My wife and I don’t miss a week of America’s Got Talent.  We have watched it ever since we got married.  It has changed a lot in those three years.  The judges have changed, with only Howie Mandel left from when we started watching.  Although not of fan of Piers Morgan I miss him as a judge.  He seemed more objective then Howard Stern.  Stern is too over the top and obnoxious.  Replacing Sharon Osborne after her battle with NBC over her son, turned out to be a good move however.  I don’t miss her saying “it was wonderful” and “I loved it” while making that weird shaped heart with her hands.  “Scary Spice,” Mel B and Heidi Klum have more than made up the difference left in Osborne’s absence.  Both seem much more objective.

With that being said, this year’s version of the opening rounds has been just awful.  The producers have gone away from just showing the tryouts.  In fact we barely see any of the tryouts at all.  There is so much added production value that is so unnecessary.  They spend too much time with the judges.  It takes away from seeing people, whether good or bad, trying to live their dream.  I know not everyone wants to see the clowns who have no talent, but just want their 15 minutes of fame.  That’s part of what makes the tryout stages so great.  If someone is willing to make a total fool of themselves on stage just to be noticed, then I want to see it.  For that matter, we don’t even get to see most of the good acts either.  The ones we do see are not even in their entirety.  They just show us bits and pieces and then the vote.

Sometimes bigger is not better.  We don’t need all the production changes.  Just show us the acts.  That is why we watch the early rounds.  We want to be shocked and amazed and horrified all at the same time.  We can only do that if you show us as many acts as possible and cut out all the fluff.