Who knew Doogie Howser would turn out to be such a great judge on "American Idol"? For the past two weeks of audition episodes, most of the guest judges have been absolute bores, save for Mary J. Blige. They offer frustratingly vague banalities, exude little to no personality or parrot one of the other judges incessantly. Not so with Neil Patrick Harris. He brought his own milkshake to the yard and wasn't afraid to spit some sour balls at some of "talent" he was asked to judge.
NPH broke Dexter Ward's blonde fauxhawk heart, denying him his golden ticket to Hollywood, but his honesty wasn't the butcher knife sharp kind that Simon employs. He also wasn't stupidly sweet like Paula was, offering nonsensical compliments that have nothing to do with what he's tasked with judging. But just because he didn't share her always sunny disposition doesn't mean that Neil isn't a great replacement Paula. He possesses one of the key qualities that made Paula a force on 'Idol': (sexual?) tension with Simon Cowell. He got into playful on-air spats with Simon, such as in one scene where he exasperatedly complains, "Don't I get to say something? Geez Louise, you invite a guest judge on..." Simon rolled his eyes accordingly but a new star was born. If Neil had a marker near by he would've totally scribbled on Simon's face.
Of course, in order to REALLY take Paula's place, Neil will have to consume a lot more liquor, become more acquainted with painkillers and suffer a bout or two of exhaustion. And a duet with MC Skat Kat wouldn't hurt either.
