I was just looking at the tv guide, and ITV2 are showing American Idol on:
ITV2
Thursday 17th January
20.00-21.00
22.00-23.00

Friday 18th January
22.00-00.00

So FOUR hours of Idol in two days. It looks like ITV2 will be showing Idol episodes weekly on Thursdays. This is because each week in America will have about 3 hours of footage. Personally, it would have been more ideal to have it all in one go on Friday. But oh well.

Are you sure this is right?
8:00pm until 9:00pm then 10:00pm until 11:00pm on Thursday? Why would they have a 1 hour break between episodes?

OMG, my other half is so not going to go for that
One night I could get away with, but not two.

Cos on Thursday at 9 they are showsing "Simon Cowell - American Idol" and on friday between the tho American Idol shows they are showing "Being Simon Cowell"

I'm really looking forward to the auditions...Love AI.

Schedule for the following weeks is:-

Thursday 24th Jan - 8pm - 9pm
Friday 25th Jan - 9pm - 10.50pm

Thursday 31st Jan - Nothing listed as yet
Friday 1st Feb - 9pm - 11.30pm

Really looking forward to american Idol I much prefer the format of this show to the X factor.
Can't wait

I heard that the extra programmes of AI in the US were to fill gaps left by the writers strike.

Is the Friday episode, a rpeeat of Thursday's, or are they new?

They are all new.

OK; Thanks. I think I'll prob be watching the repeats.

It's repeated on Sunday evening as well.

Me too!
I loved Melinda last year, I hope they have a singer like her again.

Thusrday and Friday ? Cr@p idea ! And why so much of it ? I'm sure there wasn't this much last year was there ? I'll just watch the Friday shows I think, there's only so many trailer park wannabe's I can put up with. Sounds like 3 hours of special needs candidates, 30-40 minutes of Abdul,Jackson and Cowell arriving at football stadiums and waving at the crowd with possibly 20 minutes of the real talent that might be in with a shout. I remember picking Mellissa Dolittle, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks (wh'appen to him ?) Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Bo Bice (as per Hicks) Fantasia Wossname all from their auditions. It's too much like like X Factor in so far as they encourage the nutters but better I think, because the talent is greater and the contrestants are more motivated than the bunch of wannabe Ivy diners and China White punters we get here. All imho as per, so don't bother getting into a p*ssi*ing contest with me over it.

Did we see Bucky's audition?

Here's a sneaky peak of what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZZC3YauyI4

I can't wait!

Don't know about you mush but I did, he wore a busted up Toby Keith hat and sang a Travis Tritt song I think, or it could've been a Tim McGraw tune. He blew 'em away on the 99.5 The Wolf FM "12 man Jam" at Billy Bobs club in Fort Worth just before Christmas, appearing with Mark Chesnutt, Lee Ann Womack and a stack of others.

wooo hoooo 1 more hour and i will have the first episode!!!

You never saw Bo Bice's audition. He has released a second album on an independent label as he wanted to return to his souther rock roots

I've just watched the first episode, and really enjoyed it. I must say that a noticeable difference this season is that we are given the background stories of the contestants far more now compared to before. Although there are more sob stories, this isn't divulged into as much as X Factor, which is good.

I was just about to say that - we never saw Bo Bice's audition until either the semi final or final

Urgh nooo! I want it all on fridays. It doesn't seem right to watch it in two parts. Ah well, at least I will be able to go out on Friday nights now

The first album was pretty lukewarm I thought, although I haven't played it for a while, must dig it out and revisit it. i remember Bo Bice made a bit of a cameo appearance on an episode of Southern Chopper on Discovery a year or so ago, where Lynrd Skynrd (sp) were playing a big outdoor festival. I could've sworn I'd seen his audition, all three of 'em just stfu and listened, Abdul's jaw hit the desk although she was probably so juiced she didn't feel it. I wish they'd get rid of that silly old lush.
We'll be watching just the Friday show I think, 3 hrs of nutters, 45 minutes of Cowell & Co. waving at people and 15 minutes of real talent is the usual split for the audition shows. I listen to a Dallas country station online called 99.5 The Wolf and they did a live broadcast from the Dallas auditions last August.

Just watched the first two episodes. It looks like it's going to be a great season!

The guy who auditioned in Dallas at the end of the second episode was a hoot!

Hmmm, when they say 'less star guests' and Ryan says 'the audience will be invested in who these people are', I hope that doesn't mean lots of pathetic sob stories like on X-Factor