There's a lot of speculation in the biz about what will Oprah do next. The daytime talk show giant supposedly made up her mind recently and decided that her syndicated show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, would end its run in syndication and move to OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network (formerly Discovery Health). An official announcement is anticipated before the end of the year, but is that really was Oprah has decided? Nobody knows for certain.
There are pros and cons on either side. The companies that syndicated her talk show stand to lose a significant asset if she wraps up the current incarnation and abandons the market. Think of all those afternoon hours around that country that count on Oprah at three or four o'clock, or the morning slots where Oprah leads in to noon newscasts. Companies like CBS Distribution and the Tribune Company have feasted on the robust ratings Oprah has consistently delivered.
Well, the big interview happens this Monday: Oprah interviews former Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin. The interview actually took place several days ago so some clips are starting to be released. Here's a first look, where Oprah asks Palin about Levi Johnston.
Update: we love to see comments on our site, but if they go off topic or get into political arguments, they will be deleted. If you want to comment specifically about Palin's appearance on Oprah, that's fine. Other comments will be deleted. Thanks.
There's reason to be hopeful about All My Children's move to Hollywood. Oh, yes, Thorsten Kaye has decided not to go -- bye, bye Zach -- but there's a list of stars lining up for the anniversary that's pretty spectacular.
Julia's return is a big get because she was such big part of the soap for so long. The two-time Emmy winner was on AMC from 1976 to her exit in 2006. This anniversary show will be a chance for fans to hear what Brooke -- Erica's rival for all those years -- has been up to.
Next in line is Eva LaRue. She's become a prime time star with CSI: Miami. She did two stints with AMC as Dr. Maria Santos Grey.
The most interesting part of the interview, shown below, is that after all the verbal abuse she took -- including being called the C-word and "whore" -- an innocuous Jay Leno joke about her looks was her "breaking point." The joke can be seen in the story: Jay compares Hundley to Phillips' wife and says "What was he thinking?" He then says, "I realize you can't have steak every day, but please..."
So, there you have it. Jay Leno broke the spirit of someone with his "biting" humor. Heck, I figured his lame jokes would have broken everyone's spirit years ago, but I guess some people can still get hurt by his butter knife jabs.
To me, this means that not only can we count on the character of Carly being around for a long time to come -- and played by the same actress who has the most tenure in the part -- but also that GH will likely be around for four more years. Oh, sure, there's nothing guaranteed, but I'm an optimist and I choose to see this as a positive sign.
The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:
Sometimes it's true that all's well that ends well. And sometimes to reach that happy ending, arms are twisted, feelings are hurt, and bad blood is spilled. In the case of The Young and the Restless and actor Eric Braeden, there was a good deal of acrimony on both sides. The fact that Braeden is back in the fold now and he will continue as Victor Newman for the foreseeable future, doesn't obscure the fact that it was a nasty situation.
There's some good news and some bad about The Golden Girls. First the good: Betty White will be returning to The Bold and the Beautiful to resume her recurring role as Stephanie's mother, Ann Douglas. She'll be appearing on a few episodes of B&B, but it could be extended even longer depending on storyline developments.
Sadly, the bad news is that Betty's Golden Girls costar, Rue McClanahan had to cancel a Castro Theater event in San Francisco on November 14 -- a salute in her honor called "Golden: A Gala Tribute to Rue McClanahan" -- because she's had to undergo heart bypass surgery in New York.
This is either great news if you like Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray or a warning if you don't like them, but it's interesting news nonetheless: Martha is going to do Rachael Ray's show and then the very next day Rachael will be on Martha's* show.
Yup, Martha will appear on Rachael's show on November 12 to show Rachael how to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece, and then on November 13 Rachael will appear on Martha's show and Martha will teach her how to make a Thanksgiving dessert. Notice that on both shows it's Martha who will be doing the teaching?
Wouldn't you love to know who's giving actor James Franco career advice these days? I'm not knocking him or her, but I'd love to figure out the strategy. Or maybe this is just Franco being Franco (like Manny being Manny, for you baseball fans out there)?
James has just started filming his two-month arc on General Hospital -- check out the first pic (right) -- and now Michael Ausiello reports that James Franco will do a guest spot on 30 Rock.
How's that for a career trajectory -- from box office bonanza (Spider-Man) to Oscar feature (Milk) to daytime soap (General Hospital) to Emmy-winning sitcom (30 Rock). He's like a human pinball machine looking for a perfect score!
My first thought whenever O'Reilly visits The View is Joy Behar. She always looks like she'd rather be anywhere else but sitting next to him. But I suppose she puts up with it -- and has no choice in the matter -- because O'Reilly and Barbara Walters have been friends for a long time, and Barbara, of course, has the final say on who gets on the show and who doesn't.
This is all speculation, of course. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. Just reading the body language, which I've learned a little about while watching Tonya Reiman on O'Reilly's Fox show, The O'Reilly Factor.
Something about the syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire seems off this season. It might be the gimmicky "Tournament of Ten" that they've been building towards; it starts next week. Or it might be the bumped-up money tree they've instituted, paired with tougher questions; now it's easier to get the first safety level (now $5,000) but much more difficult to get to the second (still $25,000).
But what might also be off is that the producers have been mixing in some very young contestants into the show, and when they're on, the program screeches to a halt.
Why? They're too young. Even if they're the most book-smart kids on the planet, their knowledge of pop culture and historic events goes back maybe ten years, and those questions are a large part of the stack most contestants get.
One last Halloween post. Bill O'Reilly appeared on The View on Friday, dressed as Dracula. It's a basic costume, but it suits him. Of course, the talk turned to the Fox News vs. the White House story, and then O'Reilly, for some bizarre reason, calls Whoopi "jealous" because he has a best-selling book. But what's equally odd is Whoopi's response, where she lists the awards she has won. I think that has been boiling inside her for a while (that part happens about 7:48 in).
And what's with all the weird mugging and looking around that Whoopi is doing? She's actually kinda of an odd person, isn't she?
Practical jokes are funny, to a certain extent. Until someone loses an eye or something.
This clip is from an episode of Ellen last week. Taylor Swift was the guest so Ellen decided to sneak up on her as she went into her dressing room's bathroom. It doesn't look like a set-up, as Swift looks truly shocked, so my question is this: what if Swift had broken her ankle or slipped and hit her head on the toilet? She comes really close. What an embarrassing way to die that would have been. Yeah, really funny Ellen, you killed America's sweetheart in the toilet!
This morning, the Today gang dressed up for Halloween like they do every year, and this year it was a Star Wars theme. Besides the characters mentioned above, we have Meredith as Princess Leia, Kathie Lee as C3P0, Natalie as Amidala, Al as Han Solo and many Storm Troopers.
There's an awkward silence a couple of minutes in as each character is introduced. Lauer gets off a funny line about why he was late.
There's a lot of speculation in the biz about what will Oprah do next. The daytime talk show giant supposedly made up her mind recently and decided that her syndicated show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, would end its run in syndication and move to OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network (formerly Discovery Health). An official announcement is anticipated before the end of the year, but is that really was Oprah has decided? Nobody knows for certain.
There's reason to be hopeful about 
There's a lot to be happy about if you're a fan of General Hospital. There's been some very good news from the soap. Things like 
The folks at our sister site 
There's some good news and some bad about 
This is either great news if you like Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray or a warning if you don't like them, but it's interesting news nonetheless: Martha is going to do Rachael Ray's show and then the very next day Rachael will be on Martha's* show.
Wouldn't you love to know who's giving actor 
It's always fun when Bill O'Reilly visits 
Something about the syndicated 
The Prisoner -- An early look
Sesame Street's 40th: Five funniest characters
Sesame Street's 40th: Five biggest controversies
