Colbert's Christmas Parody Tacky But Fun

Stephen Colbert fans will find much to love in his parody of old-time Christmas specials, though critics carp that the gags are too long and chuckles too few. “Colbert is delightful,” writes Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times, but “the show is too long and more than a little strained, much like the holiday specials it mocks.” Still, this "felicitous hoax," which debuts tomorrow night on Comedy Central, is destined to become a perennial rerun, notes Tom Shales of the Washington Post.

“It would be foolish to say that A Colbert Christmas is bad,” says Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe, "since it is so intentionally tacky and awful.” An over-the-top Toby Keith number and a Jon Steward duet about Hanukkah come to mind. Indeed, Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star loved the show, saying it sets the bar high for this year’s Christmas specials: “We’re talking Charlie Brown high.” (More Stephen Colbert stories.)