SYTYCD: Still Dropping Like Flies

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.

Greek: Pilgrims' Progress

Greek:
"Down on Your Luck"

I definitely didn't love this episode of Greek as much as last week's episode. First of all, there was not Evan/Casey interaction. Also, there was no Dale. Or Calvin. Or Fisher. On the other hand, there was too much Jordan. I'm also usually not as interested in the episodes that focus heavily on intra-ZBZ battles or ZBZ versus the other sororities battles; I prefer the episodes that focus on the characters and the things that are going on in their personal lives.

The highlights of this episode included a lot of cuteness and funniness from Beaver and some entertaining Evan/Cappie moments.

Highlights and my thoughts:

• 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.'"
• So Casey says that "fall's almost over, finally." Frankly I'm surprised that fall is almost over in the Greek world. This semester seems to be going by a lot quicker than last spring did, but maybe I've just come to expect Greek semesters to take a really long time.
• Maybe Rusty should leave his polymers in the lab.
• Rebecca: "They stayed in for mud masks and watching a television series about old people having old people sex."
  Casey: "They're watching Private Practice?"
• Oh, Rusty, shut up. I like you and I don't care about Jordan's issues; this professor hates you, so he's really not going to care.
• Cappie's busying making fun of Evan for never having to get a job before, but how much laboring has Cappie done?
• Pledge Abby is the piano player girl from High School Musical! I'm not sure HSM would endorse her preoccupation with parties.
• 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: "Beaver, get the book... The dictionary?"
  Beaver: "I don't know what lavalier means!"
• Cappie: "The last known KT to lavalier was in 1986. The brother was so excited that he went home to tell his entire family...in Chernobyl."
• Beaver is so adorable, I can barely stand it.
• Why is Beccs so worked up about the pledges sucking?
• Casey (to Rebecca): "That is a great plan, Frannie."
• This Lana girl kind of gives off a Theresa from The O.C. vibe. Let's hope Cappie doesn't knock her up.
• There are probably worse months than November. Sexy Pilgrims and Indians seems manageable.
• Where is Ben Bennett? I haven't seen him in a while.
• Rusty: "Beaver, would you be my lavalier bearer?"
• Beaver: "What's a lavalier bear, dude?"
  
• Ha ha ha! Beaver swallowed the lavalier! Ha ha ha! Poor Beav.
  
• Ha, Katherine's appointment to feed the homeless ran long.
  
• Cappie said he bar tended at Flannigan's Cocktails and Dreams in Jamaica.
  
• LOL at Cappie's idea of a screwdriver and Evan and Lana's reactions.
  
• Ashleigh: "Maybe boys do define us."
  
• If Jordan loves Italian art and history so much and she's presumably studying art and history, why does she feel "unfulfilled"? Whatever, I'm going to stop questioning it; any plot device to get rid of Jordan for awhile is fine by me.
  
• Cappie: "You know my father always says, 'anything worth having is worth fighting for.' Of course, my father's a pacifist, but that's not the point..."
  
• Professor: "Personally, I think you should break up with her so you'd shut up about it, but then you'd come in here sobbing like a soiled baby..."
  
• I think the ZBZs need to watch some America's Next Top Model and work on their posing. Everyone is still just kind of standing in a bunch.
  
• Lana: "And you didn't have your ass grabbed every five minutes."
  
  Evan: "That's what you think."
  
  
• The turkey with the ZBZ sign is pretty funny.
  
  
• Crap! Jordan didn't get accepted in the study abroad program. Grrr. Maybe someone will drop out a the last minute so she can go.
  
  

Next's week ep looks like it's going to really make up for this episode's lack of Casey/Evan interaction. Yea! I have a feeling that my faithful commenter on my Greek posts and I are going to like this episode.

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Premiere Watch '09: The Beautiful Life

The Beautiful Life: TBL:

"Pilot"

I really rather liked the pilot of The Beautiful Life. I was expecting to enjoy it, but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it because it was good or if I'd enjoy it because it was so bad and campy that it was entertaining. Turns out, it was pretty good.

Granted, the whole thing with Chris' disapproving Iowan farmer dad seemed a little tired and all of the modeling agents were skeazy and not particularly interesting, but there were some interesting developments. I was actually pretty shocked by the reveal that Sonja's time away from modeling was due to her having a secret baby. The rehab rumor just seemed likely. Also, I'm interested to find out who Raina's dad is. Mafia boss? Very rich white collar criminal?

And I liked this pilot because, heaven help me, I love that Mischa Barton. I admit that she's not the world's best actress and she's had some troubled times in real life, but I just like her. I'm sure my allegiance to her is in no small part due to her having played one of the main characters (Marissa Cooper) in one of my favorite shows of all time (The O.C.), but I do think there's more to it than that.

Also, I think the people in charge of The Beautiful Life should really stop trying to make "The Beautiful Life: TBL" happen. Either go with The Beautiful Life or TBL, we don't need both. It's redundant.

Highlights and my other thoughts:

• Timely scheduling of this pilot: it depicts NY Fashion Week '09 during NY Fashion Week. (Ignoring the fact that the fashion week actually going on in real life was for Spring '10, while the clothes they were wearing were from Zac Posen's Fall '09 collection (Exhibits A, B, and C). But that's ok, we don't have to think about it that hard.)
• Zac Posen! I read that his NY Fashion Week show started at 9 a.m. this year.
• Shouldn't Zac screen his looks a bit earlier than right before the model walks onto the runway? "Take this necklace and make it into a belt"? What?!
• I don't blame Mischa/Sonja for not making it to the Posen show if it was at 9 a.m.
• Do radio stations really give live updates from fashion shows?
• I'm sorry, but Corbin Bleu doesn't look like a model to me. He's too short, right? How tall are male models supposed to be?
• Aww, Chris is from Iowa. That's so cliche.
• More MGMT? I mean, I love "Time to Pretend" just as much as or more than the next girl, but is Zac Posen seriously using a year-old song to showcase his signature look?
• Do fashion show attendees really jump to their feet, applauding and cheering when some confetti falls from the ceiling? That seems like seriously un-chic behavior.
• Zac's clothes got some nice exposure from this.
• I just love Mischa's somewhat affected/stilted manner of speaking (sometimes it sounds like she's using an accent, sometimes not). It rather fits this role.
• Hope Chris wore presentable undies today.
• Ahh, good, I was hoping that wasn't Chris' pink cell phone.
• Maybe Isaac's been having trouble finding work because he's too short. (Or maybe designers just don't want their clothes associated with this. Personally, I've come to regard it as something of a modern masterpiece.)
• Ohhh, Isaac was a child model who "hasn't quite crossed over yet." That explains it.
• And he's a musician. Here's a thought: if he's not doing well at modeling and he wants to be a musician, why doesn't he just go try to be a musician?
• Cole (Nico Tortorella) is hot. Why does he look familiar? Wait! It's because he played Pizza Guy #1 on Make It Or Break It!!! So I guess this explains why that dude completely disappeared after only a few episodes and had to be replaced by Pizza Guy #2. Geez, I thought he was kind of cute on MIOBI, but he's super hot on TBL. Emily Kmetko's loss!
• Ick. Simon is sleazy.
• Sonja's wearing "the new Versace"! (Which, by the way, was from the Versace Spring '09 collection, so it's a year old and not so new after all.) How'd she get it? She has a "relationship with security" at the photographer's hotel. That's shady.
• Cole just ordered a 7 and 7. How Atwood-ian of him. (Sorry, my only experience with that drink comes from The O.C.)
• Marissa: "Coke is so '80s!" (I only find that quote interesting because I just finished reading Bright Lights, Big City in preparation for the upcoming Josh Schwartz film adaptation.)
• Raina is either a very sympathetic, caring person or oddly infatuated with Sonya.
• Is Raina really 16? Huh, no wonder her brother was supposed to take care of her.
• Sonja's baby-daddy has the initial R. (Unless Raina really is a creepy stalker and sent the flowers.)
• Uh oh, it's only the first episode and Mischa's already going berserk and throwing things. It took her until the Season 2 premiere to get to that point on The O.C. (the pool chair incident), and a lot of crap happened to her on The O.C....
• How old is Chris supposed to be?
• Is Raina's floor really going to be any more comfortable than the bench?

Premiere Rating: 7.5/10

(photo: cwtv.com)

SYTYCD: Beginning the Redemption

So You Think You Can Dance: "Auditions #1"

I didn't think I was ready for SYTYCD to come back already (it's only been off for a few weeks after all, and we've grown accustomed to waiting months and months for it to come back), but all day today I kept thinking, "Yea! So You Think You Can Dance is on tonight!" so I guess I am ready. With the extremely brief hiatus, I can almost block Season 5 out completely (I had a few problems with it...12 problems, specifically) and just treat this season as what rightfully should have been on my television this summer. That said, due to my view that Season 5 was generally lackluster (due in large part to saving talent and choreography for the fall launch), my expectations for Season 6 are astronomical, so if it's not absolutely awesome, I'm in for a letdown.

Since whose auditions were shown to us and whose were not became an issue in Season 5 (for me at least), I will try to document for future reference the names of everyone who is featured in the audition episodes this season.

Why doesn't the theme song include footage of dancers from the last season anymore?

Los Angeles:

• It's Shankers!
• Cat sounds very hoarse. She was working too many hours this summer. (Actually, the voice over barely sounds like Cat at all.)
• Anya and Pasha!!!!!!!
• If nothing else, we've sure got a lot of good leapers this season. Every montage shows another person rocking a beautiful split.
• Cole Clemens, sans music. Oh geez, he's making his own sound effects ("Shatter, shatter, shatter!"). I have no tolerance for this. This is not So You Think You Can Do Performance Art.
• Nigel: "Kinds of off-, off-Broadway."
  Shankers: "Like in Cleveland, off-Broadway."
  
• Mollee Gray looks familiar. Please tell me it's not because I recognize her from High School Musical, because that's pretty embarrassing for me.
  
• Mollee's dancing to Postal Service, so she's already got my vote.
  
• Shankers says Mollee is "sooooo this show." (Just like Jason, apparently.)
  
• David Hovhannisyan could use some more clothes, but he's a good dancer.
  
• Amanda Kirby did some nice pirouettes.
  
• Brandon Dumlao is dressed like a b-boy but dances like a contemporary dancer.
  
• Bianca Revels is back for like the fourth year in a row! She sure is a glutton for punishment. I really believed her last season when she said she wasn't coming back. (Perhaps she changed her mind because the producers promised her a spot in the Top 20 in the spiffier Season 6?)
  
• Oh no, now Ryan Kasprzak is talking instead of dancing to music too! This is not a trend I wish to see continue. Dancers are dancers, not poets.
  
• Shankers does not agree with me and says that was the best audition ever on this show. Hmm, yeah, ok, Shankers, whatever...
  
• Nigel says Ryan's "grown in himself" whatever that means.
  
• Hey, it's the other Kasprzak brother!
  
• Now we get to watch some tap "trading" with Ryan and Bianca. I love both of these two dancers, but I think this tap trading is somewhat lost on me.
  
• Ha ha, that was one of the best fake-outs on SYTYCD history! I really didn't think Nigel knew that the dance move was called "wings" and then I really thought he didn't understand what Bianca told him. He's pretty good at playing dumb.
  
• Christopher Aguilar wants to produce a movie. Yet he's trying out for a reality television show. I don't really understand the logic here, but whatever. I think Chris' audition is only marginally more silly that what Tyce brings to the table every week.
  
• It's Pasha!!! Wait, where'd he go? Show more Pasha!
  

On to day two...

• Amber Williams. Her mother is paralyzed from the waist down. Amber was an extremely cute child. Amber is a good pirouetter. She's got some weird little contraptions on the balls of her feet to help her turn, I guess; I don't think I've ever noticed other dancers wearing those. Mary says that Amber is very light on her feet.
• Alexie Agdeppa has the little foot things on too. And she's got a very nice musicality.
• Paula van Oppen: Did she almost make the Top 20 in Season 5 or was that another short-haired girl who looks very much like her? (The one who was in Silky's performance group in Vegas when a bunch of the group members ended up in a big fight?) Her audition here was very nice.
• Christina Santana is doing salsa with some hip hop pop and locking. I like the salsa, but I'm not sold on this pop and locking--it's doesn't look like it's up to hip hop standards to me. Those were some nice pop stirs though. Well, if she does belly dancing, she will have Nigel's vote. Ugh.
• Phillip Attmore: Oh no, he's another tapper! I don't know if we have room for three tappers in the Top 20. (Frankly, I'm kind of sick of tap already.)
• Philip has been Ryan's roommate when they were on tour in Fosse. He says that Ryan has a happy face on his butt. This guy has a nice personality. And he's a good tapper.
• I guess SYTYCD is trying to single-handedly bring tapping back this fall.
• It's a little disingenuous for the judges to proclaim this "the year of the tapper" as if they didn't have the option of putting Ryan and Bianca in the Top 20 in Season 5 (and in Season 4 in Bianca's case).

Gotta say, sitting through coverage of the auditions is a lot easier when they are broken into one-hour chunks instead of two-hour chunks.

Next week: Phoenix

Best TV of Summer 2007

Well, quite honestly, I didn't do much of value this summer. I did, however, watch an awful lot of television, so I figure I might as well handicap it down to a nice little "Best Of" list. Here goes:

Best Reality Show:
So You Think You Can Dance -- For the second straight summer, I've been captivated by this show's great dancers with fun personalities who hip hop, mambo, waltz, quick step, krump, cha cha, swing, jazz, and contemporary (ok, I realize those last two aren't really verbs) their way into our hearts. My Season 3 highlights: Pasha, Sara, Pasha and Sara's West Coast Swing, Pasha and Lauren's Transformers hip hop, Neil and Sabra's table jazz dance, Danny and Lacey's mambo, Pasha and Lacey's mannequin hip hop, and of course the two guys swing dancing during the auditions.

Best New Show and Best Drama:
Damages -- Yea for FX giving us a show this intelligent and this exciting and this well-made in the summer! The great thing about this show is the characters keep getting smarter and more willing to do absolutely anything to get their way. The stakes have been ratcheted up so high that the audience feels like it's all about to hit the fan at any moment. Patty Hewes steals the show (she is being portrayed by Glenn Close, after all), but many of the other characters are amazingly fascinating--and amazing flawed--from Frobisher to Katie to Gregory to Tom to Fisk.

Funnest New Show:
Greek -- It's not the smartest show and it's probably not going to change the world, but Greek is pretty darn fun and there's nothing wrong with that. The characters are varied, interesting, and mostly likable (and many seem like people you'd actually find on any college campus). Greek is funnier than you'd expect and, on occasion, actually shows physics geeks discussing physics.

Best Show I Now Realize I Should Have Been Watching All Along:
Burn Notice -- After catching a few reruns last week, I now regret not being on the Burn Notice bandwagon all summer. The show has the "fun spy" feel of Alias and its well-utilized, often comedic voice-over smacks of Veronica Mars. Congrats to USA for finally finding Jeffrey Donovan a vehicle that showcases his talent and total hotness. And I love that this USA series is doing a season-long story arc (unlike Monk and Psych which have become terminally serial).

New Show That I Totally Respect Yet Have No Desire To Watch For Any Extended Period Of Time:

Mad Men -- Something about watching this show makes me feel yucky...which is exactly what they are going for. It's intricate, sneaky, and gorgeous. And the whole thing makes me feel fantastically uneasy, much like I imagine actually having to spend time in an ad agency in the 1950s would.

Best Character:
Cliff, Hidden Palms -- While Hidden Palms was nothing to write home about (and had possibly the worst main title sequence ever), the character of Cliff was a revelation. Michael Cassidy masterfully walked the line between devastatingly charming and possibly dangerous in a tour de force performance that transcended the series. It turned out that Cliff wasn't as nefarious as we originally were led to believe, but still, he had a knack for making bad look very appealing.

Funniest Lines of the Summer:

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

Gus, Psych: "Some people are just born evil...like the kid from The Omen, the Children of the Corn, Chad Michael Murray."

Ellen, Damages: "Emily Dickinson. That bitch will say anything."

Pawn Shop Guy, Kyle XY: "Ok, easy, Veronica Mars!"

Best Unintentionally Funny Moment:

"I Don't Dance" baseball number, High School Musical 2. Ok, in my opinion, there wasn't much to redeem HSM2. Trite, sappy, rather poorly acted, etc., etc. But, I am more than willing to declare the "I Don't Dance" baseball song and dance number an instant classic. Because, I mean, what makes more sense than a boy adamantly claiming that he doesn't dance while dancing his way through a baseball game? Factor in some strong, if unintended, homoerotic overtones and this scene ranks as one of the funniest moments of the summer.

Stand-out episodes:
"Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan" Monk -- In my favorite episode of Monk this season, Sarah Silverman (who I don't always enjoy) guest stars as Monk's obsessed fan and shows us her Monk-centric dioramas complete with a Troll doll serving as Natalie. And, yes, those are Monk's pants she's wearing...

(more to come)