Thursday: The Chaz Show Begins

Joy Behar is one funny woman. When the panel was discussing talking dirty in bed, Joy pointed out that the mood is spoiled when elderly people can't hear and must yell in bed. (The humor is lost in translation.) She is one funny woman, but as a person who stores facts and educates The View audience, she falls short, and I am often frustrated by her ignorance.

For instance, in the ongoing debate between Darwin's THEORY of evolution and the religious view that God created us, Joy gets frustrated with the Christian view by saying, "Evolution is science," like how can anyone possibly disagree with her point of view because she learned it in school, and she once taught school. It would behoove Joy to read an explanation of Darwin's THEORY. Or she might look up the definition of THEORY. This issue comes up again and again. As a comedian, Joy can make fun of the opinion of others. All is well, as long as The View audience doesn't look for facts or even a thoughtful approach to a subject.

During a political discussion, Joy referred to a candidate who is against wide distribution of the HPV vaccine. I don't think she got the letters correct. She said, "H-P-V" and then H-V-P." The human papillomavirus vaccine can be given to women and girls as a measure against cancer of the cervix caused by the HPV virus that is spread through sexual intercourse. Please note that the vaccine is of no use to sexually inactive girls, and it lasts between five and seven years. If you are someone who is troubled by the increasing number of vaccines that are given to our children, another vaccine is something to be researched. An infection from HPV can be detected and treated 20 years before it turns into cancer. In addition, the vaccine will not help someone who is already infected. Some individuals and organizations--particularly the drug companies and the FDA--encourage little girls to get this vaccine, whereas some conservative groups think that the vaccine gives single girls a license to have sex.

Joy's one person diatribe on the HPV was a waste of time. She is not only pro-vaccine, but she hasn't stopped to consider that there is an intelligent reason for rejecting the HPV vaccine. Her comments would be easier to take if she respected views of others. Unfortunately, Joy makes herself appear very limited when she shuns the opposite opinion the way she does. She is far more opinionated than Bill O'Reilly, but at least he is willing to educate himself on all sides.*

This is the first week of The View's tribute to the appearance of Chaz Bono on Dancing with the Stars. Mark my words: the co-hosts are about to ignore the other contestants, for the most part, and devote all their time and energy to Chaz. And then they'll wonder why Chaz is still a contender and why he's getting so much support, while they continue to give him free air time. Now, it begins.

A Pretty Good Show

I consider The View a good show when I don't get ticked off about something a co-host has said or done. Today's show featured the most famous Kardashians: Kourtney, Kim and Kloé who are promoting their clothing line at Sears. I think the girls are cute and generally pleasing. I admire siblings who get along so well, and their mother is a marketing genius.

Many dedicated designers who have worked for years on their craft deserve a clothing line more than the Kardashians do. But welcome to the real world. I'll admit that their clothes are pretty tasteful, maybe even clever. I wish they weren't so tight. In my world of fashion, tight appears slutty. But these clothes aren't being marketed to me and my age group.

The View featured Marcy Borders, a young woman made famous by a photographer who snapped her photo as she ran from one of the Twin Towers on 9-11:

Marcy hadn't fared well during the last 10 years. She'd dealt with the pain of trauma with drugs, mainly crack. She says that the capture of Osama bin Laden removed much of her fear that she could be attacked again. She has been clean for 150 days.

In general I enjoyed the show.

Season 15 Begins

Everyone looks rested on day one of Season 15. Sherri got married and has canceled her celibacy period as a result. Joy married long-time "boyfriend" Steve after 29 years of going steady. I confess that Steve looks much older than I pictured, but then so did my classmates at my last reunion. Scary. My brain refuses to adapt to aging.

Whoopi was beautifully dressed on today's show. She's remains in gunny sack mode, but today's top/dress--with lines going in various directions--was literally the nicest garment I've seen her wear EVER. (I tried to find a photo; maybe something from today will emerge later this week.) Barbara and Elisabeth always look fresh and stylish.

I enjoy hearing about the weddings.

The View Needs a Watchdog

Everyone agrees that The Oprah Show has had a monumental effect on its audience. You can like or dislike Oprah, but she put her heart and soul into her shows that were backed by her personal philosophy. Her goal was to improve the human condition. After the earliest years of the show, she scrapped topics that were presented to sensationalize. Oprah eventually could pick and choose topics that fit within her standards--whether you as an audience member agreed with her views or not.

The View has a different premise. Put five women together with different backgrounds and see what happens. The is a hodgepodge with no detectable philosophy, no uniform purpose. The problem with this casual form of programming is that The View has garnered a wide audience*. Right or wrong, many viewers get much of their news and information through "Hot Topics."

I take issue with The View because it has more prestige than it deserves. The individual co-hosts are regular people, but because they are seen by a wide audience, some of them have gotten too big for their britches. What they hold in their hands is far too big for them to handle.

Here are some pet peeves of mine that I saw over and over last season. I'm appalled that even Barbara Walters doesn't get this--unless she secretly is pushing Sarah Palin:

Each of the co-hosts--except for Elisabeth, and maybe the noncommittal Barbara, is liberal. When Bristol Palin was on Dancing with the Stars, the co-hosts who claim to love DWTS, constantly moaned about Bristol. For some reason they showed clips of Bristol dancing while leaving out viable contenders. They wondered how long Bristol would stay in, but--without realizing it--they were collecting votes for her. Right after Audrina Patridge received the highest scores from the DWTS judges, The View covered the show without mentioning Audrina--who got knocked out during that round. The View never failed to mention Bristol.

I had no problem with Bristol appearing on DTWS, even though she wasn't a "star." It would now seem that DTWS hires participants who can pull in popular audience members. I got bored with the constant attention that Bristol received, especially by The View. who talked about Bristol after every single competition. I prefer that a competitor receive attention due to good dancing.

My big issue with The View is that it threw votes toward Bristol without a clue about what they were doing.