Truth with a Capital "C"

If you haven't done so yet, check out Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. It comes on at 11:30 Eastern and Pacific time just after The Daily Show, from which it so recently spun-off. The Daily Show (which I also love) has evolved since the smug Craig Kilborne era into a hilarious satire of cable news anchored by the brilliant Jon Stewart. Now The Report--'Report' pronounced with a silent 't'--takes the lampoon even further, in the form of a fantastic send-up of cable news' worst bastard spawn, the personality-driven opinion show that dresses itself up as real news. The Report hits plenty of ripe targets among the Joe Scarboroughs and Tucker Carlsons of the world, but Colbert's primary mark is obviously the current king of TV bloviators, Bill O'Reilly. As a parody The Report constantly hits all the right notes, from the flag-waving, screaming eagle opening graphics to the pompousness of the opening "Word" segment (a clear shot at O'Reilly's ridiculous "Talking Points" lectures) to the relentless self-promotion, right down to the way he begins every interview by dancing--complete with flashing lights, theme music and blown kisses to the audience--across the stage to where the guest is already seated instead of having the guest walk out on stage in the manner of a traditional talk show. One wonders why O'Reilly never thought of that. Check out some clips here.

The only question will be whether or not the joke gets tired over time. The Daily Show endures because Stewart is a witty and intelligent everyman forced to wonder constantly why it is that he seems to be the only person among the show's regular players who notices the sheer idiocy of everything going on around him--not only the reliably moronic pronouncements of politicians and media personalities, but also the gullible, self-important world of TV news that he pretends to inhabit.

Colbert, on the other hand, is attempting to carry an entire half-hour program by playing his Daily Show correspondent character: often ill-informed but always highly opinionated, egomaniacle and full to the brim with gravitas. It's funny now, but I wonder if it will still be funny in six months or a year. But for the moment, to quote Stephen himself, he's "just swallowed 20 condoms full of truth, and [he's] smuggling them across the border!" Trust me, you'll want to get a sample.