 In an appearance at Harvard University in 2006, Colbert revealed that his character's fear of bears was in part inspired by a recurring nightmare he has had, in which a bear is standing between him and his goal.The character's phobia, which was initially referenced in the show's first "ThreatDown" skit, was originally slated to be a fear of alligators.By the time the "Report" went to air, the alligator story was several weeks old, and the writers chose to use a more recent news item involving a bear in its place.