As it has been a quiet morning, I decided to kill something off the DirecTivo. Rosie Live.
Big mistake. What was NBC thinking? Didn’t they learn from Pink Lady and Jeff?
So, what were the show’s problems. First and foremost, Rosie O’Donnell. Now, she may be a big Broadway supporter, but a good variety show host she isn’t. Her jokes were bad, her acting was bad, her fawning was bad. She should watch some episodes of Carol Burnett–an example of how to treat guests with class.
Second, the bookers. If you look back at some of the top variety shows, what made them successful was the talent they presented. Sure, Ed Sullivan had novelty acts, but they were presented along with some of the top stars and production numbers of the day. Variety shows did excerpts of top Broadway and stage shows. They did strong singing and dancing numbers. The stars Rosie had were B list at best.
Third, the writers. Variety shows were television version of vaudeville. What made vaudeville were the good writers. Again, look at the successful variety shows. Carol Burnett. Sullivan. Dean Martin. All had top-notch comedy writers, so that the sketches could showcase the comedy talent. I knew some of these writers (Digby Wolfe, who was a writer on Laugh In, as well as Cher’s variety show, was one of my mom’s clients), and they could write good stuff. The writers for this show (and surprisingly, Hunter Foster was one of them) seemed to only know how to do gay and fat jokes.
Fourth, the ensemble. There wasn’t one. A good variety show needs a good ensemble to build one. Ones that can sing, dance and do comedy. That wasn’t here.
This was truly a waste of 40 minutes (thank you, Tivo). The reviews were right. Avoid it. (but those linked reviews are fun to read)
