September 23, 2024
Column

On ‘Nashville’ mistake, ‘Grease’ pits

America, what were you thinking? It was so frustrating to watch Dustin Wilkes be voted off “Nashville Star” that I may have lost faith in the voting TV public.

Wilkes may not have won in the end, but I think his time to get booted off came much too soon. He has it all – a different country voice than we’ve heard in a long time, the look, even a perfect country name. It doesn’t get much more country than Dustin.

Nevertheless, I’ll be watching to see how far a few of my other favorites make it. The winner, in my book is Angela Hacker – even if she doesn’t walk away with a record deal and a new truck.

For the first time, there’s a brother-sister rivalry on the show between Angela and bro Zac Hacker that’s pretty entertaining on its own.

Zac proved himself in the second show, but Angela’s got him beat by a long shot. Her voice is outta this world; a little work and she’ll have the perfect look. Even more importantly, she’s the most believable performer ever to hit the “Nashville Star” stage.

But enough about Nashville. There’s something else that has been bothering me.

The creators of reality television shows must be scraping the bottom of the barrel because they’ve started to attack the classics and turn them into reality nightmares.

“Grease: You’re the One That I Want” on NBC and “Dirty Dancing” on WE are just too much. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a new Baby and Johnny or Sandy and Danny. The old ones are just fine by me. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve taken a good thing too far.

Every little girl (and big girl) still watches these movies, dances around in her living room and dreams of being lifted into the air by Danny or Johnny as she sings her heart out. Why ruin that with a bunch of bickering and sleaziness? I realize this is for Broadway and not the next big-screen remake, but enough is enough.

One more gripe before I go. As you know, I’ve been drawn into the “Top Chef” kitchen (albeit kicking and screaming) and can’t wait for Wednesday nights to see who has to pack their knives and go. The only problem now is the two-part finale.

I can’t stand it. Finale means the end – not the beginning of the end, or “to be continued.”

It’s a ratings gimmick that’s overrated and should be stopped. So reality producers, please, please, please don’t make me wait a whole week for the real ending. Give me the finale – all of it – when you say you’re going to.


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