Loveline

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Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew, in a guest appearance on Dawson's Creek
Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew, in a guest appearance on Dawson's Creek

Loveline is a syndicated radio call-in program in the United States, Canada and Mexico, offering medical and relationship advice to listeners. Currently it is heard from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m PT Sunday-Thursday (1 a.m. to 3 a.m. ET Monday-Friday). Syndication is usually on rock, alternative, and adult talk radio stations. Loveline can also be heard online anywhere in the world, by streaming through the websites of affiliate stations. Selected episodes are made available on Westwood One's website.[1] In addition, some fans digitally record and share episodes.

Contents

[edit] History

Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew on Loveline the TV Show
Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew on Loveline the TV Show

Loveline began in 1983 as a Sunday night segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, hosted by DJ Jim "Poorman" Trenton and DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik). About a year later, Trenton added a segment called Ask a Surgeon, hosted by his friend Dr. Drew Pinsky, who was not yet a doctor but a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. The two segments soon merged into their own show, co-hosted by Trenton and Pinsky. In February 1992, the show went from airing solely on Sunday nights to five nights a week (Sunday through Thursday). Over the years, Trenton's relationship with the station grew rocky, and in August 1993 he was replaced by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman. Dr. Drew and Rachtman were joined by Adam Carolla in October 1995, just as the show was first being syndicated nationally.[2] The trio hosted together for several months, but Carolla and Rachtman often competed for airtime, leading Rachtman to resign suddenly in April 1996. [3] From that point, Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew hosted the show until Carolla's departure on November 3, 2005.

The popularity and reach of the show increased dramatically during the "Pinsky/Carolla" years. The two had a natural chemistry, in which Carolla's jocular tone emphasized Pinsky's reasoned expertise. Together, they refined the format of the show, and capitalized on their growing popularity with speaking tours, a television show, a book, and cameo appearances on television shows and in movies. Carolla left the show on November 3, 2005 to prepare for hosting a new morning radio show in 2006.

Loveline follows the call-in question-and-answer model with the primary goal of helping youth and young adults with relationship, sexuality, and drug addiction problems. As a practicing internist and addiction medicine specialist with training in psychology, Dr. Drew's answers have medical credibility, but the addition of Adam Carolla's humor and insight resulted in a program with entertainment value as well. Carolla repeatedly stated his role on the show as something of a trojan horse: He lured listeners with dirty jokes and wisecracks in hopes they'd learn something that could improve their lives. Actors or members of popular bands often participate as guests.

Since Carolla's departure in November 2005, several stations dropped the show, though it continued with celebrity co-hosts and guests, some of whom have announced their hope to be hired as Carolla's replacement. Since July 23, 2006, KROQ disc jockey Stryker has served as co-host with Pinsky.

[edit] Personalities

Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew (March 19, 2002)
Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew (March 19, 2002)
The Poorman and Dr. Drew (August 18, 1992)
The Poorman and Dr. Drew (August 18, 1992)

[edit] Radio Hosts (1983 - Present)

[edit] Frequent Fill-ins

  • Dr. Bruce Heischober -- "Dr. Bruce"
  • Dr. Gary Alter -- "Dr. Alter"
  • Dr. Ohad Menashe Ben-Yehuda -- "Dr. Ben" (The Vag Doc)
  • Dr. Marcel Daniels -- "Dr. Marcel"
  • Dr. Reef Karim -- "Dr. Reef"
  • Dr. Bruce Hensel -- "Dr. Bruce" (Ichabod Bruce, Dr. Spaz)
  • David Alan Grier, a popular and frequent guest, sometimes referred to as the "Third Host" of Loveline.

[edit] Television Co-Hosts (1996 - 2000)

(Donna D'Errico was a pseudo-host on Loveline: Live in Time Square (2000))

[edit] Producers

  • Ann Wilkins -- ? - present
  • Lauren (Junior Producer) -- January 2003 (first on air reference)[3] - present

[edit] Engineers

  • Anderson Cowan (The Magic Fingered One, The Liberace of the Potentiometers) -- 1999 - Present
  • Chris Perez – September 2003 (first on-air reference)[4] - 2005
  • Michelle – After January 2004 - November 2005 (left for Adam Carolla Show)
  • Mike Dooley (The One-Nut Wonder) – Early Loveline (?) - 1999. Made many of the 'songs' (Drew Boogie, Drew Shuffle)

[edit] Phone Screeners

  • Tara - Temperamental phone screener, affectionately called "Tæra don't call me Tɑra God-damn-it" by Adam. Tara is on my MySpace [5], and her MySpace blog is syndicated on LiveJournal [6].
  • Bryan - Former phone screener, now working for the Adam Carolla Show. Bryan had a blog on The Loveline Companion for a short time [7].
  • Patricia - 2006
  • Dameon early 2000

[edit] Lingo

  • The A-200 Club - A Poorman favorite term, Callers with crabs were said to be new members of the A-200 Club. A-200, as in the anti-crab topical medication.
  • Annilow - (rhymes with Manilow) one of Riki Rachtman's nicknames for producer Ann Wilkins, a Barry Manilow fan.
  • Ace Rockolla - Adam's alter-ego, making fun of "wacky" morning radio show hosts. (Named by rapper Ice-T)
  • Attack Crows - An idea raised by Adam Carolla, who suggested that someone should train crows as bodyguards.
  • Behymen - Anal virginity, a portmanteau of the words "behind" and "hymen".
  • Bogu-osity - The degree to which a Loveline caller's story is bogus.
    • International Laws of Bogosity - If a host declares a caller's problem to be fake, the caller is required to admit it. Also referred to as "the Geneva Convention of Loveline."
  • Bumper - The short snippet music that is played when it comes back from commercial.
  • C-Ring - cock ring; the word "cock" would get censored on the air, so Adam used this term
  • Chief Thunderbear - A Native American gynecologist. He only speaks in his native language, so Dr. Drew translates. He is voiced by Adam Carolla.
  • Crystal Ball - Dr. Drew often can look into his "crystal ball" and forsee the future of callers based on their behaviors and family history. He typically points out he sees things like a pole in a girl's future or bad addiction
  • Douchenozzle - Adam's version of the popular douchebag, claimed to be more insulting as it is the "business end of the douche." Suggested to be effective in traffic, as in "Shake your ass, ya douchenozzle!"
  • Drop Trou - Short for "dropping trousers," what "Ace Rockolla" is constantly ready to do.
  • Happies - Adam Carolla's term for herpes.
  • The Little Lord Fauntleroy School for Albino Hemophiliacs - Adam's nickname for Dr. Drew's prep school.
  • Lesbian college - Adam will often end his stock advice to sympathetic female callers (almost always of a heterosexual orientation) from chaotic family lives out of their control with this salvo. Something along the lines of "You have to stay away from the bad people in your life, get your grades up, get into volleyball, and when you're 18 go away to some lesbian college in the Northeast."
  • Longtime listener, first-time caller - One night, a little over a year after Adam started on the show, he flew into a rant insisting that "Longtime listener, first-time caller" was a traditional part of the radio call-in show, but that in his time on Loveline nobody had ever used it. Starting with the very next caller, and running for years after, the phrase became the most common way for callers to start off their question.
  • Mahalo - Adam's traditional sign-off phrase of both the Loveline radio and MTV shows. When Adam left in 2005, Dr. Drew created his own sign-off, "be well."
  • Mason Jar - The key term given by a bogus Loveline caller to declare its bogosity and end the call. (Usually preceded by "her asshole was the size of a…")
  • Passionate, Passionate Man - How Adam describes Dr. Drew. The term can also be used in reference to Ben Stein.
  • Ricockulous - More extreme than ridiculous. Replacing the "dic" with "cock".
  • Sativa - A car that Adam Carolla created after hearing a caller's name.
  • Sploser - Someone who is 'part spaz, all loser.'
  • Stangry - A phrase coined for aggressive callers who are an unfortunate combination of stupid and angry.
  • Unitage - (rhymes with décolletage) or just the unit, this was one of the Poorman's favorite terms for penis.
  • Vicar of Christ - Adam's alias when the Roman Catholic Church was choosing a new Pope.
  • Hobo-power - A measure of stink created by Adam. A 1-100 scale, where 50 is a cat crapping on a white-hot hibachi grill, and 100 is a theoretical 'absolute zero' that has never been attained. It is theorized that 100 Hobo-power would be deadly.
Loveline Animated
Loveline Animated

[edit] Out-of-Context Drew Drops

Engineer Anderson Cowan is fond of splicing up phrases Drew had uttered on previous shows and "dropping" them into new shows in mid-call. This causes confusion to new listeners and callers and brings hilarity to seasoned listeners. Some favorites are:

  • "Are you Mormon?"
  • "You're fat."
  • "You're gay."
  • "Faggot better run."
  • "Yes, sir, Mr. Carolla!"
  • "I've had anal sex."
  • "I'm a rapist."
  • "When I was 19 I ate six boiled peyote buttons and stayed up all night but felt no effect."
  • "You strike me as someone who would be into men."

Some of the Drew Drops were set to music in the "Dr. Drew Shuffle" and the later "Dr. Drew Boogie."

There are some other drops taken from a skit on the television show Crank Yankers. Carolla tried to 'hip up' Drew by having him use 'urban' lingo.

  • "Why ain't you get no play, playa?"
  • "Dr. Drew in the hizzie!"
  • "You need to go out and get your bitch spunk drunk."

[edit] Adam's Pet Peeves

There are a number of issues and pet peeves that Adam repeatedly visited on Loveline with various levels of hostility and humor.

Junior College or Community College Adam had a belief that not only is junior college a total waste of time for anyone other than asian foreign exchange students but that he could smell junior college on his callers due to the foolishness of their questions. Adam once said that he understands if you're going to junior college to be a nurse or any other profession that's usually only taught at a junior college. He did not allow callers to refer to it as "community college." Often, at the utterance of "community college" he would quickly interject, "JUNIOR college-- community college makes it O.K. [it's not O.K.]" He often joked that "Junior colleges are high schools with ashtrays."

I smell junior college on you...

Pie versus Cake Adam has an extreme disdain for sheetcake in particular and birthday cakes in general (particularly the ones given at office parties) and at times ended up screaming at the mic about the sheep-like devotion people had to cake. Often Adam referred to the possibility of getting tuberculosis from the blowing out of the candles.

LA Traffic Particularly the amount of tickets given out by the Burbank police department and the overzealousness of the police in LA in general with regards to moving violations. Adam frequently complains that police are using traffic tickets as fundraisers. After receiving a ticket for failing to display a front license plate, Adam went on a tirade against police officers, especially bike cops, for citing people for "chicken-s" ("chickenshit" abbreviated for radio use) infractions, especially given what he perceived to be law enforcement's reluctance or inability to deal with more serious concerns such as terrorism. He railed at any police listeners, "Remember when you joined the academy, you thought you were going to be rappelling down buildings, and growing a Fu Manchu and going deep under cover. Now you're writing chicken-s tickets. Don't be that guy." In addition red left-hand turn signals, esp. Culver City, are held in disdain.

Cranberry Sauce - Adam has repeatedly mentioned, often around Thanksgiving time, that canned cranberry sauce is completely unacceptable, imploring listeners to avoid slaving over a hot stove all day preparing the bulk of the Thanksgiving meal only to turn around and "reach for the can opener like a dog" when it came to the cranberry sauce. On November 24, 2004 he gave his cranberry sauce recipe on air. The recipe is as follows: Empty one 12 ounce sack of cranberries into a pot. Add one cup of water and a half cup of sugar. (While many recipes call for an entire cup of sugar, Adam has stated his preference for a "tart" cranberry sauce as opposed to one that is overly sweet.) Additional sugar may be added according to taste. Boil for five to ten minutes.

Chef Boyardee- Adam has mentioned several times that he absolutely hates any of the Chef Boyardee products, with a passion. He has said that if you are over the age of eight and you eat Chef Boyardee, then he will label you as someone that he can not speak to. According to Adam, you just have to be an idiot to eat Chef Boyardee.

[edit] Games, In-Jokes, and other Miscellany

[edit] Germany or Florida?

Germany or Florida is a game that originated at Jimmy Kimmel Live with the staff of writers who discovered a correlation in the news stories they would read for joke material. Adam observed that "All weird stories emanate from either Germany or Florida." Originally intended as a game to be used on Kimmel's show, it was rejected and Adam decided to bring it to Loveline. The object of the game is to have a listener read off a strange, macabre, or just plain weird news story and have the hosts (and guests) choose Germany or Florida. First mentioned October 19, 2003. According to some listeners' best guesses, Adam is about 55% correct, and Dr. Drew is about 40%. Theme songs introducing the game have been created by guests and callers, most notably David Alan Grier's opera and beat-box renditions. [8] Carolla even brought the game with him when he guest hosted The Late Late Show in 2004 and on his short-lived Comedy Central show Too Late with Adam Carolla. Additionally, the game has been played on Carolla's morning show, The Adam Carolla Show.

[edit] "Bleed American"

Whenever the Jimmy Eat World song "Bleed American" is played as the show returns from a commercial, Adam will get pumped up, describing how this is the song that he envisions playing on the jukebox as he walks into a bar or party. He describes the scene in detail, changing it up somewhat each time, but the constants are: he's wearing sunglasses, has a leather jacket slung over his shoulder, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, and boots "like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever". He goes on, saying that everyone turns, in slow motion, to face "the Ace Man". All the girls look at him and nod. Before Adam can go further, Drew will interrupt, saying "...and here is what the girls see," at which point a goofy, cartoonish tune begins to play.

[edit] Lightning Round

Although not technically a game, it was a favorite show ender for Carolla much to the chagrin of Dr. Drew. It consisted of his imitation of the non-stop morning DJ ("slow 'n' go watch for brake lights", "8:29, 29 past the hour", "50,000 watt flamethrower!", "Van Nuys checkin' in at 61, Laguna Beach checkin' in at 61, Burbank checkin' in at 63...", "I'M A CRAZY MAN! I WILL DROP TROU!"), a vicious cowbell, and audio drops of thunderclaps.

[edit] General Caller Betting

Without talking to a caller for more than 15-20 seconds Dr. Drew and Carolla would put them on hold and place $1 bets on the caller's past. The theory being that they have fielded so many calls by so many people that they could hear the specific problem in the caller's voice and detect what events led to their present. Example:

  • Caller: I'm just depressed all the time.
  • Carolla: I can hear the little girl voice, Drew. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
  • Drew: My wife has my wallet. I'm good for the dollar.
  • Carolla: I'm going with...father, no no, a weird Uncle touched her at the age of...9.
  • Drew: I hear molestation too, but I'm going with kid-on-kid. This was someone she played with. Maybe a year or two younger.
  • Carolla: Caller?
  • Caller: My best friend in 3rd grade forced me to touch her repeatedly.

This serves to show people that their problems are not unique; hundreds of previous callers had the same problem and it manifested in a detectable way in their voices. Callers often call the show with seemingly trivial questions, but through General Caller Betting, Dr. Drew and Carolla cut through to deeper underlying problems.

[edit] Smoke Detector Batteries

Every once in a while, while a caller is asking a totally unrelated question, Adam and Drew hear a tiny, high-pitched beep in the background and jump all over the caller. They have been conditioned to recognize the tell-tale sound of a smoke detector chirping to remind the owner to replace the battery. This is a personal pet peeve of Adam and Drew, an example they use to show how stupid some of their callers are. They make sure to draw attention to it by making the caller be quiet until they can time the space between beeps (usually between 20-25 seconds), and then every 20 seconds of the caller's question they will interrupt him or her so they can hear the beep. Some callers will deny that something is beeping, but then later in the call, Adam and Drew will find out there is a smoke detector over the caller's bed. Adam has commented that a pet lizard in the person's room would kill itself, yet the caller is totally oblivious. He also joked about how the children of the "smoke detector people" will buy recorded sounds of a smoke detector beep to help them sleep at night, a parody of the ocean noises that some use to soothe themselves into sleep.

[edit] Ace's Mexican Ranchero Accordion Countdown

After listening to endless hours of ranchero music during construction work, Adam discovered that nearly every song contained an accordion in the background. Adam decided he could make a game out of it, and thus, on the October 19, 2004 show, the game was born. The objective of "Ace's Mexican Ranchero Accordion Countdown" was to guess how many seconds it took until an accordion played in a ranchero song. Usually played with a guest or occasionally a caller, the most common (and usually correct) answer was "immediately."

[edit] Bogus Callers

Loveline's response to frequent bogus callers, especially during Carolla's ten years, has been generally encouraging, so long as certain rules are followed. Dubbed "The Geneva Convention of Bogo-osity", these rules state that as soon as a presenter has announced that the call might be bogus, they must "fess up". Continuing with the prank once it's been recognised is punished by death. Serious reasons for this were given: if someone were claiming to be in immediate danger, and would not confess to its being a bogus claim, they would be obliged to call the police. While they are supportive of inventive, well constructed bogus calls, for general safety reasons - given the severity of a large proportion of genuine calls - the Geneva Convention has to be adhered to.

Adam and Drew were especially adept at recognising bogus calls, saying that the two main indications were the lack of a question, or an "emptiness" to the person's voice. It is also claimed that "girls never make a bogus call unless there's a guy putting them up to it," and as such when a female caller was thought to be bogus, they would immediately demand to have the guy put on the line. It was explained that "girls don't have the bogus gene."

Starting in 1996 a specific male individual would call in with a completely honest sounding, but bogus, question. He would keep the hosts going as long as possible until he could work in the phrase "Asshole the size of a Mason jar", and then hang up. Over time this became code for "This is a bogus call." His run ended after Adam and Drew started to recognize his voice immediately, and cut off his last two attempts midway through the first sentence saying, "And let me guess, she had an asshole the size of a Mason jar," and then hung up on him.

Several years later copycat callers were spawned and would play out the same scenario with a real-sounding but bogus problem, and attempt to end the call with the Mason jar reference.

The phrase also became a coded way Drew would indicate he believed a call might be bogus, by muttering "Mason jar" under his breath while the caller talked.

It was later claimed by the original hoax caller that the phrase was invented by Adam himself. Adam had suggested it as a better punchline for ending a bogus call than the one used. The caller obliged.


[edit] On-screen and in print

A TV version of Loveline ran on MTV from 1996 to 2000; it followed the same general format as the radio program but featured a live audience and a female co-host. The female co-host role was filled over the course of the series by MTV VJ Idalis, actresses Chris McGaha, Catherine McCord and Diane Farr and comedian Laura Kightlinger. The show never gained much traction, nor was it advertised much, and was cancelled after four seasons.

The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide to Life and Love, an advice book written in a tone similar to the radio show, was released in 1998.

[edit] Controversy

Loveline on Crank Yankers
Loveline on Crank Yankers
  • In 1999, the punk band Pennywise was the show's guest. Their guitarist, Fletcher, became so intoxicated that he began making violent threats. He barricaded the sound booth and claimed he had a grenade and would blow them all up. Much of this was aired before Producer Ann could cut away. The LAPD arrived, took charge, and the incident ended without violence. The band was asked back to the show several times after the incident.
  • On the August 8, 2002 show, the Culver City Police Department entered the radio studio and performed a sobriety test on Adam while the live show continued to broadcast. This took place after Adam admitted on air to having eaten pot brownies earlier on an airplane flight.
  • The radio show has been the subject of occasional controversy. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council once ruled that the program breached the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics, but was not racist and did not violate human rights. No penalty was imposed.
The controversy emerged from a show that aired on August 21, 2002 when a female phone sex operator called in to complain that her clients were reaching orgasm too quickly, hurting her earnings. Carolla suggested that she should drop subliminal phrases about unsexy topics, such as cancer or the Holocaust. To the amazement of the hosts, the caller admitted that she had never heard of the Holocaust and had no idea what it was. Adam and the phone sex operator then simulated what that call might sound like with this suggestion.
Adam (simulating telephone): Brrring. Brrring.
PSO (hotly spoken): Hi! How ya doin'?
Adam: Ooooh, hi, what's your name?
PSO: I'm Sugar.
Adam: Sugar, I'm Ace.
PSO: Hey Ace.
Adam: Yeah, what are you wearing?
PSO: Mmmm, I'm wearing a nice black garter.
Adam: Uh-huh.
PSO: Oooooh, just thinkin' about the Holocaust right now...
After she said this, Adam, Dr. Drew, and guest Tom Arnold could no longer contain themselves and burst out laughing.
  • In 2003, the show was pulled from Hawaiian affiliate KPOI after listeners complained about derogatory comments Carolla made regarding Hawaiians, on the November 9, 2003 show. Carolla intended to be humorous...

Dr. Drew: I wonder if Hawai'i has weathermen.

Adam Carolla: I'm sure.

D: Cause it's the same everyday, no matter what.

C: Maybe they don't. Hawaiians are too dumb. They can't figure out barometric pressure. They don't know what that means.

D: They have wind some days.

C: Here's the problem with weather in Hawai'i. There's a bunch of big words.

D: Yeah.

C: And they can't handle big words over there, because they're the world's dumbest people.

D: Well, they can't (sic) handle big words, but they must have three letters.

C: Yeah, they handle big words, but it's got to be the name of a fat chick or some drink. They don't do science. Close your eyes and picture all the great Hawaiian scientists over the years. (Laughs) They're retarded people. They stay on the island. They're in-bred, obviously. They're the dumbest people we have.

D: I have met some smart South Pacific people. Not who lived there.

C: People are smart enough to move. Everyone close your eyes and think of all the amazing contributions the Hawaiian scientific community has made over the years. (Long pause) Uh ... They're stupid people.

D: All right. Let's hear from them. Let's hear what they have to say. It'd be interesting to hear what they have to say.

C: What, the Hawaiians? First off, they don't know how to dial the phone. They can't call. They don't know what they're doing. They have big calves. That's all. They're stupid people. We really should start bringing some of them in 'cause they're strong. They're a strong, sturdy breed.

[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Westwood One - Loveline episodes
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]

[edit] External links

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[edit] Official Sites

[edit] Unofficial Sites

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