I got trapped into watching some of this program today, in an automotive waiting room. If I were given the choice, say, to be required to tune-in to this show for an extended period (even if financially rewarded) - or to poke my eyes out with a knitting needle - it would be difficult to choose.<br /><br />If you wanted to load a time capsule for future generations, to illustrate certain words, to do so for, say, "charisma" or "charismatic," some clips/film of JFK or Dwight Eisenhowed would suffice. For "smarmy," virtually any role played by the talented Dabney Coleman would be a good choice; for "pretentious," any or all of the crowd on "The View" or Katie Couric performing an interview would be perfect.<br /><br />Maury Povich and "disingenuous" are synonyms. I know that with all of the channels today, and all of the air time to fill, a lot of the fare must be less than stellar. I also understand the there are "different strokes for different folks." I also know that different programs have different demographics - say, "Monk" versus "Friends;" "American Idol" versus a Sinatra or Tony Bennett retrospective. Some shows are so bizarre, so ridiculous, or so "bad," they can promote interest because of the fascination provided. The Bruce Jenner/Village People film, "Can't Stop the Music," is so bad it's thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating in its awfulness.<br /><br />But "Maury" just plain stinks in every regard. The freaks he displays, for the most part, are so obnoxious, loud, shallow and unsympathetic, even if the unctuous host is exploiting them, you really don't care.<br /><br />Jerry Springer, with whom Povich is often compared, is admirable by comparison. He allowed his show to morph from its original format with more serious topics, to its present format, certainly for the audience numbers and the financial benefits resulting - but you can also see his tongue is well into his cheek. And with Springer, you can see there is intelligence and intellect in the host, and that he might be someone who'd be a person to help someone where given the opportunity.<br /><br />By contrast, Povich represents nothing of even vaguely redeeming value or worth, in either his awful program or his smarmy demeanor. And unlike Springer's and others' programs in this "genre," his contains not an iota of humor which might provide some semblance of a reason to watch. It's puzzling - and even frightening - that there are sufficient people among us, who select this program regularly enough to have kept it on-air for years. A 1* ranking is one star too many.