On Mon, May 18, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote:
> What happened to the mooted idea - I think by NBC - of doing a US > state by state competition along similar lines? You have two > semi-finals and then a final of 25 songs. You'd get three big three > hour spectaculars! My instinct is to mock the concept, but I frankly don't know enough about the Eurovision song contest, aside from a few mentions in Python sketches. How are winners chosen? Who decides who can participate? If there are judges, how are they chosen, and do they do the sort of televised verbal harrassing of singers that the Idol judges do? If somone wanted to organize a continent-wide talent search conducted by leading music industry professionals and artists, not for the purposes of producing a weepy-eyed and overdramatic TV show, but for the purposes of actually scouting talent, I'd be all for such an endeavor. Listening to the commentary track of the first Godfather movie, Francis Ford Copalla noted that he always holds open auditions for characters in every film he does. He feels it is a way for those without connections, agents, etc. to get a foot in the door... to be seen and reviewed by experts (such an audition process resulted in Ford discovering/casting the inimitable Abe Vigoda). I think the main reason I've never been impressed with the pool of talent collected by shows like American Idol or Nashville Star is that, having worked a few casting calls for other reality shows, I know people are being booked to appear on a TV show. Yes, their musical ability is an issue, but it is not the only issue, and it is rarely the most important issue. Contestants are known by talent scouts as "characters." It is more obvious on shows like "The Amazing Race" where you almost always see "the old couple," "the gay couple," "the ethnic couple," and other easily spotable stereotypes. I know I tend to be overly critical of reality TV, but there is a difference between finding talent (whether a singer, dancer, actor, or "survivor") who happens to be old/homosexual/ethnic as opposed to casting someone BECAUSE they are old/homosexual/ethnic and they are needed to round out the cast of characters for a television show. If we had successful radio shows in America like they do in the UK, I think we would be in a better position to conduct a search for musical talent. But the consumptive and commercial nature of US television all but prevents a TV network from funding a legitimate search for a singer, songwriter, or performer. The best network TV can do is search for characters. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... Smart (TV) People on Ice! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
