Dear In Sequencers! We interrupt our usual blogcast of sequential art-related items to bring you a Special Report. This week marked the end of a long quest that began several months ago when I picked up the phone and called 1-323-461-PHIL. My quest reached its culmination this past Thursday when I found myself sitting in the Paramount studio audience of the soon-to-premiere Dr. Phil Show, cheering wildly as strangers revealed their innermost secrets and regrets.
I have been a fan of Dr. Phil since the first time I saw him haranguing some poor slob on Oprah. I love Dr. Phil because he keeps it real and asks the hard questions, like, "Have I Let Myself Go?" or "Do You Have a Relative Who Is Inappropriate?" Dr. Phil also helps you develop strategies for making the most of your life. Although I have been getting along fairly well for the several years using the classic Judy Garland Life Strategy (i.e., pills, booze, the show must go on, more pills), it has occurred to me once or twice that I might need to find a strategy that is a bit more proactive, a bit more 21st century.
The taping of the Dr. Phil Show was all that I had hoped it would be and more. The audience, as one might expect, was about 97% female. And the topic, if you can believe it, was oral sex. Did you know there is an oral sex epidemic among teenagers? Neither did I. It turned out to be quite interesting because Dr. Phil brought the issue around to the prevailing sexist attitudes among young boys and how that has manifested itself in their approach to sex. Plus there were a lot of pissed off moms and dads berating their teens and the whole experience was quite gratifying, indeed.
The show starts September 16, so mark your calendars, although I do not know when this particular episode airs.