Posted on 11/27/2008 10:17:57 AM PST by My Favorite Headache
November 27, 2008 NBC's Rosie O’Donnell variety show disappoints Rosie O'Donnell gave NBC a real turkey.
The network's attempt to revive the primetime variety show failed to draw an audience Wednesday night, tying for the evening’s lowest-rated program.
A mere 5 million viewers tuned in for the 8 p.m. premiere of “Rosie Live,” with the program earning a 1.2 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. The telecast matched ABC’s recently canceled “Pushing Daisies” as the night's lowest-rated program on a major broadcast network.
NBC had high hopes for the special and planned to expand the program into a series should viewers re-embrace the decades-old variety format. Other networks, too, were watching closely since several are developing variety shows of their own.
“There’s a notion that the climate is right for the genre to make a comeback,” emailed one executive at a rival network. “I guess we now know what not to do, thanks to Rosie.”
Segments included Kathy Griffin impersonating Nancy Grace, Alec Baldwin hitting Conan O'Brian with a pie, O'Donnell singing "City Lights" with Liza Minnelli and Jane Krakowski doing a striptease while showing images of product placement.
Critics were not kind. The NY Times described it as "hokey comedy with an enemies list." TV Guide called it a "ghastly ego trip."
Networks have been chasing variety show programming as a low-cost option to revive the genre. But the idea has been sought by executives due the format’s rock-bottom low cost, cross-promotion possibilities and advertiser-friendly format rather than being a genre that's bursting from the creative community or demanded by viewers. In other words, the neo-variety show is a product designed to solve financial woes rather than an inspired act of programming creativity and therefore had the odds stacked against it drawing large numbers.
NBC’s variation in particular, starring O’Donnell with appearances by Alannis Morrisette, Ne Yo, Griffin, Rachael Ray, Harry Connick Jr., Clay Aiken and Gloria Estefan seemed pretty niche, skewing heavily female for a show broadcast the eve of a family holiday, and some observers thought the lineup was better suited for daytime than primetime.
Given the holiday week, programming was lower rated last night than average. One special that did perform well was Barbara Walters’ interview with president-elect Barack Obama (11.6 million, 3.0 rating), which nearly matched "CSI: NY" in the 10 p.m. hour and gave ABC its highest non-awards show rating in the time period in more than a year.
bummer
I would maybe watch rosie o’donut if she were on fire. Otherwise, ain’t worth my time.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!
Valerie,
May i venture a guess that you are a nice all American girl.
One who is God fearing and one who loves her country.
You are not a frustrated depraved dike homosexual or you too may care to tune in rosie’s garbage.
I am hoping Rosie will do a harangue on gun control while the network shows video of her armed guards taking the kids to school.
I was flipping last night and saw the first few minutes. It looked like a train wreck from the beginning. I had to turn it off when Liza came on started shrieking and prancing around. Is there a more vile looking woman in the world.
Later I flipped by it again and Rosie was dancing with a bunch of kids.
She looked like Barney in black.
The thought crossed my mind that this would NEVER be on TV again. This was the kind of crap my Grandmother would watch, and she would try to make me clap along too.
There is a reason this junk is not on TV anymore.
You can't do a nice variety show in todays crude culture, it won't work.
LOL! Yeah I guess I am stating the obvious. I watch very little TV and now I have absolutely no use for it. The MSM/TV MSM was 100% for Obama and the Dems.
I now make sure that I do not even stop for even a nano-second on any station associated with NBC. I hope their advertisers are taking notice to the publics dissatisfaction.
The host, not the format, was surely the biggest drag. Why pick a bitter, frothing wannabe-political hack who can’t control herself to host what is supposed to be a fun show (I’m presuming it’s supposed to be fun)?
The unions killed the variety show. With HD TV it would be a great time to bring back the big dance numbers, but the costs to rebroadcast are prohibitive because of the dancer's contracts. That's why the old Carol Burnett show only has the comedy skits when it shows in reruns. The standard contract requires that every time the show is rerun each dancer gets paid not only for dancing, but for rehearsal. Since much of the profit from shows now comes from reruns, the dancer's contract effectively killed the variety show. Also, variety shows have never drawn ratings in reruns like comedies and dramas. I think variety shows are more tied to a specific time and don't age as well, although musical movies like Oliver, My Fair Lady, and the Music Man seem to stand up well. Possibly because they're period pieces. I'm not sure how Disney worked it out with High School Musical.
Rosie, like Sandra Berhard, has stayed on television etc., because of the gay mafia running entertainment. Neither of them has ever drawn significant ratings, except when attached to a project that would have been successful anyway.
I do have to admit that there is a car-wreck quality to a Rosie performance, but like Britney Spears, it's become old hat.
Have they considered that the problem was the host?
ANYONE notice who the sponsors were???
The comments section are an absolute laugh treasury of Rosie critiques:
http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/11/nbcs-rosie-odon.html
I think this is just evidence that ratings isn’t the only thing that determines what hits the airwaves. They are clearly trying to rehabilitate Rosie. Anyone with any common sense would have known this would be a failure.
Thanks for posting that picture. I used to have to tickle the back of my throat, but now I can get the same effect just by looking at that work of art. Now, if I can just get the cat to look at it when he has a hairball...
I'm not so certain about that. If a network would put on a show that was actually, ummm... entertaining, I'm fairly sure that it would draw a decent sized audience. It sounds like the Rosie O freak show just wasn't all that entertaining.
For the past decade I have made the personal effort to AVOID watching ABC, NBC, and CBS whenever possible, with the exception of ice hockey, football, basketball, and baseball (and two and half men.)
I’ve also tried to avoid going to movies or buying music CDs starring idiots such as Sean Penn, George Clooney, Dixie Chicks,... and the list goes on.
I’ve also cancelled by LA Times subscription years ago and I have made the effort to vote in every election, rain or shine.
I know my one voice doesn’t amount to much, but I’d like to think that there are many more like me who collectively do make a difference.
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