Roxy was right! Colbert is toast- Page 3

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 4:44pm

It'd be great if she dropped the character too.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 4:47pm

How dare you, sir. How dare you.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 4:53pm

If we think Mr Roxy knows how to use the block function I have a bridge I would like to sell you.

Ooooooooo...which one?!?! I want the one that was in In the Heights cuz I luv that show!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 5:00pm

The one I am offering is Graffiti Bridge, trampled on by The Kid and Morris Day.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 5:14pm

"The Bridge to Nowhere" is still available as far as I know.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 5:14pm

Namo - Does it come with an anklet?

Updated On: 4/10/14 at 05:14 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 5:21pm

If Roxy is selling it to you, it's more like a Life Alert bracelet.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 5:26pm

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 5:57pm

[strummergirl]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 8:27pm

It's a good pick. I love how some folks seem to not consider that Colbert was funny pre-TDS/pre-Even Stephens. He was great on Strangers With Candy. The idea he cannot be funny without some crazy persona is nuts. That said, it is not like him doing a Talk Show host persona wouldn't be in keeping as a Letterman replacement. Early Letterman, albeit NBC Letterman, was essentially performing in the persona of a talk show host.

I love Stephen and he'll probably keep regulars like the Sedaris siblings and make great rock picks.

I know Ferguson has a fan base but I am dead-certain the decision also hedged on geography, in this case New York.

I think Colbert fits more of the Letterman legacy. Kimmel, Stewart, and Colbert were all on Dave's good side while, surprisingly, people like Conan were not as well-liked by Dave. Anyway, people acting like Fallon holds more territory as the New York guy (when Colbert has been a host longer in the same city) may be overstating. I think the fact Fallon's bits often hinge on the internet buzz and that he is on a much vulnerable network. Then again, I'm biased. I just never jived with Fallon. Every interview and every gesture feels like over-compensating on his part. Not even The Roots as the house band does it for me at this point.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 9:47pm

"Kimmel, Stewart, and Colbert were all on Dave's good side while, surprisingly, people like Conan were not as well-liked by Dave."

What have you heard that led you to that conclusion about Conan? It always felt like they got along and Dave was pretty vocal on Conan's behalf when Conan lost the Tonight Show back to Jay. Just curious cause that comment surprised me.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:16pm

^ I believe his support for Conan was more out of spite for Leno, since he knew it would irk him. Of course he's going to love anyone who Leno doesn't like.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:23pm

Strummergirl, consider not the host but the Executive Producer. Loren holds a lot more sway then Letterman, To deny the influence of the internet today is foolhardy at best. Lorne has for a long while ben tapping int the internet, "Dick in a Box" anyone?

[strummergirl]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:26pm

Behind the scenes, Dave was never fond of Conan. I take it to be that Conan being considered just among those Harvard Lampoon minor league system pipeline of over-privileged know-it-alls who have the world at their fingertips after graduation versus Dave who came from the Midwest worked his way up in show business in a more old-fashioned way than college networking. Bill Carter has discussed this with Bill Simmons, Simmons actually being a former Kimmel writer who probably had a lot of inside baseball stories about every late night host.

Leno vs. Conan caused a lot of the enemy of my enemy is my friend sentiment but everybody except those at NBC publicly supported Conan. Kimmel even did a whole bit spoofing Leno during that debacle. Didn't mean he wasn't secretly rubbing his hands at his weakened competition.

"Strummergirl, consider not the host but the Executive Producer. Loren holds a lot more sway then Letterman, To deny the influence of the internet today is foolhardy at best. Lorne has for a long while ben tapping int the internet, "Dick in a Box" anyone?"

Oh, of course. I prefer more the TDS/CR internet viral stuff. Just a matter of taste. Colbert and Stewart viral stuff feel weightier in topic while Fallon often involves music and just being superfluous involving a guest. Occasionally that can be very good but it often can get a little redundant, personally. But others are more than allowed to enjoy it. Updated On: 4/10/14 at 10:26 PM

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:38pm

If this is coming from a number of well regarded people, I'll buy it but if it is largely based on what Bill Simmons is reported to have said, it means nothing to me. I've heard Simmons a number of times on ESPN and I think he is an idiot for whom I could not possibly have less regard.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 10:51pm

I said in a discussion with Bill Carter. Bill Carter, author of The Late Shift books on the matters of exactly this and respected media reporter of The New York Times.

It's not like I enjoy the fact two of my two favorite late night hosts had some antipathy with each other.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:01pm

Strummergirl, the Tonight Show spot is one that needs to be able to reach EVERYONE. Leno was a hack that I could not watch for more then 5 minutes. Specially after the crap he pulled with Conan (whom I know and worked with over the years). Fallon can seem as a suck up at times, ok all the time, but comes across as more genuine. Fallon's routine, honed over his reign on Late Night, is more accessible to Mid America. It will be interesting to see how Colbert performs when he drops the Right Wing persona that quite a few people believe is real. I have also worked with Colbert on the Dana Carvey Show. He is personable, intelligent, funny and all around a great guy, I hope he succeeds!

[strummergirl]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:08pm

SNAFU- Oh, I get it. I am just looking into why maybe CBS thinks this move can work for them. Fallon is much more accessible to me than Leno ever was. Just never connected with him but I get his appeal. My parents even love him.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:35pm

One of the great things about The Colbert Report was how it gave guest spots to people who wouldn't usually don't appear on mainstream television otherwise- authors, politicians, performers, scientists. In interview, in performance. Hopefully that's carried over into Colbert's tenure on Late Night.

Also: naturally the kneejerk conservatives are up in arms over this, because it's their constitutional right to bear up in arms.

Updated On: 4/10/14 at 11:35 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:40pm

And there is the rub. I know a LOT of people in their 60's and 70s that seem to like Fallon, even die hard Leno Fans! To them Fallon is a breath of fresh air from Leno's tired schtick and Letterman's curmudgeoness.
I think Colbert is a smart choice when he is not in the Report character to go up against Jimmy.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:49pm

"Occasionally that can be very good but it often can get a little redundant, personally. But others are more than allowed to enjoy it."

Yes. The ratings don't lie.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 4/10/14 at 11:57pm

Letterman was a liberal who stood up for his employees during the writer's strike not to mention that hilarious McCain evisceration in 2008. Not that political persuasions matter, but Colbert isn't exactly some Marxist to the rest of the late night hosts. But I guess xo servatives will never forget that Correspondents Dinner.

Kad- I agree. I really loved the bookings on CR. Aside from Colbert having to keep up that persona, him and Stewart filled that Dick Cavett void in terms of getting guests you wouldn't necessarily see on late night.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 7:03am

I'm not a fan of this move. The Colbert Report worked well as political satire with Colbert front and center as a satirical host. His broad, ironic humor was almost making fun of the other TV talk show hosts. Now he's the host of Late Night. I don't think his persona will work well doing the legit gig on NBC instead of the spoof of it on Comedy Central. He had a free rein over there. He wasn't subjected to the restraints and demands of network TV, even late night network TV, which obliterate any cable TV show pressures.

This is one of those ideas that immediately sounds good on paper, but I just think he's going to be a pale imitation of his former self. I also think he's going to get lost in the shuffle.

RIP, Colbert Report.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 8:33am

The nomenclature gets confusing but he's taking over The Late Show.

I trust that by the end of Colbert Report he will have gone about as fee as he can with that character.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 9:12am

Thanks, Namo! Sorry about the name mixup.

I think what comes to mind first (for me) is when Jon Stewart and Letterman both took shots at hosting the Oscars and failed miserably. They're both great on their own turfs, but "one size" of comedy does not "fit all."

I think Colbert will have a tough time of it on his new turf. And while I agree that his "character" (and all characters, for that matter) will run their course in time, for now, he's still at the height of his game, and I think many of his fans will be disappointed if he dials it down or shifts gears.

Maybe he'll survive the shift. But it's definitely a huge shift for him (and for his audience).