Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Star Academy: this week's nominees, and the end is nigh.

Alice
Edouard
Maryline

...au revoir Maryline. The viewers (if there are any left, if the French media is to be believed), in Groundhog Day-style will save Alice and the students will save Edouard.

Guests on this week's prime:

Andrea Bocelli
Patrick Bruel
Chimene Badi
Christophe Mae

Last week it was announced on a top French radio show that this would be the final series of Star Ac. TF1 and Endemol moved quickly to deny this, but the French rumour machine then went into overdrive.

Even the show's biggest fan (and I am one of them) would have to admit that the show has run its course. After 8 years it is now stale and has nothing new to offer. Every year I get excited at the beginning of the series, but it turns to inevitable diappointment as my favourites go too early/walk out/wrong candidates are saved/editing is used to manipulate voting. Same guests, same songs, same casting methods and becoming more reality-tv-manipulative with each year.

It was a great idea - still the best reality-talent idea ever, in my opinion - but I think its time is up. Inevitably I'll miss it when it finally goes, but it'll be interesting to see what TF1 replaces it with. I just hope it's something with a musical theme, rather than yet another "Secret Story"-type show.

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