"American Idol" is on its stretch run

American Idol's ratings tumbled this past season, and critics decried the competition as the weakest in years. Not only did the series lose another of its original judges in Simon Cowell, but the two they hired the last two years, songwriter Kara DioGuardi and actress-comic-talk show hostess Ellen DeGeneres, followed Cowell out the door. I wrote about the latter a while back, when it was more rumor than fact, and was widely reported more as the latter. Since then, the rumors have been clarified as facts, and on Tuesday, it was made official that the judges' panel is back to a trio for 2011.

As had also been reported elsewhere, Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler and actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, who has previously served as a guest mentor on Idol, will join Randy Jackson on the panel next season. Tyler's hire appeared to have created a rift between the singer and bandmate Joe Perry, based on comments attributed to the latter over the summer. As for J-Lo, her presence all but ensures that husband Marc Anthony may be brought on as a mentor down the road. I believe they're still in the midst of the audition phase for the 2011 season, which begins in January.

But, as the Bard, William Shakespeare, wrote several centuries past, all good things must come to an end, and the coming season is a pivotal one for Idol. Can it regain the viewers it lost? Will the new judges be able to forge their own Idol identities, instead of trying to replace Cowell and Paula Abdul (who left after the 2009 season)? It will make for good television, to be sure, so stay tuned.