SEASON 23: 2008-2009 9-8-2008 SEASON PREMIERE - OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS Oprah began her new season with a bang. She welcomed all of the US champions from the summer Olympics. There were dozens and dozens of them from all sports. The show was taped in front of a huge audience at Chicago's Millenium Park. The first athelete who she spoke with was swimmer Michael Phelps, who broke a world record at the Olympics by winning eight gold medals. Woman's gymnast Shawn Johnson also sat down with Oprah and let her hold her silver medal she won for the balance beam. Oprah also spoke with the gold medal-winning men's basketball team and Dana Torres who won the silver in swimming at 41 years old. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON 22: 2007-2008 11-20-2007 "OPRAH'S FAVORITE THINGS 2007" Oprah and her crew went to Macon, georgia to surprise her fans with the biggest show of the year. She picked Macon because she's gotten her highest ratings in the town since she went on the air. The audience had no idea that they were their for Oprah's Favorite Things. When she told them, everyone went crazy as usual. As always, Oprah gave out tons of expensive gear to her audience including: a video camera, $350 mixer, a book with the 90 most popular DVD's of all time, $250 Target gift cards, a $200 face scrubber and a panini maker. Oprah also gave everyone her most expensive gift ever: a $3800 refrigerator with a built-in television. Oprah also surprised everyone with a Josh Groban who sand "Silent Night." 9-28-2007 "BORN IN THE WRONG BODY" Angelina and Jake always flet that they were born in the wrong bodies. 21-year-old Angelina was born male and is now living as a woman. 16-year-old Jake was born female and is now living as a boy. Jake said he was only seven years old when he told his mother, Peggy, that he was transgendered. Peggy admitted it was tough losing her daughter, but accepts Jake for who he is. She was so accepting that she even allowed to to have breast removal surgery. 9-10-2007 -- SEASON PREMIERE -- DAVID LETTERMAN Oprah began her 22nd season in New York City and she couldn't have had a better first guest. Latenight television David Letterman was invited on for the first time ever. Letterman brought along his top 10 "Reasons I Love Oprah." He also talked about the time he kept an "Oprah Log" on his show when he was hoping she'd call him for an interview. Oprah also got Letterman to open up about his family life. He even brought along pictures of his son and girlfriend for everyone to see. After doing a show for all these years, Letterman said his main challenge is to make sure everyone in his audience gets a great show. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| PAST SEASONS 5-21-1990 Truddi Chase This emotional show aired in 1990 and involved this woman who was raped and abused by her father since she was 2 years old. Truddi's past abuse affected her so badly, that she had multiple personalities as an adult. She referred to her 92 personalties within her as her "troops." Oprah broke down in tears because she was so touched by her story. 8-22-1991 Forgiveness After Being Left For Dead Sharmeta, 17, was beaten and left for dead. The man who did it joined Oprah via satellite from jail and listened as Sharmeta told of how she lost sight in one eye. She said she was mad at first, but decided to forgive him. She hated what he did to her, but did not hate him. Oprah cried when she heard the incredible story of forgiveness... Sharmeta came back on the show in 2002 and said she was married and had a child. She also said she would invite the man who almost killed her to dinner if she had a chance. 1988 "Diet Dreams Come True" Oprah came back for her new season 67 pounds lighter. To show just how much that was, she came out with a little red wagon full of animal fat. This was Oprah's highest rated show ever! Mad Cow Disease The infamous show where Oprah said that she would never eat another burger again. She was sued by Texas cattle ranchers as a result. Oprah In Texas Oprah went to Texas during the time of her trial against the Texas cattle ranchers. They claimed that they had lost profits because of Oprah's comments. Oprah won the lawsuit and celebrated on her show. Ellen and Anne Oprah had the first talk show interview with Ellen Degeneres after she came out of the closet on her tv show and on the cover of TIME. She appeared with her lover, Anne, and they discussed being gay in America Mary Tyler Moore Oprah's favorite actress from her favorite show surprised her onstage. She was so touched that she began crying! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON FIFTEEN: 2000-2001 Presidential Candidates Oprah got huge ratings when Al Gore and George W. Bush appeared on her show. When Bush was on, Oprah had to kick an audience member out because he wouldn't stop yelling comments from his seat. This was the first time she kicked someone out of the audience in the history of the show. Oprah's Annual Holiday Giveaway Oprah gave out tons of her favorite holiday products to lucky audience members. Charlotte Church, a 14-year-old opera singer, performed "O Night Divine" to get everyone in the holiday spirit. 6-21-2001 New R 'n B Divas Hot new female r 'n b stars performed on this all-musical show. Jill Scott, Alicia Keyes, India.Aria and Mary Mary were amoung the soulful ladies who graced her stage. Alicia Keyes proved that she will one day be a huge star when she performed her premiere song, "Fallin'," while playing the piano. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON SIXTEEN: 2001-2002 9-18-2001 The Affects of the Attack on America Oprah aired a week of shows dealing with the terrorist attack on America after the tragedy. First Lady Laura Bush appeared on this episode to discuss what has happened. Dr. Phil also took questions from worried kids. 10-4-2001 Girls Who Starve Themselves Leah used to visit pro-anarexic web sites that encouraged girl to be as thin as possible, but she stopped because looking at them made her condition worse. Oprah showed what the sites look like. They feature skeleton-like girls who pose to make their disease look glamorous...Justine ate paper and Q-Tips when she was in kindergarten because she did not want to get fat. Her mom caught her running around in her room in the middle of the night because Justine taught she ate to much. 10-19-2001 Dying Boy Meets Oprah Mattie,11, was born with a severe case of muscular dystrophy and wanted to have his three wishes granted before he died. His first two happened, he got his books of poetry published and he got to speak with former president Jimmy Carter. Winfrey granted his last wish by bringing him on her show. Oprah and the audience were in tears as he read his poetry. He also told of how he almost died and saw angels. His mother also had MD and had several children who died of it. 11-8-2001 Martha Stewart and Getting Ready For The Winter Martha Stewart came on to prepare some food and items for the winter. Oprah and her audience were in awe while she made white hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows. Oprah said she loved the warm drink...Martha also introduced Oprah to her own type kindling wood and soap. Oprah loved making soap with Martha and said she was going to try doing it at home. The host told the audience that they should always change soap after guests leave because they leave hair on it! Marha asked her if she had hairy guests over her house. 11-26-2001 Muhammad Ali Makes A Rare Appearance Will Smith came on to talk about his movie, "Ali, where he played boxing legend, Muhammad Ali. Oprah Winfrey had a surprise for her audience at the end of the show. The champ himself graced the stage! The audience gave him a standing ovation as he air-boxed with Will Smith. He told Winfrey that he was glad that someone took the time to portray him in a movie. He said it was scary how Smith looking and acted just like him. EXTRA INFO: Winfrey gave everyone in the audience the soundtrack from "Ali." 1-7-2002 Bill Cosby Gets A Surprise The audience was at their feet when Bill Cosby came out wearing a T-shirt that said, "Hello, Friend." Cosby came on to talk about his book, "Cosbyology," and ran around stage doing his comedy. Cosby got surprised with his friend Barry Bonds during the second segment. The baseball great said that Cosby was his inspiration and that he called him all the time for advice. Cosby said he looked up to Bonds and was excited about the surprise. Bonds presented Cosby with a special bat and drawing of himself, before the via satellite appearance was over. EXTRA INFO: "Hello, Friend" were the last words of Cosby's son, Ennis, before he was murdered. 3-20-2002 Russell Yates: "My Wife Killed Our 5 Kids!" Winfrey sat down with the husband of Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her 5 kids, less then a week after she was sentenced to life in prison. Winfrey said he skipped several steps to recovery and seemed too collected. Russell said he grieved, but knew his kids were in a better place. He also said that he was disappointed that his wife was found guilty. He said that he was angry at Andrea's doctor, but was never angry at her! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON SEVENTEEN: 2002-2003 9-16-2002 SEASON PREMIERE -- Good News After a summer of bad news stories, Oprah said she wanted to begin her 17th season with a show full of good news stories. The show began with Oprah doing other people's jobs. First, she worked the drive-thru at a McDonald's and surprised people with free food. Her attorney even came through and was shocked to see Oprah. Next, she gave shoppers at a local grocery store two minutes to fill their carts with anything they wanted for free! The winner was a woman who got a cart full of coffee. Later, Oprah went to surprise 300 people in the NAVY with a delicious dinner. She also gave them free Kodak cameras. The show ended with a surprise performance by American Idol finalist Justin Guarini who gave some fans tickets to the American Idol tour. 9-30-2002 Rudolph Giulinani As soon as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came out, Oprah teased him about getting rid of his famous combover. The tone got serious and Rudy told Oprah that his diagnosis with prostate cancer changed his life and made him feel mortal. He said that the days after the attacks were exhausting because he attended over 200 funerals. Rudy said he never gave up because everyone gave him strength after the tragedy...The most incredible story came from Gail, who lost her son, husband and father all before 9/11. Her daughter had no one to walk her down the isle for her wedding, but Rudy said he would accompany her. When 9/11 came, Gail thought he would be too busy for the wedding, but on September 14, Rudy showed up and walked her down the isle! Oprah surprised Rudy with Gail and her daughter, Diane, who came out and hugged him. Gail thanked him for being her friend. 11-21-2002 Hidden Worlds: A Rare Look At The Amish The Amish came to America to avoid religious persecution- the men have beards and the women were dresses and bonnets. In the Amish lifestyle, men are the head of the house, limited technology is used and its people speak Pennsylvania Dutch. When Amish children turn 16, they are allowed to experience the outside world to decided if they want to be baptized into the religion. Filmmaker, Lucy Walker, exposed what happens to these teens once they turn 16. She showed Oprah video of the Amish teens smoking and talking about how they experiment with drugs, alcohol and sex! Walker said that a majority of the teens return to their religion after experiencing the outside world, aka "The Devil's Playground." Oprah also spoke with Emma who left the Amish once she turned 16. She said her Amish ex-boyfriend wound up in jail after experiencing "The Devil's Playground." Emma told Oprah that she rarely sees her family now that she is out. 11-25-2002 Oprah's Favorite Things 2002 This show is always the hottest ticket in town and tickets only went to audience members who attended her season premiere this year. Why so special? Oprah gives every single gift she showcases to every single audience member, so everyone goes home with thousands of dollars of merchandise! The set was transformed into a winter wonderland as staff members dressed as elves to pass out everything from a watch, a credit card sized digital camera and stereo. The biggest hit seemed to be a combination wireless phone/digital camera that could send photos to other phones...not to mention everyone got three free months of service! The show even featured a woman who quit her job in Australia so she could take a 20 hour flight to the show! 2-25-2003 Confessions of a Child Molester Jake Goldenflame began preying upon boys he did not know when he was in his 20s. After he divorced from his wife, he was only left with his 3-year-old daughter, who he also molested. He spent several years and jail and decided to reform himself. Jake told Oprah that he has not molested anyone in over 12 years, but he has had the urge because sex offenders are never cured. He said that whenever he gets to know someone, he immediately tells them about his past because they have the right to know...Oprah also spoke with Kathy who said she was terrified when she found out that a convicted sex offender was living next door. Before she knew, she allowed her children to help the man out with chores, but now encourages them to stay away from him...Later, Jake was confronted by Marc Klaas, whose daughter, Polly, was kidnapped and murdered by a child molester. Jake read him an apologetic letter for the things he has done to other children. Marc said he never reads letters he gets from child molesters, so he can move forward in life. Marc looked shocked by Jake's words. 4-28-2003 Mother Allows Her Daughter To Pose Online Tracy allows her daughter, Cindy, 12, to pose in sexy positions on the Internet and even acts as her manager! Her uncle, Curt, takes the "modeling" photos of Cindy and says there's nothing wrong with doing so. Curt even admitted that the majority of the site's viewers are adult men! Before sending Cindy away so she could talk with the adults, Oprah sat Cindy on her lap and encouraged her to get involved with school and other activities. She said that she wants Cindy to get involved with school plays before she sees her again. 5-6 and 5-7-2003 My Husband Became A Woman! DAY ONE: Jenny always knew that she wanted to be a woman, even though she was born male. To her students and wife she was known as James before the operation. Once she became a woman, everyone accepted her and she insists that she has always been attracted to women, just born in the wrong body. Jenny is also the parent of two kids with Grace and although they remained married after the sex change, they are no longer intimate. DAY TWO: Like Jenny, Tom always felt he should have been a woman. He also married and had children, but the secret was let out when his wife, Angelita, found his female clothes in the garage. Tom, now Tami, takes hormones and is scheduled to have a sex change in 2004. Angelita said she wants to stay with Tami. 5-21-2003 Oprah's Favorite Things: Spring 2003 The audience had no idea it was coming, but it would be big. A huge curtain stood between them and the set and when it moved aside, the audience went wild! For the first time ever, Oprah presented her usual Christmas Favorite Things show in the spring. This meant that Oprah was about to pass over $1 million in spring merchandise to the audience for free! She gave away hats, shoes, cameras with printers, $175 sunglasses, and $200 automatic vacuums. Oprah even gave aways bras and told the woman who modeled one that she had great breasts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON EIGHTEEN: 2003-2004 9-15-2003 SEASON PREMIERE -- Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver Season 18 began with the most talked about man of the summer, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Oprah first brought out his wife, Maria Shriver, who said she fully supports Arnold and his campaign to be the governor of California. Shriver also said it was their first interview together. After a break, Oprah brought Arnold out to a standing ovation from the audience. He told Oprah that he feels the need to give something back to the United States because he is a foreigner. Maria, a Kennedy, even admitted that she will vote for her husband, which would be the first time she ever voted Republican. They also discussed family life and Maria said that Arnold makes the kids do all their own laundry. 10-27-2003 EXCLUSIVE: Inside The Home of Elizabeth Smart Months after Elizabeth Smart was found alive, Oprah interviewed her and her parents, Ed and Lois, from their Salt Lake City home. Ed and Lois brought Oprah to Elizabeth's bedroom, where she was kidnapped. Oprah was shocked to see how close Elizabeth's room was to her parents room. After they retraced the steps of Elizabeth's abductor, Ed told of how he cried for three days when he was accused of killing his daughter. Later, Ed told of how he was reunited with his daughter after nine months. He said he barely recognized her since she aged during her abduction. Oprah finally got to talk with Elizabeth at the end of the show. She said she was back in school and starting driving lessons. Elizabeth also gave Oprah a tour of her new room and played the harp with her sister. 11-24-2003 Oprah's Favorite Things 2003 It's the most anticipated show of the year and no one in the audience knew they were there for it. Nobody knew the topic, but they cheered for Oprah as she walked out onto the normal set. Oprah told them it was their lucky day and her Christmas set dropped from the ceiling! Workers quickly assembled the set and an "Oprah's Favorite Things" graphic appeared on the monitor. The audience went out of their minds because they knew Oprah was about to give away her favorite new items of the season. That's $1.5 million in stuff! The first item she gave away was $398 Ralph Lauren sweater. She also gave everyone a free $1,000 DVD Camcorder, $595 watch, sterling silver necklace, PDA/cell phone, portable dvd player and a free turkey in time for Thanksgiving. As always, the gifts were presented by staffers dressed as elves. A woman in the front row got so excited, that she cried throughout the show. Oprah had to stop to calm her down at one point. 11-25-2003 Burned Alive and She Survived Jacqui was a young college student with her life ahead of her. She had just moved to the United States from Venezuela and was learning to speak English. When she was out with her two friends one night, Reggie, slammed into the car she was in. The accident killed her friends and left her with burns over 60% of her body. Jacqui lost an eye, her lips, her nose and her fingers. Her father dedicated his life to caring for her. She was blind until she got an eye transplant which allowed her to she her new appearance. She told Oprah that she throught she was an alien. For the first time ever, Jacqui met Reggie's mother, Jean, on the show. Jean cried as she tried to talk to Jacqui for the first time. Seeing how nervous Jean was, Jacqui hugged her and told her it was okay. The emotional hug moved the audience and Oprah to tears. Jacqui even said she had forgiven Reggie. 1-29-2004 Oprah's Lavish 50th Birthday The set was transformed with tons of roses, chandelier's and larger than life pictures of the larger than life host. All for Oprah's 50th birthday. You'd think she was God by the way celebs like Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez referred to her as an "inspiration" and a "gift to the world" throughout the show. Last time we checked, she just happened to host a popular talk show. Nevertheless, the big guns were called in to celebrate her birthday. Best friend Gayle King and actor John Travolta co-hosted the show. After Travolta shocked her by being there, Tina Turner came out and sang "Simply The Best." She flew in from Switzerland. After a break, out came Stevie Wonder who performed "Isn't She Lovely" and other songs for a suprised Oprah. Later on, Jay Leno brought out Oprah's 400-pound birthday cake. (This show brought the week a HUGE 8.6 rating...the biggest since 1993!) 4-16-2004 Sex On The Down Low Oprah exposed this shocking new trend of black men in straight relationships who secretly have sex with other men. J.L. King was married with a child, but he'd sneak out to met men for sex. He did this for years until his wife followed him and caught him in the act. Despite his gay activities, King claimed he and others involved in the down low lifestyle are straight. He said he doesn't go to gay bars because he doesn't identify with the gay culture. Instead, he picks up men at black churches and places where straight women look for men. King said he hopes his daughter won't find a man like him. 5-12-2004 Child Sex Changes You know it's sweeps when Oprah does a show like this one. Kayla never played with girl toys as a child and always felt like she was in the wrong body. Now 11, Kayla was dressing and acting like a boy. Known as Kayden, she binds her breasts back and her mother, Angelica, allows her to get hormone shots...Derrick and Sharon were having a difficult time accepting their 5-year-old son, Dylan. Ever since he could speak, Dylan has told his parents that he wants his penis to fall off. He plays with dolls and tells Sharon he wants breasts. Derrick told Oprah he refues to buy his son dolls and doesn't want him to be transgendered...Halle got in fights with her parents about her gender. At age SIX, her parents allowed her to become Hall. Hall, now only 9 years old, dresses like a boy and says she's happy living as a male. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON NINETEEN: 2004-2005 9-13-2004 SEASON PREMIERE -- You Get A Car! You Get A Car! Promos for Oprah's season premiere said Oprah had a huge secret. She began the show by giving eleven deserving people cars. She then told the audience to pull out a small box from under their seats. One of the boxes was supposed to have the key for a 12th car. ALL 276 boxes had keys. The audience went WILD as Oprah jumped around saying, "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" Oprah led the entire audience outside her studios where all 276 cars were parked. This show was so huge it made the news. By the way, the cars were Pontiacs, worth $28,000 each. 10-1-2004 Woman Confronts Step-Father Who Molested Her Angelina's step-father, Andrew, molested her for years when she was growing up. He was busted after her boyfriend told police. Andrew only went to jail for 6 months, but was ordered to stay away from Angelina, until this show. Angelina said it was time to confront the man who ruined her life. Andrew told all during the highly emotional confrontation, including the fact that he even molested Angelina's older sister who had special needs! Andrew said he doubts he'll ever molest again because he always think of the hurt he saw in Angelina's face the last time he saw her. LATER, Janice's father molested her and her sister's for years. She always hated him for it but wanted revenge after he molested her own daughter. Janice shot him several times, killing him. Janice and her sisters were finally at peace, but she was sentenced to seven years in prison for killing the monster. 5-23-2005 Tom Cruise Loses His Mind Tom Cruise had been on the show many times before. He was usually calm and collected. But this time, Cruise was IN LOVE with actress Katie Holmes and he wasn't afraid to show it. As he talked about his much younger love, Cruise jumped up and down. He grabbed Oprah's hands and then did what was seen around the world. He jumped up and down on Oprah's couch. The audience went crazy. Then, a possessed-looking Tom Cruise marched backstage and pulled Katie Holmes out in front of the audience. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEASON TWENTY: 2005-2006 11-8-2005 Frightening Medical Conditions Five-year-old Gabby has a horrifying condition where she can't feel any pain. She suffered second degree burns to her hand after grabbing a lightbulb and poked her own eye out -- all without feeling a thing. She now wears special goggles to keep her from poking out her remaining eye. Her parents told Oprah that's it's a fight trying to keep their daughter alive. NEXT, three teens told about their struggles with Tourette Syndrome. They said they were just like anyone else. LATER, Sara gave birth to a daughter with an extremely rare condition known as Mermaid Syndrome. The baby was born with its legs fused together like a mermaid. Amazingly, baby Milagros survived a very dangerous operation to separate her legs. Milagros and her parents were both on the show. They said she is doing well and may even walk one day. 11-21-2005 Oprah's Favorite Things 2005 As is tradition, Oprah filled her audience with unsuspecting people who thought they were there for just a regular show. This year the audience was full of heroes who saved lives during hurricane Katrina. Everyone went crazy when they found out they were their for the annual holiday giveaway. As always, the set was decorated for Christmas and Oprah's elves brought out many of the free gifts. The giveaway began with a bang, as everyone got dual-faced diamond watches. The audience also got a free video Apple iPod, a $1,600 Sony laptop with DVD player, tubs of popcorn, perfume, clothes and Oprah's 20th anniversary DVD collection. 1-26-2006 Oprah Confronts Author James Frey Oprah's Book Club endorsed James Frey's memoir "A Million Little Pieces" and it sold millions of copies. The book was supposed to be based on his life, but it turned out to be full of lies. During this live interview, Oprah said she was embarassed for endorsing the book. She told him that he "betrayed millions of readers" and that she felt "duped." Oprah also got Frey to admit several lies he told in the book including the amount of time he spent in jail. In the book, he said he spent 81 days in jail, he told Oprah it was just a few hours. He also lied about the way his girlfriend committed suicide in the book. The audience growned as he revealed the truth. Oprah also spoke with the book's publisher who said she thought Frey was telling the truth. Oprah said publishers should dig harder to get the real truth. |
| One of the most recognizable faces around the world, Oprah Winfrey is a television icon. Her show used to be much more controversial, but it has been toned down over the years. For the past couple years, she had several recurring segments on her show including, OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB and OPRAH'S ANGEL NETWORK. Oprah has a different book that she tells her audience to read evey month and she brings the author on after they have read it. All of the books that she has endorsed have become best sellers thanks to her plugging. With her Angel Network, Oprah has collected money from people and organizations and used it to better the world. She has been with her boyfriend Stedman Graham for years and they still are not married. In March 2003, Forbes magazine named her the first African American female billionaire in the United States. In 2005, Oprah kicked off her 20th season with a huge new set that looks much like the set of a concert. In 2006, rumors swirled about Oprah being a lesbian with her best friend Gayle King. Both women publicly denied the rumor. Oprah began season 22 of her show in September 2007. |
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