Nice analysis (remarked the TV fangirl to the Film Studies major). I definitely appreciate both the appeal of the show and the show itself for performance arts and geekiness. Just, there's only so much I can take of Colbert's persona before I really need to turn him off--the pervasive "mock mocking" tone seriously grates, even knowing what he's doing and knowing that he's brilliant. I mean, I heart irony as much as the next gal, but I guess there's only so much of it I can deal with, undiluted, in one sitting (which is something I never thought I'd say before Colbert!). Stewart's guileless straight-man routine--routine though it may indeed be--is a bit more my speed in that respect.

That said, I want to molest those lists.