Where to Stream: The Colbert Report

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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.

IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: October 17, 2005

PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: The Colbert Report, Season 1, Episode 1 [Watch on Comedy Central]

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: While there are definitely TV shows that come out strong right out of the gate, the vast majority of shows take a while to become themselves. And I’d venture to say that the vast majority of shows that do start strong are narrative dramas and maaaaaybe reality competitions. Comedies and talk shows, however, take a while to feel things out, figure out what works, and adjust. Which is yet another reason why The Colbert Report seems like such a miracle.

Ten years ago today, Stephen Colbert spun off from his role as a correspondent on The Daily Show. He’d been with the show since 1997. The old days. The Kilborn days Remember when Kilborn would call him The New Guy instead of my his Christian name? Craig Kilborn was probably a blast to be around in real life. On Jon Stewart’s version of the show, however, Colbert became one of the show’s most indispensable correspondents. (Take a minute and remember how fantastic Even Steph/ven was.)

But the leap to The Colbert Report was a gutsy one, even given the wild popularity of The Daily Show. Not only was Colbert going to have to stand on his own, but he was going to have to do it while playing a highly specific, stylized character purposefully drawn to antagonize that liberal TDS audience. But right from the start, Colbert nailed it:

And better than nailing the O’Reilly-esque tone, Colbert also laid down his show’s thesis statement, with his segment on “Truthiness,” and if you’re waffling on how definitive of a moment that was, remember that “truthiness” was named Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2006. The man invented the word of the year on his first day. The rest of us can barely fill out a direct-deposit form.

[You can watch the first Colbert Report episode on ComedyCentral.com.]

Joe Reid (@joereid) is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn. You can find him leaving flowers for Mrs. Landingham at the corner of 18th and Potomac.

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