Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Did you SEE that routine??

No solos tonight on So You Think You Can Dance?, just two dances per couple. I guess they realized that having them dance the same solo two or three times was a bit excessive. Thanks.

I had high expectations for the first couple of the night, Donyelle & Travis. They’re two of the most talented dancers in the competition, and are so much fun to watch. They started with a creepy hip hop routine. I hated the masks. REALLY hated them. It was so unfair to them to make them dance in masks. Aside from the fact that they couldn’t see each other (which explains why at some points they were a little off), we couldn’t see their faces. As Nigel said, so much of dancing is in the face. If they had done the exact same routine without the masks, it would have been a million times better. Their second dance was quick step. Admittedly, this wasn’t such a great routine either. Hopefully people will recognize what great dancers they are, realize that they sort of pulled the short stick with the routines tonight, and vote them through anyways.

Allison & Ivan were next up, with a very lucky pull to be paired together again. Their chemistry is amazing – they dance together better than they dance apart. Their tango was so good – so hot, really. And for as hot as their tango was, their hip hop routine was even better. The choreography was perfect for them – it was so amazing to watch.

Ryan must have been so excited this week – he’s been waiting to dance with Natalie the entire show. Too bad his dancing didn’t mirror his enthusiasm in their first routine. They danced disco, and he just didn’t seem to get it. I kind of felt bad for Natalie – even though they aren’t getting votes as a couple, his dancing could easily put her in the bottom two. They pulled it together for the second dance, really helped by the fact that they were dancing contemporary (both of their strengths). The routine was beautiful. And even though I still think Ryan will be going home, it was nice to see him show why he belongs.

The couple of the night was definitely Heidi & Benji. Let’s just review…they’re cousins…they dance together…professionally. They started with a Broadway routine that was fantastic. But for as good as it was, it couldn’t even begin to compare to their second dance, the club mambo. I agree completely with the judges – that was the best performance of the competition. It was so polished and so professional. I don’t know how they can’t be considered favorites to win the whole thing.

We’re really down to it on the voting. The guys are a little easier – I think Ryan is the clear choice to go home. Not sure who will be the other guy in the bottom two (or even if they’ll bother with a bottom two tomorrow), but just based on tonight’s dancing I think it will be Travis. The girls are much harder, especially when you look at their dancing from the entire show. I think it will probably be Allison & Natalie in the bottom two, though, with Natalie going home.

Drama! Drama! Drama!

Oh, the drama at the Big Brother house! And oh how I love it!

With James as HoH, the S-6 alliance is in full control of the game. And his nominations weren’t really a surprise. Chicken George is playing the game hard, even if he doesn’t admit it. It sure does take him a long time on his knees behind the counter to sweep up for someone who’s not eavesdropping, doesn’t it? And the whole idea that Dr. Will is up as a pawn is laughable too. There’s a reason why he’s one of the best to ever play the game.

The food competition was fun, but I wonder if they decided to have that particular game before the season started, or if someone pointed out how wrong it is to be making a team eat slop for the week. PB&J is one thing; slop is another. It definitely looks like some of them weren’t really eating anything for the week; it’s just that objectionable.

The PoV competition was the best so far. They pretty much played truth or dare, and some of the dares were pretty hard. I know that I wouldn’t have shaved my head (and we all know that Jase wouldn’t have either if he was still in it!). Not only did Chicken George win, but he’ll be eating slop for the rest of the summer.

Marcellas may be the funniest person in the house. Why is he always walking around in a robe? And his commentary on Kaysar was hilarious. Even my husband who claims to not be watching laughed out loud at that. And the shouting match at the end of the show between him and Jase was fantastic. I hope he’s around for awhile.

The veto ceremony was phenomenal television. Will’s speech was perfect. I loved it – and after all that talk about hating all of them and throwing every challenge, the bottom line is he’s probably still going to be around after the vote tomorrow night. He’s right – the target on his back has now gotten so large that it’s invisible. It makes you remember just how smart he is.

So tomorrow night we’ll likely see the eviction of Jase. I can’t say that I’ll be too sad to see him and his primping go.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

I hate to say it, but I just don't think America's Got Talent

Maybe it’s just me, but this latest incarnation of The Gong Show has gone from bad to worse. Sure, there are some acts with actual talent. But they seem to be few and far between. Did I actually sit through another performance by Dave the Horn Guy? Oh dear.

The “talent” on last night’s episode of America’s Got Talent was pretty sad. Is this really the best that America has to offer? Because singing and dancing with your sisters shouldn’t put you as one of the top 40 acts in the country. (yes, I know, the littlest sisters were adorable, but so are puppies)

There were a couple of good acts – I liked Realis (the acrobatic gymnasts) and At Last (the a capella group). I also thought that Mark the Kinfe was kind of funny. And I guess that for an 8 year old, Natasha Lee was pretty good too. The rest? Shouldn’t have been on tv at all.

The best part of the night? When At Last told Regis that they had a song for him, and Regis replied (in that great Regis voice) “Regis would like a little ditty!”. Fantastic.

The contestants aren’t the only ones without talent. Where did they hire the cameramen (camerawomen?) and editors for this show? Aside from the fact that there are plenty of shots where the performers aren’t in the center of the shot, over and over we see wide shots or footage of audience reaction instead of the actual act. I think I could do a better job with a camcorder and my laptop.

One more complaint (because, really, I haven’t done that enough tonight). When they had their extra performances tonight, did it seem like a few of them should have been switched with some of the actual performances from last night? Playing the glasses was way more impressive than Dave the Horn Guy. And the girl with the hoola hoops did the exact same thing as Hoopalicious last week (but Hoopalicious got to compete in the semifinal).

So after a mock disagreement, the judges hold off on their pick until tonight (which, by the way, is when they’ll know who the audience chose…hmmm…). And no surprise that Realis and At Last move on to the final. The biggest surprise? That I’m still watching.

We're Down to 8 Dancers...

Tonight’s the first night on So You Think You Can Dance? where the votes actually determine who will go home. It’s also the first night where voters voted for individual dancers instead of couples. Should be interesting.

After a really strange group number (great choreography…odd odd odd costumes & makeup…) we find out which dancers are in the bottom two. No surprise that Martha was in the bottom two girls; I was a little surprised about Natalie. I guess it was her or Allison, and they were both really good last night. The guys were no surprise at all – Dmitry & Ryan both deserved those bottom spots.

Next, to stretch the show out a bit, I guess, all four danced their solos again. I was kind of disappointed that they all did the same solos as last night. I would have thought they would mix it up a bit, but oh well. We also had a performance by some hip hop artist that I fast forwarded through (hooray tivo!). There was also mention of a tour of the top ten. Since my husband doesn’t believe me that I want to go, if you live in the DC area and want to go with me, let me know. (hee hee!)

Finally, we get to the results. America got it right, and Martha & Dmitry are going home. Of course, they dance their solos one more time (because if we didn't like it the first time, and we didn't like it the second time, the third time in 24 hours is bound to be GREAT). What a shame that we won’t have to look at his chest anymore. Darn.

Nakomis the Next Houseguest Evicted

The thing that makes Big Brother so different from any other reality show is that it’s shown to us in real time. We’re seeing things as they happen, and the remaining houseguests are in the house right now, wondering who James will nominate for eviction along with us. Why is this so important? The editing of individual shows isn’t as good, since thy just don’t have as much time (for example, Survivor is shot 3-4 months before the episodes air). But they also can’t edit in a story line – the editors don’t know what will happen either. And that element makes the show so different than the others. Even the best edited shows (Survivor, Amazing Race…) have story lines. It’s nice to watch a show where the only story lines are the ones that the contestants are coming up with.

Like the secret Mr. & Mrs. Smith alliance between Diane & Jase. What is that all about? It does look like they probably do have something going on. But Mr. & Mrs. Smith? Come on.

Then there’s Howie’s man crush on Dr. Will. Did Howie kiss Will tonight? And what was up with him sitting rubbing Will’s shoulder? Yikes.

Anyways, I wasn’t too surprised to see Nakomis go home tonight. I was, however, surprised to see another member of the S-6 alliance win HoH for the third week in a row. Even though James tries to distance himself from the S-6ers, he’s secured them all another week in the BB7 house. Should be interesting to see if he will put Chilltown up for eviction, or if he’ll continue the trend of floaters.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

New Partners on So You Think You Can Dance?

The rules change this week on So You Think You Can Dance? – gone are the partners that they have been dancing with for the past five weeks. Instead, they randomly draw a partner for the week (along with their dance styles), dance two dances with that partner, as well as a solo performance. Oh boy.

And here’s my first real complaint about the show (ok, the second…I still don’t understand why two couples each week dance hip hop…) – why are they mixing the solos in with the couple dances? Aside from the fact that it’s confusing, it makes the blogging tricky (and be warned, I have a lot to say tonight). Sigh... So, in the order of their solos…

Donyelle rocks. That’s all there is to it. She has been consistently the best female dancer throughout the show. And I had totally forgotten that she is actually a hip hop dancer. After watching her solo, all I can say is WOW. She was paired this week with Dmitry, and started off with the lindy hop. She was great – there was so much energy, it was amazing. To think, too, that she has been nursing a hurt foot makes it even more amazing. Her samba was fantastic too. She should sail through to next week.

I’m so done with Dmitry. I’m just not all into the bare chest open shirt thing. His solo was absurd – there is a lot more to dancing than throwing open your shirt. His lindy hop with Donyelle was fine. She totally outdanced him. The contrast between her energy and his lack thereof was quite striking. I think that Nigel finally started to see that he’s not as good as everyone thinks. (especially considering the comments about his lack of shirt later in the show) He was good in his final dance with Donyelle. The samba is one of his specialties, and in that specialty he did a good job. I’m hoping that he’s one of the bottom dancers tomorrow night.

Another person who I’m done with is Martha. She started off the show dancing hop hop with Ivan, which should have been extremely exciting. I know that if I had to be stuck with hip hop (I am just SO not funky), I would be so stoked to be with Ivan. But she was complaining about pulling hip hop and complaining about the fact that some dancers have been getting by based on their partners. How ironic, since it seems like she has really been getting by on the strength of Travis. Their routine was good, but she was totally overshadowed by Ivan. (and did you see how much better Travis was without her?) Her solo wasn’t very good either. There just wasn’t much to it. Her second dance with Ivan was the smooth waltz, which was just ok. The judges were pretty harsh, and I think that the criticism was probably warranted. She’s my pick to go home this week.

I admit it – I have become such an Ivan fan. He started off tonight dancing hip hop with Martha. And just as Martha seemed disappointed with the arrangement, I was bummed that he wasn’t dancing with Allison anymore. Their piece last week was so breathtaking. Anyways, even though I didn’t like the choreography, Ivan did a fantastic job with the routine. His solo wasn’t quite as good – as the judges said, it was a novelty routine with the skate shoes. (of course, it took me a second to figure out that he had wheels on his shoes…) But I agree with what Ivan said at the end – he’s trying to entertain the crowd. He finished up his night dancing the smooth waltz. The judges weren’t fans, and rightfully so – neither of them did a great job with it. I will say that it was less of a disappointment for Ivan than Martha, considering Ivan is a hip hop dancer, but it still wasn’t great. Hopefully people will take his dancing from the past few weeks as a whole and keep him on the show tonight.

Heidi has always been such a strong dancer. And her performance with Travis was nothing short of incredible. Their paso doble was spectacular. They had great chemistry as well – I think that Ryan has been holding her back a bit. Her solo was good too – she’s definitely spunky! She capped the show off dancing contemporary with Travis. Mia clearly choreographed the routine for the two of them, and she was fantastic. I loved loved loved the routine, and she was wonderful in it.

Travis is one of the best male dancers in the competition. And his paso doble showed that. I was just floored by the dance. I also think that Martha was holding him back – his performance with Heidi was so far above anything he had done with Martha. His solo was also spectacular. He’s a pure dancer, someone who you just want to sit and watch over and over again. His final performance was the amazing contemporary routine that Mia choreographed for him and Heidi. I thought that Ivan and Allison last week were the most amazing contemporary routine ever – he and Heidi just gave that performance a run for their money. It was so amazing – I didn’t want to even blink because I was scared I would miss something. Not only was he spectacular, he helped Heidi to be as well. Freakin’ brilliant.

Natalie has been so hot the past five weeks with Musa. So I was wondering what would happen when she was paired with goofball Benji. Turns out, she has great chemistry with Benji as well. Their jazz routine was great – I think that dancing with Musa has overshadowed what a great dancer she really is. I also think that she took the judges’ criticism from last week to heart, and her dancing was much more open and yearning – it was great. That openness was clearly evident in her solo as well. Her dancing is showing a lot of emotion, and she’s positioning herself as one of the top girls in the competition. Her final routine was hip hop, and she and Benji did a good job. The judges didn’t love it, but it was pretty good. I really like Natalie – I think she’s good to go for another few weeks.

Benji has been one of my favorites since the first auditions, and he still is. He has been so amazing with Donyelle, so I was worried about how he would do with Natalie. But it turns out that he was so amazing with Donyelle because he’s just an amazing dancer. Watching his jazz routine with Natalie, I almost forgot that his specialty is West Coast swing. That’s right, that amazing jazz performance was done by the current champion of West Coast swing. His solo was fantastic too. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen him dancing solo, and it was worth the wait. The reaction of the crowd was great too; I guess I’m not the only one who’s a Benji fan! His last routine was hip hop with Natalie. It was good actually, especially considering that neither of them dance hip hop. But I couldn’t help but compare it with his hip hop routine the first week with Donyelle, which I think was a lot better. I don’t think he’s in any danger of going home this week.

Allison was so amazing last week with Ivan, so I was sad to see her paired with Ryan. Pulling contemporary was a huge bonus for her. The choreography from Mia was amazing – even my husband commented on how difficult it looked. And she danced it really well. She is a really strong contender in this competition. Her second routine was Broadway, which is a tough style. But she really shined. I especially loved how she handled her hat falling off – Nigel was right – that was a mark of a true professional. Her solo was good too. I don’t think she’s as good as someone like Donyelle, but I would be surprised if she was eliminated.

At some point, the judges commented that there seems to just be something missing from Ryan’s performance. I felt that way tonight as he danced contemporary with Allison. I thought that he would be good at the routine, because contemporary is his specialty as well. But even though most of the dancing itself was technically good, there was just something missing. That same feeling of something missing carried into his second routine with Allison where they danced Broadway. Once again, he had the steps right, but you couldn’t help feeling like the performance was somehow empty. He tried to pick it back up with his solo, which was pretty good. He really is quite good technically; it’s a shame that he doesn’t dance better with his partners.

If I were going to vote tonight (I know, I know, what am I doing voting for this thing?), it would have to be for Donyelle and Travis. They were by far the best two dancers of the night. I might throw a vote to Heidi & Benji as well. I’m thinking that Martha will be the bottom girl, and either Ryan or Dmitry will be the bottom guy. Should be interesting to see what happens without the judges making the final cut.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Lots going on at the Big Brother house

Oh, I’m so behind on my blogging. But at least it’s with good reason – not only was I watching the Red Sox last week, but my softball team was in the playoffs over the weekend. We won a few games before being eliminated Saturday night. And with the charming heat wave, I can’t say that we were THAT disappointed to not have to play again in the 95 degree heat the next morning. That’s right, 95 degrees in the morning. At 10:00 this morning it was already 93. Yikes. The real sign of the heatwave? The nearly empty ice cream/frozen treat aisle at the grocery store yesterday. But I digress…

I did catch up on a few shows. First was a quick view of America’s Got Talent. Taylor Ware moved on to the finals, which means more yodeling, less hot guys clogging. Seriously, who votes for these things? You’ve got to think it through.

Way better was Big Brother: All Stars. On Thursday, Alison was the first houseguest to be evicted. Not a real surprise – she was a much bigger threat than Danielle. Then, in a ridiculously fast HoH competition, Kaysar was crowned the new HoH (oh yeah, we’re back to just one HoH). And the S-6 alliance quickly celebrated, just in case we didn’t realize that they were all together. Not such a bright idea. A good idea? The different HoH bedroom décor this week. How cool is that?

No more peanut butter & jelly – this year the houseguests are stuck with slop. What is that stuff? I can’t believe that the producers are getting away with making them eat that. Ugh. It looked like some of them were stirring something into it…I wish I knew what that was as well.

Kaysar took the easy way out and nominated Nakomis & Dianne for eviction. It was a ridiculous move – he made a deal with Chilltown that makes no sense for him. Dr. Will is playing him like a fiddle. You could see it even more on tonight’s episode (which, by the way, featured a great diary by Chilltown mocking the nominations…this is why I love them…). Will knows exactly what he is doing…not winning the PoV competition, talking to Kaysar by the hot tub, asking to be put up for eviction…he’s playing a brilliant game.

Jase is playing such a different game this time around. He has grown up, and I actually feel for him being away from his girlfriend and her daughter. Part of me hopes that he gets evicted soon so he can go home (but then again, part of me wants him to stick around and be eye candy all summer).

Random fact of the week – can you guess Howie’s listed occupation? Light saber salesperson. Wow.

I was glad that Erika won the PoV, and I think that she made the right decision to not veto Dianne or Nakomis. It would be different if she had the power to choose the replacement; Kaysar was sure to nominate one of her friends if she used her veto. That, and she and Kaysar are starting to get closer and closer. Should be an interesting “showmance” maybe? Of course, nothing will top the Will-Howie romance. Seriously, Howie’s crush on Will is getting stranger and stranger (but the bit with him in the shower tonight was great…”little Howie’s getting smaller and smaller…”)

Anyways, I think that Nakomis will be heading home Thursday, which is a shame, since I love her new hair color. And hopefully someone can break the streak of the S-6 alliance winning HoH.

Friday, July 14, 2006

The End of the Road for Two More Dancers

A little late on the blogging after spending Thursday night watching the Red Sox lose an extra-innings heartbreaker. But thanks to the magic of tivo, I’m just about caught up.

This is the last week of the current partner format on So You Think You Can Dance?. Starting next week they’ll dance with random partners as well as dancing solos. The voting will also be by solo dancer, and there’s no judges choices – the bottom dancers go home. I’m not sure how I feel about that…we’ll see what happens with my favorites!

I think that the bottom three were right, based on the performances Wednesday night. It’s not even that their performances weren’t good – it’s that the top three performances were that good. But even before the solos, it seemed like the judges decision would be an easy one. Aside from the fact that Dmitry has been in almost every bottom three since the voting started, he and Ashlee are the clear choices to go home.

The solos were not much help again this week. No surprise that Dmitry danced shirtless, and even though he’s good looking, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The other solo that I didn’t think was great was Natalie’s. That surprised me a little; it might just be the difference between great choreography and what comes out of her head (there are phenomenal dancers out there that can’t choreograph their own dancing to save their lives). I also appreciated what Travis said after his solo (which was fabulous) that he hasn’t really gotten to show America why he’s in the competition – he may be one of the only dancers who hasn’t pulled his own specialty yet. So, I’m pretty confident that Ashlee & Dmitry should go home, but it might just be Natalie & Musa. Hmmm…

No real shock then when Ashlee was eliminated. (although did you see the reaction from Ryan when Natalie was told she was safe?) But for whatever reason, the Dmitry-lovefest continues and Musa is going hime. (although Nigel finally did mention that it’s not enough to just come out and show your abs) It’s a real shame – Musa’s solo was so phenomenal, as was his performance Wednesday night.

Next week we have new partners, and hopefully Donyelle will have healed enough by then to dance (she didn’t dance in the ridiculous group number because of an injury). Should be interesting…

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

A HOT night of dancing...

I feel a little bit dirty for watching So You Think You Can Dance? tonight. The choreographers have decided that sex sells, and for nearly all of the couples their chemistry was on display in all its glory.

Natalie & Musa have always had great chemistry, and their hip hop routine was hot. Musa totally carried the routine with his dancing – he’s one of the best hip hop dancers I’ve ever seen. Did you see those moves? Holy moly. Natalie was there…really just to rub up on Musa though. Wow.

Heidi & Ryan were next with the cha cha. That seems to be Heidi’s specialty, and she was great tonight. Ryan was good too, especially for never having danced cha cha before.

The performance of the night was Allison & Ivan, who danced a contemporary routine. It made Mary cry; it made my jaw drop open. It was brilliant – the choreography was amazing, and the dancing was perfect. Their technique was right on, and the chemistry was amazing. If you didn’t like contemporary dance before, I don’t know how you wouldn’t after seeing that.

I felt bad for Dmitry & Ashlee having to follow Allison & Ivan. And golden boy Dmitry just couldn’t cut it when it came to pop. He just wasn’t very good, and you could tell that the judges didn’t know how to mesh that performance with the fact that he’s clearly been their favorite. Ashlee was fine – it just wasn’t great.

Martha & Travis were next, dancing the fox trot. It was nice, and on other nights it would be good enough to keep them safe from the bottom three. But after seeing the really hot performances at the top of the show, it just wasn’t as good.

Going into the final performance, I was worried for Benji & Donyelle – they’ve been my favorites from the start, but had a tough act to follow tonight. They had broadway, which was perfect for them. Their performance to music from Hairspray was fantastic, and I agree with Nigel – it will likely be the two of them in the final.

My prediction? Well, for the first time this summer, I actually picked up the phone to vote. A bunch of votes for Allison & Ivan; a bunch of attempts to vote for Benji & Donyelle (it was busy each time). If there’s any justice, they will be the top two couples. I’m not sure who the other “safe” couple will be; probably Natalie & Musa. Who will go home? It should be Dmitry & Ashlee, but I think that the judges will ride the shirtless Dmitry bandwagon one more week and say goodbye to Ryan & Ashlee instead.

Regis swoops in to do it again...

Does anyone else remember when Who Wants to be a Millionaire first came on the air? Regis was the big thing, and everyone joked about how he “saved” ABC. Watching America’s Got Talent makes me feel like I’m watching NBC’s attempt at the same thing.

Tonight’s episode of America’s Got Talent was more Regis than anything else. After he recapped what had happened so far, he explained that there were 15 acts tonight, but only 10 would perform. This I don’t understand. It has nothing to do with “we only have time for 15” nonsense. If you hadn’t spent 10 minutes recapping, 10 minutes talking about how 5 acts won’t perform, and nearly 15 minutes calling acts out of the audience, everyone could have performed. It’s totally a cop out; a way to un-do the fact that the judges let through some pretty pitiful acts. Come on – no one really wanted to see the 80 year old male stripper again, now did they?

Even with cutting a third of the contestants before we even started, the “talent” was thin tonight. A few acts were good. The first two actually – Taylor Ware (the yodeling girl) and All That (hot guys in jeans clogging) – and it made you think that the whole show was going to be good. But of course, we’re just not that lucky. We had to watch some guy dress up his dogs and a Vegas-style lounge singer. Sigh…

The format of the voting is a little different than on the rest of the Idol-inspired shows. Only two acts go through – one chosen by the judges and one chosen by the audience. The judges already have passed through the Millers (the harmonica kid, who is actually quite good, even though he performs with his much less talented older brother). So “America” gets to put through one more. Hopefully it will be All That, and since mostly the voters are teenage girls, the hot guys will most likely make it. Goodness knows I’m not going to vote (and did you see the phone numbers? Something about u love…what?) Maybe I’ll watch the results show tomorrow…ok, who am I kidding – it’s already programmed in my tivo. But I won’t be happy about it.

Big Brother All Stars

First, a disclaimer: I’ve never watched a full season of Big Brother. So if I ask a question that seems ridiculously obvious to those who have watched every episode every summer of Big Brother, that’s why. Just so you know.

This summer we are treated with the all stars version of Big Brother. After viewers voted for their favorite nominees (which, by the way, is really how my other favorites should choose their all star casts…I hear that both Amazing Race and Survivor may be thinking of doing all star seasons…), we found out last week who the newest houseguests are. And thankfully, my two favorites are in the house – Dr. Will and Mike Boogie. Love ‘em. Especially Dr. Will – have you listened to the things he’s said? Like last night, when he realizes that Howie might be stalking him. His analysis? That he and Howie like the same thing – HIM. And then he looks at Howie and says “I’ve never had a retarded friend before.” Hee hee!

The HOH & PoV competitions were interesting. I wouldn’t have wanted to be the first HOH – definitely too much power too soon. I think that Jase realized that, especially when he didn’t try too hard to win PoV. He’s playing a good game, aligning himself with the BB6 crowd, as well as his own friends. He’s letting Janelle play the bad guy role as well – he’s a force to be reckoned with.

The other funny moment of the night? The Big Brother slip and slide. Why would Chicken George ride Howie down the slip & slide? And my favorite comment of the night? Marcello, after watching that display…”it’s enough to make me straight.”

Anyways, I think that Alison is done – she’s far more likely to win HOH than Danielle. Until Thursday…

Friday, July 07, 2006

Last Dance for Jessica & Jaymz

It’s results night on So You Think You Can Dance?, and it somehow feels anticlimactic. Go figure.

The big group routine this week was my favorite so far. I liked the choreography (although I could have done without the constant mugging for the camera), and appreciated how Benji was paired with Heidi (his cousin) front and center.

We found out the bottom three relatively early in the show (thank you, producers, for at least attempting to not drag this out!). No surprise that Benji & Donyelle and Natalie & Musa were both safe. And “poor” Dmitry finally got a reprieve with Ashlee and was safe as well. Jessica & Jaymz, Heidi & Ryan, and Allison & Ivan filled out the bottom three, and I’m not really surprised at all.

I keep trying to pick who will go home before they actually dance their solos. And even though I keep getting it wrong, I don’t see how their solos can save Jessica & Jaymz. Jessica’s solo was good (the toe shoes on that stage were a huge risk), but she looks like she is dancing in her underwear (and hey, maybe the judges will like that…). But Jaymz’s was some sort of strange bull fighter thing…maybe the judges will like that as well. Heidi’s solo was excellent – she will move on for sure. I didn’t like Ryan’s solo, but you could tell that he has quite a bit of dance training. Allison’s solo was also good – you could tell how much of a better dancer she is than Jessica. And even though I’m not a fan of the style of dance, Ivan’s solo was also really good. This is so the end of the road for Jessica & Jaymz.

So, after a performance by some guy hoping to sell CDs (and do people really even buy CDs anymore, or just download songs?), the judges said goodbye to Jessica & Jaymz. If only everything was this easy.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Climbing into a balloon? NOT a talent.

One more week until we get to start voting for the contestants on America’s Got Talent. So one last show of stupid human tricks. Fantastic.

As usual, there were a few good acts. I liked the two “juggling” acts, The Passing Zone and Mark, the world’s most dangerous comic. They were both great. I also loved the last act of the show, Quick Change Artistry. Each time they changed outfits, I asked my husband how they did that. It was amazing.

There were also more than a few really bad acts. From the fat Bulls dancers to the bird call lady, it seemed like the rejects from Letterman. And what about Flippy the Magnificent, doing a “strength” act with his blowup doll. What exactly is the thought process that brings you to come up with an act like that? Hmmm.

Next week we get to vote…my vote is for less Regis.

Salsa...hold the chips...

Even though I hate to sit through nearly 40 minutes of filler, I guess that I appreciate the “unseen” audition tapes. They’re way better than bios of the contestants (because do we really need to know what their favorite flavors of ice cream are?) like they do on Idol. And while I don’t know for sure, I would imagine that in the next couple of weeks they will start to dance solos, which will fill the show back out again.

Heidi & Ryan started the actual show out with hip hop. The dancing was fine, but I was totally distracted by Heidi’s outfit. What on earth was she wearing? And I was glad that Dan said something about it looking like a cheerleading routine – I was thinking the same thing.

I really like Martha and Travis, and their salsa tonight was great. It was especially good, considering the rehearsal piece that we saw before they performed. The judges were really tough on them – I just don’t imagine that the people who are voting would notice the nitpicky things that Mary pointed out.

Dmitry & Ashlee really surprised me. Aside from the fact that it was their first time dancing together (and I feel bad for Dmitry that this is his third partner), they had never danced a contemporary routine before. I wasn’t a huge fan of the choreography, but they did a good job with what they had. And I totally disagree with Dan – I though that Ashlee was better than Dmitry. Her contemporary technique was dead-on…I don’t understand why the judges were so picky about the position of Martha’s feet, but never mentioned how good Ashlee’s were. I’m also not on the “Dmitry-is-a-phenomenal-dancer” bandwagon…perhaps if he put a shirt on I would like him more.

Natalie & Musa were next with a disco routine. I usually really like them, but I didn’t really like this performance. The tricks were fantastic, but the rest of the routine was really flat. It moved slowly, and I don’t know if that was the choreography or the dancing. Of course, the tricks and the chemistry will keep them safe for another week.

Benji & Donyelle are so my favorite couple. Their waltz was beautiful, and they have fantastic chemistry. Of course, the whole “Vietnamese Waltz” and channeling his “inner Dmitry” thing was hilarious. They’ll sail through to the next round for sure.

After Benji channeled his inner Dmitry, Allison & Ivan had to channel their inner Benji. They pulled West Coast swing, and while not as good as Benji or Heidi, they put on an entertaining performance. Allison is actually quite good – Ivan is getting better each week, but has also learned how to show her off.

Jessica & Jaymz finished out the show with the second hip hop routine of the night. They weren’t fantastic, but I liked that Jaymz fought back with the judges a bit. Hip hop for a classically trained dancer is VERY difficult, and I don’t think the judges gave them any credit (while they give credit to the hop hop dancers who dance contemporary). But I don’t think either of them will make it past this week.

The bottom three is tough again this week. I think it will come down to Dmitry & Ashlee and Jessica & Jaymz, which will be hard for the judges, since they’ve both spent some serious time at the bottom. But I think that the love affair with Dmitry will continue, and Jessica & Jaymz will go home.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Master of Champions...not really...

I can’t believe that I sat through another night of Master of Champions, albeit a few days later on tivo. Is this what television has come to?

The first competitors on the dining room motorcycle course made no sense to me – I know they kept saying how much harder it was than it looked, but it didn’t look very hard at all. I say this with the admission that in my house we never miss the X-Games. For whatever reason, my husband LOVES the X-Games, and this was nothing compared to what those guys can do.

But somewhere in the middle of the karate act, I realized that this show is really horrible. That’s right, there has just GOT to be something better on tv. Anything. So no idea who ended up tonight on the wall of champions, and that’s really an ok thing.

Does America Actually Have Talent?

I’m still undecided about this America’s Got Talent show. It is really ridiculous, with way too much Regis (and who would have ever thought there could be too much Regis?). But I still watched it, and I think I may be hooked.

It’s certainly not the “talents” that I like watching – it’s the judges. You can see singers on so many shows, but the look on the judges’ faces watching Leinid the Magnificent or the finance major-turned stripper is excellent. And, as one of my friends said, you can’t go wrong with Hasseloff.

There were a few acts that were actually good. I loved the hot cloggers (I think they were called “All That”) and the hot martial arts group. So I like watching hot guys. Go figure. I also liked Elliott the magician, especially the part where he took the one bird and “broke” it into two. The little girl who sang at the end of the show was also excellent.

So many of the acts, though, don’t really qualify as “talents.” Since when is stripping a talent? And while I guess they had to pass her along since they passed on the old man stripper, I don’t see why either of them were on the show. I guess I would just love to see the “judging handbook” for the show.

It seems like we only have one or two more weeks of this part of the competition before the acts start performing for audience votes. I am looking forward to seeing how that part of the show will work.