Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The Top 18!

Here we are, my turn to recap this week's episode of SYTYCD. I haven't been a great member of the sisterhood, I meant to comment on Courtney's recap last week and somehow...I just didn't. Shame on me! Also, I haven't been posting who is recapping each week, so for any of you who may have been looking for it through me, it would have been hard to find.


Anyway, I love the show, but I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed this season, but I think I say that at the start of every season! Maybe it's just too close to last season? Also, put me firmly on the team of hating the new stage. Ugh. It really annoyed me during the intros. Why change something that was working?! Ok, I'm done with complaining....

Just a little heads up that I'm feeling a bit under the weather and didn't have the mental capacity to think of snarky and whitty comments like Courtney and Rachel. What you'll find is a bunch of like, didn't like, fun, not as fun - real exciting stuff like that!

Of course tonight is another one of my least favorites - when the dancers share their partner's best and worst qualities. Anyone else find this annoying? It just seems too fake and staged. Feel free to comment if there was something that stood out, I'm not going to go into the specifics of what they said.


Here we go.....

Noel and Russell -Jamal Sims a new choreographer, hip hop - They are in tennis outfits, battling it out with tennis rackets. hmm? kind of a weird idea, but it was a fun routine and entertaining, not very exciting though. I would have liked to see something that could really showcase Russell. The judges say....Adam, make the big big, and the small small. Mary, thought Russell did better, Noel showed no weakness from previous injury, Nigel was disappointed, sounds ominous for Noel. I hated his crap about Russell doing well last week but being the bottom b/c the standard was so high. Really? Russell's performance was in the bottom two guys? Definitely not.

Ashleigh and Jakob, (Ok, I loved that he called out the sweat factor on both of them) Viennese Waltz with Tony and Melanie, can Jakob manage the lifts? OH no, is Ashleigh freaking out over that kiss? Pretty to watch. Love to watch Jakob jump. Very graceful and smooth. The judges say... Adam, loves them, I can't believe he called out the choreographers. Has anyone ever done that before? Mary, wants them to grow and sees them in the top 10. Nigel loves them both as well. I think the judges like Ashleigh more than America will.

Bianca and Victor - Tyce Diorio, Jazz, going for some Southern gospel soul. Another fun one, but not what I thought it would be, it was fast paced, but not exciting. The judges say... Adam thought they danced it well but it was too much dancing and not enough abandonment (that's the word I think they were going for) Mary and Nigel basically echoed him - good dancing, not great character.

Mollee and Nathan - Bollywood with Nakul Dev Mahajan - Liked the opening scene with the setting sun. crazy opening pirouette with Nathan, I'm more drawn to watching Nathan than Molly, she still seems like a little girl to me, sorry, don't dislike her as much though. The judges say....Adam loves them, loves seeing Mollee be still, did another great imitation of her. Mary and Nigel loved it and them.


Channing and Philip, Samba with Tony and Melanie, she looks uncomfortable, not coming naturally, the lifts seem slow and awkward, whose fault is that though? The judges say...Adam could tell they were struggling, who couldn't though?

Kevin and Karen, Hip hop with Tabitha and Napoleon. Wow, check out Karen's outfit - Courtney, perhaps you could make that for your Halloween costume next year? Not the style of hip hop I like best, I miss seeing Nappy Tab's softer side, but it was another fun (count 'em up, I use it every time, I must not have felt like forming actual opinions) one, definitely got some bumping and grinding going on! The judges say...Adam fell off his chair over Karin, Mary put them on the Hot Tamale Train, Nigel talked about how Karin moved and basically creeped us all out.

Legacy and Kathryn - Stacey Tookey, contemporary, yikes for Legacy, he struggled with this in Vegas. Legacy is winning me over, he just seems like a sweetheart. Ok, love this routine, his strength works so well with this number and is my favorite so far. I really like this partnership. The judges say... Adam is praising them and I keep waiting for Legacy to cry. Mary and Nigel loved it as well. Now back to me...Of course it reminded me of Addiction, but only in the concept, not in the choreography. I love that in the end she rose above her fears! These two are my favorites, so far they've rocked both numbers they've done.

Peter and Pauline -working with Wade (squeal of happiness) doing a piece on Van Gogh's starry night, becoming the discarded people coming back to haunt him. cool and funky, love seeing something different. The judges say...Adam praises their commitment, Mary liked it but her praise falls short, Nigel seemed to like Pauline better.

Ellenore and Ryan - Miriam and Leonardo choreograph an Argentine Tango - OH my!, her dress is caught on her heel, adding tension to the routine. Thank goodness it came free. The judges say...All three praised them for the dance, especially that they pulled it off with the warddrobe malfunction. Adam makes a crack about dancing in a dress, I find it funny, not sure about Mary and Nigel though.

I think it's interesting that they aren't picking the couples as a whole, but from them individually.

For the bottom 4, Matt and I guess Philip and Channing and Bianca and Viktor. I am suprised that Channing gets a pass over Noel, I thought she looked uncomfortable the whole time on stage. What on earth is Viktor wearing?!

Noel is in there, shouldn't be suprised with the way Nigel threatened her earlier.

Results...I am surprised that Bianca was cut so early, I really thought she'd stick around a bit longer.

Nigel pretty much gives it away when he starts off saying how hard this is....of course Philip is going. Nigel lets him go with nary an explanation. Now we find out that Philip's father just passed away, how sad and touching, the way Philip handled getting the boot made me like him for the first time. Wow, Cat just got teary eyed, give that lady an Emmy already, there really is not a better reality host!

Who are you liking/disliking? How do you feel about the judges decisions and their ability to get rid of whomever they want?

I am impressed if you were able to follow through that incoherent post - begin commenting....NOW!!!!

7 comments:

parsons said...

Well done Megan (great name)!

As we all know, I (heart) Russell and have NO IDEA why the judges are picking on him. My guess is that he will dominate the call in portion and so they want him to stay humble? IDK. I think he's better than Victor and Kevin at least.

I HATE HATE HATE the ballroom numbers (w/ the exception of Ryan and Ellenore). Too boring compared to the cool/wow factor of the other dances.

I really thought Legacy (someone I think isn't that great) was awesome this week and have to give him mad props. I think that choreography was perfect for him.

Also I fast forwarded through the "Van Gogh" number. I didn't get it ... too weird for me. I know it was one of your faves though Megan.

And at this point I'm definitely crushing on Karen. I'm not sure her age or whatever, so it could be creepy, but Adam is right on with his evaluation.

Perhaps you guys are used to it ... but Mary's "Hot Tamale Train" is so shrill it causes my dog to howl (hyperbole) ... can she tone it down a touch?

And finally, I agree it was a tough week for Philip to go on. What was tough was when he said "just over half of the dancers went to his funeral" ... now I'm not saying all the dancers are BFFs, but what else was going on for the other half of the dancers? They present this "we love each other vibe" and 8 dancers or so didn't go to support him? I want some back story ... that's rough.

Megan said...

Brian I hate to tell you that Mary will not be toning it down, in fact she gets louder and louder all season.

I didn't pay a ton of attention to just over half thing Philip said, but your comment now makes me curious - why wouldn't they all be there? I wonder where the funeral was, would it be harder for some than others to get there? You're right that it doesn't make sense...I'll have to do some digging!

Rachel said...

Good job, Megan! I feel the same that this early in the game, it's hard to get super excited over everything!

I felt horrible for Channing! Phillip was a terrible partner...awful. The lifts were slow and awkward (Channing is not a small girl) Did anyone else see her hit her head off the stage at the end???? I was so embarrassed for her.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Legacy and Katherine! It's the only routine so far that I want to watch again...and again! So many intricate details!

I was soooo uncomfortable when Ellenore's dress got caught in her heel! I'll have to watch the dance again and try to ignore because they did so great in spite of it.

When Adam fell out of his chair after Karin and Kevin's dance...we had to hit pause because we were laughing so hard! Love the Shankman. Though the routine itself garnered quite a few "Oh dear!"'s from me!!! I'd like to see her do something a little less sexy soon.

I really enjoyed the Bollywood routine. Is Nathan growing on you haters?

Tennis rackets make me uncomfortable...

I. Love. Cat. Deeley.

Courtney said...

Great recap Meg- you focused on the dancing, and isn't that why we're here? (That and an eternal love of Cat Deely!) I finally watched last night, but didn't make it all the way through, so I missed the last couple dances and the results- but I have to agree that I'm a little underwhelmed. (and I HATE the stage....I know I have to let it go, but really it is ruining things for me!) There are a lot of dancers that I think could be great, and a lot of routines that should be fantastic, but for some reason a lot of it's not clicking. Not sure the missing factor, but that magic "wow" isn't there as much as I'd like. Plus, even when I almost like something, the judges are there to tell me why it wasn't that impressive and we need more. Wah-wah. (did anyone else think the judges were super negative and long winded? man....)

LOVED-
Viennese Waltz. I (like Brian) usually hate this style, but I thought they were beautiful, and graceful and had a very sweet connection. That GMP is growing on me!

Nap&Tab hip hop- This was awesome, totally prefer this style vs. the slow jam stuff they're known for. When the tempo kicked up in the end I was HOOKED. But for real- Karen is THISCLOSE to making it porn. I mean yow-za. Somehow though, I have total confidence that she'll blow us all away with her sophistication and grace once she has to do ballroom.

I also totally loved the Fear piece. Meg- it reminded me of Addiction too- I love when the dancers are forced to connect like that.

I actually even liked Bollywood more than usual. Maybe I was just getting sleepy?

Not so Loved-
I didn't think they did Tyce's number justice (Tyce seemed to agree...how awkward is it that he nodded emphatically throughout all the negative critique? Ouch!) I wanted to get up and dance this one, it was such an inspiring concept.

Samba- This was rough beyond words. I felt like we could hear the grunting oh Phillip trying to heave Channing around the stage. And there was nothing natural about the way she shook it.....Just all around uncomfortable to watch.

I'm sad I missed the Wade number. I went to fast forward through the final commercial and accidentally pressed Off. I took it as a sign and went to bed. I'll have to check that out tonight.

As for results- I feel bad, but that's probably who I would have chosen. Now the remaining tapper is going to have to represent even harder.

Overall- good and bad week. Hopefully the good keeps growing as time goes on.

Crafty P said...

okay, this one started out REALLY slow for me (and a bit painful)...
I knew at the beginning of the show that it was the end of the tapper trio. Had no idea they'd send 2 packing though!

I thought channing had a concussion when she hit her head on that floor, geesh! she hit hard! Philip was awful as a partner, but wow, were they all affected by his leaving!

Faves: Karen and what's his name. Does someone even dance with her? ha! I agree with Rachel, a bit rauncy at times. I need to remember this when I watch it with the kids around, which I do... sometimes.

Legacy and Kathryn- love, love, LOVED it! totatlly "got it" and as others have said, it did remind me of addiction, but in a different way. Really cool how he personified fear.

Ellenore is awesome, too. Ryan was very good, I expected that. For awhile I thought maybe her dress was supposed to be attached at the heel! LOL. I kept thinking, "is that right?"

Mary annoys me. There, I said it. What with the hot tamale train and all that sparkle. it's just too much.

with that said, I will add that Asleigh (there, I used her name) did remarkably well tonight. She was graceful, no weird "sexy face" and did the dance well.

good review, Megan! to the point. I like it.

Renee said...

you guys, i'm sooooo sorry i'm finally now commenting!! literally JUST watched this epiosode.

and i'm out of my mind tired.

so this will be short :)

my favs were legacy and kathryn - REALLY love them both. also ellenore and ryan - really great job. enjoyed kevin and karen (and yes, wowza!) and even ashleigh and jakob's waltz. she definitely is slooowly growing on me. only when there's not face pulling going on :)

as much as i LOVE wade, this was not one of his best pieces and left me saying "eh." for me it's not that memorable despite most of his pieces being so.

i agree, mollee is still "bouncy little puppy dog mollee" and although a good dancer, just seems so young.

can't believe i'm saying this, but i feel that this season came too quickly for me. i think i enjoy it so much more when there's a break. maybe not waiting all the way till next summer again, but starting in january would have been a little better - for me. i would be a little more excited about it than i am.

good job megan! :)

Anonymous said...

nice post. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did anyone hear that some chinese hacker had hacked twitter yesterday again.

Related Posts with Thumbnails