Melissa Carter, exit stage right....

Melissa Carter of the Bert Show announced on Wednesday that she would be exiting the Bert Show on April 15th.

The reason given was simply she wished to pursue other things.

Likely, there were are number of factors involved, a desire for a family, the wear and tear of early mornings on a kidney transplant and quite simply, not being a major factor on the Bert Show after all these years.

I'm sure Melissa on a major market morning show is a great victory for the gay community and i'm certain she has a huge fan base there and I can see where they would be quite proud of her.  That all said, of the main four, I would say most would be far more distraute if Bert, Jeff or Jenn exited.

As a conspiracy theorist, would I be shocked if behind the scenes Bert did not push to have her renewed? Not at all.  Bert through the years complained of Melissa being late and I never got the idea Bert was her biggest fan but then the way Bert drools over Jenn, anyone else would come up short.  I also think Bert may realize the show needs new blood and it was a good time to usher someone aside.

For the Bert Show it is a great opportunity to breathe new life into a fledgling and sometimes very stale show.  It would be a true shame if they move Wendy a seat over and make her one of the main four.  I assume they will add a woman to maintain the balance of the show.  Personally, I would like to see a new person come in and call the others on their BS.  A confident young woman looking to move up and a possible rival to Jenn would be a truly great addition.  Adding the occasional cat fight to the show would be genius.  Likely though the powers that be, Bert included, will bring in a blaise wall flower to not shatter the "stars" egos.

Elle Duncan could be a great addition possibly.  Shannon Wiseman would be great and I suspect would drive Jenn crazy.  Nene Leakes could be very good too I suspect.

All the best to Melissa in whatever she decides to do moving forward.

For my Atlanta Audience, BERT SHOW needs to END!

So when the Bert Show first hit the air, it was really a fun show to listen to, it was far more progressive and original than Steve and Vicky and the show had likeable people.

The show originally began with Bert Weiss, Melissa Carter, Jeff Dauler and Lindsay from MTV'S Real World Seattle and Crash Clark did traffic.

Bert was married and didn't have kids and didn't suck up to celebrities, Melissa was going through kidney transplant, Jeff was playing phone scams and other great scams and Lindsay brought some quasi celebrity to the show. And sweet Crash, generally got drunk everywhere and brought even more comedy to the show.

The show was consistently entertaining.

Lindsay left year 2 I think when she took a job doing tv in Tampa, Fl. At that Jenn Hobby who had been doing some small bits on the show became a regular. Jenn was originally very likeable, she was dating Ryan Newell of Sister Hazel and brought a refreshing dating aspect to the show.

Over time, Crash was let go for a prank gone bad on another station and went to Boston to do radio. Bert had two kids. Jenn got married and divorced. And some others came and went, some more likeable then others but I kept listening.

Here are the problems with the show now, the show has moved up the ratings and in moving up the ratings, other opportunities have arisen, Jeff got in the biscuit business, Jenn started doing some minor tv, so did Bert, Melissa got another national radio show that has since been canceled but I think the outside stuff has killed the show and all of their heads have gotten too big.

I will take them one by one:

Bert, he used to be really down to earth and if nothing else likeable, now he is celebrity crazy and spends more time talking about he went to a party here with such and such celebrity or he played Augusta National, and its just obnoxious now. He thinks he is more than he is and he has lost the likeability he once had.

Jeff, he used to be genuinely funny with creative phone scams that long ago died because he got bored with them and he also stopped trying to scam everyone. Now, he is largely useless with the very occasional funny one liner during the course of the show.

Melissa, she has always been my least favorite because she has just never brought much, her identity is tied up far too much in her sexuality and in being a lesbian. She does not have a great sense of humor, she's just kinda there and as time has gone on, you really don't even notice her on the air.

Jenn, she has become far too mouthy on politics for someone with a degree from FSU. She thinks she is far brighter and intelligent than she actually is and its grown tired. Oh, and in many circles in Atlanta its known that cheated on her husband Ryan and thats what led to her divorce.

Wendy, she joined the show doing traffic and while originally fresh and bringing a fresh, young voice to the show, she has quickly become old and tired.

I don't think there is really anything that can save the show at this point, there was a point where Bert was likeable and a couple fresh voices could have been added but its too late for that now, Bert is now the white Frank Ski. The Bert Show has become a bad, the View, instead of what it originally was which was likeable people and an entertaining and funny program. It was never ground breaking but it was good. Now, its old, tired and boring.

This is why now when I listen to morning radio, I just listen to Seacrest via the internet. Ryan is likeable and entertaining and has not let the celebrity go to his head. Ryan is a real celebrity and Bert is at best a quasi Atlanta celebrity.

If you listen to Bert and the gang and have grown tired of the same ole, same - you might want to give Seacrest a try or at this point Steve and Vicky, atleast Steve is still likeable even after 40 years in Atlanta radio.