Yes, tonight begins another season of American Idol (8 p.m., Fox29) - the seventh, sports fans; countless hours of your life you'll never get back - and the first audition show, usually the cruelest of them all, features two hours of Philly auditions, held at the Wachovia Center Aug. 27. Be careful what you wish for, Idol rejects. This may not be pretty. Think Wing Bowl with a rancid soundtrack.
"I'm hoping to step over that borderline and be exceptionally cruel this year," Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer chap from Britain, said in a telephone interview, expressing absolutely no remorse for past audition shows that mocked the mentally challenged and derided the delusional.
And apparently, Philly goes first because we didn't exactly bowl over the American Idol brain trust. Maybe they're bluffing, but it looks like our Idol dreams may evaporate like so many Eagles first-and-goals. Face it. We never win at anything.
"Slightly disappointing," Lythgoe said. "We had so many people there. No ratio between the amount of people and the amount of talent. We had over 20,000, and thought, wow we're really going to find some incredible talent. When you're talking about a handful, it's really disappointing. And I don't mind the slight aggression when Simon tells them they suck, because that makes great television, but at some point . . . to stand there shouting and muttering and storming out using bad language, is ignorant actually. . . . "
Hooookay. Sounds like Philly may be a little rough.
How about Simon Cowell, was he impressed by Philly?
