"Jenny Jones" (1991) TV series 1991-2003

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

Neil Flagg

Seasons:

6 | unknown

Release Date:

September 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Talk-Show

Plot:

This is just another daytime talk show, comparable to other hosts' shows, with sensational topics, invited guests, and audience participation.

Plot Keywords:

Audience Participation | Interview | Non Fiction | Character Name In Title

Cast

Jenny Jones	...	Herself - Host / ... (4 episodes, 1997-2001)
Crystal Storm	...	Herself (3 episodes, 1998-2001)
Laura Nevell	...	Herself (2 episodes, 1998-1999)
Krystal	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2002)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

River Tower Productions

Trivia:

In 1995, the show became the focus of a sensational murder trial. On 9 March 1995, 29-year-old Jonathan Schmitz appeared on a show called "Same-Sex Secret Crushes", but having only been told that the show was about secret crushes, he assumed that the admirer was a woman. The secret crush turned out to be his neighbor, 32 year-old Scott Amedure. Feeling that he had been publicly humiliated, Schmitz killed Amedure three days later with a 12 gauge shotgun. Schmitz was tried for first degree murder, but the case was overturned due to a technical error in the jury selection. In 1999, he was tried for Second-degree murder and received a sentence of 20-25 years. In May of that year a civil trial found "The Jenny Jones Show" to have been negligent because they did not screen the guests before inviting them on the show. The show was ordered to pay the Amedure family $25,000,000 for funeral expenses and pain and suffering for each family member. This decision was later overturned on appeal. The show pressed on in spite of sluggish ratings and was finally cancelled in 2003.

Movie Connections:

Featured in One Eight Seven (1997)

A 'Dirty' Guilty Pleasure

One good thing – and probably the *only* good thing – about "Jenny Jones" is that it tries to cater to various fetish tastes. Beefy musclewomen; blond, busty pornstars; scantily-clad, sexually promiscuous underaged girls (read: pedophilia) with potty mouths; glamour-girl wannabes. You name it, "Jenny" has it. I won't deny I enjoyed watching the show if only to see these females exhibited like pieces of meat to be craved for as if viewers are carnivorous dogs.

"Jenny" is no better or worse than "Jerry Springer". It is just classier looking (sort of like "Star" being a classier version than "National Enquirer") and, unlike "Jerry", allows underaged girls to behave 'out-of-control' on national TV, much more so than shows like "Maury", "Ricki Lake" or "Sally". On that alone, "Jenny" has done more to promote pedophilia tendencies – whether that is the producers and host's intentions or not – than any pornographic material. Consider these: Why are the girls scantily-clad? Why do they cuss? Why do they strut like street-walkers? Why do their talks almost always include bragging of sexual promiscuity? Why no troubled boys featured (when there are as many of them out there)? The other talk shows take great strides to tone down the profanity and on-camera behavior of the underaged guests. "Jenny" exercises no restraint whatsoever, other than no nudity or physical assault.

The show has it good moments. Paternity tests – a talk show staple – past guests taking ownership for their bad behaviors, showcase of local talents, even tackling racism. But the afore-mentioned bad points greatly outweigh the good, because the former literally sells sex. Just the fact that it has underaged girls behaving like street-walkers and whores is enough to turn off mainstream audiences. "Jerry Springer" is at least smart enough to keep the underaged away from its show. Even if the sensational murder on account of the "Same-Sex Secret Crushes" episode never happened, "Jenny" would have gone to the gutter anyway. Besides lovers of trash shows, who else watches it? Closet perverts, potential registered sex offenders??

Some day the whole world will find out the actual demographic breakdown of "Jenny"'s viewers by episode themes. Meaning statistics by gender, age group, TV tastes of they that watch 'bony to buff' musclewomen, out-of-control underaged nymphos, narcissists claiming to be too beautiful to get dates, or whatever floats their boat.

Yet I don't miss the show. It was fun and self-gratifying (for me) while it lasted. But trash is trash. When it's gone, you don't really miss it.