kingdoms where The Colbert Report has never been aired. Monsters & Critics reminds us that the UK release is still pending and adds:
The Best of the Colbert Report is presented in fullscreen as the episodes were aired on television. There are no special features. I mean can’t you just be happy that you got three hours of hilarity! Jeez, some people are never satisfied.
I’m sure his fans would want complete season sets, but I think that this “best of” compilation offers some hilarious antics. So Nation, go forth and buy and make Mr. Colbert feel better about his scuttled presidential bid.
Right now, the Nation will be happy when the strike ends, the writers get to return to the jobs they love, Stephen can get his love-fix 4 nights a week, and we can enjoy the timely satire of ‘The Colbert Report’.
Favorite line from the CHUD review:
“there isn’t a whole hell of a lot that wouldn’t make sense in the context of the show at this point (boxing J.D. Salinger with Kofi Annan as the guest ring announcer feels possible, if not downright probable).”
Now I feel certain that we would have seen this, if it hadn’t have been for the strike.
Shout Out (Hey!):
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“It’s one of the most exhilarating experiences on television today.”
Here, here, Mr. Fuchs. With your permission, I think we should adopt this as the official party line for the Colbert Nation.
Shout Out (Hey!):
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