Thursday, September 10, 2015

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: First Night Review



Stephen Colbert. Who is this man?
In 11 words, he is this: Funnyman, TV host, world controller, genius and world’s second-best smile.

We’ve known this man for a long time: as correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, before becoming extremely popular by fans and the producers to get leeway as host of his own spinoff, The Colbert Report. Colbert would take the reigns of his show for 9 years, becoming an instant icon, inspiration and grassroots folk hero for everyone across the world, even though his persona was one of an idiot savant with a fear of bears, penchant to think while he acts, an ego even Kanye wouldn’t touch and a desk as big on the inside as the TARDIS.

Now, I’ll be honest--I haven’t watched much of the Report during my years (as I was a kid with the closest access to cable being a working coaxial cord working from God-knows-where and a bedtime of 8:00. But from the time I’ve watched), but from the times I’ve watched, I’ve really enjoyed it a lot. It’s not only hilarious, but also immensely intelligent and insightful in its content.

...and then #CancelColbert happened.
Many people wanted The Report cancelled because of a tweet sent about a segment about Stephen mocking the Indian Chief insignia of the Washington Redskins.
The irony here is that Stephen watched his first show get cut off nearly unceremoniously months later, only to walk away to start up a bigger, higher anticipated and more-watched show with more viewers, more airtime and more laughs to bring. Seems just as hilarious as the jokes on the first show, huh?

Ever since the announcement of his succeeding the great David Letterman back last year, I was so very intrigued. I never watched The Report in full, but I was very interested in what he'll this new Late Show will bring. I was excited when:
the logo came in, the announcement that he’ll be recording in the Ed Sullivan Theater came, the announcement of the new band, photos of the new set was leaked,

the new Ed Sullivan Theater marquee began its illustrious career of lighting up and showing people what is inside, the commercials appeared (even though I got rather annoyed with them as they kept coming in, really), the music is played, Stephen came out, and the theme played
(oh wait, too far)
and the constant reminder that the days and nights are getting fewer and fewer until the day comes. Boy what a near year it has been.

Well, what have we learned in the near year between the end of The Report and the beginning of his new Late Show? He wasn’t going to leave New York for it, the Ed Sullivan Theater was renovated from top to bottom for him, he will have a band, there will be sprinkles of The Report in it, he had a beard shaved and then UNshaved it, had a five-episode podcast about what he had for lunch, announced that he would have George Clooney and Jeb Bush on his first show, and most importantly, the host of the show will not be a character, but the real-life real deal...
named Stephen Colbert.
Caught up? Perfect.
And now, here is my review of the most anticipated event in the history of television (in the 2010s)--perhaps the biggest and best show in all of American television,
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The new program opened with Stephen performing the “Star Spangled Banner” with some people across New York landmarks, along with the Washington Monument and the Fort Worth Stockyards in Texas.

It was a hilarious and heartwarming start to the series and began what we knew and loved about Stephen from the start. Here are some highlights:
-Stephen and (assumedly) a worker at an automobile plant singing the song, but are drowned out by the sound of the cars being made. (Side-splitting)
-Stephen wearing a nice white suit during the part with Jon Batiste
-Stephen scoring a freakin’ strike at the Lucky Strike bowling alley (AWESOME!)
-and yeah, Jon Stewart was there, too, but, again, Stephen threw a strike!!

Stephen came out to his new set, to thunderous applause and even more thunderous “STEPHEN!”s. He then wastes no time going into a monologue that showed he really hasn’t missed a beat.

He also talked a bit with CBS CEO Les Moonves, who has a switch that could change programming between this and one of the drama shows the network reran over the summer, The Mentalist. That was weird, but hilarious in execution.


He later introduced the new Late Show set.
It includes a nice lit-up desk (although the “with” wording inside the “O” isn’t really needed), the coolest, brightest, most awesome studio ceiling EVER--a digital projection showing anything (like the words “THE LATE SHOW” and “STEPHEN COLBERT”, along with the CBS Eye and his face shining all around the top),
(“I wanted Michelangelo to paint it, but, as it turns out, the Ninja Turtles aren’t real.”)
this nice video wall behind him and the guests, and the memorabilia littered across the place (like his Captain America shield, a pendant his mother was given during her attendance at Martin Luther King’s forever iconic 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech), and his cursed amulet that makes him name-check product placement.
I won’t say much about my thoughts, because I won’t have to.
This set is fucking awesome, and deserves its praise. Never have I marved at a set anytime recently, and this is the first. Just awesome.

And after this, he paid brief tribute to his predecessor, David Letterman.

That was funny and very sweet, and paying back what is deserved to the one man who changed late night talk and made it what it is now, in the modern era.
He's a Legend, an Icon, and still one of the Very Best. We love ya, Dave.

After the first commercial break, before which I learned this:

(such valuable information)
he showed a clip of Donald Trump at a running rally swearing off Oreos, and then turned it into a genius segment bashing him and his potential Presidential policies with every cookie taken out of the pack.

Since Stephen is trying to hold off Oreos like Trump is, he couldn't resist, because Trump-bashing is just too damn unavoidable. ...and funny. We all knew it would be funny, but I didn’t expect it to be so damn hilarious.

After the break, his first ever guest George Clooney appeared.
He didn’t have anything to promote, so he and Stephen debut a clip of a new fake movie called “Decision Strike”. It has all of the action (defusing a bomb), romance (sleeping with some woman) and self-made stunt work (hanging onto an airplane door and trying to send info to his fuck-buddy via a bird) that you’d love to see in an Action/Romance/Self-Stunts film. (It was hilarious)



(and worth every “penny”.)
I loved how this clip throw was done as if this film was real. It’s the offbeat, yet normal nature that Stephen is beloved for at The Report, and I’m glad this will continue with The Late Show (as if the news that some of the producers from the latter were returning wasn’t a dead giveaway).

Later on, Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and Republican nominee for US president was guest #2, and the first political figure to appear on the show.
Of course, this was the interview everyone was waiting for. Of course both men didn’t disappoint.

Here’s an extra video about Jeb discussing a fundraiser to appear in the audience, causing the show to make up their own, and his reactions to the President’s Iran deal and potential policies should he become President.

This is a truly hilarious clip. The Lil Jon and “Turn Down for What” parts are just side splitting.
I usually don’t follow politics very well, and I despise the Republican party, but I think Jeb Bush is a perfect candidate for the Election race, and possibly the Presidency.

And finally, if you thought Jon Batiste and his band Stay Human wouldn’t be a band perfect enough for the Late Show band, you’re fucking wrong.
The exhibited their amazing musical prowess playing “Everyday People” with their special guests , Aloe Blacc, Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, and the legendary Mavis Staples.
This was a spectacular performance! Mixing amazing voices with bombastic music, it just got everyone in the aisles dancing and singing along. It had a fun and bright atmosphere that can’t be denied and certainly brought a huge bang to the start of the music on The Second Late Show.



And now let’s the basic things about the show itself:
THE LOGO:
It’s a basic logo featuring the show’s and Stephen’s names coming together by the H’s. It’s not the best logo, but I really like it’s simplicity and goal to let viewers know what they’re watching.


The SET:
As I’ve said before, this is an awesome set.
The Patriotic colors really make it pop; The addition of stairs is really nice;
Stephen’s entrance is a nice shout-out to David Letterman’s entrance during the legend’s run (and really cool-looking on it’s own); The desk is sweet; the memorabilia is even sweeter and the digitally-projected ceiling is awesome as Heaven. Seriously, it looks like a church up there!

The OPEN:
Now, this one is one of the best parts we'll usually see on the Show:
The Title Sequence and Theme Song.

The sequence features New York City in such a breathtakingly beautiful tiny look that makes it look like claymation or stop-motion. All the tiny aspects of the Big Apple look like they're been made by some company making an intro for a premium movie network, but have actually been made between years and decades before.
And the music is just perfect for the show. The lively, urban, jazzy beat matches the show and it's energy so perfectly. And it just makes you wanna dance--whether standing up and grooving or swaying around in your seat, you can't help but just so something to the righteous beat. Ever since I first heard it, I just fell in love. I could just jam my ass off to it all day, and never stop loving it. Plus, it kinda reminds me of Stevie Wonder. Don't you think so? Probably just me.
And it just send me chills, especially the shot of the city behind the Brooklyn bridge.
This is a brilliantly spectacular open made by , and I send my thumbs all the way up to them for this open, along with my praise to Stay Human for their song "Humanism" being chosen as the theme. The jazzy, smooth and superb creole-esque beat is just perfect for anything, like this show.

The BAND:
Jon Batiste and Stay Human are just perfect as the House Band.
Their music, energy, and talents are perfect to balance off Stephen’s wacky, offbeat and hilarious nature and antics on the show. Batiste is a great leader and a great singer.

STEPHEN:
Do I really have to explain further?
He can interview anyone, and he knows how to talk like nobody’s business. That’s what makes him so beloved in the TV world. Oh, and he also knows how, when and WHY to be funny like nobody’s business. I’m very intrigued for what Stephen will do next on this show, and I know he’ll continue to put up a bang-up job.

All in all...well, what did you expect?
This new Late Show is all of Stephen’s strengths from now put in a full hour (and 2 minutes), and he still knocks it out of the park. This show is pretty much The Colbert Report 2.0, and I’m just more than cool with that. Another thing I can enjoy is that we can expect more than celebrities (actors [like George Clooney] and musicians) on this show; politicians (like the aforementioned Jeb Bush) and newsmakers (like future guest Elon Musk) will also be appearing on this show, separating him from the late night guys, who only occasionally host politicians. There will be more great moments from this show to come soon, and I know they will be hot topics to enjoy for months to come.
The new Late Show is just spectacular, and with Stephen Colbert at the helm, I know we’ll have a big great time in late night.

Congratulations, Stephen Colbert, on this big gig, and you will take the damn thing all the way.
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