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Colbert Report, The
SERIES: Comedy Central, Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 11:30p (30 minutes)


8.6

based on 22 reviews
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how did we calculate this?

based on 116 votes
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BOOKS:

America: The Book by Jon Stewart And The Writers Of The Daily Show

Starring Stephen Colbert

This Daily Show spinoff elevates bear-phobic Stephen Colbert to the anchor seat, where he takes on cable news hosts such as Bill O'Reilly.

GENRE(S):	Comedy, News & Talk
FIRST AIR DATE:	October 17, 2005

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Salon Heather Havrilesky

Not only does Colbert maintain his persona without skipping a beat throughout the entire show, but he's got great comic timing, the show's writers are brilliant, and the whole thing is pure foolish, bizarre, idiotic fun at Bill O'Reilly's expense.

Los Angeles Times Paul Brownfield

In the run-up to the show it all sounded a bit hard to get your head around, but in the flesh the show zinged, at least this first week.

The New York Times Alessandra Stanley

Mr. Colbert's on-camera persona may not wear well over the long term, but for now at least "The Colbert Report" is a worthy spinoff, an icy-cold beer chaser to the shot of whiskey that is "The Daily Show."

Entertainment Weekly Gilbert Cruz

Colbert proves that the line between serious TV journalism and utter nonsense is a very thin one indeed. [4 Nov 2005, p.67]

Variety Brian Lowry

"The Daily Show" spinoff has gotten off to an impressive start with a topnotch premiere followed by a respectable second outing that underscores just how challenging it will be to sustain this half-hour high-wire act four nights a week.

Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan

The biggest question hanging over "The Colbert Report" is whether the show’s sendup of the pomposity and fear-mongering of cable news blowhards will be as appealing in the long term as "The Daily Show’s" satire of public figures and the news media as a whole.

Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert

One of Colbert's strengths has always been wordplay, which is in full force on ''The Colbert Report" and gives the show an added level of wit.

New York Daily News David Hinckley

It's got a way to go to become a polished program, but made a very solid and affable first impression.

People Weekly Tom Gliatto

Unlike Daily anchorman Jon Stewart, he's not only ridiculing the headlines but mocking himself. This is closer to acting than comedy, and it may be tougher. But Stephen Colbert is a great American and deserves our support. And suppore. [7 Nov 2005, p.41]

Houston Chronicle Mike McDaniel

When it is clicking, The Colbert Report is Countdown on mescaline -- occasionally brilliant, occasionally loopy, definitely entertaining.

Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron

The new show dovetails nicely with its lead-in to present a solid hour of skewered news and punctured pomposity.

Slate Dana Stevens

By its very nature, the position Colbert occupies—the butt of his own show's joke—seems more difficult to sustain than Stewart's role as the eternal observer.

USA Today Robert Bianco

Colbert was an invaluable part of the Daily Show, but as the whole show, he's not enough and too much simultaneously.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland

A few kinks are painfully apparent. Foremost among them is the blowhard persona Colbert forces on us for half an hour. It feels like a weaker extension of "The Daily Show."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen

It's more an intellectual, in your head, "hey, that's clever," than a laugh-out-loud funny.

The New Yorker Nancy Franklin

Colbert is very skillful at parodying people who are already parodies of themselves, and his show is a lot sharper than most of what passes for comedy on TV. At the end of the day, though--a day, say, on which a President says something foolish, or a Supreme Court nominee has to step aside, or a White House aide is indicted--the voice you’ll most want to hear is still Jon Stewart’s.

TV Guide Matt Roush

Smart fun.... But Report often feels like an overlong, overindulged sketch.

Kansas City Star Aaron Barnhart

Monday’s premiere was one of the most nearly perfect half-hours of television I’ve ever seen.... [But] I can’t imagine tuning in “The Colbert Report” four nights a week just to watch a caricature.

New York Post Linda Stasi

This would be hilarious, except that political talk TV has become such a parody of itself that watching them is more than enough comedy for anybody.

The New Republic Keelin McDonell

It turns out that it's a lot easier to make fun of the news than to parody the people who deliver it.

Baltimore Sun Stephen Kiehl

What worked so well in short Daily Show-sized bites wears thin over a half-hour program.

New York Magazine Adam Sternbergh

It’s an astute parody, but it suffocates the show, sealing The Colbert Report under a hermetic layer of irony.

The average user rating for this tv show is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 116 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Justin B. gave it a9:
Like others have said, these reviews are based on the debut. I didn't like the show when it started, but I really do now. It's not quite as good as The Daily Show, but it takes bigger risks and isn't as formulaic. It also helps if you watch it regularly.

John S gave it an8:
These reviews are all based on the debut of the show. It has improved significantly since then.

tim r. gave it a9:
I didn't realize just how good Colbert's satire was until I watched a little of Bill O'Reilly. Colbert nails the formula for conservative pundits. And it's really funny.

Jo E. gave it a10:
Best show on TV

John C. gave it a0:
I try as hard as I can to enjoy this since im a big comedy central fan.....but I just cannot stand this moron!!! Absolutly awful!!!

Joe A gave it a10:
You have to hand it to a show that convinces Shawn Penn to appear on air in a Meta-free-phor-all (a competition of metaphors) after ridiculing the celebrity for several weeks for his own particularly bad metaphor. Colbert also invited the computer animation geeks in his audience to create a backdrop for his own improvised light saber duel. The submissions were spectacular! His guest interviews are not as polished as Stewart's and he frequently flubs punchlines, but his self parody is as on-target as his political parody so we forgive him. When The Colbert Report aired, I was sure it would tank. As another reviewer writes: "Do we really need two shows of people making fun of the news?" The Colbert Report has become much more. Ben and Jerry have named an ice cream flavor after him and his response was a jab at them for opposing the use of synthetic bovine growth hormone (aka "Jesus juice"--check out the Comedy Central site for a clip of the segment). The show is sharp, funny, and taking way more chances these days than the Daily Show. However, I fear that the Times critic is right. The appeal over-the-top persona will eventually fade. Watch him while he's hip.

David R gave it an8:
Even when Colbert takes his on-screen persona as far over the top as it can possibly go, he is still funnier than the smuggest man on the planet, Jon Stewart. Where Stewart will have a guest on his show one day promoting a 1,000 page book on Einstein and then another guest the next promoting a 500 page book on Colonial America, Stewart will look the author right in the eye and lie by saying it was a great book and worth the viewers time. How is he reading 1,500 pages of material so fast while still coming in to work every day and raising a family? Colbert doesn't have to lie constantly to be charming and appear intelligent. Bravo to Stephen and best of luck to his great show!

Colbert Report, The SERIES: Comedy Central, Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 11:30p (30 minutes)

Colbert Report, The
SERIES: Comedy Central, Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday 11:30p (30 minutes)