Uncomfortable

I finally caught a couple of episodes of 'America's Got Talent' this week…and I really wish I hadn't.

Don't worry, this isn't my usual anti-reality TV rant, it's something completely different.

You see, a major part of the attraction of these shows for me is watching the flat-out talentless and deluded people perform. The ones who walk into the audition talking about how awesomely talented they are and invariably fall flat on their face.

Well, it seems to me that the whole idea behind America's Got Talent is to showcase all the crappy acts that are so bad they don't make it on air from all the other TV talent shows…and unfortunately, this means lunatics of a very special caliber…which is where everything goes wrong for me.

You see, I can laugh at the teen girl who storms out of the audition when she's told she sounds like a foghorn, I can laugh at the guy who babbles about how he's taking dancing to 'the next level' then face-plants immediately after starting his audition. When it comes to America's Got Talent it appears that the vast majority of the acts are genuinely disturbed people being paraded in front of a camera for our amusement.

Basically, watching American Idol is like watching a runner fall down. Watching America's Got Talent is like watching a runner fall down at the Special Olympics. Sure, it's funny and you want to laugh…but you feel way too guilty about it to actually do so.

If you don't get what I mean watch this youtube clip from the British version and try not to squirm at how seriously the performer takes it…especially when he's talking to the judges at the end. If you're wondering what the hell is going on, he's supposed to be 'the human saxophone'.