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.

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…

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…

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.

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.

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.

12 Wins in a Row!

The most important reality news of the night (ok, the most important for me at least) is my Boston Red Sox. With a spectacular play by Coco Crisp in the 8^th (and, of course, my uncle’s favorite joke…if Coco is named MVP, will he be on the cover of a Wheaties box?), and a couple of home runs, they won their TWELVTH STRAIGHT GAME. That’s right – 12 straight. They also tied the major league record for consecutive error-less games. Oh, I am so happy. And thanks to the power of tivo, I did also catch the results show for So You Think You Can Dance?.

I’m not sure which I hate more, the large group songs on Idol or the large group dance numbers on this show. Tonight’s looked like the halftime show at a college basketball game. These are such good dancers – why do they make them do this?

I could have done without the schmaltz about Ivan’s father calling him at 6 am. Did Nigel just say that that call made the program worthwhile? Oh come on.

So our bottom three tonight are Ben & Ashlee, Jessica & Jaymz, and Dmitry & Aleksandra. I don’t think that Aleksandra’s solo can save her – the judges were so harsh on her for the past two weeks. But I think the solos for the guys will really matter; it’s a much harder choice.

The solos were good tonight. We got to see a side of both Ashlee & Ben that we haven’t gotten to see yet – I don’t think they’ll go home tonight. Jessica and Jaymz each did a good solo as well, although it was hard to tell if Jaymz meant to go off the stage at the end or not. It also seemed like Jaymz was pretty much resigned to the fact he might be leaving. Aleksandra & Dmitry rounded out the solos nicely. I really appreciated how nice Dmitry was about Aleksandra, especially after how he acted towards his previous partner.

Another note about this show versus Idol – even though I don’t think that the solos make much of a difference in the judge’s decisions, it rounds the show out much nicer than just the naked cruelty of Idol.

As expected, Aleksandra was cut, but not before Nigel apologized for his harsh words last night. Of course, he made up for that niceness quickly while yelling at Ben and Jaymz. I guess I understand where he was coming from, but there was bound to be a better way to say it. In the end, Ben got cut, which was a little surprising. So next week Dmitry will try out partner number three with Ashlee. Oh dear.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Another night of dancing, and I’m getting more and more into So You Think You Can Dance?. I can’t believe I didn’t watch this show last summer.

Ashlee & Ben started the show with a hip hop routine. I liked it…the choreography was a lot lighter than some of the other hip hop we’ve seen, which suited Ben a lot better. Of course, I doubt that anyone will top the hip hop of Benji & Donyelle from week 1; they’ve set the bar so high I don’t think anyone can top it.

Heidi & Ryan were next with a hot Cuban rumba. The choreography was amazing, and was tough – it is SO hard to dance to music like that with no melody. They were amazing…such a change from last week! I can’t imagine that they’ll be in the bottom three this week.

New partners Aleksandra & Dmitry did a really good job with the waltz. It seemed like Dmitry is really happy to be with a new partner, and the two of them look good together. I don’t agree with the judges’ criticism – it seemed a bit harsh. I’m not sure how the voting will go – they might be safe even with the comments from the judges.

Ivan & Allison pulled the Argentine tango, another dance style I’ve never heard of. And watching Ivan during rehearsals in his sneakers, I wasn’t too optimistic. But it was a lot better than their last attempt at Latin dancing, though – Ivan has come a long way in a short amount of time. It was a good performance – they’ll be safe for sure.

Donyelle & Benji got stuck with pop jazz (which just seems like they made up, doesn’t it?), but continued to show why they’re the couple to beat. They’re just so good together. I hated the hair on both of them, but I loved watching them dance. They have great chemistry, and they’re two of the strongest dancers in the competition.

Natalie & Musa also have phenomenal chemistry. But they pulled quick step for this week. The judges didn’t like it that much, but I thought it was fun. Who knew that Musa could dance like that? :)

Jessica & Jaymz were next with a contemporary routine. As a dancer, this was my favorite style to dance, and it seemed like they were excited at first to pull it. But the transition from ballet to contemporary is hard, and it wasn’t made easier by the low expectations from their choreographer (although I understood what they were all saying about “competition dancers”…it’s a whole different style, and competition dancers generally aren’t that great). I loved the choreography, and they exceeded expectations by far. It was really enjoyable to watch them dance.

Finally, we capped off the show with Travis & Martha. They were the second hip hop routine of the night (which, again, makes no sense that there are two hip hop routines each week). I hated Martha’s outfit, but their dancing was really good. I think that some of the judges’ criticism was based on the choreography. And I was glad that Travis pointed out that he’s a contemporary dancer; Musa got so much praise for going out of his comfort zone, while no one seems to notice about him.

So who do I think will be in the bottom three? I agree with Nigel – it’s much harder this week. The only two I would be shocked to see in the bottom are Benji & Donyelle. I know, I know, avoiding the question. My bottom three would be Ben & Ashlee, Aleksandra & Dmitry, and Natalie & Musa. And it might be the end of the road for Ben & Ashlee.

Since When is Juggling a Talent?

You know, I heard not-so-great things about the premiere of America’s Got Talent. But still, I was kind of bummed that I missed it. I mean, with Regis AND David Hasseloff, how could you go wrong? So thank goodness that NBC had the good sense to re-run the premiere tonight. Thank goodness indeed.

Now, the concept itself has done before – it’s a cross between American Idol and the gong show. They use the same format as Idol (3 judges, one cute girl, one Brit…) and with buzzers if they’re really bad. And with the “talent” it seems like a much larger version of Letterman’s stupid human tricks. But I LOVE stupid human tricks. And I’ve got to say, I actually enjoyed the show.

Some of the acts were actually really good. But we also had to sit through the grand master of the nose flute. And the impersonator (whose qualification, apparently, is that he can hear the voices). And the “shadow dancers” (also known as “the woman with the goat”). Although I did appreciate the balloon Regis.

The judging criteria are also considerably looser than on any of the other Simon Cowell shows out there. Somehow, acts like the horn guy and the senior citizen stripper made it through (and seriously, why was Hasseloff so interested in Bernie the Stripper?). But the judges were quite entertaining – I liked the interaction between the three of them, especially the moments when they leaned over and hit each other’s buzzers.

The editing on the show was horrific. Why did we have so much Regis? Did we really need to see him pull four acts at a time out of the audience? It made the show move really slowly. Since Simon Cowell is producing this (after all, the official title is Simon Cowell’s America’s Got Talent…really…), he should know better. One of the reasons that Idol works so well is that there is minimal Seacrest. There should also be minimal Regis.

Anyways, I’ll probably tune in next week. That is, unless, the Red Sox are on at the same time.

We're Down to 8...

It’s time for results on So You Think You Can Dance?, and while Cat Deeley (the host) doesn’t drag it out like Ryan Seacrest, there’s still the element of naked cruelty. And there’s the added element of the fact that the bottom three has to dance again for the judges. What fun.

Aleksandra & Jason, Dmitry & Joy, and Heidi & Ryan were in the bottom three. No real surprises, even though I thought that Ivan & Allison would be there instead of Heidi & Ryan (but they weren’t great either). So they’ll all be dancing solos later in the show.

Before we get to the solos, a question about the girls. Why are so many of them convinced that essentially dancing in their underwear is a good idea? I’m shocked how many of them are pretty much just dancing in bras and boy shorts. It just doesn’t seem comfortable (wouldn’t you be worried about keeping covered up?), and it’s not even that attractive. Hmmmm.

Anyways, the solos were good again this week. Of course, we learned last week that the solos don’t make a whole lot of difference in the voting. I especially liked Heidi’s solo – she’s a LOT better than she showed yesterday.

A quick break to watch Rhianna lip sync while the judges ponder who should go home. I’m lucky that I mostly listened to her performance instead of watching it.

So, after the judges deliberated, it’s Joy and Jason that are going home. I think that the judges got it right out of the six that they had to choose from. And Aleksandra & Dmitry are now partners (question answered…), which should be interesting, since they will be working together for the first time, while all the others will be on their third week with their partners. Oh well…I guess this is what happens when you’re in the bottom three!

Master of Champions

The latest entry into the summer reality replacement show contest is Master of Champions. Each week “champions” in obscure fields (unicycle riding, drift racing, “unique talents”…) compete head to head, then the audience votes which one should be the medalist. A panel of “champions” ties the whole thing together by giving their opinions, then awarding the title of “master of champions” to one of the medalists at the end of the show.

I’ll tell you, this show definitely falls into the category of “so bad it’s good” television. The whole thing is ridiculous. Really ridiculous. But, honestly, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. There’s something captivating about watching drift racers grate cheese with their cars, or extreme unicyclists on an obstacle course. That, and everyone on the show takes it really really seriously. There’s play-by-play, bio videos, scoring…it’s as if someone thinks that these are real skills. And who knew that there was such a thing as the world unicycle champion?

Tonight’s master of champions? Princess Elayne, a 14-year old contortionist who shot a bow and arrow. With her feet. Blindfolded. I’ll admit, it was pretty impressive. So she’s now on the “Wall of Masters,” whatever that means. Nothing like being silly just to be silly.

Treasure Hunters Searching in Vain for Watchable Television

I was warned. Really. In The Washington Post on Saturday, a review ran of the new show Treasure Hunters. In fact, Tom Shales’ exact words were: “Fortunately, typical viewers are armed with a necessity of their own: the marvelous, wonderful channel-changer, with which they can effortlessly transport themselves to a location preferable to "Treasure Hunters" -- specifically, any channel not airing it.” Yikes.

Within a few minutes, I could see why. Aside from the fact that the beginning of the show played like an infomercial (really, do we need to know which website they will be using on their laptops?), the quality of the show was terrible. I could have done a better job hosting. Heck, you could have done a better job.

I so wanted to like the show – the whole idea of solving clues and hunting for treasure sounds interesting. But it turns out to just be a low-rate version of The Amazing Race. So 25 minutes in (that’s right, I gave it 25 minutes), I gave up. Now, to put this into perspective, I watched the entire season of Unan1mous earlier this year, and watched Paradise Hotel with a passion. Twice (they re-ran it on Fox Reality…go figure…). I guess Tom Shales was right.

A Hot Night on So You Think You Can Dance?

It’s week two of competition on So You Think You Can Dance?, and it’s already starting to get interesting. New this week – a clip of each couple pulling their style out of a hat, which answers the question of how the styles are assigned. And with that randomness comes some interesting dancing.

Martha & Travis started the show off by krumping. I had never really seen krumping before, and while it’s not my thing, you could tell it was really hard. They did a great job with really tough choreography – I was impressed.

Jamyz & Jessica were next with the foxtrot. They were very clear about how un-excited they were with their dance style, but it was so beautiful. They danced smoothly together; hopefully it will be enough to keep them out of the bottom three.

Part of pulling a style at random is that sometimes you get very very lucky. But even with that lucky draw, you have to dance the routine. So Ivan, (a hip hop dancer, remember) & Allison had hip hop, but didn’t capitalize on that selection. It was just really flat, and there were parts where they weren’t dancing together. Compared to the hip hop routines from last week, it just wasn’t nearly as good.

Joy & Dmitry weren’t much better with their samba. Joy clearly was tentative in her dancing, and might have even missed a few of the step combinations. I agree with Mia – it wasn’t very good at all.

Natalie & Musa turned the show around with their contemporary routine. It ROCKED. The choreography was excellent, and they dance so well together.

Heidi & Ryan were this week’s choreography victims. And since they had the same choreographer that did Natalie & Musa’s routine, I’m not sure what happened. They danced fine for what they had, but they’ll likely be in the bottom three.

Ben & Ashlee were much better this week. Even though they weren’t sure about the style, the choreography suited them more than the cheesy 80s dance they had last week. I agree with Nigel that just because you don’t like the style of dance doesn’t mean the dancers weren’t good. For American Jive, they did a good job.

Aleksandra & Jason were the second hip hop routine of the night (and, once again, why are there two hip hop routines, but not two of any other style?), and once again a hip hop dancer (Jason) pulled his own style. They did fine with it – I liked them better than Allison & Ivan, but I guess that’s not really saying much. I think that the hip hop choreographers tonight also weren’t as exciting as last week’s, and choreography makes a HUGE difference. And, unlike on American Idol where the singers control their song selection, the dancers have no control over the choreography.

Benji & Donyelle finished the show off with the cha cha. They’re one of my favorite couples, and they didn’t disappoint tonight. They made it clear that they are both phenomenal dancers, and are likely the couple to beat. I also liked Nigel’s comments to Donyelle at the end. Weight is a HUGE issue in the dancing community, where eating disorders are as common as sore toes. It’s about time that people recognize that fabulous dancers don’t have to be a size 0.

So who will be in the bottom three? That’s tough, since it’s not just dancing, it’s personality as well. (and I didn’t do such a good job predicting last week!) I think it will probably be Allison & Ivan, Joy & Dmitry, and Aleksandra & Jason. And who will go home? Sigh…Joy just wasn’t good at all, but I think it will be Allison & Ivan, since it would be their second week in a row in the bottom three. But you never know…

First Round of Cuts on So You Think You Can Dance

I really thought I knew who would be in the bottom three tonight on So You Think You Can Dance?. Between my dance knowledge and ridiculous number of hours logged watching reality tv, I thought I had a lock on this one. But clearly I am new to the show, and new to how the voting works – I only got one of the bottom three couples (Ivan & Allison) correct. Go figure.

So the bottom three have to dance solos to determine who will go home. But the time that they have to dance is so short – I don’t know how you would even prepare for that.

All of the girls were good – I don’t think that they were the bottom three girls. Erin was good, as was Allison. Allison really showed that Ivan was the weak link in that couple – she is a lot better than her dance with him showed. Jessica was really good too. I think that Erin will probably be going home, based mostly on her performance with Stanislav.

On the guys side, I really liked Stanislav. I don’t know why he and Erin were in the bottom three anyways, and I think he’ll be ok. Ivan, though, I don’t think will be as lucky. He’s a good hip hop dancer, but not at all versatile. And from his 30 second solo, I think that he knows that he’s going home. Especially with the performance that Jaymz turned in – it was really fabulous.

So the judges take a few moments backstage to decide who to elimante while we get to hear Nelly Furtado (and thank goodness for tivo…I hate that song…way too much like Shakira’s song with Wyclef…).So after the break, the judges come back to eliminate two dancers. Erin is eliminated first…no big surprise. Then, the unthinkable – my tivo ended. Why oh why Fox would you run over? Sigh…thanks to the internet, apparently Stanislav was cut, which makes no sense to me since Ivan was so terrible (get it? Ivan the terrible?). And I guess my question of what happens to the couples who lose their partners goes unanswered for another week.

So You Think You Can Dance?

So far, the only “summer” show worth watching is So You Think You Can Dance?. (I tried to watch Gameshow Marathon, I really did...it was just SO bad. And not so bad it was good; just SO bad.) I watched all of the early auditions on tivo (great fun to watch bad dancers!), and tonight was the first night of competition for votes. I didn’t watch the show last summer, so this was my first look at the show. And as a former dancer (that’s right, I used to dance…even thought about making it a career) this is a great show.

The first part of the show (the early auditions) were a lot like those on American Idol – contestants performed for the judges, hoping to get a ticket to Vegas. Then there was “Vegas Week,” where each day dancers were taught different routines, and slowly cut down to the 10 best girls and 10 best guys. Now, the contestants have been paired up as couples, and they will compete as a couple each week. Each couple was taught choreography (with lots of different styles of dance), and performed them tonight. America votes (just like Idol), but with this show, the bottom three couples then perform solos for the judges, and the judges decide which girl and which guy go home. I assume that the dancers who lost their partners then become a couple (or maybe they eliminate the entire couple?), but I’m fuzzy on that part for sure! Confused yet? I sure am, but so far this is just as good as Idol, but without the bad singing. Fantastic.

Before we start talking about the show though, a word about the contestants. And not about their dancing – they’re all excellent dancers. No, my question is about their names. Who decided that they should spell their names the way the do? Is this something that they have come up with because they’re on television? Or do we have a generation of kids out there that have plain names with ridiculous spellings? Like Jaymz. Or Aleksandra, What is going on?

The first couple was Benji and Donyelle doing an amazing hip hop routine. Sure, they’re the first couple, but I think they’re definitely early favorites. I actually liked them both a lot in the audition rounds, especially Benji. The judges loved them too; they’ll probably sail through the next few rounds.

After Benji and Donyelle, Ivan and Allison were a huge let down. Their club salsa routine just wasn’t very good. Well, to be fair, Ivan wasn’t very good. Allison was MUCH better than he was; Ivan was just a prop. They’ll be in the bottom three for sure.

Next up was Jason and Aleksandra doing a contemporary routine. That style is SO hard, and they did a good job with it – actually, a much better job than I would have thought.

Jaymz and Jessica were next with 70s disco. Overall, they did a good job. Some parts seemed a bit slow, but I think that was the choreography, not the dancers.

I really liked Stanislav during the audition round. But his partner was cut in the final round, so he’s now dancing the paso doble with Erin. For what it was, it was ok…Stanislav was much better than Erin. She’s lucky that he was good enough to probably get them through to another week!

One of the things I like about the show is that each couple has a different style of dance. That is, except for Dmitry and Joy. For whatever reason, they also danced a hip hop routine. They were good (especially considering Dmitry is a ballroom dancer), but not nearly as good as Benji and Donyelle; because they were the only two couples to dance the same style, they will inevitably be compared to each other. I don’t know how that happened, but it wasn’t really fair; I hope they make it through to next week.

Ryan wins the most obnoxious dancer award for tonight. First, he was complaining because Heidi wasn’t the girl he wanted as his partner (which was just stupid…did you see how Heidi danced in the auditions?). Then it turns out that for all that attitude, Ryan just wasn’t a very good dancer. They’ll be joining Ivan and Allison in the bottom three.

The third couple in the bottom three? Probably Ben and Ashlee. Which is really a shame, because Ben was one of my favorites from the auditions. But they got an 80s routine, and not a very good one at that. Nigel thought it was juvenile, and it was, but that was the choreography, not the dancers. In all fairness they struggled with the lifts, but I don’t understand why the choreographer didn’t take some of them out when it was obvious how they would be done.

Not anywhere near the bottom three was Travis and Martha. Their broadway routine was one of the best of the night (although I could have done without Martha’s outfit). They both made a hard routine look so easy, and they were so enjoyable to watch. A top couple for sure.

Finally we had Musa and Natalie. Musa is such an amazing street dancer, so a mambo was quite the challenge. But they did surprisingly good – I was shocked at how well Musa rose to the occasion. And Natalie was smoking – they’ll make it through on the strength of her hips alone.

So even though I’m not quite sure how the elimination process works, I think that America will put Ivan & Allison, Ryan & Heidi, and Ben & Ashlee will be in the bottom three. And if I were going to vote it would be for Benji & Donyelle – their performance held up through the entire show.

Sean is HIRED!

I’m back from some time away, and I was wrong – there was one last season finale before the official end of the season – last night’s finale of The Apprentice. And even though it was a good episode, if you didn’t figure out who was going to win, then I don’t think reality tv is for you.

So it’s down to Lee and Sean, and their first task is to choose their teams. And this is where we know exactly who will win. Sean picked a dream team – Tammy, Tarek, and Andrea, while Lee chose…well…Lenny, Pepi, and Roxanne. And when they got their tasks in the boardroom, Carolyn had what might have been the best line of the season as she asked “who was the guy on the end?” That’s right, they barely even remembered who Pepi was. And Trump followed up with “Pepi, you’re fired…did I say that?”. Fantastic.

Sean’s task with the Barenaked Ladies was great. I am a huge BNL fan, and it seemed like Sean was really on top of things. Even with Andrea’s trip to the doctor (what was that all about), things were running really smoothly. I really like Sean’s enthusiasm for pretty much everything, but especially for Tammy. As they say on Friends, he is such the smitten kitten.

Over at Lee’s task, a celebrity hockey tournament, it’s utter chaos. Lenny is worthless – in fact, I think he was making more work than he was doing. Lee was in way over his head. Which makes me wonder how he got as far as he did…how did he win that many times as project manager? Strange. And they shot some great footage of Jason Priestly wandering around and Jaime Pressly showing that her character on My Name is Earl isn’t much of a stretch. (“get it together little Apprentice boy”…yikes) The event itself seemed to run alright (although the auction didn’t seem to raise nearly as much money as it should have), but Lee’s failure to meet Trump was ridiculous. As Trump said, “they never learn…”.

So going into the final boardroom, it seemed pretty straight forward that Sean was going to win. What I did think was interesting was that the fired contestants were pretty evenly split about who they thought should win. Of course, Trump has watched all the footage, so no surprise that Sean is the one who is hired. (or that he says that he and Tammy will get married) And I LOVED how excited Sean was – that enthusiasm is what’s going to make him a good apprentice.

One final note…did anyone else notice how Trump ended the show too early so they had five minutes to play the theme song on an endless loop? What was that all about? If they really had an extra five minutes, I would have loved to have heard from some of the other contestants (like the reunion show that they do on Survivor).

So, Sean is the next apprentice, and will stay in New York instead of heading out to Hawaii. He must really like Trump to turn that down!

And now I think we’re really at the summer replacements. So far I’ve tivo’d a couple…more on that later this week!