Episode 5026 – R.A.P.S. (Awesome!)

R.A.P.S. (Awesome!)Before I go on with the R.A.P.S. post for this evening, I would like to thank Jenny with a Y for all of her wonderful service with the R.A.P.S. posts and the calendar. While she will continue to be an active member of our Zoner community, unfortunately her personal life will no longer allow her to spend time as one of the Completists. Thank you, Jenny with a Y, for everything you’ve done for us, and please make sure not to go too far – we’d miss you too much!

The opening segment of the show was fantastic – I loved the segment with all the 1997 references. The wine cooler cracked me up, and I remember using AOL dialup with a 28.8 baud modem at $2.95 an hour, charged to my Discover card (do they even make those anymore?). Ah, going back in time is always fun, and taking that journey with Stephen makes it exceptionally so. The Six Flags monologue was a true thing of beauty. I love it when “Stephen” just goes off on a personal and unrelated rant about the sorrows of his youth. And the Big Red Button dropping the F-bomb was just classic.

Here’s some of the more memorable quotes from tonight’s show:

  • It is Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday, Carnival, The feast of St. ShowMeYourTits!
  • In this economy I can’t afford to give away a whole string. Here’s a bead – just show me a nipple.
  • It’s going to be a long Lent.
  • What is the matter, Mr. President? Was “Hope” forced to resign due to tax problems?
  • It’s 1997! Jimmy! [Mmm bop...]
  • if Sbarro goes, who’s next, Spencer Gifts? Where will America go for our Fart and Fart related accessories?
  • Once again, my court-ordered prayers go out to all the victims.
  • Yeah, that’s baked chicken.
  • Don’t share the plate if you can’t do the fate.
  • That’s the 19th century equivalent of not opening the e-mail.

What did you love about the show? Did/Do any of you own one of those wonderful iMacs? And have any of you drank a wine cooler since 1997? Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

  1. I visit this site everyday and love reading the updates and participating in R.A.P.S. after every show. I don’t comment much, but I do so enjoy all of the hard work that goes into this site. This might be a little out of place, but with Jenny with a Y kinda stepping down I wanted her to know her work was appreciated. Thank you everyone that makes this site possible. I’d smile a lot less were it not for Stephen Colbert and the no fact zone. :) the end.

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  2. mrtigger001 says:

    aww Jenny with a Y… thanks for putting so much work into the site. we all really appreciate it. hope you’ll still be commenting with us though.

    as for the episode: i don’t want to do a disservice to any of the other segments, but any ’90′s nostalgia tour is an automatic win in my book.

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  3. Val says:

    Thanks for all your hard work, Jenny with a Y. It’s been appreciated.

    As for the show – loved. The only thing that I didn’t really like was Nailed ‘Em, but then again, it’s not my favorite segment because they always feel so randomly out of place within a show. Oh well, I could probably live off the laughter from 1997 segment for the rest of my life anyway – perfection.

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  4. Sadie07 says:

    Jenny with a Y….thank you so much for all you have done for the site. I’ll miss your contributions!

    And I had to vote for “1997″….and yes….I had a blue iMac….and that AOL dial-up tone still makes me nuts….”Mmbop” is a guilty pleasure…and I have to admit, I HAVE had a wine cooler since. GAH!!!!!!

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  5. forsakinghalfloves says:

    Thank you so much for all that you’ve done for NFZ, Jenny with a Y. Take care always. :)

    As for the show, I’m all for 1997! I haven’t heard that dial-up tone in years! And I still have the cassette tape of Hanson with MMMBop. And as Jon Stewart would probably yell, “Yes, that’s right. Cassette!” I have more cassette tapes than CDs. :)

    I think the iMac and its flavors was what really made us sit up and take notice of Apple. And probably also because Andie McPhee used one on Dawson’s Creek. It was always marginalized here, though now I see people are switching everyday from Windows.

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  6. wren says:

    Thank you for all the great Completist work you’ve done, Jenny with a Y!!! You’re awesome, and if I was more of a musician I’d write you a theme song that you could hum under your breath at work, knowing that you’re a secret superhero. As, I might add, are all the great NFZ crew :)

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  7. Laaaura says:

    Thanks for all the work you’ve done at NFZ, Jenny with a Y!

    The whole first segment was awesome. Mardi Gras/1997/Bears and Balls. Although I did put my vote in for the 1997 bit. I couldn’t stop laughing at the older references. Those iMacs, the Tamagochi’s, MmmBop! Haha! I loved Stephen’s spontaneous dancing, too.
    One of my favorite lines last night was, “It must be his plan to stimulate the economy, through Paxil sales.”

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  8. Lisa says:

    Thank you SO SO much, Jenny with a Y, for all you’ve done here at NFZ. You will be truly, truly missed.

    I have to say, last night’s show was on fire! From the spontaneous dancing, to the Mardi Gras beads, to the profuse f-bomb dropping during Bears and Balls, to the Charlene reference during the interview…how can you pick just *one* segment to love when you just love them all?? And, ahh, the memories of the iMac…makes me miss using a Mac altogether. What a great, great show!

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  9. vigwig says:

    Thank you Jenny with a Y, for all your great work, it is much appreciated.

    My inner history geek voted for the Cliff Sloan interview, Marbury vs. Madison and Habeas Corpus, two great pillars of American justice YAY!
    I LOVED the “the 19th century equivalent of not opening the e-mail” line about Jefferson. He was quite the wily one.

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  10. lvtcr says:

    First, thanks Jenny with Y!!!

    I do love Stephen’s rants, dancing, and f-bombs! The whole first act was great!

    I remember waiting forever to log on to the internet and how my roommates would mess it up by picking up the phone! [I thought he was drinking a Nutz soda--but those are probably as easy to find as a winecooler!] Oh–good times!

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    • wren says:

      Oh, I’d be willing to lay money that it’s Nutz. Evidence: TDS “Tax Form”. Check out the label and the liquid color. Mmmmm, Nutz!

      Also, Recaptcha: $9 Ferrari. Bet I could turn a profit on that.

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  11. Michele says:

    Thank you for all your work, Jenny with a Y!

    It was tough for me to choose between 1997 and Bears and Balls. I loved all the 90′s references but ultimately went with Bears and Balls because of the bit about Sbarro pizza (yuk!), the rant about the day at Great American (Who hasn’t had a somewhat similar experience at a large theme park? I had one at King’s Island.)and the F-bombs. And then being put on hold at the end… LOL!

    I was very interested in the subject matter of the interview but was getting sleepy and found it hard to pay attention. I need to watch it again.

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  12. John says:

    It’s a tough choice between 1997 and Bears And Balls, but I’m going to have to go with 1997 here.

    Why did Stephen’s Six Flags monologue bring back flashbacks of the crush I had when I was 15? Ah heck, f*** her.

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  13. Ms Interpreted says:

    I’ll miss you, Jenny with a Y, and I hope to see you commenting to let us know what you’re up to on a regular basis.

    Really funny show last night — the Six Flags bit had me in stitches because of my memories of heading down to Gurnee with friends, riding the “Demon” and whatnot. Oddly enough, it was that final bit from the “Nailed ‘Em” section that made me choke with laughter (with Captain Trenchcoat saying, “Seriously though, that’s f*#ked up”). It was a fun show, overall … although I miss the Table of Contents and The WØRD when they get skipped. Still, that’s a minor quibble in a show as entertaining as that one was. Stephen’s energy (dancing!) was outstanding.

    P.S. That discussion that Stephen was having with Sloan about how it was the Supreme Court itself that ruled that it had all of that authority? Totally reminded me of this.

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  14. Smashley says:

    GASP! Not Jenny with a Y! :(! what will we do without her now? i always looked forward to the RAPS posts and my whole team of completists. this makes me very sad.

    Jenny, you will be missed. I know we’ll still have the polls…but, sigh…it just wont be the same.

    *looks forward to guest RAPS postings from Jenny with a Y*

    hehe

    as for the show…that made things better! ;) ah, watching it over and over. lol. i fell asleep last night before TDS was over (stupid getting up at 4am on a regular basis…) and only caught parts of it last night. thankfully, it reruns about 4 times a day.

    I Loved the Bears and Balls segments. I love when Stephen swears, too. So all the “F@#& em!” from the button had me laughing so hard.
    the Flashback to 1997 was so hilarious though. I love when Stephen pulls things out from under his desk!

    Still need to put that list together…hopefully soon.
    I switched over recently to a macbook from my hp, which is so old and about to crash…and remember clearly using the imac at school, and the dialup service, and AOL being $3.00 an hour. and when WOW came out for a monthly charge. look how far we’ve come…hehe

    ok, i think perhaps i’m rambling a bit too much for a raps post? this is what happens when i dont get to get online to NFZ much very often! stupid life. sigh.
    i’ll try to come by more.

    til then!

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  15. Holly says:

    I voted for 1997, which cracked me up way too much, but Bears and Balls was also hilarious (esp. the 6 flags rant! I almost died when he had to wipe his mouth from the spittle at the end of it! hee!) and I loved the interview too.

    I thought the guest was gleefully enjoying himself in a way that did not distract from the interview or the subject matter he had to present – other guests could learn a thing or two from him! Plus Stephen’s interruptions were hilarious, and Sloan did a good job of sparring with him on them.

    I also agree w/ MsI that “captain trenchcoat” (lol!) was the best part of nailed em, especially at the end!

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  16. ColbertsLassInNC says:

    I am going to have to do more reading on the posts, b/c I had no idea Jenny With a Y was departing… I will definitely miss her posts as well. Everyone at NFZ is wonderful, and I am so glad I discovered this wonderful Stephen devoted blog, where we can confess our love on a daily basis! :)

    The 1997 segment was without a doubt, the most hilarious i’ve seen Colbert in a while. I guess it was so funny to me, mainly because, that was my freshman year in high school (wow, i’m getting old) and the AOL dial up sound brought back soooo many memories, as well as the wine cooler, since that was my first alcoholic beverage ever!

    Sometimes, and i’m probably not the only one who feels this way… as Jon and Stephen said on the toss… I feel like *me* and Stephen are sometimes on the same *wavelength* as far as the ideas he brings to life on the show… it’s always so coincidental, that something my friends and I will discuss, will seem to end up on the show in a week or two. It’s interesting when people have things in common, and for that, I am an even bigger fan of the show and how the writers always bring it together for great entertainment!

    I hope that didn’t make me sound too crazy… just crazy for Stephen and TCR! :)

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    • wren says:

      You’re getting old? I was in grad school in 1997, and it doesn’t make me feel old. The only thing that makes me feel old is when people 10-15 years younger than me say that they feel old. ;)

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    • Michele says:

      Ha ha! I’ve got you both beat! I got married in 1997 and I was 30! :-)

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      • wren says:

        Oh, I was married by then, too. And I’ll just say that I did not enter graduate school immediately after undergrad, either. *sigh* :)

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        • ColbertsLassInNC says:

          Well, it’s all about being as old as we actually *feel*, right?!

          I do *feel* old sometimes, though. ;)

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  17. wren says:

    Oh, Bears and Balls all the way. So much fun in that segment, it never disappoints. “Eat your pets” (I love how he writes that helpful tip down). “F#ck em!” “My court-ordered prayers go out to all the victims.”

    And a special shout out to the Great America rant, which brought back memories of high school Physics day there – me, Jim, Adam, and two stuffed armadillos, trying to calculate the speed of the Demon. Fun that they chose Great America – I wonder if anyone else on staff has lived in the Chicago area (apart from S).

    The 1997 references were fun, but I didn’t personally connect as much. In 1997, for me, AOL was for newbies, boy bands were about 15 years below my demographic, I was living in a rural area with no TV, and I was too broke and too tech geeky for Macs (go Linux!). Now, give me some 1987 references and I’ll get all gooshy on you! Charlene!!

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    • lvtcr says:

      You must have caught the ’80s reference Stephen made in his rant about not being a “Simon LeBon” himself. :) I am pretty sure that was the lead singer in Duran Duran. Looks like there was an ode to two great decades!

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      • wren says:

        Yep, I did catch that one! And I gotta say, he’s no Simon LeBon, he’s infinitely more appealing :)

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        • ColbertsLassInNC says:

          I was a ‘lil tyke in the 80′s, but I love me some Duran Duran to this day! :)

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        • wren says:

          Just realized that can be parsed two ways. What I meant, of course, was that Stephen is infinitely more appealing than any old Duranie.

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  18. Holly says:

    I just re-watched and have to re-post to acknowledge the hilarity of “crust-lovers pizza” with “crust baked right into the crust”! ha! Also, I wasn’t sure what Stephen was drinking in the 1997 segment, and was amused to find here that it was a wine cooler! ;) I admit I have had one since 1997, but probably not in 2 or 3 years.

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  19. Jenny with a Y says:

    I haven’t had the opportunity to see this entire episode yet. I did see the 90′s segment before leaving for work this morning. I absolutely LOVED it! Oh the joys of AOL. I remember hour long music downloads, fighting with a roommate over phone line usage, and huge bills from connecting through a phone number I thought was local but really wasn’t. My only problem with that segment is that I now have that MMM Bop song stuck in my head. What is it with Stephen and ear worms? I wonder if he ever picks things he thinks are especially worthy of creating ear worms. :-)

    I wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate your kind words. Y’all are way too kind, but your comments mean a lot to me. Stepping down from the staff was an extremely difficult but necessary decision. I will still be around as much as I can. I love Stephen, his work, and this wonderful online community. I always look forward to reading the comments and participating in the discussions that develop. I feel disconnected whenever I’m away from the blog for very long, and I get grumpy whenever I am away from TCR for very long. I could never stop being a Zoner!

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    • laughing at nothing says:

      Jenny with a Y,
      I also want to say thank-you for all the work you’ve done to make NFZ the shining (happy) example it is. Hope what you have lined up in the future is as fulfilling as having labored for love here for free! :)

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    • ColbertGirl27 says:

      Hi Jenny with a Y! I’m coming in late to this discussion, but I just wanted thank for you all the time and effort you’ve put into the R.A.P.S. posts. I barely have time to keep up with NFZ and post comments, so I can only imagine the time it takes for you (and the rest of the Completists) to contribute to this site. I can’t explain it, but you always seem to have a happy disposition (or maybe just plain happy) in your posts which I’ve appreciated. Hope that doesn’t sound weird or anything. You will be sorely missed!

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  20. MaryLovesColbert says:

    I haven’t been here very long but I have noticed how much work that Jenny with a Y does! I’m sure she’ll be missed as one of the Completists!

    Gasp! Bears and Balls! I love this segment! I don’t get to watch the shows ’til the next day so I kinda get my spoilers here. That’s okay, I like knowing what’s coming up!

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  21. mrtigger001 says:

    my childhood was defined not only by the dial tone, but also the infuriating moment when that connection got interrupted by my mother picking up the phone.

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    • ColbertsLassInNC says:

      I know, that was the best part, the interruption by someone picking up the phone…

      Happened in my house all the time when I was in HS… :)

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  22. Ann G. says:

    AHAHAHAHAHA!!! I have one of those iMacs, only it’s purple. And yes, I say “have” because the darn thing is still sitting on the floor of my closet even though it’s essentially useless. I’m now on my third Mac.

    I loved the Six Flags rant. I’d dearly love to see an uncensored version of that.

    Jenny with a Y, thanks for your loyal and dedicated service as a Completist! I hope we’ll still see you showing up frequently in the comments.

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  23. smithalot says:

    thank you for all your hard work jenny with a Y . as for the show i loved all the 90′s stuff my childhood (:

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  24. Tiger says:

    didn’t post in here yet cuz I finished watching this on my laptop at approximately 10:56 PM tonight and I needed to go get a TV set for TDS!

    Thanks for the R.A.P.S. Jenny avec un i grec. (that rhymes btw.) I love R.A.P.S. it keeps me on my toes during the show.

    I enjoyed best the 90s stuff. those computers like he demonstrated, I remember walking by the computer lab and seeing it full of those when before we had had those little gray Apple numbers, and being like WOW FUTURISTIC! I had a heck of a time figuring out where the on-buttons were though. never had dial-up. back when the internet usually came like that, I was simply unwired. I remember visiting a friend and coming home to tell my parents “wow! she has the internet right in her house!!” and I thought she was so rich in order to have such a thing.

    OH and clearly I should not get started on Tamagotchis. *loved* mine.

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  25. looped linear says:

    Bon Voyage! (metaphorically) Jenny with a Y. Thanks for all the work you’ve put in to help make NFZ so interesting.

    Funny show. I’m a bit surprised that they didn’t bleep St. ShowMeYourTits; great dating rant. And that interview was surprisingly interesting.

    I’m pretty sure I’ve had a few ‘CrustLovers’ pizzas in my time ;P

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