Let's start with J.Lo: I don't know if she's been well coached, but she convincingly acts like she's watched the show before. And again, I've seen her movies, so acting is not exactly what you'd call her strongest suit. So far, she can't say no to contestants, and finds a way to at least compliment their clothing, but I've got a hunch that the niceness will wear off after a few episodes. Once the auditioners stop fawning over her for being J.Lo, that is. I do worry that no one explained to her or Steven Tyler that some of the singers are just getting airtime for comic relief and that some dreadful people will make it through.

As for Randy, the most telling moment was when Jennifer asked him, "How did you do this for 10 years?" Oh, like he had anything better to do. And for the majority of that time he mostly just sat on the end and said "pitchy" and "dawg" a lot. It's only now that he's been forced into the role of actually having to have an opinion. He's slid on down to Simon's chair and is trying to act like a professional. It's different, but he still lacks the authority that he needs. I'm not saying that he should try and be Simon, because that would be an epic fail, but he's the veteran on this panel and the one who knows what this show is all about -- he should at least try and keep the others on track. I'm not sure he's got that ability in him, but then again, there's probably not a person on the planet with the ability to keep Steven Tyler in check.

The Aerosmith rocker is definitely the wild card here, saying pretty much anything that comes into his head, and goofily singing and playing along with those who have talent and those who don't. In all honesty, for me, it's refreshing to see someone have that much energy and enthusiasm when faced with the ear-splitting horrors that confront these folks, and it's much more watchable than seeing the typical judges' reactions of hiding behind a piece of paper and trying not to snicker in their faces. Yes, it comes across crazy and weird, but that's what happens when you take too many drugs in your youth (or middle age).

And I've missed having someone incomprehensible on the panel. "What's with the jujubes on your oojubes?" What the hell does that mean? "We're all here because we're not all there." Probably very true, though completely apropos of nothing. "Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?" It may not be Simon Cowell harsh, but it sure isn't exactly warm and fuzzy. Then again, the contestants just seemed so baffled (and a lot of them starstruck) that they didn't get mad at the Aerosmith front man the way they did with Simon... So we've got J.Lo killing them with kindness and Steven Tyler killing them with confusion. It just might work.

That said, it is gross to see the rocker, who isn't exactly what you'd call young any more, flirting with all of the women. I just hope that this doesn't encourage the Bikini Girl wannabes out there to strip down in hopes of getting a spot on the show, though the producers probably wouldn't complain. But they're probably more worried about FCC fines given that a teaser for the season had Tyler quoted as saying, "Well hellfire save matches, fuck a duck and see what hatches." Yeah, that can be nicely bleeped out during the audition rounds, but he not realizing that he swore might be a problem when the show goes live. Hope there's a tape delay, for their sakes.

Anyway, there have been a lot of concerns about there not being a mean judge this season, but not having a consistently cranky person works for The Sing-Off and So You Think You Can Dance. Though, in those cases, the judges offer up constructive criticism (with occasional crazy thrown in for good measure), so it remains to be seen if J.Lo, Randy and Steven can get it together to actually critique the wannabes without tearing them down completely. Speaking of SYTYCD, do you think Steven Tyler and Mary Murphy were separated at birth? They both have similar hair and a love of screaming at the top of their lungs at any opportunity. If she's having vocal troubles next summer, perhaps she can have him help out.

Again, while Idol is still pretty much the worst, what with the talentless singers just trying to get five minutes of fame and a few genuine pop talents making it through to the finals only to be voted out by the American public, I'm willing to give it another shot as long as these new judges continue to bring a little something unexpected to the table. And as Julie Chen reminded me on The Talk the other day (yes, secret shame), when we first saw Idol, we didn't know from Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, and had practically forgotten Paula Abdul, and yet we grew to love to hate them all. So, sometimes, it's good to be exposed to new things. And regardless of how the season turns out, we'll still get Simon back on The X-Factor in the fall. Can. Not. Wait.

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