I didn't expect to be exhilarated by the news that every former and current cohost of “The View” will come back to the show to join Barbara Walters on her last episode of the series. I really didn't. But for some reason I feel like this is the new “The Last Waltz,” an historic summit of superstars that we'll never get again. I can't wait. I'm not even a big “View” watcher and I can't wait.
To celebrate, here are the greatest moments from every former and current “View” co-host.
Meredith Vieira hits on an unsuspecting “Millionaire” contestant.
Meredith rules. Full stop. She's the reason “The View” got any traction when it began, and she was a fantastic host of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Here, she completely stuns a contestant by hitting him and referring to herself as “a horny old woman.” I'm rooting for her to take over for Alex Trebek someday too.
Joy Behar lets go with Kathy Griffin.
The bottom line is that Joy Behar is a comedian, and like most comedians, she's at her best when she's around other funny people. As a debater, Joy actually played it pretty safe on “The View.” But like-minded contemporaries like Kathy Griffin bring out the sincerest, coolest version of Joy. Here's an example of Joy at her most relaxed and, subsequently, best. Watch, she jokes about bedding Al Sharpton.
Star Jones isn't “street” enough for Nene Leakes.
I can't pretend this isn't Star's best moment. The season of “Celebrity Apprentice” featuring Star, Nene Leakes, and LaToya Jackson is simply unforgettable television. Nene may have been too caustic (and she left the show on her own accord), but when she called out Star's furtive Svengali ways, she scared the hell out of her teammates and challenged Star to reveal her “street” side. Star is stunned. We were all stunned. It is perfect.
Debbie Matenopoulos was basically a theatrical kangaroo on “The View.”
I'd forgotten how much of Debbie Matenopoulos' tenure at “The View” was spent on eye-popping sideshow antics. Somebody luckily collected all the times she was required to dance around like a
Rosie O'Donnell was one of the first people to be right about Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is rightfully treated like a joke these days, but to be honest, that's something of a recent innovation. In the mid 2000s when Rosie O'Donnell attacked Trump for his condescending forgiveness of beleaguered Miss USA Tara Conner, it actually wasn't terribly common on TV to roll your eyes at Donald Trump.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck can be funny on purpose. Yes.
How do you make Elisabeth Hasselbeck funny? Pair her with Kristen Wiig for a casual sketch that Wiig just naaaaaails.
Sherri Shepherd is the queen of Jordan. Forever.
God bless Sherri Shepherd for giving “30 Rock” one of its most reliably outrageous characters. Angie Jordan was a dynamo, an unrelenting authoritarian, and most of all, a kickass reality star. Here is ten minutes of the way she says “ham.” Live, my darlings. Live.
Lisa Ling is not funny, but her past with Anderson Cooper is.
Lisa Ling is a veteran of Channel One, the educational network where a young upstart named Anderson Cooper once anchored. When they reflected on their past as fashion-challenged '90s stars, they both seemed more at ease than we're used to seeing from them.
Jenny McCarthy's most outrageous moments are easy to single out.
Say what you will about Jenny McCarthy's activism and strange pop culture presence in the past few years, but she was PERFECT on MTV's “Singled Out.” Ahead of her time as a ribald TV comic and completely in charge of the dorky dudes looking for dates on MTV.
Whoopi Goldberg has a message for you, Molly.
Oscar-winning sass. Not many people have it. And even fewer people have EGOT-winning sass. Nice work, Miss Celie.
Barbara Walters wants to know what kind of tree you are. Still.
The world has long remembered Barbara's infamous, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” question, but I think mostly everyone has forgotten that she posed it to Katharine effing Hepburn. Because Katharine's response? Is kind of golden. “Hopefully not an elm with Dutch Elm disease!” I mean, right, Katharine. Right. Agreed.