Stephen Colbert revives ‘Stephen Colbert’ just in time to reenergize ‘The Late Show’

The wild applause, the ecstatic whoops, the joyful crowd stomping and chanting a single name — it was exactly what you’d expect from the Republican National Convention.

Except the chanted name did not belong to a Republican and this crowd was miles away from Cleveland.

Yet of all the men and women who appeared during this week’s nomination process, that parade of power, influence and assorted definitions of fame, none was greeted with more enthusiasm, joy and sheer relief than was Stephen Colbert.

No, not that one, the other one. Actually, the other other one.

Like Arthur Conan Doyle, forced by popular demand to pluck Sherlock Holmes from the Reichenbach Falls, Stephen Colbert the comedian decided to briefly replace Stephen Colbert “The Late Show” host with Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report.”

The result was electrifying — only an announcement by Lin-Manuel Miranda that he had changed his mind about quitting “Hamilton” could have rivaled Monday night’s response. In “The Late Show” audience and online, the return of the Captain America-shield-bearing Colbert — friend to Jon Stewart (who also appeared), owner of the tippable hat and waggable finger, supreme author of the Word (which that evening was “Trumpiness”) — was greeted like a returned prodigal son.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour »

No one was as affected as Colbert himself. The old almost instantly reinvigorated the new, not to mention the ratings, which jumped 24%, at just the right moment.

With mediocre numbers and a noticeable absence from this year’s Emmy nominations, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” needs to do something to separate itself from the late-night pack, and clearly that involves bridging the gap between the two Colberts.

It is not surprising that Colbert, and CBS, wanted to put significant distance between the two shows, which meant a clean break from the Comedy Central character. In the early weeks of “The Late Show,” Colbert not only repressed his eyebrows and tongue, he seemed contractually obligated to mention that he had once played a character on TV. The implication being that he does so no longer.

But while Clark Kent may have fooled his oblivious fellow journalists with glasses and a different hair style, Colbert had a harder time. It’s not that audiences expected him to continue his Bill O’Reilly sendup, but the energy that fueled that performance often seemed missing from “The Late Show.” Too often, this new Colbert was just a guy standing in front of an audience asking it to love whatever guest happened to be next on the call sheet.

A show runner was drafted to take some of the pressure off Colbert, who apparently believed he could carry the weight of the iconic broadcast network talk show just as he had the niche-network comedy half-hour.

More important, with the presidential campaign all but demanding he return to political humor, Colbert finally seems less concerned with building a wall between the old show and the new and more interested in doing what he does best: making the political personal (and vice versa), then joyfully slapping it around.

The show went live during the Republican convention, and the word of the week became “Colbert-attitude.”

Though he came and went like the Ghost of Christmas Past, the old Colbert’s message to “The Late Show” was one of hope and renewal: Do not be afraid of the past, new Stephen Colbert; it will not overwhelm you. It’s OK for humor to sting sometimes, even on CBS, and literate mockery is the very best kind.

Also, James Corden and Jimmy Fallon are not the only hosts who can sing and dance and travel to distant lands just like Rachel Maddow is not the only brown-eyed, dot-connecting smarty-pants on TV.

There was a time when Americans believed that Stephen Colbert could be all of these things, and possibly more. He, along with Stewart, irrevocably blurred the line between news and entertainment in shows that played well on television and even better on YouTube. Portions of “The Daily Show” and then “The Colbert Report” were passed around via social media and referenced with the awe-inspired repetition once reserved for Monty Python skits and Steve Martin albums.

How then could Stephen Colbert, master of the digital universe, be so quickly outpaced by Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” and the profane position papers of John Oliver?

Colbert was the well-groomed bridge between Capitol Hill, Catholic catechism and Comic-Con, a man who could turn Jane Fonda into a satiric seductress and Martin Sheen into an activist poet. He spoke Elvish and possibly Dothraki, so why did he seem so uncomfortable when he recently interviewed “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke? And why on earth did he open with questions about her nude scenes? That’s what you ask the woman who led the feminist revolution in Westeros: How did you feel doing a nude scene?

But after a visit from Colbert Past, Colbert Present may have found firmer footing in this wider world of broadcast television.

On Tuesday night, he brought actress Laura Benanti on to deliver a take-down of Melania Trump’s plagiarism-plagued convention speech that referenced authors from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss. Then he interviewed “Frank” (Keegan-Michael Key), the lone black man at the Republican National Convention -- “They all seem so happy that I’m here!”

Key then joined Colbert on set for an amazingly theoretical, practical and completely hilarious conversation about the candidates and the power of political improv.

The conversation was so fleet and funny that it could easily have bled into another segment, which is something Colbert and his writers should consider. When not apparently flummoxed by the Hollywood A-list nature of his guest, Colbert is the best interviewer on late night, but too often the conversation has just found a rhythm when it’s time for a commercial break followed by a new guest.

Though it’s good to see a trio of guests, plus a band, in the opening credits, this burn ’em and turn ’em approach may not play to the show’s strengths. Unlike the admittedly self-centered host of “The Colbert Report,” “Late Night’s” star does a duty to his guests’ upcoming projects, but some guests clearly require a little more time.

The “Late Show” list, while perhaps not featuring quite so many members of the Catholic clergy, has begun to feel a bit more “Colbert Report”-diverse. On Wednesday billionaire and “Shark Tank” cast member Mark Cuban came on to rap-burn Donald Trump. “The Colbert Report’s” “Better Know a District” was one of its most broad-minded and entertaining features; why couldn’t “Late Night” feature the most famous non-famous person of the week?

But these are just suggestions, completely unrequested and possibly absurd. As in life, the most important transformation starts from within. Like “Doctor Who’s” intergalactic savior, Stephen Colbert appears to be accepting that, while he has regenerated, he remains essentially the same.

The old Colbert did not die, he isn’t hibernating off the grid with his special friend, he’s right here, right now, hiding in plain sight, and the new Colbert has finally asked him to come out and play.

On Twitter: @marymacTV

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert take on Donald Trump on ‘The Late Show’

Can Stephen Colbert get his ‘Late Night’ groove back?

America’s at sea without a (network news) anchor