First things first: It’s pronounced “col-BEAR re-PORE.”

No, the name does not refer to a new character on “Lost.”

“The Colbert Report,” which premiered 10:30 p.m. Monday on Comedy Central, is the first spinoff of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” the Emmy-winning fake newscast.

“Colbert,” which stars Second City veteran and “Daily Show” “senior correspondent” Stephen Colbert, is an integral part of Comedy Central’s plan to create “the most compelling fake news hour in basic cable,” according to a statement from the network.

“Like any good newsman, I believe that if you’re not scared, I’m not doing my job,” Colbert noted early in his newscast, as he stared into the camera with the righteous certainty of a man unconfused by the facts.

“There’s a whole big world to fix,” he said. “There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. I’ll change that.”

The biggest question hanging over “The Colbert Report” is whether the show’s sendup of the pomposity and fear-mongering of cable news blowhards will be as appealing in the long term as the satire of public figures and the news media as a whole in “The Daily Show.” Everyone’s seen a broadcast or cable newscast, so it’s not hard to see what “The Daily Show” dissects with such incisive comic flair. Will “Daily Show” viewers know–or care–that Colbert is doing informed satires of everyone from MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann to Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly?

Colbert’s first night as host of his own show was pitched at a fairly manic level of energy; over time, he’ll likely dial down a little and ease into his role as cable’s most self-absorbed host/pundit. By the end of Colbert’s tenure on “The Daily Show,” he had an enviable rapport (sorry, ra-PORE) with Stewart; Colbert’s arrogant, blow-dried, know-nothing was the perfect foil to Stewart’s earnest fake-news anchor.

On Monday, though, Colbert didn’t have any correspondents of his own to riff with. NBC News’ Stone Phillips showed up, however, just after Colbert’s countdown of the five biggest threats facing America (communist diapers, of course, coming in at No. 3). Colbert and Phillips, at one point, had a contest of gravitas, taking turns making random snippets of news copy and tongue-twisting poetry sound as weighty and ponderous as possible.

Let’s hope the “Dateline” anchor returns–or that other media insiders are as game as he was.

———-

moryan@tribune.com