再見了保守派吹牛大王 《扣扣熊報告》落幕
For nine years, Stephen Colbert has relentlessly maintained his pompous, deeply ridiculous but consistently appealing conservative blowhard character on his late-night show, “The Colbert Report” — so much so that when he puts the character to rest for good on Thursday night, he may have to resort to comicide. The Grim Reaper is his last guest.
Devoted fans of “The Colbert Report” (the final T is silent) have dreaded this day since April 10, when their favorite late-night star announced that he was leaving to become the successor to David Letterman on CBS.
當他們最愛的深夜秀主持人在4月10號宣佈自己將要離開，前去哥倫比亞廣播公司（Columbia Broadcasting System，下稱CBS）接替大衛·萊特曼(David Letterman)時，“扣扣熊報告”（The Colbert Report，最後一個t不發音哦）的忠實粉絲們就一直害怕着這一天的到來。Mr. Colbert has steered clear of commenting on his plans for the last show, other than on-air comments that the end is near. But whatever comic exercise Mr. Colbert devises to end his multi-award-winning run on Comedy Central, including perhaps some symbolic hara-kiri for the character he brought into American homes four nights a week, he has left an indelible mark on late-night television comedy.
科爾伯特一直避而不談自己最後一期的節目有什麼策劃，只是在直播裏提到結束的日子快到了。但不管科爾伯特策劃了什麼橋段來結束這個在喜劇中心頻道(Comedy Central)播放、已獲多項大獎的節目——可能還包括一些象徵性的切腹自殺來終結這個他在每週四天裏給美國家庭帶來的喜劇人物——他都爲深夜電視喜劇界留下來不可磨滅的印記。
And he did it in a way almost no one thought was possible, or sustainable: as a fake host, a fictional character using Mr. Colbert’s own name who was an elaborate parody of a bloviating political talk show host.
而且之前從來沒人認爲他這樣的表演方式是可行的，或者說是可持續的：他是以科爾伯特爲名的一個捏造出來的主持人、一個虛構人物，惟妙惟肖而又反諷地模仿着一個喋喋不休的政治脫口秀主持人。Jimmy Kimmel, the host of ABC’s late-night show, with whom Mr. Colbert shares a manager (James Dixon), said he had been concerned when Mr. Colbert announced his intention to create the parody show in 2005.
和科爾伯特同在一名經紀人（詹姆斯·迪克森[James Dixon]）旗下的美國廣播公司(American Broadcasting Company)深夜秀主持人吉米·坎摩爾(Jimmy Kimmel)說他在2005年科爾伯特宣佈要製作這部嘲諷模仿節目時就十分關注。“I remember pleading with Dixon to tell Stephen it was a terrible mistake to do a character the whole time,” Mr. Kimmel said. “That it wasn’t going to last, and also not to name the show ‘The Report’ as a joke. It was just going to confuse everybody. And he did, anyway, and of course, it was a smashing success in every way.”
“我記得當時自己求着迪克森去和史蒂芬說，要一直模仿同一個人，真的是一個糟糕的錯誤，”坎摩爾說。“我說這沒法持續下去，我還說不要戲謔地把這節目名字叫做‘報告’。這隻會讓所有人摸不着頭腦。但他還是做了，當然，這個節目最後在各個方面都取得了絕對的成功。”Mr. Colbert appeared in character not simply on his show, but in appearances elsewhere, including a memorable knockout performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2006. (He stirred Bush administration outrage with comments like: “I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least, and by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.”) He even remained at his blowhard best when he testified before Congress in 2010. (Before a Congressional subcommittee on immigration issues and farm labor, Mr. Colbert’s character said things like, “Maybe the easier answer is just to have scientists develop vegetables that pick themselves.”)
科爾伯特不止在他的節目裏以那個虛構人物出現，在其他場合也是如此，包括2006年在白宮記者協會晚宴上的那次讓人印象深刻的絕佳表演。（他是這樣譏諷布什政府的暴行的：“我相信管得最少的政府就是管得最好的政府，以這個標準的話，我們已經在伊拉克建立了一個絕好的政府啊。”）甚至2010年在國會發表證言時他還是不改自己的戲謔本色。（在一個國會移民與農工問題小組委員會面前，科爾伯特扮演的角色是這麼說的，“可能最好的解決辦法就是讓科學家研發出一種新蔬菜，讓它們自己把自己從田裏拔出來好了。”）Mr. Colbert has worked with many of his late-night colleagues, including Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon, appearing in character, of course. (He showed up on Mr. Fallon’s debut “Tonight” show on NBC, pouring a bucket of pennies down the host’s collar, then welcoming him with a colorful phrase.)
科爾伯特曾和包括柯南·奧布萊恩(Conan O’Brian)和吉米·法倫(Jimmy Fallon)在內的很多深夜秀同行合作過，當然了，他還是以他的虛構角色出現的。（當法倫第一次在全國廣播公司[National Broadcasting Company]的“今夜秀”[Tonight]主持時，他帶來了一桶硬幣，都倒進了法倫的領子裏，然後用髒話歡迎了他。）Like other competitors, Mr. Fallon professed unabashed awe that Mr. Colbert could sustain this performance at such a high level for so long. “Before he won the Emmy, I had been preaching that people had to recognize what he was doing: He’s faking a person,” Mr. Fallon said. “I was one of those who said, ‘He’ll do it for six months and then he’ll move on.’ Imagine if you were still trying to do the Coneheads on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ It’s gets old. But not this. He’s a genius.”
和其他競爭者一樣，法倫對於科爾伯特居然能讓這個節目長期維持在高水平，表示了不加掩飾的崇敬。“在他贏得艾美獎之前(Emmy)，我就一直說人們要知道他在幹嘛：他在假裝是另一個人，”法倫說。“我當時就是那些人之一，我們說‘他會玩這個玩六個月，然後就得玩點別的了。’想想看如果你還在‘週六夜現場’[Saturday Night Live]裏裝蠢人會怎麼樣。這個橋段有點老套。但他的這個不一樣。他是個天才。”But for all the effort and talent Mr. Colbert has invested in keeping the character going, he appears resolute in his intention to allow him to pass into comic history. This decision, Mr. O’Brien said, reflects tremendous confidence. “There is something really cool about Stephen saying, ‘This needs to stop at some point, so let’s stop now,’ ” he said.
儘管科爾伯特花費了如此多的精力和才幹讓這個節目得以持續下去，但他似乎對於讓自己退入喜劇界歷史十分堅決。奧布萊恩說，科爾伯特的這個決定反映了其超然的自信。“史蒂芬這麼說真的很酷，他說，‘這個節目在某天總會結束，那就現在結束好了，’”奧布萊恩說道。In some cases, a classic comic creation defines a performer for life. Jack Benny was long associated with being a cheapskate, butchering his violin playing and lying about his age. Classic comic characters are often too fully realized to abandon.
在一些例子裏，一個經典的喜劇節目會定義一個表演者的一生。傑克·本尼(Jack Benny)的形象長期以來就一直和守財奴聯繫在一起，他搞砸了自己的小提琴表演，還在年齡上撒謊。經典的喜劇角色往往給人留下的印象太深刻，實在難以擺脫。Mr. O’Brien said that hanging on to a persona was an American convention, while British performers seem willing to walk away from their signature creations. He cited John Cleese’s Basil Fawlty and Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge (a narcissistic media personality), though Mr. Coogan has resurrected Partridge a few times.
奧布萊恩說，堅持演同一個角色是美國的傳統，而英國的表演者看起來更願意撇開自己的成名之作。他提到了約翰·克里斯(John Cleese)飾演的巴塞爾·弗爾蒂(Basil Fawlty)，以及史蒂芬·庫根(Steven Coogan)飾演的艾倫·帕特奇(Alan Patridge)（一個自戀的媒體人），儘管庫根之後又復興了帕特奇的幾次。Ricky Gervais has also recently revived David Brent, the bumbling manager he portrayed on the British version of “The Office,” in live concert performances. “I did consider not bringing him back to life,” Mr. Gervais said. But in a new context — Brent as would-be rock star — the character could be seen as realistically having moved on.
裏奇·格威斯(Ricky Gervais)最近同樣重新喚醒了大衛·布倫特(David Brent)這個角色，這是英國版的《辦公室》裏一個愛管閒事的主管。“我的確考慮了不要讓這個角色復活，”格威斯說。但在一個新的環境裏——布倫特會是一個準搖滾明星——所以這個角色可以說已經開始了新生活。“What’s interesting about what Colbert is doing,” Mr. Gervais said in an interview, “what’s brave and possibly confusing about it, is that he’s always used his own name.” He added: “It can be a dangerous game to play. He presented himself as the character, and now he’s not going to be it. And people are going to miss the character. It’s a joy to watch someone do a really great parody with a character saying the opposite of what you know is right.”
“科爾伯特做的事情有趣之處，”格威斯在採訪中說，“同樣也是勇敢和讓人困惑之處在於，他一直在用自己的真名。”他補充道：“這個把戲可能會很危險。他自己表演的是一個虛構人物，而他自己又要不成爲這個人物。人們會想念這個人物的。能看到一個把反諷模仿做的這麼棒的節目真的很開心，那個角色說的都是與你明知是對的事情相反的東西。”That is the essence of what is upsetting so many of Mr. Colbert’s fans. While moving up to a bigger stage is in the tradition of late-night stars pushing their careers forward — as Mr. Letterman, Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Kimmel have all done — none of those moves have required a singular comic character’s disappearing forever.
這也是科爾伯特的粉絲們之所以沮喪的根本原因。雖然對於傳統的深夜秀主持人來說，走向更大的舞臺是他們職業晉升的常態——就像萊特曼，奧布萊恩，還有坎摩爾，他們都是這樣的——但他們的這些職業轉換都沒有要讓一個如此優異的喜劇人物永遠消失。Some who have worked on “The Colbert Report” have said that Mr. Colbert was tiring of the demands of constantly staying in character, and that he had subtly been doing pieces that did not depend on it. (His recent skewering of sweep month excesses by “Good Morning, America” was a comedic tour de force with little connection to his character.)
一些在“扣扣熊報告”工作的員工說，科爾伯特已經厭倦了不斷的維持角色的要求，而且他已經開始在做節目時巧妙地慢慢不再依賴於扮演角色。（他最近做的諷刺“早安，美國”[Good Morning, America]爲提高收視率損招頻出的節目就是一個和他角色沒有太大關係的喜劇傑作。）Mr. O’Brien commended Mr. Colbert for breaking what he called the American tradition. “Our system is, if there’s another nickel to be found in it, you keep playing that character,” he said, “just beat it to death — and then do it another 10 years.”
奧布萊恩說科爾伯特打破了他稱爲美國傳統的東西。“我們的體系是，如果還能再在這裏面掙到一毛錢，你就繼續演下去，”他說，“就演到死爲止——然後再演十年。”He added: “You always have performers saying, ‘I think I’ll go out on top, while it’s still great.’ And then it’s a sitcom, ‘Who’s the Boss?,’ and it’s the 18th season, and you’re like: ‘Tony, I like you, but ... .’ This is one of the few times when a performer is saying, ‘I want to get out while it’s still great,’ and it’s actually true.”
他說：“你總會聽到表演者說，‘我想功成身退，趁我還不錯的時候。’接着就是情景劇橋段了，‘誰纔是老闆？’，這都演了18季了，然後你就會說：‘託尼，我喜歡你，但是……’這是少有的一次當一個表演者說‘我想功成身退’,然後還真的實現了。”But going out on a slab — if that’s Mr. Colbert’s plan? “I think that’s a really funny idea,” Mr. Kimmel said. “And it would make it clear to people that he’s not that character anymore.”
但就這樣以死掉的方式離開——這是科爾伯特的想法嗎？“我覺得這是一個有趣的想法，”坎摩爾說。“而且這會清楚地告訴人們他不再是那個角色了。”Mr. Gervais agreed: “As surreal as that would be, it does make people get it. ‘I was that character, and that character is dead now. Do you get it? This is me now.’ ”
格威斯也同意：“儘管有點虛幻，但這的確讓人們明白了。‘我之前只是那個角色，現在那個角色死了。你們明白了？我現在就是我。’”And then, presumably, Stephen Colbert can turn up next September on CBS as Mr. Letterman’s successor and be quickly accepted as a real talk show host.
之後，史蒂芬·科爾伯特應該就可以於明年九月在CBS登臺接替萊特曼，然後作爲一個真實的脫口秀主持人迅速被觀衆接受了。“I think he’ll be great and funny, and people are going to still enjoy him plenty on that level,” Mr. O’Brien said. “And then, every now and then, there’ll be a cooking segment.”
“我認爲他還會很棒、很搞笑，而且人們還會像現在那樣享受他的節目，”奧布萊恩說。“然後，時不時地，就會有做菜環節了。”
