How Many Talk-Show Hosts Fit in the Tube?

N ot on the next “Oprah”:

“Dimpled, dreadlocked comediennes with doctorates in sociology, motivational lecturers and formerly overweight-turned-glamorous actresses tell about their quests to be the next highly successful television talk-show host, even though some people feel there are already too many talk shows.”

But if Winfrey were putting together such a program, she wouldn’t have had to look further than the convention of the National Assn. of Television Program Executives in San Francisco last week, where the major talk among buyers and sellers of syndicated shows was “talk”--namely, the three new kids on the already heavily populated talk-show block.

Even though they remain relatively unknown to television viewers, and their shows won’t hit the airwaves until the fall, Bertice Berry, Les Brown and Ricki Lake are already being hailed as huge stars by their respective syndicators--Twentieth Television, King World and Columbia Pictures Television Distribution. Heads of the companies contended to affiliates and independent stations that their host would be the best thing to happen in the television war of the words since the emergence of the undisputed dominant host, Winfrey.

The spotlight at the convention once more sparked debate in the television industry on whether viewers can stand still another talk show, when there are currently more than 20 such programs on commercial TV stations--to say nothing of cable. Is Les really more? Can the loose lips on Bertice and Ricki sink the talk-show ships of Regis & Kathie Lee and Jenny and Joan and Geraldo and Maury and Montel and Phil and Jerry and Faith and Vicki and Sally Jessy and Jane?

David M. Tinsch, director of programming for WTVH-TV, a CBS affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y., argued that there’s room for one more--as long as it’s a hit.

“There’s a whole lot of interest in the new talk shows,” said Tinsch. “Everybody is still looking for the next Oprah. It’s like finding a gold mine, or searching for the fountain of youth. As for us, we’re committed to Bertice. She’s warm, friendly, funny. We think women will be able to relate to her. We’re putting her at 10 a.m.”

However, Michael Carter, general manager of KXTX-TV, an independent station in Dallas, had his doubts that any of the new hosts were worth his while. Returning to his hotel one evening after purchasing reruns of “Evening Shade” from MTM and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” from Twentieth, he said none of the three new talk shows attracted his interest.

“There’s already a glut of them,” he said. “There’s a lot more supply than demand. I think they’re having trouble getting clearance in the marketplace. They’re just not new enough.”

However, all three hosts maintained that their shows would be different and unique and that there’s room for one more talkfest.

“What I’m bringing to viewers is my personality,” said Berry, a sociologist, comedian and lecturer who is described in her press kit as “either the Bill Cosby of sociology or the Doctor of Comedy. Or both.”

“I identify with a larger group of people, I’m positive, and I’ll be doing it from a female perspective,” said Berry. “Talk shows are about human behavior, and how many times can you talk about that? Endless times. It’s always changing.”

A sample topic on Berry’s show would be “First Jobs of Famous People” and “Older Siblings Bringing Up Younger Siblings.” Like Winfrey, her show will be based in Chicago.

Brown, a motivational speaker and corporate trainer, said his show will “inspire, inform and empower the audience. I want the show to be an active force in changing people’s lives. I want to do shows on how people can make it in the ‘90s, how they can maintain the delicate balance in their jobs and personal lives.”

A sample topic on his New York-based show would be “How to Get Out of a Toxic Relationship.”

Lake, who co-starred in ABC’s “China Beach” and played a rotund, dance-happy teen in the early ‘60s satire “Hairspray,” called her show a “relationship show that will be skewed to a younger audience.”

Co-executive producer Gail Sternberg, formerly senior producer for Phil Donahue, said topics on Lake’s New York-based show will be similar to those on Donahue’s or Winfrey’s but with a younger twist. “We want to be to daytime what Arsenio Hall was to nighttime when he first started out,” she said. “We’re going to take the format and tweak it a little.”

At the convention, huge color portraits of Berry, Brown and Lake loomed over the floor. All three worked the display areas like politicians, whisking in and out of countless business meetings, telling station general managers and other broadcasters why their show was the one to buy.

Berry choked up at a press conference as she talked about how the reality of having her own show was finally hitting her and danced with party-goers at a Twentieth Television reception. Brown posed with Winfrey in the King world display area and punctuated many of his chats with fans and broadcasters with a handshake and “God bless you.” Lake bounced from interview to interview with journalists and potential clients, sometimes taking her shoes off and sitting cross-legged in the plush chairs of the massive Columbia Pictures Television Distribution area.

The sales pitches were flying fast and furious.

“Bertice Berry is going through the roof,” enthused Greg Meidel, president of Twentieth Television. “Buyers are making multiyear commitments to her. When they meet her, they’re so impressed. We believe in her personality.” He added that NBC tried to sign her: “We just felt she was someone who we couldn’t let the competition take away.”

“Les Brown is the hottest of the new shows,” proclaimed Michael King, president of King World. “I know there are a lot of shows out there that are not working, but ours works. Everyone knows that King World knows how to produce a successful talk show. And the stations know if they can get another Oprah, it will be a bonanza.”

“There is a long list of talk shows, but Ricki Lake is a different type, and there is room for something different,” stressed Barry Thurston, president of Columbia Pictures Television Distribution. “We’re aiming for a different demographic, and the public will respond.”

Some of the jostling resulted in competitive unpleasantness. Some buyers and sellers attempted to pit Berry against Brown since they were targeted for the same audience. Berry said she had heard talk that some at the convention--not Brown or Lake--had called her a racist or a radical because of her dreadlocks.

“Christ was a radical. What does that mean?” she snapped. “That’s so ridiculous. It gets pretty nasty and unnecessary, and it doesn’t need to be that way.”

But as far as the hosts were concerned, there was little of the competitive fervor between them. Berry and Brown, who are friends, ran into each other as they exited the convention floor one day and warmly embraced, congratulating each other.

Berry said later, “There’s room for everyone.”

Or so she hopes.