We helped spread the word last week that Daft Punk was going to show up on The Colbert Report last night in a rare television appearance by the French pop duo to headline “StePhest Colbchella ’013.” That didn’t happen.
Instead Stephen found out a few days before that MTV/Viacom was pulling the plug on his special event because Daft Punk is scheduled for a surprise appearance at VMAs and it was just too much exposure for them. As Stephen correctly points out when covering for the band, it is not exactly in French DNA to work twice in one month. Still, major bummer… Or not.
Because of course Colbert decided to dedicate the entire show to the snubbing and produce what I’m 100% certain was the superior episode, complete with MTV exec shaming, another song of summer performance, and — of course — leading a “Get Lucky” dance party bonanza with guest appearances Bryan Cranston, Hugh Laurie, Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges, Jimmy Fallon, Henry Kissinger (yes, Henry Kissinger!) and many, many more. That’s the third video down. You may want to skip to the 1:30 mark to avoid feeling punk’d on several levels.
Here’s your comprehensive guide to the show…
Stephen intros the evening, or what should have been the evening.
All the dumb/hilarious details behind the cancellation.
The already famous “Get Lucky” celebrity dance party. Feel free to watch multiple times. Oh, and there will be GIFs (now on page 2!).
Robin Thicke shows up to perform the real song of summer and save Stephen’s career.
Colbert, you glorious, glorious son of a b*tch. UPDATE: Now with page 2 GIFs…