SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

CBS taking chances?

Who would have thought it of the conservative network, home of the police procedurals and slightly naughty sitcoms.

The network will bring back 17 current programs, but the sitcom “The Class” and the once-promising “Jericho” won’t be among them. CBS brings just one comedy, one reality show and three dramas this fall, leaving most of the schedule intact.

Earlier this year, CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler tipped off a few reporters about her plans to shake things up with a musical drama, a wife-swapping drama and a Latino sudser.

“We approached our development this year with a specific goal in mind _ to be daring and different,” Tassler says when announcing the new fall series on Wednesday. “The fall and midseason series we have selected offer creativity and variety with great potential to excite and surprise television audiences.”

Well, it certainly surprised us, even though Tassler had already told us about “Viva Laughlin,” we never thought the CBS suits would buy it.

We were wrong.

VIVA LAUGHLIN
Executive produced by Tony and Emmy Award winner Hugh Jackman (pictured, guest staring as Nicky Fontana).
Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

Based on the British series “Viva Blackpool,” the series is produced and co-stars Hugh Jackman. In addition to high-wattage star power, the series also marks the first time since Steven Bochco’s ill-fated “Cop Rock” that a musical drama series has made it to the air.

Ripley Holden’s sole ambition is to run a casino in Laughlin, but he gets embroiled in a murder investigation after his business partner’s body is found at Ripley’s club. Ripley (Lloyd Owen) also deals with an attention-starvedwife (Madchen Amick) and teen daughter and son. The characters break out in contemporary songs to punctuate the drama and the comedy.

MOONLIGHT
Alex O’Loughlin as Mick St. John. CBS 2007 Upfront Photo: Robert Voets

Tapping into the “Angel” market, “Moonlight” centers on Mick St. John (Alex O’Loughlin) as a vampire who uses his powers to help people through his private investigation firm.

CANE
Pictured right to left: Jimmy Smits, Paola Turbay, Hector Elizondo, and Rita Moreno. 2007 Upfront Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

“Cane” stars Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo and Nestor Carbonell (Richard on “Lost”) as the power players in this steamy drama about a large Cuban-American family running a successful rum and sugar business in South Florida.

Coming on in midseason is “Swingtown” from the director of the Showtime series “Big Love” and HBO’s “Rome.” The series takes viewers back to 1970s suburbia where the sexual revolution is being played out with open marriages and women’s lib. When a couple (Molly Parker and Jack Davenport) moves into an affluent Chicago suburb in search of barbecues and neighborhood get-togethers, they have no idea what is really happening. Grant Show (“Melrose Place” and “Dirt”) and Lana Parrilla play the swinging couple who share more than just recipes with their neighbors. Miriam Shor and Josh Hopkins play the couple’s former neighbors and friends who are appalled and intrigued by the neighborhood.

THE BIG BANG THEORY
Brainy best friends Leonard (Johnny Galecki, right) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons, left) meet their new neighbor, Penny (Kaley Cuoco, center) 2007 Upfront Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

The lone comedy on the schedule, “The Big Bang Theory,” comes from “Two and a Half Men” producer Chuck Lorre. The show centers on a group of geeks being navigated through the crazy world of women with the help of their sexy new neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco).

KID NATION
Photo: Monty Brinton/ CBS

CBS, which will be keeping “Survivor” and at least one cycle of “The CBS, which will be keeping “Survivor” and at least one cycle of “The Amazing Race” this season, branches out with the reality series “Kid Nation.” The series drops 40 kids into a New Mexico ghost town where they will have 40 days to build a working town. The children, aged 8 to 15, will also create a new government. Sounds a little PBS to us.

While not on the fall schedule, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” has been picked up as a midseason replacement series. We would have put “Christine” on this fall rather than sticking with the lukewarm “Rules of Engagement” for the Monday night comedy block. But, again, we didn’t get that phone call from CBS asking our opinion.

Here’s the CBS fall lineup:

Monday
8 p.m. “How I Met Your Mother”
8:30 p.m. “THE BIG BANG THEORY”
9 p.m. “Two and a Half Men”
9:30 p.m. “Rules of Engagement”
10 p.m. “CSI:Miami”

Tuesday
8 p.m. “NCIS”
9 p.m. “The Unit”
10 p.m. “Cane”

Wednesday
8 p.m. “Kid Nation”
9 p.m. “Criminal Minds”
10 p.m. “CSI: New York”

Thursday
8 p.m. “Survivor: China”
9 p.m. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
10 p.m. “Without a Trace”

Friday
8 p.m. “Ghost Whisperer”
9 p.m. “MOONLIGHT”
10 p.m. “Numb3rs”

Saturday
8 p.m. “Crimetime Saturday”
9 p.m. “Crimetime Saturday”
10 p.m. “48 Hours: Mystery”

Sunday
7 p.m. “60 Minutes”
8 p.m. “VIVA LAUGHLIN”
9 p.m. “Cold Case”
10 p.m. “Shark”

“Studio 60” is gone. So is “Crossing Jordan.”

(Which I guess solves that plane crash question left at the season finale.)

But NBC decided to keep the lights on “Friday Night Lights” and actually put in on Friday night.
And we’ll be getting even more “Heroes” this coming season with no long absences.

There will be 24 new episodes of “Heroes,” with limited repeats and six new stand-alone episodes titled “Heroes: Origins,” featuring new heroes.

“Each will feature an entirely new cast. We saw certain characters last year, like the waitress in Texas, that people were really intrigued with,” says NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. “The stories will be like those, budgeted like a standard episode.”

At the end of those six episodes, which will probably air next spring, viewers will be able to vote on which character they would like to see added to the cast.

Reilly also announced there will be 30 new episodes of “The Office,” including five one-hour episodes and 25 new episodes of “My Name is Earl.”
“Scrubs” will also be returning to the network for a seventh season, and Jerry Seinfeld comes back to NBC.

Seinfeld has produced “minisodes” spinning off of his “Bee Movie.” The times have not yet been announced.

The best news, however, is that NBC didn’t go into typical bottom-feeder network mode and begin juggling the schedule and adding far too many new programs.

Only four new dramas and one new reality program were announced on Monday for fall, with one drama and a comedy announced for midseason.

No surprise, with the popularity of “Heroes,” that three of the new dramas – “Bionic Woman,” “Journeyman” and “Chuck” – have a sci-fi spin.

BIONIC WOMAN:
Chris Bowers as Will, Michelle Ryan as Jamie Sommers, Miguel Ferrer as Jonas, Will Yun Lee as Jae, Molly Price as Ruth — NBC Photo: Alan Zenuk

“Bionic Woman” stars Michelle Ryan (“EastEnders”) as Jaime Summers, who is technologically enhanced after a near-fatal car accident. Her co-stars include Miguel Ferrer, Mae Whitman, Molly Price, and former Bay Area resident Will Yun Lee. The show is produced by such sci fi veterans as David Eick
(“Battlestar Gallactica”), Glen Morgan (“The X-Files”) and Laeta
Kalogridis (“Birds of Prey”).

JOURNEYMAN
Gretchen Egolf as Katie Vasser, Reed Diamond as Jack Vasser, Kevin McKidd as Dan Vasser, Moon Bloodgood as Livia Beale — NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth

“Journeyman” is a romantic mystery starring Kevin McKidd of “Rome” as a San Francisco journalist who travels through time and changes people’s lives. We’re thinking that he travels back to a time when people read more newspapers.

CHUCK
Yvonne Strzechowski as Sarah, Zachary Levi as Chuck, Adam Baldwin as John Casey — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

“Chuck” comes from former “The O.C.” team of Josh Schwartz and McG, starring Zachary Levi (“Less Than Perfect”) as a computer geek who becomes a secret agent after vital data is dowloaded into his brain.

Also making the schedule are “Life” and, after football, “Lipstick
Jungle.”

LIFE
Robin Weigert as Lt. Karen Davis, Sarah Shahi as Dani Reese, Damian Lewis as Charlie Crews, Adam Arkin as Ted Early, Melissa Sagemiller as Constance Griffiths — NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth

“Life” stars Damian Lewis (“Band of Brothers”) as a detective who was wrongly accused of a crime, served some time and is now back on the force. We’re excited to report that phenomenal actress Robin Weigert (“Deadwood”) co-stars.

Both “Life” and “Bionic Woman” will repeat on USA and Sci Fi,
respectively.

LIPSTICK JUNGLE

Lindsay Price as Victory, Brooke Shields as Wendy, Kim Raver as Nico — NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaset

“Lipstick Jungle” comes from the novel by Candace Bushnell (“Sex and the City”) about three high powered friends in the New York fashion business. Kim Raver, Brooke Shields and Lindsay Price co-star.

The lone new reality show on the schedule is “The Singing Bee,” which challenges contestants to accurately sing the lyrics to popular songs.

THE IT CROWD
Joel McHale as Roy, Richard Ayoade as Moss, Jessica St. Clair as Jen — NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth

Also on the horizon, but not on the schedule, is the sitcom “The IT Crowd,” about quirky techies, based on the British comedy and the reality show “World Moves,” from Randy Jackson (“American Idol”), centering on dance teams from around the world.

Despite fears that “Law & Order” might not return, it will be back for an 18th season, but potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson will be leaving the series.

Also returning is “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” will be airing on the network’s cable sibling USA, with an option for the episodes to air on NBC later.

NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2007-08

New programs in CAPS (with the exception of “ER”)

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
9-10 p.m. “Heroes”
10-11 p.m. “JOURNEYMAN”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. “The Biggest Loser”
9-10 p.m. “CHUCK”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
9-10 p.m. “BIONIC WOMAN”
10-11 p.m. “LIFE”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. “My Name Is Earl”
8:30-9 p.m. “30 Rock”
9-9:30 p.m. “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. “Scrubs”
10-11 p.m. “ER”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “1 vs 100″/”THE SINGING BEE”
9-10 p.m. “Las Vegas”
10-11 p.m. “Friday Night Lights”

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY (Fall 2007)
“Football Night in America”
“NBC Sunday Night Football”

SUNDAY (January 2008)
7-8 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. “Medium”
10-11 p.m. “LIPSTICK JUNGLE”

Yau-Man Chan will go down in “Survivor” history as the man who gave away a $65,000 truck to a man who reneged on his promise to give Chan immunity.

Yau-Man Chan

The 54-year-old Martinez man who works as the Director of Information Systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley says as soon as the curtain dropped on the huge Ford truck, he knew he could never take it home.

“When they dropped the curtain, I knew that’s not my lifestyle. I own two hybrids. If I took it home, my wife would leave me and the children would have disowned me, but it was nice of Ford to donate the truck,” Yau-Man says the morning after the finale. “Now, if they would have donated a hybrid Escape, I wouldn’t be so quick to trade it off.”

Of course, that was also before he knew how much the truck was worth, joking that he would never have made it on “The Price is Right.”

So, does he have to pay taxes on the truck anyway?

“I didn’t touch it, the title never touched me,” Yau-Man says. “I’m in the clear.”

He says that he knew how much Dreamz wanted the truck and so he decided almost immediately to use it as a bargaining chip because he knew when it came down to the final four, either he or Dreamz would win the immunity challenge.

“Looking back, I may have overplayed (Dreamz honoring his promise),” Yau-Man says. “I can’t read people like Cassandra did. I found out I don’t have a talent for that. Dreamz really had no intention of living up to his word, and I thought that he would.”

The final four were Yau-Man, ad executive Earl Cole, college administrator Cassandra Franklin and cheerleading coach Andria “Dreamz” Herd.

EARL, CASSANDRA, DREAMZ

During Sunday night’s reunion show, Earl says the shocked look on his face when Dreamz backed out of his agreement with Yau-Man was that he just realized he’d won a million dollars. He knew up against Yau-Man, he probably would have lost.

That was borne out on Sunday when host Jeff Probst asked the jurors if they would have voted for Yau-Man to win the million.

In a show of hands, it was revealed that Yau-Man would have won the game.

“So Dreamz, who was never going to win the million because of what he had done during the course of the show, decided the outcome by not giving me the immunity he had promised,” Yau-Man says. “Earl won the million dollars, and because neither Dreamz nor Cassandra got a single vote, they tied for second and will get $100,000. Since I came in third, I will get $60,000. Although I havent’ checked the check yet.”

Dreamz, who has lived most of his life as a homeless young man, was all over the map making him very difficult to read at the best of times. He mentioned on the reunion show that he hoped to meet Oprah Winfrey.

Perhaps if he had honored his bargain, that might have happened.

As it is, Yau-Man says he doubts Oprah would “even allow him close to her
building.”

Yau-Man says Dreamz feels a lot more guilty over his decision than it would appear.

“Being nice to him was worse than being angry. He really wants me to be all over him about this, but I’m not going to give him the pleasure,” Yau-Man says. “Look, life is short. I don’t want to hold that anger or a grudge against him. He will have to deal with this for the rest of his life. He’s in bad shape, because he will have to do a lot of good deeds to offset that image. He committed a major moral infraction in front of millions of people.”

The funny thing is, Yau-Man says, is that Dreamz is telling everyone he’s going
to donate the truck to the charity that helped him when he was homeless.

“We all rolled our eyes and said please have a lot of television and newspaper coverage or else we won’t believe it,” Yau-Man says.

And Yau-Man admits he was a little disappointed that his pal Earl sided with Cassandra and Dreamz to vote him out.

“I was hoping he would vote for Cassandra so we could have a tie vote, but I understand that he felt he had a better chance at the final tribal council with Dreamz and Cassandra,” Yau-Man says. “I still think that if Dreamz hadn’t won the immunity, Earl would have voted him out instead.”

Yau-Man says that when he thought he might have a shot at winning the million, he thought about retiring. But now that’s not an option.

He says people are seeking him out for endorsements, but he says he thinks he’ll steer clear of commercial endorsements while doing what he can for charities.

“There’s a move on the Internet to get a million people to send in a dollar each so I can win the million,” Yau-Man says with a laugh. “I’m getting a lot more recognition on the street. I’m basically a shy person, so I’m trying to be more outgoing. It’s a new experience for me.”

Few would have given Yau-Man Chan of Martinez much of a shot of getting past the first few days of “Survivor,” much less be poised to take it all on Sunday night.

After all, at 54 he’s one of the older competitors, works as the Director of Information Systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and he’s a table tennis champ.

Although impressive, none of that screams “Survivor.”

Yau-Man’s also originally from Malaysian Borneo and slipped right in
when it came to life in Fiji. He also used his considerable observation skills to slip out of more than one trap.

On Thursday, he played the game with a prowess that hadn’t been seen since fellow Bay Area “Survivor” champ Yul Kwon took it all in the last go-round.

Biding his time like a Triple Crown winner coming from behind the pack, he let others set the pace early on and did his best not to make enemies.

His cunning and playful side came out after he found the first Immunity Idol _ and then decided to make a fake idol and hide it for someone else to find.

But he really brought it on when he started winning challenges like the archery competition and proved he had some mad skills.

Yau-Man did what no other competitor has ever done on Thursday when he won a Ford truck valued at close to $50,000 and gave it to another competitor, Dreamz.

Earlier, Dreamz, a person who has been homeless for much of his life, revealed that he has never owned a car and would do anything to have one. It would change his life, he proclaimed.

So Yau-Man, out of the goodness of his heart _ and a plan to get further ahead in the game _ decided to give Dreamz the truck.

In return, he only asked that if Dreamz got immunity in the final four, he would give his immunity to Yau-Man. The Man decided that move would get him into the final three if his calculations were correct.

Then Yau-Man promptly sent himself to Exile Island _ another “Survivor” first _ so that he wouldn’t burn any bridges and he could find a clue to get another Immunity Idol for his pal Earl.

He succeeded in getting Earl an idol, but he didn’t count on Dreamz
attempting a coup to get him out of the game. Dreamz decided that he would have to get Yau-Man out before that final four so he wouldn’t have to go back on his word to hand over the immunity.

Might have been easier just to fail at the immunity challenges, but
that would have been too simple I guess.

Again, with seconds ticking away at Tribal Council, Yau-Man was feeling uneasy and decided to play his Immunity Idol.

It was a million dollar decision, because everyone in the tribe except Earl voting Yau-Man out. With his immunity played, the person he and Earl had chosen, Stacy, was voted out.

That leaves only five left standing for Sunday’s finale. Earl and Yau-Man have a solid alliance, but they have to get past Boo, Cassandra and Dreamz – all the people who had voted Yau-Man off.

Can Yau-Man win immunity again and make it into the final three, when it is up to the jury to decide? If so, he’s got a good chance to win it all because he’s played the game with honesty and integrity.

You go, Yau-Man.

Could it be? How could it happen?

All we know is that John Locke was last seen gasping for air after Ben shot him dead in the chest and sent him tumbling into a mass grave for all those dead Dharma guys.

Oh, and we also know through Eonline gossip goddess Kristin Veitch that Terry O’Quinn, who plays Locke, recently sold his home in Hawaii…not good.

We did learn a lot about Ben. Mom Emily (which was also Locke’s mom’s name) died in childbirth outside Portland. Dad Roger holds it against Ben. Dad’s also the guy who became dead Roger Work Man in the VW van that Hurley found a few episodes back.

After years of dad ignoring Ben’s birthday, on this particular birthday Dad decides it’s time to take the boy out for a beer in the jungle. Too late, daddy dearest. Ben kills daddy.

These father issues just don’t quit on this show.

And we finally got a glimpse of the mysterious Jacob, who is apparently one of the “whisperers” on the island. He whispers to Locke “Help Me” when Ben brings Locke to the old cabin where the mostly invisible Jacob lives.

Locke better hope Jacob can help him out. Otherwise it’s hasta la Locke.

And we’ve also seen that Ricard hasn’t aged at all in the decades he has known Ben.

Who are these “Others” anyway? We know they whacked the Dharma people, with the help of Ben. We know they steal women and children. And we know that they can’t reproduce.

And if you really want to get your head spinning, check out Jacob.

And why did Ben kill all the Dharma people, including, it would seem, his sweet little girlfriend. Or maybe she was one of the children carried off by “The Others.”

We don’t know much, but we know there’s going to be a big showdown soon. It’s going to set up quite a new season. Next week, we get a catch-up special where the “Lost” producers get us up to speed on anything we might have missed. Then just two more episodes before the mind-blasting finale.

Now talk amongst yourselves about the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland references.

Just how badly did “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes NOT want to do a “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off?

Apparently, enough to give us a horrible “Grey’s” episode last week that had Addison going down to So Cal to hook up with some old med school pals. We were slightly encouraged at the beginning with Addison, played by the fantabulous Kate Walsh, getting whipped by her hair in the convertible as she cruised along oceanside highway.

Then it just went oh-so-bad.

A talking elevator? Addison going all girly over some doctor she met in the talking elevator?

And while I won’t go as far as the New York Times did in remarking that the scene with the three women doctors oogling the young male receptionist as he walked out half naked to surf was setting feminism back decades, I will say that it was corny and stupid.

Maybe Rhimes is still ticked that the network put the brakes on her real passion project about journalists that starred “Denny” – Jeffrey Dean Morgan – and instead wanted an Addison-driven doc drama.

In any case, if ABC puts that stinker on its schedule next week, then we know those people have spent way too much time cooking their brains at the beach.

All the smart money is on Jordin Sparks for the win in this season of “American Idol.”

Until May 22, it’s all just counting down to the inevitable.

Tonight, to no one’s surprise, Blake Lewis and LaKisha Jones were the last two standing in the eliminations. With Blake the lone boy left in the competition, it was obvious that LaKisha would get the boot tonight.

LaKisha looked worried from the start of the program _ a concern that played out in the end when it was announced that she was eliminated from the competition.

LaKisha started out the season strong, but kept dipping along the way while Jordin just keeps gaining ground.

Most of LaKisha’s problems were of her own doing.

She has consistantly chosen bad songs and each week can’t seem to stop from screaming out the lyrics.

Things started to crumble early on in the competition when guest singer Lulu couldn’t convince LaKisha that “Diamonds are Forever” was a bad way to go.

It just went down hill from there.

We suspect Blake is next on the chopping block, with a showdown between the always polished Melinda Doolittle and young Jordin, who just seems more like an “American Idol” kind of girl.

“Lost” creator Damon Lindelof made no bones about it in January: He wanted to announce an end to “Lost” and he didn’t want to go much past 100 episodes – the golden number for syndication.

Damon figured that meant that “Lost” would end either next season or possibly the season after. Instead, “Lost” will bow out in the spring of 2010.

The hitch is that both Damon and ABC got what they wanted, because the seasons will be abbreviated. There will only be 48 more original episodes of “Lost.”

Starting with the 2007-08 season, ABC will begin airing the 48 remaining original episodes. The episodes will air uninterrupted over three seasons (16 episodes each season), with the series concluding in 2009-10 with what the network is calling a “shocking finale.”

“In considering the powerful storytelling of ‘Lost,’ we felt this was the only way to give it a proper creative conclusion,” says ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson. “I always said that we would allow the series to grow and give viewers the most compelling hour possible. And, due to the unique nature of the series, we knew it would require an end date to keep the integrity and strength of the show consistent throughout, and to give the audience the payoff they deserve. ”

We, of course, means Damon.

Damon and Carlton Cuse have signed on to complete the series.

“This is a bold and unprecedented move for ABC,” said Damon and Carlton in a prepared statement. “We always envisioned ‘Lost’ as a show with a beginning, middle and end. By officially announcing exactly when that ending will be, the audience will now have the security of knowing that the story will play out as we’ve intended.”

It’s not good to tempt fate.

On Tuesday, Phil Stacey opened the competition with a decent rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory, ” which proved to be his swan song. (“I’m goin’ down in a blaze of glor-reeee …”).

Even with a strong performance on Tuesday, Stacey has been hanging on my his fingernails throughout the competition. Stacey came back strong during the last two programs, including a nice country performance, but it wasn’t enough to get past the flashier performances.

Stacey got the boot first, followed by Chris Richardson, who wobbled badly through his Bon Jovi tune “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Things looked bad for the Justin Timberlake wannabe when he couldn’t even remember the words to the song during his practice session with Jon Bon Jovi. Bovi Jovi told him to “find the blue note” in the song. Turned out it just found the brown note.

Blake Lewis, who was in the bottom three, did a fantastic job on doing the Bon Jovi hit “You Give Love a Bad Name” Blake beat-box style. Jon thought he was making a mistake fooling around with a beloved song.

Simon proclaimed after the performance that “half the audience will hate it, and half will love it” and that Lewis’ risk would pay off by saving him from having the ax fall on him this week.

Once again, Simon was right. Blake took a chance and it paid off big time for him.

And after picking bad song after bad song, LaKisha Jones FINALLY chose wisely and belted out “This Ain’t a Love Song.”

Now it’s down to the best of the bunch, with Melinda Doolittle leading the pack. It’s not going to be easy for any of them to catch up to the amazing Melinda, who has been beating the others soundly week after week. She outright spanked the Bon Jovi song “Have a Nice Day.” No wonder Jon wants her to join the band.

It’s true. “The View” won’t have Rosie O’Donnell kicking up any more dust – and more importantly heating up the ratings.

ABC announced early today that the network was unable to come to a contractual agreement with “The View” co-host. As a result, her duties on the show will come to an end mid-June.

“They wanted me three years, I wanted one year, and it just didn’t work,” Rosie says on today’s show.

(ABC/HEIDI GUTMAN) ROSIE O`DONNELL,BARBARA WALTERS,OLYMPIA DUKAKIS,JOY BEHAR,ELISABETH HASSELBECK

“Going in we knew we would have an amazing year with her, and that anything beyond that would be gravy,” says Brian Frons, president of daytime programming for the Disney-ABC Television Group. “But we were willing to take the chance because we understood what a coup it was to entice Ro back to daytime television. So here we are a year later, and while we’ve tried to come to terms on a deal that would extend her co-hosting duties on ‘The View,’ we find ourselves unable to agree on some key elements.”

Rosie pumped up the profile of the daytime show with her ongoing feud with Donald Trump, her politically incorrect comments and her attacks on those she felt were intolerant of the rights of others.

Barbara Walters, creator and co-executive producer of “The View,” said in a statement that she was the one to coax the high voltage Rosie into taking a seat on “The View.”

“She has given the program new vigor, new excitement and wonderful hours of television. I can only be grateful to her for this year,” Barbara says. “I am very sad that ABC Daytime could not reach an agreement with her for a second year.”

As for Rosie, she says in a release sent out by ABC that it has been an amazing experience and one she wouldn’t have traded for the world.

“Working with Barbara, Joy and Elisabeth has been one of the highlights of my career, but my needs for the future just didn’t dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me.

To all the viewers out there, I just want to say ‘thank you’ for opening up your hearts and your homes to me this past year. But you can always find me at rosie.com. Here’s hoping there’s more confetti for all of us going forward.”

(ABC/HEIDI GUTMAN) ROSIE O`DONNELL,JOHN LITHGOW

Since the departure was made on friendly terms, ABC hopes to entice Rosie back next year to take part in a series of one-hour specials or guest host once in a while.

There are no current plans to announce a new co-host.