Dr. Phil has grown on me. He is the Merv Griffin of our times.
I think he’s actually on television in the same time slot. My grandmother used to watch Merv Griffin without missing a single episode.
Merv’s loyal viewers did not get cars or trips; they tuned in for the entertainment. I don’t think what Dr. Phil is doing on television really could be categorized as entertainment. I can’t really endure the show every day. But that has nothing to do with Dr. Phil. There is nothing on television that I could watch every single day of the week.
Dr. Phil and guests – is guest the right word? Is there some new word to fit this genre of theravision?
It’s not quite therapy. It’s a made-for-television intervention. Two people can’t talk to each other in their home, but they can talk on a stage with an audience.
Though I’m not quite sure what to call the roles – the doctor, the guests, the show – I do give Dr. Phil credit for trying.
It is clear that Dr. Phil is no lightweight, and if there is one thing his show has proven, it’s that we, as in all of us, have problems.
There is no place to hide our dirty laundry now. There is no taboo, no silencing, no issue that escapes Dr. Phil.
When his show first came on the air, people were all caught up in the Phil-isms. Let’s face it, people tuned in to watch how quickly he could wrestle an issue to the floor and tie its ankles together.
A few months later, it became obvious that he was wrestling difficult issues. He could have gone for easier topics than addiction, life-threatening anorexia, child abuse, obesity, marriages collapsing, cults.
Over time, Dr. Phil has wooed us to look beyond the stage, the guests, the issue itself and to find a mirror. He has moved from hog-tying the issue to step-by-step instructions that show viewers how to take down an issue at home.
He has become that painting instructor on PBS who used to show us how to paint a tree and a mountain. Dr. Phil is showing us how to come out of denial and get started on making our lives better.
It’s a self-improvement, family-improvement show. Make fun all you want, do your best Dr. Phil imitation. At the end of the day, I wonder how many opportunities we each have to take down our issues. How much time we waste avoiding the things that are troubling, and in doing so, things become bigger and bigger, allowing the fangs of an issue to clamp down on our hearts.
I think Dr. Phil should move on from ordinary folks and whole towns. I’d like to see elected officials and world leaders sitting on those seats on the Dr. Phil stage. I’d love to see Dr. Phil confront politicians and wield his mighty set of interventions.
Go, Dr. Phil. Don’t stop now.
Sarri Gilman is a freelance writer living on Whidbey Island. Her column on living with meaning and purpose runs every other Tuesday in The Herald. She is a therapist, a wife and a mother, and has founded two nonprofit organizations to serve homeless children. E-mail her at features@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
