Colbert bombs on Meet The Press - sadly...(Part 1 of 2)

PArt 1 of 2. On 10/21/07, Stephen Colbert sadly bombed on Meet The Press. Tim Russert was allowed to stay in continued control of the interview, Colbert often relied on amateur slapstick type jokes, and there was no telling-truth-to-power "moment" like there was at his 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner speech. Many of his biggest fans were let down.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• stephen
• colbert
• tim
• russert
• mtp
• president
• 2008
• truthiness
• failure

[DrySweat]

Russert is in on the joke guys. He's not serious. Chill the fuck out.

[jahuda1]

bomb? you kidding?  this is hilarious

[Geneparmesan1]

jesus christ how can you not realize the joke... i mean russert pulls out a fucking seasame street doll

[cryguys]

Also, Meet the Press is usually a serious show, you're right. But when you have one of the leading political satirists on your show, you know what you're getting yourself into and Russert decided to grill him as if it were serious. That's the joke. Looks like it flew right past you. Whether or not it was really staged is debatable but it's clear both are not taking it as seriously as you say and both know this is a joke. Bert doll? Come on.

[cryguys]

He knows he's not, both men know this. To think otherwise is foolish.

[cryguys]

@matthewpng how does it fit? The entire thing is a joke, a farce. Russert is obviously smart enough to know he's playing a character and so he's taking him on as if he's a serious presidential candidate. He

[77dris]

The problem is Meet The Press is a fail to begin with, so it's a no win situation for Stephen from the start.

[kajmal]

Don't think he should have done this interiview in-character. Apparently Stephen and Tim were trying to do a 'bit' together.  For one, bits like this don't work with two straight men. Second, Tim was an awesome news man, but apparently not a very good improv actor. At the very least, not nearly as good an improv actor as Stephen. He should have done it out-of-character. I've seen Stephen do interviews out-of-character and I'm always impressed by his sincerity and thoughtfulness.

[mattlewis66]

It occurs to me that Colbert finds it very difficult to try and speak without sarcasm, pretending or some subtext of a joke. Amazing.  It reminds me of something Stewart said about needing to have the laughter. Now at least Stewart tried seriousness on Crossfire but if Carlson were savvy he would have asked "You are joking right?" when Stewart said "You are hurting us." Yes, Colbert bombed because he couldn't get Russert to laugh. Russert was the perfect antidote.

[madrandombutterfly2]

this is a more subtle comedy - just because there isnt an audience laughing at all the jokes doesnt mean its not funny

i thought it was good :) loved his book quotes LOL

[FuckedUpWebcamShows]

R.I.P. Tim Russert