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American Idol: Keeping The Vote Totals Private
Commentary by Ron Lemon and George Roux
May 18, 2006
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On Tuesday I wrote an American Idol commentary called "Voter Frustration - Here's The Solution".
I said:
"It is time for Nigel and company to release the actual vote numbers. The thirty-million American's who are watching the show every week deserve a little respect and a little honesty."
I stand by that and from the email it seems most would agree.
But I received an email from George Roux that presents a very thoughtful counter-argument. George has a couple of good points to make and it is worth reading. Here's what George says:
In response to your suggestion above, I am not in agreement, as I've outlined below.
Release The Actual Vote Numbers
There is considerably more to the voting totals than a display of honesty, respect and fairness. The wisdom of revealing the individual vote totals would depend on whether there is some semblance of parity---in terms of both talent and popularity---among the contestants, as perceived by the judges or the viewers. In other words, is there parity, or is/are there clear favorite(s).
There Is Parity - No Clear Favorite(s)
This is a situation where revealing the votes would have a favorable effect on the show. Parity would string out the votes fairly evenly among, say, at least 6 or more of the strongest contestants. Individual standings could even change from week to week, creating a scenario which could really make for an interesting race to the finish.
However, such continued excitement would heavily depend on each remaining contestants picking up a fair share of the votes from supporters of those voted out each week. It would be a bummer, however, if large chunks of those "pick up" votes were to be cast unevenly, creating some type of runaway situation with one, two or three leaders, rendering all other remaining contestants as meaningless supporting cast.
Even a closely matched vote totals, say at the top four stage of the competition, could turn unfavorably, if one remaining contestant were to get the bulk of the pick up votes.
There Is/Are Clear Favorite(s)
Similarly, if from the start one, two or three contestants appear to be fan favorites or judges' favorites, you can have a top one, top two or top three whose early vote totals---or even midway---could possibly separate them from the rest by a wide margin, perhaps large enough to appear insurmountable, rendering the rest of the contestants as hopelessly also-runs. Fans of the leading contestants might get energized to keep their favorites on top, but supporters of the trailing contestants could get disillusioned and lose interest in the earlier stages of the competition. This would adversely affect the competitive element of the show. Worse, ratings could plummet (which could be a major issue with advertisers).
Deeper into the competition, say from the top five or four, when fan interest approaches its most fan-frenzied stages, a fairly even or close distribution of the votes would make for one hell of a race to the finish. A clear favorite or two with a huge lead would, on the other hand, make for a predictable---hence less exciting---"stretch drive".
A finale with a relatively even scorecard of votes would be wildly exciting and a ratings bonanza. However, a finale where one contestant going in holds what may be an unsurmountable vote margin over the other would be disastrous.
The bottom line then is----since competitive scenarios and voting trends can not be predicted in advance----the decision to reveal vote totals could either boost or sink the show---in whole or in part---for that year. I rather doubt that Nigel and company would risk the financial health of the cultural phenomenon that is American Idol just to satisfy conspiracy theorists.
A good compromise to revealing actual vote totals would be to simply name the "top three" vote-getters (in rank order, or not---each has its advantages) every week until, say, five or four are left. Then no further disclosures should be made to keep viewer interest at its highest.
George Roux
Thank you very much George. I can't really dispute what you say and it may explain exactly why the producers do it the way they do it. But I'll stick by my guns on this one. The viewers are what makes this show the mega-success that it is. They deserve some respect. They deserve to know. Let the chips fall where they may.
Ron Lemon is the very opinionated, but not-always-right, editor of Reality TV Calendar. He is a United States Air Force veteran, a Pennsylvania Army National Guard veteran and retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. He lives on the southern shore of Canada with his fiancee and business partner Christine and their spoiled dog, Stash. He, Ron - not the dog, does this because he enjoys it, he hates alarm clocks, and it is better than getting up and going to work everyday. Until such time as he wins the lottery he can be reached at: Editor@RealityTVCalendar.com.
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