A Fond Farewell to The Colbert Report

[Conn Seanery]

I loved, loved, LOVED The Colbert Report from start to finish, as did (I imagine) anyone who followed and was a big fan of Stephen during his time on The Daily Show. I remember laughing to tears when they showed the fake promo for it a year or two before the show actually got made:



It's going to be hard not seeing that version of Stephen Colbert on a more regular basis, but I am looking forward to seeing what he does with The Late Show next year.

Some of my favorite moments that instantly spring to mind:

• His segment with Rush. In the interview he asks them "You're known for your long songs, have you ever written a song so epic that by the end of the song you were actually influenced by yourself at the beginning of the song?" To hammer the point home, he ended the show with him going to sleep as they played "Tom Sawyer", and started the next night's show with him waking up to them still playing it.
• Every Difference Makers segment. The way he would make all these mundane or ridiculous issues sound like hard-hitting scandalous news cracked me up every time.
• The Sport Report, when he was following the Ontario Hockey League (and promoted the Saginaw Spirit mascot naming contest, which went to "Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle")
• Stephen's touching tribute to his (at the time, recently deceased) mother
• "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" by Stephen and the Colberts
• So many good Better Know a District segments, but my favorite was when he was interviewing someone who was running opposed in his district (the name escapes me), so Stephen convinces him to say some phrases that would normally be political suicide if it were an actual race.

There are so many more, what are some of your favorites?

[master of read]

thanks for doing this for me. been distracted all night and all.

but one of my favorite moments was his epic dance off with rain. stephen was getting down.

but yeah, it's gonna be hard to not have the capital of the colbert nation on tv any more but he changed the nation in ways i dont think anyone could've imagined.

[Cyke]

Here's a partial list of the celebrities (as of this writing, no mention of Randy Newman, who started it off), including the clip from Comedy Central.

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/19/741989...rt-finale-song

One of the best send-offs ever. I've been humming "We'll Meet Again" for the past 3 hours.

[Angilasman]

I've been watching Colbert since the beginning, and while I'll miss the fake Stephen I'll gladly follow the real Stephen to his next project.

I really loved how delighted Cyndi Lauper seemed to be to have ended up next to Big Bird in the cameo crowd.

[Lady Warp Spasm]

Sadly I am a late bloomer to Colbert, watched very infrequently the last 3 years or so, but I think he's hilarious and the character he portrayed was so much fun. However, I do not work far from the Ed Sullivan theatre where his Late Show will be taped, so I will definitely get tickets for a taping at least once.

[Rincewind]

I spotted Joe Quesada in one of the group shots near the end of the song.

[ImprobableQuestion]

I have been going through the archives on his site. His tour of Madame Tussaud's is amazing.

I remember the first time I saw Colbert was when I stayed up late to hear the results of the 2008 elections. The first thing I ever heard him say was something like "A black man has just been elected president if the United States. Witness my RAGE!"

I wonder what that says about me?

[master of read]

I spotted Joe Quesada in one of the group shots near the end of the song.

who do you think gave stephen cap's shield?

[spoon]

The guest list for the song is here: http://news.yahoo.com/stephen-colber...202713148.html

What an amazingly ecletic group!?

[Biff Pow!]

I don't watch much TV anymore, but I always looked forward to watching the previous night's Colbert after work each day. It doesn't matter the topic, he always makes me laugh. It's going to be a long wait until he takes over the Late Show...

[Personamanx]

Stopped watching Colbert and TDS a few years back due to my inability to not be depressed by American Politics but I caught the finale. A solid fairwell to a show that I watched since before I was in the target audience by a good 5 years.

[PocketfulofKryptonite]

An end of an era. I don't know if Wilmore can really fill the void he's left behind.

Admittedly Colbert was a little more of a cult figure given the in character satire as opposed to the directness of The Daily Show. Last Week Tonight does so to a degree but it seems like a lot of shows and magazines I've enjoyed have ended as of late and with this gone it really does feel like the times are a'changin' and maybe not for the best, particularly in light of the fact his satire went over the heads of some of his target audience earlier this year who wanted to rail against him as would be social justice campaigners standing up for a cause while failing to realise they were critiquing a social critique without the knowing irony of Colbert's effort. It does feel like each person's truthiness matters more and more and the facts matter less and less as the media listens to twitteruser @spoonyspoon420 and ignore scientists and doctors when it comes to ecological and health matters. They were already looking for reasons to turn on him, tear him down and stand on his grave so going out by making himself "immortal" alongside Santa, Lincoln and Trebek was as weird as it was a rebuke at anyone and all who have called for an end on their terms for him, rather than on his own. Seeing so many people turn out from all walks of life for him was touching and honestly while I will remain a fan of his work and hope he has great moments on CBS, the end of the character for me while it was still effective when the punchline was becoming dated and misunderstood by some is maybe for the best.

A wonderful show and wonderful memories, sad to see it end.

[Innocent Bystander]

I watched it when it aired, and I still can't get "We'll meet again" out of my head. It was an amazing send off for a tour de force character.

it's so weird for a comedy show, particularly from someone who prior to Stewart coming on "The Daily Show" didn't have a political opinion, to have such an impact, from a treadmill IN SPACE to doing a better job explaining America's tortuous election finance laws than just about anyone, to sponsoring the U.S. Speedskating team in Vancouver (and darn it, I'm still getting e-mails from them asking for more money).

I'll definitely be watching - or DVRing - him on CBS, but the retirement of the character is still difficult for me to accept.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

He didn't stay too long and he left early. It was a great way to go. He left everyone wishing for more. 1447 shows is a great deal. I'd hope Comedy Central would air reruns in a 3-4 hour block on Saturdays. They have all those shows. It would take a year or more to cycle through them all.

[Professor Moriarty]