The point isn't talent or fairness, though. It is entertainment. It is never about the 4 finalists, but the millions of viewers.

I love it when the people I would most want to be my neighbor gets kicked off any of the reality shows, because they are boring. I want conflict, drama, angst, and chashing egos. They may want a lasting friendhip, I want them in each other's face.

I want Simon bitching at people, telling people they are too fat, and the whole package.

Otherwise, why not just not televise the contest, and say, we auditioned people from around the U.S., narrowed it down, and this person has a record contract now. The entire point of televising it is to involve the audience and the culture. On some level, though, once you do that, then the emphasis is not finding the American Idol, it is letting television cameras capture the process of fiding the American Idol. The end result becomes somewhat incidental to the supposed point of the show.

Jeff