Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – May 30, 2009

Hey Zoners, how’s everybody doing this weekend? We’ve survived another break, and new shows are coming up starting on Monday. I know I’m going to be happy to see Stephen’s smiling face back on my TV. It was a mostly quiet week in the Colbert newsosphere (except for this spoiler alert for Stephen’s upcoming Persian Gulf shows), but a few tidbits found their way onto the series of tubes this week. Here’s your zeitgeist for Saturday, May 30th.

First, I want to highlight something that was posted in the comments of the Weekend Brunch post by ColbertGirl27. According to this 10-second ad posted on You Tube, Stephen will be featured in the comedy issue of the L.A. Times‘ “The Envelope” on Monday. And I’m not certain about this, but I believe it’ll also be online at that time at theenvelope.latimes.com.

In a recent interview, TV on the Radio offered up some comments on their appearance on TCR in February.

• Alt-rock band gets a kick out of being on Stephen Colbert – Edmonton Sun

  “The ultimate cool stamp of approval came when TVotR appeared on Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report back in February and had a blast.

  “‘He was such a gentleman and just came across as just a very kind person,’ said Malone of Colbert. ‘And even in character, he was very charming. I felt like he was nicer to us than we anticipated, having seen his show, having seen him play the fool and make a fool of people simultaneously.’”

Ipsos Public Affairs recently conducted a survey on behalf of Home Away asking Americans with whom they would like to share a vacation home. The “winner” was Kelly Ripa (oh America, you disappoint me), but Stephen and Jon Stewart both put in a decent showing. Not surprisingly, it was the younger adults who were more likely to say they’d prefer to hang out with Jon and Stephen.

• More Americans Would Share a Vacation Rental Home with Kelly Ripa Than Would with the Obamas, the Jolie-Pitts, or Oprah Winfrey – Ipsos Public Affairs survey

  “More Americans would choose to share a vacation rental home with talk show host Kelly Ripa (26%) than would with the Obamas (19%), the Jolie-Pitt family (16%), Oprah Winfrey (16%), Jon Stewart (13%) or Stephen Colbert (10%), according to a new survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Home Away.

  “Adults 55 and older are more likely than younger adults to prefer to share a vacation home with the Obamas (24%), while adults under 35 are more likely than those who are older to prefer late night comedians Jon Stewart (17%) and Stephen Colbert (14%).”

The changing of the guard at The Tonight Show is the big TV story for the week, and Conan O’Brien got some words of encouragement from Stephen, who will be part of his competition now that Conan will be in the earlier time slot. It’s a pity that they’ll be on opposite coasts now, which will eliminate the possibility of any surprise visits, but I’m sure that it’ll be a friendly rivalry with the potential for a little on-air smack talk.

• O’Brien ushers in new era of Tonight on Monday – Associated Press

  “Conan O’Brien wants viewers to think of his “Tonight Show” debut Monday as the introductory course to a new late-night era.

  “A new competitor, Stephen Colbert, also complimented O’Brien.

  “‘He’ll be funny and he’ll be great. I have tremendous respect for him,’ said Colbert, whose ‘The Colbert Report’ on Comedy Central airs at the same time as ‘Tonight.’”

(h/t Jennie and ColbertGirl27)