The Oprah Winfrey Show
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| The Oprah Winfrey Show | |
|---|---|
| Image:OprahWinfreyShow.jpg The Oprah Winfrey Show title card | |
| Format | Talk Show |
| Created by | Oprah Winfrey |
| Starring | Oprah Winfrey |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| No. of episodes | 3,131 (as of December 17, 2007) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndication |
| Original run | September 8, 1986 – TBA 2011 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Oprah Winfrey Show (also known as Oprah) is an American nationally syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history.[1]
It is currently the longest-running daytime television talk show in the United States, having run since September 8, 1986, for over 22 seasons and 3,000 episodes (as of September 10, 2007). The show is renewed through 2011 but in a 2007 interview with Larry King, Oprah said that in 2011 she will not renew her contract, and thus end the show for good.
Oprah has been included in Time magazine's shortlist of the best television series of the twentieth century in 1998, and it made the top 50 of TV Guide's countdown of the greatest shows of all time[2] in 2002.
The show is highly influential, especially with women, and many of its topics penetrate into American pop-cultural consciousness. While early episodes of show followed a Phil Donahue-style exploration of sensationalistic social issues, Oprah eventually transformed her series into a more positive, spiritually uplifting experience marked by book clubs, celebrity interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events.
Contents |
[edit] Wildest Dreams
One of the show's features in recent years has been the "Wildest Dreams" tour, which fulfills the dreams of people reported to her by producers, found mostly from viewers who write in to the show, be the dream a new house, an encounter with a favorite performer, or a guest role on a popular TV show.
During her nineteenth season premiere (fall 2004), Oprah surprised her entire audience by giving them each a Pontiac G6. It was named as one of the greatest television moments in history by TV Guide. Although Oprah may be given credit for giving the cars away, they were donated to her by Pontiac as a publicity stunt. In 2005, Tina Turner guest starred, allowing Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman to fulfill her Wildest Dream of singing backup to Turner. Another included a man named David Caruso who lost 300 pounds after weighing 525 pounds. He came on the show in 2003 and told Oprah that one of his wishes was to sit in a Porsche. Minutes later, a white 2004 Porsche Boxster S (worth about $63,000) was given to him. Oprah named this one of her 20 favorite moments on a special DVD set.
[edit] Interviews
Winfrey has interviewed a plethora of political and public figures during the past twenty years. In the earlier seasons of the show, rather than offering a simple publicity platform, a celebrity would often feature after a period of intense media scrutiny, such was the case when the model Naomi Campbell appeared after there were claims she had a substance abuse problem. She often interviews celebrities on issues that directly involve them in some way, such as cancer or charity work.[citation needed]
Winfrey claims her worst interviewing experience was with Elizabeth Taylor in the fourth season. The actress refused to talk about her marriages and current relationship, leading to a number of awkward silences. Taylor later apologized and returned in a better frame of mind a year later.
In December 2003, AJ McLean appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences to start recording a comeback album.
Oprah's interview with Tom Cruise, which was broadcast on May 23, 2005, has also gained notoriety. Cruise — according to the The New York Times — "jumped around the set, hopped onto a couch, fell rapturously to one knee and repeatedly professed his love for his new girlfriend." This scene quickly became part of American pop-cultural discourse and was heavily parodied in media as diverse as Saturday Night Live, Family Guy and the film Scary Movie 4.
Non-celebrity guests are generally individuals who have been involved in an extraordinary situation. Examples of these include an episode in the fourth season which featured Truddi Chase, a woman with Multiple Personality Disorder who reported being violently and sexually abused beginning at the age of two. After introducing Chase, who was there to promote her book When Rabbit Howls, Oprah unexpectedly broke down in tears whilst reading the teleprompter, relating her own childhood molestation to that of the guest. Unable to control herself, Winfrey repeatedly asked producers to stop filming. Other non-celebrity appearances include guests who are chosen for being particularly un-fashionable and are given a fashion makeover by renowned style advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.[edit] Regular segments
- Oprah's Book Club
- Originally featured a monthly book highlight, including author interviews. Its popularity caused featured books to shoot to the top of bestseller lists, often increasing sales by as many as a million copies at its peak. It was suspended in 2002 and returned in 2003, now featuring more classic works of literature, with reduced selections per season. The old format was reintroduced in September 2005, but her selection of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces became controversial due to accusations of falsification. January 2006 saw Elie Wiesel's Night selected; Oprah even traveled to Auschwitz with Mr. Wiesel. The most recent selection is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
- What's The Buzz
- Oprah introduces up-and-coming public figures generating industry buzz but not otherwise widely known. In what several media commentators have labelled The Oprah Effect, people appearing on this segment such as Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx and singer James Blunt have benefited from the extra publicity the show brings. Blunt in particular saw album sales increase dramatically and a top two spot on the Billboard 200.
- Remember Your Spirit
- Premiering and most popular during the mid-1990s, recurring guest and self described spiritualist Iyanla Vanzant emphasized the importance of self-affirmation and intrinsic worth.
- Oprah's Favorite Things
- Usually airs during the holiday shopping season or at the beginning of spring. Items personally favored by Winfrey are given away to the audience. Certain episodes of this type feature select groups of people; in 2005's Christmas edition Hurricane Katrina volunteer workers appeared in the audience; in November 2006 opting to hand out credit cards of one-thousand dollars and camcorders to members of her studio audience. who were then told to help others creatively using the money, in what Oprah has since called her favorite giveaway ever.
- Tuesdays With Dr. Phil
- In 1996 Oprah Winfrey hired "Relationship and Life Strategy Expert" Dr. Phil McGraw to prepare her for her trial in Amarillo, Texas in which she was accused of intentionally defaming the U.S. beef industry. Winfrey credited him for her victory in that case and soon after, he made weekly appearances on her show, tackling human issue topics such as weight loss, financial planning and errant children. One episode saw a grieving woman who could not overcome the death of her daughter and revealed that she had planned to kill herself after the show.
- Dr. Phil's Tuesday slots, with running commentary from Oprah herself, quickly became a popular feature and in 2002 he was given his own syndicated daily TV show, produced by Winfrey's Harpo Studios and ending the segments.
[edit] Other famous moments
- In December 1986, Liberace made his final public appearance on Oprah, dying six weeks later.
- In 1987, Oprah traveled to all-white Forsyth County which had gained a reputation as being a hotbed for racism. It turned out that a majority of the county actually supported racial integration.
- The highest-rated single episode was "The Weight Wagon" airing on November 5, 1988, Oprah wheeled out a wagon containing fat, representing the weight she had lost.
- Oprah was moved to tears by the sight of her fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Mary Duncan, in 1989. She appeared just when Oprah read her name on the teleprompter.
- In 1992, a woman named Betty Broderick who had murdered her millionaire ex-husband Dan Broderick and his wife Linda Coulquina in November 1989 appeared via-satellite on Oprah. Betty went on to explain to all women watching that it is very important to not give yourself up to the idea of the perfect life.
- In 1996, seven members of the original Little Rock Nine appeared on the Oprah Show and finally came face-to-face with the white students who had tormented them.
- In 1996, a lonely woman named Joni Jacques told Oprah that she bought a pair of Oprah's shoes at an auction; so that whenever she feels upset, she could (literally) stand in Oprah's shoes.
- In 1997, a man suffered a heart attack while appearing on Oprah. He was rushed to the hospital and recovered. Oprah later did a show surrounding the heart attack and the doctor who was in the audience who came to his aid.
- In an emotionally charged episode, airing in 1997, Winfrey was moved to tears during a surprise appearance by Mary Tyler Moore, one of her childhood idols. It started when Oprah spoke on the phone with her in 1993 and wished that Mary would be here. She came on the set, as introduced via a Mary Tyler Moore Show musical link. It was named as one of Oprah's 20 favorite moments on the DVD set.
- In 1998, while Oprah was on trial for libel and slander against cattlemen in Texas, she filmed 29 episodes in Amarillo, Texas.
- In 2001, guest Jonathan Knight, former member of New Kids on the Block, suffered a panic attack onstage and had to be comforted by Oprah. He openly admits that he struggled with this disorder for years, as did his brother Jordan.
- In 2002, Oprah surprised people at a McDonald's drive-through. She encountered a very rude customer, and when he drove up she recognized him as her attorney.
- In June 2006, Oprah and Gayle spent ten days driving 3,600 miles cross-country - frequently along intermediate highways, back roads, and side roads, passing through small communities - from Santa Barbara to New York City (arriving just in time for her appearance on the Tony Awards broadcast), in a Chevrolet Impala, followed by a camera crew that recorded their every move. Their sometimes moving, often hilarious experiences, entitled Oprah and Gayle's Big Adventure[3], aired over the course of several Tuesdays in the early weeks of the Fall 2006 season. Oprah said she got the idea for the journey from a Chevrolet commercial, with its catchy "See the U.S.A. in a Chevrolet" jingle sung by Dinah Shore, from her childhood.
- On the third episode of the first week in 2006, rockstar Jon Bon Jovi gave Oprah $1 million to put towards Hurricane Relief. This is the highest amount ever donated on Oprah. There is now a street named after the band, named Bon Jovi Boulevard.[4] In January 2007 Oprah's topic was "Self made women Millionaires", One of the guests (CEO and founder of company Spanx), who had inspired her to become a millionaire, donated $1 million to Oprah's School for Girls.
- On April 22, 2006, two sisters who had won a Holocaust essay contest appeared on the Oprah Show. They had been victims of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and had had their families separated from them for 12 years. With Elie Wiesel on hand, Oprah informed the girls that they had received a letter from their parents. After presenting them with an envelope, Oprah told them that they didn't have to open the letter at that moment because their family was in the studio. Their parents and siblings then appeared out of a side door and embraced the girls, who were struck with amazement.
[edit] In popular culture
See also: Oprah Winfrey
The Oprah Winfrey Show appears in at least three films:
- A clip from the show appeared in Throw Momma from the Train.
- A clip appeared in Ocean's Thirteen.
- In White Chicks, one of the two cops (posing as a girl) starts calling for Oprah (as well as Dr. Phil), because he said that it was his first time experiencing how women tend to think they're fat ("it's 'Tina the talking tummy' or "Cellulite Sally").
- The final segment of Scary Movie 4 featured Craig Bierko making an appearance on Oprah, stating his falling in love with Anna Faris's character. This was a parody of Tom Cruise's infamous incident in which he proclaimed his love for Katie Holmes. Winfrey was portrayed by Debra Wilson, who also regularly impersonated Winfrey while a castmember of MADtv.
[edit] Cultural references
- On the teenNick show Drake and Josh Oprah is mentioned many times by Josh; he even has an autographed picture. In one episode, Josh accidentally hits Oprah with his car.
- On the Nickelodeon show All That, Oprah and her talk show are lampooned on several occasions -- the program is known as Okrah! therein.
- On The Simpsons, there is a talk show called Opal. However, the real Oprah once "interviewed" Marge Simpson in an especially animated segment.
- On Arthur they have a spoof of The Oprah Winfrey Show thats called Hopping with Koprah.
- The Christian band Casting Crowns mentions Oprah in the song What if His people prayed.
[edit] Criticism
While the show is generally revered for its commitment to highlighting international issues, Oprah's detractors accuse her show of having a liberal slant.[citation needed] A controversial episode, which aired in 2005 (though originally aired to little apparent notice in October 2003), saw guests discussing the sexual act of "rimming" igniting criticism. The FCC received a proliferation of complaints from angry parents whose children watched the show in an early-evening slot in many television markets. However, most FCC correspondents were prodded to write by Howard Stern, a noteworthy target of the agency, as well as Jimmy Kimmel, in an attempt to expose an FCC double standard.[5][6]
[edit] YouTube
Oprah Winfrey has recently created a YouTube channel.
[edit] See also
- Oprah After The Show Weight loss guide.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Oprah Winfrey Show
- Oprah's Angel Network
- The Oprah Winfrey Show at the Internet Movie Database
- The Oprah Winfrey Show at TV.com
- About Oprah Winfrey at About.comde:The Oprah Winfrey Show
es:The Oprah Winfrey Show fr:The Oprah Winfrey Show nl:The Oprah Winfrey Show pt:The Oprah Winfrey Show fi:The Oprah Winfrey Show sv:The Oprah Winfrey Show
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | 1986 television series debuts | 1980s American television series | 1990s American television series | 2000s American television series | First-run syndicated television programs | Oprah | Television talk shows | Television series by CBS Paramount Television
