And it's on TWICE a week

American Idol. My family watches it. Not me. You see, I direct musicals, so each year, I get to sit through four or five days of that.

So the thrill of sitting in front of the t.v. for the first several weeks while they show over and over the very worst possible performances that they reject--it ain't so much like entertainment as it is reliving what I have come to dread a bit. Thankfully, most of what I see is pretty good.

Then of course, there's all the obligatory trash talk about why it's a travesty (usually mispronounced, of course) that such amazing talent was rejected. Thing is, the whole thing smacks of phoniness now anyways. Most of the really awful people know that decently talented never gets on t.v., but William Hung wannabes will stand a better chance at a few seconds of fame.

Then there's Canadian Idol. More of the same, but with cheesier production values. I think the trick to success is to find a small enough country and take up citizenship there and win their "Idol" show. I believe, were I younger, I could make a good "Icelandic Idol".

I think this was a British show first, wasn't it--like Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Weakest Link.

The Brits have a lot to answer for, methinks.