Zogworld

Yesterday Catherine and I ventured forth to the great city of New York to catch a taping of the Colbert Report. It was a long cold day but something we are already talking about going back to do again.

The Trip into the city

We took the train from Trenton into NYC. We arrived at Trenton around 1:15pm and caught the train around 1:30pm. It was a nice 90 minute trek through NJ. I finished my book, Pest Control, on the ride up. About 30 minutes out of the city I received a call from my friend Donna, who works in Manhatten and I had emailed earlier in the day about the trip. She explained that she was busy and getting over being sick but pointed us toward Bryant Park for something free to do. It was also in the direction we needed to go. We arrived at Penn Station and decided to walk up to the park. First impression – IT IS COLD!! Very cold. I believe the coldest it has been this winter.

Bryant Park

We arrived at Bryant Park to find 2 different holiday festivities happening. The Pond was setup for ice skating. And get the cost – FREE!. Now neither Catherine nor I are ice skaters but cool none the less. And second, the park had been transformed into an outdoor shopping village called Fetes de Noel (that is not the correct spelling but the additional “characters” cause problems in IE) for the holidays. Too bad we were not there to shop as we saw some interesting items and get free coffee out of the deal. After about 45 minutes there, we decided to start heading to the restaurant for an early dinner. The taping was at 7:30 and we needed to be there by 6pm to get inline so an early dinner was in order.

Dinner

We headed up to 43rd to go to Heartland, a brew pub that Catherine had found. Unknown to us though, it was rented out for a private party of some sort; including the bar. POOP! What to do. Well lucky for us, there was a new Belgian Beer bar that had opened NEXT DOOR to them called BXL Cafe. Guess where we ate? They had a nice atmosphere with a fine selection of Belgian beers, all on tap. Nothing mind blowing, more like the greatest hits of Belgians but still not bad in any way. I enjoyed the Sirloin tips in Leffe Brown and Catherine the mussels. The food was pretty good , but the menu limited but very well priced. After dinner we walked up through Times Square and headed to 54th st to get to the studio.

The Colbert Report

We walked down 54th st and you can see the awnings sticking out of the entrance to the studio and we see 3 people out front. We think we have totally scored being very close to the front of the line. Well, they were just the “audience coordinators”, the line was around the corner. We turn the corner and there it was; the line. We got into position at about 6pm, doors open at 7pm . We are under a small vinyl cover but with the temperature it does not make a huge impact. It is cold! We wait and wait until about 6:45pm when the “audience coordinators” come down the line and start checking us in and passing out placeholders cards. Catherine is 64 and I 65. At about 7pm they start shuffling us into the lobby and through security. Metal detectors, guards, the whole nine yards. We then all mass into the lobby and praise the heating system.

brrrrr….It’s cold!!

Number 65 – great! – Am I gonna get in?

The stage hands come out and explain the atmosphere inside. That we should make as much noise as we can and that we will be entering by number. After a few minutes they begin calling the numbers; ours are in the middle. We enter and are shuttled across the back to bleachers and are seated about 4 rows up in the middle. Not bad. Nice view. Here is something that you will find interesting. The place is VERY small. A lot smaller then I expected. Literally Stephen at his desk is maybe 20 feet from the audience.

The stage manager comes out and explains some rules about the shoot and how it will work along with the counts from commericals etc. He has us test our laugh and applause and then they send out the “warm-up comic”. Think of him like the opening band for the band you really want to see. He was not very funny and used material recycled from other comics. LAME!

After 15 minutes of him, Stephen Colbert comes out and runs all around. This guy has some serious energy. He spends a few minutes and takes some questions from the audience. Very funny off the cuff. After that, he heads back for a quick makeup re-touch and he takes his place.

The show starts in the studio just like on TV. He sits and does his opening with the 4 camera coverage with the graphics fed in as he goes. We can see them on the overhead monitors and the show flows quickly. For “commerical breaks” they only stop for about 3 minutes and retouch his make-up or like last night change his tie so he can do the “formidable Opponent” segment. He puts on a chroma-key tie so they can recolor it for the “two-sides”. That is done completely live with the 2 camera positioned right next to each other. It is impressive.

After that, he did his interview segment with Bob Costas. Bob was a very good sport and a nice fellow. The only edit I saw that was done between the taping and the actual broadcast was the run Stephen does to the guest table. It was much longer in the studio.

Everything you see on air is one take. He is well rehearsed and has super energy. I am really glad we went. We are already planning about the spring/summer depending on when we can get tickets.

After the taping, we are quickly shuttled out. Catherine and I make a bathroom stop, taking advantage of the clean restrooms.

The Trip Home

After leaving, we grab a cab to Penn Station. It was way too cold to walk. We get to the station right in time to grab a snack and head down to catch the 9:10pm train home. We got in about 11:15pm to the house, just in time to catch the show.

Next time, I would like to do it over 2 days, giving us a hotel room as a “base of operations”. Also, this would allow a more relaxed pacing. But we are planning on going again and it should be just as fun.

I have pictures, I just need to upload them. There are not many and none of the studio or Stephen as pictures were not allowed.