Editing Ricki Lake (1993 talk show) (section)

==Production==
===Conception and development===
[[File:Jane Pratt.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|alt=See caption|[[Jane Pratt]]'s talk show was retooled into ''Ricki Lake''.]]

In 1992, television producers [[Garth Ancier]] and Gail Steinberg conceived the idea of a talk show that targeted young adults.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/24/garden/at-dinner-with-ricki-lake-half-the-weight-and-on-the-rise.html |title=Half the Weight and on the Rise |last=Degen |first=Peter |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 24, 1993 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304220741/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/24/garden/at-dinner-with-ricki-lake-half-the-weight-and-on-the-rise.html |archive-date=March 4, 2024}}</ref> It materialized as ''Jane'', a show hosted by ''[[Sassy (magazine)|Sassy]]'' editor [[Jane Pratt]] that focused on young and explicit topics.<ref name="variety">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1992/tv/news/ricki-you-join-talk-war-100453/ |title='Ricki,' 'You' join talk war |last1=Huff |first1=Richard |last2=Benson |first2=Jim |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=November 10, 1992 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> It received a 13-week trial run on [[WNYW]]; however, it was not renewed or picked up for [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].<ref name="chicagotribune">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/04/25/learning-to-talk-3/ |title=Learning to Talk |last=Beroset Diamond |first=Deborah |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=April 25, 1993 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> Ancier claimed that ''Jane''{{'}}s production company, [[20th Television|20th Century Fox]], liked the show's format although not Pratt as host.<ref name="chicagotribune"/> As a result, Ancier searched for a new host for the show.<ref name="nytimes"/> Over 100 women auditioned for the role and the finalists included [[Veronica Webb]], [[Melissa Rivers]], and [[Ricki Lake]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-04-ca-31589-story.html |title=Upstarts Want to Break the TV Talk-Show Mold |last=Arkush |first=Michael |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 4, 1993 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606222243/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-04-ca-31589-story.html |archive-date=June 6, 2024}}</ref><ref name="nytimes"/> According to Steinberg, producers wanted "someone who's young but someone who has enough of a world view to bring some understanding to a range of topics. When we met Ricki, we felt all of that immediately."<ref name="chicagotribune2">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/12/05/talk-time/ |title=Talk Time |last=Davis |first=Bridget |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 5, 1993 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> Most of ''Jane''{{'}}s production staff was retained for Lake's show, which Ancier described as ''Jane'' with a new host.<ref name="variety"/><ref name="chicagotribune"/>

===Topic selection===
The show's premiere featured the topic "I'm Getting Married But I Haven't Met My Husband Yet".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1993/voices/columns/chevy-gets-into-the-latenite-chase-1117862259/ |title=Chevy gets into the latenite chase |last=Archerd |first=Army |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=September 13, 1993 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250205232526/https://variety.com/1993/voices/columns/chevy-gets-into-the-latenite-chase-1117862259/ |archive-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref>

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).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Local psychologist gets to ply trade in 'Ricki Lake' TV episode on teens |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2000/10/18/local-psychologist-gets-to-ply-trade-in-ricki-lake-tv-episode-on-teens/ |access-date=2012-04-11}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The low road to talk TV |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/11/29/the-low-road-to-talk-tv/ |access-date=2012-04-11}}</ref>

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 before they walked on to the set to be interviewed by her.

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.<ref>[https://www.baltimoresun.com/1993/12/06/respect-earns-ricki-lake-success-on-tv/ "Respect earns Ricki Lake success on TV"] from ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' (December 6, 1993)</ref> 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.<ref>[https://twitter.com/RickiLake/status/446772962150989824 Twitter message] from Lake (March 20, 2014)</ref> 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."<ref name="eweekly">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/04/08/ricki-lake-criticized-gay-attack/|title=Ricki Lake criticized for gay attack|last=Gerosa|first=Melina|date=April 8, 1994|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|language=en-US|access-date=July 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524163704/https://ew.com/article/1994/04/08/ricki-lake-criticized-gay-attack/|archive-date=May 24, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> The media monitoring organization [[GLAAD]] attempted to prevent the episode from airing.<ref name="eweekly"/>

===Guest and audience recruitment===
The methodology for securing guests on the show, common to many shows similar to it, was as such: Producers would brainstorm and come up with a show title or theme. During an aired episode of the program spots would run for shows in pre-production. The goal was to recruit persons who may have a situation in their life that fits with the proposed topic. Hotline messages would be screened and the most promising prospects would be contacted by a production assistant. The potential guest would be interviewed about their situation. Guests chosen to appear on the show were booked airfare to New York City, brought to the television studio and sent to specific "[[green room]]s", inside which they were briefed in more detail on how the show would be taped. One of the producers then sat down with each guest to reiterate the story, including emphasis on various phrases or statements the guest might have made during pre-interviews. Guests were given an appearance and confidentiality contract to sign and installments were recorded in real-time, which took approximately 80 minutes to complete. Lake came into the audience for taped segments and, during the paused portion (where commercial breaks were inserted), she left the audience to consult with producers. The final show was aired approximately one month later. However, if the guest (or guests) lied to the producers prior to coming on air, they were forced off the set and their travel arrangements cancelled. This happened twice during the show's run, and both events aired.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFbgp-hdjtU ("I'll Dump My Honey For A Guy With Money!"; 2000)</ref><ref>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qeboiwQFFfs&feature=youtu.be ("Summer Secrets!"; 2000)</ref>