My O.W.N.

I am assuming it was with great hoopla that the new Oprah Winfrey Network started at the first of the year, but I had been blissfully unaware of the approaching debut until it was actually a reality.

This is probably because I was never a huge Oprah fan. I watched her daily for a long time, but when Ellen started they were both on at the same time here, so I started watching Ellen.

Then I od'd on daytime talk shows completely.

A lot of Oprah's shows just didn't resonate with me. The fashion shows and the make-up or make-over shows didn't do much for me. The diet shows made me feel guilty. And the "My Favorite Things" shows were just excess to...well...excess. The "Oprah acts like a real person" shows (where she would do things like camping with friend Gail) showed the bad side of Ms. Oprah and made me uncomfortable. It was like watching Queen Elizabeth trying to shop at Covent Garden and not really knowing what should be in that purse she carries all the time.

I still watch an Oprah or an Ellen now and then when it looks interesting, but mostly my afternoon background television is either one of the Law & Order marathons, NCIS or Criminal Minds. (I tried House marathons and much as I love the program, a whole afternoon of Gregory House is just a little too much negativity for me).

I knew that Oprah was in the middle of her last season, but I hadn't heard about her starting her own network. (I am remember Chris Rock at the Kennedy Center honors joking about how "the most powerful person in the world" was sitting next to Barrack Obama...probably more true than most people realize!)

To be able to view the OWN you first have to have an extended cable connection. Fortunately we do, so I was able to check out some of the offerings. I have to admit that I will probably watch some of them sometime.

I enjoyed the "behind the scenes at Oprah's 25th season," though it gave a picture of a powerful woman with a short fuse and a need for perfection. Her staff obviously loves her; I think I would feel very uncomfortable working in the inner circle. However, how can I stop watching when the next show will go behind the scenes with guest star Liza Minnelli.

I might tune on once or twice on Enough is Enough, where Peter Walsh helps families get rid of clutter. But when I'm sitting in a room that actually has floor space in it it lessens the urgency of de-cluttering for me.

In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman looks like it should shock everybody with her frank advice to couples having "intimacy issues," though in the comment section of the network web page, someone posted a comment (deleted by the time I went back to find it) complaining that very graphic language was used to promo the show while her children were around. (The particular show was about a woman who could only climax against a plastic laundry basket...which certainly adds a new dimension to doing the laundry!)

There are other shows which look like fun, including "Master Class," which sounds like it would be more a one-on-one interview between Oprah and a famous name. I might watch some of those.

But the one show that I watched all of was a show called Anna and Kristina's Grocery Bag which seems to be two friends checking out cookbooks by making things from the book on camera. In the episode I watched, they had decided to make a French dinner from Julia Child's "The Art of French Cooking." They obviously bit off more than they could chew (just as I would have). The main course was to be a stuffed duck in a pastry crust. They had invited a French chef to come and critique their menu.

The show reminded me of something Char and I might have done when we were younger.

When the dinner was all ready, the French chef got a glass of wine and cut himself a piece of duck. When they asked him if it tasted right, he got the giggles and all he could do was shake his head, drink his wine and keep laughing "no...no..."

I loved it. I will watch to see what else this duo is going to try.

So it looks like O.W.N. is off to a good start. It will be interesting to see if this becomes as successful as everything else she has touched in the last 25 years