Okay, Amy Taylor WON'T be replacing Rosie O'Donnell on "The View".
At least, not this week.
So who should take her place?
Rosie, I mean, not Amy.
Ms. Taylor's chair will be filled by WKTI management at a time and pace of their own determination. O'Donnell's will be taken care of by ABC, sometime after he contract expires at the end of June.
We took calls this morning about possible replacements, and there were several strong candidates including Ellen DeGeneres and Whoopi Goldberg.
And then, some surprises including, gulp, a few that pack testosterone including "Queer Eye's" Carson Kressley.
Could it work?
Is "The View" exclusively the turf of women, where men can be guests but not...hosts? If there is someone who has a set of testicles, can he only host if he's gay?
When Babs developed "The View" a decade ago, the tone was set: women talking the way they do, about the things they want to talk about, the way they want to talk about them. There was nothing like it on television.
Things changed, though. There've been knock-offs and clones and other combinations on other networks designed to cut into "The View's" crowd. Does the passing of time and the inevitable imitation mean it's time to break the mold and draw up a new game plan that includes a man?
I wouldn't have had the stones to even BROACH the concept of a man riding shotgun with Babs and Company until this morning. I didn't know if women would warm up to it. Then again, if it's the RIGHT guy, who cares?
Love her or not, Rosie brought fire to a show that was listing in the creative waters--the messy departure of Star Jones followed by Meredith Vierra's decision to wake up early on "Today" left "The View" without a quarterback. It's still very much Walters' show, but she's too penned in by her journalistic limitations to be the fire-starter. Each woman at the table has a role: Babs is the voice of reason, Elizabeth is the conservative, Joy the court-jester. Who ever takes Rosie's chair has to be the one who fears no subject, no colleague, no guest, and isn't afraid to state a case.
Is that something that only another woman can do? Or can a guy have a "View", too?
Let me know.
2 comments:
It's an interesting idea, to have Carson on. If they do decide to have a man with a view, they would have to be careful not to play the ..."but you're a man" card whenever the opinions differ. Will said man be allowed to discuss politics as much as Rosie does? Will they look for someone liberal, extremely liberal, just to balance out Elizabeth?
I think whoever fills Rosie's shoes will have to come out strong or risk being turned off.
I believe Carson Kressley would be a great addition to the View table. He's bright, articulate, fashion conscious, and quite funny. Carson has an aura about him that can cut through the homophobia that many in America harbor. He'd play off of Joy well and keep Elizabeth on her toes - truly a breath of fresh air that would clone what Rosie brought to the show, but perhaps without some of the edginess of Rosie's personality. Here's to Carson!!
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