The Colbert Report

I didn't know what to expect when I saw this show. Comedy Central has a way of releasing shows that look promising, and then disappointing me with them.

But the Colbert Report is very funny, slightly ridiculous, and definitely worth the time.

It's a parody of shows like the O'Reilley Factor. It has a host (Daily Show veteran Stephen Colbert)whose persona is very self-important and self-centered. His name is on everything, all over the set, and his desk is shaped like a giant C. (C stands for Colbert, he reminds us).

The show consists primarily of Stephen Colbert, in his Daily Show persona, sitting at a desk and giving his opinions on things. It's all done in the spirit of satire, parodying popular journalism and the tendency of people who have no expertise to get a lot of camera time, despite the fact that their opinions are basically worthless.

All in all, the show is very funny, and very edgy. I think Stephen Colbert is a good investment for Comedy Central.

The Colbert Report features The Daily Show's Stephen Colbert behind his own anchor desk on his own show. The entire set was designed to parody the sets of most newsrooms, with the name of the show appearing nearly everywhere, illuminated with bright lights. Colbert's desk was even shaped like a giant C. Anyway, onto the content.

The first show had a hilarious contest between anchor Stone Philips and Colbert, where each sought to display their "gravitas," essentially saying pointless, meaningless b.s. in the serious tone of a reporter. It also featured Colbert parodying Bill O'Reilly's talk of "elite media" on his show. Colbert's dress is even similar to O'Reilly's. I hope the mock-O'Reilly theme continues. Overall, it didn't appear as good as the Daily Show, but then again, it may be too early to tell...

Colbert's commentary is just on point. You can't get anything past him! And his comedic timing is priceless

Colbert is right when he says that he has balls. He says things on his show that Jon Stewart doesn't have the balls to say for example: the "Better Know a District" in which he interviewed Jack Kingston.

"So you were raised in Ethiopia?" "No I only lived there till I was 2 so I don't remember much." "What was it like being raised in Ethiopia?" Just some of the stuff he says gets me rolling. He then went on to call the man an African American and ask how it helps him to be an African American in congress and how he helps the working class.

I also love "The Word" which is basically a moment for him to completely tear apart the issue of the night. Always on the side are random "pointers" that always have some funny connotation to them. Overall so far this show seems to be a resounding success and I hope it continues down this great path. I still love the Daily Show and think Comedy Central did what the fans wanted. Many fans wanted the Daily Show to be extended to an hour so this pretty much is what they wanted if not better.

In the end the truth is that Stephen Colbert is awesome and his show is too.

Last night's first episode of the Colbert Report was a sign of great things to come. Stephen Colbert has already made his name as a correspondent on The Daily Show (sometimes under brilliantly ridiculous monachers), and branching out onto his own show I'm looking forward to more. If there is more to be expected, with more variety, it's definitely welcome, but on sight of the first episode I'm already hyped for it. Basically, Colbert is a combination of the several 'taling-head' talk-show hosts on Cable TV news networks, with huge egos in the guise of traditional journalism. In particular, one can see the lampooning of Bill O'Reilly, which whether or not you're a fan of his you'll find some humor (I'm very much not, but it may not be too deterring for O'Reilly's main base). The set-ups like 'The Word', and a competition with another TV correspondent with strange phrasing, are hysterical, and sometimes more subtle than the Daily Show material.

If you like Colbert's stuff, it's a must-see, and if you're a newcomer to the show (and might not watch the Daily Show much) it's worth a viewing. One thing's for sure, like the Daily Show, it's a breath of fresh air in the realm of the mildly outrageous.