The X Factor (ITV1) is over. Some will say 'PHEW! Finally!' and, well, they're idiots. You see, if you don't like The X Factor, then you don't really like television. You're a passing fan of the box if a show like this doesn't swallow you up and turn you into a giddy, saucer-eyed simpleton. I've been completely won over by it and now?

Well, now, because I'm one of those people who can divorce X Factor The TV Show and X Factor The Music Maker, I've already lost pretty much all interest in What Happens Next. Unless, of course, the winner Joe, turns into a mass-murderer or something... and the chances of that happening are about as remote as getting the chance to see Cliff Richard's erection.

The final weekend was a genuine TV thrill, seeing Paul McCartney (and his increasingly weird face... weird for reasons I'm yet to put my finger on. Does he look like he's got transparent tights pulled over his head? Is that it?) performing on my telly... the childish fun of seeing fireworks and pyrotechnics going off all over the shop... the hyped-up tension cranked to one-million as the winner was slowly announced... the reappearance of Thing One and Thing Two (Jedward) skipping around... it was staggeringly good TV, regardless of the fact that I couldn't care a jot for the music performed.

Whilst Joe is pretty much guaranteed and Top Two Christmas hit in the next few weeks, after that, he may as well be dead to me. Same goes for Olly. I couldn't care less what he gets up to. The fact is, The X Factor is at its best when it is airing. Nearly everything that comes between is pretty standard and predictable. Sure, Alexandra Burke has a couple of great pop songs in her, but she's the exception rather than the rule.

From a TV perspective, I'm rather pleased that Joe won. He was a nice chap who didn't throw a hissy-fit or pretend to be someone he's not and, for that, we should give him a pat on the back. His astonished giggling through his final performance was achingly sweet... something that is missing from television mostly.

Now the show is over, we can all get back to real life. And if you didn't know, that's nowhere near as fun as watching The X Factor. Paying a gas bill simply doesn't match the thrill of the first time you saw Jedward doing that Britney skit. I can't wait for the next one.