In 2008, just after becoming an American citizen, the antic Scottish-born comedian Craig Ferguson, then in the middle of his decade-long run as host of “The Late Late Show,” on CBS, was invited to address the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. It was the final year of the (George W.) Bush Presidency, and Ferguson walked the uncomfortable tightrope that faces those who speak at that gathering—being funny without being disrespectful, lampooning Washington without seeming to take sides. “You’re a tough crowd,” Ferguson noted, citing his presence at the event as yet another example of “immigrants taking jobs Americans don’t want.”

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One of the high points of the speech was Ferguson’s discussion of his own newly acquired U.S. citizenship. “I had to pass a test to become an American. I wonder sometimes how many of the journalists and politicians in this room would pass that test. If the I.N.S. suddenly circled this room and said, ‘Pop quiz, everybody!,’ there would be a lot of people trying to get over the fence from this side.”

That conceit, of the naturalized citizen serving as a ringleader for an inquisition into American history, is the notional germ of Ferguson’s new show, “Join or Die,” which premières on the History channel tonight. During each half-hour episode, Ferguson and a panel of guests debate a historical topic. It’s not as odd a pairing as it might seem. Despite frequently characterizing himself as “a vulgar lounge entertainer,” Ferguson showed a willingness to engage with the sort of weighty issues that most of his after-hours colleagues on network TV either eschewed or glossed over. The most renowned instance of this was in 2009, when Archbishop Desmond Tutu appeared on “The Late Late Show.” Ferguson moved adeptly into Jon Stewart territory, giving his viewers a concise history of apartheid that was both cutting and hilarious. “I’ll do it quickly so you don’t feel like you’re getting information,” Ferguson said, in a nod to the late-night norms he was violating.

The memory of that performance, along with similar moments, made the prospect of “Join or Die” very appealing. Yet, on the evidence of the first three episodes, the new show appears to be little more than a televised version of the type of endless debate you can hear in any college watering hole—a hypothetical contest in which no definitive answer is possible. Hitler or Stalin? Beatles or Stones? “Breaking Bad” or “The Wire”?

The squandered possibilities are evident in the series première. The subject at hand is “history’s biggest political blunders.” To consider this question, Ferguson assembled a notably under-qualified panel made up of a fellow late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel; the pundit and P.R. man Howard Bragman; and the “Funny or Die” actress Jen D’Angelo. For reasons not fully explained the six candidates for history’s biggest blunder all happened in the last decade and a half. They include the 2006 incident in which Dick Cheney shot the attorney Harry Whittington during a quail hunt; the accusations of sexual misconduct that derailed Herman Cain’s bid for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination; Rod Blagojevich’s alleged attempt to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder; Eliot Spitzer’s resignation as governor of New York, in 2008, after revelations that he’d used an escort service; Larry Craig’s 2007 arrest for “lewd conduct” in an airport men’s room; and the Delaware politician Christine O’Donnell’s admission that she dabbled in witchcraft.

For the purpose of this show it seems that “historical blunders” is synonymous with “political scandal.” It’s also worth noting that all six occurred during Ferguson’s late-night tenure, serving as fodder for his show-opening monologues. But the narrowness of the time frame is surprising and disappointing, given that the network behind “Join or Die” is called “History.” Why limit yourself to the last ten years when history is abundant with regrettable decisions? Chamberlain’s appeasement at Munich, Napoleon’s march to Moscow, the sale of the Louisiana territory, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Trojans’ acceptance of the Greek gift horse all come to mind. Monty Python and Mel Brooks, among others, have shown how funny history can be.

The two succeeding episodes—on “History’s Worst Medical Advice” and “The Drug That Changed the World”—match the première in being rather shallow and arbitrary. Astonishingly, heroin didn’t make the shortlist of finalists for the latter show, an omission brought up by the historian David Eisenbach, who briefly displays what might have been possible when he reaches back a century and a half to discuss the Opium Wars and the Treaty of Nanking, which resulted in Hong Kong becoming a British territory.

Devoted Ferguson fans should plan to watch no more than the first five minutes of “Join or Die.” Each episode opens with an apparently ad-libbed monologue setting up the topic to be discussed. These little riffs, addressed in close-up, directly to the camera, hearken back to “The Late Late Show” and suggest what might have been. In the first episode, Ferguson amusingly turns Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan into Hitler’s phrase for refusing brisket: “Nein, nein, nein!” In a later installment, he talks hilariously about his own drug use.

We should take note of the title for the show, which is cribbed from one of the earliest political cartoons in American history—a 1754 drawing of a snake chopped into pieces, each labelled with the name of a colony or colonial region. The cartoon was created by Benjamin Franklin and published in his Pennsylvania Gazette during the French and Indian War. Initially a call for the colonies to unite with the British against France, the image was later adopted as an emblem of independence during the Revolutionary War. According to publicity materials, Ferguson had the phrase tattooed on his arm after becoming an American. Fortunately for television viewers, there are plenty of other options than those inked on Ferguson.