Colbert and Branson in On-Air Water Fight

To thelibra.

Not that I want to get into an argument with you but the good members of ATS come from all walks of life, some of us are undoubtably better read than others.

Now you do seem to be from the upper echelon of members in terms of IQ, so I implore you to save me from Googling it, what does "ad hominem" mean ???

Oh and can you and RogerT keep to the OP's thread, thanks

Wolfie

thelibra

i've read your posts in this thread and to say that Steven Colbert is a terrible actor is similar calling Charlie Chaplin quiet.

if you don't understand that shows like "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" are 100% satirical then you need to cancel your cable provider.

Originally posted by Wolfie_UK
...what does "ad hominem" mean ???

It's a fancy way of saying "attacking the person instead of the argument."

As in, if we both debated about whether or not the sky was blue, and I started trying to prove my point by pointing out your personal shortcomings, or how you spelled a word, or something like that. There's a really good wiki on it here.

Originally posted by kyyuulle
if you don't understand that shows like "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" are 100% satirical then you need to cancel your cable provider.

??? Dude. I practically have a shrine to Jon Stewart. I bought "America: The Book" and have read several passages of "Naked Pictures of Famous People". It's comic genius. And I'm thrilled at how well Colbert's spinoff has done. I watched the pilot, and probably 75% of the shows since then. Of course I understand it's satire. It's comedic gold.

The reason I said Colbert is a bad actor was to illustrate the point that he would, IMO, be hard-pressed to stage such an awkward reaction to this. He'd have had cheesey one-liners ready to go, a bottle of water conveniently placed below the table, and would have over-reacted in a similar way to his finger getting magically injured during the guitar jam competition against the Octobrists. Instead, it was an awkward call for his intern's water bottle, which took quite a while of dead air time, splashed it back, and then both sat in awkward silence before calling it done.

Had it been staged, Colbert wouldn't have done that. He'd have had some kind of prepared speech about Branson's assault on the Heroes and Truthiness, or some such, and probably some remarks about Britain.

In other words, I think the water fight wasn't staged. It's just not like Colbert to have -not- been blatantly prepared for a bit. He's too on top of things.

OK, I got it.

Look I'm a newbie here and I'm still getting to grips with the whole ATS thought police thing

To be honest, I'm a bit surprised at the level of censorship by some of the mods, although I'm not surprised by how serious they sometimes take themselves.

I would imagine you do have to take a lot of flak, and I commend you for sticking with it. It's a super website providing some real gems amongst the rough.

I'll do my best to curtail my desire to speak freely in future when posting on your modded boards Mr Libra. As you correctly state, I am the guest.

To get back to the OP (is that the correct lingo), my assertion is Branson is just being Branson, and that's something to be admired, as most of us are too afraid to be ourselves. The fact that he can do it on national TV is awesome, but perhaps the billions help.

As for his contributions to the UK government vs his defrauding the customs and excise, then I'd make a guess that his balance of payments is quite dramatically weighted in favor of number 11 Downing street, not the other way around.

PS. for the record, I don't know him personally, but have had dealings with him/his staff in the past, so can't claim any inside knowlege on the man other than hearsay.

love to y'all

First thing I thought of was Jerry Lawler slapping Andy Kaufman out of his chair on Dave Letterman's show. I saw that when it happened, and brutha it was a real slap. Turns out, much like a lot of Kaufman's existential dadaist schtick, it was a put-on. Oh, he really got clobbered, but he and Lawler were in on it. Letterman was clueless, and it was hysterical.

I'm not so sure Colbert & Branson could realistically pull that off, and even though Comedy Central is saying "it was all in fun", I'm thinking Branson just went for it.

And in the grand scheme of things, given the "no harm - no foul" rule and the big $ publicity $ around it, I'm sure all is forgiven.

Next week, Trump will be on the show to set Colbert on fire.

Originally posted by RogerT
OK, I got it.

No, I don't believe you do, yet.

Originally posted by RogerT
Look I'm a newbie here and I'm still getting to grips with the whole ATS thought police thing

If you are still under the impression that we mods are some sort of "thought police" then you not only do not "get it", then you really are truly new here.

These are the terms and conditions of using the site. If adhering to those are your idea of "thought policing" then you're going to be pretty miserable here. Strangely, most people don't seem to have a problem treating each other with respect, though.

Originally posted by RogerT
To be honest, I'm a bit surprised at the level of censorship by some of the mods,

I whole-heartedly invite you to display wherever I have censored you in the least. I've let you speak your mind to the point where it became a personal attack against my person, which is against the TAC. I have repeatedly invited you to discuss and debate the nature of Mr. Branson's actions without resorted to insult and ad hominem. If you consider this censorship, then I cannot fathom how people treat each other in your neck of the woods. Here, we call it common courtesy.

Originally posted by RogerT
although I'm not surprised by how serious they sometimes take themselves.

I can see how you'd think that way, having only been here a week. What you have perhaps failed to realize is that this is not some piddly little phpBB board we threw up last weekend on Geocities. This is an LLC that has grown through the blood, sweat, and tears spanning more than 10 years worth of work. Countless hours have been put in by countless people to continually improve the content, interface, quality, and speed of this microcosm of user generated content.

It has become, IMHO, one of the best damn forums on the internet, and it got that way because a great number of us honestly believe in what we're trying to achieve: a forum where taboo topics may be reasonably discussed amongst peers in a manner of mutual respect and common courtesy.

I take myself no more seriously than the needs dictate at the time. Most of the time, I'm a pretty easy going guy. I'll happily debate any subject. I'll entertain nearly any notion. I'll be more than happy for people to discuss any idea no matter how far-fetched or trivial.

You start to insult me, or anyone else around here, and suddenly, I get serious. Are you beginning to understand yet?

Originally posted by RogerT
I would imagine you do have to take a lot of flak, and I commend you for sticking with it.

I appreciate the commendation, but what I'd really like instead is for you to take a break from giving me flak.

This is a good place. A good website. We treat each other with mutual respect and common courtesy here. I'm not looking to police your thoughts, or steal your chickens, or censor your whatever. What I demand of every member, including myself, is adherence to the TAC. No more, no less.

Originally posted by RogerT
I'll do my best to curtail my desire to speak freely in future when posting on your modded boards Mr Libra.

And it's comments like this that make me wonder some days why we bother providing a board for people like yourself at all. And then I am thankfully reminded that the vast majority of our members are not nearly so rude.

I am amazed at your capacity to continue to insult this site and its staff, despite all my efforts to be reasonable with you. Can we move on with things, or are you going to continue this insulting little pretense of being oppressed?

Originally posted by thelibra

Originally posted by RogerT
OK, I got it.

No, I don't believe you do, yet.

Believe it or not, I do get it

This is not a one line post.

As our discussion is about how people treat each other, we could also say it's relevant to the OP.

Why did they tape an interview to be aired on august 22nd? I was under the impression that each show was taped the day it's aired, which definately is the case unless they have a time machine.

I guess maybe they air interviews on different dates sometimes? Or maybe they just are waiting to air this one because of what happened?

I dunno, just a question I had.

Planned or not. It's going to be a win-win. Ratings go up, Branson gets his message out to way more people.

Grown men playing splash, all a bit silly really!

And then a grown man spending nearly 30 mins reading about it (and other arguments of a more serious nature) that also: is rather silly!

MonKey

Originally posted by DirtyPete
Why did they tape an interview to be aired on august 22nd? I was under the impression that each show was taped the day it's aired, which definately is the case unless they have a time machine.

I guess maybe they air interviews on different dates sometimes? Or maybe they just are waiting to air this one because of what happened?

I dunno, just a question I had.

Honestly, I don't know. Normally their nightly broadcast is directly related to what happened that day. Here's the link on the air date of the water fight episode:

smallscreen.monstersandcritics.com...

My guess is that it wasn't aired because Comedy Central's lawyers and Branson's lawyers had to figure out whether or not there was going to be some kind of legal action or problem arising from this. It looks, however, like both are playing it down as "all in good fun", despite Colbert looking pretty angry after the incident.

Originally posted by thelibra
Here's the link on the air date of the water fight episode:

smallscreen.monstersandcritics.com...

I think it's fascinating that, in that linked article, it's pointed out that Branson had a similar water-dousing display with an English show host a while ago.

I'm stamping this event with Colbert as PARODY and will place it in the library right next to my Andy Kaufman / Jerry Lawler tape.

Originally posted by Essedarius
I'm stamping this event with Colbert as PARODY and will place it in the library right next to my Andy Kaufman / Jerry Lawler tape.

Could be... could very well be.

I think what'll probably be most telling will be if Colbert overacts the part. Still, should be a good (if short) show.

Originally posted by yeahright
First thing I thought of was Jerry Lawler slapping Andy Kaufman out of his chair on Dave Letterman's show. I saw that when it happened, and brutha it was a real slap. Turns out, much like a lot of Kaufman's existential dadaist schtick, it was a put-on. Oh, he really got clobbered, but he and Lawler were in on it. Letterman was clueless, and it was hysterical.

I'm not so sure Colbert & Branson could realistically pull that off, and even though Comedy Central is saying "it was all in fun", I'm thinking Branson just went for it.

And in the grand scheme of things, given the "no harm - no foul" rule and the big $ publicity $ around it, I'm sure all is forgiven.

Next week, Trump will be on the show to set Colbert on fire.

I hope it was fake, I can't imagine someone wanting to be mean to Stephen. It hurts my heart.

I'm suprised that the people in the audience didn't attack Branson. All of us Colbert fans are kinda protective of Stephen.

Originally posted by HeadFirstForHalos

Originally posted by yeahright
First thing I thought of was Jerry Lawler slapping Andy Kaufman out of his chair on Dave Letterman's show. I saw that when it happened, and brutha it was a real slap. Turns out, much like a lot of Kaufman's existential dadaist schtick, it was a put-on. Oh, he really got clobbered, but he and Lawler were in on it. Letterman was clueless, and it was hysterical.

I'm not so sure Colbert & Branson could realistically pull that off, and even though Comedy Central is saying "it was all in fun", I'm thinking Branson just went for it.

And in the grand scheme of things, given the "no harm - no foul" rule and the big $ publicity $ around it, I'm sure all is forgiven.

Next week, Trump will be on the show to set Colbert on fire.

I hope it was fake, I can't imagine someone wanting to be mean to Stephen. It hurts my heart.

I'm suprised that the people in the audience didn't attack Branson. All of us Colbert fans are kinda protective of Stephen.

I know! It seems weird that the audience was supposedly watching in silence, we're usually such an unruly bunch.

I think if my mom were at the taping, she would have been sitting on Branson's head before he even reached for the mug. She calls Stephen and Jon "her boys."

As far as whether this staged or not, I'm going to side with Libra. When Colbert has something outrageous planned, everyone and their mum knows about it beforehand. Look at the Sean Penn Metaphor-off, I think he was plugging that a good month before it aired! Stephen's style is nowhere near as deadpan as someone like Andy Kaufman, he just doesn't have the capacity to stay as serious as he sounds to have been during the whole of it.

I just love when Colbert gets a chance to show off his genuinely ballsy self.

[edit on 22-8-2007 by Zoator]

Love the Daily Show - - hate Colbert.

I only wish more guests would pour water over him.

reply to post by Annee


Awwwww, why's that? The way I see it, they are the same show but done in different ways.

[edit on 22-8-2007 by Zoator]

I was just thinkin' and stuff. You know what would be great? If he had ex-President Jimmy Carter on his show. And Steven and Jimmy get in this big argument about, I don't know, peanut farming or something. Maybe Steven is allergic to peanuts and Jimmy's breath sets him off. So they're fightin' and stuff and suddenly Jimmy pulls this galvanized bucket out from behind his chair and it's full of field corn that's been soaked in slaked lime or lye and just FLINGS it at Steven like a Globetrotter attacking a referee.

And Steven looks at the camera with stuff dripping down over his face and says-

"Oh no. Another ad hominy attack".

[/channeling lombozo off]

reply to post by yeahright



Like I was thinkin' that someone was drainin' some good thinkin' from my brain!

So I decided to break with custom and stayed up extra late to be able to catch the episode that aired last night, and five minutes into Colbert, the stupid dish system died on us and couldn't find a signal afterward. Man, talk about not-happy.

Did anyone catch the full episode?

It should replay at 8:30pm EST tonight if, like me, you missed it.

I stayed up and caught it and it's obvious that they are just doing a stunt for the viewers. They're both laughing and Colbert is suppressing a laugh the whole time.

In fact after he gets his waterbottle from his staff, he passes it to Branson who then throws more water on him.

So, clearly a setup, clearly humor on both sides.



[edit on 23-8-2007 by Badge01]