Idol Will Miss Paula's Crazy Antics

The true reality show is at the judges' table, after all
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 7, 2009 9:30 AM CDT
Idol Will Miss Paula's Crazy Antics
In this April 6, 2008 file photo, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell are seen on stage at the "Idol Gives Back" fundraising special of "American Idol" in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Paula Abdul “walked away from a multimillion-dollar salary, a gig that brought her out of obscurity”—but it’s American Idol that will smart the most from her departure, writes Jeanne McManus for the Washington Post. “She generally contributed absolutely nothing to the verdict of the talent that stood before her,” but she will be missed at “that dysfunctional, squabbling dinner table known as the panel of judges.”

“The real reality TV is the group dynamics at that table and even, sometimes, under that table,” she continues. “Who can replace Abdul there?” Abdul was the quirky, kind “Baby Sister” to Randy Jackson’s “well-intentioned Middle Child” and Simon Cowell’s “smart, self-assured First Born.” Kara DioGuardi only served to crowd the table, and functioned, at best, as “the family Siamese cat: Sit on the table, sulk, preen.” (More Paula Abdul stories.)

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