I love how these purported weight loss shows become a kind of food porn...

Now, I am something of a chunkymonkey myself but watching the family BBQ on today's show just made me hungry. I'm very happy to feel the love if lotsa cheese on homemade mac&cheese is your way of showing it... I'd probably take a second plate myself at that family gathering (plus, as one who knows, you gotta take that 2nd plate on the first pass cuz there ain't no guarantees of seconds at bigfoodfamily gatherings like that...)

Exactly. Like I said before, WHY are these CHILDREN being counseled at an adult level? They are on an entirely different psych level and being given inappropriate consideration as far as the overall picture (IMHO). Dragging these kids sex lives or that of their parents out on public tv is just not called for. I can't help but think the long-term damage that may be done to these 3 girls. They are not as resiliant if perhaps they were boys, and/or perhaps younger or out of their teens. They are all at PRIME self-conscience ages!

I feel that the whole thing got out of control and became a "throw money at it thing". We're trying to teach Alex to be responsible and concentrate on her baby, yet we're sending her to "paradise" to study marine biology?
He even told FUF2 that he wanted to do all kinds of things for them including sending the parents on get-aways. Is that common practice for family or individual therapists?? I know my counselor has never offered such!!

This sounds interesting... I guess.

So true, Stinkylulu! I loved that family so much I just wanted to be a a part of it all. I'll be dreaming about that hot cheese sauce pouring lavishly over the macaroni as I drift off tonight.

Now why didn't Phil show us all how to have a big family cook out with homemade brown bread, a giant salad, salmon fillet or chicken breasts grilling on the BBQ with some veggies and roast sweet potaotes? Does he really think these 300lb ladies are going to play soft ball or sit around all Sunday afternoon without eating anything? The man needs to get real.

I was also disappointed when he didn't send J. J. to their house to boss them around. I was looking forward to seeing her tied up and rotating on the outdoor rotisserie.

Oh god. I NEVER watch this show, but I was at the laundromat today and it was playing. Good god. I was eating a small bag of tortilla chips and as soon as I saw that first man, I had to stop eating. How does one get to that extreme weight, even IF you've got someone aiding and abetting your lifestyle.

Did Dr. Phil ever mention how long the program will take him in order to get his weight down to a normalish weight?

I have absolutely no clue. I did not know that the human body could function at 800 lbs. I know from being pregnant, I have indulged in my share of ice cream and spaghetti the last 8 months and I have gained only 26 lbs. Does he intentionally eat the most fattening, unhealthy things? The thing about getting to 800 is that you have to consistently eat more and more and more. He must eat like 24 hours a day.

Don't get me wrong, I am not coming down on him, I am just trying to understand.

What I didn't get about today's show was why that woman was so afraid somebody was going to snag her fiance. The guy is going to have to loose a LOT of weight before he can sneak out of the house, so that concern becoming even a possibility is a ways off. In fact, she didn't have as much to loose as he did, so she could start loosing weight and get thin long before he would!

Yeah, all that other family did was make me hungry, too. Mac 'n Cheese! Mac 'n Cheese!!! I did have to laugh when the young woman was asking about genetics playing a part. We have that problem in my family, too! :)


Bwah!! And ... if only!

The audience screamed so loudly for DP on today's show, I thought panties were about to be thrown.

I also wonder about people who can get up to 600, 800 lbs. It just seems so weird to me that the human body can get that big.

I just got through last week's Follow-Up Show (I love them!) and was rather pleased though I am sooo sick of everyone swooning before Dr. Phil like he's God. That part is disgusting. And if they want to grow in terms of their relationships they should be reading Harville Hendrix who, unlike DP, (And partially because he ripped-off Freud!) actually knows what he's taking about and Ann Crittenden (Price of Motherhood), Helen Fisher (Anatomy of Love / Why We Love), and Patricia Love (The Truth About Love) are also highly recommended reading. Dr. Phil also has totally ripped-off Hendrix since his book is (sloppily) set up along similar lines but with semi-religious overtones.

I felt REALLY bad for Addict Girl. Having dealt with food and spending addictions myself and having lived through -- and, admittedly, also having created some -- financial difficulties for myself, I can relate to both her and her family's issues. However, it's only fair to blame children for not making it if you actually gave them a decent shot at building a life and they blew it. Parents who abuse and neglect their children and then have the audacity and the nerve to blame them for having no marketable skills and being marginally employed (especially in our culture) make me sick. I'd bet you money that Addict Girl was mentally-ill for most of her childhood and young adulthood and that it went totally untreated. The parents may be pissed, but I'll bet that family had Denial Stew for dinner many a night. Some families do give their kids everything and then the kids throw it all away while other families claim to have given their kids everything and a closer examination tells a very different story.

Dr. Phil was unrealistic about one thing though; yes, she's 30 and should, theoretically, be professionally more established or economically independent, but she's a thirty year old with little education, somewhat burnt-out and hard-livin'-over-the-hill-looks, whose been an addict since she was in High School, and she's got debt up the wah-zoo. Her skills only sound so-so marketable and if she's that deep in debt and all of her money is going to making payments she may be truly deprived and suffering and that's only going to activate her addictive tendencies. She should probably just file for bankruptcy and start over if her income-to-debt ratio is too unmanageable and a full-recovery within a reasonable period of time isn't possible.

Once again, Dr. Phil never wants to look at issues like a lack of education, marketable skills, inflation, wage stagnancy, and massive debt as being pressing social problems nor does he want to understand what she's likely up against. It makes me ill to think what Robin probably spends on unneccesary goods and superfluous treatments in a month. Once again, the wealthy write the poor off as being poor because they are supposedly moral failures rather then as a result of a number of complex and interdependent variables and circumstances that have helped bring it about independently and regardless of what good, so-so, or bad choices they may have made.

I take this issue personally because my parents and I have spent most of our lives together at war over money. My mother was terrified of being left alone so she deliberately withheld financial support at certain critical junctures to (initially) limit how far I could get in my academic and professional life. My father, meanwhile, was a complete failure who thought nothing of remaining in a dead business for 10 years, of failing two wives and three children, and who also had a lot of unresolved rage and resentment towards his parents and childhood and basically took us all down with him to prove his unconscious emotional points.

My Father once sank so low as to try to write-it all of as being the result of my addictive personality. Of course, he continued to actively resist understanding that even addicts need to go to school, acquire skills, and become self-sufficient, and that they require support and funds (for a period of time) to do all of the above. He also continually ignored that this addict did college in 3 years and then worked full-time (sometimes at horrendous jobs because of a lack of skills and choice) and also went to school full-time all through graduate school. The bastard made it 100 times harder then it had to be and tried to blame me, my siblings, and our mothers for his not being up to the challenges of being a responsible parent.

I've largely made my peace with them, but both know that I am clear on the fact that they screwed me at various points. While I can understand and forgive them for much of it, I'm certainly not going to forget or white-wash it away. To this day, my Dad and I aren't close because he can't deal with the fact that I busted him and confronted him before the family over issues that no one else in the family would. As I once said to him:

"Loving you, doesn't mean I have to lie about your limitations or mistakes."

Professor Soap that was so interesting. I just rented The House of Sand and Fog which illustrated so much of what you just said about work ethics, addictive personalities, etc. I loved the movie.

800 lb Man I only wish people like that would seem impossible to me. In my case I hear a scary, haunted voice saying "This could be yoooooou." Just think - to gain one pound a week all you have to do is eat 500 calories per day more than you burn. That's like two big cookies and a large glass of milk. That would mean a gain of 50 pounds per year or 500 pounds in ten years. Easy soooo easy.

Thanks, Percolata!

I've no problem with holding addicts accountable for their cause and effect choices and behavior, but it's only fair to do so after you've examine the full history and context. Being an addict doesn't automatically make you wrong. Even the worst of addicts can also really and truly be fucked-over by their families and other people and one's got nothing to do with the other.

I'm actually rather amazed that I limited myself to food and some (very minor) shopping; given our family backround and level of pathology, I should probably have been drinking and drugging! It's probably because I am already fairly emotionally open and prefer to see people and things clearly and objectively (Within the limitations of my own Perceptual Apparatus for no one ever really leaves their own Emotional Matrix or Plato's Cave!) even as I'm getting a relaxing buzz off of Chinese Food, Pizza, or a Heath Bar. Unfortunately, while Food Addiction can be managed it cannot ever entirely be cured. You can stop snorting, shooting, drinking, and gambling, you can't stop eating, though with time, trust, freedom, control, growth, and precison you can greatly lessen the need to head to the Fridge, Store24, Pizzeria Regina, or Mr. Chan's.

The rest of the Follow-Up Show was good as well.

I was delighted to see Fentisha again, of course, and unlike Patriarch Phil, who wants all women to be dutiful and submissive like Spring Water Colonic Hydrotherapy Priestess Robin of Troy, I would have just told her that there is nothing wrong with critical thinking or in being truthful but that you need to do so in ways that are helpful and not hurtful and also have the capacity to feel. Fentisha's problem is that -- probably on account of severe trauma -- she lacks empathy and that she blithely tells-it-like-it-is even when it's circumstantially inappropriate or will be hurtful. I had a friend JUST LIKE HER once and I was never sure how much of it was innocent block-headedness and how much of it was sadism concealled as "helpful" truth-telling. It doesn't always need to lead to trouble, all of my friends and I are as real as she is, but we're nicer and empathic so it never comes across as bitchy or hurtful. Part of her problem, insenstivity and bitchiness aside, is that Fentisha may be too smart and too real for the Sacharrine Twinkies she runs with who clearly see the world through rose colored lenses. Anyway, she really doesn't seem to get how to feel anything other then irritation which is sad and scary. It was kind of ironic for Dr. Phil to be ripping in to her for doing what he gets away with doing to some of his guests.

(And gets loved, praised, and paid for!)

Knife-Daddy seems to have improved and it's fairly plausible that the kid found some of his remaining hidden-stash of whacking material. Meanwhile, Put-The-Knife-Away Mommy needs to find her Inner & Angry Sistah and say "I-Ain't-Gonna-Take-No-More-Shit-From-You-Boy!", get herself a can of Whup-Ass, and either put that man in his place -- or out with the trash -- instead of helplessly weeping like she's starring in a Lifetime TV Movie.

And that couple who got pregnant, while sweet, concern me because the husband clearly has an obesity problem and porked-up even more after the show.

Is it just me or was today's show the most pointless Dr. Phil in History? And possibly the most annoying..."like...like...like..."
And no, every mother of a teenage daughter does not have to go out and see Mean Girls because not every teenage girl is obsessed with popularity. I'm sure there are still girls that ignore the foofy girls in the high heels at school and honestly don't care so much (unless the world has changed since my h.s. days).

I know! I graduated not too long ago and I couldn't have given a flying sack of crap who liked me and who didn't. I had plenty of friends but I wouldn't say I was popular. Who cares? YES, Lindsay Lohan is so annoying. Next thing you know DP will have Britney Spears on when her next album comes out talking about how to resist sexual urges. Right.

ITA.

Phil didn't get anywhere close to those girl's brains. What with his larngitis and the way the girls were ignoring him, I actually felt a little sorry for him. It was as if he sat down in the middle of their cafeteria table. They couldn't hear his points because they were all so defensive. "She said I was like mean but she was like at a party and she was like meaner than I like was before I was ever like mean to her!"

The best point in the entire show was made by the mother who reminded everyone that these girls had futures wherein none of this would matter.

Was it just me or were the Regular-four much cuter than the Fab-four?

HOLY COW!!! WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON???
You are exactly right... that was perhaps the most pointless and useless show Dr. Phil has pulled off to date. Definitely a page out of Oprah's book this season.... who by the way has had MAYBE a dozen effective shows this season total.
DP used to be so interesting but now it can be just as lame as all the others.
How disappointing.... guess it was too good to last.....

Those fab four girls weren't all that great looking. I was shocked that they were talking about how people are jealous of their looks.

Tell me about it. One looked like genero-blond. The other blond looked like she drew her eyebrows on with a magic marker. The "sell-out" one was a total mouth-breather. I thought the black-haired one was cute but you could just see in her eyes that she was evil.
And when magic-marker Barbie said, "It's not like I go around telling people my purse costs $350.00!!!" Come again?

Yeah and the anti-Fab Four seemed just as stupid, inarticulate, and annoying. I'm still trying to figure out what the point of the show was. I think it was something like, "Go see Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan's new movie! It's based on this, like, book that this, like, woman wrote? About girls? Being popular? And, like, mean and stuff????"

That one girl in the Fab Four was shockingly uglier than the other three and someone needs to tell Lindsay Lohan to stop tanning when her face matches her hair- that is just amazingly unattractive.

If you have to insist that you are good people and that you don't talk about people behind their backs-- then it just may not be true! That Amanda girl made herself look absolutely ridiculous.

I graduated from High School in 2002, but my experience was entirely different from the normal one, I think. My class had only 60 people and I grew up with most of them. There wasn't really popularity-- there were people who liked to party and socialize more than others- but they had mutual respect and love for everyone else. We were all really grateful that we didn't have to deal with this kind of drama.

Also, these girls have to realize that once they are out of school-- it all doesn't matter. Most of them will have to start over in college, and if they don't go to college, all they have are these superficial identities to cling to.

How lame is it that the girls named themselves the Fab Four, like they're the fucking Justice League or something?

percolata:

"Brain, brain, what is brain?!" Where do these girls find the time to form cliques? When I was in high school, I was too busy studying and practicing my violin to worry about what kind of purse I was carrying. I was border-line Goth, so maybe that had something to do with it.

When DP said they were going to have the Big O on the show tomorrow, my first thought was, "Oh gods... not Omarosa!"

WORD! Had to be said. Though the Fab Four said some completely obnoxious things that derailed any support they could've gotten, I completely believe that they felt a bit blindsided by some of this...Perhaps the "unfab four" wanted a little nationwide sympathy and attention?

Its an interesting topic, however, Dr.Phil did NOTHING. NOTHING. So the show ended up being pointless and petty.

I only saw the last half of this episode. Was there actually any reason for Lindsay Lohan to be there? Did she say anything other than go see her movie?

Anyway, it's true that Dr. Phil didn't seem to achieve much, but they were going to have some kind of discussion after the show, right? So maybe that could smooth some things over. I think maybe the unfab four just wanted to meet LL, because they didn't seem to have any real grievances as far as I could tell.

I graduated in 2003, and while there were a lot of cliques in my school in the early grades, most people were over that kind of stuff by senior year. These girls were in grade 12, right? They were very immature for their ages, IMO. Anyway, I managed to get through high school just fine as a nerd, by ignoring the popular girls just as much as they ignored me. By the later grades the really bitchy ones had all somehow disappeared (dropped out, switched schools, didn't go to class), and I got to know some of the other ones and realized a lot of them weren't that bad, once I stopped holding stupid grudges. The only girls who really had problems with mean girls were confrontational ones. I really don't understand why it's so hard for these girls to understand that if they don't like someone, they can just not be friends with them, without bitching and whining. It's not such a revolutionary concept. Unlike, apparently, the May 3rd episode of Dr. Phil.

sham, take it from an old lady (class of 1988)...your 10-year reunion is going to be a real trip.

All of the nerds went on to do great things with their lives. I myself am a nerd and have worked in marketing, advertising, and editing. I am also a paralegal and freelance writer. I married a fellow nerd who majored in astrophysics in college. He is very successful both personally and professionally.

Some of the other nerds from my class are professors, executives, teachers, lawyers, artists, musicians...one is even mayor of the city she lives in!

Without fail, the "popular" kids went on to be major losers. Most of them never went on to do much of anything, other than continue to live in the same small town and live the same attitudes they had in high school. (Nothing against small towns, mind you...they just never aspire to know anywhere else.)

After the passage of a decade, for the most part, bygones were bygones, and we could laugh about silly arguments we all had and broken romances and stuff like that. Lots of hugs and laughs and tears. We all enjoyed sitting together at dinner and catching up...

...that is, except for the popular clique, who all sat at their own table, just like it was 1987 all over again, and they were making snotty comments to each other about everyone else, and it was so childish and pointless you couldn't believe it.

It didn't make me mad anymore. I felt sorry for them, and I still do.

Wow, so much has changed in the 9 years since Borokat has been in high school.

Going thru high school during the grunge age, I just made sure that I had a flannel shirt for every day of the week. All of this new glitter eye shadow and high heels to school is so foreign to me. Nobody wore these hoochie outfits when I was a teen.

The popular kids vs. unpopular kids issue was not so defined. There were layers of popular- it was not strictly cool vs. uncool. I did not consider myself part of the "cooler" clique, because I really did not like the girls in it. And yes, maggiegault, they have all turned out to be losers. The one that I hated with a passion (because the guy I was crushing on was in love with her) was almost placed in my probation program last year for drug offenses! And let me tell you, she was 100 X nicer to me in court than she ever was in school.

My college roomie was one of those super popular girls, but was not in the clique with the other ones. We kinda had our own Show Choir clique, and we went on to go to college together. She was Miss Everything in high school and even though I was her friend (and still am- she is throwing me a baby shower next week) I was super jealous of her. Until I lived with her. She is the definition of someone who peaked in high school. In college, while I was running for campus office, joining clubs, making friends, working at a job, and partying my little heart out, she stayed at home with her dull as toast boyfriend. It took me several years, but as much as I cared about her, I did not want to be anything like her. She never did open herself up to new experiences. Having everything handed to her on a silver platter in high school left her unable to really work hard, take chances, and accomplish anything.

I am very happy with my high school experience. I had lots of friends that I have kept up with thru the years regardless of who they were in the social hierarchy. Once again, I want to know what the parents of the Fab Four think about their attitudes and whether they are feeding into it. My parents (and Grandmother, especially) would not have tolerated such self-involved behavior. Usually people who have to go around listing all their positive attributes are not people that others care to spend any time with.

Amd word to whoever upthread was talking about the small town mentality. I believe that there is a big difference between living in a small town and BEING small town.

I honestly think my high school was deviant. Nearly everyone I know talks about certain high school experiences that I do not remember having. Sports were not huge. I don't recall any super-popular people who everybody knew about. There were lots of little groups and everybody pretty much only hung out with their group---the drama kids, the music kids, the Asian kids etc. My group was the peer tutoring group---we were all tutors in that program and we had our own room (for the tutoring) that was this big hangout spot. There were a few kids who were kind of "princessy" and I suppose everyone knew who they were in the sense of knowing one when you see one, but nobody was mean to them, they were not mean to anybody and they only hung out with other princessy kids. Oh, and they were the only people who went to the semi-formal or prom or whatever it was. None of MY friends went. Somebody's parents took us all out for dinner and that was that. A few people bought cars.

BUT---my sister is 16 and VERY image conscious. And my cousin, who is 16, had three of her friends over for Passover and introduced the lot of them to us as "the four." And all the adults are all "four what?" and she just said "you know---the four. We are THE FOUR." It reminded me of the "them" in Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens, and made me laugh all night. I am not sure it is the same as the four in today's Shil because my cousin's little group was mixed gender :-)

Lindsay Lohan was SUCH a cute little kid in the Parent Trap movie, which is one of my favourites. Now---she needs a hair cut, and a bit less self-tanner. And I am not sure I completely like this Dr. Phil has celebs on his show trend :-) Wasn't there some rapper guy earlier this year?

Lindsay Lohan's natural coloring is so beautiful! Why has she turned herself orange this way? It pains me. She is going to be so embarassed when she sees pictures of herself 10 years from now.

I can't believe one of the girls in the un-Fab Four said that all of the Fab Four are so "beautiful." Because three of the four were passably attractive, in a skanky sort of way, but one of these things is not like the others. (I'm looking at you, Terry) But I totally remember thinking that the popular girls in my high school were much prettier than everyone else; looking back, they weren't. They just had more money and could buy more clothes.


I know! When did girls start wearing f*ck me pumps to school?

I agree with everyone who noticed that Dr. Phil did absolutely nothing for these girls. Trying to get teenage girls to take responsibility for their own behaviour instead of blaming everyone else? Not so easy, is it, Phil? Heh.

Word. This old gal went to a tiny high school that had the rich good kids, the rich bad kids, the girls who put out, the pot smokers, the Christian athletes, the cosmotology department, the shop department, and band. Most all of the 300 total (four grades) students fit in there somewhere. It was pretty obvious even to us hillbilly bumpkins that being The Most Popular Girl there would be like being the third brightest traffic light in town....who's gonna care? When the super popular girls got to college, they soon found out how small a pond they used to rule.

Looks will get you so far. Brains, farther. Genuine good manners and true charm, now that's a winner.

Teehee. I had this on in the background as I edited a paper. GOOD LORD!

And word to those posters who say that whomever was popular in high school typically never reaches that "apex" later in life. I recently found out that my all-girl school's "Fab Five" (they actually called themselves that.....many moons ago, before QE) all dance at a gentleman's club after each of them flunked out of U of IL after going together as a group. They rushed, they drank, they dropped out and now they're showing off their only assets (which apparently two of them have had re-fabulized).

Today's show was, IMHO, just, like, an opportunity for Jordan? to be on the show? Cause he's, like, been on the least and he's so kewl and kute and all? (/valleygirl voice) Why the hell was he there? To say "no, guys don't do this?" Hope Oprah brings a big stick for all of them....

Probably around the same time Shitney Smears became popular. I was in grade 11 at the time and definitely noticed her influence on the way girls were dressing at school. Before then, girls were still dressing trendy but not hoochie.

That? Is genius.

Today's show is just disturbing. There's nothing quite as icky as DP talking about women's nether regions and the pleasure involving it. That last lady was funny though, I'd like a practice man myself! She won beauty pageants though? What was it, Iowa Corn Queen?

Aiya....he could have done a whole show on that poor gal that had had the twins. He REALLY should have spent more time with her VERY REAL problem (no reality, only perception, remember DP??) but he fluffed it. (And he mentioned that she had lost weight using HIS system and had read what HE wrote about self image. Thanks for the plugs, buddy. It is about you, after all.)

He almost had me back in his camp for a few minutes, but 'twas not to be. If anyone could have benefitted in a healthy manner from a few thousand worth of surgery, it would have been that gal. She wasn't trying to be 18 again, she was trying to undo the very real aftereffects of having TWINS and what that much sudden weight gain/ loss does to the body.

Instead, we get the aging pageant queen who doesn't achieve orgasm during sex. Sigh. Buy a vibrator, shug, and get on with your life.

ETA: For those who aren't southerners, "shug" is a diminutive of "sugar"; doesn't rhyme with shrug or bug.

It's also the name of one of the heroines in "The Color Purple" who just happens to be notoriously loose.

My absolute favorite line was (paraphrasing since my memory isn't good for shit anymore): "We don't gossip about other people; besides, those girls are out partying and doing drugs all the time." Bitches.

Agreed: Dr. Phil talking about sex is icky.

But the segment with the "beauty queen" really pissed me off. She can't achieve orgasm solely with intercourse?!? Neither can something like 60% of ALL WOMEN. Most of us require other types of stimulation too, and most sex-positive therapists know this. Obviously, she has some issues with sexual performance anxiety, but it probably has more to do with having unrealistic expectations of herself, for whatever reason.

You tell em, Toasty, a bitter little part of me ( no not that part!) doesn't even believe in the vaginal orgasm at all. Or maybe what I don't believe in is that there are actually men who would take the time to create one.

These shows always just make me mad. Who started the myth that if a woman only manages to express her needs the man is going to bother to listen and change his routine to please her?

[We're not having a Happy Family day here at the home.]

I was reading the thread too fast and at first thought this was in reference to "Shitney Smears". Hee.

Sorry to redredge but I'm playing catch-up. So......WHAT? He actually described this? Sorry but the sight of him almost made me gag. I had to turn it off. But I had to wonder while watching how in hell he even got out of that chair to get to a bathroom. And, no shower in 3 years? Who washes him then? I swear...this show is getting more Jerry Springer every day. The only thing missing from this show with Fat Man was Jerry Springer!

So, how DOES he go to the bathroom? Now, I'm curious.

Today: Fuf2...on the inside, Christian's taking mega heat from family.

So Skanky Stacy is still refusing to work? You know, I think that this is one of her most repulsive qualities. She would rather her family sink more in debt and go without than get off her ever expanding ass and get a job. She says it is because she is pregnant, but she has admitted to having this attitude the whole time she and Chris have been married. And ironing Chris's shirts is something that she is bragging about? Bitch needed to be doing that anyway if she is at home all day w/ no kids (I am assuming Chandler is in preschool being 4). That house should be friggin SPOTLESS.

People that CAN work but choose not to toast my crackers.

So, Chris is getting the pressure at home, tallulah? Dish! I have to admit, I was amazed that a university would hire him to be an enrollment counselor coming off a failed stint as a car salesman.

I bet you were busy watching Star Trek too. Since you said you were a Goth, you're probably not old enough to have seen it the first time around, but I did and that line brought back major Trek nerd memories. I'll have to revive it for use around the ole homestead.

Re: FUF2
This family definitely beats FUF1 in the FU category! I just don't get these folks.
WHAT is going on with Chris so that he cries at the drop of a hat? It's obvious why he married someone like Stacy (the weak / manipulative connection). But this guy needs to grow a pair and pull himself together for the love of Pete! That's her first clue that she can walk all over this guy.

AND what were they doing having unprotected sex while going thru all this nonsense and being a kajillion dollars in debt??
It's considered making an extra effort to iron your husband's clothes, call your wife, cook dinner, AND come home and spend time with your family??
These folks are just so far out of touch with reality that it's not even funny. They need serious family therapy... without the cameras and free perks.
What is Dr. Phil getting at anyway? What's the goal for FUF2 that can be solved in tv time?

I caught it in syndication, aliyameadow. I yell that quote every time Alex shows up on the screen.

What's up with Stacy's hair? Did bowing down to DP's will fade it out?

Word, my dear, an infinite word to that. I've been out of work now for two and a half years, not by choice, mind you. I've been temping here and there and working part time...but sadly, nothing full time yet. I'm a paralegal, as well as a technical writer and editor. It's a tough job market.

Yet I'm motivated. And while I am home, the laundry is done, the house is very clean, and supper is on the table every night. While I am not bringing in money, the house and the chores and the meals ARE MY JOB.

As it should be Skanky's. I understand that the woman is pregnant and needs to take it easy a lot. Still, that house looks like a rat's nest, and something tells me the gang doesn't eat Stacy's Home Cookin' every night.

She has some sort of degree in counseling, right (*mind boggling*)? If she isn't going to go into practice, surely there is something else she could be doing to parlay her skills into a paying gig.

Just watched another episode of 'The Family Divided' - not to be confused with 'The Family in Crisis'.

Anyway, I couldn't help but think - wouldn't a screenshot of Marty and his smug little smirk make an excellent dartboard?

Wasn't there some sort of cliffhanger from last week with this second FUF? I was eagerly awaiting it today, but I couldn't remember why. And then, no cliffhanger resolution. Did I imagine it?

Amy---looks like they are alternating FUF's now, which would bug me if I was one of them b/c the second one is getting less time than the first one did. Anyway, there IS a cliffhanger---the preview they showed yesterday had Marty in the hot seat agaib, Dr. Phil asking what did you do, Erin screaming "That is enough! I've had it!" and both girls sobbing (again). The announcer voiceover guy instructed us again to tune in next week and find out what Marty did to push everyone to the edge. My guess is he's having an affair, but whatever.

Also those preveiws for the relationship rescue bootcamp thing are creepy. He has them slapping each other in the face so they can see what it feels like to cause the other person pain. That's not therapy, that's showmanship. And also, creepy.

"I wash myself with a rag on a stick." Sorry, but that question was just made for a Simpson's quote.



Word. Stacy is just as two-faced and manipulative as ever and it really pisses me off that Dr. Phil doesn't see it when it is right in front of his face. If she's saying that she is trying hard to respect and love her husband but you see footage of her berating him something is not right. Oh, and Chris really pissed me off when he said that he hesitated on taking that job? Motherfucker, you are severely in debt and the country is in the middle of an economic recession and you need time to decide on taking a job that could solve your problems? What the hell is your problem?!

Hell, I'd love to be an enrollment counselor. 28K isn't great money but at least it's steady. What I hated was Skanky's smug attitude about the benefits and all that. Of course, the benefits are nice to have, especially with Son of Skank on the way. However, here's a concept for you, Stacy: GET YOUR OWN JOB THAT HAS BENEFITS. I really think she does a disservice to pregnant women everywhere. I hate it when pregnancy is treated like some sort of handicap, especially by useless bints like Skanky!

This is just a sensitive topic for me because I am looking so hard for work right now and keep striking out. It pains me to see a woman outright refusing to work when her family needs money so much. Luckily mr. maggie and I have a roof over our heads and beans on our table, but money is certainly tighter than what it was before my layoff. Then again, we're smart about our money. We don't spend cash on tanning. And did you guys catch the bit about Brianne going on a California vacation? How do they have the funds for that?

This FUF2 isn't holding my attention as much as I thought they would. I fast-forwarded through most of the show. It's partly because I find Shill so repulsive. It's also because I get frustrated with Chris; he's got lots of problems and most of them start and end at Skanky. I understand making a commitment to your marriage and sticking it out when things are rough, but what has this woman brought to the marriage, other than heartache?

FUF1 looks pretty dramatic for next week. You just KNEW that Marty was cheating still, didn't you? I must admit that I am looking forward to the Shill Smackdown on that one. I hope Erin finally gets the gumption to leave his duplicitous ass. It's one thing to be a philanderer and lie about it in private. To cheat and lie about it to millions of people is quite another kettle of fish.

FUF2 isn't holding my attention that much either, I think because I know there's no hope for them and they just keep getting worse. It almost seems they're making this shit up. Why is Chris hesitating about the job? Asshole. Stacy is just plain lazy and I see this trend happening. My great friend just had a baby a month ago and as soon as she found out she was pregnant 9 or so months ago, she quit her job. She had no pregnancy problems, could walk perfectly, no stress. They are on food stamps, yet her hubby just bought a laptop and new television. WTF?! I'm friends with them and even I would like to slap em in the head. Priorities with people like that are so out of whack, you'd think they would make some sense of it for the sake of their kids. I just don't understand people at all.

Can Marty ever not cheat? He must be crusin' for a brusin' cause I just can't understand that in any situation, let alone while on the DP show.

Very random question - Erin and Catherine, of FUF1? Am I the only one who thinks their names should be switched? The mom just looks like a Catherine, and the daughter looks like an Erin.