Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgest – “A Colbert Christmas” edition

The reviews are in – and “A Colbert Christmas – The Greatest Gift of All!” looks well on its way to becoming a holiday classic. Please enjoy the reviews below, and remember, pretty much all of them are seriously laced with spoilers.

• A Sendup of the Season, Some Sincerity Required – New York Times:
  

  “John Legend is just ridiculous,” Mr. Javerbaum said. “One take: perfect.” Mr. Nelson added some of his own touches, Mr. Schlesinger said, adding, “Who am I to tell Willie Nelson how to sing a country song?” Mr. Colbert described Mr. Nelson’s effort as a cross “between Bing Crosby and David Bowie.”

• Hark! Colbert sings in new Christmas special – Associated Press:
  

  “I had a clear, clear command to everyone involved: ‘No cynicism,’” said Colbert. “We’re not mocking Christmas specials. We’re doing MY Christmas special. And that was the aesthetic we tried to bring into it. Like, we’re really doing this. I want people to see this every year.”

• Have yourself a merry — or whatever — ‘Colbert Christmas’ – ScrippsNews:
  

  If you’ve ever watched a self-indulgent, celeb-fronted Christmas special and rolled your eyes at the glops of Velveeta cheese that drip off the program, “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” will have you in stitches. It’s a surreal hour, a Colbert-centric skewering of holiday-season specials.

• Stephen Colbert offers a Christmas special unlike any other — that’s a compliment and a warning – Orlando Sentinal:
  

  Colbert is in fine voice on the off-the-wall, original songs. The DVD contains alternate endings billed as shocking. (They are.) There’s never been a Christmas special like this. That’s a compliment — and a warning.

• DVD gift guide featuring A Colbert Christmas, Robot Chicken: Star Wars and more – CreativeLoafing.com:
  

  A Colbert Christmas is a knockout thanks to the strength of the holiday parodies by David Javerbaum (“The Daily Show” executive producer) and Adam Schlesinger (songwriter and Fountains of Wayne co-founder), providing some of the best goofs on Christmas since “South Park’s” Christmas specials.

• Ellen Gray: Colbert does ‘Christmas’ – Philly.com:
  

  More than a parody of every special made with a host in an Irish knit cardigan, it’s a happy hour of insanity, musical guests dressed as bears and goats dressed as reindeer – “they’re a lot cheaper and you can’t tell the difference on camera,” gloats Colbert – and also a happy reminder that you don’t have to be a non-believer to have fun with Christmas.

• Dreaming of a Colbert Christmas – NationalPost.com:
  

  Give it a listen. It’s actually pretty decent — peppy, snappy and brimming with all the requisite sound effects, the carol is just begging for its own music video; we’re picturing Colbert marching down the street in a Santa hat, his Harry Rosen bags accidentally thwacking a Salvation Army bell-ringer.

• Roush Review – TV Guide:
  

  Next to my annual appointments with Charlie Brown and the Grinch, I can’t think of a better start to holiday season.

• A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All – Variety:
  

  Each guest is greeted by a torrent of fake applause and has the awkwardness of finding themselves under the mistletoe as Colbert leans in, while the host earnestly delivers lines like, “I’m so excited right now I’m sporting a Yule log!” Based on the highly irreverent tone, “The Colbert Report” audience should eat it up — and the satire-challenged folk at the Catholic League might be advised to seek their merriment elsewhere.

• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – March 13, 2010
• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – March 3, 2010
• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – Vancouverage Wrap-up
• Ujjal Dosanjh: Stephen Colbert’s message “worth reflecting on”