PAIN MEDICATION. Credibility shattered, authenticity gone: 'I hope to be able to build on what Michael has achieved,' says Riaad Moosa replacing Michael Mol in Doctor's Orders.

South African TV viewers are now supposed to take seriously, trust, and watch a stand-up comedian who until recently made jokes about politics with a naked skeleton (oh sorry, it had undies on) on The Dr Mol Show Doctor's Orders on SABC3.

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Yesterday I explained how The Dr Mol Show on SABC3 on Fridays at 15:45 is suddenly without Michael Mol who has been replaced by Riaad Moosa - although SABC3 insist on still calling it The Dr Mol Show on schedules whilst it's actually Doctor's Orders.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 Doctor's Orders in the same way again. It feels like a lobotomised show. Everything about it now seems fake, contrived and disingenuous. Nobody was honest with me as a journalist and a TV critic, and I don't feel the show is authentic anymore.

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.

HELLO? DOCTOR? Michael Mol gone without any explanation; Riaad Moosa in as The Dr Mol Show on SABC3 changes to Doctor's Orders.

In an extremely shocking, highly embarrassing and dramatic bait-and-switch exercise with no announcement, advisory, press statement, explanation, answers or any information to the South African press and TV critics either before it happened on-air (I asked) or since, SABC3 and the production company behind The Dr. Mol Show suddenly has Riaad Moosa in as the new doctor and Michael Mol gone, for the show which is now in fact called Doctor's Orders.

Even stranger: SABC3 is still calling it The Dr. Mol Show on all schedules for two weeks now. Although Michael Mol is completely and inexplicably gone and with no explanation whatsoever to me as to why he suddenly left or where he went, there is no "Dr Mol" anymore on The Dr. Mol Show. 

On 4 April TV with Thinus reported of dramatic going-ons behind the scenes of The Dr Mol Show on SABC3.

At that time I was told that Michael Mol has informed the crew that week that he is leaving the show. Although the news to me came from highly credible sources, I did not report that at the time - the news seemed that incredulous. I wanted more facts and verification, although my sources on record were already sterling.

I immediately reached out to the production, the SABC, as well as SABC3 as well as people directly involved with the show. I asked repeatedly and made multiple media enquiries.

I asked specific questions and asked specifically for clarity and relayed exactly what I was told and whether anything is true and accurate. I phoned. I phoned again. Several people from several places told me I would get answers and that they would respond. Several people said there isn't news but that relevant information would be communicated should there be anything.

Now - shockingly - The Dr. Mol Show has indeed morphed into Doctor's Orders with Riaad Moosa, yet there has been no word to the press or to me from the production company, no word from the SABC or SABC3 or any PR company, no official publicity photo of Riaad Moosa issued for what is essentially a "new" show, and no clear explanation of where Michael Mol suddenly went and why he upped and left The Dr. Mol Show in the middle of the 5th season.

Equally embarrassing for everyone involved - including all TV critics and editor's in South Africa - is that the show is still called The Dr. Mol Show on SABC3's schedules in printed newspapers and magazines in South Africa although ...


... when viewers tuned in since 17 May they've actually been seeing not Michael Mol and not the The Dr. Mol Show. There is no more "Dr Mol" on TV, just as if Dr. Phil suddenly took over Dr. Oz but kept calling it Dr. Oz. Did anyone even pick up the change?

Michael Mol suddenly gone from The Dr. Mol Show marks yet another extremely high-profile South African TV personality suddenly gone from South African television screens in a jarring way this year. The show joins 3rd Degree which abrupty ended when Debora Patta last month unexpectedly announced it will no longer continue and Vuyo Mbuli who died last month and was the co-anchor on Morning Live on SABC2.

I again reached out today to almost everyone involved with this show. Why the abrupt changes? Why the complete lack of transparency in my opinion and the eye-popping lack of communication? Why exactly did Michael Mol leave and so suddenly and not when the season ended? Why is the show still called The Dr. Mol Show on paper?

Here is what I've been told - and in the total absence of any responses to my multiple media enquiries since April, it is all that I have to go on for now. If there are any responses from anybody working in media involved with this issue (where it is ironically all about communicating and communication) I will of course bring those answers.

I'm told by sources that The Dr. Mol Show (which I've always liked and which was good local television) can't officially be changed to Doctor's Orders because Michael Mol left from episode 19 of 26 and the show which has been sold to advertisers as such has to be called that by the SABC's advertising sales arm and programming, until the end of the fifth season's run.

Why did Michael Mol leave? I'm only given a vague "to pursue other business interest" - no real specific reason. I'm also told he has mobile clinics and are focusing on those according to a source. I don't have anything more specific than that.

In the meantime it remains very strange for an on-air personality whose name is attached to a specific show to suddenly not be seen on-air midway through its run -  but for the show to continue on as half of a new thing, and half of what it was.

Why is the SABC and SABC3 and the production - none of them officially communicating to the press, not talking or even answering the most basic questions I had in media enquiries? They have a responsibility to the ordinary viewer who watches, who is perplexed and who wants to know: Where did Michael Mol go? Why did The Dr. Mol Show change? Hello? Doctor?

How bad is it to suddenly change the main presenter of a show named after the person, not change the name of the programme on the actual schedules of a TV channel, and then not even answering questions or providing basic details as to why it happened to the press?

What is happening behind the scenes at the Dr Mol Show on SABC3?

What exactly is happening behind the scenes at, and with, The Dr Mol Show on SABC3?

I heard from people today who relayed to me information about the excellently done local health magazine talk show with Dr Michael Mol.

I hope to have more soon and bring clarification as I seek confirmation of what I've heard of what supposedly happened - or not - on Wednesday at the production, or is happening at the show.

Meanwhile The Dr Mol Show on Fridays at 15:40 on SABC3 - which was a very-well deserved finalist for the South African Film and Television Awards and more than absolutely deserves/ed to win - continues to shine.

The show is a great example of local South African television done not only right, but a health consciousness show which embodies entertainment value, diligence, as well as intent and purpose.

I've reached out to various people, including SABC3, today for a response on what was told to me in regards to The Dr Mol Show by insiders; I didn't get responses. If or when what I was told today is confirmed as facts, I'll report it.

HELLO, DOCTOR! The brand-new Dr. Mol Show on SABC3 trots out a studio audience ... and a half-naked male model!

Add a live studio audience, allow the real Michael Mol to be completely himself as a talk show host and to interact with them, and whoa-la: the new The Dr. Mol Show on SABC3 (Fridays, 15:45; repeat Sunday 16:00) is suddenly very funny, energetic, dynamic and interesting television - and exactly what the doctor ordered.

The magazine show Hello Doctor with Michael Mol just turned into The Dr. Mol Show on SABC3 and is suddenly - and very cleverly - employing all of the tele-techniques of successful afternoon talk television. Same theme song (different opening title), same intent (health education), same set and same doctor, but suddenly The Dr. Mol Show is wonderfully "alive".

The entertaining talk hour with the funny telegenic host is immediately making for you-gotta-watch-this television. The Dr. Mol Show is now playing perfectly to its afternoon audience, cleverly incorporating all of the talk show genre's ''best practice'' production secrets - the main aim being: wow the crowd.

With a live studio audience, audience members who also ask questions, more banter, jokes and quips, The Dr. Mol Show is suddenly a whole new beast - just like the half-naked male model, Ryan, which Michael Mol unexpectedly trotted out in the first new episode to demonstrate, hands-on, the best sleeping techniques.

Yes, you could use boring diagrams, but if your studio audience is made up largely of women of all ages in an afternoon slot, why not teach and make them and viewers remember by making it both educational and entertaining?

It's exactly the funny show-and-tell technique The Dr. Mol Show immediately incorporated by trotting out some guy candy when a hunky male model, who Michael Mol only identified as Ryan, suddenly walked out - dressed in only pajama pants.

The studio audience audibly purred approvingly. Michael Mol also smiled. Because when you have the audience's attention, you can tell them anything.

Michael Mol, with the help of his male ''sleep mannequin" and a bed, proceeded to show the studio audience exactly how the different sleeping positions impacts the body. "I was going to do this, but then we got Ryan who looks way better than I does,'' said Michael Mol.

If a hunky barebod guy is the spoonful of television sugar you need to make the medicine go down and to prevent your TV audience from tuning out, The Dr. Mol Show got it instantly right. Tswelopele Productions produces the show with Michael Mol, Patience Stevens and Bradley van den Berg as the 3 executive producers.

The debut episode of the new The Dr. Mol Show was in a sense "classic Oprah"-  from when she started with her talk show out and still sat and stood in the audience, took their questions with a hand-held mic and was visually "one of them".

Michael Mol's new talk show not only immediately popped visually (sleep model Ryan; a bed in the studio; studio audience shots); but had interesting inter-related topics all well conceptualised for television, as well as credible experts whom Michael Mol gently guided but kept on a short lease to extract their medical advice in a short and sweet way.  

A visit to New York and Dr. Oz to interview him and included in the episode as a separate insert, was well produced and very well done. It was also producing genius.

The Dr. Mol Show simultaneously paid homage to the American talk show that was the inspiration for the Hello Doctor transformation, as well as clearly positioning - and immediately solidifying - Michael Mol's place as South Africa's talk show host version.   

Earlier this month dr. Nadia van der Merwe, TV expert from the department of Journalism, Film and Television at the University of Johannesburg told me that she considers Hello Doctor to be one of the best local shows on South African television, using the words "current, well-researched and informative".

The Dr. Mol Show has not only managed to become an enhanced and a more entertaining version of the Hello Doctor magazine show, but did it whilst keeping its core characteristics and intent in tact and skillfully adding the bells and whistles from the notoriously difficult talk show genre.

The only way this show could possibly have been any better? If Michael Mol personally handed out paediatric pillows to the studio guests.

For unlike Dali Thambo and The People of the South, handing out comfy cushions at the end in this talk show would have been the perfect (and here actually for once the appropriate) parting shot to camera.

BREAKING. Dr Michael Mol getting his own TV talk show, The Dr Mol Show, on SABC3 with a live studio audience from 6 April.

Dr Michael Mol of Top Billing fame and the medical magazine show Hello Doctor on SABC3 is getting his own TV talk show, The Dr Mol Show on the same channel with a live studio audience when the show also moves from Sundays to Fridays from Friday 6 April at 15:45 with a repeat on Sundays at 16:00.

Hello Doctor which started a year ago on SABC3 will change to The Dr Mol Show with Michael Mol still dispensing medical and healthy lifestyle advice as well as talk to personalities, but from now on in front of a live studio audience and with more specific topics.

I can reveal that Michael Mol recently visited Dr Mehmet Oz in New York - his talk show also shown on SABC3 and which will be reduced from 5 days a week to 4 to make space on Fridays for The Dr Mol Show - to hear from him how to do a successful medical talk show.

''His advice to me was - and he said he was told it by Oprah herself - is that people respond emotionally. Instead of a lot of charts and diagrams and lots of points - rather focus on less points and lists, choose one or two things, explain it visually and tell a story around it, since that is when people remember it,'' Michael Mol says.

The Dr Mol Show will be recorded in Cape Town sharing studio space with SABC3's morning breakfast show Expresso in the same Seapoint building. He jokes that he will deliver the pregnant Kia Johnson's baby live on air who is currently an Expresso presenter.

The Dr Mol Show will basically be more dynamic as Hello Doctor changes from a full magazine show to a talk show with magazine show elements.

''The interesting profiles of people sharing their own stories, struggles and challenges will still be there as inserts but having a studio audience brings a liverier dynamic to the show and people to interact with,'' says Michael Mol.