Contra Costa Times TV writer Chuck Barney, in a piece this morning headlined “‘The View from the Bay’ improves with time,” says the 3 p.m. weekday talk-show is gaining the ratings, attracting big-name guests and has been rewarded by ABC7 with a 2,000-square-foot set. ABC7 gm Valari Staab decided two years ago, after seeing syndicated shows in that time slot flop, decided to go local, pairing Spencer Christian and Janelle Wang on a local talk show. Barney writes:

Originating from a cramped, sterile corner of the station’s news studio, “View” took to the air in June of 2006 with modest ratings and rather rudimentary production values. How rudimentary? Cooking demonstrations were done on a puny two-burner camping stove.

Wang privately worried that the gig might be short-lived. “It took a while to find our groove as we kept trying different things,” she says. “This was a brand-new thing for me, and I was constantly nervous about being replaced.”

But both Wang and the show exhibited staying power. Ratings gradually improved, and last spring “View” was rewarded with its own snazzy 2,000-square-foot set, complete with a functional kitchen and, yes, a real stove.

(Photo credit: Matthew Sumner, Contra Costa Times)