Dr. Phil show taping

[iheartdisney]

This is a bit overdue, but wanted to share. I know alot of out-of-towners think about spending one of thier vacation days at a taping when they come to LA, and I wanted to let you know to consider ANY taping but the Dr. Phil show, unless you really just have a day to kill, or are really really into him.
I've watched the Show on and off since the second season, so I guess you could say I'm a fan. So I was thrilled when the base paper here in Ventura County had an ad which stated that the Dr. Phil show was looking specifically for Military members and spouses to fill the audience. Everyone assumed that it would be something relevant to military lifestyle, right? so me and my 2 best girlfriends signed right up.
Well, we couldn't have been more wrong. It had nothing to do with us...it had to do with they were short on audience members. They just needed to fill the seats. The show had NOTHING to do with military or spouses or parenting or anything even relevant to a military audience.
As for the star of the show...there is ZERO interactin with the audience. ZERO. He comes out, says his lines, gets to the guests. During breaks, he sits there in his chair, never once ATTEMPTS to acknowledge the few hundred people who have been waiting outside for 2 hours for the taping. When the show is over, he walks off, the staff says thanks for coming, outside the studio, make sure to buy your Dr. Phil merchendise for $10 a coffee mug. It was very dissappointing to say the least. THEN, apparently the show we taped is just too lame to air, as it filmed in mid-September, and here we are, almost in December, and still no show.
What a waste of a day!
If you are planning on coming to the greater LA area and want to attend a taping, there are many, many more oportunities that are a much better time. Skip the Dr. Phil show. Unless you need a nap.

 

[lulubelle]

Sorry this happened to you
He seems a little "holier than thou" to me and his wife, Robin has had so much plastic surgery - she seems plastic to me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[SanFranciscan]

I am sorry that you were tricked into attending the Dr. Phil show. It was unethical of him to treat you like that. I am wondering how typical that is of talk show hosts though.

Dr. Phil is also associated with Oprah, and I know that people coming to her show have gotten angry at her for exploiting them and even humiliating them on the air. This complaint has come from both audience members and stage guests such as family members of the Space Shuttle Challenger after it blew up.

Personally I would skip all talk shows, especially if I didn't know exactly what the subject matter was going to be. Too often the whole point of talk shows is to emotionally batter someone in the studio.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

I am wondering how typical that is of talk show hosts though.

I was just at an oprah taping (which actually airs on april 24th!) During breaks she always had the audience laughing or was talking to us. When she walked out she said hi to everyone. I really think it just depends on the host of the talk show.

 

[estherhead]

We went to a Donnie & Marie taping years ago & it was great. They were very engaging & there was live music and stuff in any breaks. It was Scott Hamilton & other skating stars & they all came into the audience & talked to us & played twister (seriously, they played twister) and also there was Lou Bega (I think) the singer & he sang us a bunch of songs that didn't even air. It was very nice.

We went to a Drew Carey show taping also & I got to play trivia with the stars Ryan Stiles & Deidrich ? They were super cool & funny just by nature. After we were there about 2 hours & they should have been done but they had an extra hour, they bought us pizza & soda and they also had a live band which was totally unexpected to me. Drew Carey came up & chitchatted awhile too and did a bit of comedy. Then we went to Just Shoot Me which was quicker & fun.

So if you pick the right show, it can be a lot of fun. DH & I still talk about our show tapings in Cali and consider it a highlight. We've done David Letterman in NYC too which is super fun.

Anyway, tapings can be a lot of fun.