The Doctor Is In
Dr. Phil was out “on the road” to kick off the 8th season of his show, and one of his big city destinations was Philadelphia. He was taping segments of his show in Camden, NJ where he stopped by the Battleship NJ. Of course Dr. Phil invited the troops to the Battleship. He loves the troops — and included them in his opening sequence. Here he is (below) shooting for his show with his wife, Robin McGraw; they’ll be using this footage as part of the live show they’ll be taping on Independence Mall on Wednesday.
I had met Dr. Phil and Robin a few years ago when they were in town promoting Robin’s new book. They actually recognized me from back then. Robin was just as sweet as I had remembered. I really enjoyed seeing the both of them again this time around. I sat down with Dr. Phil for a one-on-one podcast in between takes for his talk show. Covering news, I’m used to being in loud places. My microphone is directional so background sound doesn’t really bother me. He was distracted by the noise though, so as soon as we sat down, he asked his entire crew to please be silent. Normally when I interview someone, I try to pull them away from the crowd and interview them off to the side. I got into the habit of interviewing people this way because most people tend to get nervous when they feel their friends were watching them. Dr. Phil is a TV professional by now though, and he’s used to people watching him. So when everyone got quiet and the whole crew had their eyes on me and Dr. Phil, I had to force myself to just ignore them.
Watching his segment get taped, I think it’s interesting what happens “behind the scenes.” When Dr. Phil sits down for an interview — especially if it’s on location — it looks as though it’s just him and that person. In reality though, there are a couple dozen crew members in the background skillfully dodging their way out of the camera shot. It’s pretty interesting actually how TV works and how many people have to come together to put on a show. It’s very different from radio, especially news radio, in that when I go off to cover a story, the only crew member there is me.
Anyway, I enjoyed meeting the McGraws. Phil has a real presence about him. Robin has a presence about her but in a different way. Dr. Phil is a take charge kind of guy; Robin is a kind smile and eager to listen kind of woman. I haven’t watched the Dr. Phil show recently, but when it first came out, his personality is what I liked, and of course her personality too, when he brought her onto the show. I have to say, it was an interesting morning at work.
