The final four episodes began with a “best of the worst of” compilation featuring comedy bits so bad they mostly never aired. The approach served as a tribute to the show’s staff, with people packing into the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York for a cavalcade of intentionally awful material. The program included a fake advertisement for “erotic body gravy,” which Colbert had previously declined to air due to the actors’ appearance. It also featured a “Graphics Graveyard” segment with an image claiming Hillary Clinton as the 45th president, originally intended for 2016 election coverage. Other moments included a field piece with a surprise visit to a woman in an apartment where staff once stayed in Chicago, and a Shrieking Joe parody by longtime staffer Brian Stack that was notably abrasive.
"Colbert kicked off the show's last four episodes Monday, with a "best of the worst of" episode, featuring a bunch of comedy bits so awful they mostly never aired at all. Which was really a sideways strategy for paying tribute to the show's staff who packed into the seats at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York for this cavalcade of awful, shouting out comments on stuff like video clips featuring a fake ad for "erotic body gravy" that Colbert originally declined to air because the good-looking actors featured in it just looked like "soft core gravy porn.""
"There was more: A Graphics Graveyard bit featuring a never-aired image proclaiming Hillary Clinton the 45th president (they had hoped to use it during live election coverage in 2016 sad trombone sound here). A middling field piece featuring Colbert and a staffer buddy surprising a perplexed woman living in the apartment where they once stayed in Chicago. And longtime staffer Brian Stack playing Shrieking Joe, a Kid Rock parody so abrasive that ratings took a nosedive whenever he was on a trend I don't expect to end with Monday's episode."
"It all unfolded in a way that left this critic feeling like he crashed the show's last office party watching lots of mildly funny material that probably hits a lot harder when you know the office drama behind making it. As the show counts down its final nights, Colbert has tried hard to deflect anger, sadness or lionizing of his work. So I can see how an episode like this might have felt like"
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