Some Schpilkes for Wilkos

   I had the rare opportunity to take in the one and only Steve Wilkos show this past week. You remember Steve Wilkos, the former Chicago police officer turned head of security for Jerry Springer, turned independent-minded and caring talk show host. Well, if you don't, he is Steve Wilkos and he is here to solve your problems.

   The Steve Wilkos Show is taped in front of a live and below the poverty level studio audience (yes, I'm including my self in that statement). It's in the same building as the Maury Povich Show and The Jerry Springer Show. Truth be told, our objective was to go see Jerry, but we were late and got left with Steve. Oh well.

   Here is the best way to sum up the show: it is a both a fascinating slice of Americana and a very depressing one. I feel as though the reason The Steve Wilkos is on the air is the same reason that George W. Bush was elected twice to the presidency: people enjoy rooting for bad ideas that are entertaining. The Steve Wilkos show is a bad idea that happens to be somewhat entertaining - and I emphasize somewhat. The idea is that Steve is a former Jerry Springer lackey who now has the understanding and emotional side to deal with real people and their problems. Steve knows best, and the guests on the show should be thankful for his willingness to help him. Here is where the pro wrestling comparisons come in. The show is quite obviously manufactured and scripted. The floor manager instructs the audience how to greet Steve and when to do it. Just as Jerry Springer has made the "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry" chant famous, so now does Steve have the "Steeeve, Steeeve, Steeeve" chant. During the taping of the show, I swear on all that is holy that the audience was asked to applaud and chant his name no less than every 3 minutes or so. He finishes a sentence with some words of wisdom, we applaud him like he is President Obama delivering the State of the Union. Add to this the fact that a television camera is literally 3 feet away from your face, aiming to catch every expression that you may exert - and it's very difficult not to burst out laughing at the absurdity that you're taking part in. We were warned though, please do not laugh while camera is on you, that would make it appear the topic of the show is amusing and non-sensical.

    The topic of the show was - it doesn't matter what the topic was.  There was a black man and white woman on stage yelling at each other. It's more interesting when there's racial disparity, you know? By the end of the show, by the grace of god, the conflict had been resolved (who would have guessed?).
 
    From a technical standpoint, I had issues with the fact that the guests on the show seemed to stop arguing as soon as Steve would leave the stage, and then begin again right as he got back in front of the camera. They even went so far as to have a bumbling producer run on stage and tell the not-pregnant lady that she shouldn't get in a fight because she was pregnant, providing some comic relief for the audience.

   Ha, it was hilarous, with a capital "are you kidding me, I can't believe I'm sitting here watching this, again."

   The Steve Wilkos show airs weekdays at 12pm on WPIX in New York City. Check your local listings.