Talk:Stephen Colbert (character)

Characteristics

I think some mention ought to be made of the fact that he steps out of character during his interviews. The quoted assertion that he improvises during the interviews may support this as well. While a fundamental aspect of the character is that of being an-idiot-who-doesn't-know-it, his ability to debate with a polemical command of ideas and philosophy creates an inherent contradiction which the guest cannot overcome without s/he, too, breaking out of character ie debating a character who exists beyond the bounds of the constructed comic persona. --P00r (talk) 13:29, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Investment adviser, Gorlock

• Siegel, Aaron (February 4, 2008). "Colbert rages at 'financial adviser'". InvestmentNews. Crain Communications Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

This source could be used to add stuff to the article. Cirt (talk) 12:58, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

The Gorlock bit was hilarious, but as a one-off joke I don't know how relevant it is. A lot of details about the character's history and personal affairs tend to be made up on the fly or changed around for the purpose of a punchline or a lead-in to discussion of a current issue - in this case, the stock market plunge. Since the show's all about what the character cares about, Stephen has to have some kind of personal interest in the issue for it to be brought up, hence Gorlock. Shoemoney2night (talk) 20:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Feud with Conan

I don't think this particularly warrants its own subsection. It's only one of a number of "feuds" he's had with various well-known figures (the Decemberists, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, Richard Branson, Sean Penn - the list goes on), and is not especially significant either to the character or in comparison to all these other face-offs. On the other hand, perhaps some more general mention of his numerous celebrity "feuds" could be useful - it certainly speaks to his large ego. Shoemoney2night (talk) 07:54, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, this one was a lot bigger than the other ones I've seen. It spanned a few weeks and three shows... that's pretty big. (ApJ (talk) 14:16, 5 February 2008 (UTC))

Agreed, a three-show crossover involving one of the Republican runners. That's important. —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Clawed One (talk • contribs) 15:07, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

I added it again, but we need citation for the "confrontation" on all three shows last night. (ApJ (talk) 15:58, 5 February 2008 (UTC))

Maybe in terms of the show it's important, but not in terms of the character. And if we're talking about bigger... The Green Screen Challenge lasted for months. The feud with the Decemberists lasted for weeks and culminated in a massive shred-off with Chris Funk, Robert Schneider, Peter Frampton, Rick Nielsen and Henry Kissinger. Stephen spent at least a week hawking the Richard Branson "train wreck". Barry Manilow continues to be brought up on the show. At least three episodes featured attacks on Willie Nelson's ice cream flavour, leading up to the ice cream-off with Richard Holbrooke.

As far as this "feud" goes - and I say this, by the way, as a fangirl who positively squealed while watching it - this was essentially three talk show hosts in a very nasty situation, forced back on their shows without their writers, seeing and leaping on a storyline to help each other out and, as Jon put it, "waste time on all three of our shows". That's what this is about.

It is not an important stage in the character's life. This is in the biography, apparently on par with "Colbert '08" - a presidential campaign that received significant media attention and had obvious implications for the character - as a notable stage. That's ridiculous. The fact is, the only reason this is here is because it's important to fandom. Three of our favourite hosts get into a fake brawl, we get excited. But in terms of the character, it is no different from any of his other celebrity feuds.

The only thing I believe this could be potentially used for is as an example of Stephen's tendency to get into these feuds, which is a result of the character's self-centeredness. He makes every story about him. There's nothing too big that can't somehow be related back to him, and nothing too small in his life (ie. his wrist) that he doesn't consider news. And he takes everything personally. As such, he gets himself into these big feuds, which the comedian compares to Bill O'Reilly's culture wars.

If the discussion of the Conan feud belongs anywhere at all, it's in The Colbert Report, not here. Shoemoney2night (talk) 21:47, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

It should at the very least be mentioned, as should his other feuds with celebrities. (ApJ (talk) 22:14, 5 February 2008 (UTC))

Which is why I'm suggesting bringing up his celebrity feuds in relation to the character's tendency to personalise everything. There are several interviews in which Stephen discusses this, I'm trying to track them down so I can add something to the article. In the mean time, for all the reasons listed above I don't think the Conan feud warrants a mention in the character's bio. Shoemoney2night (talk) 23:24, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, the information and the references are there, so it is free to be integrated into the article, if its going to be. (ApJ (talk) 13:01, 6 February 2008 (UTC))

homosexuality

I would edit this myself, but it might cause controversy.

Steven Colbert (character) claims to be straight on the show, but drops obvious hints about being a closeted homosexual. I specificly remember him mentioning his love of saunas and recurring dream of eating bananas.

Spambi75 (talk) 02:26, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

This, in my opinion, is not controversial as far as the character goes - his past (and current) homosexual experiences are a running theme on the show. Just off the top of my head:

• The Word "Superegomaniac" (Stephen: "I'm not against gay marriage because I'm secretly afraid I'm gay" Bullet: "Secretly Knows He's Gay")
• Deep-throating the banana on The Daily Show
• Recurring dreams of said banana, as you mention (don't recall the sauna thing)
• "Baby carrots are trying to turn me gay"
• Pizza + Colbert = gay porn. First on The Daily Show in "Popping a Big Tent" then on The Colbert Report in "Fresh Hot Slice", and also on the DVD extras for Indecision 2004 (shares a slice with Jon Stewart)
• His "hypothetical" gay porn work as Tyrone Hunnibi (to finance his "hypothetical" meth addiction) - and more pizza
• Saying that he did not "blow [Bill O'Reilly] right away", but went for dinner first

There's plenty of material but I'm not much good at writing actual article content - anyone up to the task? Rissa (talk) 01:40, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Aagh, I fail at links. Rissa (talk) 01:45, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I started writing this up myself, but it occurred to me that all of these references are directly from the show. While it's pretty obvious to all of us that character!Stephen is gay, shouldn't we have a secondary source stating as much before we put it in the article? Otherwise it's just WP:OR, isn't it? Shoemoney2night (talk) 09:23, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Hello! As of April 23, 2008, Colbert has asked Rain to a dance-off, a cuddle-off or a spoon-off. Pretty freakin' gay. No idea how to do those after-thingies right so, user: waladil, 9:55 PM 23 April 2008. Hope it's good enough. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.163.247.190 (talk) 03:55, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

To sign your username, just type four tildes (~) in a row. :) Shoemoney2night (talk) 08:06, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Cannibalism

Seriously guys, don't delete this. He really said it on April 22, 2008. PLEASE STOP DELETING IT!!! Just watch the show that night. Thanks for NOT deleting it- it's a fact. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.163.247.190 (talk) 04:01, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

It was a really funny bit and a great farewell to Eric Drysdale, but I don't think that it warrants a mention in the character's biography. I've said this before, but the problem with writing about the character "Stephen Colbert" is that the show's writers don't stick to a particularly rigid history. A lot of it's made up on the fly or inserted purely for a lead-in to discussion of current affairs or the sake of a great joke (as is the case with this one). The character has also implied that he robbed Abraham Lincoln's grave and I think murdered Gwyneth Paltrow at one point.

I'm hesitant about inserting references to one-off jokes like the cannibalism thing into the article, mainly because originally the article was at least 50% funny references from the show. Which is great for a chuckle, but not so much for an encyclopaedia article. I don't know how other people feel, but my position has always been that in order to warrant an inclusion in the bio, a joke has to be fairly significant and well-established canon (eg. Stephen's pre-TDS career, which is discussed in the book and supported by some segments on the show), or a very notable recurring joke (eg. His relationship with Jon, which is regularly joked about on the show and relates to his dynamic with Jon during the toss and other interactions). Shoemoney2night (talk) 05:12, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Non-notable, will never ever recur. Leave it out. -mattbuck (Talk) 09:13, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Rain

Since Colbert's had this feud with Rain now for a year straight and considering it will probably continue into the next Time online poll... I think it's worth mentioning in the article. It's something he frequently mentions on the show these days.66.229.89.202 (talk) 22:03, 6 May 2008 (UTC)