The Dragon Place: December 2014

by Catherine Giordano

Smaug on The Colbert Report

Did you see the Colbert Report on Thursday December 11, 2014? Stephen Colbert interviewed Smaug, the dragon from the Hobbit movies. There is a new movie opening soon The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the third movie in the series. (Not counting the original Lord of the Rings trilogy.)

Smaug is not cute like the dragons of “How to Tame Your Dragon.” He's not a sparkly pet on a leash like the dragons on Game of Thrones. This is a real dragon, the dragon of your nightmares. Smaug says he is an ”old .school worm,” and he looks terrifying.

The segment begins with Smaug bursting through the wall, and ends with the studio going up in flames. In between, Smaug juts his ferocious snout into Colbert’s face. (I wonder, do dragons have bad breath?) Smaug has teeth as long as my forearm, but Stephen is undaunted. Nothing scares Colbert. After all, he has interviewed Bill O’Reilly and survived. So why should he cower before a mere dragon?

It was a great segment. Next week is the last week of “The Colbert Report.” I will miss the show so much. Stephen Colbert played his part of a conservative talk show host so well. When the show first started seven years ago, he fooled conservatives into thinking he was one of them. (It just went to prove that it is really hard to satirize people who are already so far over the top that it is hard to believe that they are for real.

Next year Colbert will take over “Late Night” when David Letterman leaves. We won’t hear Colbert roar anymore—he will be dropping the persona he used on "the Colbert Report.". He will be his charming and intelligent self. I can’t help but wonder if he will occasionally slip back into character. A dragon can’t change his skin you know.

If you get to missing Stephen Colbert--his new show won't start for months--you can snuggle up with Stephen Colbert's book: America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't.

Enjoy the clips below.