Television Program Review
Introduction and Brief Summary of Program
The program being reviewed is Real Time, hosted by comedian and political commentator Bill Maher. It airs live, once a week on HBO on Friday nights at 10:00 PM with periodic repeats thereafter. The show is an hour-long a mix of social commentary, humor, and political satire. Generally, the program opens with a short monolog delivered by host Bill Maher during which he comments about the top news stories and political issues that arise during the week.
The opening monolog is usually followed by a one-on-one interview of a guest chosen because he or she is knowledgeable about one of the current-events topics that is scheduled for more in-depth discussion later in the show. After the one-on-one interview, Maher usually hosts a round-table type of discussion that generally includes one or two subject-matter experts, political commentators, news reporters, politicians, and entertainers. The last segment of the show is called "New Rules," another sarcasm-oriented comedic take on current events. Overall, the show provides valuable information, insight, and perspective...
For example, last week's episode devoted a lot of time to addressing the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the various issues in relation to ecological damage, corporate financial responsibility, ethical problems in
connection with deep-water oil drilling in light of the potential worst-case scenarios, and the role of government in regulating and monitoring regulatory compliance throughout large-scale industrial processes. Other topics typically covered in detail during the one-on-one interview and round-table discussion segments have included the lengthy national debate over
healthcare reform, the government's response to the current financial recession, the collapse of the housing market bubble and the wider economic problems it precipitated, ecologic issues, geopolitical decisions such as the involvement of U.S.
Armed Forces in foreign areas, and the trials and tribulations of political figures in the U.S. And around the world.
The show has a tremendous value beyond the realm of superficial entertainment. Many of its intended viewers benefit from the fact that it discusses very important and serious issues in a comedy format. This is particularly important for those viewers who may not necessarily keep up with those issues by reading newspapers or watching traditional news broadcasts or documentaries. The fact that…
