SYTYCD: Deja Vu

So You Think You Can Dance:
The Top 20 Perform...Again

I didn't blog about it, but I called bull-hinky (in the immortal words of my beloved Dale Kettlewell from Greek) on the judge's decision not to send anyone home last week. Personally, I could have picked some people to go home without any trouble at all. But it is what it is: all 20 are back to dance this week, and two girls and two boys will go home tomorrow.

Play-by-play:

• OBAMMMMAAAAAA!!!! Come on, dude. Make your announcements on Mondays or Tuesdays. FOX has skipped covering his speeches in the past in favor of prime time programming, so I'm kind of surprised they're showing him tonight.
• I wish they'd just take Barack's time out of the time allotted for the judges to babble so we can still finish this on time. I say give each judge 30 seconds to give his/her critique and then cut off his/her microphone!
• Ahh, yes, a flashback to last week when the judges showed us yet again that they're always willing to make the rules up as they go along.
  
• I'm starting a campaign: #NoMoreChbeebInTheOpeningCredits #SeasonFiveIsOver
  
• I guess they decided that the solo intros were so boring last week that they're announcing them in pairs tonight.
• Cat is wearing a brilliantly yellow knee-length cocktail dress with a lacy top. I like it, but aside from the color, it's a little dowdy for Cat. The length and the lacy cap sleeves make it look a tad on the mother-of-the-bride side.
  
• Guest judge is dance icon Debbie Reynolds! Let's bring the truth tonight, Debbie!
• Cat shows a clip (featuring Debbie) from one of her favorite movies, Singing in the Rain. They could do a Debbie Reynolds tribute group dance tomorrow night.

Ricky and Ryan (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: We're sharing each other's secrets tonight. Ricky says Ryan's leg hair grows really fast. That's just TMI. They have to be sexy for this dance and are having problems with that in practice.
  
• The dance: Hey, guess what, it's a Mandy Moore routine set to an '80s song ("Addicted to Love"). I would have never seen that coming... Ryan's smiling too much again. And her non-smile facial expressions are a bit much too. Ricky's looking pretty good in this one. Aside from his snow pants-style outfit, that is. Overall, it was fine, not fantastic.
  
• The judging: Nigel loves it because it was "so raunchy." That's also shocking. Mary is addicted to the two of them. Come on, Debbie, bring the sanity! Debbie, "You fell out of your top, you fell out of your bottom, you gave us your all!"

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Caitlynn's secret is that she has boots that turn her feet blue. That's a really lame secret. Hey, guess what, this Stacey Tookey routine is about a relationship that has gone very bad. That's also a shocker.
  
• The dance: It involves two chairs. Caitlynn's dancing in the chair is pretty. They're doing a pretty good job with the emotions behind it, and the dancing is lovely. The concept is a little trite by now for SYTYCD, but it was a nice performance.
  
• The judging: Caitlynn reveals that Mitchell accidentally punched her! Yikes. I thought I saw something go wrong, but I wasn't sure. Mary loves it and is excited to see Cait go further outside her style at some point. Debbie: "I mean, you bled for us!" Lol, Debbie is a riot. Nigel calls it remarkable and says he felt Cait's inner turmoil.

Missy and Wadi (Jean-Marc Genereux cha cha):

• The featurette: Well, at least somebody's dancing out of their style tonight... Wadi laughing at Missy's laugh is pretty endearing. Jean-Marc says this is the most difficult cha cha he's ever choreographed for the show. What is he thinking?! Wadi is a free-running b-boy!!! Missy got on Jean-Marc's nerves during practice.
  
• The dance: So far, this is mostly sexy wiggling, and not much cha cha. Unless this picks up fast, I don't believe for a second that this is the most difficult cha cha routine from Jean-Marc in history. It's so slow! This had "we're novices" written all over it.
  
• The judging: Nigel thought Wadi was a strong partner, but as for his actual technique, a lot was missing. Nigel says other people who have never done the cha cha before have done better than Wadi. He thinks, however, that Missy was very good, and I disagree. Mary says the beginning was spectacular--and admits that's because there was no cha cha dancing in it! She didn't think Wadi did very well either, but she feels for him. She thinks Missy is the cha cha queen. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Debbie says she'll take Wadi home. HA! Wadi looks uncomfortable. Cat: "You made her night, I think." Wadi: "At least I made someone's night." AWWWWW! Poor Wadi! Don't take it so hard!

Iveta and Nick (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

• The featurette: Nick always wears shorts. Yeah, these two have Bollywood written all over them, lol.
  
• The dance: Um, this is a little rough. Part of the problem is the jerky camera work. Part of the problem is Iveta's hair extensions. Independently, they both look ok, but next to each other, they don't look quite in sync. The spinny lift towards the end was nice though.
  
• The judging: Nigel says it was entertaining and they did a good job since they weren't in their style. He does say that others (Joshua and Katee) have done better at Bollywood in the past. Mary saw chemistry between the two of them somewhere in there. Debbie's just excited to be here; she feels 20 years younger. She thinks they were terrific. Nick looks like he wants Debbie to offer to take him home.

Miranda and Robert (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

• The featurette: Ugh, first Nappy-Tabs routine of the season. Duck and cover... Miranda allegedly has a crush on Tadd. Ugh, this routine is about woodpeckers! I hate woodpeckers! And I hate Nappy-Tabs routines!
  
• The dance: I guess they figured they better show us why Robert is here fast or he wouldn't be around much longer. Ok, color me unimpressed all around by this one. Esp. by Miranda's back flip that she didn't get the whole way around. Most of this looks like something I could do after 2 hours of practice...
  
• The judging: Mary always gets nervous when animals are imitated on this show (little foxes, anyone?) but she liked this one. And then she gushes about Nappy-Tabs. Come on, Mary... Debbie was mesmerized. Then she does the Woody Woodpecker laugh. Nigel: "I'm just worried about how many dancers she's taking home with her tonight!" Nigel thinks Miranda is the "best contemporary dancer he's seen do hip-hop." Oh, come now. I could name a whole score of people, but I'll stop at one: Alex Freaking Wong.

Clarice and Jess (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Clarice sleeps with her eyes open. Jess draws a stick figure orchestra. Ok, that secret's actually interesting... And then Jess burns all the goodwill his stick figure orchestra inspired in me by saying, "I can't wait to tell my mommy I'm a prince!" in a baby voice. Holy heck, man.
  
• The dance: A contemporary dance inspired by the royal wedding, I guess. This has its moments (her extensions, the too-brief side-by-side part), but it also has some slightly rocky spots. Not bad.
  
• The judging: Debbie says they touched her heart, and she'll take them both home with her with Wadi. Nigel liked parts of it. CAT IS HOSTING AN EVENING IN L.A. FOR WILLIAM AND KATE! Nigel liked the separate stuff, but thought some of the together stuff looked uncomfortable. (Finally, I agree with someone!) Mary calls Clarice "Miss Legs."

Jordan and Tadd (Jean-Marc Genereux Viennese waltz):

• The featurette: Eesh, this was a tough draw for them. Tadd says that Jordan is dumb (in nicer words), but that's no secret, buddy...
  
• The dance: This involves a park bench? Are you kidding me? Her lines are nice, but her style is still a little hoochie for the waltz. Tadd's waltzing could use a little work. Especially his steps when he's holding her up in a lift. He looks a bit staggery there.
  
• The judging: Nigel thinks it was just so beautiful. Nigel seems quite impressed with Tadd's waltzing, considering he's a b-boy. And now he says that this is the best he's seen a b-boy dance something like a Viennese waltz. Put a kibosh on the exaggerations, Nigel. Mary says Tadd is the biggest surprise of the season. She thought his lines were unbelievable. She thought Jordan was beautiful too. Debbie says they were just as wonderful and Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. (Speaking of exaggerations...)

Melanie and Marko (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: Melanie has a big issue with people touching her ears. Marko loves to read romance novels. The routine features an old song with a new twist. And a hat. This looks promising.
  
• The dance: Melanie's outfit is rough, but everything else is great. Marko's rocking it. Until he dropped his hat, that is... The concept is good, but the choreo could be a little better.
  
• The judging: Mary thought it was so good. She thinks these two can take on anything that is thrown at them. Debbie thinks they're stars, and Nigel agrees. He thinks they've both got the perfect 50% technique/50% passion combo.

Alexander and Sasha (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

• The featurette: A sensitive routine about a soldier coming back from Afghanistan and seeing his wife for the first time. Oh, Nappy-Tabs... Trying to recapture the Katee/Joshua glory of yore.
• The dance: Why the soldier's wife is dressed so scruffily, I don't know... Sasha is good. Alex, not so much. He's a little stiff. The uniform is probably not helping that perception though. My favorite part was when Sasha was dancing in the beginning before he came back. That can't be a good sign.
  
• The judging: Debbie loved them. Mary's crying. Emotional exploitation, this routine is. But we've made it through most of two episodes without one of these types of routines (cancer/addiction/war/etc.), so I guess it was only a matter of time. Nigel finds it "ironic" that they did this dance after Obama announced troop withdraw in Afghanistan. He thought they performed it well.
  

Ashley and Chris (Spencer Liff Broadway):

• The featurette: Not a good sign that I completely forgot about the two of them. In this routine, Chris is incarcerated and they have to dance with a row of bars between them. The bars are kind of far apart though, so Ashley could easily squeeze through them if she really wanted to...
  
• The dance: They're dancing well, but Ashley's skirt is kind of stealing the show here. It's quite eye-catching when she twirls. Chris did some cool stuff on the bars. The routine was all right. They danced well, but the concept may have stifled them a bit there.
  
• The judging: Nigel is impressed with b-boy Chris doing jazz. Nigel says the next time they put him in prison, he hopes Ashley comes to visit. Mary talks about 211 degrees and 212 degrees and it's all just a bizarre buildup to putting them on the Hot Tamale Train. Debbie calls them sensational.

I refuse to pick three favorites tonight. I feel like we were just watching various shades of mediocrity for the most part this evening. If forced to pick three, I guess I'd go with:

• Melanie and Marko's jazz
  
• Caitlynn and Mitchell's contemporary
• Chris and Ashley's Broadway

This three-couples-in-the-bottom, four-dancers-go-home thing could get really sticky tomorrow night.