Just my opinion:

Dr. Phil and Robin.

I don't get it.

How did they become the end-all saviors for American families caught up in all kinds of complex situations, some tawdry, some tantalizing, some tiresome and some tedious?

But all, to be sure, made for television.

I don't have to use their last names. You know whom I'm talking about. But for clarity's sake, they're the McGraws -- not to be confused with the McGraws, Tim and Faith, the country singers.

I get Tim and Faith.

I even get George W. and Laura.

I get Brad and Angelina.

I get Batman and Robin, sort of.

Why don't I get Dr. Phil and Robin?

You have to respect that unlike many other celebrities, Dr. Phil is making sure his wife comes with him on this journey which is making him -- making them -- so rich.

That's admirable. I assume it makes life easier at home, doing it together.

We couldn't get enough of Dr. Phil as a single a few years ago when he appeared on Oprah's show as a weekly guest. He earned his own show with his charisma.

Oprah does that for the hand-picked people she has as guests, either personal chefs, trainers or best friends. On his new CBS show titled, what else, "Dr. Phil," he started out like the old Dr. Phil with his subject matter. He could be amusing. Entertaining too, and never at a loss for words and somewhat provocative at times. He's good at what he does.

But now he's also playing God -- or is that just the way I see it?

In five years he has catapulted to stardom on CBS and even sent "Guiding Light" to a new time, much to some longtime soap opera fans' dismay.

Not to worry. He's producing his own soap opera.

I know he comes with credentials, such as six New York Times best-sellers, published in 37 languages. He writes for Oprah's magazine and has practiced in many fields of clinical psychology and behavioral medicine.

He has launched a nonprofit charitable organization and has been on the cover of Newsweek, etc. A good guy, even with a balding head and a mustache, a Southern drawl and an awkward gait. He was one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People" in 2002. Yadda, yadda.

So why am I out here in left field wondering how he made that leap to fame and fortune?

If you can't get on his show and be saved, how about buying his books?

He has several, and now so does Robin.

Out of nowhere (well, out of the audience) comes wife Robin, who has written her own book, "Inside My Heart," unabashedly promoted by her ever-faithful husband every chance he gets.

Would it have sold otherwise? We'll never know.

More and more she appears on stage with her husband, often adding her own "inside my heart" psychoanalysis.

But women love her -- grown women actually scream when she appears -- they copy her style and she's now designing jewelry. What Robin wears, other women want to wear too. They're on a roll. I don't get it.

It all seems so manipulative.

Poor Phil. Poor Robin. They both had alcoholic parents and told us about them.

Poor Phil. Poor Robin. They didn't always live in a mansion. They struggled.

Their son recently married a Playboy Playmate in that mansion. They're just like us.

Well, us without Oprah. And without millions. Without a TV show.

I don't get it.

I'm sure their fans will explain it to me.