Roger Ebert appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday, where he “spoke” publicly for the first time since losing his voice and jaw as a result of various surgeries in a battle with thyroid cancer. He used what was described as a state of the art text-to-speech computer that allowed him to speak based on recorded samples of his original voice. It also injects inflection into his speech so that he doesn’t sound monotone. I found a clip of him from the show, explaining how the technology works. See/listen for yourself:

I like that his wife is very supportive of him. However, the voice still sounded robotic. The technology is cool, and I know there’s no such thing as a man made miracle, but I think its capability of replicating his voice was hyped up. But having that is better than having to be silent for the rest of his life. Technology is getting so advanced that I wonder if one day, doctors will be able to give him a prosthetic jaw. It won’t replace his voice box, but at least he’ll be able to have other functionalities of having a floor to his mouth. I guess it’s really true that you don’t know what you have ’til it’s gone.

Did you catch him on the show? Were you amazed by the technology, creeped out or not impressed at all?

Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, Roger Ebert, will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show Tuesday. This will be his first TV appearance since he lost his ability to speak as a result of losing his voice and part of his jawbone in a battle with thyroid cancer.

He will participate in the interview with the aid of text-to-speech computer technology.  The program  is so advanced that it replicates his actual voice based on previous audio recordings done by Ebert in his earlier years. It will compose a specific speech track that mimics his voice, including inflections and character into the words he types, so it won’t sound robotic or monotone.

I didn’t even know they had technology that advanced; that will be cool to see. Of course Oprah would get that exclusive! She’s Oprah! Plus, she and Ebert used to date back in the day and have remained good friends. In fact, Roger Ebert is responsible for Oprah’s success as the Queen of Day Time Talk. He was the first person to suggest that she go into syndication.

I can see why they would be friends; they’re both resilient people.  After multiple unsuccessful surgeries to restore Ebert’s jaw, he remains unable to eat and drink normally. However, he does continue to crank out film reviews week after week and is very active on his blog with the Chicago Sun Times.

Will you tune in to watch Ebert on Oprah tomorrow?

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The media queen’s farewell from daily talk show life will be chronicled in a weekly primetime series, Behind the Scenes: Oprah’s 25th Season, to air on Winfrey’s OWN.

Oprah’s 25th Season will detail life on The Oprah Winfrey Show as it wraps up its daytime run. The focus won’t just be on Winfrey. There will also be details of all aspects of production, which makes featured players out of some of the personnel that helped the show become a massive hit.

I searched my brain for something smart to type (well, a little more sarcastic than the “Oprah overdoses on O” comment) but it’s Oprah. I feel like I’d get struck down or something. But anyway, I guess this could be interesting. Oprah stans would love to see behind the scenes footage of her final days as a talk show host. It sounds kind of sad but we know Miss Winfrey doesn’t want for anything so this is probably the best way for her (and fans) to move on.

OWN also said it is has added four potential hour-long series’ to its development slate, in addition to some TV movies. Looks like Lifetime’s got some competition.

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It truly is the beginning of the end for The Oprah Winfrey Show.

A Harpo staff member has confirmed that the viewer-favorite episode Oprah’s “Favorite Things” won’t air this year.

The employee offered no explanation as to why they have no “plans this season” to air the episode. I’m going with the “to make her fans suffer” as the answer.

Oprah’s “Favorite Things” is the annual segment typically aired between after Thanksgiving where audiences are rewarded Oprah’s favorite products – like books, CDs, clothes, cosmetics, foods, laptops, cameras, and all sorts of high-end labels.

In light of the recession, last year producers featured “next to nothing” items, highlighting various do-it-yourself (even though you probably don’t want to) products. Yes, Oprah cared about the broke folks even though she makes more in a second than most do their entire lives. That’s why it’s only right that she keep the tradition going – especially when the tradition has proven to be such a ratings winner.

It’s been Oprah’s highest rated episode since it began in 2002.

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After much anticipation, Sarah Palin’s appearance on Oprah Winfrey will air today. There has been criticism of both parties for going through with this but it’s a smart move for obvious reasons. I’m not a Palin fan but I’m looking forward to the interview—not because I think I’ll find out anything about her that I didn’t know, but because it will be nice to see more of her personality. Despite not being a Palin supporter, I’ll at least acknowledge that she’s still interesting based on her accomplishments and the facts that she’s a woman and a working mom.

She’ll definitely give the usual politician answers—you know—answer the questions with a circular response that doesn’t really answer the question. But Oprah is too smart for that so when Palin tries to skirt the issue Miss Winfrey is all over that. Check this out:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Did you see how Palin laughed to give herself time to think about the non-response she was going to give? Do you see how Oprah uppercut her by finishing her long-winded “response” with “So, is he coming or not?” I love it.

Palin will also talk about her infamous Katie Couric interview and her forthcoming book, Going Rogue: An American Life.

The show airs today at 4pm EST on ABC.

Word on the street is that Oprah Winfrey has not yet made a decision on moving her syndicated talk show to her new cable network OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Winfrey’s production company Harpo Inc. said she would make an announcement by the end of the year regarding whether The Oprah Winfrey Show would move from network television in mid-2011. The original report was released by Hollywood entertainment blogger Nikki Finke on Thursday but OWN has declined to comment.

Winfrey is regarded as one of the most influential women in the United States and among the most powerful women in entertainment (as you know) and her talk show is still the top-rated U.S. daytime talk show, averaging 7.1 million viewers this season, according to Nielsen.

Such a move would be a major blow to CBS Corp’s CBS Television Distribution arm, which syndicates the show, and Walt Disney Co’s ABC’s owned and operated TV stations which broadcasts the daytime favorite.

The decision is up to Oprah so we’ll just have to wait and see. I would say that her ratings might be affected because everyone doesn’t have cable but then again Oprah can afford to buy cable for all of her fans so they won’t miss her show if she decided to move. That’s a bit of a stretch but we know she’ll be OK. She’s like the Grand Wizard of all things wonderful and makes anything happen when she puts her mind to it.

The launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network, is a joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. OWN has been delayed from its original 2009 start date but once up and running, it will be available in more than 70 million homes.

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It’s official: Sarah Palin is never going away.

Ever.

Although she no longer holds any public office everything Palin related – including the private parts of her daughter’s baby daddy – makes the news.

And with Oprah being up on game, I suppose it shouldn’t have been hard to figure out that Sarah Palin would eventually find her way in Chicago.

Yesterday, Harpo announced that Oprah and Palin will meet for the very first time on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Despite Oprah endorsing the opposing ticket for the 2008 presidential election, Palin is appearing on the show to shill her upcoming memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life.

Already some people are criticizing Oprah for only now inviting Palin to her show. Likewise, a few Palin promoters are angry that Palin is appearing on Oprah’s show.

Trust me when I say both factions will be glued to their TV sets on Nov. 16 when this interview runs.

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When it comes to black women and hair the words Remy, Yaki, and human hair are heard all too often.

That along with phrases like, “Her track is showing,” “Her weave looks busted,” “Ooh, I wonder where she bought that hair,” among others.

In his documentary Good Hair, Chris Rock goes in on millions of black women’s kitchens and explores why so many feel the need to spend their dollars to have hair made in New Dehli and Seoul sewn into their scalps.

Today, he’ll appear on Oprah to discuss his new film and Oprah herself will talk about her own hair history.

If your recall, Oprah addressed those of you who felt she had the good good attached to her scalp. She let it be known that her hair is real. Some of you sucked your teeth, but Oprah was too busy letting her [real] hair (take that, take that, haters) blow in the wind to care.

And since this show is themed on hair Solange will also appear on the show to discuss why she got the Florida Evans cut earlier in the year.

Give it up for baby sister making her way on to the Mother of daytime television’s talk show without an invite from Beyonce.

What would you do if you were in the Caribbean and ran up on Whitney Houston and her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, at some fruit stand trying to sell you some watermelon?

I’d probably request to hear “Saving All My Love For You” upon purchase, but most fans would probably look on in disbelief. Yet, that’s the life Whitney once considered after fame became passé.

It’s just one of several revelations Whitney Houston shared in part of one her highly publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey.

As a longtime fan of the Bobby Brown, let me just say Nippy made it quite difficult for fans of the “Kang of R&B” to sing “Roni” in good conscience.

While Whitney made sure to assure Oprah and the world that Bobby had his charm and that the two were in love, it’s hard to look at the man the same once Whitney said that he once spit in her face.

Whitney made it clear that Brown was more so emotionally abusive than physically during their marriage. She did note one time he slapped her, but “he got hit on the head three times by me.”

And she shared another story that involved her cracking Bobby’s head open with the cordless phone. When their daughter came from her room to ask what happened, Whitney said, “I told him not to do it.”

Still, Whitney called Bobby her “drug” and it’s obvious that she tried her best to be a supporting wife – which was complicated by her fame exceeding his by leaps and bounds.

Speaking of drugs, Whitney gave Oprah a quick tutorial on how to lace your weed.

“Follow me here, Oprah,” she said as she explained that she was “lacing marijuana… with rock cocaine.”

OK, that’s the part that tripped me out. I know Whitney told Diane Sawyer that “crack is wack,” but isn’t rock cocaine crack? Can someone who failed the D.A.R.E. program explain this to me?

While we’re at it, may I get some feedback from you all about Whitney’s claims that she would lock herself in her room, smoke up half of Colombia as she read her Bible and listened to gospel music?

Where do they do that at?

Thankfully, Cissy Houston was there to get her daughter in check.

In the interview, Whitney recalled Mama Houston offering an ultimatum that got her off drugs for good.

Whitney told Oprah: “She said, ‘I’m not losing you to the world. I’m not losing you to Satan. … I want my daughter back.’ She said, ‘either you do it my way or we’ll go on TV and (say) you’re gonna retire.’”

Even bolder is what Cissy told Bobby.

Whitney added: “She said, ‘If you move, Bobby, they’re gonna take you down. Don’t you make one move.’ And he stood there like — he was scared.”

I bet Kanye West wouldn’t snatch an award out of Cissy’s hands.

All and all, despite her being frank about her hardships, Whitney made it clear that she wants her joy back. Hopefully, she gets it. Part two will air today and it will include a performance.

Did you catch part of the interview? If so, what did you think?

Photo credit: The Associated Press

If Oprah’s tweets are any indication, there may be hope for you Nippy fans out there still hoping for traces of classic Whitney.

Context clues suggest that fans were moved that Whitney’s still got some oomph to her voice, so that only builds anticipation for the season premiere of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Here’s another teaser for the interview:

New Promo Trailer for Whitney’s Oprah Interview

Tune in September 14 and 15.