Dan gave it a passing mention earlier this morning, but it really deserves its own post. I'm speaking of the incredibly awful ink earned by Rosie O'Donnell's new variety show, the first episode of which aired Wednesday night and has racked up an amazing bunch of reviews.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Two words: Dancing food. “Rosie Live” ended with dancing food. There’s nothing else to say, really except perhaps, Liza Minnelli. “Rosie Live” opened with a little song and dance from Liza Minnelli, who rose to the stage, as if from the grave, to sing a duet with O’Donnell...In between we were treated to Harry Connick Jr. in a Santa hat, Conan O’Brien taking a pie in the face, and Jane Krakowski singing about all the free stuff audience members would get. Clay Aiken strolled over from “Spamalot” to participate in the world’s most painfully long gay joke ("What was the other thing we have in common," Rosie mused, "oh yeah, we're both Gaaa ... briel Byrne fans") and Alanis Morissette sang a song referencing the 12 Steps in front of, I kid you not, an endless loop of geese flying through a sunset.

From TV Guide:

If the TV variety format weren't already dead, the ghastly ego trip of NBC's Thanksgiving-eve turkey Rosie Live would surely have killed it. Like the pie Alec Baldwin predictably pushed into Conan O'Brien's face that fell to the floor without sticking, the entire hour landed with a sickening, sad, ill-conceived thud. It felt like an off night at America's Got Talent, bookended by wobbly appearances from Liza Minnelli and Gloria Estefan, each forced to perform with the caterwauling host, Rosie O'Donnell.

From the New York Times:

In between skits, celebrity cameos and hokey novelty acts, the legendarily thin-skinned Ms. O'Donnell found time to take potshots at some of her favorite targets, including Donald Trump, Nancy Grace and Bill O'Reilly....Lame jokes are part of the holiday variety genre, along with campy production numbers featuring sexy dancers and cute little children. Celebrity score-settling, on the other hand, belongs to the self-obsessed blogging Facebook generation. Ms. O'Donnell, who frequently takes out her frustrations in a video diary on her Web site, would have been better served leaving herself behind and sticking to the classics.

FYI: I'm generally pro-Rosie, and was especially impressed with her performance at the Seattle stop of the True Colors tour, where she took the stage for ten minutes of stand-up comedy crossed with dark but very well-expressed personal musings and calls to political action—it was great, and no one in the world could've pulled it off but her. Unfortunately, I missed the premiere airing of Rosie Live, but thanks to the miracle of Tivo on Demand, I can apparently watch it tonight when I get home (after opening night of Dina Martina—how much glorious tragedy can one man stand??)