Wednesday, September 9, 2015

After a Half-Hour of Stephen Colbert, the Only Thing I Can Say with Certainty is that the Jimmies Fallon and Kimmel Slept Well Last Night



 Although I'm sure Corby will think it was great.  There; there's your Ticket connection.

Concession:  Small sample size.

I'm not hip to the details of Colbert's career arc, other than a general idea of his Daily Show alter ego.  Mrs. Plainsman saw a lot of the promotional stuff and puff pieces and said she was interested in watching the show.

Wow, that was some painful tube.

I heard this was supposed to be the "real" Stephen Colbert.  I don't have much familiarity with the put-on Stephen Colbert, but he couldn't be any less amusing than Stephen Colbert.

He yells.

He mugs more shamelessly than Meryl Streep in a romcom.

 

He addresses only the camera, eliminating the feel of a live show.

Nine months of comedy planning and that unfunny, manic mess was IT?

Exception:  Les Moonves switching over to "The Mentalist"  from time to time.

Mrs. Plainsman said:  "Well, that was pretty bad."

Lame theme music with overheated, too-happy performers matched the jittery underfunniness of the program content.

Know what it brought to mind?

Ben & Skin Show.  There's another Ticket connection for you purists.

Maybe the interviews went better.  You'll have to report.

No comments on his politics, please.




44 comments:

  1. The Musers gave Colbert a pretty good kick in the nads this morning. I look forward to hearing Corby's take on it.

    Very much looking forward to the George W. Bush interview on THL today at 5:10.

    Also, I love deep throat informant. Good stuff.

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  2. Jub Jub is also an outspoken anti-Colbertian, so there's another Ticket tie-in.

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  3. I really enjoy audience bits on Fallon though his interviews aren't as enjoyable. Kimmel's show seems way more even. Colbert.....well....I did not care for it. He was great as a character....but like Christopher Guest...not funny out of a character.

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  4. I only saw some clips, and sounded okay, Jake (or one of the other JVers was a fan, so another Ticket connection) claimed to be a fan. The clips seemed decent, but my bet is he will hit his stride when it comes to politics, and political interviews.

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  5. Do we dare hope Mike takes the reins on the GWB interview, or are we in for another edition of The Corby Show?

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  6. Stephen Colbert is brilliant. Clearly you have no credibility on the subject.

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  7. Dang Plainsman, you're usually objective when it comes to corky (and other Ticket shock jocks), so it's amusing to see you call him out before he's even gone on air today. I don't know why but I think corky might go contrarian to his usual thought-less process on Colbert today.

    I couldn't agree more with Junior's take on Tina Fey and Colbert. Neither are laugh-out-loud funny, but it's viewed as very Non-PC if you don't vomit praise all over both.

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  8. God bless, Corby, you don't say "thanks, buddy" to a President of the U. S.! Does he have to be a bro to everyone? Godamighty.

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  9. I respect Colbert's work. I think he is talented and pretty funny. His old show was never appointment television for me. In fact, I think a lot of people that profess to be big fans only watched so often (Corby and Danny, for example).

    I was surprised how much the new show reminded me of the old show.

    Colbert has a great shot, though. He already has more experience with interviewing and running a show than anyone that has come before him.

    I think the Corby bagging on Fallon is funny. he bags on Fallon for liking everything, well every host acts like they like everything (except Letterman at the end) and nobody on the ticket is as guilty of fake liking something as Corby.

    Moreover, while Danny and Corby bag on Fallon, he is the only one that really gives an S about music. music is an afterthought in Kimmel. Fallon is genuinely excited when there is a great band on-go watch the clips of Fallon introducing Leon Bridges or Nathanial Ratliff.

    Confession: I was in NY once and wound up with tickets for Letterman and Fallon (pre-Tonight Show) on same night. Both taped at the same time. I chose Fallon. Why? Only reason I could justify letterman was because he was an icon. Letterman had on kid scientists and one of those bad unfunny supposed to be funny writers. Plus it was Thursday, which was Letterman's get-away day/"mail it in" day. Fallon, in contrast, had on Will Ferrel, Amy Kemperer and AWOL Nation.

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  10. W had the line of the day though. I'd rather the secret service listen to their radios than the Ticket.

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  11. W interview is up on Soundcloud.
    https://soundcloud.com/hardline1310/w-on-the-hardline

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  12. Also, Corby teased CQH with the situation in San Antonio with the HS and the referee issue. However, all they talked about was Ebby Halliday and other non-related tease issues. Is this an issue of being prepared? You think? Even Rhyner was pulling up info on the interweb as the story was going. (Also, Corby the first syllable of her name is "Hal", not "Hol"; somebody correct me if I was hearing this wrong.)

    RIP Ebby: A life cut too short by life's conundrums.

    +1 on the "thanks buddy". Jesus, show a little respect unless you tell us you are actually on a first-name basis with him, like you are with Romo

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  13. Did Prexy say anything about MTC? I'll bet the guy's a Confessor.

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  14. W was also on Cowlishaw & Mosley AND Ben and Skin....all before 6PM.

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  15. Speaking of being prepared: Did anyone hear Corby attempt to "report" the new turn in the Hot Dentist Murder case yesterday? The love-triangle thing (got the story later on the real news)? I had no idea what he was trying to convey.

    I tend to be a Corby defender and fan, but it's true: Each host and Danny embarrass themselves far too often stumbling through stuff. Makes T.C. sound like Vin Scully.

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  16. Hardline is consistently unprepared. Clearly reading stories for the first time on the air. Do they think it is not obvious? Do they think we can't tell? Do they think they are such great broadcasters we cannot tell what they are doing? Honestly, you get the same thing from Gordon in the morning sometimes, but it seems Fernando filters the content before Gordon sees it by printing stuff off and highlighting key items. I will give Gordon a little slack since the show goes on at 5:30 AM.

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  17. THL is an embarrassing show. Music experts who far far too often get their music history wrong, misidentify bands, songs, don't know about bands/songs that are fairly common knowledge, and so on. Sports experts who, other than watching the really big games, don't really follow sports. Socio-political know-it-alls capering fearlessly along with all those on the "right side of history" who appear to, in reality, know absolutely nothing about socio-political issue other than picking up bits and pieces from The Rolling Stone, TMZ, and whatever self-constructed narrative rattling around in their head. I can go on. I won't. You get the point. And as awful as it's become, they are still (though only barely) beating the competition in their time slot. That fact says more, much more, about their competition than it does to THL's product. If ESPN would put on, say, Le batard, in pm drive, I'd bet the house that in 6 months Le batard would be in the lead and would never look back. THL would be eating dust, and feces.

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  18. I am far from a Corby defender, but I am going to throw him a bone here. I thought he did a good job at the start of the interview when GWB was kinda confused on the whole Nolan/Astros/Rangers thing. You could tell Corby wanted to correct the Prez and tell him that Nolan would not be happy about the Rangers success, but he just moved on. Very good move. Also, if I was interviewing the a former President, I am sure I would be very nervous. Who knows what would pop out of my mouth. If you go back and look at the tape as Garrett would say, the whole dismount was very awkward for all of them so I bet the thanks buddy was just a nervous fall back. Overall I thought the interview was really good, but that could be because GWB is such a great interviewee.

    BTW, great post @10:56

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  19. Good ole day syndrome galore.. I often go back and listen to old shows posted to the unticket and everyone seems to assume the ticket was so brilliant back in the good ole days.. Perhaps most of us are just tiring of same basic formula having listened for decades. There are nuggets of fun each day that are just as good as the nuggets of days gone by. My main pet peeve is there seems to be an inordinate amount of teasing a subject which they don't get to and then never go back. Example the other night when Corby teased they would talk about Pulaski Academy thumping of Highland Park. Instead they went on ad nauseam on the San Antonio referee assault repeating themselves over and over for the entire segment and never touched the interesting Pulaski Academy coaching techniques as they teased.

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  20. Re: "thanks, buddy". I imagine it could have been nerves, but then he always ends interviews the same way. Or gives the impression he's a hanger on. I don't know, I still enjoy THL, but if Ryhner ever leaves, it becomes the B&S show. Although, I would listen to Danny. I've always enjoyed him when he's been paired up with other hosts in certain formats. Comes off as more thoughtful than when he'e engaged with Corby.

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  21. What an awkward interview with B.B. Thornton this morning. Emergency brakes all over the place. Didn't help that the stream kept breaking up.

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  22. @ East Texas P1...I noticed the mispronunciation of Ebby Halliday too. Just another example in the long list of Corby oratories, laden with supposed intimate knowledge, and he can't even get the woman's name right. The most shocking thing was that during the mix with IG, Wilonski, the self-identified historian of Dallas culture, didn't call him out on it. In fact, I think he mispronounced it too.

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  23. I think we should all be happy that Corby was able to control himself enough not use the phrase "Dude...George..." during the interview. He really is starting to master his craft.

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  24. Has "The Invasion of Norm and D" stuck? I like it and I like them. Anything that can push Sirois off the mic is a good thing. He's like a higher octave Gribble without timing.

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  25. Colbert is greatness. But I respect your opinion.

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  26. The BaD Radio Joe Buck interview was really really good. I really think BaD is getting it's wheels back on.

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  27. The name "The Invasion of Norm and D" is every bit as forced as the show has thus far been. If this is the actual name they're sticking with, it says a lot. It's a joke, a play on words, and a, ahem, b(B)ad(D) one at that. I want this to work for both Norm and Donnie. Especially Donnie. But man oh man this thing so far is g r a a a a a t i n g. Nails on chalkboard stuff. They need to drop all the "lifestyle and travel" crap that Norm's come to love (i.e., it's a complete throw away/give up segment that he doesn't have to think about, at all), stop making "Donnie" segments contrasted with "Norm" segments, and make the show an actual partnership. One that's a conversation. As it is, there's one show going on (Norm's) with another voice going overboard in its attempt to be heard (Donnie). So far, it's been a disjointed affair. They need to get together with The Ticket's Most Vacationed/Absent Employee (Sirois) and woodshed until they come up with an actual show. Right now, it's annoying and frankly sucks. You'd almost think it's a temporary, stop gap, time kill. Waiting not for Godot, but for Donnie to take over solo. That MIGHT not be a bad or BaDD thing.

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  28. Man, speaking of being unprepared, did anybody just hear Corby butcher the Colbert/Fallon/Trump story?

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  29. Yes I heard Corby flub the Trump story. His lack of preparedness for what is supposed to be his signature segment has just become a joke.

    Another takeaway from today's E-News . . . I realize Colbert's show is new and worthy of discussion but I fear E-News will have a daily Colbert update. Corby's Colbert Report, if you will.

    I also thought it was funny that after slobbering over Colbert, he dismissed news of Brian Williams debut on MSNBC with "who cares?" Who cares x2.

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  30. Couldn't agree more with 333pm.

    Part of the problem is show length. Take away Musers and BaD crosstalk and the ads and spots and promos, and you're left with about 1:20 minutes of content at best. That's not enough for a 2 host show. My suggestion is to cut The Musers by an hour and begin the stupidly named Invasion of Norm and D at 9, which gives them an extra 40-45 minutes. It would also force The Musers to tighten it up. Or, IoNaD go from 10-1, BaD from 1-4, THL 4-7. Again, it gives IoNaD a more workable timeframe or space to be a properly functioning show, and in this case, it forces THL to streamline, which is something THL sorely needs. Maybe that way we don't have to listen to multiple iterations of the same 2 segments over and again, i.e., What's on Mike's or fill in the blank's Mind and CQHs.

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  31. I'm no Corby apologist, but for those complaining of his preparation, knowledge or willingness to spout off half-baked (or just baked) opinions, and that it's dragging down the Hardline -- have we already forgotten one Greg Hammer? I mean, Capt. Hugs was the patron saint of being ill-prepared, ill-informed and chock full of off-the-cuff opinions. And that was during THL's supposed golden era. Granted, Greggo's vibe was more volatile country bumpkin than dismissive Uptown bro, and his eventual role as constant butt of the others' jokes made him more endearing than Cobra can pull off, but I don't think Corby's really any worse on the whole.

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  32. Pssst - this segment is going to be about guns. Lecture away, boys.

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  33. @anon 5:48: You want to cut the Musers by an hour and Give Norm-and-D an extra hour? So, you want to cut short the show that is getting an 8.8 rating and give that hour to a show that is getting a 2.8 rating?? That doesn't sound like a very good business decision.

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  34. I second whoever said the Joe Buck interview was very good. He seemed to really connect well with Bob and Dan. To be honest, he always came across a tad smug on his broadcasts, but his interview with bad today and the few I've heard with the musers over the years paint him as a genuinely funny guy who would be fun to have a few beers with.

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  35. Several things:

    - I've never understood the Joe Buck hate on the whole. The guy is the best play by play announcer in the game these days.

    - If the future of the Ticket is Jake Z and Mike 'Machine' Marshall, then God help us... actually, I can just not listen so God needs to help the Ticket. Anything with those two is an immediate switch to preset 2.

    - Put Gordon and Corby back on a Rant style show so they can both talk about whatever they want, take uncomfortable calls, etc.

    I really fear what's going to happen to this station once the JV crew takes control. It's reallllll bad.

    Feel free to flame away and tell me how terrible I am.

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  36. No, do not feel free to do that.

    I will say that after a promising start, "Not a Podcast" disappointed in their recent fill-in role. Hard to say that because both Justin and Machine are occasional friends of this site. The content was fine, but Machine's constant interrupting and talking-over and, shall we say, unrelaxed cadence made it a tough listen (and actually difficult to follow in places). His speed-talk required Justin to do the same just to finish a sentence, which is not his customary mode of expression. The thing just kind of ended up having a Ben/Skin sound to it.

    Machine and Justin are good and good together. Just need to take a deep breath and slow down and let the other guy finish a sentence or two.

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  37. I used to listen to the stream most of the day while working, except Norm's show. Now I'm switching to music after the Musers and not tuning back in. It's gotten that bad. I'm glad you think y'all will be fine, Trey.

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  38. I still don't understand why Cray Trey, who publicly called (via Twitter) MTC "poisonous," keeps popping on here? I don't say this to be snarky or confrontational. I truly wonder why? Whenever I find something not worth my time, I have nothing to do with it. But I guess that's just me.

    I like the idea of extending Norm with his sidekick Donnie an extra hour. But like someone else said, taking an hour away from The Musers isn't good business. Now the other option of taking away an hour from The Hardline makes sense. Short sample size, but this show isn't a partnership. It's Norm, his show unchanged, only with a sidekick. As others have said, the whole thing comes off as forced. A lot of work is needed on this one.

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  39. Trey doesn't take constructive criticism well. He's a Millenial, huh, go figure. . . . . .

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  40. Come on Donnie your better than that. I don't know about anyone else but it is getting tiring hearing Donovan allude to the size of his manhood at every turn. Now it is the pick of the Pole and Long Pole. There is not a show that goes by going all the way back to his start with BaD that Donovan doesn't reference the fact that he is apparently larger than average in that department. Getting old..

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  41. Honest Question, is there "sponsored content" going on at the ticket? Because I swear BAD Radio just spent a whole segment talking about the NFL with a lot of fantasy football talk and Fan Duel thrown in there...am I mistaken?

    Didn't the someone point out the same thing with THL and a weird website that was never mentioned again?

    I hope I'm wrong, it seemed much more sponsor spiffing than normal.

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  42. Warren MD in Fort WorstSeptember 11, 2015 at 4:03 PM

    Boo,

    I also was taken aback as well at the "sponsored content" fantasy football segment.

    Most segments have a sponsor, but they're normally mentioned, and then they move on. This was a ten minute tribute to Draft Kings/Fan Duel (I can't tell the difference from commercials), and they made a point of mentioning them seemingly once a minute.

    I guess this is where we're at to pay the bills at the station, but it's very disappointing.

    I was late to the party giving another kudos to the Joe Buck segment on BAD a few days ago... I also have always found him to come off as a smug jerk on broadcasts, and a St. Louis Cardinals homer, but he came off as a really good dude, and I'm willing to give him a fresh start.

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  43. Dan said "this segment brought to you by fanduel" in the middle of the segment

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