'''The Jerry Springer Show''' (first aired
September 30,
1991) is an internationally known
American television
tabloid talk show, hosted by
Jerry Springer, a former politician. It is videotaped at the
NBC Tower studios of
WMAQ-TV in
Chicago and is distributed by
NBC Universal, although it does not currently air on any NBC-owned stations. A popular show, it has aired during the high morning, afternoon, and late night hours of many syndicated TV stations since the early 1990s.
''The Jerry Springer Show'' is ostensibly a talk show where troubled or
dysfunctional families come to discuss their problems before a studio audience so that the audience or host can offer suggestions on what can be done to resolve their situations. In actuality, the show has come to epitomize the so-called "
trash TV talk show", as each episode of the show focuses on a lurid topic that usually involves sex, racism, marital jealousy, the
Ku Klux Klan, and other prurient subjects. Typical topics of discussion on the show include unusual extra-marital affairs, vicious rivalries between families, rebellious and promiscuous teenagers, strippers and
adult movie stars, and the like. Some of the strangest confessions include when a man admitted that he had married his horse, or a man who admitted he was an
emetophile. The show proudly boasts that it was once voted the "Worst TV Show Ever" by
TV Guide.
History
Early years
''The Jerry Springer Show'' logo from 1991 to 1993. The title used its
Peignot font.
''The Jerry Springer Show'' debuted on
September 30,
1991, with fellow talk-show host
Sally Jessy Raphaël as its first guest. Initially, both ''Springer'' and ''Sally'' were distributed by
Multimedia Entertainment, before ''Sally'' was sold to Universal in the mid '90s, with ''Springer'' at first going to the former Universal and later to
Studios USA.
It started as a politically-oriented talk show, a longer version of the commentary for which Springer had gained local fame as a reporter and anchor. Guests early on included
Oliver North and
Jesse Jackson, and the topics included
homelessness and
gun politics. Low
ratings led it to being run by a new producer, Richard Dominick. The search for higher ratings led Springer towards tawdry and provocative topics, becoming more and more successful as the show turned more and more lowbrow (although even then it successfully focused on more sensitive and less sensational issues). It became, through Springer's own admittance, a "
freak show" where guests seek their
15 minutes of fame through discussion and demonstrations of
deviant behavior. Its extraordinary success has led it to be broadcast in dozens of countries. The show gained so much popularity that for a while it was the number one daytime talk show in the United States.
In the early years, Springer presided over a talk show that was no different from the rest; conservative and somewhat political. It was said that "The original set was sleek but cold, and that Jerry exuded the appearance of a banker or an accountant."
1997-1998
In its heyday (the late 1990s) the show was quite popular (and controversial), so much so that it caused contemporaries like
Jenny Jones,
Maury Povich, and
Ricki Lake to "revamp" their own shows in order to improve ratings. Incidentally, the popularity of the "
trash TV" talk shows led to a decline in the number of
game shows that had traditionally been broadcast on weekday mornings.
In
1997 and
1998, the show reached its ratings peak, at one point becoming the first talk show in years to beat
Oprah. However, it was now almost nonstop fighting between guests. The
Chicago City Council suggested that if the fistfights and chair-throwing were real, then the guests should be arrested for committing acts of violence in the city. When asked whether the fights were genuine, Springer said, '"They look real to me."' He then criticized council members for not distinguishing between "violence on the streets of their city" and "rough-housing in our studios". Ultimately, the City Council chose not to pursue the matter.
Because of this probe and other external and internal pressures, the fighting was taken off the show temporarily. In fact, for a few weeks, harmless episodes from
1992 to
1994 were shown. The fighting soon came back by popular demand, although in somewhat edited form.
The show started to enjoy a cult status in the United Kingdom due to clips of it being shown on
Tarrant on TV. This led to its being so popular
ITV bought the terrestrial rights to the show to be shown on
ITV1 and
ITV2. It is still shown on digital cable and digital satellite channel,
Living TV but the show is edited to fit a 30 minute slot with a 3 minute commercial break. The show is no longer shown on ITV1 or ITV2 though Jerry Springer has had two series of his own show on ITV1 in 1999 and 2005.
Authenticity controversy
''Springer's 1993–2000 logo, most identified with the show's peak in popularity.
With the increasingly ridiculous nature of his guests' dilemmas (for example, stories such as ''"Daddy, will you marry me?"''), some critics even thought the stories and the guests were unreal and created by the show to gain ratings. Once, Charlie Clarke appeared on saying she was in love with her best friend … a dog called Oscar, they were married on the show and Charlie still works for DGS. Springer supposedly "swears on his life" that all his guests are real. The authenticity of Springer's guests is still being brought into question to this day. At least one "actor", professional wrestler
Jamie Crookshanks, (better known as J.C. Ice) has appeared on the show as a "guest". Other professional wrestlers such as
Pitbull #2 appeared under a different name alongside the
Iron Sheik on the program. Also Mad Man Pondo, Mean Mitch Page, and 2 Tough Tony, three wrestlers known mainly for wrestling for the IWA-Mid South promotion at the time featured in an episode called "Undercover Lovers." Pondo talked about this in a RF video interview and admitted the whole thing was fake and at the time the three were basically best friends.
In reality, the show flies groups of guests in from around the country based on phone conversations after retrieving messages from the show's phone line. Guests are usually not paid for their appearances on the show, but they do receive complimentary meals and hotel accommodations. Strippers and little people are sometimes called upon to be guests on the show, and instead of being paid, the businesses they work for are given free mention in the credits at the end of the show. During taping season, six shows are taped per week.
"Too Hot for TV"
During the show's most popular era in the late 1990s, ''The Jerry Springer Show'' released videotapes and later DVDs marketed as ''Too Hot for TV''. They contained uncensored clips from the show including
nudity,
profanity, and the more violent fights taped for the program. The releases sold remarkably well, and inspired similar sets from other series.
2000s
In
2000, Springer was given a five-year,
$30 million contract extension paying him $6 million per year.
As time wore on, the series gave up all pretense of being a "legitimate" talk show. Beginning in
2002, audience members were rewarded for
flashing with a set of plastic beads commonly called "Jerry Beads." Around this time numerous sound effects were added such as a "fight bell", a cow mooing, a
cash register dinging, a fart noise, a wrong answer buzzer sounding, a cricket chirping, a pig oinking, dinner bell chimes, a police car siren, a BOING!, a baby crying, and a shotgun cocking sound.
In
2003 a
stripper named Angie and a pole were added to the set, however the stripper was dropped after a couple of months, replaced at the pole by willing audience members. This is notable in the show entitled "Two Fat Men on a Pole."
The show started producing monthly specials that aired only on Pay-Per-View; these shows quickly dispensed with the formalities and featured almost non-stop swearing, fighting and nudity.
Starting with the
2005 season, director of security
Steve Wilkos occasionally hosted the show. These episodes usually featured Steve ripping lowdown men to shreds, and were more serious in tone than the typical "Springer" show. Prior to 2005, Steve had only hosted "wraparound" episodes, retrospectives of the best segments from previous shows.
On
January 16,
2006, it was announced that Springer signed a "multi year" contract with NBC Universal, renewing the show until at least the 2007-2008
syndicated season.
On
May 12,
2006, Springer celebrated his show's 3,000th episode by throwing a party on the show, and showed many clips, including rare excerpts from the first episode.
In early
2007, it was announced that
Steve Wilkos will leave ''Jerry Springer'' to host his own talk show beginning in the fall of 2007. The show will also be shot at the NBC studios in Chicago, and be produced by Richard Dominick (who will continue on with ''Springer'' as well).
On
July 15,
2007, it was announced that Springer was picked up from NBC Universal through the 2009-2010 season.
[1]
The show in popular culture
★ In an episode of ''
Married with Children'' ("No Ma'am" - 1993 Season 8, Ep 9) Jerry Springer makes an appearance by playing himself and hosting an "episode" of the ''Jerry Springer Show'', where he is bound and gagged by Al Bundy and his friends. In the episode Springer is known as "Jerry Springer the Masculine Feminist".
★ In an episode of ''
Survivor'' ("The Big Lie" - 2003 Season 7, Ep 13) Contestant
Jon Dalton commented in a confessional that his grandmother is home watching Jerry Springer after he lied to the other players in the game claiming that his grandma had died.
★ In a
1996 episode from the 9th and final season of ''
Roseanne'' (entitled "What a Day for a Daydream"), recent
lottery winner Roseanne daydreams and sees her and the family on an "episode" of ''The Jerry Springer Show''. The segment includes all the typical chaos of most any real episode of the
talk show, including Dan attempting to fight an audience member to defend his wife from being insulted.
★ In the
1996 comedy ''
The Cable Guy'',
Jim Carrey's character quotes one of Springer's "Final Thoughts."
★ In a
1998 episode from Season 4 of ''
The Wayans Bros.'',
Shawn and
Marlon appear as guests on ''The Jerry Springer Show'', and the host surprises the brothers by airing some dirty laundry about their new girlfriend Jasmine.
★ In
1998, Jerry Springer starred in a fictionalized version of the show in the movie ''
Ringmaster'', which flopped at the box office and with critics and Springer fans alike.
★ In
1999,
"Weird Al" Yankovic released his album ''
Running With Scissors'', which included the song "Jerry Springer", a parody of "
One Week" by
Barenaked Ladies. The song lists various outrageous people and acts watched on the show.
★ The
1999 comedy '' featured the show in its opening scene and closing credits.
★ In
2002, on the
NBC soap opera ''
Passions'', in a storyline that seemed ripped from ''TJS'', the character Eve feared that her daughter Whitney was having an affair with Chad, whom she believed was her son from a previous relationship at the time. Jerry Springer and his show would make a cameo appearance on ''Passions'' as ''The Larry Winger Show'' (the rights to the show's real name could not be secured), with Eve - in a
dream sequence appearing as Jerry's guest and being heckled by his audience.
★ In a
Halloween-themed episode of ''
The Simpsons'', the family appear on the show upon discovering that an alien character is really the father of
Maggie Simpson. Springer ends up being killed at the hands of Maggie.
★ The
Canadian sketch comedy ''
History Bites'' parodied the ''Jerry Springer Show'' in an episode called "Queen takes Queen, Checkmate" which centered around the rivalry between
Mary, Queen of Scots and
Elizabeth I.
★ Springer parodied the "Final Thoughts" portion of his show in the
VH1 series of specials ''
I Love the 90s'', appearing at the end of each year's segment to summarize the events that had taken place.
★ In an episode of
NBC's ''Most Outrageous TV Moments'', a clip from ''The Jerry Springer Show' was shown in which a guest called another a whore, spelling it ''"H O R E."'' Springer corrected her saying ''"On our show, there's a W there."''
★ Jerry Springer also made an appearance on an episode of ''
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch''. In the episode, Hilda and Willard Krafts ex-wife were arguing over a man, which prompted them to appear in a Springer-esque situation. When Hilda spoke, it was permeated by various censored beeps. Sabrina then tells Jerry ''"But they're not swearing."'' To this he responded ''"Yeah, but this makes it sound like they are."'', referencing the often exorbitant amount of profanity on the show. In the ''Sabrina'' universe, Jerry Springer has magic powers.
★ In 1998, the show was featured in ''
The X-Files'', the episode "
The Post-modern Prometheus", where a woman went with her were-wolf baby, and at the end when the protagonist went to the show with her physically deformed baby.
★ In the movie ''
BASEketball'', the bar scene with Coop, Reemer, Squeak and Joey were watching ''The Jerry Springer Show''. Coop made the comment "Oh, look. Jerry Springer is on. Ok, guys, we drink every time a fight breaks out." The scene ends with all the characters drunk.
★ In an episode of ''
George Lopez'', Jerry appeared as an old 'acquaintance' of George's mother.
★ ''MAD'' magazine also stated that the show is a 'trailer trash favorite' and that it 'averages six transvestite hookers a week'.
★ On an episode of ''
MADtv'', ''Jerry'' is ticketed by ''Bunifah Latifah Halifah Sharifah Jackson'', who is a police officer in this sketch, played by
Debra Wilson. Bunifah is an avid fan and procures tickets to the show from Jerry, but ends up ticketing him anyway.
See also
★ ''
Jerry Springer - The Opera'' - A British opera based on the show.
★ ''
The Springer Hustle'' - A
Vh1 show documenting how the show is made
References
1. tvweek.com/news
External links
★
Official site
★
Universal TV Site
★
Jump The Shark: The Jerry Springer Show
★
★
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