"American Idol" results show: A little too unbelievable

(CBS) By the end of last night's "American Idol" results show, you had to make a decision: Did you believe what you saw? Or was this a little too dramatic to have had anything other than a scriptwriter?

Pictures: "American Idol" Season 10
Special section: "American Idol"

When we got to the bottom of the bottom three, we saw Stefano Langone and Thia Magia, who both gave substandard performances Wednesday night. But there stood also Casey Abrams, who had given a substandard performance for him - which would have been perfectly acceptable for anyone else.

Of course, it could be that viewers at home wanted to penalize him for screeching a little too much, performing a little too much, and singing a little too little.

It could also be that critics' enthusiasm for his talent is simply not matched among those who bother to spend their Wednesdays offering their fingers to dialing, texting or clicking. (Although the CBS poll consistently has him near the top.)

But there are other possibilities and they will always exist when the voting totals are never released. Those of a suspicious mind might point to the rather automatic (and dramatic) reaction of the judges when it was announced that Abrams was the one who had to sing for his succor.

As he launched into "Don't Need No Doctor," the song that made his audition memorable, they gave him just a few bars before Randy Jackson called time. Abrams was to be spared.

It was the only save they can make in the season. Gosh, more drama! It made all the contestants (and did I mention the viewers at home?) believe that no one would ever be safe.

So, the subtext might offer that you really, really have to vote for your favorite (Ka-Ching).

After Jackson had waved Abrams to a halt, Steven Tyler intoned, as if this was a decision the three judges had taken in the previous 10 seconds: "This is crazy wrong. We've made a decision to keep you on."

Abrams reacted in a way that made one worried for his fragile health.

The first words he managed to utter were: "Oh, my f---ing God."

He then, politely enough, asked them why. Perhaps the judges genuinely didn't want to let Abrams go home, but somewhere a cynic chirped: "Because it's good for ratings. Why else?"

As Abrams tried to embrace all the judges and then kept going on about how he couldn't believe it, believability left the building and was replaced by a need for Dr. House to get on stage and inject a little reality.

The only problem is that Hugh Laurie was this week in New Orleans, launching his new album. Really.

Jennifer Lopez scolded the lucky child: "We just want you to get back to being the musician that you are. No more antics. "

But this all had the whiff of antic. It also had the whiff of a slap on the bottom (whether from the judges or from the voters).

More antics: on Monday, the contestants reportedly moved out of their mansion, as they deemed it haunted.

Yes, drama begets more drama.

Next week, two contestants will be cast aside. It's not as if Idol can just throw in an extra show at a moment's notice, is it? But at least all 11 will go on the Idols Tour.

Earlier, the results show had offered a bizarre juxtaposition: Stevie Wonder, Sugarland (actually taped a day earlier) and Hulk Hogan.

In this supposedly serious singing show, Hogan told James Durbin and Paul McDonald that they were safe before administering a smack to Ryan Seacrest's head. Perhaps the most bizarre juxtaposition was when Ryan Seacrest introduced Jennifer Hudson as the only Idol winner to have won an Oscar.

Oddly enough, the beatifically talented Hudson never came close to being an Idol winner. She came seventh. There again, Seacrest's pronouncement sounded a little bit more dramatic.

It's not as if he hadn't started the show as he (and the producers) meant to go on, by promising a shocking result. So now we're guaranteed a little more drama next week.

Will the bottom three suddenly be a bottom five? Will Casey Abrams sing a Pavarotti aria? Can one of the truly substandard performers -- Haley Reinhart, Thia Megia, Naima Adedapo, for example - show dramatic improvement?

How could you not watch?