I Know It In My Gut

...I find myself in the position of being increasingly more disappointed in Stephen Colbert of late. The first and most obvious reason is his leaving The Colbert Report to take over Late Night With David Letterman. I have always felt that The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Real Time were more Comedy Plus than just regular comedy shows. While hosted by comics, they offer a different perspective on current events and do a better job of journalism than most actual journalists. Leaving The Colbert Report behind is giving me nightmares of cheesy pet gags and interviews with the cast of some reality show about vacuum cleaners replacing The Word or Better Know A District. I think that CBS is going to handcuff Stephen Colbert and tone him down to broaden appeal, neutering his ability to fuse comedy with commentary.

That said, my frustration also lies in what has been happening on The Colbert Report as well. Playing the part of a Sean Hannity-esque court jester, symbolically throwing pies at his own face to solidify a point, he has done many exceptional interviews and segments that made a statement or brought an issue to light. Even of late, there have been segments that continue that tradition. However, sometimes it feels like the personality of Stephen Colbert overshadows the purpose of the interview.

Recently, Thomas Piketty was the interview guest there to discuss his new book Capital In The Twenty First Century. The book has clearly been getting a lot of attention as it calls to task how the economy is structured for imbalance. Whether one agrees with the sentiments, vehemently opposes them or is either unclear or unsure at this time, I think that we can all agree that the discussion and topic is of the utmost importance. To me, this interview for The Colbert Report was a pretty big deal, probably worthy of two segments instead of one. Considering that two segments are given to lame music acts on The Colbert Report, I think this one deserved the time as well.

With only one segment to speak of for this conversation, Stephen Colbert did his usual faux-Conservative angle during this discussion. Where it left me feeling empty was rather than use this fake persona to give Piketty a springboard to make his case, it felt more as if the entire interview was played as a ruse to make light of the entire segment. Rather than leave the viewer more informed on what the book contains therein, it felt like a third rate Weekend Update segment on Saturday Night Live. If it were Seth Myers in a beaver costume conducting this interview, fine. Instead, it felt like a golden opportunity on The Colbert Report was wasted.

Sadly, it was not just the Thomas Piketty interview that delved into this territory better left for a less important show. The recent interview with Glenn Greenwald also felt like one giant gag where the guest was made to look like someone not to be taken seriously. If this were the case, I wonder what exactly was the point of having Greenwald on to begin with. If not, I can only think that maybe The Colbert Report going away is not necessarily the worst thing that can happen.

I still look forward to The Daily Show every night. When John Oliver was hosting in lieu of Jon Stewart's absence, not a beat was to be missed. There was nary an awkward show or a moment where John Oliver did not fill this seat with class, dignity and top notch humor all around. Once Jon Stewart returned, he once again showed me that he is one of the best, if not the best, interviewer on television. Period. The Daily Show is the model of consistency when it comes to blending comedy with reality. To me, The Colbert Report feels like it is abandoning this more and more of late as it gets ready to ride off into the sunset.

I will continue to watch The Colbert Report as it gets closer and closer to no longer existing. In the grand scheme, there is no denying that Stephen Colbert is going to go down as one of the greatest sketch comics in history. There will always be an argument that in the heyday of The Colbert Report, he was the Ying to Jon Stewart's Yang night after night. When Larry Wilmore debuts next year with The Minority Report, I have a feeling that that Ying will be restored (though I feel not luring John Oliver back or giving the slot to Samantha Bee was a big missed opportunity). I will miss The Colbert Report but moreover, I miss how good it once was already.