The Colbert Report Taping Report - May 29th, 2008

We arrived around 1:20pm at the studio on 54th street and no one else was there. The gate to the alley was still closed. Mom set up the stool and I sat down while she left in search of water and food (and a bathroom). While we were waiting, Laura Krafft walked by and she said hi to us.

Around 2pm, Juan came out and opened the gate. At that point, there were only three or four people behind us in line, but it didn‘t take long for people to arrive. At 4:30pm on the dot, Kelly (Madmoll on the Colboard, cheap_laugh on LJ) arrived, just like she said she would. Kelly gave a blond intern (at least I think she was an intern) a picture that she‘d taken of some of the writers during the strike and Mom gave her a gift that I had brought for Stephen.

Mark came out and did his thing. We chatting with Mark and Juan for a few minutes. Juan is actually really funny. He told us that the “shower“ at the end of the Rain dance off only took one take and then he and Stephen had a water fight.

About 5pm Mark came out and told Kelly that security wanted to see her. They told her that she couldn‘t go into the show. They said that it was a penalty for drawing on the wall while in line back in January. They said that it was the decision of the building owners, and that she could come back in six months. Mark and I appeared to be more upset about it than she was. Kelly stayed with us until we went in.

Once we were inside, we were told that rewrites were being done and we had to wait a while. In the meantime, Mark asked a few trivia questions and gave out t-shirts. I got one, although Mom said that he wanted to give me one. He kept looking over at me, waiting to see if I‘d put my hand up to answer a question. When he ran out of shirts, he answered questions about the show. Then we entered the inner sanctum.

It was just as I remembered it. I again was in awe of the desk, and the nest. I was in the third seat instead of the first.. Two VIPs had the first and second seats. That was ok, though. It meant that I had a good view of the desk, because I was right in front of it, and I could study the outline on the floor.

Then Stephen came out and did his toss. It was very short because they didn’t have a whole lot of time. He said that they had a scripted toss, but they didn’t have time for it. While they were testing the feed, Stephen and Jon were talking about a snow pea salad, and Jon somehow got a dick joke in there It was quite funny. Very smooth.

Then Pete came out and made fun of us, because we were front row. He said we looked too bright to be from New York, and we agreed with him. He also made fun of a few of the VIPs. They were easy to spot, some of them had nametags.

Then Stephen came out again and ran around the desk a few times and did the Q&A. I had a question ready, however, he didn’t call on me. When he got to the desk, he started shooting wriststrong bracelets into the crowd. He shot one at me, but it flew up and went over my head. He also pointed at me and smiled.

The show itself went by pretty quickly. There was only one time when they restarted. There was a technical issue with a picture that was supposed to come up, but it didn’t. While waiting for this to be fixed, he ate some more of that shrimp he had for another joke earlier. He also threw a piece of it over my head to someone I’m sure he said was Allison’s brother, but Mom said that he said it was his brother. Maybe one of the others who were there can clarify. He finished the show and left.

When leaving, I gave Mark a hug and apologized for something mean I said to him, joking, when we were going in. He really is a sweetheart. Kelly met us outside. We waited for the sidewalk to clear, took some pictures, then left.

The Daily Show Taping Report - May 28th, 2008

We arrived at the studio about 2pm and no one was there so we were first in line. Kelly (Madmoll on the Colboard, cheap_laugh on LJ) joined us about 20 minutes later. After Kelly arrived, Mom left to find us some water. When she came back, she had water and a stool. Kelly and I had already planted ourselves on the ground, so Mom sat on the stool.

They were running late and we didn’t get seated until around 5pm. Paul Mecurio came out and told us that they wanted to pretape us for a segment on the show. That was the part where “John McCain” was shaking his ass. Paul left and came back a while later to make fun of the audience. He certainly didn’t disappoint. He said that me, Mom, and Kelly looked like stoners from upstate. Then Jon came out and did a Q&A. One girl asked him how he got his hair all silvery. His answer, “I’m old.” Oh! And from the horses mouth! Jon and Stephen will be doing a joint one-hour broadcast on election night, from the same studio! I can’t wait for that. It’s gonna rock

The show itself was exactly as seen, with no surprises, and no John Oliver. I was a little disappointed. It was my birthday, after all. After the show, we went to the 10th Ave diner to eat. Then we walked past the TCR studio to show Mom where we were going the next day. There was no one waiting for Stephen, but the light was still on in his office. After that, we went back to the hotel.