Loveline

Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew on Dawson's Creek

Loveline is a syndicated radio program in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Currently it is heard from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. PST (1 a.m. to 3 a.m. EST) Sunday-Thursday (Monday-Friday in the CST and EST). Syndication is usually on rock, alternative, and adult talk radio stations. Loveline can also be heard online anywhere in the world, by streaming through the websites of affiliate stations. Selected episodes are made available on Westwood One's website.[link] In addition, some fans digitally record and share episodes.

Contents

History

Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew on Loveline the TV Show

Loveline began in 1983 as a Sunday night segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, hosted by DJ Jim "Poorman" Trenton and DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik). About a year later, Trenton added a segment called Ask a Surgeon, hosted by his friend Dr. Drew Pinsky, who was not yet a doctor but a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. The two segments soon merged into their own show, co-hosted by Trenton and Pinsky. In February 1992, the show went from airing solely on Sunday nights to five nights a week (Sunday through Thursday). Over the years, Trenton's relationship with the station grew rocky, and in August 1993 he was replaced by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman. Dr. Drew and Rachtman were joined by Adam Carolla in October 1995, just as the show was first being syndicated nationally. [link] The trio hosted together for several months, but Carolla and Rachtman often competed for airtime, leading Rachtman to resign suddenly in April 1996. [link] From that point, Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew hosted the show until Carolla's departure on November 3, 2005.

The popularity and reach of the show increased dramatically during the "Pinsky/Carolla" years. The two had a natural chemistry, in which Carolla's jocular tone emphasized Pinsky's reasoned expertise. Together, they refined the format of the show, and capitalized on their growing popularity with speaking tours, a television show, a book, and cameo appearances on television shows and in movies. Carolla left the show on November 3, 2005 to prepare for hosting a new morning radio show in 2006.

Loveline follows the call-in question-and-answer model with the primary goal of helping youth and young adults with relationship, sexuality, and drug addiction problems. As a practicing internist and addictionologist with training in psychology, Dr. Drew's answers have medical credibility, but the addition of Adam Carolla's humor and insight resulted in a program with entertainment value as well. Carolla repeatedly stated his role on the show as something of a trojan horse: He lured listeners with dirty jokes and wisecracks in hopes they'd learn something that could improve their lives. Actors or members of popular bands often participate as guests.

Since Carolla's departure in November 2005, the show has continued with celebrity co-hosts and guests, some of whom have announced their hope to be hired as Carolla's replacement.

Personalities

Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew (March 19, 2002)

The Poorman and Dr. Drew (August 18, 1992)

Radio Hosts (1983 - Present)

Adam Carolla -- October 1995 - November 2005
Riki Rachtman -- 1993 - April 1996
Attorney Lee Alpert -- 1986 - 1989
Dr. Drew Pinsky -- 1984 - Present
“Swedish” Egil Aalvik -- 1983 - 1990
Jim "Poorman" Trenton -- 1983 - 1993
* Stryker -- KROQ DJ
* Dr. Bruce Heischober -- "Dr. Bruce" (Ichabod Bruce, Dr. Spaz)
* Dr. Gary Alter -- "Dr. Alter"
* Dr. Ohad Menashe Ben-Yehuda -- "Dr. Ben" (The Vag Doc)
* Dr. Marcel Daniels -- "Dr. Marcel"
* Dr. Reef Karim -- "Dr. Reef"
* Dr. Bruce Hensel -- "Dr. Bruce"
**David Alan Grier, a popular and frequent guest, is often referred to as the "Third Host" of Loveline.

Television Co-Hosts (Nov 1996 - Jul 2002)

Diane Farr on Loveline the TV Show

Laura Kightlinger -- 1997
Lou Thornton -- 1997
Carmen Electra -- 1997
Idalis DeLeon -- 1997
Diane Farr -- 1998
Catherine McCord -- 1999 - 2000
Kris McGaha -- 1996 - 1997 (?)

(Donna D'Errico was a pseudo-host on Loveline: Live in Time Square (2000))

Other staff

Producers

Ann Wilkins -- ? - present
Lauren (Junior Producer) -- January 2003 (first on air reference)[link] - present

Engineers

Anderson Cowan (The Magic Fingered One, The Liberace of the Potentiometers) -- 1999 - Present
Chris Perez -- September 2003 (first on-air reference)[link] - 2005
Michelle -- After January 2004 - November 2005 (left for Adam Carolla Show)

Lingo

Ace Rockolla - Adam's alter-ego making fun of morning radio shows.
Asshole the size of a Mason Jar - The term used by a bogus Loveline caller to declare its bogosity and end the call.
Attack Crows - An idea raised by Adam Carolla, who suggested that someone should train crows as bodyguards.
Behymen - Anal virginity, a combination of behind and hymen.
Bumper - The short snippet music that is played when it comes back from commercial.
Chief Thunderbear - A Native American gynecologist. He only speaks in his native language, so Dr. Drew translates. He's voiced by Adam Carolla
Happies - Adam Carolla's term for herpes.
International Laws of Bogosity - If a host declares a caller's problem to be fake, the caller is required to admit it. Also referred to as "the Geneva Convention of Loveline."
Passionate, Passionate Man - How Adam describes Dr. Drew. The term can also be used in reference to Ben Stein.
Recockulous - More extreme than ridiculous.
Sativa - A car that Adam Carolla created after hearing a caller's name.
Vicar of Christ - Adam's alias when the Catholic Church was choosing a new Pope.

Quotes

Loveline Animated

Adam Carolla

"Hey everybody, this is Loveline. I'm Adam, that's Dr. Drew. Phone number, 1-800-LOVE-191. Dr. Drew is a board certified physician and addiction medicine specialist."
"How dare you!?"
"I am literally a millionaire."
"Drew will you PLEASE stop punching the mike."
"Good times."
"Im Droppin' Trou, I Will Drop Trou, Drew!"
"No, cannot have!" (Armenian Accent)
"Perfectly normal, perfectly healthy."
"Red wine, that's my medicine, Dr. Drew."
"Shhhoooccckkkiiinnng."
"The world is your oyster, because that's all the world is."
"UN-acceptable...unacceptable!"
"That's ricockulous!"
"We can't judge, Drew."
"Mahalo." (trademark sign off)

Dr. Drew Pinsky

"Okay...so what's your question?"
"Deal with the fact that I am gay-"
"Doctah Drew in tha hizzy!"
"Izzle for chizzle, dizzle."
"I-I'm ashamed of these homosexual feelings I'm having, I want to wish them away-"
"I'm looking at my crystal ball..."
"It's time to start listening, goddamnit!"
"Listen...listen....LISTEN!"
"My spidey sense is tingling..."
"Good night and stay well" (trademark sign off)

Games

Germany or Florida?

Germany or Florida is a game that originated at Jimmy Kimmel Live with the staff of writers who discovered a correlation in the news stories they would read for joke material. Adam observed that "All weird stories originate from either Germany or Florida." Originally intended as a game to be used on Kimmel's show, it was rejected and Adam decided to bring it to Loveline. The object of the game is to have a listener read off a strange, macabre, or just plain weird news story and have the hosts (and guests) choose Germany or Florida. First mentioned October 19, 2003. According to some listeners' best guesses, Adam is about 55% correct, and Dr. Drew is about 40%. Theme songs introducing the game have been created by guests and callers, most notably David Alan Grier's opera and beat-box renditions. [link] Carolla even brought the game with him when he guest hosted The Late Late Show in 2004 and on his short-lived Comedy Central show Too Late with Adam Carolla. Additionally, the game has been played on Carolla's morning show, The Adam Carolla Show.

Ace's Mexican Ranchero Accordion Countdown

Ace's Mexican Ranchero Accordion Countdown is played by guessing how far into a ranchero music song an accordion will begin to play. First mentioned on October 19, 2004.

Jack That Dork

Jack That Dork is a twist on Name That Tune. A guy has to ejaculate in as few strokes as possible. They relentlessly bid lower and lower until one of the players calls the other's bluff and says, "jack that dork!" First played on February 8, 2004.

Lightning Round

Although not technically a game, it was a favorite show ender for Carolla much to the chagrin of Dr. Drew. It consisted of his imitation of the non-stop morning DJ ("slow 'n' go watch for brake lights", "8:29, 29 past the hour", "50,000 watt flamethrower!", "76 in Van Nuys, 76 in Laguna Beach, 76 in...", "I'M A CRAZY MAN! I WILL DROP TROU!"), a vicious cowbell, and audio drops of thunderclaps.

Adam Carolla / Marco Polo

Adam Carolla has announced that he wants to change the Marco Polo pool game to use his name. Callers to the show would often start their calls by shouting "Adam!" to which Carolla and Dr. Drew would reply "Carolla!"

General Caller Betting

Without talking to a caller for more than 15-20 seconds Dr. Drew and Carolla would put them on hold and place $1 bets on the caller's past. The theory being that they have fielded so many calls by so many people that they could hear the specific problem in the caller's voice and detect what events led to their present. Example:

Caller: I'm just depressed all the time.
Carolla: I can hear the little girl voice, Drew. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Drew: My wife has my wallet. I'm good for the dollar.
Carolla: I'm going with...father, no no, a weird Uncle touched her at the age of...9.
Drew: I hear molestation too, but I'm going with kid-on-kid. This was someone she played with. Maybe a year or two younger.
Carolla: Caller?
Caller: My best friend in 3rd grade forced me to touch her repeatedly.

This serves to show people that their problems are not unique; hundreds of previous callers had the same problem and it manifested in a detectable way in their voices. Callers often call the show with seemingly trivial questions, but through General Caller Betting, Dr. Drew and Carolla cut through to deeper underlying problems.

Smoke Detector Batteries

Every once in a while, while a caller is asking a totally unrelated question, Adam and Drew hear a tiny, high-pitched beep in the background and jump all over the caller. They have been conditioned to recognize the tell-tale sound of a smoke detector chirping to remind the owner to replace the battery. This is a personal pet peeve of Adam and Drew, an example they use to show how stupid the majority of their callers are. They make sure to draw attention to it by making the caller be quiet until they can time the space between beeps (usually between 40-50 seconds), and then every 50 seconds of the callers question they will interrupt him or her so they can hear the beep.

Bogus Callers

Starting in 1996 a specific male individual would call in with a completely honest sounding, but bogus, question. He would keep the hosts going as long as possible until he could work in the phrase "My asshole is the size of a Mason jar", and then hang up. Over time this became code for "This is a bogus call."

Several years later copycat callers were spawned and would play out the same scenario with a real-sounding but bogus problem, and attempt to end the call with the Mason jar reference.

Out-of-Context Drew Drops

Engineer Anderson Cowan is fond of splicing up phrases Drew had uttered on previous shows and sprinkling them into new shows in mid-call. This causes confusion to new listeners and callers and hilarity to seasoned listeners. Some favorites are:

"You're fat."
"You're gay."
"Faggot better run."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Carolla!"
"I've had anal sex."
"I'm a rapist."
"When I was 19 I ate six boiled peyote buttons and stayed up all night but felt no effect."

Some of the Drew Drops were set to music in the "Dr. Drew Shuffle" and the later "Dr. Drew Boogie."

[Drew Drops website]

On-screen and in print

A TV version of Loveline ran on MTV from 1996 to 2000; it followed the same general format as the radio program but featured a live audience and a female co-host. The female co-host role was filled over the course of the series by MTV VJ Idalis, actresses Chris McGaha, Catherine McCord and Diane Farr and comedian Laura Kightlinger. The show never gained much traction, nor was it advertised much, and was cancelled after four seasons.

The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide to Life and Love, an advice book written in a tone similar to the radio show, was released in 1998.

Controversy

Loveline on Crank Yankers

In 1999, the punk band Pennywise was the show's guest. Their guitarist, Fletcher, became so intoxicated that he began making violent threats. He barracaded the sound booth and claimed he had a grenade and would blow them all up. Much of this was aired before Producer Ann could cut away. The LAPD arrived, took charge, and the incident ended without violence. The band was asked back to the show several times after the incident.

The radio show has been the subject of occasional controversy. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council once ruled that the program breached the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics, but was not racist and did not violate human rights. No penalty was imposed.

The controversy emerged from a show that aired on August 21, 2002 when a female phone sex operator called in to complain that her clients were reaching orgasm too quickly, hurting her earnings. Carolla suggested that she should drop subliminal phrases about unsexy topics, such as the Holocaust. To the amazement of the hosts, the caller admitted that she had never heard of the Holocaust and had no idea what it was. Adam and the phone sex operator then simulated what that call might sound like with this suggestion.

: Adam (simulating telephone): Brrring. Brrring.

: PSO (hotly spoken): Hi! How ya doin'?

: Adam: Ooooh, hi, what's your name?

: PSO: I'm Sugar.

: Adam: Sugar, I'm Ace.

: PSO: Hey Ace.

: Adam: Yeah, what are you wearing?

: PSO: Mmmm, I'm wearing a nice black garter.

: Adam: Uh-huh.

: PSO: Oooooh, just thinkin' about the Holocaust.

In 2003, the show was pulled from Hawaiian affiliate KPOI after listeners complained about derogatory comments Carolla made regarding Hawaiians, on the November 9, 2003 show. Carolla intended to be humorous. [link]

External links

Official Sites

Unofficial Sites

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