Rosie Muses on Her TV Deal Undone

Nov. 10, 2007— -- Rosie O'Donnell has weighed in with more reflections about her television deal undone.

The controversial comedian posted on her video blog (rosie.com) a stream of consciousness that meanders between a rave review about the musical "Young Frankenstein," the uplift from an appearance at Lincoln Center with fellow comedienne Roseanne Barr and her daughter's parent-teacher conference.

Then, O'Donnell considers her future.

"I am going to figure out how to do a show here in 'blogville.' It's the next wave," muses the 45-year-old comic and former co-host of "The View."

Swinging between bitterness and fatalism, she continues: "Who the hell wants to work for a company with three-letters who is just going to get mad if you tell people what you're doing?" said O'Donnell.

Both MSNBC and O'Donnell reportedly maintained that a deal for a prime-time talk show fell through this week over issues of money and length of contract.

But some observers suggest the network was not happy when Rosie went public about the negotiations last week. Her remarks on her blog suggest there may be something to that.

"I am too old. When you are young, you know, you'll do those things: 'Yes, I won't tell anyone. Lock me in the NBC vault."

Too Hot to Handle?

Could the leak of a possible partnership between the provocative O'Donnell and the peacock network have played a part in the death of the deal? Could the network have fretted that they were getting an employee who -- given past controversies -- marched to a drummer of her own and would have trouble taking orders?

"Once it gets out, you have all the Rosie forces coming at you," suggests Stuart Levine of Variety. "The 'pro' forces and the 'con' forces and you may feel you are pressured into making a deal or not making a deal depending on who you want to listen to."

"Rosie is an entertainer and she is a provocative lightening rod for controversy," observes Bradley Jacobs of Us Weekly magazine. "Creating a show around a personality like that is more difficult."

O'Donnell describes the negotiations on her blog.

"I said, here's the thing: I got a year. Here's the money I need, here's what I will do, here's the money it will take to do it. And they were like, 'yes.' And then, they were like, 'no,'" O'Donnell said. "I really do think everything happens for a reason, so we will see what is going to come of this."

Is the Future Rosy?

What is the likelihood another television deal will come her way? Is Rosie tainted by the tangle with Donald Trump? Given the ripping of "Regis" co-host Kelly Rippa and the haranguing over politics and religion with Elisabeth Hasselbeck of "The View" is there still room for O'Donnell at the talk show table?

"She would have definitely been a ratings draw," says Us Weekly's Jacobs.

"I think 99 percent of the celebrities and newsmakers out there with something to talk about would have happily gone on a Rosie O'Donnell show…and who think she's a hoot!"

"Remember, her talk show on NBC did very well for a long time. And "The View" was a very successful show when she was on that. So there is certainly no reason someone won't take a chance on her," says Variety's Levine.

"Maybe a network like Lifetime which gears towards women, or an HBO talk show where she can be outrageous and doesn't have to censor herself," suggests Levine.

A Double Standard?

Survey the current landscape of television or travel down the radio dial and it is apparent that being outrageous and provocative or eschewing self-censorship, can pave the road to gainful employment in broadcasting.

Last spring, Don Imus was booted off his CBS radio perch following a public outcry over his characterization of the women on the Rutgers University basketball team.

Most judged Imus to have crossed the barely visible line of shock-jock radio when he called the college athletes "nappy-headed hos."

But in less than six months Imus has a new gig: in a few weeks he will return to the airwaves on WABC in New York, having reportedly inked an eight-figure, multiyear deal with Citadel Broadcasting.

Is there a double standard when it comes to giving a provocative and controversial woman a platform?

"Rosie wears her left wing on her sleeve and I think that polarizes more than somebody like Imus who makes fun of everybody. I think because she is so polarizing for the liberals and so anti-conservative, I am not sure people want to give her a second chance," says Levine.

"As a culture we do have a higher tolerance for men screaming on television and radio than we do for women screaming. I think Rosie is a little bit of a harder sell for that reason," suggests Jacobs.

Above the Fray

Rosie as actress however, is apparently an easy sell.

O'Donnell will reprise her role as "Dawn Budge Murphy: on the popular F/X cable drama "Nip/Tuck." The character was so popular last season that show creators have brought her back for several episodes in the fifth season of the show.

On her blog Friday, O'Donnell gleefully shares some hints about her upcoming Nip/Tuck appearance: "I go hang gliding. And I get attacked by an eagle!"