TVSquad

(S03E12) "My favorite act in the competition." - Piers to Nuttin But Stringz

"The biggest talent search in the history," as Jerry puts it, got a tad better with episode 312 thanks to performances such as the one offered by Nuttin But Stringz. The violinist brothers definitely raised up the ante and they totally deserved being the last Top 40 act to perform. Even if the duo helped put the show back on track, a good number of the acts performed in this episode were just not good enough. Yes, I know, I'm repeating myself. But until the judges make sane decisions (are they capable of such a thing?) and put in the Top 40 only acts that really deserve being there, I think the words "not good enough" and "what were they thinking" will be the norm when reviewing America's Got Talent.

(S03E11) "It's too good this year!" - The Hoff

In case you didn't hear, America's Got Talent was renewed for a fourth season. This was, of course, because of amazing ratings that made the show number 1 last week. However, if the judges keep letting poor acts go through to the Top 40, they'll lose viewers every week. The Hoff must be watching different performances than we are because the show is not that good this year. Actually, out of the 10 acts shown in episode 311, half got Xed by at least Piers. Okay, he may be trigger happy, but those acts deserved it.

In one of the most unsurprising news of the day, NBC announces that it is renewing America's Got Talent for a fourth season. The "greatest show in the world," as host Jerry Springer says, is the most-watched summer show so it's no wonder the network wants to continue the adventure and make more money in the process.

Even if millions of viewers watch America's Got Talent weekly, it doesn't mean they are not tired of of some aspects of the show. Some changes are needed if the producers and the network want to score the same ratings next season and maybe bring on new viewers. Here are some of my suggestions:

Several billion years ago, give or take a few billion, a few neutrons decided to get together with a few protons and form what has been called the Big Bang, which pretty much started the universe as we know it. As things cooled down stars, galaxies, and planets were born. On the planet we know as Earth some primordial ooze became cozyu with their amino acid friends, creating the baseline needed for life. At about that same time this season of America's Got Talent premiered aired on NBC.

Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit here, and my science may be slightly off, but it does seem to me that AGT has been on the schedule a bit too long. Premiering on June 17th, most of the shows that aired before the Olympic break have been just the tryouts. Only the very end of July and first few weeks in August dealt with the callbacks and elimination of those initially chosen by Piers, Sharon and the Hoff. Finally, we are now into the live competitions and eliminations, which means two nights of AGT a week for the next several weeks. According to the schedule posted at NBC's media site, that puts the finale of the show around October 1st! Nah, that can't be right.

(S03E09) "The search for the best new act in America continues." - Jerry

As Jerry said, the competition ain't over yet! (We will actually be watching the show until October!) After taking a short break for a little event called the Olympics, America's Got Talent is back with a two-hour long episode and it's now time for us to vote for Neal E. Boyd your favorite act!

Episode 3.09 is the first of four Top 40 episodes, each lasting two hours. Ten acts perform live each episode. The five acts per episode that received the most votes will move on to the Top 20. Let's review the acts that were shown in the first episode of the week and make our predictions as to which one should move on.

(S03E09) "Am I good enough?" - A contestant

We only heard one contestant ask out loud if he was good enough to be selected for the Top 40. However, it's pretty much a given that each and every contestant asked themselves if they had what it took to make it to the semi-finals. In the last episode before America's Got Talent goes on hiatus because of the Olympics, performers were told if their acts were good enough to move on to the next round. Even though I was looking forward to seeing who would make it to Hollywood, I must admit that this was a rather long 90-minutes of watching contestants being tortured by the judges.

(S03E08) "No performance. No discussion. Just the end of the road." - Jerry

One of my favorite parts of shows like America's Got Talent and American Idol are the auditions. I love to see the good, the bad, and the ugly and try to understand why some contestants even thought they had a chance to win it all.

The AGT audition process ended last week to make way for Vegas Week. Many of us viewers, including the contestants, thought that all of the 113 acts that made it through to the next round would get the chance to be performed on stage for a second time. I was surprised that this was not the case. As Jerry said it, it would be "just the end of the road" for many performers who wouldn't even get a chance to impress the judges once again. Why pay big money to bring those contestants to Las Vegas if it was just to send them back packing without standing on stage? I know they want to shock us and the contestants, but it would have been more respectful, and cost effective, if they had gone through that elimination process before having them embark on the plane.

(S03E07) "Dreams come true on America's Got Talent" - The Hoff

Dreams not only come true on AGT but they are also crushed (and, let's face it, it's a good thing that some dreams are crushed on the show because some acts are just plain wrong). This week, MySpace devotees faced off against the judges and the crowd in the hope that their dreams would come true. Does MySpace have talent? Let's review the final auditions of the season.

(S03E06)

The normal audition process came to an end this week as aspiring entertainers performed in front of the three judges and the crowd. The last auditions episode will air next week when people who entered the competition via MySpace will face off the dreaded Xs.

Sadly, I was not able to watch this week's episode of America's Got Talent because of a power outage (and because I'm from Canada, I can't watch the episode on the network's website). Therefore, this week's review will not be as detailed as usual. Thanks to the recaps at NBC.com, I got an idea of what happened. So here we go with my two cents about this week's episode.

(S03E04) "You are what this show is about." - The Hoff

We've heard all three judges say that sentence many times over the past three years of America's Got Talent. Sometimes, they said it too fast and the performer tanked rather quickly in the next rounds. This week, 36-year-old Kyle, who auditioned in New York City , heard the saying directed toward him. Quite frankly, I think that The Hoff made the proper judgment call here and I'm pretty sure we'll see Kyle up until the very last rounds. But before we get to Kyle's performance, let's review this week's acts.

In a sure sign of the apocalypse, the variety show concept from the 1970s (such as Donny and Marie and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour) is making a comeback. Only this time, it stars Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

The Fox show is as-of-yet untitled and will be executive-produced by James Sunderland, an exec producer on America's Got Talent where Sharon Osbourne is a judge. The show will be shot in Los Angeles and the plan is to start with a Christmas special.

"The plan is to blend musical perfs by the Osbournes and others with comedy sketches as well as gameshow, audience participation and out-of-studio taped elements", said Mike Darnell, Fox's President of Alternative Entertainment. The show may even have a segment called "The Osbournes Meet The Osbournes" in which Ozzy and family are filmed meeting other families named Osbourne.

If anything, this is going to be The Brady Bunch Variety Hour on acid. It's sort of appropriate that it's going to Fox. Perhaps the theme can be a heavy-metal riff of The Brady Bunch theme song.

(S03E03) "A complete and utter waste of time." - Piers to 41-year-old country western line dancer Corky

This week on America's Got Talent we saw acts from Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta. As usual, some acts were bad, some were good, and some were touching. However, this time around we were treated to some really weird acts such as the one displayed in the picture above. How do people come up with these ideas is beyond me. But one thing is for sure, they help make the show entertaining and unpredictable.

(S03E02) "I have shoes older than you but I'd like to try you on!" - Sharon to 23-year-old Joseph, an Elvis impersonator.

The second episode of America's Got Talent auditions brought more great acts and more terrible performances. This week, we were treated to 15 complete acts that ranged from singing to magic (see picture) not forgetting impersonators and Drumtazia! Oh, and, unless I'm mistaken, we also saw the judges give 3 Xs to someone who finished in 4th place in another talent competition! More on that at the end of my review.

(S03E01) "Single worst tribute act I have seen in my entire life." - Piers to hopeful Bill

The greatest search for talent is back with a bang! Even if we only saw 12 complete acts during this two-hour premiere of NBC's America's Got Talent, I must say I was highly entertained. What I love about this show is that you never know what will come next. Will it be yet another singer? Dancers? An illusionist? A puppeteer? A guy twirling batons? A burlesque act? Unknown. It's like a surprise bag. And surprises we've got in this third season premiere. Bad ones, funny ones, weird ones, and amazing ones.

Join me in a slightly-longer-than-usual review of this two-hour entertainment packed premiere!

Only this time it's with the Rock of Love girls. And even better, it will be hosted by Sharon Osbourne.

Just like the girls of Flavor of Love 1 and 2, the curse-spewing, hard-liquor downing, hair-pulling girls from both seasons of Rock of Love are in need of some lessons in manners. Who better to turn these skanky beasts into classy dames than Sharon Osbourne? As host, Osbourne will guide these girls as they learn how to be more prim and proper. And just like last time, one lucky contestant will win $100,000. The new Charm School will premiere this Fall.

This is the best news I've heard all week. Check out my picks for the cast after the jump.