TVSquad

Let me just say that I love Stephen Colbert and it's great that he's got his own show. Now that my Colbert fangirliness is out of the way, I've got to admit that I'm nervous. Very. I'm a little worried it might be too similar to The Daily Show, that it'll be too much of character-Colbert, that the set might come crashing down... I'm worried about a lot of things, really. The opening sequence doesn't seem too bad. It's wonderfully over-patriotic with the eagle and flashing red, white, and blue. The set is no different, but it also screams "pretentious" because the words "Colbert Report" are absolutely everywhere. Love it. Colbert spends some time to point out all the places and even shows that the desk itself is shaped as a giant "C". There's no doubt about it: it's fully character-Colbert from TDS doing the show.

Stephen starts off with a rant about not being able to trust books and the importance of "truthiness". There are bullet-points on the right-side of the screen that highlight and add some jokes. It's funny for the most part. Stephen talks about the difference between thinking and feeling, saying that gut feelings are more important than thinking (if you THINK about Harriet Miers, the nomination is absurd, so no thinking allowed!). Stephen promises to not just read the news to you but to feel the news at you.

The next part is all about terror. "Like any good newsman, I believe if you're not scared, I'm not doing my job." He does a threat countdown...

5) Avian Flu: The real thing at risk here is cockfighting. Cock-thusiasts are going to have to find other outlets for entertainment... like bearbaiting.
4) International Basketball: The Toronto Raptors lost to an Israeli basketball team recently. But that's not the treatening part... it's that Canadians are in our National Basketball Association. Geez, Canada. Why do you have to go and try to screw everything up?
3) Babies: There's a new movement afoot to toilet-train babies earlier than ever. This early potty-training is a trheat to our nation's diaper industry. Stephen does a demonstration with an Old Glory diaper. "These diapers don't run."
2) Tropical Storm Wilma: This is the last name on this year's list. Any new American hurricanes will be named with Greek letters. This is a threat to American ABCs! First Canada and now Greece?! What the hell do they want with us?
1) Florida: There's a new law in Florida that allows people who feel threatened to use their gun. People in Miami Airport are now handing out brochures to tell tourists to not get into any arguments. Heh, I can imagine the welcoming committee: "Don't piss anyone off or you'll get pumped full of lead... Welcome to sunny Florida!"

Stone Phillips is the guest tonight. Stephen makes his way to another set, this one dimly lit and set up like an office. There's a fake fire going in the background and Stone and Stephen sit in rolly chairs around a circular table. Stephen, still in character, starts off by poking fun at Stone's signature head-nod. He then points out that he keeps his Emmy next to his Peabody Award on the mantle behind him. The rest of the interview is really sarcastic and doesn't hold the same friendliness that Jon Stewart offers most of his guests on TDS (Stephen makes fun of Stone's lack of tie).

Anyway, he and Stone have a gravitas-off to see who can deliver funny headlines the best. Afterwards, he mentions a little about Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew becoming an American citizen. He puts a Chewbacca figure next to the Statue of Liberty figure on the shelf in that strange little playroom place, hoping that they'll mate one day (whoa, green fuzzy babies). He ends the show with a funny attempt to do the Chewie noise.

Overall, the interview was a little shaky... I guess (by comparison) it's because Colbert's still in his TDS-correspondent character and Jon Stewart is free to be himself. It's a bit of a disadvantage because he can't be really nice and has to stick to being a sort of pompous, ridiculously self-absorbed character... I think it makes the guest a little uncomfortable. The show might get a little better once it finds its legs, but for right now it feels like a drawn-out Colbert segment. It's still funny and Colbert's wonderful, but he doesn't seem to really know what he's supposed to be doing just yet. He needs to find a happy medium between real-Stephen and character-Stephen. Ah well... Still love him.