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MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Paul F. Tompkins

See all their articles from across New York Magazine
  1. tribute
    Paul F. Tompkins: Impersonating Garry Marshall Felt Like Spending Time With Him The comedian on what drove him to impersonate the director for almost a decade.
  2. overnights
    American Idol Finale Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Loves That It’s Over So BigHis long country-scored nightmare has come to an end.
  3. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Makes It to the Final Round Alive!“I am excited that it is the last two nights, but not about watching the last two nights. It’s like if you referred to the night before you had kidney stones removed as ‘Kidney Stone Eve.’”
  4. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Homecomings and Disasters, Both Natural and Show-RelatedWho likes country music? Because you have no choice in the matter.
  5. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Sees the Light at the End of the TunnelHis head hurts from trying to parse Ryan’s statement that Beyoncé is “a triple threat two times over.”
  6. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Enrique, Jordin, and Another Tear-Stained EliminationRyan says of the contestants, “All four will get to go home and see their families, but only three will do it in style.” I guess the fourth one has to go home hanging off the side of a train, like in India.
  7. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Lady Gaga TutorialScotty appears to be calmly but eagerly studying Lady Gaga to see if there is some gender trickery going on, as he’d heard tell of such shape-shifters and wants to be on guard against bewitchments.
  8. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Tears and Omelette Making, Not Necessarily in That OrderMaybe I should have asked this before, but are we supposed to like Ryan Seacrest?
  9. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Breaks Down James’s Song-Induced BreakdownThat was a bad performance. This is a singing contest, not a crying competition.
  10. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Carole King Aftermath and the World’s Oddest Viewer Questions“One question caught my eye because it was astounding in its self-absorption, another because it involved a very specific type of dream.”
  11. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Carole King NightGuest mentor Babyface looks good! He could be referred to at most as Adolescentface!
  12. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Elimination Kanye West Stopped By ForPlus, Casey shows off a fan-made painting.
  13. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Contestant Impersonation NightThese kids are all really good at imitating each other. Maybe that should be the show: one month of establishing who they are as individuals, then one month of them mocking each other in clip packages.
  14. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Movie-Night Fallout“Am I being hard on a bunch of kids who entered a contest? If so, I am the only one.”
  15. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Movie-Music NightPerhaps advance knowledge of this theme led to Pia’s being voted off — it was all to avoid her inevitable cover of “My Heart Will Go On.”
  16. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Is Shocked to Feel Bad About an EliminationHe wonders what has gone wrong in his life that he will actually miss an ‘Idol’ contestant.
  17. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Night“So, Will.I.Am is on the show every week, now? It is seriously giving me anxiety that his presence on the show appears to be open-ended.”
  18. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Double EliminationThis is the “fall back” side of the daylight saving time seesaw that balances out the “spring forward” of the Judges’ Save.
  19. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Elton John Night“I wonder what the ratio of early/good to late/garbage will be in the songs we hear.”
  20. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Weighs In On the Casey SaveOh, the mind boggles trying to imagine the turbulent seas churning in Casey’s perfidious stomach upon this hour!
  21. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Motown WeekMotown classics are undeniable works of art, the result of concentrated greatness, and they will live forever in the pantheon of songwriting. But many of these treasured songs I never, ever want to hear again, ever in my life, hear me God.
  22. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Second EliminationScotty is becoming an exact doppelgänger of George W. Bush. By the end of this season he will at least own a baseball team.
  23. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Endures the Birthday Song Choices“But think of it, gentlemen: what if they sang a song from the year they will die?”
  24. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the First Big EliminationBut first, let’s get ready for the placement of some products!
  25. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Judges the Top Thirteen“The top thirteen will be working with producers from Interscope records. This is a big deal, because the music industry is doing so great!?
  26. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Judges the Final Thirteen“I don’t know why they can’t just stick to ten people. People like the decimal system; it’s comforting.”
  27. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Top Twelve Women“I find it hard to believe all of these kids would be choosing stuff ever-so-slightly out of their range. But maybe they like a challenge! All of them!”
  28. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Top Twelve MenThey pick their own songs. Is that good news or bad news?
  29. overnights
    American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Makes It Through the Final 24 Fake-OutsWe have our finalists, but Steven Tyler never masters the art of “Bad news … you made it!”
  30. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins’s American Idol Recap: Las Vegas Makes J. Lo and Beatles Fans CryThe judges start to narrow it down to 24, and the task may break Jennifer Lopez.
  31. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps American Idol’s Solo NightI was relieved to see that the contestants are going back to singing individually, even though I knew I would not like most of their singing.
  32. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps American Idol’s Group NightWhy are they really doing this, I wonder? Is ‘American Idol’ broke, and they’re subcontracting sleep-deprivation studies?
  33. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps the Kickoff of American Idol’s Hollywood Week“327 contestants will parade across the stage, but only none of them can justify this arbitrary number of people.”
  34. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps American Idol’s San Francisco Auditions“‘Idol’ wrote the book on milking it and must be rereading that book on a rainy day.”
  35. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps American Idol’s L.A. Auditions“I am starting to really kind of like J.Lo on this show. Wait, what did I just write?”
  36. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins on American Idol’s Austin Auditions“Okay, Texas. This has gone on long enough. You can’t have both: Hats or belt buckles, time to choose.”
  37. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins on American Idol’s Nashville Tryouts, Singing Exes and AllHe wonders whether the dueting exes are really suited for the reunion the judges hope and pray for.
  38. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps American Idol’s Milwaukee AuditionsJerome Bell gets through with the loudest version of “Let’s Get It On” you’ve ever imagined. That song is about sex, does he know that?
  39. overnights
    Paul F. Tompkins Recaps the American Idol PremiereRandy has been joined by “former actress/eventual Zsa Zsa Gabor successor Jennifer Lopez, and a creature some say is a living candle, but whom I believe to be the Ghost of Steven Tyler.”