Since Rosie O'Donnell left ...
Question: Since
Rosie O'Donnell left
The View, rumors have run rampant about where she might turn up next. Will she be the next
Bob Barker? A contestant on a celebrity version of
The Apprentice? And now comes word that
Friday Night Lights execs are considering her for a guest stint as a ticked-off (can she play anything else?) soccer coach. I love
FNL more than any show I've watched in a long time, but in light of Rosie's hostile outbursts, just seeing her face or hearing her voice stirs unpleasant emotions. No matter how well-written or -acted, I probably won't be able to see a small-town soccer coach — instead I'll just see Rosie, angry as usual. (I'm with
Mark, by the way. I won't be watching the otherwise-intriguing
Bionic Woman now that Isaiah Washington has joined the cast.) Looks like Ben Silverman's signature tactic for promoting a new or struggling show is to go the tabloid route and stunt-cast someone who's been grabbing headlines for something other than his or her acting abilities. Could it be that in an effort to save
FNL, he and the show's producers will kill it? Haven't they learned that changes made out of desperation can only harm the quality of the show (
Boomtown), if not lead to a drop in ratings that will doom the show for good (
Joan of Arcadia)? Oh, and while we're on the subject of
Friday Night Lights, I think fans owe you for this one. I have no doubt that your enthusiastic support of the show, the TV viewers you led to it and the others you inspired to speak out about it were in large part responsible for its renewal. So thanks!
Answer: You're welcome. While I'm weary of Rosie as well, and couldn't be happier that
Drew Carey got the
Price Is Right gig and that she didn't rise to
Donald Trump's bait where the celebrity
Apprentice is concerned, I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach toward this possible
Friday Night Lights casting. For one thing, my understanding (according to an executive involved with the show) is that this would be for one episode only. And while I deplored her scenery-chewing work on
Nip/Tuck last season, I can envision her swallowing her ego to appear on this show in a much more naturalistic role. Her early acting performances, in
A League of Their Own and
Sleepless in Seattle, were quite effective in their unassuming way (an adjective you rarely see applied to her anymore), so in theory this stunt doesn't upset me that much. You do make a fair point, though, that if NBC tries too hard to "fix"
Friday Night Lights this season in hopes of "saving" it, they could end up doing much more harm than good.
