THE TV COLUMN : Inventing a new Idol
Posted on Thursday, March 16, 2006
I haven’t seen a preview tape, but I suppose if you like American Idol, you’ll like ABC’s new American Inventor.
The series comes from the fertile mind of American Idol judge Simon Cowell and is produced by the same team that turns out Idol.
The premise: Instead of looking for America’s next pop singer, this show will seek to discover the next great American invention.
The series launches with a two-hour special at 7 p. m. today, then settles into its regular time at 8 p. m. each Thursday.
Tonight’s program ought to be a hoot as the open casting calls are covered in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
Just as Idol has thousands of “singers” who are there only hoping for 15 seconds on the blooper reel, there are bound to be a lot of cheesy inventions that’ll be amusing to see. I’m told the inventions range “from wacky to heart-warming.”
For the serious gadget gurus, there’s $ 1 million at stake that’s supposed to go to “the best in homespun American ingenuity.”
In addition to the cities above, auditions were held in Denver, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington. All manner of entrepreneurs applied and a panel of gadget and gizmo experts picked a group of finalists who were each given $ 50, 000 to develop their invention into presentation stage.
If it sounds too far-fetched, just imagine the wackos who initially pitched the Pet Rock, Cabbage Patch Kids, George Foreman Grill, Liquid Paper or Post-It notes.
Each of those items would either look silly or questionable on paper, but their inventors are relaxing on the beach somewhere in Barbados.
Judging the presentations are show co-creator Peter Jones, a successful British businessman; Doug Hall, who is the founder of an inventing, training and research firm; Ed Evangelista, a creative director at a New York ad firm; and Mary Lou Quinlan, founder of one of the largest women’s marketing companies in the country.
America gets to vote once the competition settles into the finals. Matt Gallant is host. Gallant, 36, is best known as the host of The Planet’s Funniest Animals.
Who ? Doctor Who, that’s who. There are a couple of generations who have enjoyed the adventures of Doctor Who. The BBC science fiction show that began in 1963 has been updated with 13 new episodes. They kick off on Sci-Fi Channel with a twohour premiere at 8 p. m. Friday. Who, played this round by Christopher Eccleston, is a mysterious time-traveler known only as “the Doctor.” His comely traveling companion is Rose Tyler, played by the comely Billie Piper. The Doctor and Rose travel about risking life and limb, battling aliens and monsters and generally saving mankind and life as we know it. Eccleston plays the Doctor as “wise, funny and brave — an adventurer in time and space.” He’s the man to call on when there’s danger about, but he’s a klutz at human relationships. That’s where Rose comes in.
Rose is a shop girl from the present day who is trapped in a drab, boring existence. Naturally, the Doctor’s life of adventures across the universe is appealing to her and the pair hit it off.
How do they pull off all this zipping about ? With a TARDIS, of course. It’s sort of like a phone booth, but it stands for a Time and Relative Dimensions In Space machine. And it’s the last one in the universe.
Let the new adventures begin. Nightmare warning. CNN has a documentary set for 7 p. m. Saturday that should get folks to thinking. Or scare the spit out of them.
CNN P resents: We Were Warned — Tomorrow’s Oil Crisis explores the question of how the country would cope if another devastating hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and was followed by terrorist attacks designed to disrupt the oil supply.
Far-fetched ? The bad guys were certainly paying attention after Katrina. And some experts believe America is addicted to oil. If the supply is suddenly cut off, what sort of chaos would ensue ?
The program speaks with security and energy experts about how oil is tied to domestic and international issues. Special correspondent Frank Sesno also looks at alternate fuels and current methods of exploring for oil.
The hour special encores at 10 p. m. Saturday and at 7 and 10 p. m. Sunday. No, Dr. Quinn. No ! Jane Seymour (real name, Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg ) is one of our favorites and has been since she was a Bond girl playing Solitare in 1973 ’s Live and Let Die.
We also loved her in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. But Seymour is wasted in the WB’s new testosterone-fueled sitcom Modern Men. She’s also the best thing in the show.
Seymour, still hot at 55, plays a sexy life coach trying to guide three randy dudes through their shaky relationships with women. The guys notice she’s still hot and the jokes are lame and predictable, the acting sophomoric.
If you want to check it out, the show premieres at 8: 30 p. m. Friday.
OK, it airs on Friday. Nothing much else on, so check it out. The TV column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail: mstorey@arkansasonline. com
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