It is no surprise to us, the Colbert Nation, that The Colbert Report was cited in many Best of 2014 articles. The last year of The Report will never be forgotten. This groundbreaking show will live on forever. After all, “Stephen Colbert” is immortal. Check out these articles from around the web and give us your thoughts in the comment section.
“Stephen Colbert’s extended experiment in staying in character came to a brilliant, fanciful end, with the character “Stephen Colbert” riding Santa’s sleigh out into oblivion (and immortality). Appropriately, Colbert’s send-off kept tongue in cheek to the very last, even while thanking all the people who made his show possible. The final show cemented the Report as America’s foremost funhouse for politics and culture, especially in its extended “We’ll Meet Again” singalong. With Colbert riding off to CBS to succeed David Letterman, it was a nice reminder that this is a man who can bring together Tom Brokaw, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Cyndi Lauper, and Smaug under the same big tent.”
- Bianculli’s Top 10: 2014 Was A ‘Good Year For Programming’ – NPR
7. For the last time on my list, The Colbert Report (Comedy Central).
“We’ve just said goodbye to Stephen Colbert and to Craig Ferguson, so we’re going to see Stephen Colbert as Stephen Colbert, not playing Stephen Colbert, which is very confusing. That’s unprecedented. It’s not unprecedented to have somebody play a late-night talk show host, because you have Martin Mull, you have Garry Shandling doing those things before, but they’ve never then gone on to do one as themselves. … This has never been done. Some people are already speculating that Stephen Colbert is going to fail, and that it’s foolish for him to walk away from his alter ego. My bet is that he’s going to do great.”
- This Year’s Coolest Straight People in Entertainment – The Advocate
“The fearmongering, wild accusations, and blatant bigotry of antigay conservatives who fight against LGBT civil rights often appear to be stranger than fiction. While their arguments usually don’t make sense, though, they do make for great comedy, and Stephen Colbert has mined that special brand of over-the-top conservativism to produce entertainment gold on The Colbert Report since 2005.
In 2014, Colbert’s beloved satirical caricature continued highlighting right-wing ridiculousness surrounding LGBT issues. Whether he was wagging his finger at Pope Francis for encouraging the Catholic Church to soften its stance on gay people, unleashing his fury because gay political icon Harvey Milk was featured on a stamp, or spreading Texas congressman Louie Gohmert’s warning that LGBT people in the military would lead to endless troop massages, Colbert repeatedly reminded us sometimes the best way to battle the ravings of antigay idiots is to let them shine. He even showed the rest of the media (ahem, Piers Morgan) what a respectful interview with a transgender hero looks like when Janet Mock took the hot seat.”
- iDigital Times Top 10 TV Shows of 2014 – iDigital Times
“The Colbert Report finale is reason enough for this show to make our Top 10. Alternately funny, surreal, and sweetly earnest, The Colbert Report closed with a bang. If seeing Matt Taibbi share a room with Thomas Friedman doesn’t give you some slight hope for healing America’s divisions then perhaps we truly are lost (though seeing Henry Kissinger in polite company rather than a stockade is always off-putting). Stephen Colbert gave us the best political satire American has ever seen, and he did it for 9 years. From the Colbert Super PAC to “Better Know a District” his truthiness will be missed.”
- 2014’s runner-up to Person of the Year – National Catholic Reporter
“In the internal poll we conduct among editors and contributors, Colbert was nominated as NCR’s person of the year for 2014 as a way to honor his nine years of stinging satire on “The Colbert Report,” which ended its run Dec. 18 as he prepares to take over for David Letterman at the “Late Show” on CBS this year.
Colbert could have been writing our editorials for us, said the staffer who recommended him as person of the year. Indeed, Colbert has skewered the same politicians, public officials and policy issues that NCR rails against issue after issue.”
- Top 10 Late Night Performances of 2014 – Consequence of Sound
2. Kendrick Lamar on The Colbert Report
“Kendrick Lamar’s performance on The Colbert Report had a lot going for it even before he spat his first verse — the fact that he was the show’s last (announced) musical guest ever, the fact that he was going to debut a brand-new song from his upcoming third album, the fact that he was so good-natured in the preceding interview. And, as for the music itself, the back-alley percussion, Thundercat bass and Terrence Martin saxophone, and tense crescendos — which eventually transformed the catchphrase of Bébé’s Kids into a rallying cry for black rights — rivaled his SNL appearance”
- The Biggest Winners and Losers of 2014 TV – E! Online
WINNER: Stephen Colbert
LOSER: The Colbert Report fans
“Too soon to accurately describe the pain of The Colbert Report ending. but we look forward to Colbert’s new reign on Late Night in September, taking over for David Letterman.”
- 2014 In TV: What Turned Us On, What Pissed Us Off – Long Island Press
“Last week America bid ado to Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report, and possibly shed a few tears along the way. Colbert is not really going anywhere: He’ll be taking over for David Letterman on The Late Show on CBS, albeit as the real Stephen Colbert, not the self-aggrandizing conservative blowhard character he played on Comedy Central for nine-plus years, and before that as a correspondent on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. Still, he’ll be missed in that format. But thanks to the emergence of British-born satirist John Oliver, and Stewart’s continued success, Americans thirsty for late-night political comedy will still get their fix—and perhaps more than they asked for. Oliver, who recently completed the first season on HBO of his Sunday evening show Last Week Tonight, has demonstrated a remarkable ability to profess outrage about hot-button political issues, and use his new-found stardom to spur his audience, and millions of others on the Internet, into action. The new crop of talent on the venerable CBS and NBC late night shows is worth paying close attention to. Jimmy Fallon, who is 10 months into The Tonight Show, has injected much-needed life and stability into a much-coveted late-night institution. It’ll be interesting watching how Colbert adjusts—and for that matter, how viewers adjust to him. He rarely deviated from character during the Colbert Report, so it’ll be fun getting to know the real Stephen Colbert.”
- Top 10 Best Television Moments of 2014 – Syracuse New Times
10. The End of The Colbert Report “There is no better way to end a great year of innovative television than by saying goodbye to Stephen Colbert. The groundbreaking satirist was the first Daily Show correspondent to hop off of Jon Stewart’s cloud and into his own program, back in October 2005. He spent nine years expertly lampooning the political right — including, just six months after the Report’s debut, taking on President George W. Bush to his face as the keynote speaker at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. He was entirely deserving of the epic sendoff given to him on Dec. 18 by politicians, writers, public figures and some of televisions best creators past and present. All in all, Colbert was joined on stage by 107 people, singing along to ‘We’ll Meet Again.’”
‘The Colbert Report’ Best of 2014 Articles
It is no surprise to us, the Colbert Nation, that The Colbert Report was cited in many Best of 2014 articles. The last year of The Report will never be forgotten. This groundbreaking show will live on forever. After all, “Stephen Colbert” is immortal. Check out these articles from around the web and give us your thoughts in the comment section.
“Stephen Colbert’s extended experiment in staying in character came to a brilliant, fanciful end, with the character “Stephen Colbert” riding Santa’s sleigh out into oblivion (and immortality). Appropriately, Colbert’s send-off kept tongue in cheek to the very last, even while thanking all the people who made his show possible. The final show cemented the Report as America’s foremost funhouse for politics and culture, especially in its extended “We’ll Meet Again” singalong. With Colbert riding off to CBS to succeed David Letterman, it was a nice reminder that this is a man who can bring together Tom Brokaw, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Cyndi Lauper, and Smaug under the same big tent.”
7. For the last time on my list, The Colbert Report (Comedy Central).
“We’ve just said goodbye to Stephen Colbert and to Craig Ferguson, so we’re going to see Stephen Colbert as Stephen Colbert, not playing Stephen Colbert, which is very confusing. That’s unprecedented. It’s not unprecedented to have somebody play a late-night talk show host, because you have Martin Mull, you have Garry Shandling doing those things before, but they’ve never then gone on to do one as themselves. … This has never been done. Some people are already speculating that Stephen Colbert is going to fail, and that it’s foolish for him to walk away from his alter ego. My bet is that he’s going to do great.”
“The fearmongering, wild accusations, and blatant bigotry of antigay conservatives who fight against LGBT civil rights often appear to be stranger than fiction. While their arguments usually don’t make sense, though, they do make for great comedy, and Stephen Colbert has mined that special brand of over-the-top conservativism to produce entertainment gold on The Colbert Report since 2005.
In 2014, Colbert’s beloved satirical caricature continued highlighting right-wing ridiculousness surrounding LGBT issues. Whether he was wagging his finger at Pope Francis for encouraging the Catholic Church to soften its stance on gay people, unleashing his fury because gay political icon Harvey Milk was featured on a stamp, or spreading Texas congressman Louie Gohmert’s warning that LGBT people in the military would lead to endless troop massages, Colbert repeatedly reminded us sometimes the best way to battle the ravings of antigay idiots is to let them shine. He even showed the rest of the media (ahem, Piers Morgan) what a respectful interview with a transgender hero looks like when Janet Mock took the hot seat.”
“The Colbert Report finale is reason enough for this show to make our Top 10. Alternately funny, surreal, and sweetly earnest, The Colbert Report closed with a bang. If seeing Matt Taibbi share a room with Thomas Friedman doesn’t give you some slight hope for healing America’s divisions then perhaps we truly are lost (though seeing Henry Kissinger in polite company rather than a stockade is always off-putting). Stephen Colbert gave us the best political satire American has ever seen, and he did it for 9 years. From the Colbert Super PAC to “Better Know a District” his truthiness will be missed.”
“In the internal poll we conduct among editors and contributors, Colbert was nominated as NCR’s person of the year for 2014 as a way to honor his nine years of stinging satire on “The Colbert Report,” which ended its run Dec. 18 as he prepares to take over for David Letterman at the “Late Show” on CBS this year.
Colbert could have been writing our editorials for us, said the staffer who recommended him as person of the year. Indeed, Colbert has skewered the same politicians, public officials and policy issues that NCR rails against issue after issue.”
2. Kendrick Lamar on The Colbert Report
“Kendrick Lamar’s performance on The Colbert Report had a lot going for it even before he spat his first verse — the fact that he was the show’s last (announced) musical guest ever, the fact that he was going to debut a brand-new song from his upcoming third album, the fact that he was so good-natured in the preceding interview. And, as for the music itself, the back-alley percussion, Thundercat bass and Terrence Martin saxophone, and tense crescendos — which eventually transformed the catchphrase of Bébé’s Kids into a rallying cry for black rights — rivaled his SNL appearance”
WINNER: Stephen Colbert
LOSER: The Colbert Report fans
“Too soon to accurately describe the pain of The Colbert Report ending. but we look forward to Colbert’s new reign on Late Night in September, taking over for David Letterman.”
“Last week America bid ado to Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report, and possibly shed a few tears along the way. Colbert is not really going anywhere: He’ll be taking over for David Letterman on The Late Show on CBS, albeit as the real Stephen Colbert, not the self-aggrandizing conservative blowhard character he played on Comedy Central for nine-plus years, and before that as a correspondent on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. Still, he’ll be missed in that format. But thanks to the emergence of British-born satirist John Oliver, and Stewart’s continued success, Americans thirsty for late-night political comedy will still get their fix—and perhaps more than they asked for. Oliver, who recently completed the first season on HBO of his Sunday evening show Last Week Tonight, has demonstrated a remarkable ability to profess outrage about hot-button political issues, and use his new-found stardom to spur his audience, and millions of others on the Internet, into action. The new crop of talent on the venerable CBS and NBC late night shows is worth paying close attention to. Jimmy Fallon, who is 10 months into The Tonight Show, has injected much-needed life and stability into a much-coveted late-night institution. It’ll be interesting watching how Colbert adjusts—and for that matter, how viewers adjust to him. He rarely deviated from character during the Colbert Report, so it’ll be fun getting to know the real Stephen Colbert.”
10. The End of The Colbert Report “There is no better way to end a great year of innovative television than by saying goodbye to Stephen Colbert. The groundbreaking satirist was the first Daily Show correspondent to hop off of Jon Stewart’s cloud and into his own program, back in October 2005. He spent nine years expertly lampooning the political right — including, just six months after the Report’s debut, taking on President George W. Bush to his face as the keynote speaker at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. He was entirely deserving of the epic sendoff given to him on Dec. 18 by politicians, writers, public figures and some of televisions best creators past and present. All in all, Colbert was joined on stage by 107 people, singing along to ‘We’ll Meet Again.’”