^ You mean the outfit she's been wearing since October?
I think the 09-10 season for Idoling!!!'s TV show has had its ups and downs. I'd take the 07-08 or 08-09 seasons over it any day, but it has been pretty solid overall. I also am not a big fan of the new 5 episodes/2 weeks schedule, especially since it seems like they had a few surplus segments. Come on... How did
Idoling!!! Nikki actually get segments that weren't on the regular show? They were good ones, too... Moshimo Idoling!!! wo Koibito ni Suru nara? with the Piramekino guys at TV Tokyo, a Maniaidol segment about human beatboxing. Then, there's probably a bunch of segments that never aired, like that Beyblade episode that Ayabie attended the recording to. Even if it was boring, it would have aired if they still had the 5 or 4 episodes per week schedule. What really bothers me is that it's clear that they haven't recorded any new episodes in a long time. In all of the non-Futarikiring episodes since #600, except for one, Saori Ishimoto is wearing the same dress.
Speaking of Ishimoto, 09-10 was a surprisingly good season for Fuji TV announcers. When they re-designed the Idoling!!! Web site at the start of the season, Maiko Saito and Sayaka Morimoto were the only Fuji TV announcers listed on the page. Yet, we saw Reiko Endo during the Odaiba Gasshuukoku episodes and Saori Ishimoto starting at #600, both former regulars on the show. We also got to see Mio Matsumura and Yutaka Hasegawa a few times. Now, they just need to bring Yoko Shono back.
I'd also like to see them use Mitsuhiro Nakamura if they can. He was an MC during one of the Boukenoung episodes in 2008 and he was also one of the people during the Mystery Pocket game. That guy is always so nervous about everything, and it's hilarious.
While I'm on the subject of MCs, let's not forget that awful episode with that masked guy. They better not bring him back for 10-11. What a waste of an episode. I'd be pissed if I sent in something for Fan-sama Request, and they used it for that episode.
Looking over the episode from this past season, I'm noticing that they had a lot of guests. Some of the new segments aren't even possible without guests. I'm most surprised by how many of their peers appeared on the show... AKB48, Checkicco, Campus Nighters... Granted, AKB48 is the only non-Fuji-TV-owned group in that bunch, but it's still interesting. I also noticed that they didn't play Iisou Shiritori without a guest, and they only played it 4 times this past season. I was never a really big fan of Iisou Shiritori, but even I think that's kind of sad for a segment that's widely considered a staple of the show.
Throughout the season, I felt that there was a lack of Ganbaring and Maniaidol segments, but as I look through the episodes, there were actually quite a few. For Ganbaring, some of the better ones were Batsuminton with AKB48, staff limbo, catching eels, and staff sack race. We had some really great Maniaidol segments this past season--the Yoshimoto one with Tamayo Shimada, bodyboarding, the reaction one with Tetsurou Degawa, Capoeira... Even the TV Cameraman episode, which sounds soooooo boring, turned out to be hilarious.
Motto waratte. Hime. Hime. Best of all, though, was that Michael Jackson episode. It was even better on Idoling!!! Nikki when they added the real MJ music. Too bad they couldn't go back to the old Maniaidol days where they would spend 5 episodes on the same topic.
New segments were pretty much hit or miss... Nananana Natsukashiing, VS Idzutsu, Toshi no Sa-nante Gokko, and Idoling!!! Derby were all pretty good. Ikemen Idoling!!! was great... I still want a song from those guys. Niramenko was hilarious, especially when Yazawa started slobbering from her laughter.
Moshimo Idoling!!! wo Koibito ni Suru nara is a quite interesting segment, but I'd like to see more celebrities, like they did with the Piramekino guys.
Then, of course, there were also the over-played Machigai Sagashi and Itadakimasu Quiz. They were both decent segments, but they quickly ran those into the ground. I wasn't really fond of the Evangelion and Jojo episodes either, probably because I'm not a fan of either series. So, it was basically watching Idoling!!! open packages for five episodes. Fan-sama Marketing was another segment that pretty much fell flat on its face. It seemed decent on paper, but its scope was just a little too limited, and it didn't really work well. It probably would have worked better if they designed it for the whole group instead of just the 3rd gen members.
Overall, 09-10 was a decent TV season for Idoling!!!, but I'd rank it under all of the previous years. The terrible schedule is mostly to blame. When you're dealing with fewer episodes, a bad episode becomes worse because you have to wait 2-4 days before the next one comes out. On top of that, On Demand customers didn't get much this past year. Most of the episodes had only a minute or two of bonus footage, and a bunch even ended at the same time as the CS broadcast. I miss the old days when segments would almost always run too long, and 30+ minute episodes were the norm rather than the exception. 08-09 was the best in that regard, frequently having episodes that ran well over 40 minutes.
One thing I just thought of... When was the last time they advertised another Fuji TV ONE/TWO/NEXT show at the end of an episode?
Looking forward to the 10-11 season, I only have a few things on my wish list:
- Presentation overhaul. A new set, new song, and new graphics would be good for the show.
- Fix the schedule. This every-other-day thing sucks. Go back to the 5 episodes-per-week schedule.
- More On Demand bonus footage. The On Demand version should never end at the same time as the CS broadcast.
- Bring back Onegai! Fan-sama!!! In my opinion, this is the best Fan-sama segment, and it brought some of the best moments in Idoling!!! history.
I highly doubt that anything on this wish list will come true, but I'm still looking forward to the new Idoling!!! TV season. I hope the new 4th gen members bring some interesting personalities to the table.
Topic: The Idoling!!! Discussion Thread (Read 759816 times)