A great indecency has been comitted upon me this evening, that being the appearance of Popstars: The One. The surprise is not in the stunning lack of creativity by self important Michael Geddes in blatantly ripping off American Idol – this was completely expected by the commercials that began airing far too long ago. The surprises are far larger than this:

• Geddes seems absolutely positive that he’s a superstar. Michael, you’re partially responsible for riding Universal’s coattails on the first Popstars show (which you ripped off the Brits, incidentally) and then promptly marketing your two bands like they were bottled E-Coli.
• In this interview with fellow GTA Blogger Andrew Powell, Geddes indicates he’s not at all afraid of the pending Canadian Idol because “… this is Canada, and at the end of the day, they’re not going to fill a theatre full of 10,000 screaming people to see the show. We were here first, this is our turf, and we’ve got a great show this year.” Bookmark this for reference in about two months.
• Jason Rouse as judge. Who the heck is this guy? What credentials have earned him the ability to judge musical talent? Oh yeah, he dropped trou and piped a pumpkin on stage at Yuk-Yuk’s once. This, apparently, makes him an “edgy comedian”, in our faces and brimming with youthful angst. Ignoring for the moment the questionable entertainment value in having to watch him at any given time, what is he doing judging singers?!? At least the American Idol folks have history in the musical business. Rouse’s musical history begins and ends with the sweet music between he and his pumpkin on a lonely Saturday night.
• Canadian television programs have long been bereft of any quality production value, more resembling my Grade 9 Margaret Lawrence Super-8 documentary than an actual TV show that cost money to create. But exactly who is responsible for this mess? Cameras aimlessly shifting from side to side, and worse still, music playing over the scenes recapping the music. TWO SONGS. Different ones, playing at once.

Let us take solace in knowing that they could find the greatest voice in the history of music (har! har!) and we still won’t hear a thing from them again after the final credits. Until then, I’ll make sure I’m watching anything but this for the remainder of their no-doubt record-setting run.

Cheers!