ADWD vs. GITW
So I finally watched the first 2 episodes of Grease Is the Word and have been watching the 3 episodes of Any Dream Will Do.
You can definatly see the Simon Cowell stamp on GITW. The show seems to be 90% lets show the people who won't make it and laugh as the judges delude them into thinking they liked them while laughing behind clipboards. It's funny for awhile, but it gets old real fast. David Ian walked off for a minute after the others let in another bad performer just because they knew it would piss him off. One woman (think she's in her 30s) had a humongous crush on him and she wasnt very good, but the others let her through. I think its a bit cruel to delude them into thinking they are good just because they want create some drama for the show.
He was actually surprised the other judges would mess his show up for fun. Umm you have David Gest who was on I'm a Celebrity - the b,c,d list reality show, Sinneta some UK singer from the 80s (dancing around in a red bikini with a fur coat!?!?!?) and Brian the dance judge from So you think you can Dance - he's prob the only one who might be serious. But he's young, so he may be prone to joking around. I think the biggest problem is they don't really have any investment in the show, they're not going to be going to work in the West End after this. They're all more pop star people.
The second show showed a bit more of the more talented bunch but I seriously would be shaking in my boots if I invested in this after seeing these 2 shows. Oh and I have no idea who is the host of the show. Some blond with short hair. Really the only things I liked about this was the titles for the show (hot pink!) and the concept they had to sing, dance and act at the first audition. It's really been a rubber necker kind of show.
Now Any Dream Will Do is much more postive show, almost so sweet you'll die from the sweetness of all those boys sobbing their eyes out in episode 2. The judges are much more steller including John Barrowman (Doctor Who/Torchwood/2 dozen WestEnd musicals), Denise Von Oughton (almost non-existant co-host on the US grease show) who did Chicago on Broadway and the West End, Zoe Tyler, the vocal coach and Bill Walsh (not the 49ers coach), the other producer of Joseph. + Andrew Lloyd Webber and Graham Norton. Lots more star power and experience on all sides there. And they gave much better critical but kind feedback. Though Zoe seems much nicer to the boys - I think she has mommy vibes for them.
I know some people don't like Graham beause he's campy but he's very good at hosting (presenting in the UK), keeping things rolling around without interupting too rudely and adding a dash of camp humour. I'm kinda creeped out by Denise's "search for a husband. Most of the boys are just that barely even legal to drink here in the states. And well, I don't even think half of them even like girls in that way.
The live show was good. A bit of a mic problem for one of the boys. No official cute nicknames (builder Joe, student Joe etc) guess they saw how lame it looked in the US version and dropped it. The judges were a little too nice to everyone this go round, with JB and ADLW dishing the more critical comments to much booing. I think the stripping the coat off the losing Joseph is the big hit with viewers.
Viewers in the UK also seem to prefer ADWD over GITW. They don't run at the same time (until next weekend) with GITW just before Dr. Who and ADWD after Dr. Who. So far ADWD is bringing in about 2 mill more than GITW. Dr. Who pulled in more than 8 million Saturday, more than football (soccer to us americans) so that really helps. But looks like it keeps alot of the audience (also isnt rerunned like GITW), so should do well in head on competition.
You can definatly see the Simon Cowell stamp on GITW. The show seems to be 90% lets show the people who won't make it and laugh as the judges delude them into thinking they liked them while laughing behind clipboards. It's funny for awhile, but it gets old real fast. David Ian walked off for a minute after the others let in another bad performer just because they knew it would piss him off. One woman (think she's in her 30s) had a humongous crush on him and she wasnt very good, but the others let her through. I think its a bit cruel to delude them into thinking they are good just because they want create some drama for the show.
He was actually surprised the other judges would mess his show up for fun. Umm you have David Gest who was on I'm a Celebrity - the b,c,d list reality show, Sinneta some UK singer from the 80s (dancing around in a red bikini with a fur coat!?!?!?) and Brian the dance judge from So you think you can Dance - he's prob the only one who might be serious. But he's young, so he may be prone to joking around. I think the biggest problem is they don't really have any investment in the show, they're not going to be going to work in the West End after this. They're all more pop star people.
The second show showed a bit more of the more talented bunch but I seriously would be shaking in my boots if I invested in this after seeing these 2 shows. Oh and I have no idea who is the host of the show. Some blond with short hair. Really the only things I liked about this was the titles for the show (hot pink!) and the concept they had to sing, dance and act at the first audition. It's really been a rubber necker kind of show.
Now Any Dream Will Do is much more postive show, almost so sweet you'll die from the sweetness of all those boys sobbing their eyes out in episode 2. The judges are much more steller including John Barrowman (Doctor Who/Torchwood/2 dozen WestEnd musicals), Denise Von Oughton (almost non-existant co-host on the US grease show) who did Chicago on Broadway and the West End, Zoe Tyler, the vocal coach and Bill Walsh (not the 49ers coach), the other producer of Joseph. + Andrew Lloyd Webber and Graham Norton. Lots more star power and experience on all sides there. And they gave much better critical but kind feedback. Though Zoe seems much nicer to the boys - I think she has mommy vibes for them.
I know some people don't like Graham beause he's campy but he's very good at hosting (presenting in the UK), keeping things rolling around without interupting too rudely and adding a dash of camp humour. I'm kinda creeped out by Denise's "search for a husband. Most of the boys are just that barely even legal to drink here in the states. And well, I don't even think half of them even like girls in that way.
The live show was good. A bit of a mic problem for one of the boys. No official cute nicknames (builder Joe, student Joe etc) guess they saw how lame it looked in the US version and dropped it. The judges were a little too nice to everyone this go round, with JB and ADLW dishing the more critical comments to much booing. I think the stripping the coat off the losing Joseph is the big hit with viewers.
Viewers in the UK also seem to prefer ADWD over GITW. They don't run at the same time (until next weekend) with GITW just before Dr. Who and ADWD after Dr. Who. So far ADWD is bringing in about 2 mill more than GITW. Dr. Who pulled in more than 8 million Saturday, more than football (soccer to us americans) so that really helps. But looks like it keeps alot of the audience (also isnt rerunned like GITW), so should do well in head on competition.