Last week, Barbara Walters announced on “The View” that next Sunday night’s “Barbara Walters Special” leading into the Oscars will be her 30th AND final edition.

She’s been there, done that and doesn’t want to do it anymore. So Sandra Bulock will get interviewed and the show will also look back at 30 years of incredible interviews with celebrities.

So does that mean we won’t have anymore pre-Oscar specials?

I think the replacement is already on deck with her own take on the Oscar special –Oprah Winfrey! 

Oprah introduced her own take on the celebrity interview a couple of years ago. But instead of asking the questions, she gets other celebrities to do the interviews. 

The 2010 edition of “The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special” is set to air on ABC and RTV 6 on Wednesday, March 3 at 10pm.

Halle Berry will talk to Penelope Cruz; Director James Cameron will interview his three stars from “Avatar;” and Michael Douglas and Glenn Close will re-unite (remember they co-starred in “Fatal Attraction.”)

Should be fun. But I hope that next year maybe Oprah will do the talking instead of the stars. Interviewing is not as easy as Oprah makes it look…

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Speaking of “The View,” this show is one of those shows that has truly grown into must-see TV.

Walters, Elizabeth Hasselback, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd and especially Whoopi Goldberg put on a facinating hour of TV almost every day. It doesn’t hurt that they have a great guest list.

Just this week, Indiana’s own Evan Bayh stopped by to chat (and deflect an angry Elizabeth.) The cast of “Jersey Shore” showed up for their (hopefully fast) 15 minutes of  fame. 

On Wednesday, Octo-mom Nadya Suleman demonstrated just how bizzare she really is with an appearance that made me squirm. 

Thank goodness host Whoopi was there. Whoopi said it best when she asked the jittery mom that people question her sanity, asking if …”maybe she’s not quite all there.”

Good TV.

Great conversation. “The View” is always worth a look in my book.

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Finally, remember the Facebook page I put out there about trying to get Saturday Night Live to have Betty White host? Entertainment Weekly says there are rumblings that SNL is listening…(but I don’t know if they are hearing.)            

Supposedly SNL creator Lorne Michaels is concerned that Betty, who is 88, may not be able to do the entire show alone. So the rumor is that they may have several ladies co-host. (Like Tina Fey etc.)

No offense, but please!!!!

Let Betty do it. 

She doesn’t need to do a bunch of skits…just the opening. And she can probably read off the cue cards as well as most of the other hosts that have done the show.   

Com’on Lorne, SNL can do it. Have some fun and make Betty the host already!

"V" debuts to big ratings!

“V’s” ratings have arrived.  For ABC, it’s good news.

The Vistors invaded Earth on ABC to big ratings. But Mark Harmon’s “NCIS” ultimately had more people watching in the now competitive Tuesday at 8pm time period.  

Nearly 14 million viewers watched “V.”  

But when it comes to WHO was watching, younger viewers (the ones advertisers crave) made ”V” the big winner. “V” was #1 in the 18-49 year old demographic.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, it was the highest rated premiere of a scripted series this year!

As you can tell from my previous post, I’m rooting for a victory for “V.” Not only because it is a good show, but Indianapolis native Logan Huffman also stars in the new drama as Tyler.

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Every year there is a big interest in who will be hosting the annual Academy Awards ceremony. Billy Crystal was the go to guy for many years (and frankly, tough to beat.) But last year Hugh Jackman set a high standard for hosts.

Happily, the Academy has invited Steve Martin back to host again. Along with Alec Baldwin?  

Martin and Baldwin at the Oscars!

Martin has hosted a couple times and I thought he was terrific. Baldwin will be an interesting though I am not sure needed addition.

But Baldwin is a funny guy. The episodes when he has hosted on “SNL” are some of the best. And he’s terrific on “30 Rock.” 

Baldwin and Martin are good friends. The press release distributed Tuesday with their comments is an indication of how fun they may be:

“I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy, Alec Baldwin,” said Martin.

 “I don’t play the banjo, but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baldwin.

The Academy Awards, with TEN NOMINEES for Best Picture this year, will air on ABC and RTV 6 on Sunday, March 7.

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Next week CSI will stretch across the CBS line-up!

The three “CSI’s” will do cross-over episodes where characters from each version will appear in the other’s shows with a storyline bridging all three programs. 

I think Lawrence Fishburne is the primary cross-over character appearing with David Caruso on “CSI Miami, ” Gary Sinse on “CSI New York” and on the original “CSI” set in Las Vegas.   

Kinda like when Fonzie visited “Laverne and Shirley” way back when, or when “Ally McBeal” jumped from Fox to ABC to appear on producer David Kelly’s “The Practice.”

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Diane Sawyer and Rihanna

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It’s going to be hard to hide from Sarah Palin next week. Her book “Going Rogue” will be released and she is going to be everywhere to promote it.  

Barbara Walters will sit down with Palin and the interview will air on “Good Morning America,” “20/20″ and “Nightline” beginning Tuesday, November 17.  

I doubt Palin will stop by ”Late Show with David Letterman.”

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Finally, set your DVR! The new season of “The Bachelor” premieres Monday, January 4!!!

“The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love” stars bachelor Jake Pavelka, the guy Bachelorette Jillian Harris rejected last summer. Here is what the press release says:

Ever since Jake, 31, shared a magical one-on-one date with Bachelorette Jillian Harris to see Martina McBride, millions of women have had their “Top Gun” fantasies about him. A fan favorite for his reputation as an honest guy with an open heart – not to mention his good looks — viewers were stunned when Jillian rejected Jake right before the hometown dates on last season’s “The Bachelorette.” But women were drawn to him even more when Jake returned of his own accord in the next episode to protect Jillian from men who were not there for the right reasons. Jake – who already knew Jillian would not take him back — freely shared and showed his emotions. 

And an extra bonus…the new season will be the first season shot in high definition! Whooo-hooo!

A RANT -

Have you seen Saturday Night Live recently?

Steve Martin was thost this past weekend. He has hosted a record 15 times. And when Martin is on, he is pretty reliable for a good laugh or two. But this weekend’s show was kind of a yawner. And Martin, usually a key player when he is hosting, seemed to walk through the skits.

Of course Steve was promoting “The Pink Panther 2″ (I know, I thought the same thing, they made a sequel to Martin’s first one? Peter Sellers, don’t worry, you will always be Inspector Clouseau to me.)

The show opened with an Obama skit that was pass-ably funny. But Fred Armisten does NOT do a great Obama. And his timing is not impressive. Jason Sedikus does a Joe Biden that has potential…but SNL’s legacy on political satire is in danger. I know they did great stuff leading up to the election. But the best stuff featured Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, and both left the show.

Armisen was also back in a bit playing off the blind governor of New York. The show was attacked the last time they did it, so of course they had to bring it back.

There was one entertaining short film, a take off of historical NFL Films, profiling Martin as a 1930’s era quarterback nich-named “THe Gun” because he threw the football like a gun…(wait for it)…and of course took care of the defense because he carried a sidearm!

It was funny. But it would have been better had they known how to end it.

SNL has been around for decades. (Showing my age, I remember watching the first telecast with George Carlin.) And it is uneven as always. The current cast has some talent.

But the fact these guys keep doing a running skit based on “McGyver” (called McGruber) has me puzzled. Another RANT….seeing this LAME SKETCH as a spot for Pepsi in the Super Bowl made me really scratch my head. ANd a creative Boo to Pepsi for using it.

Don’t they watch any recent TV at SNL anymore?

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A RAVE-

The Boss is back.

You probably saw him do the halftime show at the Superbowl.

Unfortunately, I was on a flight to NYC and missed the halftime. My wife told me she thought it one if not the best halftime show…ever.

Bruce is also kicking off a new World Tour. And he has new music out, too.

I’ve been enjoying Bruce Springsteen’s new CD on the I-POD. It’s called “Working on a Dream.” It follows last year’s “Magic” which I thought was one of Springsteen’s best albums in years.

This one is good…and much more positive.

Its worth a listen!

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A RANT…and a RAVE -

What ever happened to launching new shows after the SuperBowl? Years ago, the networks used to use this prime real estate for new mid-season shows. (The WONDER YEARS is probably the best example of it working, launching the Emmy winning hit after the big game.)

But then NBC put a special episode of FRIENDS after the game in the 90s and drew huge ratings. It was a game changer. 

ABC made GREY’S ANATOMY into a pop culture hit during its sophomore season when they put it on after the Super Bowl.

So this year NBC decided to put a special episode of THE OFFICE after the game.

Good call. Good game. Great comedy.

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A RAVE -

I thought NBC saved some of the most creative ads for their own programs during the Super Bowl.

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A RAVE -

Finally, while I was rooting for the Cardinals to win the SuperBowl, I am thrilled the Steelers didn’t cover the spread. My good friend Sandwich knows why I am feeling so happy this week.

Thanks dude!