User reviews

Back in the 90s Rosie was as relevant as Pikachu. I was a snot nosed lil punk back then therefore I didn't understand the politic side of things.

For the show it was a more humble show. She had various guests they spoke about controversial subjects, and it wasn't as obnoxious as lets say the Wendy Williams show. She was an out spoken host which was a good thing back in those days.

Yea her show was a very 90's show.

Verdict: Its an ok show. I don't know much about Rosie so her position doesn't affect how i feel about the show.

Like many, I absolutely loved this show when it debuted. Rosie's sweet, energetic, and friendly personality won over viewers and lit up the screen. The set was bright, colorful, and cheerful. And her passion for things such as Broadway musicals, Barbara Streisand, and old TV shows made you love them too. I was in college at the time, and would watch this during summer breaks and before I went to class. It was the first show I watched every day. It was a refreshing antithesis to the Jerry Springer-type shows that were popular at the time.

And then Rosie stopped being nice and started getting political. While I respect other people's beliefs, even if they differ from my own, Rosie had a decidedly lack of civility when she expressed them on her show. Following the Columbine incident, she could have used her bubbly personality to cheer people up and give them hope for a better world. Instead, she decided to use her show as her own anti-gun platform, even going so far as accosting Tom Selleck about the NRA in that infamous segment. I remember watching that interview as it aired, and had to change the channel mid-way because I couldn't watch it anymore. People didn't watch Rosie to hear political debates. They watched her to escape from the world. When Rosie lost sight of that, her show went downhill and lost viewers.

Coincidentally or not, it was when she decided to come out as a lesbian that her opinionated side really began to surface and change the show for the worse. (The gun incident was just a taste of what was to come.) It kind of made me wonder whether her sweet personality at the show's start was all just for show. She kind of came off as superficial. Who was the "real" Rosie?

This show was on while I was in middle school, and for me, it was the biggest advantage of staying home sick. Rosiewas surprisingly good at giving interviews, and i have to admit, she really paved the way for Ellen's show right now. If I were to choose who i prefer as a comedienne and a person, i would say Ellen, but Rosie's show did have some benefits which Ellen's does not. For one thing, Rosie did give a somewhat more interesting interview than Ellen does, and most of all, for me anyway, Rosie's support to Broadway. Rosie's exposure of Broadway plays and musicals to T.V audiences helped keep Broadway alive and well, and one can't help but notice how the state of Broadway has changed without Rosie. With Rosie's show, serious Musicals like "Ragtime" could thrive, today musicals seem to have to either star Hugh Jackman or be based on a popular film or be marketable to thirteen year old girls to at all survive. Yes, by the end, when Rosie let her politics get the better of her, the show lost steam, and i agree with most of the criticism she received surrounding that, but for me anyway, her show will be missed.

Over the course of time Rosie O'Donnell has gotten a lot more opinionated about a lot of things... I'll leave it at that.

But back in the 90's Rosie was nicknamed The Queen of Nice with this show. For the most part it was a fun show that appealed to a wide range of audiences. For example even my aunt and uncle who are staunch Republicans loved it.

For the most part the show showcased Rosie's then warm/playful personality while inviting guests to come on to speak about their latest projects. She wasn't a bad interviewer wither.

I still recall the Chub Club and her slinging gifts into the crowd at the end of the show.

Fun and different times

It all started innocently enough. Stand-up comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, who made a name for herself by becoming a five time Comedy champion on the talent competition show "Star Search," was offered the chance to host her own daily talk show. Carnie Wilson, who had been hosting a show, wasn't working out, and Rosie, with her quick wit and sense of humor seemed like she could improve on Carnie's ratings.

Rosie had some serious chops by this point, having been in a series of successful ensemble films, like "A League of Their Own," "Beautiful Girls," a live action version of "The Flintstones" where she played Betty Rubble, and even hit the Broadway stage as Rizzo in a revival of Grease.

In June of 1996, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" debuted. The show was telecast live to many East Coast and Central time zone affiliates and shown on a tape delay to the rest. The program was tailored to Rosie's personality and interests and people from both the worlds of entertainment and the areas of charity were typical guests on the show.

John McDaniel served as the program's musical director, and Rosie dubbed his band "The McD LTs" as a play on the name of a McDonald's sandwich being sold at that time - a cheeseburger that split the lettuce and tomato (the LT of McD LT) in a separate container, to keep it cool and crisp (presumably). It was discontinued because its large Styrofoam container, to separate those ingredients, was finally considered environmentally unfriendly.

Rosie's show was essentially a love fest for the guests she welcomed and she schmoozed with and kissed up to just about everybody who appeared. In fact, with her audience giveaways, her efforts to get people to get in better shape (She created a group called "The Chub Club" which focused on helping people to slim down) all of her charitable donations and support, and her gushing over her guests, Newsweek dubbed her "The Queen of Nice."

Two celebrities that Rosie purportedly had an obsession over were Tom Cruise, who she would frequently reference as "My Tommy" on the show and would extol all of the wonders of his acting career and looks, and Barbra Streisand, who she constantly stated as being one of the most important figures in her life and would be a dream to meet. She later did get to interview Ms. Streisand on the program, after flipping her desk and couch set arrangement, so that Babs wouldn't have to look "camera right" to face Rosie at her desk, as Ms. Streisand was noted for only wanting to show the left side of her face on camera!

The tone of the show was typically light, fun, frivolous, essentially it was a gabfest that, like the host, didn't take itself too seriously and was deliberate in avoiding being more than it actually was. And that is likely why so many people wanted to appear: it was just a fun time, and who didn't like the idea of getting a whole lot of love from a admiring host and a fanatical audience, that was often the loudest on television at the time.

New York played a part because Rosie, besides having appeared on The Great White Way herself, was a huge Broadway aficionado and promoter. She would frequently have performances from musicals that were currently running as a part of a program. Plus, most of the Soap Operas were still being filmed in New York, so actors from those daytime dramas also made appearances as part of a typical episode.

But a tragic event changed the tone of everything for Rosie. That was the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, on April 20, 1999. Rosie was severely affected by it, said she had trouble sleeping because of it, and quickly became an advocate for anti-gun laws to help protect kids who were just going to school to learn.

After Columbine, Rosie started having more political guests and openly spoke about "The Million Mom March," which was a protest rally, both at the Mall in Washington DC and in several other high profile cities, designed to demand legislation to improve gun control, especially assault weapons.

The show's turning point occurred when Rosie invited actor Tom Selleck, who at the time was appearing in a commercial for the National Rifle Association, to be a guest on the program. In a heated exchange, both host and guest staunchly defended their stances in a segment that was almost too raw to be believed. Really, to properly do justice to the topic, this likely needed to be the theme of the program, not just one brief segment, because how can you properly discuss an issue as complex and important to people as this one is, in just a couple of minutes?

Many people didn't like the fact that political views that were being offered on a show that they considered "escapism" from the news of the day, and some tuned out. Obviously, they would have been less inclined to put up with it, if they didn't agree with those views! Also, it seemed that the frustration that Rosie was feeling over how the country was reacting to both mass shootings and to her clear position against it, her façade of fun fell away and you could see her more abrasive side as the show continued.

It's notable that According to CNN, since Columbine, there have been 413 mass shootings AT SCHOOLS, as of April 2024. That averages out to be more than 16 school shootings per year, every year for the past 25 years. That's a lot of trauma, heartbreak and death over that time, some of which might have been avoided if we had gotten some support from either the State or Federal Government to help prevent it.

Maybe you aren't a fan of Rosie O'Donnell, generally. Maybe you don't like her political beliefs, and maybe you think she is just another celebrity who needs to "stay in her lane," but, we all have to admit, saving lives is important and some reasonable laws enacted at any time between that horrific tragedy in Colorado and now could have and would have saved lives.

For the hostess of a program that started out as a breezy talk/variety show, Rosie O'Donell did at times display a startlingly opinionated side. That's certainly true. But regarding the infamous dust-up with Tom Selleck, it should be pointed out that Rosie said she had asked Tom if they could have an on-air discussion about gun control and she claimed Tom agreed to it. Anyone watching the day that debacle occurred saw that after the first half of the interview was over, Rosie went to break saying they'd be back to talk about the issue of guns and Tom didn't seem surprised to hear that. "Sounds a lot like America" was his response, so obviously it was not a complete "ambush" on Tom by Rosie as many have unfairly described it.

Clearly, the debate grew more intense than Tom had expected, but one has to wonder if even Rosie went in there intending to so vociferously drive her point home the way she did. Initially, she did allow him time to make his case, but as things wore on she increasingly seemed to jump in before Tom could finish his thoughts on the subject. If nothing else, they may have simply demonstrated that a 10 minute segment is not sufficient time for an in-depth debate about such a complex and emotion-charged topic. It just looked like the two of them got caught up in the moment and yes, Tom, too as he was at times less than polite with her and towards the end he was downright surly.

By the way, while it's been mistakenly claimed to the contrary, before that segment wrapped Rosie most definitely did apologize to Tom. His response was "it's your show, and you can say what you want on it" and then he turned away from her.

I don't think either one of them represented themselves very well during that exchange, but since the emotion they displayed was almost certainly in part fueled by the mood of those painful post-Columbine days, maybe Rosie and Tom should both be cut some slack here. Nobody's perfect, and while you could go back and forth all day long about who was right and who was wrong, one thing is undeniable about that particular incident: it sure was riveting TV.

The best thing I can say about her show is that she for the most part had good, main stream, "pop culture friendly" guests on. The best thing I can say about Rosie is that she is probably a cash friendly genius. I mean, she managed to create a talk show based upon her childhood dream of meeting celebrities. She is the ultimate "groupie" and made no bones about it. She's a smart gal and should retire, live privately and laugh all the way to the bank.

this is by far the most annoying talk show i've ever seen. like one person has already commented on here, she goes way overboard with her own opinions. she's so damn annoying it's not even funny. some of her deeds are good, but she tries too hard sometimes to prove she's this nice person. she also tries too hard to be funny way too often. on a scale of 1 to 10 i give this show a 2

If I ever understand why this show is so popular, I think I will understand everything there is to know about people.

I would like to stress that if you are a fan of Rosie O'Donnell's show, that you stop reading this review right now, because you are going to hate it with a passion! I am about to tear into Ms. O'Donnell and her show after this sentence, so I suggest you leave now before I offend you.

Now, if you're still here, then you mustn't mind my upcoming Rosie bashing. If you do, than it's your own fault, cuz I warned you. Where do I begin in what I call the worst talk show in the history of television? Let's see, how about the host.

Rosie O'Donnell, as many of you know, was an actress in movies for several years, and in this format, I don't really mind her. In fact, I even saw "The Flintstones" more than once, (Though she would not have been my first choice to play Betty Rubble) In addition to films, she also did some acting on Broadway, like I care! Now, she hosts the worst talk show I have ever seen, and I've seen "The Howard Stern Radio Show" and "Open Mike with Mike Bullard!!"

Granted, the show is on in the day time, therefore it has to be cleaned up a bit. But this show is way too clean for my likes. The comedy is for babies, and the ranting is for yuppies and old people. In the era when most shows try to target an 18-30 demographic, Rosie said, "Nah! I want to appeal mostly to people with no teeth." Great! That leaves babies, old people, and the people of Branson, Missorui. (Sorry, that was one of Dennis Miller's).

Rosie also uses the show as her own personnal forum for expressing her opinions. While I usually aplaud this, it is not something I look for in a talk show. Also, kudos to Rosie for getting involved in so many chariatable organizations, but does she have to keep hitting us over the head with this fact? Fine Rosie, you're great, I'm a loser, are you happy?

Also, there's a limit to how many personal opinions one person can express, or so I thought. Recently, Rosie saw the film, "Fight Club", a film I had planned to go see. The day I was going to go see it, I happened to come across Rosie's show and for some insipid reason, I watched it. There was Rosie, saying how much she hated "Fight Club" and then, in an inforgivable action, announced the ending on the air, ruining the film for me and so many other people!! Why is this applauded? She should have known form the previews that she wouldn't have liked it, cuz it didn't have a namby pamby G rating.

In short, I hate this show! It is the worst Talk show in the history of television.

Overall rating: No stars (Kinda like most of her guests, eh?)

This is probably the most insipid thing that's ever been on TV. I don't know who they are supposed to be appealing to. They stick America's favorite Doyenne of Dumpiness out there to push gooey smarm on the unfortunate viewer for half an hour (except when Rosie goes after something she DOESN'T like, like Tom Selleck, and out comes the bile). I think someone has to be seriously masochistic to actually watch this. I personally can't even stand Rosie doing that wobbly-lookin' chicken dance in commercials on NBC anymore.

Seriously, I seriously think that this show's survival is either some trick of the devil or just because she's some sort of sacred cow to NBC's programmers. I really wonder who this show is supposed to appeal to. Someone staying at home during the afternoon, which eliminates most people with jobs. Poor people? I doubt they would get or be interested in Rosie's rosy and banal world. Independently wealthy people? Usually people that have already made their mark have better things to do than watch TV in the afternoon. Housewives? I guess this has to be it but I've really wondered how they can identify with her not-so-well-disguised... different lifestyle from them. You know what I mean. ;)

Even Rosie's "good person" act is getting tired and definitely wearing thin. A double-edged sword that, as her worldview is apparently rather viciously absolutist and probably quite a few degrees from the mainstream. She's all nice and warm and sugary and likes things that are nice and warm and sugary but anything apart from that, like guns, Fight Club, or whatever and she hits the roof. She's sort of like an evil Miss Manners, or better yet, a socialist counterpart to Dr. Laura (sans the protesters, of course).

I consider this show a one-woman equivalent of Regis and Kathy Lee, but even less scintillating or relevant. One can spend one's life more productively watching the Weather Channel or the Farm Report in the afternoon than this garbage. Even if you like this show, there's better things to do at 3 in the afternoon. Go out, do something big. Direct a movie, write a book, publish a website, start the Save the Children from Big Meanie Republicans Foundation, whatever, and maybe you could actually be a guest on the show.

As for Rosie, well, I'm just waiting 20 years or so for the E! True Hollywood Story about her. I'm really curious as to what that's going to say about her in hindsight.

Not that there are many other daytime talk shows worth watching, but the Rosie O'Donnell Show is definitely one to avoid. Arguably the highlight of Rosie's entertainment value (over that of any person off the street) is her ability to sing the theme song of nearly all of the TV series that have ever been broadcast.

The best that she can do in the way of entertainment is show off a skill that one can only gain through rigorous, almost religious TV viewing over an entire lifetime. Do we really need to spend our time watching someone's TV show, who is so entrenched in a television centered world view? It seems like a dangerous reinforcement of the repulsive contention that it is acceptable for people to sit in front of the TV as their sole pastime.

No one should subject themselves to any demonstration of such a deeply ingrained acceptance of the idea that a normal lifetime is one that's spent largely parked in front of a box that displays moving pictures on its screen, as the Rosie O'Donnell Show seems to openly advocate.

In engaging in such trivialization of a seriously mentally and physically debilitating lifestyle for Americans, the Show subtly glorifies a lifestyle that does not merit glorification.

From a TV producer's standpoint, it makes perfect sense for the host of a show to openly advocate such television worship.

Other shows, such as the Oprah Winfrey Show are more justifiable, as they advocate things such as reading books, exercising, and other concerns that are not so directly connected with television and the entertainment industry. True, there is marketing that's mixed in with the advocacy of almost anything, but almost anything is preferable to what amounts to advocacy of Couch Potatohood. Other daytime talk shows more actively advocate activities other than watching television.

Rosie O'Donnell is the last person to ever give a talk show to yet jackass ABC gave one to corny Rosie. I hate corny and Rosie O'Donnell and ABC are corny as Hell! I hated this show. The Wayne Brady Show was much better then this because he is a funny person. Rosie O'Donnell has that strained, whinny voice that goes right through you. She never let her guest talk either. Its all about her. It was her show. Why even have guests then? Who even watched this show? People without lives? Listen, I've read a bunch of reviews saying this show was good. There all garbage. If you like this show, you haven't watched real television!!!

I'm not the biggest fan of the late "Rosie O'Donnell Show" but I obviously don't hate it as much as you guys do. Besides, if you're going to lay into someone like that, at least site more than two examples. It's not like no one else in the entire world has made two mistakes.

Anyway, I grew up with the Rosie Show, so to speak. As a self-proclaimed child prodigy, I had hopes of being on that show one day. It never happened, and I can't say I'm overly disappointed, but it was something to look forward to.

Basically this was a show designed to appeal to the mothers who were at home with their kids as well as the kids that were either too young to go to school or just coming home from school. It's not easy to appeal to both audiences, and they did an amazing job. It was a noteworthy show if only for that reason.

So was it the greatest show in the world? No. Am I disappointed it was cancelled? No. Did the cancellation have anything to do with Rosie coming out of the closet? Of course. I can handle the fact that you're a lesbian, Rosie, but the world wasn't ready yet.

A long time ago when Tom Selleck was being interviewed on the Rosie Show she started bashing him thoughtlessly and trying profusely to hurt his feelings, etc. Nice to her guests? You must be joking! She is obviously not in support of the NRA and Tom is. This is what the big fight was about and he had very good points to make about the association while Rosie didn't have anything to really stand on she still continued to try to bash him on live television. In my opinion (and I know many others) she still owes a great big apology to Tom for this humiliation (where actually she was probably humiliating herself more than anything). Yes this happened. It really did! It was horrific. I haven't watched the show since.

In an age of crudity, shock value, and lame sensationalism, this show was really a breath of fresh air. It was NICE!! Rosie was NICE!! The audience was NICE!! The guests, the set, the quasi-annoying band, the games, the prizes, all NICE!! It may seem ridiculous to sing the virtues of a show by giving such lukewarm praise as the word nice over and over, but that's what it was. It wasn't edge of your seat, controversial, nail-biting television. And who needs more of that really? There are many other daytime shows that go for the gold when it comes to disturbing their audiences and spellbinding them into disgusted fascination, but this show wasn't like that. And for that, I thank you Rosie O'Donnell.

Best talk show ever. Was very sad to see it go. There never will be one just like her. It was wholesome and not trashy or demeaning. I hope Rosie is doing well now. I also miss her magazine. Such hardship she faced. But we should be glad the show lasted as long as it did. Six years right? And SHE is the one who made the choice to end it. I believe she was offered a longer run but she had her family and all. What I really wish is that the episodes could be released on DVD or something. She was also the one talk show host (besides the Regis and Kelly show) to host Broadway acts. And have Broadway stars actually be guest! And she would just have ANYONE on that she wanted! Like Kate Mulgrew from Star Trek Voyager -- TWICE! And she would have people from shows from years past who she just wanted to get to know. And her crush on Tom Cruise and her love of Barbara Streisand were very cute. I MISS IT!

Rosie O'Donnell is my idol! She's funny, anti-guns, supports charities... an all-around good person- what more could you ask for? Her show is superb! (I think, anyway.) Just about every celebrity has been on her show. The reason why celebs like her and her show so much is because she makes everyone feel comfortable and doesn't make fun of them. Her show is filled with music, games, superkids, craft segments, and of course interviews. I love her show and I recommend anyone to watch it!

Ok-Rosie is certainly not an excellent actress-thats why BU kicked her out-but she makes this show so wonderful it hurts. She is a beautiful woman with a truly beautiful soul. She has the only creative and interesting talk show on TV today. I just love the way she plays with things in her hands while she talks to everyone, and the way everyone just loves her. She also has regular people on, and not to make fun of them like Letterman would. She also has Broadway shows all the time on, getting these poor people a little recognition. She really cares about people, all people, because she is a real person, unlike most people on TV. If you ever read this Rosie, thank you for what you have done for us :)

The best. No arguing. I have grown up watching her movies and her TV show. She is always helping charities. Her show has the most stars as far as i know. She works hard. Her love for children in phenominal, She has put herself on the line with her thoughts and opinions, and okay I agree on occasion she has slipped and made a fool of herself, but no one is perfect. Who are we to judge her????... I'm sure each and everyone of you people have done things you regret. "A life without regret, is a life not lived"..... I absolutely adored her in "A league of their own". She is a fantastic lady, and i for one will miss her humour and beautiful personality. Love you Rosie, and I wish you luck in the future. Luv your devoted fan.

I think the rosie o donnell show was the best daytime talkshow ever for all u hater's. rosie had great guest and the best musical performances. she also did great charity work and gave many great prizes away. and if you were lucky enough to get ticket's to her show you always get a great gift and a yummy treat under ur seat. i'm also very grateful for rosie's show cause she had bette midler on a total of seven times and i do love the divine miss m,plus she introduce me to linda eder who i love as well. i sure hope rosie return's with maybe a latenight talkshow cause late night is getting old and we need you rosie. rosie save the network's.