jerryspringer

Television as an industry is in need of a major overhaul. It's old, dusty, soiling itself, and not keeping up with the technology that changes from day to day. If it were an old, sick animal, or Larry King, it would probably be put to sleep. Alas, so many of us rely on the old biddy that it would be hard for us to say good-bye.

Luckily, I am a resourceful, intelligent and, dare I say it, gorgeous human being who has some ideas in mind to freshen up the television landscape. Yes, it may mean sacrifice from some of us (mainly network executives) and we may lose something in the process. But, in the end, the industry that we love to quietly despise while watching Cheaters will thrive once again.

Last week, we learned that Jerry Springer would not return as host of NBC's America's Got Talent due to other commitments. TV Squad readers and I made a few suggestions to the network as to who could take on the role: David Hasselhoff, Brian Dunkleman, Neal Patrick Harris, and George Hamilton. The network went with option 5: Nick Cannon.

As you can see, the audition and elimination process to find a new host was quite fast when compared to the months it takes to discover the next greatest sensation in America on the show! For sure, Cannon didn't have to perform in front of a live audience and the show's three judges -- Piers Morgan, David Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne -- to get the job.

Back at the very end of August, it was announced that NBC's America's Got Talent was renewed for a fourth season. When I wrote about this renewal, I included a few ideas to revamp the series because even if AGT is one of the most popular summer shows, it doesn't mean we like everything about it!

Let's go down memory lane and remind ourselves of the first suggestion I wrote in that post:

• Change the host. Jerry Springer reads the teleprompter way too much. Also, his interactions with the contestants are sometimes painful to watch because Springer doesn't know what to tell them or how to act around them.

Could it be that the show's Powers That Be read my post? (Please don't burst my bubble here and let me think for a few seconds that I actually played a part in making my suggestion come true.) AOL announces today that Jerry Springer is leaving AGT!

If you've been reading my America's Got Talent reviews over the summer, you know I was not happy with last week's results. But since I'm a passive viewer (aka I do not vote), I had to accept America's choice as best new act in America. Since the finale aired, I've been reading comments TV Squad readers left on our site and what the Entertainment Weekly AGT reviewer and readers had to say about the winner. Reading those comments left me with one question: who voted for the winner anyway?

(S03E17) "The best new act in America." - The Narrator

Not to worry, I won't spoil who won the America's Got Talent before the jump. So since I have space to kill before I chit chat about the result show, let's use it for stats, shall we?

The first episode of the season aired on June 17, meaning that we spent 3 months and a half watching the competition unfold. In total, we've spend 31 hours and 13 minutes (including commercials) watching acts ranging from the awful to amazing as well as listen to the judges comments and Jerry reminding us that it's "One winner, one nation." Why 13 minutes? Well, the president's address last week cut the Top 5 episode short to 43 minutes according to NBC.

Now that I've used a few lines with stats that make us sound like people who didn't have much to do over the summer, let's get down to business....

The stars were out at NBC's big fall kick-off party, but no one was having as much fun as Jerry Springer and Piers Morgan.

The two opposing sides of some very emotional dice on America's Got Talent actually get along famously ... when they're not still bickering over whether a certain 4-year-old contestant should've gone home.

We talked to Jerry and Piers about what they're looking for on the show, whose name gets chanted the most and why Springer has become a total softie.

(S03E16) "Tonight is the night you choose your winner." - Jerry

Having watched America's Got Talent all summer long, I should have been looking forward to this week's episode, especially since we were treated to the final performances. Somehow, I found myself not caring. I actually ended up surfing the web while watching the episode, something I usually never do. Could it be because the presidential address to the nation on the economy killed the mood? Or maybe it was because the finalists basically gave performances that were similar to what they've been giving us all season?

(S03E15) "You got everyone in this room including a girl I'm dating." - The Hoff to Joseph Hall

Other performers "got everyone in this room" as The Hoff said because the Top 10 offered a good number of fantastic performances. It will be difficult for America to vote for the America's Got Talent winner next week because the competition is fierce. This week, the judges actually told at least three performers, in one way or another, that they were front runners but there can be only one winner. But first, they must get voted through to the Top 5. Who will make the cut?

(S03E314B) "Who's life will change tonight?" - The Voice-Over Guy

America's Got Talent's Mr. Voice-Over Guy was right, someone's life changed this week. Well, technically 10 lives changed during the results as Jerry announced the acts that made it to the Top 10. These ten amazing and not-so-amazing acts now have a chance to win a million dollars and headline a show in Vegas (I'm sure you were able to finish my sentence before completely reading it since Jerry said the latter part of it 10 times tonight!).

There were some surprises, a heart-stopping moment, and some "what were they thinking" moments during this rather dry but to the point 30-minute results show.

(S03E14) "I'm looking for the next Terry Fator." - Piers

Well, Piers, I think what you are looking for is for Nuttin But Stringz, pictured right, to win this season of America's Got Talent. I doubt they'll get a 100 million dollars five-year deal but the brothers are rockin' the house and making the crowd go wild! They could easily win this competition and headline their own show on the Vegas strip. We'll soon discover if America thinks so too!

(S03E13) "The battle for the Top 10 begins." - Jerry

Little Kaithlyn pictured on the right was one of the final performers who got to hear if they made it to the Top 20 or not at the start of Episode 313 of NBC's America's Got Talent. Now that the Top 20 has been revealed, they are, as Jerry pointed it out, going to battle it out for a spot in the Top 10. Performers need to step it up as the competition gets more and more serious.

In order to decide the Top 10 performers, we will have to sit through four hours and a half of AGT this week. Yes, you read correctly, four hours of hearing Jerry remind us how great the show is, see Piers X contestants, listen to Sharon asking performers to bring more attitude to their act next week, and see The Hoff be all emotional after watching the acts. The four hours are broken down as follows: two two-hour-long live episodes (one down, one to go) and one 30-minute result show on Thursday at 8:30.

(S03E12) "My favorite act in the competition." - Piers to Nuttin But Stringz

"The biggest talent search in the history," as Jerry puts it, got a tad better with episode 312 thanks to performances such as the one offered by Nuttin But Stringz. The violinist brothers definitely raised up the ante and they totally deserved being the last Top 40 act to perform. Even if the duo helped put the show back on track, a good number of the acts performed in this episode were just not good enough. Yes, I know, I'm repeating myself. But until the judges make sane decisions (are they capable of such a thing?) and put in the Top 40 only acts that really deserve being there, I think the words "not good enough" and "what were they thinking" will be the norm when reviewing America's Got Talent.

(S03E11) "It's too good this year!" - The Hoff

In case you didn't hear, America's Got Talent was renewed for a fourth season. This was, of course, because of amazing ratings that made the show number 1 last week. However, if the judges keep letting poor acts go through to the Top 40, they'll lose viewers every week. The Hoff must be watching different performances than we are because the show is not that good this year. Actually, out of the 10 acts shown in episode 311, half got Xed by at least Piers. Okay, he may be trigger happy, but those acts deserved it.

In one of the most unsurprising news of the day, NBC announces that it is renewing America's Got Talent for a fourth season. The "greatest show in the world," as host Jerry Springer says, is the most-watched summer show so it's no wonder the network wants to continue the adventure and make more money in the process.

Even if millions of viewers watch America's Got Talent weekly, it doesn't mean they are not tired of of some aspects of the show. Some changes are needed if the producers and the network want to score the same ratings next season and maybe bring on new viewers. Here are some of my suggestions:

(S03E10) "This is not talent." - Piers to the ZOOperstars!

Disappointment. That's the right word to sum up how I felt after watching this two-hour episode of NBC's America's Got Talent. The performances were so not up to standards that it was difficult to decide which five acts should move on. After reading a comment written by TV Squad visitor Mitch, I also paid attention to the editing and directing of the live show and I must say that it also was disappointing. The silver lining? Viewers used common sense when voting for Episode 3.09's performances.