Check out my personal accounting of my last visit to the TCR studio on December 11, 2014. This is the post-post Colbocalypse edition.
Although I wasn’t able to meet fellow staff member Anna at the taping, whose own excellent taping reporT is forthcoming, I was not far away, having just flown in that morning for one last glance at live TCR.
I always swore I would never go to a taping in the cold weather months. I had read about people freezing their tail feathers off waiting to get into the studio in previous taping reports, so I always made it a point to go during warm(er) months. Yet here I was, eating my words, and, with a good friend of mine, being ushered into the line, which was already quite long when we arrived at 5:00 p.m. This being my fourth go-around, I wasn’t nervous about being there or self-conscious. People grimly stood, and in some cases, sat in line. As we slowly passed the Stern Looking “No Graffiti!” Stephen Stencils on the red walls, many folks paused to take a picture. Anything with Stephen’s face on it was worth savoring to this crowd.
While we entered the pared-down hold room and were being screened, people were watching the highlights video. At some point the excited conversation drowned out the video, and all we could do is wait. And wait. And wait. Because it was so cold outside, they had brought us in early. We heard from a newer audience coordinator, I don’t know who he was but he was really funny and great – and I thought, where have you been all this time! He was saying how the show had only 5 episodes left (I had to chuckle to myself as the Hub’s preeminent episode countdown specialist) and that it was a special experience now to be at TCR. And he said they had a super special surprise for us, so we had to patient but it would be totally worth it.
I was struck at how patient everyone was. Although it was cold, and some had been waiting outside for some hours, and we were in this hold room for an extended period of time, not really able to move, or even get to the “liquid courage” in the corner (the lone water cooler), folks waited. I’ve had people go ape on me at dinner parties when the apps were late forthcoming. But this is Stephen Colbert, people. Hours and hours of wait are ok, if only for him. We wanted to be there for one of the last shows.
Finally, we were let in. We weren’t sure if the studio would be changed to accommodate whatever big surprise they were alluding to, but I imagined not, as the show will be closing shop in mere days. The opening comic was pleasant, and from him we were able to find out that Jay Katsir’s Dad was in the audience. When he asked him where he was from, he said, “I am Jay the Intern’s Dad,” in a heavy accent. He seemed like a really proud Papa. There was a young man who seemed to be with him and the comic said, “Is this also your son? Because it would be really awkward if you were proud of him and not so much of this one.” And Mr. Katsir said no, laughingly.
After we practiced our cheering, we were not deprived of Stephen for long, who came out in my favorite look, his purple tie ensemble. As will likely be mentioned, his fly was open, although we honestly wouldn’t have noticed. Mark McKenna caught it and it made Stephen laugh in embarrassment.
Stephen informed us that we had a special surprise which lead to the delays, and that the guest, while still yet a secret, was going to be very much with us. He then said it was very special for us to be at the Report as we had only 5 episodes left. The audience groaned loudly, and it just cast a sad energy over everything. Stephen said in mock-stern tone, “If you’re going to be like that, then we won’t do a show at all,” and we all laughed. Only Stephen can find that little glimmer of laughter in sadness.
Anna will go through all the questions in her report, there might not too many surprises unless you haven’t been dialed into the fandom much.
One man asked what was Stephen drinking from that white water bottle he always has. He went up to the man, shook his hand, and said, “Hello, Frank. Nice to meet ya!” There were several breaks throughout the taping and he took the most questions I have ever seen over the years.
Hair was shellacked one last time, bracelets were flung, Stephen wished us “good show,” and off we went.
Stephen really struggled at the top of the show to get through the first act. We had to start the show completely over after he flubbed almost from say go. I couldn’t help but feel that the impending end of the show, and the technically heavy production day probably were taking its toll on his focus, which is really, really hard to do, as I have marveled at his steely powers of concentration before. The one thing that became apparent is how much the audience can help in these instances by keeping their energy up. Once we started the show again, and cheered our heads off (again), things started to take off.
The Casting Controversy segment was a good topic, and when Ridley Scott said “Muhammad So-and-So” the audience’s reaction was really strong, which made me happy for a variety of personal reasons. I liked that this episode really had it all, two newsy-stories and then onto the auction announcement.
As he flung off his last Wristrong bracelet, I couldn’t help but feel another twinge of sadness. He wore those for so many years. It seemed like the character’s ribbons of patriotism were being taken away, although I certainly am glad it is due to the Afghan troop drawdown! He then announced the set auction. I am so thrilled that he is donating the proceeds to the Yellow Ribbon Fund and Donorschoose, not that his trademark generosity is surprising in any way. During the auction announcement, I cheered as loudly as I could. Again, sadness at the thought of the C-desk going away to be a treasure in someone’s home or office, as well as all the other precious items we have loved so well over the years. He had some trouble again with “throwing” to “Steve” who was announcing the prizes. I recognized the model as having been on the show before, so it was nice to see her again. Stephen really sticks with people he casts for bits on his show, so get in on the Late Show early, NYC actors.
So after newsy-stories, closing/flinging the Wristrong chapter, announcing the Epic Auction, now was time for the guest. Finally, we learned it was Smaug. Basically, the whole interview was taped before we entered the studio, owing to the long wait time, so we just watched it together on the large main screen behind the interview table to get the audience reaction. The CGI was so effective, it really felt like the Dragon was lunging out at us – it was kinda scary! When spliced with the rest of the episode, it’s quite magical television, creating the illusion that everything happened in one seamless take. Little does the viewer know that Stephen was spending a painstaking amount of time to film his bit with the Dragon before we even entered the studio, plus the many months it took to make Smaug himself appear with all those names he rattled off at the end contributing from several different countries.
Once the video started rolling, Stephen came and sat on the stairs and watched it along with us for a minute and then crossed back to his desk. He was grinning like a schoolboy the whole time while watching it in his monitor – clearly a great source of pride and accomplishment for him. I was stunned at the visuals, I mean technically this was a guest interview that was never even mildly attempted on the Report. I am not exactly an LoTR expert or fan, but I can appreciate the time, effort, energy, and especially the enthusiasm that went into making it. It was clearly an expensive, but beautiful segment, and a great gift for Stephen. A truly fitting end to the Hobbit film series and Stephen’s love affair with the subject – at least on this program.
I will say also that I was impressed with Cumberbatch’s acting, and Stephen’s as well – Stephen seemed really comfortable with the CGI format (for having poked fun at it for so many years) and it was great to see him trying something new.
The fire extinguisher was funny, it had me thinking of when Richard Branson nearly killed Stephen by dousing him with one so many years ago. Haha! Man, were our fans angry about that! Mark McKenna had to light the cue card on fire and give it to Stephen, but mistakenly handed it to Stephen and tried to light it. Stephen patiently explained that he had to light it first and then hand it to him for the bit to work. Stephen kept lunging at the audience in the midst of this and fire extinguishing at us. Despite such a grueling taping, he was still trying to keep it light.
He dashed off very quickly at the end. I think he wanted to make sure everything was perfect visually with the interview!
****
I have to say, I have loved this show and Stephen for a long time. It’s really, really hard to say goodbye. It sort of feels like your youngest child that you’ve raised and reared and loved is waiting at the bus stop for her first day at school. You know it’s a positive and necessary transition, but at the same time, it will never be quite the same. You do have to let the child go on the bus and go on to school, no matter what.
I happened to have a fangirl summit of sorts on Friday night with some Hub staff. I always had this thing that I wanted to toast our work and the show with some margaritas, and it finally happened! I really needed those margarita(s). Anyways, we were reflecting on all the good things that have come from this show. I made so many friends, I’ve gotten to interact with so many awesome community members on our site. I’ve gotten to see Stephen at some wonderful events. I feel like I understand so many things about myself much better because I saw them reflected and projected in Stephen and his work over the years. There is absolutely no question that this show has been an abundant blessing in my life, and I hope that by just being professionally enthusiastic I have been able to help its cause.
Truly, there will never be another show like it. It is all thanks to Stephen and his wonderfully dedicated staff. He did it his way and he’s doing it beautifully and joyfully, all the way to the end. And the Nation is grateful.
Post script: I shared this story with the Hub staff and it was thought I should share it with you. On Friday during the day my friend and I happened to be a quiet spot just about to have lunch and found ourselves sitting next to, unbelievably, William H. Macy and his lovely wife, Felicity Huffman. We played it cool, and when Felicity made eye contact with me, I said, “I’m sorry, I just have to get this out of my system: Filliam H. Muffman!” And, to my relief, they both laughed.
I told them we had been at the Colbert taping the night before, hence my thinking about it. They then said that they had carved or written that name somewhere while traveling and no one knew what they were referring to. Mr. Macy in particular seemed to really enjoy the joke. I told them that it would make a great twitter handle, and Felicity agreed, although, I said, probably someone already has.
It just seemed fitting that one of my favorite TCR jokes had to be brought up as I was preparing to say goodbye this chapter and this New York trip. Sooo New York.
December 11, 2014: The Taping ReporT!
Check out my personal accounting of my last visit to the TCR studio on December 11, 2014. This is the post-post Colbocalypse edition.
Although I wasn’t able to meet fellow staff member Anna at the taping, whose own excellent taping reporT is forthcoming, I was not far away, having just flown in that morning for one last glance at live TCR.
I always swore I would never go to a taping in the cold weather months. I had read about people freezing their tail feathers off waiting to get into the studio in previous taping reports, so I always made it a point to go during warm(er) months. Yet here I was, eating my words, and, with a good friend of mine, being ushered into the line, which was already quite long when we arrived at 5:00 p.m. This being my fourth go-around, I wasn’t nervous about being there or self-conscious. People grimly stood, and in some cases, sat in line. As we slowly passed the Stern Looking “No Graffiti!” Stephen Stencils on the red walls, many folks paused to take a picture. Anything with Stephen’s face on it was worth savoring to this crowd.
While we entered the pared-down hold room and were being screened, people were watching the highlights video. At some point the excited conversation drowned out the video, and all we could do is wait. And wait. And wait. Because it was so cold outside, they had brought us in early. We heard from a newer audience coordinator, I don’t know who he was but he was really funny and great – and I thought, where have you been all this time! He was saying how the show had only 5 episodes left (I had to chuckle to myself as the Hub’s preeminent episode countdown specialist) and that it was a special experience now to be at TCR. And he said they had a super special surprise for us, so we had to patient but it would be totally worth it.
I was struck at how patient everyone was. Although it was cold, and some had been waiting outside for some hours, and we were in this hold room for an extended period of time, not really able to move, or even get to the “liquid courage” in the corner (the lone water cooler), folks waited. I’ve had people go ape on me at dinner parties when the apps were late forthcoming. But this is Stephen Colbert, people. Hours and hours of wait are ok, if only for him. We wanted to be there for one of the last shows.
Finally, we were let in. We weren’t sure if the studio would be changed to accommodate whatever big surprise they were alluding to, but I imagined not, as the show will be closing shop in mere days. The opening comic was pleasant, and from him we were able to find out that Jay Katsir’s Dad was in the audience. When he asked him where he was from, he said, “I am Jay the Intern’s Dad,” in a heavy accent. He seemed like a really proud Papa. There was a young man who seemed to be with him and the comic said, “Is this also your son? Because it would be really awkward if you were proud of him and not so much of this one.” And Mr. Katsir said no, laughingly.
After we practiced our cheering, we were not deprived of Stephen for long, who came out in my favorite look, his purple tie ensemble. As will likely be mentioned, his fly was open, although we honestly wouldn’t have noticed. Mark McKenna caught it and it made Stephen laugh in embarrassment.
Stephen informed us that we had a special surprise which lead to the delays, and that the guest, while still yet a secret, was going to be very much with us. He then said it was very special for us to be at the Report as we had only 5 episodes left. The audience groaned loudly, and it just cast a sad energy over everything. Stephen said in mock-stern tone, “If you’re going to be like that, then we won’t do a show at all,” and we all laughed. Only Stephen can find that little glimmer of laughter in sadness.
Anna will go through all the questions in her report, there might not too many surprises unless you haven’t been dialed into the fandom much.
One man asked what was Stephen drinking from that white water bottle he always has. He went up to the man, shook his hand, and said, “Hello, Frank. Nice to meet ya!” There were several breaks throughout the taping and he took the most questions I have ever seen over the years.
Hair was shellacked one last time, bracelets were flung, Stephen wished us “good show,” and off we went.
Stephen really struggled at the top of the show to get through the first act. We had to start the show completely over after he flubbed almost from say go. I couldn’t help but feel that the impending end of the show, and the technically heavy production day probably were taking its toll on his focus, which is really, really hard to do, as I have marveled at his steely powers of concentration before. The one thing that became apparent is how much the audience can help in these instances by keeping their energy up. Once we started the show again, and cheered our heads off (again), things started to take off.
The Casting Controversy segment was a good topic, and when Ridley Scott said “Muhammad So-and-So” the audience’s reaction was really strong, which made me happy for a variety of personal reasons. I liked that this episode really had it all, two newsy-stories and then onto the auction announcement.
As he flung off his last Wristrong bracelet, I couldn’t help but feel another twinge of sadness. He wore those for so many years. It seemed like the character’s ribbons of patriotism were being taken away, although I certainly am glad it is due to the Afghan troop drawdown! He then announced the set auction. I am so thrilled that he is donating the proceeds to the Yellow Ribbon Fund and Donorschoose, not that his trademark generosity is surprising in any way. During the auction announcement, I cheered as loudly as I could. Again, sadness at the thought of the C-desk going away to be a treasure in someone’s home or office, as well as all the other precious items we have loved so well over the years. He had some trouble again with “throwing” to “Steve” who was announcing the prizes. I recognized the model as having been on the show before, so it was nice to see her again. Stephen really sticks with people he casts for bits on his show, so get in on the Late Show early, NYC actors.
So after newsy-stories, closing/flinging the Wristrong chapter, announcing the Epic Auction, now was time for the guest. Finally, we learned it was Smaug. Basically, the whole interview was taped before we entered the studio, owing to the long wait time, so we just watched it together on the large main screen behind the interview table to get the audience reaction. The CGI was so effective, it really felt like the Dragon was lunging out at us – it was kinda scary! When spliced with the rest of the episode, it’s quite magical television, creating the illusion that everything happened in one seamless take. Little does the viewer know that Stephen was spending a painstaking amount of time to film his bit with the Dragon before we even entered the studio, plus the many months it took to make Smaug himself appear with all those names he rattled off at the end contributing from several different countries.
Once the video started rolling, Stephen came and sat on the stairs and watched it along with us for a minute and then crossed back to his desk. He was grinning like a schoolboy the whole time while watching it in his monitor – clearly a great source of pride and accomplishment for him. I was stunned at the visuals, I mean technically this was a guest interview that was never even mildly attempted on the Report. I am not exactly an LoTR expert or fan, but I can appreciate the time, effort, energy, and especially the enthusiasm that went into making it. It was clearly an expensive, but beautiful segment, and a great gift for Stephen. A truly fitting end to the Hobbit film series and Stephen’s love affair with the subject – at least on this program.
I will say also that I was impressed with Cumberbatch’s acting, and Stephen’s as well – Stephen seemed really comfortable with the CGI format (for having poked fun at it for so many years) and it was great to see him trying something new.
The fire extinguisher was funny, it had me thinking of when Richard Branson nearly killed Stephen by dousing him with one so many years ago. Haha! Man, were our fans angry about that! Mark McKenna had to light the cue card on fire and give it to Stephen, but mistakenly handed it to Stephen and tried to light it. Stephen patiently explained that he had to light it first and then hand it to him for the bit to work. Stephen kept lunging at the audience in the midst of this and fire extinguishing at us. Despite such a grueling taping, he was still trying to keep it light.
He dashed off very quickly at the end. I think he wanted to make sure everything was perfect visually with the interview!
****
I have to say, I have loved this show and Stephen for a long time. It’s really, really hard to say goodbye. It sort of feels like your youngest child that you’ve raised and reared and loved is waiting at the bus stop for her first day at school. You know it’s a positive and necessary transition, but at the same time, it will never be quite the same. You do have to let the child go on the bus and go on to school, no matter what.
I happened to have a fangirl summit of sorts on Friday night with some Hub staff. I always had this thing that I wanted to toast our work and the show with some margaritas, and it finally happened! I really needed those margarita(s). Anyways, we were reflecting on all the good things that have come from this show. I made so many friends, I’ve gotten to interact with so many awesome community members on our site. I’ve gotten to see Stephen at some wonderful events. I feel like I understand so many things about myself much better because I saw them reflected and projected in Stephen and his work over the years. There is absolutely no question that this show has been an abundant blessing in my life, and I hope that by just being professionally enthusiastic I have been able to help its cause.
Truly, there will never be another show like it. It is all thanks to Stephen and his wonderfully dedicated staff. He did it his way and he’s doing it beautifully and joyfully, all the way to the end. And the Nation is grateful.
Post script: I shared this story with the Hub staff and it was thought I should share it with you. On Friday during the day my friend and I happened to be a quiet spot just about to have lunch and found ourselves sitting next to, unbelievably, William H. Macy and his lovely wife, Felicity Huffman. We played it cool, and when Felicity made eye contact with me, I said, “I’m sorry, I just have to get this out of my system: Filliam H. Muffman!” And, to my relief, they both laughed.
I told them we had been at the Colbert taping the night before, hence my thinking about it. They then said that they had carved or written that name somewhere while traveling and no one knew what they were referring to. Mr. Macy in particular seemed to really enjoy the joke. I told them that it would make a great twitter handle, and Felicity agreed, although, I said, probably someone already has.
It just seemed fitting that one of my favorite TCR jokes had to be brought up as I was preparing to say goodbye this chapter and this New York trip. Sooo New York.