The View should probably be called something else. At least it ought to be plural–The Views is a lot more accurate. The much anticipated new season hasn’t even started yet and the refreshed team is already making news almost daily. Besides this week’s welcome announcement of diverse additions Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace, there’s word that returning host Whoopi Goldberg and prodigal daughter Rosie O’Donnell are fighting over who gets the bigger office. (Rosie’s contract allegedly guarantees that she does, but she’s backing down and giving it to Whoopi, according to Radar Online.)
If the reports are true, producers have reason to worry. The View set, once kept calm by the show’s imperious creator Barbara Walters, is expected to be a cauldron of kvetching and one-upsmanship–or one-upwomanship, as the case may be. But too much tension can damage the product. There’s a reason why most other talk shows have a single host, and those that push the envelope have just two–like Live! with Kelly and Michael. Strong personalities–which The View specializes in–need room to roam and the set gets crowded. Fans don’t mind a little back-and-forth and minor fireworks–they like it–but they don’t tune in to hear feuds acted out. Most fans can get that at home or at the PTA.
