'American Idol' results shows already expanding [sortta]

Can something expand to its previous size if it never actually contracted in the first place? American Idol raised that important test of the laws of physics on Tuesday (Feb. 12).

FOX has announced that starting on Wednesday, March 12, American Idol "will expand the weekly results shows to one hour." The only problem there is that if the American Idol result shows expand to an hour as of that date, the Wednesday shows won't ever have aired in the 30-minute format FOX originally scheduled them for. So is that really an expansion?

Since the Idol results shows aired in a bloated hour-long format for most of last season as well and since Idol will air hour-long Thursday results shows starting next week and stretching through the semifinals, what does this change actually mean to you, dear viewers?

The short answer is "almost nothing," unless you happen to be a big fan of Back to You, which was scheduled to take the 9:30 post-Idol slot starting on March 19. That's no longer the case. The Kelsey Grammer/ Patricia Heaton sitcom is presumably in limbo.

The kinda-expansion also means that the Amy Sherman-Palladino-produced sitcom The Return of Jezebel James will no longer get its planned showcase on March 12 before shifting to its regular Friday night gulag. Instead, Jezebel James will premiere two nights later with a two-episode, hour-long premiere.

In other Idol news, apparently the return of Idol Gives Back won't mean another non-elimination week after all. Idol fans will recall that last year producers opted not to boot a contestant at the end of their ambitious two-hour charity-fest, setting a double-elimination for the following week. This year, though, a special Thursday results show will air on April 10, the evening after Idol Gives Back, thus allowing the show to cut down to its Top Five without guilt.

Stay tuned, as always, for more Idol scheduling wackiness.

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