December 7, 2015 - Steve Carell, Jennifer Hudson

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Episode GuideEPISODE NUMBER: Season 1, Episode 53 (Monday, December 7, 2015)
GUESTS: Steve Carell | Jennifer Hudson
SEGMENTS: Monologue | The Victoria’s Secret Angels Stop By For A Quick Nosh | So What Do We Do? | Stephen Reveals How To Defeat ISIS | Steve Carell | Jennifer Hudson | The Cast of The Color Purple – “Push Da Button”
SUIT REPORT: Grey Suit | White Shirt | Navy Blue/Grey/White Stripped Tie

And we’re back! After a brief hiatus (that still felt entirely too long) Stephen and his crew returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater last night to bring us laughter, singing, and Victoria’s Secret angels. A great show to kick off the week- let’s get right to it.

Monologue

Stephen wished his Jewish viewers a happy Hanukkah and shared some highlights from his hosting gig at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington D.C.

  • I just wanna say to our Jewish friends: we have no idea when Hanukkah is. I don’t mean to be ignorant, but you gotta admit you just keep moving it every year. All we’re asking for is like an Evite or a Save-The-Date card.
  • [On the Kennedy Center Honors] I saw C-3PO standing next to Secretary of State John Kerry. One of them was incredibly lifelike.
  • The night culminated in a tribute to Carole King with the great Aretha Franklin singing “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman.” I didn’t know what to expect but Aretha is so powerful that at the end of that song I felt like a natural woman. I think I might have ovulated. […] And I’m sitting backstage thinking, ‘boy I would hate to have to follow that,’ then realized as the host of the show I had to follow that.

The Victoria’s Secret Angels Stop By For A Quick Nosh

The World Series of Intimate Apparel. The Superbowl of Underpants. Or, as most people know it, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The annual event will be airing on CBS this Tuesday and Stephen welcomed three of its stars- Adriana Lima, Taylor Hill and Behati Prinsloo.

  • Thank you for taking time away from being intermediaries between God and mankind to model lingerie.

After trying to find out what’s so secret about Victoria in the first place, Stephen invited the three models to join him in “the one thing America wants to see” - angels chowing down some buffalo wings.

  • You need fuel for your big underpants day tomorrow.
  • These things are gonna go through you like a bullet train to Tokyo.
  • They’re the wings that were harvested from angels who didn’t make the cut.
  • Remember, ladies, it’s for charity … one assumes.

So What Do We Do?

Stephen took a moment to address the recent tragedies in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino and asked the big question: how do we deal with such terrible events?

But Stephen also acknowledged that further action is needed. The problem is defining what these actions should look like.

  • When we decide it’s an act of terrorism, we do something about it. Sometimes, too much about it. The next thing you know the NSA is reading your Netflix queue and what would have been your Social Security safety net is being shipped in $100 bills to Baghdad.
  • There has to be some way to make it harder to build up an arsenal. […] Why is it so easy to buy bullets when I have to show three forms of ID to buy Sudafed?
  • Of course, some people say, ‘if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns,’ but then at least you’ll know who the outlaws are. They’re the ones with the guns. Go get ’em!

Stephen Reveals How To Defeat ISIS

Stephen also tackled another hot-button issue: the fight against ISIS. According to the news, the Air Force is running out of bombs to fight the group in Syria, leaving Stephen baffled:

  • How does the Air Force run out of bombs? That’s like Denny’s running out of cholesterol.
  • You know, there’s a name for an Air Force with no bombs. It’s called an airline.

But there’s another problem: ISIS fighters seem to be fueled by amphetamines.

  • It makes you feel as if nothing can harm you. Well, I think I speak for everyone watching the news lately when I say: can I have some?
  • The specific drug in question is called Captagon which was originally produced in the 1960s to treat conditions such as hyperactivity, so basically they’re taking Jihadderall.
  • According to FBI Director James Comey, ‘the people the Islamic State is trying to reach are people that al-Qaida would never use as an operative, because they are often unstable, troubled drug users.’ Which explains a lot, I mean these extremists wanted to get into al-Qaida, the Harvard of terrorism, but had to settle for their safety school, Islamic State.

Interview — Steve Carell

Stephen’s good friend Steve Carell stopped by for an interview that quickly turned into a Stevphen love fest, with the two of them reminiscing about their Second City and Daily Show days and a discussion about Steve’s upcoming film, “The Big Short.” But the highlight of the night was their passionate and just plain delightful performance of the 70s hit “Dance With Me” - surely an instant classic in the Great American Carell/Colbert Songbook.

Carell: There is no one I would rather perform with than you. Seriously, it’s true.
Colbert: We had a lot of fun together over the years.
Carell: ‘Cause I always knew- with the exception of this- we’re always funny together.

Interview — Jennifer Hudson

The very talented performer visited the show to talk about her Broadway debut in The Color Purple, having too much chocolate before going on stage, and what keeps her inspired.

Colbert: Who inspires you?
Hudson: Who inspires me? Again, I’m just inspired by passion, passionate people. What we do…everybody is a specialist in what they do. And I love that, I get inspired from that. And it makes me respect everybody’s craft that much more. Like you love what you do.
Colbert: I do love what I do.
Hudson: So I’m interested in what you do because you love it.

The Cast of The Color Purple — “Push Da Button”

Last night’s show ended on a high note (quite literally) with a stunning performance by the cast of the Broadway musical The Color Purple. Now I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that Lin- Manuel Miranda will continue the musical magic on Friday.

What were your personal highlights? Let us know in the comment section!

  • http://www.reddit.com/r/LateShow/new/ Mrc

    Mp3 of “Dance with Me”: [Link.]

    • Gina

      Thanks MrC!

  • Erika Bade

    Having the Angels eat buffalo wings……GROAN. I hate the novelty of watching models eat. His little quips were funny though, and his “there’s more stuff on the prompter, f**k it let’s just go” was hilarious.

    Steve Carell did not disappoint. The only thing I was worried about was that Stephen would be hyper again, like he is with a lot of comedy people, but it was beautiful. When you see those two together, it’s so heartwarming and inspirational to think of how they started, how hard they worked, how much potential everyone thought they had and then what they did with that potential and where they are now…… :) It’s almost like, since they both are of the more modest variety (especially Carell), they end up proud of each other in replacement of being so proud of themselves and it all evens itself out somehow. I don’t know….anyway, it was great.

    I didn’t realize how much I liked Jennifer Hudson. I didn’t really respond to any interview I’ve seen her give before, but I really enjoyed this one. I don’t know if Stephen just did a great job or if she was in a really good place but her joy and spirit was magnetic. And her PERFORMANCE! Wow! I wish I could see the whole show.

  • Jennifer (aka ColbertsLassNC)

    With the exception of how the ISIS intro ended, I loved this episode. It was wonderful. Not sure that one rubbed me the right way, though the beginning of the segment was very heartfelt and meaningful.

    Steve Carell and Stephen reminiscing was great, but the singing of Orleans’ ‘Dance With Me’ was blissful. *Almost* as good as when Stephen and the actual John Hall himself did it on TCR during the BKAD segment. Such a classic piece. I was immediately taken back to that memory as soon as he started singing and couldn’t stop smiling. For some reason, I was hoping Ace and Gary would come up (to satiate the closet nerd in me perhaps), but who knows, maybe with it being from an opposing network, it wasn’t as important of a conversation piece.Their tenure on TDS was much more conversation-worthy, anyway.

    Jennifer Hudson slayed, as usual… I tweeted about it and got a positive response from some important folks, for sure. 😉 She’s just a great person all around. So talented and has definitely found her footing where she belongs.

    On a somewhat unrelated note, The Late Late Show was also phenom last night… James had Coldplay on the show! They were very fortunate to get that booking and you could tell everyone was so excited there.

    Great night for late-night television! Kudos CBS, kudos! :)

  • Roseha

    Stephen and Steve are really charming together. It’s so great to hear about their shared struggles in their early days. The song was lovely. I hope he will be making regular appearances since he always has something new to talk about.
    I thought the Jennifer Hudson interview was great. She was so relaxed about her own and others’ creative passions and really had a lot to say about it. I loved that spontaneous (?) moment when Stephen took out the mirror to show her she is indeed glamorous. The performance was great as well.

  • Gina

    Not much to improve upon what’s already been said, I liked the model bit actually. “Stephven” were wonderful as per the usual. They *have* come a long way, baby. I would love to hear some of their Second City stories. I am happy that they both became as successful as they are. <3

    WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE THE REST OF THE JON BATISTE FIELD PIECE?

    I love J-Hud, I am not a fan of the song "Push Da Button," I wish Broadway would write some new, more evolved pieces for African-Americans, but she is such a great, Chicago-born, improbable success story all her own, so I can't hate on that.

  • http://www.colbertnewshub.com/ Katie (aka Clem)

    This was just an amazing episode. I adored the interview with Steve Carell. Jennifer Hudson blew the roof off with “Push Da Button.” The “So What Do We Do?” segment was brilliant. I am so glad that Stephen continues to talk about these issues the way no one else can.

  • https://twitter.com/RaradraF Mrc

    What a great episode.
    I loved the interview and song with Steve Carrell, and I love that the CBS actually uploaded most of, if not full videos of both.
    Jennifer Hudson performance was simply amazing.
    Also, I’ve noticed new member of the bend. At first I thought that the woman was just sitting with the band for one episode, but then I’ve noticed her in the next one as well.

    • K.V. Lady

      The Asian woman playing some kind of woodwind?

  • K.V. Lady

    I was disappointed with the appearance of the Victoria’s Secret models- it seemed cheap and appealing to the lowest common denominator (horny male youth) and something I’d expect from Letterman or Leno, not Colbert. I know that CBS probably asked him to feature the models as a way of promoting their show, but I was still disappointed that they made him look like a sell-out. At least he kept it Colbert by eating the buffalo wings himself and then wiping his hands on the angel wings.
    I enjoyed the Carell/Colbert reunion and them reminiscing about the wild and crazy things they had done in their younger days, and of course I loved their duet, as well as them singing the bass line from Anchors Aweigh. My only complaint was that I would have liked to have seen more improvisation between the two.
    The J-Hud interview was great. I liked it when she said she didn’t think she had what it took to play a sex kitten like Sug Avery, and then Stephen held up the mirror and said, “This is what you look like!”
    Halfway through the song “Push Da Button” I realized what it was about, LOL!!!! I guess it shouldn’t surprise me since I’ve read the book, but still…(If you haven’t figured it out, here’s a hint: it rhymes with the name Dolores.)

    • Gina

      I think this goes back to when Stephen did the vacuuming bit with the naked model for Richard Branson’s “Project.” The fangirls erupted with consternation. I get that, because we feel like Stephen is on our side, kind of a feminist, and then he has the models on and the chicken wings. However, he’s still a man, and he’s still going to respond as any man would to a pack of sexy supermodels. As you mentioned, he kept it Colbert by clowning around right alongside them.