SHARON Discusses The End Of 'The Osbournes'

The Associated Press has issued the following report:

Although the last episode of MTV's "The Osbournes" will quietly air Monday, Sharon Osbourne said the first celebrity family of reality TV has already moved on.

The persnickety bride of rocker Ozzy Osbourne is pondering putting their gothic California home, made famous by the show, on the real estate market. Rebellious youngsters Kelly and Jack are in the process of moving out.

"We're thinking of selling it," Sharon told The Associated Press Friday. "It's really sort of become our office. It's not like coming home. Everybody knows where we sleep. Everybody knows what our bed is like. It would be nice to have something that's kind of more ours than the world's."

For four seasons, the Osbournes gave themselves to the world. Right up there with "The Real World" and "Survivor", they carved out the familial reality TV niche. The revealing first "Osbournes" season had everyone screaming "Shaaaron!!!!" but subsequent seasons saw sagging ratings. Over the course of three years, the series captured Sharon's bout with cancer, Ozzy's near-fatal bike accident and Jack and Kelly's separate jaunts into rehab.

"You have to end on top," Osbourne said. "You can't milk it. The thing is, I think we made a great statement. We made a great impact. We opened the doors for so many other people, and it's just time for us to move on."

Sharon said the worst part of the ongoing experience was giving up privacy, but in the same breath, she extols the fame she and two of her children were granted. (Aimee, the eldest Osbourne offspring, didn't participate in the show.) Now, celebrities with a reality show is just another genre, according to the woman who once threw a ham at her noisy neighbors.

"You can get arrested, you can serve time, you can break the law and then you get your own reality show," said Osbourne.

"The Osbournes" won't be ending with any pomp or circumstance. No fireworks. No live finale. No tribute from Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Just another episode.

"To us, it wasn't a big hurrah that it's over," said Osbourne. "It's kind of bittersweet. It's just time."

In the finale, airing Monday at 10:30 EST, self-help guru Phil "Dr. Phil" McGraw visits the Osbournes abode to provide his dissertation on the whole !%#@-ing family. Osbourne said she was cynical about listening to McGraw dispense his tell-it-like-it-is brand of therapy. After meeting with him, she now has "lots of respect for the man," even going so far as to call his critique "spot on."

"He gave me criticism which I felt was correct," said Osbourne. "I didn't give my kids a lot of structure when they were growing up, and I should have put more guidelines down with them. I definitely should have done that. I sort of knew that within myself but never admitted it."

Despite opening the doors for celebreality, as VH1 has dubbed it, Osbourne admits she's not a fan of reality TV, especially A&E's "Growing Up Gotti". Instead, she favors dramas like "24" and "Nip/Tuck".

"I don't see doing a reality show on somebody because their father was a hood," said Osbourne. "I'm sorry. I just don't get it. I detest anything to do with violence. Not saying that she's a violent woman, but she stems from a very violent family. And I just don't like it. It's just further evidence that, in the world of TV, bad behavior gets rewarded. Martha Stewart goes into prison, she comes out and she's got yet another TV show. Maybe if I rob a bank I can get a new show."