American Idol

I've always thought that the best best television shows rarely have more than a handful of seasons because the American publics' attention span is pretty short. Why is it then that a seven-year running reality show with no plot, no storyline, and virtually no changes to its production values is the most successful thing on TV? American Idol, now in its seventh season, premiered last week giving us more of the same blooper-reel comedy that mysteriously still seems to capture the attention of television viewers.

The judges haven’t changed at all. Simon Cowell is still bitchy, Randy Jackson is still keeping it real, Paul Abdul still likes everything she hears, and Ryan Seacrest is still, well, Ryan Seacrest. At least during the audition portion of the show they can edit out most of Ryan Seacrest’s pointed attacks on Simon’s character that start out as jokes but end up making everyone feel awkward. I’m sure we’ll get plenty of that once the show gets to Hollywood though.

The only rumored change is in the amount of face time the contestants are supposed to get this season. Last year, AI focused attention on the celebrity mentors and their interaction with the idols, which resulted in the audience having less personal attachment to the idols. Already I could see the difference in the packages they air spotlighting the contestants, but it's pretty inconsistent. Half of the packages are done in the traditional Idol style and some are a weird combination of interview and Ryan Seacrest doing a Blind Date-esque mocking of the singer. Personally, I think Ryan Seacrest is douchey enough without impersonating Roger Lodge.

So why do people continue to watch this show? I have no idea, but I do know that the public finds it interesting enough that local Fox news programs all over the country insist on devoting five or more minutes of their half-hour show to bring you American Idol updates. You'd think that since Fox airs at least two hours of Idol programming every week they wouldn't feel the need to squeeze in an update between stories of car accidents and war coverage every night. Perhaps the reason people continue to watch American Idol, and the reason we need to include it in our newscasts, is that for the past seven years it has been consistent in its mediocrity. In the midst of this fast-paced, changing world AI has been there for us. American Idol is our rock.

This entry was posted by Lady Amy, on Monday, January 21, 2008. You can leave your response.