Shocked, I Am

Here is some saaaaad news - hah!

The media battle between former coworkers Rosie O'Donnell and Barbara Walters resumed on Wednesday night, as each woman rolled out her own TV special. In the end, however, only one stood tall: Walters, whose interview with President-elect Barack Obama and First Lady-to-be Michelle Obama on ABC's Barbara Walters Special netted 11.7 million viewers at 10 p.m. That was the night's third best total and a huge improvement on the 5.6 mil people who watched Dirty Sexy Money in the same period a week prior. (Indeed, on a slow Thanksgiving eve, the only shows to boast a ratings boost over the previous week in the same time slot were Walters' program and NBC's 9 p.m. airing of Deal or No Deal, which bettered last week's Life.)

O'Donnell's Rosie Live special on NBC, meanwhile, drew a mere 5 mil pairs of eyeballs in the 8 p.m. hour. That was the night's fifth smallest audience, and a sum that was down from the 5.2 mil viewers who tuned into the ratings-challenged Knight Rider last week.

Golly Gee Whiz, do ya think maybe the viewing public might be tired of Rosie's mouth? Well, actually I'm for thinking NBC just put a square peg in a round hole. As long as Rosie has someone like Elisabeth Hasselbeck to play off with controversial and outlandish statements, well, she is ratings gold. But as the host of an entertainment show? Rosie is a lot of things, most of which I cannot stand, but she is definitely no Carol Burnett or Lucille Ball. That would require less hatred and more humor.