The TV Zone

Yes, a cut, and not just a cut, but a command, from POTUS. This marks the second time in as many weeks that POTUS has interceded in the aid and comfort of an entertainment program. (What will be the third one?)

Anyway, good "Colbert Report" last night, and more to come through Thursday.

The cut:

>> See photos of Stephen Colbert in Iraq.

OK, he's on the way. Will be there Monday. Or sooner. Or whenever.

As fans know, "The Colbert Report" will originate from Iraq starting Monday, and as they also know, this is the first time (in TV history? certainly USO history) that a TV show has originated an entire week from a war zone.

“The USO counts this as military service, right? I might want to run for office some day,” Colbert said.

Yes, Stephen will be tweeting, and probably is right now - go here for that.

And...check out this clip. A history of the project, going back to March...

And . . .speaking of promos, here's Stephen Colbert's "birthday" one for DonorsChoose.org; it's amusing and for a good cause. His b'day (No. 45) by the way is next Wednesday...

Well, it wasn't like they were going to name the whole THING the "Colbert," but just one room, or two. Something called a "node." A nationwide poll of voters did in fact say they should name it the Colbert - they were, naturally, goaded by the Colbert himself - and it appeared last week that NASA would acquiescence, when a representative agreed to appear on last night's show to formally anoint the node...

Instead, THIS: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams shows up, as sacrificial lamb, to designate the node in question "The Tranquility." Instead, Colbert will have the combined load bearing operational external resistant treadmill named after him.

Here's the full clip. I think I'll check in with the site a little later to see how fans are taking this...

(Was there even a competition to name the treadmill?)

Honestly, NASA does look a little silly in all this, don't you think? They hold a contest to name the thing, and don't even bother to use the TWO names that were voted in. So much for ridiculous contests like this...

Yes, it's official: The space station is about to be named...

"The Stephen Colbert Report..."

Or, let me rephrase, one little component - or "node," in NASA-speak - will be named after him. I guess they'll just call it "The Colbert Room."

Whatever. VICTORY!

This is exciting. Colbert was going to be a congressman from South Carolina, and couldn't get past the silly regulations. Then, he asked viewers to vote his name into the NASA-Let's-Name-the-Space-Station! Contest. He won easily, then NASA started to "hem," and then they started to "haw."

Maybe, they said to themselves, we should overturn the Democratic process and name it what we REALLY want to name it: "The Spock Module."

But apparently the president intervened and told 'em to go with "Colbert." (I'm kidding...the president didn't intervene. But he could have....)

Here's the top of the recent press release:

NASA TO ANNOUNCE NEW SPACE STATION MODULE NAME APRIL 14th on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report." The program will air at 11:30 p.m. EDT.

Full and surprising funky NASA press release on jump...

Continue reading "Colbert: Finally Wins An Election" »

The Colbert Space Station...

Or some part of it...like a node. That's the name that the vox populi (Read: viewers of "The Colbert Report") has chosen as its name for some room on the 'station and as you know from various reports last week, NASA is balking.

Last night, Colbert demanded that his name be affixed to the 'station. NASA, of course, prefers to go with the second place choice - "Serenity," even though 40,000 more people voted for "Colbert."

Sayeth Steve, "''Serenity?' That's not a space station. That's an adult diaper..."

Comedy Central sent me last night's clip and here it is...

Let's start taking bets right now: Will NASA name that space station room "The Colbert Room" or...will it go with something entirely different?

My money's on...something entirely different.

Have you heard about this yet? "CR" fans have, and have they ever: In one of the more bizarre flubs in recent NASA history, the agency may have to name a part of the space station after a late night comic.

Note to NASA: What if the guys at "South Park" had tried this stunt? You'd have to name the space station, "The Cartman..." So consider yourself fortunate.

Here's the whole AP piece from late yesterday; but again - I'm pretty certain red-faced NASA will go with another name. Which means...Colbert needs to start another on-air campaign to get 'em to honor this one...

"NASA's online contest to name a new room at the international space station went awry. Comedian Stephen Colbert won.

The name "Colbert" beat out NASA's four suggested options in the space agency's effort to have the public help name the addition. The new room will be launched later this year.

NASA's mistake was allowing write-ins. Colbert urged viewers of his Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report," to write in his name. And they complied, with 230,539 votes. That clobbered Serenity, one of the NASA choices, by more than 40,000 votes. Nearly 1.2 million votes were cast by the time the contest ended Friday.

NASA reserves the right to choose an appropriate name. Agency spokesman John Yembrick said NASA will decide in April, but will give top vote-getters "the most consideration."

Here's Steve..."to infinity, and me-on."

-Click here to see photos of Stephen Colbert, on and off his show

The writers' strike is leaving young viewers pining for their dose of fake news and daily snark from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Here's a little taste of what we used to be able to watch every night.

Daily Show: Fool Me Once

Daily Show: MSNBC Democratic Debate

Stephen Colbert: The Mini Threatdown

Stephen Colbert: Obama's Challenge

Stephen Colbert: The Word

This is terrible news, Colbert fans. Terrible news.

Your man didn't make the ballot for the January primary in South Carolina - a state (or at least state party) which evidently has no sense of humor, or at least minimal willingness to part with the twenty grand it would have cost to put him on the ballot.

CNN reported not too long ago that the state party bigwigs voted to keep him off the ballot, because "he does not appear to be campaigning to win if he is only running in one state," the network quoted State Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler Wednesday just before he put his name in the hat.

(Well, she was right...but SO?!) According to CNN, he lost a roll call vote, 13-3. You're right - not exactly a tight vote. Amazingly, Dennis Kucinich WAS allowed on the ballot; he's the candidate who sees UFOs and is apparently considered more "serious" than Colbert.

What does this mean for the Colbert candidacy? It's not good, not good at all. My suggestion: Apply to get on the ballot in other states, so that at least he can circumvent the argument that he's "not serious." Besides, if there's a writers strike - which there will be - what else is he gonna do when "The Colbert Report" goes dark?

I'm hearing, by the way, that shows like "The Daily Show" and "Colbert" will - in fact - go dark instantly in the event of a strike. For viewers, it'll be like those weeks when the hosts go on vacation - only this "vacation" could last many weeks. There's talk that Comedy Central might continue running repeat telecasts that would be grouped into "theme weeks." What does that mean? I'm not entirely sure, but possible themes, I suppose, could be "Political" or "Movies" or "Britney...."

Big news! Stephen Colbert last night confirmed that he had entered the race in South Carolina as a Democrat.

That's right, Democrat.

But consider this not an indication of party affiliation as much as an indication of financial resources. To enter the race in SC as a Dem required a $2,500 payout, while the cost to enter as a Republican cost $35,000. Easy decision.

Meanwhile, Colbert and "The Report" should hear in, oh, just about an hour from now whether he'll actually get on the ballot, and that is by no means certain. There's plenty of noise out there that S.C. Democratic party leaders are torn on the "joke candidacy." Some think it's simply that - a joke that'd cost the party $20,000 just to add him to the ballot. Others apparently think it'd bring people to the polls, draw interest, etc. So this would be a good thing. (And fans simply want to see the guy in the debates - now THAT is a debate that would get a decent rating.)

Let's play hypothetical: If Colbert doesn't get on the ballot (the primary will be held late January), then what? Another state, maybe? He's given no indication that he wants to go to, say, New Hampshire, and don't expect him to enter the Georgia primary either - I think he's promised to invade Georgia if he wins in South Carolina.

So it's South Carolina or bust. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Yes, we're all terribly excited this morning because Stephen Colbert announced last night that he'd officially become a candidate for the office of the president of the U.S. of A.

(Missed it? Here's an "interview" with Gwen Ifill from earlier this year where he pretty much confirms he's gonna run anyway...)

It was quite a night for Colbert. He suggested earlier on "The Daily Show" that he'd be entering the race, although he wanted to make an official declaration on "a more prestigious show" - "The Colbert Report."

"After nearly fifteen minutes of soul-searching, I have heard the call," said he.

To fans, of course, this is no surprise - he's been hinting for weeks, months (see above), and when the new book came out recently, that pretty much sealed the deal. (Books - even best-sellers - need gimmicks too.) He'll only campaign in home state South Carolina, or so he says, and the state's public education station has already offered air time.

Is this a Borat-style campaign? Of course - except everyone already knows "Colbert" is, ummm, "Colbert." But big questions anyway: What if he does get more votes than, say, Mike Huckabee in the S.C. primary on Jan. 19? Or more than that other celebrity-in-the-running, Fred Thompson? Will he enter as a Republican AND Democratic candidate, as threatened, so he can "lose twice?" Will he be the Ross Perot of S.C.? Will the networks cover him as vigorously as any other candidate, thus helping to sell even MORE books? Once seeing traction, will he drop character (and quotation marks), and revert to his real self, whatever that is, and become Stephen Colbert? Will he win the S.C. primary and go on to other primaries, and win those too (because the networks keep airing stories about his "improbable campaign," and David Gregory gets assigned to his campaign bus?) Will he eventually win the presidency?

And, really, what sort of president will Stephen Colbert make?

But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. Before we get too excited, let's not forget about that other improbable celeb who's entered the race - Christopher Walken. I'm pretty certain this is a serious campaign, but I could be wrong...

And just to put this all in perspective, let's bow our heads in memory of Pat Paulsen, who died in 1997.

Four you young 'uns, Paulsen - a fine comedian (associated mostly with the Smothers Brothers) - ran for prez in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996. When the "serious" candidates criticized him - hell, when anybody criticized him - he'd respond, "picky, picky, picky." He had several campaign slogans, including, "Just a common, ordinary, simple savior of America's destiny." The most famous ones, I guess, were "If elected, I will win," or this one:

“I've upped my standards. Now, up yours.”

He got nearly a thousand votes in the '96 New Hampshire primary.

Up that, Colbert.

Who will you vote for in Election '08?