One Woman's View on "The View"

I started watching The View when it first debuted. The idea of women sitting on a panel while they dished about everything from hairstyles to the current political problems intrigued me. The original co-hosts at the time were Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos. Joy Behar pitched in, showing up on stage whenever Barbara wasn't present until the show's producers, including Ms. Walters, added Joy permanently to the mix. They were a great collaboration of cultural and political differences as well as differences in age and lifestyles. I couldn't wait to rush home to watch the show every day.

That's when co-hosts started leaving.

Although not a big fan of the gregarious Ms. Matenopoulos, I wondered why her contract wasn't renewed. As far as I could tell, she had a good rapport with the audience and lent a refreshing air to the program. Her replacement, Lisa Ling, managed to mesh with the remaining original four hosts and soon became someone the viewers could count on for objective, yet empathic reporting.

But the changes kept coming.

From the beginning, I could tell Lisa's heart was in real reporting and not in talking about the latest fashion or the best gadget for techies. Therefore, I wasn't surprised when the producers announced she would be leaving to work with the National Geographic channel. I was a bit saddened, but I knew she'd soon be replaced.

Yet another co-host was coming on stage.

By now, however, my interest in the show was waning. Everything seemed to be a rehash of previous seasons, and the show just simply wasn't as entertaining as it once had been. I still enjoyed watching the women discuss controversial subjects, but I no longer rushed home to see it. In fact, I began forgetting to tape the show.