The Colbert Report
The Colbert Report | |
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Genre | |
Created by | |
Directed by | Jim Hoskinson |
Presented by | Stephen Colbert |
Opening theme | "Baby Mumbles" by Cheap Trick |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 09 |
No. of episodes | 1,447 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Emily Gasperak |
Production locations | New York, New York |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Comedy Central |
Release | October 17, 2005 December 18, 2014 | –
Related | |
The Colbert Report (
The program, created by Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Ben Karlin, lampooned current events and American political happenings. The show's structure consisted of an introductory monologue and a guest interview, in which the Colbert character attempts to deconstruct his opponent's argument. The show was taped in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, and the program's set is "hyper-American", epitomizing the character's ego. The show was taped and broadcast Monday through Thursday, with weeks taken off at multiple points in a given year for breaks.
The Colbert Report saw immediate critical and ratings successes, leading to
Background
The Colbert Report, hosted by a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake, satirized conservative personality-driven political pundit programs like the O'Reilly Factor and Hannity on FOX News. The character first made appearances on the short-lived sketch comedy series The Dana Carvey Show in 1996, described as "a self-important, trench-coated reporter who does on-location stories in a way that suggests his own presence is the real scoop."[1][2] His skits included “Waiters Who Are Nauseated by Food,” “Germans Who Say Nice Things” and “Skinheads From Maine.” [2]
Colbert joined Comedy Central's The Daily Show in 1997, a year following its launch, then hosted by Craig Kilborn.[3] When Jon Stewart became the program's host in 1999, The Daily Show developed a markedly different style, bringing a sharper political focus to the humor than the show previously exhibited. Colbert recalled that Stewart specifically asked him to have a political viewpoint, and to allow his passion for issues to carry through into his comedy.[4][5][6]
Colbert became a fixture on The Daily Show, occasionally hosting in Stewart's absence.[7] In 2003, the program began running advertisements for a fictional program titled The Colbert Réport, starring Colbert as a parody of cable news pundits.[1] When fellow Daily Show star Steve Carell left the show to pursue a film and television career, Comedy Central worked to keep Colbert at the network. Colbert pitched The Colbert Report to the channel in 2004. Stewart pushed Comedy Central to pick up the show, and Colbert was given an eight-week tryout. Following the show's immediate success, the show "quickly became a fixture in the late-night lineup."[1] At its peak, the show averaged 1.5 million viewers each evening.[8]
The intensity of the fictional Colbert anchorman character was gradually toned down over the course of the show's run, as the host believed he would eventually need to move beyond it.
History
Development
The character first made appearances on the short-lived sketch comedy series The Dana Carvey Show in 1996, described as "a self-important, trench-coated reporter who does on-location stories in a way that suggests his own presence is the real scoop."[1]
When The Daily Show ran short on time, a short piece starring Colbert, advertising a fictional program titled The Colbert Réport, was added into the program. In these sketches, Colbert began to amplify his character to parody news pundits.
By the time of the 2004 election, the character was fully developed.[7] In creating the character, which is designed to be repellant but entertaining, Colbert conferred with Stewart and Karlin. In expressing his hope that his character not be "an asshole," Stewart remarked, "You're not an asshole. You're an idiot. There's a difference."[16] Head writer Allison Silverman reiterated this trait in a later interview, commenting, "There is an essential innocence to his character."[18] Colbert initially felt the character might not be sustainable in a longer format.[1] Despite this, The Colbert Report was designed as an extension of the satiric goals of The Daily Show, combining it with general silliness and character-driven humor.[18] To make sure there was no overlap in subject matter with The Daily Show, Karlin made trips between the studios during the show's early days to supervise scripts.[16] For the first several years of the program, Colbert made an appearance at the end of each Daily Show in split-screen, having a short discussion with Stewart preceding his show.[19][20]
Production
I call the show, jokingly, "The Joy Machine", because if you can do it with joy, even in the simplest show, then it's "The Joy Machine" as opposed to "The Machine". Considering the speed at which we do it, we'll get caught in the gears really quickly unless we also approach it with joy.
Stephen Colbert describing the show's production, 2009[21]
The show's writing was grounded in improv, employing a "yes to everything" mentality.[1] Much of the humor derived from extended improv games with the show's studio and at-home audience, like Colbert's poll to name a bridge in Hungary after himself.[21] Many of the writers had improv training and at one point put together "improv evenings" at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre once a month.[1] The Report's writing staff was predominantly male and white; Colbert acknowledged this lack of diversity, but contended that he hired writers based solely on the quality of their material and had never looked at the names on writing packets submitted for employment.[22] Subjects considered too dark were not even considered for comedic material; for example, the show would poke fun at press coverage of a tragedy, rather than the tragedy itself.[23] Issues discussed on the show were later reported on actual newscasts, in turn allowing the show to comment on its own impact, creating an echo chamber of sorts.[21] This led Colbert to describe his show, "at its purest expression, [as] a pebble that we throw into the puddle of the news, and then we report on our own ripples."[21]
Ideas for each show were considered in the morning pitch meeting, which could range from "harrowing" to smooth.[23] Described as having "demanding standards", Colbert is quoted as remarking, "Let's make it perfect and then cut it."[1] Although dozens of ideas were either chosen for the show or deleted, other ideas, saved for a later date, were often forgotten because of the pace of news.[1] Ideas with considerable potential were put in the "hopper" to be developed and rewritten, while more fully formed ideas were placed in the "pantry."[23] Good jokes would still be sacrificed if they did not fit the character's specific point of view, which was deemed the inverse of what "any logical person" feels.[22] At least one writer has described the job as "all-consuming", leaving no time for outside activities.[1] Colbert himself eventually became withdrawn from morning meetings as the show continued on and he mulled a decision to leave.[11]
Usually by 11 a.m., a rough outline for the show was completed and writers sent off in pairs to create scripts that would be polished throughout the day.[1] First, writers would scan news articles for ideas and partner together in pairs, with one "keeping track of possible jokes."[23] During an appearance at the New York Comedy Festival in 2013, some writers admitted to procrastinating until the last hour before rehearsal to complete their sections; Colbert confirmed that, in the program's early days, segments such as "The Word" were scripted entirely during the rewrite before rehearsal.[22][23] Both writers read their dialogue aloud to see whether they thought the Colbert character would say it.[18] As writers were working on their respective scripts, the show's production and graphics team compiled music, footage, and props needed for the show.[18] To collect video clips, the show cross-referenced transcripts of hours and hours of archived TiVo recordings of news programs.[24][25] In 2011, the show switched to Snapstream software, which streamlined the TV clip search and compilation process, allowing for searching closed captioning for select words.[25] In addition, a group of staff coders and independent contractors developed Scripto software to collaborate on scripts in real time.[26]
By 1 p.m., the show held a second production meeting to go over scripts and determine which pieces to edit.[18] Scripts were "hopefully" completed around 4 p.m., and a rehearsal with the entire staff would begin at 5:30 p.m. or occasionally earlier.[18] Afterward, final changes were made to the script.[7] The final rewrite would take place in a "small, red, poorly ventilated room" until 6:45 p.m.[18][22] Before interviewing his guests, Colbert met with them in the green room and acknowledged that he was playing a character, noting that the persona is "willfully ignorant of what you know and care about" and urging the guest to "honestly disabuse me of what you see as my ignorance."[21] Emily Lazar, a producer for the interview segments, advised guests to talk with Colbert as though he were a "harmless drunk at the next bar stool."[8] Guests would typically take their seats around 7 p.m., when a warm-up comedian (perhaps Jared Logan or Paul Mercurio) delivered jokes.[27] Colbert, out of character, held a brief question and answer session with the audience prior to taping.[21] Taping lasted as long as three hours[27] but usually ended around 9 p.m., at which point the show was edited and sent to Comedy Central for broadcast.[1] As the show was being edited, the staff met one last time to work through details for the next show.[18]
Set
The Colbert Report was taped and broadcast four nights a week, Monday–Thursday.
The set for The Colbert Report was called "The Eagle's Nest" and reflects and facilitates Colbert's self-aggrandizing style.
The set was described as "part
Format
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2010) |
Typically, Colbert starts with the audience cheering and teasers regarding the show's topics and guest; each headline is structured to be a deliberate pun. The series of puns are followed by a verbal metaphor that promotes the show and is almost always finished with, "This is the Colbert Report." The show's original opening title sequence began with an eagle diving past the host, following by images of Americana, stock footage of Colbert, and words describing Colbert flying by (some of which have been used as The Word). The first word used was "Grippy", and has changed to include, among others, "Megamerican", "Lincolnish", "Superstantial", "Flagaphile", and "Factose Intolerant". The May 4 episode in 2009 featured hints planted by J. J. Abrams about when and where Colbert would be in the Persian Gulf,[35] and "Farewellison" for the final episode of former producer Allison Silverman.[36] The show's opening credits depict the Colbert character clutching an American flag.[1] On January 4, 2010, a new opening debuted. The opening begins and ends with an eagle as before, but features new background renderings, new shots of Stephen Colbert, and is now colored in an American, red white and blue motif. The show's theme music is "Baby Mumbles" by Cheap Trick. Colbert phoned guitarist Rick Nielsen during development of the show to discuss the theme, noting that he loved the band's song "I Want You to Want Me"; the show's theme music is largely that song's melody backwards.[37]
Following the opening sequence, Colbert most often proceeds with a run-through of recent headlines in a manner parodying traditional news broadcasts, similar to The Daily Show but with a faux-right-wing spin. The program typically continues with Colbert addressing a specific topic. Colbert often calls to "Jimmy", a reference to program director Jim Hoskinson, to roll video clips.[22] That topic will often lead into a "The Word" segment, which juxtaposes Colbert's commentary with satirical bullet points on-screen, a parody of The O'Reilly Factor's "Talking Points Memo".[38] On occasion he will conduct a short interview with someone having to do with the topic. The format of the middle segment varies, but it is normally a visual presentation or skit. Often, these skits are parts of recurring segments, which may include "Better Know a District", in which Colbert interviews a U.S. Representative from a certain district of the United States; "Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger", in which Colbert voices his approval or disapproval of prominent people and news items; "Cheating Death with Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A.", a health segment; "The Sport Report" with the "t" in both Sport and Report silent, a sports segment; and "The ThreatDown", in which Colbert lists the five greatest threats to America, and others. His newest segment, "Thought for Food" deals with the consumption of specific foods across the world.
Sometimes, there is a "Colbert Report Special Repor-t" (the final 't' pronounced with special emphasis), or even a "Colbert Report, Sport Report, Special Repor-t", in which Colbert devotes a section of an episode, and sometimes the entire episode to a special subject. The third segment is almost always an interview with a celebrity guest, often an author or government official.
Character
It’s all about this [character] because there’s a culture of victimization of these hosts. They feel like they’re the ones who are the story, and they are being attacked by the powers that be or by some nefarious cabal. That’s all based upon one person. That’s how it came about, just me and the camera.
Colbert on the character[43]
The host of The Colbert Report is Stephen Colbert, a "self-important
The core principle of The Colbert Report is that Colbert is a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status
Despite his appearance of always being in charge, Colbert is vulnerable: he feels deeply threatened by those wielding more power than he,[18] and he suffers from "arctophobia", the fear of bears, which he refers to as "giant, marauding, godless killing machines".[49] He will alert the audience to what he perceives as the latest national threat (the subject of a recurring bit, "ThreatDown"), only to justify his own fears and impose those onto his audience.[8]
As the show progressed, Colbert gradually began to tone down the character,
When O'Reilly appeared on The Daily Show before the second episode of The Colbert Report aired, he commented, "Before we get started, somebody told me walking in here, you got some French guy on after you making fun of me?", and made several references in the following interview to 'the French Guy'.[52][53] In a subsequent Newsweek interview, O'Reilly said that he "feels it's a compliment" to have Colbert parody him because Colbert "isn't mean-spirited" and does not "use [his] platform to injure people". Later, Colbert replied on-air, "I like you too. In fact, if it wasn't for you, this show wouldn't exist."[54]
Themes
Colbert disagreed that the show's emphasis on politics represented a liberal bias, noting that he himself was uninterested in modern politics.[21] He believed that political issues reflect basic human behavior, which he viewed as his satirical specialty, noting, "If I thought I had a political point, I'd be in big trouble."[21] In another interview, Colbert remarked, "I'm not someone with a particular political ax to grind. I'm a comedian. I love hypocrisy."[19]
Episodes
Notable episodes
Early years
The Colbert Report premiered on October 17, 2005.
The show's popularity resulted in Colbert headlining the 2006
In 2006, Colbert encouraged fans to vote for his name to be the new name of a bridge in Hungary, which was being decided via an online poll, beating the runner-up by more than 14 million votes. He was, however, disqualified, as the name of the bridge was intended to be a memoriam.[7] Later that year, he began a mock feud with indie rock group the Decemberists over the subject of who was the first to challenge fans to create a green screen video; the fake conflict culminated in a guitar solo competition on the show's final episode of the year, featuring guest appearances from guitarist Peter Frampton and Dr. Henry Kissinger.[64][65] Colbert later recalled it as the show's "craziest" moment, changing the way the staff viewed the program: "Because you realize the character believes anything he thinks, says, [or] cares about is important, anything fits on the show. [...] That is the show where we said, oh, there is unlimited open field running."[66]
In February 2007,
In 2008, Colbert made a series of jokes directed at various towns in the United States named "Canton", with many attracting negative responses from each respective area's local government and residents.
Later years
In 2010, while in character, Colbert appeared before judiciary subcommittee hearing on the issue of farm workers and immigration.[76] The New Yorker used Colbert's testimony before Congress as an example of the "third" Colbert: "Colbert was thoughtful and sincere—and had ruined the whole thing. By speaking honestly, he had become the very thing he was mocking, a celebrity testifying before Congress."[50] Beginning in June 2011, the show created a long-running gag that involved Colbert starting his own actual super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, described by the character as "100 percent legal and at least 10 percent ethical."[77]
In 2012, Colbert interviewed illustrator/author
President
The
Reception
Critical response
Initial reviews
Reviews of The Colbert Report upon its 2005 premiere were positive, although critics were generally skeptical that the character could extend beyond one season without growing tiresome.[82] While positively reviewing the program as a whole, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune echoed these sentiments: "The biggest question hanging over The Colbert Report is whether the show’s sendup of the pomposity and fear-mongering of cable news blowhards will be as appealing in the long term."[83] Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer summarized the show's early reaction: "Critics and bloggers either loved the premiere or declared themselves to be unmoved, but that's the standard reaction after any late-night program's debut. A truer measure will be seen in coming weeks, after the hype wears off and the ratings lose their exuberance."[84]
Gilbert Cruz of
The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert praised the show's wordplay, summarizing, "Colbert's a clever creation, and a necessary one, and he deserves an opportunity to offend as many people as possible with his pompous blather."[89] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times commented that the show was a welcome addition to the Comedy Central lineup, remarking, "What puts Mr. Colbert over the top is that he is not just impersonating well known television personalities, he also uses parody to score larger points about politics and the press."[90] Nevertheless, there were more negative reviews: USA Today's Robert Bianco opined that the show "tried too hard", writing, "Unfortunately, in just two weeks on the air, this half-hour spoof of a no-spin-zone type show has already stretched Colbert's character and the artifice that supports it past its natural breaking point."[91]
Later reviews
The New Yorker remarked that the show remained funny throughout its entire run.[50] The Colbert Report currently scores favorable reviews, with 65/100 on Metacritic (first season), while its viewers' ranking on the site is higher at 8.7/10.[92]
In a 2009 academic analysis of the show's popularity, Temple University researcher, Heather LaMarre found that the show appealed to both liberals and conservatives, concluding, "there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements".[93] Malcolm Gladwell discussed LaMarre's findings in his Revisionist History podcast, "The Satire Paradox" (2016).[94]
Ratings
The ratings of The Colbert Report, from its premiere, benefited from the lead-in The Daily Show provides, which at the time of the show's debut averaged 1.3 million viewers per night.[20] Comedy Central had previously struggled to produce a hit program on par with The Daily Show, and were counting on Colbert after a string of failures.[20] The Colbert Report drew 1.13 million viewers for its premiere episode, 47 percent greater than the average for that time slot over the previous four weeks,[95] and 98 percent of the viewership of The Daily Show, which had Comedy Central's second-largest viewership.[96] Averaged over its opening week, The Report had 1.2 million viewers per episode, more than double the average for the same time the previous year, when the time slot was occupied by Too Late with Adam Carolla.[97]
The show regularly began attracting over one million viewers with near immediacy. The show also drew more young men, a powerful demographic, than other late-night hosts (at that time,
From 2012 to 2013, viewership decreased from 1.2 million to 1.1 million.[99] In 2013, The Colbert Report was the second most-watched late-night talk show (behind The Daily Show) among the demographic of adults 18–49, beating competition The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in that demographic for the first time.[100] That year, The Colbert Report attracted $52.1 million in advertising for an audience whose median age was 39.4, about a year younger than The Daily Show.[99] In 2014, the final year of the show's run, ratings were down three percent (coinciding with a general ratings slide for cable television).[101]
The series finale on December 18, 2014, was watched by 2.4 million viewers, making it the most watched episode ever in the show's history. The finale was the most watched cable program of the night in its time slot, beating The Daily Show which was seen by two million viewers.[102][103]
Awards
The Colbert Report received numerous awards and accolades throughout its run. The show was nominated for four
The show received two
Racism controversy
In March 2014, the show attracted controversy when Colbert used a "fatuously fake parody stereotype character, 'Ching-Chong Ding-Dong,'" to "satirize knee-jerk mockery" of Asian dialect.[110] The name had been used before without incident, but the show's official Twitter account—run by an unknown individual—tweeted the remarks without context, leading to wide outrage over social media, including a hashtag campaign, "#CancelColbert", that was a worldwide trending topic for over 24 hours, thanks in-part by Colbert himself helping make it go viral for his show.[110]
Legacy
The New Yorker wrote that "Colbert has made vital observations about the American political system, particularly about the sordid role that money plays within it. The Colbert Report and the Daily Show [...] have changed the way that young liberals of a certain class think and talk about civic culture."[50]
The show also coined another word, wikiality, that means "reality as decided on majority rule." Viewers of the show also coined a word, freem, based on its inclusion in the show's opening sequence; the word refers to "'freedom' without having to 'do' anything—without any responsibility or action."
The "Colbert Bump" is defined, connotatively by the Report, as an increase in popularity of a person (author, musician, politician, etc.) or thing (website, etc.) as a result of appearing as a guest on or (in the case of a thing) being mentioned on the show. For example, if a politician appears on The Colbert Report, they may become more popular with certain voters and thus are more likely to be elected. According to the American Political Science Association, contributions to Democratic politicians rose 40% for 30 days after an appearance on the show.[114] Magazines such as GQ, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated have all had sales spikes when Colbert appeared on their covers.[115]
Viewers of The Colbert Report were on numerous occasions cited as being more knowledgeable about current events than traditional news viewers. In April 2007, a
International distribution
Outside the United States, The Colbert Report was shown in Canada on the cable service
It airs on
Beginning June 3, 2008, The Colbert Report also aired on the ShowComedy channel of Showtime Arabia (Currently OSN First HD), a channel which broadcasts in the Middle East and North Africa.[121] The show is transmitted on a one-day delay from original transmission in the US.
The show was shown during prime time on Australia's free-to-air
The show was available directly on the colbernation.com website for part of 2011, with Australian advertisements; however, Australian access is now blocked.Several international markets also air The Colbert Report Global Edition, which shows highlights from the previous week's shows and includes a special introduction by Stephen Colbert at the start of the program. This means a new or newly repackaged episode can be screened every weekday.
In addition, most recent episodes (usually 3 weeks back) would be available in full length on colbertnation.com. Some international audiences could not see such way. By the end of the series's run, the colbernation.com website was integrated into Comedy Central's website. As of 2021, almost seven years after the show ended, many episodes are presented in individual clips there.[124]
Related multimedia
The show spawned various merchandise and multimedia related to the show. Three books were released to accompany the show's humor, the first being
Segments from the show were also released on
See also
References
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