Whatever happened to Chuck?

Remember when Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) left "Happy Days" after Season 6 and the show was never the same again? I know you do. No matter how they tried, or who they added to their cast (i.e. Roger, Mrs. C's nephew...he was good looking...but he didn't have Richie's boyish charm), they never regained their footing as a seasoned staple on ABC. Without those key personalities you connected with from week to week (even Ralph Malph disappeared), it just wasn't that interesting to watch. Sometimes it was even painful.

That is kind of how I feel right now watching "American Idol." Last night's episode with Neil Diamond was a snoozer....and the only excitement of the evening was Paula Abdul's upstaging the "real entertainment" of the show (the idols themselves), by confusing how many times Jason Castro really sang. Some of your most notable personalities are now gone off the show....the ones that added so much color to the competition week after week. Although they may not have been my most favs (Amanda, Chekezie, Michael, and now Carly), I still enjoyed seeing them perform. They brought flavor to the show. Now instead of having Baskin Robbin's 31 Flavors on Idol, it seems like we are limited to McDonald's Vanilla only ice cream. Although McDonald's tries to disguise their vanilla by putting it in sundaes, shakes, smoothies, etc., it is still vanilla no matter how you mix it. Now that the list has been narrowed down to the Final 4 (just said goodbye to Brooke), the "taste" of the show is so bland. Can somebody say, "Amen?"

Maybe this happens every year at this time and I have just forgotten. But I miss some of the "friends" we have made along the way in watching AI this year. We have a lot of fun as a family predicting who we think will win....who we think will get voted off, etc. Lately, you will see a lot of internet buzz about the show losing its "people power".....meaning that its viewership is slowly dwindling. Maybe AI is running its course just like Happy Days did.