World Idol

I flipped back and forth between the US version on FOX and the Canadian version on CTV and there were some interesting differences. The order of the performances was slightly different and the judges' reactions were edited differently (order and content). Also, the US version had clips from Kelly Clarkson's dressing room.

On the Canadian version you didn't see or hear Ant & Dec at all. All the links and voting information was done by the bloke who hosted our version (I honestly don't like him very much) Also, before commercial breaks they had wide shots of the stage and they must have used some very clever video editing tricks because on the US version, you saw Ant & Dec sitting on the left but on the Canadian version, our host was sitting in the exact same place. But all the audience reaction etc. during these shots was exactly the same.

I think Ant & Dec recorded different links and intros for the US version as they only talked about the American audience. They did have some fun at the beginning of the programme when they explained the voting system to the Americans -- that they would actually have to vote for a foreign country.

On a technical note, both networks did not broadcast the programme in Widescreen. FOX just did 4:3, and CTV had 16:9 LB on their analouge channel and 16:9 "window-boxed" on their digital channel.

If you've got any other questions, I will be happy to answer them if I can.

Cheers,

-- Dan

Can't believe our canadian judge and the polish judge are dissing people. Even Simon didn't really diss people.

RE: Fox - the cable company blocked the Fox signal because CTV (CFRN) was showing World Idol at the same time. Simsub!!!

Well the Polish judge I would agree he was too off-the-wall. But regarding Zack... his demeanor seemed ok, and I applaud him for speaking his own mind - especially regarding Kelly Clarkson - against the other judge's contradicting opinions.

I mean, isn't that how Simon became such a household name? Speaking his mind?

I'd have prefered a live version where ant & dec were the only hosts and chatted to all of the contestants

I agree... I found the show extremely disjointed.

Did viewers in other countries see the little vts before each performance of that particular performers rise the the auditions?

Did viewers in other countries see Simon's opinion more often?

That Polish guy was a little edgey...

And it was funny when Simon said the whole thing was weird... I mean... when you have a arab judge commenting on a Polish singer, or a UK judge commenting on an arab singer... it's a little odd.

It was also funny when Simon said he should have hired a tortoise instead of the Polish judge... just shows the influence he really has in the Pop Idol franchise!

Also... Simon's gf (who you usually see behind him in the audience... she's a stunning dark skinned girl) was in the audience at World Idol too.

Do you know if CFTO HD broadcasted the show in pure HD or was it up converted?

For the Canadian version, we ALWAYS heard from Pete Waterman and Cowell... never from our own judges. I guess our judge was put to shame after Simon went after him.

Yeah, the editors did a fantastic job in hiding the fact our host for Idol wasn't the real host. I was expecting the host taking turns in some of the segments along side the main hosts.

I taped the show, so if anyone is interested in any screencaps or even promos, I'll try and get them up here.

And I thought nothing could be more corny than Eurovision - lets face it, he's no Bono.

Good fun though, but didn't have the same atmosphere that a live show would have had.