Ellen simply failed as an 'American Idol' judge
The comedian wasn't critical enough of the contestants, and worse, she
wasn't even entertaining
by Craig Berman
TODAYshow.com contributor, TeamUmizoomi.org
updated 47 minutes ago
COMMENTARY
When Ellen DeGeneres was picked to be Paula Abdul=92s replacement on
=93American Idol=94 less than a year ago, it seemed like an inspired
choice.
Ellen was a huge fan of the show who was a natural fit to take over as
the =93Nice Judge=94 and expand the show=92s reach into the demographics of
her hit daytime talk show. And as a brilliant comic with a ready
supply of one-liners, she=92d have the tenacity to throw elbows with
Simon Cowell in a more entertaining way than Paula could manage with
her rambling commentary.
But it didn=92t work out quite as planned, and Ellen=92s decision to exit
the show after just one season is the best resolution for everyone.
She=92s better off returning to her status as one of the program=92s
biggest fans. Her exit gives =93Idol=94 a chance to move forward with
someone better, and the fans don=92t have to watch her struggle to be
noticed in the crowded battle for airtime.
The simple fact is that apart from her talk show, where the rejected
contestants got a second chance to perform and discuss their exit
after the Wednesday elimination episodes, Ellen didn=92t contribute much
of anything to the program. She was never very critical regardless of
how poorly someone performed, but more to the point, she wasn=92t even
entertaining. Pushed to the background most of the time, she quickly
went from being a potential game changer to a bland, forgettable
figure =97 the Paige Miles of the judges. (Forget Paige all ready? She
finished eleventh last season .)
Blame it on Ellen=92s discomfort at having to criticize contestants she
genuinely liked, which is the reason she gives for leaving. Blame it
on the lack of chemistry between her and the other judges, Randy
Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. But mostly, blame it on the fact that she
never seemed to be confident enough to display the wit and creativity
she shows in her other creative endeavors.
As a big fan of everything else she does, that was the biggest
disappointment for me. I thought she=92d be the judge who could balance
out Simon=92s sarcasm with some cutting retorts that put him in his
place =97 and Lord knows, Simon=92s ego could have used the hit.
Instead, she seemed eager to fit in and largely unwilling to ruffle
feathers. Unfortunately, that didn=92t lead to a great dynamic with the
other three judges. She acted more like a fan than a peer, stepping on
few toes and failing to carve out a niche for herself.
That seemed to get worse over time as she repeated some of the same
jokes that didn=92t even get a laugh the first time around (=93I=92m going
to boo myself,=94 for starters) and mimicked the language of the other
judges. When she started to use =93pitchy=94 in her comments, that was
probably a sign that she was struggling to think of things to say.
As a result, she was the fourth wheel in a three-person party, with
Randy, Kara and Simon doing their own thing and just sort of
tolerating the interloper. It often seemed like she was waiting for
the other judges and host Ryan Seacrest to set her up to shine, but if
that was the case, it was a fruitless hope. Nobody on =93American Idol=94
is very good at voluntarily ceding the spotlight.
Contrast that to how Kara acted when she joined the show two seasons
ago. Her job was actually more challenging, as she was tacked onto a
three-person team that, apart from the occasional guest judge, had
worked alone since =93Idol=94 began. But she crashed the party, forced her
way into the conversation, and wound up carving out a role for herself
in the crowded panel.
Of course, Kara also found it easier to be critical, which generates a
reaction in a way that tepid praise never does. The big reason that
Simon was so popular in his nine seasons as an =93Idol=94 judge was that
he was viciously entertaining. His memorable comments are the ones
where he compared faltering hopefuls to cats falling out of windows,
not the statements that ended with the =93well done.=94
It=92s probably a credit to Ellen that she was unwilling to be cruel to
the young men and women who put everything they had on the line each
week, sometimes having to sing songs well out of their comfort zones,
the way that the other three on the panel can do with relish. That is
the nicer and more fair way of responding, but it sure is dull.
Fans and executives could have forgiven a lot of shortcomings if Ellen
had been more entertaining (indeed, they did so with Paula for years).
But she wasn=92t, and she wasn=92t happy or comfortable with herself in
her attempts, so it=92s best for everyone that this experiment ended
after just one season.
Craig Berman is a writer in Washington. Follow him on Twitter
@craigberman.
=A9 2010 MSNBC Interactive.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38479734/ns/today-entertainment/ |
