''Short Attention Span Theater'' (often abbreviated to ''SAST'') is an American

clip show A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicte ...

in which the hosts presented short segments of

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

acts and scenes from films airing on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

and

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

. It aired from 1989 until 1994. ''SAST'' premiered on

the Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Servi ...

in November 1989; it was one of the channel's initial programs. Because the Comedy Channel, HBO, and Cinemax were all owned by

Home Box Office, Inc. Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia's former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yar ...

(operated as a subsidiary of what was then known as

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

), the show was used to promote the parent corporation's programming. In April 1991, the Comedy Channel merged with Ha!,

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

's competing comedy channel, to form CTV: The Comedy Network; two months later, CTV rebranded as

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

. The network continued to order new episodes of ''SAST'' after this transition, but with some modifications. ''SAST'' had no

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

during its first few weeks. In 1990, the Comedy Channel reformatted the show and hired

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

and

Patty Rosborough Patty Rosborough is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television writer. From 1990 to 1993, she co-hosted ''Short Attention Span Theater'' with Jon Stewart. Her stand-up comedy has been televised on Comedy Central, A&E, Showtime, and V ...

to present it—which they did until 1993. Mark S. Allen replaced them for two seasons. After that, the format was altered slightly. The show now took place in "the basement of Comedy Central", it was shortened to a half-hour and centered on one topic, and

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

was hired as host. Among the show's various

guest host {{Unreferenced, date=January 2009 A guest host (or guest presenter in the United Kingdom) is a host, usually of a talk show, that hosts the program in lieu of the regular host if they fall ill, have another project or commitment, or are unable to ho ...

s were Janet Decker, Joe Bolster,

Laura Kightlinger Laura Kightlinger (born June 13, 1964) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She was a writer and consulting producer on ''Will & Grace'', while also occasionally appearing on the show as the character Nurse Sheila. She was also a write ...

Sue Murphy Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * " Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits isla ...

, and brothers Brian Regan and

Dennis Regan Dennis Brendan Regan is a stand-up comedian from Miami, Florida. Career He was a writer for the CBS sitcom, ''The King of Queens'' from 2004 to 2007. Dennis shares his birthday, March 30, with his youngest brother, Terry. He is the older brother ...

. In between clips, the hosts' banter often covered events in entertainment news. ''SAST'' was the first television venue for

Marc Weiner Marc Weiner (; born May 17, 1955) is an American comedian, puppeteer, and actor. He creates and performs with "head puppets", which are live human heads atop small puppet bodies. Biography Weiner was born in Queens, New York (state), New York, t ...

's "head puppet"

comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

es. The puppets' heads are the size of a human's, but the bodies are disproportionately small. In 2002, several years after ''SASTs conclusion, Comedy Central broadcast a similar series called ''Comic Remix''. The show had a comparable format, and re-used many of the clips previously featured on ''SAST''. In 2005, two shorts from ''SAST'' were animated for inclusion as bonus material for the

DVD-Video DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs. DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia in the 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Blu-r ...

release of the first season of ''

Dr. Katz Professional Therapist ''Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'' is an American adult animated sitcom that ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to February 13, 2002. The series starred the voice talents of Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman. The show w ...

''.

External links

* {{Marc Maron Comedy Central original programming 1980s American comedy television series 1990s American comedy television series 1989 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings Jon Stewart Clip shows