Barbara Walters Gets Last Laugh On Rosie O'Donnell's Variety Show

I'm sure (or I hope) Barbara Walters would never say it publicly, but I'm sure she chuckled Thursday morning after seeing the ratings for Rosie O'Donnell's variety show on NBC. Here are two reasons why:
1. Watlers' interview with Barack and Michelle Obama trounced Rosie in the ratings that night.
Later that night ABC’s Barbara Walters special, featuring an interview with President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, drew a much larger audience of 11.7 million viewers. (From NYTimes.com) (more than double Rosie's ratings).
2. The seemingly apparent attempts by Rosie to stir up publicity for her show by... well talking, failed. Rosie's show only drew 5 million people... tied for dead last on network TV. Good thing, I say. I was at home with the family for the holiday and we chose to watch the show. At one point, I said to a family member during a commerical break, "You know, it's 8:28... maybe NBC should pull the plug on this thing now and save another half hour of TV. I think there's an informercial ready to roll" Geez.... the show was "Rosie's favorite things"... only bad. Here's how the NY Times covered it.
Rosie O’Donnell’s homage to television variety shows of the 1970s, “Rosie Live,” seems destined to be a one-night-only event. On the “Ask Ro” feature on the Web site, rosie.com, Ms. O’Donnell wrote, “there will b no more” in response to a question about the future of the show, which was broadcast on NBC on Wednesday. The special was supposed to be a trial balloon and could have led to a series, depending on its success. But “Rosie Live,” which featured performances by Liza Minnelli, Alanis Morissette and others, attracted just five million viewers, according to Nielsen’s estimates, finishing a distant third in the 8 p.m. hour. Ms. O’Donnell, above right in the special, responded to many messages on her Web site over the weekend, writing in her style that eschews traditional spellings. To another viewer she acknowledged, “I gave it my best shot.” She also wrote that “its up to nbc,” but added, “bad ratings and reviews usually mean no more.”

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