Watching The View

Law and Order star S. Epatha Merkerson was today’s guest co-host. She is also currently starring in the film Black Snake Moan.

Merkerson recently lost 23 pounds and has been using her treadmill for more than just a place to hang clothes. She said that she quit smoking after smoking for 23 years, in part because her sister is a lung cancer survivor. She said that she was in a movie that called for her character to smoke. She made her manager call the producers to tell them that she couldn’t smoke.

She revealed that the “S” in her name stands for Sharon. She is open about her age, 54 years old, because it shows that she has a history. Joy Behar said she will not reveal her age, because it hurts to say the number. She said it is “so high at this point that it gives me vertigo.”

Lost star Evangeline Lilly appeared on the show. She said that The View is her favorite talk show to be on. She talked about how her apartment in Hawaii, where Lost is filmed, recently “burned to smithereens.” She said that it was an electrical fire and it only took 15 minutes for the whole thing to burn to the ground. Fortunately she and her roommates were not home.

She said that when her mom came to visit last year, she decided to try body surfing in an area with 10 foot waves. Her mom got flattened out on the beach and Evangeline, who was also body surfing, landed on top of her. Evangeline got up and ran, but her mom could not get up, so she got sucked back in by the ocean.

She said that her parents sometimes call her and complain about things she does on Lost. For example, after the steamy scene that her character had with Sawyer, her dad called to say, “Honey, I can’t believe you took your clothes off!”

Evangeline revealed that she had a hard time adjusting to fame. She had a revelation, though, that she doesn’t have to be a slave to fame and say “yes” to everyone. It is still possible for her life to be her own. She said that her life now is not better or worse than before Lost, just “vastly different.”

When asked what she looks for in a man she said that she likes men that are metrosexual and are “a little man, a little woman.” She said that is probably because she is “a little man” and likes getting dirty, working on cars and other projects. She did not mention her co-star Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie on the show and is reportedly her real-life boyfriend or fiance, depending on the source of the gossip.

Evangeline said she does not know which man her character will end up with, saying, “Kate is a fickle woman.” She that she does not necessarily think that her going back to save Jack means that she will chose Jack over Sawyer, because she thinks that Kate would have gone back for any of the survivors if they had been left behind. For more on Lost, visit Watching Lost.

The latest segment of “I can’t believe a kid did it,” featured 10 year-old skateboarder Mitch Brusco. He learned to skate when he was three, by watching guys at the park. He competes against adults and has several corporate sponsors, including clothing line zeroxposur and Jones Soda. Elisabeth put on safety gear to learn some skateboard tricks. Mitch said to her, “Your helmet is on backwards.” It was really funny and Rosie joked to Elisabeth, “good luck on the ramp.”

The View, Rosie O’Donnell, S Epatha Merkerson, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Evangeline Lilly, Lost

Rosie returned from a couple of days off. She was on a Caribbean cruise, which was part of the R Family Vacations.

Another lucky audience member, Penny Sander from Newtown, Pennsylvania, got to be a guest host. She is a physical therapist during the day and does sex toy sales parties at night. She started the parties to raise money to pay for her son’s bar mitzvah.

The ladies talked about the new participants in Dancing with the Stars. Elisabeth Hasselbeck revealed that they asked her to participate, but she declined because “I have a job” and she can’t miss The View to do the other show.

Sienna Miller appeared on the show to promote her new film Factory Girl, which is about Edie Sedgwick. She did a year of research and and said as soon as she saw a photo of Edie she was immediately drawn to the role. She does not have a stylist because she likes to dress herself and does not like being told what to wear, because it is a form of self-expression. She said, “I get it wrong” a lot. However, she has her own fashion line, 2812, which will come out in July.

In the latest “I can’t believe a kid did it,” segment, six-year-old Isaac appeared to talk about the day he helped save his mom’s life. Last fall, while they were walking in the park, Isaac’s mom collapsed and had a seizure. Isaac had learned about 9-1-1, so he used his mom’s cell phone to call for an ambulance. He was very calm and mature on the phone and was able to direct help to their exact location. He was given a hero medal by the local police and fire department. As a surprise, Isaac’s favorite football player, Champ Bailey of the Denver Broncos, appeared on the show to surprise him. Champ said he was very impressed with Isaac and invited Issac and his family to the season’s opening game.

Deanna Lee, from the Asia Society appeared to talk about the Chinese New Year, the celebration for which started last Sunday and continues for 15 days. This year is the year of the pig and on the Chinese calendar it is the year 4705. Deanna talked about ways to celebrate the event, including the wearing of red and gold, traditional Chinese New Year food like fish, dumplings, and spring rolls to usher in the spring. A dance troupe then performed a traditional lion dance, which scares away evil spirits and welcomes in the new spirits.

The View, Dancing with the Stars, Rosie O’Donnell, Elisabeth Hassebeck, Joy Behar, Champ Bailey, Sienna Miller

Today’s episode was taped yesterday, on Valentine’s Day, but did not air because of the President’s press conference. As a result, the topics and give-aways had a Valentine’s Day theme. In hot topics, Joy Behar talked about a study that was done on college students who were in love. The students were in the first, exciting part of falling of love. They were given MRIs and the part of the brain that lit up was the urge part of the brain, that controls hunger and thirst, not the emotional part of the brain. The women discussed how long that initial period of love lasts, where you can’t keep your hands off of each other and have sex several times a day. Rosie O’Donnell said the period lasts two months, Barbara Walters said two years, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck said it has lasted the entire length of her marriage thus far, four and a half years, to which Joy responded with an eye roll. Rosie said that if that phase had lasted two years with her and Kelli, she would have been exhausted.

Courtney Thorne-Smith, star of According to Jim appeared on today’s show. She just got married on January 1st to a man who owns his own digital marketing company. It was a small ceremony with just her, her husband, two dogs, a couple of friends, and the rabbi. The dogs were the groomsmen and they wore tuxedos. The day before the wedding, she was having lunch with some friends and she decided she wanted to get a wedding dress. She went to a boutique next door and found her wedding dress that day. Courtney also announced that she just finished writing her first novel, Outside In, which comes out in September, about a woman who appears to have everything, but it is not until her life falls apart that she begins to live her own life. Courtney said that while writing the novel she felt a little crazy, because the characters actually came and talked to her and she had conversations with them.

Rosie attempted to make a profound statement, but was knocked down by Joy. Rosie said that just like when you go to a multiplex and you can choose which movie you want to see, in life you can, too, choose your own path. Joy then sarcastically said “That is so deep!” Rosie then joked, “Joy Behar is fired from this program” and said that Barbara Walters had been keeping it a secret.

Adrian Pasdar, of Heroes, appeared on the show and gave each host a rose. Adrian is married to Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines and he said that when they woke up the morning after the Grammy Awards they looked at each other and realized that it was an historic moment. He said that the shooting schedule for Heroes is about seven episodes ahead of what is airing now, but he does not know what will happen with his character after that point. He said that although he signed on for Heroes, it turned out that he is on Survivor, because no one ever knows when their character might be killed off. He said that the decisions on which characters die is based on story arc and not any problems with cast members. His character on Heroes can fly and Adrian recounted how his younger son, Slade, came to the set and saw him up in a harness in the air, connected with wires. Slade looked puzzled and then told his dad that he figured out why they had him connected to the wires: so he did not fly away. Adrian said that if he could pick his own superpower in real-life, he would choose invisibility. For more on Heroes visit Watching Heroes.

In the latest installment of the “I can’t believe a kid did it!” segment, Olivia and Belle Gerasole, two sisters who are chefs, appeared on the show. The girls, who are nine and eleven years old, recently won the prestigious James Beard Foundation award for their website, Spatulatta, which teaches kids how to cook. Elisabeth likened the award to the “Oscars of the cooking world.” The girls showed Rosie and Elisabeth how to make pink soup and valentine cookies. Olivia was a bit sassy with Rosie, calling her a “non-chef.” Rosie said, “Dissed by an 11-year-old. I feel like I’m at home!” To try these recipes out yourself, check them out at this link.

Adrian Pasdar, Natalie Maines, Dixie Chicks, Olivia Gerasole, Belle Gerasole, Heroes, Courtney Thorne Smith, According to Jim, spatulatta

Broadway star Christine Ebersole acted as Friday’s guest host. She is currently starring in the musical Grey Gardens, which is adapted from the documentary of the same name. It is about two women, Edith Bouvier Beale and “Little Edie,” who were the aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy. At one point they were considered American royalty, but, at the time the documentary was made in the early 1970s, their mansion was in total disrepair and full of garbage.

Josh Groban appeared on the show and sang a song from his new Hallmark Valentine’s Day album With You. Rosie played a clip from his first television appearance which was on The Rosie O’Donnell show in 1999. At that point in time he was an unknown singer. Rosie had hosted the Grammy’s that year and, during rehearsals, one of the performers was unable to do his warm-up, so producer David Foster suggested that Josh sing. After his song, Rosie yelled from the audience, “Hey, opera boy! You wanna do my show?” And the rest is history.

The View instituted a new segment Friday, called “I can’t believe a kid did it!” Their first guest in the series was a 12-year-old artist Akiane Kramarik. She started painting when she was six years old, after having visions and dreams of meeting God. Her parents were atheist and were very surprised when she told them she was having visions and connections with God. Akiana said that God told her that through her paintings she will help many children around the world. She has made millions of dollars in the sale of her paintings and also writes poetry.

Friday’s episode was taped on Thursday afternoon and aired Friday, which was why there was no discussion of Anna Nicole’s Smith’s death.

The View, Josh Groban, Christine Ebersole, Akiane Kramarik, Grey Gardens, Rosie O’Donnell