http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2015/09/19/fall-premieres-2015-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/ Responses to Media and Culture Fri, 12 Feb 2016 19:35:04 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2015/09/19/fall-premieres-2015-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/comment-page-1/#comment-443216 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:50:06 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=28345#comment-443216 I feel like he had some great *moments* in the Trump discussion, such that one could soundbyte it in a way that makes it seem brilliant, but that overall Trump was unflappable and able to float above it all, reacting as if Colbert was just a lightweight ineffectual inquisitor. So, yeah, not a great outing.

]]> http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2015/09/19/fall-premieres-2015-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/comment-page-1/#comment-443213 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 16:12:29 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=28345#comment-443213 Now that I’ve actually seen Colbert with Cruz and Trump, seems like I should follow-up! I give him a thumbs up on Cruz and a thumbs down on Trump. If I’m being generous, I felt like he wanted to communicate the sense that he took Cruz seriously as a candidate, and thus held his feet to the fire a bit, while Trump instead got the media curiosity treatment.

]]> http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2015/09/19/fall-premieres-2015-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/comment-page-1/#comment-443154 Sun, 20 Sep 2015 22:44:35 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=28345#comment-443154 I’ve watched most of the shows in the first two weeks, and though I’ve enjoyed them, I feel Colbert hasn’t really been tested yet in an interview. The Jeb interview was a wash, and maybe I should give him a freebie since it was the first episode, but nothing has happened since to dispel my concerns about what happens without the Colbert parodic shell. That is, what is being described here as the improv approach to an interview works great when you have somebody willing to give (like Biden) but not so great when they aren’t. Previously, the Colbert persona could be a rough edge to keep pushing into uncomfortable territory. But this Colbert is all smiles and dancing. So while I really like what Chuck says about Colbert morphing into the sincere humorist we need, I haven’t seen him successfully do so on “unfriendly” territory. Looking forward to seeing him vs. Trump, Cruz, etc., etc. and hope he proves me wrong.

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