Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Every Vote Matters

As this country gears up to vote for the next President, it's important to note that most Americans will spend more time over the next few months worrying about their vote for "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) than the group of Republicans and Democrats left in the political field.

It's not really a criticism of "AI" that so many people are involved in voting as I'm criticizing the average American's lack of interest in the political process. I bring this all up because tonight, people can start voting for their favorite "AI" singers. The 12 male finalists go tonight, followed by the dozen female vocalists on Wednesday.

It will be interesting to see if the voting process comes under the same scrutiny as last year, when Internet bloggers and people with too much free time on their hands deliberately tried to rig the process so that the awful Sanjaya would advance while other, more worthy contenders would get knocked out.

I don't know if there is a Sanjaya in this year's group, but it does beg the question of whether the best singer will win. (I still can't believe as a nation you "AI" voters picked Taylor Hicks over Katharine McPhee. Seriously.)

On the other hand, it's still hard to come up with a better way to do the process. I made the same argument when Fox ran "On The Lot." The most popular singers in this country are the ones that sell the most albums and merchandise, so people throwing their support behind one singer is a fairly apt comparison. After all, most artists measure their success in the number of gold records they have.

So, go out and rock the vote. Just remember to show a little interest when it comes time for, I don't know, the Presidential election.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Once "AI" begins, other programming seems to go by the wayside. Fortunately, most of the good shows haven't started from their post-strike delays.

NBC will trot out its own stab at so-called reality with "The Biggest Loser" (NBC, 8 p.m.), while ABC burns off "According to Jim," "Carpoolers" and "Boston Legal" beginning at 9 p.m.

The absolute worst reality show of them all, "Big Brother" (CBS, 9 p.m.) is brand-new, followed by a new installment of "Jericho" (CBS, 10 p.m.)

Finally, on cable, "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.) is airing its season finale.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I sincerely apologize to your loyal dozens I might be offending with any "political declarations" here but Barack Obama IS the 'American Idol' of Presidential candidates - and that is NOT a compliment.

Here's a guy with no experience, no background, who we barely know anything about - and instead of talking about policy and issues, he gives these grande oratorial speeches that say nothing and as we found out this past weekned, in fact are ripped off from other politicians.

He has no real background or talent or experience, yet the crazed youth of America has chosen to make him the most popular presidential candidate - just as the youth of American have shoved AI down our throats, killing better, more interesting Television shows in its wake.

Just as there are probably 100 people more qualified to be President than Barack Obama, there are 100 TV shows more deserving of good ratings that AI, but the less than intelligent youth of our nation are forcing the more experienced Hillary Clinton out of the way for the grandiose Obama.

I just found some really chilling parallels with AI and Obama - the difference is that ONE is a Television show we can all 'turn off' and watch something else or get some DVD's.

The other is running for President and if he wins, it could be 4 very long years while someone with actual experience like Hillary Clinton is forced to the sidelines.