> The primary difference between American Idol and the singing portions of Star Search is that American Idol indulges in the worst as well as the best. Particularly in the initial round of judging, there are some truly horrible auditions. The show seems to give the bad ones even more air time than it gives the good ones. The narrator makes snide remarks, but one of the three judges is worse. Simon -- I don't know his last name -- has gotten very rich and very popular with his brutal comments about bad auditions. "You're the worst singer in the world," he told one poor kid (who, admittedly, was pretty atrocious). This quote was turned into a marketing blitz: all the ads for that particular episode showed the clip of Simon saying that while a voice-over advised viewers that they could tune in to find out who he was talking about. When auditions are good, he is not stingy with praise, but when audition are bad, he lays into them with pretty mercilessly. ("I'm not saying this to be mean, but you are one of the worst singers I've ever heard.") This is old news to those who watched the original season of American Idol, but like I said, I never saw that and never really heard about it.
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> My reaction to Simon is pretty much one of disgust. His defenders point out the virtues of honesty. I agree that it is admirable to be honest with people, and if you're acting as a judge for anything, you have the responsibility to give an honest opinion. Not only that, but you have the responsibility to give an honest opinion without catering to people's feelings. And is Simon truly being honest? It's quite apparent he exaggerates, and even after he has made his point, he often doesn't stop. The indignant reactions of the people he disparages is another point of "entertainment" on the show: they range from classless profanity to more eloquent and very valid points about the lack of need for derogatory remarks.

Ironically, I was just saying almost this very thing to the wife the other night. She's obsessed with the show, and doesn't understand why I cannot abide it. Frankly, it is one of very few television shows that honestly disgusts me, for reasons that people have already mentioned in this thread. The show seems to be about cruelty rather than anything else - whenever I hear people talk about it (at work or whatnot), the conversation is almost invariably of the "did you see the show? Yeah! They sucked so bad... man, they really got made fun of. It RULED" variety. And it simply seems wrong and cruel and reprehensible to me to lure these children (I believe the age range is 16-24) onto the show with promises of stardom or (at least) of their fifteen minutes of fame, and then to humiliate them in front of the entire country. As you say (in your Star Search comparison), if the show cared more about the positive aspects, I would have no problem with it. It wouldn't interest me, but it wouldn't disgust me, either.

Also ironically, that Simon guy is the creator of the show. Which sheds perhaps a new light on its purpose, no?