TVSquad

The Colbert Report is in vacation right now (it returns on September 14), so how about we look at the career of Stephen Colbert to get us through these weeks?

Rolling Stone has a new cover story on Colbert and an interesting feature up at their site that gives an overview of what Colbert has done over the years. Not just the stuff we've all seen (like The Dana Carvey Show and Strangers with Candy), but also his work on the short-lived sketch show Exit 57, a dramatic turn on Law and Order: CI, and voiceover work for a really terrible-looking video tennis game.

Hardcore Stephen Colbert fans might take one look at this list and scoff. To them I say, "Hey, girls who live on the Colboards, chill out." This list is meant for the casual fan of The Colbert Report, who loves the show and, at most, knows Colbert's history through The Daily Show and maybe a little Strangers with Candy.

As someone who has been a fan of Colbert for about eight years, I'm here to educate, here to spread the good Word. It is the duty of a good fan -- especially one with too much time on her hands -- to change the minds of people that see Colbert just as the TV blowhard who happens to share his name.

Spike TV has ordered six episodes of Factory, a largely improvised comedy revolving around four small-town factory workers who'd rather do anything than work at their boring jobs, according to a Hollywood Reporter story. It will be the Guy Network's first original comedy series.

Set to premiere on June 29 at 10 p.m., Factory is directed, produced by, and stars Mitch Rouse (pictured), co-creator of Strangers With Candy, the short-lived TV series that ran from 1999-2000, as well as the 2005 prequel feature film by the same name.

Rouse has an interesting list of credits. In addition to numerous feature films, he played Dr. Ryan Gibson on According to Jim (come on, there must be someone out there who watches this show), Fireman #1 on Reno 911, and was a regular on Exit 57, a mid-1990s comedy-sketch show.

Before we knew him as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Mr. Noblet on Strangers with Candy, and later the star of his own faux news analyst program, The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert was just another sketch player on shows like Exit 57 and the Dana Carvey Show. Colbert starred on the short-lived Exit 57 with Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, who would later re-team with him for Strangers with Candy. After the jump, see a younger Colbert and his future Daily Show co-worker Steve Carell playing waiters made sick by the mere mention of food on the Dany Carvey Show, and then watch a clip from Exit 57 with Colbert, Dinello and Sedaris that I can't really describe, except to say you get to see Colbert and Dinello makeout with one another. Mmmm, that's tasty.

Check out the vids after the jump.

The guest for last night's Colbert Report was Amy Sedaris. I was curious to see how Stephen Colbert would interview her, since she was there to promote a project in which he is also heavily involved (Strangers With Candy, both the TV and bigscreen versions). He didn't acknowledge the fact that he's in the film, but I'm pretty sure most of the audience already knew what was going on. Anyway, while discussing fitness regiments, Amy revealed that she keeps fit by tumbling. Stephen then explained that he also liked tumbling with his building manager, Tad (Paul Dinello), who just happened to be hanging out in the audience. What followed was a very entertaining SWC reunion, complete with lots of tumbling and Amy in a green, sequined one-piece. It's so easy to tell that these three people absolutely love working with each other.

Video after the jump!

I've held, for some time, a big admiration for Stephen Colbert. Not the fake Stephen Colbert who channels Bill O'Reilly and others and mocks political on The Colbert Report, but Colbert the comedian who so inhabited his roles on shows like Exit 57, Strangers with Candy, and The Daily Show that it's impossible to see through the guise to the real Stephen Colbert. Of course, if anyone can try to coax Stephen out of his comedic shell it's 60 Minutes. If you didn't happen to catch his appearance on the show last Sunday, YouTube has the entire interview, split up into three parts. Based on interviews I've seen with him, Colbert is one of those creative people who wants merely to make people laugh without over-analyzing his methods for doing so. In this age when everyone wants to be visible in every possible way, I find that extremely refreshing. Nevertheless, Morley Safer's interview does reveal some interesting things you may or may not have known about the man.

Oh yeah, since this is YouTube and clips like this sometimes have a tendency to disappear, you can at least catch snippets of the interview here and here.