Katie Couric On 'Good Morning America': Host Returns To Morning TV As AM Wars Reach Fever Pitch

"It feels a little strange," Katie Couric said as she made her dizzyingly hyped return to morning television on Monday.

Couric could be forgiven for the sentiment, since she was appearing not on "Today," the show that made her famous, but on its archrival "Good Morning America," as what is undoubtedly the most intense week in the long-running morning show wars for some time kicked off with a bang.

Couric is guest-hosting the show for the week as Robin Roberts takes a vacation. She has not been a member of NBC News for six years, but her stint sent shockwaves through the cutthroat morning news world.

"Today" responded aggressively, booking an unnamed "legend" from its past for its Monday show, and --even more audaciously--getting Sarah Palin to co-host its Tuesday show. (That legend was revealed to be Meredith Vieira.)

All of this occurs against the high-pressured backdrop of ratings and money. "Good Morning America" is within striking distance of breaking the 16-year "Today" ratings winning streak. Both shows make boatloads of money for their respective networks, and each news division takes those ratings extremely seriously.

"GMA" treated Couric like visiting royalty, with every co-host and correspondent being sure to mention her presence and with a pre-taped skit showing her downing coffee cup after coffee cup to avoid falling back asleep. The show also had some fun with her NBC legacy, with another sketch showing her car driving her to the "Today" studios instead of the "GMA" digs.

WATCH:

Loading Slideshow

• Matt Lauer

  Lauer co-hosts NBC's "Today" from 7-9 a.m.

• Guthrie co-hosts NBC's "Today" from 7-9 a.m.

• Robin Roberts

  Roberts co-hosts ABC's "Good Morning America" from 7-9 a.m.

• George Stephanopoulos

  Stephanopoulos co-hosts ABC's "Good Morning America" from 7-9 a.m.

• Charlie Rose

  Rose co-hosts "CBS This Morning" from 7-8 a.m. CBS announced the addition of Rose and Gayle King and a decidedly focused hard news program earlier this year.

• Gayle King

  King co-hosts "CBS This Morning" from 8-9 a.m.

• Steve Doocy

  Doocy co-hosts Fox News' "Fox and Friends" from 6-9 a.m. "Fox and Friends" dominates cable news morning shows.

• Gretchen Carlson

  Carlson co-hosts Fox News' "Fox and Friends" from 6-9 a.m.

• Brian Kilmeade

  Kilmeade co-hosts Fox News' "Fox and Friends" from 6-9 a.m.

• Joe Scarborough

  Scarborough co-hosts MSNBC's "Morning Joe" from 6-9 a.m. "Morning Joe" focuses solely on hard news and political commentary.

• Mika Brzezinski

  Brzezinski co-hosts MSNBC's "Morning Joe" from 6-9 a.m.

• Soledad O'Brien

  O'Brien co-hosts CNN's 7-9 a.m. morning news program. CNN's "American Morning" fell behind MSNBC and even its own HLN. The network recently announced the return of O'Brien and the replacement of "Amerian Morning" with two new morning programs.

• Zoraida Sambolin

  Sambolin co-hosts CNN's 5-7 a.m. morning news program.