April 28, 2016 - Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Matt Czuchry, Hank Azaria, Phil Knight

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Episode GuideEPISODE NUMBER: Season 1, Episode 131 (Thursday, April 28, 2016)
GUESTS: Julianna Margulies | Christine Baranski | Matt Czuchry | Hank Azaria | Phil Knight
SPECIAL GUEST(s): Isaac Mizrahi
STAFF CAMEO(s): Meredith Scardino
SEGMENTS: Stephen Picks a VP | Monologue - How Are Humans Not the National Mammal? | Ted Cruz Announces His Losing Mate | Stephen Has Some Tips for Potential VP Candidates (Not You, Carly) | Cast of The Good Wife | Hank Azaria | In or Out With Isaac Mizrahi | Phil Knight
SUIT REPORT: Navy Suit | White Shirt | Teal/Navy Striped Tie

Welcome to Thursday’s Episode Guide, Hubsters! The Late Show cold opens have been fantastic and this episode was no exception. Stephen’s not running for president, but that’s not stopping him from choosing a vice president. Spoofing Ted Cruz’s premature announcement that Carly Fiorina would be his running mate, Stephen chose former human resources manager of Pets.com, Julie Wainwright - played by Meredith Scardino. I suppose Stephen and the writers picked Wainwright since she tanked Pets.com, just like Fiorina tanked Hewlett-Packard. Stephen also choose Michael Jordan as a nominee for the Supreme Court - expertly played by a cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan.

During his monologue, Stephen announced that the House of Representatives voted to name the bison as America’s national mammal. Which begs the question: Why not humans? We’re mammals, too! Even 4 out of the 5 presidential candidates are human. That’s right - Ted Cruz is most likely a space lizard in a human costume.

Speaking of Ted Cruz - just like I mentioned in the cold open, Cruz choose Carly Fiorina as his vice president if he should be nominated for president. At this point, there is a slim chance that Cruz will be nominated, so choosing a running mate is laughable. Cruz spoke so slowly during his speech and Stephen did a hilarious impression that cracked up the audience and me. Fiorina sang a creepy song about Cruz’s family during her - I wanna say - acceptance speech.

It’s like Disney gave the wicked step-mother her own song.

Stephen chatted with the cast of The Good Wife and how they felt about the show coming to an end after seven seasons. Then Stephen talked to Hank Azaria about how he started doing impressions at a young age, starting with Bugs Bunny. I really enjoy the questions that Stephen asks his guests. They are different from other late night hosts. He varies his questions from the serious to the humorous and you can tell that Stephen is genuinely interested in his guests and in human beings in general.

Isaac Mizrahi stopped by the show to tell Stephen what trends are IN or OUT. Luckily for Stephen, crows feet are totally IN!

Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike, gave Stephen a very special gift - his own custom made pair of Nikes with designs near and dear to Stephen’s heart.

What did you think of this episode? The Hub invites you to join in the conversation and let us know in the comment section!

  • Gina

    It was really touching to see Phil Knight give Stephen those custom Nikes. I think it’s so sweet, and a lot of thought was put into it. I hope SC cherishes them.

    Aside from that, a fabulous episode. And he definitely nailed the cold open! Meredith makes a great fake vice president.

    I don’t know if it can be attributed to Chris Licht yet, but the show seems to be flowing really well from segment to segment, although everything seems a little tighter somehow too. I am not a TV expert but the program just feels easier to watch, and no less entertaining than before.

    I’m off to the Montclair Film Festival this weekend, so I will get to see our fearless host in person! Always a pleasure! Talk to you guys soon.

    • juice318

      Have a wonderful time, Gina.

      • Gina

        Thanks juice, it’s going well! Will have a reporT.

  • Rita

    Colbert’s reaction to Fiorina’s singing was the perfect antidote to the dismay I felt that something might still cringe the hell out of me in this US Presidential election. I thought I was immune by now. I was wrong. Thank God Stephen is here to turn an otherwise traumatic event into something I can look back on with a smile 🙂

    • juice318

      Oh my word, that made me laugh - the lizard alien (cough! Ted Cruz! cough!), too.

  • Vansen

    It was interesting to see Isaac Mizrahi again. While fashion isn’t really my thing, I do like the idea of recurring topical segments with a rotation of regular guests. I’m still hoping for a recurring science segment with experts in the field or science journalists. I love Colbert’s desk segments, but if they’re wanting to mix it up with some regular playmates for Colbert, this would be a nice way to do it.

    Also, does anyone know the rest of that salt-shaker and birds story?

    • juice318

      The In & Out segment didn’t work for me. The concept is fine; I guess what lost me completely was finding humor in car crashes. I enjoy Mizrahi, but the segment needs tweaking (hopefully, “twerking” is out). I did like that crow’s feet were “in,” and the baby outfit was pretty funny.

      • Vansen

        I agree, the content of the In or Out segment didn’t quite work for me either, but I do like Mizrahi and the concept of the piece. I also think the segment moved a little too fast-“this is in, this is out, this is in”-without much opportunity for Colbert to comment or react. I don’t have a strong interest in fashion, but I would have liked a line or two to explain why each thing was in or out (or why this development was exciting/interesting to Mizrahi), and more room for banter about the implications of each trend. I’m happy for these segments to remain quite short, but perhaps it would work better with fewer points, and just a fraction more time spent on each one, so there’s a sense of actual fashion news being imparted along with the comedy. While I do enjoy quirky, random comedy, I also like segments where I feel I’ve learned something, even if it’s a topic I don’t usually have much interest in.

        Still, I’m curious to see what they do with these segments. Perhaps they could have regular fashion, science, culture, health and technology experts on-there are always strange and fascinating things going on in those fields.