The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has been pretty damned impressive in it's first fifty episodes. It has become the daily appointment viewing that the Daily Show and the Colbert Report used to be. It's funny, it's sharp, it's poignant, and it's got a host that both gives a damn and doesn't mind being made a fool. His coverage of the Paris attacks, his rapt and unabashed discussions of topics like science, religion, politics and his complete and obvious contempt for stupid shit is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise venal and empty hearted late night landscape.
But they may have accidentally reached a height they'll never be able to match late last week, when John Cleese stopped by and had a Big Furry Hat off with Colbert. Big Furry Hat is quickly becoming my favourite of the new segments, and was perfectly suited for Cleese's brand of cruel humour and short, sharp delivery. It is also the best thing that Cleese has done in years, comedy wise. The gusto and verge that he uses to deliver perfectly tailored punchlines, like the elevator joke, or the buffalo, remind us that Cleese is at once one of the greatest comedians ever, and one of the few that can make murder and villainy utterly appealing.
Via the Late Show.