I admit it, I enjoy a good TV show.  It allows me to escape angst, depression, general ennui.  Right now I am hooked on America’s Got Talent.  Why do I love this show?  First of all the judges: I love Sharon Osbourne to pieces and it proves there is a God that Ozzy Osbourne is lucky enough to be married to her.  She is extremely easy on the eyes,  has a Mary Poppins English accent that you can’t help but adore, and is so kind and sweet to all the contestants.  She may actually BE Mary Poppins.  I could just watch her forever being nice to people even when she delivers bad news.  Spoonful of sugar, indeed.   Piers Morgan does an amazing job of convincing everyone that he’s a total arse-hole and I bet he’s the nicest guy in the world off stage, he can’t fool me.  And Howie Mandel you just gotta love because he’s Howie.  I try to remember what he looked like as a young comic and was not clean shaven, I keep meaning to go look up images of him.

What it is about AGT that is so different from, say, American Idol?  The variety!!!!   Here we get people doing the craziest stuff – harmonica players, geek side shows, dancers, singers, comics, magicians and run of the mill Vegas show-stopping Blue Man Group type stuff.  Not to mention the small town boys with voices like angels and a small town shyness about them that makes girls and old ladies want to run on stage and mob them.

Some of the stories behind the acts are amazing.  Now mind you all these people stand to win a million smackeroos as well as a headline Vegas show.  This, of course, narrows it down as the weeks progress, because a harmonic player, no matter how great, is not going to be playing a headline show at Ceasar’s Palance.  A few examples of out of nowhere-Yankee ingenuity- only in a free country can this type of creativity surface-acts:  The frat boys who, instead of drinking themselves into oblivion, decided to put together a show involving black lights and day glo and gymnastics that make it look like they are dancing in mid air…Fighting Gravity.  Ascendance, close to my heart, are rock climbers who have choreographed an indoor rock wall dance program that is so graceful it belies the strength and danger involved.  Airattack,  are guys who make lightning happen on stage in synch to their music which is something I want to see someday, even it it’s an off strip Vegas show.

What I love most is that almost every act is humble.  They know they have been given the chance of a lifetime and are grateful for the opportunity.   You just get the sense that each and every one of them is a nice person, with people in their lives behind them who are nice people too.    Only one act can win, but each of them will probably continue on doing what they love and will be able to bring joy to the world doing it, hopefully where I can see some of them in person.

I love watching a variety show, period.  I loved Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour way back when.  Apparently I’m not alone because it’s a pretty popular show.  The audience, at this stage of the game, gets to vote on their favorites – ultimately we decide who wins and as Sharon is wont to say “America always gets it right.”  I have to say that since I’ve been watching fairly regularly this season, I can see that it’s true – because all my favorites have been coming back for one more round!

Call me Pollyanna, but seeing all the creativity and talent and joy gives me hope for the future – hope for humanity?