Is American Idol on the way out?

I have been a viewer of American Idol pretty much all along. My justification is that I need to be aware of the popular shows so that I can be an effective teacher and critic and analyst. I can't watch everything but American Idol is on at a convenient time and my family enjoys it too. I might even argue that it is fairly good wholesome family viewing but then I'd be ignoring the overemphasis on appearances and Ryan's comments about the ladies' legs and Simon and Randy's request to a female singer to "dirty up her image." If it wasn't for that and the emphasis on fame and money as the ultimate goal of any young person I could say that American Idol is good wholesome television viewing.

But it is what is popular on TV. I must check out the ratings for this season compared to other seasons because I have a suspicion that it is on the way out. The whole show seems more disjointed than before. The fourth judge seems to not fit in to the format and Ryan seems very flimsy. The recent efforts at interviewing in the Green Room and Ryan's appearance of "live" television as he refers to it himself is bordering on amateurish. I almost feel while watching that they just don't care any more. Maybe they think they are indispensable and will never be cancelled or maybe they are just bored and want to get away from it, but there is something lacking in this season of American Idol.

Seacrest, telling us to watch the commercials to see a hidden audition in the commercials is pathetic. An American Idol retrospective was rerun to the sound track of Wonderful World. Self congratulation once is bad enough but doing it again to the aesthetic of slow motion is pathetic. I think they probably couldn't find enough highlights from all the seasons to play them at regular speed so playing them in slow motion filled out the duration of the song. Frankly, the best part of the retrospective was the song.

Is American Idol on the way out? One of the most successful shows for a long time in the ratings may be going away. It was not a new idea when Simon "brought" it over to the U.S. Talent shows were the original staple of broadcasting long before Simon was around. They went away and now they're back again, but for how long? The cycle continues.