America’s Got Talent: Season Two Premiere
Well, Simon Cowell’s America Lacks Talent, er, America’s Got Talent is back for another season. Hey it was the number one show of summer 06, so why not? This season kicked off with an overly long two-hour premiere.
Things have changed a bit this year with Jerry Springer replacing Regis Philbin as host and Sharon Osborne taking Brandy’s empty judging chair. Jerry Springer seems like the logical choice to host this show, since he is used to dealing with oddballs on his daytime talk show. And the oddballs were not in short supply, from the Human Slinky to the Letterman Brothers (you’ll remember them as the men jiggling their pecs in time to Dueling Banjos) to the family of violin players. And the precocious little girls were out in force, no doubt prodded on by stage mothers and last year’s win of Bianca Ryan. Piers played the role of mean English judge by being honest–brutally so. When a nine year-old girl attempted a cheerleading routine, Piers laid in to her and her mother. Sharon was so upset she actually left the judging table, saying “I’m taking off my makeup and going home!” Only after much pleading (and surely her contract) could she brought back on stage.
The addition of Sharon Osborne as judge is a little more dubious since I’m not sure what her talent is. Then again, they let Hasselhoff back. I kid, I kid! Honestly though, the talent certainly seems to be lacking, as no one made that great of an impression. The dancing group the Jabbawokkes looked liked they’d just been kicked off of So You Think You Can Dance (another Cowell show) and the Elvis impersonator appeared to be on the wrong stage (”Sir, Next Best Thing is the door over”). The talent the judges did send on to the next round almost seemed to be an obligatory way to fill the slots for the vote-off shows. Could it be that America really does lack talent?
Things could turn around next week in Los Angeles, which will certainly draw out the freaks and rejects from other reality shows.
