Show Tunes
Now, I know it's not Sunday, and I have an unconscionable amount of work due tomorrow, but I must give you a quick roundup of my evening activities: thanks to the largesse of my roommate and his sister-in-law, my two roomies and I got to go see a live taping of...dum dum dum...The Colbert Report! My summary, in three acts:
Act I: Preshow
When we arrived at the studio the crowd control folks sent us to a line, where it was discovered twenty-five minutes later that we were in the wrong place, because we were actually V.I.P.s. That's right, V.I.P.s. Apparently what happens in the VIP line is that you get yelled at for being late by a stressed out audience coordinator. After that the audience goes through security and waits in a holding pen, where you are subjected to episodes of Jeoparday! and Wheel of Fortune while wondering if this is part of some devious plan to exterminate all the hipsters. Then we all practiced cheering, and we reaped the benefits of our VIP passes and got to go in first.
The studio is small, only about 100 or 120 people, so everyone is close to the action. Just like in your dreams, the desk is in the shape of a big "C." The warmup comedian was very funny, and he even made Stephen laugh (that's right, we're on a first name basis now). Then S.C. came out and answered some questions, confirming that he is a HUGE DORK, which is very charming. He went on a semi-extended riff about Tolkein vs. C.S. Lewis, and I was gratified to realize that even huge dorks can have their own television shows.
Act II: The Show
This was a great episode. You should really watch it. It's on tonight. Highlights were his tribute to "Duke" Cunningham's Things, his assessment of the bubonic plague, including a digression into not getting any action during his cross-Europe college vacation, and the interview with Richard Preston, which brought everyone's understanding of extreme smallpox to new, horrifying heights. Suffice it to say, if you see someone with their skin sliding offf in sheets, coal-black eyeballs, and an expelled rectum, run the other direction.
Act III: The Aftershow
Denouement: Exits to your left.
Besides the great fun of the whole thing, it was so cool to see that the crew appears to find the show funny and they seem to really like Stephen. They're like one big happy family over there at Comedy Central.
Act I: Preshow
When we arrived at the studio the crowd control folks sent us to a line, where it was discovered twenty-five minutes later that we were in the wrong place, because we were actually V.I.P.s. That's right, V.I.P.s. Apparently what happens in the VIP line is that you get yelled at for being late by a stressed out audience coordinator. After that the audience goes through security and waits in a holding pen, where you are subjected to episodes of Jeoparday! and Wheel of Fortune while wondering if this is part of some devious plan to exterminate all the hipsters. Then we all practiced cheering, and we reaped the benefits of our VIP passes and got to go in first.
The studio is small, only about 100 or 120 people, so everyone is close to the action. Just like in your dreams, the desk is in the shape of a big "C." The warmup comedian was very funny, and he even made Stephen laugh (that's right, we're on a first name basis now). Then S.C. came out and answered some questions, confirming that he is a HUGE DORK, which is very charming. He went on a semi-extended riff about Tolkein vs. C.S. Lewis, and I was gratified to realize that even huge dorks can have their own television shows.
Act II: The Show
This was a great episode. You should really watch it. It's on tonight. Highlights were his tribute to "Duke" Cunningham's Things, his assessment of the bubonic plague, including a digression into not getting any action during his cross-Europe college vacation, and the interview with Richard Preston, which brought everyone's understanding of extreme smallpox to new, horrifying heights. Suffice it to say, if you see someone with their skin sliding offf in sheets, coal-black eyeballs, and an expelled rectum, run the other direction.
Act III: The Aftershow
Denouement: Exits to your left.
Besides the great fun of the whole thing, it was so cool to see that the crew appears to find the show funny and they seem to really like Stephen. They're like one big happy family over there at Comedy Central.
posted by gurgly at 10:44 PM
1 Comments:
I was wondering, how does one get to be a V.I.P. at the Colbert Report. I live way out of state and would love to know how to get this honour!!
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