You've Done It All

After starting out talking about non-perennial candidate Chris Christie and telling us about the latest hi jinks from Hank Williams, Jr. when he (Hank Williams, Jr.) was interviewed on Fox and Friends, Stephen treated us to his interview with actor, musician and author John Lithgow. It would be hard to find someone who watches TV or goes to movies and who has not seen John Lithgow at some time in the past. Surely you have seen "3rd Rock From the Sun" (not to be confused with "30 Rock)."

(Funny story here. I once heard a lady ask why they called it 3rd Rock. She had no clue. Duh - Earth!!!!!)

John Lithgow's latest book, "Drama An Actor's Education", is a memoir. He also has written other books such as "I'm a Manatee," "Marsupial Sue" and "I Got Two Dogs." Those last three are actually aimed at a much younger audience.

Stephen used his own acting skills to convince John Lithgow that he had actually read the book "Drama An Actor's Education". It didn't work. Lithgow was not fooled and called Stephen out, "Clearly you haven't read the book."

When asked by Stephen about acting and what sucked him in, Lithgow replied, "Applause!" Well that is something that Stephen understands.

Oops Jew

It's Rosh Hashanah time again and you know what that means. That's right, it's time for the Atone Phone. And this year it was John Lithgow that called Stephen at 1-888-oops-jew. However, it was a mistake. John was actually calling 1-888-nors-lez.

Stephen mentioned some well-known celebrities tonight. Apparently they like to swim, but only the thin people actually went in the water. I didn't really get that part of the show.

But the really interesting part tonight was the interview. His guest was Ken Burns to talk about his upcoming three-part film about Prohibition. It premieres October 2, 3, and 4 at 8:00 p.m. on PBS (Check Local Listings)

The short discussion that Stephen and Ken had about Prohibition was very interesting. While most people say Prohibition didn't work, it had the support of nearly everyone when it started. It solved some problems, but it created new problems. There were many loopholes. It was strict to the point of being ridiculous in some instances. And lots of people drank anyway, including women.

From the PBS website comes this sentence that is applicable for today if you think about what's going on now: "But the enshrining of a faith-driven moral code in the Constitution paradoxically caused millions of Americans to rethink their definition of morality." Hmmm. I would think that along with history of Prohibition and commentary about it, we might expect to see parallels to today's political climate discussed. As Ken Burns quoted from Ecclesiastes 1:9, "There is nothing new under the sun."

Tune in Next Week

So much happened on tonight's show that I can only briefly mention selected segments.

First of all, Sir John Lithgow was on and you just have to watch him at Colbert Nation if you didn't watch the show tonight. Is it any wonder he's a Sir?

Next Stephen solved a host of problems with his Clergy-Matic Ecclesi-Action Center 3:16. Just a simple Do this and Don't do that and problems solved.

Tonight's guest was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to talk about his documentary "On the Shoulders of Giants."

Stephen had a quick reminder to all of us to adjust our clocks this Saturday. And more importantly an announcement that he will be on the "Spirit of Juno" for the Charleston Bermuda Race this Saturday. You can follow his progress online.

Stephen ended the show with a very brief history of humanity, including the hula hoop, David after Dentist and Truthiness.

Tune in next week for more of The Colbert Report and be sure to keep reading The Colbert Bump blog. We'll be back and hope to see you too. Only problem is that the race is expected to take about a week. So, does that mean our only updates from Stephen will be just about the race and nothing about the national and international news? Will we be watching reruns? Time will tell. Just be patient and hang in there. More shows soon.