Ricki Lake (as known as The Ricki Lake Show) is a daytime tabloid talk show hosted by American actress Ricki Lake. The series debuted in syndication on September 13, 1993, and ended first-run episodes on May 21, 2004, continuing in reruns through the summer until August 27, 2004.
Series background
The show specialized in sensationalist topics involving invited guests and incorporated questions and comments from a studio audience. But unlike most of the counterparts of the day, her primary audience was aimed at teenagers, young adults, college students, and urban viewers (who described themselves as "Generation X") rather than the 25+ audience that advertisers were catering to, plus it was less sensational and tamer compared to the other programs. It was taped at the Chelsea Studios in New York City. During an interview on A Spoonful of Paolo, Lake stated that she almost signed up to do the show for only $5000.
Topicality
During the series' run, its primary focus was on dealing with personal subjects like parenting skills (including single mothers who are accused of having the lack of experience of taking care of children), romantic relationships (both marital and non-marital), LGBT issues (like discrimination, same-sex couples who want to have children or straight people attracted to a person who is LGBT or the other way around), racism and prejudice (even within their own race and gender), interracial relationships, family discord, revealing secrets, and social topics of the day (like money, looking for work or being on welfare). At times she had lighter shows, ranging from contests (including female impersonators, beauticians, or those who want to prove to others that they do have talent), celebrity guests, and reunions, to granting viewers' personal wishes.
A majority of the shows had surprises waiting in store for the guests, which were revealed by a doorbell ringing if a guest didn't come clean about themselves. This prompted Ricki to bring out another guest who knew the truth about the primary guest's intentions. At times, the guests would find out that someone else had been listening to their confession while they were on stage or in the audience. On one show in 1997 for example, a guy who admitted to having an affair was unaware that his wife was on stage (this after Ricki turn around and saw her sitting on the steps to ask her why she was there). The doorbell (and other surprises) were a major part of the series throughout its run. Lake's talk show sometimes covered serious topics, including domestic violence ("Bad Men, Desperate Woman"), homeless people who live in the NYC subway system ("The Catacomb People") and "Teens on Death Row". Lake also took on shows that dealt with women who were members of the Ku Klux Klan, and during a show involving marijuana, she learned that three guests were using the substance just moments after they walked on to the set as she was about to interview them.
One of Lake's most memorable and controversial confrontations happened during the first season, when she found herself dealing with Reverend Fred Phelps in a show that involved targeting anyone who carries the AIDS virus and why they deserve to die. (Phelps and his followers from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas had been picketing at funerals for AIDS victims across the United States, leading to several states to enact laws prohibiting or restricting groups from coming within a certain distance of the funerals.) When Phelps and his son-in-law tried to take over the set, a furious and insulted Lake ordered the Phelps family to leave the studio. During the commercial break, the two were forced off the set by the producers and escorted out of the building by security. After Phelps died on March 19, 2014, Lake tweeted on her Twitter page that when he was on the show he told her that she worshipped her rectum on camera, which led to Lake taking action off-stage to force Phelps off the show after that remark. The series also experienced controversy after an episode titled "I'm Angry Because People Think I'm Gay" was taped, in which the audience became "increasingly hostile" and made many "inappropriate remarks." The media monitoring organization GLAAD attempted to prevent the episode from airing.