90’s Daytime Talk Shows

Frank Underwood

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Having grown up in the 90s, I have a lot of nostalgia for those trashy daytime talk shows. They were the thing to watch when I was on summer break or home sick.

Between my love for daytime talk shows and primetime soaps, it's a wonder I'm so well-adjusted (relatively speaking.)
 
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Snarky Oracle!

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Having grown up in the 90s, I have a lot of nostalgia for those trashy daytime talk shows. They were the thing to watch when I was on summer break or home sick.

It's a wonder I'm so well-adjusted (relatively speaking.)

Yes, I was relieved that the '80s disingenuous emperor's new clothes dynamic was over, but it was replaced by a wildly crass scandal-raking zeitgeist which was both mesmerizing and soul-sucking simultaneously.

I'm sure we've already discussed in this thread (which I choose not to re-read) the Tonya-Harding-Amy-Fisher-Joey-Buttafuoco-Elena-Bobbitt extravaganza that seemed to define the '90s decade's underbelly, and the Jerry Springer-esque daytime chat shows which gave us our hourly fix of the bottomless smarm.

I had limited tolerance for it, but was not immune. And could ramble on about it endlessly, much as I can now. Minimal insight is necessary, much like the shows themselves.

Somehow, for me, it all seemed to crescendo with Anna Nicole Smith's drug death in 2006. And I'm not sure why.

Last night's first installment of TRASH TALK was acceptable, providing an historical overview and adequate contextualization. I'll probably watch Part 2 next week, if I don't forget because my corpus collosum has solidified.

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Snarky Oracle!

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Somehow, for me, it all seemed to crescendo with Anna Nicole Smith's drug death in 2006. And I'm not sure why.

Anna Nicole Smith's son's drug death in 2005 and his mother's drug death months later was parallel to Britney Spears' simultaneous first public meltdown. Both women were expected to not survive it, and Anna Nicole obviously did not.

(Anna Nicole and Britney Spears both were Sun in Sagittarius/Libra Rising --- can no one see this, people???)

Yes, the '90s were over. And 9/11 killed it. But the '05/'06 meltdown of the bombed bombshell blondes always felt like a 1990s death rattle.

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Carrie Fairchild

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The daytime talk genre has taken a bit of a hit this week, with the announcements that The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri will both end after their current seasons. Clarkson’s show is ending as she takes a step back to spend time with family whereas Shepherd’s axing seems to be down to costs, although they are looking at doing a version of it on other platforms.

When these two end, it’ll leave only five daytime talk shows - Jennifer Hudson and Drew Barrymore as the only celeb led talk shows, Karamo and The Steve Wilkos Show being the last standing throwbacks to the trashier shows of the 90’s/00’s and Tamron Hall, which I think is a mix of celeb chat and real life.
 

Daniel Avery

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Tamron Hall, which I think is a mix of celeb chat and real life.
I recall how she marketed her show when it was set to premiere. She gave the impression that she, as a serious journalist (emphasis hers, not mine) would be doing a show that was more thoughtful, deeper and more hard-hitting than the fluffy, tacky stuff we typically saw on daytime talk. Not really a fan of hers, I took her on her word and just ignored her show.

Fast forward to last September, when my local ABC affiliate shifted General Hospital from 2pm to 3pm, placing Tamron Hall into the 2pm slot. I tune into that station about 2:55 to watch GH, so I sit through the last two or three minutes of her show. Serious Journalist Tamron Hall is now rattling on about "the Tam Fam" (her name for the collective fans/viewers of the show as if she's a cult leader) and thanking the guest from the cooking segment they just had, or giving away gadgets that were demonstrated by a Home Shopping guru. The studio audience is obviously instructed to loudly and enthusiastically applaud for no apparent reason, forcing Hall to literally yell the final lines of the episode as she signs off. The feeling overall is that some focus group got hold of her at some point early on and told her that "serious journalism" has no place in daytime talk, and if she wanted to survive she'd have to turn up the "Oh, girl!!" vibe and let the fake enthusiasm sweep over her.
 

Carrie Fairchild

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The feeling overall is that some focus group got hold of her at some point early on and told her that "serious journalism" has no place in daytime talk, and if she wanted to survive she'd have to turn up the "Oh, girl!!" vibe and let the fake enthusiasm sweep over her.
I’d love to know what the original premise of Karamo’s show was because it’s official YouTube channel describes it as “a talk show focused on mental health, talking and growing” but the first video beneath it is titled “You smell like a cheater” followed by various “phone unlock” reveals (which are presumably the new version of Maury’s paternity tests).
 

Daniel Avery

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Maury Povich, like his lovely wife Connie Chung, started out as a regular journalist/reporter and eventually became anchor/host of A Current Affair. I think his time on that "news program of dubious value" typecasted him as "purveyor of sleaze"---even if he could have course-corrected into mainstream news, the public seemed to equate his presence with lowest common denominator-type material. So when his time on A Current Affair ended, he joined the goat rodeo we saw with all the other hosts and their dregs of society as guests/exhibits.
 

Snarky Oracle!

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Maury Povich, like his lovely wife Connie Chung, started out as a regular journalist/reporter and eventually became anchor/host of A Current Affair. I think his time on that "news program of dubious value" typecasted him as "purveyor of sleaze"---even if he could have course-corrected into mainstream news, the public seemed to equate his presence with lowest common denominator-type material. So when his time on A Current Affair ended, he joined the goat rodeo we saw with all the other hosts and their dregs of society as guests/exhibits.

"Lovely"? Really??
 

Daniel Avery

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Every time I think of Connie I'm reminded of the hilarious guest appearances she made on Late Night (on NBC) and The Late Show (CBS) with David Letterman. He was heavily, comically flirting with her, and she tried to keep the conversation going as best she could. She would appear to promote her show, Saturday Night With Connie Chung and Dave would flippantly refer to the show as Hey Hey, It's Connie, giving the impression he had done NO preparation for the interview . Whenever the subject of her husband would come up, Dave would refer to "Murray" :p and she would dutifully correct him, only for Dave to say "Yeah, whatever...." under his breath, treating "Murray" as his competition for her attentions. It was a running gag for years, so referring to her as "the Lovely Connie Chung" is my homage to Dave Letterman's introductions over the years.
 
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Snarky Oracle!

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Every time I think of Connie I'm reminded of the hilarious guest appearances she made on Late Night (on NBC) and The Late Show (CBS) with David Letterman. He was heavily, comically flirting with her, and she tried to keep the conversation going as best she could. She would appear to promote her show, Saturday Night With Connie Chung and Dave would flippantly refer to the show as Hey Hey, It's Connie, giving the impression he had done NO preparation for the interview . Whenever the subject of her husband would come up, Dave would refer to "Murray" :p and she would dutifully correct him, only for Dave to say "Yeah, whatever...." under his breath, treating "Murray" as his competition for her attentions. It was a running gag for years, so referring to her as "the Lovely Connie Chung" is my homage to Dave Letterman's introductions over the years.

I guess I've always had a particular view of the Pauvich/Chung couple.

I did see her once at Rockefeller Center eons ago.
 
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