I have a confession to make, I've been watching American Idol for the past couple of weeks. Long time readers of this blog will know that I really dislike reality TV, mostly because it's changed the TV network landscape by making programming much cheaper for networks in a time of declining ad revenue, forcing them to rethink broadcasting regular dramatic series (which are more expensive to produce) and creating an artificial (and arbitrary) expectation for the ratings they expect from series TV. I tend to see reality TV as junk food and regular dramatic series as a full meal, and naturally, these attract different kinds of viewers and should not be evaluated according to the same standards. The networks should not introduce a new dramatic series, put it on for a few episodes and then cancel it because it did not provide the appropriate ratings buildup for the reality show that followed (as NBC did with Kings) on the schedule. I don't think you can make that kind of linkage when you are talking about different kinds of shows. No matter how good the drama is, I'm not sticking around for the next iteration of Dancing With America's Favorite Celebrity Dog. In general, I would prefer to see more dramatic episodic programming rather than more reality TV shows.
So, how do I explain my recent interest in Idol? I blame Susan Boyle. After watching the video of the Scottish singing sensation, I thought it might be interesting to see what the Americans were up to, so I started watching Idol. I've been very impressed with the contestants and not so impressed with the judges. The contestants having been very talented and although I have not always agreed (I thought Allison Iraheta showed great talent) with the votes, I have been impressed with their potential. As for the judges, I think they display a marked lack of professionalism in their comments and demeanor and I can forgive the contestants if they feel they are not getting the artistic feedback from them that they deserve. I really dislike the way the judges have fawned over Adam Lambert. I think Lambert is phenomenal and deserves to win, but the judges should really show more professional objectivity and restraint. It's unlikely that I'll continue watching Idol after this season, but I do plan on following the careers of Lambert, Allen and Iraheta and hope to hear good things from them in the future.
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