So I've been STILL playing MASSIVE TV catch up and only just finally watched the finales for tons of the ABC stuff (Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters). Though I didn't mean to do a ABC marathon, it just happened that way. (Finished Gossip Girl too, which is really just like a younger version of the ABC melodramedies). Oh, did I mention I also finally watched the finale for The Amazing Race? I know. Yet still fun even though I knew the results! You know a reality show is good when it's still fun to watch after being spoiled. I also still have the finale for Survivor to watch/fast forward through though I've actually forgotten who won so it might still be a surprise to me.
Alas, that means I might finally have time to catch up with all the cable summer shows as well (some which I've kept up on, some I don't get in Canada right now so I don't even have that option). Still, one of my surprise faves from this past season, TNT's Leverage returns with a new season this Wednesday at 9pm and I can't wait. I seriously didn't think the show would be any good but the show is far more clever and fun than the ads would lead you to believe. The new Dylan McDermott show Dark Blue premieres after at 10pm and I'll have a review of it on Wednesday.
In the meantime, here's what the TV bloggers were talking about this week. And yes, it's my turn to be first in the new rotation system. I'm not just being a spotlight hog!:
So You Think You Can Dance has finally cut it down to the Top 10! Vance still doesn't really know who his favorite is yet. (Tapeworthy)
Sex and Candy! This week, Jace had an exclusive interview with True Blood's baby vampire Jessica Hamby, a.k.a. actress Deborah Ann Woll. (Televisionary)
After watching 16 and Pregnant, Marisa felt pretty good about her decision to not get knocked up in high school. And to not buy that baby a dirtbike. (TiFaux)
Ashley checked out ABC Family's "10 Things I Hate About You" and decided it didn't live up to the Heath Ledger classic. (Tube Talk)
Did you know that VERONICA MARS star Kristen Bell needs YOU.... to help make the VERONICA MARS movie a reality! (The TV Addict)
The premiere was too long, and the characters a bit too cliched, but Matt will stick with Warehouse 13 this summer. (TV Fanatic)
Buzz wondered: Are there any TV genres you just won't watch under any circumstances? (BuzzSugar)
Most people were concerned with replacing Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles on the television adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You, Scooter cared more with how they could possibly fill the shoes of Alex Mack. (Scooter McGavin's 9th Green)
(Well, not MY nation actually, but YOUR nation's picks):
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 12 Results - The Cut from 12 to 10 - Ep. 515 Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Guest Judge: Tyce DiOrio
Wait. That means TYCE has a say in who will become the Top 10???
And again, LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself chatted about the Top 12 Performances here (and recopied below after the results). It was NOT unanimous this week. (PSSST. Joe's a little CRAZY!!!)
Top 12 Group Dance Style: Hip-Hop Choreographed by: Napoleon and Tabitha D'Umo Song: "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes
I actually REALLY liked the group dance this week. Say what you will about Nappytabs but I don't think they've totally lost it yet.
My Predictions From the Top 12 Performance show: Bottom Three: Jason and Caitlin, Melissa and Ade, Jeanine and Phillip Going Home: Caitlin and Jason Should Be Going Home: Caitlin and Jason
The Actual Bottom 3 Results Were: Jason and Caitlin, Melissa and Ade, Jeanine and Phillip
Wow. I got it right. Okay, so it was basically 50/50 so it probably wasn't that hard.
The "Dance for Your Lives" Solos
Caitlin Kinney Song: "Stand By Me" - Playing For Change Grade: C+
That felt like a little girl dancing for her extended family audience at the reunion. I mean, it was good, but it was a little too cutesy and flirty in a girlish way. Okay, the flip at the end is not girlish but overall, it brought up everything I DON'T like about Caitlin and magnified it. Which is not the way to save yourself on this show.
Jason Glover Song: "Calm Touching" - Evaline Grade: C+
Okay, I'm over Jason now. Was anybody surprised Jason went shirtless with this? I thought he looked slightly desperate and scattered and it all seemed a bit messy (including that misstep he took). The headshaking moment was kinda neat in the choreo but eh, if he goes I won't be sad. Actually, if he doesn't go, I will be mad.
Jeanine Mason Song: "Baby's Romance" - Chris Garneau Grade: B
Oooh, I like that toe pointing. There seemed to be a moment of shakiness but overall it was decent. Not AMAZING or anything but pretty good overall. I LOVE Jeanine but I'm still waiting to be wowed by her solo's (I wasn't on the last one either even though Nigel said it was the best that time around). Bonus points for picking a Chris Garneau song!
Phillip Chbeeb Song: "The Diva Dance" - The Fifth Element Soundtrack Grade: B+
I hated when Cedric relied on tricks but yet I love when Phillip does it. Though I feel there seems to be more of a sequence to Phillip's and he seems to have a better musicality to it. I still wish there were a bit more to the overall performance but all the movements themselves still impress me.
Yup, she relies on the ballerina toe point thing but why wouldn't she? There weren't any huge gimmicky WOW moments (other than lots of toe points) but it was simple and clean and quite refreshing. I liked it and it felt like some of the modern movement pieces I've seen the National Ballet of Canada perform, the ones that seem more like exercises than anything. (Glass Pieces, my favorite one will be performed again this coming season!!!)
Ade Obayomi Song: "Windowdipper" - Jib Kidder Grade: A
Now THERE'S the solo we've been waiting for! Even though it was to the Windows PC music. (Shudder. Like I don't get enough of that at the office). Okay, it seemed a little desperate near the end when he seemed to pile on every other trick into the last moments of the solo but I won't complain with probably the most energetic solo we've had this season so far.
Here's the Girls' solos:
Here's the Boys' solos:
Here's Melissa and Ade's solos again:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - First before we get to the results, can I say how much I loved Cat's Egyptian collared outfit?
Oh, and Kelly Rowland performs. I don't really care or anything, and I haven't seen her Project Runway ripoff show yet (BTW Project Runway Lifetime Contestants announced!!!) but maybe because she performed a few times at Pride in Toronto 2 weeks ago, and because I kinda want a Beyonce smackdown soon, I'm starting to side on Kelly's side.
I'm glad Nigel admitted that it's the best Top 20 in technique but not stars. Which I totally agree with.
I guess to no one's surprise except ME, Phillip Chbeeb is cut. AWGH. Joe, don't rub it in. My heart actually sank just a little bit.
Both are going on tour anyways, so there's a plus, but alas, we now have our Top 10 for Season 5.
Which means, I'm going to rank them from my favorites to least at this very moment. Though BIG WARNING. This is ranked from this very moment I type it. It will probably change by the time I wake up again and again by next week as I'm sure many of you feel the same way.
The Top 10 From Favorite to Least 1. Kayla 2. Janette 3. Melissa 4. Evan 5. Jeanine 6. Ade 7. Brandon 8. Randi 9. Kupono 10. Jason
or something like that. To be honest, I sort of switched around 1-8 about 5 times before I settled on the current standings.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Everyweek, LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself discuss the performance show. Here's our chat about the Top 12 Performances:
Melissa and Ade 1 - Disco (Doriana Sanchez)
Joe: This was probably the first week where I wasn't utterly blown away by these two. I didn't think it was awful, but the judges completely overpraised it. That stumble at the end should have at LEAST led to mixed responses, but even before that there just wasn't a ton of oomph to it, and the lifts seemed strained.
Vance Well, count me in with the overpraising judges. I thought it was excellent and I could watch Melissa shake her hair and her booty all night long. Ade's great but poor guy gets overshadowed by Melissa for me.
AB Agreed. I am over Melissa, I think. Her baby voice is wearing on me. "Eem the Biff Bielereena!" But as usual, Ade can do no wrong. Wait, I meant: If I ever decide I don't like him, it will be Ade to remember. YES IT WILL!
Lauren: I wasn't wowed by this routine. I thought they did as good a job as they could with keeping up, but it still felt like it was too fast for them and I wasn't feeling it. I also kept comparing it to Brandon and Janette's routine, which was unfortunate for these two.
Vance: I will say, for Melissa to truly stay in the game though, she needs to diva up her personality off the dance floor because yah, she's a little blank at this moment.
2 - Waltz (Ron Montez)
Joe: To even things out, the judges over-nitpicked this one, which was fine, but not good enough to transcend the earthbound tendencies of the waltz. Much as I hate to see them broken up -- and much as Melissa's obvious affection for Ade touched me -- I'm excited to see how they're going to spark with other partners.
Vance Mary pointed out what I noted in the Disco too, that Ade tends to get the big moments right but still needs to strengthen and sharpen some of the smaller moments. It was good but yah, it's hard to get really excited for the Waltz.
AB I thought their disco was better, but I still can't get any enthusiasm going for them. I know y'all love Melissa, but I am just not that into her.
Lauren: I really like these two as partners but I am excited to see how they perform with new partners. I thought the lifts were amazing but the dance itself was kind of dull, which might just be the fault of the waltz.
Kayla and Kupono 1 - Contemporary (Mia Michaels)
Joe: Oh my GOD, twenty minutes into the show and I'm already welling up. This was EASILY my favorite routine of the night, and one of those all-caps MIA routines. Everything was so sharp and hard, but totally graceful and harrowing. Overwrought, just how I like my Mia routines; though I kind of which we weren't informed ahead of time that it was about addiction, because honestly the choreography and dancing were good enough that we'd have been able to guess, and how cool would that have been?
Vance I still think Kupono is the weaker of the two in this pairing but that being said, he was great. And Kayla was GREAT. Though didn't these two get contemporary LAST WEEK? Now they get a MIA Contemporary? Is that a way for producers to say that they want these two in the Top 10? (Not that I'm complaining, just noting).
AB CRYING. I am already very emotional right now what with my MJ mourning, so this probably touched me more than it should have. Kayla is my favorite girl right now; everything she does is near-perfect, and she reminds me of my beloved Katee. This was actually the first time I could see Kupono as the weaker of the pairing, but he still rocked it. Did y'all see Mia crying at the end? I love that she is so awesome she makes her own self cry.
Lauren: I absolutely adored this routine. I still think that you can see that Kayla is a step above Kupono but they were both fantastic and the routine itself was amazing. I loved it so much that I managed to block out that I loathe the song they danced to and this was one of my two favorite routines of the night.
2 - Broadway (Joey Dowling)
Joe: Perfectly fine, if unremarkable. She didn't really deliver anything excellent this time (or last time, really, despite my sticking up for Evan and Randi's frugging), but I was psyched to have Joey Dowling back on my TV screen. The Amazons comfort me.
Vance I thought they danced what they were given pretty well, and the choreography had some ingenious moments but REALLY. Did Joey Dowling Amazon Woman really think she could take on Jerome Robbins' original choreography? I'm sorry but it wasn't even close. Joey Dowling could probably easy take down lil' Arthur Laurents or Stephen Sondheim but she won't be able to take down Robbins.
AB It was good, not great. But I am with Joe -- I love seeing Joey Dowling anytime, anyplace. She may not be able to take down Robbins, but she is so... pretty.
Lauren: I can't get on the Joey bandwagon. I love seeing a gorgeous fellow tall girl on TV, but... I don't think she's very good. I enjoyed watching the routine, I thought it was fun, but it wasn't anything extraordinary.
Caitlin and Jason 1 - Foxtrot (Tony Meredith)
Joe: One of the better dances these two have pulled off together. But I couldn't help but nod in agreement when Nigel mentioned that he didn't think they've shown a ton of chemistry together.
Vance I thought Caitlin looked super glam in both her makeup and outfit and her dancing. Jason seemed like a little kid who got to dance with the older hot girl. It seemed a bit slow to me.
AB The only reason I have just the tiniest bit of love for these two is that I am suffering from a major case of Caitlin Bangs this morning. That poor girl. How she must struggle with the flat iron. I thought this was pretty good, but Caitlin's dress kept impeding her dancing, and it was getting on my NERVES. They have zero spark together, though, it's true. I never realized it until Nigel said it. I think both of them are great dancers -- they are just boring great dancers.
Lauren: My feelings about Caitlin are the same as always so I won't rehash it. I do wish she'd gotten a better dress that didn't get in the way of her kicks (which were amazing) and didn't make her look like a truck. I might not be a fan but that girl has an insane body, and there's no reason she should ever look as wide as she did in that thing. What is up with the costuming in general this season? I agree that the judges pointed out what I hadn't been able to put my finger on -- the zero chemistry.
2 - Lyrical Jazz (Mandy Moore)
Joe: Too much dancing apart from each other -- like both of them dancing their results-night solos at the same time. That said, kudos to Jason for reminding me of that age-old DANCE axiom that, when in danger, take off that shirt. I still think if they end up in the Bottom 3, they're both gone, unless the judges have finally grown weary of slapping Evan around and give HIM the shove.
Vance As Mary mentioned, there was a missing magic but it won me over enough somewhere halfway and I still enjoyed it. Still, if either of these two are cut this week, I won't be that sad.
But uh, Evan? no WAY are they cutting Evan.
AB I liked this one a little better, but that could be because I love Mandy Moore and her weirdo moves. But can someone tell me the difference between lyrical jazz and contemporary? Because it seems... exactly the same to me. And right, Jason? Put your shirt back on, Desperado.
Lauren: This was probably my favorite routine that the two of them have done all season. I thought it was great, though I rolled my eyes so hard I got a headache when Jason came out shirtless. (Not that I don't appreciate the view.) That said, if they are in the bottom I feel like this could be his week. I wish that it would be Caitlin's week too, but I think she's got too much love going from the judges right now to be sent home, so we'll see.
Phillip and Jeanine 1 - Russian folk dancing (Youri Nelzine, Lilia Babenko)
Joe: Eh. How am I supposed to evaluate this, respective to everyone else. I'm tempted to just set it aside and pretend it never happened. (However, my feelings on odd genres still applies: Nobody knows how these dances SHOULD look, so the bar's a lot lower to clear; and Phillip's fans will scramble to keep him safe after last week, so whatever.)
Lauren: This was just unfortunate all-around. I agree: who knows what it was supposed to look like? Though I have a feeling that whatever the answer is, it wouldn't have been very enjoyable. I felt sorry for the choreographers getting totally shit on, but... dude, awful.
AB I refuse to comment on this because of its total ridiculousness, except to say that I love Phillip for trying so hard at everything he does.
Vance You know I love me some Phillip, which is weird because usually, at least in former seasons, I have been not so nice to the "Phillips" of the competition. But that was BAD. Just plain BAD. It's true though, what WAS it supposed to look like and would that have been any good in the first place? Let's just stick to Bollywood if we're going to go with ethnic dances.
2 - Jive (Tony Meredith)
Joe: Most over-praised performance of the night? It's up there. The whole thing seemed so slow and labored and reticent. Jeanine did her best to throw some excitement in her movements (she remains a strong favorite of mine), but every time I looked at Phillip, he seemed flat-footed.
Lauren: I actually loved this dance -- I don't know if it's because I was braced for it to be horrible and I was pleasantly surprised, but I wound up loving it. I enjoy Phillip and think he did 1000% better than I thought. I still think his time to go is very near, but I appreciate how he clearly works his ass off and it showed here. I adore Jeanine and I can't wait to see how she does with a new partner.
AB I loved it too! It was a bit over-praised, yes, but it was such a departure for Phillip -- from his usual Comfort-like stiffness -- that I can forgive it. Jeanine is adorable, both when she's dancing and just living. I am excited to see how they both do with new partners. I have a feeling that when Jeanine is unchained from Phillip (sorry, P, I love you, but it's true), she's going to be even better than she is now.
Vance Maybe I'm drinking the same water as the judges but I'm all with the overpraising here. I LOVED IT. LOVED IT. Jeanine now gets overshadowed by Phillip mainly because we're sitting here ready to overanalyze him, but you've got to give the girl props for everything she does. That being said, Phillip was GREAT and such a surprise!!!
Randy and Evan 1 - Hip Hop (Tabitha/Napoleon)
Joe: The second-most overpraised performance of the night. This one bugged me from start to finish, but I'm not sure how much I should blame the dancers. The routine was just too irritating -- all smiles and stupid engagement ring props wrapped around fairly derrivative dancing. Where are the Napoleon and Tabitha I kind of loved last season?
Lauren: I watched this with a friend, and we cringed our way through it, both for the stupid choreography and the not-great dancing. I'm so relieved to learn we weren't the only two who didn't like it, given that the judges apparently saw a totally different performance than we did, given that praise. I love these two, but they were both out of their element here.
AB Disappointment all around. I love these two, and I know they could have pulled it off, so what happened? Randi did look super cutes in her little yellow top. Also, I don't understand what is going on with Nappy Tabs. I get so happy when I see them in the rehearsal room, and then... it's like they're rehashing rehashes of the worst parts of their old routines. And seriously, get some better props/ideas than pregnancy/engagement rings. May I suggest a giant balloon?
Vance Ugh, maybe I was on a happy pill cause I, like the judges, loved it. I thought the silly grin on Evan sort of worked with the newly expectant father act (aren't they all like that (if they're not totally freaking out in horror?)) and I thought the piece was great. Not Nappy Tabs best work but I thought it was pretty good. Or am I just so in love with Evan's silly grin that I'm blinded by it all? (Don't answer that!)
2 - Samba (PASHA(!) and Anya)
Joe: Pretty good, all things considered, though I guess I can understand people getting frustrated waiting for Evan to blow them away. For me, I'm forever paying attention to the weird little ways he moves, but it's not really dynamic, I admit.
Lauren: Paha and Anya!! Eeeeeeeeeeee! I clapped and squealed my way through the whole rehearsal package, and then was completely let down by the dance itself and just kept wishing I was watching Pasha and Anya dance it instead. This week was a bad draw for Randi and Evan as a whole, but I think that the judges like them enough that they will squeak through.
AB I forgot how hot Pasha and Anya are, damn. But yeah, bad times. I think a big part of the reason Randi and Evan couldn't pull this off is because they are shorties. Is that heightist? I fear at least one of these two is going home soon, if not this week, then next.
Vance Okay, as much as I love Evan and I've been generally positive about this group, more so than everyone else, I will admit, the moment I saw Pasha, I melted (well, actually, I something else but I'll keep it PG here). I forgot how awesome Pasha was. Just seeing him shake that body in the clip made me (deleted due to TMI). And I realized so far no one this year has entered the realm of Pasha/Neil/Travis for me yet. (Second tier would be Mark/Dimitry/Ivan/Kameron).
Oh yah, back to Evan and Randi. I thought it was decent but not great. I thought Randi did better again, but I didn't totally mind Evan except that watching him try to be sexy was probably unintentionally the funniest thing on this show. But as a fellow guy who can't be sexy (I know I'm not sexy AT ALL, but I know I'm cute as a button (well, at least to kids. Apparently I remind them of The Bear in the Big Blue House)), I can't bash Evan on that (for self preservations sake).
Janette and Brandon 1 - Tango (Mirian Marici, Leonardo Barrionuevo)
Joe: Brilliant. No false steps, huge passion, insane body control, the whole package. (Though Nigel's slow-clap standing-O was a bit much, right?) I will now become the last person in the universe to finally latch into Janette. She was the MVP of tonight, for sure. I have a feeling these two could really elevate their various partners going forward.
Lauren: Hands-down my favorite routine of the night, if not the season. I watched the whole thing with my jaw dropped at how amazing Janette was and am so impressed with how she just takes every single thing they give her and makes it flawless. Great great great. And I loved recognizing the choreographers as the couple that danced the tango in one of the first results shows this season.
AB I loved it. Partly because Brandon didn't wink at anything, but mostly because Janette is SOAWESOME. Why haven't I noticed her before? And also, why haven't I noticed that she totally looks like Blackwood when she dances? Am I right? Anyway, the whole thing was lovely, up to and including Drama Nigel's slow clap.
Vance I had to watch it twice before I could love this. The first time all I could see were the horrid camera angles and edits again. I still thought Brandon had a moment where his legs didn't seem to swing and lock as perfectly as it should have been but maybe I'm being nitpicky. Also note, I have NO IDEA what this is supposed to look like so take me with a grain of salt, especially considering everyone else said it's perfect. But Janette. Didn't I say she's AWESOME!? Yet so under-recognized?
2 -Jazz (Wade Robson)
Joe: Again: amazing. Shades of Wade's angel/devil routine with Neil and Lauren from season 3 that I loved so much. But it also reminded me of "The Brothers Bloom," with the costumes and the madcappery. Delightful. Again, the precision with these two is astounding, and once again Janette was the one my eyes kept snapping to, for the first time this season.
Lauren: This was just a really fun routine. It won't necessarily go down as one of my all-time favorites, but it was great, and Wade never misses with his choreography, and these two are just unbelievable. I think they're awesome, YES I DO!
AB Y'all. Wade Robson. I want to marry him. And, if they don't let him do something Michael Jackson-related soon, someone is going to have to write a letter. This was my favorite of the night, and one of those routines that is so fun you want to learn it yourself and perform it for your friends. Coming soon to Pamie's blog.
PS, can we talk about why no guest judge can get Wade's name right? Lil C called him "Wade Robinson" and then stupid douchebag Tyce Diorio said "Wade Robeson." Come on, people. And speaking of which: I hate Tyce Diorio so bad it almost made me miss Dan Karaty.
Vance For me, this MIGHT go down as one of the all-time favorites, or at least in the SYTYCD new classics. But can we talk about Wade's height? Or Brandon's lack of it? Maybe he really IS Carlton Banks.
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 12 Performance - Ep. 514 Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Guest Judge: Tyce DiOrio
It's the final performance before we make the crucial cut to the Top 10. The Top 10 who get to go on Tour (info dates at the bottom of the post). The Top 10 that will start switching up the partners and the Top 10 where they will all get to showcase their solo's every week.
But to get there, we need to whittle it down once more. So let's start!:
Poor Ade. He's so awesome and he seems so nice and while I think he still could make the tiny moments slightly harder (I think he gets the big movements but is momentarily sloppy in others (but I'm talking like split seconds here)), Ade is SUCH A STRONG DANCER. So it's too bad he's paired up with Melissa because all I can do is stare at that GIRL.
Girl can do ANYTHING can't she?
Melissa is SOOOOOOO strong and all she needs to do is develop some diva quality off-stage, she could be a full fledged dancing queen. At this point she still seems too nice and regular. But her DANCING! Shake it girl! And that HAIR!
Here's the video of Melissa and Ade's Disco:
Kayla Radomski & Kupono Aweau Dance #1 Style: Contemporary Choreographed by: Mia Michaels Song: "Gravity" - Sara Bareilles Grade: A-
They get another contemporary for a second week in a row? With Mia Michaels? Well that's a subtle way the producers are pushing them toward the Top 10. Not that I mind.
Especially with Kayla. I went from WHO? a few weeks back to LOVE now with her. I really really like Kupono but I still don't LOVE him but I still enjoy seeing him.
Here's the video of Kayla and Kupono's Contemporary:
Caitlin Kinney & Jason Glover Dance #1 Style: Fox Trot Choreographed by: Tony Meredith Song: "Minnie the Moocher" - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Grade: B
Was the dance supposed to be that slow? Or was it just me? It was a nice dance and I thought Caitlin looked glamourous with her dancing and her look. Jason did a pretty good job keeping up, though he still reminded me of a little kid doing this dance. Adorable and got the steps and all but I kinda wanted to giggle while watching him. I'm not sure why.
I love Phillip (who is on Twitter). You know I love Phillip. Usually I don't support the Phillips in the competition, but I think Phillip has actually done a pretty good job every week, and sometimes harshly criticized.
So it hurts me to say that he was pretty bad here, save the hip-hop like turnovers he had to do.
Jeanine, like Nigel said, was beautiful. She saved whatever she could from this dance and worked like a Russian war horse (I have no idea what that is but it sounded good and descriptive) to pull Phillip along for this first dance.
Here's the video of Jeanine and Phillip's Kalinka:
I may be blurred by love but was that as good as I thought it was?
At first I thought Evan's "acting" was pretty much left with a silly grin, but then again, a new father usually solely has a silly grin on his face (if it's not complete fear and horror) so maybe he DID get it right!
I can't believe how much I loved Evan's Hip-Hop. It went beyond the whiteboy attempting Hip-Hop and it not only hit the marks, he still injected a bit of his silly style into it all without losing the beats momentum. Randi is wicked!
The judges give it a standing ovation. For a ballroom routine, Nigel thinks its as close to perfection.
Maybe it was, but what about the HORRENDOUS CAMERA ANGLES AND EDITS? I thought it looked pretty great, but I couldn't tell the first time around since they kept cutting at moments when I wanted them to linger. UGH. I felt dizzy trying to follow. (After a second viewing, I was able to fully appreciate Brandon and Janette a LOT more. Though I'm still dizzy).
Here's the video of Janette and Brandon's Argentine Tango:
Melissa Sandvig & Ade Obayomi Dance #2 Style: Waltz Choreographed by: Ron Montez Song: "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Mary J. Blige Grade: B
I believe I've said this in a previous week but I think I just assume these two are dancing it perfectly now, and I barely even have to watch to evaluate these two. I think I was watching Melissa's flowing dress more the whole time as I watched it float around the dancefloor.
Mary notes the same thing I said in the previous dance, that Ade could strengthen in things a bit more and have cleaner lines, but overall, her eyes are drawn to Melissa.
Here's the video of Melissa and Ade's Waltz:
Kayla Radomski & Kupono Aweau Dance #2 Style: Broadway Choreographed by: Joey Dowling Song: "The Dance At The Gym" - West Side Story New Broadway Revival Cast Recording Grade: B+
Having seen 2 different revivals of West Side Story (for a total of 4 times total) in the last 6 months (Broadway/ DC and Stratford), I think I have Jerome Robbins' original choreography ingrained in my memory, so I think Joey Dowling had some shutzpah to design a new dance to the classic number.
I thought Kayla and Kupono did a pretty great job with the dance, and I thought there were some very clever and ingenious new stuff, but overall, I thought it still paled in comparison to what's being performed on Broadway right now. (Here's the later section from the same scene from the current Broadway Revival).
Here's the video of Kayla and Kupono's Broadway:
Caitlin Kinney & Jason Glover Dance #2 Style: Lyrical Jazz Choreographed by: Mandy Moore Song: "Show Me Heaven" - Maria McKee Grade: B+
Oh sure, just when Caitlin and Jason might have been in most danger, they get to do contemporary. Oh sorry. Lyrical Jazz. And Mandy Moore. AND Jason goes shirtless. Nice save.
I will admit, it sort of won me over halfway through and while it was sort of designed to showcase their best attributes (ahem), it worked. I thought it still missed something, like "magic" as Mary mentioned, but overall, I thought it was some of the best stuff we've finally seen from Jason and Caitlin together.
Here's the video of Caitlin and Jason's Lyrical Jazz:
Jeanine Mason & Phillip Chbeeb Dance #2 Style: Jive Choreographed by: Tony Meredith Song: "Stuff Like That There" - Bette Midler Grade: A-
Okay, let's talk about Jeanine first, because girl does not get the attention or respect she deserves. Always forgotten since we're evaluating Phillip all the time, Jeanine always brings it and is almost forgotten because she becomes the standard to compare to.
Meanwhile, apparently Phillip was so bad in the first dance because he spent all his rehearsal time practicing for the Jive. I thought he was AWESOME so I'm glad Mary and Nigel totally agreed and I wasn't just being overly nice.
OH PASHA!!! Okay, Just watching Pasha jiggle his body in the clip gave me a ---- - --. Okay, so while this season's quality of dancers is up for debate, I've been pretty positive, but I will admit, now that I've seen Pasha again, I have to say no male dancer in this season has yet to make me as excited as Pasha did. (Other's in the same category would be Travis (on TWITTER!) and Neil, with Ivan, Dimitry, Kameron and Mark (ALSO ON TWITTER!) not far behind).
Okay, but back to Evan, who would probably be this year's most likely contender. He's more cutesy than sexy so it's kinda hilarious when he tries to be sexy here. His face didn't really work with it but I thought his dancing made up for it.
Randi as always, was fabulous, but their chemistry together seemed a bit more clumsy than they usually were.
How tall is Wade? Or how short is Brandon? Maybe Brandon really IS Carlton?
Okay, have we just seen the latest SYTYCD classic? That was all kinds of AWESOME! I loved EVERYTHING about it. Loved the music. LOVED the weird choreography. EVERY. SINGLE. MOMENT. And I thought Brandon and Janette did an AWESOME job Dancing AND Acting it all. It was funny and amusing and quirky and sexy and wonderful!
Here's the video of Janette and Brandon's Jazz:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Final Roundup:
Best Couple of the Night Overall: Janette and Brandon
Best Dance of the Night: Janette and Brandon's Jazz Second Best Dance of the Night: Kayla and Kupono's Contemporary Third Best Dance of the Night: Jeanine and Philip's Jive Fourth Best Dance of the Night: Randi and Evan's Hip-Hop Fifth Best Dance of the Night: Melissa and Ade's Disco
Best Male of the Night - Overall: Brandon Bryant Best Female of the Night - Overall: Kayla Radomski
Worst of the Night - Single Performance: Jeanine and Phillip's Kalika Worst of the Night - Overall: Caitlin and Jason
Predictions: Bottom Three: Jason and Caitlin, Melissa and Ade, Jeanine and Phillip Going Home: Caitlin and Jason Should Be Going Home: Caitlin and Jason
Don't forget, I'll be back with the results show our bloggers panel chat, with the awesome group of LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself who will discuss this week's performances and results.
They also announced the SYTYCD: Season 5 Tour dates: Dates subject to change.
SEPTEMBER SUN 9/20 Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Ctr TUE 9/22 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena Bos Uni THU 9/24 Newark, NJ - Prudential Center FRI 9/25 Mashantucket, CT - MGM Foxwoods SAT 9/26 Trenton, NJ - Sovereign Bank Arena TUE 9/29 Toronto, ON - Air Cananda Center
OCTOBER THU 10/1 Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena SAT 10/3 Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena SUN 10/4 Champaign, IL - Assembly Hall TUE 10/6 Chicago, IL - United Center WED 10/7 Minneapolis, MN - Target Center FRI 10/9 Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center SAT 10/10 Toledo, OH - Lucas Co Arena SUN 10/11 Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse WED 10/14 Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum THU 10/15 Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena SAT 10/17 Richmond, VA - Richmond Coliseum MON 10/19 Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena TUE 10/20 Duluth, GA - Arena Gwinnett Center THU 10/22 Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena FRI 10/23 Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum SAT 10/24 Tallahassee, FL - Leon Co Civ Center MON 10/26 Houston, TX - Reliant Arena TUE 10/27 Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center WED 10/28 Grand Prarie, TX - Nokia Theatre FRI 10/30 Tulsa, OK - BOK Center SAT 10/31 St. Louis, MO - Chaifetz Arena at St. Louis University
NOVEMBER SUN 11/1 Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center TUE 11/3 Omaha, NE - Qwest Center THU 11/5 Colorado Springs, CO - World Arena SAT 11/7 West Valley City, UT - E Center MON 11/9 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre THU 11/12 San Diego, CA - San Diego Sports Arena FRI 11/13 Glendale, AZ - jobing.com Arena SAT 11/14 Las Vegas, NV - Orleans Arena MON 11/16 Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena TUE 11/17 Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena WED 11/18 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion FRI 11/20 Portland, OR - Rose Garden SAT 11/21 Everett, WA - Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center
Okay, to prep you for tonight's So You Think You Can Dance Top 12 episode, I'm finally posting last week's bloggers discussion of the Top 14 performance episode that LowResJoe posted on the weekend. I know, we already know the results but considering how close it all is, it'll be a good reminder for tonight since this week is the big final cut before the Top 10 (and the final cutoff to get on the Tour).
So here is LowResJoe, , TwoP Lauren S and myself discussing the Top 14 performances. ABChau was not available last week, probably partying up the holidays away, or something.
Janette and Brandon Cha Cha (Jean Marc Generaux)
Vance: The first week where I think I can legitimately say I loved Brandon. I still keep forgetting Janette is on this show, which is a shame since she keeps wowing me on the dancefloor. It was great choreo which proves to me that Jean Marc needs to choreo more and talk less. (He was getting freaking annoying as the lead judge on SYTYCD Canada)
Lauren: These two continue to be absolutely incredible! I do still forget about her a little bit too, but I don't mind because she brings it so consistently. I thought this was a super fun routine and I'm completely amazed at how the two of them keep knocking it out of the park no matter what they are given.
Joe: Yet another stellar performance from a pair that, I am ashamed to admit, I am looking to find fault with every week. Look, I can't love EVERYONE. But these two keep making it impossible to go negative. I'll echo the huge props to Jean-Marc, too -- he's been doing really inventive stuff with ballroom lately.
Kayla and Kupono Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh)
Vance: Always liked these two, never loved. But I think I FINALLY get it now. Though isn't it always Contemporary where we FINALLY get someone? Kupono seemed adorable in the interview and Kayla seemed pretty fab dancing.
Lauren: I still adore Kupono, but I felt like tonight he was a little bit outclassed by Kayla. He did a great job, but her technique is just stunning, and I could see the difference a little bit. I'm starting to worry that all of Sonya's routines seem very similar but I still enjoyed the number a lot. I did, however, nearly blind myself from my eyes rolling back in my head when the song started and it was actually FROM Twilight. Oh Sonya, I liked it so much better before I knew you were a Twi-hard! Though... I'm also somehow not entirely surprised.
Joe: SO thrilled that Kupono finally seems to get the props he's previously been getting from only me. Sonya's choreography brings out his Mark-ness even more than normal, and I think he and Kayla rally complement each other well -- and so in sync. That segment in the middle where they were doing those locking motions around each other rocked so hard. I actually had no idea that was a "Twilight" song, but yeah, it kind of makes sense. If they can stay out of Bottom 3 again this week, it shows they have a real chance to go far.
Randi and Evan Broadway (Joey Dowling)
Vance: So cute. So cute. I guess 'cause Joey Dowling (who seemed pretty scary, actually, for someone not scary looking) pointed out the feminine part, I noticed it in Evan's dancing a bit and though he could have butched it up a bit more. Still, pretty darn good for Fosse stuff, which needs to look synchronized and is harder than it looks. Technically it may have faltered just a bit but I was still thoroughly entertained.
Lauren: This, sadly, is one I didn't like. I didn't think the choreography was nearly as good as it could have been -- I love the Fosse style, and this seemed to be missing something for me though I still haven't put a finger on what it was. I just feel like, given these two, she could have knocked it out of the park but this didn't necessarily show off either of their strengths. I agree that Joey seems TOTALLY scary, and Mia is clearly completely crushing on her. I guess one could make the argument that E and R, as dancers, need to step up and do great with whatever they are given, so part of this might have been their fault. But I didn't love it, and that makes me sad because I wanted to.
Joe: I really thought this was underrated and underappreciated. I found Evan to be totally expressive and fluid (I thought the prissy undertones totally worked for the routine -- it's "Sweet Charity," for Pete's sake). He reminded me of the best parts of Neil Haskell. I guess I can't argue with technical nitpicks, but to me that's all they are. Of all the great performances this week, this was the one I re-watched. I also loved how crazy scary Joey Dowling was. She's like if Mia's intensity morphed with Cat's fearsome size. So, like, basically if Mia and Cat had a baby. Which I still think they one day will.
Caitlin and Jason Pop Jazz (Brian Friedman)
Vance: I had to re-watch this 3 times to get beyond the giant dancing condom. Though it reminded me of those horror films with some flesh eating worm. Seriously. Caitlin was supposed to impregnate Jason (?), but got screwed over by Brian and the costume department. I thought she was fine at first but the more I watched, the less I was impressed actually and found her lines not as long as she usually is. Though again, I think the shiny costume emphasized the wrong things. Apparently Jason danced too but I barely noticed.
Lauren: I didn't like it, then I thought maybe it was just the condom costume, and then I rewound a bit and realized, no, I just really didn't like it. I DID like the look of MURDER on Brian's face when Mia said she was sure he didn't think this was his best work when he was choreographing it. Me-OW!
Joe: You know, I understand the stuff about the weird choreography/costumes doing the dancers in, but a) I am crazy in love with Brian Friedman's face so I'll hear nothing against him, and b) I think better dancers would have sold it. And, c) if Caitlin's really supposed to be an alien, those spikes on the outside of her full-body condom are probably her many penises, so... That being said, they were still pretty good, and this was the first week I've really taken positive notice of Jason.
Jeanine and Phillip Hip-Hop (Nappy Tabs)
Vance: Phillip gets to do Hip-Hop and Melissa gets to do ballet. Random my ass. On the other hand, Melissa and Phillip are still two of my faves so YAY! Of course it was great and Jeanine REALLY kept up all considering. I agree with Mia that the Chain was a neat concept but sometimes detracted from their dancing.
Lauren: I had the same thought about the "randomness" but chose to just tap it down and ignore it. I thought this routine was good but not great, but was danced really, really well. Philip was naturally amazing, and Jeanine totally impresses me with how she has held her own in two different routines now. I really like Philip, but I'm looking forward to once these two are split up in the top 10 to see how Jeanine does with a bit more versatile partner. (Because come on, you know they're never getting voted into the bottom three at least until that point.)
Joe: They were good, maybe great. And I'm glad Nigel has finally given some legitimacy to the "Nappy Tabs" name so I don't have to feel weird about using it. That being said, I'm once again gonna have to be the asshole and throw cold water on the Phillip thing, if only to say that: If he's being kept around for his awesome hip-hopping despite being clearly the worst at everything else, shouldn't he be completely blowing me away at hip-hop? He shouldn't be topping out at "good, maybe great." Once again, however, my crazy love for Jeanine grows and grows. She's my #2 girl.
Melissa and Ade Ballet Pas de Deux (Thordal Christensen)
Vance: Like the team before. Melissa was obviously great but her partner kept up as well. Not flawless but impressive enough nonetheless.
Lauren: I absolutely adored this and was totally impressed at how Ade kept up -- I wasn't expecting that. This was just a totally wonderful couple of minutes of dancing to watch. My fave of the night.
Joe: Jury-rigged genre choice or not, that was completely gorgeous, and (not to re-open old wounds) managed to be impressive beyond showing naked flesh like stupid Will last season. Ahem. Anyway, Melissa has blown me away from Week 1, and she was the best she's ever been tonight. The fact that Ade was able to keep up with her and make me occasionally look at him just shows what a strong dancer he is.
Karla and Vitolio Quick Step (Jean Marc Generaux)
Vance: Caitlin might have been screwed over by her costume but Karla and Vitolio, already the underdogs this week, get screwed over with the Quickstep. But between the choreo and the concept, I had a lot of fun with this. I STILL don't totally feel Vitolio and I think he's STILL holding back, but I REALLY like Karla for trying so hard. I thought she was better in the character moments than when she just had to quickstep her way around the stage but I thought she was pretty great. (Plus, the dress switch gimmick was kinda awesome).
Lauren: I was so worried, and I always get nervous watching the quickstep, but they did way better than I thought. It wasn't perfect but they still did a good job with a super hard dance, and I liked them as partners. I think they'll be in the bottom three just on account of the quickstep and them being, really, the orphans of the group as a new couple. But well played, K and V -- and I loved the dress switcheroo.
Joe: Yeah, the quickstep is so famously hard, and while they actually did pretty well, I almost felt bad for them. But then I remembered that Vitolio's been overdue for elimination for a couple weeks now. I feel bad for Karla, because she's NOT overdue for elimination, but I can't see anyone else getting the boot. Side note: I love Rufus Wainwright as much as anyone, but whose genius decision was it to use his version of "Puttin' on the Ritz"? This is a quick step; Rufus's voice is perpetually being dragged through a stream of maple syrup and cigarette tar. Ill-fitting.
TOP 3 PERFORMANCES Vance: Jeanette/Brandon, Kayla/Kupono, Jeannine/Phillip
No, I'm not talking about Hanlan's Point. You can't get there right now anyways with the city strike and all. No, I'm talking about this:
Bare (a Rock Opera) is FINALLY premiering in Toronto! I've loved the album and the illegal tracks from the New York Off-Broadway productions for so long, so it'll be finally nice to see it live for the first time. The musical by Jon Hartmere & Damon Intrabartolo is about two Catholic School boys who fall in love. Maybe it's a cliched story but it still gets me everytime I listen to it (though maybe it helps that I went to an all-boys Catholic High School).
Newcomer WatersEdge Productions will put it on at the Hart House Theatre starting next week from July 17th to Aug. 1st 2009. Get tickets here.
I don't know how this young upstart theatre company will do but I caught their special Pride Benefit Cabaret Night they did during Pride Week and the cast was pretty good and the leads in particular, Graham Parkhurst (Jason) and Wade Muir (Peter) had great voices and were cute as buttons. Their harmonies together were superb especially considering they were singing other musical songs (not Bare songs).
Renee Stein who will play Claire, Peter's mom, was the definition of a stage veteran and a class act. Her voice was proof of years of experience and it sounded spectacular.
Nichola Lawrence, who will play Sister Chantelle, blew the house down and will be a voice to reckon with.
Plus amongst the talented cast, some of the behind-the-scenes folks did some song and dances too, and were just as talented as the performers that were going to be on stage. Musical director Chris Tsujiuchi has a beautiful voice and some dancing skills to match. Assistant Director Ryan Blair and Assistant Stage Manager Brett Kelly are adorable and could have easily been mixed into the cast.
Group Rate (10 or more people) $20 Available in person or by phone (416) 978-8849
Same Day Rush Tickets $15 - A very limited number of Rush Tickets will be available in person only, on the day of each performance, when the UofTtix Box Office opens at 11am. - Rush Tickets for each performance will only be sold on the same day as that performance.
Warning Recommended for mature audiences only, due to coarse language & adult situations
Age Restriction Children under 12 years old will not be admitted
~~~~~~~~~~
BARE is a pop-rock musical about the coming-of-age of five high school seniors at a Catholic boarding school.
Knowing their stay in this insular world is drawing to a close, each of them question where they are in their lives and what the future holds in store.
Answers are sought in the church confessional and in less formal venues including a stage, a rave, and a well-locked dorm room.
The story focuses in on a secret love affair between two boys, Peter (played by Wade Muir) and Jason (Graham Parkhurst).
Though Peter is ready to tell the world about their relationship, Jason fears the repercussions.
BARE is the beautiful and moving story about love, fear, acceptance, and finding yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~
WatersEdge Productions is an independent, professional theatre company committed to staging socially conscious plays and musicals, while also giving young artists an opportunity to perform in a professional environment. BARE will be the company’s first production in Toronto, since moving from the Niagara Region.
BARE is a contemporary new musical that tells the story of a group of students at a Catholic boarding school struggling to find their own voices in a modern world. They are forced to confront coming of age, coming out, and coming to terms with the expectations of parents, peers, and the Church. Following in the footsteps of RENT and Spring Awakening, BARE's story is told through its ceaseless and haunting rockscore.
BARE received its world premiere staging at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA in 2000 and has since been produced off-Broadway in 2004. A two-disc cast recording was released in 2007 to rave reviews, earning BARE a new audience and cult following.
This production will be the first time BARE is staged professionally in its entirety and marks its Canadian debut.
This ground-breaking production is brought to the stage with up-and-coming director Brian Gregory-Waters (BMT's Jesus Christ Superstar, The Who's Tommy) leading a young cast of performers from across Canada.
Blithe Spirit - Shubert Theatre - Broadway, New York, NY - ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Written by Noël Coward, Directed by Michael Blakemore Runs until July 19th 2009
Candida - Burning Passions Theatre at Innis Town Hall - Toronto Fringe Festival, Toronto, ON - **** (out of 5 stars) Written by George Bernard Shaw, Directed by Laurel Smith Runs until July 12th 2009 (NOTE: I've changed the grade since originally published)
Two terrific casts (one famous, one not at all) revive spirited and silly comedies written by the "masters" of theatre. Both plays make much ado about nothing when things conjure up unforeseen love triangles. While the plays themselves are entertaining, if not slight, both productions, one large and luscious on Broadway, the other simple and efficient at the Toronto Fringe Festival, are top notch with some great performances and some amazing leading ladies that elevate the simplicity of their plays.
Blithe Spirit on Broadway stars Angela Lansbury in her (5th) Tony winning role as Madame Arcati, a spirit conjurer who accidentally brings back Rupert Everett's Charles' deceased wife Elvira (Christine Ebersole) as a ghost, much to Charles' current wife Ruth's (Jayne Atkison) dismay. Jealousy between the spirit and real world's persist, a loony mousy maid (a very funny Louise O'Connor), and some additional houseguests (Simon Jones and the always funny Deborah Rush) intermix in this parlour room ghost comedy.
While the play is mostly amusing, particularly the second act, you're really there to watch Angela Lansbury play a total kook, and it's absolutely delightful. The most shameful thing about the performance is that it's actually smaller than the billing would have you believe and Lansbury's Madame Arcati disappears quite often (not like magically, just off-stage).
While Jayne Atkinson and Rupert Everett are good as the squabbling central couple Charles and Ruth, when Lansbury exits the stage again, there's a slight lull in the plotline again.
At least until Christine Ebersole (The Royal Pains, Grey Gardens) floats in and ironically, livens up the place as the dead Elvira. Ebersole is such a glow in an even kookier role than Lansbury's, that she practically seems like she's in another play, much to this play's advantage.
It's not a brilliant play, but with some utterly delightful performances and an amusingly simple story of some ghostly shenanigans, Blithe Spirit is a charming few hours at the theatre.
Candida is the glorious woman at the centre of an awkward love triangle formed by two other silly men. Boys really. And with Candida's smart, lovely, independent and charming ways, seems like the most perfect of modern women, in this G.B. Shaw play that I had never heard of before this production.
Rev. James Morell (Jeffrey Aarles, above right) things his marriage to the effervescent Candida is secure, until he beings developing jealousy when the twitchy and socially awkward young man Eugene Marchbanks (Christopher Ryan) decides it's time for him to declare his love to Morell's wife Candida.
Considering I had never heard of this theatre company, or any of the cast members, I was surprised by the quality of the production, which could move straight over to the more famous Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake.
While Christopher Ryan's true age and looks might throw the play off a bit, since he looks much older than the 18 year old boy he's supposed to play, his mannerisms and speech is perfectly convincing. Aarles does a fine job as an upstanding pastor who devolves into a selfish and jealous child when he realizes he has the chance of losing his beloved Candida.
However nothing would work if we didn't believe Candida was worth fighting for, and Katie Lawson is WONDERFUL! Splendid! Delightful! Lawson's Candida is beautifully real and intelligent, with her wits and street sense so advanced, that it takes her a moment to figure out the backwards squabbling from the men around her.
The rest of the cast is absolutely lovely, including Whitney Barris as the no-nonsense Miss Proserpine Garrett, David Kynaston as the handsome but loafing Rev. Alexander Mill, and Daryl Taylor as Burgess, Candida's father.
Waiting For Godot - Studio 54 - Broadway, New York, NY - **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Written by Samuel Beckett, Directed by Anthony Page Closes July 12th 2009
Did you have to read Waiting for Godot in High School?
I did.....................................
For those of you who did. You know what I'm talking about.
For those of you unfamiliar with what is regarded as one of the classics in absurdist theatre, well, the show is about...
Well, first let me say that this Broadway revival is pretty amazing in itself just for putting this play back on Broadway.
And then they cast it with some of the best of the best, with Nathan Lane (The Producers), Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married), John Goodman (Roseanne), and John Glover (Smallville).
John Goodman and John Glover have gotten a lot of critical attention, and Glover got a Tony nod for his remarkably laborious role.
But I enjoyed watching Nathan Lane live for the first time, and thought he and Irwin's tragicomic duo worked best while they were alone on stage.
While they waited for God-Oh. (In case you haven't heard, we've been saying it wrong all this time. It IS actually GOD-Oh!)
And waited...
and waited...
and waited...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
and waited...
and waited...
and waited...
Nope. Still don't really get it.
Nope, seeing the play live isn't any more interesting than reading the play. Nor does it really bring out any more analysis than Coles Notes.
Okay, I GET IT but why do I need to sit for 2.5 hours for that one point?
Oh BTW, for those of you who never read this play or seen this play before? And wanted me to explain the plot? I just did.
I remember from High School thinking the play had a great existentialist point, but it was still all kinda bullshit with the joke on us. Kinda brilliant in that sense. After seeing the play, I haven't changed my opinion.
Here's the genius of Sesame Street's Monsterpiece Theatre in a far better re-telling of Waiting For Elmo (thanks to Kevin for the tipoff):
After about a year and a half of TV Blog Coalition posts, we're switching things up! How rebellious of us! Okay, just a little switch. We are going to rotate the order of the linkages every week moving up the alphabetical orders and stuff. I know!!! Shocking! Not quite an Obama change but still a change (and a bigger change than the U.S. LGBT policies have seen since Jan. Oh snap.)
Anyways, one of these days I'll get back to actually writing TV posts but since you're probably all sitting by the beach drinking a mojito anyways, it doesn't really matter for now. Me? I prefer a Caipirinha.
Here's what the TV bloggers were talking about this past week:
Scooter is giving away an Ice Road Truckers prize pack that includes the first two seasons on DVD. (Scooter McGavin's 9th Green)
The group dance on the So You Think You Can Dance results show was a perfect time to show the differences in camerawork from the Canadian version. Vance shows an example, plus discusses Top 14 week. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace proposed that not all culinary-themed television series are created equal, ranking such series as Bravo's Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, BBC America's F Word, Food Network's Chopped, and FOX's Hell's Kitchen.(Televisionary)
As The Fashion Show reaches its halfway point, Dan discovered the cause of all the chew marks on the show's scenery -- useless co-host Kelly Rowland. (TiFaux)
Matt can't believe that Showtime has pulled off a half-hour drama. But Nurse Jackie does it well. (TV Fanatic)
This week GMMR & Ducky posted not one, but two new podcasts for your listening pleasure. Check out our SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Top 14 podcast as well as our latest summer viewing podcast in which we talk about TRUE BLOOD,NURSE JACKIE, SUPERNATURAL and more. (The TV Talk Podcast)
Buzz is giving away a trip for two to the So You Think You Can Dance finale! All you have to do is test your SYTYCD trivia knowledge to be entered. (BuzzSugar)
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 14 Results - The Cut from 14 to 12 - Ep. 513 Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Guest Judge: Mia Michaels
Top 14 Group Dance Style: Broadway Choreographed by: Tyce DiOrio Song: "Brand New Day" - The Wiz
Okay, the frame got me excited for a second because I thought maybe Jean Marc Genereux was copying his Top 16 group dance he did for SYTYCD Canada (that I also mentioned last week), but alas it was a Broadway routine by Tyce (groan). Maybe it was just the camerawork, but Tyce didn't make it easy for the camera's either and it was sort of a scattered piece to The Wiz (which I just happened to have seen in New York).
But this week's group performance makes it even more obvious how frustratingly bad the camerawork is in the American version of this show. (Nicely pointed out in an article I mentioned before (via Kirk)
Watch Jean Marc's Top 16 Group VIENNESE WALTZ from So You Think You Can Dance Canada and check out the camerawork. (pictures here). Also, who would have thought a GROUP Viennese Waltz could be so spectacular? Gives me chills again!:
Am I wrong? Or am I being too nationalistic?
Back to the American version: My Predictions From the Top 14 Performance show: Bottom Three: Jason and Caitlin, Karla and Vitolio, and ??? Brandon and Janette? Going Home: Caitlin and Vitolio? Though I doubt it. Caitlin is so loved. Is Karla done?
The Actual Bottom 3 Results Were:
Karla and Vitolio, Kayla and Kupono and Jeanine and Phillip.
Whoa. I mean, I'm surprised and not surprised. People have been turning on Phillip and the Kupono love hasn't seemed to be there from what I keep hearing but still. I mean, things are close since no one is really pulling ahead yet, but ...
That means 2 of my Top 3 groups from last night (Best Couple of the Night: Janette and Brandon's Cha Cha, Second Best Couple of the Night: Kayla and Kupono's Contemporary, Third Best Couple of the Night: Jeanine and Philip's Hip-Hop) are in the bottom 3. And I predicted only Karla and Vitolio correctly.
While I think it's time for Vitolio to go, I really don't think it's Karla's time yet, but sadly, there's no way they're going to kick out Jeanine or Kayla yet.
The "Dance for Your Lives" Solos
Karla Garcia Song: "Blackbird" - Dionne Farris Grade: A-
She's kinda like a female Marc Kanemura isn't she? She's more Marc than Kupono is actually. It's either something you like or you don't, but I love the weird twitchiness of it all.
Vitolio Jeune Song: "Here Comes Goodbye" - Rascal Flatts Grade: B
It was finally a better solo but I think it's too little too late. Or maybe it's just cause I REALLY like Rascal Flatts. I'm not sure. (Yes, I'm a big city boy secretly hiding a honky inside me).
Kayla Radomski Song: "Stupid" - Sarah McLachlan Grade: A-
Okay, I REALLY get her now. It felt impassioned and powerful even if it was just the typical contemporary twists and mime pulls. The judges thought the complete opposite and thought she wasn't dancing from the heart. WHA?
Kupono Aweau Song: "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - Isreal Kamakawiwoole Grade: C+
He has a nice presence but I thought technically it wasn't as good as I thought he would be. And there was a lot more posing than anything. Again, he's a lot like Marc but I think Karla out-Marc'd Kupono.
Jeanine Mason Song: "Moonlight Sonata" - Smart Sleep With Classical Grade: B
It started well enough but was that a fumble? And then like Vitolio, it seemed like a lot of prep for something big, and then nothing really happened. Apparently it was the judges favorite. WHA?
Phillip Chbeeb Song: "You'll Find A Way (Switch & Sinden Remix)" - Santigold Grade: A-
It's weird, I wasn't even big on Phillip last year but I'm still loving him this year. I know some aren't buying it but I'm impressed.
Kelly Clarkson performs. I usually don't mention the performances but it's KELLY CLARKSON!!! LOVE HER!!! She sings "I Do Not Hook Up":
In the end, Karla Garcia is sadly cut. Too early if you asked me but she was had a bigger uphill climb than most other dancers (between pairing chemistry, or styles of dances given). Obviously her contemporary with Jonathan showed that she had it in her, and I liked her odd solo's.
I'm less sad about Vitolio Jeune being cut, since it was kinda obvious by this point. I didn't dislike him but I never found myself loving him and on this show, you need that to survive.
Don't forget, I'll be back later today (Friday), in a separate post this week, with our (new for this season) regular panel for this season, the awesome group of LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself will discuss this week's performances and results.
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 14 Performance - Ep. 512 Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Guest Judge: Mia Michaels
Remember all those weeks when I was suspicious about the producers throwing their weight to stack the decks on American Idol? AHEM...
Evan gets Broadway? Melissa gets BALLET??? Phillip gets Hip-Hop? Janette and Brandon get Cha Cha? And then underdog new pairing Karla and Vitolio get the kiss of death dance Fox Trot? How fair is that??? (And please don't even tell me... but it's RANDOM. Bullsh!t!)
On the other hand, Evan, Melissa, Phillip are three of my favorites but STILL. It seemed so blatant this week. (Janette is fast getting up there too though).
Anyways, let's just get on with the dancing and ignore the fact that they keep pimping Katie Holmes' dance performance on the upcoming 100th episode of the show (on July 23rd). Okay, so Katie (who I actually DO like) is there to help promote The Dizzy Feet Foundation, which seems like a nice way to support underprivileged kids in the dance world. I'm a little dubious about the whole teacher accreditation program (sounds great in theory but the logistics have be worried).
Anyways, it's the Top 14 and while a LOT of people have said they've felt disconnected with this season (dancing skills? choreography? personalities? viewer burn out? high expectations? hitting the limit to Mary's scream? too many contemporary and ballroom dancers? being burned in the audition eps?), I must say, this was a GREAT Top 14 episode where I think I pretty much loved every dance in some manner:
Janette Manrara & Brandon Bryant Style: Cha Cha Choreographed by: Jean Marc & France Genereux Song: "Hush Hush; Hush Hush" - The Pussycat Dolls Grade: A-
I thought it started off slightly awkwardly when Janette was trying to drop down to Brandon's feet, especially with Janette, who I usually love more than Brandon, but then it seemed to snap into place and from then on, they were FANTASTIC. Brandon was ON and probably the first week where I truly loved him. And Janette. Seriously, where did she come from?
I will admit, I keep forgetting about her off the dancefloor but she wows me everytime on the dancefloor. Plus JM and France's choreography was truly exciting and snappy.
Here's the video of Janette and Brandon's Cha Cha:
Kayla Radomski & Kupono Aweau Style: Contemporary Choreographed by: Sonya Tayeh Song: "Eyes on Fire" - Blue Foundation Grade: A-
I know LOTS of people are saying (online and off) that they aren't connecting with the dancers this year, and here's another two dancers that I really like but I just haven't connected to. Yet.
I respect them as dancers but if they were to get kicked off, I probably wouldn't be too sad (not like how sad I was when Marc was kicked off).
But if anything can save dancers on this show, it's a cool and odd Contemporary routine. Remember when this show first started and none of us really understood contemporary and it was just the artsy dance? Now it's like were all experts or something.
Oh yah, back to the dancers. Maybe it was the interview with Kupono who seemed super adorable this week around, seemingly more cuddly than normal, and maybe it was thanks to Sonya Tayeh's choreo, but they looked fantastic this week and I finally GOT these two. I may be able to love these two after all. Kupono looked great and Kayla was stunning. I'm starting to really GET them. All it took was more weird dancing by Sonya Tayeh!
Here's the video of Kayla and Kupono's Contemporary:
Okay, standing next to Joey Dowling, how tall is she? Or how short are Evan and Randi?
Evan and props and Broadway is a perfect match. Add in Bob Fosse style dancing and you've won me over already. Randi matches up to Evan's peppiness.
I did notice that Evan looked a bit... feminine in two sections of the dance, and I only note that because Joey Dowling mentioned avoiding that in the clip, but other times, he definitely manned up against Randi even though they were doing the exact same moves and steps.
Mia seemed most disappointed, saying Randi danced heavy, and Evan should have brought more (echoed slightly by Mary) and I could see that they should have hit this out of the park, but I think they came pretty close. Fosse is NOT easy. It looks simpler but is deceptively complicated so I still give them props for learning it so quickly and they're positive attitude that shines through while they're dancing makes it entertaining despite some of the minor technical flaws.
Here's the video of Randi and Evan's Broadway:
Caitlin Kinney & Jason Glover Style: Pop Jazz Choreographed by: Brian Friedman Song: "Creator" - Santigold Grade: B
What? A Brian Friedman dance with strange fugly costumes? What?
Okay, I missed the huge flintstones sized necklaces he wore but does he have to subject his dance subjects to his hideous fashion sense?
I had to watch this several times because I couldn't concentrate on Jason and Caitlin at first because all I saw was a some rubber horror porn worm slinking across the stage. At least you can't say Caitlin relied on her beauty this week. The whole thing kind of reminded me of those videos Kirk used to make on Gilmore Girls.
Jason and Caitlin did a weird and great job with what they were entranced to dance to, though I thought Caitlin could have hit things a bit more, and I barely noticed Jason because I was still mesmerized by the "dancing condom" (Nigel's words, not mine).
Here's the video of Caitlin and Jason's Pop Jazz:
Jeanine Mason & Phillip Chbeeb Style: Hip-Hop Choreographed by: Napoleon and Tabitha D'Umo Song: "Love Lockdown" - Kanye West Grade: A-
Okay, so Philip gets to do Hip-Hop. Obviously it's going to be great. But I was in awe at how amazing Jeanine was and how she easily kept up with Philip. Loved the way they locked the whole thing.
The chain gimmick was actually really neat and kept the whole thing on edge. But as Mia pointed out, sometimes the chain looked sloppy and felt at odds with the sharpness of Jeanine and Phillip. Was that Mia's veiled knock at Nappy Tabs' concept right after praising them?
Here's the video of Jeanine and Phillip's Hip-Hop:
Melissa Sandvig & Ade Obayomi Style: Ballet Pas de Deux Choreographed by: Thordal Christensen Song: "Romeo & Juliet Prokofiev's Suite No. 1 Op. 64b, 6th Movement" - Orchestre De La Suisse Romande & Armin Jordan Grade: A-
Point!
Okay, so Melissa, the ballerina, gets to be the first dancer to do classical ballet with point shoes on the show. Hmm... random you say? If it weren't for the fact that Melissa is probably my top female choice right now, I'd ask for a recall, but since she's so strong in everything else she's done, it's actually kinda nice to see her perform her own style to show us where she comes from. I mean, she's excellent from what I can tell, but what adds to it is that she also has the character down with her emotions.
So really, it's Ade who we should be criticizing but while I'm sure he missed some technical points, he seemed to carry through (and carry Melissa) well enough. He was strong, he lifted Melissa nicely to what practically seemed like the whole dance, and he seemed graceful and played the part of Romeo well enough.
Here's the video of Melissa and Ade's Ballet Pas de Deux:
Karla Garcia & Vitolio Jeune Style: Quick Step Choreographed by: Jean Marc and France Genereux Song: "Puttin' On The Ritz" - Rufus Wainwright Grade: B+
The dress change was such a gimmick and I loved it. I loved the choreography and loved the statue story that starts and ends the piece. Everything that Nigel said.
Considering the Quick Step used to be the kiss of death (oh, Mary mentions it now as I type this), I thought they did an excellent job. I still thought Vitolio was holding back a bit, but better than before.
Karla was fantastic and I thought she bounced her way around really well and her emotions worked best when she was in character. Her smile seemed a bit plastered when they had to work their way around the stage in carriage but she seemed generally looser than before. I still think she's highly underrated and under-appreciated and worth another look.
Here's the video of Karla and Vitolio's Quick Step:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Final Roundup:
Best Couple of the Night: Janette and Brandon's Cha Cha Second Best Couple of the Night: Kayla and Kupono's Contemporary Third Best Couple of the Night: Jeanine and Philip's Hip-Hop
I'm having a really hard time picking this week's best individual of the night. Obviously Melissa and Phillip did amazing in their own styles, but their partners were huge surprises in the way they easily kept up. Or Janette and Brandon or Kayla? Best Male of the Night: Phillip Chbeeb (though Brandon Bryant was close) Best Female of the Night: Kayla Radomski
Worst of the Night: Jason and Caitlin's Pop Jazz
This week seemed particularly strong with some better choreography (oh look, no Tyce!) elevating it all. I mean, if the worst dance still got a B from me, it's not too shabby.
Predictions: Bottom Three: Jason and Caitlin, Karla and Vitolio, and ??? Brandon and Janette? Going Home: Caitlin and Vitolio? Though I doubt it. Caitlin is so loved. Is Karla done?
Say what you will about this years crop, but I'm having a hard time knocking them off now, especially after this week's performances.
Don't forget, I'll be back after the results show and on Friday, in a separate post this week, our (new) regular panel for this season, the awesome group of LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself will discuss this week's performances and results.
The Wiz - Encores Summer Stars at New York City Center Mainstage - Off-Broadway, New York, NY - **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls, Book by William F. Brown, Directed by Thomas Kail, Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler
Thanks heavens for the sassy black divas (and I'm not talking about Ashanti)! And thank heavens for Andy Blankenbuehler (In The Heights, 9 to 5). Tony winner La Chanze (The Color Purple, Company), Dawnn Lewis (A Different World) and Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris) makes some musical magic in their brief moments on stage and easily upstage lead Ashanti as Dorothy. Ashanti really should have played the Tin Man.
Encores presents its third Summer Stars series and falls slightly flat after following the rousing revival of Gypsy and last years entertaining Damn Yankees. Now, bear in mind that The Wiz, while having built a huge following, still is a slightly dated revisioning of The Wizard of Oz. The story is the same, and the concept of presenting the famous story of Oz with all black actors is great, but while the songs are buoyant and enjoyable (with some classics like Ease on Down the Road), the book and jokes that string the songs along have not matured well since the 70's (when The Wiz was written).
It doesn't help when they place music pop/r&b singer Ashanti as the lead Dorothy. She has a nice enough voice, but pretty much stands there like a piece of cardboard the rest of the time. If anytime the Wizard of Oz should have intervened, maybe it was here. Who cares about the heart, the courage or the brain. He needed to give Dorothy a personality ASAP.
Orlando Jones (Men In Trees, Drumline co-headlines as The Wiz himself (at least until this past Sunday, now Colman Domingo (excellent in Passing Strange) takes over) and he looks like a movie actor happy to be on stage. He's not great at all, but at least he looks like he's trying and having a great time while doing it.
Thomas Kail's direction is pretty standard and unremarkable and the stage set is in one sense, cleverly simplistic and in another sense, terribly uninspired and strangely limiting. What lifts it to watchable levels is Andy Blankenbuehler's choreography. Okay, so it definitely has his stamp on it and looks similar to the stuff he did in In the Heights and 9 to 5 but I loved it there and I loved it here. Some may say it works against the 70's sound the musical elicits but it's exactly the freshness the new dances bring to the somewhat stale show (book and direction) that makes it exciting.
The "Ease On Down The Road" sequence is particularly fun between Blankenbuehler's yellow brick steps and the song itself, it's the one time in the show that truly starts lifting off, but with the way it cuts and interludes, it never manages to lift the rest of the show up to magical heights.
Dawnn Lewis does her best (in a hideous costume, though at least it's better than the munchkins looks which look like a kindergarten class exploded around the stage) as Addaperle and is seen far too little in this show. While I'm sure Lewis had a decent career, I really haven't felt like I've seen her since A Different World (which was a LONG time ago) but now I'm wondering where's she been, because Lewis easily has a natural charisma that fills the stage. At least for the brief time her character is on the stage.
Tichina Arnold, already so fabulously hilarious on Everybody Hates Chris, uses her outlandish facial contortions to her most devilish performance as Evilene, the evil witch. But Evilene is on stage even LESS than Addaperle and is such a waste of such comic talent. Arnold squeezes in her over-the-top energy all into a single major song "No Bad News" but if evil is usually this fun, I'll side with the devil from now on.
On the good side, La Chanze gloriously sings the opening song "The Feeling We Once Had" (as Auntie Em) and the closing numbers "A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind" and "Believe in Yourself (Reprise)" (as Glinda) but sadly disappears for everything in between. Again, the role(s) is written small but its such a shame when you have La Chanze there with such a big and beautiful voice.
Of Dorothy's yellow brick road compatriots, James Monroe Iglehard fares best as the Cowardly Lion, both in voice and performance.
Christian White (as Scarecrow) and Joshua Henry (as Tin Man) weren't terrible but seemed a bit lost and overwhelmed on stage, but not as much as Ashanti.
Between Lewis, LaChanze and Arnold, and the fun and modern twist in the choreography, there were still enough elements for an entertaining show. If only they could have filled the missing magic with more of the same sparkle in "Ease on Down the Road".
The Full Monty - The Paper Mill Playhouse - Milburn, NJ - ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek, Book by Terrence McNally, Directed by Mark S. Hoebee, Choreographed by Denis Jones
Elaine Stritch in New Jersey? Say WHA?!!! Broadway legend. Plus the prospects of naked men. Plus one of those men is Wayne Wilcox. Yup, that's all you really need to make a fun night at a musical!
I saw the First National tour a few years back and always remembered really liking the musical version of The Full Monty, even though I couldn't hum you a single tune from the show. Now, the Paper Mill Playhouse is staging the musical based on the terrific British movie and throwing in Broadway legend Elaine Stritch amongst the disrobing boys, so you know it's gotta be a hoot.
And a hoot it is! While the musical is still a bit clunky and runs far too long for what's essentially a fun and light musical, the Paper Mill production excels in the basic elements of the show, most notably having a great cast led by Wayne Wilcox (Marty on Gilmore Girls and who really should be a bigger musical star than he is).
Oh sure, the musical tries to throw a serious undertone to enhance the underlying themes that deal with social status and men's place in the world, matching the intelligent film script, but Terrence McNally (of ALL people) simply burdens the buoyancy of the stage show with some dreary lulling moments that slows the momentum down. The musical works best when it's fun and zippy and characters get to either throw out barbs or toss off their clothes, and only the touching "You Walk with Me", sung after a funeral scene between Malcolm and Ethan, two men that finally find themselves, works as a serious moment.
Allen E. Read and Jason Babinsky are fantastic as Malcolm and Ethan. I think it's hard not to like the young dim but sweet Ethan character and its one of those roles where any actor playing it will be loved (Christopher J. Hanke was my Ethan in the tour), but I still think Babinsky is completely superb and adorable in the role.
Read is great as the geeky Malcolm and his singing voice is beautiful.
I cannot say enough about Wilcox who sounds great and played the Jerry, the down and out loser father/ex-husband in need of fast cash, with the right amount of heart, heartbreak, goofiness and jerk to make it all work.
Milton Craig Nealy is great as Horse. Both burly and sympathetic.
Joe Coots is Jerry's larger best friend Dave and probably had the weakest singing voice but nicely made up for it with his buddy banter with Wilcox.
Jenn Colella is Dave's wife Georgie, and manages to fill in the barely sketched female characters and the main wife representative in the show. Colella's voice is fabulous and she brings in a highly energetic performance.
Michelle Ragusa (above) fills in the other main female wife role and while it's way more caricature, it's basically all that is needed to be effective in the part. Her Vicki is wife to Harold (Michael Rupert (Legally Blonde) doing what he does best, playing white collared stuffy guys), the former boss to all who now finds himself unemployed with his former underlings.
Of course, the REAL female star here is Elaine Stritch. Elaine Stritch in New Jersey? Oh yah! And she knows she's out of the New York spotlight as Jeanette, the piano player the shows up out of nowhere to help the boys practice their stripping show. (BTW, I'm assuming you all know the story of this by now, and if you haven't, uh, go rent the movie ASAP. It's great). With Stritch playing what is essentially a minor sidekick character, it frees her up to have a ball with the role, spitting the lines out and having the time of her life, and it's all the more fun to watch for the rest of us.
Oh yah, and the final strip, when the men go the full monty, is a lot of fun too!
It's almost July (Happy Canada Day! Happy Independence Day! Happy Pride Day recovery!) so is it weird that I finally have time to watch the last few episodes of The Amazing Race even though I already know what happens? It's still surprisingly entertaining!
Anyways, for more up to date TV talk, check out the other TV bloggers:
With network TV ratings on the decline, Buzz wondered if you — yes, you! — are watching less TV this Summer than usual. (BuzzSugar)
This week, Sandie interviewed Rutina Wesley who plays Tara on HBO's True Blood. (Daemon's TV)
Other than So You Think You Can Dance, Vance didn't have much time to watch TV last week because he was out in the park watching Twelfth Night starring Anne Hathaway, Raul Esparza (Pushing Daisies), Audra McDonald (Private Practice), Hamish Linklater (New/Old Christine) and more. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace offered an elegy for ABC's canceled The Unusuals and offered advance reviews of FOX's Virtuality and the first four episodes of HBO's Hung. (Televisionary)
After this week's episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Sara has the irresistible urge to become BFFs with Kathy and Paula Deen. (TiFaux)
Eric is so glad that Lafayette is back for season two of True Blood and even happier to find out how he gets out of imprisonment this week. (TV Fanatic)
This week, the TV Addict took a closer at the CW's unexpected midseason treat, LIFE UNEXPECTED (The TV Addict)
So, pride's great and all, but let's be frank. Seeing all the hot guys walking on Church street (the "village" in Toronto and the backdrop for Queer as Folk) during pride, with so many happy couplings, is sometimes f#$king depressing and nauseating. Ain't it? I mean, it's great that we don't have to fight for gay marriage up here in Canada anymore but that just makes the fact that I'm far from getting married all the more depressing.
But whatever, I'm single and fabulous. !. ?. No. !
Here's Tyler Oakley, my favorite member of the 5Awesomegays, some random yet much followed young YOUNG teen who I've been following on youtube, speaking about being single, fabulous (and gay):
And if you're not convinced, you've got to love this kid for his rap "Why I Hate Danny Gokey" from about a month ago:
Here's another guy I love following on youtube. DaveyWavey. He spews cheesy Oprah-type affirmations but he always does it shirtless. You gotta love that! Here he happens to spew about being your own boyfriend to find a boyfriend. I'd be more cynical about it if he weren't so adorable and gay about it all:
I've also followed Jeffrey Self and Cole for like EVER (well, a long time before everyone else started discovering them thank you very much yes I'm totally taking claim of them) but now they're HUGE and have their own TV show Jeffrey and Cole Caserole! Okay, so it's on Logo (Fridays at 11pm), the gay channel way up in the cable numbers if you even get it, but it's nice to see them spin it off into something from their youtube vids! Sadly, I don't get to see their show since we don't have Logo here in Canada but I'll have to hunt for them online (the irony isn't it? I had easier access when it was just simply their youtube vids). (Oh wait, he's posted it on his own website! YAY! Or here at the Logo site))
Amelia opens on Oct. 23rd 2009. Starring Hillary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Virginia Madsen, and Christopher Eccleston.
It'll probably be another typical biopic but at least it LOOKS great doesn't it? And will the Academy throw Hillary another nomination?
This is one of those movies the Academy USED TO love and smother in awards but nowadays, I think they're tending to go a bit more indie. But who knows, with the new 10 nomination system, old hats could slip through (and doesn't that vintage hat look great?)
So You Think You Can Dance - Top 16 Results - The Cut from 16 to 14 - Ep. 511 Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Guest Judge: Toni Basil
Top 16 Group Dance Choreographed by: Dmitry Chaplin and Napoleon and Tabitha D'Umo Song: "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" - Pitbull
At first I was like, did Jean-Marc choreograph this? Eh, it seems a bit too cool for him (though he did do an amazing group number for Canada)
And again, LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself chatted about the Top 16 Performances here (and recopied below after the results). It was pretty unanimous this week.
My Predictions from the Top 16: Bottom Three: Jonathan and Karla, Jason and Caitlin, Asuka and Vitolio Going home: Karla and Vitolio? Or is Jonathan a goner? NOOOOOO Say it ain't so!
The actual bottom three results were: Jonathan and Karla, Jason and Caitlin, Asuka and Vitolio I got all three couples right for once. Granted it was probably the most obvious week at this point.
The "Dance for Your Lives" Solos
Asuka Kondoh Song: "Don't Trust Me" - 30H!3 Grade: C+
I don't hate her as much as everyone else seems to. I thought it was a fine solo though its always hard to really showcase anything in her style except some booty shaking. She didn't seem like she was really FIGHTING though, and almost
Vitolio Jeune Song: "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay Grade: C+
He's so strong and does so many things right, but was it me or did he look like he paused a few moments and overthink things? Or almost looked like he was second-guessing his moves in the midst of his solo? I wish he were more confident because he's obviously talented, but it's getting distracting in both his solos and partnering. Nigel later points out that he sets himself up for amazing things and never follows through. Bingo!
Karla Garcia Song: "15 Step" - Radiohead Grade: A-
Oh, that was so much weirder than we would have ever thought she could pull off. I'm really liking her more and more. That weird flick and flutter near the start was all sorts of Marc and all the more wonderful. But damn she's small (at least next to Cat).
I actually keep forgetting he's ballroom. I know people are going to call me on this but I don't care. I still like him. And not just cause he's pretty. I thought his solo had a breezy confidence about it and again, while ballroom is always hard to show in solo's, he did a pretty good job without relying solely on his gymnastic skills (which really, would have been totally fine by me. I mean, Neil did and he's one of my faves).
Caitlin Kinney Song: "Que Sera Sera" - Jennifer Tehran Grade: B
She's pretty. She knows it. But she still kicks it into gear with some nice showy tricks. Clever. Again, I don't hate her as much as many in the blogosphere seems to have but I haven't fallen in love with her either yet. She still needs to woo me and that solo made me want to keep her, but I need more commitment.
Jason Glover Song: "New American Classic" - Taking Back Sunday Grade: C+
He's great at flipping back and forth, twisting around across the stage but it seemed more like a gymnastics routine than a dance solo and I realized he doesn't seem passionate enough in it. Though maybe that's this whole seasons problem and why a lot of people aren't connecting. They all may be great technical dancers (save Hip-Hop) but it's all performance and no heart? Anyways, just a theory. Oh yah. Jason was decent in his solo but he was better last time. It was good but unmemorable.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alas, they love Caitlin (okay, I like her but I didn't think it was the BEST solo of the night, I don't get the LOVE for her, maybe that's why the bloggers don't love her?).
Obviously I'm sad even though I know most everyone called it, but considering how amazing he was in last week's routine from Stacey Tookey, he obviously had tons of promise. He was BAD in the Hip-Hop, but I have yet to be wowed by Vitolio once yet.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Everyweek, LowResJoe, ABChau, TwoP Lauren S and myself discuss the performance show. Here's our chat about the Top 16 Performances:
Joe: Hey guys! Looks like we have our original roster back intact, and just in time for ... guest judge Toni Basil? Eh. And did Cat look strangely indifferent/hostile to the disappointingly dull Ms. So-Fine-You-Blow-My-Mind? Or am I just projecting? Anyway, the panel is back in full, this week.
We'll start off by taking one routine at a time and spin off from there...
Karla and Jonathan Hip-Hop (Dave Scott)
Vance: You know I've been a fan of these two right from the start and felt vindicated last week. Hmm... oh well. I still love them, but that sucked the donkey. This season CANNOT do Hip Hop apparently.
Lauren: Seriously, what is up with this season? I thought this could have been good, and Karla did better than Jonathan, but dudes. I did like her silver eyeshadow.
Joe: I think we all wanted to like this but realized very early on that it wasn't happening. I do always feel for the pretty boys who are ALWAYS gonna get hated on for their hip-hop even if they're really not that bad (Neil; Thayne). But Jonathan was pretty bad. Karla I thought was keeping up pretty well, but this just isn't a very hip-hoppy group.
AB Chao: OH MY GOD. Y'all. I cannot take the lack of hip-hop goodness. I am about to pull a hissy of TWoP poster proportions, and just threaten to quit watching.
Asuka and Vitolio Jazz (Mandy Moore)
Vance: Vitolio is a good dancer but he still gets overshined by Asuka for me. I'm not sure I like her as a person, but my eye is always drawn to her on the dancefloor and Vitolio is more of a placeholder for me.
Lauren: I have to admit, I just can't stand Asuka as a person, and I think that's coloring her dancing for me. I finally watched last week's eps on Sunday (after a horrible DVR mishap at my parents' house so I couldn't watch earlier) and I wanted to absolutely wring her neck while she had her head on his chest during judging and was trying to look all Serious and Emotional. I won't get too long-winded about it, but I think that she's also only a good dancer, not a great one, and combined with how I perceive her personality, it kills it for me. Vitolio I really like, and I am just rooting for her to go soon so that I can see him have a chance with someone else. I do fear that he's not strong enough to really hold on against some of the other guys as the weeks go on.
Joe: God, I am just BORED by these two. I was halfway interested in their clip package where it looked like they were gonna actually go all The Cutting Edge on us and make out, but then the dancing started and I drifted off. Not even Mandy Moore and her Totally '80s fetish (which I never noticed until this year, but Mandy loves her some '80s) could wake me up. Really hope they go home this week.
AB Chao: I can't hate on Asuka for her baby act, because I know someone who does the exact same thing and it's kind of endearing. But I can see how it would make you want to kill her. When Toni Basil said "caressing her face" I nearly threw up. It was seriously creepy. Anyway, the dancing: eh. It was ok. But Joe, it makes me really happy to see a Cutting Edge reference. Toe pick!
Ade and Melissa Rumba (Tony Meredith)
Vance: It wasn't perfect, and Ade looked nervous a couple of times, but man, this team is STRONG, and I think Melissa is the strongest female dancer this season. I hate using the word fierce but she's FIERCE.
Lauren: If ever "fierce" was called for, it's here, and especially when Melissa is wearing that scrap of a hankie of a dress! I thought they were fabulous and she's managed to totally turn me around since the beginning of the season -- I think she's awesome now.
Joe: LOVE! Sorry, it's official, these two are my favorites. Scorching hot rumba, Melissa is INSANELY long and flexible and Ade has that Joshua/Will thing where he looks like he's made of granite but just floats out there.
AB Chao: Yeah, these two are officially awesome. Ade could not be more charming and powerful and just all-around hot. That crazy move where Melissa did her leg up and over and AROUND, that is when I fell in love with her. However: Dear Melissa, Please quit plucking your eyebrows. Love, A Friend Who Cares. There, I said it.
Joe: If I were not already inclined to love Melissa, I might get annoyed by her constant stalking of the camera during the episode ending dance-out. Everybody else is having fun, old lady! Quit mugging and grab the red hat off of Jason's head!
Jeanette and Brandon Hip-Hop (Dave Scott)
Joe: Oh HERE'S where all the unexpected hip-hop skill went! No, Brandon is still not someone I'm actively rooting for BUT this is two weeks in a row now where these two just absolutely tore shit up.
Vance: While I don't love Brandon, I don't think I hate him as much as everyone else does, and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Which seemed to pay off this week cause he Hip-Hopped!!! And WELL!!! But um, was it me or did Janette totally nail it? Who would have thought Janette would be the best Hip-Hopped of Season 5 to date?
AB Chao: FINALLY. I was so trying not to get my hopes up based on the rehearsal footage, but it looked so promising, and oh my goodness, it paid off. I still cannot really stand Brandon and his Carlton Face, but he KILLED it tonight. I was so happy. And Janette was totally selling it, too. I could have done without those tights, though. Yes, I could. (Maybe I'll start talking like Mary Murphy in my everyday life. YES I WILL!)
Vance: Oh yeah, what WAS Janette wearing. I seriously thought maybe I missed something about an homage to Rocky Horror Show
Lauren: So I know that of all of us I've been the Brandon lover, and I will admit that his "kooky" personality is starting to grate on me a little bit. BUT that does not take away from the fact that I love his dancing, and I had no idea he was going to pull this out like he did. And Janette! I was so neutral on her after auditions but she's way up there for me now. These two are one of my favorite pairings.
Kayla and Kupono Viennese Waltz (Jean-Marc Genereaux)
Joe: Totally elegant and beautiful, even if the choreography was suspiciously close (i.e. exactly the same) to last year's Twitchington waltz (which I swear I will stop referencing some day). But you know I love my Kupono in all his yelpy, I-designed-this-crackheaded-ensemble-myself glory. And this is the first week I really connected with Kayla the way the judges did. Now get them some Mia next week!
Vance: I actually thought this new pairing worked really well. Maybe it was the music and the flowy dress Kayla wore but I loved this one.
AB Chao: Also loved. Kupono, please come live with me and we can talk about stitching faux fox collars to Hanes t-shirts all day long. He is so adorable. Kayla is growing on me. And I think they are a way better pair than Kayla and Max.
Lauren: I didn't love this routine the way I felt I was supposed to love it. I'm generally not a waltz-hater, but maybe it's like Joe said and they are starting to look the same to me? That said, I think they are a good pairing and I certainly didn't actually dislike it.
Randi and Evan Contemporary (Mia Michaels)
Joe: No lie, I actually yelped when I saw Mia onscreen. She was holding out for her favorite Uni-Tard! Yay! This was so much fun to watch, and Evan really did sell that lech persona well. (I guess the French-perv thing fits, but I was totally thinking Streetcar of Desire thoughts.) Randi was all sex bomb, so obviously she wants to be a special ed teacher. OBVIOUSLY. Anyway, I'm in the tank for Mia routines anyway, but even beyond that Randi and Evan were awesome.
Vance: It's almost getting tiresome to love a Mia Michaels routine isn't it? Cause that was all kinds of awesome and Randi and Evans totally sold it. (Also, I thought Randi looked like Tyra Collette on FNL this week).
AB Chao: I love Mia so much, it doesn't even bother me to be tiresome about her. Oddly, I was only lukewarm on this as it was happening, but then I kind of fell in love with it on the replay. And then I watched it again (shut up) and thought it was just incredible. (Vance: She DID! I kept thinking that too. Which is fine with me, as Tyra and I are getting tv-married later this summer.)
Vance: Girls are not even my thing but I would totally get TV married with Tyra!
Lauren: I am so happy to be her with all the Tyra/FNL love! I thought these two seemed pretty good in rehearsal but I was still a little unsure of how the routine would be, and at first I wasn't sure how I felt. But as it went on and then as it stuck with me and I kept thinking about it, I did love it. My love/hate relationship with Mia continues, but today I was firmly on "love" especially with her ridiculously pretentious Buddy Holly glasses.
Caitlin and Jason Paso Doble (Jean Marc Generaux)
Lauren: I DO NOT GET CAITLIN. I do not get why they love her so much. She's fine, but I don't think she's great and nothing she's done has touched me in any way. I like Jason a lot more, but this performance was a big yawn for me that totally didn't keep up with the ambitious music.
Vance: Jason's kinda hot isn't he? Maybe I'm being harsh but I thought it was a little bit of a mess. They had some cool moves and impressive moments but I thought it was shaky. Granted, they do only have about 3 days to learn and rehearse these things but still. (Actually, wait a minute, they get a full day more than they did here in Canada (since they tape on Tuesdays, we taped on mondays here)). Okay. then really. no excuse.
Joe: This started off like I was going to very much like it, sharp and strong and whatnot. But then it got sloppy, and my mind started to drift into how the costumes made them look like an extra from 300 and Princess Kashmir. I keep thinking I should like Jason much more than I actually do (kind of like how Lauren thinks of Caitlin).
AB Chao: I thought this was a mess, so I don't understand how they got even the little praise they did. Caitlin's entire being is just a blur to me, she's so nondescript. And Jason is proficient enough, but I don't really get him. Which reminds me, I really enjoyed hearing what the dancers would have been doing if they weren't dancers. Wasn't Jason like, "I would be a neurophysicist," or something? It was hilarious. Not that dancers can't be neurophysicists. Just maybe not that particular one.
Joe: Wasn't Jason the one who was like "I would be a soccer player...in college"? Because he is A CHILD.
Lauren: Hush. I don't want to think about that.
Vance: Wait. how OLD is Jason? True. I was wondering about that sentence. EWWWWWWWWW... am I totally turning in to a cougay? (Oh wait. too late).
AB Chao: HAHAHAAA, cougay. Y'all are right, Jason was the soccer player. I can't remember who was the brilliant scientist. But mark my words, one day one of these dancers will cure something.
Phillip and Jeanine Broadway (Tyce Diorio)
Lauren: This is one of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite musicals, so it was probably going to not live up anyway since you're comparing poor Phillip and Jeanine to Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. But it left me cold (other than realizing that Phillip's pants had a giant hole in the butt -- I kept thinking that would going to be part of the routine and he was going to pull them off, but no, it was just a giant hole showing his underwear to America) though I think they both are capable dancers.
Vance: I thought they were way harsh on Philip. I thought he was great in a routine that was slightly better than Tyce's norm but still far below what it could have been. Ryan!? Where's RYAN?
Joe: Here's the thing -- I like Phillip a lot. He's sweet and eager and mucho talented in his own realm. But I sit here hoping (in vain, I'm sure) that he'll get voted off, because I L-O-V-E love Jeanine, and I just want to see her paired up with someone who can keep up with her in these other styles. He wasn't terrible here, but he was clearly the weaker of the two, and he didn't really add anything beyond, as mentioned, the split pants. And once again I have to give Nigel credit for being honest (even if he was so bipolar the rest of the night) when he pretty much laid the situation out: Phillip's built-in voting bloc won't allow him to end up in the bottom 3, but unless he starts getting better, he's gonna be the Sanjaya. Can't say as I disagree.
AB Chao: I think I am starting to feel about Philip this year the same way I felt about Comfort last year, which is to say: unrelentingly sympathetic. They both just tried so hard, you guys! I can't take it. It isn't rational, especially given my complaints about this being such a lukewarm year, but I can't help it. Step off my sweet Philip. - - - - -
Vance: Okay, and I know every year people complain about the choreography and then I point out if you look back, there's usually only 1 or 2 really superb memorable ones in each episode. But that being said, was it me or were most of the choreo last night pretty terrible/forgetable?
Other than Mia's, which I think was half made memorable via Evan and Randi's performance, everything else was below meh. Like Philip and Jeanine's piece. As Lauren says, the original is so great it would hard to top, and alas, Tyce disappoints. With no fault to the dancers who I thought did a great job with what they were given.
Joe: I just can't believe the balls in choreographing a couch dance to something from SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Nigel pretty much had no choice but to mention it because how could you not? But how is that not setting your dancers up for unfavorable comparisons. I kind of revel in Tyce's dickishness as much as it repulses me (that bitchitude he threw Phillip's way!), but that was just poor strategic planning.
Lauren: Yes to everything you just said. And I've been wondering the same thing about the choreography -- actually, moreso, I've been wondering about the show in general. It just seems not quite as spectacular (Other than a pretty awesome top 20 performance show) but I'm not as excited about these dancers and dances as I've been in the past. I don't know if it's the show or if I've turned into a jaded shell of a person.
Vance: Yah, is it just partly because our expectations are so high now? After years of Travis, Sabra, Neil, Benji, Heidi and co?
I think the talent is still up there, but I think having auditions that continually showed people we loved who ended up being cut was no help. I mean, did we even SEE Jonathan? Karla? etc before the Top 20? And with the talent being way more even these past two season, less people break out, so you don't know who to cheer for. There's also less "antagonists" to boo for too. (At least not yet). So it makes the show all the less dramatic, even though it's way more fair and even.
So what's better? A show were we get Ben Susak? Joy Spears? Jessi Paralta? (I dont remember them either. I had to look them up.) A show where Cedric makes it to the top 14? (sorry. HATED him. and Philip is better than Cedric at least). Or what we have now?
Joe: I do actually think the talent level is down this season, but also there's more up-and-down between performances. Last season, it was the top 5 pairs who were flawless every week in the early going, and then everybody else fighting the current. This season, we've had pairs be great, then bad, then awesome, on and on.
AB Chao: I think I said last week how sad I was that this year doesn't seem to be as good as prior seasons, but is that something people say every season? I just can't tell. Maybe I don't want to say it because I don't want to admit I'm really disappointed. Frownie! - - - - -
TOP 3 PERFORMANCES
Vance: Randi/Evan; Jeanette/Brandon; Melissa/Ade
Lauren: Randi/Evan; Melissa/Ade; Jeanette/Brandon
AB Chao: Jeanette/Brandon; Randi/Evan; Melissa/Ade
Joe: Melissa/Ade; Randi/Evan; Jeanette/Brandon
LEAST FAVORITE PERFORMANCE:
Vance: Jonathan/Karla
Lauren: Jonathan/Karla
AB Chao: Jonathan/Karla
Joe: Jonathan/Karla
That's right! Total unanimity! Deal with it, Cate Blanchett America!
***** - 5 Stars TAPEWORTHY AND WILL watch it LIVE for fear the recording will mess up. Do not attempt to call or try to make plans during this time.
**** - 4 Stars Tapeworthy and I will TRY to watch it LIVE
*** - 3 Stars Tapeworthy, will watch it live if I'm around but if not, will catch it later in the week.
** - 2 Stars Might tape it to watch later as long as I have space and no conflicting shows that have higher priority.
* - 1 Star Won't tape it but if I need something to watch while I fold my laundry (and I'm done all my tapes), I will watch it (ie. Reba).
0 - 0 Stars Will NOT turn on the TV for fear of coming across this show. (ie. According to Jim).
Grades only reflect current new airings. Does not necessarily apply to previous seasons. Grades are subject to change at any moment. Apologies to TV Gal for half borrowing her system.
So I've been STILL playing MASSIVE TV catch up and only just finally watched the finales for tons of the ABC stuff (Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters). Though I didn't mean to do a ABC marathon, it just happened that way. (Finished Gossip Girl too, which is really just like a younger version of the ABC melodramedies). Oh, did I mention I also finally watched the finale for The Amazing Race? I know. Yet still fun even though I knew the results! You know a reality show is good when it's still fun to watch after being spoiled. I also still have the finale for Survivor to watch/fast forward through though I've actually forgotten who won so it might still be a surprise to me. 
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