Steve Wilkos - a talk show host that takes no prisoners (The Steve Wilkos Show)

Member Name: jesperado

Product:	The Steve Wilkos Show
Date:	09/04/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting viewing

Disadvantages: Exploitative in parts

WHAT IS IT:
The Steve Wilkos Show is an American talk show filmed in Chicago and hosted by Steve Wilkos who previously worked as bodyguard on The Jerry Springer show and regularly took over hosting duties whenever Jerry was not free for filming. The show is at the more outrageous end of the chat show spectrum but is a lot more serious than Jerry's show. The Steve Wilkos show deals with subjects such as drug abuse and alcoholism, child neglect, domestic violence, prostitution and paedophilia. Steve is very hard on his guests who have often done unthinkable things to friends, family members, strangers or themselves. Although most of the shows take place in the studio, there are occasional episodes in which Steve works with a team to perform an intervention for women involved in prostitution or drug use. The guests that Steve is so tough on are often brought to the show by family members who are concerned about them or concerned about the safety of others around them.

STEVE WILKOS:
Before making the transition to talk show host, Steve was a popular member of Jerry Springer's team of bodyguards that intervened whenever a fight broke out on stage. Steve often featured in the end credit segment of the show as he walked backstage with the outrageous guests asking them inane questions and generally making jokes. This sense of humour is not really part of his talk show and he is often intimidating and aggressive with guests who have preyed on the weaknesses of others in the past. This tough side of him can be explained by his many years of service in the Marine Corps and the Chicago Police Department. He often talks about duty and responsibility and frequently mentions the importance of family. Although he often shouts at and squares up to would-be bigshots, he often tries to help those who are willing to accept responsibility for their mistakes and want to make things right.

THE GUESTS:
Many of the guests on the show are really quite awful. There are often programmes about parents who have neglected or abandoned their children in favour of drug use and have even turned to prostitution to pay for their drug habits. There are some truly heartbreaking stories of child abuse in which Steve uses a lie detector to prove that the parent has indeed done horrific things to their own children. These episodes make for extremely bleak viewing and many verge on exploitative and make the viewer feel as though they are in the audience for a public lynching rather than watching a daytime talk show. I would advise that you don't watch this programme to frequently as each time you hear one of these terrible stories, you become just a fraction more desensitised to the pain and suffering of the victims in these situations.

OVERVIEW:
If you are expecting the wacky and outrageous silliness of Springer, you'll be in for a shock in this show. This is certainly not feelgood TV but it is interesting to watch Wilko's trying to trip up cocky abusers in the same way that it is interesting to watch detectives interviewing suspects in a good cop drama.

Summary: A hard hitting talk show that should only be taken in small doses