Stephen Colbert celebrated his 60th birthday on Monday—but it was viewers of The Late Show who received the best gift: an unexpected revival of “Even Stevphen,” a long-running bit from Colbert and Steve Carell’s time together on The Daily Show.
As Colbert got ready to start the show, he acknowledged that it was a monumental day for him, but opined that “I think aging is a good thing.” It was then that Carell suddenly appeared on the stage, bellowing “You are wrong, Stephen!” to his former late-night colleague.
For old-school fans of The Daily Show, it was clear that the two Steves were about to engage in one of their classic “Even Stevphen” debates. The topic? Aging.
Carell made his not-so-happy feelings about getting older clear when he lamented that “We are born astride a grave and, each day, the cruel grasp of time pulls us closer to oblivion.”
“You will never be younger than you are in this moment,” Carell continued. “And let’s face it, my friend: you haven’t aged well.”
Colbert disagreed.
“Wrong as usual, Steve,” said the host. “Age ripens us like a fine wine. Because with age comes experience, with experience comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes the ability to see you for what you are: a sad, dumb, salt-and-pepper idiot.”
“Even Stevphen” first aired on September 20, 1999 and became a recurring segment on The Daily Show. While it was angled as a debate about a current hot-button topic, it was really just a chance for Colbert and Carell to spend several minutes hurling insults at each other.
Last night was not the first time the two Steves have revived the segment. On July 7, 2010, the two duked it out when Carell was a guest on The Colbert Report. And Monday’s bit showed that time has only fine-tuned their sniping skills.
