Rosie O’Donnell did her best to revive the old time variety show on Wednesday night, but low ratings and critical reviews have marked the end of this experiment for the longtime talk show host.

Rosie O’Donnell posted a message on her blog announcing the end of her variety show, in her typically succinct manner: “there will b no more. no ratings. bad reviews. yet still – a thrill 4 me.”

O’Donnell threw no jibe at her former co-host on ABC’s “The View” Barbara Walters and made no reference to the ratings battle the latter won on the night before Thanksgiving.

“Rosie Live” on NBC Wednesday night brought Liza Minelli to our TV screens and Clay Aiken and Alec Baldwin and Harry Connick Jr. and Gloria Estefan but Barbara Walters had President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on NBC so it must come as no surprise that she collected more than double the number of viewers Rosie had.

O’Donnell’s variety show attracted some 5 million viewers, less even than the ratings-challenged “Knight Rider,” while Walters’ interview special with President-elect Barack Obama brought 11.5 million.
There was one show though that fared even better than Walters’ interview with the Obamas and that was CBS’ “CSI: NY,” which drew 12.2 million viewers Wednesday night.

This was Rosie O’Donnell’s first return to television after her abrupt departure last April from ABC’s “The View,” after a heated exchange of words with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

She did keep busy however, as recurring guest actor on FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and published “Celebrity Detox,” which debuted at No. 5 on the New York Times Best selling non-fiction list last October.