Season 6, Episode: “Two Dancers Are Voted Off”

Original airdate: 12/9/09

Well, Cat looks excessively better tonight than she did last night, can we all agree on that?  Also, she told us last night that Sonya is choreographing the opening number, so we can’t play guess the choreographer, but we can revel in the incoming bizarreness.  Ashleigh’s still not dancing, which sucks for her.  Jakob’s extensions are still gasp-inducing.  The wardrobe department still has an unhealthy obsession with tutus this year.  Tutus and neon, that’s what season six will be remembered for.  Someone needs to get fired.  I’m just saying. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “The Remaining Eight Dancers Perform”

Original airdate: 12/9/09

The remaining eight dancers are competing for a spot in the finale.  Wait, did I miss a memo?  Is the finale going with six dancers this season?  I understand we’re in a time crunch, but a little foresight on the scheduling could have fixed that.  And Ashleigh didn’t get in intro…good heavens, the drama already!  And Cat is wearing a gold lamé coverall thing, only the pants are actually shorts.  I don’t even know where to begin other than to say I am completely overwhelmed.  And there’s going to be remixes!  Yowza!  Aaand Ashleigh has a dislocated shoulder, and doesn’t have medical clearance.  People are still going to get the opportunity to call in and vote for her though…um…not a chance.  The poor girl is basically out already, and she knows it. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “Two Contestants Are Eliminated”

Original airdate: 12/2/09

Wow, Cat’s wearing quite the ensemble.  Her nude corset with what appears to be the black top of a strapless bra peaking out the top, combined with her mane-like hair style and hooker lipstick is really making her appear…well, I hate to say it, but cheap.  But then again, she hosts a show that regularly features gorgeous men dancing topless, so it’s a relative scale.  The opening number is to Billy Joel’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” which makes me suspect Mandy Moore, though her 80’s taste tends a little more power ballad or gay-dance-anthem.  (more…)

Season 6, Episode 19: “The Top Ten Perform”

Original airdate: 12/1/09

Holy bejeezus, two and half hours?  What do these people think, I have nothing better to do than sit around watching and re-watching hours upon hours of dance while typing snark-filled recaps?  Sheesh.  Big Love is coming back, and if I’m going to rewatch the whole series before January 10th, I need to make the most my time.  However, since all the top ten are dancing solos as well as two coupled numbers, I’ll let it slide this week…with all that dancing there shouldn’t be too much judging tomfoolery. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “The Top Ten Dancers Are Revealed”

Original airdate: 11/25/09

Here we are, the revelation of our top ten!  The group routine appears to be inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and I’m shocked, SHOCKED I say, to see Legacy get a ten second solo where he spins around on his head like a top.  God, I just NEVER get tired of seeing that!  God on a wheel.  I will not be impressed by that move again until they get Ryan to do it.  Or better yet, Noelle.  I would have bet the farm that Sonya choreographed that one, but it turns out that Napoleon and Tabitha put that together.  A little out there for those two I would say. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “The Top 12 Dancers Perform”

Original airdate: 11/24/09

We open with Cat clearly stating that there is no time for judge’s comments at the top of the show.  Fantastic, that means that there will be significantly less time for them during the show as well; I find that when they’re restricted to say, 30 seconds per performance, there tend to be a lot less horrifically painful puns.  I’m looking at you, Murphy. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “The Top 12 Are Revealed”

Original airdate: 11/18/09

Here we are, already just a week away from the Top 10.  Crazy!  Anyway, the opening number starts, and I think anyone who’s been watching this show realizes pretty quickly it’s a Wade Robson number.  It’s fantastic, and seems to be set in a museum.  Don’t like the Van Gogh number, judges?  Up yours, says Wade!  Shankers actually gives him a shout out for some great choreography, and since he’s the only judge that’s demonstrated even the slightest inclination to criticize the choreography, I’d say it means a little something. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “The Top 14 Dancers Perform”

Original airdate: 11/17/09

Here we are, folks, Top 14 Performance Night, or, as I like to call it, Most Annoying Show of the Season Due to Ungodly Amounts of Filler Necessary to Bring Show All the Way to Two Hours.  With only seven routines to show in the whole evening, we will most assuredly be treated to some extremely long judging and interview packages.  Damn it. (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “Two Dancers are Sent Home”

Original airdate:  11/11/09

I’m doing something a little different with the results show tonight…I’m blogging it as I watch.  No notes, no contemplating my opinions…just raw data, right as I think of it.  We’ll see how it goes! (more…)

Season 6, Episode: “Sixteen Dancers Perform”

Original airdate:  11/10/09

Tonight, for the first time America votes.  And tonight, during the Top 20 introductions, Ashleigh is wearing pants that look like what would happen in Big Bird mated with a Fraggle.  I’m really going to have to take a minute to burn the image of those pants out of my brain…what if red fringe took over the world?  Cat is also going out on a bit more of a sartorial limb, with a snakeskin dress that gradiates from black on the top to tan on the bottom.  It’s quite something. (more…)

Season 6, Episode:  “The Top 18 Couples Perform”

Original airdate:  11/3/09

I’ll just start this by saying I’m a little annoyed that judges are choosing the cuts again this episode.  I mean…why not just delay the premiere a few weeks?  Or don’t air two shows a week during auditions?  Although that audition process seemed interminable enough as it was, so scratch that last idea.  Also, while I love Shankers on the panel, does this mean that there are going to be no more guest judges?  While I’m happy to be spared Lil C’s incomprehensible ramblings and Tyce deigning to speak to the little people, I’ll miss Toni Basil and Debbie Allen doling out wisdom.  (more…)

Season 6, Episode:  “The Top 20″

Original airdate:  10/28/09

Finally, FINALLY we’re onto the first competition episode of season six!  Feels like forever, doesn’t it?   I’m a little sad that America won’t get to vote on this first episode, but I suppose that’s okay.  Let’s face it, I trust the judges more than America at large.  The World Series can keep its Wednesday night!

(more…)

Season 6, Episode:  “Meet the Top 20″

Original airdate:  10/26/09

Alright, let’s meet some dancers!  And get some face-time with Cat Deeley!  And enjoy the swan-song of Billy Bell (for Season Six)!

Cat strides out in a fairly understated black sequined number.  I love that Cat Deeley can make something  sequined be considered understated.   The woman was made for Bob Mackie.  She wonders what we think of the new set, which frankly I consider to be a bit too large.  She introduces the “jidges” for the first time this season, and Nigel has a chair marked “Paula Abdul.”  Give me a break.  I’ll take Tone Basil any day. (more…)

So You Think You Can Dance Top 20 dancer Billy Bell has left the show due to an “unspecified illness.”  WTF, SYTYCD?!  Read the HitFix article here.

Season 6, Episode: “Top Twenty Dancers Are Revealed”

Original airdate:  10/21/09

Finally, at last, our top twenty will be revealed tonight!  And they’ve all, somewhat inexplicably been brought to Hollywood…did they do that in previous seasons?  I always thought they just announced the top twenty in Vegas.  Oooh, new credit sequence revealed, complete with dances from last season.  And new dancing silhouettes!  See what having a season in the fall will do for your budget?  (more…)

Seriously, after Mrs. Tom Cruise’s (aka Katie Holmes) laughable appearance on So You Think You Can Dance last season, I think the Cruise’s should stay far, far away from the show.  Nevertheless, here’s the E! Online article which surmises Tom may make a guest judge appearance on the show.

Season 6, Episode 9

Original airdate:  10/14/09

Well, confessions first…my cable box malfunctioned last night, and hence my Tivo didn’t record last night’s episode; it recorded black screen for an hour. Frantic, I trolled the internet trying to find some helpful website that would post the show, as Fox inexplicably doesn’t even post clips from it. Youtube kind of came through for me, and I was only able to watch approximately the first half of the episode, which means that a) I don’t know if Phillip Attmore got any screen time, b) I only got to see the preview of Ryan De Lillo’s ridiculous abdominal muscles and c) it took all of my self-control not to throw cable box out the window onto the streets of Brooklyn. Anyway, I’ll continue to look for the latter half which will hopefully appear somewhere, and I will update…but for now, on with (half of) the show. (more…)

Original airdate:  10/6/09

The 152 best dancers in America are filing into the theatre…I have to, based solely on auditions, I’d say that’s completely not true.  The 152 best dancers in America who happened to audition this year for So You Think You Can Dance, and who are not previous competitors on the aforementioned program are filing in the theatre I’m closer to buying.  You know, one of the most frustrating things about the audition cycle is the lack of Cat Deeley…she gets a lot of voice-over and little screen time.  I need more Cat in my life.  (more…)

Original airdate:  10/5/09

Here we are, finally, the last episode of the audition cycle for Season 6 of SYTYCD.  Is it just me, or does it feel like this round of auditions has gone on longer than previous seasons?  Maybe it’s just because now I’m writing these recaps so I a) constantly pause the episodes to take notes, b) re-watch the episode at least once and c) can’t fast forward through anytime Tyce D’Orio speaks.  Anyway, we’re in Salt Lake City, Mia “I’m a cutter” Michaels is our guest judge and away we go! (more…)

Original airdate:  9/30/09

Tonight, for the first time ever apparently, SYTYCD is hitting up New Orleans for talent, where it’s so hot the dancers are being let into the building early out of sheer pity.  Also, Nigel is not joining us tonight, as he’s off getting an honorary doctorate from a British university.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he just get one of those last year?  Oh, right I guess so, cause this was filming at the same time.  Got it.  Well, I can’t say I’d turn down a doctorate I didn’t have to go to school for.  Besides, this means we get Shankers filling in for him, which makes me happy.  Mary’s wearing a pastel floral dress that is truly unflattering…she started out so strong in the fashion department this year.  Lil C rounds out our judging panel and away we go! (more…)

Original airdate:  9/29/09

So now SYTYCD moves south for this audition episode, setting up shop in Atlanta, with Lil C as the guest judge.  Please pause while I go to get my thesaurus and dictionary, because I’ll probably need them to try to muddle my way through his sentences.  Actually, never mind, they don’t really help.  Not to worry, this won’t be another Guest Judge Hate-a-thon like last week; I actually find Lil C’s complete incomprehensibility somewhat charming. (more…)

Original airdate:  9/23/09

Well, it’s here…the inevitable SYTYCD audition show where we are forced to sit through Tyce D’Orio on the judging panel.  My weapon of choice this year is a bottle of red wine, a straw and a personal mantra of “Drink the pain away.”  (more…)

Original airdate:  9/16/09

Before I can even begin to comment on this latest episode, let’s just talk about the pink elephant in the room.  His name is Adam Shankman, and he’s now a permanent judge on this season of SYTYCD.  How excited am I?  A weekly dose of Shankers cures swine flu as far as I’m concerned.  I love the fact that he’s in the position to give some of these dancers actual jobs in his movies after they leave the show, and while he’s always a little over-the-top with his praise, I think his criticism is generally insightful.  But back to the matter at hand…Phoenix auditions! (more…)

Original airdate:  9/9/09

Here we are, folks, the first (official) episode of So You Think You Can Dance’s 6th season, which, in case you hadn’t heard yet, is taking place in the fall for the first time.  Like EVER.  The show starts and we get immediate titles on the screen over a montage of seasons past.  “5 SUMMERS” (insert dancing) “5 SEASONS” (more dancing) “5 CHAMPIONS” (yet more dancing), and at this point I snark at the television “5 HOURS??  Get to the NEW dancing!”  (more…)

Original airdate:  9/2/09

Well, here we are, the beginning of the first-ever fall season of So You Think You Can Dance, and it’s starting with…a recap show?  I know that all reality shows to a certain extent wind up with certain performances/recipes/dress designs/dog stylings/crazy singles/whatever else TV producers think they can shoehorn into a elimination competition that will live on, either in our hearts or in infamy.  However, am I wrong in saying the the Dance crew seems to be more self-reverential than the average?  After all, Season 5 ended barely a month ago, in which we had a 100th episode which featured great dances of the past, and the season finale which basically serves as a season-long recap anyway.  Yet here we are again, with yet another episode featuring, this time, The 15 Best Routines Ever.

My immediate reaction upon hearing this was “I will NOT sit throug that Cancer Dance again.  With God as my witness, I will fast forward it.  Oh, wait…15?  That means I have to see The Hummingbird, The Bench and Mia’s Flower Filled Father Fantasy.  Ugh!”  Don’t get me wrong…each of those dances were wonderful in their own way, but all have been so relentlessly flogged since that they have lost any effect on me.  Anyway, enough complaining about the existence of this show, and onto the actual proceedings.

The show starts, and even my cold heart warms to the sound of the theme music…”nah-nah-nah-nah…so-you-think-you-can-DANCEdancedance…”  The show opens, and out walks…Nigel Lythgoe.  Unacceptable.  I restrained myself from yelling “Wrong Brit!” at the TV and instead scrawled hurriedly in my notes “NO CAT!?!  WHAT THE @#$%!!!!  NO EMMY NOD AND NOW THIS!?!?”  I can only assume the the Charmazon wasn’t asked to host this because she didn’t host the show the first season.  I actually didn’t watch that season, and am glad of it because my memories of the show are Deeley-pure.

Nigel naturally leads us into one of SYTYCD’s signature montages, complete with mind-blowing tricks and lots of expressive arm extensions.  I see a glimpse of Adam Shankman!  Shankers!  Now if I can see Toni Basil all of my favorite guest judges will have been featured.  Oh, and Debbie Allen too, please.  This leads us into the first season, which as I said I didn’t watch, so I am somewhat excited to see some new routines.  First up are Destini and Jamile doing a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine.  I haven’t heard of either of these two, which makes me fairly confident neither of them won the season, but I have to say the routine is really good.  And brings into stark relief just how truly poor most of the hip-hop last season was…in fact even the better hip-hop routines from last season can’t hold a candle to this one.  I enjoy.

I notice in a quick flash to the judges that Nigel’s hair is less annoying, seeming more like an actual style and less like a Farrah Fawcett mullet.  I also notice that Mary’s is more annoying, darker than usual with that always attractive strip of highlight.  These people have teams of stylists working on them, why is no one stepping up to the plate on this?  Get on it, gays!  Also, I’m slightly disappointed but not really surprised that it’s a clip show…it would have been a lot to get all of these dancers back to re-learn all of this material.

Then it’s on to speaking about the winner of the season, Nick and the runner-up Melody, who are performing a Tyce D’Orio Broadway routine.  I will admit up front that I am not a Tyce fan.  I don’t like him on the judges panel where I find him unhelpful and mean, and his routines tend to be incredibly boring.  Oh, but they’re dancing to “All That Jazz,” I love Chicago!  I’m a little bewildered as to why the Ute Lemper version is being used as opposed to the Bebe Neuwirth or Chita Rivera version, but then again, I’ve never understood Tyce.  The routine is…um…how shall I…zzzzzzz…oh I’m sorry, how long was I out?  Seriously?  Because of this I’m not going to get to see Neil and Sara’s Doriana Sanchez disco, which is still one of the most fun routines I’ve ever seen, even discounting the fact that Neil is dreamy?  That routine was just sub-par.  It’s I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fosse.

Two dances down, thirteen to go.  Season Two is up next, which I also didn’t watch much of, but feel certain that I will see The Bench and The Black Mambo, both of which are spoken of constantly.  I’ll also get to see Cat Deeley at some point!  Cat, if you’re reading this, please come hang out in Brooklyn, I’ll show you a good time and we can go back to my place and you can try on amazing clothes, and I’ll be in awe of what ridiculous outfits you can actually manage to make look wearable!  The Black Mambo’s up first (I love being right), with cousins Benji and Heidi.  It’s a fun routine, even the 8,000th time I’ve seen it.  I have to admit to still being honestly impressed by her slide down his body in the beginning, which just looks painful.

After that we have a routine I have never seen before, choreographed by Tyce.  If I had known this was to be a Tyce D’Orio retrospective, I would have popped a bottle of wine going in.  Oh, but it’s to “Why” by Annie Lennox, I love this song, and this time he hasn’t chosen some random cover of it.  Ivan and Alison are the dancers…I enjoy it much more than the Broadway routine from earlier, though one thing that bothers me are all the internal cuts in the song.  That’s really no one’s fault, it just is always jarring when you know the piece of music.  Well, actually, if Nigel and Co. wanted to devote less time to say, oh I don’t know, uncontrolled shrieking or relentless self-congratulations, we might have time for longer dances.  But then the dancers would probably all become injured, and then we wouldn’t have the show at all.  Everyone carry on then.

The Bench!  OMG!! I can’t believe it!!!  I really can’t say anything about this routine that hasn’t already been said.  Nigel’s probably said it twice.  I hit the fast forward button just to warm up my thumb for the incoming Terminal Illness Extravaganza.

Season Three!  This was my first season with the show, and I’m very excited for this one.  So, of course, we delay that with a short screaming Mary Murphy montage, which I suppose is probably to commemorate her joining the show as a permanent judge.  Now, I have to say, I find the banshee-like caterwauling less annoying than many people, if only because when she does have something real to say, she always impresses me with her knowledge.  Further, I would rather her scream than pull her whole “Oh-I’m-going-to-say-it-was-bad-NOI’MKIDDINGITWASAMAZING!!!” tomfoolery.  Just let the woman scream and talk about dance, stop asking her to be clever.

We start out Season Three nostalgia with The Hummingbird by Hok and Jaime.  Wait, is this the first Wade Robson routine being featured?  Odd, it always feels like a Celebrity Death Match between the him and Mia Michaels for Most Favored Choreographer.  It’s a good routine.  It used to be great, but I just don’t want to watch it anymore.

Neil and Sabra!  “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)!”  Yes they are, Mandy Moore, yes they are.  I love this routine, and not only because, as I mentioned previously, Neil is adorable.  I mean, he’s fully clothed in it, that can’t be the only reason.  I was also a Sabra devotee, from fairly early on in the season…I even rooted for her against Neil, but that may have been more because I liked the thought of Neil needing to be comforted.  Anyway, two of my favorite dancers, one of the best routines on tonight or any night.  Completely different from everything else, not at all derivative and really, really sexy.

Next up is Lacey and Danny’s samba, and Lauren and Pasha’s hip-hop.  I can’t say I remember either routine from the season, and I can’t say I wrote much down about them in my notes.  Which probably means that they were good and none of the costumes were too outlandish.  I was never much of a Lacey or Danny fan, so that probably hurt that routine in my eyes.  And I was furious when Lauren beat out Sara for a spot in the top 6, so there’s still that lingering resentment.

On to Season 4!  Season 4 was a hard one for me…I had fallen in love with the show the previous season, and to have new dancers on it…well, let’s just say I did not find favorites quite as easily as I had before.  Season 4 was also the introduction of the Mohawk of Crazy that is Sonya Tayeh, and first up is one of her routines for Mark and Courtney (who, through no real fault of her own, has the distinction of being perhaps the most hard-to-place final four contestant that I can remember.)  It’s an interesting routine, one that clearly played to Mark’s strengths, and he shines in it.  It’s always nice to see a choreographer and a dancer that “get” each other.

Season 4 also brought Napolean and Tabitha to us, who I enjoy as well.  Their “Bleeding Love” routine is also heavily flogged by the SYTYCD crowd, but I don’t mind watching this one again.  At least, not until I finally notice Chelsea’s outfit.  How have I missed this for a year, that thing is hideous.  It looks like a Project Runway contestant’s misguided idea of hip-hop…I can almost hear Tim Gunn now.

“I’m…concerned.  How does this floral tutu-esque piece relate to the rest of the outift?  It seems out of place.  Is she a woman fighting for her husband or a 12-year old throwing a tantrum?  Make it work!”

Next we have Katee and Joshua, my two favorites from this season, but unfortunately they’re doing a Mia Michaels routine which, in my opinion, is most memorable for Katee’s hair being styled in a way I’m fairly sure La Michaels has sported herself more than once.  It’s not bad…I just would have rather seen their “No Air” routine, or their samba.  Much better for me.

Season 5!  Home stretch!  First up is Brandon and Jeanette, doing what Nigel calls “the best disco in So You Think You Can Dance history.”  Um…it doesn’t feature Neil and Sara, so I think Nigel’s been hitting the sauce harder than he hits on scantily clad female contestants.  Nevertheless, this dance is awesome…it’s slightly possible that I prefer the Season 3 disco based on never really warming to Brandon as a performer.  Next up is Mia Michaels’ ode to addiction featuring Kayla and Kupono, which is another example of a choreographer’s vision being put on the two correct dancers.  This is a really good dance, and I think dealt with difficult subject matter without beating the audience over the head with how IMPORTANT it was…like certain other dances which shall remain nameless.

Then we have our fifteenth dance!  And it’s…”If It Kills Me,” featuring Jason and Jeannine?  I smell a rat.  There is absolutely no way that Cancer Dance is not getting featured on this show.  Never mind the fact that that horse, at this point, is an undentifiable, bloodied mass of flesh on the ground, it will continue being beaten!  And the beatings will continue until morale improves!  What?  Oh, right, Jason and Jeannine.  I actually love this dance…I think it accomplishes something very romantic and sweet, and it’s beautifully danced by someone who maybe never got his due, and someone who was a great champion.  They finish, and a little glimmer of hope alights in my soul that maybe, just maybe, the show is over.

And then Nigel pisses all over my soul, puts out the glimmer and announces that we will now be subjected to “his favorite dance in the entire run of the show,” and, of course, there is no doubt what this will be.  Sure enough, cue Tyce D’Orio and his story about how he created the piece, and what it means to him and blah blah blah I just can’t.  Fast forward, bitches.

Here’s my thing about this dance.  The fact is, I believe that it’s a great dance.  I believe that it is a great example of art, and it is wonderful that this show exists and such pieces can be created and shown to an audience of millions every week.  However, I do NOT believe that the people responsible for creating it, distributing it and winning Emmys for it should take it as their God-given duty to tell the rest of us how moved we should be.  The fact is, if Tyce had never mentioned cancer, and merely said that he was creating a piece for a friend who was going through a hard time, and Melissa had come out with that scarf wrapped around her head, there is not a single person who would not have understood what the piece was about.  But, instead, the piece was packaged and explained and pimped out to the point of nausea.  And the sad part is, that by doing so, the dance’s impact was greatly lessened. 

Art is limited by being defined.  That dance could have been something that spoke to the soul, and instead was forced into something that spoke to the head.  And that pisses me off.  After all, when I’m not writing bitchy recap blogs about television shows, I’m an artist myself.  Next time, I think Nigel and Co. should just leave well enough alone, and see if maybe, just maybe, we can understand that something is great all by ourselves.

So, what do you guys think?  Am I being too hard on Tyce and his dances?  Who is the best guest judge of all (I’m torn between Toni Basil and Shankers)?  Who’s excited for LA auditions next week?