This is your forum for posing questions to our staff and certain professionals. As with all information on our sites, questions and answers are published for information and discussion purposes only. Such information is not a substitute for professional advice from an adviser familiar with your particular situation. We do not guarantee the accuracy, reliability or completeness of any information provided in our forum.
Ask Jonathan Storm
Inquirer Television Critic
Jonathan Storm has watched television since he was 5 years old. He would wake up early, turn on the TV and watch the test patterns as he waited for The Modern Farmer to begin. Five years later, he began his news career as editor-in-chief of the mimeographed newspaper in Mr. Merrill's fifth-grade class.
He spent six years as a true journalist at the Rutland Herald (Vt.) and six more at the Detroit Free Press. He joined The Inquirer in 1982, working as an editor in various departments. In 1987, he edited the newspaper's special sections on the Constitution and a companion four-month series. The package won a national award from the Benjamin Franklin Foundation as best special Constitution coverage by a newspaper.
Seeing an opportunity to watch television for a living, he grabbed it and became The Inquirer's television critic in 1990. His reviews appear in the Daily Magazine.
Read Jonathan Storm's recent columns
Most Recent Questions & Answers
Qrecently a very popular tv show came to philadelphia to audition people for their next season. For years my family has been after my niece to enter. She would tell us "I,m not the type." We told her it was a singing competition and that she would blow them away. Her home city held a competition which she won. The prize was airline tickets and accomadations for the auditions in philadelphia. She was undecided but everyone encouraged her to go. She waited in long lines to be heard ,like the thousands of other people trying out. When her turn came, she sang. The judge let her sing two songs and then went to get someone else to listen. They asked her to wait while they discussed her fate. The answer was no! . She was not the image they were trying to project When they went to cut off her band , the scissors broke.Can an inanimate object be more intellegent than the producers? I was really upset. She was right. Its not truly a singing competition. My niece may look different, but shes just like any other young american woman. She's an intelligent, sweet, kind,and loving person. I think the american public would have seen past her appearance, respected her talent and ended up loving her almost as much as we do.
. can this show really be about talent?
Anonymous, sicklerville, NJ 09/04/07
A
It's not clear by your e-mail how your niece "looks different," but in any event, the selection process for "American Idol" is certainly arbitrary and capricious. They are not trying to find the best singer. They are trying to find two things: people who will entertain TV viewers, whether with their bug eyes or their long legs or their riveting performances, and, one person who can sell a lot of records.
Is Britney Spears the best singer around? No. But she sells (or she used to sell) lots of records.
The nature of The American Idol auditions -- wide open, 20,000 people -- makes it exceptionally hard for anyone to get chosen for anything, even their goofy drag-queen Big Bird suit, although that person did make it part of the way through the process, at least.
I think your niece is to be congratulated for trying, and for getting as far as she did. Forget Vince Lombardi: Winning is not the only thing, not by a long shot.
Jonathan Storm
QTo answer Anonymous from Norristown's question, the NBC 10's anchor's name is Lauren Cohn and she is now the lead anchor at the FOX station in Chicago. Gary Cobb is a part time host on 610 WIP-AM.
Eric, Sharon Hill, PA 09/04/07
A
That's the way this thing is supposed to work. You guys have the facts, and I just spout off.
And there was another question about whether Cecily Tynan had had her baby yet. The answer: Any day now.
Jonathan Storm
QI have a question regarding the article about the American Idol Auditions in Philadelphia this year. My son was among the 20,000 contestants at Wachevia. He was not chosen. He has an exellent voice and stage presence, and is American Idol worthy. He has the wow factor. Those that were accepted before him were Batman, Superwoman, an angel, and a girl who sang off-key. If Randy, Paula and Simon are complaining that this is a singing competion, not a Halloween costume party, why are these people there? The first few seasons of Idol was all about finding America's best new talent. It has now become a gong show, so that we can laugh and mock contestants, who only want their few minutes of fame. What about the very talented kids, who live for and love singing? They are not even considered. If Randy, Paula and Simon really mean what they say, why does this idiocracy continue? I think that Fox would have been very pleased to have my son record under their label. He may not have made it to number one, but, he would have defintely been in the top 10. I back this up by asking you to listen to his website www.myspace.com/howardouisband. I think you will enjoy his voice, as many others would have if the judges at American Idol would take this show seriously.
Shelly, Irwin, PA 09/02/07
A
I tried that URL, and it is not functioning, so couldn't listen to your son. However, I got a similar e-mail from a young man from New Jersey, and I did listen to him. He was very good, and I will post here what I wrote to him:
It surely is a crapshoot. Simon put it this way:
"The hardest thing for me is having a contestant come into the room, and I know exactly what they're going to sound like and what song they're going to sing, and then they do sing, and all we can say is, "You're really very good, but...."
So much depends on how many of what type of singer each producer has heard, and then when you get through, it's all about whether you're different -- and still in the top one or two percent, vocally.
You should have seen some of the clown acts that were there Saturday. But the judges were adamant: If people are just dressed foolishly, they don't get to sing.
On the other hand, if they really think they are powerful singers and aren't -- well, that helps the show a lot. William Hung is a perfect example.
Keep up your enthusiasm, and look for other ways to get yourself out there, as well as trying to beat the 133-1 odds of getting through future cattle calls.
Your point is good, though. It is very hard to stand out in a crowd of 20,000, and the producers are trying to run a TV show, which not necessarily a pure talent competition. Imagine how many of those 20,000 were just as good as your son: 200? 100? even just 50? The odds on the producers being able to pick them all out and get them all in are very long.
We can rail against the show (and believe me, I do,) but I don't think anybody can say that they didn't know what it was going to be like going in.
And, this may surprise you: Randy, Paula and Simon are not crazy about having to sit there and listen to all these novelty acts, either. They get what the producers select for them.
Jonathan Storm
Qwhat ever happened to pirate master. my co-workers enjoyed watching it and talking about. if it is canceled do you know how we can see the rest of the show.ty
g-man, elkins park, PA 08/04/07
A
Sorry to be so late getting to this. I have been blissfully on vacation. Pirate Master was shoved off the plank because the only people watching it were you and your co-workers.
All the episodes (except the last one, which I guess comes this week) are just sitting there waiting to be watched at http://www.cbs.com/
When you get there, put your cursor on the heading near the top (in blue) that says "full episodes." Then, click on "Pirate Master," and a grid comes up giving you the choice of watching whatever episode you want.
The cool thing is: You and your co-workers can all watch together at the office and talk about it at the same time -- and you'll be giving it to The Man.
Jonathan Storm
QWHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE WOMAN THAT DID NBC10 NEWS AT 6 AND 11 ON THE WEEKEND. ALSO WHAT HAPPENED TO GARRY COBB THAT WAS THE SPORTS ANCHOR ON CBS3
Anonymous, norristown, PA 07/27/07
A
I'm afraid I have no idea. I'm out in California now for the Television Critics meeting, and I won't be back to the office until mid-August. But I'll try to find out when I get back. I think I will need to know the weekend woman's name (or at least a description), though, so I can ask the folks at CBS3. I think a lot of women have been weekend anchors, starting with Jessica Savitch.
Jonathan Storm
QRaspberry clafouti? What's clafouti? It's that peppy song from "The Music Man," isn't it?
Cool Beans, Elkins, WV 07/18/07
A
"Clafouti": a custard-like baked French dessert that is typically made by baking fresh fruit (traditionally cherries) and a batter, somewhat similar to pancake batter, in a baking dish.
Thank you, Wikipedia. You get a lot of these frou-frou desserts out on the West Coast.
Jonathan Storm
QThe query is about Wedding Bells, but you are answering about "Big Day" (w/Malick and Sokoloff). Probably same answer, though.
Anonymous, Cherry Hill, NJ 07/16/07
A
I was answering about Big Day.
Wedding Bells. David E. Kelley. I liked that one, too, and even put it in my TiVo. But after they canceled it, I erased all the episodes I never looked at. So I guess that tells you something. It's hard to break through these days. I think the people who are supposed to watch the Kelley shows that are predominantly about women just don't like them. He probably runs them by his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, but she's not exactly plugged into the main stream.
Jonathan Storm
Qwhat ever happened to the new series "Wedding Bells?" I thought it was a very witty and well-written series.
Hanna, Feastervilel, PA 07/10/07
A
Me, too. I think there was somebody in Bremerton WA who also agreed with us. So ABC ran what it had, and that was the end of it, I'm afraid. I love Marla Sokoloff (she's almost 30 now), and Wendie Malik is always a hoot.
There are a couple of good new sitcoms coming this fall, Aliens in America on The CW and The Big Bang Theory on CBS.
Jonathan Storm
QCould it be a chip off Liberty Bell? Thu June 28 2007
Quite simply, YOUR SUGGESTION that Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" is best illustrated by the paraphrase "blacks should be happy being as separate from whites as the fingers on your hand, but work together docilely in the same effective way as the fingers" lead me �to do some research and learn a little bit."
The actual quote is:
�In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.� There is NOTHING about DOCILITY. The speech is a plan for achieving self respect, empowerment, equality and "our material prosperity [which] will bring into our beloved South a new heaven and a new earth.�
The speech is about people doing what has to be done in an imperfect but changing society to achieve �� a blotting out of sectional differences and racial animosities and suspicions, � a determination to administer absolute justice, � a willing obedience among all classes to the mandates of law.�
The entire speech is found on the HISTORY MATTERS webpage:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/39/
�In 1903, Washington recorded [the first] portion of his famous speech, the only surviving recording of his voice.� and it can be heard on the following webpage:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/88
Mr. Storm: I read your column often. I want to thank you, "one ignorant TV critic", for today's column as it directed me to the words of a truly great man.
Matt M, Mount Holly, NJ 06/28/07
A
Thank you for your informative augmentation of both my article and the History Detectives show. The ignorant TV critic looked up stuff about Du Bois, not Washington. And obviously, to this day, there are different ideas (King v. Malcolm X, for instance) about how to achieve racial equality. Booker T. Washington was indeed a great man, whether you agreed with him or not, and your work here helps anybody who cares learn more.
Interestingly, the History Detectives episode plays excerpts from that 1903 recording, giving viewers the clear impression that it is from 1895. That's not very honest, in my opinion.
Jonathan Storm
QIt's a bit late in the game, but I'm not buying the "That's life," justification for a sloppy and gimmicky 'Sopranos' ending.
Viewers need not look far to see that an ending doesn't have to cut to black for a suggestive but open-ended fate. Ignoring that the ending for Season's 1, 3 and 4 of 'The Wire,' were all much better than The Sopranos series finale, Season 2 is the key.
Nicky Sobotoka, leaning up on the fence to "I Walk the Line." We never saw Nicky again, we'll never know exactly what happens and that's life. The most optimistic viewer can say he still had a chance to put it back together. The more realistic take is he was doomed character. And Simon didn't rely on pretentious cinematography. Just his pen and paper (and Denis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Ed Burns and Richard Price :P).
Nadum, Philadelphia, PA 06/28/07
A
Yeah, a little late. The Wire is a wonderful show. But if you're going to make a movie, why not use film techniques as well as pen and paper?
Jonathan Storm
