Dennis Miller Live
Encyclopedia
Dennis Miller Live is a weekly talk show on HBO, hosted by comedian Dennis Miller
. The show ran 215 episodes from 1994 to 2002, and received five Emmy awards, plus an additional 11 Emmy nominations. It was also nominated six times for the Writers Guild of America Award
for "Best Writing For A Comedy/Variety Series", and won three of those times.
The show was directed by Debbie Palacio for most of its run, and head writers were first Jeff Cesario
and then Eddie Feldmann. Other writers included José Arroyo, Rich Dahm
, Ed Driscoll
, David Feldman
, Mike Gandolfi, Jim Hanna
, Tom Hertz, Leah Krinsky
, Rob Kutner
, Rick Overton
, Jacob Sager Weinstein, and David S. Weiss
.
, and limited lighting. It mainly consisted of Miller speaking to the largely unseen studio audience on a darkened stage.
The show's cold opening started with Miller doing a brief joke about a current event. The credit sequence showed Miller in a pool hall
playing by himself set to "Everybody Wants to Rule the World
" by Tears for Fears
. In later seasons, the sequence was changed to show oversized toppling dominoes
featuring images of political and social leaders. The final domino falls in front of Miller who walks away while an overhead shot shows the dominoes spelling out the word "LIVE". In the ninth and final season, the opening was very brief. It consisted only of a close-up
of a monitor
with the title of the show on it. A new original theme played as Miller immediately walked on stage to start the show.
Then Miller would perform a two-part monologue
. The first part being the usual jokes about current events typical of late-night talk shows. This would then segue
directly into a stream-of-consciousness diatribe that became Miller's trademark
. This second part of monologue always began with the catchphrase "Now I don't want to get off on a rant here..." and ended with the phrase "Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." These monologues were the highlight of the show. A series of books which compiled transcripts of these monologues were released during the run of the show, starting with 1996's The Rants to 2002's The Rant Zone.
There would be one guest per show live with whom Miller would discuss the topic of the day. During the first season, some guests were interviewed via satellite. During the guest segment, the show would also take phone calls. The call-in number was originally given as 1-800-LACTOSE. Reportedly, Miller chose the word "lactose
" because it was the only word he could make with seven digits to make it a vanity number. But starting in the 1997 season, he stopped using the word and simply gave the corresponding numbers.
At the end of the interview, Miller would tell the guest "Stick around, I've gotta go do the news", at which time he would step next to a monitor named "The Big Screen". Black-and-white photographs from newspapers would be shown, and Miller would make humorous captions regarding them. At the finish of this segment, Miller would harken back to his SNL
days by saying "That's the news, and I am outta here!"
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
. The show ran 215 episodes from 1994 to 2002, and received five Emmy awards, plus an additional 11 Emmy nominations. It was also nominated six times for the Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
for "Best Writing For A Comedy/Variety Series", and won three of those times.
The show was directed by Debbie Palacio for most of its run, and head writers were first Jeff Cesario
Jeff Cesario
Jeff Cesario is an American comedian and writer, who has written for Dennis Miller Live and The Larry Sanders Show...
and then Eddie Feldmann. Other writers included José Arroyo, Rich Dahm
Rich Dahm
Richard Dahm is an American comedy writer from Wisconsin. A Co-Executive Producer and Head Writer for The Colbert Report, he has also written for Dennis Miller Live and Da Ali G Show....
, Ed Driscoll
Ed Driscoll
Ed Driscoll is an American writer, blogger, and journalist. Driscoll is an editor at Pajamas Media. A veteran journalist, Driscoll has contributed to National Review Online, the Weekly Standard, Tech Central Station and print publications ranging from PC World to Guitar World...
, David Feldman
David Feldman
David Feldman may refer to:*David Feldman *David Feldman , author of the Imponderables series*David Feldman , Irish philatelist and chairman of Swiss philatelic auction company, David Feldman SA...
, Mike Gandolfi, Jim Hanna
Jim Hanna (writer)
Jim Hanna is an American comedy writer. He has written for Dennis Miller Live, for which he shared a 1994 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program.-External links:...
, Tom Hertz, Leah Krinsky
Leah Krinsky
Leah Krinsky is an American comedy writer. She has written for Dennis Miller Live, for which she won an Emmy in 1998.- References :...
, Rob Kutner
Rob Kutner
-Career:As a writer for Dennis Miller Live, he was nominated for a 2003 Writers' Guild of America Award. After Dennis Miller Live left the air, Kutner went on to write for The Daily Show, where he has won five Emmies to date. Additionally, he has won a Peabody Award and an award from the...
, Rick Overton
Rick Overton
Richard "Rick" Overton is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting credits include Willow and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.-Life and career:...
, Jacob Sager Weinstein, and David S. Weiss
David S. Weiss
David S. Weiss is an American comedy writer. He has written for Dennis Miller Live, CNBC's "Dennis Miller", The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!...
.
Format
The show was mainly characterized by its simplicity. The show had a small set, no house bandHouse band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
, and limited lighting. It mainly consisted of Miller speaking to the largely unseen studio audience on a darkened stage.
The show's cold opening started with Miller doing a brief joke about a current event. The credit sequence showed Miller in a pool hall
Pool hall
A billiard/billiards, pool or snooker hall is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards...
playing by himself set to "Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's ninth single release in the United Kingdom and seventh UK Top 40 chart hit, peaking at number two in April 1985...
" by Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
. In later seasons, the sequence was changed to show oversized toppling dominoes
Dominoes
Dominoes generally refers to the collective gaming pieces making up a domino set or to the subcategory of tile games played with domino pieces. In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes, the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two congruent squares edge to edge...
featuring images of political and social leaders. The final domino falls in front of Miller who walks away while an overhead shot shows the dominoes spelling out the word "LIVE". In the ninth and final season, the opening was very brief. It consisted only of a close-up
Close-up
In filmmaking, television production, still photography and the comic strip medium a close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots . Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene...
of a monitor
Video monitor
A video monitor also called a broadcast monitor, broadcast reference monitor or just reference monitor, is a display device similar to a television set, used to monitor the output of a video-generating device, such as playout from a video server, IRD, video camera, VCR, or DVD player. It may or...
with the title of the show on it. A new original theme played as Miller immediately walked on stage to start the show.
Then Miller would perform a two-part monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
. The first part being the usual jokes about current events typical of late-night talk shows. This would then segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
directly into a stream-of-consciousness diatribe that became Miller's trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
. This second part of monologue always began with the catchphrase "Now I don't want to get off on a rant here..." and ended with the phrase "Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." These monologues were the highlight of the show. A series of books which compiled transcripts of these monologues were released during the run of the show, starting with 1996's The Rants to 2002's The Rant Zone.
There would be one guest per show live with whom Miller would discuss the topic of the day. During the first season, some guests were interviewed via satellite. During the guest segment, the show would also take phone calls. The call-in number was originally given as 1-800-LACTOSE. Reportedly, Miller chose the word "lactose
Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...
" because it was the only word he could make with seven digits to make it a vanity number. But starting in the 1997 season, he stopped using the word and simply gave the corresponding numbers.
At the end of the interview, Miller would tell the guest "Stick around, I've gotta go do the news", at which time he would step next to a monitor named "The Big Screen". Black-and-white photographs from newspapers would be shown, and Miller would make humorous captions regarding them. At the finish of this segment, Miller would harken back to his SNL
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
days by saying "That's the news, and I am outta here!"