MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Paul F. Tompkins

  1. 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. American Idol Finale Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Loves That It’s Over So Big

    His long country-scored nightmare has come to an end.

  3. 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. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Homecomings and Disasters, Both Natural and Show-Related

    Who likes country music? Because you have no choice in the matter.

  5. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Sees the Light at the End of the Tunnel

    His head hurts from trying to parse Ryan’s statement that Beyoncé is “a triple threat two times over.”

  6. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Enrique, Jordin, and Another Tear-Stained Elimination

    Ryan 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. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Lady Gaga Tutorial

    Scotty 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. American Idol Recap: Tears and Omelette Making, Not Necessarily in That Order

    Maybe I should have asked this before, but are we supposed to like Ryan Seacrest?

  9. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Breaks Down James’s Song-Induced Breakdown

    That was a bad performance. This is a singing contest, not a crying competition.

  10. 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.”

  12. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Carole King Night

    Guest mentor Babyface looks good! He could be referred to at most as Adolescentface!

  13. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Elimination Kanye West Stopped By For

    Plus, Casey shows off a fan-made painting.

  14. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Contestant Impersonation Night

    These 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.

  15. 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.”

  16. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on Movie-Music Night

    Perhaps 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.”

  17. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Is Shocked to Feel Bad About an Elimination

    He wonders what has gone wrong in his life that he will actually miss an ‘Idol’ contestant.

  18. 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.”

  19. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins on the Double Elimination

    This is the “fall back” side of the daylight saving time seesaw that balances out the “spring forward” of the Judges’ Save.

  20. 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.”

  21. American Idol Recap: Paul F. Tompkins Weighs In On the Casey Save

    Oh, the mind boggles trying to imagine the turbulent seas churning in Casey’s perfidious stomach upon this hour!