I'll bet Rosie O'Donnell's phone rang today...

I can see star and rosie agruing the whole show, that definantly won't work. I don't even think rosie likes star, she constantly disses her about why she won't admit that she had lipo(sp.?), which is none of her business anyway. I hate star and rosie, so I hope she does take meredith's place so the show will get cancelled quicker. Meredith was the only reason I watched the view, with her gone I have no reason to ever watch again.

Speaking of Rosie, I really miss her daytime talk show. I watched it daily! Love her or hate her, her show was always entertaining.

Apparently, Patricia Heaton is front-runner to replace Meredith on THE VIEW. And Bitsy may be the next Debbie Matenopolous...

from Page Six:

April 7, 2006 -- "THE View" will look a lot different now that Meredith Vieira is replacing Katie Couric at NBC's "Today" show.

Insiders say "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton will step in for Vieira. And to help boost viewership among Latinos, the young, Argentine-born Marianela Pereyra, a veejay on Fuse TV, will be added - perhaps booting the hapless Elizabeth Hassleback.

"Patty Heaton is a Republican, so they won't need [Republican]Elizabeth any more," said our insider. "And Elizabeth doesn't really add much. Marianela will bring in the young Latina viewers - which is important," said one source.

Heaton and Pereyra were considered because both are in talks with syndicator Buena Vista to have their own talk shows. ABC and Buena Vista are owned by Disney and often have a synergistic relationship.

"Patty and Marianela were going to have their own shows, but there is not enough room in the TV schedule now, so it kills two birds with one stone," the source added.

Another scenario could have Hassleback staying and crotchety comedienne Joy Behar leaving.

Last weekend, while performing stand-up comedy at Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, Behar announced to the audience: "Meredith Vieira is leaving . . . I love her . . . We don't know who's takin' [her place] . . . The whole thing is in disarray . . . I know. It's terrible. And you know what? The ship has sailed. Maybe it's over. Move on.

"Who knows how long I'm gonna be there, right? You never know, Meredith's going. The whole thing could fall apart. It's a very tenuous relationship, you know, the chemistry and everything there, so who knows."

But for now, "The View" staples Behar and freebie-queen Star Jones are staying put.

"Star's job was on the line before Meredith told people she was leaving," another insider said. "ABC brass and Barbara Walters were fed up with her and her freebie-loving ways - and the embarrassment she has caused the show and the station. But now that Meredith is going, they don't want to shake things up too much."

Buena Vista rep Kim Harbin had no comment, while Karl Nilsson at "The View" said: "This is all rumor and conjecture. We probably won't have someone in place on a regular basis until the start of the 10th season in September."

INTERESTING! I'm glad to see THE VIEW is getting a good shakeup. And I'm not a Republican, but they need a stronger voice on that show. Better arguments. Bitsy is too weak to stand up for the party. LOL.

THE VIEW will truly become a !@#$%^&*]fest once Meredith leaves. She is the anchor that pulled that show together.

I can see this going one of two directions: a) Frons axes THE VIEW and uses the station clearance for another talk show(maybe a spin-off of THE VIEW) or quite possibly another soap or replacing Meredith with someone who contrasts all the ladies. Rosie O'Donnell would be a controversial, but EXCELLENT choice.

You know, it's no wonder why THE VIEW felt like they had to celebrate 8,000(or however many it was) shows, instead of waiting for the ten-year anniversiary to do a retrospective. Because there may not be a tenth season for them to celebrate.

I will miss Meredith being on THE VIEW. She is one of the reasons why I continued watching that show from the beginning and why I watched the first couple seasons of MILLIONAIRE. I'll follow her to NBC, that's for sure.

Speaking of MILLIONAIRE, I wonder if Regis will be interested in hosting the syndie version. Despite the fact that Meredith has two more years on that contract, it has always been frowned upon by the game show and news industry for someone to host a reality or game show and still be affiliated with the news(ask Steve Beverly his thoughts on Julie Chen hosting BIG BROTHER every season). Without Meredith or Regis, MILLIONAIRE will probably die.

Somewhere, Ann Curry is crying in her newspaper. LOL.

OMG. Can you imagine that?! LOL. I could see Sheiffer rolling his eyes at her.

I totally miss "Eye to Eye."

Um, not really. Bob Sheiffer has spoken very positively about Couric's move. He LOVES her. Andy Rooney, on the other hand, hates her guts (in regard to her position as the new managing editor for CBS News).

I'd watch Heaton over Meridith ANYDAY. At least Heaton makes me laugh. Meridith can get annoying saying questions like "Final answer?" and "Are you ready to play?". I can see ratings boost for "The View" if they hire Heaton. The girl's got spunk!!! I hope she takes it.

And as for "The View" considering to hire a Latina talk show host....one word...Bravo!

I'm latino and I like to see it when they get hired. lol

Also, I disagree that Elizabeth is a stuck up Republican !@#$%^&*]. And that's an unfair stereotype, I think.

Actually, I think "The View" didn't truly BECOME the show Barbera intended it to be until Bitsy joined the show. After all, they were all cut from the same, liberal cloth before that. It was ridiculous whenever Barbera would announce what the show was about in the opening and I NEVER saw that.

Even so, I'd admit that Rosie O'Donnell would be a nice addition.

(Can't believe I just said that).

Another scenario could have Hassleback staying and crotchety comedienne Joy Behar leaving.

I can only hope this is true.

Joy Behar annoys me to NO END!

Bitsy is terrible, republican or not. She just says the most insane things and adds ZERO to the show. If they wanted a Republican, why not get Rachel Campos who was great and very republican, but articulate enough to get her points across? I really miss Lisa Ling.

I want Joy and Star to stay. Star is an annoying old cow and without her who would we bitch about?

My choice for new cohost? The Pope of Pop:

SHE WAS THE BEST GUEST HOST THEY EVER HAD!

Um, not really. Bob Sheiffer has spoken very positively about Couric's move. He LOVES her. Andy Rooney, on the other hand, hates her guts (in regard to her position as the new managing editor for CBS News).

I was talking in regards to a Connie Chung/Bob Sheiffer combo.

Did I miss something? All of a sudden I see the word "Heaton" and have no idea where it came from. I assume that someone here is saying Patricia Heaton is being considered? If so, that would be AWESOME. Heaton's pretty damn funny--and conservative--and again, it would more balance the scales for what Ms. Walters intended when she created the show, and not all of 'em would be liberal with the lone Bitsy. Heaton's pretty in-your-face too when them liberals down motherhood and pregnancy and everything else she holds dear. I would SO watch religiously again if they hired her.

If Meredith leaves The View, it would leave Joy to fend for herselves against the *she-wolves*.

As for Anne, you're right, she's great on the show and does deserve the shot at head anchor.

I disagree. I've always thought of Anne as the straight news reader. I'm sure she has a personality and everything but she's not, like Kenny said, cute when bundled up. She's not going to be America's next sweetheart. And that's not to say the next cohost must be like Katie in that respect. In fact, it might be disastrous if they were to shoot for America's next sweetheart. But Anne just doesn't give off cohost vibes for me. I'm fine with Meredith. Anne is good at what she does already and I don't think it's a slap in her face just because she didn't get promoted to the first chair, so to speak.

This is going to fail.

Katie Couric's charm is in her bubbly on-air personality. When you're a news anchor, you can't have that. Take that away, and she's just a boring woman reading the news - like all the other evening male anchors.

While that's true, recent reports suggest Katie's not going to be quote, "the voice of God." In fact, that's why Les Moonves hired her. He wants to get away from that (see quote). We can expect her inject her personality and emotion in the news. We don't yet know how that's possible, but CBS and Katie Couric will change the evening news format. That's already a given.

Apparently, Patricia Heaton is front-runner to replace Meredith on THE VIEW. And Bitsy may be the next Debbie Matenopolous...

from Page Six:

INTERESTING! I'm glad to see THE VIEW is getting a good shakeup. And I'm not a Republican, but they need a stronger voice on that show. Better arguments. Bitsy is too weak to stand up for the party. LOL.

Ooooh, now I see where you all got that info about Heaton. Okay, so here's the thing I don't get. The whole 'we-already-have-a-republican-on-the-show-so-get-rid-of-Bitsy [!@#$%^&*].' I don't get that! I mean, ALL of the women are probably Democrats except for Bitsy, the lone Republican. Why can't they have two to even the score a bit more?! It's very skewed.

I disagree. I've always thought of Anne as the straight news reader. I'm sure she has a personality and everything but she's not, like Kenny said, cute when bundled up. She's not going to be America's next sweetheart. And that's not to say the next cohost must be like Katie in that respect. In fact, it might be disastrous if they were to shoot for America's next sweetheart. But Anne just doesn't give off cohost vibes for me. I'm fine with Meredith. Anne is good at what she does already and I don't think it's a slap in her face just because she didn't get promoted to the first chair, so to speak.

From the clips I saw of the press, Anne looked VERY uncomfortable standing next to Matt, Meredith, and Al taking pictures. I almost felt sorry for her.

While that's true, recent reports suggest Katie's not going to be quote, "the voice of God." In fact, that's why Les Moonves hired her. He wants to get away from that (see quote). We can expect her inject her personality and emotion in the news. We don't yet know how that's possible, but CBS and Katie Couric will change the evening news format. That's already a given.

How? With cooking segments and interviews with Matt Damon?!

Katie-fied Evening News may work, but I just don't see how. Your middle-America, white-bread dinosaur audiences (who, stereotypically, has a hard time dealing with gays, blacks, and women in office) will just do crosswords until WHEEL OF FORTUNE comes on. And the coveted 18-49 year olds are watching MTV, VH1, or FOX NEWS.

Ooooh, now I see where you all got that info about Heaton. Okay, so here's the thing I don't get. The whole 'we-already-have-a-republican-on-the-show-so-get-rid-of-Bitsy [!@#$%^&*].' I don't get that! I mean, ALL of the women are probably Democrats except for Bitsy, the lone Republican. Why can't they have two to even the score a bit more?! It's very skewed.

The point is four women with different opinions, backgrounds, and views.

Meredith wasn't always a lib when it came to issues and certain topics. Star votes Democrat, but she's a Bible-thumper. Joy is a radical agnostic/atheist liberal. Barbara is the voice of reason. Bitsy is your typical blonde, unintelligent Republican. I wouldn't say they are all libs and agree with each other all the time.

That said, I do think they are making the wise choice by replacing Bitsy if they get Patricia Heaton. Heaton will make the Conservative argument stronger on that show and will make the debates a lot more heated between Joy and(sometimes) Star, who typically lean left.

ABC Daytime is leaning more Conservative anyhow, so Patricia joining the show would be a plus for that movement.

I enjoy THE VIEW and the format of the show. No matter who joins the show, I'll look forward to watching because I know I'll be yelling at my screen right along with em.

bellcurve, I have no idea how Katie-fied CBS Evening News will play out. We just have to watch to find out. But obviously, there will be no cooking segments and celebrity interviews. I don't know how it will be different but we've been promised it will be different. But I agree with your demographic when you suggest who watches the news, and I think they watch it for the unemotional,"Voice of God" routine, so this should be pretty funny...

Also, about Ann, the thing about her is it's always been "Katie, Matt, Al and Ann"--even in the promos. (You know you've seen them, lol). She just belongs at the end in that song. There's no shame in that. And there's no shame in her not getting Katie's spot. She's still a respected journalist on the MOST WATCHED freakin' news program in the country and she still makes a KILLING at the end of the day, paycheck wise.