Jerry, Jerry, Jerry! (Jerry Springer Show, The)

Member Name: daseaford

Product:	Jerry Springer Show, The
Date:	12/04/01 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good entertainment.

Disadvantages: Not real.

If this is how Americans behave then I am quite happy to stay on this side of the pond.

But, I do not believe that the Jerry Springer Show reflects how the majority of Americans react to each other, well I certainly hope not.

When the show starts the audience have already been fired up to almost a point of hysteria. Whoever their warm-up man is he certainly does a very good job. When the guests are introduced onto the stage to tell their story they are all very sure of themselves and manage to relate their story in a coherent way. As most of these people are supposedly new to television it is obvious that a lot of grooming and rehearsing has gone on before the programme has started. That is not bad as somebody mumbling on about what has happened to them would very quickly deteriorate into a farce.

But why do people appear on the show? I assume part of the attraction must be to travel to Chicago and be put up in a hotel for a couple of days, which I expect the TV company pays for. Maybe they just want to be on television and don’t mind how silly they look, they just want their 15 minutes of fame. Some may even expect to have their problem solved, but that really is wishful thinking.

I find it very hard to believe that a couple would agree to appear on the show, travel all the way to the Chicago and not even ask each other why they are appearing? No, it is very set up. The false look of surprise on some of the guest’s faces is just laughable.

The surreal surroundings of a supposedly disused warehouse also add to the image that this is not real life. In my opinion this is very deliberate, so that the viewing public do not take the show too seriously.

So if this programme is so awful why do I find myself looking for the Living cable channel so that I can watch the next programme. I think it must be the absurdity of the show. People are shown behaving in a way that is not normally ever seen in public and t
he members of the audience feel they can comment on the guests behaviour in any way they want as they are protected by a bunch of Jerry’s minders.

There are many occasions in life when you see somebody and you would like to tell them exactly what you thought of them or their behaviour, well the audience of the show have this chance, and because they have been wound up into a frenzy they are not shy about speaking their mind.

There is obviously a terrific amount of editing that goes on before a show is broadcast and I should imagine that many of the guests are dropped before the “Final Comment” session is recorded.

Jerry Springer himself actually plays a very minor role in the show, but he is the catalyst that fires up the programme. Whether you love or hate this programme, it is very difficult to turn it off, as you always want to see how the partners are going to react.

Keep on Jerry. I know that if I am ever lucky enough to visit Chicago I will be on the website (http://www.studiosusa.com/jerry/) applying for free tickets for the show before I leave this country, and yes I probably will be shouting “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.”

Summary: