Talk:The Colbert Report

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Wikiality: The final word?

Okay, I know I've been a relentless campaigner for giving Wikiality more credit -- at least a mention on this page, and it's own, brief article. I've already more than demonstrated that it's become an internet hit. JDoorjam, an admin, has insisted on preventing that, using the argument that since there's no "absolute" criteria for inclusion (although I more than demonstrated its worthiness with relative criteria), it should only be mentioned as a subset of truthiness.

Well, I think that we should all feel quite embarassed about this stance, given that Wikiality is now one of the "TV Words of the Year" [1]

For shame, Wikipedia. For shame. Can we at least agree that *now*, long, long after the term and the commentary became a hit, that we can give them mention? -- Rei 00:54, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

I think a mention somewhere is in order; It's been credited in a source. However, I still think some other people looking to object will find a loophole and run away with it. Pacific Coast Highway {blah • I'm a hot toe picker • WP:NYCS} 01:08, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
"For shame"? Give me a break. All I've ever asked for is an objective threshold for inclusion in order to avoid this article becoming a dustpan for Colbertcruft (both t's silent). Becoming "a hit" is absurdly subjective and is not a criterion for inclusion on Wikipedia. I certainly think being called a "TV Word of the Year" is worth mentioning. What, exactly, is there to be "embarassed" about? Wikipedia isn't supposed to break news, it's supposed to store and organize notable information. Wikiality was already mentioned in the Wikipedia in popular culture article and the Colbert Report episode guide, but still hadn't risen so notably above any other gimmick on the Report that it was clear it warranted inclusion in the main article on the show. That's what the entire debate was about. That Wikiality was named a "TV Word of the Year" is certainly notable for the show beyond being notable for Wikipedia.
PCH, what "loopholes" are you referring to? And being referred to by a source wasn't ever the issue, as it had been covered by MTV, CBS, and the Washington Post. It was whether there was anything differentiating the impact of Wikiality with the impact of Colbert's Lamont/Lieberman coverage, or his mockery of Mel Gibson, or anything else that had multiple news stories written about it. Now it appears it does. JDoorjam Talk 07:05, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't know about its own article. Maybe just a redirect and mention along with truthiness and Gaysrael. Yes, put that last one back too. It was there until the whole Colbert vandal spree. --Kalmia 05:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Yet Another Wikiality mention- This time, it's subtle, they assume you know the context

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5286458.stm

I tell you, this is a bigger story that we're representing.

Ariginal 12:09, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Is that really a "wikiality" mention? I can't find the term anywhere on the page. The only allusion to Colbert is how he explicitly encouraged fans to vandalize the Elephant-related articles. Has Colbert even mentioned "wikiality" on the show since the initial episode? I haven't catched it myself; "truthiness" is still mentioned frequently though. --TM 15:27, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

IPA pronunciation

This article used to have actual IPA characters to indicate the French-ish pronunciation of Colbert, and now they're all question marks. Did someone edit the page with a non-Unicode browser? Jaysbro 19:12, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The IPA still shows up on my browser... Schi 19:36, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The Colbert Report

What can you say about this great show. All I know is that you cannot improve perfection. Like our great eagle the show soars with intelligence and knowledge that rock your socks off. If you cannot take the truth grow a pair of manberries before you watch again, because it will make you a man.

                                           Bruce Rietz 
                                             a colbert deciple

amen! sincerly a fellow deciple.

Reference Needed

A reference is needed for the assertion that The Colbert Report retains 98% of Daily Show viewers. The nearest citation at 23 actually suggests that the show only retains 75%, however, it is an old article. Mysticfeline 04:09, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

The first day it aired it is said it retained 98% of viewers. For some reason people still quote that number when obviously no show could ever retain a percent that high consistently. Even back to back episodes of the same exact show can't do that.


Elephants and The Great Doombringer

Why isnt there a reference to the August 1st episode of the Colbert Report where he tells people to vandalise Wikipedia? I beleive that this should be in here, because It kinda shows his character, and is Wikipedia history as well... Patrick Flynn 18:20, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. Mathiastck 07:04, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
i 2nd thatQrc2006 07:10, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
This has already been discussed in length, please review archived discussion. --TM 07:55, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Colbert joke

i suggest we add Template:funnybut

The joke is getting old. Humor's great, but Wikipedia is a serious encyclopedia. It is time to straighten up and make serious contributions. ~~~~

to all jokers from now onQrc2006 10:42, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Big errors in Program Format section

Why does it say "Typically, Colbert starts each episode by praising bears, eating honey, and talking about Winnie the Pooh..." at the beginning of the section? That's completely false. The Steven Colbert character hates bears; in fact, to such an extreme that he often refers to bears as "godless killing machines." He doesn't eat honey either, and doesn't like Winnie the Pooh. I can get sources if needed.

  • It was just a bit of valdalism, and has now been taken care of. – ClockworkSoul 20:10, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. Here's a reference where he puts Grizzly Bears on notice: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/on_notice/onnotice_061206.jhtml

Exagerration

"The World Awaites"?

I changed it. Indiawilliams 04:04, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Those Who Trespass

I took out this bit:

Colbert often refers to his fictional novel, Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Jansen Adventure (recently renamed Alpha Code 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Jansen Codeventure), which follows the adventures of a character based on Colbert himself. The novel is a satirical reference to Bill O'Reilly’s thriller Those Who Trespass; some reviewers claim that both the hero, an Irish-American cop from Long Island, and the villain, a no-nonsense television journalist, are versions of O'Reilly himself.[1]

In case anyone wants to revert, here's why I took it out: the section this fell under was "Relation to The O'Reilly Factor". While O'Reilly did write that book which may very well be a version of O'Reilly himself, the assumption that the fictional Tek Jansen novel is based on Those Who Trespass is a bit of a jump. I see the parallels (in that Tek Jansen is a heroic version of Colbert, etc.) that support the comparison but there is no source given to support that Alpha Squad 7 is actually a parody of Those Who Trespass. (The cite given is a review of O'Reilly's book from 2004, pre-Colbert Report, and of course does not mention anything about Colbert or Alpha Squad 7.) If someone were to find such a source, then this information would probably go into the Stephen Colbert (character) article, as the (alleged) parody is not directly related to The O'Reilly Factor (the show), not O'Reilly himself. Schi 23:07, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Reverted uncited "criticisms"

As this article is to be encylopedic, I reverted the criticisms that were not cited and posted anonymously. Kukini 19:32, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

GA on hold

This article will be put on hold (for 7 days) until these minor adjustments can be made :

1. Well written? Fail (... lead)
2. Factually accurate? Pass
3. Broad in coverage? Pass
4. Neutral point of view? Pass (I'd say borderline as it sometimes crosses the line between reality and fiction within the article)
5. Article stability? Pass
6. Images? Fail (see comments)


Additional comments :

Please feel free to request more comments and to answer to these if you disagree or want more insight. Drop by my talk page or GAC again once the modifications have been carried over. Lincher 19:07, 9 October 2006 (UTC) Lincher 19:07, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I have added fair use rationale for all the images, but I don't see why the eagle sequence should be removed? As for the prose, I'll try to improve the lead. -- Cielomobile talk / contribs 00:42, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
I have also tried to improve the lead [2]. Thoughts? Schi 01:17, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
I added in a couple of gramatical corrections to the lead too, so this should be satisfactory, at least for GA status. -- Cielomobile talk / contribs 05:14, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

WHAT?? Why does the eagle sequence have to be removed? It is a great picture that shows the "patrotic images" satire. it's going to be a real shame to lose it. is there anyway we can keep it? dposse 15:56, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm no expert on Wikipedia's fair use policy, but I don't see why these don't meet fair use. WP:FAIR#Images seems to okay logos, TV screenshots, and publicity photos. The Daily Show uses similar screenshots and that article apparently meets good article criteria. Can someone explain what needs to be done to make the Colbert Report's images fair use compliant? Schi 23:55, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
I added to the Fair Use rationale. Is it ok now? Can we keep it? dposse 17:04, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Eagle's Nest

I removed a couple things from the Eagle's Nest section:

  • Colbert often points out his Emmy and Peabody Awards (from The Daily Show) located on a mantelpiece behind his guest interview area, an apparent reference to Bill O'Reilly, who claimed in 2000 that his previous show, Inside Edition, had won two Peabodys. In fact it had won one George Polk Award in 1996 – after O'Reilly had left the show.[3]
This is a little problematic for a couple reasons. The assertion that Bill O'Reilly claimed to have won two Peabodys when his show actually had won one George Polk Award in 1996, when O'Reilly wasn't there, is not supported by the source. The source just shows that the show won in 1996, and is silent on all the other assertions (O'Reilly's claim, the fact that O'Reilly wasn't part of the show.) There is the other problem that it is an apparent reference to this incident. I believe that Colbert probably does point out his awards in a reference to the O'Reilly incident, but it would be better supported in the Wikipedia article if we could come up with a source that actually links the two. There should at least be a source that documents O'Reilly's mistaken claim.

I also reworded this part:

  • Colbert's desk viewed from above is a large C which also looks like the symbol for Omega.

to say: "Also, Colbert's desk viewed from above is shaped like the large C in the show's logo." It seems to me that most Cs resemble omegas, and I think the desk is in a more direct reference to the C in Colbert's name and the show logo. Schi 19:41, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

GA passed

Nice work done on rewriting part of the text and adding fair use to the images as it now stands for GA status. Cheers, Lincher 00:54, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Sweet! thanks. dposse 18:57, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

"Papa bear" source

Googling is being unproductive in finding a reliable source for the "Papa bear" nickname. This blog (which is not a suitable source) summarizes the Dec 7, 2005 Fresh Air interview on NPR as mentioning "Papa bear" O'Reilly. Anyone can/care to listen to this and confirm so we can attribute the nickname to this source? Schi 19:48, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

I really do not know why citation is necessary. Everytime he has referred to O'Reilly on the show he has called him Poppa Bear and I'm sure many others editors can prove this fact. It may be original research but it is true. Gdo01 19:53, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
Well, I know that we all know it's a fact. But I guess per the guideline WP:Cite, it's been challenged so we need to find a source. Schi 20:02, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
Actually, according to WP:NOR, television programs can be used as a primary source, so the observation that Colbert calls O'Reilly Papa Bear on the Colbert Report is sourced -- the source is the show itself. Generally, Wikipedia doesn't explicitly cite the subject of the article in cases where the subject is also a primary source -- it's considered to be implied. -- (Lee)Bailey(talk) 06:12, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
I removed the cn tag. I assume no one has a problem with this given Lee Bailey's rationale. Gdo01 06:16, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
Good point, Lee Bailey. Thanks. Schi 16:16, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Green Screen Challenge montage

On the October 12th episode Stephen played a montage of all the videos made with a movie score playing in the background. Does anyone recognize this score (I know it's John Williams, but not sure which movie)? Here's a video of the montage: [4] --Ouzo 00:49, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Add Information on Youtube?

I think that it should be mentioned in the article that the Colbert Report is one of the very few popular shows on the air to actually allow and condone the posting of clips on websites like Youtube. I feel that this is integral to the show's success, and a least a sentence or two should be devoted to it.

Daily show does it to. It's not specifically unique to Colbert. Besides, both shows put virtually their entire show online on comcent.com to watch in video. Why complain that it's available on youtube? Just saves them bandwidth. TheHYPO 17:23, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Colbert's Portrait on eBay

The article right now claims: In celebration of one year on the air, a portrait of Stephen Colbert was auctioned on E-Bay with all proceeds going to charity. As a testament to the popularity of the show, the portrait reached US$10,000,000 within an hour and a half of the auction opening.

I'm not sure that qualfiies as a testament to the popularity of anything. Last I checked the winning bidder was someone who bid 40 million dollars, yet also recently spent 15 bucks on a used space heater... just a guess, but I'm thinking these bids aren't all on the up and up. -- (Lee)Bailey(talk) 05:52, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

I removed the popularity comment and just left it as the bid getting to that value within hours. I also believe that these bids are bogus especially since it has now reached (I believe) the upper limit of bidding at a dollar under US$100 million. I wonder how Google will treat this. Gdo01 06:56, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
Yet another one of Colbert's publicity stunts that has gone too far. Don't be surprised when ebay pulls the auction because no one is going to pony up anywhere near that amount of money. This entire coverage of the situation is entirely inappropriate for wikipedia. Wikipedia is Not a soapbox WP:NOT, and I move that the mention of this be removed from the article until such time as the auction is completed. Wikipedia does not need to be an advertisement for Colbert, anymore than it already seems to be. -- malo (tlk) (cntrbtns) 07:00, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
Given the current situation of the bids, I agree. Google will not enforce it, the bidder won't pay it, and all this will be good for is a laugh tomorrow on his show. Gdo01 07:03, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
While it's probably true that the bids are bogus, the anniversary show/portrait auction may count as notable. I can see that it might be on the early side to include in the article. However, the AP article about the anniversary show and portrait auction has been picked up by about 100 news outlets, it seems. Schi 16:22, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
No objections to including something about the anniversary show and the auction, especially if AP's covering them. Covering the bidding itself though seems a bit original-researchy, since the bids, real or fake, haven't been discussed on the show or in a reliable secondary source. At least, not yet. I'll be interested to see what Colbert does with this tonight, if anything. -- (Lee)Bailey(talk) 22:18, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Again?

Well...he talked about Wikipedia again on the report...mentioning that some elephants need vasectamies, and did the "I called it" thingy... Patrick Flynn 05:35, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

P.S.:Prepare for some major vandalism...again!

Wikiality is back!

He mentioned wikiality on the 18 October 2006 show. He cited an article that mentions elephant overpopulation. --Kalmia 05:36, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

New dropdown screen?

The show already had a plasma/lcd behind colbert's right shoulder when a bit required it - but recently in introduced a 'drop down' (via a button that sounds a lot like the god machine from TDS) screen that appears not to be a tv (it has no frame or anything). Does anyone know what it is? I was thinking possibly a greenscreen, but that would be difficult from a technical standpoint. Maybe it is a TV and I just didn't see the frame. TheHYPO 17:22, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

The "interview area" referred to as "the study"

Colbert referred to "the interview area" as "the study" during an episode this past week, but I can't remember when, exactly, he said it. It might be appropriate to change it in the article but exactly when he said it should be found first. Does anyone remember? JDoorjam Talk 19:03, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

The Word

I think that someone should make a page where they have all the main "word"s there are and they should list what appear on that one with the words that follow on that night

Considering how many episodes the Colbert Report is going to have, it would be unreasonable to write down everything said on the side during The Word. Maybe a fansite can do it but Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Gdo01 00:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)


Just checking

An anon seems to keep adding this to Colbert-related articles:

The Colbert Report originally aired on June 20 2005 for three weeks, but went off the air for reworking until October 17 2005. Colbert fans frequently debate the “anniversary” of the show, with the majority believing that June 20 is the rightful anniversary.

This doesn't have any basis in fact, does it? -- Bailey(talk) 03:14, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I haven't been able to find any Google link to anything with June 20, 2005 and Colbert Report in the same sentence. It might have been the day an ad for the Report was first aired but there's no way to prove that. Gdo01 03:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
I haven't been able to turn up anything other than the October date on google either. I just wanted to double check that there wasn't anything to it (like the date corresponding to when one of the fake ads first ran). I'm going to go ahead and assume it's simple vandalism or a mistake. Thanks for helping me search, Gdo01. (There's got be something better I can address you as...) -- Bailey(talk) 04:09, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

The Colbert Report recurring elements

The Colbert Report recurring elements has been listed for deletion, your comments are welcome. Night Gyr (talk/Oy) 21:02, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

As of today, it's deleted, but the article has been put up for deletion review, in case anyone's interested. -- Bailey(talk) 21:09, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

the intro.

the intro is a bit redundant, don't you think? Can someone please clean it up? dposse 22:49, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what you mean. I made one edit, but if there are other problems, feel free to correct them. -- Cielomobile talk / contribs 00:52, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
Well, it said "satire" one too many times. I think its ok now. dposse 22:48, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Painting

Can we add the final value of the painting and it's charitable donation to the article in some way? thanks. ThuranX 04:46, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The fact that it went for over 50k might make it relevant to the discussion of the show's reception; if you need a reference, try here. -- Bailey(talk) 22:35, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Guest interview segment

This article in Slate might be a good source for fleshing out a section on the guest-interview segment. I don't have time now to properly incorporate it, but wanted to throw it out there if anyone else is up for it. Schi 18:59, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Recurring characters

As P.K. Winsome has now appeared more than once on TCR, and actually has a Wikipedia page of its own (which I have just edited), is it worth mentioning recurring characters (or at least pointing out PKW) in the TCR Wikipedia page? pbryan 07:53, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps we could create a sub-article, per WP:SS on recurring characters in the Report. It would probably need some references before, seeing as any article that borders on fancruft seems to be deleted, unfortunately. -- Cielomobile talk / contribs 17:24, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Tek Jansen

This Colbert Report page is pretty good, but there is no section on Tek Jansen. Someone should add one. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Elshizzo (talk • contribs) 02:15, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

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