Colbert Report

Lots of folks are probably suffering symptoms of Colbert-withdrawal due to the sudden -- and unexplained suspension of the Colbert Report's taping. The Washington Post noted : Comedy Central's “The Colbert Report” suddenly canceled taping Wednesday night, telling ticket holders that episodes of the show for the rest of the week had been scrapped due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Meanwhile, here are some suggestions of comic dystopia to keep you busy: -- "I Am America (And So Can You!

Lots of folks are probably suffering symptoms of Colbert-withdrawal due to the sudden -- and unexplained suspension of the Colbert Report's taping. The Washington Post noted : Comedy Central's “The Colbert Report” suddenly canceled taping Wednesday night, telling ticket holders that episodes of the show for the rest of the week had been scrapped due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Meanwhile, here are some suggestions of comic dystopia to keep you busy: -- "I Am America (And So Can You!

The first week of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central offered this curious sight: A fake newsman pretending to be a real newsman interviewing real newsmen pretending to be funny. That's so twisted we're lucky a wormhole didn't open up somewhere in the universe and suck us all in. Instead, we lived to watch another week of Comedy Central's latest news parody program. I think I'd rather take the wormhole. The Colbert Report is a spinoff of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, a reliable bastion of intelligence and humor that is watched by 1.4 million viewers nightly -- some of whom rely on it as their primary source of news and have adopted Stewart's political outlook as their own. When a show develops that kind of audience, a spinoff is inevitable, and Stephen Colbert -- who took down vacuous politicians and vain reporters with deadpan delight on The Daily Show -- seemed the most likely of its correspondents to succeed.

Stephen Colbert, whose deadpan punditry on Comedy Central has become a force of nature, has an honest appreciation for speedskating. No joke. He is not, he insists, enamored of big-thighed men whose muscles bulge through body-hugging suits. OK, that was going for a laugh. But he is truly intrigued by curling too. He throws out words like shuffleboard stone, lunging, scrubbing and hog line as if he means it. Meet your newest NBC reporter for the Vancouver Olympics. At nearly every Winter Olympics, balls-and-bats sportswriters take pleasure in mocking what they don't know.

Nothing says success like a spinoff. Law & Order and CSI have taught viewers that lesson repeatedly, and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart hopes to follow their example. Comedy Central's Emmy-winning variety series gives birth to the show immediately after it: The Colbert Report, which makes its debut tomorrow at 11:30 p.m. The Daily Show has become a phenomenon for mocking newscasts. The Colbert Report, which elevates correspondent Stephen Colbert to host, spoofs Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor and other personality-driven programs.

In a recent news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said that although she claims to watch Comedy Central's satirical pundit show The Colbert Report "all the time," she "wouldn't recommend that anyone go on the show." Her advice to other members of Congress: "Don't subject yourself to a comic's edit unless you want to be made a fool of." Last month, Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, seemed to prove her point when Stephen Colbert convinced him to make outlandish statements on camera.

WASHINGTON -- The line outside the bathroom at the National Portrait Gallery has been out the door since museum officials decided to hang a portrait of late-night host Stephen Colbert in between the men's and women's restrooms. "The lines have been extraordinary," museum director Marc Pachter said yesterday as he prepared to end his 33-year tenure with the Smithsonian Institution. "A friend e-mailed that it was good I was leaving with my dignity." Colbert, who plays an egotistical conservative host on his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, has made a running joke of his campaign to get his portrait into the Smithsonian.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - As he slipped into the bullet-shaped black bobsled and stared down the mile-long icy chute, Stephen Colbert faced his moment of truthiness. He didn't blink or scream - so he said - but the Comedy Central host did admit to getting a pounding "like losing the worst snowball fight of your life," after riding a four-man sled driven by world champion Steve Holcomb and taking a solo skeleton slide. As the bobsled crossed the finish line, Colbert raised his arms above his head to the chants of "U-S-A" from the crowd remaining after the World Cup competition.

Michael D. Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is tired of being caricatured as an incompetent government appointee who stood by while the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. During an appearance before a Senate committee last month, Brown refused to accept all the blame for the government's slow response, insisting that he had warned the White House of the storm's disastrous potential. Now he's embarking on the next step of his rehabilitation tour: He's going on The Colbert Report.

Every day seems to bring a new twist to the campaign season, whether it's Mike Huckabee's Christmas-themed ad or Hillary Rodham Clinton's attempts to show a softer side. And every day, fans of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Saturday Night Live wonder how those programs would sink their teeth into the political spin and media coverage of such topics - if, that is, the shows weren't in reruns. The worst thing for viewers about the Hollywood writers' strike may not be the effect on favorite sitcoms or dramas.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - As he slipped into the bullet-shaped black bobsled and stared down the mile-long icy chute, Stephen Colbert faced his moment of truthiness. He didn't blink or scream - so he said - but the Comedy Central host did admit to getting a pounding "like losing the worst snowball fight of your life," after riding a four-man sled driven by world champion Steve Holcomb and taking a solo skeleton slide. As the bobsled crossed the finish line, Colbert raised his arms above his head to the chants of "U-S-A" from the crowd remaining after the World Cup competition.

WASHINGTON -- The line outside the bathroom at the National Portrait Gallery has been out the door since museum officials decided to hang a portrait of late-night host Stephen Colbert in between the men's and women's restrooms. "The lines have been extraordinary," museum director Marc Pachter said yesterday as he prepared to end his 33-year tenure with the Smithsonian Institution. "A friend e-mailed that it was good I was leaving with my dignity." Colbert, who plays an egotistical conservative host on his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, has made a running joke of his campaign to get his portrait into the Smithsonian.

Every day seems to bring a new twist to the campaign season, whether it's Mike Huckabee's Christmas-themed ad or Hillary Rodham Clinton's attempts to show a softer side. And every day, fans of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Saturday Night Live wonder how those programs would sink their teeth into the political spin and media coverage of such topics - if, that is, the shows weren't in reruns. The worst thing for viewers about the Hollywood writers' strike may not be the effect on favorite sitcoms or dramas.

In a recent news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said that although she claims to watch Comedy Central's satirical pundit show The Colbert Report "all the time," she "wouldn't recommend that anyone go on the show." Her advice to other members of Congress: "Don't subject yourself to a comic's edit unless you want to be made a fool of." Last month, Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, seemed to prove her point when Stephen Colbert convinced him to make outlandish statements on camera.

First-time visitors to Amy Sedaris' home in Greenwich Village hear a clanging noise coming from the direction of her apartment as they emerge from the elevator. She uses the sound and a few friendly words to guide them around the right corners. Could she be banging on a pan? After all, Sedaris, though most famous as an actress, is also known as a dedicated cook -- and even has a wacky entertaining book coming out in the fall. And, sure enough: There she is wearing a blue-checked apron over a ruffly white dress -- she loves aprons, she later explains, and often wears them all day. Her apartment is a study in quirkiness: living room adornments include a rubber turkey, a stuffed squirrel and dozens of paintings.

Stephen Colbert made news last weekend at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, but it took most of the hundreds of journalists in the room a few days to figure it out. Bloggers weren't so slow to react. Colbert's keynote performance in front of the crowd of celebrities, politicians, media types, and the president, was jarring. Playing the role of the bombastic conservative cable news pundit from his Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, the comedian went after Bush for several minutes.

Stephen Colbert made news last weekend at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, but it took most of the hundreds of journalists in the room a few days to figure it out. Bloggers weren't so slow to react. Colbert's keynote performance in front of the crowd of celebrities, politicians, media types, and the president, was jarring. Playing the role of the bombastic conservative cable news pundit from his Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, the comedian went after Bush for several minutes.

Stephen Colbert, whose deadpan punditry on Comedy Central has become a force of nature, has an honest appreciation for speedskating. No joke. He is not, he insists, enamored of big-thighed men whose muscles bulge through body-hugging suits. OK, that was going for a laugh. But he is truly intrigued by curling too. He throws out words like shuffleboard stone, lunging, scrubbing and hog line as if he means it. Meet your newest NBC reporter for the Vancouver Olympics. At nearly every Winter Olympics, balls-and-bats sportswriters take pleasure in mocking what they don't know.

Michael D. Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is tired of being caricatured as an incompetent government appointee who stood by while the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. During an appearance before a Senate committee last month, Brown refused to accept all the blame for the government's slow response, insisting that he had warned the White House of the storm's disastrous potential. Now he's embarking on the next step of his rehabilitation tour: He's going on The Colbert Report.

The first week of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central offered this curious sight: A fake newsman pretending to be a real newsman interviewing real newsmen pretending to be funny. That's so twisted we're lucky a wormhole didn't open up somewhere in the universe and suck us all in. Instead, we lived to watch another week of Comedy Central's latest news parody program. I think I'd rather take the wormhole. The Colbert Report is a spinoff of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, a reliable bastion of intelligence and humor that is watched by 1.4 million viewers nightly -- some of whom rely on it as their primary source of news and have adopted Stewart's political outlook as their own. When a show develops that kind of audience, a spinoff is inevitable, and Stephen Colbert -- who took down vacuous politicians and vain reporters with deadpan delight on The Daily Show -- seemed the most likely of its correspondents to succeed.