‘Idol’ results show revels in cruelty

The first four “American Idol 5” contestants to be eliminated based upon audience votes were no surprise.

Arguably, there were worse performances from less-charismatic, less-attractive contestants, particularly on the men’s side. But all four who went home — Bobby Bennett, Patrick Hall, Becky O’Donohue, and Stevie Scott — did not perform well during their first solo performance. The judges described their performances as average or unmemorable.

As the lights dimmed and the music grew more ominous, host Ryan Seacrest began the long ordeal of eliminating contestants for the first time this season. He did not start the show by saying, “Becky, Bobby, Stevie, and Patrick, you’re all going home. Say goodbye. Good night!”

Instead, he had to fill 44 minutes of air time, but even the endless recaps of the songs performed and the judges’ comments couldn't kill that much time. So as usual, Ryan ordered various groups of contestants to stand up or sit down, marking them for possible elimination or sending them back to the security of the couches. In other words: Manufacturing all sorts of drama and tension, even where none exists.

For the first female elimination, Becky, Brenna, and Kinnik were called to center stage, where Ryan first told Kinnik that she was safe. That left roommates Brenna and Becky on stage, their close relationship making the tension much harder, they said.

Later in the show, when it came time for the second female elimination, both Kinnik and Brenna were told that they were safe. In other words, Brenna was left on stage with her roommate for no reason except to manufacture drama; neither she nor Kinnik was in danger of being eliminated.

As Ryan searched for the woman who’d received the second-least number of votes, he narrowed the pool to just two. “Heather and Stevie, if you would stand up and join me at the center of the stage,” he requested. They got up off the blue couch, nervously adjusting their shirts as they started walking toward the stage.

But they hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Ryan jumped in and said, “On second thought, Heather, have a seat. Stevie, you are leaving us tonight.” He added, with fake sincerity, “I’m sorry, darling.”

Cruelty is compelling
Was all of this mean? Probably. Unnecessarily cruel? Most likely. Incredibly compelling television? Definitely.

This Thursday evening was called “the most competitive night in the history of American television” by NBC’s Dick Ebersol, because of the epic face-off between “American Idol,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Survivor,” and women's figure skating, arguably the most popular event of the Torino winter Olympics.

When the ratings for Thursday are announced, “American Idol” will almost undoubtedly be the undisputed ratings victor, because more than any other show on television, it aggressively and blatantly destroys its contestants to the delight of the viewing public. That’s how it became the number-one TV show in the country.

In this, the fifth season, the cruel eliminations are expected. Producers do everything in their power to emotionally manipulate the contestants in order to increase our entertainment, and to manipulate viewers.

“We don’t make it easy, that’s for sure.” Ryan Seacrest, said, practically gloating, as he brought the first three women onto the stage before eliminating Becky O’Donohue. As they stood there, he said, solemnly, “Brenna.” You could just feel her insides pureeing as her fans burst into tears. But whoops, fooled again. “You will find out with the rest of us who it is after the break,” Seacrest said to her, deploying one of his most common tricks.

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