This is topic Stephen Colbert on Wikipedia in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
So on the show earlier, he was talking about Oregon, and apparently he called them Idaho's Mexico on a previous show, and in this show changed it to Idaho's Portugal. He saw it on Wikipedia earlier, which is why he changed it, and actually went to the Wikipedia website and changed it to: Oregon.

quote:
Washington's Mexico (pronounced [ˈo ɹɪ ɡən](ORIgun)[1]), also known as Idaho's Portugal, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean, California, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada.
That article is now:
quote:
temporarily protected from editing to deal with vandalism. Please discuss changes on the talk page or request unprotection.
Later in the show, he made some elephant jokes, and then said that he heard somewhere that they were making a comeback, and that someone should edit their wikipedia article to say that their population has tripled. Now, the elephant article is also locked for vandalism.

Amusing.
 
Posted by kaminari (Member # 9622) on :
 
That's hilarious. Man, I miss the daily show.
 
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
 
Did he actually change it on the show?
 
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
He pulled out his laptop and pretended to. If I had to guess, I'd say he had a staffer changing it backstage even as he was pretending to actually change it.
 
Posted by Ginol_Enam (Member # 7070) on :
 
Why wouldn't he have, just, really changed it?
 
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
Because he did it in like three seconds, and I doubt his laptop could have resumed from a closed position and found a wireless network signal as fast as he claimed to have done it, especially given the lack of typing he did.

I think it would have been funny for them to show him actually doing it, but maybe there were technical issues.
 
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
 
I have to say it's a little sad, though unsurprising, that some zombie-fan just obeyed orders and went and changed the elephants article (which is what I presume happened).
 
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I would've done it, but I'm lazy.

-pH
 
Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :
 
Yeah. Cause vandalism's funny.

I don't know; I guess I just don't get Colbert. Stewart = funny; Colbert = annoying. Maybe it's a generational thing.
 
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I like them both.

-pH
 
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
 
Cool.

-Banjo, King of the Sea Monkeys
 
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
 
I like COlbert's The Word. That's about it though.

-Bok
 
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
 
Colbert is very hit or miss with me. I like the opening puns, I usually like The Word, and the Fear report is usually funny. The interviews, both with congresspeople for their districts and withe guests on the show, can range from embarassingly awkward to watch to hilarious and about to be YouTubed and sent to all my friends.

I find the Daily Show more dependably funny, but when Colbert hits it right he's fantastic.
 
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 
I find Colbert to be funny enough of the time that I enjoy his brand of humor. I thought his roast of President Bush at the White House Press Dinner was seriously lacking save his joke about "glaciers." But I really enjoy The Word and Fear Report, and pretty much every reference he makes to D and D.

[ August 01, 2006, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: BlackBlade ]
 
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
 
Ack! That phonetic transcription is horrible. I don't understand how someone who knows the International Phonetic Alphabet could produce something that bad.
 
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by SenojRetep:


I don't know; I guess I just don't get Colbert. Stewart = funny; Colbert = annoying. Maybe it's a generational thing.

I dunno how old you are, but I'm 21 and feel exactly the same way.
 
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by blacwolve:
quote:
Originally posted by SenojRetep:


I don't know; I guess I just don't get Colbert. Stewart = funny; Colbert = annoying. Maybe it's a generational thing.

I dunno how old you are, but I'm 21 and feel exactly the same way.
Jamie and I agree, though I will admit to having laughed at a couple of his jokes.
 
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
I think both of them are pretty funny. But I like Jon Stewart better on the whole because he's funny, but his political insight is much more intriguing, his interviews more thought provoking, and in general he's more likeable.

Colbert is good, and I like a lot of his segments. His interviews are obviously over the top, and I'd say 30% of the time he gets some great information or responses out of his guests, and the rest of the time the interview segment is useless. But I really like everything that happens before the interview. Not every episode is gold, but the ones that are, come close to platinum.
 
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
 
I disliked Colbert when he first came up -- Stewart was political and Colbert was fluff, so I never bothered tuning in. But since then, Stewart's lost a lot of his dependable reporters -- Rob Corddry's gold and Jason Jones is okay, but the others (particularly Bakkedahl) are infuriatingly boring. Colbert's hits are getting stronger and more frequent, and honestly, I think he's doing more political stuff than Stewart.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say Stewart's becoming an opening act for Colbert. I haven't seen anyone become this massively popular, this quickly -- and when people send me Youtube links, more often than not they're of Colbert. I don't know if he has the lasting power of the Daily Show, but for now, he rawks.
 
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
 
I like most of the show, but his interviews never seem to work. Neither him nor his guests know whether to try to act funny or try to act serious, but either way, it's painfully obvious that they try. Stewart has a knack for making his guests act naturally, only joking when the humor is already there, ready and waiting.

Interviews aside, however, I like the shows equally.
 
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
 
Jason Jones is hilarious I think. Him and Rob Corrdry are my favorites.
 
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
 
Much Stephen Colbert love here, although I agree that his interviews are often somewhat strained. I think that's because of the constraints of the character he's playing, though. Can you imagine trying to interview politicians from a perspective you fundamentally disagree with, every single night? While simultaneously trying to stay fresh and funny (without going for the cheap laughs), and maintaining relevance? I don't envy him the task.

I also notice that when he interviews someone with no particular political angle (such as when his former Strangers with Candy castmate Amy Sedaris appeared on the show), his interviews are solid gold. The spontaneous tumbling routine that ended that interview is one of the most hysterical things I've ever seen.

Interviews aside, though, the Colbert Report is the best thing on TV, at least until Veronica Mars starts up again.

[ August 02, 2006, 03:45 PM: Message edited by: Tarrsk ]
 
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tarrsk:
Interviews aside, though, the Colbert Report is the best thing on TV, at least until Veronica Mars starts up again. [emphasis added]

I think you misspelled "Battlestar Galactica", Tarrsk.
 
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
 
Nah. Although BSG is definitely up there, it's a little too grim to take the top spot for me. Veronica Mars leavens the dark character-driven drama with sharp humor better than any show since Angel left the air.
 
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
BSG is probably my favorite currently-running show that I've actually watched, but I don't watch much TV, so that comment has to be taken with a grain of salt. I'm not even sure what the premise of Veronica Mars is, honestly. Your description of it is intriguing, though--I'm all for character driven drama and sharp humor.
 
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
 
Hmm... well, in a nutshell, think of Veronica Mars as "film noir in high school" mixed with a healthy dose of wit. It's frequently compared to Buffy (small blonde protagonist with a sarcastic streak), but differs in that there are no supernatural elements, and whereas Buffy dealt with real-life issues on a metaphorical level, Veronica Mars deals with them directly. For example, rather than pit monsters against humans as symbolic of racism, Veronica Mars has a recurring plotline in which the rich white kids and the poor Hispanic community frequently clash (and because this is noir, the question of who is "right" is often a murky one).

Veronica Mars also features brilliant season-long arcs. The entire storylines are plotted out way in advance, unlike most shows (*cough cough* Lost *cough cough*). The first season, in particular, stands out as the best season-long story I've ever seen. It centers around the murder of Veronica's best friend, as well as Veronica's own experience with rape after being roofied at a party. Small clues to these big mysteries are revealed in just about every episode (even though a given episode's A-story is usually standalone), climaxing in a season finale that manages to be both shocking and entirely believable in retrospect. Veronica is, in fact, one of the few shows I've seen where the season-long arc works even better the second time you watch it, because then you can catch every single clue and see how it fits into the whole plot.

Like I said, the show is also highly character-driven. Each of the main characters is tied integrally to the main plot, and undergoes dramatic change throughout each season. As in classic noir, each character also has his or her faults and agendas, and these often result in conflict. The humor of the show also usually draws from the characters- Veronica's relationship with her father, in particular, is a beautiful thing.

Anyway, I could go on for hours about why Veronica Mars rocks, but I'll stop here. Check out the first season (and make sure to watch it in order [Wink] ), I think you'll enjoy it.
 
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
You guys might be interested in an interview that Colbert did with The Onion. He breaks character and talks about the character. It's very interesting.
 


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