America's got talent

In my summer doldrums, I've been watching bits and pieces of "America's Got Talent" on NBC. It's interesting because it's such a hodge-potch of stuff, and I'm not quite sure how you can compare an 11-year old with a fabulous voice with an young woman who performs a striptease. It seems all very... random. That and the fact it seems nearly everyone who performs gets through. Standards, people, we need standards! Didn't Simon Cowell teach us anything?

On this past Wednesday's ep, David and Dania performed. You can read more about this duo over here. What gets me is that these people aren't necessarily amateurs, but professionals and here they are on stage, going for a million bucks. Not, btw, that I wasn't entertained by them -- I surely was -- but I don't agree with professionals going head to head with amateurs. And now that I know more about them, I wonder if NBC even 'seeded' the talent with professionals just to put on a good show. In which case, hell with the contest -- just put on a variety show, right?

I also think this guy -- Skip Banks -- was on the episode and note that according to his website, he appeared on an NBC variety act show in 2002 (the pictures aren't clear enough to see his face, but really, how many people go around enveloping themselves in a Pepto Bismal pink balloon?) He didn't pass through to the semifinals like David and Dania did, but still.

"America's Got Talent" for sure, but I think some of it is rigged and that's totally not fair to the viewers or the contestants themselves.