the audience applauded

A lot of fun.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

So in this age of reality TV, someone thought it'd be a good idea to cross Dragon's Den with American Idol.Dragon's Den is a British TV programme where business men and women pitch their ideas to a panel of multi-millionaires in the hope of getting investment/help. Their advice is constructive (if often rude), and the program is mainly about the ideas themselves and why they will/won't work.American Inventor is more about the people pitching the ideas than the ideas themselves. The point seems to be to show just how stupid many of the applicants are, and to publicly humiliate them. Those who are successful are shown weeping and hugging each other. It's all enough to make me vomit.

The reality TV ! Hmmmm. After trash like (Big Brother – 2000), then a hit of the age of cheating, manipulating and materialism (Survivor - 2000), to a bigger hit (American Idol – 2002) where the search for a singer is continuous (like we don't have enough !), I felt all the optimism in the world when I heard about (The American Inventor).It's not about how to be a dancer (So You Think You Can Dance), a cook (Hell's Kitchen), a businessman (The Apprentice), a barber (Shear Genius), or a thin (The Biggest Loser) ! It's FINALLY about the brain, the scientific creativity, and the way to produce what's globally important and humanly needed on a big scale.But oh dear, I was wrong ! According to the lousy, dreadfully idiot, first season, the optimistic feeling turned into frustration. Look at the shown inventions, some of them were seriously required to go ahead than others, but dumbly the honorable judges refused. To prefer trivial stuff over simply great ones, like for instance the manual snowplow, is absolutely provocative.And let's save the worst for last. The genius bicycle with a seat in the front.. HA HAA HAAAAA ! That's the winner ?? How for god's sakes ?! And among really brilliant, more useful, inventions ?! I don't know the deal here, but to see such a great innovations fall easily and without logical reasons while other fatuous "thing" hit the million lastly (?!) is not disappointing inasmuch as a disappointment out of the whole program itself.I remember seeing in my country, years before the show, a bicycle as the same "creative" as the one which has won eventually, does that make its miserable maker The American Inventor ?! Actually, despite some kind of fair end that tried to award some of the real meritorious brains, this was nothing but a TV, a thrilling TV work, without the value that I yearned for long.

Idea is great, spoiled big time by the judges.Why make fun of people? if what the inventors say is true, and as most of them say, they spent their life saving on the invention, the minimum is to reject the idea without making fun out of the people.also, it shows when they want to accept an idea by the crier that they added to the judges.The only one i respect out of the judges is the one who always sits on the right of the table, he is a respectable personof course the English snob who claims to be a business man, wearing a suite doesn't make you one pallast but not least, the big guy who sits between the English and the crier. wake up man, the is no job called and inventor for you to call yourself one. an inventor is an attribute not a job man.i think they wanted to add someone like Simon from the American idol, they thought it worked there, it can work here as well. the context is different and the idea is totally different.it is a good idea and they could have done a good show out of it if they just change the judges and remove their act and attitude.just stop making fun of the people.

Let me start with, What is wrong with you people, have you forgotten the basics of making TV? When I first heard of The American Inventor, I said to my self, wow, what a great idea, just couldn't wait till it got on the air. Well, it deputed and what an disappointment. How can a group of producers and show creators take such a great show idea and just trash it. My guess, Some one at ABC said, we need drama, look at Extreme home make over , look at all the tears, it brings in ratings, that's what we want you to do. Wrong. That's the wrong direction for this show. I have been producing TV shows for the past 20+ years, I'm giving you my advise for free, use it.You have a great concept, keep it light, keep it positive, and make it funny, not dramatic. It's more interesting for the audience at home for you to show one stupid invention after another rather then showing people crying and teary eyes. This show has a great potential for a great laughter, use it to your advantage, it will do wonders to your ratings. People have enough drama in their day to day lives, they can use a great comedy relief..The show structure that you are using, no thanks to some idiot from ABC, is the wrong one for your show.The rest of the problems are minor, poor art directions, the set is just poor, the show identity is just not up to par, lighting, just poor, this is one of the worst lit shows I've seen in a long time. Just toooo much drama, this show just doesn't need it. Best of luck to you. Hopefully next time you will listen to your heart, not to someone from ABC that just doesn't have enough creativity, nor experience.