"The X-Factor"
Wednesday, 8 p.m. on Fox 

Yes, "The X-Factor" is a lot like "American Idol."

But based on the 12-minute presentation reel made available by Fox (the same network that airs "Idol"), it's like someone (Simon Cowell) took "American Idol" and revamped it, making it totally fresh and exciting.

The similarities between the shows are pretty obvious: "The X-Factor" is a singing competition show and two of the judges are Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. The biggest difference is that there's no age limit for the contestants. Also, groups can compete. And the first time the judges (Cowell, Abdul, former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, and former Chairman of Island Def Jam L.A. Reid) see the contestants, the singers are on a stage with full musical backup and a big, live audience. But even though the performers have presumably already made it through a round or two of auditions to get the spot before judges, that doesn't mean there aren't also some clunkers and weirdos (because they know we like that stuff too).