Yet the great lifestyle and edutainment show The Dr Mol Show on SABC3 not just suddenly and without warning or any explanation lost the headline presenter it's named after - but also its entire credibility, its entire authenticity, and its feel for genuine medical help and advice which always radiated a truetone and warm teleglow feel.
How are viewers supposed to trust the advice, trust the people making the show, or trust or have any credibility in anything now related to what was The Dr Mol Show after the sudden and jarring disappearance of Michael Mol when neither the production, the SABC or SABC3 were willing to talk about it or answer any questions or media enquiries?
Does any viewer really want advice, or will viewers really feel they can trust or have any credibility in a stand-up comedian like Riaad Moosa when something so secretive happens and is executed by the very same people who refuse to talk or do any explaining to the press whatsoever, but then want to carry on telling viewers to "live your best life"? Not likely.
Yesterday I explained how The Dr Mol Show on SABC3 on Fridays at 15:45 is suddenly without Michael Mol who has been replaced by Riaad Moosa - although SABC3 insist on still calling it The Dr Mol Show on schedules whilst it's actually Doctor's Orders.
Adding insult to injury, everybody has refused to answer even the most basic questions made numerous times since April when I first reached out immediately and approached everyone and said that I was told Michael Mol is leaving and is that true, and if it is, what is happening?
Now SABC3 is responding, saying "laugher is the best medicine" (because the truth I guess is a bitter pill to swallow).
SABC3 is simply telling TV with Thinus that Riaad Moosa "has taken taken over from Dr Michael Mol who has left the show to pursue his passion for broader health education".
Michael Mol has, according to a statement "set his sights on giving every South African individualised health education, care and advice through direct and affordable access to healthcare professionals through Hello Doctor, a mobile healthcare company."
The Dr Mol Show, produced by Tswelopele Productions, was at episode 19 of 26 of the current 5th season when the behind-the-scenes shake-up occured.
It's highly unusual for a presenter to leave and for a new presenter to suddenly step in halfway through a programme's run. It's also unusual for a TV show and a broadcaster to not explain at least the basic details of how something like this happened and why it transpired.
On Doctor's Orders Riaad Moosa is a qualified medical doctor but he is definitely not Michael Mol who has honed his telegenic skills and warm and authentic on-air personality through decades of hard work on Top Billing.before branching out to Expresso and then started Hello Doctor which morphed into the well-produced, informative and entertaining The Dr Mol Show.
Riaad Moosa now seems like a desperate, last-minute Cape Town-based replacement for a TV show suddenly in a massive identity and credibility crisis - we won't know that for sure because nobody even bothered to answered questions and media enquiries and simply instituted the change last month which looks schizophrenic from an outsider and viewers' perspective.
I can certainly never look at
The Dr Mol Show represented some of the best local television South Africa's TV industry produced. Now it feels hollow.
If doctor bedside manner is so important, why did the show and the broadcaster completely fail to be open and honest? Why was there zero percent bedside communication the moment when whatever started to happen behind the scenes, happened? Trust and credibility are earned; with Doctor's Orders, for me, that is all gone now, and it's sad.
"I am going to be stepping into the shoes of a role model of mine," says Riaad Moosa in a press statement from SABC3. "I have the utmost respect and admiration for Michael and hope to be able to build on what Michael has achieved."
"I have enjoyed every single minute on The Dr Mol Show and know that Riaad is going to break new ground and build on the show's success," says Michael Mol in the statement which was issued today.
