110 replies to this topic

[Christi]

She just announced that she is the new judge.

[roudabua]

She just announced that she is the new judge.

Kids, meet your Cousin Oliver.

[Adia]

*SIGH* I like Ellen, she'll be fun - but it just means more overly chatty judges all round. I can't really see the show improving on its failings with this.

[wythany]

Wow, I just got back so many hours of my life next January thru May. I will NOT watch the show with Ellen as a judge. Hence not much point in watching the tryouts with guest judges.
I'll miss seeing Simon . . .

[Screamie]

This was total WTF news to me. She has nothing to do with music, can't sing, and tries WAY too hard to be funny. They might as well have hired Paula Poundstone. At least she does cocaine.

[Cuff Links]

Paula Poundstone does cocaine? Funny, that woman looks like she's never had a good time in her entire life. I'm sort of impressed....

[raceguy120390]

Oh, great.

What exactly are Ellen's credentials, anyway?

[CoConspirator]

Adding a very chatty 4th judge is NOT the way to prevent 10 minute overruns.

[SoNiceToWear]

I have no idea what Ellen has to do with music, but I like her so I'm kinda looking foward to seeing her as a judge.

[soymilk]

Adding a very chatty 4th judge is NOT the way to prevent 10 minute overruns.

ITA. Her guest judge stint this summer on SYTYCD was painfully unfunny, and that show has the luxury of filming ahead of time so it can be edited down and not run over. This show is definitely DVR material for me. Now if Ellen replaced Ryan as host, that I could kind of support.

[PorkFat]

Get that money, girl!

I like Ellen a lot, but this makes no sense.

Edited by PorkFat, Sep 10, 2009 @ 9:15 AM.

[Skycatcher]

Now if Ellen replaced Ryan as host, that I could kind of support.

That? I'd watch. As a judge? Not so much. With Big Brother wrapping up, and this debacle at AI, I'm gonna have to get a life! Oh, well, at least I still have SYTYCD.

[Limbonaut]

The title of this thread should be Ellen Degeneres: Yep, she's a judge

[woozy]

I like Ellen, think she's funny BUT not so sure she's qualified to judge a singing competition. I hope Paula gets a contract for next season and Ellen keeps the seat warm til then.

[Cuff Links]

Adding a very chatty 4th judge is NOT the way to prevent 10 minute overruns.

But she's replacing Paula Abdul, who had no sense of timing or ability to self-edit whatsoever. Ellen is a TV professional. Sure, she is chatty when she needs to fill out the hour, but when it's time for a commercial break she knows how to wrap it up...as do most people who host successful talk shows. I imagine that's one of the reasons they hired her.

[Ninja Bunny]

The judges are a joke anyway so why not have one who can actually tell jokes?

Go Ellen!

[Midge]

I like Ellen, I just hopes she keeps the scmaltsy to a minimum. She can run on sometimes. But at least she'll be lucid.

However, if they were going to go this way I would rather they chose Kathy Griffin. Can you imagine? She and Seacrest genuinely HATE each other. Plus she'd say things like "Well, you're no Gaykin."

[Cuff Links]

I would rather they chose Kathy Griffin. Can you imagine?

Oh yeah! And then when she wasn't hosting, she'd go on tour and dish the dirt on what goes on backstage. Of course they'd subsequently fire her after one season but it would be well worth it.

[bartered goods]

Seriously, American Idol? Ellen effing Degeneres? Oh, that shark is SO jumped.

[Cherry Wire]

Seems like a smart move to me. AI is not trying to be a serious singing competition anymore. They're clearly going for the spectacle factor, so if you're gonna do that, might as well go all the way.

[pigeon]

I just don't see the point. They must be paying her a shitload to judge. This show has become more about the judges than the contestants. Ugh. I might actually miss crazy Pauler.

Edited by pigeon, Sep 10, 2009 @ 2:16 PM.

[Malibu65]

They might as well have hired Paula Poundstone. At least she does cocaine.

And have a molester in their midst? YIKES!

I love Ellen DeGeneres but I have no idea why she was chosen for this show. I am in shock. I got tired of AI after the second season. Now I may have to tune in to AI after vowing never to watch it again just to see what Ellen will bring to this show. It just seems so out there to have her on this show.

[glow]

Ellen knows nothing about dance yet judged on So You Think You Can Dance. That was profoundly painful. The novelty factor wore off within a few dancers so I can't imagine a whole season of this.

[guano loca]

I am so excited about this news. No drunken ramblings, no run-on sentences, no "color of your aura" bullshit, no touchy-feely with Simon. I think she will be awesome. Finally some new blood with relevance in the pop-culture world. Just think how this will play out in Jacob's recaps!

[dannymoon]

I enjoy Ellen, I find her funny, but if I'm being selfish, there lies the exact problem for me. I don't want to hate her and I usually end up hating each judge at different points throughout the season.

As far as what she brings to the actual show, you got me. I would like to think each judge should bring true criticism regarding singing technique, performing, overall artistry...something. You barely hear any relevant, objective, serious critiquing from the judges. It's all cliches and catch phrases. I had hoped it was coming when Kara joined, but nope. I can't really see Ellen doing any worse. I'm curious enough to watch, I'll say that, and AI is more about the show/ratings, then finding the next superstar anyway.

Imagine if the one judge who isn't a songwriter/singer/record producer/record ex actually ends up being the best one of the bunch? That would crack me up. Who knows.

Edited by dannymoon, Sep 10, 2009 @ 4:32 PM.

[Cherry Wire]

The one article I saw about Ellen joining the judges' panel pointed out a couple of things....first, that the conservative, "family-values" crowd won't be happy, and second (more interestingly) that Idol will get a short-term ratings boost just from the buzz factor alone, but that it'll wear off and they'll be hurting themselves in the long run if it makes the show less appealing.

Considering how much they believe the show is about the judges, I wouldn't be surprised if they add a "picture-in-picture" box while contestants sing, showing the judges' real-time reactions. Or maybe the camera will be on the judges and the contestant will be in the PIP box.

[Song of Roland]

I understand that Ellen is saying she's on the panel to represent the POV of the average couch potato who also doesn't really know much about music or the music biz, but 'knows what they like'. Isn't that what the audience is supposed to be doing, by voting?

I really don't think this is a good idea for all the reasons already stated, plus I'm afraid I'm going to end up hating Ellen.

[Cuff Links]

the conservative, "family-values" crowd won't be happy

But they loved Paula? A pill-popping alcoholic who slept with the contestants? Simon? A sharp-tongued womanizing foreigner? Randy? Obese and black?

I don't mean to imply that conservative Christians are racist xenophobes. I'm just saying that Americans get used to all sorts of things they don't normally "like" as long as they are being entertained in the process. The success of Ellen's talk show is proof of that. I'm sure that a lot of conservatives like Michael Medved and Bill Donahue will write cranky editorials about how American Idol is ruining itself by "going gay" but ultimately the conservative Christians who were watching before will still keep watching. And that's because AI includes Christian contestants they like to root for...not because they exclude the gays they don't.

Edited by Cuff Links, Sep 10, 2009 @ 5:10 PM.

[Psychobunny]

I know it's been said above but I must agree that her stint on SYTYCD was painful. She had clearly prewritten jokes and was looking for places to fit them into her critiques. She's too nice to be honest and she won't give herself away like Paula with "you look pretty tonight". I bet she'll tell everybody that they're great then spend the rest of the time trying to work in a joke. It didn't even work for one episode of SYTYCD; how can it work for an entire season of AI?

[BadLilSister]

I like Ellen a lot and I hope she can bring something useful to the show. But I really don't think a 4th judge is neccessary for reasons that became painfully clear this past season. I was hoping they would just retire the 4th chair after Paula's departure and just acknowledge that it was a failed experiment. Oh well, thank goodness for DVRs and I will be sure to add 10 minutes to the recording time for each episode.