Rosie Gets Going on 'The View'

On a manic first day on "The View," Rosie O'Donnell took charge of the table, introducing herself jokingly as Meredith Vieira, showed off a bouquet of flowers from her friend Tom Cruise, gave away a cruise to the audience, and managed to avoid getting into it with Elisabeth, though she was almost provoked into a little confrontation by Joy Behar.

After assuring the audience, "I'm taking my medication and everything will be fine," Rosie made her presence felt -- and made nice with her co-hosts -- at the Hot Topics table. She assured Barbara Walters that she'll email her whenever she blogs about the show on Rosie.com (and teased her boss about her technological shortcomings), complimented Elisabeth on her newly-short locks (which Hasselbeck said she did impulsively "on a bad day"), and congratulated Joy on her daughter's engagement.

But Rosie being Rosie, she couldn't resist just a little spice -- she talked about having conversations in the bath with her daughter about pubic hair, looked ready to spar when Joy bizarrely ascribed a Japanese accent to Rosie's son Blake, and expressed great joy at the USTA National Tennis Center naming itself after lesbian icon Billie Jean King. But she didn't pontificate, and, all in all, the show had an energy that hasn't been in evidence in some time.