“Hey, remember back in the Stone Age when talk shows provided the American public with useful information on child abuse, racism, and other crucial problems? Of course you don’t.
Nowadays, when you are channel-surfing through the vast waters of “trash-festhood,” talk show hosts encourage guests to reveal all of their perverted fantasies and demented secrets—on national TV!!!
This brainless breed of philandering men, back-stabbing co-workers, drag-queens in need of makeovers, women in love with gay men, oversexed teens, “high class” hookers (?) and a woman who had sex with 251 men in 10 hours (that’s about 25 men per hour) are all on the recruiting list for dysfunctional specimens that will appear on your tube.
The more dramatic and bizarre the guests are, the higher ratings become. How thoughtful of producers to go out of their way to bring you such refined entertainment. Guests’ heavy theatrics lead to name-calling, fights, and other threatening conflicts. Half of the show is bleeped, hair is pulled out, and there’s usually a flying chair landing on someone’s nose (well, the host’s to be precise)! Yet viewers remained tuned for more disturbing revelations. Go figure.
It might seem funny to the audience and viewers, but it doesn’t always end that way for the guests. At least not in Scott Amedure’s case, according to a article in the September-October issue of Ms. Magazine, adapted from the book “Tuning In Trouble: Talk TV’s Destructive Impact on Mental Health.” Amedure was a guest on the Jenny Jones Show confessing his secret crush to Jonathan Schmitz, his heterosexual friend. Jonathan was “surprised,” but days later, in an act of homophobic rage, he killed Scott. This show never aired. These underhanded tricks and surprises aren’t as amusing when you’re a dead victim, are they?
Talk shows have a few secrets up their sleazy sleeves that they don’t wish to reveal to you. For instance: if a guest gets jittery or hesitant to confess “all,” producers do their ‘oh-don’t-worry-you’re-not-a-freak’ fast-talking speech. Seconds later, the guest is on the panel being booed, gawked or laughed at. And if guests have violent opposition against each other, then they are placed in different rooms before the show. Apparently this is done to avoid bloodshed. But producers (being the concerned humans that they are) go from room to room, repeating insulting remarks of one guest to another. Once they all come out, the destruction begins. Then, hosts have the nerve to overreact to the obvious, as if they didn’t expect (or create, is more like it) such a violent reaction. They feign sympathy and give three-minute fast-food advice so they can go on with the next guest.
I’d rather have my nails removed with a chisel than watch Ricki Lake do her Oscar-worthy disbelief expression, or listen to Montel Williams’ psychobabble and Jerry Springer’s sack of manure which he refers to as his ‘Final Thought.’
I don’t expect talk shows to have the ‘ideal panel,’ but they should have civilized human beings for a change, not a ruthless race of losers. My ‘Final Thought’ to all talk show hosts is the same resolution they give their guests: Get therapy! and a life of your own, instead of ruining others. (Sometimes you just have to let go and move on.)”
