The Comics
Headlines usually make their shows. Now, late-night comics are making headlines.
Stephen Colbert is in Iraq entertaining the troops and his audience back home.
He is taping four episodes of “The Colbert Report,†the Comedy Central show featuring his egotistical, fake-macho, nationalist blowhard alter ego, in Baghdad this week. It’s the first time in the history of the U.S.O. that a full-length nonnews show has been filmed, edited and broadcast from a combat zone.
The Times is trying to figure out this character.
Mr. Colbert’s entire career is based on being gleefully insincere, a man who literally wraps himself in the flag to the screaming of majestic computer-generated eagles.
On the other hand he is unquestionably a real supporter of the troops, raising money through donorschoose.org for school supplies for children of soldiers, through his WristStrong bracelets for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which helps injured veterans, and by donating to the U.S.O. proceeds from iTunes downloads of this week’s episodes.
As the guy he imitates would likely say…..Mr. Colbert is a patriot.
Meanwhile, Conan O’Brien got through his first week as new host of The Tonight Show. Critics watched to see how his performance and ratings went, and fans watched to see how the popular show would evolve. O’Brien talked a lot about his new studio home at Universal and his gleaming new set. But he didn’t say where they came up with the design.
