A debate program hosted by conservative pundit William F. Buckley who verbally sparred with many notable figures of the 20th century.A debate program hosted by conservative pundit William F. Buckley who verbally sparred with many notable figures of the 20th century.A debate program hosted by conservative pundit William F. Buckley who verbally sparred with many notable figures of the 20th century.
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8.2/10
124
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- Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 1 win total
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Spanning thirty-three years and 1,504 episodes, "Firing Line" was originally a one-hour debate program (later reduced to a half-hour) hosted by political commentator William F. Buckley. An eloquent interviewer and a formidable debater, Buckley verbally sparred on "Firing Line" with many notable figures in the latter half of the twentieth century. His guests included future U.S. presidents such as Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, venerated writers such as Tom Wolfe and Jack Kerouac, and political intellectuals such as Barry Goldwater and Noam Chomsky. One of the longest-running shows in television history, "Firing Line" garnered an Emmy Award in 1969. —Anonymous
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Did you know
- TriviaIn order to interview television guests for Firing Line, William F. Buckley was compelled by law to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), an American labor union. As an anti-union conservative, Buckley abhorred his SAG membership. In 1974, Buckley legally challenged the SAG's union requirements for news broadcasters such as himself. His challenge failed, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia (2013)
Top review
Come back Firing Line!
Firing Line was the very height of political television. Even if it was the den of supremely evil b*tch William F Buckley. As supremely evil b*tches go, he was still fiercely intelligent. Buckley was a conservative whom modern conservatives don't deserve to share the category with. This is the first place I ever saw Susan Estrich and Mike Kinsey unzip their voluptuous intelligence. The show is missed very much. No one deals with thought and content in politics anymore. It may have been the most important "weekly anything" ever to air on TV. This was intelligence that hit you right in the seat of the pants. Come back FL! Rescue us from the utter morons who talk politics, run for office and vote in this most pathetic of pathetic eras.
helpful•35
- onepotato2
- Sep 8, 2008
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- 2h
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