America’s Got Talent the most fun to watch
America’s Got Talent is just a week away from the semifinals, which is a kind way of saying AGT’s cast of thousands is about to be whittled down to a cast of hundreds. Tuesday’s final group-of-12 features the usual mix of child singers, gospel choirs, trapeze artists, urban dance crews, plate spinners and would-be escape artists, but the end is finally in sight. And while it’s still too early to single out a clear front-runner, several things are evident.
After seven seasons and counting, the TV-viewing public still hasn’t grown tired of Talent’s dog-and-pony show — as in, literally, dogs and ponies some nights. A performance program recently drew 1.1 million viewers in Canada — not exactly Amazing Race numbers, but remarkable just the same considering the Rogers-owned City network doesn’t reach as many homes as the more firmly established CTV, CBC or Global. That showing was good enough to place Talent at No. 11 on that week’s list of most-watched programs across Canada, which once again begs the question of how Rogers managed to make such a hash out of the shortlived Canada’s Got Talent.
Talent is performing even better in the U.S., unsurprisingly, where it is now the dominant program on Tuesday nights.
And while no one can seriously argue that it’s awardwinning TV last week’s twohour performance show offered a prime example of how America’s Got Talent has managed to touch and move so many viewers.
There’s a real warmth and an energy onstage that translates well on TV. Judges Howie Mandel, Mel B. and a surprisingly insightful Howard Stern have been a revelation, and there’s none of the spite or callous disregard that’s a signature of so many other TV talent competitions. Talent is produced by Simon Cowell, curiously enough, through his Syco production company, but it’s nothing like Cowell’s other reality-TV efforts.
Cowell understands the value of having at least one nitwit on the judging panel — and Heidi Klum did not disappoint last week, in that regard — but the truth is that for all the sound and fury over bigger, brassier, noisier shows like American Idol and The X Factor, Talent remains the most fun to watch. (9 p.m., NBC, City)
So You Think You Can Dance throws a twist into the night’s performance show: for the first time, the returning “all-stars” will both perform with and choreograph the routines of their respective contestant-partners. (8 p.m., Fox, CTV)
The sober, clear-headed three-part documentary series Life of Muhammad is both timely and fraught with potential peril.
The series, originally produced for the BBC in 2011, focuses on key moments in the prophet’s life, shows how Sharia law came into being and examines the basis for jihad. (8 p.m., WPBS)
Louis C.K., observational standup comedian, creator of the respected FX comedy Louie and multiple-Emmy nominee, joins David Letterman on Late Show. Also scheduled: John Legend. (11:35 p.m., CBS, CFMT)