American Idol's Ratings Plummet As Caleb Johnson Beats Jena Irene For The Win

The days of American Idol being the top rated show on American TV are over. The former regularly #1 show is now regularly in the Top 20. Usually the lower tier of the Top 20.

I, among many viewers, bailed on watching American Idol last season by the time the contestants were whittled down to the Final Five, or Six.

I did not watch last year's American Idol finale. I know a girl won, I don't know her name, I don't think she has had a hit song.

With this year's American Idol I also did not watch the finale. For me the only one among this year's singers who made it to the live shows who had any chance at pop idol type success was Alex Preston, due to the fact that he is definitely a one of a kind original.

That is this year's American Idol winner, Caleb Johnson, above, sitting on a couch with Alex Preston.

Caleb Johnson  seemed  nice enough personality-wise. But pop idol-wise? His singing seemed to me to be totally imitative of rockers from the 80s. Nothing original about him. I think Simon Cowell would have not been impressed with Caleb Johnson, with Simon's negative critiques likely leading to Caleb's boot well prior to the finale.

As for Caleb's co-finalist, Jena Irene. Well, if you want people to pronounce your named with a long E, then spell it with a G and two E's. The letter J never sounds like Gee, not that I've ever heard.

As for Jena's pop idol-ness, I was not a fan of her singing, at times it was like she went so quiet and soft I could not make out the words she was singing. Performance-wise and entertainment-wise she was sort of dull.

And then there are the judges. I liked Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. They all seem like very nice people. But, over the course of seeing a lot of hours of the three there were some elements I got a bit tired of.

Harry Connick Jr. at times seemed to be trying too hard to be "entertaining." Throwing beignets into the audience comes to mind. His critiques, at times, seemed sort of a bit overwrought and overthought.

Jennifer Lopez I  really like. And not just because she is very pleasing to look at. But, both she and Keith Urban did something that really annoyed me.

As in more than once Keith Urban and Ms. Lopez would stand while Caleb Johnson was rocking and dance along with the music like a couple of teenagers in cool kid head bobbing mode. It just seemed wrong to me that those two would do this. Harry would have none of it, even with Jennifer trying to get him to stand and join them.

Another thing with Keith Urban, and again I must say he is a very likable guy, who seems to give good advice, at times. But, he could maybe try and expand his vocabulary a bit. He used the word "killer" way too many times. As in verbiage such as "That was killer." Or "That performance was killer." Or "Man, that was killer."

American Idol is no longer a "killer" show. I doubt American Idol will ever find another Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, Phillip Phillips or any of the others who have gone from their American Idol exposure to a show business, or political office career.

Apparently FOX realizes American Idol's best days are behind it, and so will be cutting the number of hours American Idol airs in its next season of searching for America's next pop star....

Meryl & Maks Win The Mirror Ball Trophy After An Excellent Edition Of Dancing With The Stars

To the right you are looking at Meryl Davis & Maksim Chmerkovskiy a moment or two before they won the coveted mirror ball trophy in the latest  iteration of Dancing with the Stars.

This makes two Reality TV competition shows with satisfying endings this week. First was Dave & Connor winning The Amazing Race All Stars, and now Meryl and Maks winning DWTS.

It would have also been a satisfying win if Amy Purdy and Derek Hough had won the mirror ball. But Derek has won something like five times, whilst Maks never won til last night.

Everything about Dancing with the Stars seemed to be a vast improvement this season.

The guest judges added an interesting element. The production values of the dance numbers and the stage sets and the packaged pieces seemed greatly amped up.

Cheesy, sort of embarrassing elements, like Dance Center with Kenny Maynes, or whatever his name is, were axed.

And the new co-host, Erin Andrews, was such a witty, funny, likable change from the previous rather wooden, leaden, dull, humorless co-hosts who came before her.

And then there were the dancers,  I mean, celebrities. I knew who more of them were this time than ever before. And some were  actual celebrities. Like Drew Carey.

And some with whom I was not familiar, as in James Maslow, Amy Purdy, the Olympic Gold Medalists, Charlie White and his skating partner, the winner, Meryl Davis, I came to like and to understand why they could be considered celebrities.

The effect Meryl had on Maks, changing him from the Bad Boy of the Ballroom, into a Teddy Bear, including a scene of Maks crying and getting comforted by Tony Dovolni, well this was not the Maks we'd seen before.

I half expected Maks to actually spout off an actual marriage proposal in the chaos which ensued after he and Meryl won. That would have been Reality TV Gold.

The next season of Dancing with the Stars has its work cut out for it if it is going to top what the show did this year.

Dave & Connnor O'Leary Win The Amazing Race All-Stars

That is Dave & Connor O'leary "Currently in 3rd Place" in the screen cap on the left.

However that "Currently" word is very outdated because this screen cap was from the first time Dave & Connor were on The Amazing Race, a couple seasons ago, knocked early out of the race due to Dave tearing his Achilles tendon.

When the cast of The Amazing Race All-Stars was announced I was perplexed as to why some where "All-Stars". Among those who perplexed me were Dave & Connor.

Why were John & Jessica All-Stars I wondered? Remembered for being eliminated when they had an Express Pass. I did not much remember the country singers, Jennifer & Jessica.

I can see where a case could be made that Natalie & Nadiya, Leo & Jamal, Flight Time & Big Easy, Joey & Meghan, Brendan & Rachel, Margie & Luke and Jet & Cord were All-Stars. Or memorable. Or both.

But this was twice now The Cowboys and Margie & Luke have been on an All-Star edition.

So, it is just a bit ironic that those country singers I didn't remember came in second, while Dave & Connor, won The Amazing Race All-Stars, with what seemed to me to be the best finish to The Amazing Race ever.

No taxi cab race to the end. No boring memory test at the end. Several cool tasks in Las Vegas and then one final Roadblock, parachuting to the finish line, with Connor and either Jennifer or Jessica (I can't remember which country singer parachuted) waiting to see who landed first to win the million bucks.

By the finale, well actually for several episodes, leading to the finale, I've been thinking that Dave & Connor had become worthy All-Stars, as had Jennifer & Jessica. While Brendan & Rachel, who came in 3rd, remained as annoying as the first time were on The Amazing Race.

All in all, a very satisfying, entertaining edition of The Amazing Race. But, please, let's lay the All-Star thing to rest and stay with The Amazing Race old school, with racers we have not met before, and who have not won some other CBS Reality TV Show....

An Afghanimal U-Turn Eliminates The Cowboys From Amazing Race All-Stars

I am not a fan of The Amazing Race when it goes into All-Star mode. The latest Amazing Race All-Stars really only had a couple of memorable teams from seasons past.

With one of those memorable teams, actual Amazing Race All-Stars, the Cowboys, Jet & Cord McCoy.

The Cowboys have now run The Amazing Race three times. Their initial season, followed by a previous All-Stars race, followed by the current All-Stars race, where the Cowboys got eliminated on the latest episode, eliminated by the Afghanimals, Leo & Jamal, U-Turning them.

If I remember right the Cowboys got eliminated on their previous race by being U-Turned.

I really do not like The Amazing Race U-Turn gimmick.

I also do not like The Amazing Race All-Stars gimmick.

I'm not a fan of any Reality TV Show in All-Star mode. I never have watched another episode of Big Brother after repugnant, creepy Mike Boogie won Big Brother All-Stars, with the only reason Boogie was on Big Brother All-Stars being because actual Big Brother All-Star, Will Kirby, insisted the non-All-Star best friend of his, the creepy Boogie, be included.

I also do not like Survivor in its multiple forms of  "All-Star" seasons, be it Fan Favorites, Heroes vs. Villains, Significant Others or any other version which brings back, yet again, Rupert, any of the Hantz family, Ozzie, Colby and others who were fun to watch once, maybe twice,  but never thrice.

The current version of Survivor, the one with the Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty gimmick, with the entire cast being people we've never met before, going back to old school Survivor, is being the best season of Survivor in a long long time, with the best blindsides ever.

Now, if CBS puts the Cowboys on Big Brother, well, that  I might watch....

Jack Bauer & Chloe Back to Live Another Day in 24 Monday May 5 on FOX

It seems not all that long since Jack Bauer last walked off into the sunset and off my TV screen, but it was way back in 2010 that the last minute of 24 aired.

For awhile there was talk of a movie version of 24. That seemed a bit problematic, what with 24's real time way of telling its story. Would that be a 24 hour long movie?

And now on May 5, 2014 Fox is bring Jack Bauer back in 24 Live Another Day, with a two hour premiere starting at 8/7C.

This new version of 24 will not be 24 hour long episodes. Instead there will be 12 episodes, I assume with each episode covering two hours.

Chloe is back helping Jack.

24 would not be the same without Chloe.

Back in 2010 24 and LOST were my favorite TV shows. I think LOST was still on the air at that point in time.

I Wanna Marry Harry With One Royal Hoax & Twelve Single Ladies

The past month or so when I fast forward past commercials when watching some FOX production I noticed a time or two someone who looked like Prince Harry flashing by.

A couple days ago I paused the DVR when I saw Prince Harry and watched the promo.

For a second or two I thought I was seeing the real Prince Harry and wondered what in the world is this?

And then I realized what it was. A Bachelor type Reality TV Show with, once again, a Joe Millionaire twist.

Twelve single American ladies are duped into thinking they are being romanced by Prince Harry. I should have said twelve really dumb single American ladies are duped into thinking they are being romanced by Prince Harry.

Infosearching for information about this upcoming FOX exploration, (or is that exploitation?) of how low American tastes can go, it appears being appalled at the concept is pretty much the universal reaction.

That and most say they will be watching.

I think I will be among them. I Wanna Marry Harry would seem to have the possibility of being funny.

If I Wanna Marry Harry follows the Bachelor formula it will be very amusing when the final four potential princesses take Prince Harry home to meet the family.

Followed by the final three getting invited to Prince Harry's Fantasy Suite.

And then how does the final part happen? Does a fake Queen Elizabeth and her hubbie Phillip show up? Along with a fake Prince Charles and Camilla?

I suspect FOX will have itself a rare hit.

I Wanna Marry Harry starts up Tuesday, May 27 at 8/7C. Is that on the same night and the same time as the new iteration of The Bachelorette?