EPISODE NUMBER: 5097 (July 21, 2009)
GUESTS: Bertha Lewis, Dr. Aaron Carroll
SEGMENTS: The WØRD: A Perfect World, Better Know a Lobbyist – ACORN [The Fightin' Nutjobs!]
VIDEOS: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I’m so happy Stephen mentioned the moon landing in the way that he did. And how seriously adorable was Young Stephen in the “re-airing” of Stephen’s historic moon landing episode? I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that was Stephen’s youngest son, John. The WØRD tonight was also quite excellent. The line about what’s worse than a witch hunt was spot on, and it hit the nail on the head very similarly to the “no health care is just a people-killer” line Stephen said a few nights ago. Sometimes it’s the obvious statements that can make the most impact.
I love when Stephen simultaneously amuses and irritates his guests, which he most definitely did with ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis. That Better Know a Lobbyist segment was really funny, and also a bit informative which is always an added bonus. I wish I could have seen Stephen’s face when the audience busted out with Hakuna Matata.
I thought the interview was a bit harsh on the side of Stephen – sometimes it seems as if he is challenging his guests, hoping for the pushback, and while more often than not he gets it, this time Dr. Carroll seemed to be struggling to keep up. Carroll just didn’t seem to have the arguments to fight against the beating drum Republican rhetoric that Stephen was spewing.
So dish in the comments – what was your favorite lines in the episode?
- It was one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, followed by four decades of standing around saying, “Now what?”
- Oooh, paint chips!
- Man, I was adorable.
- If God wanted us to have hindsight, he would have put eyeballs on our butt.
- And what is worse than a witch hunt? [Electrodes On Your Nads]
- You think I’m happy I’ve already created this graphic? I actually am kind of happy. And that is so sad, because it is killing our nation. [That, And Texting While Driving]
- [Doocey's A Journalist?!]
- And what does “of” stand for?
- I’m not saying what you said, I’m telling you what I heard.
- I have a lesion on my taint in the shape of Spain.
- That’s fine for old people, they don’t have as much to lose if their health care isn’t good. No, seriously, let’s talk turkey here, they have very little time left.
- I don’t care what’s true, I am telling you what people are afraid of.
Oh. My. Gosh. That had to have been one of the funniest episodes I’ve ever seen.
The character break, “Young Stephen’s” moon landing (I thought it was his son, too – so adorable), the interviews, et cetera, et cetera. I thought both interviewees were it-getters, especially Ms. Lewis. As much as I enjoyed the joint census-taking, I loved Hakuna Matata. Was Dr. Carroll out of his interviewing league? Perhaps, but he seemed to make a valiant effort to keep up.
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Loved this episode aswell:D The zero gravity reenactment made me laugh so hard. I also loved Stephen singing The Lion King, since that’s my favorite disney movie. I watched it all the time as a kid<3 So that made me insanly happy.
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I had to vote for the 40th anniversary tribute to the moon landing because, well, the faulty Snickers bar was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S! Although the singing in Better Know a Lobby ran a close second.
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Such an awesome episode! The medley of The Lion King songs was my favorite part of the night. It was so funny when the audience started singing along. hahah.
Young Stephen was really cute. I also thought that it was Stephen’s youngest son.
I really liked both interviews and thought the interviewees did really well. I did think that Stephen was going full force towards the last guest there, but I guess he figured the guy could take it. And I think the guy handled himself well.
Oh yeah, and the Snickers prop fail in the beginning was very funny!
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Y’all, I had so much fun with this episode I can’t even do it justice with words. I might be iTunesing this one. It’s worth a few bucks.
First off, character breaks are pricless, but when they’re coupled with a prop failure, they must make the angels sing.
Next, the taint lession. That whole dialogue had me locked up. I love how when the person let’s on that they know Stephen’s kidding, his serious reflex just kicks on. And he was totally losing it when Bertha asked what taint means. He inspired something that made me crack myself up: Spain taint = SPAINT!!!
And finally, the most memorably fantastic moment of his ep for me, the Lion King medley. TLK was my life when I was little. I pretty much have the film memorized and Ive seen the Broadway show twice (it’s incredible, by the way), and I’m a proud member of TLKGO, http://tlkgoeson.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=bookmarks So I can’t wait to share that with my good friends there.
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I totally lost it during the Lion King medley, you could tell Ms. Lewis was cracking up as well, so funny. My friend was laughing so hard during that segment she had to use her asthma medication.
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Prop malfunctions almost always get my vote, and this one was particularly funny, and singing goes right to my heart. But am I the only one who adored the whole “taint” interchange during the BKAL segment? Come on – “but not Portugal”! You could tell he was just tickled to death that Ms. Lewis didn’t know what it meant but was playing along full force anyway. Best part of the show! Maybe I have an abnormal appreciation for dirty humor? ;)
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Nope! :-) I thought that was absolutely hysterical too! That, combined with the singing and Lewis’ bemusement, made that a great BKAL. I also really loved the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with the prop malfunction and “Young Stephen”. “Oooh! Paint chips!” LOL! I also thought that was probably his youngest kid there. Adorable! And The Word was excellent! :-)
The interview was ok. Dr. Carroll tried but was just outmatched this time.
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The “taint” part was definitely funny. Stephen had such a cute, cheeky little grin on his face.
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That part was a close second best to Lion King to me. His face was just so ornery and ready to blow during that.
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Nothing abnormal about your sense of humor! It was my favorite part–aside from the prop malfunction. I love how his face expressed disbelief, suppressed laughter, and seriousness all at once. He is so good at what he does!
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“i don’t take my jet skies on roads! listen to yourself!”
holy crap this episode didn’t allow me to stop laughing. prop malfunctions, cute as heck young stephen, fight’in nut jobs, sanitizing hands from poor, lion king medley, great interview.
loved it! stephen singing though, always gets my vote. hands down.
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Anybody go to a taping of this show? This seemed like a particularly good one, getting to sing Lion King songs along with Stephen. Also, if that was his son, I bet it would be really cute to see him watch that clip, probably with lots of fatherly pride.
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Thanks a lot Erika, now I need a new heart, because you just made mine melt at the thought of Stephen watching his son with fatherly pride.
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Sorry! hehe. My mind just wanders to things like that. My heart melted too.
The kid seemed like a natural!
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Great segment or greatest segment of this episode?
The two part Colbert Report tribute to the 40th anniversary lunar landing of 1969 was so, so clever following the Bob Park interview. Stephen’s simulation of motion in zero gravity (very funny and well done); his trying to take a bite from the elusive, floating Snickers bar (what my Border Collie has been hawking at an inflated price to diabetics for hyperglycemic attacks [after watching the Lassie clip on the Colbert Report]); and then the sudden malfunction of the Snickers bar prop (the true high point, absolutely hilarious for all watching and obviously so for Stephen too) were absolutely wonderful.
An then there was more, part two, the “re-airing” of Stephen’s own historical broadcast from July 20, 1969. My gray cells are good at recall, but here I’m feeling shaky. My daughter Mary’s Christmas gift to me, A Colbert Christmas, is my only point of reference, but I do think Master John Colbert played young Stephen, and yes, “adorable” (using Stephen’s own word). John’s lines, “They’re on the moon … I’m on the moon (bowl on head)… Nixon’s on the moon! Oooh, paint chips!” (happily eating them) and Stephen’s remark about paint chips being “low carb,” just so funny.
So what’s the verdict? Great or greatest segment of the episode? “A” (great) but “A+” (greatest) if this segment also included another Colbert family moment.
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Wow, what a fantastic episode! I watched it at half 11 at night, and I laughed so loudly at the “but not Portugal” line, I think I woke my parents up! I’m surprised you think Dr.Carroll was struggling, I actually thought he was a really great interviewee!
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Yeah, I thought Carroll held his own. Much better than the previous night’s interviewee.
I too was thinking that was his youngest son in the clip, but wasn’t sure. Hilarious and cute, just like daddy.
I’m still recovering from “but not Portugal.” Oh my God.
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I could be wrong, since I am recalling an interview from November (so please feel free to correct me), but I think Stephen mentioned that one of his sons really enjoyed taping his guest shot for “A Colbert Christmas” stating that it “…was so much fun” (or something similar). I think it may have been from his appearance on Martha Stewart or Letterman. Anyways, so cute that he provided another opportunity for his son to have some more fun!
On a sidenote, six degrees related incident- I saw a “Daily Show” camera crew on campus Monday along with John Oliver. We had a brief, but witty exchange as I walked to my office. I work in Pittsburgh, and I think they were there to tape something related to the G-20 Summit happening in September. It’s the only reason I can think of to explain why they would be in Pittsburgh ;)
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Yeah! I think you’re right about one of Stephen’s sons really enjoying taping for the Christmas special!
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I recalled the same statement by Stephen (I think it was on Martha Stewart), but I was afraid to post it for fear of sounding disturbingly obsessed with all things Stephen. Of course, this is NFZ. What was I thinking;) Thanks for bringing it up.
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Sometimes it frightens me– the amount of random information my brain carries! Glad to hear others are filing away the same information! It makes me feel better! :)
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“Nixon’s on the moon!”
That whole moon landing segment – from the Snickers malfunction to the appearance of (possibly?) Stephen’s youngest son – was hilarious! Definitely my fave.
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Floating Snickers bar! I love it!
This show was just so much fun to watch. From the Snickers bar to the low-carb paint chips to BKAL. I was really trying hard to contain myself so as not to wake my parents up.
When he started singing I just about lost it! I can’t believe he nailed that chant/yell from the beginning of Circle of Life. Now I want to dig up our collection of Disney tapes to listen to the entire thing.
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Prop failures win every time, especially when they’re accompanied by a character break. I too thought that was the youngest Colbert kid playing “Young Stephen.” He did an excellent job!
And oh dear, “the Fightin’ Nutjobs!” LOL…
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I enjoyed the whole show, but the zero-gravity Snickers malfunction was the best for me just because Stephen so completely broke down in laughter. Great, great malfunction moment.
Stephen did do a great job with the Lion King singing, it seemed as though he hadn’t even rehearsed that!
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I enjoyed the moon segment because it reminded me a cat I had and loved, Tomoki (“Tomo”). A girlfriend gave me the kitten as a present during my college years (she suggested the name “Dreamboat” for him, lol). Tomo was simple, sweet-natured, and got along with everyone, human or animal. I likened him to Chauncey Gardiner. Tomo ate paint chips as a kitten. X-D
/autobiography off
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This episode was fantastic. The BKAL was definitely the best. However, I have to disagree about the interview. I actually thought Dr. Carroll held his own pretty well.
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-[That, And Texting While Driving]
>:O i can not believe people actually do this
annoys me so much.
Random likes:
-It was one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,
-followed by four decades of standing around saying, “Now what?”
-the snickers
-Oooh, paint chips!
that explains a lot.
-The look on Lewis’ face when Stephen used hand sanitizer
-Stephen singing
-Dr. Carroll: Stephen was all energy – hyper as a grasshopper – Carroll was toast from the start
Carroll had a good suit though.
-That’s fine for old people, they don’t have as much to lose if their health care isn’t good.
-No, seriously, let’s talk turkey here, they have very little time left.
-I don’t care about the people don’t have health insurance.
-Stephen’s reaction to the rich people comment.
-You want to surrender?
-ooo.. committees agreed on something..
-Stephen’s attitude head bobs..
-…the chip in my head only makes suggestions..
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