Satirist news caster Stephen Colbert provides humorous commentary on the big issues going on in the United States and the rest of the world, with his larger then life ego and overly patriotic spirit along with him every step of the way.
An, offshoot of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report (the Ts in Colbert and in Report are silent) is a parody of shows like "The O'Reilly Factor." Colbert begins the show with teasers about the show's content and then the credits go by, with a giant eagle and the stars and stripes featured predominantly. Colbert will pepper commentaries with phrases like, "Look, I don't have time to read books," or, "President Bush isn't a head thinker, he's a gut thinker." Aspects of talking head programs are exaggerated and Colbert presents a host overwhelmed by his own importance. Guests do not walk on-stage but are seated at a small table to the side. Colbert runs over to them, encouraging the audience to applaud and high five him as he passes. He is then likely to begin an interview by asking a guest something like, "Explain evolution in 20 seconds,"...
Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}
On the set, there is an artificial fireplace with the engraving "Videri Quam Esse," meaning, "to seem to be rather than to be"; it is a play off of the traditional Latin phrase "esse quam videri," or, "to be, rather than to seem to be," reflecting Colbert's mock right-wing personality.
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Quotes
Stephen Colbert:
Now I have my own problems with James Frey. Not because of the inconsistencies in his memoir, nothing wrong with stretching the truth. After all, we stretch taffy, and that just makes it more delicious. In fact, I respect him for making up his past! It shows character. Too many people just let their past happen to them. It's part of the culture of victimization. "Ooh, I had no control over the circumstances of my birth!" But when you decide to have had a difficult childhood, that... See more »