History Series / RealTimeWithBillMaher

* AnalogyBackfire: Bill mimicking sarcastic anti-government questions before answering them with a BluntYes. Of course, he had to change the analogy from the DMV to the Post Office for it to work...

* JesusWasWayCool: Religious people are one of Maher's favorite targets. It is common for him to mock conservative Christians for failing to live up to Jesus' teachings on matters such as the killing of OsamaBinLaden.

* ThanatosGambit: After the death of OsamaBinLaden, Bill had wondered whether America's behavior since TheWarOnTerror has been this for Bin Laden.

* BluntYes: See AnalogyBackfire.

** DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: His mock PSA about young men being forced into having unwanted sex and suffering from a condition called "[[AManIsAlwaysEager Lucky Bastard Syndrome]]".

* AuthorTract: In recent years, Bill can't go an episode without veering into a long-winded discussion about how Islam is bad.

-->'''Bill Maher, talking about the Republican Party's attitude towards UsefulNotes/BarackObama:''' "If Michelle Bachman-''if Michelle Bachman''... If Michelle ''Obama'', *laughs*, says it's good to eat vegetables and talk a walk, then I'm gonna sit in my garage with the car running and drink bacon grease out of a coffee can!"

* HitlerAteSugar: During his tirade against conservatives, who had done an utterly baffling thing in his eyes by attacking Michelle Obama for her initiative to get parents to send kids outside to play more as a way to get them to be more healthy. He responded with a deadpan comment of:

* OppositesAttract: Fond of having Ann Coulter as a guest, who he's said is a friend of his, and it's rumored they used to date.
** A lot of this stems from him admitting that it was his old show that ended up making her famous.

* StrawmanPolitical: Used all the time.

* TakeThat: See above.

The panel will discuss certain issues that are brought up by Maher, with him leading the discussion. Sometimes Maher will bring on a fourth guest halfway through who is almost always an entertainer promoting a new project of theirs. The show ends with a five or so minute segment called New Rules, where Maher effectively monologues on issues, with a picture and text caption to describe the issue.

The final segment of New Rules generally leads into a longer and more serious statement on the issue (or any other issue that is related).

-->'''Bill:''' I mean, how stupid is it when people say, ''"oh that's what we need, the federal government telling Detroit how to make cars, or Wells Fargo how to run a bank; you want them to look like the post office?"''\\

* AnalogyBackfire: Bill mimicking sarcastic anti-government questions before answering them with a BluntYes.

* JerkassHasAPoint: He can often be crude, but even people who hate him have to concede that he at least occasionally has a point. One good example was when he called America a stupid country. In response to the InternetBacklash, he listed some depressing statistics. Such as [[WhatAnIdiot 18% of Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth]].

* OffTheRails: Happened during the October 3, 2014 episode. During a discussion about ISIS and Islam, Bill and guest Sam Harris, a prominent anti-theist, were both criticized by Creator/BenAffleck about being Islamophobic for describing what they considered differences between Islam and other religions.

* HollywoodAtheist: Maher can be thought of as one (generally due to his {{documentary}} ''Film/{{Religulous}}'' and his statements that religious belief is a neurological disorder), but is an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatheism apatheist]]

A late night {{political program|mes}} that airs on {{HBO}} since 2003.

-->Republicans need to stop saying BarackObama is an elitist, or looks down on rural people, and just admit you don’t like him because of something he can’t help, something that’s a result of the way he was born. Admit it, you’re not voting for him because he’s... [[YoureJustJealous smarter than you]].

-->'''Bill Maher, talking about the Republican Party's attitude towards BarackObama:''' "If Michelle Bachman-''if Michelle Bachman''... If Michelle ''Obama'', *laughs*, says it's good to eat vegetables and talk a walk, then I'm gonna sit in my garage with the car running and drink bacon grease out of a coffee can!"

* InMemoriam: Parodied with "A Farewell to Douchebags", a montage of unpopular politicians and political figures who lost during election cycles.
** Played straight with RichardJeni and Creator/ChristopherHitchens' deaths, as Bill showed montages of their previous appearances on this show and his previous show ''Politically Incorrect''.

* OffTheRails: Happened during the October 3, 2014 episode. During a discussion about ISIS and Islam, Bill and guest Sam Harris, a prominent anti-theist, were both criticized by Creator/BenAffleck about being Islamophobic, as both made little-to-no distinction between the fundamentalists of ISIS and all other Muslims.

'''Bill:''' [[FlatYes Yeah.]] I mean, a place that takes a little note from my hand from LA on Monday, to give it to my sister in New Jersey on Wednesday, for 42 cents? Well let me be the first to say that I would be THRILLED if America's healthcare system was anywhere near as functional as the post office.

* JerkassHasAPoint: He can often be crude, but even people who hate him have to concede that he at least occasionally has a point.
** One good example was when he called America a stupid country. In response to the InternetBacklash, he listed some depressing statistics. Such as [[WhatAnIdiot 18% of Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth]].

** Invariably, Bill jokes that one of his guests is working "my old job."

The panel is (normally) composed of three individuals: one liberal, one conservative and the other a WildCard who is generally an entertainer of some sorts. Panelists who don't fall into the political spectrum, such as reporters or people involved in international politics), have become more common as the show goes on.

** Played straight with RichardJeni and ChristopherHitchens' deaths, as Bill showed montages of their previous appearances on this show and his previous show ''Politically Incorrect''.