Why I Can't Watch Dr. Phil Anymore

I admit: I used to be a Dr. Phil fanatic, much like Dom Coccaro in his article Why You Should Watch Dr. Phil.  I thought Dr. Phil’s brand of advice-giving was totally revolutionary, logical, and offered not just solutions, but ways to reach those solutions that were practical and to the heart. But then Dr. Phil became a brand. And then Dr. Phil became a TV show. And then Dr. Phil became a branded TV show that made blatant displays of undeserved nepotism. I’ll tackle all three of these facts.

“Dr. Phil: the brand” is more than just books. It’s cool to give advice to big people on how to lose weight and tell them to focus on the “why” you are eating so much part of it. I respect that. It’s been done a million times. But do we have to make our own nutrition bars? Our powders? Snacks? Wasn’t Dr. Phil a lawyer or something with a good talk show? And yes, I agree that if you are happy with your weight and you are still reasonably active, it’s ok to give weight loss advice. But I hardly think you should be peddling snack bars. Stick to the books, Dr. Phil.

“Dr. Phil: the TV show” is even worse. I enjoyed watching him on Oprah when he was doing Dr. Phil Tuesdays. People would bring up stuff from the audience, he would put a spin on it, throw some numbers (think of the 10 defining moments of your life, 5 people you hate, and 4 people you never got to kiss), and the magic light bulb would come on. I thought it was neat to put cameras in a “normal” family’s home or even an entire town. But when I started seeing all the pre-production in the episodes, it became clear: people are going to be on the show to be on TV and not for help.

Yes, like the Coccaro article says, human beings are interesting in a sociological sort of way. But there is also an apparent sociological need to be famous, and definitely a sociological need to stay famous. Here is where the show turned. I saw an episode where two people had a relationship, found out they were cousins, and continued onto have it despite the disapproval of the man’s sister.

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