The four TV-show food groups

for me, i can't miss House, Friday Night Lights, the office and the Shield.

grey's and Earl are in the second category.

 

I don't understand the hatred for American Idol.

If you don't like the show, that's fine. I'm not trying to say otherwise. But on several threads -- and I'm not calling out anyone in particular here -- there's this idea put out there that this show is some sort of glorified karaoke contest and that the contestants are a bunch of no-talent hacks who only achieve fame because of their time on this show and not their singing ability.

I've watched this show a good bit, mainly because the wife loves it. I'll admit I do enjoy the first six or seven episodes, but I probably wouldn't be glued to the set after those. The competition just doesn't interest me.

That said, I've found that these people can, in fact, sing. Hell, a lot of them sing much, much better than many of the platinum-selling stars on the music scene right now. I just don't get why some of you believe these people have no talent.


After that I'm guessing that not only do I have to give up my man card, I now have to apply for a woman card.

To make it worse, I'm with Shotty. I like DH, Grey's and ... (shit, this is gonna hurt) Ugly Betty. But I go back and watch a segment of 24 after viewing all of those -- I swear.

 

Yes, dog, and the cheerleaders work just as hard as the football players.

Doesn't mean that the latter should be in the sports page or that AI should be on my television.

 

You probably idolize Wes, too.

 

Dog, it's not just a hatred of American Idiot, it's a hatred for reality TV in general. All would be if not watching the show would end my exposure to it, but it's talked about everywhere, even on this board, and the commercials are there on the very rare occasion I watch network TV. And they talk about it on the local sports radio station, and on ESPN, and on the news.

I don't dispute some of these people can sing...if you were to pull 200,000 people together, I'm willing to bet you could find half a dozen pretty good singers out of the group, simply by the law of averages.

It's the concept, not the contestants (to whom I pay little if any attention), which irks me. It reeks of mindless and not very creative entertainment put into place not because it really works, but because it's easy and lazy on the part of executives. And the viewing public is to blame, not expecting more out of their entertainment.

42 million people can indeed be wrong. Just look at the last two elections.

 

Everybody around here knows I'm an unapologetic Idol fan.

One of the reasons I watch it is for the television production value, the editing, directing, lighting and-- yeah-- storytelling.

Sometimes they can get you to feel something for somebody in about a minute-thirty piece. Remember Chris Daughtry last year? How he married the chick with two older kids, and how he became their dad like, immediately. You begin to feel.

And I've always thought that was Idol's secret -- much more than the singing.

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But on this question, I would tell Kuselias that some things transcend food groups and become cultural icons. Idol is like "pizza."

 

Hey, I said if you don't like the show, I understand that. I don't care much for it after the first few episodes, either.

But among those who aren't watching, there seems to be some need to convince everyone else that the people on this show are no-talent hacks. And that's simply not the case.

I understand your issue there. But I will say, having watched some other reality program that attempted to copy the AI format, this show is much more entertaining. I can't put my finger on why that is exactly, but it just is. I don't know if it's that they just know how to spot the better stories or that they play up the better angles or what.

Regardless, if you don't like it, you don't like it. And that's fine. I wasn't bitching about that at all. Hell, millions watch that damned CSI show and I can't stand that shit. So, I get where you're coming from.

 

When discussing how best to understand gender roles, and for subtle distinctions in media and cultural studies, I always go to sports-radio first.

 

I'm not sure I ever heard Tony Kornheiser talk about sports when I used to hear parts of his radio show. Oh, sorry, we were talking about good stuff...never mind....

 

I'll readily admit I'm not the best judge of what should be and not be on TV. If I had my way, the networks would show a lot more movies, a lot more sitcoms, a lot fewer hospital/doctor/police/CSI shows, a lot more news and absolutely no reality TV.

It's the AlleyAllen Network, where you can always find episodes of The Simpsons, Dharma and Greg, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Voyager, 15 or 20 other sitcoms and a couple of good dramas like West Wing.

But since all but one show is off the air, I'm a DVD/VCR kinda guy, feeling superior to everyone else (even if I'm not) simply because none of my brain cells go into keeping up with reality TV. They all go into beating down street thugs in Grand Theft Auto III.

 

Really? I find the news to be crap right now.

 

Not local news, of course. No one needs more of that. No one.