Watching The View

Today on the September 11th episode of The View, all five hosts were present. They began the show by acknowledging the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Whoopi asked where they all were that day. Barbara Walters had an assignment that day to talk to families of the survivors. Elisabeth was in Los Angeles. Joy was in make-up room that day at The View. She noted that she is losing her voice today and joked it was God’s will. Sherri said that God wants her to scream from the mountain tops. Joy said that she still gets chills every year and pointed it out that it is always a nice day on the anniversary. Sherri did a comedy show that night and it was the most crowded it had ever been because people needed to laugh. Whoopi was doing interviews in LA following the completion of taping of Hollywood Squares. When she first saw it on the television, she thought it was a movie. She stayed in LA, but let people use her bus to get back to NYC.

Elisabeth was in the park with the kids last week and heard shouting. It was 100 Army people working out. Elisabeth yelled “woo!” at them. She explained to Grace that they were working to protect us. Grace asked why they needed protection. She told them that they have been working seven years to keep us safe. She didn’t want to give her fear because children will have their own fears. Grace then turned and said, “Woo!” at the Army people. Sherri said she held Jeffrey a little closer today. Joy’s daughter was on a plane on 9/11 getting ready to go to Canada. Joy called her and told her to get off the plane and she did. The stewardess did not know or was not telling the passengers. Whoopi said today is the day that you recognize that we are all American. Barbara said that although many people are critical of President Bush, whatever has happened, we have not been attacked in the past seven years and they should give credit where credit is due. They all agreed.
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Here are some video clips of the September 4th episode of The View. You can read my full recap here: The View September 4th Recap.

Today on the September 4th episode of The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck was not present because she will be at the Republican National Convention later today. Sherri Shepherd was absent yesterday because it was Jeffrey’s first day of school. He was fine, but she didn’t want to leave him. She felt a “pang” that he didn’t cry or anything and it took her six tries to leave. When he got home, he kept saying he wanted to go to school. The school is for children who have developmental delays and she feels good leaving him there.

Sarah Palin gave her speech last night at the convention. Barbara Walters said she was “just wonderful” no matter what her views were and it will be tough for Joe Biden to debate her. Sherri was disappointed that she made fun of Barack Obama’s job as a community avtivist, which he did when he could have taken a high paying job instead. He was serving his country. Sherri broke down when Palin said that people who have a special needs children have a friend in her. Joy said she was great and could be a comedian because she has great timing. Joy thinks that men are attracted to her and she is like a librarian who has the hair up and then takes it down and “va va va voom.” She said that might be sexist, but that men did not find Hillary Clinton attractive.

Whoopi thought it was a good speech and she came out strong. She gave information we would not have known before. She was also bothered by the slighting of Barack’s role as a community organizer. Whoopi was really aggravated when Palin said she had to explain to her opponents what a mayor is and that community organizers don’t have actual responsibilities. Whoopi said that it is often the activists who are getting information back to the mayor about what is going on in the city. They liked the clip of the little daughter holding the baby and fixing his hair with spit. Barbara said it may cost her an interview, but read from an article that said that as governor, Palin raised taxes, pursued pork belly projects, looked into banning books, and thinks the Iraq war is God’s will. Palin also recently cut funding for teen mothers who don’t have a place to live. Barbara said that none of those things were addressed in her speech.
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In lieu of my complete written recap please enjoy these videos from the September 3rd episode of The View. There are four videos of the extended hot topics that they had today. Prior to the videos I have written a brief recap of what happened before the discussion in the first clip. The last video is the musical performance by singer Adele. Although Maura Tierney was scheduled for today, I guess that she got bumped or canceled at the last minute. If anyone was looking forward to her appearance, I will let you know if she is rescheduled.
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Today on The View, Sherri Shepherd was absent because she was taking her son Jeffrey to his first day of school. They talked about how school starts younger these days. Joy Behar said she had to sing Italian songs in Kindergarten to get cookies and milk.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck went to see Whoopi Goldberg in Xanadu last night and had a lot fun. Whoopi is only in the show through Sunday. Elisabeth said that Whoopi shares a dressing room and bathroom with her cast mates there, even though she is famous enough to have gotten a trailer. Joy was skeptical of a trailer at Broadway. Whoopi said that it was love that Elisabeth went to see Whoopi rather than stay at home and watch the Republican convention.

I hate to be so lax so early into the new season, but work commitments will keep me from getting a recap of today’s episode of The View up today.

Feel free to comment here about today’s episode. If you missed the announcement on Tuesday, Sherri Shepherd will be missing today’s episode to take her son Jeffrey to his first day of school.

Scheduled guests are Maura Tierney from E.R. and Broadway’s “Three Changes” and singer Adele.

The View, Maura Tierney, ER, Three Changes, Adele, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Sherri Shepherd

The View finally returned from its hiatus with its first new episode since late July. All five hosts were present for the show’s return and the start of season 12. {I have to admit I was happy to see them all come out on the stage. I guess I missed the show more than I thought I would!} They have a new purple background and a new introduction.

Whoopi Goldberg was busy during hiatus doing Xanadu. The co-hosts will be going to see her perform later this week. She doesn’t want to know which day, though, because it will be distracting. Sherri wants to scream “Whoopi!” but Whoopi told her only when the show is over. Barbara still has her book Audition out. It will be in paperback this spring.

During the hiatus, Joy went to Barbara’s summer house for dinner. Barbara asked all her guests who they would vote for if the election was that day and they all said McCain, even though they were liberals. Barbara said that was before the convention. Sherri e-mailed a lot to Elisabeth to get parenting advice during the hiatus. She now has Jeffrey full-time now.

Whoopi encouraged people to support the Red Cross and other organizations to help out after Hurricane Gustav.
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The View creator Barbara Walters is on this year’s list of the Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women.” She is number 63 on the list of 100. Interestingly, former View host Meredith Vieira is ahead of Barbara Walters on the list, coming in at 61. Katie Couric was 62 and Diane Sawyer was number 65. It is interesting that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is below Barbara and the other newswomen at 72.

The Forbes list had Barbara’s occupation as “Correspondent, ABC News,” rather than “Host, The View,” which suggests she made the list for her specials and interviews for ABC rather than for anything that she has done on The View. Perhaps then, hopefully, ABC/Bill Geddie won’t try to use the honor to suggest that it shows the relevance of The View.

Topping the Forbes list is German chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by American Sheila C. Bair, who is the chairman of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (The FDIC). If you are curious, Oprah Winfrey comes in at 36 on the list. Hillary Clinton was 28 and Laura Bush was 44.

Forbes calculates their ratings using “a composite of public profile–calculated using press mentions–and financial heft. The economic component of the ranking considers job title and past career accomplishments, as well as the amount of money the woman controls.”

What do you think makes a woman powerful? Who do you think are the most powerful women in the country or world? What criteria do you think are important to measure someone’s power?

If you want to read the whole list it is available on the Forbes website.

Earlier this month, I wrote that an ABC press release promised that on August 25th, the ABC website would feature “a retrospective looking back at 12 of the most outrageous, hysterical, side-splitting moments from this past season.” Well they were a few days late, but it is up now. You can see what the show deems to be the highlights of season 11 at the View ABC website.

Or you can just peruse the list here and see if there are any you want to go watch. Do you think there were any moments from season 11 that they failed to include? You will see from the list that they focused mostly on funny moments and they are nearly all guest segments rather than hot topics/discussions.

1. Mario Cantone talking about their chances at winning an Emmy this past season. Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck roll around on the floor after Mario tells them they have to be lesbians to win.

2. Martha Stewart making cider. Sherri Shepherd drinks a lot of rum and “passes out.”

3. Rose Rock (mom of Chris Rock) appears on the show. Elisabeth Hasselbeck stands to welcome her, but Rose is already on the couch with the hosts.
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You can now watch the season 12 advertisement for The View on the ABC website. As I wrote about earlier, it is entitled “Ready, Set, View” and has a James Bond theme to it. Click on the image and it will take you to the ABC View main page. The video will load automatically and you are forced to watch a short commercial for a product before The View ad will come on. The video box will be on the left-hand side of the page.

Go watch the commercial and then come back and let me know what you think. Or if you have seen the commercial on television, you can leave your comments as well. I have not yet seen the commercials on television yet, although, admittedly, I have not really been watching anything other than the Olympics this week, which of course is on NBC and its affiliates.

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(NOTE: The picture to the left was cropped that way when I chose “thumbnail” option for displaying the photo in the post. I did not intentionally partially crop out Elisabeth or Whoopi. In case you were wondering. You can see the full photo by clicking on it).

I just got this bizarre press release from ABC to promote season 12 of The View. In addition to listing the scheduled guests for the first week of new View shows in September (not bizarre), it lists quotes from “12 random viewers” about why they love The View. Anyone else think that the “12 random viewers” are Bill Geddie, Barbara Walters, and some friends?

From the “random viewers”:
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In her article in the NY Post today, gossip columnist Cindy Adams writes about going on a cruise with Barbara Walters. As she writes the article, they are still on the adventure. The majority of the article is Cindy’s re-telling of what happens when she (Cindy) takes sleeping pills during the flight.

There is another part of the article where she recounts how Barbara gave a speech on the cruise and then at dinner that night they overheard the next table talking very negatively about Barbara, not realizing that she was at the next table. The diners were “wondering aloud” what Barbara had to do in order to get the interviews with Fidel Castro, Anwar Al Sadat, Menachem Begin and other world leaders and, presumably, discussed the possibility of some untoward things. While I am sure that Barbara heard some similar comments back 30 years ago when the interviews took place, it is sad to me that people today are still saying those kinds of things.

You can read the whole article here: Cindy Adams.

Thanks to Dee for the tip!

The View, Barbara Walters, Cindy Adams, NY Post

Today on The View, Barbara Walters was back from France, so all five women were at the table.

Barbara complained how expensive Paris is and bought a “piece of junk” Eiffel Tower replica which was $50, for the producer of 20/20, but didn’t bring her co-hosts any gifts. She went to eat with two other people and the bill was over $700, even without drinks. Elisabeth Hasselbeck said that is why the French are skinny. Barbara interviewed Carla Bruni, wife of French President Sarkozy. Barbara said she was sweet and wonderful. She asked Bruni about her many past lovers. Whoopi asked if Barbara and Carla had any of the same lovers, because they are both so “worldly.” Barbara said, “I hate you all. I am sorry I came back.” Barbara said if any first ladies in this country had the past Bruni has had, they would be vilified. Whoopi said that France does not care about sex, but they have other hang-ups. Barbara said that if Whoopi wants her to talk about her past lovers, Whoopi needs to talk about hers. Whoopi said all of Barbara’s lovers are in the book. Whoopi said that she has been around a little while and has had some fun. She won’t do a book about it.

Ashley Dupree, former call girl linked to Eliot Spitzer, now has her own reality show and will receive a $1 million. She wants to do journalism or be a lounge singer. She also wants to help others. Joy said it is like The Bachelor, but at the end instead of a rose, they get an STD. Sherri made a follow-up joke, but it got bleeped out. I think she said that Dupree has a $1 million cootchie, but I can’t be sure. Whoopi said that she is one of several people who got a reality show because of their “magic snap,” or “amazing snap” which she explained to Barbara was a term coined by Richard Pryor.
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Here is a video of the discussion on The View today where the hosts discussed their fight last Thursday and how it was discussed on television and the internet.

The View, Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg

Today’s episode of The View was an “extended day of hot topics.” The show was brought to you by a phone company so there was limited commercial interruption. Which means more typing for me! For this event, all five hosts were present.

The first topic of the day was last week’s heated discussion of the n-word and how it made news all over the television and internet. Whoopi said it was one of the best discussions that they have had and it was “blown into a chick fight.” Barbara said said that people are calling it a catfight because they are women. She said that people asked her why she didn’t interfere and she said that they were both right in their own opinions. Barbara said they don’t take these things personally and after the discussion is over they still like each other. Elisabeth said that people asked her all weekend about it and she said it isn’t about sides. She said that they are able to get into subjects with such passion because they have unconditional love for one another like you do with your family.

Whoopi said she didn’t want people to mischaracterize her and if she wanted to attack somebody you would know it. She wasn’t beating up on anyone and the ability to discuss the issue does not make someone a good guy or a bad guy. She said it is insane to believe that they like and respect each other, but they do. Whoopi told the talking heads on other shows to look at their houses and see how dirty they are. Barbara said she likes that The View gets this kind of attention and the show has gotten more relevant and important.
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The beginning of The View today was preempted by the coverage of President Bush’s press conference. When the show resumed (following a commercial break of course) at 14 minutes past the hour, they were in the middle of a discussion about John McCain being too pale. Sherri said that they are not just picking on McCain and that people had criticized Hillary Clinton’s appearance and talk about what Michelle Obama wears. Elisabeth said it is not just that they are picking on him, but that we need to be talking about the issues. Then the sound on my television cut out for a few moments when Whoopi said something and then Elisabeth said something. Then Whoopi was playing an invisible violin and Elisabeth was talking about Obama raising taxes and Sherri said he was still fine.

Sherri said that a man lost his prosthetic leg while skydiving and encouraged anyone to turn it in if they find it.

Elisabeth talked about Brett Farve wanting to un-retire. The Packers don’t want him to play for them, but won’t release him from his contract. Whoopi sang “Let my Brett Farve Go!!” Joy said that Farve is cute and can retire to her department (or did she say apartment? cause “department” doesn’t make sense). That caused her to remember that it is Steve’s birthday. He is going to the All-Star game with a friend while Joy stays home and scratches her bug bites. Sherri said they need to get Joy some lingerie. Whoopi said that not everyone has sex for their partner’s birthday. Sherri said not for her, but for him. Whoopi said that Joy doesn’t want to have sex because she can’t even sit still because of all the bug bites.
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