90’s Daytime Talk Shows

[Carrie Fairchild]

One of the rabbit holes that I enjoy falling down every now and then, is reading up on the 90’s daytime talk show craze and the barrage of shows that cropped up during that period. We had the traditional tabloid type shows (Maury, Jenny Jones, Rolonda), the youth oriented Ricki Lake wannabes (Carnie!, Gabrielle, The Tempestt Bledsoe Show) and then there were a number of actors & actresses turning their hand to the genre (Vicki!, Marilu, Rosie, Roseanne). Irish TV never really jumped on the bandwagon, most likely for budgetary reasons but we had access to most of the US shows on Sky TV (Oprah aired on the national broadcaster RTE). UK TV had been doing it since the 80’s (Kilroy) but upped the ante in the 90’s with a string of female led talkers (Vanessa, Esther, Lowri and Chrystal Rose).

What, if any, did people watch and what are your memories of those shows? I watched Ricki Lake and Montel Williams, mainly because they were the ones that would be on when I got in from school (they both aired in the 5pm slot on Channel 4). I remember thinking Ricki was pretty outrageous and the show’s taglines used to make me laugh. Of course, like a lot of people at the time, I watched Jerry Springer when it premiered over here because it was so notoriously OTT. While I didn’t watch a lot of the celebrity led shows, I find it fascinating how many people had their own shows. It was like they were handing out talk shows to anyone with any kind of profile in the mid-90’s (The Danny Bonaduce Show being one I’d love to know the thought process for).

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

OMG!

Talk about the gutter of media gutters! There was something about the tone of 1990s scandals -- celebrity or otherwise -- which just knocked on the doorway to at least a couple of Dante's levels of hell.

In retrospect, it's interesting... The media, and Hollywood, became much more tabloid in the '80s, but that seemed to give birth to something uniquely vile in the '90s.

And those '90s talk shows were certainly part of the toxic brew of the era... JERRY SPRINGER, which became the flagship trashy talk show of the time, actually started out as a serious political news show attempting to emulate the fading DONAHUE but quickly plopped into the toilet with its "talk to the hand!" stuff... GERALDO had his nazi dogfight episode (actually, that was 1988 but it seemed to usher in the whole trend)... MONTEL WILLIAMS entire show seemed to revolve around that bleache-blonde geriatric psychic Sylvia Browne... JENNY JONES was brought down by a gay guest's murder plot by an insane closet-case he'd lusted after ... MAURY started his "who's-the-daddy?" scenarios he'd continue for years.. ROSIE O'DONNELL had a big hit show where she was promoted as "the queen of nice" when she was, in fact, a bitch on wheels behind the scenes and it finally brought down her program.

And OPRAH had the good taste to announce in the early-'90s that she would no longer host topics like lesbian necrophiliac hookers unless it was just absolutely necessary.

Amy Fisher, Joey Buttafuoco, John Bobbitt, Monica Lewinsky, the tunnel in Paris, O.J., Tonya Harding, et al...

Jesus, what sins did we commit to deserve all this??

It's as if we all moved into one big trailer park -- and perhaps we're so used to it now, we just don't notice it anymore. Where the Kardashians seem like "royalty."

 

[Daniel Avery]

People had seen how much money could be made in first-run syndication in the period. They thought they could create (or BE) the next Oprah or Geraldo, or at least the next Sally if they weren't as ambitious. Since it became more about the exploitative topics than the host, it did not matter if the host they chose was a bad fit. The producers were much more to blame for the wretched excesses of these shows than the hosts, since they were the ones who chose to go for trash rather than meaningful examinations of current topics. They saw that one year of a terrible, flash-in-the-pan show would make them a lot more money than three years of a quietly respectable program. Many shows went from respectable to trashy (Donahue comes to mind almost immediately) once the producers realized that was where the nation was heading. The aforementioned Sally (as in Sally Jessy Raphael) also intentionally drove into the gutter despite her having brought a respected journalistic career with her to the show. I'd also say the producers likely gave her no choice.

People like Carnie Wilson and Tempestt Bledsoe were known for other talents (singing and acting, respectively) and it seemed ridiculous even at the time to have them heading up a talk show. Jenny Jones had been a stand-up comic from what I recall, having won on Star Search (!!). Geraldo's reputation as a journalist took a well-deserved hit, though he continued to work until just a few years ago. Maury Povich seemed to embrace the tabloid/trashy reputation and never did "respectable" journalism again, which tells me the money had to have been really good.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I remember one, telling event when a couple did the TV talk show rounds presenting themselves as a variety of sex perverts.

They got on DONAHUE, OPRAH, GERALDO and SALLY JESSY RAPHAEL.

Once their experiment was done, they went public with their scam to show the world how easily fooled these shows, their hosts, their audiences could be. It created a minor scandal.

But it was the hosts' varied reactions which were the most revealing: Donahue and Oprah shrugged it off with a philosophical "well, I guess they fooled us" reaction. But Geraldo Rivera threatened to beat the couple up. And Sally had them back on her show and screamed at the top of her lungs at them, "You've ruined my life...!!"

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

It's as if we all moved into one big trailer park -- and perhaps we're so used to it now, we just don't notice it anymore. Where the Kardashians seem like "royalty."

Yes, I definitely think that reality TV became the successor to the tabloid talk shows as they featured similar conflicts and dramas, albeit in ongoing settings. The various dramas of the Kardashian family alone, as portrayed in their shows, could’ve filled a couple of seasons of Ricki Lake.

People like Carnie Wilson and Tempestt Bledsoe were known for other talents (singing and acting, respectively) and it seemed ridiculous even at the time to have them heading up a talk show

The season that they premiered (1995-1996) also featured the talk show debuts of Gabrielle Carteris, Danny Bonaduce and George Hamilton & Alana Stewart, none of whom had journalistic backgrounds or had presented talk shows previously. That year appears to have been the peak for random celeb talk show commissions.

UK TV never really went in for the celeb fronted talkers although following her departure from Coronation Street after 25 years, soap queen Julie Goodyear made a pilot for a daytime talk show with Granada. It wasn’t picked up and I think the perception at the time was that the public were only interested in seeing Julie as her Corrie character Bet, not as Julie. She’d eventually do a stint hosting LiveTime, a kind of phone in talk show on lifestyle satellite channel Granada Breeze.

Once their experiment was done, they went public with their scam to show the world how easily fooled these shows, their hosts, their audiences could be. It created a minor scandal.

I’m sure they were one of many to pull the wool over producers eyes. Well known Irish drag queen Panti (Rory O’Neill) appeared on Maury in the 90’s alongside his “sister” Katherine, where they shared tales from their childhood before Panti underwent a “back to boy” makeover. Only Katherine wasn’t his sister but his friend, comedienne and actress Katherine Lynch, who happened to be in the pub with Rory when he got the email invite to come on the show.

 

[tommie]

Ricki Lake was my favourite and God was it good.

I mean, here's an episode about my problem:

 

[Rove]

The various dramas of the Kardashian family alone, as portrayed in their shows

The problem with that mob is it's scripted reality. I cannot stand that genre and it's one of the reasons why I rarely watch commercial television. I noted Netflix began to tip toe into this market but I cancelled that service several months ago and nothing is there which interests my return.

Of all the Daytime Shows I would occasionally watch Oprah once she moved away from car-crash subjects but I stopped watching it when it felt like a vehicle for an actor to peddle their upcoming movie. The one I use to laugh out loud at was Jerry Springer because it reinstated a popular saying outside the USA; "Only in America."

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yes, the reality shows -- which just weren't ever my style -- were also a response to the fact that cable-TV was exploding (along with home video and the Internet) and there were now countless formats and venues, the audience divided and diminished as a result of all the stations and choices, and the reality shows were cheap to produce.

For those reasons, I'm not sure we'll ever emerge from the swill. They still need a genre which is (usually) inexpensive, absurdly hyperbolic, and fairly easy to make. So, the reality shows and the performance competition shows continue to rule, and likely will for a long time.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

The problem with that mob is its scripted reality. I cannot stand that genre and it's one of the reasons why I rarely watch commercial television

I find scripted reality to be an awful genre too, although there is something I find strangely compelling about how much of their personal lives that these people are willing to expose in their pursuit of fame. Nothing seems to be off the table on the likes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills but if you want to see real desperation, have a look at Hunter Tylo’s arc on the awful Queens of Drama from a few years ago.

For those reasons, I'm not sure we'll ever emerge from the swill. They still need a genre which is (usually) inexpensive, absurdly hyperbolic, and fairly easy to make. So, the reality shows and the performance competition shows continue to rule, and likely will for a long time.

Courtroom shows and panel shows kind of took over in the daytime space too. Since the demise of The Jeremy Kyle Show in the UK, there are now no daytime talk shows of that kind on UK TV while I think Steve Wilkos is the last man standing in the US. Jeremy Kyle’s show was awfully exploitative, so it isn’t missed, but I think there is room on the schedules for a more balanced show in the traditional talk style.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Most of the talk shows being pushed right now are light chat, celebrity interviews, and fluffy topics, and much more host-centered.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Oprah and Donahue are the two I remember watching quite often back then. Their shows seemed the most “normal” to me at the time as well as the most informative without all the circus antics.

That being said I did watch Springer at first just to see what all the hoopla was about. It was definitely entertaining but I became bored with it very quickly. To me every Springer show seemed the same after awhile.

I thought Ricki Lake was underrated. Enjoyed her as a host and the show could be very good when it stuck to the more serious topics.

Sally Jesse Raphael felt like a very boring show to me. I don’t think she was necessarily the problem but the show never felt that important to watch in my opinion compared to the other ones.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Most of the talk shows being pushed right now are light chat, celebrity interviews, and fluffy topics, and much more host-centered.

Yes, the current trend with Drew Barrymore, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson is more in line with the traditional Regis & Kathy Lee type format of celeb chat mixed with cooking and someone possibly belting out a song.

Oprah and Donahue are the two I remember watching quite often back then. Their shows seemed the most “normal” to me at the time as well as the most informative without all the circus antics.

I’ve only ever seen clips of Donahue as he aired as filler in the middle of the night here but Oprah definitely felt like the “classiest” of the daytime talkers. The production values seemed higher and the discussions were a bit more respectful. Not that I watched her with any regularity but considering she was airing on three different channels at the same time here, it was hard to miss her.

That being said I did watch Springer at first just to see what all the hoopla was about. It was definitely entertaining but I became bored with it very quickly. To me every Springer show seemed the same after awhile.

Agreed. There was that wow factor initially but the novelty factor wore off after you’ve watched the umpteenth brawl.

I thought Ricki Lake was underrated. Enjoyed her as a host and the show could be very good when it stuck to the more serious topics.

As mentioned before, by virtue of scheduling, she’s the one that I watched most regularly. Considering her background wasn’t in journalism, I thought she was quite a good host.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

And then there are the satanic, tone-deaf wraiths of THE VIEW -- premiering in 1997 under the auspices of Barabara Walters and still airing today with high numbers (by contemporary standards) in America.... Those bitches have no idea that their broadcast audience tunes in to hate them, they're so damned stupid.

I don't know if anybody sees it outside of The States.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I’ve only ever seen clips of Donahue as he aired as filler in the middle of the night here

I see. I remember here in the U.S. watching it in the afternoon sometime, usually after the daytime soaps.

Oprah definitely felt like the “classiest” of the daytime talkers. The production values seemed higher and the discussions were a bit more respectful

I tend to agree. For me she always had the best show. She was the best host imo and her show always seemed to tackle the toughest topics but without ever going off the rails or losing the respect of the viewers.

As mentioned before, by virtue of scheduling, she’s the one that I watched most regularly. Considering her background wasn’t in journalism, I thought she was quite a good host.

Ricki was very sensible as a host but at the same time she could make things fun. Never thought she got enough credit. Her show was definitely memorable.

THE VIEW

I think it’s traveled a long way from what it was first intended as. I used to enjoy it in the beginning but the fighting and arguing has become too prevalent now. I used to find it entertaining but now it’s just all kind of annoying.

 

[CeeCee72]

And then there are the satanic, tone-deaf wraiths of THE VIEW -- premiering in 1997 under the auspices of Barabara Walters and still airing today with high numbers (by contemporary standards) in America.... Those bitches have no idea that their broadcast audience tunes in to hate them, they're so damned stupid.

I don't know if anybody sees it outside of The States.

I honestly don't know how this thing stays on the air. Even as a liberal, they all grate on my nerves. They are actually HURTING the causes they claim to care about.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I don't know if anybody sees it outside of The States.

It doesn’t air here now but I’m nearly sure it had a run on one of the satellite channels like Living at some stage. The thing with The View is that a lot of its topics are so US-centric (understandably) that it doesn’t travel well in the same way that the tabloid talk shows did. Plus, we have/had local versions of it here instead. Loose Women, the British version of The View, has been running for years while here in Ireland, a bargain basement version of it ran for a while on TV3 (Midday, later retitled Elaine) where they had no studio audience or celeb guests, just a handful of women behind a desk in a studio.

I see. I remember here in the U.S. watching it in the afternoon sometime, usually after the daytime soaps.

I think Sky One may have aired the show in the afternoon here but it was long before I had satellite TV. On terrestrial TV, which I did have access to, he was only ever listed at 3am on ITV, back in the day when they used to put a bit of effort into programming their overnight schedules.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I honestly don't know how this thing stays on the air. Even as a liberal, they all grate on my nerves. They are actually HURTING the causes they claim to care about.

Yes, I can only watch it on rare occasions -- usually when my self-esteem is low. It's sooooo awful.

THE VIEW is a media mouthpiece for the Democratic party -- which is no longer very liberal, all the bells and whistles to the contrary. THE VIEW is woke, regressively progressive, and, yes, hurts the leftist cause with its shamelessness and stupidity.

Sunny Hostin is the "smartest" one but that makes her the worst -- and she's the smuggest cow on television, with her faux bearing of authority and grifting. Joy Behar used to be a decent stand-up comic but has morphed into your least-favorite, loud-mouthed, Henna'd Jewish aunt (only she's not Jewish) at Thanksgiving who can't shut her ignorant mouth. Pretty-but-vile Ana Navarro is, I'm convinced, mentally ill and a future suicide victim. And Whoopi Goldberg used to be a voice of reason, but those days are long passed.

Only Sara on the left and Alyssa on the right (physically and politically) are reasonable, seemingly non-narcissistic people.

But these female-paneled chat shows tend towards this kind of stuff. The guys are left in the dust, so the male-dominated discussion shows just don't generate the same heat.

 

[tommie]

Just because the ladies of The View worships the dark lord does not mean they're simply satanic.

They're horrible shrills too. Give them some credit.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

But these female-paneled chat shows tend towards this kind of stuff. The guys are left in the dust, so the male-dominated discussion shows just don't generate the same heat.

Does anyone remember (I certainly don’t) The Other Half, the supposed male version of The View that ran for two seasons in the early 00’s? It featured the motley crew of Dick Clark, Mario Lopez, Danny Bonaduce and Dorian Gregory.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Does anyone remember (I certainly don’t) The Other Half, the supposed male version of The View that ran for two seasons in the early 00’s? It featured the motley crew of Dick Clark, Mario Lopez, Danny Bonaduce and Dorian Gregory.

Sounds familiar but I don't think I saw it.