The X Factor

Regarding that last note, in the new book "I Want My MTV," one scribe not only credits "The Real World" with giving us reality TV, but also with being the second-to-last nail in the music channel's music video-playing coffin. Ratings were so spectacular that the suits took the ... moreonly approach they could think of: fewer videos, more drunken arguments.

Simon Cowell would say "American Idol" is what put the reality TV music competition on the map, and he wouldn't be wrong. But leaving it to launch "The X Factor"? Remains to be seen. The record sales, that is. Much can be said about "The X Factor," but for me, it really all boils down to this: It ain't "American Idol." Not by a long shot. Except for the Abdul meltdowns, of course.

Let's take a look at the talked-about in reality TV land:

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(FOX)