Episode 5092 (7/13/2009)
By
EPISODE NUMBER: 5092 (July 13, 2009)
GUESTS: Paul Rieckhoff, Paul Krugman
SEGMENTS: Stephen’s Sound Advice
VIDEOS: Monday, July 13, 2009
You know I always get excited about new shows after a break, and I think all of you are with me. And it was a good, solid show tonight. Did anyone else notice the cameo by Evie? Stephen Colbert all decked out in Michael Jackson singing “I Will Always Love You” is not something I will soon forget. I don’t know if that’s a good thing – he so knows how to make things both hysterical and disturbing. Loved the “Chamone” WØRD. I thought the Sotomayor “Sound Advice” was seriously spot on. It’s so interesting to see both her calm reactions and the violent objections from the right about her nomination.
It’s always good to see Stephen supporting the troops, and he did so again with Paul Rieckhoff from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Don’t forget to go sign the petition to get 25,000 signatures for Stephen to be recognized as an honorary IAVA member.
What was your favorite part of the episode tonight? Lay it on me in the comments!
Remembering Remembering Michael Jackson 2009-2009
- Nation, today we lost a national treasure. I’m talking of course about the death of the coverage of the death of Michael Jackson.
- It was here, and it was gone like octomom or summer of the shark.
- Which bring us to tonight’s WØRD: Chamone.
- Michael Tackson: I’m fine, I’m really more of a Prince fan, so I’m okay.
- That was a long trip from that camera to this camera.
- Anthony Kennedy, I don’t care if you have to replace your heart with a Roomba, you stay on that bench, sir!
- To Bork, named for failed Reagan court nominee, and lab-grown man goat Robert Bork.
- As always, Senate Minority Leader Rush Limbaugh has lead the fight.
- I’m just saying, a Supreme Court nominee of all people should have briefs. You’re welcome. You’re all welcome.
- Children’s books are inappropriate when you’re in college. You read them when your country’s under attack.
- Get Sotomayor Pregnant
- Stephen’s Sound Advice: How to knock up a federal judge
- That is brutal – after serving your country, you return from war only to lose four houses. On the up side, if you’re homeless, there’s nowhere to mail your redeployment papers.
- Can I suggest something? I think people would pay more attention to us veterans if we wore military uniforms like Michael Jackson’s because his had sparkly epaulets. And that’s an eye catcher, it looks good on camera.
- I must say, this crisis has been awfully good to Paul Krugman.
- Can you say anything cheerful at all? You’re dying, but you’ll linger. It’s painful, but it will last.
Related posts
28 Comments
July 14th, 2009 at 7:19 am
okay, i could be going crazy, but right after the opening credits, did the camera focus on stephen’s wife & kid sitting on the stairs?
also, i love any mention of the summer of the shark.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I noticed Evie and son on the stairs, too. It was unexpected and endearing — Stephen kept looking in that direction.
Both TDS and TCR were very strong last night. They had plenty of material but it wasn’t what they had, it was what they did with it. ;D
Welcome back, guys!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Well said!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I think that might’ve been his son sitting next to her too. Nice cameo!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Is that hat the hat he bought with his tax rebate? It’s a snazzy hat! :)
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I saw Evie and one of their sons – double-take, had to go back to make sure.
Fangirl Suit question – Stephen was wearing a different jacket and tie throughout the MJ segment, so when was that taped? I thought the segment was funny, especially “I will Always Love You,” but I have to admit that I had to look up “chamone.”
Six degrees – I would have been more upset that there was no mention of Caribou Barbie if I wasn’t still chuckling over Jon’s segment on TDS.
My favorite was the Sotomayor segment, mainly for the 9-11 slam on Bush, and the adorable character almost-breaks (esp. the fortune cookie and Clarence Thomas).
I voted for Stephen on the IAVA site; there were only a couple thousand signatures so far.
Paul Krugman actually has a charming smile when he’s willing to crack one. Is his middle name Eeyore? ;)
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I had to look up “chamone” too. Ha ha! In my defense, I never was much of an MJ fan. I was very sleepy and distracted during the show last night and I doubt I’ll get a chance to re-watch anything online today but The Death of the Coverage of the Death of MJ was hilarious. My favorite segment was the Sound Advice though. Very spot on!
I thought that might have been Evie and one of their sons in the opening. Looks like my tired eyes weren’t playing tricks on me afterall.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:25 am
It was so nice to see Evie and son in on the fun! Stephen seemed to be very much om top of his game last night. Some shows he just seems to be in a great mood, and it always makes things that much more fun.
Well being a sucker for quotable moments, I have to pay homage to “lab grown goat man”. The MJ coverage montage was probably the funniest part of the show for me. And I always smile when I see or hear Paul Krugmen since the PWNAGE of IAAASCY. The interview had such a strong ending. Poor Paul probably gets a mean case of SAD in the winter.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Good show the M.J coverage was To funny. I did not know Evie and son were there . good eye ever one who is not me (:
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Stephen in the MJ outfit = Priceless. I bet the Fangirl Suit Report is going to be all over this one! I have to say, though, I was fully expecting a new word in the opening credits.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 11:41 am
PS–I’m pretty sure Jay Katsir played “Micheal Tackson” last night, no?
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Pretty sure that was Peter Gwinn. :)
Reply
July 15th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I wasn’t sure, but I think you’re right. Thanks. : )
July 15th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I was totally waiting for a new word in the credits, too! They could even go all the way back to “grippy” and I’d be happy. Purple Mounted just isn’t doing it for me. Or what was it that Jason Chaffetz said about his legs? Freakishly strong? That would be good.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Dr. Krugman is an excellent representative of the “dismal science.” :)
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 10:31 am
How sweet to see Evie and one of their sons there! Also, I have to follow nearly everyone else and say that his report on the death of the coverage of the death MJ (LOL) was spot-on. And it didn’t hurt that he dressed up and sang in that segment. XP
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am
The show was awesome. When it showed Evie and their son, I wasn’t sure it was them, so I rewound.
I quite liked the Bush 9/11 slam and the whole ‘Sound Advice’ bit.
However, the death of the coverage of the death of MJ was hilarious, especially with the singing and the outfit. I love the hat.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Agreed. The Bush slam has got to be the best I’ve seen him do in ages – and I haven’t seen TCR in a while thanks to fluctuating sleeping patterns…
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Great episode, the Sotomayor “Borking” piece was exceptional and the overall up feeling was very strong. And thanks for Stephen’s MJ cap, too funny!
BTW there’s only 3900 votes so far to make Colbert a veteran! C’mon, let’s get on it Nation!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I definitely noticed Evie and their son. I think it’s cute that they were obviously focused on by the camera…..I wonder if Stephen told them to do that? I also noticed all the glances in their direction. So sweet.
I think Stephen’s sound advice was my favorite part, especially the slam on Bush (I miss those, but not him!)
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Upbeat, perky, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and seemingly rested, so really nice to see . . . Can we believe at least half of the following statement as true? “. . . had very restful 4th of July break. nothing relaxes me like things blowing up.”
The little gray cells make me recall an LA Times article posted here just before the Newsweek and Iraq adventures in which Stephen said he enjoyed doing his show at present as much as he did at the start, even those days when he felt he was going to get physically ill from exhaustion. It would be so nice if the “fewer hours” professional goal he mentioned in the article becomes just a wee bit of a reality between this break and next. One step at a time. Inch by inch. One millimeter by one millimeter . . . like the growing of the hair?
Really enjoyed Stephen’s interview with Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, who chose to be just funny enough to blend in well with the spirit of Stephen’s interview and who also displayed no illusions about his being able to successfully compete with the clever professional comedian sitting across from him. The topic was quite heavy, but Stephen made this rather heavy topic quite entertaining. For example, a Krugman statement like “things are getting worse more slowly,” was responded to by Stephen with comments such as “can’t you say anything cheerful?” “[like saying] you’re dying but you’ll linger,” and “it’s painful but it’ll last.”
Krugman was quite clear about what he had to say even for a non-economist type like me. He basically suggested that the stimulus is too small, enough to help but not enough to “cure,” and that the Obama people are quite aware of its shortcomings but can’t exert more pressure for a second round stimulus yet (if that’s what will be decided). He also stressed that a big advantage for us all is the intelligence of Obama’s team which puts us in so much a better situation than in our recent past.
So . . . the interview wins the vote although this was a tough choice. As you all know, I could go on and on about all the other segments of the show which were near misses for a vote, but enough for now, time to rest the little gray cells.
P.S. So good to see a small Colbert family moment today at the show – so really, really nice, A+
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Great episode, but the first part of the show (Remembering Remembering Michael Jackson and Sound Advice) was my total favorite. The joke about the childrens’ books was mindblowing!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Why DB, you could have posted another screencap of Stephen as Michael Jackson in a certain pose;)
Loved seeing Evie and one of his sons. How sweet that they were willing to sit in the aisle so that everyone else could have a seat!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Welcome back, guys! Incredible shows from both TDS and TCR. :)
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
good thing I wasn’t hallucinating and imagining phantom spouses! haha, I thought I had an overactive recognizing gland.
I zoned out and got bored during the second interview. sorry economics. I get tired of arguments like that, I feel like I’ve already heard it all before, Stephen’s stuff, and the points Krugman and others make. not Stephen’s fault, it’s the position that’s out there. when they were talking about “doses” it seemed like Krugman would have wanted a larger stimulus. when already it’s massive spending. I dunno, I am so uninformed it would be foolish for me to go on. one thing I did learn was that most of the stimulus money hasn’t been spent, as Stephen said, and then Krugman said that was expected. I had no clue!
but not to make this an entirely negative comment, no way! I love Paul Rieckoff’s interview. gosh, I love his head. lol. he’s a neat guy with a great cause.
and no comment would be complete without mention that Stephen’s coverage of Michael Jackson’s death was rather spectacular!
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
“overactive recognizing gland”
Is that a side effect from Prescott Pharmaceuticals? LOL.
Reply
July 14th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
the crotch grab slayed me! I laughed out loud for like 2 minutes straight! lol! the outfit was so great! So, I definitely voted for the MJ segment. ;) Chamone was a great Word too!
There was another lengthy laughing out loud moment but I forget what it was. And the children’s book zinger was spot-on — I could see it coming, but it still felt sooo good.
Great show, esp. for first night back. The hair is getting longer, little by little. :)
Reply
July 15th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Great show! Hard to pick my fave segment, although I went w/ MJ. Anytime Stephen is in costume, it’s gonna be great. Paul Reickoff was wonderful, as usual, and of course I voted. The Bush jab in Stephen’s Sound Advice rocked. One of the best of those segments ever, I think. And I love Paul Krugman. He and Stephen play well off each other.
I totally missed Evie and son in the audience. I wondered who Stephen was looking at. I’ll have to go back and watch the intro again.
Reply