One Comes Up While Another Comes Down...

Jimmy Carter in his homebase Nashville.

Living life on a roller coaster makes me queasy. If you have a job that lives or dies based on ratings and sales, then you need more than one pill to keep you from jumping off a bridge.

Take the "American Idol" ratings this week. Ask a 100 people and you will get 100 different reasons why the audience is shrinking. I thought the opening show of this season might even be bigger with all the buzz about the judges. Maybe the fans are tired of this roller coaster.

There are simply too many of these talent shows on right now. There had to be a saturation point. I watch "Idol" this year to check out Keith Urban. I'm glad he is doing a good job ... professional, not just a smiling face. He seems genuinely interested in each contestant. I hope this turns out okay for him. Keith Urban is a talented person and deserves this international attention.

Then you have the "Nashville" show on ABC. One of the best-marketed shows to come along in a while. ABC pulled out all the stops and accomplished their goals of raising awareness and probably getting people to sample the show.

The audience didn't exactly launch like a moon rocket. The six million fans keep the ship afloat for now. The young singer's woes and sex life must interest 18-340year-old women, but ABC says they need more.

At least no hay bales and bad Southern accents. Maybe Hayden's character is the most relatable. The older singer is just kind of a mess. Wishy-washy mom, wife and star. Moments of fire then just exhaust.

Stereotypical politicians, ogre one-dimensional mean-ass Powers Boothe, the generic young musicians. Name three? And the much ballyhooed music ... which for the most part, is Country muzak!

I want to hear music that is more reflective of what the town is doing right now on the radio. That would be a huge step to helping this show grow.

ABC has created a young female network with shows like "The Bachelor." "Nashville" should fit right in. I enjoy parts of it ... but it always leave me empty.

Slick, but no calories..

I think the show is growing and adapting. Looking for something outside Mama is in rehab and some "cougar" ate my singing partner boyfriend.

Maybe there can be no substance in this narrow box they have built ... characters who are funny or at least memorable and unique and not stereotypes.

It's never going to be "ER;" it's not even "Desperate Housewives." Ratings were up a little on "Idol" opening night. I know that made the bosses happy.

Still it's more "Days of Our Lives" than "NCIS" -- and maybe that's the problem. It is hard for new viewers to jump in on a given week and figure out who is who and what's going on ... too many stories that wouldn't even make a noisy neighbor look out the window.

Find the soul of Nashville and not the caricature !

"A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person, animal or object to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.[1]

That pretty much sums it up ... I hope the crews keep their jobs ... the city looks great in the aerial shots.

It looks like Nashville ... it may sound a little like Nashville. But it's not the Nashville that launched Elvis Presley, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Garth Brooks, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell and so many others into legend-class status.

Find the soul and not the caricature ... and Nashville may survive.