Sit a kid in front of a TV for an hour a day and a parent is bound to find something that offends them, other than the fact that plopping impressionable minds in front of a TV unsupervised is considered "good parenting."
Sesame Street is no stranger to controversy. Critics, cynics and crybabies have called out the show on everything from questionable behavior to the ambiguous situations...of puppets. Of course, all of these complaints and cackling criticisms just scratch the surface of a much bigger issue that has largely gone unaddressed: the total loss of our sanity and grasp on reality.
So as we look back at the last 40 years of television's greatest children's show, we see some speed bumps along the way. These are the ones that caused the greatest loss of tire pressure.
You don't usually see Stephen Colbert talking about sports. He even addresses that a little bit in this clip from last night's show, where he talks about the winner of the New York City marathon and Olympic speedskating.
I was going to start this letter by telling you how much of a fan I am of you and your show. But I'm sure you already know that, right? You probably cannot conceive of a TV viewer who doesn't like your show, so my love of everything you do probably comes as no surprise to you. But last night you did something that hurt me and several of my friends deeply.
You made a joke about the Gorton's fisherman being kidnapped and said that he was in Maine. He's not, he's in Massachusetts. I should know because I grew up a mile from Gorton's and devoured their fish sticks every week (now with crispier breading!).
One of television's oldest and most powerful names is about to get a little less powerful.
Media mogul Sumner Redstone is selling nearly $1 billion shares of CBS and Viacom to pay off a big portion of his debt to preserve his media empire. He owes nearly $1.46 billion and has to pay at least $500,000 of it by the end of October. Maybe he's got some used DVDs he can sell at his local Gamestop.
Of course, he'll still maintaining "controlling interest" in both companies but it won't feel the same. Now, no one will have enough power to make media bigheads like Stephen Colbert (literally) dance.
The Word is one of the best segments of The Colbert Report, and last night Colbert ranted about a large cross in the Mojave Desert that is causing some controversy.
Remember a while back when Stephen Colbert wanted you to go to Wikipedia and actually edit things on his page? Well, he's at it again. He wants fans to go to the conservative site Conservapedia and add him as a character in the Bible! Look at the note that the site has:
Special message to the Colbert show watchers: do yourselves a favor and watch less television. Colbert and his advertisers want to make money off you, but you can accomplish some good instead by unplugging the TV. You could even pick up a Bible.
I don't usually watch the Olympics, so it wasn't too devastating to me that Chicago lost out to Rio De Janiero in the bid to host the 2016 games. But that doesn't mean I was rooting against Chicago, like some people were, as this clip from last night's Colbert Report shows.
This won't come as news to fans of The Colbert Report, but it's actually a brilliant little show. The writing on it is so well-done (which isn't easy to do four days a week), and Colbert really gives an incredible "performance" as this character Stephen Colbert. He's dedicated to it, and every episode is like a gem of writing and performance art.
Last night he talked about a new tobacco product on the market, and at one point he can't even speak. (Video also here.)
I think we can all agree, no matter what your politics, seeing Tom Delay dancing to "Wild Thing" on Dancing with the Stars was rather...surreal. Last night, Stephen Colbert talked about it.
I never want to hear the phrase "knee slide into a fist munch" again.
On The Colbert Report last night, Stephen Colbert was waiting by The Atone Phone for people to call him to apologize the way that they have wronged him. Unfortunately, his phone number is shared by someone else and he gets a call from another Comedy Central guy. (Video also here.)
The Colbert Report is in vacation right now (it returns on September 14), so how about we look at the career of Stephen Colbert to get us through these weeks?
Rolling Stone has a new cover story on Colbert and an interesting feature up at their site that gives an overview of what Colbert has done over the years. Not just the stuff we've all seen (like The Dana Carvey Show and Strangers with Candy), but also his work on the short-lived sketch show Exit 57, a dramatic turn on Law and Order: CI, and voiceover work for a really terrible-looking video tennis game.
If the much-delayed launch of the space shuttle Discovery does indeed happen tonight (at 11:59PM ET) , the astronauts are going to be wearing patches, like they always do. But this time the COLBERT treadmill is on the shuttle so the crew is going to be wearing the patch to the right. Is that cool or what? How do we get one?
We often hear the phrase "die hard fan," but who is actually willing to "die hard" for the thing they care most about?
If you believe in statistics, that honor would go to fans of Comedy Central.
A recent study conducted by a research group found that fans of the long-running cable network have the most dedicated fan base. Plus, those polled think people who watch The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are "cool." Are the kids these days still saying "cool"? My, where has all the time gone?
The Space Shuttle Discovery was supposed to launch around 1:30 this morning, but bad weather in Florida means it has been put off until the same time tonight. On board will be the COLBERT, the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, named after the host of a certain late night comedy show. In this video, that host thanks NASA.
Sit a kid in front of a TV for an hour a day and a parent is bound to find something that offends them, other than the fact that plopping impressionable minds in front of a TV unsupervised is considered "good parenting."
Dear Stephen,
The Colbert Report is in vacation right now (it returns on September 14), so how about we look at the career of Stephen Colbert to get us through these weeks?
If the much-delayed launch of the space shuttle Discovery does indeed happen tonight (at 11:59PM ET) , the astronauts are going to be 
We often hear the phrase "die hard fan," but who is actually willing to "die hard" for the thing they care most about? 
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