Thursday 27 September 2012

The Britney & Simon Show (with some fairly good auditions thrown in)

Rhode Island looks like London. Except the sun's shining so I presume we won't be getting pictures of Britney frightened stiff by claps of thunder. There are many clean and fresh looking people around. Simon arrives on some kind of motorised bicycle - with four police outriders and, presumably a camera truck in front of him.

Britney is chatting to some guy on a couch who looks totally knackered. Not a good look.




The camera continues to pick out some pretty girls and a couple of not-so-pretty Greek guys called OG. Why do I think they're going to be rubbish? They remind me of Sparks - one with all the talk and one dumb one. Sure enough, the dumb one just goes Urr from time to time and Britney giggles delightfully which is one of the few reasons for including this extract here! Love that bit.




Dinah Jane Hansen looks like someone who is going to do well. One of 20 at home, apparently. She and her family could have made two InTENsity groups if Paul had been around. 15? Good grief. Nice personality and the crowd warm to her. Your dying for If I were a boy to get to the mid range part. That low, low start is damn difficult but she just manages it. But then, wow, she takes off. She'll be an interesting act to follow. LA Reid actually predicts that Dinah will be one of the finalists! That's quite something.



Now we get Simon and Britney playing with a tiara for some reason that's not that clear. LA Reid looks slightly confused and is probably quite glad that he wasn't asked to wear it. There's some nice chemistry between Simon and Britney which I hadn't expected. She's very relaxed and handling all the attention far more humbly than some I can think of.


I recognise Arin Ray's name. Ah, he was one of the leads in InTENsity (which I genuinely didn't know when writing earlier!) Demi thinks he's, er, 'cute' but not cute in an innocent way, judging by her reaction and loud 'Ooops!' when he tells them he's 16! Ha ha. He's had a good year from the income he must have earned from the Live Show performances last year and whatever shows they all do and looks and sounds the part. another who we'll be seeing more of.



Natalie Martin is Hollie Cavenagh from America Idol, surely? Nice girl, really happy to get a yes from Britney and it's funny to watch Simon anxious to get in with 'and it's a yes from Simon Cowell'! Looks like he's been overshadowed a bit and that was an interesting reaction. We didn't really see enough of the girl to write much more about her, I'm afraid. Her future really will depend on who she manages to get together with at Bootcamp.


Nick Perrelli has the big band sound. Great audition and really makes a big hit with everyone there. Quite unique so far too, which is always a good sign and Simon likes that style too - remember Ray Quinn who he took to runner-up (and that was to Leona Lewis!) a few years ago on X Factor UK?



Beatrice Miller looks tiny. 13. We get about thirteen seconds. What are we supposed to make of that? Oh well, that'll be some more helicopter parents at bootcamp. Nice enough girl but I'd suggest waiting a few years as she's already up against a whole pile of young kids we've seen perform as well so far. That category is going to be huge - we'll need an Unders group!



One4Five. Two guys with plenty of energy doing the rap stuff. Better than a lot we've seen. I hate the reversed colour eyes that one of the guys wears but that's a fashion thing. They sail though and Demi looks excited. Presumably they've over 18 so that's OK.



Just looking at Changyi Li you have doubts. Listening to her pronunciation confirms them! This is going to be one of those 'let's have a laugh' auditions. Hang on... 52!? Good Lord. Painful singing. That's enough. Bye. I said 'Bye' but no they let her go on and insist on showing us far more than some others who were reasonable. Some strange last notes do indeed go on, and on.



Austin Corini. Nice name. Sounds Greek again. A couple of teenies chat him up and get his signature. Hilarious, mainly because he didn't seem at all embarrassed. Staged, I reckon, but never mind. He really ahd better be good after that intro - or maybe it is some great wind-up. Let's see. Yes, not bad. Good song choice and definite teen appeal. Pretty average singing, though, reminiscent of the likes of Lloyd on American Idol. I'm beginning to think that Demi finds everyone cute. LA Reid hits the right note, as does Simon. The guy was clearly experienced at performing but needs to do better. He gets through. there would have been a riot had he not but not sure how much further he'll go unless they really are short of pretty male teens. They've sure got plenty girl teens so he's got 50% right.



We're back in Greensboro' where lots of talent emerged last week. Britney is up and dancing to Nick Youngerman's track. Great sounding audition and a popular youngster we'll see more of for sure.



Jaime. Heavily made-up girl. Shorn bloke. This is one odd couple living in some cuckoo romance story land. His name is Jaime or Jamie. They're a group. They're called Jaime. I can see them performing on a low cost cruise. Simon says exactly what I just wrote. Promise I wrote it first. Dreadful. In many respects. But we wish them well. They look very religious and will probably do lots of good work somewhere.



David Correy doesn't look like the kind of guy who wears make-up but he's got plenty on today which kinda conflicts with the rough image and a body covered with tattoos. A lip ring makes him appear to have an ugly spot. Great voice, though. Nice cover of the Bruno Mars track. Quite emotional judging and you warm to the guy. I can see him creating his own space in the Live Shows, even though he wasn't spectacular.



Tweed Simmons. Tweed? Oh, misread that it's Sophie Tweed-Simmons. She's the Kiss guy's daughter. She wants people to ignore all that but that's not so easy when the famous mum and dad are standing next to her with security guards in the line. Odd. She seems genuine enough though and I like the fact that her parents didn't know if that's true. Nice enough girl. Nice enough voice. But that's about it. She's unlikely to get past Bootcamp unless something exceptional happens.




The camera caught Tara Simon being less than impressed with Sophie and this is not the most likeable of contestants. Shots of girls' expressions in the audience make it pretty clear that if she did release an album they wouldn't, from what they've seen so far, be rushing out to buy them. This girl represents what many observers outside the States don't like about America. The brash, hard-nosed and quite rude attitude, the masculine competitivity and annoying habit of not thinking before she speaks as much as she might. The hat was a typical example of something that neither matched the outfit, a sort of Dorothy dress, and made her appear like some sort of campaign manager for a yacht club, which you could imagine mummy and daddy going to every Saturday for lunch after a round of golf. Golf, yes, that's the image I was looking for - I can just see her going on about how good she is at the game and determinedly discussing the best iron for Hole 7 and why the caddies aren't as good as they should be.

With all this sense of dislike bubbling up you don't really want her to be much good. LA lets her ramble on for far too long and Simon eventually gets a chance and almost his first words are to get her to get rid of the hat. Brilliant move, Simon. well done! Someone had to tell her. LA carries on again. The two girls look a bit uncomfortable and you can't help thinking that they don't like her very much either.

She does start singing after a while and the first few lines are way too low and it sounds like she's trting far too hard to control the pitch. Then she moves up the register and plays with the notes and is way up there in Mariah carey land. In that aspect she does shine and deserves the praise she gets from the judges. She does also seem genuinely delighted to get through but the constant pumping up that she verbally gives herself (and physically with press-ups and bizarre facial exercises that are not good tv) is annoying. I guess if we didn't see all that, or the back chatter, then this would have been simply a case of 'good singer with some talent gets through' and that would be that. Perhaps this is a reminder of how these shows are, indeed, very 'produced' and how editing can easily make someone popular and another not. Interesting. She deserves her place at Bootcamp but, as Simon said, she's a drama queen and I cannot imagine that in the intervening weeks she will have changed her attitude sufficiently to be able to get on with many others there. I predict some cringeworthy tv and arguments in a future edition and not a great deal more unless all the others they want to put through are nice and they need someone like this as a sort of 'she's good but no-one likes her' strapline. But let's move on...



Darryl Black comes across with all the right words. 'You still gotta go home and cut the grass'. The audience and judges will like that so let's hope he's good as he and his family make good tv. A unicycle and some leather shorts! Now why didn't Tara come out with something user-friendly like that. He doesn't look old enough to have five children. If he doesn't make it he would make a good presenter. Nice voice, too. This guy looks like a shoe-in for the Live Shows in my book from just the few lines at the start. It wobbles a bit and gets a little average but, with some marketing and mentoring - that's what two of the judges, at least, can do well - then he'll go far. Nice job.




The last contestant we meet in Part 1 this week is a young kid called Trevor Moran. I don't know what they feed kids in California (yes, we've lost the Cow Palace again and back in sunshine!) but there are a lot that are pretty confident at an age when I was playing with Corgi Toysand singing in St Albans Abbey choir and not really saying a greta deal to anyone very loudly.

He's lively and enjoys making videos and, probably staged, meets up with another youngster and the dance around to Call Me Maybe in the holding area, recording themselves and a large camera light on a laptop. Hey, why not? Bags of personaility and you're thinking that this'll be a fun audietion with some angelic voice getting all the audience cheering or oohing a lot. Watch the video. I won't give away where this episode ends other than to say that I swear the producers must have nicked some editors from soap operas here in the UK.





Friday 21 September 2012

Greensboro. Nice People. Bad Weather. Week 2 Pt 2

Nice intro sets the scene for Greensboro. The whole town seems to have gathered in nice neat trapezium shapes outside another strange building that looks like it might once have been a cinema or something. Britney looks different but very relaxed and seems to be settling into this role very easily. Demi follows the others mostly. LA looks sharp and business like and Simon stops off for some grits, with a great fake accent, on the way.




Willie Jones  is 17 and a happy chap from Louisiana. He does the Yes Sir bit to LA, even after he's told he needn't. Now this is a young black guy with a fancy hairdo with the shaved lines in the side and comes out singing country! That takes people by surprise. Although I didn't think he hit the notes particularly well, everyone gives him the most remarkable praise and it looks like he's going to be a sure-fire name on the Live Show list. If he can sort the pitch out then I reckon he could sing anything and get a good reaction. Nice guy too.





Kalvin McManigle is quite useless. Old and all I can remember is that he had a massive hat and put lawnmower handles on, well, on lawnmowers.





Julia Bullock is 18 and sings Pumped Up Kicks. She's great, a nice sound, current, true pop and could do well.  Someone needs to advise her on make-up and I'd expect to be looking completely different when we next see her but that's not a big problem. So far, there haven't been many lively, pop girls so she could go far if she survives the traumas of bootcamp. We get some shots of the ex-boyfriend and it's all about contrived. Even Demi's first question about who she's come with seems rehearsed or to a script. Julia then gets to mention the band and so on. The ex looks pretty down and you wish the cameras would leave him alone, although not clapping when she gets the judges' rave reviews wasn't a good move. To be honest, I don't see why they couldn't still work with her if she's successful, or at least, if she wants, they get to try so I missed the point of another piece of pretty much over-edited stuff.






Which Pepsi flavor will be the X flavor? Dragon, Freeze, Fire or…what the heck are these soda names? What does a Dragon taste like? Simon Cowell likes Freeze, in case you were wondering?

Krysten Colon is a hairdresser with a terrible hairstyle. She's so nervous and the camera catches the whole of her body shaking. You kinda feel sorry for her as she starts with Adele's Don’t You Remember and she's not at all bad despite all those nerves. She wants to do a gospel song but Simon, unusually, sends her off to rehearse something else. I think that's one of the first times I've seen someone get that sort of second chance. It may be that they do and we just don't see it happen. As LA says, You got a break. She sure did.





Jeffrey Gutt,at 36, is a candidate for the Overs category and has the cute kid with him which is getting to be a staple diet for these shows these days. Nice guy - he did remind me of an Amish guy without the beard and trimmings at times. They all seem to be pretty nice people in Greensboro and Jeffrey, too, does the Yes Sir thing which must be something to do with the local school there. Anyway, he does Hallelujah, which Simon must have heard a thousand times now (it was even the Finale sing-off track a few years ago in a UK edition or maybe American Idol). It didn't sound that great to me, he puts a rock gravelly thing in there which is an interesting voice and he hit the high notes nicely but I didn't get the huge ovation and rave reviews they gave him. Simon appears to be losing his memory as he's coming out with That was the best audition I've heard just a little too easily nowadays. Must be an age thing, or just the influence of this nice town.

Midway through Britney's review there's a massive thunderclap and she remarks that even God liked that version. Not so sure that was what God meant but never mind.






Next comes a whole bundle of what we probably wouldn't normally see - except that there's lightning, thunder and the rain's getting in. I've got water falling on me has to rank as one of Simon Cowell's least smart quotes. He opens an umbrella later and perhaps that was an unlucky sign for this batch of contestants. All them were rubbish. Move on.







The show ends with Krysten Colon getting a second chance. Now, from past productions, you expect the last one to be brilliant. So we hope so but this is dreadful. Oh dear. Stop now. they let her go on far too long. This is going to be difficult, especially with the second chance thing.

Just as she gets really bad there's a massive clap of thunder. Britney's reaction is so funny!! In fact, I wonder whether that's the only reason we get the two shots of this girl. Ah, it might be the violent and nasty stuff she does backstage, including picking up a chair and swearing at everyone. Hmmm. So much for the school she went to. Obviously not a Greensboro one.



That's it. Not the spectacular run of talent like Part 1 this week but three or four that we may see more of. But a little less contrived editing, folks, next time, please. That was an example of trying too hard. I can just hear them talking in the editing suite. Hey we've got this thunder going on! Yeah, but the acts are rubbish. OK but let's run them together and that bad girl, we can have her go out with a bang...








Now That's What I Call An X Factor Show! Week 2 Pt 1

It may be because they've got more people but -even with Louis Walsh standing in for Simon Cowell - X Factor USA is way better so far this year than X Factor UK. They're like two completely different programmes at times. So, well done to the production team and maybe they can come and sort out the series over here. This was either a long, long show or there have been a record number of genuinely decent acts going through to bootcamp. I counted thirteen at least and there's a clip for each in this post, for which a huge thank you to MJ on MJSBlog, without whom no-one here in the UK would have a clue as the Series hasn't even started to be shown!

So here's my take on what you've already gathered is a pretty fine selection.



Simon's not around. Is it a prank? asks LA. Louis? Who the hell is Louis?! LA clearly hasn't been following X Factor for long in other countries. You do kinda feel sorry for the stand-in, though, with the so much less well fitting clothes and, despite an effort to modernise his new hair, he is very grey. Louis looks anxious to please and, once more with feeling, tells them how many million records Westlife and Boyzone sold. Luckily, no-one asks who Westlife and Boyzone are.



The first act is a strange looking All American throwback who looks more suited to the 50s movie scene than a singer. He says Yes Sir a lot. He surprisingly does a rap number making it up as he goes and it's OK if you like that sort of thing and millions do. I just don't think I want to see him week after week in the live shows and, judging by Britney's body language, her 'yes' was probably a mental 'no'.




CeCe Frey is attractive and confident. You almost are willing her to be good as you can sense the audience losing interest in her. They're not over fond of this type. To begin with she's dreadfully off-tune and I'm fearing the worst but if you can get your mind into the same key as she's singing in and ignore the backing track then she's very good. I'm sure they'll get that sorted out at bootcamp and she's a good package with a refreshingly feisty but not overbearing style and certainly interesting.




Vino Alan is an older guy who has a stange shape head and chin and a whole load of scribbling on his head which is enough to put me off but I'll try and remain impartial. His voice is excellent, very soulful and he belts out Trouble very well, every note spot on. He's going to stand out against a lot in this series and could be around a while if no-one else crops up with a similar voice.




My complimentary remarks about the producers nearly got retracted when this 'act' comes on. The banter from Deangelo Wallace beforehand is much as we get elsewhere and you dread what he's going to be like in front of the judges. As it happens he's pretty reasonable, behaviour-wise. He can't sing, though, and in normal weeks the hand would have gone up, a quick vote, maybe a bit of argument and he'd be on his way home. For some obscure reason we get shown the judges just getting up and walking off while he carries on. To give the guy some credit, he does make an effort, standing there all on his own with a ruddy great audience staring at him and not exactly winning their affection with great singing cannot, I don't care how self-confident or annoying he is, is worthy of some credit.

Now if that wasn't spectacle enough, you now get the guy wandering off and, apparently still has the radio mic and that is still connected as there's a guy running after him with the receiver. Some admin girl calls the cops and he gets arrested, claiming that he took the mic to get something out of the show. Sorry, but I don't buy any of that at all. Unless we're not shown something, and I suppose that is entirely possible as many acts do two performances, retakes and the like too, of which we only see clips from one if at all, then this was a set-up for our entertainment and he'll have been paid a bit for his trouble too.




Tate Stevens looks and sounds the part, with his big white stetson, print shirt and blue jeans. Totally natural, apart from the hat, I imagine that's how he gets out of bed most mornings. Howdy says LA. Well, what else could he say? I usually rap, says Tate. I like this guy already. Great sense of humour, totally natural and boy can he sing well too. I wonder whether this is another set-up and we'll discover that he's already a recording artist that sold millions in the 60s but has since been forgotten. No. the audience love him - he's their kinda man, I suppose, and he just has this immense likeability factor about him and a cool radio crooning voice. Not really what I'd want to see win X Factor as we've had a few of those already but he could be pleasantly reliable material if needed for the genre.




Now we're back at the Cow Palace. Weird name. San Francisco, too. Not the sort of name you expect for a grand, well fairly grand, building in San Francisco but there you go. Simon Cowell returns so that's no more Louis.



Citizen is a group of five reasonably good-looking mid-twenties guys. Some have decent voices but they seem to come from somewhere in the 70s with tedious dance moves and an instantly forgettable performance. They get through, though.




First of the kids. Diamond White could be a brand of toothpaste but is also the name of a 13 year old girl on the stage, smiling. Simon insists that she doesn't sing Adele and the expression on her face is as if that was precisely what she was going to do. I get the feeling there have been one great big load of people doing Adele numbers that we don't get to see. Probably just as well. She sings This Is  Man's World which really should be her sort of song on any count. She's pretty good, gets those low notes that most girls wobble round but the top ones are tinny and she really doesn't make them either. For all that she's got something and, although she gets through I almost wish she hadn't and had had a few years to mature as she's definitely got some star quality but just seems a bit too early. She could get a bit annoying but probably not as much as Rachel last year.

She gets four yesses. Oh my goodness, she remarks. Oh my God, says her mother.




Ally Brooke comes on with a trilby, looking interesting. Quite mature for her age. She's OK, in some places excellent, in others quite weak. I'm not sure how much further she'll go but Simon is very complimentary. She does rather go on at the end when most people would have quit while they were winning.




Brandan Hassan we only get a glimpse of. He does Trouble too and is younger, more marketable and maybe even sounds better than the guy before who did that. Cheerful young guy who could well finish up in  band that they put together. I just have that feeling.



Very brief shot of Norman Hamilton who seems pretty strong and gets straight through.




Another blink-and-you-missed-it audition from what sounded like a brilliant girl group called Sister C. They look great, sound fabulous and are quite unique. watch out for them if they don't crash and burn en route.




Another brief clip of Jeremiah and Josh. Good grief, they must have had some good Old Testament loving parents. Good start to their original number but we don't get a great deal to judge by. Britney loves them, or one of them for sure, and gets delightfully embarrassed when Simon picks up the I'd like you to wake me up in the morning remark she made and runs with it!




First large lady of the series, I think. You just know Panda's going to be good. There she stands in her old flip-flops and not exactly flattering dress that looks like it's seen better days. She's simply so glad to be there and sings her heart out. Absolutely great, honest, straight performance. She can sing and you can imagine her on an album, just as long as they didn't put her picture on it. Obviously through and I love the way she was taken aback but all the praise. She gets all breathless off-stage and an ambulance carts her off with her hoping that Simon doesn't see me like this. Too late, Mrs. Sorry. However good she may be, and the Overs group is already looking quite fascinating, I don't see her coping with all the week by week specialisms and dancing etc. Still, Josh did pretty well last year.




I think they try to save what they believe is the best till the end. Jessica Espinoza is, indeed, excellent. She has a strong, slightly husky voice that cracks on certain notes in a pleasing way and she can sure get the emotions across in a very difficult Pink song, Nobody Knows. She's one of the best this episode and, whilst there is no self-confidence showing and she's had a tough life, I can see that changing.

What a good selection and show that was (or will be for UK fans!) Something to look forward to. Take note UK producers. That's the way to do it.






Friday 14 September 2012

The Star of Week 1: Carly Rose, 13.

X factor USA auditions. Day 2. Cue shots of long queues and some building called Cow Something. Sometimes the UK locations do look a lot more inviting! We start with a photogenic mother insisting that her photogenic son do more than just try. Fair enough, actually, and so far we haven't had those helicopter mothers following their children everywhere which really spoilt bootcamp viewing last year.



Jonny Maxwell is first on and bravely does something he's written himself. Looks like it's going to be a disaster but it isn't. Not the most tuneful of voices and he's nervous, probably worrying about what his mother will say more than the judges, at the outset. Then he gets into it and this is actually one well-written rap song that works and even the judges admit to getting the catchy bit stuck for a while after. Not a winner but rightly through to bootcamp.




Now we get another of those contrasts that whoever put the frames together seems to like this year. Homely blonde Paige Stroobach v dark and sexy Lexa Berman. We get to see Lexa but not Paige, well not yet anyway but they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of adding Paige's name to the frames if there isn't more of her another day.



Lexa is confident and has the sort of body that just sizzles, and she knows it. Her voice isn't at all bad but she's a bit out of tune and definitely out of favour with Demi and Britney. They don't like her. Simon does, (memories of someone whose name escapes me now who just made the live shows but was pretty smartly out too), but LA Reid stays quiet or, at least, we don't get his vote and Lexa's off, pretty disappointed.

We then see Paige noting that that is what not to do. Not, to be fair, would she have been able to. anyway, that'll be for another day, I suppose.



Next comes Jason who has a Japanese boyfriend and just oozes that familiar gay charm. No-one expects him to be anything other than nice. He's looking a little overwarm and talks just a bit too much, irritating Simon and beginning to wear the girls too. But he is teh big surprise of the evening with a stunning audition, quite different from other acts to date and, in fact, I'd find it hard to match him to anyone from last year. Some style and he just lives the song and puts it across wonderfully. A great find and he would sem to be a sure-fire fit for the live shows with that personality too.



I wasn't going to include this clip. It's not pleasant and actually quite creepy. This fellow seems obsessed with Britney and has brought some flowers from a local garage. they sit on the stage bizarrely in front of him. He can't sing, thank God. He needs to get off but doesn't and that is one of those brief moments when you want some massive bouncer to come on and pull him off. Luckily the flowers gives Simon an opportunity to send him off in a reasonably friendly way and life goes on. I wouldn't sell that guy a gun, though.

Let's move on, quickly.

It's the last act and this tiny looking 13 year old Carly Rose Sonenclare is with her parents. They seem pretty reasonable, so that's a good sign. On stage she looks confident and cute in a delightfully plain way. When she sings, though, forget Jessica Sanchez, this girl is good, very good. Absolutely spot on with the notes and I'm Feeling Good ain't no simple song either. La Reid is clearly blown away and you can just feel the warmth in the others' smiles as she gives us a full version from start to finish - perfect.

This is the best so far. Possibly too young to have the real range and personality to win but surely a must for the Live Shows. Remarkable.

Thursday 13 September 2012

Now, THIS is the X Factor!




It was Britain's X Factor that produced One Direction, who open Season 2 of X Factor USA this week but I can't see the show on any channels here in Britain so, with enormous thanks to MJ's Big Blog, here are the highlights from the first show.



Simon Cowell seems to have got the judges right and the crowd certainly voiced their approval loudly, especially for Britney Spears, who seems a natural in this role and comes across as confident, with views she's happy to express and we're not clouded by memories of her teenage performances or past problems. Demi Lovato is not someone I'm aware of but is clearly a big star over the pond. She's got amazing photos all over the web but looks pretty ordinary on the panel. The jury's out on her as a judge but these are very early days. LA Reid seems to have got smaller since last year.

The first act is fairly safe and average. You can see this is going to be quite a heavily produced first few weeks with a story developing from the start - check out the blond girls...





Naturally, it wouldn't be X Factor without some dumb auditions. At least we don't have a dumb compere, though. It seems to work without a Ryan, Dermot or, please don't remind me, a Steve, but I guess they'll get someone on for the live shows as and when we get there.



Here comes the first kid. Seems a nice boy. The audience love him and if he doesn't make it on his own I can see Simon dropping him in a boy band later.



Now we get the Kaci story. You can skip this if you like. It's not good.



Next comes the cringe and laugh moment. I guess every week needs its weirdo.



Back to what the show is all about and, unlike X factor UK, we do actually get to see a group before week 4 and this one we'll be seeing a lot more of.



After some more embarrassing attempts and some guy who once duetted with Britney, not easy watching as he's neither very good nor did it seem fair to expect Britney to comment on someone she'd worked with ten years ago - all a bit odd for my taste but it may have made good tv - after all that we get a really pretty girl with a rock edge and an audition that worked on all levels. Imagine her with better clothes and an Essex tan and, although it's a long way to go to the live shows, she's a contender.



Now, brace yourself for the big emotional closing act. This one really does get the full treatment. I'm not sure how far this girl will really get but she certainly won a few hearts here tonight.



And just to close things off and get us wondering what else is to come, there's a montage of what's in store. I like the Brit references at the start! Pity no-one else has made it across the pond though. Strange how few have actually crossed over from any of this type of show.