Imagine my surprise when I opened up my newspaper this morning — I mean, double clicked on that purdy little Firefox icon on my desktop — and saw the headlines: Jerry Springer and Maury Povich have had their eponymous schlockfests renewed through 2010. Good God, who the hell knew these shows were even on TV anymore? And, perhaps more to the point, who gives a hoot? (Sure, someone must, because they’re getting renewed. But still.)
Get this: Jerry has been on for 17 years and Maury has been on for 10. I have never really watched Mr. Connie Chung’s current "talk" show because, frankly, the pain is too great to bear. See, I grew up watching Maur — son of the great Washington Post sportswriter Shirley Povich — anchor Panorama on D.C.’s channel 5 in the 1970s. He was so smart, so handsome, so trustworthy. The future seemed unlimited for the young journalist back then; I never imagined that he would cash out so completely. Jerry, on the other hand, with his less-than stellar political career long in the past, has always served a purpose on TV, filling a vital, lowbrow niche. After all, every incestuous hermaphrodite who has cheated on his/her husband/wifewith his/her mother/father/brother/sister needs a national media outletto clear his/her mind. And, for a time, around, oh, 1997, I was part of the host’s fan base. It’s hard to forget what a big deal the guy was: I remember one meeting at EW circa the summer of 1998 when we spent a good half hour discussing how we were going to cover some big episode of Jer’s show in which a guest admitted to making sexy time with his pony.
But, man, those days are over, aren’t they? Of course, you could argue that Jerry Springer sorta gave birth to the out-of-control salacious gossip media machine of today. But it’s hard to imagine that a story about a man marrying his horse would have nearly as big an impact on the zeitgeist now — in the post-Lewinsky, post-9/11 era of Al Qaeda and anthrax and Iraq — as it did a decade ago. Don’t you agree, PopWatchers? Do you still watch these guys? Where have all the transvestite cowboys gone?
Comments (1-30) of 30 Add your comment
Maury’s been on more than 10 years; I went to a taping on a high school trip back in 1992. Or is this show a new incarnation born in ‘97? Well, regardless, someone should put these shows to rest.
Who watches them?
Super obese men and women with Alfred E. Newman gapped teeth who cheat on their cousins, who are their sisters,and their brothers, while the sisters and brothers fool around with their pet goats who turn out to be thier grandparents! That’s who.
I don’t really watch Springer anymore, but Maury Povich is a guilty pleasure. Whenever I’m having a glum day, I flip it on and I feel a lot better about myself five minutes in the episode.
..but without Maury how will 85% of all of America’s Baby Daddy drama be settled?
I DIDN’T THINK THOSE SYUPID SHOWS EXISTED ANYMORE. WOW. PITIFUL.
My dad. My dad watches Springer. He’s 68. I’m 35 and have never seen either show. Well, I’ve seen Springer in passing (my dad), but never sat through more than 5-6 min. I think teenagers and the seniors like to be shocked by it all. The teens seeing it for the 1st time, and the seniors amazed that anyone would actually discuss this stuff in public.
During daytime tv, there are only soaps or trash tv with commericals for bail bonds. They are aiming at a very low demographic, and so smut sells best.
Trashy people have to watch something, right? Well there you go. And wow…it feels like Maury has been on forever. But only 10 years, huh?
Woah, Josh Rich is from DC? I can’t hate on a fellow Washingtonian. Darn it!
Time to pick on Kirschling some more then…
When my son was a newborn and woke up for his 3 A.M. feedings, I used to watch Jerry Springer because there was usually nothing else on except infomercials. My son doesn’t seem to hold it against me, so I guess no lasting harm was done. The appeal of Maury Povich escapes me, though, because he has the same three shows on all the time (I know because of the promos). Who’s the Daddy paternity test results shows, bad kids going to boot camp shows, and “you cheated on me with my OWN SISTER!!” shows. You see one of each of these shows, you’ve seen the Maury Povich show. Why both of them are still on escapes me. Oh, well, I could say the same thing about The View. Ever since Rosie left, that show has run out of gas. Cancel all three of ‘em and put some new stuff on.
Oh, My… 10 years of Maury.. I went to a taping in 1995 or 1996.. I love it now and then.. It is my guilty pleasure. I take a quick break from my job to watch for a few minutes. I can’t believe people put all their business out there like that. But… if Maury plays it, I will watch!!!
I only wish he could have brokered the deal for Mel. B and Eddie Murphy’s DNA results. That would have been great… I agree with Ceballos because I need to know how the 85% of the Who’s the Baby Daddy is resolved. I will continue to program those episodes in my DVR and enjoy every shout fest, chair- moving over, that’s not my son’s baby grandma confrontation and child support avoidance dance from the non-fathers. BRING IT ON!!!
Maury had this one woman on who was going through men like sweet tea in the heat trying to figure out which one was the father of her kids. She was on like ‘potential baby daddy #12′ a couple of years ago. Anybody know if she ever found him?
jerry springer is so 1995. they need to bring back jenny jones, sally, and ricki lake.
everyone knows that they really need to put richard bey back on the air (dripping piles of sarcasm)! he was the king of all of this madness.
I felt the same way when I heard that these two shows were renewed. I thought this whole time that they were reruns!
I’m not going to lie, when I have a day off, I watch Maury. I started watching it in college when I didn’t have any classes or meetings to go to. So, I sat in my dorm room and watched Maury declare one guy after another wasn’t some woman’s baby’s daddy. I still tune in when I’m really bored and need to be super amused, but they were guilty pleasures back then. They are smut, but I think that’s why half of America watches it, not b/c they are smut themselves, but b/c it’s funny to watch people act a little ignorant on TV. It’s sad too, which has led to some interesting commentary from me and my friends. It’s not meant to be taken seriously.
Geez, I would have said Maury was on LONGER than 10 yrs. I remember his show being called “The Maury Povich Show”, I think it was moved to another network and then shortened to just “Maury”.
Maury has fat babies too. Don’t forget fat babies!
My mom and I wound up going into a taping of Maury because his college interns needed to fill seats. I think it was “my obnoxious teenage daughter needs to be sent to boot camp” and Maury had a drill instructor come in and scary the ju ju bees out of them. Maury was a bit less trashier than Jerry (plus when Springer was the mayor of Cincinatti, he was busted for having an affair with a prostitute…)but still either put these shows on at 3 AM or just cancel them already.
Maury isn’t reruns? Wow. I knew Springer was still only because VH1 (I think) has a reality show called The Springer Hustle that goes back stage and shows how the producers find the crazy people on the show. It shows how they talk these people into fighting and doing all the crazy crap on stage.
Jerry Springer is just too painful to watch, not to mention, to even flip through. But I looooove Maury Povich! Especially when they have the paternity test and the makeover shows. The outrageousness of these shows never gets old!
http://amwt.blogspot.com
who cares about jerry and maury? apparently, you do! or this article would not have been written.
%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0AHi%2C+all.+Nice+site…I+really+like+your+site+%21+Good+job+man.
kill all daytime t.v it’s trash.
My 71 year old widowed mother has watched these for years. An otherwise-intelligent person, she says she watches these to remind herself that her life isn’t so bad after all. It’s sad that she or anyone feels the need or desire to watch this kind of programming. We live in different states, and when I visit I can’t sit in the same room when these shows are on.
our society is sick. with hollywood celebs. springer, povich, oprah, banks montel, the view this country is going down hill fast. how sad that this is called entertainment.
i wish povice, springer, tyra, oprah, montel, judge judy, judge mathis, judege brown, judge whoever would die a slow death like they are doing to our society. what in the hell happened to good manners and good taste?
i wish povice, springer, tyra, oprah, montel, judge judy, judge mathis, judege brown, judge whoever would die a slow death like they are doing to our society. what in the hell happened to good manners and good taste?
kubis
Hi everyone i am fairdealondebt i want to discuss with you according to debt problem if you have
any problem so you are with us we provide service just like………….Fair Deal on Debt CIC is
a non- profitable organization.We provide services as Fair deal on debt,Debt management,Debt
advice,Energy efficiency,Debt counseling,Energy saving,Credit Card Debt,loan schemes,personal
loan,trade credit loan scheme,consumer loan scheme,personal loan for salaried women,personal loan
for real estate builder,personal loan for pensioners……or you can also visit us at
http://www.fairdealondebt.com
Thanks..