In my capacity as self-proclaimed TV Addict, I’ve made a point to tune into AMERICAN IDOL this season, figuring a show that attracts thirty million viewers a week must be worthy of my attention. Yet as I sit, painfully trying to get through each bloated two-hour ‘extravaganza’ (Coke in hand), I can’t help but wonder why America (and the world) is hooked on this train wreck?
Take last night’s episode for example. Viewers were treated to yet another dreadful evening of amateur [dinner theatre level] performances, sandwiched between the same repetitive banter and obnoxious sexual innuendo that the judges seem to dole out each and every week. After three weeks, I get it — Randy says ‘Dawg’, Paula comments on each contestants outfit and crys (this isn’t TOP MODEL!) and Simon is well, Simon. To save money why doesn’t FOX simply replace the judges with animatronic Disney-style robots? At least Ryan finally realized that his juvenile banter with Simon was no longer funny, telling Simon, “not this week” as Simon attempted to yet again ‘out’ him. A joke that was funny three seasons ago, no longer.
On the contestant side, we had to sit through some dreadful performances, a few passable ones and of course Melinda Doolittle, who’s simply in a league of her own. While I’d like to take a moment to pray that Sanjaya gets voted off this week, I’m more curious as to who this crying girl in the audience was and why exactly she seemed to bawl through Sanjaya’s performance? Was she crying because of how bad Sanjaya was (as Simon thought) or because she was just so happy to be in the audience? She does get that she wasn’t witnessing the actual British Invasion. Sanjaya isn’t Paul McCartney or even Peter Noone and LuLu (did anyone else have no idea who these ‘famous musicians’ were?), he’s a one month old reality TV star who’ll soon join the likes of William Hung and Omarosa in the Reality TV Closet of Fame (Reality TV stars don’t warrant a ‘hall’).
Regardless, the real victims of last night’s Idol were the viewers who had to endure the entire mess of an evening. GILMORE GIRLS and VERONICA MARS simply can’t return soon enough. 
