So You Think You Can Dance redeems itself. A little. Mostly.
Okay, so it wasn’t a revelation of a week, but damn if it didn’t feel like one. Finally, this season, something good to watch!
There were still a few things that were meh, don’t get me wrong. I’m really not feeling Mollee and think she’s way over her head in this competition (and I’m really not feeling that weird braid thing she does to the side of her head. What is that?). I think Karen should have gone home over Channing, who’s been in the bottom far less, and I still miss Mia Michaels. Tyce really tried to step up to the crazy-weird plate with the Blackbird routine, but you can’t manufacture mad genius. There was no commitment to the concept, just a few bird-like movements every so often as if he suddenly remembered, “Hey, I’m doing a conceptual routine that mimics the title of the song I chose!”
But enough about my few complaints — this week was much, much better. If Season 6 keeps this up, it could actually shape up to be, well, worthwhile.
SYTYCD – Team high school musical is, like, so whatever
Call the pairing of Nathan and Mollee whatever you want, but I will call them out for what they’ve been — lucky. They’re very lucky America is stupid.
While Nigel was maybe too harsh on Nathan for the wrong reasons (using the words “hot” and “cool” are not signs of immaturity), both he and Mollee were by far the worst of this week. So far they’ve been lucky enough to get good dances in popular categories like Bollywood. In fact, I’d argue that they also lucked out as far as this week went — Latin ballroom is usually a universal crowd-pleaser. It’s fast, it’s fun, and it’s sexy, unlike, say, slow waltz or contemporary. If Mollee and Nathan don’t have the maturity to handle this, how are they supposed to handle the rest of the competition?
Glee – Artie’s no longer dancing with himself
I have been saying from the very beginning that Artie and Tina needed better storylines, especially Artie, who I’ve wanted to have more singing from ever since I learned he used to be a member of the most wonderfully cheesetastic boy band ever. And then — this week. Oh, this week!
Sure, there were some other great moments — Puck with his special brownies and devotion to Quinn, Kurt and his dad, and of course, the Diva-Off which was the emotional underscore of the episode. But nothing — nothing! — can take away from Artie, the true star of the week.
Five reasons why this season of SYTYCD still isn’t doing it for me
1. No voting, plus weird scheduling
Nothing kills a good show faster than having it be inconsistently timed. I understand Fox was trying to work around the World Series, but what that resulted in was irregular timing to the extreme. And on top of that, it resulted in the judges choosing who stays and who goes. Isn’t this supposed to be the search for America’s favorite dancer? If I cared about who the judges thought was the best dancer, I’d have tuned in for the Vegas weeks. There’s reason I didn’t.
2. No rotating fourth judge
Don’t get me wrong – I’m still as much of a fan of Adam as I ever was, which is to say, a huge one. But I think So You Think You Can Dance needs to get over itself and realize that Paula Abdul just isn’t that into them. Give it up and bring in a new voice, please. At this point, I even miss Lil’ C.
Troy and Abed: the best BFF ever
This is going to come out wrong, but I’m going to say it anyway: my favorite part of Community is always the end. Not because I don’t love the show, because I totally, totally do. I think this show is freaking awesome. But, easily, the best 38 seconds of my week, every week is the tag at the end of each episode with Abed (played by Danny Pudi) and Troy (played by Donald Glover).
I’m not sure what exactly drew Troy and Abed together character-wise. After all, they’re hardly shown together during the actual show, and they couldn’t be more different. Troy was the popular kid in high school, and Abed is what I would refer to euphemistically as “socially inept.” Whatever made them bond, I’m glad it worked, because how else would we have rapping in Spanish, prank PA announcements or conversations with Batman about turning into a doughnut?
Step it up, So You Think You Can Dance
What’s going on with you, So You Think You Can Dance? I’m willing to put up with you, and your eight billion weeks of auditions, and your strange scheduling (a showcase followed by two shows in one? What is this tomfoolery?), and your flat (if well-done) dances, but this is only because I love you. If I didn’t love you, I would not be dealing with your shenanigans.
It seems to me So You Think You Can Dance can only handle one big spectacular per week, and when they stretch themselves too thin, the quality severely suffers. I understand the difficulty involved in scheduling around the World Series, but this is just ridiculously confusing. If I had my way, I think that they should have done the introductory show (having that was a good idea, and a way to catch up everyone like me who couldn’t bear to sit through two months of auditions) and waited until after the World Series to resume regular scheduling instead of having this nonsense where the judges decide for us. What was even the point of that? Aren’t we supposed to have a say? Color me confused and unimpressed by these stunts.
Two Thursday night shows everyone should watch (or at least Tivo)
Thursday night is a crazy night for everyone, I know. My DVR comes this close to exploding weekly with the marathon I put it through. I watch 7 shows, which amounts to 6 hours of television in one night. It’s crazy and ridiculous and from what I hear, everyone has this predicament. And I am going to suggest you add to it.
No, not 30 Rock. You should know by now that you’re missing out big time by not watching this show, and if no one else has convinced you, I certainly won’t be able to. (But if you’re not watching, what is wrong with you?) No, I’m talking about two teeny-tiny fledgling shows no one’s watching and everyone should be — Community and Ace of Cakes.
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