Canadian Idol up to something new, different
got this from canada.com
Canadian Idol, the program that no one will admit watching but which continues to heat up the midsummer ratings charts, continues to tweak the Idol formula.
Last week's results show, for example, featured encore performances by the four performers the judges liked the best -- a results-show first -- before the four performers fans liked the least were given the heave ho.
Canadian Idol is consciously trying to throw a change-up into the same old Idol formula of time-wasting, group medleys, car ads masquerading as performance art -- yuck -- and a lot of space-filling, faux suspense before the send-off.
Time will tell, of course, if the so-called "judges' encore" will prove to be a jinx, but for now it seems like a good idea. By singling out the performers they like best this early in the process, the judges have clearly gone out on a limb.
Farley Flex singled out Lethbridge, Alta.'s Theo Tams for an encore, singing Collide. Flex gave Tams props for his consistency and pro chops.
Zack Werner favoured small-town Alberta troubadour Amberly Thiessen, singing Everything I Own, for her old-soul vibe and uncommonly natural voice.
Jake Gold leaned toward Toronto singer-songwriter Oliver Pigott, singing the Elton John standard Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.
And Sass Jordan singled out Scarborough, Ont.'s Omar Lunan, and his old-world vibe on the Bill Withers classic Ain't No Sunshine.
These are early days yet -- 16 singers remain -- but if, by late September, Lunan, Pigott, Tams or Thiessen are still standing in the Idol circle, then you'll known the judges were onto something.
Of course, as American Idol has taught us, the fans often don't care what the judges think. The viewers who do the actual voting often resent what they perceive as interference from the judges. A savaging from Simon Cowell -- or Zack Werner -- almost guarantees that singer will return the following week.
It works the other way, too. If the judges overpraise a performer the fans don't think is that terrific, that singer can easily become a candidate for early dismissal.
This much is certain. Canadian Idol is compelling entertainment at its core, and this season shows early signs of being one for the memory bank.
The remaining singers perform again tonight and tomorrow; the results show is Wednesday. By the end of the week, just 10 singers will remain. September is not that far away, it seems.
9 p.m., CTV
Three to see:
- Homegrown actor Bruce Greenwood gives one of his most thoughtful -- and thought-provoking -- performances as John F. Kennedy in filmmaker Roger Donaldson's underrated 2001 feature film Thirteen Days, about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Kevin Costner plays White House aide Kenneth O'Donnell, and Steven Culp is equally fine as Robert Kennedy. A compelling, clear-eyed look back at an uncertain time.
9 p.m., History
- Steven Spielberg and Leslie Bohem's sprawling sci-fi saga Taken takes a decidedly different view of 1962 in tonight's third-of-10 instalments, High Hopes, in which Col. Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch) is given just one month to prove the space visitors are a danger to America. If the voice of the little girl narrating sounds familiar, that's because it's Dakota Fanning.
6 p.m., Space
- ReAnna, age eight, is frequently visited by the ghost of her grandmother, the late jazz singer Nina Simone. She also sees the spirit of a young girl she's convinced died in a car crash in front of her home. No, you're not watching the latest from M. Night Shyamalan. It's a reality show called Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal, and it's just as silly and tacky as it sounds. Good summer entertainment, though.
7 p.m., A&E
Canadian Idol, the program that no one will admit watching but which continues to heat up the midsummer ratings charts, continues to tweak the Idol formula.
Last week's results show, for example, featured encore performances by the four performers the judges liked the best -- a results-show first -- before the four performers fans liked the least were given the heave ho.
Canadian Idol is consciously trying to throw a change-up into the same old Idol formula of time-wasting, group medleys, car ads masquerading as performance art -- yuck -- and a lot of space-filling, faux suspense before the send-off.
Time will tell, of course, if the so-called "judges' encore" will prove to be a jinx, but for now it seems like a good idea. By singling out the performers they like best this early in the process, the judges have clearly gone out on a limb.
Farley Flex singled out Lethbridge, Alta.'s Theo Tams for an encore, singing Collide. Flex gave Tams props for his consistency and pro chops.
Zack Werner favoured small-town Alberta troubadour Amberly Thiessen, singing Everything I Own, for her old-soul vibe and uncommonly natural voice.
Jake Gold leaned toward Toronto singer-songwriter Oliver Pigott, singing the Elton John standard Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.
And Sass Jordan singled out Scarborough, Ont.'s Omar Lunan, and his old-world vibe on the Bill Withers classic Ain't No Sunshine.
These are early days yet -- 16 singers remain -- but if, by late September, Lunan, Pigott, Tams or Thiessen are still standing in the Idol circle, then you'll known the judges were onto something.
Of course, as American Idol has taught us, the fans often don't care what the judges think. The viewers who do the actual voting often resent what they perceive as interference from the judges. A savaging from Simon Cowell -- or Zack Werner -- almost guarantees that singer will return the following week.
It works the other way, too. If the judges overpraise a performer the fans don't think is that terrific, that singer can easily become a candidate for early dismissal.
This much is certain. Canadian Idol is compelling entertainment at its core, and this season shows early signs of being one for the memory bank.
The remaining singers perform again tonight and tomorrow; the results show is Wednesday. By the end of the week, just 10 singers will remain. September is not that far away, it seems.
9 p.m., CTV
Three to see:
- Homegrown actor Bruce Greenwood gives one of his most thoughtful -- and thought-provoking -- performances as John F. Kennedy in filmmaker Roger Donaldson's underrated 2001 feature film Thirteen Days, about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Kevin Costner plays White House aide Kenneth O'Donnell, and Steven Culp is equally fine as Robert Kennedy. A compelling, clear-eyed look back at an uncertain time.
9 p.m., History
- Steven Spielberg and Leslie Bohem's sprawling sci-fi saga Taken takes a decidedly different view of 1962 in tonight's third-of-10 instalments, High Hopes, in which Col. Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch) is given just one month to prove the space visitors are a danger to America. If the voice of the little girl narrating sounds familiar, that's because it's Dakota Fanning.
6 p.m., Space
- ReAnna, age eight, is frequently visited by the ghost of her grandmother, the late jazz singer Nina Simone. She also sees the spirit of a young girl she's convinced died in a car crash in front of her home. No, you're not watching the latest from M. Night Shyamalan. It's a reality show called Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal, and it's just as silly and tacky as it sounds. Good summer entertainment, though.
7 p.m., A&E
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