Missed opening.. no sponsors; unclear if his production Co. (?) or the network was footing bill for that night's show. Commercials were the C-network style, "buy these CD"s.

Of his 4 guests around a table, hardly persons who might normally support many of his POVs. One said it ~ "maybe I've agreed with you 3 or 4 times.. but".

These folk agreed that, among his previous comments were unweaseling support for those in the military - essentially averring what Maher had ' already said he meant' in the apology you found less than convincing.

I'm near-neutral about Maher's 'talents', having seen parts of the show maybe a dozen (?) times. In many ways his off-the-cuff opinions are a lot like the material in these forums: an extreme is presented; countered by another - though fortunately (in my limited experience of watching) - this initial knee-jerk seemed followed by somewhat more sane analysis, at least some of the time. At least it isn't rehearsed pap - and ya can't help dumbth speaks in the land of the ascendance of the PHB, now can you?

So I had deemed that M. was quite capable of 'moderation' and also sometimes -- "moderating" the guests to an occasionally useful exchange. Still, more often I thought that the 'guests' were not particularly competent to contribute anything of depth on the topics du jour. Commercial Tee Vee, in other words: let's you and him fight. Shallowly. In between commercials: the real purpose of all commercial Tee Vee "programs". All run by (how many? 4?) media megaCorporations dedicated to the proper managing of attitudes of the consumers.

SO what? Just this: we have had no humor programs (I mean real Humor) programs since ~ '70s, and esp. about politics, sex, religion: the only Real topics anyway. SNL is not even a 'joke' re being humorous; it's so lame it can't even crawl out of 12-yearold toilet quips. It sucks 101%. (I check in periodically, can manage no more than 5 minutes - if it isn't a laughtrack: where Do they buy the cretins who laugh at this material?)

Ditto a 'Real' version (with depth) of Maher's "talk show". In the hysteria shall we find sponsors now unwilling to permit Anything next, save the same tired sit-com crap with 'noncontroversial themes' of the rest of the vast wasteland?

Nothing out there (even before 9/11) can compare with late '60s Laugh-In (torpedoed allegedly for its General Bullright caricature of military postures then + everything else on the table. Think Vietnam). Goldie Hawn started there.. And yes there Was an outcry -- but guess what difference that made to the "sponsor" greatly desiring a return to mediocrity so as to sell sell more to the mediocre? Similar fate for The Smothers Brothers (one of whom has a wine-tasting room about 3 blocks away from my place). They never "worked in this town" again. Either.


Is this the way the New Censorship comes in, on little scaredy-cat feet? Wave the Flag blindly or - be silent?
If P. Incorrect goes off the air next: you tell me what that will mean. (It sure won't be about some mean guy saying soldiers and sailors and cops and firemen suck)


Ashton

Newton Minnow coined the term, vast wasteland of television.. in late '50s IIRC. Hasn't changed much - now we have 500 channels with 90% 'nothing on' IMO.

Isn't it, "whom the gods would destroy.." ?

(How I remembered it, anyway)
Nit. Sorta like an earlier nit:

"Windoze in its 'many' myriad forms"..
(I see we got the 'many' removed at zIWE ;-)


Ashton Pecksniff