EPISODE NUMBER: 9142 (September 3, 2013)
GUESTS: Timothy Dolan
SEGMENTS: Intro | Stephen’s Science Project & Chemical Weapons in Syria | Better Know a District - Michigan’s 5th - Dan Kildee | Sign Off - Welcome Baby Rosta!
CHARACTER BREAK: At :44 in Better Know a District - Michigan’s 5th - Dan Kildee
SUIT REPORT: Dark navy suit | White shirt | Deep magenta and purple striped tie
VIDEOS: Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Stephen’s reaction to Cardinal Dolan’s affirmation that he would name himself “Stephen,” if made pope. Dolan is often speculated to be a future candidate for the papacy.
Wonderful to have His Eminence Cardinal Dolan on, and wonderful to see Stephen back. Apparently, Stephen was off in Italy eating heaps of black truffle pasta, and, it seems, possibly touring St. Peter’s Basilica. The Catholic in me hopes he did get a chance to visit the Vatican. His Italy trip also appeared to be a good primer for the Cardinal’s appearance.
It was a big deal to have a Cardinal on, as Cardinals are so high ranking in the church hierarchy, and there are only 213 or so on this earth. Generally, clergy on his level would be wary of appearing on edgy cable programs such as the Report, but clearly Cardinal Dolan feels comfortable with Stephen, and judging from his raucous laughter, had a great time. Of course, these two fine Irish fellows know each other well now, with Stephen having appeared with the Cardinal at Fordham University for a presentation on faith, and both men appearing at the 2012 Time 100 gala.
Stephen obviously was trying to make His Eminence as comfortable as possible, so he only touched lightly on one challenging issue of the church, that of the gays. As a more liberal Catholic, it is refreshing to see the Pope and upper clergy doing their best to make the message as inclusive as possible. That was intended to be the true message of Catholicism, in any event — Jesus was revolutionary in embracing the ostracized and more controversial groups in the society of his day.
(Also: what a great BKAD with Michigan’s 5th! The “big board” is getting lit up with so many congressmen getting better known these days. Vogueing and character breaks and some pretty swanky knife wielding, oh my!!)
I will add some more screencaps and quotes as I can later on, but tell me: what did you think of Cardinal Dolan’s appearance on TCR? Did Stephen’s questions seem hard hitting enough for you, or were they appropriate given the guest?
- Folks, the first thing I want to do tonight is I want to welcome my good friend Jon Stewart over at The Daily Show coming back to the seat after 12 weeks now. John Oliver did a fine job, but as the people in this room know, I find it morally reprehensible to get news from someone with an English accent.
- I like to give back on my vacation, that’s why I donated my body to science by going to Italy and doing ground breaking research in how many plates of black truffle fettucini the human body can withstand before organs begin to shut down.
“Now folks, I do not sprechen ze italiano, so while I was overseas, I couldn’t really get much of the news, but from what I could make out, President Obama wanted to drop Miley Cyrus on Damascus. I believe that’s a war crime.”
“Before [Assad] was just killing [Syrians] with bullets - but if America cared about shooting people, we’d be invading Chicago.”
“Of course, most people remember General Motors for their Mr. Goodwrench ad campaign. I wonder whatever happened to that guy. He has so much promise, and so little body fat.”
Stephen shows off some pretty cool knife wielding moves while challenging Congressman Kildee on his Second Amendment stance. “Give me your wallet!”
Cardinal Dolan: We can judge action, but can’t judge persons. Jesus told us that. So [the Pope is] repeating the timeless teaching of the Bible that we can never judge another human being.
Stephen: But I’m a pundit. If I don’t judge anyone, I don’t get a check.
Cardinal Dolan: You’ve got ratings to take care of and I hope I help. But [the Pope doesn't.] He leaves that up to the Lord. The Lord is the supreme judge. I don’t have any right to judge.
Well, welcome back to our favorite late night hosts!
On TDS: I loved the opening, I knew when John picked up that phone, Stephen would be on the other end, and I was happy to see him part of the welcome back party. Jon’s ever-changing look from beard to the host we know worked wonderfully. (Hitler?!?!?! Well, if Chaplin did it, so can he.) And it was also nice the John Oliver got a few minutes at the anchor’s desk with Stewart.
On TCR: It was a marvelous interview night, with a great BKAD, beautifully handled. Not too many congresspeople come out of the showdown with Stephen totally unscathed, but tonight it happened. And as much as I am not a huge fan of Cardinal Dolan, he was engaging chatting to Stephen. A delightful talk.
Guys, you were missed.
TIP OF THE HAT!
+6
I don’t know how to comprehend my feelings about the return of TDS and TCR, so I’ll just let my fangirling instincts take over the commentary:
OMG Jonny-bun’s intro and all the endless transitions from Freddie Mercury and Miley, and the thing with Stephen saving the day with the bedazzled patriotic phone, wearing a hazmat suit and knocking sense into Jonny-bun with a bat! And Olly-Scone’s compliments for taking over the summer and sitting next to Jonny-bun, and “Carlos DANGER”, with both hosts doing the dance!! Aaaaaarrgggggghhh! <3 LMAO! Can't… have…enough… "DANGER" dance!
On a much lighter note, I like how Jonny-bun strayed away from being too overly serious while covering Syria 'til the end. It seems after being away he seems to be more refreshed in giving commentary in a more light-hearted but literal sense. I mean, didn't he sound too cheerful or is it just me? I'm just glad he hasn't changed too much, rather blossomed after taking a drink of Jordan and Egypt's sincere hospitality.
BTW, he kept the beard in the intro, along with fulfilling my premonition re-enacting as Moses. Consider my life complete.
As for Colbert, his intro to BKAD left me in tears! From the character break he decided not to cut from editing, the whole Mr. Goodwrench endorsement from way back then, to Vogue-ing Congressman Kildee, I thought tonight he was on fire as Jonny-bun.
Props to Cardinal Dolan for cleverly using Stephen as his elected Pope name, considering there are two popular Catholics named Stephen: St. Stephen, the first martyr, and The Most Def Stephen Colbert.
Also, I count Colbert, Olly-Scone and Jonny-bun reasonably collaborating for being in the same room to do TDS’s intro. Is this a potential sign of a CC late night triangle? Just saying….
TIP OF THE HAT!
+5
TDS opening was brilliant, but my favorite part were Jon and John side-by-side at the desk, doing Carlos Danger Dance.
On TCR, I love the character break at the start of BKAD segment and interview with Cardinal Dolan.
TIP OF THE HAT!
+4
Jon had such an impressive return. I really enjoyed his insightful interview with Andrew Harper. Jon’s whisper into the camera of “I’ve missed you so much” was rather endearing! Right back at you, Jon!
It was so great to see Stephen back at the desk! He had a great quote about the Syrian conflict that really stood out for me. I cracked up when he asked Congressman Kildee, “May I Vogue you?”
The boys are back!
TIP OF THE HAT!
+4
Damn Stephen has some mighty fine knife skills going on there!!
So great to have him back, and a character break to boot
TIP OF THE HAT!
+5
Okay, I’m going to say it and don’t beat me up, please: I hate the beard on Jon and am thrilled it’s gone. He looks ages older with it. I’m afraid it’s clean-shaven for me. (Plus, I always remember Stephen’s slightly dirty description in the toss the last time Jon was bearded, and I can’t get that out of mind.)
TIP OF THE HAT!
+5
It’s funny how Jon didn’t even TRY to enter the studio with a beard this time. Seems he learned from the last time he ventured onto the TDS stage with it.
TIP OF THE HAT!
+3
I very much enjoyed Stephen’s interview with Cardinal Dolan. According to a Catholic blogger I follow who has very good inside sources, this is an interview that’s been a long time coming, about 3 years, to be precise. Cardinal Dolan was reluctant to appear because he didn’t want the result to be unbecoming to the dignity of his office (or something like that), but he and Stephen have established a pretty good rapport, so I guess the time was right. I thought the interview was a good balance of genuine conversation and humor.
Oh, and I loved the opening to TDS! Loved the random appearance by Mr. Met, too. Guess he’s gotta do something while the team is out of town.
TIP OF THE HAT!
+3
I loved the intro to TDS! I was wondering how they were going to treat Jon’s homecoming, if they’d do a normal intro or if they’d do a fun cutaway bit. And it’s not a fun cutaway bit without Stephen coming to the rescue! Also, like Corrie-luv, I am going to miss John Oliver and his “Carlos Danger” dance. I don’t know why I love it, but I do. It’s impossible not to.
5th District represent!! Dan Kildee did a great job, I am so proud of my congressman. They talked about Flint quite a bit, which is understandable, as it sits in the bulk of the 5th District. But I loved the sugarbeets mention, and the simple fact that Stephen uttered the words, “Congressman, may I Vogue you?” HA!
TIP OF THE HAT!
+2
Who else but Stephen would ask the Congressman about Vogue? That’s awesome that your district got represented.
TIP OF THE HAT!
+2