EPISODE NUMBER: 6004 (January 7, 2010)
GUESTS: Barry Scheck, James Fowler
SEGMENTS: Death Penalty; Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger
VIDEOS: Thursday, January 7, 2010
Have I mentioned yet today how amazingly bright and sparkly the new HD set is? The new aspects of the set make it look so shiny and polished. The designers of the set made sure to add lots of details to the new set for the C-Section to find. For example, one of my favorite aspects of the new set is the motto over the faux fireplace – “Videri quam esse” (“To seem to be rather than to be”).
However, It seems like with all the changes on the set that many traditional aspects of the show seem to have gone by the wayside. One of the most comforting things about the show is the fact that its history is so rich, and makes us feel like we are truly in on the joke. Those of us who remember the night that Stephen fell and broke his wrist understood how much the WristSTRONG outline on the floor really meant. Being able to explain the doctors on the wall, the box on the shelf, the Saginaw Spirit jersey in the rafters, knowing these things makes watching the show a much richer experience for those who have spent the time learning from the ebb and flow of Stephen’s character.
To have so many of those small elements scrubbed away from the set was a bit jolting. Granted, they were replaced by a gorgeous new set, and beautiful high-def ready screens, so it was a good trade. But still, watching the set develop over the almost five years of the show has been a comfort for me. To see those familiar elements go away was a bit jarring, but I’m sure that the set will continue to be built upon as the show continues. It hasn’t lost everything – we still have the Captain America shield, and I think I remember seeing at least one of the doctors still on the shelf.
I say this because I have found this week that I have particularly savored the more traditional aspects of the show – the WØRD from Tuesday, the Alpha Dog of the Week from yesterday, and the Tip/Wag from today. I treasure the wonderfully complex character that they have spent five years to build, but I also look forward to the new directions that the writers will find to take “Stephen” during the next five years.
Also, on an unrelated note, Stephen doing the CSI Miami scream is love.
What did you enjoy about the show this evening? And what elements of Stephen’s new set has affected you the most? What do you love? What do you miss?
- Why didn’t you connect the dots? It’s the easiest puzzle on the placemat! I got this one from TGI Jihad’s. I’ll connect them for you. Here we go – 1, 2, …. There, that is clearly exploding underwear. Even says “boom” right there.
- Come on! If we outlawed everything that was wanton and freakish, what would happen to Lady Gaga?
- I’ll tell you who to blame, folks. CSI Miami.
- Luckily, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia has a good head on his shoulders, and no neck to get in the way.
- Having the tallest building means your country is important enough to be destroyed in a summer blockbuster.
- Suck it, Citizen Kane! You would be a better movie if Orson Welles had shot you in 3-D.
- Unsure? Is no one keeping track?
- Probably? That’s the most definitive answer you can give? You wouldn’t like to say absolutely?
- No one thinks of MySpace anymore.
- Okay, I’ve gained some weight. Just come out and say that I’m fat.
- Go on about you and your son’s best friend’s mother.
As a newcomer, I didn’t really know as much about the history of the artefacts on the show. Where can I read about it? Is it somewhere in the NoFactZone.net archives?
But I have to agree on the fact that the new set doesn’t really look lived in like the old set. It looks…more cool and less dorky. I wonder how the TCR team thinks about the new set. I still like how clear and shiny everything looks, although I am definitely looking forward to Stephen adding in more “relics” to the set and further building on the character and TCR.
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“God comes down from a cloud and says, “Juice ‘em”" was one of my favorite lines of the show!
This new set is shiny and you can see that every hair of Stephen’s is in place along with the pinstripes on his suits and patterns on his ties. I find myself using my dvr to rewind/stop to catch the new and old elements of the set. For example: the seating, quote on the fireplace (thanks for the translation, DB!), his Dad’s picture, height of his new desk and interview area (really concerned he might forget how high up he is and have another broken bone incident!), and there seems to be a cove/nook between the interview and desk areas. I like finding new elements, but, at the same time that makes me miss the cozier set. I tend to be a bit nostalgic anyways! It does make me want to attend another taping soon so I can take it all in!!
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Naturally, there are things I miss about the old set. For one thing, I definitely miss the wristSTRONG outline. I love that the Captain America shield is still hanging around, especially after hearing Stephen talk about how he got it. But to be honest, adapting to the new set has been easier for me than I thought. I’m already adjusting to the brightness level, which may or may not have something to do with the fact that Stephen is distracting me by how fantastic he looks in HD. :]
I guess it’s like moving into a new house when you’re a kid. For each thing you miss about the old place, there’s just as many new things to discover in your new environment. I am happy that they are still keeping all of there old segments, though. I was thrilled that he did a Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger last night – I was really looking forward to a new one.
At any rate, when he went all David Caruso and put his glasses on very dramatically, I squealed. And yay for the Citizen Kane reference! I also really enjoyed the discussion on the death penalty. I’ve always been conficted about the issue (and probably always will be), and I thought both Mr. Scheck and “Stephen” had some great points. I thought the Fowler interview went well, too. Stephen seemed to be in a great mood last night and was getting some hilarious jokes in, especially the ad-libbed “Is this a cult?” comment. Actually, he’s been in a great mood all week. Maybe that’s another reason why the transition to the new set has been easier for me. It’s so hard to be unsatisfied with something when Stephen is smiling. :)
By the way, is it just me, or was Stephen’s sister in the audience? He mentioned a Mary when he was greeting the studio audience, and while I understand that there’s a million different Marys on the planet, I figured he wouldn’t reference it unless she was someone special.
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“…was Stephen’s sister in the audience?”
I was wondering the same thing.
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Is the microwave still on there? Zoners could probably ask about your concerns in a taping or something and maybe if more people ask, they’d put em back. I mean, there’s a lot of room in his new set, right? Unless he’s planning a lot of things, big things to replace the old.
I found it funny that Stephen considers the Burj as a giant.. finger, heh. What a perspective. Also, apparently the American government shares Stephen’s “frustration” when it comes to being not sure about transgenders. How many times has he been burned?
What do the 3 lines Kissinger say, exactly? My earphones won’t let me understand his rich deep voice.
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Oh yeah, I originally came here to post about the world’s fattest building and if anyone else noticed how its “gut” is leaning on another building, heh
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I laughed SO hard when I saw that! The windows were all stretched out, too. That building would be entirely fitting for our county, actually…I’m not sure how to feel about that. HA!
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Yes, the microwave is still there, I noticed it the other night. Its still on the shelves to Stephen’s right, but on a lower shelf. Glad they kept it.
Overall I like the new shiny set, can’t wait to see it in person one of these years. But I really miss the wristSTRONG outline. It should have been a historical item that by law cannot be changed!
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I miss the stuff from the old set too, but I’m thinking of it this way: we now have a clean slate for new artifacts to be added. Plenty of room on the shelves for more goodies.
DB, thanks for translating the Latin phrase over the fireplace! It’s perfect. In fact, “videri” could almost be the Latin for “Truthiness.”
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I second that – thanks for the translation! I was wondering what it said. So appropriate. :P
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Actually, MsInterpreted did the translating. She (and her latin background) deserve the thanks.
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I’m very happy the Wriststrong outline is gone! I didn’t like thinking about Stephen in pain. :( I think it was time to edit the things on the shelves, and I’m glad he has space for new stuff. All in all I love the new set, the new HD sharpness, the slightly larger audience, about the only thing I don’t like is, well, I know they have to airbrush him now with the makeup, but the color is off, he looks too orange. Maybe they have to make his face orange to counteract all the vivid color behind him? I don’t know.
Haven’t seen last night’s episode yet so can’t vote yet, but wanted to give my two cents on the set.
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I’m still trying to get used to the changes in the studio but I’m really annoyed that I can’t view the shows in HD. Hopefully TWC will get CC in HD for all their subscibers in the near future. I’m a little distracted by the brightness, especially the pillars directly behind him with the stars, and I really miss the outline of Stephen on the floor. I always thought that was so funny! But I do like the new interview space and I’m happy they’ve kept some of the old items around.
I found both interviews last night very interesting. I’m very conflicted about the death penalty for mostly all the reasons Barry Scheck mentioned. It’s been nice to have some familiar segments this week as well.
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I can understand nostalgia for the items that were on the shelves, but as a newcomer I didn’t understand some of them. I really like the new set because it’s really shiny in HD and it just looks more…streamlined? Professional? I can’t put my finger on it, it just looks really nice! And besides, I’m not really watching for the set – I’m watching for Stephen. And he looks mighty fine in HD, my friends. Mighty fine. =)
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hmm…maybe it’s my computer color settings. He looks like an orange popsicle!
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Yeah, it could be the color settings. He looks fine on my brother’s laptop!
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“And he looks mighty fine in HD, my friends.”
I agree with you. SO hard. He just looks so…crisp? Gorgeous? Lovely? Amazing? All of the above? There we go. The suits and the hair look magnificent, too. And you know I’m a sucker for the suits and the hair. :]
And the new set does look nice and shiny. Like a new dime. :]
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Yes! All of the above, definitely. He really does look crisp. And I swear he’s using less hair gel, it doesn’t look as gross and molded as it did before.
Like a new dime! I like that. :)
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Maybe he’s using wax now? I’ve always thought he should use wax, it’d keep his hair looking natural. But i always liked his hair anyway, haha. What a babe
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You may be onto something – his hair HAS been looking particularly lovely lately. It’s loftier, like there’s less product in it. I think it might be cut shorter on top where he parts it. At any rate, he looks fantastic!
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The first time I went to a taping of TCR (last May) the staff would apply hairspray at every break! But when I went on Monday(!!!) I didn’t really see anyone doing that. Maybe that made the difference. I agree- it looks great. :)
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I have only 1 beef with last nights episode. I hope to god that Stephen never refers to us as his children again. As endearing as it was, “Holy lord that man is insanely sexy!” doesn’t go well with him calling me his child… I felt a tad bit dirty.
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At the beginning of the show, Stephen said, “Thank you” to two people and addressed them by name. I believe they were the names of two of his siblings. Does anyone remember or know for sure?
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He addressed Mary and Mike. Mary is a name of his older sister–mike perhaps is her husband?
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That’s what I was thinking. Because I heard him say “Mike”, then when he said “Mary,” I stopped for a second, wondering if his sister was in the audience. If it was her, that’s awesome. I love that his family is able to attend some of the shows.
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I might be seeing Wyatt Cenac tomorrow =D
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Oh that’s so cool! Where?
Have you those “I am The Daily Show” promos CC has been airing? I laughed so hard the first time I saw Wyatt’s – “I’m a world famous cat burglar…every time I get an erection, it rains.” haha!
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He’s going to be at FSU tomorrow night at 9:30…10 bucks for general admission free for students with valid id. I have my old id i might be able to use that :) I might have to go stag though (which i don’t mind) most my TDS friends are out of town lol.
I don’t recall the promo’s but i’ll try and google it. :)
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Lucky! Don’t worry about going stag…I guarantee you’ll find new TDS friends once you get there, lol. :]
No one fun comes to Michigan…well, okay, I did see Demetri Martin and Lewis Black last year. And John Oliver IS coming…just to the U.P., which might as well be Canada.
So, I guess what I’m really saying is that I’d love to see Wyatt Cenac do stand-up LOL. Have fun!
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Wow Johns going to the U.P.? The only time we went there was to go camping..beautiful country up there, but not much else.
As for new TDS friends, they are always fun to see :) My old roommate in college I met at the Stephen Colbert POW-WOW appearance a few years back!
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Yeah, he’s doing a show up at Michigan Tech: http://www.nofactzone.net/?p=19438
Michigan Tech always manages to get cool people – they’ve had the Mythbusters crew up there a few times.
I’ve got some TDS friends, too, and some TCR friends. But sadly, they’re not as ginormous a fan as I am, so I have to occasionally stop talking about The Joy Machine so that I don’t sound like a complete dork, lol. :]
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You’re in Tallahassee? So am I.
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My favorite part was Tip/Wag, it was time for a new one I agree (and how about a Threatdown next week?). It was just so wonderfully silly as usual. It was interesting when Stephen asked the second guest if he could influence us, “his children” heh. He seemed to actually want to know the answer to that.
I haven’t noticed the makeup looking different but it might be my TV. I do usually see a makeup line though near his hair.
TW hasn’t given us the HD yet but it should be coming here in NY.
Love the Citizen Kane shout-out too.
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I love the fact that I can full screen the Colbert Nation clips and they still look great. No, correct that -*he* looks great.
I nearly coughed up a lung in laughter and admiration at his Caruso thing, and loved the Citizen Kane reference.
Being a relative newbie to Things Stephen I wasn’t attached too much to the old set, but I can understand how it was for long time TCR fans.
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OMG the Kissinger thing was hilarious! I hope Kissinger has a sense of humor.
I think I’m going to have to buy that guy’s book because I didn’t quite understand what he was saying, and what he was saying was really interesting.
I don’t think the orange thing is entirely my computer monitor, because Stephen looks a normal color during the intro with the eagle. So no one else is noticing this?
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