After 4,000 episodes, a halt for Jerry Springer's show

[Ubiquitous]

NEW YORK (AP) — Somehow it doesn't seem right for Jerry Springer to
exit quietly.

There should be one last thrown chair or a bleep-filled tirade, at
the very least. Instead, it was announced with no fanfare this week
that he will stop making new episodes of his memorably raucous talk
show, and neither Springer nor his bosses will talk about it.

"The Jerry Springer Show" won't fully disappear; NBC Universal said
this week that the CW and other networks that have bought the show
in syndication will air reruns of the slugfest. Producers said
"there is a possibility" that more original episodes could be
ordered sometime in the future but, since they wouldn't answer
questions, it's not known how serious that possibility is.

At its heyday in the 1990s, Springer's show challenged Oprah Winfrey
for daytime television supremacy with TV studios filled with
seething spurned lovers, gender fluid guests before that was a term
and pretty much anyone who was spoiling for a fight. It even
provoked serious end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it talk.

Springer, a former Cincinnati mayor who realized he had to do
something to distinguish himself in a competitive market, was the
low-key ringmaster who didn't take himself too seriously and let you
know he was in on the joke.

During an interview with The Associated Press at his show's 25th
anniversary three years ago, Springer said that anyone could do his
job if they learned three phrases: "You did what?" ''Come on out!"
and "We'll be right back." He presided over 4,000 episodes.

Some of his shows last month illustrated that the formula hadn't
changed much: "Stripper Sex Turned Me Straight," ''Stop Pimpin' My
Twin Sister," ''My Bestie is Stalkin' You," ''Hooking Up With My
Therapist" and "Babes with Baguettes."

After more than 4,000 episodes, it's hard for things to register on
the outrage meter. Between reality television and the verbal
slugfests of cable television news, there are plenty of places
viewers can turn for experiences that fill the role that Springer
once did.

"He was lapped not only by other programs but by real life," said
David Bianculli, a television historian and professor at Monmouth
University.

At this point, asking to talk about Springer's legacy is a little
like commenting on an obituary for someone you forgot was alive, he
said. Only very dedicated viewers may be able to tell next fall that
they're not watching an original episode.

"There was a time that Jerry Springer was running at a minimum of
two times a day," said Bill Carroll, a veteran analyst of the
syndication market. "Realistically, I don't think the audience is
able to look at the show and say, 'that's one from this year, or two
years ago or four years ago.' It has become so homogenous."


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