Ann's Take On Television

New Girl: Enchanted Thanksgiving

2011-11-17T17:50:00.001-05:00

New Girl: Thanksgiving

While I'm not blogging about TV as much as I used to, I'm still watching plenty of it. And I loved this week's episode of New Girl so much that I couldn't resist blogging it. And I mean, I really liked this episode - I literally watched it twice in a row.

I can officially announce that I wicked love New Girl. The show's first six episodes have been a bit of a journey: I really liked the pilot, and I loved the second episode ("Kryptonite") where they went to get Jess' stuff back from her ex, but I thought the next two episodes - "Wedding" and "Naked" - were rocky (or at least uneven). I was getting a little nervous, but the show's last two episodes - the adorable "Cece Crashes" and the riotous "Thanksgiving" - have washed away all my worries. I think the show is finding its stride.

Full disclosure: I have adored Justin Long since he played Warren Cheswick on Ed way back in the day. In fact, the time he got his foot stuck in the escalator at the movie theater is still one of my favorite TV moments ever.

Highlights:

Nick: "...then we're going to Best Buy for Black Friday."
Winston: "Or as I like to call it, 'Friday'."
Schmidt: "Jess, be honest: is the turkey named Paul?"
Nick: "That's a great plan, Jess. Be the girl who replaces his dead nana."
Don't any of these people have families? Do they all live too far away to visit?
Schmidt: "I don't want to hear, 'Schmidt, Schmidt, you're using too much tarragon,' because I'm not."
Jess: "I can't get it in!"
Schmidt: "We've all been here, am I right?"
Nick: "Jar!"
Jess: "I put it on permanent press..."
Nick: "Good, so you don't have to iron it."
Nick (after Jess and Paul sing extemporaneously about Thanksgiving): "Oh my God, there's two of them!"
Jess: "Paul brought his violin, and with a little coaxing, he might fiddle with the old horsehairs."
Paul: "Only if you don't mind being enchanted!"
Winston: "I'm going to say something, and you're going to say the first thing that pops into your head."
Paul: "Kazoo."
Winston: "We haven't even started yet."
Paul: "Okay. I'm going to stick with kazoo."
Schmidt (to Cece): "Beautiful savage!"
Winston: "This is the first time he tried gelato. He did not like that!"
Paul: "Where are you from?"
Nick: "Chicago."
Paul: "Ahh, the land of plenty."
Schmidt: "Look at this recipe! Where in this recipe does it say, 'Put potatoes on Schmidt's nose'?!"
Schmidt: "It's like a Prince video!"
Winston: "Remember when it was only dudes living here and we had no fires?"
Nick: "This is ridiculous! Three months ago, we didn't even know this girl!"
Paul: "What's your name?"
Schmidt: "It's Schmidt. It's my last name."
Paul: "Well, my last name is Gunslinger, and I want to eat the food you've been cooking all day."
Winston: "Play through."
Schmidt: "I've done 'Give Me That Hat.' Only for me, it was more like, 'Here, Take My Hat,' you know what I mean?"
Cece: "He's got this rage, this fury, inside him, and I just love it."
Nick: "Schmidt, it's hour 9. I'm starving!"
Schmidt: "Well, I can blanch or I can talk, but I can't do both!"
Paul: "I feel like you think I'm annoying."
Nick: "You didn't have to come here to say that; you could have said that from other there."
Paul: "All right, if that's the case, which I don't know that it is..."
Nick: "It is."
And there's a dead body! Wow.
Schmidt: "Are you cold? Do you want my cardi?"
Schmidt: "This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better."
Nick: Where in the hell are they going?

(Photo: FOX.com)

10 Years Later: The Series Premiere of Alias

2011-09-30T22:34:00.000-04:00

The 10th Anniversary of the Pilot Episode of Alias, "Truth Be Told"

Ten years ago today, on Sept. 30, 2001, the pilot episode of Alias premiered on ABC. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since Sydney Bristow and her friends and enemies came into my life. On one hand, it's stunning that it has been 10 whole years since the pilot aired, as I still vividly remember watching it that night, loving every second and knowing that my entire concept of good television was being revolutionized. On the other hand, it seems like Alias has to have been around for much longer than 10 years, since I find it difficult to comprehend that there was ever a world without Sydney, Vaughn, Jack, Sloane, Dixon, Marshall, Will, Francie, Irina and Sark.

In any event, today is the 10th anniversary of the Alias pilot, a moment that literally changed my life, as the show meant a lot to me when it premiered and continues to mean a lot to me now. I'm celebrating the occasion by re-watching the pilot, "Truth Be Told," which is easily one of the best television pilots ever, in my opinion. Here's a clip from it; skip to minute 4.00 for the legendary "Write this down: E M E T I B. Got that? Now reverse it." Sydney Bristow, you kick so much butt.

Here's to you, Alias. You are loved.

SYTYCD: Stumbling to the End

2011-08-10T22:55:00.000-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Finale Performance Show

It's the Season 8 finale already. Time to close out a season that featured a lot of great dancers, if not a lot of especially memorable moments.

Cat is wearing a peach-ish strapless mini with a bejeweled bodice. Paired with a lovely updo.
The judges are Kenny Ortega, Katie Holmes, Mary and Nigel.
I hope this doesn't me that we have to pretend that we think Kenny's remake of Dirty Dancing is a good idea. It isn't.

Marko and Melanie (Doriana Sanchez disco):

The featurette: You know, I was just thinking, "Gee, there hasn't been much disco this season. How pleasant!" and then, bam!
The dance: Ok, nothing about Marko and Melanie says "disco" to me. This is easily the roughest routine this pair has done all season. I don't see anyone really selling this one (the music is too spacey), but their performance is rocky. They pulled off some hard lifts, but, yeah, no.
The judges: Kenny tries to tell us it was good. Katie claims that she loved it and "believed the story they were telling," which suggests that she might not have been watching at all. Mary claims she adores disco and Doriana and Marko and Melanie, but finally speaks the truth that some of the lifts were rocky and that they went in and out of the style. Nigel totally agrees, saying "It was a little bit of a struggle." He says they seemed uncomfortable with the style and hopes they'll be better in other routines tonight. Mel and Marko look like they're glad it's over.

Sasha with Mark (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Well, this has "cool" written all over it. I hope Sonya brings it with the choreo this time; I wasn't sold on her Sasha/Mel number. Not to mention the chandelier thing last week.
The dance: EEESH! Mark's facial expression at the beginning was FIERCE. Does Mark ever wear shirts these days? Mark's one of the few dancers who can come up to Sasha's level of fierceness. I think he might be stealing the show a bit here though. She throws him to the ground at the end to try to make up for it.
The judging: Mark does a royalty-style wave as he walks off stage. Katie loves everything about it, of course. Mary says "WOOHOOOOO!" Nigel says that Sasha has just thrown down Lady Gaga's principal dancer and has thrown down the gauntlet tonight.

Tadd with Joshua (Lil C hip-hop):

The featurette: Lil C says this is about nothing but the hustle. I was afraid he meant The Hustle, as in "do The Hustle," and was concerned, but he is referring to another kind of hustle.
The dance: I LOVE JOSHUA. There's a slight difference between how they're dancing, and I think Josh is more natural and organic, while Tadd is more, "Hey guys! I'm doing hip-hop!" He did a good job though. But the only thing these last two routines have accomplished is making me nostalgic for Season 4.
The judging: Cat thinks Josh is so delicious that she grabs him by the face. Cat says from her outside perspective, Tadd was hustling hard. Mary says Tadd has a "sweetie factor" but did enough to overcome that and do a hard hip-hop number. Nigel tries to channel Lil C in his praise of Lil C. Nigel thought Tadd was good, but was a little too sweet. Not bad, but not as strong as Nigel would like it. Cat on Tadd's red shoes, "If Dorothy were in the 'hood, this is what she'd be wearing." I'm just going to ignore the comments of Kenny and Katie until one of them actually says something of worth.

Melanie with Robert (Stacey Tookey contemporary)

The featuette: Ugh, it's unrequited love again. And I'm not buying it either. Mel, it's Robert. You can do better. ;-)
The dance: They had to bring Robert back for this to make up for making him do Bollywood in purple pants earlier this year. And they had to give Mel an emotional contemporary to make up for that heinous disco. The highlight was the side-by-side leaps. Still, I've seen more impressive contemporary numbers from Mel: the one with Neil the other week, Travis' statue routine, etc.
The judging: Nigel says beautiful choreo by Stacey and beautifully danced. Kenny would love to work with Mel. Hey, I hear he's doing a new Dirty Dancing (groan!). Cat even takes this moment to lobby for a part in Dirty Dancing for Mel, and Kenny agrees. Cat wants 20% of Mel's earnings. Mary says that Mel has a unique ability to draw the audience in and she's loved watching her from her first audition until now.

Marko and Sasha (Spencer Liff Broadway):

The featurette: Yikes, first disco, now Broadway. At least it's a Spencer Broadway not Tyce. That should help a little.
The dance: Aww, Marko's wearing glasses as part of his "serious waiter" costume. Sasha's doing some nice kicks and leaps (and a nice stomach spin on the table). Marko did a cool jump/fall thing and some flipping too. And does a good job of looking stunned at the end.
The judging: Kenny says he didn't even recognize that it was Marko (that's a good thing). He says Sasha went from warrior princess to sophisticated lady, and he thinks she can do everything. Here's a banner piece of judging from Ms. Katie Holmes: "Marko, I loved when you jumped up." Ha ha ha. Mary says she barely recognized Marko too because he's such a little actor. Nigel wasn't blown away though. He thinks Sasha's a better warrior than vamp. And he didn't think Marko's character embodiment was as good as the others seem to think.

Melanie's interview and solo: Melanie's favorite moment of the season was when she got to launch herself at Neil. That was one of my favorite moments too! Her solo: Slow, lovely violin music. Another one of her solos that really should have gone on for about another hour.

Marko's interview and solo: Marko's favorite piece was the statue routine. Oh, yeah, I forgot again that Marko's the one who got shot. Thanks for bringing that up again, Marko! Ooh, solo to "The Fear You Won't Fall" (but a faster version). He's really kinda boogieing to this (usually) slow, melodic song. Marko's dad is here for the first time tonight.

Sasha and Tadd (Mark Ballas cha cha):

The featurette: Now they're making Tadd and Sasha cha cha?! Are we even trying to put on a good show tonight?
The dance: I'm very distracted by Tadd's super skinny pants and heels for a while. This cha cha is rather slow and un-cha cha-ish, in my opinion. I'm not impressed.
The judging: Wow, I don't think Katie even liked it! She totally avoided discussing the dancing. Mary says she has to call it like it was: lots of missed hand connections and footwork and all kinds of problems. Nigel agrees. He thinks Tadd couldn't cope with the style at all. He thinks Sasha was somewhat better, but it still was not good for her. Kenny says they should just turn around and forget about it and come back strong in their next dances. Lol at Natalia's facial expression in the audience!

Marko with Lauren Froderman (Tessandra Chavez contemporary):

The featurette: Hey! It's a doomed love story! No kidding!
The dance: Lauren's dress is pretty. Now we're talking; this routine is actually cool. The choreography is actually intricate and looks like there was thought put into it. Lauren's looking awesome, but so is Marko. Very good.
The judging: Mary says Marko thrusts greatness upon himself. She loved the soul in that performance. Nigel says he's been a little disappointed thus fair, but he thinks Marko just joined in the finale because that was fabulous. Kenny thinks Tessandra gave Marko and the audience a lovely gift of choreography. And he loves Marko with Lauren. Kenny was swept away and taken to another place and time. Katie loved the little moments and the pictures Marko created. Katie tells Marko to "keep doing it," which is great advice, because I'm sure Marko was really thinking about packing it in with 40 minutes left in the season.

Tadd's interview and solo: I think the show is trying to make Tadd the new Dominic, but I just don't buy into it. Tadd's favorite routine was Travis' vulture dance. We could really use some Travis Wall in this finale (darn Step Up 4!). Yeah, I really don't have anything to say about Tadd's solo.

Tadd and Melanie (Ray Leeper jazz):

The featurette: Melanie has caught Tadd cheating on her.
The dance: She throws a shoe at him. Now she's dancing with one shoe off and one on; that's a little tricky. Melanie' is creating some really nice lines here. Not sure that the overall choreography is maximizing her efforts though. I'd like there to be more to a routine than just her yanking off Tadd's clothes in a malicious fashion.
The judging: Cat: "When all else fails, bring out a pair of comedy boxers." Nigel says that just brought his evening to life, which I think is a bit strong, but whatever. Nigel says Melanie had a character well before she even started dancing and that Tadd totally redeemed himself in that routine. Kenny liked the chemistry and the story. Katie loved it and thought it was fun and a breath of fresh air. Because Katie's just been hating everything else so far tonight... Mary thought Tadd was really sexy and that he was really hitting it. And as for Melanie, "Was that a strut across the stage, or was that a strut across the stage?!"

Sasha's interview and solo: Sasha's favorite moment was when Lady Gaga threw her shoe at them. Cat's favorite Sasha dance was the one with Twitch. Preach, sister! Sasha's solo: Slower than she sometimes does, but no less awesome. I like how she does most of her solo dancing an a crouching position (or on the ground). It's interesting.

Sasha and Melanie (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: This piece is about a pair of suppressed housewives from the 1950s. Hey, finally a premise that is actually different and interesting!
The dance: Their Betty Draper-style dresses are fantastic. The white picket fence props may be a bit literal, but it's kind of cool. They allow for some Sound of Music gazebo-style stuff, which is cool. Most importantly, the dancing is great. Very lovely; I liked this one.
The judging: Kenny calls them two actresses that can dance. He thinks it was a beautiful piece that was beautifully executed. Katie loved the exploration of friendship and the strength that two women can give to each other. And she loves their outfits. Mary enjoyed every single second of the piece. She said the movement just filled up every bit of the music. Nigel says it doesn't matter who wins, because either of them could grace any dance company in the country.

Marko and Tadd (Chuck Maldonado gumboot stepping):

The featurette: Dance style originally used in Africa to communicate in the mines, which is where stepping actually came from. Interesting.
The dance: Wow, these outfits are rough. What kind of miners are they supposed to be?! Marko gumboot stepping is kinda like Ricky waacking. As in, it's not good. Tadd's not too bad though. I'd like to see Twitch give this a whirl. Um, awkward moment at the end there when the quitting whistle blows (I guess) and Tadd throws himself into Marko's arms. Uh, what?
The judging: Katie appreciates that they gave it their all and the athletic ability it took. Mary says they looked like they were mining for gold, and she thinks they found it. Well, that was kind, Mary. She loves them both to pieces. Nigel thinks this style probably works better in a larger group. He says they weren't quite together. He thinks they stood up as well for themselves tonight as they could with the routines they had, but he still thinks a girl will win. Kenny says, "Guys, you did your job."

I know I've complained of being underwhelmed by SYTYCD finales in the past, but I don't know if I've ever been as thoroughly uninspired as I was by this one. It's a struggle for me to even pick my three favorite routines tonight. They gave them too many routines to do, and the quality of each routine suffered as a result. Plus, they picked the finale to finally give people some really out-of-comfort-zone styles to do (disco, stepping, cha cha), which seems like a bizarre choice. If there's ever a time to showcase the fabulousness of the remaining dancers, it's the finale.

My favorites:
Marko and Lauren's contemporary
Sasha and Melanie's contemporary
Joshua and Tadd's hip-hop / Sasha and Mark's jazz / I have no idea.

It's a tough call for me as to who I think should win. I usually end up changing my mind after I know the results anyway. (After the fact, I changed my mind and, to varying degrees, wished that Travis beat Benji, Twitch beat Joshua, and Jakob beat Russell.) One of the girls should obviously win. I've loved Melanie throughout the competition, but Sasha is pretty undeniable as well. Melanie's been pretty top-notch the entire time (except for disco tonight and last week's poorly choreographed hip-hop), while Sasha has had a few more peaks and valleys. But I have to wonder if Sasha's peaks didn't transcend Melanie's SYTYCD body of work. I don't know. It's a tough, tough call. Which is actually great, because we're faced with two fantastic dancers and everyone can just pick the one whose style he or she likes best. Either way, we'll have a great winner.

SYTYCD: Semifinals

2011-08-04T20:35:00.000-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 6 Performance Show

We're a week away from the finale already.
Cat's dress is kind of a dusty pink with sheer long sleeves. She's got rather casual wavy hair.
It's CHRISTINA APPLEGATE! She's also rocking long, wavy hair tonight.
Plus Lil C, Mary and Nigel.
Whoa! Much too plunging neckline on Mary Murphy!
There seem to be an awful lot of famous actors who are huge fans of SYTYCD.

Melanie with Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

The featurette: I'd be really excited about this, if not for NappyTabs.
The dance: Melanie's doing a good job of selling it, but this routine isn't doing anything for me, due mostly to the combo of the song and the choreo. Meh. Twitch is still adorable though, even when he's the Big Bad Wolf.
The judging: Lil C congratulates her for getting through that routine, because the music was extremely hard to dance to. Glad C noticed that too. I'm a bit confused about everything he was saying, but the overall point was that she started a little shaky but then got better. Christina says that every week Melanie dances like it's the only thing that can mend her broken heart. Mary says her brother compared Melanie to Shirley Temple. Nigel says Melanie is good at everything. He says, "Grandma, what a big talent you've got." I guess that was a compliment, but it's a little iffy.

Sasha with Kent (Tyce Diorio contemporary):

The featurette: Why do I feel like Sasha's going to eat Kent alive? Ugh, is Sasha about to get Tyced? This should be emotionally overwrought enough to save her.
The dance: The two of them are sharing one set of pajamas. There's kind of an annoying cloudy wall at the back of the stage, and they run up it occasionally, but it seems unnecessary to me. It does allow for some bizarre-looking lifts, but I don't know how good of a thing that is. I'm sure everyone's going to love this one. It's good, the performances are good, but I'm not devastated by it or anything.
The judging: I kind of miss listening to Kent talk. Christina doesn't care so much about perfect technique, saying to Sasha, "But you put your finger against a wall, and it breaks my heart. And that's dance." Christina says Sasha's so brilliant. Mary says that routine was absolutely intoxicating. And Mary's choking up. Nigel says she communicates through dance brilliantly and passionately, and she's his favorite on the show again. Lil C is trying not to cry. I feel like the judges need to take a quick break and go have a group therapy session. He says she's now 20 notches past amazing.

Marko with Janette (Dmitry Chaplin paso doble):

The featurette: Wow, we're pulling in some different All Stars tonight, and it's fun! But, even better, it's DMITRY!!! Looking lovely too.
The dance: This is the second time lately where Marko's done ballroom with a fantastic ballroom partner (Chelsie Hightower a couple weeks ago), and he's doing a pretty good job again, but the partner steals the show. I think it's just a bit hard for a boy to make a huge impression in ballroom, unless your Pasha.
The judging: Mary liked the style and arrogance he had (esp. in the beginning). But she notes that he did lose his footing a bit at times. She liked the "cape lift" they did and has never seen it done like that before. Nigel says it left him a bit cold. Lil C loves the way Marko performs. He loved Marko's commitment and stoicism. Christina is a big fan of Marko's and she loved his bravado.

Ricky's solo: Very low-key outfit of black pants and light blue/gray t-shirt. Nice leaps and pirouettes as usual, but he didn't totally rely on the "tricks" either. He's done better solos though.

Tadd with Ellenore (Sonya Tayeh contemporary?)

The featurette: ELLENORE! I didn't even know I missed these people until they show back up! And Ellenore goes perfectly with Sonya's choreo. Sonya wants to find the dirtier side of Tadd.
The dance: To music from Beirut, no less! Whoa, there's a chandelier, and they're swinging on it. The whole thing's cool and all, and Tadd does some almost Cirque du Soleil stuff with the chandelier, but I'm not seeing a ton of dancing.
The judging: Nigel knew Sonya + Ellenore would be interesting. Nigel says, "I think I'd like to see a little more dancing," but he thought it was interesting. And I totally agree with Nigel, which is not especially common. Lil C liked the piece, but he didn't think Tadd lived in the moments and made them last long enough. Christina loved it and thought Sonya's piece was remarkable. Christina's impressed with his dancing, considering he's a b-boy. Personally, I didn't have the time to examine his technique, because he was swinging around most of the time. Mary thinks this was the most daring choreo of the season, considering the risk of the chandelier prop.

Caitlynn's solo: Black dress that comes the whole way down to her knees! I pretty much liked her solo, but she did rely an awful lot on bending forward at the waist and tossing her hair. Once was more than enough.

Ricky with Jaime (Dee Caspary contemporary):

The featurette: Ooh, good partner draw for Ricky; Jaime is legit. Maybe I'm just jaded from watching seven seasons of this show, but I'm getting so tired of dances about couples with strained relationships. Even if they involve little sticks.
The dance: What is the point of the sticks, actually? Was that explained? Is he a conductor (like Twitch)? A puppeteer, I guess. If I didn't know better, I'd think the choreographers are mixing in unnecessary props tonight in a show of solidarity to NappyTabs after Lady Gaga called them out (twice) on their use of props last week. Ok, sticks aside, this is quite good. Jaime's amazing, and Ricky's right there with her.
The judging: Cat makes a joke about knitting, and I think she's spot on. Lil C says something I immediately can't process/remember, but he thought Ricky was a wonderfully magical puppeteer. Christina loved it, but thinks he could dance with just a little more clear intentions, which would make him even better. Mary says Ricky's been in the bottom and keeps rising from the ashes. Nigel thought he did a good job, but does still want him to dance lower. His lines are wonderful though.

Tadd's solo: I like his techno "Americano" music, but I can't say I'm blown away with the rest. Pink shirt and jeans, btw. Tadd does love his neon attire.

Sasha's solo: Dancing to Lady Gaga in black jeans, bra and jacket. This solo is all kinds of bad-ass.

Caitlynn with Pasha (Dmitry Chaplin samba):

The featurette: Boy, does Pasha win the MVP award for the All Stars this season! They can't make it through a show without him. Not that I'm complaining! Wow, Pasha and Dmitry in the same room. How did Caitlynn handle this?!
The dance: Caitlynn's writhing up Pasha's leg, but Pasha stole the moment with his adorable grin. Not that it's her fault; nobody's going to outshine Pasha. Caitlynn's certainly got the hip wiggling down, even at a really fast tempo.
The judging: Christina thinks Caitlynn did a great job and seems pleasantly surprised about it. Mary says that when a contestant gets a second chance to do a dance, they expect it to be better, and this was. She loved the technique all-around, but does think Cailtlynn pulled her face too much. Mary: "But your body was dancing!" Nigel agrees--great dancing, iffy face situation. Lil C says she should swan dive into the sexy attitude, not cannonball. He thinks she can be more subtle about it, and that was an impressive bit of criticism from Lil C because it was both spot-on and understandable!

Marko's solo: I think they did this whole talk-to-their-families thing because of how much of a heartstrings-puller Marko's mom is. Khaki shorts, long-sleeved tee. I have nothing to declare re: the dancing, however. It was good, but nothing too exciting.

Melanie's solo: Grey dress with scale/petals. Fab pirouette into a split thing. I actually want to see more of her solo. The other person in that category tonight would be Sasha.

Sasha and Ricky (Kumari Suraj waack):

The featurette: The first waacking number in SYTYCD history. Oh no, it's the dance that Princess Whoever did in audition that everyone flipped for, right? I could have lived without one of these, actually.
The dance: Sasha is wearing a bizarre, stiff transparent skirt. Sasha looks pretty good, but this isn't working for Ricky at all. I'm trying to decide if this would work for any boy, and I'm thinking it's unlikely. Parts of it looked like disco, and not in a good way.
The judging: Mary remembers Princess Lockeroo's name. Mary says she never really loved this style until she saw the level Princess took it too. She thinks they did a good job, but they're not up to the level of Princess. Nigel didn't think the waacking was lacking. Nigel enjoyed the fun of this. He thinks Ricky could relax more and not worry so much about it. OF COURSE HE'S WORRIED! HE'S A WEEK OUT OF THE FINALE AND HE HAS TO FREAKING WAACK! How could you not be worried?! I'm worried for him! Lil C thinks they were too focused on the steps and didn't get enough into the glamorous style. Christina thought it was good, but they could have waacked it harder.

Melanie and Tadd (Spencer Liff Broadway):

The featurette: The best news for Ricky after that waacking disaster is that Tadd is about to get Broadway-ed. But it's not Tyce Broadway and he's with Melanie, so he'll probably be ok. There's a complicated director/actress plot line here that is reminiscent of aspects of Black Swan.
The dance: Mel is exquisite as usual. Continuing the prop theme, there's a chair, a towel and a giant mirror. The mirror is actually kind of cool because you can see more angles. I liked it, actually. So much better than usual Broadways, because it wasn't especially Broadway-ish.
The judging: Nigel has to take a minute to commend Mel on her solo, which he thinks was one of the best ever in SYTYCD history. Nigel thinks Melanie is a great actress, not just a great technical dancer. Now Melanie's his favorite again. Nigel says that for Tadd dancing with Melanie: "To say you didn't suck is good." Lil C loves that Melanie's artistry speaks for itself and that she has a quiet fire. Lil C says that she's sooooo buck and that her solo was "so beefy." C thinks Tadd's growing by leaps and bounds. Christina says they were literally banging the table during Melanie's solo. Christina says Melanie has taken dance to another level for her. She still likes Tadd too. Mary feels privileged to watch this kind of dancing.

Caitlynn and Marko (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Marko is an overbearing, controlling man, and Caitlynn's trying to get away. Boy, am I sick of dances about overbearing people too.
The dance: Reminiscent of Mia's addiction number and Tyce's bad dream number last week. Still good though--they're doing some nice lifts and climbing/flipping-over-each-other stuff.
The judging: Standing O from judges. Lil C says this routine was "double hashtag buck." It was so reckless and committed and murderous. Christina thinks Marko's a beast too. Christina thinks that was Caitlynn's moment. (I think we've deemed several other moments to be Caitlynn's "moment.") Mary says it was one of Caitlynn's best (so at least she remembers those other "moments"). Mary still maintains that Marko's her favorite dancer on this show. She thinks he's fearless. Nigel says this more than makes up for Sonya's chandelier routine (which made him a little upset). He thinks Caitlynn came of age (again) tonight. Nigel says Marko shows what a brilliant dancer he is every time he walks on the stage.

My favorites:
Ricky and Jaime's contemporary
Melanie and Tadd's Broadway
Caitlynn and Marko's jazz

Tonight felt fairly contemporary/jazz-heavy. I would have swapped one of the contemps out for another hip-hop.

Not sure which boy will be the odd man out, but if Melanie and Sasha aren't through to the finale, it's criminal!

SYTYCD: Crazy Eights

2011-07-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 8 Performance Show

Before we get to this week's show, I have a complaint from the results last week. Shouldn't the final vote be completely up viewer votes by now? Why are the judges still deciding? In other years, they haven't had a say anymore at this point--that's how we lost Allison, Will, Janette, etc. before the finales. Sometimes we lose good people, but at least the viewers are picking.

Cat is looking bronzed and wearing an awesome white dress with kind of structural detailing on the sides. Long flowing hair with a braid of hair as a headband.
Judging panel is Nigel, Mary, Lady Gaga and Rob Marshall

Sasha with Pasha (Jonathan Roberts quick step):

The featurette: It’s Sasha and Pasha! My dream has come true!
The dance: 100 points for Sasha’s weird but awesome costume. 100 more points for the Charleston influences. I’m not sure that Sasha’s got the quick step style down completely, but she’s doing such a great job of selling the style and performance that I don’t care. She and Pasha are both looking awesome. Aces.
Mary says Sasha had the best body position of anyone this season on the promenade. Nigel says she’s his favorite of the season. Gaga says Sasha’s as shiny on the outside as she is on the inside.

Caitlynn with Ivan (Marty Kudelka hip-hop):

The featurette: It’s nice to see Ivan again!
The dance: There’s kind of a lot of build up before the dancing starts here. Ivan’s very Justin Timberlake-ish in this. Once she actually started moving, Caitlynn looked pretty good. Not the world’s most exciting routine ever, but it’s fairly cute.
The judging: Mary can’t contain herself because she hasn’t seen Ivan in so long and he’s just so amazing. She thinks Caitlynn was really good, if not brilliant. Both Mary and Nigel have referenced “sitting in a pocket” and the two of them are so un-hip-hop that it’s hard to know if they have any idea what they’re talking about. Gaga thinks Caitlynn is extremely sexy. Gaga says that lyrical hip-hop is kind of difficult because sometimes it can feel a bit dated. Interesting, is that what my problem with it is? Rob thought this was a beautiful style for her. He thinks she could lose herself a little more in the dance.

Jordan with Ade (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: Uh oh, Jordan's about to get Tyced.
The dance: Eew at her silk purple romper. Yeah, we know Jordan can do crazy extensions; I feel like we're all using that as a bit of a crutch now. This routine did nothing for me at all. Ade is still strong and good at lifting girls around though. Tyce has had a haircut.
The judging: Nigel thought it was just such a fun routine. Gaga says that Jordan gives her hope because she's short too, and Jordan can do so many awesome positions with her legs. Gaga shows us her crazy shoes. Rob thinks Tyce is just such an amazing choreographer, and I'm not going to give credence to anything else he has to say. Mary gives it a scream, and I'm like, "Really?!" Ok, guys, nothing about Tyce is "bad-ass"! Stop saying it! I think they're over-praising it to try to alleviate the how Tyced she was.

Melanie and Neil (Mandy Moore contemporary):

The featurette: Ok, Melanie is getting an awful lot of contemporary over the weeks...
The dance: Neil's got the white pajama pants/no shirt look going. The flowiness of Mel's dress is pretty. They're dancing it well, but it's kind of familiar looking. There are some MAJOR lifts in this though. Melanie threw herself halfway across the stage at one point and Neil caught her. Neil's hair is looking different; he kind of has bangs.
The judging: Standing ovation. Gaga says her hat is off to Melanie, and mercifully, she actually takes off her ugly hat! Melanie's greatest achievement to date! Gaga says she'd hire Melanie tomorrow to dance on her tour. Rob says that watching Melanie is like magic. He said she has amazing technique, but was also able to throw away the technique and play the scene. Mary loves it, and P.S. she loves Neil too. Nigel has already changed his mind--Sasha's not his favorite anymore, Melanie is! Fickle. Cat asks us if we want to see Melanie do the jump-into-Neil thing again, and Neil pops out from backstage and Melanie does it again! Holy moly.

Ricky with Anya (Jason Gilkison jive):

The featurette: Anya's leggings were pretty fantastic.
The dance: Whoa, nice spinny jump from Ricky in the beginning. Anya's rocking the fringe, as one would expect. Not sure how I feel about this one. I didn't love it, but I don't think it was the fault of the dancers. I think Ricky was actually doing rather well. The "jive" part of it seemed to come and go. There was a rocky lift in the middle there.
The judging: Rob says Ricky dances with so much joy. Mary thought he started out a little rocky with the form, but then got better, then there was a labored lift, but then he got right back into it and pulled it off. Nigel thinks Ricky needs to get lower. He says the bungled lift looked like it more belonged "in a meat market" which is a comparison that I'm sure Anya's not loving... Contrarian that she is, Gaga liked that Ricky was high. She thought his style seemed more modern than Anya's.

Jess with Lauren Gottlieb (Tabitha and Napoleon hip-hop):

The featuretteNappyTabs talk for about half as long as usual.
The dance: Lauren is stealing the show. Not even sure why Jess went out there with her, actually.
The judging: Mary sees progress from Jess every week. She thinks he was really good tonight, and it was one of his most honest performances. Nigel agrees that Jess has matured significantly over this season. Nigel says Jess did not over-play it. Gaga has respect for him coming from a place from Broadway performance. And now I love Gaga because she says there was aspects of the choreography that she didn't like. (The flower was unnecessary.) A good complaint about NappyTabs always wins me over.

Tadd with Lauren Froderman (Mandy Moore jazz):

The dance: Tadd is kind of Michael Jackson-ish in the beginning. But the music is Queen. Whatever. It's cool to see Lauren F. again. This is supposed to be jazz, right? I'm not sure how much jazz-ing Tadd is really doing here. He's just kinda walking around and being funky.
The judging: Nigel never remembers Lauren looking like that (sexy). Oh come on, Nigel, you did nothing but ogle her all season long last year. Nigel thinks Tadd absorbs the styles. Oookay. Gaga thought it was amazing and loved the styling. Gaga's probing the story behind the whole thing. Rob says that Tadd keeps surprising us with every move--the levels keep changing. Mary says he put the "C" on cool. Mary thinks he's going to land himself in the finale, which seems a little premature/optimistic to me, but who knows. If the judges are picking the people in the finale, then I guess he will.

Marko with Allison (Sonya Tayeh contemporary):

The featurette: Well, this should be good. The dance is about how we should be nicer.
The dance: Jeff Buckley music--this one's going to pull on the heart strings. Allison is amaaaaaaazing. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not. Marko's doing well too, but this is basically all about Allison.
The judging: Another standing O. Gaga's in tears because she's just so proud of Marko. Unfortunately, she's put the hat back on. Gaga: "Number one, number three, number 10, who cares? You've got it." This is the first time Marko's mom has gotten to watch the show live; she just flew in from Guam. Mary says Marko is still her favorite dancer on the show. Nigel says we've just seen a moment that is more than the show.

Caitlynn and Tadd (Jonathan Robers fox trot):

The featurette: The most classic of all fox trots.
The dance: I like Caitlynn in this. Plus her dress is gorgeous. Her smile/facial expressions are sometimes a bit much though.
The judging: Mary says it was a little mixed--some technique was good, some could have used some work. She didn't think it was the most memorable dance of the night. Gaga really loved it. She loved the flower in Caitlynn's hair. She does think Caitlynn can relax her hands a little. Several references tonight to Caitlynn being a "competition dancer," which I don't remember ever hearing about before.

Ricky and Marko (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

The featurette: Ooh, interesting pairing, just because this means some of the girls are dancing together too (Sasha and Mel, please!).
The dance: Because when you think "Ricky and Marko," you think "hip-hopping janitors." I'm liking Marko a bit better just because he's a little lower, and down-and-dirtier. They did a nice job with the fast section at the end (that was a bit reminiscent of the Twitch/Alex Freaking Wong number last year).
The dance: Mary loved it and gives another scream. Nigel can't believe how nasty Marko was. Cat: "He used to be a bad boy." Nigel thought Ricky was still a bit high. Nigel has reservations that Ricky might be in the bottom--well, somebody has to be. There are only four boys. Gaga thought the interpretation of "hip-hop" was a little contrived (I have a feeling it usually is on this show). She's not feeling NappyTabs' props again, and I'm still loving it. Rob says Napoleon and Tabitha are "soooo great" and I stop listening to him again.

Jordan and Jess (Jason Gilkison rumba):

The featurette: This is the first rumba we've had this season. Not that I'm really complaining about that, because I'm usually not a big fan of them.
The dance: I'm not really getting "abusive relationship" from this. This isn't a great showcase for Jess, but I like him in it. His faces seemed appropriate. It was okay. There was a nice back reverse spin lift.
The judging: Nigel liked the lift, but he didn't get the chemistry between them at all. He's complaining about someone's swayed back, but I'm not sure who he's talking to. Gaga says there was nothing wrong with it, but she would have interpreted the song differently as an artist. She thinks the dancers did a beautiful job though. Rob thought they brought out the best of each other. Rob points out that they both sing, and he sees big theater careers for both of them. Mary says that lift was one of the best lifts all season. She didn't see the elasticity through the arms that you see in international rumba. Or something. Maybe that's why I never like rumbas on this show. I just thought it was because they're boring ;-)

Sasha and Melanie (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: This is a three-person dream team right here.
The dance: Matching mohawks! It's interesting to watch these two together, because they both usually steal the show from their partners. If I had to pick one, I think I'd say I liked Sasha in this better. Just because it seemed more organic to her. But they were both good. This routine/performance was good, but I am a bit letdown. With these two dancers, it could have been unbelievable.
The judging: Everyone--including Sonya--is beside themselves. Gaga says in the dance community when you do a good job, you throw your shoe at the stage, so she chucked her giant shoe on the stage, and Sasha scooped it up in jubilation. She says everyone can pack up and go home, because that was the performance of the night. Rob gives props to Sonya. He congratulates Cat on her Emmy nom too and she giggles like a schoolgirl again. She's so cute! Mary thinks that was the best number of the night and the best number Sonya's ever done. Um, "The Garden"?! Cat says it was almost like the "Two Princes" number but for women. They should just let Cat be the host and a judge--she usually comes up with some of the more insightful comments of anyone. Nigel says he can't decide which of the two of them are the best, and he's glad he doesn't have to decide. Sonya unleashed the beasts in them. Gaga gives her other shoe to Sonya. Nigel goes out on a big limb and says that either Sasha or Melanie could be this year's champion. Uh duh. I think we all new that in week one.

There were several good performances tonight, but I don't think I loved as many of them as I did last week.

My favorites:

Marko and Allison's contemporary

Sasha and Pasha's quick step

Melanie and Neil contemporary

Sasha and Melanie's jazz

Bottom four prediction: Caitlynn, Jordan, Tadd and Ricky ?

SYTYCD: A Near Perfect 10

2011-07-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 10 Performance Show

It's the Top 10 plus All Stars, baby! Wohoo!

I'll try to get it out of my system now: "PAAAAASSSSHHHHHHHHAAAA!"
The camera man doesn't know where to point the camera during group shots now that Ryan's gone ;-)
Cat is wearing a sequin-y black mini dress (silver at the bottom) with short sleeves, paired with long, very straight hair.
The judging panel: It's Doogie Howser! Neil Patrick Harris will be holding down the fort, along with Nigel and Mary.
Each of the Top 10 will dance with an All Star and do a solo.

Marko with Chelsie (Jason Gilkison samba):

The featurette: It's CHELSIE HIGHTOWER! This is exciting. Lol, Chelsie kicked Marko in the face a few times.
The dance: It's going to be hard for Marko to not get completely upstaged by Chelsie here. He's got to make sure it doesn't look like Dancing With the Stars. To that end, they try to give Marko a few little solo sections so we have to pay attention to him, and he did seem to be doing a pretty good job. And he got a kiss from Chelsie in the middle.
The judging: Neil says it was amazing and dirty. Neil: "She does that scissor kick around your face; I would have kissed her too by the end of it." Neil says, "Well played." Lol. Mary shrieks that Marko is the real deal, and she's so worked up that her earring fell off. She says his samba action was absolutely amazing. Mary: "Congratulations. You're something else, kid!" Nigel says although Marko wasn't dancing with Melanie, he didn't lose any of his chemistry. Cat: "Chelsie Hightower's like a James Bond villain."

Sasha's solo: To Duffy. Sasha's dancing is cool--it's a little weird and quirky, almost in a slightly Billy Bell kind of way. I like how she doesn't rely completely on spins and splits and the more "trick" style moves.

Jordan with Brandon (Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson contemporary):

The featurette: It's cool to see Brandon again; I haven't seen much of him lately. This routine is difficult. Jordan's lucky to draw contemporary two weeks in a row.
The dance: Brandon is shirtless and wearing some really skinny jeans. And of course Jordan's showing off her superb splits and leg kicks. Honestly, if this were a leg kick competition, she'd have it in the bag. As for the other aspects of the dancing, I think Brandon's got her beat.
The judging: Mary says it's so great to see Brandon on the stage. Mary thinks Jordan was fearless tonight and says that Dwight and Desmond played to all her strengths. Nigel says that Jordan doesn't have many weaknesses, so Dwight and Desmond had the freedom to choreograph whatever they wanted. Neil couldn't take his eyes off her.

Jess' solo: Argyle sweater vest and khakis. That tells you about all you need to know. (Aside from the fact that Jess displays an impressive amount of control coming out of his pirouettes.)

Tadd with Comfort (Chuck Maldonado hip-hop):

The featurette: Hmm, another favorable pairing of dancer and style. Comfort is supposed to be "gutter fabulous" or something.
The dance: Not sure they wear tight plaid pants in the gutter. Not to mention the blue hair streaks, but whatever. I've seen hip-hop routines on this show that I liked better, but I've seen worse too. Tadd is doing a good job of keeping up with Comfort; he might be doing the moves better, actually. I'm pretty impressed with him here, actually.
The judging: Nigel says it was very, very, very fast. Nigel's impressed that Tadd can pick up and remember choreo as well as he can, since that's not something b-boys usually do. Nigel suggests that Tadd out danced his All Star. Neil agrees that Tadd out hip-hopped Comfort, which is not easy to do. Mary complains that Nigel's been on her case all night, and Cat responds, "He's on the end; just push him off. He's on a wheely chair." Mary says the routine didn't stop, and neither did Tadd.

Melanie's solo: She's dancing to a really mellow version of "You're the One that I Want," and I never want it to end. It's been a really long time since we've seen her dance solo.

Mitchell with Melody (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

The featurette: Eesh, Tyce is annoying. It's been a while since I've mentioned that, I think, so I'll go ahead and reiterate it.
The dance: This is interesting because I've never seen Melody dance before; I started watching in Season 2. Mitchell's doing a pretty good job of selling this (I'm actually somewhat pleasantly surprised with his performance level), but the choreo/routine is nothing especially wonderful/memorable.
The judging: Neil didn't quite get that much at all. He didn't get the airplane-ness of it. He says it was "disjointed" and not incredibly well thought out! HA! NPH must have heard that a sure-fire way to win over SYTYCD fans is to dis Tyce. Mary thought it was fun, but a bit overdone. Nigel thinks Mitchell "over egged the pudding" (like Ryan last week) and should think more about style than about over-smiling and making things too big. Mitchell is classy and compliments Tyce.

Ricky's solo: He's got (his own) big shoes to fill after last week's dance for his life solo, and he pretty much pulls it off again--very good pirouettes. The biggest problem was that he ran off-stage after the solo, instead of going to stand with Cat to pimp his phone number. She gets him in line though, so it's ok.

Clarice's solo: She's in a bikini top and short-shorts, with a strange hunk of tulle sticking out from her hip. I somewhat liked the dancing though; it was peppy.

Caitlynn with Pasha (Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo Argentine tango):

The featurette: Oh, Pasha... He's so beautiful.
The dance: Props to Caitlynn for even getting me to look at her at all here. I think her tango kicks could be a little crisper, but by and large, she looks pretty good. There are some fancy lifts that she handles very well.
The judging: Cat: "No on Blue Steels like Pasha." Mary gives it a standing ovation. Mary says it was the first Argentine tango of the season, and it was really worth the wait. Mary says the passion Caitlynn showed was more real tonight than in any other number--well, no kidding! She was dancing with PASHA! Nigel says that tonight she was a woman and far sexier than ever before. He liked that she didn't over perform. Neil thought it started off a little slow, but then he got totally hooked in. NPH thought the were very in sync with each other, and this is the first time he's ever wanted to learn the Argentine tango.

Mitchell's solo: White shorts, no shirt. Dancing to a John Legend song that reminds me of The Game. And spent most of the solo trying to remember why the song reminded me of The Game and didn't pay that much attention to Mitchell's dancing. It looked pretty good though.

Sasha with Twitch (Christopher Scott hip-hop):

The featurette: I think we've missed an great opportunity to do a Sasha/Pasha number, but maybe some other time. Oh, I adore Twitch. He's just so inherently likeable. (And my annual apology: I know it's tWitch, but I can't stand how weird that looks when I type it.) Twitch: "At the beginning, we were lacking love. At the end, we were lacking breakfast."
The dance: Wow, Sasha is killing it up on that table. This is a rather slow and groovy hip-hop, but it's awesome. Wow, that routine/performance was so good. Twitch is awesome and Sasha totally was too.
The judging: Nigel make a joke about cornflakes that is so off-color that even he can't believe what he said. Nigel thinks this is the first time he's seen her with chemistry with her partner, and she really nailed that routine from beginning to end. Neil thinks it was the best routine so far; it was spectacular. Neil was blown away be how in sync they were. Mary says she needs, for various reasons I won't bother to relay, to call the sheriff, the fire department, and the paramedics (because she's ready to have a "hot attack"). Mary: "As much as I love Twitch, I loved you doing that number."

Jordan's solo: Didn't we already see Jordan's solo? No, I guess I'm thinking about the partner routine. She pulls out some nice pirouettes too, straight into a jump-to-ground, which she landed very lightly and flawlessly. I like how she tried to steer away from the splits and kicks a little, and some Lykke Li never hurt anyone.

Jess with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: Kathryn! There are lots of lifts. Kathryn: "He's actually a lot stronger than he looks." Stacey: "Kathryn can practically levitate, so if he can't lift her, we're in trouble."
The dance: Ok, Kathryn is extraordinary. I always remember that, but somehow I'm still always surprised by how good she is when I watch her. I guess I'll be going to see Step Up 4. Anyway, Jess does some nice jumps/kicks/flips stuff, which is good because he's in danger of being upstaged by Kathryn, in my opinion anyway.
The judging: Neil thinks it was an extraordinarily designed performance by Stacey. Neil thinks that sometimes Jess' face is a little muggy, which turns people off, and that's bad because he's an amazing dancer. Neil liked this one because the routine gave him less opportunity for mugging. Mary thinks it was her favorite piece from Jess this season. Nigel really liked the piece and Jess in it.

Tadd's solo: 10 seconds in, and I'm already way more impressed than I was by his whole elimination night solo last week. Although this one may have petered out a little. Eh, I don't know; I'm not good at rating b-boy solos.

Melanie and Pasha (Jason Gilkison Viennese waltz):

The featurette: It's a two Pasha night! If only we could always be so lucky!! In this routine, Pasha's given up, but Melanie is encouraging him.
The dance: Pasha has given up to such an extent that he can't even bring himself to button up his shirt. Melanie's dress is gorgeous! As is their dancing, of course. Very soft and fluid and lovely. Pure grace.
The judging: Pasha looks like he should be on the front of a romance novel in that getup. Mary: "I'm just jealous that he got to dance with him." Mary says that it looked like Melanie's feet never touched the ground and she was just floating across the stage. She says Melanie does lifts like it was something she was doing all her life. Nigel says it was beautiful flow of movement and a master class in lifting and lift technique. Nigel says the reason choreographers keep using her as the rock because she's a solid, fantastic dancer. NPH says Mel looks like she's from that past, but dances like she's from the future. He says she's beautiful and it seems like it comes from the inside as well as the outside. She's easily his favorite dancer on the show.

Caitlynn's solo: She also has a weird bunch of something coming out of the side of her short-shorts. She sometimes falls out of her pirouettes, so she solves that problem by jumping out of them tonight. Pretty good.

Ricky with Allison (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: Ricky is star struck by Allison, which earns him points in my book. This routine is about a bad dream. There's an easy joke to make here involving Tyce's choreo and a bad dream, but I won't go there.
The dance: Allison = awesomeness. Ricky has a weird belt-like thing of red rags around the back of him. The routine is intense, and they're both so good technically that they're doing some pretty impressive stuff with it. I really like it.
The judging: Nigel loved this kind of choreo from Tyce. He doesn't think Ricky out-danced his All Star (because Allison is awesome) but he thinks he matched up to her. NPH thinks Tyce went for a bold move here by giving Ricky a mature routine to do, and Ricky pulled it off really well. Mary thought this was ridiculously dark, and she thinks that Ricky really brought it. Raw, reckless and spectacular.

Marko's solo: Here's another dancer we haven't seen solo in ages. Nice back flip to start things off, plus some nice leaps and pirouettes and things.

Clarice with Robert (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

The featurette: Robert has to be the Bollywood All Star? I was never the biggest fan of Robert, but I feel a bit sorry him now. Robert looks more manly than in the past, I'd say.
The dance: My feelings of pity for Robert having to be the Bollywood All Star just grew tenfold when I saw his sparkly purple parachute pants. At least they dunked Rob in some tanner to make him look somewhat Indian. This routine was way better than the Bollywood number that Nick and Iveta had to do earlier this year. And Clarice and Robert did a really good job with it. I do, however, now feel like we're throwing kisses into dances just for the sake of putting kisses in dances.
The judging: NPH says he hasn't really connected with Clarice yet this season, but he liked her in this one. Mary says it was fast and intricate and hard. Mary thought it was perfect for Clarice, and she doesn't think she could have done it any better. Nigel agrees that it was perfect fit. Exhilarating.

The wrap-up:

This was another week where they seemed to put most everyone in a situation where they could excel. Consistent greatness might get a little boring after a while, but tonight I rather enjoyed it.
There will be a whole new batch of All Stars next week. I like that formula, because that means we'll get to see more dancers, which is exciting because I love so many of them.
There's a problem with the play back, so Cat has to line all the dancers up on stage and read their names and numbers really fast, which she handles like the pro she is.

My favorites:
Sasha and Twitch's hip-hop
Ricky and Allison's jazz
Melanie and Pasha's waltz

In trouble: Mitchell. Maybe Clarice.

SYTYCD: The Dancing Dozen

2011-07-13T19:55:00.006-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 12 Performance Show

Wow, it's the last week before the Top 10 already! Time's flying.

The intro:

Cat is wearing a sparkly silver dress with a trim of white feathers at the bottom.
We get two routines from each couple tonight. Good. That means there will be less time for the judges to babble.
Speaking of the judges, the panel is Nigel, Mary, Sonya and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family, so this could be interesting. Jesse doesn't strike me as someone who will just sugarcoat everything.
Mary looks less orange this week, which is a plus.
Jesse says he has done Broadway and theme parks.

Sasha and Alexander (Tony and Meredith paso doble):

The featurette: This is a nontraditional paso, because it's a battle between the two of them. I guess Tony and Meredith realized that Sasha is too fierce to just be Alexander's cape. Wow, that was a short featurette; we're not wasting any time tonight!
The dance: This is kind of weird. It looks like time they had two guys (AdeChike and Jose) do a paso last year. I don't really feel strongly one way or the other about this one.
The judging: Nigel says that Tony and Meredith recognized Sasha's strength and that Alexander managed to keep up with her. Mary says they deserve an "Ole!" Mary says Alexander had a breakthrough. Jesse says Sasha is a pillar of strength and Alex came up to her level. Sonya loves Sasha's strength. Alex says Mel and Tony dedicated this dance to their friend who is fighting cancer (and there wasn't a head scarf in sight!).

Jordan and Tadd (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: The dance is a metaphor about women who take advantage of weak men. Travis: "Everything's painful. There's nothing Tweety Bird about this." I'm noticing a trend: Jordan attacked Tadd last week too.
The dance: Jordan is dressed like a bird. This is cool. Hey, Travis even worked Jordan's patented leg-kick-spin-flash-crotch-to-audience move! That was considerate of him. Kidding aside, Jordan does do some fabulous leg kicks and spins. Nice routine. Tadd snapped her neck at the end; finally a boy makes it through a number without dying ;-)
The judging: Mary says Travis has outdone himself again. Mary says she's no longer surprised how well Tadd dances and that Jordan "just demolished that, from beginning to end." Jesse liked that take on the classic boy-meets-evil-vulture story we all know so well. Sonya says that dances like this with true conviction are what makes her cry. Nigel calls it the story of Thanksgiving. Nigel raves about Tadd and says they were both terrific.

Ricky and Ryan (Spencer Liff contemporary):

The featurette: Nothing to declare.
The dance: Ryan's dressed like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. This dance is taking forever to get going. And it's massively slow. I am, however, enjoying Ricky in this. Wow, he just did a really nice pirouette. I'm on the fence about Ryan. Her performance isn't horrible, but I don't love it.
The judging: Jesse felt like a glass ceiling was on the performance; it felt a little muted to him. Sonya felt like they were questioning it the whole time and letting it simmer too long, but it was okay. Nigel doesn't think the complete Broadway style set comfortably with them. Nigel now admits that BOTH of them have had problems connecting with the audience (in last week's elimination episode he said that Ricky had connection problems). Mary liked the first 30 seconds (when they were standing there doing nothing), but then they lost the style and could have done more with what they were given. Ricky looks kind of ridiculous in that hat, which is not helping matters.

Kaitlynn and Mitchell (LXD's Chris Scott hip-hop):

The featurette: I've been a supporter of Invisible Children for years, so I'm excited to see a routine inspired by a cause close to my heart. The featurette didn't provide much of an explanation of what's going on in Uganda and the Congo, but hopefully people will be inspired to check out the Invisible Children website and learn more.
The dance: If not told the story/inspiration in advance, I wouldn't have gotten it from this routine, however, the dancing is fairly solid. They are having unison problems though.
The judging: Sonya said the lack of unison jumbled the message for her, and I think I agree. Nigel didn't really get the message about the abductees in the Congo from that routine either, and he wanted them to get in front of a mirror and dance together. Mary thinks it was still respectable and strong, but came up just a little, little bit short tonight. Jesse likes the power they dance with. He didn't really see the message in the dance either.

Melanie and Marko (Louie Van Amstel tango):

The featurette: No story, just tango. Bring it!
The dance: Goodness, Melanie's lacy red backless dress is all kinds of sexy. I don't know what's moving faster: the dancers or the camera that's showing them to us. I feel like I'm going to barf. They did some of the routine rather dangerously close to the edge of the stage. HOLY CRAP that back bend/swing lift thing at the end was stunning! You can tell this style is more foreign to them than anything we've seen them do thus far, but for two non-ballroomers, that was pretty darn good.
The judging: Nigel says they did that routine was tremendously better than they did in the dress run. Mary explains some kinds of tango for us. This was American style tango, which is a combo of everything, and Louie put it all in there. Mary says there were some few awkward shapes, but they did a really good job for non-ballroomers. Jesse thinks they both have "that spark." Sonya says every time she watches them dance, they make her loose her breath because of their conviction, which comes from their souls. She says they're timeless dancers.

Clarice and Jess (Christopher Scott lyrical hip-hop):

The featurette: The routine is about a woman's insecurities.
The dance: Jess is a painter. He can't really pull off the stocking cap hipster look, unfortunately. This is a little weird because they're hip-hopping really hard to a very slow, melodic song. I think that makes it harder for them to pull the dance off. It would be easier to tell if they were together and on-beat if you could actually hear a beat. It was all right.
The judging: Mary thinks this number was so cute. Mary thinks they both have a pulse and swag and she loved the performance. Jesse loved it. Jesse wants to marry Clarice even though they both have boyfriends. Sonya thinks they're always adorable and that they slayed this routine. Nigel wasn't sure at first, but then he thinks they found the funk.

Sasha and Alexander (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: Oh, look, it's Tyce. I hadn't been missing him.
The dance: There's a street lamp on stage. Cause that makes so much sense. The music's Aretha Franklin, though, so that's pretty darn cool. Ooh, really nice lift there with Sasha's hands and flexed feet up in the air; very interesting. And another nice spinning lift towards the end too. I actually really liked this one. I love that they just really got to let loose and dance. Something weird happened at the end, and I'm not sure what. I think the lamppost was malfunctioning.
The judging: Jesse thinks this was amazing and his favorite number so far tonight. Sonya keeps wanting to swear. Sonya says that this performance from Alex was what she's been hoping for all season. She was finally watching him too. Nigel says Sasha's carried Alex through a few weeks, but not tonight. Nigel: "The only shaky thing on that stage is that lamppost."

Jordan and Tadd (Spencer Liff Broadway):

The featurette: Jordan is a princess and has been asleep for 100 years. Jordan doesn't have acro skills apparently.
The dance: Jordan's doing a lot of lying on the table to start this one out. Watching this routine, I feel reminded that Broadway so very rarely works on this show. And that's through no fault of these two, who danced this pretty well. Jordan pulled out a nice pirouette at the end. Spencer's had kind of a rough night.
The judging: Sonya was underwhelmed. She knows their abilities and didn't see them here, but she loves these two dancers. Nigel thought it could have been a little quirkier/sillier. He thought they could have brought more character to it. He thinks it was "okay." They're lucky they had a Travis routine earlier this evening. Mary says she likes cotton candy, but not too much of it. Jesse felt it was a bit of a grab bag of style and music and costumes.

Ryan and Ricky (Louie Van Amstel cha cha):

The featurette: Holy crap, they're making them do ballroom! I never thought I'd see the day! Ricky's excited because this is out of their comfort zone and it's hot.
The dance: Ok, I know Ryan's got her share of haters, and I'm not trying to pile on, but there is something a bit heavy about the way she steps when she dances. Otherwise, I'm pretty solidly impressed by both of them; I wasn't expecting much from Ryan with ballroom, and Ricky's quite good. The death drop was definitely something.
The judging: Nigel thinks Ricky had great style and class. Nigel thinks Ryan was overselling it--"over egging the pudding"--and was a little bit sloppy. Perhaps Nigel has finally realized that he's not doing Ryan any favors with the relentless praise. Mary says that was the fastest cha cha she's ever seen. She thinks Ryan started good but then got a bit sloppy. But she thinks Ricky was awesome and she puts just him on the Hot Tamale Train. Jesse likes that Ryan was flirting with him during the dance. Jesse says it was his favorite performance from Ricky of the season. Sonya likes that Ricky was basking in the fun of it. She thinks that Ryan gets too tense and stressed and needs to embrace how wonderful she is.

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Travis Wall something--I missed the classification for this one--jazz?):

The featurette: Caitlynn is a rock star who has just found out that her boyfriend is married, which is one of the more oddly specific concepts we've had in a while.
The dance: But it's an excuse for a little Janis Joplin, so who cares? This is somewhat out of the Travis Wall norm, which is interesting. It included some rather fancy split lifts and stuff.
The judging: Mary thought it was a little dirty and she liked it. She loved the whole thing. Jesse (to Caitlynn): "Only you can prevent forest fires, by not dancing like that in a forest." Jesse thought it was fantastic. Sonya thought it was really hot, esp. Caitlynn. Sonya thinks Mitchell loses his intention when he focuses on the partnering (it looks like work). Nigel doesn't want to say anything to Caitlynn because he'll look like a dirty old man. His one criticism is that she didn't need to play to the crowd, and should have just focused on Mitchell (and smacking him down).

Melanie and Marko (Dee Caspery contemporary):

The featurette: I'd usually call BS on a contemporary couple drawing contemporary again, but I don't care--I want to see these two dance contemporary again! It's a nice swan song for them as a couple.
The dance: So freaking beautiful. The light bulb thing was a nice concept, but it didn't get in the way of the dancing.
The judging: Jesse has lost the ability to be coherent. He thought it was brilliant and it's his new favorite from them. Sonya is so grateful that this is the future of dance. She thanks them and hopes they stay humble and true. Nigel's excited about next week, except for breaking these two up because there's something magical about them together. Nigel's favorite style of choreo is when it flows and doesn't just look like a series of steps put together, and this flowed magically. Mary says Dee's work was amazing and relevant. The connections, transitions and everything else were flawless.

Clarice and Jess (Tony and Melanie jive):

The featurette: Really? We're closing the show with a jive? That's ballsy. Jess says, "You name it, it's in this jive."
The dance: Now Clarice has a feather-trimmed dress too. I'm not sure I like jive with this pop-style music, but the dancers seem to be doing a pretty good job with the jive style. Clarice almost fell over after a series of spins at the end, but otherwise I thought it was good.
The judging: Cat: "Glad to see you got the memo on the frock." Sonya love, love, love, loves it. Nigel thought the footwork was good, but would have liked a little more energy in parts. Mary agrees that Jess' leg kicks were fabulous. She thought Jess lost some steam as it went on and didn't quite see the jive joy from him. But she thought Clarice had it and kept it up the whole time. Jesse thought it was fun.

The wrap-up:

Jesse scores major points from me by saying that Emmy noms come out tomorrow and Cat deserves to be recognized because she is one of the most fabulous reality show hosts. Amen, brother! Cat turns bright red and looks rather embarrassed about being singled out, but she needs to hear the truth!
Tomorrow they're announcing the All Stars! WOHOO!!!
Nigel encourages us to vote for whoever we like, which is the point after all.
Marko scores points with me by pretending to stomp on Jess while they're dancing during the end credits.

My favorites:
Melanie and Marko's contemporary
Sasha and Alexander's jazz
Jordan and Tadd's contemporary

**I couldn't remember exactly which two boys did the paso doble last season, so I went back in my blog archives to check and noticed that I was so much meaner last year! I'm going to have to bring the snark back out for the rest of the season!

SYTYCD: Fabulous Fourteen

2011-07-06T19:59:00.014-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 14 Performance Show

Not quite sure how to describe Cat's dress tonight. It's kind of blue and kind of kimono inspired and there are some flowers on it. She's paired it with a high, curly ponytail and some big earrings.
Yeeeaaaaaa for "the stunning" Travis Wall. He does look serious and grown up this evening. Very professional hairdo.
I'd forgotten that Carmen Electra is a dancer.
I hope Travis brings the truth tonight.
This is the first time a former contestant is serving as a judge, I'm assuming. I can't remember any other instances anyway. Awesome sauce.
Ok, so we're clearly going to compensate for the fewer dances tonight by having immensely long commercial breaks?

Top 7 boys (Justin Giles contemporary): The first-time SYTYCD choreographer has created a strong, masculine dance depicting the seven stages of grief. Lol, the boys acting out the seven stages in practice was pretty funny. Well, a little Damien Rice to go with your contemporary never hurt anyone... Not sure I get the seven stages out of this, but I'm liking the dance. Some of the synchronization was pretty off during the unison part in the middle though.

Marko has to make a quick stop at wardrobe and come right back. Luckily, he's only wearing half an outfit right now, so it shouldn't take too long to change...

Marko and Melanie (Ray Leeper jazz):

The featurette: Is it wrong that I want these two to have to mambo or waltz or krump or something? I know they can do jazz and contemporary. I have a suspicion that they can do everything, but I want to see it! Marko is from Guam. He worked in a drag queen show on a cruise ship, but he wasn't the drag queen. Melanie's boyfriend came to the show last week and saw her kiss Marko in the hip-hop. Oops... This dance is the story of a young Latin couple...played by a guy from Guam and a white girl.
The dance: Marko's not wearing a shirt for this one either. Melanie's dress is weird. Mel's pirouette in the middle was to die for. I wasn't totally sold at first, but the longer it goes, the more I like it. Very fun.
The judging: Cat thinks Marko looks like a sexy firefighter who has forgotten his shirt. Travis has been taking Ray's class since he was 9 years old. Travis seems to have thought about what he's going to say (which is impressive because he only found out he was judging yesterday). Travis says that Mel is "by far" his favorite dancer in this comp. I didn't pay attention to anything Carmen just said. Mary says they have the passion. Mary liked the pirouette too. Mary is looking far, far, far too tan. Nigel says their technique matches their performance.

Sasha and Alexander (Shaun Evaristo hip-hop):

The featurette: We already know Sasha's family or at least we know Natalia. Sasha's family is Trinidadian. Alex started dancing because he didn't want to do P.E. I do not find that shocking. Alex's dad was an actor in the '70s. Wow, we've got a whole bunch of different choreographers tonight. They are trying to teach Alex swag, but it's not taking.
The dance: You know what, Alex is not bad. Better than I was expecting anyway. Sasha's good, but that's less surprising. And there's suddenly a random tree on the set. It's not the hardest-hitting hip-hop choreo we've ever had, but it was fun enough.
The judging: Carmen said she loved Sasha and didn't really watch Alex. Mary didn't see the swag. Whoa, now she just called the performance "lacking." She didn't think they connected with the piece and she didn't connect with them. I guess it needed some Nappy-Tabs "ripped form the movies" plot line. Nigel thought it seemed like Hip-Hop 101. Travis didn't hate it as much as the other judges did. Travis says they do need to work on their shading and musicality. And spews out whole bunch of actual things they can work on instead of just saying some general mumbo jumbo. I love Travis...

Jordan and Tadd (Toni Redpath smooth waltz):

The featurette: OMG, Jordan is from Chino! Suddenly things make sense... Ok, her Chino looks a lot nicer than Ryan Atwood's. Didn't these two just waltz? Enough with the waltz. Tadd is here to represent the Filipino community. In this routine, Jordan is a siren who seduces Tadd and then kills him.
The dance: I actually like these hair extensions on Jordan. The smoke, however, is out of control. How can we see their dancing, if the smoke is up to their knees? Jordan seems more focused on seducing the audience than Tadd during most of this. Otherwise, it was fine.
The judging: Cat: "If the kiss doesn't get him, the smoke will!" LOL. Mary gives us a nice little history lesson on the waltz. Thanks, Mary! That was actually constructive! She says it was dreamy and romantic and especially liked the beginning. I agree that Jordan's "floor sweep" was nice. Nigel thinks Toni's choreo was clever. Nigel's thinks Tadd's arms were fantastic. As were his "progressive twinkles." Travis thought it was beautiful, but, "Could it have been a little smoother? Yes." LOL! He thinks they should have flowed the moves together better. And gives Jordan a tip on her extensions! TRAVIS WALL FOR THE WIN!! Carmen says she doesn't know much about the waltz, and we're all shocked. I hereby propose a judging panel with Travis Wall only!!!

Clarice and Jess (Justin Giles contemporary)

The featurette: Jess' dad was an actor too. This is a contemporary piece about a couple that has been through a very intense love that is coming to an end. Shock. Couples are so rarely happy in contemporary pieces...
The dance: Why would Clarice have ever been in an intense love relationship with Jess in the first place? Ok, ok, I'm going to focus now. Really nice side-by-side unison moment there towards the beginning. I'm liking Clarice in this. And I'm liking that Jess is being rather understated.
The judging: Travis' favorite routine from them this season. First time he felt their chemistry was honest. He loves it and still gives Clarice a practical tip on her supporting leg! Nigel loves Justin's work in both of his routines tonight. Nigel liked the jerky movements in this one and really felt the anger. Carmen really believed the story. Mary thinks this partnership has been growing every single week. Mary liked the synchronization section too. (I'm starting to get concerned that Mary and I keep liking the same things tonight...)

Ashley and Chris (Liz Lira salsa):

The featurette: Salsa is kind of a rough draw for a couple that was in the bottom three last week. Ashley dreams of hosting her own cooking show. Chris comes from a huge Texas family. "There's always something to do and always something to clean." He suffered from severe dyslexia. This is one of the most difficult salsa routines that Liz has ever choreographed. There are lots of crazy lifts and swings. Godspeed, kids.
The dance: Bless poor Chris for going out there in those white pants and looking all Saturday Night Fever. Ash has kind of a nice salsa flair at times. Her dress and shoes are fantastic. Chris is certainly giving it a solid try, but it's not working all that well for him. The flashy ending was nice though.
The judging: Travis says it started out really hopefully and the lifts were good. When they broke apart it started to get iffy. He thinks their chemistry with each other has been better. And, oh my gosh, the audience is booing Travis! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?! And Chris says, "You're so mean! I love you!" LOL. Carmen thinks it was ok but that something wasn't quite there. Mary doesn't think this was as hot as their week 2 number. She did think there were moments where Ash was on fire, but she didn't maintain her Latin swagger the whole time. Mary could tell Chris felt awkward, but does commend his partnering work. Nigel agrees that the lifts were quite good. Nigel says he feel uncomfortable talking about Chris' hips, but he didn't have the right feel.

Ryan and Ricky (Chucky Klapow jazz):

The featurette: Sooooo many Californians... Ryan gushes about Mia a lot. Ricky loves the beach. Ricky moved to Tampa and ended up cheerleading. He seems to have rather enjoyed the experience. This dance is about fashion people who follow the fads and end up dead. Or something to that effect. Whatever it is, it's heck of a lot more interesting than the usual.
The dance: Actually this concept and choreo reminds me of Wade's "Sexy Back" group number in Season 2. And that is not a bad thing whatsoever. Ironic that Travis is on the judging panel. I'm liking this routine all around, but I think Ricky is rather out-dancing Ryan (and not just when she fell out of the pirouette at the end).
The judging: Carmen loved it--the music choice, the energy, etc. Mary says it was an experiment of movement down on the quirky side, and she likes a little bit of quirkiness in her life. She thinks Ricky was as good as ever and that Ryan went "full-tilt zombie." She gives it a scream. Nigel says he is the quirk in Mary's life. He calls it "zombie Zoolander." He loved their togetherness. And Nigel says it reminded him of Wade's "Ramalama." Travis: "We killed 'Ramalama,' and you killed this too." Ok, but guys, this was obviously "Ramalama" plus "Sexy Back." I miss Season 2...

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Mandy Moore contemporary):

The featurette: Caitlynn's dad works overseas and only comes home every other month. Mitchell's dad died when he was 2. He and his mom were homeless and lived in a car for a while when he was a kid. For this piece, they are in love.
The dance: The song is Celine Dion and not something from the '80s! Huh. Cait shows off some nice extensions. I don't know if they're in love, but Caitlynn is rocking the dancing to the extent of being almost Kathryn-esque. And Mitchell doesn't get much attention here, but he's doing a good job with the lifts and supports.
The judging: I think Cat just said: "It was almost like Joshua and I at the Fourth of July barbecue, but not quite." Lol, what?! That was Mary's favorite number of the night. She's all crying and flustered. She says Mitchell is injured. Mary thinks this is their time! Nigel says the emotion grabbed us all. He liked the leaps and lifts. The whole routine took his breath away. Travis liked the unexpected partnering and agrees that this is their time and they should seize it. Carmen picks her last opportunity to offer her most legit sounding comment, which was something about dance taking you out of yourself.

Top 7 Girls (Ray Leeper jazz): The story is about seven girlfriends whose mission is to rid the world of evil men. These girls have done an awful lot of killing this season! Sasha says acting evil comes surprisingly naturally to her. Ha. The costumes are pretty awesome, especially the hats. Very slick, very sexy, very well-danced. (I wonder if the other girls mind that Ryan, Melanie and Sasha are always front and center in the group numbers.)

So after a couple weeks of me not being super impressed with anything, tonight I've got four favorites:

Clarice and Jess' contemporary
Melanie and Marko's jazz
Ryan and Ricky's jazz
Caitlynn and Mitchell's contemporary

I can't help but think that tonight's inspired choreography is connected to the amount of new blood among the choreographers. Since eventually the work of almost every choreographer starts to all look similar, it's probably best to cast a wide net with the talent.

Nigel says Season 6's lovely Kathryn has just gotten a "fabulous part in Step Up 4" (which begs the question if there are really any fabulous parts in Step Up 4... and also reminds me that I need to get Step Up 3 from Netflix. I wanna see tWitch!). Yea Kathryn!

SYTYCD: After the Massacre...

2011-06-29T19:58:00.010-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 16 Dancers Perform

I speculated after last week's performance show that the double elimination formula could be a disaster, and boy was it. I didn't really think that any of the four who went home should have, but I was especially upset about Nick, Wadi and Iveta. The judges kicked three of my favorites to the curb in one show, and now we're left with the Jesses, Jordans and Roberts...

Cat's wearing a sparkly mini with curly bobbed hair.
#NoMoreChbeebInTheOpeningTheme
Ugh, I miss Nick. And Wadi. And Iveta.
I am excited about guest judge Kristin Chenoweth. Not sure we need both her and Lil C though.
With two fewer couples, I guess they need to inflate the judges' commentary to fill time. Grrrrrrreat.
Oh, we've got group numbers tonight too. Huh.

Group number (Tyce Diorio Broadway): Ryan, Sasha, Miranda, Charice, Marko, Tadd, Mitchell, and Chris. Sasha is stealing the freaking show. This routine is better than the usual from Tyce, I'd say. Probably because there are more people involved.

Sasha and Alexander (Dee Caspary contemporary):

The featurette: Alex wore a lot of bow ties as a baby/child. Oh dear, it's another dance about a guy who remembers a girl he lost. Let's hope the memory girl doesn't smile too much this time! Ha ha.
The dance: Sasha climbs out of a piano to begin. Alex's outfit makes him look like he's one of the kids in the Sound of Music. It's veering dangerously close to lederhosen. Creepy moment at the end when Sasha goes back into the piano but her hands reach out at Alex. This routine was rather good. It should be though, as it is in their style.
The judging: Nigel says it was a good start. Nigel thought Alex was good but needs to connect with the audience some more. The neckline on Mary's top/dress is too plunging. Kristin loved them both and her comments sound like she actually thought about them before they came out of her mouth. Lil C says Sasha is eight notches above perfection. Cat: "A whole octave!"

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Jean Marc samba):

The featurette: Mitchell: "When I was a kid, I was a ham." As opposed to now?! This dance looks promising.
The dance: Cait's dress is awful. It's like crepe paper streamers are hanging from her. Ok, this routine isn't as good as I thought it was going to be based on the practice footage. It's almost good, but it's a little rocky/shaky. Cait looks like she's not getting her feet right where she wants them sometimes or something. I'm not sure.
The judging: Mary thinks it was "spectacular" so apparently I'm a harsher ballroom critic than she is. Well, then Mary just forgot Caitlynn's name, so maybe she doesn't know what's going on. Kristin says "shut the front door" and all of the other doors. I'm not sure if that's exactly a critique, but she's cute so we'll let it slide. Lil C says they murdered it and gives a shout out to Jean Marc. Nigel disses Wadi. Let's rub salt in the wounds, Nigel, thanks.

Miranda and Robert (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

The featurette: Why are these people still here when Nick, Wadi and Iveta aren't? Maybe I'll get over this someday. Oh, good, Tyce's high-class hooker number should help show them the door... Tyce's routines are often good for a trip to the bottom.
The dance: It was pretty good while they were moving slowly, but I think the quality dropped a bit when the music picked up. Miranda gets to do some tap dancing though, which was cool. In the words of Randy Jackson, it was aaaaright for me.
The judging: Kristin says she wasn't sure about them in rehearsal, but they killed it tonight. Is this the first admission that the judges watch these routines performed in rehearsal before the show? Lil C to Miranda: "With legs like that, who needs arms?" Nigel says Robert was good for a hip-hop dancer, and he's come a long way. Mary says she didn't even recognize Miranda in the group number. Um, can we get Mary some flash cards with the contestants names and photos on them? ;-)

Melanie and Marko (Napoleon and Tabitha lyrical hip-hop):

The featurette: Marko wins the cutest kid award thus far. In this routine, they're two best friends but Marko just got left at the altar and then realizes that he should have been with Melanie all along. Very rom-com plotting, there.
The dance: Props to Melanie for wearing that strange circus getup to her best friend's wedding! Marko looks really sad in the beginning; nice job. Of course these two are good at hip-hop too. Ok, even if you have been best friends for a long time, I'm not sure it's the wisest idea ever to start up a new relationship (make out with someone) immediately after being left at the altar. Might want to give yourself some time before diving into anything...
The judging: Lil C says they're a power couple and the section in the beginning was extra buck. Nigel says it was a brilliant concept to create a dance about best friends falling in love. Uh, yeah, it was when Travis came up with it in Season 5 with the Jason/Jeanine/Jason Mraz dance! (That one is still a freaking masterpiece, by the way.) Nigel says they're the couple to beat. Nigel tries to kiss Mary. Cat: "That's like walking in on your mom and dad! That's gross!" Kristin is very moved and very touched, so she kisses Lil C. Then Nigel attacks Lil C too. And we've dissolved into complete chaos, but Cat's nailing her post-kissing ad libs. She's such a pro.

Ashley and Chris (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Ok, baby Ashley was wicked cute too. Chris was afraid of Sonya. In this routine, they are half human/half zombie.
The dance: Ashley's leg extensions are no joke. This is almost exactly an undead version of "The Garden." Ashley is really good at the dancing. Chris is really good at acting like a zombie.
The judging: Nigel didn't connect with the music and wanted them to be more overt with the characters. Oh, this is his Jason/Caitlin alien critique all over again. Mary says Ashley is beautiful even when she's a zombie. Mary's impressed that Chris is doing pirouettes now. Kristin says the half-human/half-zombie characters are like half of her boyfriends. Kristin says Ashley is one of her favorites on the show. Lil C likes how Sonya gives the technique of the dance a character as well. Lil C thinks Ash is the sleeper this year.

Clarice and Jess (Jean Marc fox trot):

The featurette: "Jess the Mess," yeah, that about sums it up... Producers, please stop allowing Jess to talk so much.
The dance: Clarice's fringy skirt is exquisite. I was liking the beginning, but the actually in-hold fox trot stuff was sooooo slow, it was almost comical. The routine was cute; they did a good job. Clarice looked good.
The judging: Mary says they did exactly what they were supposed to do. Mary thinks no other dancer on the show could have done what Jess just did. Kristin says that was her favorite performance of the night. She just pronounced Clarice's name "Clair-is"; is that how we're all supposed to be pronouncing it? Lil C says he knows Jean Marc loves dance and they just put a "face on the smile of his heart" or something. Nigel loves the dress. Nigel says Jess is a master of "this Broadway style." And here I thought this was the fox trot... Hmm...

Ryan and Ricky (Sonya Tayeh contemporary):

The featurette: After their trip to the bottom three last week, there was no doubt in my mind that they'd be doing contemporary this week. And it's emotional, no less. Nothing brings in the votes like a contemporary routine about a break-up.
The dance: I'm sorry, but Ryan's un-winding top is a choreographic crutch. At least Ryan's not smiling during this one. It was a nice routine and well danced, but my heart isn't breaking over here or anything.
The judging: Kristin says Ricky's turn out is amazing. And she thought the piece was very beautiful. Lil C just loves Sonya. Lil C thinks they're a power couple too (apparently even though they were in the bottom 3 last week). Nigel says he's proud they kept Ryan. Right, because neither of the other girls would have danced well this week. *Eye roll.* Nigel says he couldn't take his eyes off Ricky. Mary acknowledges that they got freaking lucky by picking contemporary.

Jordan and Tadd (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

The featurette: It's a hip-hop routine with a bed. They're college students who wake up in bed together and don't know who the other person is. Some classy inspiration, there... Tadd: "People might assume that Jordan is comfortable with this piece..."
The dance: Did Jordan have those tight jeans on this whole time? I'm super impressed if she pulled them on that fast. That feat is far more impressive than her dancing in this routine. So, at the end, they decide to get back into bed together. Charming...
The judging: Cat is afraid to toss it to the judges after the kissing incidents. Lil C claims to love the dance and the concept. He said they do need to work on using their whole bodies in some of the grooves. (I think that was directed to Jordan.) Nigel says the story of the dance overwhelmed the dancing. No kidding! That's the smartest thing Nigel's said all year. He assured them that America won't care about a silly thing like dancing though, and they'll be around for many weeks to come. I'm not so sure. Mary says they just "put the whammy on us." Kristin brings back her "front door" monologue.

Group number (Dee Caspery contemporary): Melanie, Ashley, Kaitlynn, Jordan, Alexander, Jess, Ricky, and Robert. Medieval women are trying to poison the boys. To "Poison and Wine" by the Civil Wars! Four powerhouse girl technicians in this number (including Jordan, who can do the moves quite well when she's not hell-bent on Pussycat Doll-ing everything up).

My favorites (no particular order):

Melanie and Marko's lyrical hip-hop
Sasha and Alexander's contemporary
Clarice and Jess' fox trot

SYTYCD: Deja Vu

2011-06-22T19:59:00.016-04:00

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.

SYTYCD: Starting Off Season 8

2011-06-15T19:51:00.009-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 20 Performance Show

First performance show of Season 8! Let's go:

Cat is wearing a sparkly black mini dress with silver shoes, tousled wavy hair and smokey eyes.
I am so sick of seeing Chbeeb in this intro.
There are some seriously unfortunate outfits amongst this top 20. And I'm getting a little sick of watching everyone do leg kicks. I think we went a little contemporary heavy this year. Esp. with the girls.
Cat is having a slightly rough time reading her intros tonight.
Megan Mullally?! Seriously? Because she danced in that I Can't Believe It's Not Butter commercial? She says she has a dance history. Ok, I guess that's all right then.
Mitchell injured his elbow. He can't perform tonight so he's automatically in danger tomorrow.

Jordan and Tadd (Sean Cheesman Afro-jazz):

Featurette: Jordan wants to be a Pussycat Doll really bad, and that makes me like her even less than I already did. Tadd was a dancing taco in a movie. When he was a kid, he thought he was Caucasian. His 8-second intro was amusing.
The dance: This started out really cool, but I think it lost some steam in the middle. Picked up towards the end. Seemed really long. Danced well though.
The judging: Nigel thought it was tremendous. Mary agrees. Mary was impressed with b-boy Tadd. Megan liked the precision and power.

Sasha and Alexander (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: I find this Alexander dude a bit on the creepy side. Sasha gets to kick the crap out of Alexander. Watching Sasha beat him up has made me warm up to Alexander a bit.
The dance: Sasha's dress is out of control. Oooh, Sasha's rocking the creepy face there. It's a good routine, but I'm not blown away. I feel like they could be doing something harder, perhaps?
The judging: Mary likes the transitions in Travis' routines. Mary thinks Sasha is very strong. She liked it, but she didn't quite feel the connection between the two of them. Nigel is scared of Sasha.

Clarice and Jess (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

The featurette: Well, they sure played right into Jess' hands by giving him Broadway. Um, yeah, Jess is annoying. I think the helpers are Katee and Jakob!!! Or am I seeing a mirage? Can we watch Katee and Jakob instead?!
The dance: With all the cards that are stacked against this one - Tyce, Jess - I'm not expecting to like it much. Clarice just knocked out one heck of a split leap though. She's got nice extensions. Otherwise, I'm pretty bored. They danced it well, however.
The judging: Megan loved everything about it. Nigel wants more from Clarice. She'll need to work hard to keep up with Jess and his innate Broadway style. Whatever. Nigel says Jess is one of his favorite guys this year. Ugh. Mary says Jess couldn't have done anything any better.

Ryan and Ricky (Christopher Scott lyrical hip-hop):

The featurette: Ryan is obsessed with Law and Order: SVU. Ricky kind of reminds me of Brandon from Season 5. He's really peppy though. Yea for lyrical hip-hop that's not choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha.
The dance: Ryan's dress is cute. It looks like something someone would actually wear. I'm liking this. I feel like the girl actually gets to dance in this routine, and not just sassily strut around, as often happens in these hip-hop routines. They're both good, but I think Ryan's stealing the show a little in the side-by-side dancing. Nicely choreographed routine!
The judging: Nigel didn't quite get the story, but he loved the dancing. He says Ryan stands out in the sea of good girl dancers. Mary thinks Ricky is one of the best boys.

Caitlynn and Mitchell (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Yea Sonya! Mitchell is a little much too. He also sweats a lot.
The dance: Robert is taking Mitchell's place. I'm happier to see Rob now than I ever was last year... This routine is pretty classic/standard Sonya, but it's cool. Caitlynn's pretty good.
The judging: Mary loves Sonya's choreo and thinks Kaitlynn's legs are spectacular. She thinks Kaitlynn was brilliant. Mary sure hopes we see Robert later this season as an all-star. Megan was impressed with how young, small Kaitlynn showed such power. Nigel gives her 10's for performance and technique.

Miranda and Robert (Jason Gilkison jazz):

The featurette: Miranda is from Pittsburgh. She's dancing in lingerie in her intro clip. Robert kind of sings his 8-second intro. He also has an Urkel voice. He's also a bit much. What is with these boys this year?
The dance: Mod outfits for the jive. Interesting. Miranda's jive looks a little stompy--not very light. I don't think Robert quite has it either, but he's got nice spirit. I'm excited to hear Mary's take on this.
The judging: Megan liked it. Nigel points out the obvious: that Robert might alienate people with all the "woooooooo"-ing. He wants him to point his toes. Nigel wants more confidence from Miranda. Mary seems to like it, and I'm a bit befuddled. She gives them a wohoo. Ok, I'll defer to Mary. She knows more about jive than I do.

Missy and Wadi (Sean Cheesman jazz):

The featurette: Missy likes talking in a Jamaican accent and Wadi was born in Jamaica! It's perfect! The dance is about evil, sexy demons.
The dance: They start the dance in two separate boxes. Some very cool moments in that routine, especially the end when Wadi jumped and flipped all over the two boxes. Nice.
The judging: Nigel thinks this is Sean's best work ever. Nigel thinks Missy is one of the beasts of the girls. He thinks Wadi is brilliant. Mary says something incomprehensible about Pandora's box and whoopass. Megan pulls out a Mia Michaels-esque "ahh-MA-zing."

Melanie and Marko (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: Here's my power couple. Marko is from Guam. They are two statues that dance into one.
The dance: Mel and Marko plus Travis, and an Ingrid Michaelson song to boot! They're awful bendy for statues... This is gorgeous. They both display amazing control over these moves. So, so good.
The judging: Judges give it a standing O. Mary's almost in tears. Ok, she's really in tears. She says this was one of those magical numbers that happen once or twice a season. Breathtaking. Megan has chills. Nigel thinks that could have been the first Emmy-nominated routine of the season. Marko's the one who still has a bullet in his shoulder. Nigel says Melanie is the queen of the beasts. He thinks she's the best girl dancer EVER ON THE SHOW. Wow.

Ashley and Chris (Christopher Scott hip-hop):

The featurette: The dance is about a couple that finds out that they're both cheating on each other at the same time. Chris is cute. Ashley has a nice smile.
The dance: To Cee-Lo's "Forget You," of course. This is spunky. Not sure Ash is the best hip-hop dancer ever, but she is a ballerina after all. They're bringing a nice energy to it. Not one of the marquee number of the night though.
The judging: Nigel thought it was a lot of fun. Mary liked Ashley's swag and Chris' heart. Megan thinks SYTYCD has the best makeup and costumes of any show.

Iveta and Nick (Jason Gilkison quick step):

The featurette: Well, if someone had to get the quick step tonight, at least it was world champ Iveta. Iveta is originally from Lithuania. Nick's very slow 8-second intro was funny. Iveta is a quick step slave-driver.
The dance: Well, it's a quick step. So there's that. It's kind of a rockin' one though. It's alright. Not my favorite dance ever, but they did a good job.
The judging: Megan was impressed by tap dancer Nick. Nigel thinks Nick came up to scratch. Mary is flat-out screaming her critique. The dance had everything it was supposed to. Iveka is the first American representative to win all 10 dances. Mary says it was unbelievable and Nick rocked.

My favorites:

Melanie and Marko's contemporary
Missy and Wadi's jazz
Ryan and Ricky's lyrical hip-hop

Overall, it was a pretty good start to Season 8, I'd say.

Greek: Moving On

2011-03-07T20:57:00.014-05:00

Greek:
"Legacy"

This is it. I've been dreading this moment for weeks, but now it's upon us: the series finale of Greek. One last hurrah with our favorite CRU students.

I'll begin with one last Greek play-by-play, and then I'll get all sentimental at the end of the post.

Highlights and my observations:

Is Rusty wearing the same flannel shirt that Evan was wearing last week? That would be scandalous. (Ok, I've looked into it, and can confirm that it is NOT the same shirt. I guess it would be a little late in the game to open the Rusty-and-Evan-have-a-secret-romance can of worms...)
Finals already?! Fastest Greek semester ever!
Evan! Evan's broken hand!
Evan says "nothing" is up with his broken hand/arm.
Um, Casey and Evan aren't really going to be able to come up with "what the KTs are going to try to pull" to save their house. It's hard for non-KTs to think like KTs.
Actually, Evan, Casey Cartwright stops "thinking about her future" on a fairly frequent basis.
Calvin has picked accounting as his major. He does not sound too convincing though when he says he loves it. Uh oh.
Aww, Rusty gave Ashleigh a name tag for her new office.
Dale's second cousin Barry got married last week and he hadn't left the house in five years!
Dale: "You don't think it's us, do you?"
LOL at Dale offering a long list of all the "horrible" Matthew McConaughey movies and still never hitting on the one Rebecca was referring to (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past).
Ha at both Cartwrights accidentally breaking things upon entering the KT house.
Oh no, Pledge Spidey's dad is Villian X. Suddenly things make sense. I didn't see it coming; I was blinded by my love of Jonathan Silverman as Richard in Weekend at Bernies.
YEEAAAAAA! It's a good-old KT brainstorming session! These scenes are seriously one of the best parts of Greek.
Beaver suggests they try a plan based on the plot of Up but attributes it to something he saw on 20/20!
Rusty: "You can't blame Luke Skywalker for being Darth Vader's son."
KT: "Spoiler alert!"
Cappie: "Pledge Spidey, bring me the action figures! And the Barbies! We're going to need them all!"
Casey calling Evan "Evan Bacon." LOL.
Heath, Calvin, Beaver and Ashleigh's "tourist" disguises.
Wow! Dale's even helping too!
Tour guide: "Have I told you about our house rabbit adoption center?"
Ha at Casey yelling "Oh!" in surprise upon seeing Cappie in the organic cafe.
This is epic.
And now Rebecca is pretending to be Ashleigh. This is a complicated plan.
Ash's big glasses are cute.
Evan nailed Beaver's balloon scheme on the head!
Cappie can graduate!
Casey: "You accidentally graduated?!"
Casey: "I get it. Go to her!"
Rebecca: "So, I got an e-mail from Robin. She says we didn't work out because I'm not a lesbian."
Dale: "Why didn't we ever work out?"
Laura: "You don't like to sweat?"
While I'm not totally on board with Laura being the future Mrs. Kettlewell, the kiss was worth it to see Rebecca getting shoved into the cake.
Oh, poor Rusty's breaking down.
IT'S WADE!!!!!!!!!!!! Wade's looking cute with his new haircut!
Katherine! Aw, Katherine's going to share a KT story! And her story is that she lost her virginity in the KT house... Yikes.
It's Jen K.! Has she been around this whole time?! She says she regrets writing the article. But she's the editor of the CRU paper, so I guess it worked out for her.
Oh no, Mr. Parks just singled out Casey and Evan to explain why the house should be torn down. How is that their jobs as law students, exactly?
Come on, Evan, be a nice person! YEA!!! Evan did the right thing! Good for Evan.
(Why did they want Evan and Casey to speak anyway if they were just going to tear the house down no matter what? No consensus was reached. Why even bother trying to talk the "protesters" into it?)
Oh, Beaver! Oh, Rusty! Ohh, they're all crying! Oh, KT house...
Casey: "You're not my geeky little brother who got beat up by a sixth-grader when he was in high school."
Rusty: "She was an eighth-grader."
Casey: "You don't need me or anyone else to look out for you anymore. You can take care of yourself."
Rusty: "I get that from you."
Casey: "I did the right thing. I got that from you."
Uh, no, Evan. You and Rebecca didn't work out because you're still in love with Casey. But it's the last episode, so I guess we have to gloss over that fact today.
Evan punched the wall!!! (because he was sad about losing Rebecca)
Rusty's rallying the troops! Aww.
KT brother: "We can't sleep in tents all winter! In case you forgot, this is Ohio!" (Uh, I didn't forget that it was Ohio. Greek's writers forgot that.)
Ashleigh: "You know, this room is crazy big!"
Evan: "Hey, Crappie."
Oops, I don't think Evan meant to inspire Cappie and Casey to run away together. But that's exactly what he did. And he was super cool about it. Evan has been such a do-gooder today! Redeeming himself for semesters of misdeeds in one swoop!
Awww, Ash and Rusty!
Ok, everything's going great and all, but I feel like the resolutions are coming at us at a really rapid-fire pace. It's hard for any one moment to sink in, because there's another one coming right on its heels.
Ha at Cappie doing jumping jacks before orating.
Professor: "For your finale I just have one question: Why?"
Cappie: "Because you're lazy."
Cappie's real name is "Captain John Paul Jones"!
Calvin and Heath are going to India to help people.
Cappie: "You are my legacy, Spitter." (This one gets the distinction of being the Sweetest Line of the Night.)
Aww, even this Rebecca/Casey hug is making me sad. Holy crap!
OH MY GOD, they're playing Youth Group's "Forever Young" cover from The O.C.! ARE THEY TRYING TO KILL ME?!?
(How fitting is it though that Greek borrowed a song from the last show whose series finale made me cry like a little girl?)
Evan hugging Cappie and Casey.
DALE JUST KISSED CASEY! Ahahahaha! Everyone's reactions were fantastic.
Cappie: "Dale?"
I really wish this Casey "Where to?"/Cappie: "Wherever you're going." exchange--THE LAST LINES OF THE WHOLE FREAKING SERIES--hadn't been spoiled in the promo that ABC Family has been showing all week. Knowing exactly what was coming kinda ruined that moment for me.

It's hard not to feel sentimental about this finale. It really does seem like an end of an era--not just for Cappie, Casey, Evan, Rusty, Dale, Calvin, Ash, Rebecca, Beaver, Katherine, etc., but also for me. Greek made its debut shortly after my own collegiate experience ended, and over the years it has allowed me to vicariously experience some college moments I missed out on, as I did not participate in the Greek system; was not part of a messy, never-ending love triangle; and did not engage in too many crazy capers. I guess I was rather like Rusty would have been had he not joined Kappa Tau. (Or like Katherine...but not as stern.) So Greek not only taught Rusty to have fun, but allowed me to experience some of the fun I may have missed.

Even putting aside my college nostalgia issues, Greek has meant a lot to me over the years purely because it is fun. I can remember several times when I was sad or frustrated, and watched an episode of Greek that saved the day. In that respect, the show itself has been a great friend to me.

And, speaking of friends, what I will miss most about Greek is its characters, all of whom I view as my friends (even though I know they're not, in fact, real). Over the episodes, I've raved about Greek's ability to make a spectrum of different people all seem very likable. This extends from the top with the main characters--Casey, Rusty, Cappie--on down to the supporting characters who have gotten to stick around because they're so darn lovable--Beaver, Heath, Katherine, etc. Some shows are lucky if they can create one or two good characters who display a unique personality, have interesting layers, resonate emotionally, and inspire love and devotion from viewers. Greek is--sorry--was a show full of them. And they will all be deeply missed.

P.S. It's not too late to make a spin-off featuring Beaver striving to manage his new job as a kindergarten teacher and his blossoming relationship with a certain Type A law/MBA student.

(photos: abcfamily.com)

The Best Quotes of Greek: Rebecca

2011-03-05T23:45:00.006-05:00

It's no secret that Rebecca Logan is not one of my favorite characters on Greek. In fact, aside from people like Frannie and Tripp, Beccs is generally my least favorite of the CRU gang. But while she's brash and self-sabotaging and rude, Rebecca is also smart, quick-witted, brutally honest and usually good for a laugh.

The Best Quotes of Rebecca:

Rebecca: "I will pay anyone $200 to take this tray up to Cappie's room and watch Reba with him. We're on season 5!"

Rebecca: "God, Rusty, you're trying to get them to donate money, not get in your van!"

Rebecca: "At least I didn't sleep with a 16-year-old!"
Mr. Cartwright: "O.M.G!"

Rebecca: "You have to get Ashleigh to forgive me. I've apologized, groveled, told her I liked those silly arm-warmer things she wears. Nothing's worked!"

Rebecca: "No one uses embossed wrapping paper unless they want to get in someone's pants."

Rebecca: "I chased him for three blocks before I realized we're doing Ash a favor by letting him keep that shirt."

Rebecca: "I have a couple gowns that would be perfect for this competition."
Ashleigh: "From what?"
Rebecca: "From being rich."

Betsy: "She does have over 20 years of experience."
Rebecca: "So does Kirsten Dunst, but that doesn't make her movies good."

Rebecca: "I burned your house down once. I'll do it again."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

The Best of Quotes of Greek: Calvin

2011-03-05T23:42:00.007-05:00

Often serving as Greek's voice of reason, Calvin has dispensed his share of sage advice over the years to Rusty, Evan, Dale, Rebecca, Ashleigh and others. An astute observer of the human condition, Calvin has offered dry sarcasm and brutal honesty, providing a great counterpoint to the zaniness of some of his classmates.

The Best of Calvin:

Rusty: "Look where she's putting those bills!"
Calvin: "Which will be put right back in to circulation. By the end of the week it could be under some kid's pillow."

Calvin: "Look, either turn off the music or leave us out here to die!"
Rusty: "The sad thing is that I know the words to that song."

Calvin: "I don't mind that you're poor. I'd just prefer that you not use the word 'lavish' again. It's weird."

Calvin: "And what does one have to do to be labeled the 'house slob' of Kappa Tau?"

Dale: "We've already lost our pizza break. Do you want to cut the massage circle too?"
Calvin: "Yeah."

Rusty: "Is this still stylish?"
Calvin: "Was it ever?"

Calvin: "It's like watching an episode of Entourage, except cheaper...and actually watchable."

Evan: "I figured you'd love to be in charge of the Omega Chi float. Don't gay guys love floats?"
Calvin: "That's show tunes, jackass."

Calvin: "Thanks for letting me raid your closet, Dale. You were the only person I know that might have clothes resembling anything close to Austin Powers."

Cal: "Gays spend money on Mardi Gras like grandmas on Christmas!"

Calvin: "She handed you her virginity on a silver platter, and you just sent it back to the kitchen."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

The Best Quotes of Greek: Dale

2011-03-05T23:39:00.008-05:00

While Dale Kettlewell has now been incorporated into the Greek system at CRU, for most of the series he has often be on the fringe, judging the everyone else's exploits from the sidelines. A one-man Greek chorus, if you will. And what a hilarious chorus this sharp-tongued science genius and Lord's witness has been.

Oh, Dale, I'll miss you so.

The Best Quotes of Dale:

Dale: "Cover up your privates! Lord's witness coming through!"

Dale's USAG Ball: "It's going to be a sin-free evening filled with non-alcoholic drinks, line dancing, and subtle proselytizing."

Dale: "When I told my parents about your descent into the Greek sect, my mother cried, and my father said 'G.D.' for the first time in his life."

Dale: "Have fun perpetuating stereotypes of wasted, reckless youth, Rusty."

Dale: "Oh, well, I used my last bottle of chloroform when I was on Murder, She Wrote."

Dale: "G darn it. This campus has endless available locations for undeserving, perverted students that want to act inappropriately, but when a group of elite academics what to blow off some steam while debunking Aristotelian physics, suddenly everything's booked up? I call bull hinky!"

Dale: "Hey, how 'bout a little Bible Boggle, huh? Remember that time you spelled Leviticus and Harvy Brewbauer cried?"

Kirk: "Hey, Dale, your pajamas just blew out the window!"
Dale: "Huh. Must be the light weight cotton, you know 'cause my winter flannels never have that problem."

Rusty: "Now I have to prove to the actives why I'm a true Kappa Tau."
Dale: "Well, you could just show them a biopsy of your decayed liver."

Dale: "I have to fight off a surly mechanical engineer to get this spot. I told him to build a bridge...and get over it."

Dale's new roommate is deathly pale, has a weird, unplaceable accent and wrote a Dale thank you note for making his own bed.

Casey: "I just met a Canadian guy who was looking for a roommate. He was really nice."
Dale: "This Canuck is relentless!"

Dale: "Aren't you a little concerned about the verbiage? 'Liberal arts.' It seems like it would attract a certain element. Like socialists, tree-huggers, and general deviants."

Dale: "I DVR The View all week so I can watch them all back-to-back. I just love it when Hasselbeck serves them supper."

Max: "Rusty's concerned that you never leave the apartment. Are you avoiding something out there?"
Dale: "Yeah, vegans and Coldplay fans."

Dale: "Essays? Oh no, that leaves too much room for teacher interpretation, and frankly this guy's kind of a nutbag."

Dale: "Can anybody tell me why this class is worth three units? Every first-grader in Wetumpka knows that the pig is whipping that guy because of lustfulness."

Dale: "But it's not the end of the world! Don't you read the Scriptures I leave on your pillow? There's going to be signs!"

Lana: "I don't date guys with issues."
Dale: "Someone without a college degree shouldn't be so choosy."

Dale: "Really? Cappie didn't mention that in his Christmas newsletter. It did have a fantastic date nut bar recipe."

Dale: "Nice glasses, J.J. Have you figured out how Lost is going to end yet?"

Dale: "You'll get one of my deep-fried snacks when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!"

Dale: "There's Casey! I could spot those blond locks in the middle of a Swedish flea market."

Dale: "Do you know the CRU Atheist Club has their own ski trip? They should get used to a warmer climate where they're headed."

Rusty: "I don't think the Bible would approve of you stealing thy neighbor's goat."
Dale: "The Bible doesn't say zip about kidnapping they neighbor's goat to psych thy neighbor out before the big game."

Dale: "Let's be honest, with that dimpled chin and those buttery blond highlights, it's pretty clear who is in the right here."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

The Best of Quotes of Greek: Ashleigh

2011-03-05T23:38:00.006-05:00

Like BFF Casey, Ashleigh Howard is a pop culturally astute young woman trying to make her way in the world while managing boys and friendships and school and life after college. She's had some setbacks, but never allows them to crush her spirit, and her triumphs are well-deserved. Rusty said it best when he called her a "human magnet" who draws people to her. She is a sunbeam of light: fun, irreverent, honest, generally happy, caring, quirky and lovely. (And I didn't just compare her to a sunbeam solely to hearken back to that infamous rainbow sweater of hers.)

The Best Quotes of Ashleigh:

Ashleigh: "...which is why, in many ways, I think that Ferris Bueller is my generation's Gatsby."

Ashleigh: "Yeah, we've seen each other through good times and bad. Like that time you hooked up with that 16-year-old! Oops!"

Fisher: "When I first met you, you know, I kind of imagined us doing the whole going-out thing."
Ashleigh: "I imagined you naked."

Ashleigh: "You are not Rusty. You have much, much daintier features...except his hands."

Ashleigh (to Heath): "It's a good thing you're pretty."

Ash: "You know how P. Diddy has an all-white ball in the Hamptons? I was thinking that we could do a similar thing here and have an all-blue ball."
Cappie: "I can't top that."

Ash: "You used to be this focused, driven person. When did you become this girl? Someone who sits around making lists and second-guessing your choices. Paging Dr. Grey! No, wait, you are more like Joey Potter. No, you're worse. You're the F word."
Casey: "Don't say it!"
Ash: "Felicity."
Casey: "You bitch."

Ash: "He smells like cupcakes and man."

Ash: "But sexy fierce or scary fierce? ...I want to look hot, but also threatening, like 'cheat on me again, and I will cut you.'"

Ashleigh: "I think Clueless is one of the greatest movies in the history of movies!"

Casey: "I'm like the worst detective ever."
Ashleigh: "Oh, stop. Remember Inspector Gadget? He needed a dog and a 10-year-old girl to solve anything."

Ashleigh: "And they sleep where they poop. You can't trust a bunny."

Ash: "It's a fun way to start of the semester. You have a boyfriend. I'm single. We're arsonists."

Ash: "After graduation, I'm just going to have to live off the land."

Ash: "If you ask me what my weaknesses are, I'm going to tell you!"

Ash: "Who knew finding a job would take so long? It always happens so fast in movie montages."

Ash: "Casey took a 'Which Friend are you?' quiz on Facebook, and she's a Rachel. She wishes! She's more like a Ross."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

The Best Quotes of Greek: Rusty

2011-03-05T23:37:00.008-05:00

Rusty Cartwright has spent his college years not only straddling the very different worlds of honors physics and fraternities, but also by being a loving brother, loyal friend, and all-around sweetheart. While Rusty is not as out-there as Dale or his KT brothers, he is surprisingly funny. In fact, his sweet, mild-mannered nature often makes his comments even funnier than those of his more wild cohorts.

The Best Quotes of Rusty:

Rusty: "[The fraternity] is closed this weekend because most of the guys are away in Mexico...building huts... It's for humanity...like Habitat for Humanity, but huts...so 'hubitat'."

Karen (Rusty's mom): "Why did he call you 'Spitter'?"
Rusty: "That's my nickname... Yeah, I spit on injustice everywhere. Figuratively."

Rusty: "When I was 16, I borrowed her car for my DMV test, and I ended up in a grocery store parking lot, and I ran over one of the coin-operated horse rides."

Ashleigh: "He said polymers are about as interesting as a dirt sandwich.'
Rusty: "A dirt sandwich that's found in almost every adhesive--"
Max: "--and lubricant on the planet! Stupid knuckle-dragging astrophysicists!"

Casey: "I like Max."
Rusty: "I should warn him. You date like Sherman's March, Casey. Scorched earth and broken spirits left in your wake."

Rusty: "Yes, I am in a frat, but we prefer fraternity, actually. I mean, would you call your country a--"

Rusty: "I guess you could say that when it comes to little boys, I have the touch... That's not what I meant."

Rusty: "Now go out there and proudly spread your seed! ...I'm really not sure what's wrong with me today."

Rusty: "Do you realize how many nights in high school I sat alone watching Joan of Arcadia with my mother while Casey went out with all of her friends."

Rusty: "She already has friends in New York. What, do they sit around Central Perk? Talk about what to name Rachel's baby?"

Dale: "Dude, comic book conventions are just crawling with hotties! Everyone know that."
Rusty: "Yeah! No, they don't."

Rusty: "The preppy jackass!"
Evan: "What did you call me?"
Rusty: "You heard me!"

Rusty: "How many times do I have to get hit in the face before it's about me too?"

Rusty: "We just value weird things, like spitting tequila on girls and eating a table leg."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

The Best Quotes of Greek: Casey

2011-03-05T23:36:00.008-05:00

Casey Cartwright is the sun that anchors the Greek solar system. By and large over the years, it has been Casey's romantic entanglements we've navigated and Casey's personal growth we've championed. Her mistakes and imperfections have made her all the more likable and relatable as our heroine, and it's nice that she seems to not realize how awesome she is. It's not easy being a main character amongst a group of standout sidekicks and peripheral players capable of stealing every scene in which they appear, but Casey's charm and charisma has kept her firmly rooted in our hearts. When you consider how smart, perceptive, funny, beautiful and strong Casey is, it comes as no surprise that she attracts such ardent devotion from her friends, her sorority sisters, her brother, her boyfriends, her other admirers and Greek's faithful viewers.

The Best Quotes of Casey:

Frannie: "I want to come back to ZBZ."
Casey: "I want Jessica Simpson to stop putting out CDs, but you can't always get what you want."

Casey (when Rusty expressed disappointment with the realities of Spring Break): "It's the New Year's Eve syndrome; you can never live up to the hype. I blame the media."

Rusty: "Two hours. That's all I need."
Casey: "Rusty, two hours was all you needed for your driver's test, remember?"
Rusty: "I knew you'd bring that up!"
Casey: "It took four produce men and five quarters to get my car off that horse!"

Casey: "I can't do it anymore, Max. I can't compete with Sarah. She was a world-saving Buddhist philosopher who died tragically young from cancer. Last week, I got visibly upset because someone dribbled coffee on my Entertainment Weekly."

Casey: "Last year, two girls almost came to blows over whether Cameron Diaz looks better as a blonde or brunette. And, yes, those two girls were Ashleigh and me."

Casey: "And all that plan got Jerry Maguire was a goldfish and Renee Zellweger, and we don't want either of those."

Ashleigh: "You don't know what it's like to go through college without a boyfriend. You went from Cappie to Evan to Max. And then you went from Evan to Cappie to..."
Casey: "If she says Max, I will cut you."

Frannie: "You're such a creature of habit."
Casey: "And you're such a creature!"

Casey: "Since Max has been gone, I've gotten so much done: cleaning, organizing... I'm thinking of taking up an instrument."

Casey: "Last week my father said the world better watch out for me, and I'm thinking why? Because of my ability to name every guy Carrie Bradshaw slept with in season order?"

Ashleigh: "I'm pretending you're the lemon!"
Casey: "Bitter's not pretty, Ash."

Casey: "Do you think cats put us on their pillows?"

Casey: "She mentioned she has an 8 a.m. class she hates, but who can blame her? Brains don't work that early."

Casey: "She's not some normal girl who only learns about sex by teenage vampire movies! She reads! So you're not only competing against Robert Pattinson but also Lady Chatterley's Lover."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

The Best Quotes of Greek: Cappie

2011-03-03T22:25:00.008-05:00

In honor of Greek's impending series finale, I decided to look back through my previous Greek-centric blog entries and pull out some of the show's funniest quotes ever for a "Best Quotes of Greek" list. This undertaking turned out to be a somewhat herculean task. I haven't blogged every single episode of Greek--but I covered a lot of them. And the show is darn funny.

As I was going through the posts, it quickly became clear that I wouldn't be able to cover all of my "Best Quotes of Greek" with one post. It would have been gigantic. The list must be broken down, so I decided to split the quotes up by character. These lists also are a nice way to individually pay tribute to the show's characters who have shown so brightly over the years.

Since it was Cappie's line (the one about running on vomit) that initially solidified my love of Greek, it only seems appropriate to kick off the "Best Quotes of Greek" lists with him. Also, when you think "quip" and "Greek," you think Cappie. It should surprise no one that of all the Greek characters, Cappie's list of funny quotes was the longest. And for every one of these Cappie quotes, there are probably 30 more I didn't pick but could have. He is the comedic backbone of this show, and even when you find yourself annoyed by his general reluctance to grow up, you cannot help but be amused by the things that come out of his mouth. The boy grounds his one-liners in his astounding knowledge base of pop culture, literature, and history, and while his grades might not display his brilliance, his jokes sure do.

The Best Quotes of Cappie:

Cappie: "We may be puking, but the Omega Chis are not used to running on puke like we are."

Besides girls, Cappie's other interests are "beer, Days of Our Lives, and mentoring youth."

Rebecca: "I have new respect of Chelsea Clinton."
Cappie: "Me too! Now that she's grown into her face, she's foxy."

Cappie: "You're skipping classes, you're avoiding schoolwork... It's like you're a real, live boy."

Beaver: "They just mooned us."
Cappie: "Yeah, everyone except for Rusty; he just showed his underpants."

Cappie: "You're insane, Chip."
Dale: "It's Dale."
Cappie: "I knew it was one of them."

Cappie: "Is it a rainy day or Monday? Those always get me down."

Rusty: "This year's almost over and I only dated one girl."
Cappie: "And you see no obvious connection between this fact and the diary?"

Cappie: "'Serial monogamist' is just a stone's throw away from being 'the marrying kind'!"

Cappie: "You were supposed to take care of the fish this week, not eat them!"
Rusty: "Then why'd you give us bibs?!"
Cappie: "This is a baby fish papoose pouch!"

Rusty: "I kissed Jordan."
Cappie: "Who? Michael Jordan? Jordan Knight? Jordan Catalano? Don't tell me you kissed Andy's Jordan!"
Rusty: "I wish I kissed Michael Jordan."

Rusty: "Cappie, I have something behind my back that's going to make you very happy."
Cappie: "Sounds like Heath's department."

Dean Bowman: "You are the most accomplished and promising students at CRU."
Cappie: "Believe me, if I could shoot myself a quizzical look right now, I would."

Evan: "Why do you feel the need to call me by my full name every time we talk?"
Cappie: "I like it. Makes you sound like a comic book villain. ...So why don't you trust me, Evan Chambers?"

Evan: "It's like a compulsion."
Cappie: "Your face is like a compulsion."
Evan: "That doesn't even make sense."
Cappie: "Your face doesn't make any sense."

Cappie: "Conflict in the Cartwright clan? Paging Danny Tanner!"

Cappie: "Kill her, then have sex with her! It's the Kappa Tau way! I didn't mean that."

Hilary: "You're David Wong?!"
Cappie: "Yes. Yes, I am. I was adopted by two gay dudes...from China."

Cappie: "What is it, Spitter? It kind of freaks me out when you walk in and stare at us with that serial killer smirk."

Cappie: "Hey, why are kittens called 'kittens'? They're little cats; shouldn't they be called 'cattens'?"

Rusty: "Are you growing up?"
Cappie: "You shut your damn mouth!"

Rusty: "A C-section? How old are these phone numbers?"
Cappie: "Well, hopefully older than nine months."

Cappie: "She's tall, she's pretty...stern. The word 'Nordic' comes to mind."

Cappie: "I hope she's easier than your sister. Try pleasing her! Rewind: try finding the perfect gift for her."

Rusty: "Success tonight means my first Valentine's!"
Cappie: "It's like I'm reliving first grade through you."

Rusty: "I wanted to punch you, but I couldn't."
Cappie: "Yeah, I know. You've got weak wrists."

Cappie: "That's what Heath said. Ha ha."

Cappie: "Daley won't even do book club anymore. Even after I shared my erotic fixation with the Bronte sisters."

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Rusty and the Chambers of Secrets

2011-02-28T21:01:00.008-05:00

Greek:
"Agents of Change"

Oh, fellow Greek lovers, I don't even want to think about it. This time next week, Greek will be over. Gaaaaaa! There, I said it. Now let's try to ignore that awful thought for a while longer.

This episode was great. Then again, every episode of Greek seems great now that we're in the fuzzy haze of nostalgia... But we're not talking about that right now.

Highlights and observations:

Laura, thank you, that's what that girl's name is. It's been bothering me for weeks.
Lol at Cappie, Beaver and Heath seeing who can jump on the bed the longest. Wait, no, that's not Heath. Not sure what that kid's name is. Was Heath too busy to jump on the bed? Oh, it's Anthony Hopkins.
Who is "Villain X"? It's driving me nuts.
Chambers International wants to buy Rusty's wire!
Cappie: "Ah, a boy and his wire. The unconventional love story of the summer."
Nooooo, Casey! Don't invoke the name of Frannie! That's asking for trouble.
I love Calvin avenging Dale. Or trying to, anyway.
Evan! In flannel! What a delightful surprise.
Evan's room is sparse.
Evan: "Rusty, I'd go now before paddles start coming off the wall."
Ha! I love Rusty, but I can't deny that I find Evan treating him like crap on occasion to be pretty amusing.
Lol at Ashleigh shaking her head at the Drew Lachey suggestion.
Does Frannie really count as a ZBZ alum after she disassociated and formed IKI?
Cal: "You know that dream where you're naked and the whole school's laughing at you?"
Evan: "They're applauding. But go on."
Jonathan Silverman! Yes, thank goodness he's here.
Rebecca: "A Bieber in the hand is worth two Lacheys in the bush."
Evan brought Rusty with him to visit the parents? Great plan to make an already awkward situation even worse...
Rusty: "This is where you grew up? You are Lex Luthor."
Evan: "I heard that. Just like I had to hear NPR Science Friday the whole way down here."
Rusty: "Mmm, that's good water, Mrs. Chambers! Best I've ever had!"
That was not a very smooth segue, Ev.
Dale! And Calvin! Aww, Dale's sad.
I'm having a hard time remembering these good old days when the Omega Chis weren't a miserable bunch of jerks.
Dale: "I've turned down my collars; I'm done."
I like that Rusty is getting this insight into the sucking sucky world of being a Chambers.
Eew, Evan's dad spies on him.
Cappie: "I know a sorority where the food is hot and the women are cold. No, wait, they're both hot."
LOL at Cappie's scream of terror when he saw Frannie.
Cappie: "Nice to see you too, Frannie. This is Pledge Spidey. Please don't turn him to stone."
Dale (to Tripp): "Can it, Prince Harry."
Whoever this first Omega Chi pledge guy who stood up to talk is, he's lovely.
Aww, Pledgy Spidey has some moves! It's good he happens to know the words to Bieber's songs so he can lip-synch. I wouldn't be able to pull it off.
Learning moment time:
Ash: "Being president was fun."
Casey: "Fun? For me it was transformative. Is it wrong for me to want to give back to something that made me so much of who I am?"
Ash: "No, it's not wrong. But how much more are you going to give?"
I feel like between Frannie and Ash, Case is getting a hard dose of reality right now.
See? I knew CRU was in Ohio! So why had it not snowed there for years and years?! It snows in Ohio, people!!
That's cool that Chambers International will let Rusty work on the wire after he graduates.
I love how Evan's pledge paddle was prominently displayed on the wall while Rusty and Evan finally made nice.
Is that really Calvin's last "patented diatribe"? I'll miss them.
Rebecca: "Oh, we totally will. If little Tyler Gentry Manning ever wants to see his nana again."
Oh NO. Pledge Spidey is the saboteur?! Ohhh no. And what is in Cappie's letter from the college? I'm nervous.
How depressing would it be if the KTs only have one pledge and it turns out he's trying to take them down?!

Ohhhhhhhh, I'm going to be a massive wreck at this time next week. Frankly, I'm already not feeling so great. Cannot believe there's only one episode left.

We did cover some solid ground in this episode: We patched up Evan and Rusty (which was no easy task). We reconciled Dale with the Omega Chis and got Tripp to stop acting like a flaming butthead. We got some closure with Frannie. We got Casey to realize that spending the next three years in the ZBZ house might not be the best life choice. We got Ashleigh a job that she likes and is good at. We even got Rebecca to calm the heck down a little bit. Those are some serious strides!

Wish list for the finale: Casey and Evan have to make up. And if Cappie and Evan could make up too, that would be icing! The KTs have to figure out if Pledge Spidey is the saboteur. Beaver and Katherine have to get married. (Lol, that one was a joke. Kind of.) We need to have some touching moments between the great sets of friends: Casey/Ash, Cappie/Evan, Rusty/Dale, Rusty/Calvin, Casey/Katherine, Rusty/Cappie, etc. We need a sweet Casey/Rusty brother/sister moment that causes us all to tear up. And as an extra bonus--from the looks of the preview--we finally get the kiss we've all been waiting for: Dale and Casey!! Ha. At least that will give us a reason to smile through our tears...

BTW, I'm going to try to post some Greek wrap-up stuff throughout this week. I want to give a proper send-off to the CRU kids I love so much.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Mock Trials and Tribulations

2011-02-21T20:31:00.008-05:00

Greek:
"Subclass Plagiostomi"

Ok, kids. Grab your tissues: by my calcu- lations this is the third to last episode of Greek. What a sad state of the world we find ourselves in...

Let's brace ourselves. No more weeping tonight--we'll get to that in (sob) two weeks.

Highlights and observations:

Evan's hair looks even shorter this week.
Evan: "Oh, it's totally personal." Ha. Oh, Evan.
Beaver describing Joshua Whopper as "the Asian in the basement."
Cappie: "Dale-y won't even do book club anymore. Even after I shared my erotic fixation with the Bronte sisters."
Ashleigh and Cappie are taller than everyone else at the job fair. That has to count for something.
Ok, this sounds promising: a former professor with a new marketing business. Well, it seemed promising until I saw that webisode...
Tripp fixed Dale up with NATALIE?!? Ha ha ha. There's a couple I can get behind.
Evan has no tie today, but he is wearing a vest.
No, Evan, no, you do not miss Rebecca!! PLEASE tell me this is just Evan being diabolical and playing mind games with Casey. Phew, it is just Evan being diabolical! Close call, there.
I seriously prefer Evan being evil to Evan missing Rebecca.
Lol at post-coital Katherine (and uneasy Casey).
Katherine: "A shark would just (hand motion) tear him limb from limb."
Whoa, Ash has found herself a sugar daddy. This is making me uneasy.
Katherine: "You better watch out, because we are so ready! We're like 22-year-old virgins, and I should know, having been one."
HA! Katherine just slapped panicking Casey! Oh. My. Gosh.
Casey: "Does this say 'shark' to you?"
Cappie: "Werewolf, actually."
Natalie (to Rebecca): "Maybe you can have your formal with the Tri-Pi's. You were a lesbian once, right?"
Rebecca: "I burned your house down once. I'll do it again."
It's nice how upset Rebecca is over this Dale thing. I didn't know she was such a fan of Dale's. Granted, a lot of her anger is a result of Natalie trying to take down the ZBZs, but I think she's got a soft spot for Dale.
Cappie: "Are they talking about Sigourney Weaver?"
Holy crap, the Omega Chis have sunk to a new low. Messing with Dale is like kicking a puppy. Who knew Evan was a steadying moral force in that house?
Whoooooaaaaaaaa. Evan's saying all his evilness is because Casey took herself away from him and then took Rebecca away? Uh, ok. I love Evan, but even I'm not buying this one. I seem to remember him being a little evil before Casey broke up with him.
Casey's not having it. She calls Evan's bluff--except it wasn't a bluff this time. And Evan's sad. Awwww.
Rusty: "Natalie told Rebecca, who is the world's weirdest Dale defender, but I still believe her."
Uh oh, Cappie's speaking the truth about this Ashleigh/Simon situation. And being logical. And smart. That's always a little disconcerting.
Can you call opposing counsel as a witness?
Oh dear, Dale has no pants.
Dale's dance moves leave something to be desired.
OMG, the evil Omega Chis had Dale take off his shirt and moon the audience! Oh no.
Aww, Dale's going to finish the song! And Rusty and Calvin went out on stage in their underwear too for moral support! (Aside from the underwear, this scene reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine.) How sweet! There's "brotherhood" for you. (Can I get the odds on someone using that exact line in the next 10 minutes?)
It's too bad Heath's not around for this talent show performance. We all know that he doesn't have a problem dancing around in his underwear ;-)
Oh no, Dale's pummeling Tripp! Come on, land a punch to the face at least, Dale!
So if Tripp and the Omega Chis were just messing with Dale and aren't the ones doing the other KT sabotage, who is?
Um, if this is how Casey and Evan are treating each other, maybe it's good they didn't go to law school as a couple. This is bad enough as it is.
Rusty: "I guess the whole school's seen us naked now. It's kind of nice to have that out of the way."

So, at this point, it's time for me, as a sometime Casey/Evan shipper, to concede that we've run out of time. Casey and Evan as a couple is not going to happen*. At this point, it's looking iffy on whether they'll even get to the point of being friends again by the time the show's over. Not to mention Evan and Cappie! We've got a lot of relationship/friendship angst to heal in a short amount of time.

*At least by the end of the series. I suppose they may leave the possibility of a future reunion slightly still on the table.

Previews for next week: Oh NO! It's Franny! Personally, I could have lived if Frannie hadn't showed up in the final batch of Greek episodes. I have not missed her.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Greek: The Kiss of Truth

2011-02-14T20:36:00.011-05:00

Greek: Midnight Clear

Well, fellow Greek aficionados, it's time to face the unfortunate truth: Our time at Cyprus-Rhodes is almost up, as evidenced by this finale cast photo posted on EW.com last week. Boy, does looking at that picture make me feel sad. They're smiling, but they are melancholy smiles. And I can relate: a melancholy smile is the best you're going to get out of me when I'm thinking of Greek's rapidly approaching March 7 finale.

Once you get past the sheer sadness of the idea of Greek ending, looking at that picture brings some other things to mind. First, Casey's outfit is amazing. Second, what the hell happened to Evan's hand?! Is that part of the plot? Or did Jake McDorman break his hand in real life? It seems like they could have pretty easily hidden his hand behind another cast member if they'd wanted to, so I think it's a clue. But how does Evan break his hand? Punching Cappie? Getting hit with a pledge paddle by Rusty? The plot thickens...

Highlights and observations (apologies--these are not quite as thorough as usual; my computer froze up during Truth or Kiss):

Ash: "Casey took a "Which Friend are you quiz on Facebook and she's a Rachel. She wishes! She's more like a Ross."
Can I come to the "lovers of Calvin" party? I'm a lover of Calvin.
This is the first snowstorm at Cyprus-Rhodes is 50 years? I thought they were in Ohio! Where'd I get that clearly erroneous idea?
Casey: "Ashleigh became a fan of Color Me Badd! She hates novelty '90s bands! What is wrong with her?!"
They are talking about pre-nups already in law school? That seems kind of advanced for week four or whatever it is.
EVAN!!! EVAN!!! EVAN!!!
Dale: "Let's be honest, with that dimpled chin and those buttery blond highlights, it's pretty clear who is in the right here."
Cappie: "Why do you care that I care? Why is there no "Real World: Cleveland"? ... So many questions..."
Rebecca: "Were there any signs that things were going bad between you two before you broke up?"
Casey: "Well, he slept with you."
Lol at Calvin and Heath walking in on Rusty when he was putting Ash's lipstick on his face to see if she was the mystery girl.
Katherine: "Casey! Keep up!"
Oh no, Katherine, please call you and Walter "a relationship"! That's what I'm calling it!
Maybe Evan just doesn't like you, Rebecca. Because you're annoying!
Evan really doesn't know Rebecca very well if he thinks she's going to make it through the whole party without causing drama about this.
Rusty: "Shoulder! Is that the same thing as the arm?"
Calvin: "Yeah, it's the top of the arm. Or the bottom of the neck."
Lol, "Tripp and Dale" has replaced "Cap and Dale"
Dale: "Jenga? It's my middle name!"
Casey and Evan: "Why is she kissing my law professor?"
Rusty: "Why is she kissing that old guy?"
The roads are closed, and Heath's not coming :-( Boo, I miss Heath already.
Casey: "And what is that age exactly? Does it start with a 3 or a 4?"
Cappie: "Suck it, Kettle-smell!"
Casey: "Are you blind already? Why else would you be dating someone who is old enough to be -- Color Me Badd! That's why you fanned them on Facebook!"
Major LOL at Casey pointing at her elbow and saying, "Is this spreading?" when Ashleigh was trying to elicit support for Simon coming with them to Dobbler's.
Lol at Dale asking Casey a complicated math problem so she'd have to kiss him! But she didn't! Aw, poor Daley.
Whoa, that game of Truth or Kiss got real fast.
Cappie kissed Evan!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Ha ha at Evan gargling his beer after kissing Cappie.
Ha at Dale telling Ashleigh that there's a bucket around if she needs to hurl after kissing Rusty.
Ok, I'm sorry, but DOES Rebecca deserve to be treated better than this after her Truth or Kiss antics?! She did after all just announce to a group of people that Cappie is better in bed than Evan. Then she forced Casey to corroborate. And then she wonders why Evan is acting pissed off?! OY VEY.
Aww, Ashleigh and Casey are not a college relationship. They will always be each other's soul mates.
Oops! Reunion, interrupted! Casey is not thrilled to find out that Ashleigh kissed Rusty for real.
What DOES Casey have to do with your breakup with Rebecca, Evan? Hmmm, let's think. I bet if we think really hard, we can figure it out...
"Watch your back in law school. Because now the gloves are off." Oooh, that's real scary, Chambers.

All right, folks: And now for the main event! It's Cappie/Casey/Evan version 4.0 (5.0?). We've all seen it coming (again). It's time to settle this one once and for all. We are, after all, almost out of time...

photo: abcfamily.com

Greek: When the Morning Comes

2011-02-07T21:01:00.009-05:00

Greek:
"Fumble"

Well, we were all grappling to come to terms with things tonight. Rusty was trying to figure out what exactly had happened to him the night before. Casey knew that what she'd been up to the night before could lead to trouble (she had had drunken, unprotected sex with Cappie) and spent the day dealing with the fallout from that. And as for me, I spent the evening trying to come to terms with the fact that every episode of Greek from here on out will not be as magical as the Beaver-centric "All About Beav" of two weeks ago.

Last week's episode wasn't as fantastic as "All About Beav," but it did have some rather funny moments. This episode, however, wasn't as amusing. Not that it was bad; it was just pretty serious. Thank goodness we (and Calvin) had a chance to watch Rusty uncover his own humiliating drunken episodes and that Katherine turned up to whip off some fantastic lines about how she has "taken a lover." All in all, the episode was fine, but it didn't leave me in a state of rapture like the really great episodes of Greek do.

Also, there was no Evan.

Highlights and observations:

Casey: "She'll misinterpret things and think we're getting back together."
Cappie: "Is that such a bad thing? It's what the people want!"
Rusty: "Well, I either kissed a girl or gave a clown mouth-to-mouth."
Dale: "Thanks for the heads up that Ashleigh was sleeping on the couch. I got up to get a drink of water and she saw my Full Monty in the fridge light."
Dale: "Hi, Calvin. I'd stay and talk, but I'm making a dramatic exit."
Calvin: "What's with the eyewear, Snooki?"
Katherine: "I have taken a lover."
Casey: "Wait, wait, you're sleeping with Beaver, and his name is Walter?!"
Katherine's daughter's name is going to be Anastasia. :-)
Ooh, Ash is in a saucy mood today.
Prof. Simon's daughter (Hailey) is cute. Until she starts talking, that is...
Calvin: "It's like watching bizarro Rusty."
Calvin: "She handed you her virginity on a silver platter and you just sent it back to the kitchen."
Awwwww, Beaver and Katherine :-) :-) :-)
Katherine: "I think your exact wording was, 'Ok, you can have me now.'"
Whoa, now Prof. Simon's daughter is talking about One Tree Hill. OTH is on everyone's lips this week.
Is Ashleigh's "Pedro" Prof. Simon or Rusty? I feel like Prof. Simon is just a giant red herring here.
Rusty: "Please have my wire. And be my soul mate."
Cappie: "No, but she can't have gotten far."
Casey: "Unless she's in the back of a van!"
There had to be a safer way to get Hailey down from the rock climbing wall.
Ashleigh: "No, no, I was just admiring this girl's hair. It's so soft."
Ok, so Prof. Simon is maybe not a red herring? He wants to take Ashleigh to dinner, so we know he likes her anyway. Still not convinced he's "Pedro."
Ok, I no longer care whether Cappie and Casey are together, apart, or whatever. What I adamantly care about is that Cappie NEEDS to get a HAIRCUT. Even if it's just a little trim. His hair looks bad. Bad, bad, bad.
Casey: "Cappie and I got drunk, and, uh, studied."
Cappie declared philosophy as his major! Oh, Cap, of all the majors to declare... Luckily he knows a really rich guy who offered to help him out in the post-college world.
Cappie's taking a 10 a.m. class! And not even a Tuesday/Thursday class! It's a Monday/Wednesday/Friday class.
Called it! Rusty is "Pedro." You cannot fool me, Greek! (cue evil laugh)
Rusty: "Because you're a human magnet and people are drawn to you." (Aww, drunk Rusty is so sweet!)
That was a pretty hot kiss there between Rusty and Ashleigh. The pieces for the Rusty/Ashleigh coupling are falling into place... Now all we need is for Rusty to remember it.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Weekend At Cappie's

2011-01-31T20:58:00.004-05:00

Greek:

"Homecoming and Going"

So how does Greek follow up last week's Best Episode Ever candidate, the Beaver/Walter-centric "All About Beav"?

Unfortunately by shoving Walter way back into the background again. And Katherine was MIA altogether. Boooooooo!

But the consolation was that this episode featured Jonathan Silverman as Pledge Spidey's super rich dad. To me, Jonathan Silverman showing up as Spidey's dad is almost as exciting as Dwayne Wayne appearing as Ashleigh's dad due to my unnatural love of Weekend At Bernie's. (And Weekend At Bernie's II.) We're talking one of my favorite movies ever here. It's like Greek is intentionally casting its parents (and teachers) by harvesting my favorite shows and movies of all time. Next thing you know, Paul Gross from Due South is going to show up at the father of Heath and Heather or something.

Highlights and my observations:

Uh oh, the KTs didn't hold their big Homecoming party last year, so A&M kicked CRU out of collegepartymonster.org's top 10 party schools.
"And 'dot org's never lie!"
Cappie: "Luges? Lugi? Lugee?"
JONATHAN SILVERMAN!!! Pledge Spidey's dad is Jonathan Silverman?! Awesome!
Ash: "Who knew finding a job would take so long? It always happens so fast in movie montages."
Cappie: "It's like finding out that Santa left the North Pole to sit in a cubicle and listen to NPR."
Why has Ashleigh started snoring in the past 4 months? Does she have a deviated septum?
Evan not wanting to wade into the battle of "Heather" vs. "Heeeeeather" and saying, "Well, don't stay too long, whatever your name is..."
Health thinking the party theme was based on Everwood. Honestly, knowing the amount of television watched in the Kappa Tau house, I'd be less surprised by the KTs having a party based on Everwood than Mt. Everest.
Calvin: "He's a good dancer..."
Wow, Casey just invited Ash to live with Rusty without asking Rusty (and Dale) first? That's presumptuous.
WALTER! Walter, I miss you already.
Awww, Beav getting choked up talking about loosing his "little brother" Scooby. (And then wailing "Scooooooooobbbeeeeee!!!!")
WHERE IS KATHERINE?!
Oh no! Dale's big brother is Tripp. Scraping the bottom of the barrel there...
Dale: "Yeah, I never thought I'd be friends with a red-top either, but he's the prez. Only the best for me!"
Well, if Rusty is Peter's "big brother" and Cappie is Rusty's "big brother," then Cappie would be Peter's "grand big" so shouldn't that be just about as good?
Yeah, Calvin! Call Rebecca out on her crap!
Stop dragging the Calvin/Heath relationship through the mud, Rebecca! Heath is sooooooooo much better than Grant (and deputy Leo).
Good, Peter, go apply sunscreen. That's responsible.
Cappie: "Why not just buy him some porn and a lap dance and call it a day?"
Rusty: "Peter has brittle bones, and an aggressive lap dance could paralyze him for life."
Ok, it's funny that Heath is dumb in this episode, but he wasn't always this dumb. He was supposedly going to medical school at one point, if you'll recall.
The whole scene where Calvin found out about Heath's secrets from last week was hilarious, so here it all is:
Calvin: "You know how sometimes people have another side to themselves that they keep secret?"
Heath: "Yeah, yeah, like superheroes or...um...uh..."
Calvin: "Yeah! So, uh, they never really reveal the truth about themselves because they kind of like how people view them in a certain way."
Heath: "Beaver told you about me stipping at the Rio Nightclub, didn't he?!"
Calvin: "Stipping? As in strippers? You? For money?!"
Health: "You didn't know? What were you talking about? Oh God, did Casey tell you about the test paper selling thing?"
Calvin: "What?!"
Heath: "What the hell do you want to talk to me about?!"
Calvin: "Stop talking! I was going to tell you that I don't have a major!"
Heath: "Really? Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Calvin: "Does it really matter now?"
Also beyond hysterical was the pre-goat stealing conversation between Rusty, Dale and Peter.
Rusty: "I don't think the Bible would approve of you stealing thy neighbor's goat."
Dale: "The Bible doesn't say zip about kidnapping they neighbor's goat to psych thy neighbor out before the big game."
Rusty: "You and your 'pledge bros' won't be making any history tonight, bro."
Dale: "Uh, says who? You and Tiny Tim here?"
Peter: "Hey! I once ran an 8.5-minute mile. In jeans!"
Dale: "So did my alcoholic Aunt Trudy, and she didn't remember it."
Uhh, is Mike Burton (a.k.a. Casey's law professor) hitting on Ashleigh? That's a little creepy. Maybe he's just being nice.
Ash: "I might as well have gone to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Oh, Ash, I feel your pain, sweetie. I've been there.
These luges/lugi/lugee are pretty cool.
Spidey's dad works on a "campus" with games and massages and other awesome stuff. That sounds nice.
Beccs isn't going to make it down the luge in that dress.
Rebecca: "I'm sorry, Cal. I can't help but feel partly responsible."
Calvin: "You're entirely responsible."
Casey: "Life was so much easier when all your decisions were made for you." (Amen to that, sister.)
Wow, Casey is drinking a lot of vodka. It's behavior like this, Casey, that leads to us waking up next to 16-year-olds. And by "us," I mean "you."
Come on, Rusty. It's got to be easier to steal the goat from the Omega Chis than it is to get it from A&M.
Heath: "And I'm me - the guy who likes Twilight and the Berenstain Bear books."
Aww, Calvin told Heath he loves him. And Heath actually said he loves Cal back--not "thank you"! It's about time that exchange actually worked out for a TV couple.
Spidey has an irrational fear of baby cows.
Prof. Simon: "When I left college, back in 1990, I was in construction."
Ash: "I was 2."
Prof. Simon: "You were in construction, too?"
Ash: "No, I was 2-years-old."
Peter: "Cappie's cool, but you're cool and a nerd. You're like the..."
Rusty: "The amalgam!"
Ha ha ha! Beaver's slow dancing with the goat!!! Unlike last week, Beaver's barely in this episode, but he's still stealing the show!
How does Cappie not recognize Peter's dad from "Weekend At Bernie's"? I guarantee you that Cappie has seen "Weekend At Bernie's" AND the sequel at least as many times as me.
No, Evan, you didn't miss Rebecca!
Oh, Casey. Casey, Casey, Casey... I hope Ashleigh yells at her for this.

(photos: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Leave It to Beaver

2011-01-24T20:44:00.009-05:00

Greek:

"All About Beav"

I'm so excited, because tonight's episode of Greek took two of my absolute favorite peripheral characters and put them together! Beaver and Katherine! It's on! I'm so excited; this pairing is epic.

Of course, knowing Beaver and knowing Katherine, it seems highly unlikely that a relationship between the two of them would ever work long-term. But who cares?! This is Greek's final season and we don't have to worry about the long-term! Let's just get together all the couples we want together (Beaver/Katherine, Rusty/Ashleigh, me: Evan/Casey) and break up all the ones we want broken up (Rebecca/Evan, Rusty/Dana). The Greek end is near - we don't have to worry about the post-show consequences!

After the list of tonight's highlights - which are extensive, because this episode was pure bliss from start to finish - I'll pose the important question ignited by tonight's episode:

It's Beaver!!! Beaver sleeps with a stuffed penguin! Beaver gets a wake-up call from his mom! This is going to be epic.
Beaver: "Yes, Pengy's up too."
Beaver: "Know how I'm philanthropy chair?"
Cappie: "And 'philanthropy' means..."
Beaver: "No, I remember this time."
I LOVE that Beaver just walked out on Cappie mid-pointless rant.
Beaver loves Katherine!!! Oh, dear Lord, please make it happen!
Beaver: "Oh, pardon me, Bing. I was just moving your girlfriend's breast. I mean chest. I mean drawers..."
Beaver's real name is...Walter Boudreaux!!!
I've never heard Beaver say so many words in my life.
OMFG - tonight, the Greek theme jingle had Beaver singing "Greek, Greek, Greek, Greek, Greeeeek!" over it. Holy crap, this is awesome.
The janitor asking Beav if he watched Glee last night.
Beav: "Can you believe they almost shut down the glee club? Again?! Close call! Again!"
"Don't Mock the Killer Birds" was Beaver's first guess at the name of "To Kill A Mockingbird." Although he was incorrect about the title, that does sound like pretty solid life advice to me.
Beaver (looking at Katherine): "I want some of that."
Casey: "Me too."
Beaver: "I have a paper due tomorrow, and I'm going to fail."
Cappie: "What about the children?"
Beaver: "I know! They're the future!"
"Crabtree and Evan-ly"
Cappie: "Now, go on. Get out of my sight!"
Beaver: "I think that's where he is, Cap."
Beav: "You build towers with your books too!"
Casey: "Why am I seeing you more today than ever before?"
Beaver's second attempt at the name of "To Kill A Mockingbird": "Tequila Drinking Bird"
Every fifth page of Casey's law book has been ripped out and substituted with a piece of paper that says "Suck it."
How cute is it that they're showing Fisher's T-Mobile commercial during Greek? Except all the Greek fans think he's a dirty, lying cheater, so I don't know if this is such a great idea.
Beav: "Not that I condone cheating - or even know what condone means - but sometimes you just get desperate."
Just dump her, Evan. It's time to move on.
Ash: "Is there a hot science guy?"
Rusty: "Carl Sagan? Those turtlenecks?"
Lol at Casey hiding behind Beaver when they were talking to the creepy guy at the post office.
Oh no! Rusty got pulled off his own project! That's a major bummer.
Beaver really could have just read the book and written the paper by now. It would have been less work than all of this. Casey probably could have written a bunch of case briefs by now too.
Beaver saved the barista's life once when she was choking!
Casey: "I know what you mean, I've been trying to keep up with Rusty my whole life."
Beaver: "I don't think Rusty's very good at football."
Katherine: "Rio Nightclub. You know, I haven't heard of it but the name kind of conjures up these images in my mind of relaxing with a Caipirinha and some salsa music after a long but rewarding day of volunteering in the Brazilian slums."
Now that Katherine brought it up, I think I'd enjoy a Caipirinha too...
So Rebecca just wants Evan's attention, even if they're fighting. Brilliant plan, Rebecca. That's absolutely going to work out well for you.
Katherine: "I think they're focusing on the Brazilian slum theme."
Ha ha ha! Beaver didn't realize that the "Katherine" Casey was talking about is Katherine.
Casey: "Have you been paying attention to anything I said all day?!"
Beaver: "How should I know, I haven't been paying attention to anything you've said all day!"
HEATH!!!! Heath is a stripper. Ahahahahahahahaha!
I wonder if Calvin knows Heath is a stripper at Rio Nightclub.
Beaver: "Are you Dave? Are you a policeman? I'm so confused right now!"
I can't even listen to Heath and Beaver's conversation, because I'm laughing too hard.
Beaver trying to take off his pants but not being able to, and Katherine screaming "You gotta take off your shoes first!!"
Beaver grabbing some "hush money" from Heath's underwear!
Oh my gosh. Tears are streaming down my face. It was nice of them to put this Rusty/Dana breakup scene after the strip club scene to give me a minute to gather myself and stop laughing (and crying).
Geez, Cappie. Don't shove Evan just for telling the truth.
Oh, yeah, Rebecca, Evan's the idiot in this situation...
Evan and Beccs are on the rocks and now Rusty and Dana broke up! Everything's coming up awesome tonight!
Beaver: "Your my favorite lady I've never had sex with, Casey."
Beaver's almost finished with his 5-year teaching certificate program! He's going to be a kindergarten teacher!! All together now: "Awwwwww!!!!"
Beaver: "Are you sure you're in law school? Because this is some pretty basic stuff."
Casey really didn't realize that allllllllll of the Evan/Cappie war is because of her?
Yea, Beaver! He's going to watch the movie and write the paper himself! I'm so proud.
OMFG, KATHERINE IS IN BEAVER'S BED!!!!! Holy freaking crap, I'm about it lose it.
Beaver doesn't waste time! He sees Katherine in the morning, decides he likes her, and the next day she wakes up in his bed. Beav is such a fox.

And now for the great debate: Was this one of the best episodes of Greek ever, or was this THE best episode of Greek ever? The only thing that's held it back was a lack of Dale and Calvin, but I honestly didn't really miss them tonight.

While the "best ever?" debate may continue on indefinitely, one thing that we know for sure after this episode is that if Greek must end, there should absolutely be a Beaver-centric spinoff. Beaver, the kindergarten teacher. Can you imagine anything more delightful?

(photos: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Why We're Here

2011-01-17T20:59:00.014-05:00

Greek:
"Cross Examined Life"

Most of the time I was watching tonight's Greek, I was thinking that the episode was just okay. There was nothing wrong with it really, but it was a bit of a downer, what with Calvin's crisis of indecision about his major, Rusty and Dale's squabble, Casey encountering friction from her law school classmates, Ashleigh returning after crash-and-burning at her job, etc.

And then Katherine showed up, and all was forgiven. When Casey turned around and saw Katherine in the back of the classroom, it was the highlight of my day. I'm not even kidding. Greek, I love you.

For more freaking out re: Katherine, scroll to the end of the...

Highlights and observations:

Rusty and Dana started re-watching Lost to count the questions that were never answered.
A murder mystery dinner party is the first think Dana thinks of when she wants to cheer someone up? That's kind of a strange first thought.
Rebecca's hair looks pretty fantastic for it being her "middle of the night" hair.
Casey's going to law school and she doesn't know what habeas corpus is?
Ash: "Casey?"
Casey: "Burgler?"
Oh dear, Ashleigh got fired. Her hair looks nice too though.
Ash has the option of moving home and working at her dad's accounting firm. I've been there...
Lol at sleeping Beaver attacking Pledge Spidey for trying to throw away his beer cup.
Cappie: "That's what Heath said. Ha ha."
Casey: "No tests? Is this what happens before noon? I freaking love morning time."
Casey and Evan's law professor is Mike Burton from Ed! Cool!
Evan should have known that burden of proof thing. Come on, Chambers.
Poor Casey. Since when does law school involve sitting around and swapping gossip? Mr. and Mrs. Karns, or whatever, are a bunch of Chatty Cathies...
Dale calling the Tri Pis the "Pi Pi Pis"
Dana: "You look like a teen movie villain."
Gosh, Rusty is looking cute this year. He's almost becoming Franco-esque. He can definitely do better than Dana now...
Now Ashleigh has special drink testing coasters! Greek is still mining Season 3 of Veronica Mars for material!! How endearing.
Cappie: "Come on. 'Why are we here?' She's ordering us to get high."
Rusty: "They're going to brand their letters onto your ass?!"
Study group girl: "How well do you two know each other?"
Evan: "We used to date."
Mr. Karns: "Oh, Evan, did you used to work in Undergraduate Admissions?"
Casey getting smacked down by the law students is kind of amusing, but Evan is being way meaner than he needs to be. Go apologize. Ok, good boy.
Casey: "Oh, great! Now I'm Rusty in high school."
Ash: "I said, 'Good day, sir!'"
Ash might be purposeless, but she looks gorgeous this episode. I hereby nominate Amber Stevens for the role of Mary Jane Watson in my dream version of Spider-Man staring Donald Glover. (That was one Twitter rumor that really should have been true.)
Oh my gosh! The Omega Chis are branding people in the living room?! That seems like loads of trouble. Oh, thank goodness, they are just pretending to brand people. I was wondering why no one ever mentioned that Evan and Calvin have letters stamped on their butts.
Lol, so the question is: are stoned Cappie and Calvin half as funny as stoned Casey and Evan? So far, no. High Calvin is funny, but Cappie is acting about the same as Cappie always acts. Plus stoned Casey and Evan were pretty much the funniest people ever.
Ok, I did get a major laugh out of Calvin gesturing at Cappie when he said "me" and then pausing and trying again.
Calvin: "Ohh, no. You've got chips on your butt! (laughs)"
Rusty: "So you can let Trip scar you for life?" (referring to the butt branding)
Dale: "And this won't?!" (referring to the murder mystery dinner party)
Dana's friend is cute. Why isn't Rusty with her instead of Dana?
Calvin doesn't have a major?! Oh dear. Time's a-wasting, fella.

Ha, Dale knew who the "killer" was without even playing the game. Go Dale.
LOL at Ashleigh entertaining herself with shadow puppets.
Ashleigh has become a bad influence on Casey...
Why didn't Rusty at least take off his Sherlock hat before going out in public?
Oh, poor Ash. She got overlooked for a promotion in favor of someone from The City, so she was upset and left on her thousandth coffee run and never came back. And now she's fired for real.
Ha ha ha! Beaver drew a unicorn on Rusty's face! Beaver is so adorable.
KATHERINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S KATHERINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Katherine: "Can you not interrupt me when I'm waving to my friend? Thank you."
OMG. IT. IS. KATHERINE. I'm freaking out.
(And I promise to try to stop arguing that Casey, Katherine, and Evan should have gone somewhere else for grad school if for no other reason than to broaden their horizons a bit. I love Casey, Katherine, and Evan, and if this is what keeps them around, so be it.)
I wonder why Katherine made a last-minute decision too. Did she miss CRU as well?
Casey, Katherine, and Evan need to form a super (study) group!

And, holy crap, next week's episode is called "All About Beav"! First Katherine comes back and now we get a Beaver-centric episode?! GASP! Please tell me that these two seemingly unrelated occurrences are going to be connected. A Katherine and Beaver hookup!?! You're rocking my world, Greek!

(photos: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Spitters Never Quit

2011-01-10T20:55:00.006-05:00

Greek:

"Fools Rush In"

Now we're talking! This week's episode of Greek felt much more like the funny, witty, sweet Greek we know and love than last week's offering (which had to scramble to tie up some loose ends and to establish everyone's new stations in life). This week, however, everyone - except Ashleigh - was in place and ready to go. We got to see Rusty again assuming a leadership role with the KTs; Casey carving out a new place for herself amidst her old, beloved place; the KTs being funny; Evan looking hot; and Dale becoming a power player.

Highlights and my thoughts:

Dale: "Do you know the CRU Atheist Club has their own ski trip? They should get used to a warmer climate where they're headed."
Dale: "They think of me as one of the girls, and not even one of the hot ones."
EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW! It's Dana! And she's wearing Casey's shirt - eeeeeew! But that's not nearly as EEEEEEWWWW-worthy as that Star Wars stuff. Yikes. Poor Casey.
Yes, where IS Ben Bennett?
Rusty: "No one's seen him since Homecoming"
"What about Gonzo?" / "I think I saw him on Scrubs." (Did Little Franco play Gonzo? I don't remember what his Greek name was.)
There's the funny KT banter I know and love!
The KTs discussion of their missing members was hilarious, and I'm going to use the Ben Bennett reference as further proof that the Greek writers read my blog and/or my mind, because I've definitely wondered aloud about what became of him on other occasions.
Cappie: "How did we lose so many guys? I feel like Jen Aniston!"
Casey and Evan are hanging out together!!!
Cappie: "Hi. We're here to...try?"
Ok, this Natalie girl is funny, but WHERE is Katherine?! Am I to believe that she graduated college and actually LEFT?! Imagine that...
Cappie: "Is there a suggestion box I could fill with vomit?"
Evan: "Now I'm the bad guy again? Let me guess, Cal, it's my pride again, right?" (Oooh, snap!)
Please NO MORE DANA! The "R & D" thing was cute, but no. Just no.
However, either that shirt is really working for Rusty, or he's looking kind of buff these days.
Eew. And now I have to watch Evan kiss Rebecca. This ep has taken a turn for the worse.
Speaking of looking sexy: Evan.
Heath has a sister?
Speaking of Heath, why is he still here? He was supposed to graduate a semester before Casey and Evan, but he didn't because he flunked finals because of the prank/Wade expulsion incident. But he STILL didn't graduate even after another whole semester? Get your act together, boy! (I'm thinking med school is officially not interested in him now.) (This rant should not be construed as me wanting Health off the show. I adore him; I just don't understand what happened to his story line.)
Heath's sister's name is Heather, pronounced "Heeeeather" - ahahaha!
Cappie: "Instead of having to carry back a whole booth, I just have to carry this sack of ash!"
Beaver: "Without Timmy, there is no tomorrow!"
Cappie: "There's a reason we don't try, Rus. Because when we try, snakes die."
Love Dale's shorts/socks/shoes combo.
Rusty: "We just value weird things, like spitting tequila on girls and eating a table leg."
Health: "This guy's name is Jodie Foster! Imagine, we could have an Anthony Hopkins and a Jodie Foster!"
I like Casey's plan, but I wish it didn't involve Dana...
Cal: "I feel terrible. The fact that I came to this realization because of Dale is not helping."
Cal deserves this mini smackdown from Evan. But I'm glad that they're making up.
Speaking of Ashleigh of "Casey and Ashleigh," I miss her...
Aww, Cappie hugging Dale was too cute!
Does the house mother really have to clean everything? I think I'd pass on that job...
If walking past ZBZ every day of law school and knowing she can't be part of it anymore would kill Casey, maybe she should have gone to law school somewhere else!
Casey: "So what? Spitter's been laughed at most of his life!"
Is it a bad sign that I'm so on the same page as the KTs that when the kid said his name was Peter Parks, I immediately thought "Pledge Spider-Man"? Or am I ok because that was just super obvious?
Casey being the ZBZ house mother is going to make things pretty awkward when she steals Rebecca's boyfriend (back).
Oh no, Dale joined the Omega Chis!
Evan: "I cannot wait to see how Rusty's going to take this."
I just hope Dale doesn't start hitting Rusty with pledge paddles now.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Greek: Law and Disorder

2011-01-03T20:59:00.010-05:00

Greek:
"Defending Your Honor"

Oh, Greek. It's been so long, and I'm so happy to see you. I'll save for later the long, sappy speech about how much I love this show and how much I'll miss it after it wraps up it last season. For now, I'll just happily welcome back my old friends.

(And I'm back from an extended blogging hiatus in honor of Greek's return. I'm with these CRU kids to the end; as long as Greek is on, I'm going to try to blog about it.)

This was not Greek's best episode ever, especially considering it was how the show kicked off its last season, but I love this show and these characters so much that I don't even care at this point.

Highlights and my thoughts:

How creepy is it that Evan Chambers is starring as the Craig's List killer on Lifetime right now? That's a big step away from hitting people in the face with a pledge paddle.
Ahhhhhhh! They're graduating!! There were times where I literally thought this day would never come.
HEATH!!!
Dale: "There's Casey! I could spot those blond locks in the middle of a Swedish flea market."
Casey's parents went back to the hotel instead of congratulating her after the graduation ceremony?! Those Cartwrights sure are tough nuts to crack. Lame.
Law school prep? That seems a bit contrived, but I do think that Casey needs all the help she can get.
Casey: "How am I supposed to look cute in this stupid graduation burka?"
Ugh, Pull-Ups commercials. Advertisers seriously think that Greek's audience is made up of a bunch of toddlers.
And now suddenly summer's almost over already! Time is flying by tonight, folks!
Cappie better get his act together soon, or Rusty's going to have to get used to having Evan Chambers as his brother-in-law.
That photo of Evan, Casey and Cappie with Casey in the middle is convenient, since she can just fold it to hide which ever one of them she's mad at at the moment.
Betsy: "She does have over 20 years of experience."
Rebecca: "So does Kirsten Dunst, but that doesn't make her movies good."
Cute hair, Evan!
How did Casey get a higher LSAT score than Evan?
If Cappie really wanted to avoid this situation, he should have made his trip last until after Casey had already gone.
Casey would really want to go to CRU instead of George Washington?
Beccs: "Not everyone likes Casey Cartwright?!"
Still loving Evan's hair, especially from the profile view.
There are law school dorms?! CRU is just full of surprises.
Why does this dude keep getting cast as a professor (first Greek, then Gossip Girl)? He doesn't seem very professorly to me at all. And he's always a professor who at least tries to have an inappropriate relationship with a student (Casey and Serena). Of course, he'll always be Joan's dumb husband from Mad Men to me.
So did he write her a bad recommendation to CRU but a good one to GW? How does one do that? Or did she not need a recommendation from him for the GW application? This is confusing.
Rusty: "You sound like Cappie. And Dale. And Calvin. ...And mom."
Rusty's looking cute this year too.
Eeeew, old sheets from the motel across the way?! Make a toga out of ANYTHING else, people! Gross!
Go Casey! Stick it to him!
I'm SO over Cappie--and I've only been watching him for 38 minutes. He needs to get it together, or this season is going to be tough to watch.
Ash yelling "Yeah! Bye, Cap!" through Casey's phone.
Now Rusty's looking kind of hot in his toga! It's a good look for him. Who would have guessed?
Rusty: "Campaign promise fulfilled."
Heath: "Calvin was already my boyfriend?!"
Dale: "You did not just call me fat!"
Dale: "Well, I can diet, but you'll always be ugly on the inside!"
Rusty: "I wanted to punch you, but I couldn't."
Cappie: "Yeah, I know. You've got weak wrists."
Um, Cappie, you already DID lose her. You IGNORED her for an entire summer! He's scared he's going to lose her, so he goes away and hooks up with a lot of girls? Idiot.
Mercy, Evan is cute.
Oh, Casey. You can't stay at CRU forever. Why do you want to stay here? With Beccs? Eesh.
Dale: "Why don't you like me?"
Rebecca: "Because you're weird."
Dale: "Why does the Greek system rely on...stupid skinny ties?"
Oh no. Is the only way we can stop Rebecca/Evan by starting Dale/Rebecca?! I want Casey/Evan to happen something awful, but I don't know if I'm willing to sacrifice Dale to the cause.
Is Casey going to keep living in the ZBZ house? That's pretty lame.

Ok, here is my official Last Season of Greek Wish: If Casey absolutely has to end up with Cappie in the end, can she please hook up with Evan at least one more time along the way? Pleeeeeeease!

photo: ABCFamily.com

SYTYCD: The Terrific Trio

2010-08-11T20:01:00.010-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 3 Performance Finale

Is it bad that I'm more excited for tomorrow's show when we get to re-watch the best routines of the season than I am for tonight?
Cat is wearing a black mini dress with elbow-length lace sleeves. It's kind of demure for the final performance show of the season, actually. Maybe she'll pull out the craziness for tomorrow.
Each contestant is doing FOUR routines AND a solo?! Seriously? Is that really necessary?
So everyone's doing four routines and a solo, and we still have time for this extremely long recap of the season?

Kent with Lauren (Dev Bollywood):

The featurette: Kent: "What I want to know is why did she marry an 18-year-old?" Kent: "This Bollywood needs cheesy, and I can deliver so much cheese."
The dance: Lauren's almost unrecognizable in her Indian costume. Kent's got a nice long silver jacket. It was a good routine, but sometimes it looked like Kent was just barely hanging in there.
The judging: Mia says it was the perfect tailored Bollywood piece for Kent. Adam thinks the Energizer Bunny should retire. So apparently I'm the only one who thought Kent looked a little gassed. Adam says Kent is the feel good dancer of the year. Lauren apparently almost ran into a post on her way off stage. (Considering Kent is still breathing heavily after the lengthy judging panel banter, I feel pretty justified in my earlier assertion that he looked a bit tired.)

Lauren with Twitch (Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop):

The featurette: It's a presidential debate. That's different.
The dance: Um, they're doing an awful lot of standing behind the podiums in the beginning. I wasn't sold on the first section of in-front-of-the-podium dancing, but I think it's getting better as it goes. Twitch for president!
The judging: Nigel says NappyTabs is just so good at inspiring people to dance. Uhhh, yeah. After misfiring with a Sarah Palin joke, Nigel's trying to tell us that this competition is still anybody's game. Well, maybe not Robert ;-) Mia says Lauren's filthy, and Cat says, "Aren't all politicians?" Mia doesn't know if there's anything Lauren can't do. Mia loves Lauren's balance of masculinity and femininity.

Robert with Mark (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: Robert kind of looks just like Mark but with less personality and coolness. Anyway...
The dance: It is a bit hard to tell who is who with the matching outfits and hair styles. Anytime they hunch down for some of the groovy moves, you can tell which one is Mark though. It was fun, but it was not really revolutionary.
The judging: Cat asks how much handsomeness we can fit on one stage. Nigel really liked it. Mia says that Robert was "wowed" in the beginning and has gotten more grounded as the show went on. I'll agree; we haven't seen the hand/barf thing lately. Adam thinks working with Mark forced Robert to grow more than dancing with a contestant would have. Adam says Robert actually jumped up for once.

What? Now we have time to have sit-downs with each of the contestants? We're just made of time tonight...

Kent's solo: Open yellow shirt and shorts. He's doing it on purpose, but he definitely wiped out a few times there. Looked kind of painful at times.

Robert and Lauren (Dee Caspary contemporary):

The featurette: The piece is about them going home and being at peace with the result of the competition.
The dance: So they went "home" to the same place and are wearing their skimpy pajamas? Kent's going to be so heartbroken when he finds out about this... So, Robert is looking all kinds of good in this one. Possibly my favorite dancing out of him ever. Lauren's doing well too, but I think Rob is actually stealing the show here.
The judging: Nigel thought there were touches of genius in the choreo. Nigel says the word that sums them both up is strength. Mia says Dee is unreal. Mia says this was by far Robert's most delicious performance. Mia says his humbleness is gorgeous. She says Lauren was perfection. Adam says it was magnificent.

Lauren and Kent (Mandy Moore jazz):

The featurette: In this piece, they're really themselves.
The dance: Ok, they're "themselves" but they're wearing nerd glasses? As far as I can tell, neither Lauren nor Kent actually wears nerd glasses. I'm confused. Not sure it's the best look on Kent. He looks like one of the background geeks from Saved By The Bell. And...the glasses are the thing about this routine that left the biggest impact on me. Not too revved up about this one.
The judging: Nigel doesn't think they were challenged enough for the finale, but they kept the characters up and did what was asked of them. Mia's got glasses on too. Mia thought it was fun and they danced it well, but she didn't really like it because it's just not her cup of tea. Adam says he loves them. And now he just keeps repeating, "Get outta here; I love ya'!" It's bizarre. Lauren and Kent--especially Kent--do a great job of rallying around Mandy and saying that what the judges think doesn't really matter.

Robert's solo: Ok, Robert's finally won me over with his sweetness. He says if he wins the prize money, the first thing he's going to do is look at his mom and ask her what she wants. Awww. And now he's doing his solo to The Postal Service! And it's a good solo! With good choreo! Robert for the win!

Kent with Allison (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: Looking into a relationship that everyone thinks is perfect but really isn't. Stacey's trying to find Kent's maturity here.
The dance: Allison is perfection. Oh, some really nice side-by-side work and then a beautiful little solo from Allison. Wow, good. Parts of it looked like they were letting Allison steal the show to give Kent a bit of a break on 5-dance night, but, whatever, it was good.
The judging: Nigel thinks Kent's lines get better. Kent looks shook up from the mature emotion of it all. Mia points out that Kent actually said, "Get off!" at the end because he was so invested. Mia loves how invested he was (which he can be because he's already got great technique). Mia says she needs more ways to tell him she loves him. Adam asks Kent what is going on because he's about to burst into tears, and when Kent starts to explain it, Adam and Nigel totally cut him off. Adam thinks this was magnificent too. Kent seems to have had an almost religious experience here, in that he's got an almost totally different personality right now. The cheese has been dialed waaaaaay down.

Lauren's solo: Dancing to "I'm Going Down" in her typical style: backbends, hair flips, shoulder jerks, etc., all coming fast and furious. It looks better than it sounds, of course.

Robert with Kathryn (Spencer Liff Broadway):

The featurette: Spencer (to Robert): "You're not a mime!"
The dance: Ooh, West Side Story. Smart beginning, in that Robert gets a nice long solo before stage-stealer Kathryn shows up. She's rocking the "interrogator" attitude something fierce. Rob was good. That was a good routine.
The judging: Uh oh, Robert's pants split. Didn't I just say last week that Rob's clothes are just a bit too tight? Nigel and Adam are having a dispute about whether that song is in the WSS stage play or just the movie. Not exactly all that pertinent right now, boys... Anyhow, Nigel liked it. Mia loved the classical feel to it and thought it was danced very well. She thought it could have used a bit more sizzle and simmer. Adam thinks WSS was the best piece of musical choreo ever, and he thought Spencer's takeoff was really good. And Rob was good.

Lauren with Pasha (Tony and Meredith cha cha):

The featurette: In this routine, Lauren sees Pasha and just loses her mind. Well, that's understandable.
The dance: Wow, that dress is about as little as it can be. Wow, nice life in the middle. The one bare side of her dress makes everything look so scandalous. The routine was pretty good; it seemed a bit on the slow side, but it was danced really well.
The judging: Nigel says she's probably the best contemporary girl on the show ever to do a ballroom routine. Which seems a BIT strong to me. (Allison, Kathryn, Jeanine, Courtney G., etc. all rocked ballroom back in the day, and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.) Mia says if she were still dancing, she'd want to dance just like Lauren. Adam says if music were embodied into a person, it would be her. Adam says that was exhibition-style perfect. And, again, I miss Mary Murphy. How have we gone all season with no Hot Tamale Train?

Robert and Kent (Malevos fight):

The featurettes: These hats are just silly. Kent and Robert took some nasty falls during practice.
The dance: They look like gangsters (well, Rob more so than Kent). But they're tangoing. Bizarre. Wow, Robert just lifted Kent up and swung him around his shoulders. There's some nice stunt stuff mixed in with some weird tango stuff, making for an odd mix overall.
The judging: Nigel has never heard of this routine, but supposedly it's what the men do to practice their tango before they go dance with the women. Oookay. Nigel's taking the opportunity to talk about how great all three of the finalists are in general, instead of really talking about this routine. Probably a wise choice. Mia loved the feel of the piece. She liked that it was debonair and still had a 'hood feeling. She acknowledges that the leg work "could be tighter." Adam agrees that certain elements of the precision weren't exactly right, but says it doesn't matter any more. Adam says these three finalists are his three favorite dancers ever on the show. Oh, come on. Stop lying. (And if you're not lying, stop being ridiculous. Three favorite ever?!)

Cat reads her send-off speech while still wearing one of Robert and Kent's gangster hats from the last number. Awesome.
I think there were too many routines tonight. There was an awful, awful lot to digest.
Well, Robert and Lauren both had pretty good nights, but I'll still be stunned if Kent doesn't run away with this tomorrow.

My favorites: Robert and Lauren's contemporary; Kent and Allison's contemporary; Robert and Kathryn's Broadway

SYTYCD: Top Four

2010-08-05T18:58:00.008-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 4 Performance Show

So, this is the second-to-last performance show before the inevitable crowning of Kent as the Season 7 champion.
Cat has a voluminous and somewhat disheveled faux bob and a bedazzled black mini dress with pink and green stripey accents around the neck.
OH DEAR--as if the judges haven't been full enough of themselves this season, tonight the panel includes Tyce! Is it wrong that I'm actually not totally dreading having to listen to Tyce's insights tonight? He didn't annoy me as much at auditions this season as he has in the past. This will be a good chance to see if my hate affair with him has in fact cooled off.

Tyce Diorio group number:

The featurette: Tyce: "The top four should be like fireworks! Bam! Bam! Bam!"
The dance: This is really just working out to be a Lauren showcase--she's the one who gets to do the different moves. The guys are basically all doing the same things. Their moves might be more impressive than what she's doing, but they look like back-up dancers. Also, Robert's suspenders are terrible.
The judging: Tyce thinks Kent stood out, and he wants to see the fight from AdeChike. Adam hopes they've had a great time. Nigel adds some more platitudes. Mia says nothing.

Lauren with Pasha (Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo Argentine tango):

The featurette: PASHA!!!! It's been ages! Whoa, Pasha is smoldering. Oh dear, the dance begins with Pasha being sad in a night club. How upsetting.
The dance: Well, my first thought--and this is not particularly fair--is that Lauren is not Chelsie Hightower. There's just something about Lauren's foot and leg placements that don't seem just precisely right. Still, though, she gave it a good effort and she was close.
The judging: Couldn't Mary Murphy have been on the panel tonight? Nigel liked the passion and the control. Nigel: "And Pasha! I mean, I wanted to dance with you!" Tyce says Lauren gave the audience "the uh, the ah, the eh, the unh and the eeh" or something. I don't know. Mia says the choreo was incredible and that Lauren just became a women. It was simmering and mesmerizing. Adam starts talking about Prop 8 and then asks Nigel to marry him, which literally has nothing to do with Lauren or the dance. At least bring it up after a two-boy number or something. Adam says Lauren used her legs "like they were arms" which just sounds creepy.

AdeChike with Lauren (Sean Cheesman Afro jazz):

The featurette: With a little Afro Caribbean thrown in. AdeChike used to be serious, but now he smiles.
The dance: Lauren's bra-top and big flowly skirt look is pretty fierce. That skirt is everything, as Mia would say. Is AdeChike wearing a shrug? Whose idea was that? I think AdeChike's looking good in this routine, although admittedly nothing about either of their dancing is doing much to distract my attention away from the wardrobe.
The judging: Cat: "Britney Spears would be proud of that crop top!" Nigel thinks AdeChike's back seems terribly straight sometimes, so it's not loose enough for the waves. Tyce says he loves Lauren. Tyce is talking about story lines and grounding centers and laying it DOWN. The upshot is that Tyce thinks AdeChike danced it well, but he should have taken it further. Mia didn't care for it. Because of the tightness in AdeChike's upper body, she thinks he wasn't expanding the performance to the heavens. Adam thinks AdeChike needs to lose himself in the dance and then blows him a kiss. Cat says "A-de-Chi-ke" like it's the first time she's ever said the name in her life.

Robert with Anya (Jonathan Roberts Viennese waltz):

The featurette: Is this Jonathan guy from DWTS? It's his first time choreographing on SYTYCD. Jonathan doesn't think Robert is a ballroom expert. Robert is gunning to take Pasha's place though.
The dance: If we're talking posture, I feel like there's something weird about Robert's when he's partnering someone in a ballroom routine. I'm wondering if it's because he's tall and he kind of stoops to be on the girl's level. Also, I think his outfits are often just a smidge too tight on him. There were some nice lifts in that routine.
The dance: Nigel thought it was beautiful. Nigel thinks Robert worked very hard on the rise and fall. Nigel says Pasha didn't do a straight-arm lift tonight and Robert did. Uh, call Pasha back out here. I guarantee he can do a better one than Rob just did. Tyce says Robert "wore it like a suit." Mia looks like she just trucked in from the prairie. Her hair/outfit look like they were inspired by Sully from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Mia thought it was beautiful and she wishes Robert would relax and enjoy the ride. Adam thinks he was brilliant. Brilliant? Really? I guess they're trying to build Robert and Lauren up a bit so there's some suspense in the finale (I guess they're wanting those three instead of AdeChike).

We're doing like Miss America pageant-style interviews with the contestants between performances. It's unnecessary, in my opinion.

Robert's standing on the stage with a death-grip around Cat's ribcage.

Kent with Courtney (Doriana Sanchez disco):

The featurette: Can we just kabosh disco routines once and for all? Oh goodness, Courtney took a beating in that rehearsal.
The dance: And now to top it off, Courtney has to go out on stage in a dress with a sparkly purple top and a bright orange skirt. Yikes. There are a lot of lifts; not much side-by-side dancing. Quite an exciting spinning lift at the end there. Cat says the last lift almost gave her a heart attack.
The judging: Kent: "I was excited; and then I had to do a lot of lifts." Nigel wants to know how many lifts got taken out. Kent: "Well, I'm just not big!" Tyce thinks Courtney looks beautiful...and I can only assume that he means she looks beautiful despite the dress. Tyce thinks it was good but Kent needed to do more research into disco. Mia thought it was a little rough. She thought the partnering was solid, but that the non-partner stuff felt "bouncey, short and squashy." She says it was his worst routine of the season. Adam thinks it was Kent's most youthful performance yet, and he's not thinking that's a good thing. Adam needs to stop referencing "Blue Steel." Zoolander is not exactly "so hot right now."

Kent: "There aren't any male dancers around here (in Wapakoneta). I mean, there are barely girl dancers here."

Kent gets really excited while he's telling us that you don't have to be from a big city to make it on SYTYCD if you have the drive and believe in yourself.

Cat: "In two week's time, Kent will be running for president."

Lauren with Ade (Sean Cheesman jazz):

The featurette: Oh look, Lauren's trying to seduce someone else. But now she's a deadly black widow.
The dance: Lauren is wearing a full-body black lace see-through leotard. They almost blend into the wall behind them due to their all-black outfits. Very cool lift with an innovative entrance in the middle of the routine. Good routine.
The judging: Nigel says it was really strong work. Masculine work that she did in a feminine way. Nigel thinks Lauren deserves to be in the finale. Tyce says she did a great job dancing in the heels. He thinks her ending position could have been more ferocious though. Mia says Lauren's a beast. Mia thought the sexual chemistry wasn't as evident as she would have liked it to be. Adam says he wants to hire her. Is Ade wearing a shirt, a sweater and a jacket? He must be warm.

AdeChike with Kathryn (Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rohden piece):

The featurette: Desmond is AdeChike's idol. He was worked with Desmond and Dwight before at a summer camp.
The dance: The problem I have with AdeChike is that--to me anyway--he almost always gets overshadowed by whomever he's dancing with. Kathryn stole this number in the first 5 seconds. Now, granted, Kathryn is going to steal the show from pretty much anyone because she's that good.
The judging: Nigel thinks AdeChike lost a little bit of wind toward the end of the routine. But he says that AdeChike has done a wonderful job across the season. Tyce also wants to celebrate where AdeChike's at. They're trying not to be too mean, so he won't get sympathy votes. You can tell that Tyce wants to pick on him, but doesn't think he should. Mia wanted more. Mia says AdeChike has potential to be a superhero dancer, and she saw glimpses of it but then she also saw flaws that held him back. Adam thinks AdeChike has grown so much on this show. Uh, I guess...

AdeChike's bringing the tears in a lovely display of emotion (that I wish would shine through in his dancing more often).

Robert with Dominic (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

The featurette: The dance is about two clowns who are sad when they find out that their big top is closing. NappyTabs assure us that this is not your typical hip hop.
The dance: This is Robert's first hip hop, I think, so this should be interesting. He's actually better than I was expecting. Dom's makeup makes him look like the Joker. Not sure I got the "the big top is closing" story from that, but whatever. It was a NappyTabs routine that I didn't hate, so that's something.
The judging: Nigel hopes they'll do this routine on the tour. Nigel says Robert did everything that was asked of him and he was brilliant. Tyce says that Robert really showed up to this piece. Mia says Robert committed to everything. And she thinks he's had an amaaaaaaaaaaazing evening. Adam says Robert just out-danced Dom's ass. Everyone bristles because that seems a little unnecessarily harsh to poor, sweet, clowny Dominic.

Kent with Neil (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: The dance is about two best friends, but Neil needs to move on and then goes so far as to stab Kent in the back. Kent fights back, but then decides he needs to walk away. This is complicated.
The dance: It's to DeVotchKa's "How It Ends"! Kent looks like a mannequin in the beginning. Wow, some dance fighting! It's like West Side Story. Kent and Neil are really well-matched dancers. Neil looks good in this one. His leaps and extensions are sheer sickness. I'm not going to buy the "Kent out-danced the All Star" line for this one.
The judging: Cat tells Neil to pick on someone his own size. Nigel thought the piece was "inspirational." I'm not sure if "inspirational" is quite the word; "disturbing" maybe. Nigel thinks Kent just booked a ticket to the finale with that routine. Uh, Kent booked that ticket back in the auditions. Tyce says excellence in the dancer, the choreographer, and the All Star. Mia can't find words because it was "so real and so uncomfortable awful and that is what true, true genius in an artist is." Adam ducks his head and says that Travis is brilliant. Adam says if this were the finale, Kent would have just won the show. Uh, guys! Kent ALREADY won the show.

I wish they did this show without a judging panel. They seem so disingenuous so much of the time.

The last routine was good, but I wasn't super excited about anything else. I didn't like anything as much as the Billy/Ade routine last week.

Favorites: Kent and Neil's contemporary and, uh, Kathryn and AdeChike's piece?

SYTYCD: Top Six, Take Two

2010-07-28T19:55:00.006-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 6 Performance Show, Part II

So who's injured tonight? No one? That can't be right...
Everyone came out for the intros! Billy does have a massive brace on his knee though.
Cat is wearing a one-shoulder, black and white snake skin print mini dress.
Cat confirms that no one is injured.
Toni Redpath is also judging tonight, which is nice because she at least knows ballroom, unlike these other schmoes.

Kent with Anya (Jean-Marc and France cha cha):

The featurette: Kent has already done the cha cha. Anya points out that Kent has gotten to kiss a lot of girls on the show already. In this dance, Anya is a teacher and Kent is a bad boy. This is a little creepy.
The dance: Anya's big see-through white shirt and '80s Madonna makeup are a little distracting, but the cha cha dancing looks pretty good from both of them. Kent looked downright Pasha-esque at times.
The judging: Nigel says Kent started out as a young boy dancing but is now a man dancing. Really good effort. Toni says Kent was better at cha cha this time--he was more grounded and had better footwork. She thinks he got a little hunchy in his shoulders. Mia thinks he moved his hips right, but that the whole piece was crunchy and felt a little choppy. She thinks he's not taking the note on his face. Kent says that's who he is and it just comes out. By the time we get to Adam, I think we've got this whole pretty well hashed out. Adam thinks he needed more length. And in this one judging panel, I think I've heard more substantive dancing critiques than I have in some entire episodes.

Robert with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: Sorry, I missed it.
The dance: Kathryn's splits are exquisite. Um, Robert would probably be better showcased by this routine if he didn't spend 70% of it with his back to the audience. Robert is looking a little more butch than usual. The end of this routine didn't look very hard (looked like something they'd give to Jose).
The judging: Nigel loved the connectivity to it. Nigel says Robert used to be goofy but now he's not. Toni says she'd want to be the woman he was dancing with. Mia thought the beginning of that piece was so sacred and tender. Mia thinks he should allow his emotions to be the catalyst of his movement and that will take it to even another level. Adam says no one supports each other like dancers. Uh, ok, thanks for sharing. Adam says Kathryn is so stunning it freaks him out and Rob came up to her.

Jose's solo: He's starting by dancing on his feet again. Now he's on the ground. He's doing some interesting-ish stuff, but it seems kind of aimless.

AdeChike with Courtney (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: The story to this routine sounds similar to the story of the other piece they did together. AdeChike doesn't want to look like a contemporary dancer doing a jazz routine; he wants to look like a jazz dancer doing a jazz routine. Not sure I'd really know the difference, AdeChike, if it makes you feel any better.
The dance: Honestly this dance doesn't really look that much like a jazz routine to me in the beginning. The middle seems more jazz-ish, I guess. The outfits are also not really what I'd expect. Not sure why we really needed the two mini staircases.
The judging: Adam says, first of all, Tyce, great. Whatever. Adam says that was just "balls-out dancing" and then acts shocked at himself for using that phrase. Cat says, "Adam, I'm never starting with you again." Adam wants AdeChike to loosen up his back. I want Adam to shut up. Mia says that music is everything. (Someone should compile a list of all the different things Mia thinks are "everything.") Mia thinks he did a good job, but she needs to see more style from him. Toni loved it. Nigel doesn't think there was enough abandon from AdeChike and that he needs to look like he's letting himself go.

Lauren's solo: Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" solo takes a little too long to develop, but the "You make me feel! You make me feel!" part is very cool.

Jose with Comfort (Marty Kudelka and Dana Wilson hip hop):

The featurette: Jose is trying to pick Comfort up at a club. Comfort says Jose has no game. Gosh, I love Comfort's brutal honesty.
The dance: Good strategy for the routine to start out with just Comfort dancing. I love that the costumes look more Broadway or jazz than hip hop. And that the music is classic soul. Of course the slow grooviness of the music seems to be making it easier on Jose to dance to it. It was an enjoyable routine though.
The judging: Nigel says that people had to tell him that Jose wasn't in the group routine last week (I noticed that). Turns out Jose pulled his groin, but he says he's ok. Nigel thinks this routine was a bit flappy. Toni says she would have bought his pick up line. Mia says there was no swag in there whatsoever. She says Jose should have tapped into Marty's swag. She thinks Jose made it bouncy and kooky instead. Adam says he sees what they're all saying. But I don't really understand what he's saying. Oh, ok, he thinks the piece was supposed to be darker and sexy, but Jose made it fun.

Billy's solo: According to the other contestants, Billy is messy and helpful and focused but funny. And loud. And a nut job. Billy sure doesn't look like he's got the knee brace on now. His jeans are awfully skinny, and I don't see any outlines. Interesting solo there: kind of robot music and crisp, robotic moves.

Kent's solo: Kent is seething with emotion before his solo even starts! Not to be outdone, he's got skinny jeans too. Ok, I think this was one of Kent's better solos. There was a certain composition sense to it.

Lauren with Allison (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

The featurette: Two girls dancing together for the first time this season! Cool. The number is about strong female dancing. And this is a good test for Lauren: if she looks good next to Allison, then she's really good.
The dance: I think Lauren's just as good if not better than Allison at selling the Broadway faces and attitude. Allison's general quality of movement is sometimes probably a little bit better than Lauren's, but Lauren's doing really well.
The judging: Adam says he thinks of Lauren as an All-Star already because she's so good at everything she does. Adam wants to see them do "Single Ladies." Mia says there's nothing to critique and that Lauren's kind of forged ahead. Toni says Lauren hit her facial expressions just right and didn't overdo it. Nigel just called this show American Idol. Uh, please focus, Nigel. Nigel feels like Lauren's going to be in the finale.

Robert's solo: Billy says Robert is the songbird of our generation. This was probably one of my favorite solos from Robert so far. And not just because of the reckless abandon with which he just threw himself into that final, violent backbend.

Billy Bell with Ade (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: Ade is a high-powered businessman and Billy is homeless. And--surprise twist!--they're old friends! Kinda ruined the ending there, Stacey. She should have said "spoiler alert"!
The dance: And it's to "Mad World" no less! Billy = exquisite. Even with his hat over his eyes. Ade is no slouch either. I loved it. Not so much for the social commentary, but for the awesomeness of Billy. Billy's expressions were superb as well.
The judging: All judges but Nigel give it a standing ovation. Billy says his knee is better, but he has a big old brace on it. Nigel says that was really quite brilliant and that Billy was the most mature he's ever seen him. Toni says some pieces transcend dance, and that was one of those pieces. Mia says that was sheer perfection. Mia says Stacey is evolving into some artist. Mia says it was her favorite piece from Billy all season. Mia says Billy's face was absolutely everything. Mia says, win or lose, Billy will be remembered and is respected in the dance world as an up-and-coming artist. Adam says Billy just dropped in as one of the best dancers on the show ever. He says it was magnificent.

AdeChike's solo: Lauren says AdeChike is best friends with everyone and their mom. And AdeChick's got skinny jeans too. And no shirt. Pretty cool solo.

Kent and Jose (Spencer Liff Broadway):

The featurette: Kent: "Snot just went everywhere!" I don't know if I can stand this much youthful exuberance in one place. It's exhausting.
The dance: Jose got the short end of the stick having to wear those overalls. Kent just did a long solo; Jose just did a really short one. Ok, they probably shouldn't make Jose do side-by-side dancing with Kent. Because he's just going to look bad. Wow, Kent ended the routine with a giant belly flop into the backstage area.
The judging: Adam thinks Spencer killed the 1940s/50s retro thing. Adam thinks it will come down to Kent and Lauren. He thinks Kent needs a little more training, but he was born to do this. Adam says its unbelievable that Jose made it through that. Mia says that was freaking fantabulous. Mia says Kent needs to live in this world of Broadway because everything about it fits him like a love. He is so "everything" in this style. Mia says you can see the difference in training between Kent and Jose, but Jose kept up. Toni says Jose's character made it ok that he wasn't up to Kent's level. Nigel says we haven't seen this Broadway style since Evan (and we saw so much of it back then that we haven't really missed it...). Nigel says dancing with Kent showed Jose's limitations, but he should be very proud of how far he's come. Nigel says this may be Jose's last week here.

Lauren and AdeChike (Jean-Marc and France fox trot):

The featurette: This dance is more sultry and sexy than typical fox trots. AdeChike says the "fever" is contagious and they'll have the whole audience sick.
The dance: Lauren's dress is pretty great. So is AdeChike's sweater vest. This is good. I'm wanting to call it the best contestant/contestant ballroom number of the year, but I'm forgetting what the other two-contestant ballroom routines have been, except the AdeChike/Jose paso. I really liked this one though.
The judging: Nigel thought there were parts that looked very much like a jazz routine. He thought overall they did well with good connectivity. But he's not super excited about it compared to other dances tonight. Toni says they didn't dance it like ballroom dancers would; she says there were a lot of things that were off, but they got into the character of the dance. Mia says 'Cheeks' had a lot of great moments as a partner, but when he steps away from her, there's a disconnect. Mia says Lauren's grace and sensuality were great. Adam thought Lauren wasn't competing--just dancing. Adam says AdeChike looked very concerned about being there for her, which is good, but he shouldn't look like he's concerned.

Robert and Billy (Nakul Bollywood):

The featurette: Two dances in a battle to get the main part in the biggest Bollywood movie ever!
The dance: Well, this isn't starting out like the most masculine dance I've ever seen... Nice side-by-side spins. Billy sure is working the heck out of those knees for someone with a knee injury. That routine looked crazy hard. The both powered through it.
The judging: Nigel says it was fantastic and one of the best Bollywood routines by two guys. Toni says at this point it's going to come down to personal choice. She really likes Robert. Mia really likes Billy. Mia says, OMG, that was so hard, but no injuries! But Nigel says Billy's moving his knee strangely. Billy says his knee is feeling it, but it's fine. Adam says he wants no parts of picking a winner at this point. So just let us decide with our votes already!!! We're down to 6 people; we can take it from here!

WHAT?!?! Now Cat says Lauren is with the medic! Come on, people!

My favorites:
Billy and Ade's contemporary, Lauren and AdeChike's fox trot, Lauren and Allison's Broadway

List of things Mia said were "everything" tonight:

the music for the AdeChike/Courtney jazz
Billy's face
Kent dancing in '40/'50s Broadway style

SYTYCD: Still Dropping Like Flies

2010-07-21T20:01:00.009-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 6 Performance Show

Deeley's finally bringing it fashion-wise tonight. It looks like she put on a beige slip dress and then kind of haphazardly tied a poofy red sheet around herself. It's awesome. She's balancing the strong look out with a smooth, low ponytail.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! NOW WHERE'S BILLY!?! This is insanity.
Guest judging tonight is Kenny Ortega of High School Musical fame.
Billy has injured his knee and is sitting in the audience (wearing a very small pink tie). Doctors supposedly told him he could dance if he feels ok, but he doesn't feel ok today, so he's not dancing. They think he might be ok by next week, but they wouldn't tell us now anyway.
Alex Wong's sitting in the audience, looking pretty cheerful.
The SYTYCD costume designer has supposedly won an Emmy. Having seen some of the outfits on this show, I find that somewhat hard to believe.

Lauren with Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

The featurette: It's a Wild West hip-hop routine. Ugh, I just cannot stand Napoleon and Tabitha. Them talking is even worse than them choreographing something.
The dance: Twitch is wearing jean/chaps--it's really something. Ha ha, it looked like Twitch was trying to crawl through Lauren's legs and he couldn't fit. She's got some good hip-hop moves. And I liked the reverse somersault things she did (I don't really know what to call those.) The routine ends with Lauren riding Twitch across the stage.
The judging: Adam: "Who are you?!" Didn't he ask someone that last week? Get a new catch phrase. I don't understand; how is she "not the same girl" who auditioned? Her attitude in this was similar to the attitude in the sexpot audition number. Mia thought she was good and says she needs to keep going hard because she's the only diva left. Kenny Ortega thinks it's an honor to be here and thinks that each season SYTYCD changes the field of dance. Kenny says, "Save a horse, ride a cowboy." Nigel tells Twitch that he really looks like he's been ridden hard and put away wet. Holy crap, Nigel, calm yourself. (Twitch is a little sweaty though, in all honesty.)

Jose with Allison (Sonya Tayeh contemporary):

The featurette: Now we're going to see how good Allison really is. She used to make Ivan look pretty good, so I'm thinking she might be able to pull it off.
The dance: I like Allison's dress, but the overall color scheme of their outfits is pretty drab. Ok, once again, we've got a choreographer going to bizarre lengths to cover up Jose's deficiencies. I could do a good contemporary routine too if 80% of it is sitting on the edge of the stage, moving my arms... That said, I did rather enjoy the routine and choreo. It was definitely something different.
The judging: Adam thinks it was a beautifully conceived piece of material. But he recognizes that this routine made it hard to critique Jose's actual dancing. He thinks what Jose did do up there was perfect though. Mia thought the piece was conceptually genius. Mia says there's a difference between pedestrian contemporary (which most people can handle) and really "real contemporary." Mia says this was pedestrian contemporary. She thought it was really good, but would have liked to see more growth from the last time he did contemporary. Kenny thinks Allison is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful dancers. HIRE HER FOR SOMETHING, KENNY! Nigel thinks Jose was very committed to the piece. He knows, though, that Sonya covered up Jose's weaknesses. Nigel wants him to point his toes and straighten his legs. Uh, yeah, that does seem kind of important...

Robert with Lauren (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: I'm getting uncomfortable with how much everyone's talking about Lauren's booty this season. This dance is all about seduction. They're trying to sell us on Robert and Lauren being all into each other... Really?
The dance: Black S&M-inspired outfits. You know, Lauren's looking really good in this dance. Robert's doing ok too, but Lauren's kinda stealing the show. The routine's pretty cool too. Especially not bad considering it's coming from Tyce. It was a good routine because they were just up there flat-out dancing.
The judging: Adam says Robert commands the stage and is started to lose himself more. Adam says Robert's "resting" hand position needs work. Mia says it's a breath of fresh air to see a strong, clean jazz routine with no concept and just good dancing. Kenny thinks this piece showed that Robert does "have bottom." Nigel loved the flow of movement.

AdeChike's solo: Shirtless. Oh no! He's dancing to "This Woman's Work." The Cancer Dance song. I can't handle it. If I never hear this song again, it's fine by me. Was so distracted by my distaste for the song that I kind of missed most of his dancing, but he did a nice series of karate-esque kicks.

Kent with Kathryn (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Kathryn: "Sonya at 8 a.m. should not be legal." This routine is very exhausting and intense.
The dance: Kinda looks like a summer barbecue or a beach party. Kathryn is just sick sometimes. The routine was fun. The did a good job performing it as well. Will we remember it forever? Probably not.
The judging: Kent apparently gave a monologue in Vegas about how putting him on the show would make it something special. Adam thinks Kent kicked ass. Mia says we all know Kent's a strong dancer. Mia thinks that sometimes his face gets so animated that it takes the choreography to an immature level. Dance-wise, though, she thinks it was great. Kenny thinks Kent is the guy to beat. Well, duh. The other guy to beat detached his Achilles a few weeks ago. Nigel thinks Kent's almost out-danced the All Stars two weeks in a row now. Sorry, Nigel, I don't think anyone really ever out-dances Kathryn.

Robert's solo: In the featurette, those were some rather tight jeans Robert wore to the batting cages... For the solo, Robert's wearing his third shirt in like 5 minutes! Some cool stuff in the solo, but it could have used a little more time to develop. And it's Robert's birthday!

Lauren's solo: Lots of back bends and quick turns and hair tosses. It pretty much worked though, I guess.

AdeChike with Comfort (Tabitha and Napoleon lyrical hip-hop):

The featurette: AdeChike's going back to hip hop. He's not going to be a nerd this time, though. And it's NappyTabs again. Ugh, what do we have to do to get Dave Scott around here?
The dance: Comfort's packing a suitcase...not to be confused with the briefcase Mark carried around in "Bleeding Love." I don't think AdeChike's hitting his moves quite as hard as Comfort. Oh, and she just smacked him for it. Lol, it's not that big of a deal, Comfort.
The judging: Wow, Comfort--and AdeChike--are both rather shook up. There are tears. Did she actually really hit him? Just kidding. Adam says they really made him feel the story and the emotions. Mia says that felt more real that any contemporary piece because it came from such a raw place. Mia thinks AdeChike let so much out on that floor and just gave us a really big taste of who he is. He really seems to get better reviews on hip-hop than he does on contemporary. Kenny Ortega says it was like if Wesley Snipes could dance (presumably not the Wesley Snipes who wants to marry Liz Lemon). Nigel says it's hard to critique the dancing because the routine moved to another level and compares it to "Bleeding Love" and "No Air." Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Jose's solo: Starts his solo with kind of a groovy on-his-feet dancing section. Then lies on the ground for a little while. Does a little breaking, then stands back up. Then goes back down to break for another second. Then seems very pleased with himself.

Kent's solo: Kent's bringing out the wife-beater tank top and the old-school Boys to Men. I really think he needs some help with figuring out what he should do during solos though. That seemed a bit disorganized to me.

Robert and Lauren (Dmitry Chaplin samba):

The featurette: DMITRY!!! I love Dmitry. This routine is about a beach party too. This is the first ballroom routine done by two non-ballroomers this season, so it should be interesting.
The dance: That's what Lauren's wearing to a beach party? It looks like a cocktail dress with the middle ripped off. Robert's made a few slight awkward stumbles. Lauren looks pretty good with the technique though. Their side-by-side "shaking it" was good. Ok, Rob just barely got her off the ground when he was supposed to be swinging her around in a circle. Uh, she can't be that heavy, dude.
The judging: Adam, however, thinks that Robert's lines were "so crisp and clean" and he did good partnering. Ok... He thinks Lauren's retractions, etc. were great. Mia thinks Rob actually looked like a samba dancer. Mia thinks Lauren's in plie a lot, which brings a heaviness to her dancing. KENNY, HIRE DMITRY FOR SOMETHING! Kenny thinks Rob's partnering was "amazing." What was I watching then? Nigel says Robert's upper body reminded him of Dmitry. Maybe they just don't want to be mean to Robert on his birthday. Nigel thought Lauren was very good, but he's sure "people will attack her" for her technique. Well, whatever. I miss Mary Murphy.

AdeChike and Jose (Dmitry paso doble with assistant Legacy):

The featurette: Legacy! Hey, maybe Legacy can show Jose some breaking moves while he's at it... If ever there were a time for a hip hop, it would be this pairing. There are two matadors in this paso. Why is Jose always fighting/hunting people?
The dance: Uh, how long are we going to stand here swinging our capes, boys? Once they actually started doing stuff, Jose had moments where he actually looked pretty good, and then had moments where he looked pretty horrible. Actually, this whole dance had moments were it looked pretty terrible. I say this was a bad experiment. It would have gone better if Dmitry and Legacy had just danced it themselves.
The judging: Adam loves how committed they were. Technically, they put their strength into it, but Jose needs to stretch his legs. Adam thinks AdeChike needs more abandon. Mia says she thinks they did ok in a very unhappy sounding tone. She says their focus was great, but their technique wasn't. Kenny thinks it was a valiant effort, and it was an interesting exercise. Lol. Nigel calls the other judges "diplomatic." Nigel thinks if you look at how ballroom guys do the paso, AdeChike have a lot to learn. Again, I miss Mary Murphy. I'd love to hear her kick somebody's ass over ballroom technique.

Kent and Billy/Twitch (Chuck Maldonado step routine):

The featurette: Oops, no, Kent, you don't get to dance with Billy Freaking Bell. HA HA HA HA HA HA! SYTYCD does its first stepping routine and they give it to Billy Bell and Kent! That is too funny. Kent keeps hitting himself in the face.
The dance: Stepping in for Billy is Twitch. Aww, I love their collegiate cardigans. Ok, Kent is definitely not out-dancing his All Star in this one. He's doing ok, but Twitch is good. Twitch is even doing the grunts and yelling. Kent looks like he's trying really hard, while Twitch looks like he's stepping.
The judging: Adam pats SYTYCD to the back for introducing "new and different" dance styles to the world. Um, stepping is not new to me; I just saw some this past weekend. Booyah, Adam! Adam thinks Kent kicked the routine's ass. Mia didn't know Kent had it in him and she lives for the chemistry between Twitch and Kent. Mia confirms that Kent is the one to beat. Kenny says 12 years ago he and Chuck brought stepping to the Olympic Opening Ceremonies for the first time. In Nagano? Huh? I'm thinking he did his math a little wrong there. 2010 - 12 = 1998 = Nagano. Did I mishear him? I really don't think there was stepping in the Opening Ceremonies in Japan. Nigel says his "Five Guys Named Mo" routine was stepping and Chuck helped him choreograph it. Nigel says he would have loved to have seen Billy do the routine because he knows he would have nailed it and it would have been fun to see the two white boys kill it.

My favorites:

Robert and Lauren's jazz; Kent and Kathryn's jazz; Kent and Twitch's stepping

The dancers dance around a cake commemorating the 150th episode of the show. Twitch does some paso doble moves that totally school Jose and AdeChike.

SYTYCD: Putting on Boogie Shoes

2010-07-14T20:00:00.009-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 7 Performance Show

Umm, now where's Ashley?! Come ON!
Cat is wearing a slamming multi-colored artistic print dress with a purposefully messy side fishtail braid.
After rehearsals on Monday, Ash was taking to the hospital with severe rib pain. She has been advised not to dance tonight. Oy vey! At this point, the winner is going to be the one who can make it the longest without getting injured.
Same rules apply to Ashley that applied to Alex. (Is this the first time ever on SYTYCD that the same rules apply to different contestants? Just kidding.)
Alex had surgery on Monday and it seems to have gone well.
Anya's doing some double duty this week. Which is odd, because they have lots of boy contestants to go around.
A gold star means Dominic? Lol. So, Dom's going to remind us what a good b-boy looks like?

Lauren with Mark (Tiana's Tahitian dance):

The featurette: Hmm, Tahitian dance sounds interesting. Mark certainly is the man for the job.
The dance: OMG, Mark's wearing a loin cloth. I don't really know what I should be watching for, but Lauren is good at wiggling her butt, which is about 90% of what she's being called on to do. Mark looks like a natural; I wonder if he ever did similar dancing in Hawaii before.
The judging: Nigel doesn't know what to say. Adam says Lauren's hips don't lie. Nigel is rather flustered. Mia says it was absolutely fascinating and it looked like a duck in heat. Mia can't believe they were able to do this in the amount of time they were giving. Adam: "Mark, who are you?!" (Mark: "Why do all you judges love me so much now, but you weren't nice to me at all when I was actually on the show?" Ok, he didn't really say that.) Cat hands the mic to Lauren, and she gives a speech like she just won an Oscar.

AdeChike with Anya (Liz Lira salsa):

The featurette: The dance is fast, it's intricate, and there are death-defying stunts. The dance drew blood in practice.
The dance: Wow, AdeChike's outfit is tragic. Anya's is really, really neon. I think maybe they should have focused more on teaching AdeChike the proper salsa technique and less on the stunts, because something doesn't look right about his general performance. All of the lifts/twist/general-flinging-around-of-Anya, however, was quite good. The opening throw-twist thing was insane.
The judging: Nigel thinks Liz Lira is a crazy person. Nigel says salsa is a totally alien subject for a contemporary dancer like AdeChike, but he totally pulled it off. (Really?) Mia thought the choreo was great and that the tricks were awesome. She saw some little bumps though. And she thought his hips were a little awkward, but thinks he got through it. Anya says this routine was truly competition style. Adam commends AdeChike fighting through the "hard-ass choreography" and never showing a sign of weakness. So I guess the judges are going for the old "when we are mean to you, you get lots of votes, so we're going to be fairly nice to you in hopes that people don't think they have to vote for you."

Jose with Courtney (Joey Dowling Broadway):

The featurette: Joey's being a lot nicer to Jose than she usually is to the dancers. They seem to be focusing entirely on working on Jose's sad face, when I'm thinking they should be doing a little more dancing.
The dance: Well, Jose's doing a fairly good job, but this routine is also ridiculously slow. Oh, it's the "Mr. Cellophane" song that Curt sang on the Glee pilot! As for the routine, I didn't have a giant problem with it, but I wasn't impressed either.
The judging: Nigel thinks the routine took Jose's happy personality from him, which took away his greatest asset, leaving you to see only his dancing, which isn't very good. Ouch, Nigel! How many weeks in, you finally realize he's not a great dancer? Mia wants to say something harsh, but she's having a hard time saying it to Jose because he looks so sad. Mia says there was no hope in the performance and he didn't have technique to back up the performance. Adam says Jose needs more extension in his moves. Nigel cuts in to say that Jose needs dance lessons. Adam says Jose's bell kick was "neither here nor there." Courtney tries to stick up for Jose a bit. Cat says Courtney's going to put the showgirl outfit back in Adam's dressing room now.

Robert with Allison (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: Allison's all better! Yea! Travis says this routine is about his mom, who just had major surgery. Robert can relate because his mother has had similar experiences. Ok, the footage of the three of them doing the moves together was exceptional! Travis should do the routine with them!
The dance: Ok, I love that to play Travis, they put Robert in cargo shorts and a partially undone button-down shirt. Wow, son of a gun, Robert is totally holding his own next to Allison in the side-by-side section! Color me surprised and impressed. Ok, that routine was good. That was like a moderately less emotionally-exploitative version of the cancer dance.
The judging: The judges give it a standing O. Robert and Allison (and Cat) are fighting tears. So is Travis. Nigel compares it to Mia's "Addiction" and Tyce's cancer dance. Nigel says if the audience doesn't support Robert this week, we're crazy. He calls Allison one of the "greatest dancers we've ever had on SYTYCD." Mia's crying too, because the dance reminded her of the week before her mom passed away. Mia thinks that dance was bigger than the show and that our moms are everything. She thinks it was the best Robert has danced this season. Adam says if Travis doesn't get an Emmy nomination for that, there's no God. Personally, I wouldn't tie God to Emmy nominations, because those things are notoriously ridiculous. Adam thinks it was one of the performances of the season.

Cat plugs the Season 7 tour, but, seriously, at this rate who is going to be healthy enough to perform in it?

Billy with Anya (Louis van Amstel jive):

The featurette: Poor Anya is the hardest working girl in show business tonight. Anya's presence makes Billy laugh awkwardly.
The dance: I'm going to call this one of the best jive's we've seen in a while. Billy certainly kept the energy level very high, and I actually believed him in the rock-and-roll, I-want-to-sleep-with-Anya character.
The judging: Nigel thought Billy worked harder at a connection with his partner this week than other weeks. Nigel thinks he needed to "get down" a little bit on the jive technique but thought it was pretty good overall. Mia thought it was a great performance. Mia thought his technique and training were everything in that piece. Cat tries to ask Billy a question about Anya being a "sex bomb" and Billy can't understand what she's trying to say at all. He thinks she's saying "sex bum" and can't for the life of him understand what she means. It's hilarious. Adam thinks Billy was totally in control during the routine. And Nigel cuts in again to try to make yet another reference to the World Cup.

Kent with Neil (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

The featurette: It's the wholesome (and somewhat cheesy) combo of Kent and Neil. The dance has a baseball theme.
The dance: This would be better if there were a few more baseball player dancers on stand up there with them. It's just a little bizarre with only two guys. Baseball isn't a partner sport. They both did a good job though. Very high-energy and athletic performances.
The judging: Nigel says Tyce threw every trick in the book. Nigel says he went to see the All-Star Game last night. He says Kent was the MVP tonight and said that Kent was out-dancing All-Star Neil. Mia says she loves boys so much. She enjoyed the strong male dancing. Adam tells Tyce that the routine was so awesome. He thinks Kent has a huge future in Broadway. He liked how effortlessly they made it look. The judges keep raving about Kent, but Neil looks better in the baseball uniform at least.

Lauren and Billy (Mandy Moore jazz):

The featurette: Billy tells us that Lauren eats like a squirrel. Lauren says that Billy is obsessed with soda. The concept of the dance is that two shoes meet up and want to boogie. Um, ok.
The dance: Whoa! The boogie shoes are sparkly! I'm loving Billy in this. Like hardcore loving him. He just looks like so much fun! Lauren's doing well too. Her dress could be better though. To me, this routine for Billy was like the hip hop routine for Alex: it's the moment where you realize that not only is he an awesome dancer, but he's also legitimately fun to watch.
The judging: Nigel says it was absolutely adorable. Nigel says Billy was again really connecting with his partner and that the jazz style suited him well. Nigel tells Lauren: "Don't go clicking your heels three times, dear, because you're not going home yet." Mia says the choreo and performance was "completely in the pocket." Not sure I know what that means, but it reminds me of when P.J. said "The lotion is in the basket" on My Boys. Mia thinks it was quirky and groovy at the same time. Adam says Billy finally got lost in a dance. Adam thinks Lauren could get way up there in the standings.

Jose with Dominic (Napoleon and Tabitha b-boy routine):

The featurette: Cat says Jose "randomly picked" the gold star. Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. Dominic says that Jose has to put toilet paper on the seat every time he goes to the bathroom. Dom says they have different b-boy styles (Jose is more on the ground and flowy; Dom is more up in the air on his hands).
The dance: Choreographing breaking too much just seems weird. In the side-by-side regular hip hop steps, Jose wasn't matching up to Dom. His breaking stuff seemed ok, but I don't think he's at the level of a Legacy or a Hok, although I'm certainly no breaking expert. At the end, Jose pulls a sword out of a rock in the middle of the stage.
The judging: Nigel doesn't want Jose to hold the sword while he critiques him. Cat and Dom fight over the sword. Nigel says that Jose redeemed himself. And Jose starts crying again. Nigel says no other dancer on the show could have done that routine. Well, yeah, but Jose couldn't have done any of the other routines as well as any of the other dancers. Mia thought the beginning was amazing, but she still wants more training and strength, strength, strength from Jose. Adam says the criticism earlier really hurt Jose, and he still managed to come out and "school" us. Oy vey. If Jose is such a delicate little flower that he can't stand to hear honest statements about how his dancing is not up to the level of other dancers on the show, then he needs to start improving his dancing really fast, because he is just not up to the level of the other dancers on the show.

AdeChike and Kent (Dee Caspery contemporary):

The featurette: AdeChike really likes food and wants to become a chef. AdeChike says Kent has a crush on Lauren (the non-Gottlieb Lauren).
The dancing: I kinda missed the explanation about what the chairs mean, so I'm a little lost, but the routine itself is quite good. Lots of "strong male dancing" as Mia would say. This is a good week for Kent. AdeChike was good too, especially when he leaped over Kent.
The judging: Nigel thought it was very good. Nigel liked AdeChike's leap. He liked that Kent underplayed it instead of being all "Hi! I'm Kent!" Nigel says that Kent stands a remarkable chance of being this year's champion. Well, duh. I could have told you that during Vegas week. Or earlier. Mia thinks Kent was great. She liked having two male dancers bringing strength but also vulnerability. Mia says it was a great week for AdeChike. She liked his lines and power. Adam says that they just taught America that a super athlete can be a super artist. He says they were both brilliant.

Robert with Kathryn (Doriana Sanchez disco):

The featurette: Kathryn is filling in for Ashley. Robert says Ashley is in love with him. Ashley says Robert laughs really loudly.
The dance: So how many days did Robert and Kathryn have to practice this routine together? If Ash got hurt on Monday, I guess they had like two days. Kathryn's outfit is a little bit scandalous. I can't believe they're closing such a good show with a disco. Even well-performed discos are kind of eh. They did a good enough job.
The judging: Nigel says that back in the day, they'd do a hard disco routine and then go throw up. Thanks for that anecdote. Nigel thinks Robert gave lines and strength. He thought it was tremendous for this style. Mia says she loves Robert, but hopes she never has to see him do this again. Mia didn't think he was masculine enough to sell the routine. Adam thinks he sold fun, which is the point of disco. Adam says it's hard to look masculine when you're doing the silly disco moves. Robert's lucky he had Travis' contemporary routine to balance out this disco.

HA! I just realized who Billy reminded me of in that boogie shoes jazz number. It was Sheldon Cooper! I probably should have kept that to myself.

My favorites:
Billy and Lauren's jazz
Robert and Allison's contemporary
Kent and AdeChike's contemporary

SYTYCD: Injuries and Double Standards

2010-07-07T19:54:00.011-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 8 Perform

I missed the intro. I hope it wasn't as fascinating as last week's... (I say sarcastically.)
Um, where's Alex Wong?
There was a strange echo while Cat was trying to explain the format of tonight's show. She dealt with it like a pro.
Oh NO! Alex was injured in practice! Eesh, after seeing the footage of his injury, I'd be stunned if Alex is back next week. That looked like a torn Achilles, actually. And Nigel finally says they think it is a ruptured Achilles! Oh noooooo! Oh dear, if that's what it is, that's going to take months of recovery (I know that thanks to Courtney Kupets). Poor Alex.
Alex will be automatically in the bottom three and judged tomorrow. If he can't dance next week, he'll automatically be eliminated.
I heard that Allison was also injured this week. Honestly, it's kind of amazing that more of these dancers don't sustain major injuries with all the dancing and different routines they have to do.
Ashley and Robert pulled the quick step! Uh oh for them.
Oh no! I'm even more bummed about Alex's injury after seeing his interview with AdeChicke, where AdeChicke was explaining that Alex can get too serious and intense in practice, and while he's talking, Alex is giving him a look of death and then ominously reached toward him. It was hilarious.
Billy tells us that all Jose talks about is Lauren Gottlieb's butt.

Lauren with Pasha (Jean-Marc and Franz cha cha):

The featurette: Part of Pasha's job this week is to be a hair dresser. I'll sign up for an appointment with him!
The dance: Ok, I don't want to hear Mia saying that Lauren's not sexy anymore. This dance is entirely sex, and she's killing it. I don't know that she always had totally the proper cha cha technique (Mary Murphy would know), but she had the wiggling down. And Pasha got to look the best he's looked so far this season.
The judging: Nigel feels the need to tell us that Lauren is a "full-bodied woman." Mia says it was "pure murderation." Not to be outdone, Adam says "Holy shampoosis." They're trying to sell us on Lauren being on an evolution. Which I guess is why they tried to convince us that she was having performance issues a few weeks ago when she really wasn't.

Jose with Lauren (Mandy Moore contemporary):

The featurette: Oh dear, no wonder Jose's all worked up--it looks like the most of the routine is him grabbing Lauren's butt and boobs.
The dance: Oh, hey, '80s music. I would have never seen that coming. Um, Jose isn't really doing much dancing here. Lauren's doing a lot of twisting and flipping around him, and he's helping, but as for him actually dancing, there's not much there. And when he does dance a bit, you can see why they tried to avoid it.
The judging: Ok, Nigel clearly wasn't watching what I was watching, because he thinks Jose looked "amazing." I am clearly holding Jose to different standards than Nigel is. We're down to 8--or 7--dancers; it's time to get serious, people! Nigel just made Jose cry. Mia thinks more people--including her--should try to be more like Jose. That may well be, but this is a DANCING show. Mia thinks Jose "melted into" Lauren at the right places and "loved her." Adam says that Mandy Moore played to Jose's strengths. Adam says Jose is one of the most beloved people on this show.

Kent with Comfort (Dave Scott hip hop):

The featurette: Kent with Comfort--this should be good times!
The dance: In this outfit, Kent looks like he's in a boy band. Comfort looks hot in her skinny jeans and high-healed boots. Ok, other than giving me a bit of an unfortunate Will Schuester vibe, I think Kent's doing pretty darn well here. The moves looked good, and about 90% of the time his facial expressions were good and not ridiculous. This is a well choreographed routine too.
The judging: Nigel says it was like a "soft hop" instead of a hip hop and it was a nice Justin Timberlake-style for Kent that worked well. Nigel liked Dave's routine. Mia says she wasn't mad at Kent at all and thought he kind of had a cool factor there. Cat says that Kent hit his nose twice on the bottom of her pool during the 4th of July picnic. The judges all liked Kent's waves, whatever that means. Adam says, "I love that we're sitting here talking about 'growth' and 'small,' and it sounds so disgusting!" and then gets annoyed that everyone is completely thrown off by that comment. Adam is kind of pushing the limits here tonight.

AdeChicke with Courtney (Mandy Moore jazz):

The featurette: According to everyone involved, the dance is going to be hot.
The dance: AdeChicke is a bartender. This is a first: we've had tables and benches and sofas and doors on SYTYCD, but never a bar. Courtney's not doing a lot of dancing; she's just crawling around on top of the bar. AdeChicke looks good through. Ok, they finally got Courtney off the bar and the dance really got started. But then they both go back to the bar, and it fizzles out a bit again. Overall, pretty good from AdeChicke. He remembered to use his personality again, which is a plus.
The judging: Nigel thinks AdeChicke rose to the challenge of creating the character. He praises AdeChicke for dancing out of his style--but like, really, how out of his style was it? Oh dear, one of AdeChicke's contacts has fallen out. Mia disagrees with Nigel! She thinks the dancing and the style were "so not there" and at this point of the competition, we need better than that. Except from Jose. From Jose we just need joy and happiness and mediocre (at best) performances. I'm not the world's biggest AdeChicke supporter, but I think Mia was too harsh there. Adam says he thinks AdeChicke did the same character this week that he did last week, which is just stupid. As Nigel starts yelling, AdeChicke was a GEEK last week and a BARTENDER this week! Come on!

Billy with Allison/Katee (Spencer Liff jazz):

The featurette: ACK!!! Why did Allison have to get hurt?! Billy and Allison are a dream team! KATEE!!! IT'S KATEE!!!!!!!!!!! KATEE!!!! Ok, I hope Allison feels better soon, but it's KATEE so I can't help but be excited. I love Katee. Dude, dude, dude! Does this mean that Twitch and Katee can do Mia's door routine tomorrow?!?! Pleeeeeeease!
The dance: OMG, Katee is fantastic. Is this routine utilizing the awesomeness of either Katee or Billy though? I'm not sure. It's awfully slow in the beginning. Ok, the routine picks up some pace for the middle/end, which was better, but it still wasn't as amazing as I feel like it should have been, considering the combined merits of these two dancers.
The judging: Nigel thinks that, outside of his solos, this was the best he's seen Billy dance. Uh, ok, whatevs. Mia also thinks that was the best she's seen Billy and calls him "fabulicious." Adam agrees and says Billy connected better with his partner than ever before. Ok, so all the judges have fallen in line to sell the story arc they invented: Billy didn't connect with his partners in other weeks and this week he did! I don't really get it. But I was also mostly watching Katee, so maybe I just missed Billy's resurgent awesomeness.

Ashley with Dominic (Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop):

The featurette: The theme is ninja assassins and they're both trying to take each other out, which seems a bit familiar.
The dance: Well, the ninja thing is rather literal in the costumes. There are moments where Ash looks pretty good, but there are other moments where she looks like she's in way over her head with the hip hop moves. Although I'm not sure the parachute pants are helping her any. Nor is the Ludacris/Alvin and the Chipmunks music. What the heck to chipmunks have to do with ninjas? The routine ends by the judging table, which just gives the judges an excuse to ham it up to epic proportions.
The judging: Nigel seems not totally sold on Ashley's technique, but says that the routine was great. Mia thinks she danced that "so hard core" but there was "no kill" in her eyes. Adam thinks Ashley is a quiet contender. And, again, I'm not on the same page as the judges. I think Ash could be a contender too, but I didn't think that her hip hop was that great. Oh well.

Robert with Kathryn (Sean Cheesman jazz):

The featurette: I missed what style this routine is supposed to be. Is it another jazz? Haven't we watched an awful lot of jazz tonight? In this dance, Robert and Kathryn are dolls who escape from their box.
The dance: Ok, Robert as Ken doll is BRILLIANT. Props to Sean for coming up with that one. That is just an ideal utilization of his dancer. Kathryn and Robert start out the routine literally in two big boxes. The routine was really cool when they were in the boxes. The out-of-box stuff looks a little rough in places because they're twisting together and keep getting just a little tangled up. But overall the routine was pretty good. The choreo was great.
The judging: Cat says it was "plastic fantastic." Nigel loved the concept and wished it had even more time to develop. Nigel says he went on an Internet mission to find out why Robert keeps getting put in the bottom three, and says people think he's arrogant, which Nigel says is not the case at all. Mia concurs that Robert is a very hard worker, etc., etc. I think Nigel missed the point; it's not that we think Robert is arrogant, it's that he mugs to the camera too, too, too much! Need I remind the judges of the old barf-into-the-hand-and-then-hold-up-the-number-of-fingers move? I mean, really. Anyway, Mia thinks this was a perfect piece for Robert's personality and movement. (That sounds like a backhanded compliment to me.) She does acknowledge that it "could have been tightened up a bit." Adam says Rob is so great and that he thought the routine was stellar.

Two routines a night: this is how people get injured, folks.

AdeChicke and Alex (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

The featurette: AdeChicke and Alex have a lovely rapport. AdeChicke relates better to Alex than most of the girls he has danced with.
The dance: AdeChicke is dancing with Nakul's assistant Marla. Is she the same one who had to dance with Russell last year? AdeChicke looks pretty good here. I'm sure the judges won't love it nearly as much as they loved Jose's though. Because, you know, AdeChicke just isn't nearly as joyful. Ok, WOW! The last third of that routine was WICKED fast and AdeChicke killed it. And he charged through the series of straddle jumps that brought Alex down in the practice and just slaughtered them.
The judging: Oh for goodness sake, now Nigel's complaining that AdeChicke put too much of his own personality in this one and needed to stick to the specific style. His plies weren't deep enough! Oh for crying out loud! How deep were Jose's plies?! Shut up. Brilliant Cat points out that there's a double standard here because the judges loved it when Jose put his own spin on Bollywood, and the crowd applauds her robustly. Mia agrees with Nigel and thinks AdeChicke's Bollywood looked more African than Bollywood. Adam starts pounding his hand and saying that AdeChicke (pound) will (pound) see it (pound) in the (pound) playback! Why do the judges seem so angry right now? Nigel cuts in to imply that AdeChicke is mad at them and he shouldn't be. Um, sorry, Nigel, he has every right to look at the three of you like you're a bunch of biased idiots, because that's what you are acting like. Seriously, I haven't liked AdeChicke much at all up until now, but after the way he's been treated tonight, I'm thinking about actually voting for him! Unbelievable. Are the judges purposely trying to be artificially mean (to inspire sympathy votes or something), or do they really think this is how to get him into the bottom three? [BTW, Courtney Galliano just tweeted: "Is anyone else in love with @catdeeley for that comment like I am?"]

Lauren and Kent (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: Lauren burps in Kent's face. Kent says she burps "like the man I'm supposed to be." The routine is about two kids saying goodbye after the prom. Travis is definitely playing to his dancers here.
The dance: Wow, first 10 seconds were textbook Travis Wall choreo--I'd have instantly known who choreographed this even if they didn't tell me. Oh, this routine is beautiful. It includes some great lifts--Lauren can do some stunning mid-air lift splits. The end was a little frenzied, but the majority of the routine was stunning. Well danced too. In the style of the Jason/Jeanine routine, it ends with a big kiss.
The judging: Nigel says it confirmed what a really good contemporary dancer Lauren is, what a really good contemporary dancer Kent is, and what a really good contemporary choreographer Travis is. Nigel says the pair is "really the ultimate in male and female dancers this year." Uh, Alex Wong?! Mia thought it was stunning and that Lauren was the ultimate in female dancing in that routine. Adam felt a little bit embarrassed because the connection was so honest and real and intimate. It made Adam feel weird (presumably like a creepy middle-aged man watching two teenagers make out).

Ashley and Robert (Jean-Marc and Franz quick step):

The featurette: The piece is about a powerful man and a woman who wants to take that power. Ash and Rob are having a hard time picking up the steps in practice.
The dance: They're using paso doble lighting for the quick step. I'm confused. Oh dear, first round of "quick stepping" wasn't too great. I think they're supposed to be bouncier. Ash looks ok; Robert looks heavy with his steps. Oh, making to contestants do the quick step with no all-stars is just mean. I've seen better quick steps on this show. And the dancers who did those better quick steps got sent home.
The judging: Nigel thinks Robert's elbow dropped too low in the close-hold. Nigel says Robert was stiff-legged and his shape wasn't quite right, but his performance was right. Nigel thought Ashley looked absolutely lovely. Mia says they got through it and it wasn't a train wreck. Mia thought Robert's legs were too far apart (at least I think she was addressing Robert). Mia says,"It wasn't the kiss of death, it was just a really bad kiss." Lol. Adam says they got through it and were totally committed.

Billy and Jose (Sean Cheesman African jazz):

The featurette: Billy to Jose: "What about you? What do you love about me?" Billy is worried that they might clash during rehearsal due to their very different backgrounds. For this dance, Billy is the prey (a jaguar), Jose is the hunter.
The dance: Uh, playing to strengths here: Jose doesn't need pretty technique because he's a caveman-style hunter. Tell me, What about Billy's outfit says "jaguar"? Goth zebra maybe, but not jaguar. Hmm, there's a lot of tackling and rolling on the ground. Overall, I think it was ok. The end pose was cool. Billy's outfit is terrible. I liked the concept. I'd like to see the routine performed by like a Billy and an Alex Freaking Wong and see what we get.
The judging: Nigel loved the concept. Nigel thought Billy's cat felt a little Broadway and not like an realistic animal. Nigel didn't think it was powerful enough from either of them. Mia doesn't really think Billy was a jaguar, but whatever animal he was, she loved it. Mia thought he was amazing. Mia thinks is was Jose's weakest performance. Adam gave some actual dancing critiques to both of them, which must have come as a shock to Jose, who has been led until now to believe that this is So You Think You Have A Joyful Personality.

They dedicate the during-the-credits final dance to Alex and he seems to love it. Oh, poor Alex. I'm also bummed that we never got to see Anya and Alex dance together.

Well, I'm exhausted. It's hard to pick favorites just due to the sheer number of routines we saw tonight.

My favorites:

Kent and Lauren's contemporary
Kent and Comfort's hip hop
Billy and Katee's jazz / AdeChicke and Courtney's jazz

Overall, it seems like we saw a lot of decent routines tonight, but not very many exceptional ones.

And, again, memo to SYTYCD producers: Tomorrow. Katee. Twitch. Door. Make it happen.

SYTYCD: To the Nines

2010-06-30T20:02:00.006-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 9 Performance Show

Cat is wearing a shiny one-shoulder mini dress. Hair down. Again seems a bit drunk...

Tonight we've got:

Lauren with Neil
Melinda with Pasha--again?!?
Billy with Kathryn
Ashley with Ade
Robert with Courtney--again?!?
Jose with Anya--ha
Kent with Allison--yea!
Adechicke with Lauren
Alex with TWITCH--yeah! Ha ha ha.

They've gotta get Twitch on the show somehow, I guess. But, seriously, it's the third week and we're already rehashing two partnerships? Does anyone really want to see more ballroom from Melinda?

Adechike with Lauren (Dave Scott hip hop routine):

The featurette: Adechike was inspired by Desmond Richardson. Adechike and Lauren are "muscles and cushions."
The dance: More personality from Adechike in the first 4 seconds of this dance than in his two whole routines to date. Ok, and now they're just stripping. It was a fun routine, but I'm not sure it was anything especially difficult or earth-shaking. It didn't seem like a wow-they're-so-amazing-because-that-was-so-hard moment.
The judging: Nigel says Dave Scott brought out a different Adechike than we've seen before. Mia says welcome to Mr. Personality. Mia says it was a solid performance. Adam tries to give a Mary Murphy-esque shriek and then gives Adechike a standing O in an early bid to win Overreaction of the Night.

Ashley with Ade (Dee Caspery contemporary):

The featurette: Ashley is inspired by her dance teacher. Ok, ok, ok: so Nigel was complaining that Ashley's jazz last week was too similar to her contemporary in week one, so they have her do contemporary again?!
The dance: Ashley is supposed to have no backbone, and Ade's lifting/pulling her around a lot. This routine is lovely and has some very cool moments. Well danced by Ashley and Ade. I'm liking Dee Caspery right now; more please.
The judging: Nigel acknowledges that we're seeing more of the same, basically, but says she looked like a different dancer and moved fluidly from one move to another. He thought it was beautifully smooth. Mia says it was like a hurricane and a summer breeze. Mia thinks Ashley is a cut above the other female dancers (all two of them). Adam's beside himself again. Mr. Hyperbole says it was one of the best female contemporary performances of any season. Oh puh-LEEEze.

I'm interrupting the flow here to say that I HATE it when the contestants start talking in the middle of the judging. I realize the judges are just spewing out a whole lot of nonsense, but shut up. Contestants shouldn't get to sway voters with chit chat. You get the featurette and the dance--and that's all I want to hear from you, personally. Especially since 90% of the things the contestants say during the judging is worthless and cliche.

Billy's solo: There's something spidery about his legs in this solo. Rather cool.

Robert with Courtney (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Robert is inspired by his mom (and lists an array of horrible things that have happened to his mom). Sonya's goal is to show the world how good Robert is. Hey, brilliant! Shouldn't that always be a goal of the choreographer: showcasing the contestant well?
The dance: Ok, no one's going to pay attention to Robert now that Courtney's in those weird pants (sparkly, different color patches down the legs, sparkly and sheer-looking at the butt). See, I just spent the entire dance describing Courtney's pants and didn't really see anything in the dance that distracted me from the pants.
The judging: Nigel thinks Sonya's choreo suits Robert like it suits Mark. Sorry, Nigel, just because Robert looks vaguely like Mark, it doesn't make him Mark. Hey, speaking of Mark, it's not cool that he's not dancing tonight! Mia wants Robert to take ballet, which will give his movement weight and solidity and take him to another level. Adam says it was the most wonderful thing he's ever seen in all his life. Just kidding, but you totally believed me. Seriously, Adam's tip is to not "jump down" which seems like a good lesson for us all.

Best news I've heard all night: Courtney G. tweeted that she and Mark might be dancing "The Garden" again tomorrow! Oh please let it be so!

Jose's solo: A little "Super Bad" by James Brown. Remember the time Will dressed up like James Brown for her solo? That was great. Anyway...this routine opens with a long head spin, but then he works in some other holds and other b-boy stuff. It's was ok but not the best b-boy moves I've ever seen on the show.

Melinda with Pasha (Fabian Sanchez salsa):

The featurette: Melinda is inspired by Dr. Harold Cromer. Yes, we know, Melinda. Everything she tells us in her featurettes is old news. Melinda is Colombian, so she's used to doing the salsa at parties.
The dance: Um, if Melinda's used to doing the salsa at parties, this should be a little better. There's something weird about her footwork--leading with her heal instead of her toe maybe? Whoa, Pasha just kind of jumped over her, took her head with him on the way down, and she ended up in a back bend. (It was intentional.)
The judging: Well, Cat and Nigel think she looks amazing. That's the nicest thing they've come up with to say, I guess. Nigel doesn't see fluidity in her movements. Mia thinks she danced as hard as she could and her shakes and shimmies were on-target, but there were moments where it looked like she had bricks on her feet and was sinking in water. Mia thought there were moments that made her regret that they sent Christina home last week. And Adam says after he watched last week's show again, he thought they'd made a mistake too. Well, DUH. That's what most of us thought last week. (And that's why America keeps putting Melinda in the bottom three.) Please try to keep up, Mia and Adam. Geez. Or just let America pick who goes home. Either way, there's no use talking about it now.

Kent's solo: Kent does a nice leap and a nice tumbling series, but he needs to come up with some more impressive things to do in his solos in the future.

Alex's solo: Dancing to music from the Planet of the Apes soundtrack, Alex, meanwhile, has plenty of firepower in his repertoire, but could stand to relate to the audience more. Does a cool leap series straight into rolling on the ground.

Lauren with Neil (Joey Dowling Broadway):

The featurette: Lauren is inspired by her Student Council advisor.
The dance: Neil's really selling his reading-the-paper intro acting. Lol at Neil's knickers and socks--that outfit is just as distracting as Courtney's pants were. Whoa--the strap of Lauren's dress totally broke, but the top of her dress managed to stay up and she kept on going! Eeesh. I guess the top of the dress was fortunately taped on to her, because I don't know how else it was staying up. Anyway, aside from the clothing, I thought the dance was good, but it seemed like it was just missing a little something, although I'm not sure what.
The judging: Nigel: "Needless to say, I enjoyed that tremendously." Mia: "I'm sure you did." Ha. Neil's being sweet and trying to help keep Lauren's dress up while they're listening to the judging. Mia wants Lauren to dance a little more sexily. Adam thought she was great.

Ashley's solo: Wastes too much time in the beginning just kind of standing there, but then picks it up and does a pretty cool solo with some nice moves and good musical interpretation.

Billy with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: Billy was inspired by Legacy when he saw him in a show when Billy was 12! That's cool.
The dance: Billy's doing a good job of holding his own in this one and not just letting Kathryn steal the show, which she is apt to do. The routine is very well constituted in that it gives both dancers moments to shine. Legacy's in the audience and he looks like he's in tears!
The judging: Nigel doesn't think Billy partners that well and needs to work on connecting to his partners. Nigel says Billy is a sensational dancer though. Mia thinks that sometimes Billy gets too caught up in his lines and we lose him. Adam thinks that Billy's "going to see it all in playback." STOP SAYING THAT! If the only critique is that the dancers should watch themselves on tape and they'll see what was wrong, then why do we need judges? Just sit the dancers in a room, having them watch the tape and tell us what they think. Anyhow, that critique was a bit harsh. Billy looked mad.

Robert's solo: I think it's better than the one he did last week, but I'm not blown away. Something about it reminded me of Huck Finn. And the best part was that he didn't do the old fake-barf-and-flash-the-number-of-fingers thing.

Jose and Anya (Dmitry Chaplin samba):

The featurette: Jose was inspired by Bruce Lee and has supposedly applied Bruce Lee's philosophy to breaking. DMITRY! Just let Dmitry and Anya do the dang samba!
The dance: Anya is fierce and Jose is..trying. And they are using the table to try to hide Jose's lack of skill, I think. He's not completely terrible anyway. He was certainly trying. Bruce Lee's daughter is in the audience.
The judging: Nigel thinks Dmitry brought out the man in Jose. Nigel says Jose is not the best dancer, but that he has a charisma that no one can teach and he brings it to all his routines. Mia says he's not a great dancer in the different genres, but he gets away with it because he brings humbleness and joyfulness. He just makes them happy and not care about the flaws. Adam has forsaken full sentences and just lists works like "joy" and "ego-free." And it's time like these where we miss Mary Murphy because she at least knew what ballroom technique should be and usually pointed out what was right/wrong.

Melinda's solo: Tapping to "Empire State of Mind." It seems like she's trying to tap too fast for the slowness of the music. So that might have hammered home Nigel's point about her maybe not feeling the music.

Kent and Allison (Mandy Moore jazz):

The featurette: Oops, I was out of the room and missed what Kent said inspires him. I'm sure whatever he said, it was adorable.
The dance: Well, this is probably the most boring Allison's looked so far this year...but she's still awesome. Well, the dance was fine. Kent's shirt situation is weird--he's got suspenders twisted around the front of him or something. The whole thing was just kind of unremarkable, really, which is annoying because the Kent/Allison pairing had a lot of potential.
The judging: Nigel thinks Kent's expressions are starting to get a little fake. Nigel thought he was playing to the audience instead of playing to his partner. Mia thinks Kent gets caught up in the television personality of it instead of the integrity of the dance. She thought the way he translated the dance was a little green. Adam says Kent has to lose the "hungry jazz face" because he's better than that. And he'll "see that in playback." Argh, Shankman!

Adechike's solo: Wearing camo cargo shorts. He's doing a good job of interestingly interpreting the music, but he didn't get much floor coverage or do many "wow" moves. Kinda looked like a martial arts display at times.

Lauren's solo: Lol at Lauren holding a strange opening position during Cat's whole intro. Lovely little routine to a slow "Unchained Melody" cover. Not a ton of playing to the audience, though, which the judges would probably pounce on.

And now on to the main event...

Alex and Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

The featurette: Alex was inspired by Edward Villella of the Miami Ballet. Alex's biggest problem is not going to be hip hop or dancing with Twitch...it's going to be dancing a NappyTabs routine.
The dance: Ha, Twitch is Alex's therapist. Lots of couch dancing at first. Once they get off the couch, I gotta say, Alex did a pretty darn good job of matching Twitch. And, holy crap, most hip hop dancers can't do extensions like that. Oh, that dance was fun! Go Alex. He had so much personality in that dance, but in his solo it was like meh. But the best part was that the routine wasn't 'lyrical'! The audience loses it.
The judging: Nigel says it was the best NappyTabs routine ever on the show. I think Nigel just said that a ballet dancer just did "the most incredible hip hop ever" and that the routine should be nominated for an Emmy. That was a last-ditch attempt to take the Overstatement of the Night title away from Adam, no doubt. I mean, best hip hop ever? Perhaps I misheard. Mia says Alex has defied everything about the ballet world. Mia says Alex held his own next to Twitch, the best in the business. Adam's finally found a routine worthy of his hysterics and he's going all out.

My favorite routines of the night:

Partners:
Alex and Twitch's hip hop
Billy and Kathryn's contemporary
Ashley and Ade's contemporary

Solos:
Billy, Ashley

SYTYCD: The Top 10 Dance

2010-06-24T18:56:00.007-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance:
"Top Ten Performance Show"

I was AFTV (away from TV) last night, so I'm just catching up on the performance show now.
This "behind the scenes" intro is lame.
Hey, looks like they figured out how to film their intro dances so that we can actually see them.
Cat is wearing a knee-length white frock with feather embellishments on top and at the hem.
Why doesn't Cat pronounce Mia's name "Mee-errrr"? I thought that's how Brits pronounced it.
Oooh, we get to see the "random" draw.
Kathryn's the all-star for Bollywood?
Booo, no Neil or Twitch tonight. See you later, guys... (By the way, I flat-out refuse to write it "tWitch." Sorry, buddy.)

Christina with Pasha (Jean-Marc and France paso doble):

The featurette: Whoa, the lift/toss/catches in this routine are scary.
The dance: PASHA! Ok, it's out of my system. I don't really associate Pasha with the paso doble, personally, but I don't really know why. Christina looks good. Her dress is cool too. Wow, kind of a risque ending there (Pasha lying on the ground, Christina straddling him.)
The judging: It's nice that they let the all-stars come over to stand with the contestant for the judging this week. It was very awkward how they made them slink off the stage last week. Mia "kinda thinks it was everything." Judges agree that it was a great start. Cat asks if Pasha is the perfect partner and Christina answers yes.

Adechike with Allison (Mandy Moore contemporary):

The featurette: Oh no, Adechike's family had a fire several years ago so they don't have any pictures or video of his early years in dance. That's upsetting. Adechike pulled a good partner this week. Not sure why he got to do contemporary last week AND this week. That's a little bizarre--and a large gift. LOL, Mandy just said, "This week we are not doing a dance..." and I finished the sentence in my head with "that is set to a song from the '80s" and got all excited. She really said that it didn't have story. Allison and Mandy worked with Adechike to help connect him with his partner and not look angry.
The dance: I like Allison's dress. She is exquisite. Well, I can't really even see Adechike's face because Allison is standing in front of him for a lot of the dance, so it's hard to say if he looks angry or what. Ok, sorry, Adechike, you're dancing nicely, but there's no way I can't be watching Allison during this routine.
The judging: Nigel says he saw an improvement in Adechike's emoting this week. Nigel says he has film star looks and needs to smile. Mia says "Dance is an art form, but it's a heart form." He he, Adechike reminds us that when you're dancing, you can't see your face. Very true.

Alex with Lauren (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

The featurette: Aww, little Alex was cute. He used to be a lot more smiley back in the day too. Maybe ballet has sucked the smile out of him? Alex has to bring coolness and sexiness. I'm a little skeptical how well he'll be able to achieve this, but we'll see.
The dance: Something about Alex's outfit is a little girly. Aside from that, I think he's doing a fine job with the choreo (which isn't the best Tyce has ever served up, in my opinion) and the style. And every time he does a leap, it's pure gold.
The judging: Nigel thinks Alex needs to bring a little more power to his performance. He thinks Alex will really have to work hard with changing styles. Mia wanted it to be more "inside" and "sinewy" to nail the Fosse style. Adam didn't think it had many levels--it was all flash and no smolder.

Ashley with Mark (Travis Wall jazz):

The featurette: Ashley's mom used to really curl Ashley's hair every day! Yikes, that's commitment. I think this is Travis' first foray into "non-contemporary" choreo on the show.
The dance: Mark's rocking the open-shirt look. This is kind of like "smooth jazz" (or "lyrical jazz") or something. It's nice. I'm more impressed with Ashley in this than I was in the contemporary routine last week. Mad cool dive/flip thing in the middle. More personality is coming out of her than last week. Much less personality is coming out of Mark than usual though. But, boy, does Mark's chest/stomach look hot.
The judging: Ha! Mark did a bizarre "birthday dance" for Ashley, and Cat responded, "It's not attractive, but..." Nigel didn't get the fact that this routine was "jazz" and thought it looked like a "contemporary" routine. Who cares? And how is that Ashley's problem? Don't the producers screen the routines before they go live on TV? Couldn't they have told Travis to "jazz it up" a bit if they wanted? Why is "lyrical hip hop" ok for the show but not this?

Side note: Do the judges realize how much they are sounding like a broken record this season? They say the exact same things over and over. It's ridiculous.

Billy with Comfort (Lil' C krump):

The featurette: Billy grew up "on the mean streets of Palm Beach, Florida." Yea, it's Lil' C! I still have residual warm feelings toward Lil' C from back when I used to like him before he got on my nerves with his verbosity. Comfort: "Billy's biggest challenge is being tough. Because he's a little 'He-aaay!'" LOL! By the way, when you're krumping, you should feel like an assassin.
The dance: Good device making Billy a little wimpy in the beginning and then having the krump kick in. Billy has just a nice, lovely balletic quality to his krumping! I'm not feeling a ton of energy and krump passion from Billy here, but I'm not really feeling it from Comfort either. It seems slow, but I guess I'm just now used to Russell's krumping, where he'd walk on stage and flat-out have a fit (sometimes while dressed in a Santa suit).
The judging: Nigel hated the music; not sure if he was serious or just joking about being old. Nigel doesn't think Billy found the warrior in him yet, but celebrates that he put himself through it and that he gave everything he could. Mia thinks Billy knocked on the warrior's door, but was afraid to open it. Adam says that Billy was trying so hard out there. Comfort says she thought Billy was buck. Adam says it was a failed experiment. There was not enough hit, rebound and suspension.

Robert with Anya (Jean-Marc and France Argentine tango):

The featurette: Robert was always the kid on the dance floor at weddings. Okay... Is Anya going to eat this boy alive too? Looks like Robert was creeping Anya out during the practice.
The dance: Oooh, some very hot moments in this routine. The hotness is mostly coming from Anya, I guess, but at least Robert is keeping up and getting all the steps right. And he didn't do anything to make an idiot of himself, which is a big plus.
The judging: Nigel thinks Robert looked magnificent up there, and says the choreo/lighting/direction were fantastic. Mia thought Robert's carriage and groundedness weren't quite right and thinks that Anya gobbled him up. Anya interrupts to come to Robert's defense. Adam sees both sides. Adam thinks Robert looked stressed out. It's times like these, I wish we had a ballroom expert on the freaking judging panel--like, I don't know, Mary Murphy--so that someone could give us a definitive verdict. OMG, Robert has taking his obsessive camera-mugging to a whole new level by doing the strangest number-plug gesture I have EVER seen. He hunched over as if to vomit and then straighted up and displayed six fingers. I'm speechless.

Melinda with Ade (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

The featurette: Hey, as a child, Melinda was quirky! Never would have guessed. The story of the routine is exploring the relationship between Mother Earth and mankind. Melissa accidentally got hit in the face during practice.
The dance: Why is mankind wearing such a bizarrely cut tank top? Again, I feel like I'm seeing more of Ade than I ever did when he was actually competing on this show. Melinda is doing ok, but the technique you see from the contemporary dancers isn't there for her. Could have been a lot worse though.
The judging: Nigel editorializes about the earth message. Nigel really thought Melinda did a good job. Mia doesn't like the dress, but then again she admits that she's wearing a bedspread. Mia thought Melinda's lines (feet and legs) were very good and not what she'd expect from a tapper. Adam says she was great.

Jose with Kathryn (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

The featurette: Jose was a super cute baby/kid. He also used to have a big 'fro, which I like better than the cornrows he has now. Jose didn't even know how to spell Bollywood. Sound it out, Jose; it's not that hard. Kathryn says Jose has a really positive energy.
The dance: I was a little nervous at first, but he's not that bad. It's so fast and there are so many steps and this is so not what Jose is used to doing. But he is really managing to include his own personality and look like he's having fun, which is very impressive, all things considered.
The judging: Cat asks if this is the first time Jose's worn a headband (it is). Nigel doesn't think Jose got the whole way to India, and now he's babbling about the World Cup. Nigel says Jose's performance, however, was great. Mia says he was so wrong, but so right. She thought the groove he added to it was hilarious. Adam thinks Jose would have won the prize for the brightest light on the show...and Adam has apparently forgotten about Kent? Basically, the moral here is that if you're doing a style you're not used to, it doesn't matter so much that you don't know what you're doing as long as you attack it like it's the most fun thing you've ever done in your life.

Lauren with Dominic (Tessandra Chavez lyrical hip hop):

The featurette: This routine is about women in abusive relationships. Geez, poor Dominic: last week he didn't even get to dance, and now this week he's an abusive boyfriend.
The dance: Lauren's got a nice hip hop swagger. Hey, look! This is "lyrical hip hop" and I don't hate it! So the problem really is NappyTabs! This routine I rather like. The "abuser/abused" theme was there, but it wasn't so over-the-top that it became too literal, which was nice. Long hug at the end between Dom and Lauren.
The judging: Nigel believed the performance. Lauren looks shaken up. Nigel says she needs a stronger base (needs her feet further apart). I'm impressed with Dom's restraint so far, in that he's not trying to be all over Cat yet. Mia liked it, but thought the "abuse" should have been more literal and disturbing. Mia thought it was one of the best of the night. Adam appreciates that Lauren listened to what the judges said last week and says she turned into an actor this week. Lauren says she really tried to get to a deeper place. Cat responds with, "Dom, do you want to get to a deeper place?" and everyone--including Dominic--is shocked.

Kent with Courtney (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: Kent still is a kid; no flashback necessary. Seems like there's a lot of jazz this week. The dance is about an on-again/off-again couple, who want each other, but don't. Kent says this can kind of transfer into his life somewhat, but not really. Kent: "I get to work with Courtney for the first time and she doesn't even care--you can touch her all you want, and that's new." Hahahahahaha!
The dance: The outfits are a tad strange--and the choreo is rather Sonya-esque. Overall, I liked it. I think they danced it very well, and I think Kent did throw some sexiness into it. I think the choreo could have been a little bit cooler, and then the dance would have been awesome.
The judging: Nigel asks about Kent's strange outfit and Kent says, "I think a lot of people, when you say 'Kent,' picture me in this." Nigel enjoyed it, and confirms that it was "jazz" in his opinion. That's for nailing that down for us, Nigel. Nigel didn't think Kent had as much fun with this jazz as he did with last week's cha cha. Mia thinks Kent has such a big personality that he stays in "Kent World" instead of fitting the character of the routine.

My favorites:

Lauren and Dom's lyrical hip hop
Ashley and Mark's jazz
Kent and Courtney's jazz
Robert and Anya's Argentine tango

Guilty pleasure:

Jose and Kathryn's Bollywood

In trouble:

Christina
Melinda
Adechike

SYTYCD: The Top 11 Get The Competition Started

2010-06-16T20:01:00.007-04:00

So You Think You Can Dance:
Top 11 Performance Show

All right, it's officially on, boys and girls! I'm excited to see how this whole all-star thing is going to work out.

What was up with the camera work during the intros? We're barely got a decent look at some of the dancers.
Lol at sweet little Kent already trying to play the open-shirt card.
The show is live tonight? Not pre-tapped? That's new. I wonder how that's going to work out.
Cat seems especially cheeky tonight. She's wearing an interesting one-shoulder blue frock with gold detailing. And has a major updo.

Billy with Lauren (Tyce Diorio jazz):

The featurette: Billy is really into do-it-yourself projects (including carpentry). Didn't see that coming.
The dance: I don't even really have anything to say other than that Billy is wicked good. Like Jakob-level good, and Billy didn't have to drag a less skilled partner through the routine like Jakob often had to.
The judging: Nigel liked it. Mia is so proud of Billy because she thought he did an awesome job at a different style of dancing than he's used to. Mia would like him to dance "like a man" (not a boy) for the rest of the competition, however. Adam thinks Billy's challenges will be to work to inhabit the character of his dance and focus on the stuff that's in between the choreo.

Uh oh, they changed the phone numbers this season. Now it's 1-888-6-BEST-##

Christina with Mark (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

The featurette: Christina tried out for a Mexican singing competition show. Sonya has been inspired by snakes lately.
The dance: There are some interesting lifts here. Christina is definitely benefiting here from Mark's total embodiment of everything Sonya is all about. Mark gives a hot/hilarious finger-gun-point on his way out.
The judging: Nigel says that was all about the reunification of Sonya and Mark, but that he thought Christina did a good job of keeping up. Mia calls Mark a "genius of twisted" dancing, and says that she was surprised and proud by Christina's technique. Adam thought it was going to be a disaster, but ecstatically admits that he was wrong.

Jose with Comfort (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

The featurette: Jose practices yoga to help him stay flexible and to clear his head. Jose gets to do hip hop in the first week? That's kind. Ugh, NappyTabs is so corny.
The dance: It is actually nice to see Comfort again; she had some major problems with other styles of dance back in Season 4, but she is quite a good hip hopper. They did a good job. For someone "who has never done choreography before," Jose sure seems awfully good at picking it up. He also mastered the mean face.
The judging: Nigel thought Jose was absolutely outstanding. Then the judges divulge into making a series of really weak puns. At least when this was pre-taped, some of the judge's aimless babbling could be edited out. Mia wants Jose to make sure he keeps his character and fierceness through the choreo (as well as during the breaking). Mia and Adam are amazed how much he's improved since just last week. Between this kid and Kent, this season is almost overloaded with cuteness.

Adechike with Kathryn (Travis Wall contemporary):

The featurette: Here's Adechike, or as I like to call him, "the one who will be voted out tonight." Adechike went to "the Fame school." Tyce also went there and apparently didn't do very well. Apparently this whole routine hinges on Adechike being able to take Kathryn's shoe off at the right time.
The dance: This is very sexy, but I think that's mostly Kathryn. It certainly seems like she's being better showcased by the routine, but maybe that's just because she's awesome.
The judging: Nigel thought Kathryn was giving Adechike everything, but Nigel didn't quite believe Adechike as the character he was supposed to be playing. Mia says she's going to be harsh because she didn't see any sexual chemistry, and Kathryn was giving him a lot to work with. Adam says Adechike needs find that extra something as a partner.

Melinda with Pasha (Melanie and Tony jive):

The featurette: Oh, Melinda, I already knew you were an actress and musician. I think you've told us that multiple times now. I did not know that she was actually on a soap opera though. PASHA!!! PASHAAA!!! Ok, Melinda's on my good side now because she just admitted that Pasha is "so hot."
The dance: PASHAAA!! Ok, I need to calm down. Melinda has a thankless job here, trying to jive when she's not a ballroomer and in complete danger of being entirely overshadowed by Pasha. The routine ended up feeling a bit redundant there toward the end, but that's not really their fault. I thought she did a decent job, all things considered.
The judging: Nigel thought she did a decent job with the retractions but he didn't think the style suited her and thinks she'll probably be dancing for her life tomorrow. Mia thinks there's something unattractive going on with Melinda's legs when she dances and she can't quite figure it out. Cat and Adam think that Melinda will see that she looked over-the-top when she watches the tape back. But, according to Adam, honey, they love her. Cat: "Well, that must have been a tough job: learning the jive with Pasha."

Alex with Allison (Sonya Tayeh contemporary):

The featurette: Alex also loves to sing and play the piano. And he actually sounds good. Holy crap, Allison and Alex doing Sonya choreo? Talk about stacking the deck. I might die.
The dance: Their dancing to JEFF BUCKLEY'S "HALLELUJAH" no less! Holy heck! What are they trying to do to us!? Not sure about the costumes, but everything else is perfect. Allison is so amazing. Perhaps the routine included just a little bit too much convulsing, but otherwise it was perfection.
The judging: Cat: "First chills of the season." Nigel believes that they have just set a new standard for SYTYCD. This routine here makes the argument for using the all-star format. Nigel says Alison and Alex were "absolutely mega light years" ahead of everyone else. Mia says that was hands-down the best danced piece of work on SYTYCD to date. I'm not sure I'd go that far. Mia says that Sonya has outdone herself. Mia really just wants to talk about how brilliant Alison is though (for good reason). Adam thinks the two dancers upped Sonya's game.

Alexie with Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha lyrical hip hop):

The featurette: Well, have fun following that, Alexie! Alexie was on Star Search as a child and was judged by a studly and serious younger Adam Shankman!
The dance: Oh, Twitch, you're adorable too. Uh, this is fine, but the choreo is not really up to the level it should be. I mean, I can walk saucily to a window. I would expect a SYTYCD to be a little meatier than that.
The judging: Nigel is not sure she hit the resistances in every case. Mia thought she danced like a young adorable girl and needed to step it up and get some more swag if she's going to dance with Twitch. Mia thought it was just *cute*. Adam just wants to talk about himself in the '90s. Adam says Alexie needed some more power in her hip hop dancing.

Lauren and Ade (Mandy Moore pop jazz):

The featurette: Lauren likes to hang out with kindergartners. Uh, ok. Please tell me Ade has gotten rid of that hair pick. I like his quasi-mohawk thing.
The dance: Maybe Mandy Moore needs to move on from the '80s. I feel like this routine does more to showcase Ade than any of his routines did when he was actually competing. The routine involves a lot of the two of them getting tangled up and rolling around on the floor. Which is ok, I guess. They danced it well.
The judging: Nigel thought the routine was a little sterile and didn't see much connection between her and Ade. He thinks she'll be safe this week, but she needs to improve her performance. Mia also saw a lot of space that wasn't filled in with the performance. Adam thinks she was more focused on playing to the audience than she was focused on playing the character and connecting with Ade. Seems to me like the judges are trying to manufacture some drama here.

Kent with Anya (Tony and Melanie cha cha)

The featurette: Kent was crowned Homecoming King at his high school (over 14 other boys). OMG, just the thought of Kent with Anya makes me laugh.
The dance: Go Kent! To my un-trained eye, he looks like he's doing a pretty solid job with the cha cha. He's still a little comical, but he's also getting close to being sexy. And Anya is, of course, fantastic. Ha, at the end of the dance Kent and Anya share a big victory hug. $
The judging: Kent says he know his lips looked silly, but you "just gotta have" the ballroom lips! Nigel points out that Kent really enjoyed dancing the routine. And then Nigel called Anya a cougar. That's unnecessary. Except for one goofy move, Nigel loved every second of the dance. Mia says Kent committed to everything and actually looked a little bit like a ballroom. Mia says to never do that goofy move again--and now I want to see a replay of it. Adam compares him to Dominic and Gev in regard to his verve in attacking an unfamiliar style. Adam says that dance reminded him of every parent's nightmare of losing their kid at the zoo and finding him in the lion's cage dancing with the lion. Ha. Oh just give Kent the title now--he's too darn cute! I can't even stand it.

Ashley with Neil (Tyce Diorio contemporary):

The featurette: Ashley does "silly voices." I'm not impressed. This routine is all about love. Neil sounded like he had a bit of a Southern accent there; did he always have that? I can't remember.
The dance: Ooh, nice dive-catch-lift thing. Um, she's doing okay, but during the side-by-side part, it seemed to me like Neil was definitely out-dancing her. Not sure I got what that had to do with love either, but whatever. I think their biggest problem was that they've followed a really great contemporary routine tonight and their routine/performance didn't quite match up.
The judging: Nigel's blabbing about Ashley being young and then asks if she's every been in love and she says, "As a matter of fact, I think I am." And so now I'm wondering who she's in love with. Thoroughly awkward. Mia saw some emotion there, but it wasn't coming across quite as much as she'd like. She then calls Ashley "a very special little bunny." Adam thought she was creating incredible pictures, but he wasn't connecting with her emotionally.

So the theme of the night is: You're all splendid dancers, but you're just not performing enough!

Robert with Courtney (Sean Cheesman African jazz):

The featurette: Robert wanted to be a professional baseball player. I love Courtney; she reminds me of Summer Roberts. Poor Courtney looks like she had a rough practice. I am having a hard time warming up to Robert though because he looks like a cross between Jess from Gilmore Girls and Evan Lysacek, neither of whom I am particularly fond.
The dance: This is pretty great. I think it would be pretty easy to get danced off the floor by Courtney in this one, but Robert's doing a good job. I enjoyed it.
The judging: Nigel loved the routine's rhythms and breadth of movement and he loved the way Robert danced it. Nigel says "no one really knows" Robert yet; and, uh, whose fault is that? Mia says there are many things she likes about him and wants him to dig into more about Robert...or something. Adam seems confused about what he's trying to say. He liked the coupling of Courtney and Robert. And then he says that he thinks Robert is one of the best male contemporary dances ever on SYTYCD! What?! One last attempt at extreme hyperbole before we call it quits for the night?

In their style (or close to being in their style): Jose, Adechike, Alex, Lauren, Ashley
Moderately out of their style: Billy, Robert
Really out of their style: Christina, Melinda, Alexie, Kent

My favorite routines:

Alex and Allison's contemporary
Kent and Anya's cha cha
Richard and Courtney's African jazz
Billy and Lauren's Broadway

Probably in trouble: Melinda, Adechike, Alexie

Lost: My John Locke Amigurumi (We All Grieve In Different Ways)

2010-05-29T22:28:00.009-04:00

It's been almost a week since the series finale of Lost aired, and I still can't stop thinking about it and feeling sad that the show's over.

I'm also currently obsessed with crochet, and these two obsessions have collided and resulted in this:

My John Locke Amigurumi:

Admittedly, I'm not the hugest fan of John Locke. In fact, I liked a lot of other Lost characters more than I liked him. But I was preparing to try to make a Sheldon Cooper amigurumi by following these fantastic instructions, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=323108.0 , and--since I haven't bought brown yarn yet--I was practicing making the head with just the ecru yarn. And since I think of little else than Lost at the moment, I saw the bald head and immediately thought, "John Locke!" I adapted the pattern, using Locke-appropriate colors for the clothes (he wore a lot of neutrals and khakis).

Notice that he carries a knife. He can wear it around his waist (as seen above) when he's just strolling around the Island, admiring its beauty, but he can unholster it when he needs to go boar hunting...or take out the scout from the freighter, etc.:

Gossip Girl: Affairs to Remember

2010-05-17T20:19:00.007-04:00

Gossip Girl:

"Last Tango, Then Paris"

I told myself that if Gossip Girl could string together a couple tolerable episodes, I'd go back to blogging about it. And the last two episodes ("Ex-Husbands and Wives" and "It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World") have been all right. The show is much better when all the characters are together in one or two main story lines, instead of each of them being off in his or her own dumb plot.

So here's the blog for the Season 3 finale. Play-by-play first, then additional reflections:

Oh, yes, Rufus, when your teenage daughter has run amok, the best way to handle her is to send her to the loft to live with her 19-year-old brother. That's fantastic parenting.
And what makes it even better is that Rufus apparently never even bothered to call Dan to make sure that Jenny actually made it to the loft.
Eric: "Go ahead and send her crazy ass away."
Jenny, you should not sleep in that much eye makeup. That has to be bad for you.
Chuck brings Nate breakfast in bed? (Is that breakfast? I can't tell what's on the tray.)
Wow, Vanessa's been gone for like a day and Dan's already having "meaningless kisses" with "old friends"? To me, that says a lot about how much he really "loves" Vanessa. Not sure how he really could love Vanessa that much though. Especially after all that Tisch crap she was trying to pull over on him. At least Dan knows Serena will never edge him out for an educational opportunity he's interested in.
Gossip Girl: "Spotted: A family reunion only Faulkner would approve of."
Blair: "We all try on own clothes and are pleasantly surprised when they still fit, but that doesn't me we should wear them ever again!" (That's actually really quite helpful advice to me personally, because I recently made an attempt at cleaning out my closet.)
Rufus: "Was that my Lincoln Hawk t-shirt Serena was wearing?"
Who was the lady with all the flowers who was in the elevator behind Nate?
It's May for goodness sake! Take off your winter coats!
Blair thinks Nate and Serena are "mythic"? Did I hear that correctly? Mythic?! I think Blair needs to look up the definition of mythic.
Blair: "Dan loves Vanessa, God knows why..."
Dan and Blair interacting is usually entertaining.
Oh, the elevator lady was bring Chuck's flowers for Blair.
If you leave, Jenny, you'll get to be with your mom, so you'll have the shot of having a quasi-responsible parent. Which would be one more than you've got now.
Wow, that's Serena's outfit for visiting the hospital when her best friend's maid is giving birth!?! A mini skirt and a shirt with a very plunging neckline and 4-inch heals? Is Darota giving birth in the middle of a Beyonce music video? Because that's the only excuse for wearing an outfit like that for the occasion.
Blair: "Goodbye, Georgina. May God save your soul. Again."
Wow, Darota's got a lot of people in that delivery room with her.
Blair: "Hi, I'm meeting a young man here. Probably in a bow tie, possibly carrying peonies?"
Well, what time is it? Was Blair late or what? Couldn't she have sent Chuck a text to say, "Wait an extra five minutes"?
Noooooooo, nooooooooooo, noooooooooooo, noooooooooooo Chuck and Jenny. Noooooooooo Chuck and Jenny. Nooooooooooo Chuck and Jenny. Noooooooooooooooooooooo!
Ok, Jenny, I'm sure you can find a way to "not be alone" without having to sleep with Chuck Bass.
Well, Eleanor and Cyrus are definitely better choices for godparents than Chuck and Blair.
Oh, yeah, Dan and Vanessa are REAL happy. The two of them together is just a pile of laughs.
Why are Dan and Serena still hanging around the hospital? The baby's born. I'm sure they're free to leave.
How long did it take Blair to get from the Empire State Building to Chuck's hotel? Did she get mugged on the way there or something?
Why don't you take Blair out of the apartment with the crazy girl in it, Chuck? Do not mess around with Jenny.
Wow, Jenny looks terrible! That eye makeup is sooooo not designed for crying.
Oh, yeah, Serena, you being "alone for awhile" is really going to work. That will last for like a second.
What a mournful cover version of Band of Horses' "The Funeral"! I am such a sucker for haunting versions of indie rock songs.
Don't just leave her there, Eric! Oh, ok, he went to get Dan. I guess that's ok.
Nate: "Yes, Serena, it is you." (Snap! Go Nate!)
Chuck: "You know what would make this night even better?" (How I finished his sentence for him in my head:) "If I hadn't just slept with Jenny Humphrey."
Whoa! Dan! Fists of fury!
While it's nice to see Dan finally sticking up for Jenny, isn't it kind of a day late, a dollar short? Most of the year, Dan's been, what, completely indifferent to Jenny, at best? And now he's charging in to defend her honor?
Sorry, Dan, I'm not sure I believe that this really "begins and ends with Chuck." Not after the tremendous amount of crap Jenny's been pulling all year long. She was in a bad situation of her own causing and it led her to make yet another terrible decision. If anything, this begins and ends with Jenny Humphrey.
One week later... Blair let Jenny stay in New York for a whole week? (Was she allowed to be in Brooklyn, or was that off limits too?)
So, even after hitting rock bottom, Jenny refuses to abandon the horrific eye makeup? That look is not working out, Little J. It's time to move on from that too.
At least Jenny's train wreck of a story line only got her sent away and she didn't have to be mowed down in the street like Marissa Cooper.
Of course the reason Serena wants to go to Paris is for the lingerie!
Ha! Ohhhhhhh, Dan. And we thought Jenny was the messed up Humphrey.
I hope Dan is smart enough to DNA test that baby. Am I confident that he's smart enough? Not really. Maybe he can talk to Blair on the phone and she can plant that idea in his head.
CHUCK!!! NOOOO! Just when I was commending GG on not killing off Jenny, Chuck gets shot!
How come when people get shot on TV shows, they don't react at first and then just slowly look down? Why does no one yell "OW!"?

Further reflections on Georgie's big secret: On second thought, Georgie's not even really pregnant is she? Earlier when she was talking to Chuck it sounded like she was in trouble with the Russians, and how would her having Dan's baby get her in trouble with the Russians? (The Russians have heard how annoying the Humphreys are and don't want there to be anymore of them?) She couldn't get whatever she wanted from Chuck or Blair earlier, so she concocted a new scheme while listening to Dan and Serena talk about babies. It seems too perfect to me that she's pregnant with Dan's baby right after hearing him say that he likes babies.

So, overall, this episode was an explosive end to a lackluster third season (which is so very like The O.C.). Did the no-holds-barred drama of the finale make up for the muck of the rest of the year? No. Does it set the show up for an interesting fourth season? Perhaps. I'm not convinced that it does, but maybe the show will come back with new ideas and a renewed sense of purpose.

From this interview with Michael Ausiello, executive producer Stephanie Savage makes it pretty clear that despite last being seen lying in a pool of his own blood in the street in Prague, Chuck is not dead. (Unless Blair's about to embark on a long relationship with a dead man a la Izzie on Grey's Anatomy.) Personally, I really don't understand why she gave that interview, which was published literally minutes after the finale ended. Why not let viewers sweat out Chuck's fate, which was one of the two main cliffhanger from the finale, for a little while at least? (Obviously no one really expects them to kill off Chuck Bass, but why bother to shoot him if they're going to assure us within minutes that he's going to be fine?) I said this after the Heroes people posted an interview explaining the Season 1 finale soon after it aired and I stand by it: Don't give an immediate interview after a finale. Let it fester for a minute or two. If your season finale can't stand on its own, write a better season finale.

(photo: cwtv.com)

**By the way, I'd just like to point out that the outfit Serena is wearing in this picture is what she wears to hang out at a friend's house.

Casting an American Shameless

2010-04-08T22:10:00.011-04:00

I love Shameless. Or, rather, I love the first two series of Shameless up until the moment that Fiona and Steve climb in the car and skip town. I thought the third series was okay. And after that I don't really know how I feel about it because I didn't have anyone to ~~illegally~~ clandestinely download the other series for me. I have heard, though, that the show got pretty ridiculous (and not good ridiculous like it was in series 1 and 2). Overall though, I love the show: it's shocking, it's hilarious, and it's surprisingly sweet. Just thinking about it brings back fond memories of it scandalizing me when I was just a young college student studying abroad...

With my warm feelings toward the show in mind, here's a stream-of-consciousness recreation of my reaction when I checked my Twitter feed and saw the news pop up that Showtime has picked up to series the pilot of an American version of Shameless:

Shameless!!! YEAAAA! Are they're doing an American Shameless? They are! Yea! Wait, who's in it? William H. Macy?! What?! As Frank!? William H. Macy as Frank! Are you kidding me? Emmy Rossum is no Anne-Marie Duff. Allison Janney?! Oh noooooo. No, no, no.....

I realize I'm judging without having seen the actual product, and that we should refrain from doing that, but I can't help it. I don't like this cast. Partially because it just seems incorrect and smacks of respectable actors (Macy and Janney) trying to loosen up their images by taking on "fun," "shocking" roles. And partially because I have given a lot of thought to an American version of Shameless over the years, and I'm positive that my cast is better:

(Bear in mind that I picked this cast about three years ago (circa early 2007), so the ages of some of my actors now skew a little too old.)

Fiona: Amanda Seyfried
Steve: Ben McKenzie
Frank: John Corbett
Sheila: Merrin Dungey
Monica: Molly Ringwald (She'd be so much more awesome in this than in Secret Life.)
Lip: Ricky Ullman
Ian: Michael Cera (This role would force him to show a bit more range than usual.)
Debbie: Abigail Breslin
Liam: The kids who played Jamie on Malcolm in the Middle
Veronica: Busy Philipps
Kev: Enrique Murciano (Not sure about this one; Enrique might be too pretty for Shameless.)
Tony: Michael McMillian
Karen: Dana Davis
Craig: Adam Brody (It's stunt casting, but it's hilarious.)
Norma: Queen Latifah

And there you have it. Casting perfection.

I have some other ideas for the American version. Instead of going with an inter-city setting, I'd stage the American version in a trailer park in the South, creating a white trash version of the Gallaghers. Keeping with that theme, I'd change some of the Gallaghers' names to hearken back to the "glory days" of the Old South, as a display of the parents' ridiculous illusions of grandeur. Fiona becomes Scarlett, the boys get the names of Civil War leaders, etc.

My cast has some fairly big names in it, and I have a strategy for how to get them to sign onto a television project. Working off the assertion that the British version was great in the first two series and then fizzled out, I would set a finite number of episodes from the beginning, creating one massive season of about 24-27 episodes, broken into three parts. (A season that long is doable, as The O.C. did 27 episodes in its first year.) That way, the talent can sign onto the project knowing that they will devote only one year to it and won't get sucked into working on the same project for four or five years. New characters won't have to continuously be created to fill in the void left by departing actors. And the plot of the entire series can be mapped out from the beginning, creating a cohesive creative product.

(Would a network go for this model? I don't know. It would certainly cut down on the number of DVDs available to sell. It might make up for that though due to the popularity a well-know cast would likely garner.)

So, yes, I had big plans for an American Shameless. But what was I to do? Start a production company with capital I don't have and try to buy the rights to Shameless? Alas, it was not to be. I guess I can always console myself by watching vintage episodes of the original British version.

(photo: www.channel4.com/programmes/shameless)

Greek: Growing Pains

2010-03-29T21:59:00.007-04:00

Greek: "All Children...Grow Up"

Rusty: "Is that the same lavalier that Beaver..."
Cappie: "Don't ask questions. You don't want to know."
Ash: "After graduation, I'm just going to have to live off the land."
Maybe Ashleigh should wear a longer skirt to her job interview.
Ash: "If you ask me what my weaknesses are, I'm going to tell you!"
Casey was rejected by Stanford, Georgetown and Texas! Eesh! Ok, but she got into George Washington! Yea, Casey!
Oh no. The last thing the Omega Chi boys need is Tripp as its president.
Yes, Calvin might be too nice to be the president of Omega Chi.
Eeeeew, please take this Dana/Rusty thing away.
Rebecca: "Casey's as predictable as a Katherine Heigl movie."
Rebecca: "Can we go somewhere better than Myrtle Beach?"
Dale: "Dana's going?"
Rusty: "I'm sure she won't mind."
Dale: "I just find her really grating."
Lol, I love that Dale brought a blacklight to scan the hotel comforter. He is a boy after my own heart.
Casey: "I'm going to be 22! Do you know who's 22? Old people!"
Wait, so Casey's just now 22? She's been drinking legally for what seems like years.
Well, it's good that Faith Flowers didn't catch Ashleigh on a day when she was wearing that rainbow sweater ;-)
Evan's hair is looking nice. Ok, Evan's hair is looking really nice.
Cappie: "Happy spring break, Evan Pompeo of Grey's Anatomy fame!"
Not sure Casey could get hired as a house mother after all the shenanigans the ZBZs have gotten into on her watch.
Dana could go on the plantation tour with Dale while she waits for Rusty.
Why didn't we get to see Casey with the lampshade on her head?
Maybe Casey should not make her life decisions when she's drunk.
Evan's wearing a long-sleeved shirt on spring break? I guess we should be glad he's not wearing a tie, huh?
Casey: "What if it's not calibrated right and I hit the ground and then I fly back up and hit the platform and then hit the ground again?"
Cappie: "Sounds kind of Wile Coyote."
Evan: "What are you, buying some guns, Cartwright?"
So how did Calvin get them out of trouble with the police?
Good for Ashleigh for getting a job with Faith Flowers.
Eew, Dale, don't touch those sheets with your bare skin!!!
Dale: "Just say 'sex'! Good Lord, I'm from the South, not France."
How did Dana not know Rusty had a sister? She's hung out with Rusty and Cappie numerous times and Casey never came up in conversation?
Oh, Calvin's in on it! That's kind of traitorous.
Wow, quite the reunion there for Rebecca and Evan. I guess it is what it is, folks.
Casey: "We are two different people who love each other very much and it seems the only place our differences don't matter is college."
Oh, real nice Cappie. Break up with the poor girl and make her cry on her freaking birthday. That's a real sweetheart move there, buddy.
Crap! If only Evan had waited like 10 more minutes to take Rebecca back, he could have had Casey! Ohhhhhhhh...
Ok, but now on to what we're really worried about: Where the hell was Katherine?!

Greek: Little Miss Sunshine

2010-03-22T22:02:00.011-04:00

Greek:

"The First Last"

Highlights and my take:

LOL at Cappie trying to order Girl Scout cookies from Dana.
There are only 6 weeks left of this semester.
What is with that giant blue clothespin in Katherine's hand? Is it a stapler? It's a strange prop.
Omega Chi: "Hey, Cal, there's a Jehovah's Witness here to see you."
Dale: "He thinks he might be like you."
Calvin: "Catholic?"
Ohhh, Evan and Casey are so cute. Why can't they be together? Oh, never mind. I'll get over it eventually.
Ha ha ha at Evan dropping the bombshell on Rusty that he and Cappie were friends again last semester. Go Evan.
Ash has a pageant past?! Aww, she retired at age 6 when the pressure got to her.
Rusty: "How many times do I have to get hit in the face before it's about me too?"
Rebecca's seriously playing the "my big sis and my ex" card?! When Evan was Casey's ex first? And Rebecca had sex with him when he was still Casey's boyfriend?!
'90s TV tag sounds fun.
Ashleigh: "A Venezuelan Californian is virtually unbeatable."
I knew that the stupid KT pledges were the ones who kidnapped Cappie and Rusty. Didn't understand way, but they are pretty stupid, so there probably wasn't a very solid plan in the first place.
I love how they advertise Granimals during Greek. Who do they think is watching this? The pre-K set?
Cappie: "A Cali-zuelan? You're screwed!"
Ashleigh: "Smize like you mean it!"
Ok, since when can Casey not walk in heals? This is pathetic. I'm sure I've seen her walk in heals a hundred times before.
Rebecca: "I have a couple gowns that would be perfect for this competition."
Ashleigh: "From what?"
Rebecca: "From being rich."
Katherine (after her speech causes audience members to leave): "You can just fill in those gaps here."
Cappie has a small case of "revenge block."
Rusty: "Quit being my hero and start being my friend."
There was a rather long hiatus in the middle of the pageant...
Debate questions: "What is your favorite class?" vs. "What is your take on the health care reform debate?"
Rebecca does calligraphy?
LOL at Katherine's reaction to Rebecca's speech. She is hilarious.
Natalie didn't have time to sleep with the judges for this competition? She's off her game.
Uh, Evan, this "night golf" thing is an ambush of some kind.
Ok, Calvin, now go to night golf and find Heath!
Ahhhhh! Calvin went to night golf and found Heath! Finally someone is listening to me!
The whole night golf thing is just a one-shot, closest-to-the-pin contest? That's kinda lame.
Wow, Rusty, that was terrible.
Heath (pointing to a spot about two feet in front of them): "It's like right there..."
Good for Dale for standing up to Laura. And then embarrassing her when she blew him off!
Told you the night golf was an ambush, Evan.
Next week is the spring finale already! Booo!

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Greek: The 'Campy' 1980s

2010-03-15T22:00:00.010-04:00

Greek:
"Camp By Me Love"

"a-pollen-gy"
Wow, Casey looks gorgeous today! I'm not sure if it's the smokey eye makeup or the hair, but she's definitely pulling out all the stops to show Cappie what he's missing.
Yeah, no, Dana is not "pretty great."
Rusty: "She thinks I think she's fat too."
Ashleigh: "Yeah, probably."
Dana just got her finger stuck in her own hair! Oy vey.
Grant went to Michigan to see Kylie Minogue! Ha ha ha!
Rusty: "Hey, Katherine, I don't think you're fat."
Katherine: "Neither do I?"
Casey's never seen a picture of Cappie's parents? Are they so hippie-ish that they don't believe in cameras or something?
Heath!
Rusty: "I seem to be dating two girls. At the same time..."
Beaver: "What? That's not enough for you?"
Pledge Snuggie and Pledge Slanket
Evan and Casey together! Evan and Casey! Evan and Casey! And Evan's wearing a tie! And Rebecca went away! These last 60 have brought a flood of good news! And now Dale! Things keep getting better and better!
Dale: "You'll get one of my deep-fried snacks when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!"
I love Dale telling off Evan.
Ashleigh was made for this '80s dance.
Rusty should have asked Ashleigh for advice in the first place.
Wait, no! This is why Rusty should not have asked Ashleigh for advice in the first place! Rusty should NOT date Dana.
LOL at Cappie's "first grade picture."
Katherine: "Is it because I'm weird?"
Rusty: "No! Dana's weird too."
Awwwwwww, poor Katherine! This is breaking my heart.
You should feel bad, Rusty!
Casey: "Is your mom playing 'Physical' on the pan flute?"
Ha! Dale is Calvin's "person on the inside"! Too funny; I thought it was Ashleigh.
Rebecca clearly likes stripes a lot.
Evan: "Well, you know, when you have no soul, you don't crave the comfort of sentimental objects."
Wow, Rusty should take advice from someone who is not so wishy-washy.
Yep, I knew Cappie's parents were splitting up. Saw that one coming down the hiking trail for miles.
Cappie's mom: "Some love stories are short stories. But they're love stories just the same."
If only this was "the closing of the Rebecca Logan chapter" of Evan's life.
Yes, yes, yes, yes! Evan and Katherine! Considering the timing, this is probably misguided and ill-fated, but I don't care! Full steam ahead!
Ashleigh: "I forgot to put on my costume!"
Rusty: "Really?"
Rusty: "The preppy jackass!"
Evan: "What did you call me?"
Rusty: "You heard me!"
Uh, Rusty was kinda asking for that punch. Too bad Evan didn't have a paddle on him this time... (Just kidding! I do not condone paddle attacks.)
I like how I can love Rusty and love Evan and still love that they hate each other. I guess I'm like Calvin in that respect.
Where'd Heath go? It's not fair to tease us by showing him and then hide him for the rest of the episode.
What is Rusty's problem now? Are you seriously telling me that Rusty really likes Dana? Gag! Gag! Gag! Dana does not inspire me at all! Maybe Rusty should make the hell up his mind before he tries to date anyone in the future? This is ridiculous.
Who's that random dude eyeing up Katherine? I don't want Katherine with somebody random.
Great, Casey and Cappie, I can't wait to open up this unresolved can of worms in May.
Wow, we're just now working our way to the second Spring Break of the series.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Gossip Girl: Diplomatic Breakdown

2010-03-10T20:34:00.008-05:00

Gossip Girl:

"The Hurt Locket"

Ahh, Gossip Girl. You've been away for several months and yet I have not missed you. To review, last fall I spent the majority of my Gossip Girl related blog space bemoaning that the show was displaying very little of its past awesomeness in its third season. Then the show ripped off Saved By The Bell by having its characters stage a modern, rhyming version of Snow White, and I just stopped talking about it at all.

I once mused, "Could Josh Schwartz make a show that I don't love?" I now am beginning to fear that the answer to that question is "the third season of every Josh Schwartz show." The O.C.'s third season--with mopey Johnny and cousin Sadie and Volchok and Ryan's one-night stand with a waitress and Kirsten being swindled and Sandy running the Newport Group and Seth burning down the Newport Group with a joint and Dean Hess and Taylor Townsend and Marissa being killed--was no gem. Chuck's third season, at least, has not be bad, but it also hasn't really lived up to the promise of its brilliant last few episodes of Season 2 (and other brilliant episodes in the show's first two seasons).

And then there's Gossip Girl. I'm not sure what to say at this point. I'm getting dangerously close to cutting it loose. I'm not as loyal with television shows as I once was. I haven't watched Damages in weeks because of time slot issues, and I still enjoy that show. I can't say I'm enjoying GG anymore. Also, I was willing to stick it out through The O.C.'s rocky patches in Season 3 because I loved the characters--even when they were doing stupid things that they probably would never have done. I'll stick with Chuck because I genuinely care about those characters too. But I don't care much for any of the residents of the Upper East Side at this point.

Back in the heyday of Gossip Girl, I used to write down line after line after line for my highlights and quotes list. For this episode, I wrote down one quote, and that was Jenny's crack about Dan's Cabbage Patch Kid, which was really just a retread of a joke we've heard many times before.

In any event, here's the play-by-play:

They are trying to butter me up with some Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros ("Janglin"). Nice try.
This expository conversation between Serena and Damien is insufferable.
Oh come on. Are we still worrying about secret societies?
Wow, Jenny actually spent time with her mother?
Jewelers operate under a code of client confidentiality?
Not sure if I'm bummed or glad that we haven't seen Dan yet. Oh, there he is. I think I was glad to not see him.
Nate just said "Whatever happens, happens." Did he just accidentally get beamed into an episode of Lost?
Am I supposed to know who this lady is? Was she on the co-op committee?
Oops, I just fast-forwarded through most of the Dan/Rufus conversation and it was tough to convince myself to rewind and watch the whole scene...
No, Jenny, all the girls are not going to want to wear pharmaceuticals if they look like that.
Oh for God's sake, Blair. It's just a secret society. Get over it.
Of course Serena pairs the drug jacket with a dress with a plunging neckline.
Jenny actually looks kind of nice. Perhaps it is because her hair is actually brushed and not sticking out of her head like a bird's nest.
Gosh, I even think I like Jenny's bizarre sparkly/spiderweb dress.
Holy crap! The slit up the skirt of Serena's dress! She went to party for diplomats dressed like a hooker.
Jenny: "Why would you take relationship advice from a guy who has a Cabbage Patch doll?"
Wow, Bart really is the gift that keeps on giving. He saddled his son with the guilt of thinking his mother died giving birth to him and that's not what happened?
Now, GG is trying to butter me up with The xx ("Crystalised"). Play anything you want, GG; it's not going to win me over if Rufus and Lily are on the screen.
Um, if Serena's having sex in a public coat room, I'm thinking she hasn't changed that much since boarding school.
So Chuck doesn't know his own mother when he sees her? Bring a freaking picture, Bass. She can't look that much different than she did 18 years ago! (Unless there is some kind of plastic surgery involved.)
Hey, Blair, if you want the lady to tell you what she knows, perhaps you should not turn and walk away when she opens her mouth to speak?
OMG, I thought the show was over. There's still more. And it involves Rufus and Lily. Grrrrooooaaan.
Um, why did Serena steal someone's coat and wear it out of the party? Why didn't she just put her dress back on?
Well, I know I'm getting tired of looking at Bart's face in that locket.

(Photo: cwtv.com)