Watching The View

Last January I wrote a post entitled Things we Probably Won’t See on The View this Year. I decided to go back and look at what I wrote and see if any of those things have actually happened.

1. Whoopi Goldberg this happy during an interview segment:

While for the most part Whoopi still looks bored to tears during the interviews, she has appeared to enjoy some interviews lately, when it is with someone she likes, like Aaron Eckhart. Here is a photo of Whoopi looking pretty happy during the Eckhart interview.

I also wrote two “runner-ups” - “Whoopi looking completely awake for an entire episode” and “Whoopi going an entire week without looking at Sherri Shepherd in shock and disbelief.” Whoopi has been more awake than she was in the past. When I wrote the initial article, Whoopi was still doing double duty and hosted a radio show in the early morning before The View. Since the radio show ended, she does seem a bit more awake, although not too much more enthused. Whoopi’s “what the hell?” looks at Sherri have decreased some, but still happen every once and awhile.

2. Barbara Walters encouraging discussion about the war in Iraq or serious other world issues.

Barbara has gotten somewhat better at this, but she still has her “but we are not going to talk about politics” moments when she prevents the rest of the hosts from talking about serious issues. I have a feeling that they decide before a show that it will be an “all fluff” day and that is why she corrects them sometimes. The caption to the picture mentioned a world issue and they really still don’t delve into world topics as much as they could/should. I know some people like five minute discussions of Dancing with the Stars, but I think they could amp up the non-political serious topics as well.

I got a laugh when I read what I wrote for Barbara’s “runner-ups.” I said, “Barbara going a whole week without self-promotion” or “Barbara going a whole day without talking about her famous friends.” Keep in mind that I wrote that post long before the beginning of the whole Audition fiasco. So, not only did Barbara not go a whole week without self-promotion or mentioning her famous friends, she actually did it daily for weeks on end. And it has not stopped.

3. Elisabeth Hasselbeck vocalizing support for a democratic candidate.

Elisabeth is still an ardent Republican who has thrown her full support behind John McCain and Sarah Palin. She has said one or two nice things about the Democrats and did defend Barack Obama in the “lipstick on a pig” thing, but I would hardly call that “vocalizing support.”

The first runner-up I wrote for Elisabeth is pretty interesting: “going a whole segment without mentioning the new baby.” Although I thought at the time I wrote the piece that Elisabeth would be non-stop chattering about Taylor Thomas, we have not heard very much about him at all. The next runner-up was “Elisabeth changing her position on the Iraq war.” Nope. Hasn’t happened and probably won’t. Ever.

4. Sherri Shepherd failing to mention her breasts.

While I think there are still all-too-frequent references to Sherri Shepherd’s breasts, they seem to be coming more from the other hosts than Sherri herself lately. It is like when you make jokes about yourself long enough, even if you stop, other people will continue to do so.

Sherri’s runner-ups were “going a whole week without saying something shocking” and “changing her stance on evolution.” While I don’t think the latter has happened, she has really toned down her “shocking” comments. I think that is in part because she is thinking more before speaking, part because there are people talking in her ear, and part because she is talking a lot less in general, so the odds are good.

5. Joy Behar admitting that the other hosts annoy her.

This one I love, because it still holds true. Even when given the chance to speak negatively about another host, like when Larry King wanted her to dish on Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s comment about Michelle Obama, Joy maintains the “we all love each other” attitude.

Joy’s runner-ups haven’t happened yet, either: “Joy announcing that she is going to marry Steve” and “Joy telling off Barbara.”

The article concluded with a bonus:

Rosie O’Donnell returning for a visit.

Still not gonna happen.

The View, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell