It's been a number of years before we had anything remotely kind to say about American Idol, and when we got a full screener of this season's premiere, we definitely rolled our eyes. It seemed like a sign of desperation because the show usually just sends critics teasers for each season, not full episodes. So out of sheer curiosity (and boredom during that off week during the holidays), we decided to check it out. And, well, it was surprisingly decent. We'd go so far as to even say watchable, almost to the point of enjoyable. And if the premiere is any indication of the direction the show is taking this year, maybe we'll grouch less about having to sit through yet another competitive reality singing show. This is not to say that it's blow-your-mind DVR-worthy but it is definitely leaps and bounds above the last few Simon-less seasons. So why the dramatic improvement? Here's our take on the big changes:

Community rocks the Comic-Con house.

Looks like The CW is heading back to the '80s...

That lucrative new reality show with pretty good ratings has been renewed!

We admit that we were more than a little skeptical when we heard that Simon was leaving American Idol and that they'd ousted all of the other judges besides the typically useless Randy Jackson. And we were still skeptical after the first couple of audition episodes in which Steven Tyler was just talking crazy and Jennifer Lopez refused to be mean. But since the first Hollywood week, this season has completely turned around, and instead of hoping that it would fade away after this year, we're totally enjoying it. Well, as much as we can enjoy a glorified karaoke competition. Here's why Idol is now better than it's been in ages:

First, news of a Hawaii 5-0 remake and now I hear ABC's turning JLo's rom-com from hell, Maid in Manhattan, into a series? Wow, it's been a rough week. There is a silver lining, however. The pilot's writer Chad Hodge assures us, "The show is a different maid in a different Manhattan." Well thank god, because those were the only two things wrong with the movie version. I was like, "Ugh! I'm over this maid! She's so maid-y, with the cleaning and the uniform-wearing, and stop it with the skyscrapers already! Oh! Would that those two things weren't before my eyes, I would be all over this convoluted story and JLo's acting! Why is Ralph Fiennes in this?" the whole time.

Americans seem to be much more uncomfortable with accents than I ever would've thought...