We Was Robbed (But for a Good Cause)
We at Tuned In headquarters are not made of stone. Watching the two-hour Idol Gives Back special last night with Mrs. Tuned In, we genuinely ached for the AIDS orphans in Kenya, the New Orleans kids--nearly two years after Katrina--living in conditions still stunning and unconscionable in a rich country, the African babies dying of malaria. So while there were elements of the special that one could snark about on a pure TV-entertainment level, I will bite my tongue in the spirit of charity. Il Divo, Paula Abdul, Celine Dion and the resurrected ghost of Elvis, you may sit down: you are safe.
Still, as for the competition itself: the whole nonelimination thing? Little bit of a ripoff, no? Does it make me a bad person to say it? Clearly it would have been jarring to send somebody home on a night of inspiration and good feelings; as I wrote yesterday, mixing competition with charity was weird enough. (And props to Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly, who totally called the everyone's-safe twist yesterday.) But why string along the audience for two hours--three if you count Tuesday--not to mention needlessly torturing Jordin into believing she was on the chopping block?
Because otherwise millions of people wouldn't have watched the telethon or donated. Well, whatever. Maimonides said the lowest form of charity is that given unwillingly, but Robin Hood had a different opinion, and in the end it all spends, on anti-HIV medicine and education.
My real worry is, what does this mean for next year? They can't pull the same surprise twice. Does this mean Idol Gives Back is a one-time deal? That would be too bad, because as telethons go, it was not a bad piece of TV. Yeah, there were cheesy, manipulative moments and live-TV foulups, but Jack Black killed performing Seal's Kiss from a Rose, as did Annie Lennox with her more-earnest Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
And money aside, Idol's ruse got millions of people to watch a two-hour TV show about poverty, probably more exposure to the problems of Africa, Appalachia and the post-Katrina Gulf than many viewers have gotten this year from the news. Idol may not exactly be Frontline, but--as it shows in some of its audition-round vignettes--it can do pretty good slice-of-life storytelling when it wants to. Some of the most affecting moments were not the heartbreaking tales of death, but the scenes--heartbreaking in their own way--of poor American and African kids trying, in spite of everything, to still be kids.
It may go against journalistic impartiality to say it, but I even took a break from taking my cynical little notes to go online and pledge. Maybe Idol got me there under false pretenses. But I still don't want my money back.
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1
James,
We had a blast watching it.
You need to replace a comma with a period in your idolaid link.
Where is the LostWatch.
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2
We was last? Is it proper grammer?
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3
Sorry We was robbed
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4
They can do it again next year....just have it be on "competition" night rather than "results" night. (and maybe force the self-promoting demi-celebrities who provide coaching each week to come back and do a duet with one contestant as the competition.)
As far as "idol gives back" ... will AI be "giving back" all the text messaging and long-distance charges that voters incurred during this stunt?
That being said, I didn't watch the show (too busy watching the Moyers special -- cough, cough). Mini-review: very well produced and compelling. But while it gave much deserved props to two reporters from Knight Ridder and one from AP, Moyers really left the media off the hook by implying that the problem was "not digging deeper". Everyone in the media was fully aware that the case for war was full of holes --- they chose not to report it. And most of them continue to mindlessly spew the same kind of administration propaganda they did in the run up to the war -- a fact that Moyers avoided.
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5
Keith:
I know--the service in this restaurant is horrible! Your order of Lostwatch is under the broiler as we speak.
Is the link still broken? I'm not seeing the problem.
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6
James,
I was in error. I have a new monitor at work (shhhhhh, the boss thinks I'm busy at work pounding on the keyboard) and it looked like a comma to me.
On that order, make it rare so it gets to the table quicker please.
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7
Undercooked and half-baked as usual. It's our specialty.
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8
Actually, it is broken, but for a totally different reason. You have https in the url and it cannot find the server. I changed it to http and got right to it.
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9
I connected just fine just now. Firewall problem? Restart your computer?
Look at me--I'm a short-order cook *and* an IT guy.
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10
all you job less idiots take a break in life...
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11
now that the Star of the SHow is gone, AI sucks!!!!!!!!!!!! AI had nothing to offer except for the talented and charismatic Sanjaya.
They are using their gimmiks to keep viewer attention. Knowing quite well that Sanjaya had many fans and he was the main attraction. They want to blame it on the Worsters, But sorry but it was fans who got him there.
They neglected the fans and now they will pay. Watch the ratings go down.
We will support Sanjaya not AI.
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12
I love American Idol!!!!! We were not ripped off. Get over yourselfs.
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13
sanjaya was al now that he gone i can go back to watching cbs on tuesdays. i voted for him because the kid has talent.
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14
Oh yes...Sanjaya had tons of fans, i'm 38 and loved his voice such a melodious & soothing singing voice, he is also beautiful inside and out. I voted like crazy for him every week for the two hours,(never did that before)and looked forward to watching every week.
Most of the people who claimed they hated Sanjaya, did not even watch American idol, or watched maybe once.
They were caught up in a 'hate Sanjaya 'cause he cant' sing media hype. -
15
ohh geez. get a grip. sanjaya was a crappy singer. yes he had nice hair, but nothing else.
and it was stupid how nobody was eliminated becasue now its not fair for this week's show.oh well.
its a good show:] -
16
Never watched American Idol pre-Sanjaya. I wanted to know what the buzz was all about. Then I got hooked! I went back to Sci-Fi after he was eliminated. Can't stand Simon. I think the show has reached it peak. What goes up must come down... eventually people get tired unless they get another interesting contestant.
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17
In response to Meg's comment: If she is going to criticize about the grammar of the article, she should make sure her spelling is correct. GRAMMAR was misspelled. Thanks!
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