zeitgeist2Greetings, Zoners! We’ve just about made it through another Report-less week. New show tomorrow night, and then we’ll have the answer to the all-important question: how much did Stephen’s hair grow during the break? It’s been relatively quiet on the Colbert news front, as it often is when the show isn’t taping. But there were enough nuggets of goodness out there to compile them all for you, so here’s your zeitgeist for June 12th.

With the release of Brüno this weekend, several articles have compared Sacha Baron Cohen to Stephen Colbert, noting the similarity in their methods and their approach to comedy. I’m not a fan of Baron Cohen myself — he’s made me cringe far more often then he’s made me laugh — but I can see the similarity. The big difference, as one of these articles points out, is that Stephen always makes sure his “victims” are in on the joke, and somehow that makes it funnier, at least from my perspective. I don’t see that as “playing it safe”; I think his interviews and field segments work better with “it-getters” who know what he’s up to and can roll with it.

  • Baron Cohen fools all the people all the time – MSNBC: “That brand of comedy relies on a potent form of chutzpah. Few rewards in life come without risk, and that is especially true in the fine art of cracking people up… Stephen Colbert, who performed a similar function as a correspondent (although without the wacky foreign characterization) on ‘The Daily Show’ before getting his own show…said ‘I have a lot of respect’ for Baron Cohen and explained that a comic has to do what excites him in the pursuit of laughs.

    “‘If it makes you laugh,’ Colbert said, ‘it’s valuable as comedy. You have to do things that strike at your passion. Taking risks sometimes energizes you and keeps you going. You have to respond to the world’s response to you. Then you get into a relationship with the audience.’”

  • Brüno‘s Sacha Baron Cohen: More Than a Comedian – Time magazine: “It goes without saying that Stephen Colbert owes Baron Cohen a debt too large to repay, but by comparison, Colbert plays it safe. His guests always know that Colbert’s right-wing blowhard character is a put-on and they happily play along. When Bruno tries to start a cuddle party with Texas Representative Ron Paul… the flustered former presidential candidate is definitely not in on the joke.”

More on the “chimp-xclusive”–

  • CNN’s John Zarella on Landing the Bubbles Scoop and His Love of Freaky Florida Stories – The New York Observer: John Zarrella talks about his “chimp-xclusive” for AC 360 and Stephen’s reaction to the piece on TCR.

    “That night, Mr. Zarrella’s piece ricocheted around the Web. Bloggers went apesh*t. (Haha – Ed.)… The next night, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert paid homage… All of which Mr. Zarrella watched with amusement. When The Observer caught up with him a few days later, the veteran newsman stood behind his story. ‘It was absolutely the right thing to do,’ said Mr. Zarrella.

    “‘Somebody said to me, ‘When your story ends up being mocked on The Colbert Report, that ought to tell you something,’ he added. ‘I said to him, ‘Well, I’m not sure what that says about my career. But it ranks up there as one of the most fun stories I’ve ever done.’”

“What’s that, Sweetness?”

  • Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history – TV Squad: Coming in at #5 is Stephen’s very special .38 Special, Sweetness

    “Some gun lovers pick their favorite side arm. For others, their side arm picks them. Colbert’s ‘Sweetness’ has never left the side of his arm since he started the show and ‘Sweetness’ has never let him down. She has a special kinship with Stephen in the same way a young boy has an imaginary friend who tells him to kill people in their sleep. Stephen would probably marry Sweetness if the Bible allowed it. (What, no mention of the fact that Stephen can hear Sweetness whispering to him in his non-functioning ear? That seems like a pretty special talent to me…)

Vote Colbert!

  • The Tubey Awards – Television Without Pity: Poll #6 is for the Best Late Night Talk Show; The Colbert Report is nominated, along with The Daily Show, The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and a few others that I’ve never watched. I’m not sure how much longer that poll is up, so head on over there now and vote for TCR!

Monsters vs. Aliens on DVD

Six Degrees: Neil deGrasse Tyson

  • New Science Oriented Radio Show Aims at Working-class Audience – PoliticalAffairs.net: “Are you a Discovery channel junky? If so, a new radio show hosted by renowned astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson will hit the spot. Tyson has teamed up with Comedy Central’s Lynn Koplitz for a new science-based radio talk show called Star Talk.

    “During a recent telephone interview, Tyson said the show blends comedy, talk and great interviews with all kinds of people, from scientists and artists to TV celebrities like Stephen Colbert and Bill Nye. ‘The goal is to convince people that science is all around us,’ Tyson said. ‘Science doesn’t have to be as though you’re taking medicine; you can have fun with it.’

And finally–

  • Patri-idiotic – Cute Overload: Just in case you were wondering what happened to Stephen’s hair once General Odierno separated it from his head… Have a look at this. And read the comments. And check out the hovertext on the picture.

(h/t DB, Ms I, Jennie, Charlotte, and Monica)

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