Deftones

Definitely not as good as last night.

Red Dog

Watched this show for the first time last night, just because of Stern. Nothing special (not really a talent show fan) and Howard is too normal here, so I won't go out of my way to watch it again. Maybe if I'm flipping through channels during the summer and nothing else is on.

My vote for the million would go to Granny G.

CPA-ESQ.

They must have spent $1million on getting the rights for all the music they are playing throughout the show..

I think one of the reasons I'm enjoying this so much is that they are playing hit songs (new and old) throughout the entire show - the only time they stop is for the act to perform. These familiar songs playing in the background help "speed up" the show and makes it more entertaining.

CRM114

Long time Howard Stern listener and current Sirius subscriber.

I agree that Howard is too mainstream on the show. As my wife said when we were watching, "Howard doesn't change the fact that this show is unwatchable." Nick Cannon and Howie Mandel are brutal. Sharon Osborne is an annoying plastic surgery disaster. I thinkI was most annoyed at those off-stage shots of Nick Cannon during the performance.

Howard is soft. He left some acts through who I never thought he would in a million years.

I planned on watching this but didn't realize it was 2 2-hour episodes a week. I can't take it's crappy acts and bad editing and background music that long.

CRM114

Really? I almost gagged when I had to sit through Dolly Parton and an inane montage of morons.

Deftones

Yeah, I like the music choices.
See, I'm completely in the opposite camp. I've never liked Nick Cannon. At all. But, he's actually a very good entertainer. When he freestyle rapped that one time, he was actually very good. He's also pretty witty. Howie Mandel is also funny, and has had many good one liners. I could do with or without Sharon.

As for Howard being toned down, what did you expect? He's on network TV.

CRM114

I 30-second skipped over that awful Nick Cannon rap. That mix of people just doesn't work for me.

I expected Howard to be more in the Simon Cowell camp. The way Howard hammers Broadway, I thought his poor judge of talent would shine through with him ridiculing acts. I respect Howard immensely as an interviewer/comic but as a judge of talent? Not so much. I respect the other two even less.

bdshort

I've been a fan of the show for a few years, since Cannon took over from Jerry Springer, and I like Howard as the new judge. Not sure if I like him more than Piers and his brutal Simon Cowell style honesty yet, but he wasn't a bad choice. Favorite act from last night was the "You are So Beautiful" guy. Loved his voice and I see him going far on the competition. The contortionist was also amazing.

I sort of feel bad for some of the acts like Grannie G and others, who are entertaining enough for their 90 or so seconds on stage that they get sent to Vegas, but really have no shot at going any further. They get their hopes up, then they are crushed! At least Howard told Grannie G that she basically had no shot of winning but wanted to see her act again.

TomOpus

I've haven't watched the show since the first season. I thought the editing was odd too. Is it like that as the season goes on or is the way they get through a lot of acts in a short amount of time?

RichC2

Last season it wasn't like that and they lingered on with backstory and build up to the acts, this year it feels pre-DVR'd for you.

CRM114

And they'll cut away DURING acts to show Nick Cannon's expressions or something else stupid. The first episode they had some sort of BMX biking thing and they never even showed it. It was like in the background with music playing and then them leaving the stage. Weird.

I honestly don't know how anyone could sit through 2 hours of this show without it being recorded.

Deftones

they can't show every act. just like on american idol, you don't always see the people who get to hollywood week. they do that for many reasons. first, time constraints. second is they keep it fresh by not showing you everything that made it through, so there are new acts to discover. it's pretty much a staple for any competition show.

and cutting away, it's usually to show the contestants family. yes, there are times when they cut away and he makes a joke or two. but it's to break up the monotony that would be sitting there watching 3 people judge other people. that's boring as hell.

TomOpus

It works fine for AI because you can pretty much tell how well they sing from a short snippet. When you have talent acts, I feel like I'm missing stuff. I guess I'm hoping they show more of the acts later on as the number of acts gets whittled down.

CRM114

Yeah, I don't really care what Nick Cannon's reaction is to an act. If it's good, let me watch it and react.

But as far as saving acts for later, I get that. But why show the acrobatic bikers at all?

TerryW

At the start of the first show, they had a montage of clips from all the auditions including Ben Stern on stage (Howard's Dad) from one of the New York shows (which will air next Monday and Tuesday). Be patient, all the footage will air eventually.

whotony

Last seasons topic had a whopping 39 posts including one of mine complaining about the editing that no one responded to.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/10812618-post12.html

"i would like it if they actually showed the acts instead of the two second jump cuts. It gets dizzying at times the way they flash back and forth from the act to Howie mugging then back to the act."

RoboDad

That may be true, but once you take out all of the posts from this thread that are nothing more than insults from the Stern fanatics toward anyone who chooses not to adore him, and you're left with maybe a dozen other posts.

sauce07

Can you point out one of these insults? I see people defending Stern (including myself) but no insults.

islandclaws

Caught an episode of this last night.

Meh - a neutered Stern ain't the Stern for me.

sauce07

Tonight's episode was great, Stern made a 7 year old cry (he deserved to be X'd), the best dog show I've ever seen, Howie describing that band as a cross between Jay-Z and Pink Floyd

But nothing tops The King of All Nut Shots, that guy has a future. That third kick from Nick Cannon made me hurt. One of the funniest things NBC has ever broadcasted.

dino88

Horse's act had me laughing so hard I cried. The show's been pretty weak up until this episode, but there were several good acts tonight. Okay, I'm going to go watch the nut shots again.

Crocker Jarmen

I couldn't figure out why they had a blurr over the nut guy's underwear. It couldn't be because his penis was hanging out, the audience would have been going wild like children if that happened, so I'm guessing NBC thought the bulge was too much for TV. Holy mackeral.

The old guy at the end seemed like the exact same act as that horrible Granny G, though this guy seems more self aware. I kept thinking he was the same actor who played Pierce's ivory-wigged father on Community.

bdshort

My fiancee and I had the same reaction during the lead up to the dogs: "Great, another lame dog act! " Then it started and we were Best animal act they've had on the show, bar none.

Didn't like the "Jay-Z/Pink Floyd" group as much as the judges seemed too. Nut Shot guy was entertaining but is yet another of the "novelty" acts they let through to Vegas but won't make it any further. I felt bad for the 7-year old, but was glad to see him not get sent though. I think in the past they've let too many young kid acts through to Vegas only to not even let them perform there.

sauce07

Last nights episode will be replayed tonight at 8, followed by a new episode at 9.

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Deftones

Yeah, I don't think it was his penis showing. It was just the bulge. The dog act was amazing.