Real Time with Bill Maher (1 Viewer)

[Jack Briggs]

Please, let's keep this focused on the show's merits and shortcomings. Thanks!

 

[MikeM]

How could it not be more diverse than before. His previous show was slanted heavily towards the liberal side as usually there were three liberal guests who Maher typically sided with on most topics against one token conservative guest. Just wondering if Maher did a commentary on his new show where he tried to defend the foolish statements that got him canned from his previous gig.

Steve, when I say "diverse" I'm not talking about the political affiliation of each guest, I'm talking about the guest pool they chose to select from. It was the only show where you could see the lead singer of Motley Crew debating with the dean of admissions from Yale, etc.

I liked the diversity of the panel, and when Bill said that unlike P.I. this new show would have the same 8 or 9 faces coming back to sit down and chat, I was a bit let down. It's always interesting for me to hear what other peope have to say, whether I agree with them or not.

 

[Kevin M]

I too loved Sarah Silverman's bit, but I have always found her to be more gusty & flat out controversial (and flat out hilarious) in her humor than most comics out there...which has gotten her in trouble more than once...good for her! Shake them branches! In humor(ironic or otherwise) and genuine satire I don't feel anyone is above reproach.


..and she's pretty hot for a Jew (Her words).

 

[Ike]

Anybody remember when Sarah Silverman got in trouble on Conan O'Brien for using a ethnic slur against Asian people in a joke? Her appearance on Politically Incorrect had to be one of the funniest, ballsiest, out there things for a performer to do using their own name. Anybody remember when she told te guy that they had in to debate her that he was only one of two Asians she knew and the joke that followed? The audience totally seemed to hate that. From then on, I've really dug Silverman's stand up.

 

[Chucky P]

Anybody remember when Sarah Silverman got in trouble on Conan O'Brien for using a ethnic slur against Asian people in a joke? Her appearance on Politically Incorrect had to be one of the funniest, ballsiest, out there things for a performer to do using their own name. Anybody remember when she told te guy that they had in to debate her that he was only one of two Asians she knew and the joke that followed? The audience totally seemed to hate that. From then on, I've really dug Silverman's stand up.

I do remember seeing that episode. I also saw her Conan and I remember that she did not get into trouble until a week after that show (and I thought I was the only person watching that show). Also that Politically Incorrect episode made a good point on the issue of who you can and who you can not make fun of.

 

[Kevin M]

I remember that the Asian man she sparred with on PI was the one who came out in the press pointing out her joke on Conan as being insensitive & racist...but I understood even before she got in trouble that the joke wasn't about Asians, it could have been any ethnicity, it was about racism. He refused to hear her argument and IMO was simply using her for a soapbox to voice other complaints of the Asian community.

...as I remember her most eloquent statement to him in the face of his feeling that all comedians should be censored was "You're a Douche bag, do you know that?".

Here's a transcript of that PI show.

Here is a Transcript from her previous appearance on PI where she made a much better argument on the nature of the joke. (However both these links are from an Asian watchdog site that doesn't like the joke so it offers the opposing viewpoint as well...take it as you want, I don't agree with his argument, she could have named any ethnicity IMO, that's not what the joke was really about.)

 

[MickeS]

Oh yeah, that's funny. She tries so hard to be "shocking" or "incorrect" that she forgets that there has to be a joke in there too. Same thing on "Real live".

 

[Kevin M]

Oh, I agree that it wasn't the most well thought out response but in the context of the ambush she received on the PI show I totally understand her getting frustrated. Her explanation of the true nature of the joke itself was ignored & diminished from the beginning and as you read the transcript you get the decided feeling that Sarah was fully aware that she was being used as a political pawn and (this is an assumption on my part) thought that simply explaining the joke would stop all the arguing...when it didn't she got shook IMO because she is usually a better debater than that, based on the shows I've seen her on.

 

[phil-w]

The new show was FUCKING terrible. Bill Maher went from a Libertarian on ABC to a far leftist on HBO. Its an obvious attempt to become the Liberal Rush Limbaugh and I think its totaly disingeneous.

I totally agree. I thought the new show was awful and I have lost what little respect I had for Bill Mahr as a pseudo libertarian, he is now totally to the left.

I may try this one more time to see if he allows it to be slightly more balanced but if not, forget it.

 

[MikeM]

I may try this one more time to see if he allows it to be slightly more balanced but if not, forget it.

One show does not a platform make, grasshoppa.

I find it funny that you say it's not balanced. Two of the three sit down guests hold an opinion to the right. If you combine that with the guest to the left, and Bill, it was fairly balanced. Especially when people used to criticize P.I. for having three liberal guests and an extreme right wing guest.

You may want to wait until other topics are discussed before you claim Bill Maher has changed. He hasn't. He's been saying the same stuff since P.I., and I'm sure when a topic like Second Hand Smoke comes up, he'll differ greatly from the standard "liberal" view.

 

[phil-w]

You have to let a guest talk to hear what they have to offer. Whenever a guest starts saying something Bill doesn't like he starts yelling and drowning them out or cuts them off.

 

[MickeS]

Well, that's how these discussions are. That's what they do too.

And I'm not really sure what opinions he expressed that could be constituted as being "leftist". All they talked about was the Iraq situation and Michael Jackson, that I remember.

 

[Paul Jenkins]

how in the world is 600 considered good on the SAT? A more normal score for admission into a top tier school is 1200+... (or were they talking each section, math and verbal?) If that was the total, I'd be very scared

 

[Ken Chan]

The notion of left vs. right is too limiting; you might also consider authoritarian vs. libertarian. Bill might have always been a left-leaning libertarian. Check out The Political Compass

//Ken

 

[phil-w]

Interesting Test Ken

 

[LennyP]

I watch it on its 4th rerun on Wednesdays 10:30-11:30pm, as Fridays and Saturdays are crowded with other shows and things.
Seen all first 3 episodes so far and it's excellent, almost never a dull moment, first and 3rd eps were the best! The stand-up numbers at the end are excellent, and I just can't get enough of that theme music! I hope to get a clean version off some master tape or CD.

 

[Ike]

The show is good, much better than Politically Incorrect. I like Maher, and I will totally be with Maher and a point he's making, and then he'll say something that's just embarrassing. I mean, come on, what the hell was with the comparison between child birth and our soldiers? That was misogynistic, and it was even worse because it really made no sense. No one on the panel would touch that one. Maher has always had a bit of a misogynist side, but that was a little too far, I think.

Other than that, Maher and Co. seem to be saying and discussing thing that are entertaining and thought provoking. If he could just rain in some of the less thought out/bonehead comments.

I like the theme song too.

 

[RobertW]

the "marijuanalogues" was hilarious.

 

[Patrick_S]

I'll have to chime in, I saw the first episode and the last one and over all I really like the show.

I'll have to get HBO again so I can catch this on a weekly basis.

 

[MikeM]

The "marijuanalogues" was excellent! It essentially highlighted one of the great things about being on HBO and not have to worry about network censors, losing advertising, etc. I remember Bill Maher saying that ABC had serious problems with any drug references on his old show.

As for the part about child birth vs. soldiers being able to handle the pain, I actually think it was an interesting topic that wasn't off the deep end at all. I've seen him cover some topics that may appear "misogynistic", sometimes I think he's nuts, but sometimes, they're right on the money. I gotta agree with him on his thoughts about the WNBA, and that could appear misogynistic to some.

Either way, I gotta give him credit for speaking truthfully and having the balls to make himself appear "off the deep end" at times. That's what makes the show interesting, especially when he says things that are typically taboo to say.

Great show, I'm tuning in each week!