LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Dennis Miller
built 656 days ago
The signing of Dennis Miller is looking a lot like a stroke of genius. His debut program drew more than four times the 9 p.m. audience of last season, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNBC clobbered MSNBC in the time slot, with twice the viewers of its sister network.
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Miller began his fictional news reports with "Good evening, what can I tell you?" and closed with "That's the news, and I am outta here!". Fans of SNL became accustomed to his smirky delivery, high-pitched giggle, and poofy, frequently-primped hair—idiosyncrasies that would be spoofed by Dana Carvey, Tom Hanks, and (later) Jimmy Fallon, all of whom have impersonated Miller on the show. When Miller left SNL in 1991, the anchor's chair was turned over to Kevin Nealon. Miller's presence on SNL was still felt ... since before leaving, he discovered later SNL cast members who were in the same mold as himself, including Chris Farley, Mike Myers, David Spade, and Adam Sandler.
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The Fox News Channel recently signed Miller to offer up fresh, biting and conservative commentary on the "Hannity & Colmes" program each week. His first outing was neither fresh nor funny. His material sounded as if it had been borrowed from Rush Limbaugh. After bashing Mexican immigrants, Sen. Robert Byrd, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, Miller closed with this jarring advice:
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Miller was especially merciless in bashing Gingrich. Many of his anti-Newt quips compared the House Speaker to Adolf Hitler — and, by extension, portrayed the GOP Congress as a sinister collection of would-be brownshirts. For example, in his opening monologue on December 23, 1994, Miller joked that Gingrich's forthcoming book would "be available through the Mein Kampf of the Month Club." A few weeks later, he announced the post-election transfer of power on Capitol Hill as follows: "Gingrich and the Republicans took over Congress this week. This is actually Gingrich's second attempt to seize power, the first, of course, being the ill-fated Beer Hall Putsch."
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Miller's change has not come without some controversy.... The national media watch group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) characterized the show's hiring of consulting producer Mike Murphy -- "a well-known Republican campaign consultant whose past clients have included [Senator] John McCain [R-AZ], [Governor] Jeb Bush [R-FL]," and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) -- as a conflict of interest, since Murphy was working as an adviser to Governor Schwarzenegger at the time. (The Contra Costa Times called Murphy the "chief campaign strategist" for Schwarzenegger.) Who appeared as guests on the first episode of Dennis Miller? McCain and Schwarzenegger.
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Dennis Miller hinted that his short stint with Fox might not have been the most satisfying, as he would occasionally mention the term "Factor Gear" in a derisive tone of voice (referring to Bill O'Reilly's signature line of souvenirs). The show was cancelled in 2005 due to poor ratings.
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Dennis Miller