‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Scolds Scientists for Improper ‘Lord of the Rings’ Reference [Watch]
Stephen Colbert criticized Brazilian scientists for an improper reference to "The Lord of the Rings" during a recent episode of "The Late Show."
If there is one bit of popular fiction that Colbert likes more than any other, it is "The Lord of the Rings." That's probably why he decided to open up "The Late Show" with a complete and utter takedown of scientists in Brazil who improperly named a new species of spider after a "Rings" character.
According to Entertainment Weekly, as "LOTR" enthusiast, Colbert could not just sit by and allow a character from the popular novel and film franchise to be misrepresented within the science community.
The controversy centered around a new spider discovered by Brazilian scientists. They named the new spider landumoema smeagol, which is a reference to the character Smeagol in the famous works by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The character was once a hobbit who found the ring, and its evil aura caused him to kill and retreat to a cave for many years, causing him to split into an alternate personality, an evil incarnation calling itself Gollum.
The scientists named the spider landumoema smeagol because it is a cave dweller that preferes to stay out of the sun.
That is where Colbert had his beef with the name. Smeagol was a hobbit who had no such preference. It was not until the hobbit found the ring and turned into the murderous Gollum that he retreated into the cave.
"Smeagol hid from his guilt and the yellow face of the sun, by retreating into a cave, where his shame and his fear turned him into an unrecognizable creature," Colbert said in the segment. "That creature wasn't Smeagol anymore; that creature was Gollum. You should have named the spider Gollum. You don't discover a venomous snake and name it Anakin. You name it Darth Vader."
Colbert was even more enraged by the fact the scientists totally ignored the actual monstrous spider in the film that had the exact same characteristics: the Shelob.
Watch the segment below.
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