I know this is an internet cliche, but with all seriousness I ask

WHAT
THE
FUCK,
OPRAH AUDIENCE?

Also: is this something I'd need to watch Oprah to understand?

Wow.

I think you do need to watch Oprah to understand- as Oprah says herself near the end, there are a few guys in the audience who clearly don't watch and they're so confused, lol.

So why are they acting like O was going to have them all bodily assumed into heaven? Was it Vibrating Seat day? What?

So. Confused.

What?

OK, I did a little poking around; god help me, I even went to the Oprah site, which I will now link to. Apparently the audience was going apeshit beacuse O was gonna give them a lot of stuff. Barbecues, books, hotel gift cards, make-up, etc.

Well, that's cool, cuz - "hey, free stuff! woot!" ... but the weeping and near hysteria? Still odd.

Yeah, that was a whole bunch of near-religious frenzy. I seem to recall that Oprah gave out cars once, so maybe they thought they were gonna be driving home in A BRAND NEW FORD PROBE!!! or something. Still...

Hey, you want me to cry, you better buy me a house. With a pool.

Or kick me in the shin, or call me ugly.

The Favourite Things episodes are Oprah's most hotly-contested episodes ever. She has strict ways of choosing her audience, and they change by year, so it's notoriously difficult to get seating. (Oprah often tells the story about how even Brad Pitt's mum can't get on the show.) One time it was the audience of her first show of the season; another time it was all teachers who thought they were there to view an episode on education.

In those Favourite Things episodes, Oprah gives away THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of dollars worth of stuff. Including some really expensive and exclusive things (the cars weren't just an aberration). So when you find out that you're the lucky audience for this extremely rare show...you are in so much luck.

aaah. It's making more sense.

Ugh.

I thought it was kinda fun. I was just thinking yesterday about how, when Phish started playing "Speak to Me" and "Breathe," the crowd flipped out for like the first 2 or 3 minutes, because they realized they were going to see them cover Dark Side. Oprah's "favorite things" episode is kind of like Phish covering an album live for these gals.

I watched this episode. It was a Favorite Things for Summer. I couldn't believe the hysteria and carrying on. I would certainly cheer and smile my head off, but I would not be near-fainting with tears looking to heaven. My sister and I were making fun. "Even if I won the Powerball I wouldn't go that nuts." "Let's go crazy for a bottle of lotion I'll forget about in a month. Yay! OMG! Free lotion!"

I do love when Oprah gives away free stuff. I love to see people win or just get stuff in general. A month or so ago she gave a guy his choice of Ford cars. That was very cool.

The Favorite Things she does around the winter holidays is unbelievable. Still, no need to go crazy for a bunch of make-up, electronics, and such. This Summer episode they gave away a grill worth 800 bucks, a GPS system, a cool little duffle bag on wheels, cosmetics, flip-flops, a Marriot gift card, and some other little stuff. It was not worth losing your shit over.

There was a Saturday Night Live skit a couple of years back that parodied this (Maya Rudolph played Oprah). IIRC it ended with one woman's head exploding from excitement (it was a practical effect, of course).