[italianstang]

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Colbert Report is pretty bad. The host may be really talented but having him do the same exact schtick as Jon Stewart seems tiresome. I predict two seasons at most before Comedy Central realizes its repetitiveness and Colbert ends up on a stupid sitcome on ABC.

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'exact same schtick'?

Colbert is basically performing an elaborate parody of Bill O'Reilly/Sean Hannity/et al. - right down to the set, the mannerisms, the interviews, and the recurring segments.

While the Daily Show is also a parody, it is MUCH less specific - in fact, they're not even really genre-related, other than both having a political slant.

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Both shows do lots of interviews with non-comedy people, i.e. polticians, political authors, etc.

ALL of these interviews, on both shows, try hard to walk the thin line of poking fun at the guest, making light of whatever (often very serious) thing they represent and trying to act interested in the guest's cause. Shows like Letterman and Leno have been very popular because many of the guests are entertainers used to back and forth banter, which makes for good TV. Donald Rumsfeld and the like on DS and Colbert are often stiff and clearly don't get it, which makes for uncomfortable and tiresome television and the hosts attempt to manuever hilarity from the situation. This is what I mean by the same schtick.

As far as genre, they are one and the same. Colbert immitates O'Reily (I guess) and DS immitates the evening news. These two entities are very similar. Also, Colbert does a lengthy monologue/introduction/quick rundown of the days stories which puts the show further in to Daily Show territory.

Finally, the extensive "I am great" sarcasm that Colbert lays on is not new, not even to the channel, as Craig Kilborn performed these jokes to exhaustion a few years ago.