Oprah post-mortem: reviews mixed, but finale draws big ratings

The ratings for Oprah Winfrey's nascent OWN network may not be where she wants them to be, but her sign-off from the syndicated daytime show she's hosted for the past 25 years was the audience-boosting blockbuster fans were expecting.

The final episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which aired Wednesday, delivered the shows' best ratings since 1994.

According to CBS Television, which syndicates the show, Wednesday's "Oprah" finale drew a 13.3 household rating--slightly less than the 14 some had predicted, but a fantastic number, considering television's virtually endless options in 2011.

The final Nielsen ratings are expected to come out later this afternoon. For some perspective, the last episode of CNN's "Larry King Live," drew more than 2.2 million viewers in its 9 p.m. finale on a cable news network; 41 million people watched Johnny Carson's final episode of NBC's "Tonight Show" on May 22, 1992.

As for the reviews, critics had mixed feelings about the emotional farewell, with some coming down on the religious undertones that pervaded it.

The New York Post's Michael Starr snarled that Winfrey sounded "more like an evangelist than a talk-show host," while the Washington Post's Sally Quinn applauded her spiritual bent: "She finally came out as a true religious leader, an image she has skirted around for these last 25 years. She is America's high priestess."

In the New York Times, Alessandra Stanley described the 55-minute finale as "something between a graduation address and a Sunday homily," writing that "the lack of ceremony, the absence of celebrities, goody bags or confetti, was less a letdown than a relief."

Of course, the end of the show may not come as a relief for the media industry in Chicago, where "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was produced, considering the city's other juggernaut, the Tribune Company, is mired in bankruptcy.

But Winfrey assured viewers Wednesday that her TV, film and radio production company, Harpo, which owns a 50-percent stake in OWN, isn't going anywhere.

The other outpost of Winfrey's empire, O: The Oprah Magazine, is based in the New York headquarters of its publisher, the Hearst Corporation.

For its part, the glossy is already capitalizing on Oprah nostalgia--the publication announced yesterday it is producing a 148-page "bookazine" that provides a "joyful and comprehensive insider's look at the 25 seasons of aha moments, tears, surprises and triumphs that have meant so much to so many," according to a press release. The special edition will appear on newsstands June 28 for $11.99.

(Screengrab via ABC/Harpo Productions)