Most Brilliant or Most Evil?
I just got done watching Superstar USA on the WB. This show is basically American Idol with a brilliant albeit evil twist. The twist on this show is that the ENTIRE thing is a big prank. Basically the hosts are voting through the WORST singers and are getting rid of anyone remotely decent. They aren’t just bringing bad singers to Hollywood, they are bringing the ones with the HUGE egos who truly think they have talent. They are making it seem like a real competition.
Now on one hand, this is decidedly evil. It is completely mocking these folks and getting their hopes up in order to tear them down. It has a very high school, Carrie-esque feeling to it. I actually at times feel somewhat sorry for these people.
On the other hand, for these people to be SO deluded, to actually think they are good, and have HUGE egos about it is insane. One of the fun things about American Idol is watching the judges rip apart the truly pathetic ‘talents’ that apply. For the life of me, I could never understand how someone so awful could wait in line for a day or two to totally suck in a singing competition. They HAVE to know they suck right? Apparently not. On this show, talentless hack after talentless hack gets voted through, and the contestants act as if they’re already stars. I almost think they deserve this prank.
So who knows, I may continue to watch it. It’s painful at times but brutally funny. I just have to get over the guilt associated with staring at this train-wreck.
May 17, 2004 @ 10:15 pm
Didn’t they do this a few years ago and call it the Gong Show?
May 17, 2004 @ 10:50 pm
Hmmm… a FEW years. Showing your age there a bit Mr. Duffbert?
At least on the gong show, the contestants KNEW what they were in for. The people here think they are really part of a genuine talent competition.
I don’t doubt for a second however that ever single one of them would have gotten gonged. Not even a paper bag over their heads would help
May 18, 2004 @ 8:31 am
so john would this qualify as “guilty pleasure” tv?
May 18, 2004 @ 9:14 am
It’s definitely guilty alright! I go back and forth on the pleasure part
May 19, 2004 @ 12:45 pm
It’s even more evil than you think. In order to get the audiance to clap and not laugh, they told them that these people were with the “Make a wish Foundation” and that they had terminal diseases, and this was their last wish.
May 19, 2004 @ 8:03 pm
Oh.My.God. That is TERRIBLE. I cannot believe that… that just makes it too over the top for me…. eeeeek. Reality TV has definitely sunk to a new low.
May 24, 2004 @ 12:50 pm
Well, reality TV is cool when it’s about (mostly) good natured competitions. See Survivor, Amazing Race, even American Idol. When it’s about humiliating people, it’s just perverse. See the bacholor, my big fat fiance, etc. Trouble is, it’s easy to paint all realtiy with the same brush. Of course, in the end, we get the TV we deserve.