Song of Roland

Not only that- there was some discussion about Kate's steak, and earlier, somebody (mayor's wife?) asked Mrs. Burke if she 'could eat' meat. I've been wondering why they use throat-slitting as execution? Is it really scarier to the populace than blowing somebody's brains out with a gun? Have guns been used, at all? Pope had a gun safe, it looked like, but I don't think he or anyone else has actually fired a gun, right? Also, why were those files so carefully hidden? What was in them that required hiding? Does it really matter that Pope's sexretary was born in NJ in 1960?

I have to say, as much as I like the qualtiy of his voice, he does sing everything exactly the same. I like the masculinity of his voice, but I miss- nuance? intelligence?- I don't know; there's something that makes him seem kind of one-dimensional. Well, at least he's getting a chance; it's too bad that recent winners don't really get the kind of money that would give him a significant nest egg to fall back on later.

And in the end, they both end up with a WGWOG winner, only Idol's (ironically) is a lot younger than TV's. And neither will be heard of a year from now. I sometimes wonder if part of the reason for the decline of the young demographic for both of these shows has something to do with the special snowflake attitude of the last generation- contests to see who's 'the best' are uncomfortable for the teens/20 somethings to watch when they're accustomed to getting a medal just for showing up. Although I do think TV's youth demo decline has been accelerated by the number of 'mature' singers they're obliged to include (since age and looks don't matter on TV!).

Mildly disappointed that Jena didn't win, but Caleb is clearly liked by the other contestants, and does have a great (loud) voice. Maybe he's learned a lesson from 'R*****-gate', and will think before he speaks (not that he'll get much media attention, but whatever). I can't even remember the names of those 2 girls who got the boot first, but man, they sounded terrible. That was a fun show- not bad, Per Blankens. Loved the Alex/Mraz duet, the Jena/Paramore performance, and -sue me- the Judge Band. Could KISS be any creepier, though?

I think it's a shame they're forcing them to do reprises, AGAIN. It sealed the deal for me when David Cook refused to do a reprise and did something new instead, but he had the choice- these 2 didn't,I guess. I have to assume Caleb will win, his Dream On was really awesome. Sounds like his voice was almost completely blown by the end, though. Jena did fine, and I'm voting for her, but she didn't have any moments; and Cook aside, moments usually win. Heh at Keith trying to throw shade on the Voice/Grimmie with his claim that Jena was the 'leader' in the battle of Elvis covers.

Grimmie sounds good singing a capella, but Lord, that screeching was a big ol' mute for me. I assume Grimmie's minions were the 'fans' who voted for Set Fire to the Rain for Josh, because that did NOT play to his strengths, at all. I don't blame the show for not wanting a nearly 40 year old gnome as winner (no matter how great his 'Voice' is), though. The Jake thing is a total mystery: he's very unattractive, can barely sing, and has only the most rudimentary stage presence. I suppose that means he'll win, and go on to rival Blake Shelton himself as a country music success story. I don't want to hear Signed,Sealed and Delivered, Every Breath You Take, or Can't Help Falling ever again.

Sorry, but Taran is NOT a 'star'. He hasn't come up with any characters that are really memorable other than Jebediah whatever, who was only really funny the first couple of times. He relies on his surprised baby face look, and a bit of singing/dancing and that's it. Kate is the actual star, IMO, but she doesn't have the attention-hogging/beat-the-joke-into-the-ground quality of a Wiig. On a related subject, I'll say it again: no good impressionists. Last night, they had to bring Bill back to do a couple. Even Andy Samberg does better impressions than any of the current cast. I wonder why they don't use more stand up comedians for host gigs. I would love to see Gabriel Iglesias or Brian Regan or Jim Gaffigan on SNL; they all have very distinct personas that could make interesting additions to the skits. I just looked back at the Wiki list of hosts, and other than Louis C.K. (who I thought was the opposite of entertaining) and Kevin Hart, there haven't been any stand up guys as host for years.

I like them both, too. I was thinking this is probably the most 'equal' match-up since S2. Idol hasn't had a male/female top 2 that were so balanced, ever, IMO; with all the others, it was pretty clear Kelly/Carrie/Taylor/Jordan/Lee/Scotty/PP were going to win; this time, I'm really not sure. Did we see Caleb's parents yet? His brother honestly made Caleb look like Noel Coward.

Remember when they got ZZ TOP for D.Cook (S 7 finale)? That was REALLY random. (We'll see if Per Blankens can do this as well as Nigel, who really was great at finales). Caleb's brother on stage made Caleb look petite, and Sprinkles look like a hobbit. I still don't get how a teenager comes to regard freaking Kiss as his favorite band. Alex reacted very professionally, and did a great job on Fairytales. Is Preston a stage name?- his parents both had a last name that started with P, but it wasn't Preston. I think Jena/Caleb will be a good, noisy, bombastic battle; sounds like Caleb's voice has returned and Jena, of course, doesn't seem to have ever lost hers. I don't care who wins, I like them both. Either one will do a fantastic job on the obligatory National Anthems.

That was way more entertaining than most Top 3 nights, possibly because I don't have a favorite. I was strangely intrigued by Caleb's first 2 songs, which he couldn't shout and which were NOT classic rock. I'm trying to remember when in the past they had the doctor come on stage to verify that 'yup, (s)he's really sick'- Lauren Alaina, maybe? Jena's first song was rough, but I kind of liked 'Heart Attack', and 'Creep' was actually better/more controlled than the first time she did it. I like this girl, she has a genuine quality that shines through all the styling and affected pronounciations and all the rest. I don't know that she'll win, but I think she could do something on radio-if only she didn't have that awful name. 'Jena Irene' is dumb, and 'Jena Asciutto' is impossible. Alex was very good on 'Stay', and I loved seeing him drumming, but the reprise seemed kind of perfunctory- maybe I'm just bored with that song. His hometown may have hurt him with that choice. I have to say, tonight was the most personality we've seen from him all season.

Well, to your point, Jena (admittedly with a lot of producer assistance) is being presented as coming on strong at this point, while Alex (in reality, IMO) has been coasting along. Jena's versatility (both in performing different genres and in switching between vocal and piano-driven performances) gives her some advantage over Alex's stand-in-one-place (in every sense of the phrase) style. Maybe she has a better chance than I assume she does.

Well, I'm the one who said way back there that the finale would likely be Caleb/Alex, and I'm sticking with that, unfortunately. I think Caleb/Jena would be far more entertaining a battle. I'm not sure what Caleb/Alex would be like- kind of a dumbed-down Kris/Adam? While Caleb<Adam, Caleb does have a strong, theatrical voice and stage presence, yet doesn't have the 'gay problem' (which I think had at least something to do with Adam's loss). OTOH, Kris isn't much different than Alex (weakish voice, artistic/creative arranging), except for the 'good looks problem'.

Hmm, well that was a bit upexpected. Caleb, I have to admit, was really good on the second and third songs. Jess's third song, Jena's firstand third were quite good. I've been a mild fan of Alex, but those were some bland, flat-line performances. I wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point, but I'm going to guess Jess will still go out tomorrow. After that, I have no idea.

Like 5 years just melted away- so happy to see this show back. There hasn't been anything else to compare; I thought for a while that Homeland would be it, but nope. I always thought Jack looked too old for this job, so he looks the same to me. Now Audrey looks surprisingly rough, IMO.

Wait, what? That was the finale? Does that mean this dumb show has been renewed? Well, whatever..Sheriff Fred is no longer just sketchy, but eeevil or possibly driven mad by his rejection by his long dead cheating wife. The mad scientist sorta-boyfriend isn't a bad sort, now. Agent Bellamy is the son of Jenny's (Jacob's little friend) parents*, but presumably doesn't know it. A cicada(?) turns into a helicopter. * how the heck old is Omar Epps, anyway? Those drowned parents were wearing 50's clothing, and the missing son was their oldest, which would make him now 60-something, right?