News & Observer | newsobserver.com | 2008 NCAA Men's Bracket

Rosie O'Donnell's live variety show last week was predictably over-the-top, but the announcement that NBC would back no other episodes was anything but. When a visitor to Rosie's blog asked Friday when her next special would air, Rosie replied, "there will b no more. no ratings. bad reviews. yet still -- a thrill 4 me."

Raleigh's Clay Aiken appeared on the special, dressed in his Spamalot costume (left). He and Rosie joked about how they both have a child named Parker, and how they are both "Gay...briel Byrne fans." Oddly enough, Clay did not sing on the show.

Ratings for the show were low (about 5 million people watched) and critics didn't love it. Entertainment Weekly called it "surreal" and The New York Times said there was too much attention on celebrity score-settling.