Top 10 Talk Show Moments of 2011

Certainly the biggest event of 2011 in the world of talk shows was the end of the biggest daytime talk show there ever was and probably will ever be: The Oprah Winfrey Show. The final episode was an intimate affair, with Oprah speaking with her studio audience - and audience that stood in for the millions of fans the show has collected over its 25-year run.

"From you whose names I will never know, I learned what love is. You and this show have been the great love of my life," she said. "Thank you for being as much of a sweet inspiration for me as I tried to be for you. I won't say goodbye. I'll just say until we meet again."

Live! with Regis and Kelly host Regis Philbin announced his intention to retire from the show in January 2011 and followed through in mid-November. Live! threw Regis a Philbin-sized celebration on his final day. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was there, presenting Regis with a key to the city. "You have been New York City's biggest fan for 28 years," he said. "And I just wanted to come and tell you New York feels the same way about you."

In the audience and on stage were Tony Danza, Donald Trump, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Meredith Vieira and more. Justin Timberlake, Anne Hathaway and others paid tribute by video.

n late December, Piers Morgan, host of CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, was under fire for his alleged role in Britain's infamous cell phone hacking scandal. Earlier this week, Morgan sat before a British judge (via satellite) and proclaimed his innocence. The tabloid scandal concerns hacking of cell phones owned by celebrities, government officials and members of the royal family by journalists from tabloids News of the World and Daily Mirror. Morgan was editor of both tabloids, first with News of the World from 1994 to 1995, and then the Daily Mirror from 1995 to 2004.

Oprah Winfrey's OWN network debuted in January and started to stumble almost right out of the gate. In May, in the days just before Winfrey's final episode, In May, OWN CEO Christina Norman left the network. Then, in July, Winfrey announced that she would take on the role of both CEO and COO of the network, in an effort to right the ship and increase ratings. Finally, the network announced a $15 million relaunch and advertising blitz, according to entertainment reports, including new introductions to Oprah's Lifeclass with Oprah onscreen and fast-tracking the launch of Oprah's Next Chapter.

"I am focusing on my strength, which is my connection to the audience," Oprah Winfrey told TV Guide, regarding the hard work and meager ratings OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is providing. The ridiculously popular talk show host will soon launch her next talk show, appropriately titled Oprah's Next Chapter.

In January, Oprah Winfrey revealed to guests of The Oprah Winfrey Show that she has a half-sister, a 48-year-old Milwaukee woman named Patricia. Oprah's audience was surprised to learn Patricia knew she was Winfrey's sister for more than 3 years and never once tried to profit from it.

"Family business should be handled by family," Patricia told Winfrey on the show, further explaining how she wanted to tell Winfrey directly rather than reveal it through a third party.

It was said to see George Lopez leave his late night talk show during his sophomore season. The cancellation was abrupt and seemed to catch many off guard. Lopez bowed out the way he wanted, even spoofing several "final episodes" of popular TV shows. But nothing generated more discussion this year than the firing of Leah Remini and Holly Robinson-Peete from CBS's daytime show, The Talk. Three posts generated more than 120 comments from Talk Show readers. Almost all supported Remini and Robinson-Peete. Many readers vowed to never watch The Talk again.

Talk show host Rosie O'Donnell returned to television and the OWN network in her latest talk show, The Rosie Show. Unfortunately, the show garnered nearly a half million total viewers, pulling in a somewhat dismal .44 rating among its target audience: women ages 25 to 54. The powers that be waved the early numbers off, however, and Rosie continues to shine in her 7 p.m. slot.

In May, Today Show co-anchor Meredith Vieira announced that she would step down from her anchor post. In June, she did just that, entering semi-retirement, to spend more time with her family.

Several celebrities announced their intention to launch new talk shows in 2012, including Survivor host Jeff Probst, comedian and actor Steve Harvey and former talk show Ricki Lake. Lake's is the most intriguing. Her popular 1990s talk show came at the height of the tabloid, trash-talk daytime TV fad. Lake promises a warmer, softer show focusing on family life and parenthood.

More than 220 About Talk Show readers responded to the inaugural Talk Show Awards poll, held in February 2011, voting The Ellen DeGeneres Show as "Best Talk Show," Ellen as "Best Daytime Talk Show Host," and Craig Ferguson as "Best Late Night Talk Show Host." The second annual Talks Shows Readers Poll will take place in February!