Politically Incorrect
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| Politically Incorrect | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Discussion |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Starring | Bill Maher |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original channel | Comedy Central (1993-1996) ABC (1997-2002) |
| Original run | July 25, 1996–July 5, 2002 |
Politically Incorrect was a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1996, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002. The four celebrity guests in each episode formed a panel that would engage in discussion and debate in front of a studio audience on a topic initiated by Maher, usually provoked by a news item. The show was pioneering in mixing political figures and entertainers. Maher tried to air all points of view, especially controversial ones.
The show was taped at Hollywood Center Studios. The first episode featured comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers, GOP strategist Ed Rollins, and comedian Larry Miller. The show won a 2000 Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series, and was nominated for seventeen others, including one for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series every year from 1995 to 2002, and one in 1997 for Maher in the category of Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program. The show also won two Cable Ace Awards in 1995 and 1996 for Talk Show Series, and was nominated for a third in 1997. It was also nominated for two Writers Guild of America awards for best Comedy/Variety series in 2001 and 2002. [1]
The show’s writers included: Scott Carter, Al Franken, Arianna Huffington, Chris Kelly, Chris Rock.
[edit] Controversy and cancellation
The demise of the show came after Maher's September 17th comment about the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center:
- "We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly."
A firestorm of controversy erupted following his statement, despite his almost immediate apology. Maher asserted that he had been criticizing US military policy, not American soldiers, and pointed out that whether the attacks were cowardly was irrelevant to whether they were morally right or wrong. Many found his remarks deplorable nonetheless, and the controversy was considered to be a key element contributing to the show's cancellation.
Obscured in all the controversy was the fact that guest conservative political commentator Dinesh D'Souza made the statement first -- Maher's controversial remark was actually a repeating of what D'Souza had said a few moments before, as video recordings and transcripts of the episode have shown.
Maher has been quoted as saying the show's cancellation came about because the politically conservative Walt Disney Corporation, which owns ABC, was offended by his criticisms of President George W. Bush, and pulled the show despite its strong ratings. [2] Maher argued that he, of all people, couldn't be considered insensitive to the September 11 attacks. Conservative commentator Barbara Olson was a frequent guest on the show; she was on her way to a taping of it aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when she was killed. For an entire week afterwards, Maher left one guest chair empty in her honor. [3]
Maher now hosts the hour-long program Real Time with Bill Maher, which follows a similar format, but which, because it airs on HBO, features no censorship of language, or commercial breaks.
