I Miss Talk Shows

I don't know why, but today I'm missing talk shows.  (Notice how I'm avoiding the fact that I haven't posted in a couple of months?)  Real talk shows.  If you're around my age, you should be able to remember a time on TV when you could flip between several channel and stop on at least one talk show with some good topics.  Not now.  At least, not on my TV.

I grew up watching Mike Douglas (I was little - my mom watched it, and I watched with her).  And then there was Phil Donahue.  And then Giraldo, Sally Jess Raphael, and a slew of others whose names I can't remember.  But there was always something on - someone wanting to talk about something.  What killed the talk show?

Was it Morton Downey Jr.?  I happened to be in New York before we got syndicated and I saw his show.  I couldn't believe it.  I just remember thinking "I can't believe they allow this on television!"  Was it this over-the-top, brutal interrogation show that killed the regular talk show?  Because soon after, Jerry Springer came to being.  Well, that's not true.  Jerry was there, having intelligent conversations, but then it started to go zany.  And then zany was "in."  The more shocking, the better, and who really cared if it was a true story or not?

Now, before I get any further, let me just say something about Oprah.  I don't like.  I don't watch her.  She's all show and no substance.  I don't like that people treat her as some type of god, and that she acts that way, too.  So, I'm excluding her form of "talk show" from my blog.  Boo Oprah.  (Go ahead and chastise me.  I won't mind.)

So, zany.  Shocking.  possibly true or untrue.  Did that kill the talk show?  Did that start the whole "reality TV" thing which killed the ability to talk to real people about real topics?

I know, I know - there's still Dr. Phil and Tyra.  Let me say, I'm not a Dr. Phil fan, but at least most of the time he keeps to the traditional format, and that I can appreciate.  So I watch.  Tyra - well, I love America's Next Top Model (yes, I'm feeding into the reality TV machine).  Her talk show - eh.  All right.  I've watched it.  But, she's done so there's no sense talking about her.

So, if anyone out there reads this, let me know your thoughts on the whole non-talk show epidemic.  Maybe there are local talk shows still going on.  (Not here in Michigan!)