Durng 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' the host ate an entire package of Oreos while expressing opinions about Donald Trump
Stephen Colbert continued the Late Show legacy Tuesday night in the Ed Sullivan Theater as viewers tuned in after the four-month wait from David Letterman’s final show in May.
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The show started off with Colbert harmonizing "The Star-Spangled Banner" all throughout the United States with random people joining in — he even bowled a strike in between.
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Colbert entered from the curtain with a “hello nation,” a gigantic smile and said his viewers were witnessing television history. The Colbert Nation agreed by trying out the classic shout of “Stephen, Stephen” in the new and larger venue.
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“As long as I have nine months to make one hour of TV, I can do this forever,” he said. Sorry to say, this weekday show won’t be as forgiving as Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS, sat in the audience with a hand on a lever to switch over to The Mentalist reruns if need be.
As the former host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, the out-of-character Colbert cycled through the news several weeks before Tuesday’s premier. Along came predictions of how the first night would go and if the writing could cater to a Stephen Colbert rarely seen by the public.
Regardless of his primetime slot, the monologue was very Colbert and catered to his quirky side of unusual jokes, including ones about Sabra hummus, Oreos and ancient artifacts.
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Of course he dedicated his show to David Letterman, someone Colbert said influenced him in college and was a “first-generation fan.” He went on to say the show will be a huge night of firsts and that he is not replacing Letterman, but happily filling the void that is the host spot of the Late Show.
Colbert’s speciality in political jokes didn’t lack. He proved through Donald Trump clips that Trump is the junk food of America. He still points at the camera for Jim (Hoskinson, his program director) to roll video clips and still announces for himself. He even put his Captain America shield on display as an homage to his old set.
His new band, Jon Batiste and Stay Human, has the groove of “the world’s funkiest ice cream truck,” as it tried out the Late Night’s theme song for size as the opening credits rolled.
He and NBC’s Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon chatted through TVs as if that were possible in real time. Fallon wished Colbert “all the luck in the world” on his show.
During the summer when Colbert was a guest on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, he said that he and Fallon discussed that they wanted to avoid doing the battle of the Late Night cliché at all costs.
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The first guest on the stage was actor, George Clooney. Clooney, who did not have any projects to push on the show, came on for the sole purpose of hanging out with Colbert, which left the interview wide open.
He gave Clooney a year-old wedding present from Tiffany’s, a paper weight that said, “I don’t know you,” and showed clips of Clooney starring in a made-up action movie called Decision Strike.
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When the second guest, presidential candidate Jeb Bush stepped on stage, Bush didn’t waste any time on his political agenda. Colbert poked fun at Bush for his “JEB!” posters and tried to ask what makes him stand out from his father and brother.
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Bush noted the lack of Colbert portraits in the studio and Colbert laughed and nudged back and said, “I used to play a narcissistic conservative pundit, now I’m just a narcissist.”
The show ended with a jam session by the Late Show’s band, Colbert and notable singers such as Mavis Staples, Buddy Guy and Brittany Howard.
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As someone who grew up watching The Colbert Report for its witty writing and highly original comedic segments, I was happy to change my dial to CBS and continue my following in the 11:35 p.m. time slot. See you Wednesday.
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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on weekdays at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.