EPISODE NUMBER: 5131 (October 12, 2009)
GUEST: Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta
SEGMENTS: Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize, Stephen Colbert’s Fallback Position Tennis Pro with James Blake
VIDEOS: Monday, October 12, 2009
I love that when something big happens, like Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, that the first question on many people’s minds is “How is Stephen Colbert going to react?” There’s just something very noble about Shashi Tharoor, about the way he carries himself, and his logical answer to everything that Stephen says. He can answer Stephen’s questions thoroughly while giving respect to the “Stephen” character, without condescension. I hope that we do see a lot more of Tharoor on the show.
It amuses me ever so when Stephen names his fans. So far, we’re the Heroes, the Nation, the Completists, and now those of us who are truly hard-core fans are called the C-Section. Ha! And can I just say how amused I was at the audience’s reaction at the leg pan-up shot and Stephen’s short shorts? It was so hard to decide which ridonk outfit Stephen was wearing to choose for the screen shot. So I picked a couple. The whole tennis segment was totally made of win.
Also, I really enjoyed the play between Dr. Gupta and Stephen. It seemed like such a natural fit for Stephen to talk about how to be immortal, and the zombie dialog was classic!
What did you all think of the episode tonight? Also, please remember as you do your best to put into words your reaction to those pasty white thighs that this is a family blog, so modify your comments accordingly. Thanks!
Thanks to MsInterpreted for the tennis racket screenshot!
- Yes, I’m working on Columbus day. Why? Because Columbus did.
- Fjord. Fjord?! Who put’s a J after an F? Well, I would like to say to Norwegians that you can all go Fjuck yourselves.
- Fun fact: And he also coined the phrase “Boom goes the dynamite.”
- Now yes, they [the teabaggers] displayed some swastikas at the rallies, but just move a couple of lines and … Heil Peace!
- Ooh, looks like someone is trying to win the Nobel Humble Prize.
- Just fair warning, I don’t know what the word Proclivity means.
- You have fans called the J-Block, what are they like? … I have a part of my audience, the hard-core fans. They’re called the C-Section.
- That’s unnecessary – that’s volleyball.
- Having mastered everything from the serve to the art of ballboying, I was ready to give James a whiff of my balls.
- What if threatened to shoot you with my ball bazooka?
- So lay it out, how do I become immortal?
- Gupta: We have a lot of zombie lovers. Why do so many people who like zombies like your show?
Stephen: I know my demo.
Gupta: Zombies are a good example, because they are sort of in this state between life and death.
Stephen: Can I quote you on that? Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, “Zombies are a good example.” Your next book should be “Zombies” by Dr. Sanjay, it would sell! - Is Larry King in a persistent vegetative state?
Excellent Report tonight — I’m even okay with the lack of a WØRD! I always love seeing Shashi on the show; I swear, in the dictionary under “urbane”, there’s a picture of him.
That Fallback Position was awesome, too. My favorite one of those will always be the “Astrophysicist” one he did with Neil deGrasse Tyson, but this whole series has been superb: Peter Earnest, James Blake? Rockin’ good sports. Stephen’s outfits in this one were hysterically bad; I love his utter lack of shame when it comes to donning clothes to make him look ridiculous.
And what a fun interview with Sanjay Gupta! He should totally consider marketing a book called Zombies; it would be a great way of proving himself an it-getter (not that that’s necessary after the interview). I kind of wish he hadn’t given people even the hint of a reason to fear checking the “organ donor” box, but it’s a small gripe, given the context. And I was cracking up throughout the discussion of how to determine whether a person is really dead, because my mind was replaying The Princess Bride the whole time. (“Ooooh, look who knows so much! Well it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead …”) Yep, that was a darn good show.
And I’m still surprised they didn’t bleep “Fjuck you!”
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pasty! More like pastry! And that’s all I’m saying, in the interests of upholding community mores. :)
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I could just be projecting my own feelings here, but it seemed like if you paid really close attention, you could tell that Stephen was actually sorta agreeing w/ “Stephen” on the Nobel stuff while he was talking with Shashi
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I think you’re right. In this case, I actually believe the prize should be awarded for past accomplishments, not hope for future accomplishments. I admire Obama and I’m glad he’s president, but I do agree with “Stephen” in this rare case:)
Tharoor did seem to keep emphasizing the future rather than the past when justifying the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama.
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I loved Stephen’s Fallback Position. The outfits killed me then watching him play had me cracking up so hard I had trouble breathing for a second. When he pulled out the ball bazooka I knew that all was lost.
I also enjoyed Dr. Gupta’s interview. I may have to get his book just because he talked about zombies and called Stephen ‘Doctor’.
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I LOVED the fallback position in every way!!!! That was epic and hilarious! Maybe Stephen saw our comments on how much we loved seeing his legs after the Race for the Cure Walk a few weeks ago and thought “Geez, I need to show more skin for the ladies.” Haha. I love how fearless he is in looking ridiculous because that really makes him all the sexier to me:)
recatpcha: beloved handout
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Agreed! Fearless ridiculousness is sexy! Only Stephen can pull that off!
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Fallback Position was absolutely hilarious! I love how Stephen has no shame whatsoever when it comes to wearing silly outfits. My favorite part was when he went to serve the ball and he jumped up and James Blake was like, “that’s… unnecessary. That’s volleyball.” The way James reacted and said that (He sounded like Jim from The Office with the “that’s… unnecessary…” lol) just made me crack up.
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Hahaha my favorite part too!
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I really enjoyed last night’s show too. All of it! On top of being urbane, Tharoor has a voice that is so soothing it could lull me to sleep. And he’s so intelligent and reasonable.
Fallback Position was hilarious! I loved the ridiculous outfits and the interaction between Stephen and Blake.
I enjoyed the interview with Gupta more than I thought I would. Zombies FTW! LOL!
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Such a great way to start off the week! Each act was stand-alone brilliant. Creative dropping of the F-bomb, Sashi’s point of view and ability to go toe to toe with our favorite fundit, Fallback Position’s hilarity [love Stephen out of the studio interacting with the world around him- nice hackeysack move w/ the tennis ball!] and Gupta seemed genuinely excited and honored to be on the show. I think he is a true fan and holds Stephen in high regard. Just an all around marvelous show tonight! This one will be saved on my DVR for a rainy day…
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Great show all around. The tennis segment was hilarious, esp. his outfit and his crazy moves…loved his serve and backhand! Extra points for the cup. :)
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THE SHORTS! Jaw on the floor when I saw how short they were. At the end they were like a diaper! He is fearless. There is no status, or apparently amount of skin, he wouldn’t sacrifice for a joke.
“Fjuck you” I can’t believe they got away with that one.
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Heil peace! Btw, I still did not it-get the nobel laureate thing in the intro. Help?
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They morphed the swastika into a peace sign during one of the segments of the show.
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I LOVED Stephen’s Fallback Position – James Blake really went along with Stephen’s questions and the tennis lesson was HI-larious. When I saw him wearing a cup over those white shorts, I could not stop laughing! I truly love how there’s no status he wouldn’t give up or nothing he wouldn’t wear for a joke.
Also loved the beginning bit about the Obama’s Nobel Prize – the “You can go Fjuck yourselves!” line was fantastic :)
And thank you so much for that close-up screencap of him with that headband and tennis racket! I was hoping for one of those! :)
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Stephen’s Nobel prize comment revealed that for the FCC, the thin line between a bleep and no bleep is apparently a ‘j’.
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hahaha! true! what a thin line it is….
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Haha! From where I’m standing, that “j” is a step in the right direction. lol :)
Somehow it’s so much more satisfying to know he only got away with it because of that wonderful, wonderful “j”.
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Similarly entertained by “fjuck” (the FCC didn’t bleep Stephen saying “deshitment” on TDS in 2002, either).
Honestly, I wish the FCC would just forget about it altogether. Or at least TCR/TDS could forgo the bleeps during the first airing, which already falls into the FCC’s “safe-harbor” hours. Gruesome bloody murder is on every channel at 8pm, but we’ve got to worry about a couple of 4 letter words??
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What gets me is that the FCC only regulates over-the-air TV, they don’t have any power over cable. It’s comedy central’s decision to bleep or not to bleep. Which begs the question, why do they bleep at all? They could air it uncensored.
BTW, loved the Tennis segment. Stephen dressed up in silly outfits is wonderful.
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His spikey hair looks really hot in the second pic!! I’m all for these sports clips, Stephen’s knees seem to be rather addictive, no matter how bad his outfit is.
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I watched after reading the NFZ and was waiting with breath held for “fjuck”, so glad it wasn’t beeped.
The tennis was brilliant! I do appreciate a fine pair of thighs on a man and Stephen is definitely in that group. His skill as a dancer really comes through in his physical segments. Awesome!
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The show was great. I very much enjoyed the fact that a certified foreign person (an official no less) came to the show. Does anyone know if TCR is broadcasted in India also?
I think Sanjay Gupta tried a little bit too hard to please us colbert fans. Calling Stephen a Dr. is cool. But to repeat the Colbert/O’Reilly conversation of imitating/emulating seems unnatural in this context…
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This was an all-around, most excellent show!
I, too, was amazed that “fjuck” wasn’t bleeped – it’s amazing what Stephen gets away with sometimes. Tharoor was a wonderful guest, & I enjoyed Gupta’s interview. Yeah, I agree with gouchai that he tried a little too hard, but that wasn’t terribly distracting, & the zombies more than made up for the initial awkwardness.
How the heck did James Blake keep a straight face during the tennis “lesson”? Outtakes, I want to see some outtakes!
Yay! A toss! Stephen’s grin at the end was simply adorable.
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My favorite part of the episode was not in the poll!
Stephen said “Y’all” during the goodnight. That will always be the highlight for an ex-Southerner.
And also the tennis ball bazooka. Did the TCR crew build that? If so, we must fear and appease them.
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Ohhhh the “Y’all” was delightful! :)
As for the tennis ball bazooka – I’m sure they probably sell those somewhere, but right when I was watching that it totally made me think of the episode commentary in the series finale of Strangers With Candy, when Paul and Stephen talk about how to make a tennis ball launcher LOL. So I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he had someone build that for him :D
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I love that part of the SWC commentary, yet didn’t even think of it last night!
Having someone build you a tennis ball bazooka has to be one of the top perks of having your own show. I can only assume that the crew got to take that thing onto the roof the studio and fire tennis balls into the Hudson. Or at the Daily Show studios (might be trickier, but if you angled it off some other buildings juuuuust right…)
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Yes a very fun show last night. I especially enjoyed the tennis segment as I’ve been a big tennis fan for many years. It cracked me up that Stephen was wearing short shorts a la Borg/McEnroe/Edberg. Tennis stars today have gone for the Jordan type shorts. My fav part was when Stephen tried to serve and swan-dived to the ground (it looked like a cement court, more proof of how far he will go for a laugh)!
James Blake knew exactly how to dead-pan along with Stephen, which was great. I see Blake has been playing in Shanghai this week so I imagine that they filmed the segment around US Open time.
Dr. Gupta was great too. It was totally bizarre how the conversation ended up turning to zombies, to the delight of the crowd! And yet they seemed to keep it on track after that. Only on TCR.
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Fallback Position is such a winning segment, time after time. Nothing could ever beat the Neil DeGrasse Tyson Astrophysicist one, though Peter Ernest at the Spy Museum is a very close second. I would have loved to be on the crew for this one – I’ve got to imagine people were laughing their butts off when Stephen came out in the full getup, including mask, pads, and exterior cup!
From sizzling in a tuxedo to dorkarific in tennis gear – gotta love a man with range.
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Fallback Position FTW. I love the old-school tennis ensemble with the wooden racket. :)
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