Last night, American Idol premiered in its new iteration, brought back by ABC with new judges, but the same host (Ryan Seacrest) and basic tone and approach. That was one test – but another arrives tonight, as the musical competition series that formerly ruled television now goes up directly against the reigning champ in that genre, NBC’s The Voice. And when you put the two head to head, to me it’s no contest at all. Katy Perry, the most attention-demanding of the new Idol judges, didn’t really connect fully in her initial turn – and the first time a self-delusional, overly confident singing “talent” faced the rejection of the three judges, American Idol revealed the mean underbelly that separates it so clearly from The Voice. There are times, in these early audition episodes, when Idol not only allows itself to be cruel, but revels in it. The Voice is just as emotionally manipulative in framing its contestants’ stories, but in a positive way. Go there. Skip this. For a full review, see Roger Caitlin's TV Eye.

Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)

Name (required)

Email (required) (will not be published)


Type in the verification word shown on the image.

New From TVWW

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

1957: Julie Andrews Stars in 'Cinderella'

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption