Dr. Laura Schlessinger's TV talk show debuted without incident Monday as the controversial radio personality selected the safe topic of "Teens and Drugs" for her premiere. Noting that at the beginning of the show, Schlessinger had commented on teen drug use: "I'm sick of it, and I'm very worried, and I want it stopped," New York Daily News TV critic David Bianculli remarked that that was also his reaction to Schlessinger's show. But Adam Buckman in the New York Post suggested there was little to get excited about. "I was all ready for Dr. Laura Schlessinger to kick some teen-age butt, but in the end, she handled all of her guests with kid gloves." Likewise, the Associated Press commented Tuesday that "the debut avoided talk-show pyrotechnics and the shrill tone of her call-in radio show." Nevertheless, conspicuously absent from the show were high-profile national advertisers. "This is not a good sign at launch," Joe Mandese, editor of the industry newsletter The Myers Report, told the New York Times.

Source: Studio Briefing