Maury (TV series)
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| Maury | |
|---|---|
 Maury show logo used from 1998-2007. |
|
| Format | Talk show |
| Created by | Maury Povich |
| Starring | Maury Povich |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 2,900+ |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndication |
| Original run | 1991 – Present Renewed Through September 2010 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Maury (formerly known as The Maury Povich Show) is a syndicated American television show hosted by Maury Povich, created along the same lines as The Jerry Springer Show. Episodes usually deal with issues of sexual infidelity, paternity test results, unusual illnesses or makeovers, or parenting. Originally produced by MoPo Productions in association with Paramount Television when it first went on the air in 1991, the show was revamped in 1998, when Studios USA (now NBC Universal) took over production. (MoPo continues to co-produce with NBC Universal.) Maury is currently taped in New York City and averages about 3.5 million viewers per episode.
On July 16, 2007, The Maury Show was officially renewed through at least the 2010 season. [1]
[edit] Themes
[edit] Who's My Baby's Daddy?
This type of episode has almost completely dominated the series over the last few years. A mother will bring her partner onto the show after he has denied fathering her child; while he is backstage, the mother will describe her feelings on the situation and a pre-recorded message from the man will be played, in which he asserts that he does not believe that he is the father. Men are sometimes accompanied by their girlfriend, fiancee, wife, or mother. After the video, the man will walk onto the set (often being booed the audience) and a picture of the baby juxtaposed with a picture of the male will appear on a video screen. After Maury talks with both parties, he will open a manila envelope containing the paternity test results; before he reveals the answer he will ask the two what their plans will be when they hear them. He will then state the results and the two parties will react. If the man is proven to be the father, he accepts the results and pledges to help take care of the child. If the man is proven not to be the father, the mother will often walk or run backstage and sit down or collapse backstage sobbing with Maury following them and consuling them saying things like "We'll help you find the father." Meanwhile, the man often celebrates by dancing or getting high-fives from audience members.
A video clip from Maury called the "You Are Not the Father Dance" has been very popular on video-sharing websites. It features a man named Andrew being tested as a potential father of the second child of a woman named Sabrina; she asserts that she is "not one hundred, not two hundred, but five thousand percent" sure that he is the father. When Maury reveals that Andrew is, in fact, not the father, he jumps out of his seat and begins dancing; the creator of the video added Outkast's "The Way You Move" to the video. On a later episode, Maury acknowledged this clip had been downloaded half a million times.
[edit] Repeat Paternity Tests
Many mothers who fail to find the fathers of their children return to the show to test more men. A clip is shown of the mother's past appearances as well as a clip of the next man being tested explaining why he's not the father. Many mothers will say that they're 100%, 110%, 120% and even 200% sure, with the percentage increasing for each appearance. Very few mothers eventually find the fathers of their children.
[edit] Paternity Tests for Mothers who Cheated
A woman will bring her husband or boyfriend onto the show to admit to him that she cheated on him in the past, and that their child might not actually be his. After the woman makes her confession to Maury, her partner (who was secluded backstage) will walk onto the set, often being cheered by the audience, and be told the secret; the reactions often differ widely. If the man consents to a paternity test, the viewing audience rejoins the couple two days later where Maury reads the results. Some men will elect to care for the child even if they are not the father, whereas others will request a divorce or time to think it over.
[edit] Shocking Secrets
In this segment, a guest will reveal a secret to their spouse or family member. Maury will discuss the confession with the guest while the loved one is secluded backstage (unable to hear or see the conversation). After a pre-recorded video clip, they are then brought on stage to hear the secret.
[edit] Out of Control Teens
This topic involves young teenage girls between the ages of thirteen and sixteen and commences with a parent describing his daughter's behavior, which has included drug use, promiscuity, prostitution, unprotected sex, shoplifting, gang fights, and pornographic viewing. A pre-recorded message of the teenager addressing her parent is then played; the girl will deny (or, in some instances, brag about) the behavior they have been accused of. Maury then brings the teen out (often she receives a very negative reaction from the audience) and then discusses the problem with Maury and the family. Some shows include lie detector tests, while others do not; all episodes, however, end with the appearance of a motivational speaker. Such speakers in the past have included Brenda (a former prostitute), D West, or Raphael B. Johnson (a convicted murderer) or Maddog. The teens are often sent to a correctional facility, a boot camp, the slums, a funeral home, "baby boot camp" (a scenario in which they must take care of a baby), or a combination of these.
[edit] Infidelity Lie Detector Tests
A male or female guest brings his or her significant other to the show in order to settle suspicions that the other is cheating. The partner who is accusing the other appears on stage first, discussing with Maury why he or she suspects the other of cheating, and talks about the relationship, while the other is backstage. A pre-recorded video is played of the accused who denies cheating. The accused then walks onto the set (often with negative audience reaction) and converses with Maury and the partner. The polygraph test results are then revealed. More often than not, the accused fails the lie detector test, who often still denys cheating and insist the test was wrong. Many times, sexy decoys are used in order to prove cheating
[edit] Outrageous, Sexy, & Violent Moments Exposed!
From police chases to brutal attacks caught on tape, Maury often invites hosts of investigative journalism shows or survivors of horrific events to share their stories on his show.
[edit] Other Themes
There are also a few less-raunchy themes that Maury explores less frequently, usually on holidays.
[edit] Overweight Babies
In previous years, Maury has dedicated entire episodes to mothers and fathers who do not know what to do about their child (usually a toddler), who is astoundingly obese for his age and height. Criticism in the mainstream press, and near-constant exposure in magazines such as The National Enquirer caused Maury to impose a moratorium on such episodes, although he reintroduced the topic for shows in the 2005 and 2006 season, but these episodes are shown on a less frequent basis. For many years, this topic and Maury's show were synonymous.
[edit] From Geek to Chic!
This segment features adults who were once unpopular in high school revealing to their past crushes how much they have changed. This set-up often involves the unsuspecting guest being blindfolded and subjected to a provocative dance before it is revealed who their tempter actually is.
[edit] Disfigured People, Plastic Surgery Nightmares, and Extreme Teen Plastic Surgery
People who have been disfigured in plastic surgery accidents or devastating accidents are exposed! This was parodied by South Park in the episode "Freak Strike", where Butters pretended to have his testicles attached to his chin. The deformities shown in the show may be the product of a birth defect, or the result of an assault (via battery acid, dog attack, fire, etc.).
A variation on this topic shown once in 2007 is Extreme Teen Plastic Surgery, which documents out of control teens who receive plastic surgery, in a reality TV style. In these episodes, special Maury correspondent Egypt joins Maury to host the show.
[edit] Jack Hanna
Animal expert Jack Hanna comes to the show with animals, normally with at least one urinating and/or defecating on stage.
[edit] Secret crushes
These episodes focus on people that may or may not have been obese and have secret crushes. The objects of their admiration are eventually introduced to their intended after Maury interviews them.
[edit] High school bullies
Former high school bullies are reunited with the people they victimized as teenagers. Usually, the victim was obese or "nerdy" and now has transformed into an "attractive" person. The formerly geeky woman appears on stage most often as a stripper or porn star, often with a whole new persona, including augmented breasts and assuming a stage name. If the victim is a man, he usually will be buff and attractive. He or she then goes backstage. The former bully will emerge onto stage, and Maury will question him or her about the victim, often showing a high school photo of the victim. The bully responds with sneering, laughing, or a general attidude of mocking dismay. The victim is then called back out stage, prancing out in a revealing outfit and showing off their assets. As the crowd cheers and hoots, the bully will appear shocked and sometimes displays an arrogance towards the victim. Other past reactions have been asking the victim out, complimenting them, scorning them or even kissing the victim's feet as a form of apology. A variation on this theme is transsexualism. Sometimes the victim is a transgendered male-to-female transsexual who reunites with a woman who was kind to her in high school. The girl will usually be surgically enhanced.
[edit] Abusive Husbands & Teen Control
Women bring their abusive husbands/boyfriends/fiances on Maury's show, usually not in a confrontational manner. The women cry to Maury that they love their husbands/boyfriends/fiances and wish that they would stop beating them. Invariably the men walk onstage to the boos of the audience, yell a string of profanities, and brag about abusing their wives/girlfriends in great detail. Many of the husbands/boyfriends also teach their sons to treat their wives/girlfriends the same way, causing great distress to Maury and the audience. Some men even claim they learned this behavior from their fathers. Near the end of the show, they are yelled at by D West and are taken to the Madison A. Daniels Funeral Home, where their wives/girlfriends/fiances await them lying in a coffin, pretending to be dead. Most of the time, the men change their ways, but extremely rarely, they change for a short while but then start to be abusive again. There were at least two cases where men appear on the show again having ended their abusive ways, but are now cheating.
[edit] Irrational phobias
Maury has interviewed individuals on his show who are thought to have irrational and slightly rational phobias and fears such as those of peaches, balloons, peanut butter, mustard, pickles, birds, or even midgets. The general reactions of these people even on the sight of said phobia throws them in a panic, often running all around the set while cast & crew shove the said phobia in their face. On an extremely rare occasion, a female guest was so scared of mustard, she attempted to strangle a female audience member. The guests are helped by personal growth experts and life strategists Gary Coxe and motivational hypnotist Boris Cherniak.
[edit] (Is This A) Man or Woman
Maury exposes male-to-female transsexuals by parading a bevy of beauties down a runway into the audience. These episodes consist almost entirely of a full hour of the audience yelling their guesses in a frenzy as Maury walks around with his microphone asking audience members individually. On one occasion an April Fools episode revealed at the end that ALL the guests were actually women. These shows tend to appear around certain holidays such as Halloween.
[edit] Peeping Toms
Women who have been victims of peeping toms and sexual predators share what happened to Maury, which includes a dramatization of how they have been watched undressing and showering by peeping toms outside their windows. These kinds of episodes often include tips for women on how to be aware of their surroundings.
[edit] Other themes
Are these ghosts real?; top 10 moments of the year; guests return with updates; 10 year anniversary special; missing children; maury's weekly countdown; celebrity look a likes; maury's mini idol; maury's talent show; medical mysteries uncovered; "I want to be hypnotized"; dreams come true; family reunions; surprise propasals; survival stories; newlywed game moments
[edit] Studios
Maury is taped at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. The studio audience obtain free tickets to the taping of Maury's program via the show's official website. Two shows are shot back-to-back and the studio audience is usually given sandwiches between the shows. The studio shared the facility in the Hotel Pennsylvania with "The Sally Show" (Cancelled in 2002) - For many years both shows were known to "share" audience members by shooting with adjacent schedules.
[edit] Criticism
Despite the seemingly compassionate attitude of Maury Povich toward his guests, The Maury Show is often accused by critics of exploiting dysfunctional families and minorities and for embracing and sensationalizing some of the worst stereotypes of American society and behavior. Although The Maury Show has a more serious tone and is less raunchy in nature, some critics denounce it as being even worse than other similar talk shows such as The Jerry Springer Show, due to what is perceived as an insincere sympathy for the guests and using their serious problems for the entertainment and humor of the viewing audience. Whitney Matheson wrote about the show in her USA Today column, "Povich's talk show is, without a doubt, the worst thing on television. Period. Don't be fooled by the pressed shirt and pleated khakis; Maury is miles further down the commode than Jerry Springer."
[edit] Popular Culture
[edit] South Park parody
In Episode 603 of the TV series South Park, "Freak Strike", the boys sign up their friend Butters to appear on the Maury show as a child with testicles on his chin, as part of a scheme to receive prizes from the show. Cartman also gets in on the act appearing in drag and announcing "Whateva! Whateva! I do what I want..." (See "Violent Teen Girls" above.) The episode serves as a commentary on how Maury exploits and trivializes the plights of real people ("This is terrible dude! Maury Povich parades these poor people around like carnival freaks, and then give prizes at the end as if to justify it. What a dick!", says Kyle Broflovski in the episode).
[edit] Music
In the new solo single, Dat Baby by Lil' Jon and the BME Click, the Maury show is sampled for their general topic.[2] The main hook being "That baby don't look like me.", and the opening lyrics being "That baby aint mine, Im sorry. You are not the father. Bitch you heard Maury."
The rap group known as Vicious DNA has a song called "Bring 'em Out", referring to phrase the guests or Maury usually uses when another guest is about to come out onto the stage. The song is usually played when Maury has finished a show, and it is known to be "The Maury Theme Song".
