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Real Time with Bill Maher - Page 2

post #51 of 284
Adam Goldberg makes me itchy.
post #52 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin VanNatter
Hitchens is a tool but you have to admit that there is no God.
I wish I had the knack for coming up with brilliant lines such as this one. That's some good shit.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Banandar
I agree with Maher when it comes to religion, but his arguments- regardless of how he'd address them in a real debate- in public come down to "religion is stupid", and nothing more.
I've been thinking about this lately. Did I come to my atheism on a purely intellectual level or was it more of a gut level reaction with the rationalization following? I have to say that it was more the latter. Really when it comes down to it, I was just bored during church services. I then grew to hate hearing anything about it. This was all by the age of 11 or 12. All of the other stuff regarding religion's failure to hold up under logical scrutiny didn't enter into my thinking until much later.

I don't know if it's the same for everybody or even a large number of atheists but to me this does seem to be where Bill Maher is coming from.
post #53 of 284
This came back from a one week break.

It was an interesting show, I love P J and anytime he comes on the show.
post #54 of 284
Where the hell was Richard Dawkins?? I was amped for this show on that basis alone. I wasn't the only one with faulty cable info right?

The show was kind of sub par, especially with guys like Barney Frank and P.J. Rourke. Though I didn't get a chance to see overtime.

A few notes:
-they spent way too long discussing the first topic, which wasn't all that interesting
-Barney Frank, much as I might agree with many of his platforms, just annoys me. He's obnoxious, rude, bitter, and argumentative to a fault; case in point- taking issue with Rourke's use of "with all due respect" (for context, PJ used on in its most basic fucking colloquial sensen). Maybe for your next trick Barney, you can tell us why the phrase "all things considered" represents some sort of deep seated neurosis. I try to like the guy and I respect some of what he represents, but I've never seen anyone so tightly wound.
-Who the hell is Jon Hamm?
-Michael Ware was his usual spectacular self, and made some excellent points about Iraq and the so called "exit strategy".
post #55 of 284
Frank really surprised me by how strongly he disagreed that American actions overseas may have instigated the 9/11 attacks. He fell right in line with Bush's "They're evil and that's that !" mentality.
post #56 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Banandar View Post
-Barney Frank, much as I might agree with many of his platforms, just annoys me. He's obnoxious, rude, bitter, and argumentative to a fault; case in point- taking issue with Rourke's use of "with all due respect" (for context, PJ used on in its most basic fucking colloquial sensen). Maybe for your next trick Barney, you can tell us why the phrase "all things considered" represents some sort of deep seated neurosis. I try to like the guy and I respect some of what he represents, but I've never seen anyone so tightly wound.
Yeah, his obnoxiousness just seems to KILL the conversation. I'm with you in your alignment to his causes and beliefs, but the Democratic party should use their collective power to ensure that Frank does NOT represent their platform on television programs.

Although, it was kind of funny watching him kind of squirm when the topic of Spitzer's prostitution problem came up, seeing how Frank himself has had prostitution problems in his past.
post #57 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Banandar View Post
-Who the hell is Jon Hamm?
He won the Golden Globe for best actor for the AMC show, Mad Men. He was in We Were Soldiers. I liked the guy on the show, but "Diva" Frank and the black lady dominated the conversation.

BTW: Barney Frank and Richard Beltzer need to be banned from the show.
post #58 of 284
Richard Beltzer's worst offense would be his poor attempts at humor and general simple mindedness if it weren't for his obvious desire to look 25 again despite looking like the Kraken's latest bowel movement.
post #59 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rourkefan View Post
He won the Golden Globe for best actor for the AMC show, Mad Men. He was in We Were Soldiers. I liked the guy on the show, but "Diva" Frank and the black lady dominated the conversation.

BTW: Barney Frank and Richard Beltzer need to be banned from the show.
Here we go with this shit again 'the black lady'. Use her fucking name man or find out what it is on something. Her name is Melissa Harris-Lacewell. Use it sometime.
post #60 of 284
This guy is right. She was clearly mulatto. Was no one paying attention when she talked about her racist white grandmother? You people disgust me.

edit: The old white guy's rant about 'all due respect' was a lame attempt at redirecting the conversation to nowhere. It is a pretty straight forward colloquialism.
post #61 of 284
The last show kind of sucked.

Cusak was on satellite, and was eloquent, but for some reasons the energy between Bill and John was completely void. Plus Cusak kept going on tangents when Bill would ask him a question.

I don't remember much outside of that except Tavis Smiley getting one of the loudest applauses I've ever heard on that show, and for something mundane as per usual with their reactions.

In fact, a word about the crowd: they are consistently awful. They make the show almost second rate, as any liberal soundbite will incite the equivalent of a laugh track. It could be anything completely mundane, obvious, and unoriginal- 'Bush led us into this war with lies' (thunderous applause), 'Bush is stupid' (applause), 'Bush is horrible' (5 minute applause)- and they'll go nuts. Seriously...fuck that damn crowd.
post #62 of 284
Thread Starter 
The crowd is always the worst on pretty much any show that has a crowd and doesn't involve competition and/or prizes.

But I thought Smiley was great. He was clear, concise, eloquent and engaged the issues rather than just going for the applause (which he still got but again, fuck the crowd).

I also liked the discussion of Rev. Wright and the media's manufactured and possibly racist outrage towards his comments.

But the part I liked the best was the discussion of whether or not Hillary should get out of the race. It wasn't shrill and there was a good back-and-forth between Savage and Wright on one side and Maher and Smiley on the other. Personally, I believe Hillary should get out because there have been numerous articles demonstrating that she can't get back ahead of Obama. With Michigan and Florida out of the race, even if she got 60% of the vote in every remaining state, she still wouldn't be ahead of him. So the only way she can win is to have the superdelegates destroy the Democratic party and give a resounding message to voters that their vote didn't matter. And for AT LEAST the next three months and possibly as long as five months, John McCain gets to sit back and let the Democrats destroy their possibility of re-taking the White House.
post #63 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Banandar View Post
Cusak was on satellite, and was eloquent, but for some reasons the energy between Bill and John was completely void. Plus Cusak kept going on tangents when Bill would ask him a question.
He kept on looking down which I felt was weird. It seemed he was looking at notes or a monitor. It wasn't very conversational. He would have been a better panalist than one on one guest. He doesn't have first hand knowledge on anything so the source would be better.

Smiley is a great guest and better host. I try to tape his show when I see him have an interesting guest.

Next week has Robert Reich, Esai Morales, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Amy Holmes, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA).

Doesn't look like a winner. Bill has had a couple bad weeks in a row when he should be rolling.
post #64 of 284
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anyawatchin Angel View Post
He kept on looking down which I felt was weird. It seemed he was looking at notes or a monitor. It wasn't very conversational. He would have been a better panalist than one on one guest. He doesn't have first hand knowledge on anything so the source would be better.

Smiley is a great guest and better host. I try to tape his show when I see him have an interesting guest.

Next week has Robert Reich, Esai Morales, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Amy Holmes, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA).

Doesn't look like a winner. Bill has had a couple bad weeks in a row when he should be rolling.
Any show that has Republican guests on the panel is worth it. I hate the preaching to the choir.
post #65 of 284
Well, it won't be a Republican panel: Specter will probably be the opening guest, as he has been pushing his new book on all of the talk shows during the past week. Holmes will probably be the "Real Time Reporter", so she won't be given a lot of time to speak. So the panel will probably be Morales, the Democratic congresswoman, and Reich.

Even though I'm a lefty McGee,as far as the Real Time Reporters go, most of the Republican leaning correspondents are a hundred times more interesting than Dan Savage and Matt "I wish I was Hunter Thompson" Taibbi. Plus, Amy Holmes is nice to look at.
post #66 of 284
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TURBO-1984 View Post
Well, it won't be a Republican panel: Specter will probably be the opening guest, as he has been pushing his new book on all of the talk shows during the past week. Holmes will probably be the "Real Time Reporter", so she won't be given a lot of time to speak. So the panel will probably be Morales, the Democratic congresswoman, and Reich.

Even though I'm a lefty McGee,as far as the Real Time Reporters go, most of the Republican leaning correspondents are a hundred times more interesting than Dan Savage and Matt "I wish I was Hunter Thompson" Taibbi. Plus, Amy Holmes is nice to look at.
I think all the correspondents are entertaining if not particularly interesting with the exception of Holmes, who I find unattractive because her stupidity overshadows her looks.
post #67 of 284
Ok, was I the only who got bad info on the episode with Barney Frank when it said Richard Dawkins would be one of the guests?

Re: Hillary getting out
I agree. It still boggles my mind how so many Dems continue supporting her. The way she continues to attack Obama on media memes, on the Wright issue for example, is just classless, and fucking clueless.

Quote:
I think all the correspondents are entertaining if not particularly interesting with the exception of Holmes, who I find unattractive because her stupidity overshadows her looks.
That's funny. I've always thought her looks were just enough to overshadow her stupidity (maybe it's the curly hair thing which she manages to pull off).

Out of the Republicans who have made appearances on the show, the ones I wouldn't mind seeing again are Danielle Pletka, Lou Dobbs, and Kingston, more or less (he never says anything original though).

And I can't really stand Matt Taibbi. When he's on the show he never says anything truly insightful except revealing to us the depths of his cynicism with that weird, eternal stupid looking grin.
post #68 of 284
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Banandar View Post
Out of the Republicans who have made appearances on the show, the ones I wouldn't mind seeing again are Danielle Pletka, Lou Dobbs, and Kingston, more or less (he never says anything original though).

And I can't really stand Matt Taibbi. When he's on the show he never says anything truly insightful except revealing to us the depths of his cynicism with that weird, eternal stupid looking grin.
For the Republicans, I absolutely love everytime P.J. O'Rourke comes on the show.

As for Taibbi, I don't think he's insightful but I love how mean he's willing to be. Someone like Holmes will diplomatically skirt issues like a good little pundit, but Taibbi doesn't give a fuck. You can hate the guy, but I find his honesty refreshing.
post #69 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Goldberg View Post
For the Republicans, I absolutely love everytime P.J. O'Rourke comes on the show.

As for Taibbi, I don't think he's insightful but I love how mean he's willing to be. Someone like Holmes will diplomatically skirt issues like a good little pundit, but Taibbi doesn't give a fuck. You can hate the guy, but I find his honesty refreshing.
O'Rourke's kind of a regular, so I thought he was kind of a given, especially since he's clearly not stupid, and mostly crazy.

Fair enough on the Taibbi point. He can be funny, and I mostly agree with what he says, but he's surprisingly inarticulate at times.
post #70 of 284
The show on Friday was strictly ok. I enjoyed their discussion about Wall Street, but I absolutely change my mind about Amy Holmes ("I'm supporting the conservative candidate").

It's nice to see that Esai Morales is still around though.

Oh and Richard Dawkins is on for next week. That info better be right this time.
post #71 of 284
I thought this weeks was kinda lame, I did like his closing monologue though.

What was your mind before you changed it about Amy Holmes? I liked her, I thought she was one of the few sound reasonable voices, especially compared to that insane Brenda Lee (or whatever her name was, the congresswoman).
post #72 of 284
I'm sure I'll be sorry I asked, but what did Barbara Lee say that you thought was insane?
post #73 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainZahn View Post
I'm sure I'll be sorry I asked, but what did Barbara Lee say that you thought was insane?
She said a couple of comments, I don't remember off the top of my head as this weeks episode was mostly forgettable. One of them being the current economic problems we face are from the Iraq war. Another one was in Overtime with Bill Mahar, she voted against going into Afghanistan after 9/11 and she basically came off crazy for her reasoning's, Bill kept harping on her and poking holes in her logic. I don't remember specifics, like I said, mostly forgettable. The 10 minutes of Overtime was better than the 50 minutes of Real Time.

Also, don't expect Esai Morales back on, he admitted in overtime to more or less being a 9/11 truther and Bill looked irked, as he hates those guys!
post #74 of 284
Just watched this week's ep. and i loved the guest list. Richard Clark (former NSA), Washington Post writer, and Jason Alexander. Enjoyed it very much. But the best part of the show was Bill's interview with Oxford professor Richard Dawkins. That guy is awesome. He always gives such a profound and fascinating outlook on why religion is such a crock.
post #75 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaieke View Post
Also, don't expect Esai Morales back on, he admitted in overtime to more or less being a 9/11 truther and Bill looked irked, as he hates those guys!
Considering some of the ridiculous shit he's been saying lately, Bill should probably let up on the conspiracy theorists a bit.
post #76 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainZahn View Post
Considering some of the ridiculous shit he's been saying lately, Bill should probably let up on the conspiracy theorists a bit.
Yeah, I usually like Maher well enough, but that was one of the most staggeringly idiotic things I've ever seen.
post #77 of 284
This latest episode seemed a little off and I couldn't put my finger on it until I watched that clip. There was no special guest commentator like the previous weeks. Perhaps there was a scheduling conflict? This panel was a little to left, I gotta think a conservative commentator was going to come on.

Yeah, Bill stepped in it with that comment on the girl getting beaten but I see where he's coming from; there has been a lot of kids getting tried as an adult for things that when I was growing up was just a trip to juvie (I'm not talking about me). Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing but it's worth talking about, which is what his show does.
post #78 of 284
The girl was kidnapped and beaten up. Teenagers should know better then that. I sure as hell did. Fighting is one thing but then you have a group beatdown and kidnapping! Bill was totally off on this on. I missed the beginning of the episode. I'll have to catch it on a repeat.
post #79 of 284
"Kidnapping" in this case meaning "not letting her leave the house." We're not talking about tying her up, throwing her in a trunk, and transporting her across state lines. I agree those kids should be punished, but reading the comments on the article on the Orlando Sentinel site, there are people calling for them to get life sentences. By that logic, Ralphie should have gotten the chair for beating up Scott Farkus in A Christmas Story.
post #80 of 284
Thread Starter 
Bill was absolutely awful this episode. I can't decide which was worse:

- His non-interview with Richard Dawkins where I think if Dawkins had been there in-person instead of via satellite, Bill would have just gotten on his knees right there and sucked Dawkins off. We get it: you're an atheist and you and Dawkins don't understand that your zeal feeds the organized religions that you hate.

- His non-joke about how Heparin is made. He didn't even want a discussion on it. He just wanted to remind everyone that western medicine is crap. Thanks, Bill. I'm sure everyone without access to western medicine is in total agreement in their long, happy lives.

- I agree with the point that I think Bill was getting at by saying that teenagers are too coddled and don't have the freedom to be kids that they used to, but he was working backwards from his own belief rather than having a basic understanding of the facts of the case.

If Richard Clarke and Jason Alexander hadn't been on the panel, this episode would have been unwatchable. I knew Clarke was a smart cat but I didn't know how damn sharp he was. And Alexander was especially hilarious but he was also participating rather than just being a comic distraction.
post #81 of 284
Alexander's story about the airline pilot having the screwdriver taken away by security was hilarious.
post #82 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Goldberg View Post
- His non-interview with Richard Dawkins where I think if Dawkins had been there in-person instead of via satellite, Bill would have just gotten on his knees right there and sucked Dawkins off. We get it: you're an atheist and you and Dawkins don't understand that your zeal feeds the organized religions that you hate.
I'm waiting for the day when Bill has a road to Damascus moment and becomes a televangelist.
post #83 of 284
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
Alexander's story about the airline pilot having the screwdriver taken away by security was hilarious.
"Also, there's an axe in the cockpit." Too great.
post #84 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Goldberg View Post
If Richard Clarke and Jason Alexander hadn't been on the panel, this episode would have been unwatchable. I knew Clarke was a smart cat but I didn't know how damn sharp he was. And Alexander was especially hilarious but he was also participating rather than just being a comic distraction.
He also wasted Dana Priest. I don't recall her saying anything past the first few minutes and she's always a great guest with something informative to say.
post #85 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anyawatchin Angel View Post
He also wasted Dana Priest. I don't recall her saying anything past the first few minutes and she's always a great guest with something informative to say.
Bingo.

I think this was one of the rare cases where the panel rose above the material where the material would have otherwise sunk the show; just not very many interesting topics Bill decided to cover, and Dawkins needs to be a panel guest- not a satellite guest who's asked questions as if he's got inside information on the arena of ideas. Ideas need to be discussed, but fellatio'ed over.
post #86 of 284
At least Jason Alexander called Bill on his BS about the cheerleader. Hopefully this week will be better
post #87 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank The Tank View Post
. Hopefully this week will be better
From the DailyKos
Quote:
I'm en route to Los Angeles for tonight's taping of Real Time with Bill Maher. Should be fun. Jeremy Scahill and Cornel West will also be on, as well as neocon Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Love West but hope he doesn't bitch bout Obama not going to the MLK tributes. Scahill is also a good guest.

Also was flipping and it appears Maher might apologize about his Popo remarks tonite.
post #88 of 284
Good night tonight. Cornel West is always amazing. And after a week of all this bitter/guns/religion shit depressing me, Maher actually managed to supply hope. The New Rules were hot.
post #89 of 284
It was a good episode. The Schahill piece surprised me a bit and actually gave me some hope that Pennsylvania might put an end to this madness or atleast keep it within 5. The voters Schahill talked to actually got it about what Obama said. I know 20 people isn't much, esp when some bikers would rather go on a strip bar run, but hope.

But next week seems fucking brutal.
Quote:
Garry Shandling, Arianna Huffington, Phil Donahue
Can they get a worse panel? Shandling is good for jokes but he tends to never stick to the topic.

The only saving grace is Matt Taibbi for 20 minutes.
post #90 of 284
Cornell West is poetry in motion and more. Sad that Maher literally couldn't keep up and had to make a joke. And this was a bad episode for Bill... after his apology he couldn't seem to let the topics not be about him and his motives. The panel and Scahill made up for that, however. They were very good.

But since when is Ali considered a neocon? She may be for the war on terror and strongly against most aspects of Islam and religion in general, but does she believe in an imperial presidency and an unfettered executive branch achieving its anti-regulation big brother govt agenda under the perpetual blanket threat of a vague boogey man?

But yes... Don't let us down Pennsylvania. Don't let Hillary walk away with this one.
post #91 of 284
Thread Starter 
Watching just five minutes of Chris Matthews makes me wonder how anyone can watch Hardball. The guy is ludicrious moron who's an image of everything that's wrong with our political analysis. His story about who would stop and change a tire is so devoid of any insight, facts, or frankly, analysis, which I believe is his fucking job, that I almost threw up in my own mouth.

Not a bad show. As always I fast-forwarded through Bill's man-on-the-street interviews because I find them pointless. Kos nailed that point about how Clinton, McCain,and the establishment media are wildly disconnected from small-town America. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was a refreshing voice and I liked Bill's effort to bring her into the conversation. As for Cornel West, I found him pedantic and a chore as I do everytime he's on the show. He speaks like a lot of academics: it doesn't matter that I'm taking simple ideas and encrypting them with pointless rhetoric and over-cooked langauge. It's YOUR job to figure out what I'm saying. He's not deep. He's just obtuse. Sccahill's one of the few good reporters left in this country so any show where he gets to be seen and heard is fine by me. Oh, and "New Rules" was good this week.
post #92 of 284
But...Cornel West was in the counsel of Zion!
post #93 of 284
Anyone else following the Fox News-fueled "scandal" about Maher joking that the pope was a Nazi?

I love the family values talking head douchebag who draws comparisons between Maher's anti-pope tirade and the Imus thing.

I'm sure Maher appreciates the free press.
post #94 of 284
I don't know, but Bill Maher just keeps reminding me of Ann Coulter more and more. Maybe not as stupidly extreme, but still, very similar in style and tired routine.
post #95 of 284
He's certainly a polemicist, but I find Maher pretty reasonable. I can't think of a single other person on television who's willing to be openly anti-religion. He's a fairly measley counterbalance to the Hannities, O'Rileys, and legions of televangelists who've been having their say for years, but he'll have to do for now.

Not that an anti-religious stance is patently "correct", mind you, although I don't think any religion should be off limits to criticism.
post #96 of 284
Hi anti-religious stances, specially in the way he misrepresents what those religions believe, are often almost as informed as the views of the commentators you mentioned when they stupidly talk about Islam. Crude caricatures and full of stereotypes.
post #97 of 284
There are plenty of crude caricatures and stereotypes surrounding atheists, as well, as they're still the least popular 'minority' in the country. As far as I know, Fox News doesn't have a watchdog group to call out various commentators when they attack nonbelievers.

Maher's criticisms aren't very elegant, but as an ex-Catholic, I can see where he's coming from. I'm not getting into the "literal interpretation vs. the power of religious myth" discussion we've had so many times, but I'll concede that labeling an entire group of worshipers as sky-daddy-believing, bible-legislating cultists won't help believers warm up to their non-believing cousins.

Sky-daddy-believing, bible-legislating cultists certainly do exist (and in large numbers: see recent upticks in literalist, evangelical populations- which contrasts with an overall decline in Church attendance, suggesting an increasingly polarized religious climate, but that's an oversimplification of a whole other discussion), though, and that's what infuriates atheists like Maher.
post #98 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
I don't know, but Bill Maher just keeps reminding me of Ann Coulter more and more. Maybe not as stupidly extreme, but still, very similar in style and tired routine.
This is such a thoroughly dumb comparison I don't know where to begin.

Maher is heavy on polemic and light on analysis at times, but Coulter is just pure polemic, and a caricature on top of that. Plus Bill is actually better looking than her.
post #99 of 284
Please never have Garry Shandling on the show again. His ramblings killed the show. He has been hit and run with the jokes in the past and shut up after the jokes. He never shut up this time. Poor Phil Donahue. He only got to speak when Maher asked him to.

And Shandling cut into Taibbi time. I think Shandling misses being on tv.
post #100 of 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anyawatchin Angel View Post
Please never have Garry Shandling on the show again.
Christ, couldn't agree more. He was awful. I wonder if he was on pain medication for his busted leg?

And that stupid bit with the drawings of the Baghdad theme park stunk up the joint as well.
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