TVSquad

Oprah Winfrey is all over the news these days as she fires up her new network and considers moving her talk show from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Now, we get to listen to her narrate the epic BBC nature series, Life. Subtitled by the BBC with, "The Definitive Exploration of the Adaptability and Diversity of Life on Earth," the eleven-part series examines evolution and the behaviors that animals devised to live, thrive and survive. Discovery Channel is bringing it your way in March after Oprah vocalizes a bit.

I know the BBC has done this sort of thing before. In fact, no one does it better. But this time around, they're using state-of-the-art high-definition filming techniques.

But why is Oprah necessary? I have nothing particularly against the woman. Despite her massive media pull, I manage to more or less steer clear of her estrogen fest. But, the BBC production comes pre-narrated with world-famous naturalist, Sir David Attenborough. Is over-dubbing necessary?

If your TiVo or DVR can't get enough of the syrupy charm of the former Alaska governor, you might want to install a memory upgrade.

Barbara Walters will do a sit down with Sarah Palin on the heels of her new memoir, Going Rogue, in a five-part series starting Nov. 17.

Five parts? Seriously? Wouldn't one suffice? She's only doing ONE interview with Oprah Winfrey and Oprah is the supreme overlord of the female television universe. Does "a five-part series with Sarah Palin" meet the textbook definition of overkill?

Does it seem like somebody lit a fire under Oprah Winfrey? It seems like it to me. Her new season commenced this week with the Whitney Houston two-parter, she's off to Central Park for tomorrow show which will relaunch Oprah's Book Club, and on Monday Oprah's doing a flashback to the 1960's with Mad Men's Jon Hamm and January Jones as guests.

Bless Oprah Winfrey's soul for all the good work she does in the name of bettering humanity. She gets people to read, she gives poor kids scholarships, she reaches out to victims of environmental disaster, and, of course, there was that time she gave a new car to everyone in her audience. She's a money fairy out to save the world, and we applaud her for it.

But then there are times when Oprah's weird side comes out, when that unique connection she so strongly maintains with her audience - both in the studio and viewers at home - is broken in favor of reminders that, oh yeah, Planet Oprah might not be such a crazy notion. The lady probably uses $100 bills to clean her teeth. And, in case you'd forgotten, she and buddies Gayle King and Tyler Perry will remind you, as they did while palling around on Friday's show, on which Oprah retold a super-nauseating story about Perry giving her the most incredibly unnecessary gift a media mogul could ever not hope for.

My favorite moment in last week's 30 Rock, in which Oprah Winfrey made a guest turn -- and a good one -- was when Liz accepted a piece of Rhode Island salt water taffy from O. This lead to Oprah rattling off some of her "wonderful favorite things" for this year -- paisley tops, sweater capes, Calypso music, Chinese checkers, high-heeled flip-flops.

Well, you don't have to be Liz Lemon -- or wait for the annual Christmas show -- to check out Oprah's real faves. The Oprah Store is launching online this Friday. There's been a real store since last January located in Chicago across the street from the Harpo Studios, but this site, which will be an expansion of the mini-shop that's been online for a while, will capture the breadth and scope of the year-old brick and mortar store.

Recently, TV columnist Aaron Barnhart took note of the fact that Oprah Winfrey's show is sinking in the ratings. Her talk show, which is the centerpiece of her multimedia success -- a success that has made her the richest woman in show business -- has been losing ratings consistently for the last six months. At first blush, the politically minded of you might think it's because she endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, but I think it's more than that. After all, if anything, the vast amount of grassroots support that the Senator from Illinois has engendered might be a plus for Oprah rather than a minus.

Therefore, there have to be other factors to explain why Oprah's landmark TV talk show has lost its luster -- at least ratings-wise. I've come up with six possible reasons.