Idol Will Miss Paula's Crazy Antics

Paula Abdul “walked away from a multimillion-dollar salary, a gig that brought her out of obscurity”—but it’s American Idol that will smart the most from her departure, writes Jeanne McManus for the Washington Post. “She generally contributed absolutely nothing to the verdict of the talent that stood before her,” but she will be missed at “that dysfunctional, squabbling dinner table known as the panel of judges.”

“The real reality TV is the group dynamics at that table and even, sometimes, under that table,” she continues. “Who can replace Abdul there?” Abdul was the quirky, kind “Baby Sister” to Randy Jackson’s “well-intentioned Middle Child” and Simon Cowell’s “smart, self-assured First Born.” Kara DioGuardi only served to crowd the table, and functioned, at best, as “the family Siamese cat: Sit on the table, sulk, preen.” (More Paula Abdul stories.)