Jerry Springer has died. How the controversial host was the beginning of the end for TV
It feels weird to call Jerry Springer, who died on Thursday, April 27, a TV pioneer.
But what else was he, if not that? He helped changed the course of television with “The Jerry Springer Show,” for better or worse — mostly worse. And he did it in a big, big way.
He wasn’t only a TV host. Springer was also a lawyer and once mayor of Cincinnati. But if you mention his name, it doesn’t conjure images of a politician shaking hands. Instead, you see Springer looking on with bemusement as a feuding couple screamed and pulled each other’s hair and threw things at each other onstage as the studio audience roared with what can only be described as a kind of bloodlust.
It was domestic dysfunction played as professional wrestling.
Who replaces Tucker Carlon?: These are the 5 worst replacements Fox News could hire
How did Jerry Springer die?
Springer died at his home after a brief illness, according to reports. He was 79.
You know how they say people watch car races for the wrecks? You watched "The Jerry Springer Show" for the fights. And you were almost never disappointed on that front.
Springer hosted the show from 1991 to 2018. It was controversial, to put it diplomatically. You might also say it was a trumped-up circus, the kind of show that brought out the worst in everyone. You heard “lowest-common-denominator” used a lot when its appeal was brought up.
The ’90s were different, man. You didn’t hear the term “culture wars” thrown around like a political weapon, but a version of that definitely existed. You could ask questions like, “Are ‘The Simpsons’ dumbing down America?’” and sound like a cultural expert. (Note: The answer to that is a resounding no. “The Simpsons,” at its peak, is the greatest show in television history.)
When cultural gatekeepers weren’t complaining that “Beavis and Butt-Head” was dangerous to American youth, they were probably warning that “The Jerry Springer Show” was an affront to polite television society or whatever.
Because it was. And unapologetically so.
Admit it, you watched 'The Jerry Springer Show" for the fights
Typically Springer would gather people who had some sort of issue with each other — one spouse accused of cheating on the other was an evergreen favorite, though one episode was titled “I Had Sex with Your Mom,” another “You Slept with My Stripper Sister” — and they would talk it out, often with friends or family members accompanying them.
Then they would scream it out, egged on by an increasingly rabid audience. Invariably a fight would break out and security would intervene. How real the fights were is the subject of some debate. But let’s face it, nobody watches shows with episode titles like “Kung Fu Hillbilly” or “I Married A Horse” for their honesty.
And yet.
Allison Rodriguez changes stations: Here's where and when to watch her debut
Springer stayed slightly above the fray
Springer somehow managed to stay just slightly above the fray (a low bar, granted). He hosted the show with a wink and a nod, particularly in later seasons as it grew more and more bizarre. It was as if it was a joke he was in on.
And he defended its existence — it ran for 27 years, he could hardly do otherwise — but he also seemed apart from the mayhem, even as it took place.
He ended each show, no matter how crazy things got, with the sendoff, "Take care of yourself, and each other."
Taking the reality out of TV
Sometimes we look back on shows that were culturally shocking in their time and they seem almost quaint. They weren’t THAT bad. Times have changed, things have gotten worse, we didn’t know how good we had it, that kind of thing.
Not so with “The Jerry Springer Show.” It still looks pretty bad, even in retrospect.
But times really have changed. A couple of people clawing at each other over some marital discord is ugly, but not as ugly as promoting election lies or downplaying COVID-19 risks. Some forms of TV have devolved to the point where they really are dangerous to viewers, and not just in some societal way.
Springer’s show, and others like Morton Downey’s, played a role in that, however unwittingly, however small. They didn’t dumb down society. They dumbed down TV. It’s all fun and games until something gets broken, as they say.
One of the legacies of Springer’s show is that eventually, something did.
'The new, sassy one': Phoenix Mercury star Sophie Cunningham on 'Suns Live'
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Facebook @GoodyOnFilm and on Twitter @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
Subscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Death of Jerry Springer: How the controversial host changed TV
