Monday, June 25, 2007

Not So Rosie

Whether you loved her or hated her, there was no question that Rosie O'Donnell had a huge impact on the ratings when she joined "The View." Probably in part because people wanted to see what she would say next, ratings spiked significantly once she was on board.

But how much impact did O'Donnell have? Recently released ratings have shown "The View" hasn't lost any ratings since O'Donnell abruptly quit the show last month after an on-air shouting match with co-host Elizabeth Hasselback. In fact, the ratings have remained fairly consistent.

So either Rosie herself wasn't as big a draw as people first thought, or people found something of more interest about the show once she left.

Perhaps the producers of "The Price Is Right" should take note, since O'Donnell has been openly lobbying for Bob Barker's old job over the past couple of weeks.

Frankly, the current version of Rosie would be too much of a personality to serve as a game show host, and one shudders to think how political she could get - much more so than just "having your pets spayed or neutered."

I am assured by a source close to the situation who said rumors of Rosie taking over the show are just that - rumors. But they are unsettling, particularly since the peace and quiet of daytime TV over the past month has been a relief.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: If you've been enjoying "Creature Comforts" on CBS, well, you are out of luck. The network has yanked the show from its schedule, replacing it with reruns of "New Adventures of Old Christine." I found "Creature Comforts" to be a bit uneven - the animation was terrific and hilarious, but the shows themselves seemed bland - but you'd think the network would rather run original programming during the summer.

Other than that, it's pretty much all reality on the networks at this point. Contrast NBC and ABC; the former is running "Age of Love," about 40-somethings vs. 20-somethings fighting over a 30-year-old tennis star, while the latter has shows like "Wife Swap" and "Ex-Wives Club." Perhaps Mark Philipoussis should flip channels and catch a glimpse of his future.

Your best bets are probably on cable. TNT is airing new episodes of "The Closer" at 9 p.m., followed by the new drama "Heartland" at 10 p.m.

"Kyle XY" (ABC Family, 8 p.m.) is also new, as is "Big Love" (HBO, 9 p.m.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for finally nto forgetting the 2 best shows of the night, "Kyle XY" and "Big Love". That's what I will be watching.

Anonymous said...

Much as I can't stand Rosie, what sort of trouble can she cause on "The Price Is Right?

"The View" is, by its nature , a political show.

I would rather see Rosie in "The Price" than spewing her hatred in her own show.

Phillip Ramati said...

Good point, Hotspur.

On the other hand, The View is a relatively lightweight show, devoted as much to celebrity news as it is to politics. One shudders to think what might happen if Rosie turned TPIR into a political forum.

Anonymous said...

Phillip,

I agree with hotspur...I don't think Rosie will do much damage on "Price", CBS would fire her in a nanosecond. It's a game show where America winz prizes...plain and simple.