A good way to describe the Steve Wilko show is if you take the Jerry Springer show and turn Jerry into a tall bald former police officer who looks like a bully. The show does try to keep the fights to a minimum, and instead fill it up with Steve burning the guests with his hard lectures.
Another big difference, is how extremely grotesque the stories are. For example, there is one episode about an old woman who admits that she murdered a baby 15 years ago, one episode of a man who had sex with a 12 year old girl and more.
Many people debate that the stories are real and that they're just scripted. I don't know how to tell whether it's real or not, however I wouldn't be surprised if it was fake. It doesn't really matter though, as long as it's entertaining and enjoyable to watch.
Steve's show really does have some strong willed messages, and does open people's eyes to the horrors of this world. The only problem is, he does NOTHING whatsoever to solve these problems half the time. That is where Steve often misses the mark. Half the time, Steve handles the stories in the right manner, showing the audience something relevant and gives us a reason to listen. These are usually morals about family, being there for your child, keeping a child and so and so.
The major problem with the show is it's much too repetitive. Half the time Steve looses his cool and walks around the guest screaming in there face. This is fine, as I can understand him being angry with stupid people, but it just goes ON and ON and ON! If Steve is going to do nothing but yell at people, what good is he doing? Nothing. It's okay to be harsh, but you need to have an understanding of humanity.
For example, there's one episode where a woman wants to see her daughter, after allowing her to be raped 7 times. In that episode, Steve literally says "our show isn't about getting into the mind of a monster! Our show doesn't have couches where I try to understand you! And it's not about forgiveness or being kind! It's about showing something how it is!" That Steve has described there, is IGNORANCE! The reason why we hate evil so much in this world, is because we don't understand it. There's no use in shoving hate into someone's face if you're not going to tell them there's a solution. The past is the past, you can't change it! What you can do, is make an effort to fix the present. What good is it to see you express the same anger that the viewer already feels? You have show some moral, reason and lesson, rather then just needless anger.
Another problem is there is a poor lack of forgiveness. I don't care how terrible someone is, or what evil they have done. They are still humans, they still have minds of redemption. Why does Steve seem to think that no one can change? Why does he act like if someone is horrible in the past that they deserve no forgiveness? Forgive and forget is exactly what a lot of these nasty people need.
Ironically, sometimes Steve is too soft. Think about this, if you have someone with a history of abusing their children and they're sorry about it and are regretting it in tears, do they deserve to be torn apart or forgiven? Now, what if you have someone with a history of abusing their children and they deny it and claim to have done nothing wrong? that type of person deserves the Steve burn, 'cause the Steve burn helps open a person's ignorant mind up. Oddly enough, he doesn't loose his cool and talk in people's faces when it's the right time.
One last foot note, what is with Steve and throwing chairs?! It's...very random, and is in almost every episode.
