# America's Got Talent Season 7 Discussion (Spoilers)



## KungFuCow

So it is possible that someone can be a more pompous ass than Piers.


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## mwhip

KungFuCow said:


> So it is possible that someone can be a more pompous ass than Piers.


And funnier!

I liked Howard but he is definitely playing the "Howard Stern" character for this


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## pmyers

I still question how that Earth Harp can make those noises. It sounded like a violin which requires a bow to go perpendicular to the strings. I'm not sure how you get the same noise by "pulling" down the string.

It did sound amazing though.


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## mulscully

Surprised there is not more discussion about this. Howard Stern is very polarizing. I figured there would be a whole love / hate thread.

As for me, I liked it.. I am a Stern fan, however my wife is not and she was not looking forward to it. However, after I asked her what she thought and she said it was great. It was more then she expected...

There was more camaraderie between The judges and a genuine sense that they enjoy being with each other.

Overall, I thought a real improvement. I did like Piers because I thought he called it like he sees it, and it seems like Howard will too.


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## KevinG

I'm only watching this show because of Stern. Long time fan.


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## markz

I am not a Stern fan at all. I was expecting to hate him on this show, but I actually thought he did a great job. Anyone has to be better than Piers though!


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## KungFuCow

Im just glad the show is back. Its one of our favorites.

I thought Howard was very condescending to a lot of the contestants. Not only from a "your act sucks" standpoint but also from a "Im Howard Stern and Im better than you" aspect.

Far as the earth harp, I saw the guy put rosin on his hands before he started pulling on those strings so I have to assume whatever those gloves were made out of simulated a bow. That was pretty cool and one of the more interesting acts.

Glad to see Simply Segio get a second chance. I almost feel like that whole thing was a setup.


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## Paperboy2003

I think Howard will be great and the more he's himself, and not what people expect him to be, the better he'll be. Howard lately has seemed to become more of a character of himself whenever he was on network TV (Letterman, Fallon etc.) where he thinks he needs to be over the top. He's an amazing talent and just needs to be comfortable and then everyone will see him for the great communicator / entertainer that he is.


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## WhiskeyTango

KungFuCow said:


> I thought Howard was very condescending to a lot of the contestants. Not only from a "your act sucks" standpoint but also from a "Im Howard Stern and Im better than you" aspect.


I didn't see that at all. I have to agree with mwhip, this was much funnier than the past seasons I've watched.


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## Hoffer

I'm a big fan of Howard's radio show. I did not watch last night and I doubt I will ever watch it. I don't care for reality shows and that goes triple for talent shows. Maybe if the show was an hour a week. The way it sounds, the show is on like 3-4 hours a week.


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## pmyers

mulscully said:


> ...There was more camaraderie between The judges and a genuine sense that they enjoy being with each other...


I agree. I think it helps that both of them have been on his show multiple times and there is already a rapport there and they genuinly seem to like each other.


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## inaka

I'm a big fan for Howard Stern, but the AGT episode last night? Meh.

The only funny part I find was watching Howie and Howard have to shake hands (or fist pump in Howie's case) since they're both neurotic about touching people.


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## mwhip

OK one issue I have is that the show is called AGT and the act of the little girl and her dad signing are from Columbia. Like the judges pointed out they are a popular YouTube act. Also another contestant they pointed out came from another country to be on the show. 

I am not trying to start an immigration debate but seriously if you are going to call it AGT don't let acts come in from other countries.


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## bryhamm

inaka said:


> I'm a big fan for Howard Stern, but the AGT episode last night? Meh.
> 
> The only funny part I find was watching Howie and Howard have to shake hands (or fist pump in Howie's case) since they're both neurotic about touching people.


I know Howie is, but is Howard? If so, why the hell would he hug that one contestant the way he did?


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## nataylor

mwhip said:


> OK one issue I have is that the show is called AGT and the act of the little girl and her dad signing are from Columbia. Like the judges pointed out they are a popular YouTube act. Also another contestant they pointed out came from another country to be on the show.
> 
> I am not trying to start an immigration debate but seriously if you are going to call it AGT don't let acts come in from other countries.


Where did you get that they are from Columbia? They live in San Diego. He went to UCSD.


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## pmyers

mwhip said:


> OK one issue I have is that the show is called AGT and the act of the little girl and her dad signing are from Columbia. Like the judges pointed out they are a popular YouTube act. Also another contestant they pointed out came from another country to be on the show.
> 
> I am not trying to start an immigration debate but seriously if you are going to call it AGT don't let acts come in from other countries.


Do you know if they live in the US now?


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## mwhip

nataylor said:


> Where did you get that they are from Columbia? They live in San Diego. He went to UCSD.


OK my bad I was getting them confused with this guy:


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## Hoffer

bryhamm said:


> I know Howie is, but is Howard? If so, why the hell would he hug that one contestant the way he did?


Howard is a germ freak, but not nearly as bad as Howie. On this morning's radio show, they talked about Howard hugging some gross guy. Howard claimed he hosed down with anti-bacterial stuff immediately after.


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## bruinfan

count me as 'loved it'.

i watched the first season of AGT... and bits of other seasons... this was engaging.

i think while the judges shouldn't be the focus, they are providing the commentary, and as a result, the side entertainment. watching american idol since season 2, simon drove that show. when he left, the judges were/are unwatchable, and as a result the show is less fun to watch, despite whatever talent is on the stage. when jimmy iovine pipes in, it's really interesting and i watch it. anything other than jimmy gets fast forwarded. the judges help drive the show. 

howard is engaging, witty, and so far, spot on. he is going to make AGT a bigger phenomenon than it already is, and he's going to crossover to mainstream as a celebrity.


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## super dave

Got to hear how Howard takes the ratings news tomorrow, he spoke out of both sides of his mouth covering himself if the ratings were lower, but how low?

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/05/15/americas-got-talent-rating-howard-stern/



> Monday's two-hour Got Talent returned to 10.3 million viewers and a 3.6 rating, down 16 percent from last year. EW's Ken Tucker suggested Stern's performance was almost too nice.


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## Hoffer

He was not happy yesterday when he found out the show was up against Dancing with the Stars. I think he felt they should have waited to start the show until after DwtS ended.


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## super dave

But I can only imagine NBC felt confident releasing the show 2 weeks early during sweeps because they had the Howard Stern juggernaut on the payroll.

But Howard has shot his wad with his 6 months of AGT commercials on his radio show. He's brought everything to the table he's going to do in reference to his fan base and notoriety. 

The suits at NBC have to be very disappointed.


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## WhiskeyTango

super dave said:


> But I can only imagine NBC felt confident releasing the show 2 weeks early during sweeps because they had the Howard Stern juggernaut on the payroll.
> 
> But Howard has shot his wad with his 6 months of AGT commercials on his radio show. He's brought everything to the table he's going to do in reference to his fan base and notoriety.
> 
> The suits at NBC have to be very disappointed.





> Before everybody points fingers at Stern, however, heres a big mitigating factor: Last year Got Talent premiered at the very end of May and was paired with The Voice. This year, Got Talent faced a full boat of competition from rival networks, so the talent competition might have returned lower in the ratings due to the scheduling change. NBC points out last nights rating matches Got Talents performance two years ago.


.


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## KungFuCow

Im sure once a few of the other shows wrap up, AGT's rating will go back up. I liked it.. Im glad its back. I like Howard Stern.. I just thought he was a little overbearing but I guess when you're replacing Piers Morgan, thats to be expected.


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## WhiskeyTango

KungFuCow said:


> Im sure once a few of the other shows wrap up, AGT's rating will go back up.


I don't know if they will go up, but this is the same number AGT pulled last year in it's second week. Add in that this year was going against season finales for many shows and DWTS vs. all repeats and basketball last year.


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## markymark_ctown

mwhip said:


> OK one issue I have is that the show is called AGT and the act of the little girl and her dad signing are from Columbia. Like the judges pointed out they are a popular YouTube act. Also another contestant they pointed out came from another country to be on the show.
> 
> I am not trying to start an immigration debate but seriously if you are going to call it AGT don't let acts come in from other countries.


...and Howard is the only American judge

USA! USA! USA!


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## Hoffer

super dave said:


> But I can only imagine NBC felt confident releasing the show 2 weeks early during sweeps because they had the Howard Stern juggernaut on the payroll.
> 
> But Howard has shot his wad with his 6 months of AGT commercials on his radio show. He's brought everything to the table he's going to do in reference to his fan base and notoriety.
> 
> The suits at NBC have to be very disappointed.


Howard or maybe Jon Hein did say they moved the show because they had confidence. Howard was still annoyed because he was hoping it would start after the other shows were done.

Howard said just today he didn't expect the ratings to be amazing. That it will take word of mouth from people that Howard isn't as bad as everyone thinks he is. If the ratings are still lower in a couple months, then the NBC folks should start to worry.

It will be interesting to hear what he has to say tomorrow.


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## That Don Guy

mwhip said:


> I am not trying to start an immigration debate but seriously if you are going to call it AGT don't let acts come in from other countries.


I am pretty sure the audition contract everybody has to sign says that you need to be either a citizen or have a green card. It is possible that they might let contestants on the show without either, but with a work visa (I know So You Think You Can Dance, which promotes its winner as "America's Favorite Dancer," does, and I think American Idol does as well).


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## DeDondeEs

I liked the show with Howard. Haven't watched much of it before. But is this how the preliminary judging goes, they either have a total goof out there that they all unanimously hate, or something phenomenal which they all love? I would like to see more debating between the judges.


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## Hoffer

They go around the country to initially see acts and then send them on to Las Vegas. 140 acts go to Vegas and while there, they narrow it down to 48. According to Howard, Vegas was very hard and there was a lot of debate on what 48 acts to send to New York for the live shows.


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## Hoffer

Hoffer said:


> It will be interesting to hear what he has to say tomorrow.


Pretty much said that they were first in 18-49 year olds, but he wishes they were first overall. He says they will of course be first in 2 weeks when Dancing with the Stars is done. He also hopes that the show will gain audience as people hear about it.

NBC put the show on now instead of 2 weeks from now because they had nothing else to put on. It is sweeps and they need to put something on that will get ratings.

He definitely isn't talking about the show like he did yesterday. All they did yesterday was talk about the show. They also played audio from talk shows that were kind of reviewing the show. They aren't doing that today. Heck, he didn't even mention AGT this morning until like 30-40 minutes into the show it seemed.


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## sieglinde

It sounds like Stern behaved himself so the prudes who wanted this boycotted before watching a single episode are made to look like the morons they actually are.


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## markymark_ctown

watched the 1st episode last night with the kids. howard was about what i expected...entertaining, brash, funny. 

never really watched the show much before, but will watch this summer to see howard.


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## steve614

That was a well made prosthetic on that bulldog. When the mouth started moving, I was like, WTF? 

It took pausing on a close up of the dog for me to see it.


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## super dave

Hoffer said:


> Pretty much said that they were first in 18-49 year olds, but he wishes they were first overall. He says they will of course be first in 2 weeks when Dancing with the Stars is done. He also hopes that the show will gain audience as people hear about it.
> 
> NBC put the show on now instead of 2 weeks from now because they had nothing else to put on. It is sweeps and they need to put something on that will get ratings.
> 
> He definitely isn't talking about the show like he did yesterday. All they did yesterday was talk about the show. They also played audio from talk shows that were kind of reviewing the show. They aren't doing that today. Heck, he didn't even mention AGT this morning until like 30-40 minutes into the show it seemed.


It always appeared to me that Howard never brings up what he thinks people want to hear first thing. He had to know that we wanted to hear him review the show's ratings now that they are out, but instead went to the Scott comedy show garbage. Even after a long vacation when he comes back he seems to go into trivial junk, even if a friend of the show died or got into trouble while he was away. Just a quirk of his I noticed after all these years.


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## ConstableClyde

Thought last night's episode was great.


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## DeDondeEs

I think it's funny how every time a dance troupe comes out Howard says something about how he doesn't like the dance routines and he fast-forwards through them at home, but then says "You guys were great, I'm voting you through" he has done that like 5 times now.


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## pmyers

That street dancer was amazing. It was like I was watching him float on air....although I actually liked the dancing part more than the contortionist part


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## pmyers

DeDondeEs said:


> I think it's funny how every time a dance troupe comes out Howard says something about how he doesn't like the dance routines and he fast-forwards through them at home, but then says "You guys were great, I'm voting you through" he has done that like 5 times now.


He mentioned on his show that you don't see the other 200 that he buzzed after 3 seconds.


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## JFriday

I never watched this show before and only watched because of Howard. Half the acts they sent on to Las Vegas I could give 2 spits about. I'll give it a couple more episode to see if I can get into it. I'm sure the auditions are similar to AI in that there are more absurd acts shown than actual talent.


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## GoHalos

pmyers said:


> That street dancer was amazing. It was like I was watching him float on air....although I actually liked the dancing part more than the contortionist part


Agreed. His slow-motion floating portion of the act was amazing. I love to see that kind of stuff. The contortionist stuff, not so much.

As for the show overall, I really liked Howard as a judge, and I'm not the world's biggest fan (I don't dislike him either). I think I listened to him for a few months while in high school, but that's it. To me he didn't come off as overly harsh at all. In fact, I really enjoyed his seemingly genuine laughing and amazement at some of the acts.


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## Donbadabon

I like the impressionist.

Not only did he nail the voices, it was very cool how he transformed his face.

A lot of acts use props to enhance the illusion, he just used his own face. I liked it.


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## bruinfan

Hoffer said:


> He definitely isn't talking about the show like he did yesterday. All they did yesterday was talk about the show. They also played audio from talk shows that were kind of reviewing the show. They aren't doing that today. Heck, he didn't even mention AGT this morning until like 30-40 minutes into the show it seemed.


i know that's been a thing with you, how howard's show is all agt all the time... personally i don't care as long as it's interesting. i'm sure it was similar when he was doing private parts. i don't know.. didn't listen then.

he's always said he's going to talk about what's going on in HIS life. and AGT is obviously the main thing in his life.



sieglinde said:


> It sounds like Stern behaved himself so the prudes who wanted this boycotted before watching a single episode are made to look like the morons they actually are.


this is typical thinking of people that don't understand howard stern.

he is a professional broadcaster. he understands the rules. he has never been censored on his many tv appearances. his FCC fines from the radio can be argued as part witch hunt, part undefined rules. he has a reputation for being a crude womanizer... and that is only partially deserved; in reality he is a sensible man who now understands his psychological shortcomings, raised 3 daughters that you never hear anything negative (or anything period) about... him succeeding on AGT is a nobrainer.. .he's an entertainer and has a knack for what makes good entertainment. he's not behaving himself to prove anyone wrong. he's just being himself, and thus people will be won over.


DeDondeEs said:


> I think it's funny how every time a dance troupe comes out Howard says something about how he doesn't like the dance routines and he fast-forwards through them at home, but then says "You guys were great, I'm voting you through" he has done that like 5 times now.


true... but the dance groups they've shown so far have been vegas worthy... each one unique in its own way. who knows how many were rejected cuz they were boring?


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## KungFuCow

The dancer was awesome.. the dance crews, not so much. 

I enjoyed last night's show. I dont think we've seen the season winner yet. I think we still have a couple more shows of auditions to see at least.


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## getreal

JFriday said:


> I never watched this show before and only watched because of Howard. Half the acts they sent on to Las Vegas I could give 2 spits about. I'll give it a couple more episode to see if I can get into it. I'm sure the auditions are similar to AI in that there are more absurd acts shown than actual talent.


The acts they vote through to Vegas initially as feel-good gestures, eventually will have to face the harsh reality that they are nowhere near good enough to become a $1m act. So tears of happiness today will be replaced soon enough with tears of rejection as the creme de la creme eventually rises to the top.


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## pmyers

Donbadabon said:


> I like the impressionist.
> 
> Not only did he nail the voices, it was very cool how he transformed his face.
> 
> A lot of acts use props to enhance the illusion, he just used his own face. I liked it.


That guy was awesome. I agree with Howard that his material is lacking though. He really should pay a real comedian to write him some better material.


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## Fleegle

I will admit that I was dead set about Stern being a judge and said I wouldn't watch this season. I decided to give it a chance, and thought he did a good job. he's definitely taken on the Piers Morgan role of calling out what he doesn't like and being brutal, but I don't see the nastiness I expected. The only time I saw a sign of it was when he said the stripper/magician had a small package. 

One thing I noticed, more in the first episode than the second, is that the audience members he is drawing are more annoying than I've noticed before. It could be editing, but I don't remember seeing shots of overly annoying audience members. The ones that stick out in my and are the 2 teenage buys in the balcony, but I don't remember what they were saying. in that regard, I didn't think Stern pushed past Howie's mom, he kind of pushed her along to get her to exit quickly. As someone who is claustrophobic, I can tell you that panic can set in quickly when you feel like you're about to get stuck in an elevator.

On a different note regarding the audience, they seem to either be using parabolic mics to catch what some audience members are saying, or they're looping them. I definitely don't remember hearing audience comments before.

I agree, the contortionist/dancer at the end of last night's episode was amazing. I also described it as him floating across the stage. I kinds think he feet never touched the floor for a full 60 seconds


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## Fleegle

pmyers said:


> That guy was awesome. I agree with Howard that his material is lacking though. He really should pay a real comedian to write him some better material.


I don't know if Howard was spot-on about getting more "edgy" material, but he needs a cohesive routine. The "Here's guests at a party" is SUCH a cliche. He needs something where his celebrities interact with each other more.


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## pmyers

I too noticed that they are mic'ing the audiance which they haven't done before. Not sure that I care for it.


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## GoHalos

Fleegle said:


> The ones that stick out in my and are the 2 teenage buys in the balcony, but I don't remember what they were saying.


I believe they said something like, "Do something Crazy. Do something crazy." when the snake/scorpion guy came out (who then proceeded to put the very large scorpion in his mouth  ).


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## inaka

I've only watched an occasional show or two during the entire run of AGT. Never really was my kind of show. I did check it out this season for Howard, and the editing and mic'ing of the crowd definitely has a european feel to it. I know that's hard to explain, but to me it's similar to the way the US version of Candid Camera or Punk'd is waaaaay different than the european version of hidden camera show clips I see online. 

I know the show was originally a British show brought to America, but the way they produce it is totally cheesy to me. The quick edits, slow motion, forced energy, tons of background music, and mic'ing of the crowd screams cheesy euro editing/production to me.


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## Waldorf

steve614 said:


> That was a well made prosthetic on that bulldog. When the mouth started moving, I was like, WTF?
> 
> It took pausing on a close up of the dog for me to see it.


*ahem*... Boston Terrier.  Fantastic pets. We lost Annie (on the right) a few weeks ago.


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## getreal

Sorry for your loss.



pmyers said:


> I too noticed that they are mic'ing the audiance which they haven't done before. Not sure that I care for it.


I'm just glad that there are no streaming live tweets. I don't mind the audience mics.


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## gossamer88

I love Howard. Been listening to him for over 20 years. That being said, this is not the Howard I know and love. I watched the first two episodes (4 hours!) and not sure if I'll last the entire season.


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## inaka

gossamer88 said:


> I love Howard. Been listening to him for over 20 years. That being said, this is not the Howard I know and love. I watched the first two episodes (4 hours!) and not sure if I'll last the entire season.


Exactly.

When that grandma with the walker came on stage, Howard totally wussed out. The howard that I know from the radio show would have been an honest judge and said, "Look you old bag, there's no way you're going to win this thing, and you don't really have a 'talent' so that's a big NO from me. Now get off the stage!"


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## WhiskeyTango

For the Howard doubters, he mentioned on his show, if I'm not mistaken, that the performances as well as his own performance improved as things progressed and as he became more comfortable in his role as a judge.


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## marksman

Never watched Agt before this year. Watched to check out Howard, really have enjoyed it so far even as I have stopped watching almost all competition reality shows in the last couple years.


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## gossamer88

inaka said:


> Exactly.
> 
> When that grandma with the walker came on stage, Howard totally wussed out. The howard that I know from the radio show would have been an honest judge and said, "Look you old bag, there's no way you're going to win this thing, and you don't really have a 'talent' so that's a big NO from me. Now get off the stage!"


Zagglee! (Grillo voice )

I know he's mellowed throughout the years. He's made up with his "enemies" (Rosie, Roseanne, Ellen). Maybe Jay Leno in the future (that would be surprising, never with Imus). But watching him give some acts a standing-o is just embarrassing, to me at least. But I know he's doing it 'cause he's ready for middle America to accept him. For that I can't blame him. But I'm not ready for this Howard.


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## pmyers

Donbadabon said:


> I like the impressionist.
> 
> Not only did he nail the voices, it was very cool how he transformed his face.
> 
> A lot of acts use props to enhance the illusion, he just used his own face. I liked it.


I agree that his facial expressions were great and I could "see" the person.


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## pmyers

inaka said:


> Exactly.
> 
> When that grandma with the walker came on stage, Howard totally wussed out. The howard that I know from the radio show would have been an honest judge and said, "Look you old bag, there's no way you're going to win this thing, and you don't really have a 'talent' so that's a big NO from me. Now get off the stage!"


Being a current and long time fan, I don't agree with your assesment. Howard loves outragous and unpredicible people. He may think she has no shot at winning but that doesn't mean he wouldn't want to see what she does next.


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## KungFuCow

I only have a problem with them putting stupid acts through when people who deserve to go through dont get put through. I havent seen this happen this year but there are a couple of people that should have been put through last season and instead they put through the guys that played the piano and stood on his head in a chair. WTF??!!


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## inaka

pmyers said:


> Being a current and long time fan, I don't agree with your assesment. Howard loves outragous and unpredicible people. He may think she has no shot at winning but that doesn't mean he wouldn't want to see what she does next.


Well, we both can be right, but I'm a current and long time fan as well, but there really are two Howards. There's pre-Beth Howard and post-Beth Howard.

Howard used to make fun of Imus for getting divorced and marrying a hot blonde trophy wife. Then he did the same.

He used to make fun of radio guys that were a disservice to their audience by only doing shows 3 days a week. Then he did the same.

He used to make fun of knock-off radio DJs by name, including Bubba The Love Sponge specifically. Then he put him on his Sirius channel.

He used to make fun of celebrities all the time. Now we hear about him in LA at a star-studded Jimmy Kimmel party, etc.

He used to have bitter feuds with various celebrities. Now he tells stories of having dinner at Rosie O'Donnel's house.

So when I'm referring to Howard to telling that old granny that she would have had no talent and to get off the stage, I'm speaking more of the old "real" Howard I knew from the show. Not the updated "Rosie is Great" Howard that we now listen to....

Again, I still listen to Howard's show, because a watered down Howard on the radio is still much better than others at 100%. But even a watered down Howard to me on his radio show is more honest, sometimes painfully so, more than this AGT Howard.


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## jsmeeker

I watched a bit of this over the week from my hotel room in Ohio. I thought Howard was kind of tame. Wasn't quite the "mean nasty judge" that I thought he was going to be. 

But it's still Howard. And I like Howard (even if I don't listen to him since I don't have Sirius/XM)


BaBaBooey to you all!!


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## Hoffer

I saw a commercial for the show last night. It said something about 21 million viewers blah, blah, blah. I remember someone mentioning the first Monday show got just over 10 million viewers. My first thought was that the Tuesday show must have really improved to get 21 million viewers. So, I look at the ratings thread in this forum and see again the show had just over 10 million.

Seems kinda lame that they say the show had 21 million viewers when it was really 10.x million views 2 days. I would assume the vast majority of Tuesday viewers also watched on Monday.


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## WhiskeyTango

Hoffer said:


> I saw a commercial for the show last night. It said something about 21 million viewers blah, blah, blah. I remember someone mentioning the first Monday show got just over 10 million viewers. My first thought was that the Tuesday show must have really improved to get 21 million viewers. So, I look at the ratings thread in this forum and see again the show had just over 10 million.
> 
> Seems kinda lame that they say the show had 21 million viewers when it was really 10.x million views 2 days. I would assume the vast majority of Tuesday viewers also watched on Monday.


Lots of networks pull this stunt. Discovery channel touted Gold Rush Alaska as having over 65 million viewers, which was the total over the course of an entire season. Other networks claim the show is a hit when it's bombing in the ratings or that its the #1 new comedy/drama when that isn't true either. It's marketing, they'll take whatever they can get and spin it to the best of their ability.


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## markymark_ctown

jsmeeker said:


> BaBaBooey to you all!!


143


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## pmyers

ack ack!


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## tiams

Didn't Howard Stern used to talk all kinds of sh&t about reality TV shows and the people who watch them? I seem to recall him touting the website votefortheworst.com in regard to Idol. AGT advances acts based on audience votes. If he in the past has told people to vote for the worst acts, isn't he a big ole hypocrite now?


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## JFriday

tiams said:


> Didn't Howard Stern used to talk all kinds of sh&t about reality TV shows and the people who watch them? I seem to recall him touting the website votefortheworst.com in regard to Idol. AGT advances acts based on audience votes. If he in the past has told people to vote for the worst acts, isn't he a big ole hypocrite now?


Umm Howard created reality TV, just ask him.


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## Hoffer

tiams said:


> Didn't Howard Stern used to talk all kinds of sh&t about reality TV shows and the people who watch them? I seem to recall him touting the website votefortheworst.com in regard to Idol. AGT advances acts based on audience votes. If he in the past has told people to vote for the worst acts, isn't he a big ole hypocrite now?


Howard's favorite shows have been reality shows for years. American Idol was probably his favorite show until Simon left. I'm assuming vote for the worst was for that Indian kid? He very much wanted people to vote for that guy. At the same time he was watching the show and a big fan.

He often talks about American Idol, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, Bachelor, Bachlorette, etc... He hasn't talked about Idol or Dancing much this season as he's said the seasons have been weak.

It is pretty sickening as I watch none of those shows. Then the shows like Breaking Bad and such he doesn't watch. Although he seems to finally be catching up on these.


----------



## tiams

The rap guy said he did it "100% off the top of my head" when Howie asked him if he pre-wrote it. I call B.S.


----------



## bareyb

tiams said:


> The rap guy said he did it "100% off the top of my head" when Howie asked him if he pre-wrote it. I call B.S.


Yeah. No way he didn't at least "think about it" before he came on the show. Especially the "AGT on NBC" part. The network probably loved that.


----------



## busyba

I'm just watching to see the fat pole dancer.


----------



## steve614

busyba said:


> I'm just watching to see the fat pole dancer.


Really?!


----------



## Einselen

steve614 said:


> Really?!


busyba just wants to see Nick Cannon in a bikini top, not the poll dancer.


----------



## busyba

Einselen said:


> busyba just wants to see Nick Cannon in a bikini top, not the poll dancer.


Yeah... I like to stay up late when Cinemax plays _Drumline_ after dark...


----------



## bruinfan

WhiskeyTango said:


> For the Howard doubters, he mentioned on his show, if I'm not mistaken, that the performances as well as his own performance improved as things progressed and as he became more comfortable in his role as a judge.


he's also said that there were so many bad acts in the beginning, that they felt like they weren't going to be able to pass enough acts through to vegas. so they just passed some through.



pmyers said:


> ack ack!


tiggy tie tain


----------



## pmyers

JFriday said:


> Umm Howard created reality TV, just ask him.


I got a chuckle out of that!


----------



## nyny523

That dog act was awesome! My favorite so far...I was cracking up and clapping at the same time!!!


----------



## bareyb

nyny523 said:


> That dog act was awesome! My favorite so far...I was cracking up and clapping at the same time!!!


Are we talking about the little Bulldog with the flapping jaw? I was curious about that. Did the dog lose his real jaw somehow and the guy is just pulling a string of some kind to get his prosthetic to "flap"? Seems kind of mean... 

ETA: er, Boston Terrier


----------



## JLucPicard

Dog had a regular jaw, I believe - the prosthetic was an add-on.

The dog act in your quote was on tonight (Monday) - the flipping/dancing act. It was very good for an animal act. I loved Sharon's exclamation "I want those dogs!!!". Cracked me up Howard explaining that's why you don't put through just any animal act.


----------



## busyba

OMG.... I can't believe they showed a dog tossing another dog's salad on prime time national television!!!


----------



## bareyb

JLucPicard said:


> Dog had a regular jaw, I believe - the prosthetic was an add-on.
> 
> The dog act in your quote was on tonight (Monday) - the flipping/dancing act. It was very good for an animal act. I loved Sharon's exclamation "I want those dogs!!!". Cracked me up Howard explaining that's why you don't put through just any animal act.


Ah. That would explain it. It hasn't aired here yet.


----------



## fmowry

Caught up with last weeks shows but did not watch last nights yet. I haven't been too impressed with many of the acts yet. Most seem like 1 trick ponies who won't have anything else after the tryouts. None of the dance crews are really great either. The problem is for singers we have AI and the Voice where there are a lot better singers and for dancers there is America's Best Dance Crew on MTV where all of this seasons teams are better than any who have been on AGT.

Hopefully we'll have better talent in weeks to come.


----------



## KungFuCow

If you search Youtube, you can find more videos of the dog act. They were amazing and it looks like they still have a couple of tricks up their sleeve.


----------



## tiams

The guy who let his buddies and Nick hit him in the testicles - wow.


----------



## markz

tiams said:


> The guy who let his buddies and Nick hit him in the testicles - wow.


I liked when Nick said he heard something pop after his last kick!

I was surprised Nick actually did it due to liability issues. I am sure there must be waivers signed on this show.


----------



## JFriday

The whole Howard comforting the 7 year old looked forced.


----------



## nyny523

JFriday said:


> The whole Howard comforting the 7 year old looked forced.


Shame on that kids mother. Don't blame Howard because your kid sucks and can't handle rejection. She put him in that position. If he isn't mature enough to handle it, don't let him compete.

Some parents really do need a clue...


----------



## dimented

nyny523 said:


> Shame on that kids mother. Don't blame Howard because your kid sucks and can't handle rejection. She put him in that position. If he isn't mature enough to handle it, don't let him compete.
> 
> Some parents really do need a clue...


I agree 100% and it was my exact thought when I saw it. It is completely the parents fault the kid was crying. You put on stage in front of millions of people knowing that a 7 year old is never going win this show and you get what you get.


----------



## KungFuCow

Even still, you dont buzz a 7 year old. Piers wouldnt even have done that.


----------



## JFriday

nyny523 said:


> Shame on that kids mother. Don't blame Howard because your kid sucks and can't handle rejection. She put him in that position. If he isn't mature enough to handle it, don't let him compete.
> 
> Some parents really do need a clue...


I don't think anyone blamed him or was mad at him, not even the mom. The whole thing looked like ok I'm big bad Howard going to comfort this crying kid, he looked so uncomfortable doing it.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

KungFuCow said:


> Even still, you dont buzz a 7 year old. Piers wouldnt even have done that.


Sharon buzzed him too. The kid was horrible. I couldn't understand a word he was saying.


----------



## KungFuCow

WhiskeyTango said:


> Sharon buzzed him too. The kid was horrible. I couldn't understand a word he was saying.


I dont think Sharon would have been the first to pull the trigger tho. She only did it because Howard broke the ice.

I do agree he was horrible but they should have let him finish.


----------



## busyba

KungFuCow said:


> I do agree he was horrible but they should have let him finish.


Howie didn't buzz him, so without three strikes, he's allowed to finish, from what I understand.

The act did end abruptly though. I don't know if it was a weird edit, or if the kid just bailed after the second buzz.


----------



## pmyers

KungFuCow said:


> Even still, you dont buzz a 7 year old. Piers wouldnt even have done that.


Totally disagree. If you can't do that, then don't be a judge.


----------



## tiams

busyba said:


> Howie didn't buzz him, so without three strikes, he's allowed to finish, from what I understand.
> 
> The act did end abruptly though. I don't know if it was a weird edit, or if the kid just bailed after the second buzz.


Acts are not supposed to stop unless they get 3 Xs. If they don't get 3 Xs the judges vote. After the kid left the stage the producers came out and told them that they had to vote to make it official. Howard voted yes and both Sharon and Howie voted no saying they didn't want to put the kid through having to inevitably disappointed again.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

KungFuCow said:


> Even still, you dont buzz a 7 year old. Piers wouldnt even have done that.


Piers HAS done that.












> "It makes no difference to me," muses Morgan. "That's not why I buzzed her. But at this stage of the game you have to be fair. That little girl is a talented gymnast, but, to me, it's not a semi-final act. It doesn't matter if Nick thinks I'm 'evil' -- it's just the truth."


----------



## KungFuCow

WhiskeyTango said:


> Piers HAS done that.


Wasnt that girl actually pretty good?

That was one of the things I was refering to where they put the guy that stands on his head in a chair while the other guy plays the piano through but buzz this girl.


----------



## inaka

That 7-year old rapper was horrible. Buzz away.

Howard was right to buzz him, but then totally pussed out when the producers asked Howard what his official vote was and he caved and said "yes". Wtf?


----------



## tiams

nyny523 said:


> Shame on that kids mother. Don't blame Howard because your kid sucks and can't handle rejection. She put him in that position. If he isn't mature enough to handle it, don't let him compete.
> 
> Some parents really do need a clue...


This mother calls her son "Money" and teaches him lyrics like "commas and Zeros" blah blah blah, so we know what kind of values she is teaching him.


----------



## tivoboyjr

Howard joining the show caused us to stop watching. I've been listening to Howard off and on for years. At his best he's really funny, so I'm a fan but not a die-hard by any means.

This, however, was one of the few shows that we watched as a family (with our 7-yr old twins) so adding Howard takes AGT out of the mix - at least for me it did. I decided to give it a test run and after the first 20 minutes or so, I knew there's no way I'd let the kids watch it. It's turned into a freak show with a lot of sex jokes. I have nothing against freak shows or sex jokes, but we'll have to find another show to watch with the kids.


----------



## inaka

tiams said:


> This mother calls her son "Money" and teaches him lyrics like "commas and Zeros" blah blah blah, so we know what kind of values she is teaching him.


He'll be an excellent CPA some day.


----------



## pmyers

tivoboyjr said:


> Howard joining the show caused us to stop watching. I've been listening to Howard off and on for years. At his best he's really funny, so I'm a fan but not a die-hard by any means.
> 
> This, however, was one of the few shows that we watched as a family (with our 7-yr old twins) so adding Howard takes AGT out of the mix - at least for me it did. I decided to give it a test run and after the first 20 minutes or so, I knew there's no way I'd let the kids watch it. It's turned into a freak show with a lot of sex jokes. I have nothing against freak shows or sex jokes, but we'll have to find another show to watch with the kids.


we must be watching different shows.


----------



## tivoboyjr

pmyers said:


> we must be watching different shows.


We are now, anyway.


----------



## pmyers

and to blame Howard for it becoming a "freak show" is unfair. He doesn't control what acts show up.


----------



## fmowry

pmyers said:


> we must be watching different shows.


Yeah the first two at least had barely any jokes aside from the guys small package and I'm not sure my 8 year old daughter is scarred for seeing it even though I don't think she really heard or cared what he said.


----------



## markz

tivoboyjr said:


> Howard joining the show caused us to stop watching. I've been listening to Howard off and on for years. At his best he's really funny, so I'm a fan but not a die-hard by any means.
> 
> This, however, was one of the few shows that we watched as a family (with our 7-yr old twins) so adding Howard takes AGT out of the mix - at least for me it did. I decided to give it a test run and after the first 20 minutes or so, I knew there's no way I'd let the kids watch it. It's turned into a freak show with a lot of sex jokes. I have nothing against freak shows or sex jokes, but we'll have to find another show to watch with the kids.





pmyers said:


> we must be watching different shows.


I agree with pmyers. I totally missed the sex joke. I remember sex jokes and innuendo when David Hasslehoff was a judge. Remember the guy that sang the song to Hoff? Didn't he even ask for his underwear or something? How did your family like that episode?

I am not a Howard fan but have been impressed with him on this show. He seems to be a true fan of the show and has shown compassion on more than one occasion so far. He has hugged two contestants now that they have shown.


----------



## tivoboyjr

markz said:


> I agree with pmyers. I totally missed the sex joke. I remember sex jokes and innuendo when David Hasslehoff was a judge. Remember the guy that sang the song to Hoff? Didn't he even ask for his underwear or something? How did your family like that episode?
> 
> I am not a Howard fan but have been impressed with him on this show. He seems to be a true fan of the show and has shown compassion on more than one occasion so far. He has hugged two contestants now that they have shown.


We've only watched the past two seasons. I have no idea what went on prior to that. This isn't the sort of show I'd watch on my own - without my kids. They liked the little kids who sang, the dance groups, the motorcycle and BMX guys, etc. When I turned on this season, the first act was the magician/stripper/nipple ring guy and Howard was talking to him about his package. Just didn't seem like a road I want to go down with my kids. Again, I'm not easily offended and I watch plenty of raunchy stuff, but I have different standards for my kids. Howard changes the tone of the show, and to me this was a family oriented show so I don't see Howard and AGT as a great fit. Maybe it will be a huge hit because of all of the Stern fans that are watching, but that's a different audience.


----------



## markz

tivoboyjr said:


> We've only watched the past two seasons. I have no idea what went on prior to that. This isn't the sort of show I'd watch on my own - without my kids. They liked the little kids who sang, the dance groups, the motorcycle and BMX guys, etc. When I turned on this season, the first act was the magician/stripper/nipple ring guy and Howard was talking to him about his package. Just didn't seem like a road I want to go down with my kids. Again, I'm not easily offended and I watch plenty of raunchy stuff, but I have different standards for my kids. Howard changes the tone of the show, and to me this was a family oriented show so I don't see Howard and AGT as a great fit. Maybe it will be a huge hit because of all of the Stern fans that are watching, but that's a different audience.


I don't fault you for not feeling this is a show for your family. However, it was that way before Howard got there. I think even Sharon has made her share of comments about shirtless men on here. I think Piers made comments about pole dancers too. I am sure there are other examples that I am not remembering.


----------



## tivoboyjr

markz said:


> I don't fault you for not feeling this is a show for your family. However, it was that way before Howard got there. I think even Sharon has made her share of comments about shirtless men on here. I think Piers made comments about pole dancers too. I am sure there are other examples that I am not remembering.


There were definitely moments in the past season or two that weren't ideal for watching with little kids. But probably 98% of it was OK and the kids loved most of the acts. Now, I'm not sure what the percentage is for this season, but I think it's lower and I had to draw the line somewhere. Where in the past the inappropriate stuff was mostly innuendo (which goes over the heads of little kids), Howard is more blunt. It just seems to me that the tone of the show changed, and I think that's to be expected with Howard.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

tivoboyjr said:


> There were definitely moments in the past season or two that weren't ideal for watching with little kids. But probably 98% of it was OK and the kids loved most of the acts. Now, I'm not sure what the percentage is for this season, but I think it's lower and I had to draw the line somewhere. Where in the past the inappropriate stuff was mostly innuendo (which goes over the heads of little kids), Howard is more blunt. It just seems to me that the tone of the show changed, and I think that's to be expected with Howard.


You gleened all of that by watching 20 minutes? The act and joke you are referring to have been the only ones that I can think of in the 5 hours that have aired so far. I think you are looking for something that isn't there.


----------



## tivoboyjr

WhiskeyTango said:


> You gleened all of that by watching 20 minutes? The act and joke you are referring to have been the only ones that I can think of in the 5 hours that have aired so far. I think you are looking for something that isn't there.


I don't know about "looking for something that isn't there" but that wasn't much of a first impression. And knowing a little about Howard, I wasn't exactly shocked.

If I have your word that it's squeaky clean after that point, maybe I'll let the kiddies watch.


----------



## super dave

WhiskeyTango said:


> You gleened all of that by watching 20 minutes? The act and joke you are referring to have been the only ones that I can think of in the 5 hours that have aired so far. I think you are looking for something that isn't there.


I have to agree with you, I haven't seen or heard any dick jokes or the usual sexual innuendo that are uncomfortable when sitting there with my daughters. I thought it was pretty clean so far.


----------



## tiams

super dave said:


> I have to agree with you, I haven't seen or heard any dick jokes or the usual sexual innuendo that are uncomfortable when sitting there with my daughters. I thought it was pretty clean so far.


There was the guy abusing his genitals, and his blurred underwear, but I don't know if that counts.


----------



## pmyers

tiams said:


> There was the guy abusing his genitals, and his blurred underwear, but I don't know if that counts.


That is true, but again, has nothing to do with Howard.


----------



## markz

tivoboyjr said:


> There were definitely moments in the past season or two that weren't ideal for watching with little kids. But probably 98% of it was OK and the kids loved most of the acts. Now, I'm not sure what the percentage is for this season, but I think it's lower and I had to draw the line somewhere. Where in the past the inappropriate stuff was mostly innuendo (which goes over the heads of little kids), Howard is more blunt. It just seems to me that the tone of the show changed, and I think that's to be expected with Howard.


I wonder if it could be that the younger your children were, the more stuff went over their head, but as they get older, they can start to catch on more.


----------



## tiams

pmyers said:


> That is true, but again, has nothing to do with Howard.


You are right. I thought he wanted to know if the whole show was squeaky clean.


----------



## mulscully

tivoboyjr said:


> There were definitely moments in the past season or two that weren't ideal for watching with little kids. But probably 98% of it was OK and the kids loved most of the acts. Now, I'm not sure what the percentage is for this season, but I think it's lower and I had to draw the line somewhere. Where in the past the inappropriate stuff was mostly innuendo (which goes over the heads of little kids), Howard is more blunt. It just seems to me that the tone of the show changed, and I think that's to be expected with Howard.


And maybe your just more sensitive to them this season because of Howard's reputation. We have been watching from the early days with Regis. The show has always had the freak acts, and the odd stripping acts.


----------



## JLucPicard

nyny523 said:


> Shame on that kids mother. Don't blame Howard because your kid sucks and can't handle rejection. She put him in that position. If he isn't mature enough to handle it, don't let him compete.
> 
> Some parents really do need a clue...





dimented said:


> I agree 100% and it was my exact thought when I saw it. It is completely the parents fault the kid was crying. You put on stage in front of millions of people knowing that a 7 year old is never going win this show and you get what you get.


I was of the same mind. When the kid is asked about the million and he says he would help his family, yes, that's so cute from a seven year old. Then you see the song he sang (thank you, closed captioning!) and how truly bad he was and his reaction at getting buzzed and all, and my thoughts go to, "I wonder how much he was lead to believe by his mom/family that this really was 'their shot' at 'making it'"?

Buzz away, Howard, you owe it to the people who really are good enough to spend time on.

And was I missing something before, or did it seem there was an inordinate number of instances where the producers or crew or whatever were in the shot at the judges table? Do they wind up getting appearance fees at some point???


----------



## mulscully

JLucPicard said:


> And was I missing something before, or did it seem there was an inordinate number of instances where the producers or crew or whatever were in the shot at the judges table? Do they wind up getting appearance fees at some point???


I think that's because they are airing more conversations between the judges that occur between the acts then they ever did and the crew is just getting caught in the shots...


----------



## Fleegle

mulscully said:


> I think that's because they are airing more conversations between the judges that occur between the acts then they ever did and the crew is just getting caught in the shots...


And as a result, we see fewer acts. I'd love to see an analysis of the number of acts shown per hour last season vs this season.


----------



## pmyers

I'm not a big fan of the audiance audio clips, but I do like seeing the judges interactions and conversations.


----------



## steve614

During the band segment, Sharon mentioned that she doesn't "get" a band with just 2 people.

I guess she's never heard of The Ting Tings. 

Not that I'm comparing the crappy duo to The Ting Tings...


----------



## Fleegle

steve614 said:


> During the band segment, Sharon mentioned that she doesn't "get" a band with just 2 people.
> 
> I guess she's never heard of The Ting Tings.
> 
> Not that I'm comparing the crappy duo to The Ting Tings...


The who whos??


----------



## MarkofT

Or The White Stripes.


----------



## bareyb

tiams said:


> There was the guy abusing his genitals, and his blurred underwear, but I don't know if that counts.


They have stuff flying into genitals practically every week on America's Funniest Home Videos. My kids are used to it.


----------



## DeDondeEs

I hate admitting this, but I can't get that stupid "Whatcha Gonna Do?" song out of my head. Especially that Casio keyboard sound.


----------



## pmyers

DeDondeEs said:


> I hate admitting this, but I can't get that stupid "Whatcha Gonna Do?" song out of my head. Especially that Casio keyboard sound.


NOW its in MY head! lol


----------



## Fish Man

nyny523 said:


> Shame on that kids mother. Don't blame Howard because your kid sucks and can't handle rejection. She put him in that position. If he isn't mature enough to handle it, don't let him compete.
> 
> Some parents really do need a clue...


Thank you.

and



pmyers said:


> If you can't do that [buzz a child who's horrible], then don't be a judge.


Thank you.

It could not have been more apparent to me that this was a case of a mother putting her kid up to doing something he wasn't comfortable doing.

There's also no way a kid this age would pick the stage name "Money" and write rap lyrics that consisted of "commas and zeros, commas and zeros". This was his mom's doing.

Shame on her.

It's also horrible that Howard was shamed into voting "yes". It would be _mean to the kid_ to make him perform again for nothing but his mother's ego. Sharon and Howie had it right. Both of them told Howard, "Oh, don't prolong the agony", or something similar when he voted "yes".

If I were the show's producer, I wouldn't even have put that kid on the air. Having the entire nation see him was 1) additional trauma for the kid and 2) still an undeserved stroke to ego of his clueless mother. Of course the producers wanted some awful acts on the early audition shows, but I'm sure there were plenty to choose from who were adults or adolescents that were worthy of our, and the judges, mockery, and could take it like an adult.


----------



## dfergie

pmyers said:


> NOW its in MY head! lol


I'm catching up and watched this last night, it is "catchy"


----------



## dfergie

Loved the Dogs on Mondays show...


----------



## pmyers

So everybody here thinks that was his mom they showed? I thought it was a man /shrug.


----------



## KungFuCow

dfergie said:


> Loved the Dogs on Mondays show...


For you then!

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXjSseVvAYw[/media]


----------



## WhiskeyTango

pmyers said:


> So everybody here thinks that was his mom they showed? I thought it was a man /shrug.


I thought it was a guy too.


----------



## Fleegle

WhiskeyTango said:


> I thought it was a guy too.


Parent of indeterminate gender.


----------



## Hoffer

I think Howard referred to the parent as a mother on his radio show.


----------



## Cainebj

MarkofT said:


> Or The White Stripes.


or The Pet Shop Boys.


----------



## Einselen

Tonight and tomorrow are the episodes in which I attended a tapping. I am guessing I will see myself tonight. I will be the one sitting right behind Howard Stern.


----------



## markz

In Indiana, we won't get tonight's episode till like 2am, due to the Indy 500 Awards Banquet.


----------



## jdfs

Einselen said:


> Tonight and tomorrow are the episodes in which I attended a tapping. I am guessing I will see myself tonight. I will be the one sitting right behind Howard Stern.


Looks like they changed things and the second show was st. Louis although episode info says otherwise. What they showed in Tampa didn't look that great.


----------



## Einselen

jdfs said:


> Looks like they changed things and the second show was st. Louis although episode info says otherwise. What they showed in Tampa didn't look that great.


Tampa wasn't spectacular, but they had a lot more footage I thought was going to make it. Then again I believe Vegas has been filmed already so I am sure they are setting things up. From my show (and they did air last night) All That was one of the top acts. There were also a few singing acts that I thought were decent and I would give another shot.

Oh and I was shown on TV, you can see me as Howard left the table to help tie up the "escape artist". Howard also was HORRIBLE at that skill, but Nick Canon did have a great one liner which I was shocked </sarcasm> didn't make it to air.


----------



## gossamer88

The last segment with the Rick James number and Nick and announcer guy dancing had me ROTFLMAO!


----------



## 2004raptor

Saw part of it last night. I wonder how close the escape artist was to really getting chomped down on? The way they edited it it must have not been as close as they imply.


----------



## busyba

I think Little Ozzy would have also been a good Little Meat Loaf.


----------



## Fish Man

2004raptor said:


> Saw part of it last night. I wonder how close the escape artist was to really getting chomped down on? The way they edited it it must have not been as close as they imply.


Notice how the rope was slack the whole time? It was obvious that it wasn't under tension, and wasn't what was holding the trap open.

The burning rope had nothing to do with the trap closing.

It looks to me like the actual mechanism that released the trap was his weight coming off the trap. So, the instant he frees himself and jumps down, the trap closes. So, no matter how long it takes him to free himself, the trap closes the instant he jumps down.

The rope has a deliberate "weak spot" under one of those marshmallow looking things that were along it, and it's actually the trap closing that breaks the rope, rather than the rope breaking that closes the trap. The rope was probably soaked in alcohol or lamp oil or similar flammable liquid, so the flammable liquid was being consumed, and the rope itself wasn't really burning that much. This way, the rope stays intact until the trap closing actually breaks it.

That's my assessment, anyway. He really did escape from the straight jacket, but he wasn't in any danger of being "chomped" if he didn't escape in a certain amount of time.


----------



## 2004raptor

I didn't notice the "slack" but I've deleted the episode now. If you're right and it was his weight that released the trap, why wouldn't they get it with one camera shot? That would look better but instead you could tell when the guy fell and then the next angle was the trap closing and the audience gasping wasn't one after another. 

Not saying you are wrong just that they should have done a better job at convincing people a bit more that he was in danger.


----------



## Fish Man

That his weight coming off the trap was the mechanism that released it is a guess on my part. There could have been some other means by which it was covertly released.

However, I'm 5000% positive that the release mechanism *was not* the rope burning through, primarily because the rope was distinctly slack through the entire stunt.


----------



## nataylor

Burning rope is never the release mechanism. It's too unpredictable. If you see a burning rope, it's a gimmick. His weight being the release is also unlikely, for safety reasons.

Remember, "escape artist" is just a specialized form of stage magic. He's never in much danger. I won't say no danger, because obviously there is the chance for things to go wrong, there is a lot of skill involved, and he depends on actions and good sense of other people. But his chances of getting injured or killed are probably a lot lower than many of the acts we see on the show.


----------



## That Don Guy

Fish Man said:


> That his weight coming off the trap was the mechanism that released it is a guess on my part. There could have been some other means by which it was covertly released.


It looks like he reaches up to where his feet are, presumably to release his feet from the device. At first, I thought he was stalling for time until the trap sprung, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is really pulling some lever that causes the trap to spring.


----------



## Donbadabon

Puppeteer -horrible

Howard does his fake vote again, where he pretends to change his mind. We get it. Enough already.

Drummer woman - horrible

Woman breaking cans - horrible

Up to first break already. All horrible.


Little Michael Jackson kid - He is cute. 


Another break already. Thank God for TiVo!


Escape artist - obviously it is setup to snap shut when he releases his feet. Nothing really new here to me.


Irish dancers - the 5 year old was cute, but we've see it before.


Hip hop violin - yawn.


Nerd guitarist - ehh. He could sing I guess. Nothing special


Break. Like they brought back the snapple chat.


Little Ozzy - lol. So stupid.


Omg, another break after that 1 act.


They are skipping all the acts going to Vegas, just showing a 2 second clip of each of them.


Glass walker - Candy pants! Lol. Ewww. Eyelids. I can't watch. 


Voice over guy - he is stupid. You gotta have things to say, you can't just pretend you are a movie guy. But he is silly.


Another break. How can anyone watch this show live??


Rick James - wtf? Waste of time. But lmao at the backup dancing. The sexual chocolates.


----------



## bryhamm

That Don Guy said:


> It looks like he reaches up to where his feet are, presumably to release his feet from the device. At first, I thought he was stalling for time until the trap sprung, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is really pulling some lever that causes the trap to spring.


It looked like his hands went to a special part of the bar. I am guessing that he squeezed something somehow ... kind of like your level pulling indicated.


----------



## nataylor

The release is probably operated off-stage, likely by the same person who operates the release for the rope.

You can see that he actually had a bit of a malfunction, which is probably why they did the choppy edits there. The rope got released first (it's already in two pieces, held together by some mechanism). You can see in one quick cut the rope just drops and goes limp without the cage "wings" falling. Then it cuts to him hitting the mat and another cut to the cage closing. Whoever was operating the mechanism for the rope release hit it early, before the release for cage was activated.


----------



## Fish Man

nataylor said:


> The release is probably operated off-stage, likely by the same person who operates the release for the rope.
> 
> You can see that he actually had a bit of a malfunction, which is probably why they did the choppy edits there. The rope got released first (it's already in two pieces, held together by some mechanism). You can see in one quick cut the rope just drops and goes limp without the cage "wings" falling. Then it cuts to him hitting the mat and another cut to the cage closing. Whoever was operating the mechanism for the rope release hit it early, before the release for cage was activated.


I'm really don't think so.

It doesn't make any sense whatsoever that they'd design the mechanism in such a way that *separate* controls break the rope and "spring" the trap. That would be insane. Surely the *same* action (whether it's something he triggers himself or something someone off-stage triggers) both cause the rope to break and the trap to spring. The simplest way would be for the trap closing, itself, to snap the rope at a deliberately designed weak point. (What was with all the "marshmallow" looking things along the rope anyway? My guess: They were hiding thread-thin "links" where the rope was designed to break when the trap was sprung.)

I'm fully in agreement with everyone here (in fact, I was the first to bring it up) that the rope *is absolutely not* what's holding the trap open. But it would be mechanically simpler to design the "trick trap" such that one simple motion both closes the trap and breaks the rope.

Not only would it be more complicated to have separate controls that break the rope and close the trap, it would open the door to screw-ups where they're not triggered simultaneously.

If you really did see the rope "break early" perhaps it *really did* burn through, due to his taking way to long to escape from the straight jacket!


----------



## Fish Man

Donbadabon said:


> Little Michael Jackson kid - He is cute.


But not particularly talented, even for age 6. "Cute" isn't a winning act. Better to have cut him loose now (like they did with the kid who rapped about "commas and zeros" a couple of shows back who didn't even really have "cute" going for him) rather than give him false hope and prolong the agony.



Donbadabon said:


> They are skipping all the acts going to Vegas, just showing a 2 second clip of each of them.


This suggests to me that the ones we saw two second of each were even lamer than the rather lame acts they showed us all of.

It seems they're sending a lot of lameo-crap acts through to Vegas. In fact, this may be, overall, the weakest season of AGT ever.

Maybe they really need Piers as the ruthless voice of reason as to what has the potential to win and carry an actual Vegas show vs. what may be amusing for one 90 second blip.

Sad. Piers is sucking profusely as Larry King's replacement. It seems they needed him here...


----------



## pmyers

Fish Man said:


> Notice how the rope was slack the whole time? It was obvious that it wasn't under tension, and wasn't what was holding the trap open.
> 
> The burning rope had nothing to do with the trap closing.
> 
> It looks to me like the actual mechanism that released the trap was his weight coming off the trap. So, the instant he frees himself and jumps down, the trap closes. So, no matter how long it takes him to free himself, the trap closes the instant he jumps down.
> 
> The rope has a deliberate "weak spot" under one of those marshmallow looking things that were along it, and it's actually the trap closing that breaks the rope, rather than the rope breaking that closes the trap. The rope was probably soaked in alcohol or lamp oil or similar flammable liquid, so the flammable liquid was being consumed, and the rope itself wasn't really burning that much. This way, the rope stays intact until the trap closing actually breaks it.
> 
> That's my assessment, anyway. He really did escape from the straight jacket, but he wasn't in any danger of being "chomped" if he didn't escape in a certain amount of time.


totally agree with your assesment. His feet/weight releasing, trigger the rope and trap.


----------



## nataylor

Fish Man said:


> I'm really don't think so.
> 
> It doesn't make any sense whatsoever that they'd design the mechanism in such a way that *separate* controls break the rope and "spring" the trap. That would be insane. Surely the *same* action (whether it's something he triggers himself or something someone off-stage triggers) both cause the rope to break and the trap to spring. The simplest way would be for the trap closing, itself, to snap the rope at a deliberately designed weak point. (What was with all the "marshmallow" looking things along the rope anyway? My guess: They were hiding thread-thin "links" where the rope was designed to break when the trap was sprung.)
> 
> I'm fully in agreement with everyone here (in fact, I was the first to bring it up) that the rope *is absolutely not* what's holding the trap open. But it would be mechanically simpler to design the "trick trap" such that one simple motion both closes the trap and breaks the rope.
> 
> Not only would it be more complicated to have separate controls that break the rope and close the trap, it would open the door to screw-ups where they're not triggered simultaneously.
> 
> If you really did see the rope "break early" perhaps it *really did* burn through, due to his taking way to long to escape from the straight jacket!


Whether it's a separate trigger for the rope or not is questionable. But either way, there is a mechanism that holds the rope together. If it was a separate trigger, whoever triggers it did so early. If it's not a separate trigger, then the mechanism malfunctioned and released early.

The rope certainly didn't burn through. He probably reuses that rope over and over again.


----------



## nataylor

pmyers said:


> totally agree with your assesment. His feet/weight releasing, trigger the rope and trap.


From a safety standpoint, it's certainly not his weight that acts as the release. The whole apparatus was moving around quite a bit, and there's the potential for it to release early if that's the case. It's possible he hits some release as he goes up to free his feet, but again, there's the potential for it to release early while his feet are caught. The safest thing would be for someone else to trigger the release once they are sure he's clear of the cage.


----------



## LoadStar

Fish Man said:


> Notice how the rope was slack the whole time? It was obvious that it wasn't under tension, and wasn't what was holding the trap open.
> 
> The burning rope had nothing to do with the trap closing.
> 
> It looks to me like the actual mechanism that released the trap was his weight coming off the trap. So, the instant he frees himself and jumps down, the trap closes. So, no matter how long it takes him to free himself, the trap closes the instant he jumps down.
> 
> The rope has a deliberate "weak spot" under one of those marshmallow looking things that were along it, and it's actually the trap closing that breaks the rope, rather than the rope breaking that closes the trap. The rope was probably soaked in alcohol or lamp oil or similar flammable liquid, so the flammable liquid was being consumed, and the rope itself wasn't really burning that much. This way, the rope stays intact until the trap closing actually breaks it.
> 
> That's my assessment, anyway. He really did escape from the straight jacket, but he wasn't in any danger of being "chomped" if he didn't escape in a certain amount of time.


I'm betting you are 100% accurate. This seems the safest (and, conveniently, the easiest) way to stage this sort of illusion. By making the closing of the trap tied to himself as a counterweight, it will accurately and repeatedly close at exactly the right time, right as he falls out of harm's way.

The only risk that I could see is if the rope somehow burns through before he frees himself. The audience would then be able to tell it's just an illusion, that the rope is just a decoy, because the trap wouldn't close, but he'd be fine.


----------



## LoadStar

nataylor said:


> From a safety standpoint, it's certainly not his weight that acts as the release. The whole apparatus was moving around quite a bit, and there's the potential for it to release early if that's the case.


If it's simply a counterweight system, where pulling down on the middle part opens the trap, and releasing it closes it, there shouldn't be any way that the trap could close prematurely... the only way it would close is if the counterweight is completely removed from the system (i.e. he falls out to safety).


----------



## nataylor

LoadStar said:


> If it's simply a counterweight system, where pulling down on the middle part opens the trap, and releasing it closes it, there shouldn't be any way that the trap could close prematurely... the only way it would close is if the counterweight is completely removed from the system (i.e. he falls out to safety).


Or the rigging drops slightly, or his movement removes enough weight from the system, or someone pushes up on him...

It's simply much safer to have someone else control the release.


----------



## jamesbobo

I've seen a few episodes since I listen to Howard and most of the shows I usually watch are done for the season.
There is one time I could not agree with Howard's decision. The dancer from Paterson, NJ that had the crowd roaring and was certainly talented was given a no vote by Howard because "as good as he is, he cannot fill a stadium." But if someone who dances like that can't fill a stadium, then no dancer could fill a stadium.
Besides, it's America's Got Talent, not Americans Who Can Fill A Stadium.
And if filling a stadium is your yardstick, why would Howard give a yes vote to the guy who sang "Watcha Gonna Do?"? As catchy as that song was, I don't think it will fill a stadium.


----------



## tiams

This show has two main flaws. The first is that it is not clear what they are looking for. Should the winning act be able to fill arenas? Sell out shows in Vegas 4 nights a week? Or just be an amazing talent?

The second flaw is that once we have seen the auditions we have seen the acts once, so why do we want to see them again?


----------



## morac

Donbadabon said:


> They are skipping all the acts going to Vegas, just showing a 2 second clip of each of them.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the episodes during last season two hours long each? With half the time, it's no wonder they're skipping everything.


----------



## LoadStar

tiams said:


> This show has two main flaws. The first is that it is not clear what they are looking for. Should the winning act be able to fill arenas? Sell out shows in Vegas 4 nights a week? Or just be an amazing talent?


Well, they have different goals depending on at which stage of the competition they're at. At the audition stage, the judges are almost exclusively interested in weeding out the utter crap from the acts that are remotely interesting.

(Of course, the reality is that the producers have already weeded out the mediocre stuff. The stuff that the judges see is generally going to be really good, or pretty bad. There won't be too many genuine judgement calls from the judges.)

Once they hit Vegas, however, is when the goal changes to acts that are worth $1m dollars *and* which people might be interested in seeing as a headline act on the Vegas strip.



> The second flaw is that once we have seen the auditions we have seen the acts once, so why do we want to see them again?


The audition isn't the act... it's just a 1 minute sample. At later stages, they do more and different parts of the act.


----------



## LoadStar

Einselen said:


> From my show (and they did air last night) All That was one of the top acts.


Interesting... a quick check of Wikipedia indicates that a clogging group out of Myrtle Beach, SC named "All That" came in second during season 1. This show allows repeat acts, particularly an act that made it all the way to the finale?

Here's their audition from 2006:


----------



## steve614

Regarding the escape artist, I also think the trap was rigged with a counterbalance system. I don't think I would want my safety in someone else's hands. What if there was a malfunction in the system that the other person is controlling?

And whoever said the rope was a decoy is spot on.
It is dual purpose - it is rigged to give the illusion that that is the only mechanism holding the trap open (and in fact it is, until the weight of the performer is applied and the counter balance system takes over) and once lit on fire it gives the presence of danger.

After going back and watching, it's obvious to me that the trap had to be held open with some sort of counter balance system. As he is thrashing around trying to get out of the straight jacket you can see the rope lose tension, especially when he reaches up for the first time.


----------



## LoadStar

nataylor said:


> Or the rigging drops slightly, or his movement removes enough weight from the system, or someone pushes up on him...


I'm wondering if you're not understanding what Fish Man and I are suggesting. The jaws are (essentially) being held open by the weight pulling down on the shackles. The only way for the jaws to close completely would be for the weight to be *completely* removed from the shackles. (Put another way, the position of the jaws are inversely related to the position of the shackles in the center.)

It's possible that as he reached up, he released a safety for the spring-loaded trigger. Once he did that, all he'd have to do is release his weight from the shackles, which would cause the jaws to close.


----------



## bareyb

I told my wife those Cloggers had been on before... It is kinda weird they allow the same acts... Huh.


----------



## nataylor

LoadStar said:


> I'm wondering if you're not understanding what Fish Man and I are suggesting. The jaws are (essentially) being held open by the weight pulling down on the shackles. The only way for the jaws to close completely would be for the weight to be *completely* removed from the shackles. (Put another way, the position of the jaws are inversely related to the position of the shackles in the center.)
> 
> It's possible that as he reached up, he released a safety for the spring-loaded trigger. Once he did that, all he'd have to do is release his weight from the shackles, which would cause the jaws to close.


I get what you're saying. But there's no motion in the foot holds when the cage releases, as there would have to be if it was directly counterbalancing the wings.


----------



## tiams

If the trap is held open by his weight counterbalancing it, then what is keeping it open before he gets in it?
I think he does something to release it himself when he reaches up to his feet.


----------



## inaka

Big Howard fan here, but I feel embarrassed watching this show....it's pretty horrible.
This season pass is on life support at my place....


----------



## getreal

So, what happened to "All That" in 2006 that got them eliminated? I would imagine that it was just more of the same in Vegas and not different enough to sustain their carrying through to Hollywood, right? If so, I don't see anything different from 6 years ago until today, so they will probably be gone again after Vegas.


----------



## Einselen

getreal said:


> So, what happened to "All That" in 2006 that got them eliminated? I would imagine that it was just more of the same in Vegas and not different enough to sustain their carrying through to Hollywood, right? If so, I don't see anything different from 6 years ago until today, so they will probably be gone again after Vegas.


They lost to the little girl who was a singer. They had a pretty good run if you ask me!

That is crazy that they were allowed to come back again.


----------



## Fish Man

LoadStar said:


> I'm wondering if you're not understanding what Fish Man and I are suggesting. The jaws are (essentially) being held open by the weight pulling down on the shackles. The only way for the jaws to close completely would be for the weight to be *completely* removed from the shackles. (Put another way, the position of the jaws are inversely related to the position of the shackles in the center.)
> 
> It's possible that as he reached up, he released a safety for the spring-loaded trigger. Once he did that, all he'd have to do is release his weight from the shackles, which would cause the jaws to close.


Here's my clarification of how I think it works (pretty close to what you say):


Upon getting on the thing, either his weight being applied to the bar he was hanging from "arms" the release mechanism, or he stealthily "arms" it as he's climbing on, that is, removes a safety.
Then, his weight being removed _completely_ from the bar releases the mechanism and the jaws close.

I agree with nataylor's observation that the bar he was hanging from did not move noticeably. That's why I think it's a "latch" as opposed to a pure counterbalance. It would be easy to design such a latch so that a couple of *ounces* on the bar would hold it locked and the jaws could not release. That way, no possible amount of moving or wiggling could trip it accidentally.

Furthermore, it would be possible to design such a mechanism that the movement of the bar would be no more than a quarter inch or so, which explains why it didn't move noticeably. You'd never see a quarter inch from the audience or on TV.

Also, having his weight coming off the bar being the means of release makes it look like he escaped "in the nick of time" every time!

I could not possibly disagree more that it's "more safe" to have a person off stage release it. That person could be a doofus. They could sneeze. An evil person could grab the control from them. They could inadvertently "anticipate" his escape and release it too early. *All kinds of stuff could go wrong relying on a third party to time the release so precisely!*

My way is passive, and essentially fail-safe. It's *far far safer* to have *the thing that releases it* be his *actually being off the "trap"!*


----------



## LoadStar

getreal said:


> So, what happened to "All That" in 2006 that got them eliminated?


They didn't get eliminated. They made it all the way to the final episode, and came in second, which makes all the more baffling that the show lets them come back again.


----------



## bareyb

LoadStar said:


> They didn't get eliminated. They made it all the way to the final episode, and came in second, which makes all the more baffling that the show lets them come back again.


I wonder if they will reveal that fact on the show? I can't imagine we are the only people who picked up on this... it's very strange. This is like having Clay Aiken on American Idol again.


----------



## busyba

bareyb said:


> it's very strange. This is like having Clay Aiken on American Idol again.


No weirder than having him on the first time.


----------



## markz

Fish Man said:


> Here's my clarification of how I think it works (pretty close to what you say):
> 
> 
> Upon getting on the thing, either his weight being applied to the bar he was hanging from "arms" the release mechanism, or he stealthily "arms" it as he's climbing on, that is, removes a safety.
> Then, his weight being removed _completely_ from the bar releases the mechanism and the jaws close.
> 
> I agree with nataylor's observation that the bar he was hanging from did not move noticeably. That's why I think it's a "latch" as opposed to a pure counterbalance. It would be easy to design such a latch so that a couple of *ounces* on the bar would hold it locked and the jaws could not release. That way, no possible amount of moving or wiggling could trip it accidentally.
> 
> Furthermore, it would be possible to design such a mechanism that the movement of the bar would be no more than a quarter inch or so, which explains why it didn't move noticeably. You'd never see a quarter inch from the audience or on TV.
> 
> Also, having his weight coming off the bar being the means of release makes it look like he escaped "in the nick of time" every time!
> 
> I could not possibly disagree more that it's "more safe" to have a person off stage release it. That person could be a doofus. They could sneeze. An evil person could grab the control from them. They could inadvertently "anticipate" his escape and release it too early. *All kinds of stuff could go wrong relying on a third party to time the release so precisely!*
> 
> My way is passive, and essentially fail-safe. It's *far far safer* to have *the thing that releases it* be his *actually being off the "trap"!*


I totally agree with this. I figured during the show that him jumping down somehow releases it. I hadn't thought about the trap closing being what breaks the rope, but that makes a lot of sense.


----------



## steve614

tiams said:


> If the trap is held open by his weight counterbalancing it, then what is keeping it open before he gets in it?
> I think he does something to release it himself when he reaches up to his feet.





steve614 said:


> [The rope] is rigged to give the illusion that it is the only mechanism holding the trap open *(and in fact it is, until the weight of the performer is applied and the counter balance system takes over)* and once lit on fire it gives the presence of danger.


Of course I'm only speculating.


----------



## pmyers

Keep in mind with these dance troops (spelling) that they cycle members in and out constantly so I would predict that there isn't a single person in there that was there 6 years ago so I don't see any problem with them coming back again.


----------



## ConstableClyde

mwhip said:


> And funnier!
> 
> I liked Howard but he is definitely playing the "Howard Stern" character for this


Perfect description, Howard Stern character. I like that.


----------



## Einselen

pmyers said:


> Keep in mind with these dance troops (spelling) that they cycle members in and out constantly so I would predict that there isn't a single person in there that was there 6 years ago so I don't see any problem with them coming back again.


I can't tell in the YouTube video but it seems to me the main guy who was talking during this audition was part of the group back in S1. I think though that could be the argument saying hey it is the same name, but look most if not all of are new so it is a new group and if we audition under another name then it wouldn't be a big deal.

Another group I liked from Tampa was the brass band but then again I like the acts that perform years at theme parks and become locals to the area. Many long time acts in theme parks all got the ax recently and it is sad to see that happen, so I have a soft spot for them.


----------



## tiams

Did anyone else think it was weird they didn't have a better shot of the Human Cannonball's landing? 

In later rounds, his act is just going to be the same thing. It was interesting one time, but the thrill for the audience watching acts like this is wondering if something will go terribly wrong. But that only works for a live audience; we at home watching on TV know that nothing is going to go wrong, so there is no tension.


----------



## Fish Man

tiams said:


> Did anyone else think it was weird they didn't have a better shot of the Human Cannonball's landing?
> 
> In later rounds, his act is just going to be the same thing. It was interesting one time, but the thrill for the audience watching acts like this is wondering if something will go terribly wrong. But that only works for a live audience; we at home watching on TV know that nothing is going to go wrong, so there is no tension.


Agreed.

He'll be this year's "Professor Splash".


----------



## Donbadabon

I loved the 'sand artist'. It was very cool how he changed the scene with just a small modification.


----------



## busyba

tiams said:


> Did anyone else think it was weird they didn't have a better shot of the Human Cannonball's landing?


They had the shot, they just chose to not show it to us, so that they could make us think that he went splat.

The editing was very manipulative. First, the "under net" angle was shot in a way that gave no indication of how high off the ground the net actually was. Then they do a smash cut away from the net just after he's landed in it but not stopped descending. Then they add a "splat" sound effect as they cut away and cut to Nick saying "oh sh*t!" and running to the landing zone.

It was all designed to make us think something horrible had happened, just so they could have some artificial tension before revealing that he was okay.

Afterwards, on the replays, they couldn't then show a "good" angle because that would be admitting that they had withheld it the first time.

I found it to be quite annoying and dooshy. It's why I hate shows like this. It's why I only watch for the initial train-wreck auditions phase. Truthfully, I feel dirty even watching that much of it, given the vile production tactics.


----------



## tiams

busyba said:


> They had the shot, they just chose to not show it to us, so that they could make us think that he went splat.
> 
> The editing was very manipulative. First, the "under net" angle was shot in a way that gave no indication of how high off the ground the net actually was. Then they do a smash cut away from the net just after he's landed in it but not stopped descending. Then they add a "splat" sound effect as they cut away and cut to Nick saying "oh sh*t!" and running to the landing zone.
> 
> It was all designed to make us think something horrible had happened, just so they could have some artificial tension before revealing that he was okay.
> 
> Afterwards, on the replays, they couldn't then show a "good" angle because that would be admitting that they had withheld it the first time.
> 
> I found it to be quite annoying and dooshy. It's why I hate shows like this. It's why I only watch for the initial train-wreck auditions phase. Truthfully, I feel dirty even watching that much of it, given the vile production tactics.


Kinda like the way we were shown the "escape artist" in the trap. All tension is going to be artificial with these acts. Even my 9 year old knows nothing bad is going to happen.


----------



## busyba

tiams said:


> Kinda like the way we were shown the "escape artist" in the trap. All tension is going to be artificial with these acts. Even my 9 year old knows nothing bad is going to happen.


At least the escape artist's act (if done right) is specifically designed to have artificial tension built into it. I'm not even sure why they needed to do all the BS camera tricks to add to it (unless the guy didn't do a good job of doing it on his own).

With the cannonball guy though, they were just flat out engaging in cheap deception.


----------



## markz

busyba said:


> They had the shot, they just chose to not show it to us, so that they could make us think that he went splat.
> 
> The editing was very manipulative. First, the "under net" angle was shot in a way that gave no indication of how high off the ground the net actually was. Then they do a smash cut away from the net just after he's landed in it but not stopped descending. Then they add a "splat" sound effect as they cut away and cut to Nick saying "oh sh*t!" and running to the landing zone.
> 
> It was all designed to make us think something horrible had happened, just so they could have some artificial tension before revealing that he was okay.
> 
> Afterwards, on the replays, they couldn't then show a "good" angle because that would be admitting that they had withheld it the first time.
> 
> I found it to be quite annoying and dooshy. It's why I hate shows like this. It's why I only watch for the initial train-wreck auditions phase. Truthfully, I feel dirty even watching that much of it, given the vile production tactics.


They also threw in a couple of blasts on the ambulance siren as Nick went running to the net trying to make us think the ambulance was on the move.


----------



## That Don Guy

busyba said:


> With the cannonball guy though, they were just flat out engaging in cheap deception.


At least they didn't do what usually happens in non-circus televised human cannonball shootings - have a "test run" with a dummy that (intentionally, but they never mention that part) misses the net.

And one "advantage" of living on the west coast is, even on the live shows, you know that nothing serious is going to happen - if they were to show something like this live out east and a serious injury were to happen, almost certainly NBC would edit it out of the west coast airing. (Pretty much every swear word that "got through" on live broadcasts of SNL has been edited out of the west coast broadcast - in fact, according to one book about SNL, when Charles Rocket dropped his famous F-bomb, pretty much the first thing the executive producer did was to call NBC Los Angeles and warn them, so it would be censored.)


----------



## tiams

busyba said:


> At least the escape artist's act (if done right) is specifically designed to have artificial tension built into it. I'm not even sure why they needed to do all the BS camera tricks to add to it (unless the guy didn't do a good job of doing it on his own).
> 
> With the cannonball guy though, they were just flat out engaging in cheap deception.


Only a live audience experiences any tension. All of us watching TV know that if something horrible had happened during taping, we would have heard about it before and it wouldn't air. It's all ho-hum.

side note: When I was a kid, I got so excited for Evel Knievel's stunts! We need live daredevil stunts to make a comeback!


----------



## inaka

Donbadabon said:


> I loved the 'sand artist'. It was very cool how he changed the scene with just a small modification.


Yeah, I liked the sand artist too.
Reminded me a bit of Denny Dent's use of music and art. 
I had never seen that done with sand before. Very cool.


----------



## pmyers

I thought I had remembered seing something similiar with the sand from a previous season....but it was cool and it was patriotic which is always a crowd pleaser


----------



## bareyb

pmyers said:


> I thought I had remembered seing something similiar with the sand from a previous season....but it was cool and it was patriotic which is always a crowd pleaser


Same here. Not exactly original, but then again, what is? I wonder if they will have people in blackout suits using lights in front of a darkened background again this year?


----------



## Cainebj

LoadStar said:


> Interesting... a quick check of Wikipedia indicates that a clogging group out of Myrtle Beach, SC named "All That" came in second during season 1. This show allows repeat acts, particularly an act that made it all the way to the finale?


That's very strange.
What's even stranger is I totally forgot Brandy was once a judge!!!


----------



## bareyb

Cainebj said:


> That's very strange.
> What's even stranger is I totally forgot Brandy was once a judge!!!


Me too. Now that you mention it, I _do_ recall that she was terrible and was only there to promote herself. That stuck with me.


----------



## tiams

The mind reader - I have seen the trick before, complete with half dollars duct taped over the eyes. But I don't know how it is done? Anyone know?


Chainsaw to an apple in the mouth - what makes people so stupid?

Goth singer - wow. He has never sung in front of anybody ever, and he decides to do it on a national TV show? He was amazingly good, but I have suspicions about the backstory.


----------



## nataylor

tiams said:


> The mind reader - I have seen the trick before, complete with half dollars duct taped over the eyes. But I don't know how it is done? Anyone know?












http://www.ottoexcellence.com/products/wireless-ear-receiver/


----------



## morac

I guess he thought no one would check.

http://apne.ws/MBFNN2


----------



## CorgiMom28

Einselen said:


> Another group I liked from Tampa was the brass band but then again I like the acts that perform years at theme parks and become locals to the area. Many long time acts in theme parks all got the ax recently and it is sad to see that happen, so I have a soft spot for them.


Me too! When they came on stage, I immediately thought Busch Gardens! A friend of mine saw them at a tailgate before a Bucs game... I'm glad they're getting national exposure, they definitely deserve it.


----------



## bryhamm

nataylor said:


> http://www.ottoexcellence.com/products/wireless-ear-receiver/


You think he had someone watching them in the audience? That's how the trick is done?


----------



## bryhamm

tiams said:


> The mind reader - I have seen the trick before, complete with half dollars duct taped over the eyes. But I don't know how it is done? Anyone know?
> 
> Chainsaw to an apple in the mouth - what makes people so stupid?
> 
> Goth singer - wow. He has never sung in front of anybody ever, and he decides to do it on a national TV show? He was amazingly good, but I have suspicions about the backstory.


Regardless of the back story, was still very unexpected.


----------



## nataylor

bryhamm said:


> You think he had someone watching them in the audience? That's how the trick is done?


Pretty sure. A lot of mentalism relies on stooges.


----------



## spikedavis

I don't understand how a human cannonball is considered a "talent". The cannon does all the work.


----------



## inaka

bryhamm said:


> You think he had someone watching them in the audience? That's how the trick is done?


Yeah, it's a simple trick if he has a partner watching and relaying him info via a radio transmitter either as an earpiece, or if they checked his ear, one cleverly built into his blindfold.


----------



## danterner

I too assumed he had someone in the audience whispering the descriptions in his ear via a wireless earpiece, and that he stuck the earpiece in his ear when wrapping the unnecessary extra tape around his head, and that he removed and discarded it with the tape when he took the tape off. I'd be curious to see whether he could still "read the judges' minds" if the pictures they drew were hidden from the view of the audience.

That story about the war veteran is crazy if true. Wow.


----------



## steve614

Oh my, that pole dancer... 

Like a train wreck, that was so bad I couldn't avert my eyes. 
Whoever rigged the pole did a good job.


----------



## busyba

morac said:


> I guess he thought no one would check.
> 
> http://apne.ws/MBFNN2


Yikes. 

I gotta say though, when he was with Nick afterwards and Nick said, "that whole sentence, you didn't stutter", I didn't suspect anything, but I did _jokingly_ think he was thinking "oh crap, I forgot to stutter!"


----------



## pmyers

morac said:


> I guess he thought no one would check.
> 
> http://apne.ws/MBFNN2


People probably missed this the first time, but the stuttering military guy is fake (according to this article).


----------



## bareyb

danterner said:


> I too assumed he had someone in the audience whispering the descriptions in his ear via a wireless earpiece, and that he stuck the earpiece in his ear when wrapping the unnecessary extra tape around his head, and that he removed and discarded it with the tape when he took the tape off. I'd be curious to see whether he could still "read the judges' minds" if the pictures they drew were hidden from the view of the audience.
> 
> *That story about the war veteran is crazy if true. Wow.*


Not true...



> Poe had a stutter when he spoke with the judges, which he attributed to his brain injury. The stutter disappeared when he sang. He also didn't appear to stutter when he spoke with the show's host after his performance.


Google "Mel Tillis" and you'll see that this isn't the first time there has been a stuttering Country Singer. I think this dude simply ripped off his whole act. The only difference being, that in Mel Tillis' case the stutter was real.


----------



## nataylor

I have no doubt that the guy's stutter is real. It just seems that it's not the result of a service-related injury like he claims it was.


----------



## bareyb

nataylor said:


> I have no doubt that the guy's stutter is real. It just seems that it's not the result of a service-related injury like he claims it was.


I'm not so sure... Why would he lie about how it happened? If it wasn't in the Military then how did he suddenly become a stutterer? I think if he lied about one, he could be lying about the other. Unless of course it happened as the result of a drunk driving accident or something like that where he'd need a better back story... I guess we'll see. Something like this isn't going to go away.


----------



## tiams

steve614 said:


> Oh my, that pole dancer...
> 
> Like a train wreck, that was so bad I couldn't avert my eyes.
> Whoever rigged the pole did a good job.


did anyone else notice how disgusting the bottoms of her feet were?


----------



## nataylor

bareyb said:


> I'm not so sure... Why would he lie about how it happened? If it wasn't in the Military then how did he suddenly become a stutterer? I think if he lied about one, he could be lying about the other. Unless of course it happened as the result of a drunk driving accident or something like that where he'd need a better back story... I guess we'll see. Something like this isn't going to go away.


Maybe he's lying about suddenly becoming a stutterer. Maybe he's had the stutter his whole life. Maybe it's the result of a non-service related injury and he says it's service related to get more sympathy.

Faking stuttering seems like it would be hard, especially when you'd have to be "always on" around the competition.

I bet we don't hear about him on the show. He just won't be there in Vegas, and they'll never mention it.


----------



## bareyb

inaka said:


> Yeah, it's a simple trick if he has a partner watching and relaying him info via a radio transmitter either as an earpiece, or if they checked his ear, one cleverly built into his blindfold.


Agreed. That's the only way he could do it. Most of these tricks have ridiculously obvious answers once you know what they are. Remember when they were making 747 Planes disappear in front of 50 people a few years ago? All they did was move the Camera over to where the plane _wasn't_. Yep. You guessed it. All 50 people were in on it.


----------



## gossamer88

Radio Howard would have LHAO when he started speaking.


----------



## bareyb

nataylor said:


> Maybe he's lying about suddenly becoming a stutterer. Maybe he's had the stutter his whole life. Maybe it's the result of a non-service related injury and he says it's service related to get more sympathy.
> 
> Faking stuttering seems like it would be hard, especially when you'd have to be "always on" around the competition.
> 
> I bet we don't hear about him on the show. He just won't be there in Vegas, and they'll never mention it.


If he's been a stutterer his whole life then everyone in his life would know he's lying about it happening during combat. So does that mean his wife and all his supporters are in on the lie too? I hope we find out the truth some day. Can't imagine what it might be. There's always the possibility that he got brain damage some other way. But why lie when it's so easy to get caught? The whole thing just seems really bizarre to me.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

nataylor said:


> Maybe he's lying about suddenly becoming a stutterer. Maybe he's had the stutter his whole life. Maybe it's the result of a non-service related injury and he says it's service related to get more sympathy.
> 
> Faking stuttering seems like it would be hard, especially when you'd have to be "always on" around the competition.
> 
> I bet we don't hear about him on the show. He just won't be there in Vegas, and they'll never mention it.


For what it's worth:



> However, AGTNews adds that his ex-wife, an Air Force veteran, claims Poe is compulsive liar whom she "never heard have a stutter like (he had on the show)."


----------



## tiams

nataylor said:


> I bet we don't hear about him on the show. He just won't be there in Vegas, and they'll never mention it.


Haven't they already taped the Vegas rounds? I'm sure they can re-edit them if so.


----------



## inaka

bareyb said:


> Agreed. That's the only way he could do it. Most of these tricks have ridiculously obvious answers once you know what they are. Remember when they were making 747 Planes disappear in front of 50 people a few years ago? All they did was move the Camera over to where the plane _wasn't_. Yep. You guessed it. All 50 people were in on it.


Yup. The "Mind Reader" trick reminded me of this clip, where James Randi exposed how a faith healer did essentially the exact same thing as this "mind reader":






@ the 2:33 mark, James Randi uses a radio scanner to fully expose how this faith healer scammed his audience, with the radio transmitter and partner (his wife.)

Yup, same "trick".


----------



## nataylor

bareyb said:


> Agreed. That's the only way he could do it. Most of these tricks have ridiculously obvious answers once you know what they are. Remember when they were making 747 Planes disappear in front of 50 people a few years ago? All they did was move the Camera over to where the plane _wasn't_. Yep. You guessed it. All 50 people were in on it.


Of course there are ways of doing that without "cheating." Like when David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear. The audience wasn't in on that. It's just that when he moved the camera, he moved the audience along with it.


----------



## nataylor

WhiskeyTango said:


> For what it's worth:


Not sure how much of that AGTNews report I believe. The guy is 35. Their story says his ex wife caught him cheating on her in 1991. He would have been 13 or 14 in 1991. And she says "The whole time I have known him, I have never known him to be enrolled in any college. There is a possibility he may have an associates degree from before I met him. On his Facebook page he says he has a Masters degree in project management. Why would she even think a 13 or 14 year old would have an associates degree?


----------



## inaka

nataylor said:


> Not sure how much of that AGTNews report I believe. The guy is 35. Their story says his ex wife caught him cheating on her in 1991. He would have been 13 or 14 in 1991. And she says "The whole time I have known him, I have never known him to be enrolled in any college. There is a possibility he may have an associates degree from before I met him. On his Facebook page he says he has a Masters degree in project management." Why would she even think a 13 or 14 year old would have an associates degree?


Maybe he lied about his age too, and he's really 42?

"Everybody lies"
-Gregory House, M.D.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

nataylor said:


> Not sure how much of that AGTNews report I believe. The guy is 35. Their story says his ex wife caught him cheating on her in 1991. He would have been 13 or 14 in 1991. And she says "The whole time I have known him, I have never known him to be enrolled in any college. There is a possibility he may have an associates degree from before I met him. On his Facebook page he says he has a Masters degree in project management. Why would she even think a 13 or 14 year old would have an associates degree?


I'm going to go out on a limb and guess 1991 is a typo. 2001 makes more sense.


----------



## nataylor

After rewatching the mind-reading trick, I think I've come up with something that doesn't require an assistant.

The coins actually hold the blindfold and tape off his eyes. This leaves a little bit of a gap towards the bottom of the nose. You can see what I'm talking about in this screen cap:










While he has Nick place the drawings face down, it sure is convenient that he gave them paper and a thick pen that bled through the paper. He also makes sure to have them draw something "big and bold," helping ensure the image is viewable from the reverse side of the paper.


----------



## inaka

No way. It's gotta be a wireless transmitter.

The reason it's "big and bold" is probably because his partner assisting him in the trick had to view it from really bad seats and was farther away than normal.


----------



## nataylor

inaka said:


> No way. It's gotta be a wireless transmitter.
> 
> The reason it's "big and bold" is probably because his partner assisting him in the trick had to view it from really bad seats and was farther away than normal.


There's a huge gap right there by his nose. It would be simple to see out of. The other thing is that he applies the last bit of tape himself, allowing for adjustment as needed so he can make sure he has at least a sliver to look through.


----------



## inaka

Still leaves WAY too much for chance.
The pictures were folded and then unfolded above his head.
Plus, he had so much detail about each image. Giving the trick more fun by slowly revealing more details, etc. 

He's doing this because it takes time for the partner to describe the image to him with detail. 

Lastly, in any trick, it's about diverting attention AWAY from where people are looking. A trick like that relying on his actual eyes is where everyone will be looking. That's why he can slip in the ear piece undetected when he's doing the duct tape schtick. 

A radio transmitter in the ear solves all of that and leaves nothing to chance besides maybe a battery/transmitter failure. But that's not happening if he's a pro.


----------



## nataylor

If he's a pro, he's practiced applying the tape and blindfold a thousand times before he even did it in public. And while he's describing one, he has plenty of time to look at the next one.


----------



## nataylor

And while the pictures were folded when Nick handed them to him, he quickly unfolded them:










Also, when he's applying the tape, you can see he's pushing the blindfold up his head, giving more of a gap at the bottom.


----------



## inaka

Just assuming he can see out of the bottom, doesn't mean he can always see the art.
Again, you're then relying on someone not part of the trick to possibly ruin it if the keep the folded art behind their backs and/or reveal it in a way you can't see. 

The Howie pic alone takes a few seconds to really grasp what it is. It could be a stick figure holding a kite unless you look really closely. 

Wireless transmitter with a partner is the answer.
It's so obvious.


----------



## tiams

The half dollars are an important part of the trick because when I have seen it done they were used then also.


----------



## inaka

If he _*didn't*_ have a earpiece receiver, I would expect him to say something like, "Nick, please feel free to check my ears to show I'm not using any listening device, etc." as part of the trick.

Then again, it's possible he said that an AGT edited it out, etc., but that seems unlikely as it would make the trick stronger.

Just sayin...


----------



## nataylor

inaka said:


> Just assuming he can see out of the bottom, doesn't mean he can always see the art.
> Again, you're then relying on someone not part of the trick to possibly ruin it if the keep the folded art behind their backs and/or reveal it in a way you can't see.


He tells Nick to set the pictures face down in his hand. After then, he's in control of them.



inaka said:


> The Howie pic alone takes a few seconds to really grasp what it is. It could be a stick figure holding a kite unless you look really closely.


He had at least a few seconds to look at it. Brains are great at pattern recognition. And his instructions beforehand make sure they draw something relatively simple.



inaka said:


> Wireless transmitter with a partner is the answer.
> It's so obvious.


While magicians don't mind using stooges when necessary, I'm sure they prefer to find a way that doesn't require them. If it really was a wireless transmitter, he could have done a lot more to make sure he couldn't see or even interact with the drawings, which would provide even more credibility to the trick.


----------



## Donbadabon

I was convinced too that he used an earpiece.

But then I came across this page:

http://crisjohnsontricktalk.blogspot.com/2010/01/john-archers-blindfold-tips-vs.html

For those that can't click links, it talks about an instructional DVD that tells you how to do the trick. From reading this, it is a solo trick, so he must be able to see out of the blindfold:



> During this DVD, you'll see John perform his 20 minute blindfold act. During the act, his eyes are ductaped shut, complete with coins and a sleeping mask. After all of this is done (with the assistance of two spectators) Archer asks three people in the audience to draw pictures on pieces of paper. Once finished, the three spectators join Archer on stage where he, blindfolded, describes the drawings.
> 
> The response is incredible and the working is surprisingly (at least to me at the time) simple. I actually bought this DVD two years ago and for many months was too scared to try it out. What if the audience left? What if someone screwed with me?
> 
> After trying it, I became addicted and have now done the act at least 100 times. It's angle-proof and everything can be borrowed. What's especially wonderful about this act is the fact that the journey to the revelations is highly entertaining - people can NOT believe you're actually putting duct tape on your face. Whereas many mentalism (and magic effects, for that matter) feel somewhat "procedural" during the set-up, here the journey to the pay-off is wonderfully engaging. In some ways, this is the perfect mentalism routine - angle-proof, no boring parts, visual, etc.
> 
> The visual aspect of the act is enhanced by Archer's decision to have people draw drawings as opposed to holding up small objects - keys, etc. It's more visible for the audience and, as Archer points out, it gives him more scope for comedy and ad-libbing.





> The blindfold has no moving parts, slides or sneaky, hidden gizmos. The "secret" is in plain sight, though you could leave this with laypeople for hours or days, and it's doubtful they'd ever discover the secret.


----------



## busyba

For what it's worth, I remember seeing Penn and Teller live about 20 years ago when part of their show was revealing some of the older illusions, and I recall that they mentioned that in tricks involving blindfolds, it's practically impossible for you to be rendered completely unable to see out the bottom.

Having now recalled that, I'm more inclined to think the trick is simply that he could see the drawings as he held the papers by his stomach, although I think the earpiece approach is also plausible.


----------



## inaka

nataylor said:


> He tells Nick to set the pictures face down in his hand. After then, he's in control of them.


Very true, and I didn't really pick up on this. 
Your screen grab is a good one.



nataylor said:


> He had at least a few seconds to look at it. Brains are great at pattern recognition. And his instructions beforehand make sure they draw something relatively simple.
> 
> While magicians don't mind using stooges when necessary, I'm sure they prefer to find a way that doesn't require them. If it really was a wireless transmitter, he could have done a lot more to make sure he couldn't see or even interact with the drawings, which would provide even more credibility to the trick.


All very good points.
Very possible then I too I guess.



Donbadabon said:


> I was convinced too that he used an earpiece.
> 
> But then I came across this page:
> 
> http://crisjohnsontricktalk.blogspot.com/2010/01/john-archers-blindfold-tips-vs.html


Good link, thanks. I really was convinced too that he used an earpiece too, with my mind instantly going to that preacher clip I posted earlier.

You guys have swayed me a bit on this.
I was dead set on earpiece.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

Stern mentioned on his show something about the producers mentioning that he did the trick alone in a room with them so that would rule out a stooge in the audience helping him.


----------



## photoshopgrl

Wow. I don't know what to think of this. 


> Stuttering 'AGT' Contestant
> Soldier Photo's A FAKE!!!


http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/07/timothy-poe-americas-got-talent-soldier-photo-afghanistan/


----------



## nataylor

photoshopgrl said:


> Wow. I don't know what to think of this.
> 
> http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/07/timothy-poe-americas-got-talent-soldier-photo-afghanistan/


It might have been NBC who pulled together the photographs for the montage.


----------



## photoshopgrl

nataylor said:


> It might have been NBC who pulled together the photographs for the montage.


Apparently another story is claiming his ex-wife said he doesn't even stutter. And then another asked him to provide proof and that if injured by the enemy he'd have a purple heart. I dunno. That's just more sad that I can even imagine if he made that all up.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

He also lied at some military event about being awarded the purple heart and bronze star.


----------



## inaka

What an amazing db!

I mean, I can almost, _almost_ understand some guy at a bar drunk and exaggerating about his military service (not medals or injuries, but just service, etc.,) but to go on a nationally televised show, where your injury and service record are obviously going to be front n center since it's part of the story, it baffles me that the guy can be so stupid to think he could get away with it.

Unless he knew he would get caught but wanted to be infamous?
Crazy story all around.


----------



## busyba

photoshopgrl said:


> Wow. I don't know what to think of this.
> 
> http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/07/timothy-poe-americas-got-talent-soldier-photo-afghanistan/


hee hee hee.... Sergeant Bone....


----------



## busyba

nataylor said:


> It might have been NBC who pulled together the photographs for the montage.


The AGT producers say that they got the picture from the contestant.


----------



## bareyb

busyba said:


> The AGT producers say that they got the picture from the contestant.


Who apparently pulled the photo off a Government website. I'm curious to see how AGT handles this on the show. Will they talk about it or bury it? I say they talk about it...


----------



## JLucPicard

They will either bury it and we'll never hear about the guy again on _AGT_ (which is what I think will happen) or they will do a production of the revealing/confession of the lie and the producers ceremoneously booting him like they did with that guy on _Idol_.


----------



## bareyb

I think they have to decide if they want to go for ratings with it, or if they feel it's better not to give the DB the publicity he craves... There's also the DB's lawyers who may have issue with the story being sensationalized. You're probably right... They may just bury it... I guess we'll see.


----------



## inaka

Either way, it's a win for AGT. It makes headlines and people hear about the story and probably say, "What's AGT?" then watch to see how it might play out. Win for them.


----------



## That Don Guy

JLucPicard said:


> They will either bury it and we'll never hear about the guy again on _AGT_ (which is what I think will happen) or they will do a production of the revealing/confession of the lie and the producers ceremoneously booting him like they did with that guy on _Idol_.


Idol didn't have much choice, since the contestant was expected to be competing that night. With AGT, they can just never mention him again. They've done it before with contestants who were sent to Vegas; a few seasons ago, the magicians The Pendragons appeared, and were put through to Vegas, but that was the last time they were mentioned.


----------



## steve614

tiams said:


> did anyone else notice how disgusting the bottoms of her feet were?


You do realize they can't mop the stage between EVERY act, right?


----------



## bruinfan

Stutter guy:

sounded just like ed norton, jr in "Primal Fear"


----------



## morac

http://www.starpulse.com/news/SheKn.../06/08/timothy_michael_poe_tries_to_save_his_

Apparently he was in the National Guard and was in Afghanistan, but only for a month, after which he left because of an ear infection and refused to go back when that cleared up. Also he was injured, but it was during basic training, not combat and it wasn't a brain injury.

Despite the evidence, he's still claiming he's telling the truth. He says he accidentally sent AGT someone else's photo. His girlfriend is backing him up.

As of now, he's still in the contest. AGT hasn't kicked him out. I can't see how they can keep him in as there's no way he'll go through.


----------



## MarkofT

inaka said:


> Yeah, I liked the sand artist too.
> Reminded me a bit of Denny Dent's use of music and art.
> I had never seen that done with sand before. Very cool.





pmyers said:


> I thought I had remembered seing something similiar with the sand from a previous season....but it was cool and it was patriotic which is always a crowd pleaser


Good grief, you guys have short memories. There have been at least 2 threads linking to different sand drawing videos post hereon TCF. The best one I have seen was the Russian History show. Shorter bits like they had on the audition show isn't that great because there was only 3 scenes. When they go on for 8-12 minutes and have dozens of scenes, it's cool to see that one bit they drew 12 scenes and 4 minutes ago is still around.


----------



## bareyb

bareyb said:


> Same here. Not exactly original, but then again, what is? I wonder if they will have people in blackout suits using lights in front of a darkened background again this year?


Well. that didn't take long... although I think this season is the weakest implementation I've seen yet. I personally thought Team Illuminate had the best act in this genre.


----------



## morac

bareyb said:


> Well. that didn't take long... although I think this season is the weakest implementation I've seen yet. I personally thought Team Illuminate had the best act in this genre.


I wonder what the ratings are. As of next week they are cutting it down to one hour a week.


----------



## DeDondeEs

busyba said:


> For what it's worth, I remember seeing Penn and Teller live about 20 years ago when part of their show was revealing some of the older illusions, and I recall that they mentioned that in tricks involving blindfolds, it's practically impossible for you to be rendered completely unable to see out the bottom.
> 
> Having now recalled that, I'm more inclined to think the trick is simply that he could see the drawings as he held the papers by his stomach, although I think the earpiece approach is also plausible.


The other option is that the stooge in the audience could have had a tapping or buzzing device in his shoe or on his leg where the person was transmitting the message to him in Morse code. Or I might have just watched that movie Casino too much.


----------



## wendiness1

If there were a stooge in the audience, surely those around him would have noticed he was speaking and, most likely, what he was saying.


----------



## tiams

The "mind reader" cannot have an unacknowledged accomplice because that person would be entitled to half the prize and have to be identified to the viewers/voters.


----------



## nataylor

tiams said:


> The "mind reader" cannot have an unacknowledged accomplice because that person would be entitled to half the prize and have to be identified to the viewers/voters.


What makes you think that?


----------



## tiams

nataylor said:


> What makes you think that?


Common sense.


----------



## steve614

tiams said:


> The "mind reader" cannot have an unacknowledged accomplice because that person would be entitled to half the prize and have to be identified to the viewers/voters.


Unless said accomplice signs a waiver up front releasing himself from acknowledgement.


----------



## bareyb

I just watched it again and I'm almost certain he's looking out from under the tape now. There's a fairly good gap (thank you freeze frame) by his nose that looked large enough to see through to me. 

Also, if you watch it in slow-motion you can see where he pulls the mask away from his eyes when he is energetically wrapping his head in the duct tape. The sticky of the tape appears to grab the rest and then he pulls sharply outward away from his eyes when he does the wrap.


----------



## morac

Even if he could see out the bottom of the tape, I'm not sure when he actually had a chance to look at the papers. They were given to him face down and he never flipped them over before putting them up over his head.


----------



## nataylor

morac said:


> Even if he could see out the bottom of the tape, I'm not sure when he actually had a chance to look at the papers. They were given to him face down and he never flipped them over before putting them up over his head.


Go back a few pages. He used thin paper and a thick marker, so the drawings easily bled through.


----------



## jdfs

That second Tampa show (6/12) was horrible. No great acts, horrible ending.


----------



## Einselen

jdfs said:


> That second Tampa show (6/12) was horrible. No great acts, horrible ending.


The pop and lock brothers or whatever is their name was a great act and they did not get enough air time in my opinion. Lindsey wasn't horrible either and I am calling it now, Big Barry to win it all!


----------



## markz

Einselen said:


> I am calling it now, Big Barry to win it all!


Yeah, Howard was nuts over him!


----------



## JFriday

this is my first season watching (because of Howard) I don't think I've seen an act that could keep me entertained longer than 5 minutes. What kind of acts normally win this competition?


----------



## andyw715

JFriday said:


> this is my first season watching (because of Howard) I don't think I've seen an act that could keep me entertained longer than 5 minutes. What kind of acts normally win this competition?


With the execption of Terry Fator (ventriloquist/singers)...its pretty much singers you've haven't heard from since.


----------



## Jayjoans

The magic act with the yellow motorcycle appearing was so amazingly poorly done I thought it was a joke at first. The front tire is straight, yet the handlebars are turned all the way left. If you watch closely he opens the drapes too early and the model is still swinging the back half of the one dimensional motorcycle to meet with the one dimensional front half of the motorcycle with the messed up steering. Let alone the creepy ghetto eyeliner on the magician, this whole act was a miserable POS.

It's also completely lame to show the feet of the girls while they struggle to open the sides of the box and swing the "motorcycle" into place.


----------



## markz

JFriday said:


> this is my first season watching (because of Howard) I don't think I've seen an act that could keep me entertained longer than 5 minutes. What kind of acts normally win this competition?


Spoilered in case someone hasn't watched:

From Wikipedia:



Spoiler



Season 1 11-year old singer Bianca Ryan, and the runners-up were clogging group All That, and musical group The Millers.

Season 2 Terry Fator, a ventriloquist who is also a singer, being named the winner, and singer Cas Haley as runner-up.

Season 3 Neal E. Boyd, an opera singer, was named the winner

Season 4 Kevin Skinner, an American country music singer, was named the season's winner.

Season 5 Michael Grimm, an American singer/songwriter, was named the winner.

Season 6 Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., a Frank Sinatra style singer, was named the winner of season six. Dance group Silhouettes was runner-up.


----------



## That Don Guy

And in season 5,


Spoiler



young (to put it mildly - she was 10 at the time) classical singer Jackie Evancho (who won that year's "YouTube's Got Talent" popular vote) finished second


----------



## Fish Man

JFriday said:


> this is my first season watching (because of Howard) I don't think I've seen an act that could keep me entertained longer than 5 minutes. What kind of acts normally win this competition?


It's a pitty that this is the first season you've watched.

From a talent perspective, this is by far the lamest season so far.

I've watched every season except season 1. In every other season, there were several acts in the early audition process that made me say, "Wow, that's really something".

In this season. No such acts. None. The "best" acts this season are largely poor copies of some of the good acts from previous seasons.


----------



## inaka

MarkofT said:


> Good grief, you guys have short memories. There have been at least 2 threads linking to different sand drawing videos post hereon TCF.


I can't have a short memory on something I never saw in the first place
Never saw those threads, videos, etc.


----------



## tiams

There has got to be some kind of trick involved with the crossbow guy shooting at the woman. 

Horse has got to have some kind of medical problem. I wonder if he has ever had a doctor examine his testicles. Was he really towing with his scrotum?

I love the ventriloquist with the dog!


----------



## morac

As usual some of the judges favorites (the 5 year old rapper kid) shouldn't even be there, yet they sent home better acts. Another example is the human cannonball. They send him directly to the live show, but where can he go from his original act? I think he'll get eliminated early on in the audience voting.



tiams said:


> There has got to be some kind of trick involved with the crossbow guy shooting at the woman.


I don't see why since the woman gives the guy aiming directions. As long as she is accurate and he doesn't move it's not that tricky.


----------



## markz

morac said:


> I don't see why since the woman gives the guy aiming directions. As long as she is accurate and he doesn't move it's not that tricky.


And if he hits her, it's her fault because she is telling him where to aim! So he can live on guilt-free!


----------



## Donbadabon

When I go to Vegas, I can either see the Blue Man Group, Penn & Teller, or a guy who gets kicked in the balls for an hour.

Yeah. 

I don't get the entertainment value in him, at all.


----------



## markz

Donbadabon said:


> When I go to Vegas, I can either see the Blue Man Group, Penn & Teller, or a guy who gets kicked in the balls for an hour.
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> I don't get the entertainment value in him, at all.


Maybe if the Blue Man Group kicked Penn & Teller in the balls for an hour! Now THERE's a show!


----------



## morac

Donbadabon said:


> When I go to Vegas, I can either see the Blue Man Group, Penn & Teller, or a guy who gets kicked in the balls for an hour.
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> I don't get the entertainment value in him, at all.


But that's the future of entertainment according to Idiocracy.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_4jrMwvZ2A&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/media]


----------



## That Don Guy

I fail to see the point in:
(a) "You're going to Vegas!"
(b) "Okay, we've had to shuffle a lot of plans around and use up some vacation time from work, but it's worth it - we're going to Vegas to perform on AGT!"
(c) "Welcome to Vegas - here's a plane ticket to send you back home; we sent through so many acts that we already know you won't make it through to the next round."

Also, isn't the next round after Vegas usually in LA somewhere? I thought I kept hearing people mention that they're being sent through to New York.


----------



## tiams

tiams said:


> There has got to be some kind of trick involved with the crossbow guy shooting at the woman.





morac said:


> I don't see why since the woman gives the guy aiming directions. As long as she is accurate and he doesn't move it's not that tricky.


It has to be a trick because if all is at it appears and he had ever missed and shot her she would be dead. I think the trick is that it is not actually deadly dangerous at all. The arrows are probably plastic and rubber tipped. The crossbow must have little actual force (he fakes making it look like it is a real effort to ****) and the backdrop that he shoots into is easily pierced styrofoam. If he missed and shot her in the face or head it might sting, but wouldn't do any real damage.


----------



## That Don Guy

tiams said:


> It has to be a trick because if all is at it appears and he had ever missed and shot her she would be dead.


I don't think it's a "trick" at all. There is plenty of space between the balloon and the woman, and if you have some idea what you are doing, a crossbow is very accurate at "short" distance.


----------



## loubob57

Man the singers were all having a hard time last night.

There were a couple I didn't think were that good the first time. Flo Jo's daughter was OK but not great. If it wasn't for the family connections I don't think she'd have been advanced in the first place.


----------



## tiams

That Don Guy said:


> I don't think it's a "trick" at all. There is plenty of space between the balloon and the woman, and if you have some idea what you are doing, a crossbow is very accurate at "short" distance.


Nobody can hit the target 100% of the time. And if he misses a woman is shot in the face.


----------



## markz

tiams said:


> And if he misses a woman is shot in the face.


Only once though. Not 4 or 5 times.


----------



## nataylor

tiams said:


> Nobody can hit the target 100% of the time. And if he misses a woman is shot in the face.


The balloon is a good 2.5-3 feet above the woman. And you're assuming if he misses, he'll miss low and centered. The "rehearsal" footage they showed, he seemed to miss high.

All the woman has to do is make sure that the tip and tail of the arrow are lined up horizontally, and that the tip is above the tail vertically.


----------



## fmowry

Plus he can always get another woman. It's not like *he's* getting hurt!


----------



## pmyers

Listened to Stern this morning and he had a AGT producer on the show...the producer did say that we will see/hear what happens to the LIAR guy.


----------



## getreal

Donbadabon said:


> When I go to Vegas, I can either see the Blue Man Group, Penn & Teller, or a guy who gets kicked in the balls for an hour.
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> I don't get the entertainment value in him, at all.


That guy should be sacked.

You know what I mean ...


----------



## Cainebj

I think it is kind of mean spirited to bring acts to Vegas and then kick them out before they perform.

Why bother? 
Why spend the money to transport and house them? 
Why let them rehearse for a performance that isn't going to happen?


----------



## GoHalos

Cainebj said:


> I think it is kind of mean spirited to bring acts to Vegas and then kick them out before they perform.
> 
> Why bother?
> Why spend the money to transport and house them?
> Why let them rehearse for a performance that isn't going to happen?


I agree. You could hear it in the voice of one guy (I think it was the bald guy that was part of the balancing on his head act) when he said he was disappointed because they had worked hard to prepare for Vegas.


----------



## morac

GoHalos said:


> I agree. You could hear it in the voice of one guy (I think it was the bald guy that was part of the balancing on his head act) when he said he was disappointed because they had worked hard to prepare for Vegas.


I agree as well especially since their act was better than some that went through.


----------



## bareyb

Okay. I'll weigh in. 

1. I think the Crossbow act is real (not a trick). He missed her by a good 3 feet. I actually think that trick is less dangerous than the one's where he's missing her face by a few inches. That would scare me more. From that distance, the girl would be able to clearly see if the arrow is pointing at her head... 

2. I think it sucks that they brought those people all the way there and then sent them home, but it's far better than the alternative where they would have been kicked off in the first round. At least this way they get to say they made it to Vegas. No need to tell the rest...


----------



## morac

I can't figure out how the mentalist guy did his trick. The only things I can think of is he used trick paper (since he gave it to Sharon) or he has trick mirror glasses since he looked away, but could see behind him with trick glasses. He's good, but he won't win since his act won't work with Vegas size audiences. 

The escape artist obviously had trick locks. There's no way to pick locks that easily, especially with a belt buckle. The whole thing was staged since instead of immediately going for the lock holding the lid shut and letting him breathe, he went for the other locks first. I'll give him this, he can hold his breathe a long time and puts on a show. 

The other "magician" with the boxes was awful. 

The impressionist blew it. 

Also why do they let through kids at all? There's no kid that can win the million dollar prize. If Jackie Evancho couldn't win, no kid will. Yes I know a 13 year old won first season, but that was before people knew about the show so there wasn't that much competition. Also she vanished off the face of the Earth. In any case putting through 5 year olds to Vegas is insulting to the adult contestants who get cut. 

Actually I can't figure out why people with no or little talent even audition. That a few of them made it to Vegas boggles the mind. 


Also I'm willing to bet they moved the finals to New York as part of the deal to get Howard.


----------



## tiams

The mind reader had to have read Sharon's paper when she handed it to him. That was the only reason there was for him to handle it. He may have switched the papers and palmed the one she wrote on. Notice she didn't open her paper and reveal what was written on it.


----------



## tiams

They showed the liar guy when they were telling people whether they were going to NY. He got a no.


----------



## KungFuCow

morac said:


> The escape artist obviously had trick locks. There's no way to pick locks that easily, especially with a belt buckle. The whole thing was staged since instead of immediately going for the lock holding the lid shut and letting him breathe, he went for the other locks first. I'll give him this, he can hold his breathe a long time and puts on a show.


Can you pick locks?

Thats a serious question and Im not trying to be a smart***.

At one point I was a lock picking enthusiast just as a hobby and because I thought it was cool to do. Picking Master Locks like that guy was using takes about 10 seconds. They arent difficult to open at all. In fact, of all the locks Ive ever successfully picked, they are by far the easiest. They may be tough under fire but they crumble when a pick is inserted.


----------



## morac

KungFuCow said:


> Can you pick locks?
> 
> Thats a serious question and Im not trying to be a smart***.
> 
> At one point I was a lock picking enthusiast just as a hobby and because I thought it was cool to do. Picking Master Locks like that guy was using takes about 10 seconds. They arent difficult to open at all. In fact, of all the locks Ive ever successfully picked, they are by far the easiest. They may be tough under fire but they crumble when a pick is inserted.


No really, though I did technically pick a cheap one built into a cabinet at my office as the prior user left it locked when he left, but that was a poor lock as I opened it with a paper clip. Picking a real lock involves lining up all the pins in the lock. A good lock can't be picked in 5 seconds, even with lock picking tools, let alone a belt buckle. They may have been real locks, but they must be really cheap. I still think they are trick locks because his timing was too perfect.


----------



## TriBruin

morac said:


> No really, though I did technically pick a cheap one built into a cabinet at my office as the prior user left it locked when he left, but that was a poor lock as I opened it with a paper clip. Picking a real lock involves lining up all the pins in the lock. A good lock can't be picked in 5 seconds, even with lock picking tools, let alone a belt buckle. They may have been real locks, but they must be really cheap. I still think they are trick locks because his timing was too perfect.


I agree with you on the possibility of being a trick locks, but even if they weren't, he didn't pick the top lock with his belt buckle. When you watch him working on the top lock, he covers it with his hand and the "drops" the lock pick kit. (I think he flicked it on the ground.) All he had to do at that point was wait out the time and pretend to be struggling.

One that acts that got little notice, but i was rooting for was the rifle drill team. Some of the members of that team are local to me and have performed at my church. I was dissappointed they did make it through. In fact, they barely got any screen time at all.


----------



## KungFuCow

morac said:


> No really, though I did technically pick a cheap one built into a cabinet at my office as the prior user left it locked when he left, but that was a poor lock as I opened it with a paper clip. Picking a real lock involves lining up all the pins in the lock. A good lock can't be picked in 5 seconds, even with lock picking tools, let alone a belt buckle. They may have been real locks, but they must be really cheap. I still think they are trick locks because his timing was too perfect.


Ive picked Masterlocks hundreds of times. Theyre that easy and Im at best a novice at that kind of stuff. Anyone with experience can open a Masterlock in under 5 seconds with a pick or even a hairpin.


----------



## DeDondeEs

KungFuCow said:


> Ive picked Masterlocks hundreds of times. Theyre that easy and Im at best a novice at that kind of stuff. Anyone with experience can open a Masterlock in under 5 seconds with a pick or even a hairpin.


I'll second that. I took a lockpicking class a few years back, and those Masterlocks are very easy. In fact those are about the only ones I could pick everytime.

It is still interesting to watch though. I would need a lot of practicing to do something like that, if I could. I am betting that the plexiglass box had some sort of failsafe on it where if he really got in trouble he could just jump out for example that last lock hinge holding the top shut could have been attached loosely.

I am still trying to figure out mind reader guy. Could he be using some special pen that broadcasts the strokes back to him? I don't see how he could have looked at what she wrote on the paper itself.


----------



## nataylor

DeDondeEs said:


> I am still trying to figure out mind reader guy. Could he be using some special pen that broadcasts the strokes back to him? I don't see how he could have looked at what she wrote on the paper itself.


When she handed him the paper, he palmed it and gave a duplicate piece of paper back to her.

When he holds her hand, his other hand is in the perfect position so he can read the piece of paper now in his palm:


----------



## That Don Guy

What I wonder is, do they really see only the "first group" of acts and then decide which of them go home before seeing the "second group", or do they watch them all and then make the decisions?

I don't see how, for lack of a better way of describing him, "male soprano" didn't get through, yet somehow they know there will be performers in the next group who will be better than him.


----------



## tiams

tiams said:


> The mind reader had to have read Sharon's paper when she handed it to him. That was the only reason there was for him to handle it. He may have switched the papers and palmed the one she wrote on. Notice she didn't open her paper and reveal what was written on it.





nataylor said:


> When she handed him the paper, he palmed it and gave a duplicate piece of paper back to her.
> 
> When he holds her hand, his other hand is in the perfect position so he can read the piece of paper now in his palm:


That's what I already said above. Two things that give it away -1. Him having Sharon give him the paper. 2. Sharon never revealing what was written on her paper.


----------



## tiams

Water escape guy - obviously the locks were never a real hindrance, whether they are fake or just easy to pick. It was still impressive that he could hold his breath that long and stay calm under pressure. I wondered how he was so completely aware of exactly how much time was left on the clock. He knew exactly when to "drop" the pick.


----------



## JLucPicard

Cainebj said:


> I think it is kind of mean spirited to bring acts to Vegas and then kick them out before they perform.
> 
> Why bother?
> Why spend the money to transport and house them?
> Why let them rehearse for a performance that isn't going to happen?


When they are doing the auditions I imagine they have to put through enough people to make sure they have enough once they are actually IN Vegas to work with. They have no idea when they are doing the early auditions how many they may send in the later rounds or how many that they send through may actually not be able to make it to Vegas for one reason or another - or whether they might discover issues with people that would require they dump them.

So what's worse - give people a free trip to Vegas and send them home without them performing, or calling them at home and saying, "Oh yeah, remember how we were going to bring you to Vegas? Never mind, we won't be putting you through anyway".

We don't know how long they were actually in Vegas before the judges told them to check the board and see if your going through or going straight home. And for any that went to the point of auditioning, etc., I doubt they'd be too upset over rehearsing - I would think they tend to do that a lot anyway.

And they do that every year, so anyone who follows the show at all will probably realize that.


----------



## JLucPicard

And TriBruin stole my thunder on the escape artist guy - he had already picked the last lock before 'fumbling' the pick away and going to the belt. All just a part of the performance and building tension.


----------



## DeDondeEs

nataylor said:


> When she handed him the paper, he palmed it and gave a duplicate piece of paper back to her.
> 
> When he holds her hand, his other hand is in the perfect position so he can read the piece of paper now in his palm:


But wasn't it a big piece of paper folded up? How did he figure out what was written on it while it was folded up?


----------



## That Don Guy

JLucPicard said:


> We don't know how long they were actually in Vegas before the judges told them to check the board and see if your going through or going straight home. And for any that went to the point of auditioning, etc., I doubt they'd be too upset over rehearsing - I would think they tend to do that a lot anyway.
> 
> And they do that every year, so anyone who follows the show at all will probably realize that.


Not last year, IIRC - there were three groups; those put straight through to LA, those who performed in Vegas right away, and those who performed in Vegas later. They have sent people straight home from Vegas before - remember the year the contestants were taken from the airport to an aircraft hangar (or at least that's the way it was edited to look on TV)? - but I don't think it was a "regular thing."

Also remember that some of the acts that were not on "either list" were the acts put straight through to New York.


----------



## markymark_ctown

morac said:


> Also I'm willing to bet they moved the finals to New York as part of the deal to get Howard.


correct - howard will be doing his radio show while AGT runs so he needs(wants?) to remain in NY to be near home and the Hamptons.


----------



## jdfs

markymark_ctown said:


> correct - howard will be doing his radio show while AGT runs so he needs(wants?) to remain in NY to be near home and the Hamptons.


He has said on the air many times that was his condition for taking the job since he is already under contract to do the radio program. Also it technically is being filmed in NJ not NY although they never admit it. Howard wasn't so happy about that. Although he said it only took him a half hour to get back yesterday (some prelim shooting for next week).


----------



## inaka

tiams said:


> Water escape guy - obviously the locks were never a real hindrance, whether they are fake or just easy to pick. It was still impressive that he could hold his breath that long and stay calm under pressure. *I wondered how he was so completely aware of exactly how much time was left on the clock. He knew exactly when to "drop" the pick.*


Practice.

Probably each step is broken down into segments, and he knows how long to spend on each step through practice, much like a comedian can probably get his timing down perfect for a set, etc.


----------



## loubob57

Big Barry goes through? Really?


----------



## Regina

loubob57 said:


> Big Barry goes through? Really?


I was waiting for some comments on the Top 48...I cannot BELIEVE that Big Barry got through! I wonder if he was Howard's "put him through for me" pick?

He's this year's "Boy Shakira" 

I thought they'd put the Goth kid through-heartbreaking.  Yes, he forgot the words, but so did that one man who sang with his daughter and they put them through....

Mean trick Howard played on "Turf"-the look on his face when Howard revealed that it was a trick was priceless!  A rare moment of "reality" on a reality show...

All Beef Patty is entertaining and I love her name but she won't go far. They could have put someone else in her place.

Others' thoughts?


----------



## bryhamm

loubob57 said:


> Big Barry goes through? Really?


Yeah, I don't get that one at all.


----------



## KungFuCow

Im still floored they didnt even let the girl band perform. I thought they were pretty good.

Definitely no front runners this year.. no Michael Grimms or Landau Eugene Murphy's.


----------



## That Don Guy

KungFuCow said:


> Definitely no front runners this year.. no Michael Grimms or Landau Eugene Murphy's.


Yet. Don't forget about YouTube's Got Talent.


----------



## jamesbobo

I'm surprised they didn't let the woman who hung her head on the ring go to NY (NJ).


----------



## morac

Regina said:


> Mean trick Howard played on "Turf"-the look on his face when Howard revealed that it was a trick was priceless!  A rare moment of "reality" on a reality show...


I thought they were going to tell the other dancer (the one from NJ/NY), that he's going to NY, to his home.


----------



## morac

That Don Guy said:


> Yet. Don't forget about YouTube's Got Talent.


Yep. I have no doubt that another singer will win this year.


----------



## JLucPicard

Will somebody please explain to me why the F Big Barry is going through???????????????????? 

Yeah, I know that with 48 acts there are a lot of them that are sure bets not to even get close to winning so there are going to be a few stinkers getting through, but that sack of no talent old man should not have even been in this round, let alone going through again.

I seriously thought Turf was Howard's 'please put this one through for me' pick, but if it was Big Barry then I've lost a lot of respect for Howard as an AGT judge.

OK, went back and looked again. The shot they showed of Howard asking for his one pick - the photo looked like a younger guy with dark hair. It didn't look like a guy with gray or white hair, and it didn't look like a white suit - which is all we've seen Big Barry in at this point.

Plus, the judges conversation after Barry's performance was
Howie: Can I just say something? I love him, I want America to see him.
Howard: I think he should open for you and America can go to one of your shows...
Sharon: Exactly
Howard: ...and see him.
Howie: It's funny. (to Howard) Will you admit it's funny?
Howard: No, it's neither fun nor funny.

Howie has been really annoying me with his pushing for really stupid acts. In prior seasons I chalked that up to him pushing Piers' buttons, but now I can find no other excuse for it than he's an idiot.


----------



## inaka

JLucPicard said:


> Will somebody please explain to me why the F Big Barry is going through????????????????????


Because much like The Apprentice or any other competition show, the show primarily cares about ratings and not who wins. Barry is a train wreck, and one we all laugh at, so it breaks up the monotony of having let's say four American Idolish singers in a row. It's something different.

That said, if I had a choice between seeing the last Idol winner in Vegas for a stage show, or seeing Barry, completely with flamingo dancers in the background and him singing cheese ball hits, I'd probably see Barry...while being drunk of course.


----------



## Einselen

I saw Big Barry perform live... glad it was free.


----------



## busyba

When they would pull the fake out and make the winners think they were going home, that was okay, but I thought doing the fake out on the losers and make them think they were going on was a dick move.


----------



## steve614

If you record AGT to watch later on your Tivo, check your To Do List for conflicts.
Because of my OCD, I was checking the guide for tomorrow night to make sure all of my SPs were going to be recorded and found that AGT was set to be recorded on both tuners.
One starting at 7:30 and the other starting at 8:00 (Central). 
Guide data shows one program from 7:30-10:00

Wierd. I have never seen that before. 
I would have been PO'd if I didn't check. Master Chef is lower on my SP priority.


----------



## morac

steve614 said:


> If you record AGT to watch later on your Tivo, check your To Do List for conflicts.
> Because of my OCD, I was checking the guide for tomorrow night to make sure all of my SPs were going to be recorded and found that AGT was set to be recorded on both tuners.
> One starting at 7:30 and the other starting at 8:00 (Central).
> Guide data shows one program from 7:30-10:00
> 
> Wierd. I have never seen that before.
> I would have been PO'd if I didn't check. Master Chef is lower on my SP priority.


You might want to double check that you didn't accidentally cancel Tuesday's episode. Monday is 8:30 to 11 PM (EDT) and Tuesday is 9 to 10 PM (EDT).

Speaking of, what's with the episode timing this season? They started early, but now it seems like they are rushing to get finished. They've never had 2.5 hour episodes before or 3 episodes per week.


----------



## fmowry

Watched the last 3 this weekend with my kid and just wasn't gripped by any of the performances. I like the guy painting with sand and the dark room based performances were interesting but none of the singers stand out (aside from the Goth kid, but opera ain't my thing) 

I like watching the dancers, I don't think any of them captivate me more than a minute. 

Turf was crazy to watch with his contortions but I don't know if I was enjoying it as much as I was cringing at how he did some of the stuff.

787 Crew is the best of the dance teams but they were on America's Best Dance Crew on MTV last year and were eliminated mid-season.

As for actually making a show out of a performance I'd give the nod to the older comedian, the mind reader, and the escape guy.


----------



## Fish Man

A couple of things:

I, like many others in this thread, are dumbfounded as to why Big Barry went through. (He should have gotten three "no's" at the original audition.)

It seems that Howie likes him and neither Sharon or Howard do. The only possible explanation is that the judges give themselves one unilateral pick each, Big Barry was Howie's, and Howie is so clueless as to what constitutes "talent" the he really shouldn't be a judge.

Now a more general observation:

I've said this before in this thread, and after watching the Vegas shows, my mind is not changed: Talent wise, this is the weakest season of AGT to date. By far.

In most previous seasons, there have been 3 or 4 acts, at least, that are so good I'm saying, "How are they ever going to choose a winner? They have several totally awesome acts!"

This season, it's the opposite: "How are they going to pick a winner? The best acts barely rate above a 'meh'!" 

I may stop watching before the end of the season...


----------



## That Don Guy

morac said:


> Speaking of, what's with the episode timing this season? They started early, but now it seems like they are rushing to get finished. They've never had 2.5 hour episodes before or 3 episodes per week.


Don't forget the two weeks off for the Olympics. The schedule probably goes like this:
7/2-3 - first 12 semi-finalists
7/9-10 - second 12
7/16-17 - third 12
7/23-24 - fourth 12
7/30-31 - pre-empted for the Olympics
8/6-7 - pre-empted for the Olympics
8/13-14 - YouTube's Got Talent
8/20-21 - wild cards
8/27-28 - first final group of 12
9/3-4 - second final group of 12
week of 9/10 - finals


----------



## getreal

inaka said:


> That said, if I had a choice between seeing the last Idol winner in Vegas for a stage show, or seeing Barry, completely with *flamingo dancers* in the background and him singing cheese ball hits, I'd probably see Barry...while being drunk of course.


I'd rather watch flamenco dancers. But that's just me. 



fmowry said:


> ... none of the singers stand out (aside from the Goth kid, but opera ain't my thing) ...
> <snip>
> ...As for actually making a show out of a performance I'd give the nod to the older comedian, the mind reader, and the escape guy.


I am predicting that the Goth opera singer will be brought back in the Wild Cards and may go on to win the whole shebang. He should sing something from "Godspell" and call it "Gothspell".

Of course, who knows what we have in store from YouTube. Jackie Evancho was (and still is) a standout from YT.

Howie was defending his advocacy of Big Barry on the Jimmy Kimmel Show last week by comparing his act to William Hung on American Idol. Nobody remembers the winner(s) from most AIs, but if you watched AI, then you remember William Hung. Still, it's not fair to other eliminated contestants that Barry is taking up a spot which they are not.

But that's why they do the Wild Card show. It's all about ratings. If they have pre-determined the top 5 acts, everybody else is just a pawn in the ratings game ... disposable ... like the redshirts in Star Trek.

Maybe it's the editing, but the escape artist hasn't impressed me. The mind reader is good, but not great. And I would love to see a comedian win, but I need to see more. The longer routines in NY/NJ should be good.


----------



## markymark_ctown

JLucPicard said:


> Howard: No, it's neither fun nor funny.





inaka said:


> Barry is a train wreck, and one we all laugh at, so it breaks up the monotony of having let's say four American Idolish singers in a row. It's something different.


not fun. not funny.

don't laugh at him at all. waste of a spot.


----------



## morac

markymark_ctown said:


> not fun. not funny.
> 
> don't laugh at him at all. waste of a spot.


I was like Sharon, I was covering my ears when he was singing. I pictured dogs howling in the background.


----------



## busyba

getreal said:


> Howie was defending his advocacy of Big Barry on the Jimmy Kimmel Show last week by comparing his act to William Hung on American Idol. Nobody remembers the winner(s) from most AIs, but if you watched AI, then you remember William Hung.


Ugh, really? As bad as Hung was, at least he actually "sang" notes that were kinda close to being correct. Barry just caterwauls a single note (if you can even call it that).

Maybe if Barry had a comedy act that had bits and pieces of his crappy singing intertwined in it, that would be something almost worthwhile, but as it his, it's just irredeemably awful.

Barry isn't worthy to carry Hung's jock.


----------



## morac

morac said:


> You might want to double check that you didn't accidentally cancel Tuesday's episode. Monday is 8:30 to 11 PM (EDT) and Tuesday is 9 to 10 PM (EDT).
> 
> Speaking of, what's with the episode timing this season? They started early, but now it seems like they are rushing to get finished. They've never had 2.5 hour episodes before or 3 episodes per week.


Okay odd, my S3 recorded "both" episodes, but my Premiere only recorded the 2.5 hour one. I checked my Premiere's recording history and it showed 2 episodes of AGT that didn't record because they weren't in the guide (one at 8:30 PM and one at 9 PM). My Premiere made a connection at 5:30 PM today and my S3 made a connection at 2:30 PM. So either the guide was updated during that time or this weird glitch only effects Series 3 units. It is very odd though that the same channel could be recorded at the same time or that the same show could be in the guide 2 different overlapping times on the same channel.

Oh and Rutgers cheerleaders sure have took a down turn since my college days.


----------



## steve614

morac said:


> You might want to double check that you didn't accidentally cancel Tuesday's episode. Monday is 8:30 to 11 PM (EDT) and Tuesday is 9 to 10 PM (EDT).


Oh, I will. Did I mention I have OCD? 



morac said:


> Okay odd, my S3 recorded "both" episodes, but my Premiere only recorded the 2.5 hour one. I checked my Premiere's recording history and it showed 2 episodes of AGT that didn't record because they weren't in the guide (one at 8:30 PM and one at 9 PM). My Premiere made a connection at 5:30 PM today and my S3 made a connection at 2:30 PM. So either the guide was updated during that time or this weird glitch only effects Series 3 units. It is very odd though that the same channel could be recorded at the same time or that the same show could be in the guide 2 different overlapping times on the same channel.


I think the show was originally slated to run 2 hours, and the 30 minute recap at the beginning was added after the fact. The Tivo guide probably originally showed a 2 hour slot which resulted in the 1st scheduled recording. When the guide data changed to reflect the new 2.5 hour slot, the Tivo scheduled a new recording, but for some reason the original scheduled recording wasn't canceled.
Also, the Tivo has no problem recording the same channel on 2 tuners. IIRC when your Tivo reboots, all tuners will be on the same channel.

Back to show discussion o), Barry HAS to be this seasons "pity vote". Every season had one, why should this one be different?
But jeez, why did they have to pick one that is SO annoying?


----------



## Cainebj

Did not like the new stage.

And when they kept saying "You're going to New York!!!"
I guess they actually meant New Jersey.


----------



## markz

Cainebj said:


> Did not like the new stage.
> 
> And when they kept saying "You're going to New York!!!"
> I guess they actually meant New Jersey.


Speaking of the new stage...

I HATE the camera work on this show. I don't care about what the judges or audience are doing. If you expect the viewers to vote, just show the act on stage so we can form an educated opinion! Quit zooming the camera around the auditorium! We don't care about the building.


----------



## morac

Cainebj said:


> And when they kept saying "You're going to New York!!!"
> I guess they actually meant New Jersey.


New Jersey frequently gets the short end of the stick. The Statue of Liberty is in NJ, but it's a symbol of NY. NY Giants and Jets play in NJ. If NY could some how claim Jersey Shore, they would. 

To be fair, Boardwalk Empire is filmed in NY


----------



## morac

markz said:


> I HATE the camera work on this show. I don't care about what the judges or audience are doing. If you expect the viewers to vote, just show the act on stage so we can form an educated opinion! Quit zooming the camera around the auditorium! We don't care about the building.


This, definitely. The camera work completely ruined the painting act. It made it boring as the majority of what was shown was the guy simply painting and didn't show the rest of the group. on the flip side, for the Scott brothers, there was no reason to show an eagle eye view of the act for 10 seconds.


----------



## paracelsus

Yeah, not a fan of the new stage either. I haven't gotten through all of Monday's show yet, but was frustrated trying to see the act through all the background visual noise from the stage - for example, couldn't see the first brass band's choreography and footwork because the background was so busy. Not sure how much input the acts have into how their performance gets staged for the camera.


----------



## That Don Guy

Cainebj said:


> And when they kept saying "You're going to New York!!!"
> I guess they actually meant New Jersey.


Some of us are surprised they actually mention on the show that it is taking place in New Jersey, and not pretending that they're somewhere in New York. It wouldn't be the first time; during Season 4, the on-air portion of the Chicago auditions took place in Los Angeles without anybody mentioning anything other than a blurb in the closing credits.

Then again, it's a live show with an "active" crowd, so they probably figure that it would get out eventually that they were in New Jersey.


----------



## busyba

Cainebj said:


> And when they kept saying "You're going to New York!!!"
> I guess they actually meant New Jersey.


No, they were saying "You're going to _Newark_!!!" It's a common mistake.


----------



## busyba

morac said:


> If NY could some how claim *carpetbomb* the Jersey Shore, *burn it to the ground and salt the earth so nothing could ever grow there again* they would.


FYP


----------



## bryhamm

Thought the two dancing brothers were awesome last night.


----------



## MauriAnne

I thought the acts were way over-produced -- too many lights, visual effects, etc,

Howard also got on my nerves last night. I was pleasantly surprised with him through the auditions, but last night, he seemed to think the show was all about him. I guess he couldn't keep his ego in check after all. Or maybe the audition edits were kind to him.


----------



## tiams

MauriAnne said:


> I thought the acts were way over-produced -- too many lights, visual effects, etc,
> 
> Howard also got on my nerves last night. I was pleasantly surprised with him through the auditions, but last night, he seemed to think the show was all about him. I guess he couldn't keep his ego in check after all. Or maybe the audition edits were kind to him.


I also thought some acts were way over-produced. The background lights flashing behind the dance crew were overwhelming the actual act. 
The guy who made musical instruments out of tools was screwed by the music they had blaring over him. What he does is impressive and unique, but he shouldn't have been expected to compete with pop music tracks.

Two facts: 1. That was a rude audience. 2. According to Sharon, the audience was filled with Howard Stern fans who were given tickets. Not saying the two facts are related.


----------



## tiams

Whether or not an act advances out of this round of 48 is largely determined by what 11 other acts they have to compete against. It's not really fair that it is done this way. To be fair, all 48 acts should perform and be voted on at one time and the top 16 vote-getters move on from there. All groups are hoping they perform on the same night as Big Barry.


----------



## bryhamm

tiams said:


> I also thought some acts were way over-produced. The background lights flashing behind the dance crew were overwhelming the actual act.
> The guy who made musical instruments out of tools was screwed by the music they had blaring over him. What he does is impressive and unique, but he shouldn't have been expected to compete with pop music tracks.
> 
> Two facts: 1. That was a rude audience. 2. According to Sharon, the audience was filled with Howard Stern fans who were given tickets. *Not saying the two facts are related.*


I would.


----------



## getreal

tiams said:


> Two facts: 1. That was a rude audience. 2. According to Sharon, the audience was filled with Howard Stern fans who were given tickets. Not saying the two facts are related.





bryhamm said:


> I would.


I second that emotion.


----------



## That Don Guy

tiams said:


> The guy who made musical instruments out of tools was screwed by the music they had blaring over him. What he does is impressive and unique, but he shouldn't have been expected to compete with pop music tracks.


It didn't help him any that the first instrument he played - a baseball bat? - sounded like an out-of-tune clarinet.

And was it just me, or did Nick Cannon look different in the episode?


----------



## tiams

That Don Guy said:


> And was it just me, or did Nick Cannon look different in the episode?


Yes, he looked different. It's his hair. It has grown out.


----------



## busyba

That Don Guy said:


> And was it just me, or did Nick Cannon look different in the episode?


He shaved his stache/beard. In wide shots, he looked like he was 12.


----------



## gschrock

morac said:


> New Jersey frequently gets the short end of the stick. The Statue of Liberty is in NJ, but it's a symbol of NY.


Arguable. The island is in waters belonging to NJ, but the portions of the land above water is legally NY's. Needless to say, since this is the US, NJ tried to sue NY over ownership, but the courts didn't hear the case.


----------



## MauriAnne

busyba said:


> He shaved his stache/beard. In wide shots, he looked like he was 12.


Plus his suit was shiny, light blue & ugly. Maybe he was going to prom after the show.


----------



## inaka

This is my first time watching the live version of this show, and wow, it was bad. The acts seem boring live when not edited and overly post-produced. Also, Howard wasn't funny at all, he was dull. Yikes.

I swear, I'd take a faux cheesy show of Big Barry any day over some little kid dancing. Zzzzzzz


----------



## Odds Bodkins

Lil Starr is an embarrassment. Don't care that she's 6... just putrid.


----------



## Turtleboy

Odds Bodkins said:


> Lil Starr is an embarrassment. Don't care that she's 6... just putrid.


I agree, but blame her parents. To call her, "Lil Starr"? At least she'll be able to keep that name when, at 18, she transitions into porn.


----------



## super dave

Just finished the results show and it was pretty bad, so this is the summer hit I have heard about? Nick has a hard time reading the prompter, 4 out of 12 acts and they need an hour, glad it was recorded and I could buzz through. I don't know how much longer I will watch it, maybe just to see the room harp dude.


----------



## bareyb

busyba said:


> He shaved his stache/beard. In wide shots, he looked like he was 12.


Ah. That must have been it. That and the longer hair ain't workin' for him.


----------



## Cainebj

tiams said:


> I also thought some acts were way over-produced. The background lights flashing behind the dance crew were overwhelming the actual act.


I've always had issue with the AGT producers over-producting acts and adding stupid stuff like dancing girls - but I completely agree with you - the group dance crew was almost lost in the background visuals that were going on behind them. They were totally upstaged.


----------



## morac

I hate how they have to zoom in on everyone's face before announcing the winner. They even zoomed in on the dogs, though I have to admit, I thought that was amusing.

As for the results, there were no surprises. Everyone I thought should go through, did.


----------



## cmgal

Cirque de Soleil was amazing last night. The guy in white balancing on his hand and the other guy with the four standing on top of him. What strength!


----------



## steve614

cmgal said:


> Cirque de Soleil was amazing last night. The guy in white balancing on his hand ... What strength!


This. He made it look so effortless. I didn't see one muscle twitch.

I am content with America's decision on who went through, but not the judges pick.
I'd like to know if Edon actually got fourth place in the voting. If not, then I say the dog ventriloquist got robbed.


----------



## tiams

2 out of the 4 are singers. Ugh. 
I don't think the father and daughter sing well at all.


----------



## JLucPicard

getreal said:


> Howie was defending his advocacy of Big Barry on the Jimmy Kimmel Show last week by comparing his act to William Hung on American Idol. Nobody remembers the winner(s) from most AIs, but if you watched AI, then you remember William Hung. Still, it's not fair to other eliminated contestants that Barry is taking up a spot which they are not.


I don't recall if I was watching _Idol_ in the William Hung season, but aside from maybe showing up on the finale, he didn't get put through past the train wreck round, did he?

I like Howie, but as an _AGT_ judge, he's losing me. I'm not amused by his support of obviously putrid acts, and to put them through to future rounds just takes away a slot from someone else (who admittedly would probably be eliminated at the next stage anyway, but jeez all Pete!). I was slightly amused sometimes when it got on Piers' nerves, but that ship has sailed.

And Howard's got to throttle back a bit on the "Here's what you should do" stuff. Telling the dog ventriolquist guy he should get a writer was good advice, but telling the dance group that 'that one' should do a solo, etc., is farther than I'd prefer to see that go.


----------



## morac

JLucPicard said:


> I don't recall if I was watching Idol in the William Hung season, but aside from maybe showing up on the finale, he didn't get put through past the train wreck round, did he?


He never made it through the auditions. So if Big Barry is like William Hung, he should never have made it to Vegas, let alone to New York (Newark).

There's lots of acts who should have never made it through and have zero chance of winning, like Big Barry and Little Star, but that happens every year.

As for Howard, he shouldn't be telling people who to vote for. Actually he shouldn't be really saying much of anything at this point. Despite what he might think, the show isn't about him.


----------



## inaka

morac said:


> As for Howard, he shouldn't be telling people who to vote for. Actually he shouldn't be really saying much of anything at this point. Despite what he might think, the show isn't about him.


Get off _*his*_ stage!!


----------



## bareyb

Howard is this show's Simon now. He knows who signs the checks.


----------



## tiams

JLucPicard said:


> And Howard's got to throttle back a bit on the "Here's what you should do" stuff. Telling the dog ventriolquist guy he should get a writer was good advice, but telling the dance group that 'that one' should do a solo, etc., is farther than I'd prefer to see that go.


Also didn't like him saying they needed to make up a Cinderella story for the kid. Isn't that what the singing liar did; make up a story?

I didn't like him telling the one guy that his material needed to be raunchier. This is a family show, not the Howard Stern show.


----------



## markymark_ctown

i never heard howard say the material had to be raunchy, just funny. i said he should have hired jackie the jokeman for jokes.


----------



## tiams

markymark_ctown said:


> i never heard howard say the material had to be raunchy, just funny. i said he should have hired jackie the jokeman for jokes.


He used the word raunchy.


----------



## That Don Guy

JLucPicard said:


> And Howard's got to throttle back a bit on the "Here's what you should do" stuff. Telling the dog ventriolquist guy he should get a writer was good advice, but telling the dance group that 'that one' should do a solo, etc., is farther than I'd prefer to see that go.


That was nothing compared to what Piers used to do - how many times did he tell a group, "The soloist is great, but the rest of the group is terrible - I'll vote 'yes' if the group is willing to withdraw and let the soloist go through alone; otherwise it's 'no'"?


----------



## WhiskeyTango

tiams said:


> He used the word raunchy.


But he never said the material should be. He used raunchy in describing the movie Ted.



> Let me add something constructive here. Theyre right about the material, but everyones saying get better material. Let me take it a step further. What you need to doyou know we just saw the movie Ted make millions at the box office. Ted is like your dog, but Ted is a little bit raunchya little bit naughty. Maybe the dogs really have to come out a little stronger. When youre sitting home and writing material, think aboutwhos a dogs number one enemy right now? Mitt Romney. He tied a dog up to the roof of his car. Let the dogs get mad. Let them get angry. Let them go wild. Youve got a good act. I sat at home and said hes got to bring another dog out and you did. I love that about youclearer on the ventriloquism and more topical. Go with whats in the newspaper and youll have a home run. You can step up the material.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

tiams said:


> Also didn't like him saying they needed to make up a Cinderella story for the kid. Isn't that what the singing liar did; make up a story?


You either aren't paying attention or have a rather obvious bias. He said she needed to have a story around her act, as in on stage. Tell a story with her performance rather than just doing a dance routine.



tiams said:


> This is a family show, not the Howard Stern show.


Yea, a 400 lb stripper and a guy getting kicked in the nuts are top notch family programming.


----------



## busyba

Howard Stern said:


> who's a dog's number one enemy right now? Mitt Romney. He tied a dog up to the roof of his car.


I forgot that he had said that. I was  that he went there.

The really funny part about that is right after he says it, it looks like Sharon turns to Howie and asks him if that was true and Howie starts telling her the story. They cut away from the wide shot a little too quickly to tell for sure, but that's what it looked like. I found it funny that it seemed as if that was the first time she had heard about it.


----------



## super dave

Linda Stasi blasted Howard and the show in the Post, should make the radio interesting July 16th.

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/live_talent_flops_Wnyt1CvGdtq8aMOrWBChVN



> The minute it went live on Monday night, things went downhill. Producers shifted the focus from the showcasing of talent to the showcasing of over-blown stage sets that overwhelmed anything on them - while simultaneously promoting one self-aggrandizing judge to the detriment of the talent, the other judges and the show itself.
> 
> How did that work?
> 
> I'm glad you asked. "AGT" lost one million viewers in one night.


----------



## blogan

Howard must not know that Obama ate dog.


----------



## busyba

blogan said:


> Howard must not know that Obama ate dog.


Either that or he actually knows all the details about that rather than just the soundbite that was issued to pander to the simpletons.


----------



## blogan

busyba said:


> Either that or he actually knows all the details about that rather than just the soundbite that was issued to pander to the simpletons.


So he just got the simpleton Romney soundbite then?


----------



## busyba

Ummm.... well played?


----------



## tiams

Big Barry made me irrationally angry tonight. Angry at Howie, and angry at the producers. What a waste of a spot in the quarter finals. I almost wish America would vote to send him to the finals to punish Howie for being a horrible judge of talent and the producers for being stupid.


----------



## morac

Ugh what happened tonight? Most of the acts were downright boring or took a step backwards tonight. The only ones I found good were the acrobats, Tim Hockenberry (kind of reminds me a bit of Bruce Springsteen) and the comic Tom (started off slow, but got funny quickly). The archer is good, though his act is a little too slow and really as long as his equipment is calibrated correctly it's not really that dangerous, but he was still better than the other acts. 

The magic act was okay, but I'm pretty sure I know how they did it (watch the woman's hands as she's being "removed from" the sword), Turf and the lion dancers did pretty much the same act (and Turf seemed cocky tonight). The Lisa Clark dance group was lame as was Aurora Light Painters. I didn't particularly like the girl singer or All Ways. 

Finally Howard was right about Big Barry, Howie does owe the other acts an apology. Big Barry was a joke and Howie is a horrible judge.


----------



## getreal

morac said:


> ... Finally Howard was right about Big Barry, Howie does owe the other acts an apology. Big Barry was a joke and Howie is a horrible judge.


Didn't Sharon and/or Stern have to vote Big Barry through in order for him to appear in the quarterfinals? Mandel's vote alone couldn't do it, or am I misunderstanding something?


----------



## Einselen

As others said it isn't just Howie who let Big Barry get this far. You can actually blame Stern as in Tampa Howie votes yes, Sharron no and Howard, who "X"ed Barry, had "a change of heart" and voted him through to Vegas.


----------



## morac

getreal said:


> Didn't Sharon and/or Stern have to vote Big Barry through in order for him to appear in the quarterfinals? Mandel's vote alone couldn't do it, or am I misunderstanding something?


Howard said Howie filibustered. My guess is Howie wouldn't agree to let through Howard and/or Sharon's picks unless Big Barry went through. The whole show is a joke to Howie. It always has been. Howie admitted Big Barry can't sing, so why put him through?



Einselen said:


> As others said it isn't just Howie who let Big Barry get this far. You can actually blame Stern as in Tampa Howie votes yes, Sharron no and Howard, who "X"ed Barry, had "a change of heart" and voted him through to Vegas.


Big Barry might have gotten to Vegas with Howard's help, but it should have ended there. He should have been sent home immediately. From that point on, it was all Howie's fault he was put through.


----------



## DLL66

I about had it with Howard Stern. It seems to me that he thinks he is the lone star of the show and the audience is there because of him. He can go next year.


----------



## loubob57

This was Big Barry's best performance so far. But that ain't saying much.

Howard really does need to share the blame for letting him through the first time. Maybe he'll remember next season that those decisions can have consequences. And what was his problem at the end? The audience was obviously disagreeing with him as much as Howie and Sharon.


----------



## Cainebj

I thought the Lisa Clark dancers were pretty great.
I dunno what Howie was goin on about especially if you compare that to the Big Barry debacle.

I also liked the husband wife aerial act.
The magician - just the single moment when I thought she fell (and got spiked)
Other than that. 
Not so much - including Turf the highly over-rated contortionist dancer - 
there are a hundred better than him over on So You Think You Can Dance.


----------



## Jayjoans

Coincidentally, I had just seen "Magic's secrets revealed" just a couple of nights ago. The magician's illusion was painfully obvious and not even very well done. The masked magician on the secrets show did it much better. You could tell that the wife was continually concerned that her "apparatus" was going to pop out.


----------



## bareyb

DLL66 said:


> I about had it with Howard Stern. It seems to me that he thinks he is the lone star of the show and the audience is there because of him. He can go next year.


Funny, I was thinking that exact thing about Howie. To me he's the weak link now. I rarely agree with him and it wouldn't bother me a bit if he were replaced. I don't think he knows what he's talking about.


----------



## Sacrilegium

I thought the commentary on the light show group was a bit odd. They just got done telling a story with their light show, and the judges' response was "Next time, tell a story." Huh?

There was a girl in her bed. She saw monsters' eyes all over the room and got frightened. One particularly big three-eyed monster was there, and he smiled at her with a goofy smile. So she let her guard down and came closer. They made a connection and he gave/drew her a gift box. When she opened the box, three balloons (which looked like his three eyes) came out, and a doll of him was inside. So instead of being afraid of this monster, she overcome her fear, gave him a chance, and made a friend.

It ain't _Moby Dick_ or anything, but they _did_ tell a story. The judges seemed to think it was just random images thrown together.


----------



## Donbadabon

Sacrilegium said:


> It ain't _Moby Dick_ or anything, but they _did_ tell a story. The judges seemed to think it was just random images thrown together.


I agree 100%. I understood it, not sure why they were confused.


----------



## morac

Donbadabon said:


> I agree 100%. I understood it, not sure why they were confused.


Yeah that really made no sense. Though they did say to "use words" next time, so maybe when they said "tell a story" they really meant "tell".

I doubt the light act will be back though since they weren't nearly as good as the first two times.

That and the fact that the audience seems to vote based on what Howard says.


----------



## tiams

getreal said:


> Didn't Sharon and/or Stern have to vote Big Barry through in order for him to appear in the quarterfinals? Mandel's vote alone couldn't do it, or am I misunderstanding something?





Einselen said:


> As others said it isn't just Howie who let Big Barry get this far. You can actually blame Stern as in Tampa Howie votes yes, Sharron no and Howard, who "X"ed Barry, had "a change of heart" and voted him through to Vegas.


Very good points. I hope Howie points that out if Big Barry advances tonight. Perhaps America did what Howard Stern used to suggest they do for American Idol and "vote for the worst"


----------



## Odds Bodkins

I wonder if Turf will step it up in the finals and dislocate his hip or something.


----------



## loubob57

Turf is the only choice I don't agree with. There are a couple of other acts I like better than him.

I'm surprised but happy that the comedian made it.


----------



## bryhamm

Was too obvious that they were going to push the first 2 through, and thus it was also obvious that the next group was gonna get "no one" through.


----------



## Cainebj

bryhamm said:


> Was too obvious that they were going to push the first 2 through, and thus it was also obvious that the next group was gonna get "no one" through.


+1

they do that at least once a season - hey producers 
- we've watched your show - we know that one already.


----------



## super dave

I would take this as bad news:

http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/rat...cd-down-dogs-in-the-city-finale-tied-for-low/



> America's Got Talent (1.9/6) took a stumble and hit a season low Wednesday night. Last night's Quarterfinals show was down 32% from a two-hour episode two weeks ago. NBC's Talent wasn't the only competition show to falter last night. Fox's live two-hour So You Think You Can Dance (1.9/6) was down 10% from its last show two weeks ago. Over on CBS, it was the season finale of the first season of Dogs In The City (0.9/3 ) last night but that didn't bring any big send-off. Tied for its lowest rating so far, the reality dog training series was flat with June 27. Fox won the night among adults 18-49 and in terms of overall viewership with an audience of 5.74 million.


----------



## WhiskeyTango

super dave said:


> I would take this as bad news:
> 
> http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/rat...cd-down-dogs-in-the-city-finale-tied-for-low/


That's not good but I wouldn't read TOO much into it. Everything was down, and let's be honest, the talent isn't very good this year. Besides, it was just a results show. It's basically a waste of time when you can just read the next day to find out who went on. They are still doing pretty well on the performance nights. Last week's results show got a 2.3, this weeks was adjusted up to a 2.0. That 32% drop was from a performance show two weeks ago, so not nearly as drastic as they make it seem.


----------



## GoHalos

DLL66 said:


> I about had it with Howard Stern. It seems to me that he thinks he is the lone star of the show and the audience is there because of him.


I agree. I said earlier in the season that I was enjoying his judging (he was seemingly authentically laughing and enjoying acts and was not trying too hard), but he has become way too overbearing and trying to control the show. I haven't enjoyed his act the last couple of weeks -- at all.


----------



## macnutty

Man, I've had it with this show. Such god awful camera angles and over production. Most, if no all, of these acts are designed to be viewed from straight on. The stupid camera director has all these flying camera views and you miss half the act. 

PS, the sound, in general sucks as well.

PSS, the talent this year is a joke compared to previous seasons.


----------



## DLL66

GoHalos said:


> I agree. I said earlier in the season that I was enjoying his judging (he was seemingly authentically laughing and enjoying acts and was not trying too hard), but he has become way too overbearing and trying to control the show. I haven't enjoyed his act the last couple of weeks -- at all.


There is Howard again thinking he IS America's Got Talent...unimpressed. Watching the first 10 minutes and wanting to mute each time Howard talks.


----------



## jdfs

DLL66 said:


> There is Howard again thinking he IS America's Got Talent...unimpressed. Watching the first 10 minutes and wanting to mute each time Howard talks.


That is how I feel about all judge's comments at this point. They are not making the decisions now so their comments are pointless. I usually skip all judge comments. Same on result night, skip the long pauses and boring filler acts (excepts for the occasional good one).


----------



## jdfs

macnutty said:


> Man, I've had it with this show. Such god awful camera angles and over production. Most, if no all, of these acts are designed to be viewed from straight on. The stupid camera director has all these flying camera views and you miss half the act.
> 
> PS, the sound, in general sucks as well.
> 
> PSS, the talent this year is a joke compared to previous seasons.


Every season I have made the same comment about camera angles. They are too bored to just shoot straight on so we miss the synchronization of the dance acts.


----------



## loubob57

Didn't the juggler drop one? I was surprised that Howard didn't buzz him.

The guy on the rollers finally answered the question about what it looks like when it goes wrong. No way that kind of act can win anyway.


----------



## That Don Guy

DLL66 said:


> There is Howard again thinking he IS America's Got Talent...unimpressed.


I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it turns out that another of the conditions Howard had for being on the show is some right to have, for lack of a better phrase for it, a "Howard's Got Talent" tour (or at least a show somewhere) featuring acts of his choice. Remember that the "Las Vegas Show" promised to the winner only lasts for three days, if they do what they did last year.


----------



## tiams

This episode was soooo bad. The juggler dropped, the balancing guy fell, Inspire the Fire's singing and costumes were awful, there were mistakes made by All Wheel Sports, the guy singing and playing the piano was terrible sounding. But the worst of all was Wordspit. They were grating. Howard must have some sort of stake in Wordspit.


----------



## DeDondeEs

loubob57 said:


> Didn't the juggler drop one? I was surprised that Howard didn't buzz him.
> 
> The guy on the rollers finally answered the question about what it looks like when it goes wrong. No way that kind of act can win anyway.


I sorta thought that he dropped it on purpose to build up the suspense for when he was juggling over the woman with "gasoline" on her. But probably not.


----------



## bareyb

I like having Howard on the show, but I agree he's being overbearing lately. He started out better... He also needs to reel in the advice. He's overstepping there too, but then again, that's Howard Stern. Alpha Male extraordinaire. How much you wanna bet they end up canning Howie (which is fine with me) and replacing him with someone more suited to Howard. That'll last one season and then Sharon will quit (which I would care about)... I hope I'm wrong...


----------



## pmyers

Britain's Got Talent? I guess not!


----------



## busyba

tiams said:


> But the worst of all was Wordspit. They were grating. Howard must have some sort of stake in Wordspit.


Thank you! I did not get the love for those guys. It sounded like a bunch of instruments all playing from slightly different points on the sheet music. There was no cohesive blend at all; it was a mess. It sounded like a garage band having a bad rehearsal.

This was a really weak bracket.

Next week's set of 12 is almost an all-star team. I can easily see a few acts losing out of that 12 that would have won against this week's set of 12.


----------



## MauriAnne

pmyers said:


> Britain's Got Talent? I guess not!


That dancing dog was Britain's winner?? I'd hate to see the acts they cut.


----------



## bareyb

MauriAnne said:


> That dancing dog was Britain's winner?? I'd hate to see the acts they cut.


Ha! We were thinking the same thing. Either that, or dogs are a lot more popular in Britain than they are here.


----------



## getreal

What about Nick Cannon trying to interview the dog afterwards? He actually held the mic to the dog and waited for a response several times. I think the first time was just to be funny, but I kinda' think he expected the dog to answer on the second question.

Did I see correctly that the previews showed next week will be the Nutcracker moron? Did he actually make it to NewArk?


----------



## super dave

Yeah nutcracker is next.:down:


----------



## Einselen

The acts I think I would happy with going through from tonight are:

All That
Joe Castillo (Sand Artist)
Sebastien (Kid, I guess is ok)
Dittleman (even though he was sloppy with the act)
William Close (unique)
Unity in Motion
Eric and Olivia
Lindsey Norton
Olate Dogs

That is 9/12. Personally I am pulling for Lindsey as she is a local.

Tough week as I don't think any of these acts beside Olate Dogs are a for sure. Not many acts were better than another one, but there were only a few acts that were not worthy of moving on, Human Cannonball guy, Horse and Ulysses


----------



## tiams

The producers really put a lot of good acts on the same night tonight. They must have really wanted Turf, Edon, the father-daughter act, and Hockenberry to get through.

Howard was just downright mean to Ulysses. I was thinking about the man's children and grandchildren at home watching all proud. 
I also hated how he kept talking over Sharon and told her she should give up her turn to talk because America only wants to hear him. If he is a judge next year I won't be watching.

That little Sebastian is adorable! And so were the dogs!!!!


----------



## Einselen

I also hate how Howard is all about Horse but pissed at Howie for loving on Big Barry.


----------



## tiams

My 9 year old figured out how Dittleman did his trick without me telling her.


----------



## LoadStar

tiams said:


> My 9 year old figured out how Dittleman did his trick without me telling her.


Ok, tell me, because I'm apparently slower than your 9 year old.


----------



## tiams

LoadStar said:


> Ok, tell me, because I'm apparently slower than your 9 year old.


You can open the cases from both sides. One direction says No deal and the other direction says this is your case.

The note in the sealed envelope had a panel he moved with his finger to reveal the correct number once he knew it. You can see him use his finger to slide the panel before he turns it around.

My daughter only figured out the first part though.


----------



## LoadStar

tiams said:


> You can open the cases from both sides. One direction says No deal and the other direction says this is your case.
> 
> The note in the sealed envelope had a panel he moved with his finger to reveal the correct number once he knew it. You can see him use his finger to slide the panel.


Yeah, I figured there was a gimmick with the "sealed" envelope, but wasn't sure what. I wasn't watching that closely, so I missed the panel movement. I guess that if he were able to genuinely have a sealed envelope with the prediction, he would (or should) have given it to an impartial observer.


----------



## morac

tiams said:


> You can open the cases from both sides. One direction says No deal and the other direction says this is your case.
> 
> The note in the sealed envelope had a panel he moved with his finger to reveal the correct number once he knew it. You can see him use his finger to slide the panel.


I just rewatched it and have two problems with that:

1. The numbers were only on one side so the case only opens one way with the number facing front. I also watched and they show the time from where he is handed the case till he opens it and he never flips the case over. That doesn't preclude some kind of switch or latch to open an extra panel in the case though.

2. There's not enough room on the paper for 16 numbers or even 9 numbers assuming he can just add a 1 in front. The 4 was dead center and there were no seems or visible seems. I even watched him flip the card in slow mo. Also He barely slides his finger at all. maybe he simply stuck the 4 on at the last second or something.

On an unrelated note, the cannon guy was interesting, but insanity isn't a talent.


----------



## tiams

morac said:


> I just rewatched it and have two problems with that:
> 
> 1. The numbers were only on one side so the case only opens one way with the number facing front. I also watched and they show the time from where he is handed the case till he opens it and he never flips the case over. That doesn't preclude some kind of switch or latch to open an extra panel in the case though.
> 
> 2. There's not enough room on the paper for 16 numbers or even 9 numbers assuming he can just add a 1 in front. The 4 was dead center and there were no seems or visible seems. I even watched him flip the card in slow mo. Also He barely slides his finger at all. maybe he simply stuck the 4 on at the last second or something.
> 
> On an unrelated note, the cannon guy was interesting, but insanity isn't a talent.


When Dittleman opens the case he does it by lifting the top upwards. The models open them by pulling the bottom downwards. You can see one of the models even peeks inside her case while she is opening to make sure she has done it correctly. Watch model #9.


----------



## busyba

The mariachi kid was off tonight. I think he picked a bad song for his talent. He's much better belting in the higher register. He was spending too much time in the lower register and having trouble staying on pitch.

Horse's routine was sloppily executed this time around.


----------



## tiams

morac said:


> 2. There's not enough room on the paper for 16 numbers or even 9 numbers assuming he can just add a 1 in front. The 4 was dead center and there were no seems or visible seems. I even watched him flip the card in slow mo. Also He barely slides his finger at all. maybe he simply stuck the 4 on at the last second or something.


The number is centered because that is where the window that reveals whatever number he wants is located. The panel with all the numbers in behind it. If it is shaped in a circle there is plenty of room for all the numbers.


----------



## morac

tiams said:


> The number is centered because that is where the window that reveals whatever number he wants is located. The panel with all the numbers in behind it. If it is shaped in a circle there is plenty of room for all the numbers.


But if there was something like that it wouldn't look like the 4 was stuck on the page. I doubt such a mechanism would look seamless. Plus there would need to be a part of the wheel that stuck out to spin. Like I said he barely moved his fingers so unless he started out near 4 that wouldn't be it. If the number was at the opposite end of the wheel, operating such a mechanism would be very noticeable.


----------



## tiams

morac said:


> But if there was something like that it wouldn't look like the 4 was stuck on the page. I doubt such a mechanism would look seamless. Plus there would need to be a part of the wheel that stuck out to spin. Like I said he barely moved his fingers so unless he started out near 4 that wouldn't be it. If the number was at the opposite end of the wheel, operating such a mechanism would be very noticeable.


You are forgetting that we do not see a continuous shot of him taking the card out of the envelope and then turning it around. The camera was off him for quite a while. Plenty of time to manipulate the card. And trust me, he manipulated the card. He didn't read Howie's mind. 

I'm curious to hear how you explain it.


----------



## busyba

I think there were 16 cards in the envelope.

That being said, his hand movements as he held the card prior to turning it around seemed odd, so some kind of manipulation is possible as well.


----------



## nataylor

morac said:


> I just rewatched it and have two problems with that:
> 
> 1. The numbers were only on one side so the case only opens one way with the number facing front. I also watched and they show the time from where he is handed the case till he opens it and he never flips the case over. That doesn't preclude some kind of switch or latch to open an extra panel in the case though.
> 
> 2. There's not enough room on the paper for 16 numbers or even 9 numbers assuming he can just add a 1 in front. The 4 was dead center and there were no seems or visible seems. I even watched him flip the card in slow mo. Also He barely slides his finger at all. maybe he simply stuck the 4 on at the last second or something.
> 
> On an unrelated note, the cannon guy was interesting, but insanity isn't a talent.


 Notice that when he opens the case he lays it face down and then swings the back up. All the others cases started with the back up and the face was flipped down.

And the 4 isn't dead center. It's to the left a little bit. Almost like it might have been added to the paper after it was pulled out of the envelope, but before he turned it around for the audience to see.


----------



## morac

nataylor said:


> Almost like it might have been added to the paper after it was pulled out of the envelope, but before he turned it around for the audience to see.


Which is what I posted as my theory.


----------



## LoadStar

I'm still not entirely certain how the envelope part worked... I don't know if it's a slider, but there was definitely some sort of sleight of hand with that. I'm betting you guys are right, though, about the briefcases; open it one way (or with one set of latches), it shows one thing, open it a different way it shows something else.

I think the fact that we're still talking about it, even though we've all got a good idea how we think at least part of the illusion worked, means that his is a pretty good act. He should go through, along with the earth harp. After that, I'd say Lindsey Norton, and Unity in Motion to round out the 4 moving on.

ETA: and I haven't been watching... how in the heck did Horse get even this far? A live action version of "Ow! My Balls!" from Idiocracy? Really?


----------



## morac

LoadStar said:


> ETA: and I haven't been watching... how in the heck did Horse get even this far? A live action version of "Ow! My Balls!" from Idiocracy? Really?


Three words. Judge Howard Stern.

And Idiocracy was the first thing I thought of when he initially went through.


----------



## getreal

Watch Dittelman spin the case around before opening it. There is a red velvet lining on both sides of the inside of each briefcase -- for a good reason.


----------



## bryhamm

tiams said:


> *The producers really put a lot of good acts on the same night tonight.* They must have really wanted Turf, Edon, the father-daughter act, and Hockenberry to get through.
> 
> Howard was just downright mean to Ulysses. I was thinking about the man's children and grandchildren at home watching all proud.
> I also hated how he kept talking over Sharon and told her she should give up her turn to talk because America only wants to hear him. If he is a judge next year I won't be watching.
> 
> That little Sebastian is adorable! And so were the dogs!!!!


Agreed to the bolded. How did these get grouped the way they did? A bunch of these would stay if they had competed in the other group.


----------



## busyba

bryhamm said:


> Agreed to the bolded. How did these get grouped the way they did? A bunch of these would stay if they had competed in the other group.


One of the offhand comments by Howard during the judging makes me think that it was a random draw, but I don't think there's been any official disclosure about it.


----------



## steve614

Well, America and the judges got it right (IMO). All four acts that went through are the ones I would have picked.
:up:


----------



## jamesbobo

steve614 said:


> Well, America and the judges got it right (IMO). All four acts that went through are the ones I would have picked.
> :up:


I would have left out the mind reader and kept the teen female dancer.


----------



## bruinfan

slight tangent:

i could've sworn i saw dittleman as an extra in the movie "ted".

the party when marky mark walked into the flash gordon party.. he was a wall flower... i think that was him


----------



## morac

This will be Sharon's last year:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/enterta...bourne-says-shes-leaving-americas-got-talent/


----------



## Dawghows

tiams said:


> Howard was just downright mean to Ulysses. I was thinking about the man's children and grandchildren at home watching all proud.


 I went to high school with Ulysses. He used to stand in the hallway between classes and sing. He has a wonderful voice, and an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge of songs from pretty much every conceivable genre.* I don't quite know how he went so far off the rails on this show. My feeling is that he probably initially chose the Theme from The Love Boat just to differentiate himself from the other singers, and then stuck with the idea of theme songs because Howie and Sharon seemed to respond to it. I believe he would have been better off to simply pick songs with regard to how well they showed off his voice, rather than trying to play to what he thought the judges were expecting.

*Interesting anecdote: Ulysses sang at a bar/restaurant near our hometown for over 23 years. The local paper interviewed the owner of the restaurant for an article on Ulysses when he found out he was going to be on AMG. The owner said that in 23 years, she never saw Ulysses use any sheet music, and she never heard anyone request a song he didn't know.


----------



## inaka

LoadStar said:


> I'm still not entirely certain how the envelope part worked... I don't know if it's a slider, but there was definitely some sort of sleight of hand with that.





nataylor said:


> And the 4 isn't dead center. It's to the left a little bit. Almost like it might have been added to the paper after it was pulled out of the envelope, but before he turned it around for the audience to see.





getreal said:


>


Look at the 3:17 mark of the video.

You can see how he sticks the "4" on there with his thumb right before he flips the card around, after taking it out of the envelope. He sticks it on, then flips his hand around to reveal the card. He's also off-camera finding the 4 sticker most likely, when the camera is focused on the ladies opening the remaining cases.


----------



## getreal

morac said:


> This will be Sharon's last year *on AGT*:
> 
> http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/enterta...bourne-says-shes-leaving-americas-got-talent/


FYP.


----------



## getreal

inaka said:


> Look at the 3:17 mark of the video.
> 
> You can see how he sticks the "4" on there with his thumb right before he flips the card around, after taking it out of the envelope. He sticks it on, then flips his hand around to reveal the card. He's also off-camera finding the 4 sticker most likely, when the camera is focused on the ladies opening the remaining cases.


From 2:55 to 3:05 Dittleman's hands are covered by the case, which gives him LOTS of time to take the sticker from the case and palm it before stepping behind the "envelope", which our minds expect to be a completely enclosed container for the card-reveal. But there is no flap to open. It is simply a dark card in front of the white card which he slides out from the side. There was even more time available during the distraction of having the audience watch the girls open the remaining cases while he could place the "4" sticker onto the reveal card behind the black card/envelope. Our minds fill in the blanks to complete the illusion of the envelope. What we saw was a quick tweak of the sticker placement before turning the card around for the final reveal.

Simple sleight of hand and distraction, yet impressive nonetheless.


----------



## inaka

Not saying he didn't also have more time, but you can literally see him put his thumb and PRESS on the card at the 3:17 mark of the video, right is the exact spot that has the "4".

It's a slightly awkward movement, because he presses it, and then has to re-grip the card so when he flips it around the "4" is clear. Otherwise, when he flipped the card, his thumb would be smack dab over the "4".

Nothing special of a trick at all.


----------



## busyba

inaka said:


> Nothing special of a trick at all.


To be fair, almost all illusions, once deconstructed, are unimpressive and "nothing special".

Like the "Aristocrats" joke, it's all in the delivery. Dittleman delivers.


----------



## inaka

busyba said:


> To be fair, almost all illusions, once deconstructed, are unimpressive and "nothing special".
> 
> Like the "Aristocrats" joke, it's all in the delivery. Dittleman delivers.


Well, usually I'd like to at least be stumped a bit.

This trick? It was pretty obvious that they were trick cases to everyone at least, no?


----------



## steve614

inaka said:


> This trick? It was pretty obvious that they were trick cases to everyone at least, no?


Not me, not at first. 

I knew there had to be a trick because I don't believe in "mind reading", but I couldn't think how it was accomplished.
Once other people pointed out things, I could see where things could have been manipulated.

As far as this "trick" goes, I think Dittleman did a good performance.


----------



## jay_man2

steve614 said:


> Not me, not at first.
> 
> I knew there had to be a trick because I don't believe in "mind reading", but I couldn't think how it was accomplished.
> Once other people pointed out things, I could see where things could have been manipulated.
> 
> As far as this "trick" goes, I think Dittleman did a good performance.


Same here.


----------



## JLucPicard

inaka said:


> This trick? It was pretty obvious that they were trick cases to everyone at least, no?


Very obvious to me.


----------



## GoHalos

inaka said:


> This trick? It was pretty obvious that they were trick cases to everyone at least, no?





JLucPicard said:


> Very obvious to me.


+1. I immediately noticed him flip the case over while he was walking back to his area (away from the women).


----------



## morac

Talk about a train wreck. It was like we were back in the audition stage of the competition. Did the AGT folks even watch the YouTube videos before inviting the people on the show. I mean an air guitarist? That was the best they could find? Really? There were a few good acts, but most were awful. 

The girl singer and the final dance act will go through. As for the third act, I guess either the parrot or one of the two magicians. 


Speaking of which, any idea how the second magician did his trick? Was it some kind of fishing line or something?


----------



## bryhamm

The last act was very good. But the rest were just ho-hum.


----------



## nataylor

I love Cast in Bronze. He performs at our local ren faire every year.


----------



## morac

nataylor said:


> I love Cast in Bronze. He performs at our local ren faire every year.


Tell him to tune his instrument.


----------



## MarkofT

To a musician's ear, a carillon can sound "out of tune."


----------



## wendiness1

I thought it was a bit cruel to bring "Cast in Bronze" there only to have all three judges slam him. Something Howie said earlier suggested to me that the judges previewed these acts in video and perhaps had some say in who was brought in. If so, they mislead this poor guy into bringing that gigantic carillon. I certainly hope the production company paid for the transportation and labor to set it up. I'm very disappointed if the judges had a say in bringing him in only to attack him.


----------



## busyba

morac said:


> Tell him to tune his instrument.


I've heard him live. The sound quality of the broadcast was very poor as compared to hearing it live.

It was almost as if they borrowed the SNL sound techs for this act.


----------



## jsmeeker

I listened to part of that Cast in Bronze. It sounded good when there was a backing track, but when they were at parts of the music where it went away or decreased, it just didn't sound impressive as I would have thought it would.


----------



## nataylor

jsmeeker said:


> I listened to part of that Cast in Bronze. It sounded good when there was a backing track, but when they were at parts of the music where it went away or decreased, it just didn't sound impressive as I would have thought it would.


I think it's way better in person. When you're sitting just a few feet away, the sound from the bells is very powerful. And playing the instrument is a heck a workout for the guy.


----------



## Jayjoans

I have never seen a comedian of either gender fail as miserably on live TV as that blonde woman. Absolutely terrible. I'm even cringing as I write this post. Just horrible.


----------



## nataylor

Jayjoans said:


> I have never seen a comedian of either gender fail as miserably on live TV as that blonde woman. Absolutely terrible. I'm even cringing as I write this post. Just horrible.


Yeah, especially while doing a bit about bombing. Awkward!


----------



## mattack

Sorry, haven't been following this thread.. but I'm a couple episodes behind, but they seem to be showing episodes out of order or with weird episode #s?? There was 22, then another hour long version of 22 (semi-understandable).. then 17 after that?!?!?


----------



## tiams

wendiness1 said:


> I thought it was a bit cruel to bring "Cast in Bronze" there only to have all three judges slam him. Something Howie said earlier suggested to me that the judges previewed these acts in video and perhaps had some say in who was brought in. If so, they mislead this poor guy into bringing that gigantic carillon. I certainly hope the production company paid for the transportation and labor to set it up. I'm very disappointed if the judges had a say in bringing him in only to attack him.


I agree, the judges were awful to the poor guy. Why insult him?

It seems this show has gone on forever!

Kinda unfair for youtube acts to jump to the semifinals or whatever when the other acts had to go through several rounds of cuts.

When they were showing who the judges were bringing back as wild cards, I think I saw "kick me in the testicles guy" was one of Howards choices. That can't be seriously one of his picks can it?

I'd be happy if AGT never had another singer or band.


----------



## MauriAnne

tiams said:


> When they were showing who the judges were bringing back as wild cards, I think I saw "kick me in the testicles guy" was one of Howards choices. That can't be seriously one of his picks can it?





Spoiler



I'm afraid that Horse _is_ coming back. From link: 

As previously announced, Howard Stern has selected Ben Blaque, Horse, Spencer Horsman, and Todd Oliver and Irving. Sharon has invited back All That!, Bandbaz Brothers, Jake Wesley Rodgers and Lindsey Norton, and Howie has selected Andrew De Leon, Jarrett & Raja, Sebastian El Charro and Cristin Sandu.

I'm glad Sharon's bringing back the cloggers (All That!). While I don't think they'll win, I'll enjoy getting to see them again.


----------



## Cainebj

this might be a spoiler 
- IF I recognized any of their names 
- which I do not.

As mentioned previously in this thread...
Take That were the second runner's up in Season One.
I still think it is odd they haven't mentioned that...


----------



## MauriAnne

Cainebj said:


> this might be a spoiler
> - IF I recognized any of their names
> - which I do not.


Oops. Added spoiler tags..... I hope no one reading that had a better memory for names.


----------



## Cainebj

MauriAnne said:


> Oops. Added spoiler tags..... I hope no one reading that had a better memory for names.


MauriAnne!!! - I was kidding - 
I mean I guess technically it is but I wasn't being the spoiler police or anything 
I'm not sure anyone cares much who is on the wildcard show...


----------



## MauriAnne

Yea.. I figured *you* were kidding, but someone else might not be so understanding.


----------



## Einselen

Not sure why the wildcards are spoilers as they showed a quick clip of each of the judges' picks during the show. Although I can't remember if it was after the end and considered a preview of next week which then is I guess technically a spoiler.


----------



## Einselen

Cainebj said:


> As mentioned previously in this thread...
> Take That were the second runner's up in Season One.
> I still think it is odd they haven't mentioned that...


I think you mean All That.


----------



## tiams

Did anyone else think the Honey Badger guy looked like someone wearing a bad disguise?


----------



## busyba




----------



## bryhamm

I FFed through all but the performances. How many of the acts last night might come back in?

Don't want any of the singers going on. Definitely don't want Horse moving on.


----------



## gossamer88

I'm not an opera expert, but I know Andrew Deleon is NOT an opera singer.


----------



## TriBruin

Howard seriously needs to shut up. Don't like the two acts, to bad! Considering he thinks Horse has talent, nothing is surprising.


----------



## Einselen

Bummed that All That made it through over Lindsey especially as they had their chance. I saw both in the "audition" round live and both were amazing acts and I thought both could go far, but still I just liked how bubbly Lindsey is and how she was so easily excited to move on each time and to be back.


----------



## That Don Guy

That was a strange episode (Wild Card Results) - the first half looked like the end of a Giants-Dodgers baseball game, and the second half looked like a news show. Oh, wait - it _was_ the end of a baseball game followed by a news show. (San Jose/San Francisco's NBC station aired a Giants-Dodgers game that was "supposed to" end by 10 PM and then air AGT, but the game ran until 10:30, so they decided that, rather than have AGT run until 11:30, they would move it to 2 AM early Sunday morning in place of an infomercial block. Normally, they would have let an independent station air it, but instead it aired the 10 PM _Law & Order: SVU_ episode an hour early. Note that it was stunts like this that led NBC to break off from its original San Francisco affiliate.)


----------



## steve614

How did Sebastien "El Charro De Oro" make it through? There must have been massive voting by the hispanic community. 

I'm disappointed Spencer Horseman, Jarrett & Raja, and Ben Blaque didn't make it through. 

At least America got one vote right... Todd Oliver. :up:

The best shot of the night:


----------



## Sacrilegium

steve614 said:


> At least America got one vote right... Todd Oliver. :up:


Really? Ugh. I thought his act was amusing the first time out, but his material still stinks. Even when they were raving about his topical set, it was really really easy jokes. Like lower-level Jay Leno stuff.


----------



## steve614

Sacrilegium said:


> Really? Ugh. I thought his act was amusing the first time out, but his material still stinks. Even when they were raving about his topical set, it was really really easy jokes. Like lower-level Jay Leno stuff.


Eh, I don't care about the jokes, but I like his gimmick. That is something I have never seen before, therefore it's worthy of a semi-final spot. Lesser acts have gotten through, why not this guy?


----------



## Kablemodem

I likes Howard's signature move at the beginning - a combination of Howie's swirly salute and Sharon's hand heart. He should have just done the Sirius fist, but then he'd look like a Black Panther.


----------



## Jayjoans

The creepy piano playing magician duo is so terribly bad it's fun to watch. It's as if they won the talent show at the group home where they live, so they let them out to go on AGT. That "illusion" is sophomoric at best. If I recall, it's something "that's never been done before" according to the taller weirdo.

Clearly, when he starts playing the piano in the box you can see how flimsy it is, it's a lightweight prop that folds flat against the floor (which is why they raise the box over the audience). When they start to screw the box shut, you'll see a guy from the back right corner walk into the frame and climb up into the box from the back. He helps fold the piano and delivers the little weirdo's black overalls and hat he changes into. As people are feverishly working to screw the box together, you'll then see two people exit to the back of the stage, one to the right and one to the left from behind the box. Little weirdo removes the black overalls and hightails it to the piano in the audience. This isn't even kinda cool, it's completely lame. Maybe next time they'll make a quarter appear behind Howie's ear!

Not magic. Not even illusory.


----------



## getreal

Jayjoans said:


> The *creepy piano playing magician duo* is so terribly bad it's fun to watch. It's as if they won the talent show at the group home where they live, so they let them out to go on AGT. That "illusion" is sophomoric at best. If I recall, it's something "that's never been done before" according to *the taller weirdo*.
> <snip>
> ... Maybe next time they'll make a quarter appear behind Howie's ear!
> 
> Not magic. Not even illusory.


LOL!


----------



## MauriAnne

Watched the first semifinal show tonight.

Anyone have any idea how Dittleman did it tonight? I have ZERO clue.


----------



## spikedavis

MauriAnne said:


> Watched the first semifinal show tonight.
> 
> Anyone have any idea how Dittleman did it tonight? I have ZERO clue.


I just came here to post the same thing. Great trick!


----------



## Doggie Bear

No idea how Dittleman did the Howard drawing trick. The triangle in the circle is just a high probability guess that most people will think of the most obvious shapes, which are squares, circles, and triangles -- and he said, don't pick squares. It's kind of like the trick about having people think of a number, do a bunch of math operations on it that ensures they'll end up with 4, and then convert that to the equivalent letter (i.e., D), and then think of a country that starts with that letter, and then go one letter over (i.e., E) and think of an animal that starts with that letter, and then go two letters over (i.e., G), and think of a color.

"Gray elephants in Denmark"

Of course, there aren't many D countries (although Dominican Republic sometimes comes up, especially for big baseball fans), and elephants are the obvious E creature.

***

As to the show itself, I was most impressed by the Earth Harp guy, Dittleman, and Tom Cotter.


----------



## jamesbobo

They announced that the next show is tonight, 9pm eastern. Yet FIOS guide data has preseason NFL Football on NBC tonight, at least in NY. The show normally on Wednesday is listed on Sunday. 
The is no mention of football on NBC's websight. Is the guide data wrong?


----------



## pdhenry

My TiVo data has an AGT rerun (last week's results show) at 8 followed by the live results show at 9.


----------



## nataylor

MauriAnne said:


> Watched the first semifinal show tonight.
> 
> Anyone have any idea how Dittleman did it tonight? I have ZERO clue.


He obviously had some way of knowing which color Howard was picking up. He'd ask Howard to choose a color, then wait until Howard had the color in his hand before telling Howard what to draw.


----------



## That Don Guy

jamesbobo said:


> They announced that the next show is tonight, 8pm eastern. Yet FIOS guide data has preseason NFL Football on NBC tonight, at least in NY. The show normally on Wednesday is listed on Sunday.
> The is no mention of football on NBC's website. Is the guide data wrong?


Just WNBC is airing the Patriots-Giants game tonight. This is a similar situation to my earlier post in this thread (#482), where the NBC affiliate in San Francisco aired a Dodgers-Giants baseball game instead of last week's results show. I am a little surprised there isn't a "backup station" in New York that would air locally pre-empted network shows at the "correct" time.

I don't think there's much, if anything, WNBC can do about it; usually local station contracts with football/baseball teams say the sporting event takes precedence over network programming.


----------



## markz

nataylor said:


> He obviously had some way of knowing which color Howard was picking up. He'd ask Howard to choose a color, then wait until Howard had the color in his hand before telling Howard what to draw.


And there were probably no extra colors that didn't get used.


----------



## bryhamm

nataylor said:


> He obviously had some way of knowing which color Howard was picking up. He'd ask Howard to choose a color, then wait until Howard had the color in his hand before telling Howard what to draw.


That's exactly correct. I said the same thing to my son afterwards, then rewound it to confirm it. Whenever he picked the blue color, he was always going to tell howard to color in his hair with that color.

Each time the color was picked first, then he told howard where to use the color. Obviously there is some sort of plant in the crowd that can see what howard was picking and is relaying that info some how.


----------



## bryhamm

Some very good acts last night. There are gonna be some good acts that don't move on.

Acts that I think are in the running to move on:
Scott Brothers
Tom Cotter
Donovan & Rebecca

Not quite in the same class as above, but might sneak through:
Joe Castillo
William Close

Acts that probably will not move on:
Academy of Villians
Andrew de Leon
Bria Kelly
Edon
Dittelman
Todd Oliver
Turf


----------



## That Don Guy

markz said:


> And there were probably no extra colors that didn't get used.


That is correct, as, right after Howard drew the horns, Dittleman told him that there was only one color left (for the goatee); however, I think Howard didn't realize this and used the same color for the goatee as he did for the horns...and it seemed to me that Dittleman used slightly different colors. (If he did, then it's a good thing the leftover color wasn't green, as it would have been obvious that they were different.)

I just hope America's Got Taste For Talent (like they did when they chose Terry Fator and Neal Boyd) - but if Edon gets voted through, I fear that the show is becong Yet Still Even Another Talent Show For Popular Music Singers.

I was surprised by one thing - according to the Venetian/Palazzo website, this year's Vegas show will run for about two months, from September 26 through November 17, with one show per night (except Fridays); note that it will be at the Palazzo, not the Venetian (although they are "sister" properties and, in fact, connected to each other; still, they are different hotels and different casinos). Last year's show ran for something like three days.


----------



## gossamer88

I'm no opera buff, but man is Andrew de Leon horrible!


----------



## jamesbobo

That Don Guy said:


> Just WNBC is airing the Patriots-Giants game tonight. This is a similar situation to my earlier post in this thread (#482), where the NBC affiliate in San Francisco aired a Dodgers-Giants baseball game instead of last week's results show. * I am a little surprised there isn't a "backup station" in New York that would air locally pre-empted network shows at the "correct" time.*
> .


There is. I found out that the NBC substation (4.2 for antenna users) will carry America's Got Talent. FIOS does carry this channel which is 406 in my area although it looks like it isn't carried in HD.
Comcast users also have this channel (I had Comcast before FIOS) but I don't remember the channel number. 
I can't speak for Cablevision or satellite TV, users can consult their guide. Or just wait until Sunday.


----------



## inaka

nataylor said:


> He obviously had some way of knowing which color Howard was picking up. He'd ask Howard to choose a color, then wait until Howard had the color in his hand before telling Howard what to draw.





markz said:


> And there were probably no extra colors that didn't get used.





bryhamm said:


> That's exactly correct. I said the same thing to my son afterwards, then rewound it to confirm it. Whenever he picked the blue color, he was always going to tell howard to color in his hair with that color.
> 
> Each time the color was picked first, then he told howard where to use the color. Obviously there is some sort of plant in the crowd that can see what howard was picking and is relaying that info some how.





That Don Guy said:


> That is correct, as, right after Howard drew the horns, Dittleman told him that there was only one color left (for the goatee); however, I think Howard didn't realize this and used the same color for the goatee as he did for the horns...and it seemed to me that Dittleman used slightly different colors. (If he did, then it's a good thing the leftover color wasn't green, as it would have been obvious that they were different.)
> 
> I just hope America's Got Taste For Talent (like they did when they chose Terry Fator and Neal Boyd) - but if Edon gets voted through, I fear that the show is becong Yet Still Even Another Talent Show For Popular Music Singers.
> 
> I was surprised by one thing - according to the Venetian/Palazzo website, this year's Vegas show will run for about two months, from September 26 through November 17, with one show per night (except Fridays); note that it will be at the Palazzo, not the Venetian (although they are "sister" properties and, in fact, connected to each other; still, they are different hotels and different casinos). Last year's show ran for something like three days.


It wasn't a plant in the audience. Dittleman could actually *SEE* him the entire time he picked a color. Before you say, "Ahhh but they showed him with his eyes closed" go back at rewatch it. As everyone has said, as Howard picks up each colored marker, then Dittleman tells him where to draw. BUT, re-watch when Howard picks up the blue pen. As Howard picks up that color, Stern mockingly waves the pen to the crowd to joke around like a magician's assistant, and Dittleman accidentally laughs.

Why did he laugh if he couldn't see him?

You can tell because Dittleman catches himself after laughing and then tells him to draw in the hair with the blue pen. It wasn't just an accidental laugh. He could see Howard picking each color the entire time.


----------



## That Don Guy

jamesbobo said:


> There is. I found out that the NBC substation (4.2 for antenna users) will carry America's Got Talent. FIOS does carry this channel which is 406 in my area although it looks like it isn't carried in HD.
> Comcast users also have this channel (I had Comcast before FIOS) but I don't remember the channel number.
> I can't speak for Cablevision or satellite TV, users can consult their guide. Or just wait until Sunday.


Zap2It says that Cablevision carries it (at least in Brooklyn) in HD on 109.

I didn't think DirecTV or Dish carried subcarrier channels, although DirecTV does appear to carry KNBC (Los Angeles) in New York, which airs the episode at midnight Eastern.


----------



## bryhamm

inaka said:


> It wasn't a plant in the audience. Dittleman could actually *SEE* him the entire time he picked a color. Before you say, "Ahhh but they showed him with his eyes closed" go back at rewatch it. As everyone has said, as Howard picks up each colored marker, then Dittleman tells him where to draw. BUT, re-watch when Howard picks up the blue pen. As Howard picks up that color, Stern mockingly waves the pen to the crowd to joke around like a magician's assistant, and Dittleman accidentally laughs.
> 
> Why did he laugh if he couldn't see him?
> 
> You can tell because Dittleman catches himself after laughing and then tells him to draw in the hair with the blue pen. It wasn't just an accidental laugh. He could see Howard picking each color the entire time.


While this could be true, I wonder how he would do that?


----------



## bareyb

gossamer88 said:


> I'm no opera buff, but man is Andrew de Leon horrible!


Man, he sure didn't like Sharon suggesting that he remove all the Marilyn Mason makeup! Can you say AWKWARD? I don't necessarily agree with her, but it would have been great for ratings.


----------



## inaka

bryhamm said:


> While this could be true, I wonder how he would do that?


Utterly simple an a variety of ways. Mirror off stage, monitor, mirror in his hand that he would hold up, etc...

He's literally just closing his eyes.
He doesn't even have a blindfold, etc. He could just squint to see the color of the marker.


----------



## spikedavis

Did someone suggest the Scott Brothers should move on?

*shudders*


----------



## MarkofT

inaka said:


> It wasn't a plant in the audience. Dittleman could actually *SEE* him the entire time he picked a color. Before you say, "Ahhh but they showed him with his eyes closed" go back at rewatch it. As everyone has said, as Howard picks up each colored marker, then Dittleman tells him where to draw. BUT, re-watch when Howard picks up the blue pen. As Howard picks up that color, Stern mockingly waves the pen to the crowd to joke around like a magician's assistant, and Dittleman accidentally laughs.
> 
> Why did he laugh if he couldn't see him?
> 
> You can tell because Dittleman catches himself after laughing and then tells him to draw in the hair with the blue pen. It wasn't just an accidental laugh. He could see Howard picking each color the entire time.


You can also for the last marker that Howard picked up, Dittleman didn't talk until Howard extended his arm and held up the marker. When he first grabbed it, he uncapped it and held it close where Dittleman wouldn't be able to see it from his position. Dittleman was probably using those spy glasses that let you see behind you.


----------



## Langree

There is no way the sand scribbler wins this....


----------



## getreal

I was only surprised that Joe the Sand Artist beat out Todd the dog ventriloquist. I thought in his final appeal to the judges, that he was almost admitting the other guy deserved to move forward over himself.

It looks like next week's line-up is going to be pretty lame.

I see the final two (at this point) as between William Close (the Earth Harp guy) and Tom Cotter (the comedian). I'd give the title to the Earth Harp dude, and the comedian will land a sitcom deal.


----------



## tiams

inaka said:


> It wasn't a plant in the audience. Dittleman could actually *SEE* him the entire time he picked a color. Before you say, "Ahhh but they showed him with his eyes closed" go back at rewatch it. As everyone has said, as Howard picks up each colored marker, then Dittleman tells him where to draw. BUT, re-watch when Howard picks up the blue pen. As Howard picks up that color, Stern mockingly waves the pen to the crowd to joke around like a magician's assistant, and Dittleman accidentally laughs.
> 
> Why did he laugh if he couldn't see him?
> 
> You can tell because Dittleman catches himself after laughing and then tells him to draw in the hair with the blue pen. It wasn't just an accidental laugh. He could see Howard picking each color the entire time.


Also, there were two times when Dittleman gave Howard an instruction like "pick up another color" and after Howard complied Dittleman would say "good". He forgot he wasn't supposed to know when Howard had done what he asked.

As for the shape trick, when he is telling the audience to think of a shape he holds up three fingers; this is supposed to suggest to your unconscious mind a triangle. He then says now imagine a shape "around it" and he moves his arm in a circle. The embedded word round and the movement of his arm in a circle are supposed to unconsciously suggest circle. This is all Derren Brown stuff. Plus, besides a square, what shapes come to mind?


----------



## tiams

inaka said:


> It wasn't a plant in the audience. Dittleman could actually *SEE* him the entire time he picked a color. Before you say, "Ahhh but they showed him with his eyes closed" go back at rewatch it. As everyone has said, as Howard picks up each colored marker, then Dittleman tells him where to draw. BUT, re-watch when Howard picks up the blue pen. As Howard picks up that color, Stern mockingly waves the pen to the crowd to joke around like a magician's assistant, and Dittleman accidentally laughs.
> 
> Why did he laugh if he couldn't see him?
> 
> You can tell because Dittleman catches himself after laughing and then tells him to draw in the hair with the blue pen. It wasn't just an accidental laugh. He could see Howard picking each color the entire time.


I don't think Howard was making a joke like he was a magician's assistant. I think Howard momentarily forgot his instructions to hold the marker in such a way that Dittleman could see what color it was. He realized that he was unintentionally hiding it when Dittleman didn't tell him where to color so he reacted by waving it around wildly, like he was saying "oops, oh yeah, here it is, lookie here, sorry I f'ed up for a second". He was probably a little embarrassed that he didn't do his part flawlessly. He even made a comment about how there was pressure on him during the trick.


----------



## inaka

tiams said:


> As for the shape trick, when he is telling the audience to think of a shape he holds up three fingers; this is supposed to suggest to your unconscious mind a triangle. He then says now imagine a shape "around it" and he moves his arm in a circle. The embedded word round and the movement of his arm in a circle are supposed to unconsciously suggest circle. This is all Derren Brown stuff. Plus, besides a square, what shapes come to mind?


Exactly right. 
By the way, I'm a jerk and thought of a pentagon and a long rectangle. 
It was so obvious the first shape he wanted you to think of instantly.



tiams said:


> I don't think Howard was making a joke like he was a magician's assistant. I think Howard momentarily forgot his instructions to hold the marker in such a way that Dittleman could see what color it was. He realized that he was unintentionally hiding it when Dittleman didn't tell him where to color so he reacted by waving it around wildly, like he was saying "oops, oh yeah, here it is, lookie here, sorry I f'ed up for a second". He was probably a little embarrassed that he didn't do his part flawlessly. He even made a comment about how there was pressure on him during the trick.


Well, the reasoning behind why stern made that odd gesture isn't really the issue, I'm just saying that it was clear Dittleman chucked at his antics, and there would be no way he should laugh if he couldn't see him. So it was so obvious he was looking at him the entire time.

His parlor tricks are completely lame to me.


----------



## bareyb

Tonight's episode got cut off for me. Who went home last, the Sand Artist or the "Ventriloquist"? After hearing his last comment, I'm hoping it was the Sand Artist.


----------



## Blurayfan

bareyb said:


> Tonight's episode got cut off for me. Who went home last, the Sand Artist or the "Ventriloquist"? After hearing his last comment, I'm hoping it was the Sand Artist.


The Ventriloquist went home.


----------



## jamesbobo

If I were Howard I would have used the marker where I wasn't supposed to use it. For example: if I was told to color in the hair I would color in the face. Then when it was over I would say that if you could really read my mind you would know I was going to do that.


----------



## tiams

inaka said:


> Exactly right.
> By the way, I'm a jerk and thought of a pentagon and a long rectangle.
> It was so obvious the first shape he wanted you to think of instantly.
> 
> Well, the reasoning behind why stern made that odd gesture isn't really the issue, I'm just saying that it was clear Dittleman chucked at his antics, and there would be no way he should laugh if he couldn't see him. So it was so obvious he was looking at him the entire time.
> 
> His parlor tricks are completely lame to me.


Yes, his odd gesture gave away both things. One, that Howard was in on it, and two, that Dittleman could see him.

I agree, his tricks are lame! Watch Derren Brown if you want to be impressed. Keith Barry is also pretty good but not as good as Derren.


----------



## JLucPicard

I thought it was interesting, too, when they showed Dittleman's rehearsal that they had his version of Howard's picture on the easel - visible in the shot.

I really liked Tom Cotter, especially good start when he says, "College??? - Dittleman!!!" - THAT cracked me up!

I'll take people's word for it that William Close is fantastic - it is definitely different from things we've seen before, and he's good at what he does, but I'm kind of bored with it. It's lost its 'magnificence' for me.

I don't think the Sand Artist should have gotten through, but I felt that Irving and Oliver (or whatever their names are) have run their course. Different set, etc., same schtick. I just feel like "seen it" with them. I would have taken him before the sand guy, though.

As for bringing back acts from past years (is that on next week's results show?), they better not even think about bringing back "Second Chance", or whatever they heck their name is, again. That's an act that doesn't do a thing for me and has been played to death already. Oy!


----------



## bryhamm

bryhamm said:


> Some very good acts last night. There are gonna be some good acts that don't move on.
> 
> Acts that I think are in the running to move on:
> Scott Brothers
> Tom Cotter
> Donovan & Rebecca
> 
> Not quite in the same class as above, but might sneak through:
> Joe Castillo
> William Close
> 
> Acts that probably will not move on:
> Academy of Villians
> Andrew de Leon
> Bria Kelly
> Edon
> Dittelman
> Todd Oliver
> Turf


Called it with Castillo and Close sneaking in. Wish it were my top 3 though.


----------



## getreal

tiams said:


> Also, there were two times when Dittleman gave Howard an instruction like "pick up another color" and after Howard complied Dittleman would say "good". He forgot he wasn't supposed to know when Howard had done what he asked.
> 
> As for the shape trick, when he is telling the audience to think of a shape he holds up three fingers; this is supposed to suggest to your unconscious mind a triangle. He then says now imagine a shape "around it" and he moves his arm in a circle. The embedded word round and the movement of his arm in a circle are supposed to unconsciously suggest circle. *This is all Derren Brown stuff.* Plus, besides a square, what shapes come to mind?


:up: That's exactly what I was thinking while watching the act! I even went back through some of my Derren Brown* collection, and was impressed with the smooth professionalism of Mr. Brown as compared to the rather clumsy and nervous Dittleman. He'll do okay at birthday parties and some corporate events, but he does not belong in Vegas.

*I had first heard of Derren Brown only 14 months ago, and after having watched all of his (UK) shows, I am a big fan. I suggest people check him out on YouTube.


----------



## busyba

I think some of the criticism they gave Turf, about it being all the same thing over and over, was a bit unfounded.

Before the judges started speaking, my impression of the performance was that it had all the elements that make Turf "Turf", but that also he did a much better job this time of actually choreographing his routine to the music. There was much more of a connection between his moves and the music this time around.

I'm not saying he should have made it into the Top 3; I'm just saying that I felt he really stepped it up this time around.


----------



## morac

I'm not sure what difference it would make if Dittelman could see the marker colors as the trick wasn't guessing what colors Howard was using, it was to "force" Howard to use Dittelman's preselected colors since Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time. I don't see how this could be done unless Howard was in on it. Though if you compare the two drawings, the colors don't exactly match up. Only the green face and purple hair do.

As for the circle/triangle trick, that reminds me more of Cross Angel's Mind Freak, specifically this card trick::

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llF7075WmBg[/media]

I know how it's done now, but at the time I first saw it, in a movie theater, it did freak me out..


----------



## inaka

morac said:


> I'm not sure what difference it would make if Dittelman could see the marker colors as the trick wasn't guessing what colors Howard was using, it was to "force" Howard to use Dittelman's preselected colors since Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time.


Seeing Howard is the entire trick. He sees the color Howard picks, and THEN tells him where to fill it in. Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time, yes. So for example, the face was already green on Dittelman's drawing. So all he does it tell Howard, "Please select any color you would like at random" or whatever, he _*sees*_ Howard select the green pen, and _*then*_ he says, "Ok, I'm going to ask that you color in the face with that [randomly selected color.]" etc.

So he just waits to see the color Howard selects, and then tells him to which area to fill-in, based on Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time.

I personally don't think Howard was is on it, but it really is irrelevant if he can see him the entire time. I personally think if Howard was in on it, they could have come up with a much more elaborate trick that wouldn't be solved just by seeing.


----------



## morac

inaka said:


> Seeing Howard is the entire trick. He sees the color Howard picks, and THEN tells him where to fill it in. Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time, yes. So for example, the face was already green on Dittelman's drawing. So all he does it tell Howard, "Please select any color you would like at random" or whatever, he sees Howard select the green pen, and then he says, "Ok, I'm going to ask that you color in the face with that [randomly selected color.]" etc.


Ah, that makes sense and it also explains the color mismatch as Howard didn't follow directions and used the same color he used to draw the horns, to draw the goatee. Though the horn colors didn't really match either, so perhaps Dittelman messed up.


----------



## tiams

getreal said:


> :up: That's exactly what I was thinking while watching the act! I even went back through some of my Derren Brown* collection, and was impressed with the smooth professionalism of Mr. Brown as compared to the rather clumsy and nervous Dittleman. He'll do okay at birthday parties and some corporate events, but he does not belong in Vegas.
> 
> *I had first heard of Derren Brown only 14 months ago, and after having watched all of his (UK) shows, I am a big fan. I suggest people check him out on YouTube.


His book Tricks Of The Mind is a good read. I would like to read his book Pure Effect but even used copies are $150.00-$200.00.



inaka said:


> Seeing Howard is the entire trick. He sees the color Howard picks, and THEN tells him where to fill it in. Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time, yes. So for example, the face was already green on Dittelman's drawing. So all he does it tell Howard, "Please select any color you would like at random" or whatever, he _*sees*_ Howard select the green pen, and _*then*_ he says, "Ok, I'm going to ask that you color in the face with that [randomly selected color.]" etc.
> 
> So he just waits to see the color Howard selects, and then tells him to which area to fill-in, based on Dittelman's drawing was done ahead of time.
> 
> I personally don't think Howard was is on it, but it really is irrelevant if he can see him the entire time. I personally think if Howard was in on it, they could have come up with a much more elaborate trick that wouldn't be solved just by seeing.


When I said Howard was in on it, I only meant that he had been instructed to show the markers to the camera and knew that Dittleman needed to see what color he was holding.


----------



## MarkofT

Was there anything interesting other then the results on the results show? The local NBC affiliate preempted Wednesday to show a preseason Cowboys game. NBC is repeating on Sunday, but the local affiliate is preempting again to show the MDA telethon.

On both times, they moved the programming to a subchannel, but DirectTV doesn't carry subchannels.


----------



## inaka

tiams said:


> When I said Howard was in on it, I only meant that he had been instructed to show the markers to the camera and knew that Dittleman needed to see what color he was holding.


Ahhh yes. I see what you mean then. Yeah, I agree. The producers probably told Howard to clearly show "the crowd" each color he selected so _they_ could see, etc. But it was obvious that Dittleman needed to see the pens more than the crowd.


----------



## That Don Guy

MarkofT said:


> Was there anything interesting other then the results on the results show?


Neon Treeswould performed "Everybody Talks" - other than that, not really.

They padded the show by bringing out the acts 3 at a time and announcing which one was in the top four; at the end, they announced which two advanced to the final (which will have six acts), and had the judges choose which of the remaining two would be the third finalist.



MarkofT said:


> NBC is repeating on Sunday, but the local affiliate is preempting again to show the MDA telethon.


Telethon? You mean the "MDA Show of Strength"? It's only a three-hour show now, and as it's not shown live nationwide, they don't bother mentioning how much money they take in. Ironically, Hal David had just died; he co-wrote "What the World Needs Now is Love," which, for many years, was the song the band played every time the tote board registered another million dollars.


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## steve614

That Don Guy said:


> and had the judges choose which of the remaining two would be the third finalist.


This is one thing that has annoyed me all season. It nullifies that part of the audience vote which makes me wonder if it's worth even voting at all.

I think they said the sand artist and the ventriloquist had less than 1% difference in voting numbers?
And they let the "judges" decide who gets to go through? That's BS (IMO).

/end rant.


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## That Don Guy

I have this strange feeling there's something missing from the show this season.

Oh, wait - I know what it is:


Spoiler



*Somebody whose act doesn't involve singing is going to win this year* (unless, for some unexplained reason, the Earth Harp act decides to add a singer and ends up winning)

I know Terry Fator is a ventriloquist, but one of the reasons he won was because his act involves impressions of famous singers.


So now the final six are...


Spoiler



a dog act, a stand-up comic, a Latin dance troupe of kids, an "Earth harp" player, and a couple of artists (one that works with sand, and one with paint). If it was up to me, based on what I have seen so far, I'd go with the comic, but I'm having trouble figuring out some of the voting - given those final four acts in the second semi-final, I thought for sure that the top two would have been the ones involved in the judges' pick.


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## jamesbobo

MarkofT said:


> On both times, they moved the programming to a subchannel, but DirectTV doesn't carry subchannels.


Have you ever tried an antenna? Any kind will do. When my cable went out because a large truck knocked out the wires I tried using an AM/FM radio antenna that I simply stuck out the window. To my surprise I got all my local channels, including subchannels, although the CW was very pixelated.


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## markz

jamesbobo said:


> Have you ever tried an antenna? Any kind will do. When my cable went out because a large truck knocked out the wires I tried using an AM/FM radio antenna that I simply stuck out the window. To my surprise I got all my local channels, including subchannels, although the CW was very pixelated.


I wish I could do that here. I live in a valley about 60 miles from two major markets (Indianapolis & Cincinnati). I would have to have an antenna tower to pickup anything. Radio stations don't even come in the best all the time.


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## busyba

I just hope tbe mariachi kid makes enough money of his newfound fame to buy a pair of tweezers...


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## jamesbobo

By the way, here is the antenna I used.


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## morac

Wow, not only the first year a singer won't win (including ones that sing with puppets  ), but also the first year a singer didn't make even it into the finals. Finally.


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## morac

When did NBC buy the rights to American Bandstand?

I guess they had to do something since no singers made the final.


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## bryhamm

Wish Tom Cotter had won.


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## Einselen

bryhamm said:


> Wish Tom Cotter had won.


Ditto. Olate Dogs were cute the first and second time I saw them, but their act got really stale and repetitive I thought.


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## morac

And to think we were making fun of Britain's Got Talent for having a dog act win. Still it's better than having another singer win and the dog act is quite good.

Don't feel too bad for Tom Cotter as I expect he'll show up on Comedy Central's comedy spotlight or something. He's too good to not have a future in comedy.


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## Einselen

morac said:


> Don't feel too bad for Tom Cotter as I expect he'll show up on Comedy Central's comedy spotlight or something. He's too good not to have a future in comedy.


Comedy is tough to break through and his stint on Last Comic Standing didn't help then, but maybe just maybe making it 2nd on AGT will help.


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## morac

Einselen said:


> Comedy is tough to break through and his stint on Last Comic Standing didn't help then, but maybe just maybe making it 2nd on AGT will help.


I only watched the first two seasons of Last Comic Standing so I didn't know he was even on it? What season was he on as he's not listed as being a contestant on Last Comic Standing's Wikipedia page.

I did see from from his Wikipedia page that he apparently already had his own 30 minute Comedy Central Special, so so much for that idea.

I don't think winning would make a difference one way or the other. Most of the winners seem to disappear off the face of the Earth. The non-winners, like Jackie Evancho, seem to do better.


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## Blurayfan

morac said:


> I only watched the first two seasons of Last Comic Standing so I didn't know he was even on it? What season was he on as he's not listed as being a contestant on Last Comic Standing's Wikipedia page.
> 
> I did see from from his Wikipedia page that he apparently already had his own 30 minute Comedy Central Special, so so much for that idea.
> 
> I don't think winning would make a difference one way or the other. Most of the winners seem to disappear off the face of the Earth. The non-winners, like Jackie Evancho, seem to do better.


The one exception is Terry Fator his show is still performed in Las Vegas.


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## Cainebj

I was so bored by the finalists Wednesday I skipped the finale on Wednesday. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I do think it bizarre that both the UK's Got Talent and this both had dog acts winning this season.


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## busyba

I haven't watched the results yet but seriously? Those freaking dogs won? That's effed up. It should have been the Earth Harp guy.


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## StacieH

busyba said:


> I haven't watched the results yet but seriously? Those freaking dogs won? That's effed up. It should have been the Earth Harp guy.


That's what we said when we heard this morning. I was hoping for William Close or Tom Cotter. I could see the dog act coming in 3rd, but I would have chosen the sand art over them.


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## That Don Guy

I can see any of the top three being able to sustain a 90-minute show in Vegas, although Olate Dogs is probably a better fit in Branson. Maybe if the dogs are combined with the bird act?

As for the others, the two artist acts would be a good fit together, especially if you throw in the Earth Harp act to provide the music, and while the dance troupe was good, you can't really make them a "Vegas act" unless you move all of their families to where the act takes place (otherwise, for example, where do they go to school?).


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## JLucPicard

busyba said:


> I haven't watched the results yet but seriously? Those freaking dogs won? That's effed up. It should have been the Earth Harp guy.


I don't think the dog act should have won the whole thing, but William Close almost bored me to tears.

I was hoping to hear confirmation somewhere along the line that yes, the earth harp act loses a lot on television versus live, but while I found his perfomances somewhat entertaining, I was not at all impressed by them.

Had I voted (which I didn't as I don't watch these anywhere near live), my votes would have gone for Tom Cotter.

And I couldn't help but think that had that kids dance troup won, it would mean, what, about $1000 a year for each of them for the next 40 years? Kind of funny, actually - come in handy for school shopping, I suppose.


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## Odds Bodkins

Earth Harpzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


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## bareyb

busyba said:


> I haven't watched the results yet but seriously? Those freaking dogs won? That's effed up. It should have been the Earth Harp guy.


Yeah. I had a bad feeling that was going to happen. I have no idea why people think this is either "unique" or "new". I remember seeing all this stuff on the Ed Sullivan show a million years ago! In fact, I have a hard time remembering ANY dog act where they didn't do all the same, or very similar, tricks. America's Got Talent never fails to disappoint. I still like the show though...


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## nickels

I could go off on a long-winded rants about my feelings, but I'll just skip it and go with this:
Olate Dogs didn't deserve to make it past any level of this competition. Unoriginal, boring, stupid. America choose poorly. I am almost furious about this outcome, but more-so I am disappointed that this garbage made it to the top. My sympathies go out to the acts like William Close, Tom Cotter, David Garibaldi and his CMYKs, and Lightwire Theater - all more original, creative, and entertaining.

Olate Dogs, that should make someone all of about $1 in Vegas. Nobody will pay to see that crap.


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## Zephyr

It's more of the feel good thing... dogs are cute, vote for them and leave the real problems and decisions to another day. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Let's keep putting more juveniles on talent shows.


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## fmowry

If the earth harp guy played a regular harp he would have been only a bit more lame. It's a HARP! Who cares?

Tom Cotter shoulda won but I have no problem with the dog act. They'd make a good family show in Vegas. God the Blue Man Group was boring.


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## bareyb

fmowry said:


> If the earth harp guy played a regular harp he would have been only a bit more lame. It's a HARP! Who cares?
> 
> Tom Cotter shoulda won but I have no problem with the dog act. They'd make a good family show in Vegas. God the Blue Man Group was boring.


We liked the Blue Man Group over here. So much so, we set up a trip to Vegas to see them. Also going to see Cirque and Jaberwockees too. 

I thought Tom Cotter was okay, but I don't think we are going to see his career skyrocket. He's really not that funny if you ask me. He's just okay. Nothing new there either. I think if Earth Harp guy had played some of his other instruments _himself_ and mixed it up a bit more (ala Blue Man Group) I think he would have a very Vegas worthy show and would have won.


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## steve614

I can understand why Earth Harp guy lost. His last performance didn't resonate with me (I still voted for him, though). IMO, this was his best performance:






Had he done something like that for the final, who knows what would have happened.


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## fmowry

bareyb said:


> We liked the Blue Man Group over here. So much so, we set up a trip to Vegas to see them. Also going to see Cirque and Jaberwockees too.
> 
> I thought Tom Cotter was okay, but I don't think we are going to see his career skyrocket. He's really not that funny if you ask me. He's just okay. Nothing new there either. I think if Earth Harp guy had played some of his other instruments _himself_ and mixed it up a bit more (ala Blue Man Group) I think he would have a very Vegas worthy show and would have won.


I liked the BMG when I saw them live, but on TV? Meh.

Tom Cotter's comedy was much funnier than Harp guy's music was good. He is not making the music better playing a funky harp than any random average guitar player would make it. While it's unique, I still preferred the music of the Joe Cocker guy, the Jewish kid, and even the girl singing with her friend playing guitar sitting on the stool and they got the axe way back.


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## steve614

fmowry said:


> I still preferred the music of the Joe Cocker guy, the Jewish kid, and even the girl singing with her friend playing guitar sitting on the stool and they got the axe way back.


Not in my opinion. They were singers. They belonged on a reality series dedicated to singing. If they're not good enough to get on one of those shows, then they don't need to be on AGT.
I give a pass if age limits are a factor.


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## That Don Guy

steve614 said:


> I give a pass if age limits are a factor.


They were all at least 12 years old, which is the only age limit for _The X Factor_.


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