Original Air Date:
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Week in Review - Oprah's Guest Commentators:
Oprah invited a few friends via satellite to comment on the week in review events including: her best friend Gayle King, Ali Wentworth (comedian and George Stephonopoulos' wife) and Mark Consuelos (actor and Kelly Ripa's husband). Viewers were also present via Skype to comment on the events.
Week in Review - The Indiana and North Carolina Primaries:
Oprah started out by saying that in opening with the primaries, that she would keep her opinions to herself, but would open the floor to the audience.
Steve from Illinois shared that he is a Hillary Clinton fan and feels that her experience and foreign policy are the best to beat the republicans. Steve would love to see Clinton and Obama join to form the democratic ticket.
Lorraine, another audience member, shared that she is a huge Obama supporter and she felt that he really listened about the gas issue and he's not just saying things to get elected. Lorraine described staying up late with her kids to watch.
Week in Review - Mariah Carey's Wedding:
Mariah Carey was just on Oprah recently for an interview and played hard to get when it came to answering questions about her love life. Oprah commented that after the show she went to Mariah's dressing room where she was introduced to Nick Cannon, though she didn't read into it. Oprah confirmed that Mariah and Nick did indeed get married in the Bahamas on April 30, 2008 and that People Magazine would be the first to share the photos.
Gayle also interviewed Mariah for her XM radio show and said that she told Gayle about the relationship off air in her dressing room, that it was a secret - but that it happened fast.
Week in Review - The Tom Cruise Interview:
Ali shared first that she was nervous for Oprah to ask the questions that everyone has been thinking. Oprah responded that Tom was completely himself. Mark felt that Tom came across well in both hours while Gayle shared that Tom is a kind, charismatic, loving and expressed his vulnerability to the viewers. Ali stated that the interview really captured the real Tom Cruise. Mark ended by saying that Tom was really honest about what he learned and how his actions were taken. Viewers also had a chance to share what they thought about the interview via Skype.
Marianne stated that she was never a Tom Cruise fan, but that the interviews changed her opinion of him as she was able to see him as a human being who loved his family dearly. Melody was honest from the start saying that she wanted Tom to fall on his face as she was offended by his postpartum depression comments to Matt Lauer. Melody felt moved by Tom talking about his wife and children, but wished he answered the Matt Lauer question more open and honestly.
Week in Review - The Texas Compound Raids:
In October of 2007, Oprah aired an episode on suburban polygamy wives and had one of the wives, Vicki, on the show via Skype from Utah to comment on the Texas events. Vicki commented that her biggest fear for the Texas case is the trauma on the children. Vicki felt that the state should have taken the issue on a case by case basis by removing the perpetrators and not the children. By removing the children from their home and mothers, Vicki stated the state caused more trauma to the victims. An investigation should have been conducted before removing the children according to Vicki.
Oprah also welcomed CNN correspondent David Mattingly via Skype. David started by saying that the state initially was looking for 1 16 year old girl who called, but when they arrived at the compound, they found multiple teenage girls married and or pregnant and felt that the pattern that was present required them to remove them from the community. The state removed the boys as well, according to David, because they were also being conditioned to marry young girls and were possibly being abused. The state allowed the mothers to be there for the first few weeks, but were sent home because they were slowing the case.
Week in Review - Randy Pausch's Last Lecture:
Oprah had Randy Pausch on via satellite from his home as well to update his situation. Randy's Last Lecture has been put into a new book and he has also been named as of the 100 most influential people in the world. Randy said that the success of the book is well and good, but that he only really cared about the first 3 copies - the ones for his children. Recently experiencing kidney and congestive heart failure, Randy said that he is recovering but has low energy and has lost weight. Dr. Oz, while on the set, stated that Randy has already beaten all the odds and has learned the true meaning of hope.
Week in Review - Barbara Walters' Affair:
Oprah started the Barbara Walters discussion by stating that there were many people who were shocked by Barbara's confession, Oprah being one of them when she read the book. Mark commented that there are some things that you take with you to the grave, and maybe this should have been one of those. Ali joked that maybe there is another affair that she is keeping secret and taking with her, perhaps with Castro. Gayle was surprised that the affair was with a black man, but felt that it was a good thing that Barbara let him know that the news would be revealed.
Gayle's hair salon also was on the show via Skype, a salon that Oprah shared serves as her focus group. The ladies at the salon commented on the Barbara Walters news by saying that the interview was in the open, that Barbara told it all and held nothing back, but that after all these years, the affair should have been kept a secret. The ladies also commented on the David Blaine record by saying "please don't let that boy die on Oprah"..."cause Oprah don't like no surprises" knowing that the media would find a way to blame Oprah for any problems that occurred. Oprah stated that she would check back in to the salon for future shows to see what their opinions are on other news events.
