I THINK AS PART OF THE DEAL, WE SHOULD INSIST ON BRINGING THIS GUY OVER AS A JUDGE: As Bill Carter reported, that's what Fox executive Sandy Grushow said to his colleagues during the 2002 negotiations to buy the U.S. rights to Britain's Pop Idol -- and "this guy," whose name he could not remember, was Simon Cowell.
Tonight marks not only the end of the ninth season of American Idol but also the end of Simon Cowell's tenure on the show, and he will be sorely missed. The ethic that Cowell brought to Idol -- and which was carried forward into other reality shows by folks like Tim Gunn, Tom Colicchio and Janice Dickinson -- is that it's okay for judges to judge. Not everyone deserves the you tried really hard, and that had some redeeming qualities response -- good, substantive criticism helps separate the great from the pretty good, and over the years viewers incorporated Cowell's preferences as their own and stopped seeing him as a villain, but rather as a guide. Still, to be sure, the Parade of the Deluded during auditions became a tedious pigeon shoot, and the gay banter and teasing with Seacrest was not entertaining.
But on the whole, what I said in December 2008 when I awarded him the ALOTT5MA Award for Reality TV Host/Judge of the Year remains true, and I don't know that Idol survives beyond 2011 without him. He more than anyone else defined the role of a "judge" in this new tv genre, and the entertainment universe is indebted to him for that.
This is an open thread for discussion of tonight's grand finale. Enjoy.
