Oh Woe is me... Why's everybody pickin on me???
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.
...And gave ABC its highest non award winning show .....
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With all the ‘supposed’ adulation etc I thought the OB fiasco was/is an ‘awards’ show, at least it has the makings of one.
You've got to be kidding. Ellen is just as insane as Rosie.
"The only reason this show failed is because America is a backwards homophobic country still living in the dark ages. At least Barack Obama will lead us to future days. Out with Bush the Dictator.
I recall an old anti-drug PSA...
"This is your brain....
This is your brain on drugs...."
QED
IMO the best variety show on TV was the “Carol Burnett Show”...
And if you’re old enough to remember, Milton Berle was great fun. Ernie Kovacks... He did a speech in full roman regalia, about Caesar. Really serious stuff. Then he tapp danced off of the stage. He was the best!
IMO the best variety show on TV was the “Carol Burnett Show”...
And if you’re old enough to remember, Milton Berle was great fun. Ernie Kovacks... He did a speech in full roman regalia, about Caesar. Really serious stuff. Then he tapp danced off of the stage. He was the best!
I was flipping channels and thought I saw a glimpse of her, luckily I turned the channel immediately...before I turned to stone.
Personally (though I am too young to remember it in orginal broadcast) would be for them to brink back Hee-Haw (now that’s a commedy/variety) which would bring out Middle-American viewers. Maybe if they did this with the cast of “blue-Collar”, and CM stars, then it would GET ratings!
YOU F@CKS WOULDN”T KNOW TALENT IF IT BIT YOU ON THE ASS!!!
Then I guess I don’t have to worry about Rosie biting my ass.
“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.”
I think it was H.L. Mencken who said that no on ever lost money by underestimating the taste of the American public. Hopefully this will be a first.
Hasn’t Ben Silverman been fired yet?
I'm a huge fan of Sid Caeser's Your Show of Shows, he and Nanette Fabray were hilarious together. His "Ladies and Gentlemen, What is Jazz?" number is a classic.
There goes my apetite for turkey! Yuck!
Most people I talk to never watch MSNBC and don't even know that the despicable Olberman has a show there.
The problem isn’t with the variety show format, but rather with the selection of the host. Rosie must have a likability rating in the negatives, not what you want when trying to attract a broad audience. NBC Entertainment is dumber than I thought they were. Whoever proposed this, along with who OK’d it, should be fired; they simply do not know what they are doing.
Yes, those comments were very funny. I wouldn’t watch her program if it was the only thing on.
Oh Woe is me... Why's everybody pickin on me???
I know that happened to the films of Steve Allen’s Tonight Show. It also happened to Kocack’s films? I didn’t know that.
Anyway, you’ll enjoy this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTgJTRoJj24
The variety format is sadly outdated in our fast times - our Obama era is going to require more Brave New World type revues. We live in a very cynical society my friends. Also Rosie with her left wing madness is not the kind of person suited to host a variety show - that was for the days when there was still some innocence left like Donny & Marie, The Lawrence Welk Show...Even Carol Burnett (who was probably a liberal)had a pretty innocent show. But we live in an era where children are sexualized at an outrageously young age and the what pased for pornography in the 1970s is common on shows like Wil & Grace or Friends.
Jane Krakowski, a courtesan like actress that uses her body and looks more than she uses her acting ability is not the right choice for a “variety” show during prime time.
The problem is not the variety show format, the problem is having a fat, bigmouth,foulmouthed, unlikeable lesbian hosting it.
You could get away with one of the above but not all of them.
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