EPISODE NUMBER: 6079 (June 17, 2010)
GUESTS: David Mamet
SEGMENTS: Obama’s Simplified BP Oil Spill Speech, South Carolina’s 4th District Primary – Bob Inglis, Colbert Platinum – Summer Travel Edition
VIDEOS: Thursday, June 17, 2010
I weep for humanity when a president speaking at a level that is almost to the level of a high school graduate is too lofty for the masses. Stephen’s children’s book style of breaking down the oil crisis would have been much funnier if it wasn’t so heartbreakingly true. I do sincerely appreciate that Stephen is keeping this problem in the forefront.
I’m not sure why I expected Stephen to softball it with Bob Inglis, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Stephen get a couple of seriously clean hits in with Inglis. Sunni vs Shiite? An acting congressman should have had *something* to say that was more intelligent than “I don’t take sides.” And when Inglis started bragging about being endorsed by Bob Jones university, I was tickled to see Stephen bring to light their anti-Catholic teachings. Stephen started to get seriously mischievous at the end during the Q&A. When Inglis said “Not Hawaii”, Stephen had a smirk on his face that there was no way he was concealing. I’m finding that more and more, the strategy of politicians who come on the show is to simply say “Yes, Stephen” and laugh at him instead of making some kind of attempt to defend themselves against his ridiculousness. I much prefer guests like Eleanor Holmes Norton, who call him on his silliness and also make sure their messages get through.
There’s a part of me who would like to think that the whole Colbert Platinum segment was set up for the amazingly silly pun “mo Monet, mo problems” pun. I know he’s already won the Greatest Pun Of All Time award, but I think this one trumps it.
It’s rare for Stephen to take down that fourth wall with a guest, but when he brought up the fact with David Mamet that maybe he was a liberal playing a conservative, I was really wondering where that discussion would lead. Unfortunately, David didn’t run with it, but at least Stephen was able to wrap up the discussion at the end.
What did all of you think of tonight’s episode?
- If I remember my high school math, that’s almost 12.
- Mr. President, your verbiage is opaque and perplexing. I’m sorry, I meant to say your talky words make ears mad.
- See spot. See spot spread. Stop, spot, stop! See Dick. See Dick talk. Dick Dick Dick. One fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish. Good night, Gulf.
- And if you’d like a transcription of my speech, it’s in my new children’s book, Where The Wild Things Were.
- Stephen Colbert never deserts a friend, unless that friend is Helen Thomas [I'm So Sorry!].
- Probably also the reason why they’re known as BJU.
- Tonight, quit the congress, get a job working at, I don’t know, an Olive Garden.
- Bob Jones University endorsed you? Listen, I know they’re no fans of Roman Catholics, and I’m a Catholic, but to get you over the top, for the next five days I believe the Pope is the Antichrist.
- Just be careful to hit B5 and not B6, or you’ll end up paying $40,000 for a NutRageous bar.
- As they say in the hood, mo Monet, mo problems. I gotsta have my Water Lilies.
- If I had to stare at this Jackson Pollock for more than 7 days without replacing it with this Jackson Pollock, I’d blow my brains out. Which would look like this Jackson Pollock.
- Big fan, don’t know your work.
- So which came first, my anger or your booking?
- Apparently you’re on a theatrical Atkins diet.
- You get pregnant from swallowing things, right?
It’s a worry when a straightforward speech that treats the audience as intelligent can be seen as “too lofty”. Fake-cowboy wisdom and inane sayings like ‘fair shake of the sauce bottle’ are the standards nowadays. *sigh*
See Dick. See Dick talk. Dick Dick Dick. PERFECT <3
Where The Wild Things Were. Loved the Maurice Sendak shout-out there. <3
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2
The “See Spot” storybook idea was brilliant. That “See Dick. See Dick Talk.” line had to have just written itself; it’s such an easy, hilarious joke. I loved Stephen’s questions during the Inglis interview, but my favorite part of that segment was the BJU name joke, because I was thinking the exact same thing when he said it.
Colbert Platinum was great (the “mo Monet, mo problems” line had me laughing until well into the commercial break), but the highlight of the show for me was actually the David Mamet interview. I thought the questions went very smoothly, and Mamet seemed to be playing along just fine. Stephen’s “meat on your head and call it theatre” comment made me think of his “I wanted to BE Hamlet” days. And I really loved Mamet’s “that’s like a straight person pretending to be gay to gain more acceptance” line, but what I loved more was how Stephen smirked and then had to stop and think about what he was going to say next. :)
And did anyone else catch Mamet’s hilarious BJU joke during the interview? After Stephen said, “You get pregnant from swallowing things, right?” Mamet’s response was something like, “That’s what you were getting at with the whole BJU thing, wasn’t it?” I started laughing so hard!
Shout Out (Hey!):
+4
The BJU joke made me laugh! I know BJU used to have a rule against interracial dating but I don’t know if that is still the case. I hope not!
I LOVED the children’s book version of the oil spill! Perfect! Good interview with Mamet as well. Great week of shows!
Shout Out (Hey!):
+1
“mo Monet, mo problems” was hilarious. My mother loves Monet, which makes it even funnier for me. Fun show.
Mamet’s clever comment on the irony of being gay to be accepted, at large, was great… but I’ve was sort of disappointed in that there wasn’t any sort of Prop8 Trial shout out, which would have been perfect since the closing arguments were this week (read: no news coverage whatsoever).
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2
Oh me too! I’ve been following along with the Prop 8 trial since it started and the whole time I’ve hoped that TCR would cover it at some point. It’s been really frustrating how little coverage its getting.
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2
Oh yeah! The “mo Monet, mo problems” joke made me laugh really hard.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
TAPING REPORT!
So after working all day, I can finally share my amazing experience at the Report yesterday! It’s pretty abridged, but I hope you all enjoy. :)
After going twice before, I was determined to be first in line, and I was! Luckily, I live on Long Island so it’s an easy commute. After waiting for hours with my friends, we got to go inside and were seated and listened to the warm-up comedian. Then Stephen was introduced. It’s always so amazing whenever he comes out… he’s a wonderful performer and has great energy that gets the crowd pumped up!
Q&A session questions were as follows, from what I remember:
Someone asked him if he played World of Warcraft, and he said he has, but added that when Dungeons and Dragons came out he immediately got into it haha.
Someone asked him what he is most proud of, and he said something like that it was seeing his kids grow up, so everyone naturally went “awwww.”
Someone asked about his hobbies and what he likes to do in his spare time, and Stephen said boating and playing with his boys.
There were a few other ones I don’t remember, but for me the highlight was when he chose me to ask a question!!! I was so excited! I asked him if he had any pets, and he said he has a dog named Cookie, “which can get confusing.” He also said how his character doesn’t realize his dog Gipper is 15 and might die soon, which would be upsetting.
The segment with Bob Inglis was pre-taped, so we all watched Stephen react to the tape, which was quite entertaining (especially the “not Hawaii” line). I loved the Colbert Platinum segment too– the gold vending machines are so ridiculous!– and Mamet was interesting, although I couldn’t really figure out his sense of humor.
The show ran well, with some occasional slip-ups that were funny. The sign-off when Stephen urged the nation to continue re-tweeting had to be done several times. Stephen remarked “I improvised 8(I think that’s what he said?) shows a week at Second City and I can’t get out this one line!”
Afterwards, he thanked the crowd and ran off. I waited with my friends for a little while afterward for the possibility of seeing him but we were all starving and I didn’t want to upset them. Hopefully next time we’ll be well-fed and can stay!
The wait is always worth it for the show, and I can even say so for the time I went in January when it was 10 degrees outside. The show was wonderful, as always, and I even caught a Wriststrong bracelet he threw into the crowd! Between the question I got to ask and the Wristrong bracelet (to add to my growing collection), it was definitely a day well spent! :D
Difference makers:
+16
I thought yesterday’s show was completely hilarious, but for me, the Obama speech jokes and “Dick Dick Dick” won the day. I thought I’d die laughing. That said, there just wasn’t a miss in the evening, from the Monet pun to the Inglis interview to Mamet and that crack through the fourth wall. I loved it all.
And thanks so much for your taping report, Ali! I went for the first time a few months ago, and it was a great experience. But catching the bracelet and getting to ask a question is really awesome.
Shout Out (Hey!):
+2