Bill Maher back on cable?

November 21, 2002 7:12 PM

Bill Maher back on cable? AP is reporting that Bill Maher will host a late-night talk show on HBO starting Feb. 21. The hour-long news and comedy program, which has yet to be titled, will air once a week for 20 episodes. I personally think ABC were a bunch of pussies for cancelling him, and I think the new show will rock. What do you think?
posted by RylandDotNet (25 comments total)

Amen, brother. Bill's going to be much better off on cable anyway, just as Dennis Miller has been. Is it just me or has HBO become the last refuge for intelligent programming?
posted by vraxoin at 7:17 PM on November 21, 2002

I used to enjoy Maher and "Politically Correct" for the lovely combination of humor and lively debate. At some point the celebrity debaters took themselves too seriously, and Maher's acerbic tone became a bit self-righteous. I found I was not entertained, and certainly not informed. I stopped watching.

I hope he regains his old form on HBO. (Well, not that form.) Best of luck, Bill.
posted by F Mackenzie at 7:35 PM on November 21, 2002

or even better...how about this one.
posted by mmascolino at 8:13 PM on November 21, 2002

I can't wait!!! He was here in Atlanta to do a stand up show at Ga. Tech. He was great. It was interesting to watch the audience as well. The front rows were full of season ticket holders that didn't know what they were in for. He didn't hold anything back tho. He gave hell to the Republicans, Democrats, Catholics... all the hot button issues. Most of the audience loved it but some came out looking a little shell shocked.
posted by bas67 at 8:28 PM on November 21, 2002

That's exactly why I'm hyped about the new show - on HBO he can do anything he wants, any topic, no holds barred. To be honest, I wish he had pissed off ABC enough to get cancelled years ago.
posted by RylandDotNet at 8:39 PM on November 21, 2002

Wow... two other people who have seen D.C. Cab? I love the internet.
posted by RylandDotNet at 8:40 PM on November 21, 2002

The setting for "avocado jungle" was on my college campus. Everyone there saw it at least once.
posted by mathowie at 8:41 PM on November 21, 2002

Didn't watch him on ABC, won't on HBO. I find him wildly annoying.
posted by moonvine at 8:55 PM on November 21, 2002

You mean there are people who haven't seen DC Cab? I mean, Mr. T. In a movie. That was when quality was quality.
posted by owillis at 9:25 PM on November 21, 2002

Why Lord must this second rate Dennis Miller inflict another third rate talk show on America? I really liked P.I. when it was on cable but once Maher went Hollywood he became just another egotistical, self righteous jerkoff.

Confidential note to Bill Maher: I saw you on Larry King election night with your greasy hair, melting wax face and painfully unfunny jokes. Bill I implore you to do yourself and the rest of us a favor and retire before you get so lame that you're painful to watch.
posted by MikeMc at 9:47 PM on November 21, 2002

Well thank Heaven. Now he can flame out on his own and we can stop having to hear about how he was fired for being too controversial. The utterly stupid remark helped, but he was on the bubble for a while before he shot his mouth off once too often. He was never anything special, and then he really started sucking. Can he get back to the point where he's worth watching again? I doubt it. Nothing screws up people's brains like success. He will keep re-doing the same shtick that got him to the top once, convinced that it will work again.
posted by BGM at 10:10 PM on November 21, 2002

When P.I. started on cable, it featured a better ratio of intelligent political wonks to B-list celebs. It also included the occasional comedy extra at the end. By the time it got on ABC it had ditched everything but the talk, and stopped inviting anyone who wasn't a commonly recognizable face.

At which point, a curious ratio emerged in the behavior of guests: the less a person knew, the more they talked. So there was no point in tuning in even if you knew someone brilliant would be on, because chances are there'd also be a fourth-grade-educated character actor from a brain-dead Friday night sitcom who would never once shut up.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:41 PM on November 21, 2002

Saw him on campus with a friend of mine and found his jokes funny. Afterwards my friend told me he'd seen Maher perform the exact same act before. Seven years ago. For a guy who does topical stuff, that's a bad turnaround.
posted by Hildago at 12:11 AM on November 22, 2002

It has always seemed to me that the same people who found Maher actually entertaining were the very same group who found Jay Leno hilarious. Simple-minded dullards completely unaware of reality.

Will I watch Maher on HBO? Most definitely. For one reason only. Watching failed comedians comment on government is hilarious. That's right. This guy had so much skill that he couldn't even become the next PeeWee Herman. Would you listen to this man's politics?
posted by ttrendel at 1:18 AM on November 22, 2002

Man I must live in some alternate universe. I think Jay Leno's one of the worst comedians in all of history (he should be the subordinate to King of Late Night Conan). I think Maher's one of the better political commentators out there.
posted by owillis at 1:31 AM on November 22, 2002

it's someone else who actually saw this movie.
Well, of course we did: what about all those Adrienne Barbeau art-house retrospectives...
The maestro Imamura has apparently been heavily influenced by that movie, too

owillis
One notable Hicks diatribe is his caustic rendition of the moment when Jay Leno (an old friend of Hicks) realises (live on air) that his once great comedic career has gone down the toilet in preference for interviewing snotty teenage actors and hawking Doritos in commercials. Leno places an Uzi in his mouth and pulls the trigger. His brains make an NBC peacock across the wall behind. "A company man to the bitter end," said Hicks.
I miss Bill Hicks so much, oliver
posted by matteo at 3:56 AM on November 22, 2002

When Maher went to ABC was when the show became both diluted and the guests deluded. The show no longer had an edge because it was basically dumbed down for the larger audience.

I get a puzzled expression when people refer to Maher as anything other than a comedian. He is an entertainer, and his job was to ruffle enough feathers to get lively debate going, and piss off just enough people to keep it interesting. This is what he is paid to do, and I thought he did a pretty good job of it.

He'll do better on cable. He never should have left.
posted by Team_Billy at 6:30 AM on November 22, 2002

This is one of the few times that I'm really glad I don't get HBO.
posted by Reggie452 at 6:38 AM on November 22, 2002

Is it just me or has HBO become the last refuge for intelligent programming?

HBO is great. Forget about the box-office movies they replay. It's their original series' (Sopranos, Six Feet Under, etc.) and their documentaries (America Undercover, Real Sex, etc.) that make them great.

If I could have only one channel, it'd probably be that one.
posted by eas98 at 6:49 AM on November 22, 2002

When Maher went to ABC was when the show became both diluted and the guests deluded.

This is also right about the time his makeup people decided he should resemble an Oompa Loompa. Back off the orange base coat guys!! No one's skin is that color, unless you are hauling a wheelbarrow full of sugar to the Everlasting Gobstopper machine.
posted by archimago at 7:37 AM on November 22, 2002

I just don't understand how Bill Maher gets away with being a "political" commentator (on world affairs no less) when he constantly embarasses himself by repeating propaganda or half-truths regarding a variety of international issues. On local and national politics he's better, which for my money is why is original show on cable was a better show-- it stuck to domestic issues, where he is an asset because he's an independent thinker. But his hackneyed comments on international affairs and the rest of the world reveal an insecure, ignorant man with little to say and only a couple of jokes to make it interesting.
posted by cell divide at 9:44 AM on November 22, 2002

I keep wondering, especially for the folks on the left, do you not understand that this is television? If you can't squeeze your world view in a 30 second spot, it ain't gonna fly (much less play in Peoria).
posted by owillis at 9:47 AM on November 22, 2002

Confidential note to Bill Maher: I saw you on Larry King election night with your greasy hair, melting wax face and painfully unfunny jokes. Bill I implore you to do yourself and the rest of us a favor and retire before you get so lame that you're painful to watch.

Sure you're not referring to Larry King?
posted by Vidiot at 1:15 PM on November 22, 2002

Yup, bill maher's dun gone down the tubes.
posted by delmoi at 6:48 PM on November 22, 2002

I wish I were a third as smart as Bill Maher thinks he is.
posted by websavvy at 7:00 PM on November 22, 2002