Oh, man. This is almost EXACTLY what I was going to post.
She looks like she’s had a rough 23, doesn’t she? Something tells me she’ll be around for a bit, with some pretty unremarkable competition to kill off and the “vote for the worst” crowd supporting her.
Unsurprised all around tonight. I’m overjoyed that Danny is gone, I couldn’t stand what tiny amounts I saw of him (thank you Mr. DVR). Same with Kady. After her little retrospective I turned to my wife and said, “Wow, there wasn’t one second in that segment in which she wasn’t obnoxious.”
Gone, and good riddance:
Luke - Finally!
Kady - Who? Oh right. Eh.
Gone, and I’m a little 
about it:
Asia’h - Not the best singer, but she was more likeable than Syesha and Ramalama or whatever her name is. I would have preferred to see the other indistinguishable blonde-who-starts-with-a-K gone first.
Gay Danny - I agree he’s pulled nothing but turkeys this round, but he has been good before, and he was entertaining. He should have counted as a girl, so they could have sent Kristy (or Amanda. Poor Amanda) home instead and let him stay.
Good choices, I thought. And good riddance, frankly, to the spoiled brat. He could use a few more rounds of humiliation and then his talent might move ahead of his attitude, which would be a good thing for him.
It became apparent to me that David H is the one spearheading the attacks on David A. The former was very cold toward the latter. It could be jealousy. Possibly a spurned amorous advance. Who knows.
Just in case you’re not a denizen of The Game Room, this season’s American Idol Results Prediction Game is now up and running!
Dude, you sound like Dr. Lecter.
[…taps corner of mouth with napkin…]
First I heard it was on a West Wing episode. And then on a Grey’s Anatomy episode. And that’s when I decided I was really sick of this song, when it became the go-to song for every Very Special Episode wrap-up.
And my son also noticed that Jessica Alba & Danny were separated-at-birth.
[showing my age]I had him as Jane Fonda in ‘Klute’.[/showing my age]
No surprises last night.
Gay Danny must be a nice guy to the girls because they all wept buckets and went by to give him a little squeeze when he was sitting on the chopping block. Still, had he not acted like a petulant 13 year old, he might still be in the competition.
Do any of you people who denigrate Paula (oops, I’m sorry, “Pauler”) really think she is fucked up on the show? Because if you do, then you are idiots. When in the history of live television has any performer (and I’m not talking about one-off appearances at the Grammy’s, or the MTV Awards, etc) who knows she has to be in front of the camera, willingly got fucked up? NEVER!
Oh, and to the poster who called Danny “Mr. McFruityPants” or some such dumbass nickname, I laughed at it, and then hated myself in the morning.
I don’t think Pauler’s fucked up on the show - she acts the same was I do in certain circumstances. Especially around good, live music, absolutely.
But it’s not true that people never imbibe before appearing on television, I know of at least one. I remember watching the Phil Donahue* show many moons ago when Paul Linde was the guest. One of the audience members asked if he’d had “a liquid lunch” and he acknowledged it was true.
Had to go ask Mom what that one meant.
*think white, male Oprah, for you young’uns
Yes, of course there have been people who were drunk in a one-off apperance, for whatever reason. But I’m talking about someone who knows that she is going to be in front of a live audience, on a weekly basis. Not someone who is going to appear one time on Oprah or Donohue.
All I’m saying is that Paula (not Pauler!) is not fucked up on Idol. That’s all.
Oh, and whatever happened to Phil?
Married Marlo Thomas.
His time in the spotlight just passed, like Alan Alda’s. That whole “sensitive man” thing went out in the mid-1980s.
It doesn’t shock me that people think Paula’s drunk - as a teenager, my friends’ parents were convinced I was a lush or stoner or something.
Lots of states of awareness to be had out there.
If she isn’t fucked up then she is indeed on some other plane than most of us mortals who speak coherently, can sit down without support from the people sitting next to us, do not slur our words, can keep our eyes all the way open for more than 5 minutes at a time and don’t need to be told when to stand, sit or leave.
I don’t mind any of that. She’s one of my favorite parts of the show. I still wouldn’t want to be shrunk and hung from her rearview mirror though.
Is that meant to be sarcastic? Because there’s a long history of people showing up drunk on live shows. Dean Martin made a career out of it (sometimes faked, sometimes not). Back on the old Tonight show, half the guests would be in the bag on some nights. Ed McMahon famously turned up for the show one night so drunk that he was almost incoherent, and Carson called him on it live (“You’re not fooling anyone, you know!”). It’s now a common clip in ‘best of Carson’ collections.
There have been many occasions when guests on Conan’s show have been clearly drunk or high.
I don’t know if Paula is really drunk, or just really stupid/airheaded. I don’t really care. But if she’s drunk all the time, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit. And the producers won’t care either, so long as she shows up on time and her drunk schtick pulls in ratings.
Good Christ Almighty, does anyone read what someone says? I guess not.
As for your question about the sarcastic nature of my post, no, it is not meant to be. Did anyone even read what I wrote?
Dean Martin’s schtick was that he was a drunkard, but it was AN ACT! Ok, so half the guests were “in the bag”. Fair enough. Ed McMahon turned up drunk for the show ONE night. And yeah, I saw Hunter S. Thompson on Conan, and he was on something (or maybe not, who the fuck knows?). Ah, but what is the common thread that runs through all the instances you site, Sam? One-off appearances, or something close to them. NOT a regular performer on a weekly show. Your argument is weak. But maybe I’m wrong. I mean, after all, Ed McMahon was drunk on one show that you site, out of how many, oh I don’t know, 3,000?
The point is that these weren’t one-off appearances. Ed McMahon was in his cups so often on that show that it was a running gag. The old ‘Rat Pack’ were regulars on the show, and not only were they usually half plastered, but they drank adult beverages during the show.
I’m not sure that comparisons of AI with old late night television and Vegas shows are appropriate. For one thing, new attitudes toward alcohol and drug abuse might skew differently today. Dean et al also sucked on cigarettes all night long, but seeing Pauler pull out an ashtray and lighting up might raise an eyebrow or two. So it’s different in both ways, a primetime family show versus post-bedtime TV and a modern zeitgeist versus an old one.