Dr. Phil and Sex

I remember about 30 years ago when I'm OK, You're OK was a best seller. It was in the vanguard of pop psychology books. I read it, of course, and then thought the title should be changed to I'm OK, You're OK, But I'm Not So Sure About Him.

I thought about this yesterday when my friend, Holly, and I went to a taping of Dr. Phil's show here in Los Angeles. He uses facilities at Paramount Pictures studio on Gower at Melrose. It's always a kick for me to see the old studios.

Holly is a big fan of Dr. Phil's. For her birthday and Christmas presents these past couple of years, I have given her books by him, each of which she has read in a couple of sittings. She got the tickets for the showing by visiting his web site (click the Title of this entry to go there yourself). Holly saw him a couple of weeks ago at her church, the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, as he talked with its pastor, Rev. Robert Schuller. So did millions of viewers around the world.

We arrived early and stood in line outside for about an hour a half. Then we were ushered into a waiting room where we sat for half an hour and drank coffee. Finally, we were allowed to enter "The Studio."

Technicians and others guided us to seats. There were seven cameras. Then a major domo exhorted us to applaud and cheer on cue as loud as we could. We practiced this many times.

That wasn't really necessary, but it was fun. Most people in the audience were women, about 90 percent. When Dr. Phil finally came out, about 12:20 p.m., everyone leaped out of their seats and cheered like crazy as a video of Cher played loudly on the monitors. The women were as nuts as they could be.

Then Dr. Phil told us today's topic: SEX.

Oh, man, the audience went nuts again! Holly was cheering like crazy! Every woman in the studio went berserk! So did I! So did the other men! Finally, after several minutes, the audience quieted down. Dr. Phil chatted and kidded with us. Then the taping began, and it was as professional as you can imagine.

His first guests were a 52 year-old mother and her 26-year-old son. The son was upset with his mom because she was always going out to bars dressed provocatively to pick up and sleep with men in their early twenties. She had been divorced for 20 years and didn't see anything wrong with her behavior. She didn't care that her behavior really upset her son.

The mother and son were followed by a 40-ish couple who like to swing with other couples. They have been doing this for years. The wife explained her spouse had never, ever satisfied her sexually. He didn't say whether his wife satisfied him. While their young daughter was asleep in her bedroom on the second floor, they often had sex with other couples in their basement.

The last couple was in their late 40s. The husband had recently retired after working two jobs for many years. Their sex life had deteriorated almost completely. They wanted to know what they could do to revitalize it. Dr. Phil offered a few tips and sent them on a week-long, all-expense paid trip to Hawaii, "courtesy of Expedia.com," to "rekindle the flame."

I won't go into the often hilarious, sometimes sick details of what transpired with each couple. You'll be able to see that for yourself when the show airs in February.

By the way, his wife, Robin, is drop-dead gorgeous! They've been married about 25 years. It was fun watching her blush and hide her face in her hands when Dr. Phil kidded about their own sex life.

You might have gathered that I'm not a big fan of Dr. Phil's. Would I go back to see his show taped again? You bet! To see Robin again is reason enough!

And who knows, maybe next time he'll give each of us a gift!

Bah humbug, Dr. Phil! I really enjoyed your show and had a great time.

See'ya soon!