So I've caught the entire week's worth of "The Colbert Report" and honestly, I have totally mixed feelings about the new show.

The new show is funny, hip, and smart. That's a given. The show is laugh out loud funny, which for me is reason enough to watch. I particularly enjoy "the Word" segements that they do everyday. They're insanely clever.

But there's a few things about the show that kind of bug me. First off, and this may be because he's new to the game, I've noticed that Stephen Colbert flubs his lines quite often. On last night's "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart was doing this thing when he flubbed a line. It was a really minor flub, but Stewart still acknowledged it as a flub. But Jon's mess up was the type of mess up that happens quite often on "The Colbert Report." I think he'll get better at it. Time will tell.

But more than that, I don't really understand the need for the show itself. Mostly, this is because the two shows are so damn similar. As much as Stephen Colbert says that he's taking on punditry, the formula for the show is really similar to "The Daily Show." They both start off by taking on the Network and Cable News networks. They both have interviews with politically minded people. Last night's guest (his name escapes me) is a Daily Show regular.

In Matt's ideal world, the Daily Show gets expanded to a one hour show. Jon Stewart gets to spend a little more time with his guest. At about the 40 minute mark, Stephen Colbert takes over and does his schtick. I mean, at a couple points this past week, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report had the *exact* same jokes. I hope that was just a fluke and doesn't become a pattern. But after seeing his interview with the Georgian congressman a couple nights ago, Anya remarked to me, "That's the type of bit that Stephen Colbert used to do, and what they *still* do on "The Daily Show." So in some way, yes, the "Colbert Report" is too similar to "The Daily Show" to justify its existence.

In some ways, I think that "The Colbert Report" steals a bit of "The Daily Show's Thunder." Because it's new and fresh in viewer's minds, it kind of makes "The Daily Show" feel old and outdated. This only gets compounded with the absence of Stephen Colbert. You knew everytime that Colbert did a report for the Daily Show that it was going to be one of the funniest moments of the show. His absence from the show is noticeable. They're going to have a hard time making up for his absence.

"The Daily Show" has a new pundit, (I couldn't find his name on the Daily Show website) who is really funny. He doesn't have the gravitas of Stephen Colbert, but instead has his own schtick that really funny. He had a bit last night where he talked to Geraldine Ferraro that was hilarious. I hope he keeps on keepin' on.

But yeah, I think that some of "TDS's" thunder has been sucked away.

your thoughts????