"The Ben Stiller Show" (1992) TV series 1992-1993

Creators:

Judd Apatow
Jeff Kahn
Ben Stiller

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

27 September 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

This comedy/variety show specialized in parodies of movies and television shows and commercials. Often...

Plot Keywords:

Sketch Comedy | Actor Playing Multiple Roles | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	Himself - Host / ... (13 episodes, 1992-1993)
Andy Dick	...	Various Characters (13 episodes, 1992-1993)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Various Characters (13 episodes, 1992-1993)
Bob Odenkirk	...	Various Characters (13 episodes, 1992-1993)
John F. O'Donohue	...	Various Characters / ... (13 episodes, 1992-1993)

Runtime:

30 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

HBO Independent Productions

Trivia:

In college, playwright Jenelle Riley wrote her graduate thesis on The Ben Stiller Show's effect on comedy. It was subsequently published rumored to be used as an aid when putting together the DVD.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The timestamps on Ben's video diary segments never increment, even though the individual segments usually last more than a minute. This is probably due to the fact that they were added in post-production, and weren't a result of a real camcorder's time/date stamp.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'The Larry Sanders Show' (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Groove Holmes

Manson!

I first heard of the Ben Stiller Show when I saw the Emmy Awards when it won for best writing of a variety show (I think they showed the "Counting With Bruce Springsteen" sketch). Anyways, Stiller was overjoyed at this, and he was saying what a great show this was, and what we were going to miss, as it was only on for 12 episodes. And from that time, I was like, "Damn, I want to see that!" Well, finally, through the magic of DVD, I did get to see it! All of the episodes are great (though I have the sneaky suspicion that the earlier episodes were funnier). Well, where can I start about my favorite episodes? OK, I'm sure everyone has different opinions, the highlights for me were Rescue 411, Manson, Skank, Amish Studs, U2: The Early Years, and Beverly Hills 90210240 (and also bonus points for the deleted scene on the DVD with the High School Mascot competition with Stiller as Ron Perlman and Janine Garaefolo as Mary-Lou Retton, Garaefolo can't stop laughing during the commentary for this)