Dr. Phil without dialogue

When you think about daytime television talk shows, the first thing you think about is, well, the talking. The yammering and yakking, the whining and wailing, the shouting matches. This silent supercut by Bill Smith however turns Dr. Phil’s talkshow into an oasis of silence. He takes out the talking, compiling only silent reaction shots. The result is as mesmerizing as it is surreal: the discussions are reduced to a dialogue of looks.

 

This remix makes the viewer focus on the show’s simple geography of stares, with the eponymous host often looking as if he is frozen in place. In fact, the lack of movement in most shots makes this mise-en-scène a semi-circle of statues, a conference of mannequins. Smith has turned this modus operandi into his shtick, giving other shows such as Judge Judy or Shark Tank the same silent treatment. While the results in those cases are also often amusing, this Dr. Phil stands out.