 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Ben Stiller Show" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| The Ben Stiller Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Ben Stiller Judd Apatow |
| Written by | Ben Stiller Judd Apatow Robert Cohen David Cross Brent Forrester Bob Odenkirk Sultan Pepper Dino Stamatopoulos |
| Starring | Ben Stiller Andy Dick(Fox version) Janeane Garofalo(Fox version) Bob Odenkirk(Fox version) |
| Theme music composer | Dweezil Zappa |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | ~23 minutes |
| Production company | HBO Independent Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV(1990) Fox(1992–93) Comedy Central(1995) |
| Release | January 21 (1990-01-21) – March 1, 1990 (1990-03-01) |
| Release | September 27, 1992 (1992-09-27) – August 26, 1995 (1995-08-26) |
The Ben Stiller Show is an Americansketch comedy series starringBen Stiller that aired in two iterations, the first series airing six episodes onMTV in 1990, and the second series airing 12 episodes onFox from September 27, 1992, to January 17, 1993, with a 13th episode airing in 1995 onComedy Central. The Fox version also starredAndy Dick,Janeane Garofalo andBob Odenkirk.Character actorJohn F. O'Donohue also appeared in every episode.
The program featured numerous filmed comedy segments, many of which parodied pop culture trends from the late 1980s to early 1990s. Despite receiving mostly positive reviews, Fox canceled the series after only 13 episodes, due to low ratings.[1][2]
Unlike most sketch comedy programs,The Ben Stiller Show did not use a studio audience, and was the first Fox sketch comedy program not to use alaugh track. The semi spinoff,The Andy Dick Show, used the same format. After cancellation, the series won the 1993Emmy Award forOutstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.
The originalMTV version ofThe Ben Stiller Show aired in 1990, and ran for six episodes. It is not available on DVD, although excerpts from the program are featured as a bonus on the release of the Fox series. Produced by Jim Jones, who would go on to produce the Fox series and starring Ben Stiller and co writer Jeff Kahn, it was a self effacing show within a show format.
Part of MTV's pre-Real World and experimental Vid-Com season of 1989 to 1990, it was interspersed with music videos that Ben and company would introduce in their short comedy sketches. Regulars included Harry O'Reilly and Ben's sister Amy Stiller. Guest stars included Ben's parentsAnne Meara andJerry Stiller, as well asJohn F. O'Donohue,Melina Kanakaredes,Al Lewis and MTV regularMartha Quinn.
| No. | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | September 27, 1992 (1992-09-27) |
| 2 | "With Bobcat Goldthwait" | October 4, 1992 (1992-10-04) |
| 3 | "With James Doohan" | October 18, 1992 (1992-10-18) |
| 4 | "On Melrose Avenue" | October 25, 1992 (1992-10-25) |
| 5 | "With Colin Quinn" | November 1, 1992 (1992-11-01) |
| 6 | "With Sarah Jessica Parker" | November 8, 1992 (1992-11-08) |
| 7 | "With Rob Morrow" | November 15, 1992 (1992-11-15) |
| 8 | "With Flea" | December 6, 1992 (1992-12-06) |
| 9 | "With Garry Shandling" | December 13, 1992 (1992-12-13) |
| 10 | "With Dennis Miller" | December 20, 1992 (1992-12-20) |
| 11 | "At the Beach" | January 3, 1993 (1993-01-03) |
| 12 | "A Few Good Scouts" | January 17, 1993 (1993-01-17) |
| 13 | "ZooTV at Night" | August 26, 1995 (1995-08-26)(onComedy Central) |
Warner Home Video released all 13 episodes of the Fox version ofThe Ben Stiller Show on DVD in Region 1 on December 2, 2003.[3][4]
| DVD name | Ep# | Release date | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ben Stiller Show: Complete Series | 13 | December 2, 2003 |
|
In November 2012, there was a reunion at theNew York Comedy Festival with the original cast members.[5][6] Apatow hosted the reunion which featured Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick and staff writers Robert Cohen and Jeff Kahn. Bob Odenkirk also appeared viaSkype video chat.[7]