American Idol is Back... And So Are We!

I was totally planning on posting something yesterday but then I went to pick up the mail and saw that the “Cheers” season five DVDs that I had ordered had finally arrived so I’ll let you figure out how I spent the rest of the day (one of the best shows ever, by the way; but I’ll spare you that rant for another time).

One of the main reasons I have been able to get into a show like “Cheers” has been the absence of new television shows because of the on-going writers’ strike. I know I probably watch waaaay too much television so when I first realized that the strike was going to be a reality back in the fall, I had the fleeting thought that I would maybe use this time to read more, or start a new hobby, or maybe even hang out more often with actual human beings… Oh, silly me.

Instead, I’ve been plowing through more and more shows on DVD and getting more and more depressed about the lack of the new shows. Seriously, if I don’t get a new ep of “The Office” soon, I will be sending you these posts from an institution.

And then, the calendar finally rolled over to January and I knew that temporary relief was on its way. Just like a beacon in the night, we survived through the onslaught of cheesy holiday programming and were rewarded with something new, something fresh, something watchable… Ladies and gentlemen, “American Idol” is back.

And I’m happy to report that the two night premiere this week hasn’t disappointed at all. The contestants are just as crazy as ever, and it is just me, or does Simon appear nicer this year for some reason. You keep waiting for him to really land on someone but it just hasn’t happened yet. I know we’ve still got time but perhaps seven seasons of watching these loony toons have finally gotten to him and he just doesn’t care as much any more.

Also, it’s been no surprise that “Idol” dominated the ratings this week either. Though it was somewhat surprising that the numbers were down a little from last year’s opening, FOX has got to be stoked that right now “Idol” is really the only new thing on the air right now.

I can see some of the FOX executives in negotiations with the other producers and writers now: “Um, yeah… Why don’t we all just take a little break to cool down and let’s say we start trying to resolve this whole ‘strike’ thing again… Oh, I don’t know, how does June work for everyone?”

You can’t blame them for trying.

And you can’t blame me for using this post to also promote the return of the talk radio show that I co-host with my buddy Gray, “The Pop and Culture Show”.

We took a little break for the holidays but we are officially back on the airwaves tonight at midnight (so actually tomorrow, but you know what I mean) for an all new season of what’s going on in the arts and entertainment scene from Hollywood to Hampton Roads (how’s that for a tag?!)

You can tune in live on the radio at 88.7 FM locally or could listen to us live on the WFOS website http://eclipse.cps.k12.va.us/departments/radio/index.html (click the Live Audio Stream in the upper left hand corner) AND if you miss the show tonight, Gray will have the show up on our MySpace page, www.myspace.com/popandculture, sometime within the next 24 hours so check us out there too.

We will definitely be talking more about “Idol” on the show so tune in and tell your friends! And let me know what you think of "Idol" so far. You can leave a comment here or email me at jmahler47@gmail.com.