It's hard to be choosy about what to watch on TV without cable. Around 8 p.m. on any given weeknight you can count on CBS for its third hour of "Everybody Loves Raymond" reruns, NBC will have an extreme reality show or a stress-inducing drama involving police, firefighters and/or lawyers and ABC usually comes through with an overly dramatic news show featuring a thrilling investigative report on topics like how to escape from man-eating fish that walk on land in Thailand.

And these are the Emmy Award winners.

By the time I found my roommate frighteningly close to guessing an accurate value for a pilgrim's hope chest on "The Antique Road Show" and truly interested Jerry Falwell's advice on child rearing, I realized we'd hit a new low.

This is my excuse for being hooked on "American Idol."

A "Star Search" fan from way back, Fox's spring publicity plugs caught my attention. I had become acquainted with the British spin-off while studying in London last fall. Though I had watched a few episodes during the semester, I have no idea who won or what happened to his or her career.

Back then Simon was only being cruel to musical hopefuls on the other side of the pond, no one had heard of Randy outside a small circle of Columbia music producers and Paula Abdul was "Straight Up" washed up.

Although I managed to find more worthwhile ways to spend my time in Britain, I'm sorry to say I didn't have that luxury this summer in South Bend.

I actually watched the first episodes without knowing the commitment that would be required. I assumed the judges would narrow the contestant pool within a week or two and we'd have a new Britney wannabe by Independence Day, not Labor Day.

But alas, it's three months later, I'm still hooked and I'm not alone.

Throughout the summer my fellow "Idol" addicts emerged. My sister, my roommates, co-workers at my summer internship, even my mom had to watch when I went home for a week and couldn't miss an episode.

My parents have digital cable. I was out of excuses.

Within days of the program's launch, newspaper and magazine articles, Web sites and even an e-mail-based fan newsletter emerged. By mid summer talk show appearances and magazine covers were pervasive.

It's the perfect media circus; but is it anything more? What is the appeal of "American Idol?"

The show has been consistently referred to as a combination of "Star Search" and "Survivor," but "Idol" went one step further with audience participation. Fox was so sure of the success of its marketing campaign it decided to rely upon America for the contest's outcome.

In one sense it seems necessary that Fox ask for the nation's input if it's prepared to guarantee the success of this new idol with a $1 million record contract , but in another it hardly seemed to be our choice. Fox sauntered into the summer season and announced what we would enjoy. The judges gave us 10 options, four of which had essentially the same name and another six with arguably the same manufactured identity. Is that really a choice? And is the show even a setting that reveals true talent? Somehow I don't see Bob Dylan and John Lennon having made the cut.

But this summer, it was impossible for the show to fail. Fox knew it could own the Nielsen's simply by giving viewers the illusion that we could control the rise of a popular star. But were those water cooler debates over who sounded better belting out karaoke favorites really that heated or did we know all along it was coming down to Kelly and Justin?

Fox's dream is fleeting. Another three-month "Idol" season would be a disaster. Though we all had fun this summer chatting cattily about how Tamyra's hair looked straightened or coyly mentioning our theories about Christina Christian's suspicious departure, the novelty will wear off. The shameless plugs for Coke and the Ford Focus are already hackneyed and in two years it's doubtful that anyone, even "Idol" addicts , will remember Kelly Clarkson's name.

Idol has been a great demonstration of the power of mass advertising, but the American attention span is a short, if coveted, commodity. Winning the contest is one victory, but obtaining any lasting success in the music industry will be a much bigger battle for the future idol.

By next year, I might be able to afford cable.

Kate Nagengast is a senior American Studies major, journalism concentration, managing edior of The Observer and infatuated with pop music. She insists on being called Britney around the office. Contact her at knagenga@nd.edu.

The opinions expressed in this coulmn are those of the author and not nesessarily those of The Observer.

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