TV in the Lounge, Fall 07 Edition

[katyseagull]

I need an in-house lounge shrink with a hard couch so I can unload my feelings about Max and why I think I might be going to hell [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[MrWookie]

Katy,

Didn't you read my not-so-sober post about Before Sunset? If you need counseling about falling in love with dancers you can never really have anything with, I'm you're guy. You're only catching a whiff of what essentially amounts to all of my love life. Granted, I'm falling more for dancers I've actually held in my hands and interacted with for a weekend, but I know what it means to fall for someone for the way they move.

Dancing with Wookie 11/12/2007

In the costume contest, I have to give an honorable mention to Marie Osmond. She's obviously lost a lot of weight during this thing. Nicely done, Marie. I'm not sure who wins, though. Edyta is dressed fairly modestly, and Jennie got a dress w/ a nice cut, but the sequins didn't work for me. I might give it to Mel, since I dig the corset look.

Ell Oh Ell. In case DwtS didn't make me question my sexuality quite enough, here's Richard Simmons working with Jennie. Jennie kicks things off with jive, which is, coincidentally, the gayest of all the dances. This is a tough dance for her, since she's been too serious. I liked her footwork right at the beginning, but then she fell flat. If she just really smiled, she'd add 1-2 points to her score. After the intro, she continued to look nervous and in a shell. She even looks scared backstage. Her 24 is low, but I can understand the judges raising their standards a bit as we move to the later competitions.

Cameron's Viennese waltz was fantastic. His shoulders were a little forward, but that is my primary critique. Oh, wait. He still needs to close his fingers. For me, this was a textbook VW. The performance wasn't stunning, but his steps were right out of the book, and his technique was solid. The song he was dancing to was a difficult one to really take to the next level with performance and emotion, but the choreography worked well with it. I think he got a well-earned 27, but I liked his dancing enough that I wish he'd danced to a more gripping song. He had the potential here to be excellent.

Marie is third with rumba. I don't really know what to make of this one. She danced it pretty well, but the choreography looked very easy. Looks like the judges agreed with me. I liked Marie's hip action, but it's hard to evaluate her when it's the choreography and not her dancing that's not in the same league as the other dancers. I think that 24 is a decent score for her, but she may have been better than Jennie. Jennie's problems were mostly her fault, even though she had better choreography. Marie dance the routine she was given well, but the choreography didn't allow her to be really great.

Helio clearly had the best rehearsal shtick. Working with a total of four pros is money. Still, I don't think paso doble is going to quite be his dance. It's a serious, dramatic dance, and he excels at the happy, smiley ones. The first thing I noticed about his dancing was his posture. He had by far the best paso doble posture of anyone in this competition so far, and is in the running for the best in any season. I think he was held back again somewhat by the choreography, but also some as I expected by his dramatic side not being as strong as some other dancers. I have to agree with the 27 here.

Mel's tango finishes the first round. This was the best dance of the first half. I loved her head position and her posture. I again have to fault the choreography here. I don't think this showcased her enough compared some of her dances earlier in the season. She looked sharp, but this didn't earn a 30. Still, the 27 felt a little low. I think she should have earned a 28, with Len giving her the 10 for her technique.

[MrWookie]

Jennie starts round 2 with foxtrot. I know I'm a broken record here, but smile, Jennie, smile! She was better here, but this wasn't a spectacular dance. For a lot of her movements when she was out of the frame, she didn't quite finish her moves. Her lines and her movements looked good at the beginning and in the middle, but they didn't quite have the finish they needed to wow me. I have to agree with Bruno. This wasn't quite there. I think her 26 was a good score for her, but given what dances earned a 27, she might have seserved a 25.

Edyta was back in bangin' form with a much improved costume. Oh yeah, and Cameron danced a routine, too. I agree with the judges that his routine was again a little textbook, but the 24 he was rated was too low. I think his cha cha was definitely better than Jennie's jive or Marie's rumba.

Marie closes out her night with jive. And not only a jive, a country jive. I don't think there's any way I could truly like this routine. Objectively, though, it was short in the choreography department. For her technique, though, her triple steps were consistently weak -- she never really collected her feet in them. No way was this better than Cameron's cha cha. Her 25 was generous compared to his 24.

Helio's quickstep was fun, and some of the best choreography of the night. I loved the contrast between fast and slow, where he was stretching the beat and where he was keeping up with the incredibly quick tempo. I can't help but notice his shoulders creeping in at some points, especially during the more difficult patterns. As much as I've been cheering for Helio, I honestly think his 30 was a little generous. I was thinking 28-29.

I have to agree w/ Katy that Mel's mambo was the dance of the night. The choreography was fantastic, and her technique was impeccable. Some of the synchrony between her and Max's arms was truly remarkable, precision usually only seen after a lot of practice in top pros. It wasn't perfect through the whole routine, but she was very sharp. Wow, I don't know how Carrie Ann gave her a 9. That's highway robbery after Helio got a generous 30. Is Carrie Ann deliberately spreading the "perfect 10" love around a bit? Maybe.

[MrWookie]

I think Jennie should be the most nervous about tomorrow night. Her fan base may not be there, and she hasn't done the campaigning that Cameron has. Marie probably has an untouchable fan base, but there's always that outside chance. She's generally the worst dancer, although she's been improving. Mel, and to a lesser degree, Helio, are the two favorites to win. It's likely that one or the other will finish third to Marie in the final given Marie's fan base, but the decision as to who wins between these two will likely come down to who really shines in their freestyle. It was the freestyle dance that really put Drew over Stacy and Apolo and Joey both over Laila.

[MrWookie]

Tough elimination tonight on DwtS. There isn't really anyone who deserves to go home other than Marie and her incredibly shrinking waistline, and she wasn't going to be going home given her fan base. I was sorry to see Cameron go over Jennie, though. I thought Cameron was scored too low in his dances last night, and Jennie was too high. Cameron has consistently been more entertaining than Jennie, even if Jennie had better technique. If she'd just smile I'd like her more, but she hasn't found it in herself to really do that yet. Next week, though, if Jennie is to avoid elimination, she probably has to finish in first place on the judge's scores. I'd expect that Helio, Mel, and Marie all have bigger fan bases.

[MrWookie]

Dancing with Wookie, penultimate edition 11/19/2007

Semifinals tonight. In all probability, we know how things are likely to shake out here. Jennie is probably going home. Marie's fanbase is probably too big for her to go home. However, if either Mel or Helio slip even the tiniest bit, Jennie could pass them up.

No clear winner in the first round's costumes. Julianne has a slight edge, but her hair is ridiculous.

Marie kicks things off. She picked quickstep and mambo, which are good picks for her. They were definitely her best in the earlier rounds. Man, what a cheesy intro. This was a pretty good dance for her, though. The footwork was very good, although her frame wasn't quite as good as it should be. The character of this dance was mostly just a plastic smile compared to her last quickstep. I liked her other quickstep better, actually, although the judges seem more enthusiastic about this one. Oh, thank you Bruno. That wasn't a perfect dance. I was thinking 27 or 28. Marie's thrown down the gauntlet here, though. With her 29, she has a chance of not finishing last.

Mel got the second spot. She picked paso and VW. Paso is obviously a good pick for her. Viennese waltz is a tough dance that isn't as showy. I would have thought she'd go with tango, although that doesn't show as much breadth of character when paso is her other dance. Man, this must be cheesy intro night. After that, though, they got onto the floor and did all four steps that constitute VW, and they were precise and beautiful. One thing of special note for their VW was the body contact between her and Max. Most couples drift apart, but they were right together. Then it was that really awesome split step that was one of the best single steps I've seen on this show. That dance was an easy 30, esp. after Marie got a 29 for her effort.

Jennie is up third, and, oh look, ANOTHER star goes to Disneyland. Huh. I wonder why so many stars end up going there [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]? Tango was a great pick for Jennie, since it lets her be serious. Cha cha will be tougher for her. Hmmm. I was a little disappointed here. Jennie's head position wasn't all that great. Her facial expression was so focused that she lacked passion. She stretched some of her extensions nicely, but others seemed quick and rushed. I don't think she was as good as Marie here. Given Marie's 29, her 28 was fair, but I would have gone 27.

Helio once again dances last. He dances last way more than he should. Helio could pick pretty much any ballroom dance other than tango. His ballroom has been great, and his smile is perfect for any dance but tango. I'm really surprised he picked cha cha over samba, though. Samba is a great dance to perform, he was great with it earlier in the season, and it's well-received by audiences. Helio's foxtrot was great. I was very impressed with the precision and synchrony with Julianne. Getting the synchrony that tight is TOUGH. I saw a few toe leads where he needed heels, but if they give him less than a 30 for that dance, it'd be time to regulate. Good for him.

Latin time, but first we watch Len. He's giving the dancers great advice, actually. Marie could use some hips, Helio some precision in his footwork, Jennie some passion and frame, and Mel, well, just needs nitpicking. Helio improving his footwork will also improve his hip action, too.

Jonny and Marie Osmond restart things. I loved that they sat Jonny in the Osmond section. He blended right in, other than his big, bright, gay, poofy shirt. Marie was great at her character, and good when she was standing around being sexy with her hips. Her footwork was awkward in places, though, and most of the actual meat of the dance didn't measure up to the precision from all of the dancers in the ballroom round. I think her 27 was fair.

Mel's paso is next. Mel seems to get the costumes that aren't all that sexy at first glance, but then you get another look and go, "oh!" I'm sure Katy enjoyed Max's visible skin, even though the velvet look was on the "fabulouth!" side. I think her whip at the beginning was unnecessary, but her dance was outstanding, probably even an improvement over her previous paso. Her sharpness, posture, and footwork were all great. She even had the paso posture, which we never really see on this show. Another well-earned 30 for Mel.

Jennie came back well in her cha cha. She had some of the best character she's had in any dance so far. She was chicken-winging her frame too frequently for me to want to give her a 30 for this, but this was still her best. I would have given her a 29.

Dang, Julianne got stuck with the same sucky hairdo for the latin round. But we get another great routine from Helio. It was sexy and fun. I still wish Helio would close his fingers, and I caught a couple of break steps that looked a little wooden. Still, it wasn't enough to push him off a 30 in the context of the rest of his dancing.

[MrWookie]

So, while Marie was better than expected, the overall ranking was right where I thought: Mel and Helio at the top, although either might have been second, Jennie third, and Marie fourth. Unless Marie's fan base suddenly gives out, Jennie won't make the final, Marie will finish in second in the final, and the battle between Helio and Mel for first or third will be decided on the freestyle dance.

[katyseagull]

Well I thoroughly enjoyed the dances tonight. I thought the judges were a little generous. Are they taking into account that some of the dances look a lot more difficult than others? It seemed to me like they were giving out 10s left and right.


My least favorite probably would be Marie's cha cha. I just couldn't get into it. It was crazy. The costumes were nutty, the music was driving me batty, and the routine was (as Bruno put it) frenetic. Yikes.

Second least favorite was probably Jennie's tango. It looked stiff and serious. I think I just don't like the tango.

As for Marie's quick step, I thought it was actually pretty good. From my amateur viewpoint it was fun and very smooth. The footwork was impressive. I thought she did a great job.

Mel B's dances were awesome. That girl impresses me. I really love her personality...tough talking but also flirty and insecure. Her performances are always polished and it shows her dedication and work ethic. Omg I love this girl. Her paso doble killed. Almost as good as the first one they did. I'm really glad the judges liked it. It would be so great if Max actually won this thing finally [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

On a side note, Max can drag me around by his whip any day. The opening to his paso doble was hilarious. I love that attitude of his, like he has conquered a woman. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] oh be still my heart (I'm going to pretend I'm doing the paso doble with Max.)

Finally, can we just pause a moment and gush about Helio's foxtrot. Oh my god was that awesome or what! I believe it was some of the best choreography we've seen all season wasn't it? Just ridiculous. That pair should be in the movies. Helio is talented. I mean to be able to keep up with Julianne, wow. Is there anything this girl can't do? Word has it that she's going to be the next great country music singer on top of being a world class dancer and choreographer.


Best costume: Jennie Garth's little dress in the cha cha. So pretty.

Best unexpected moves: Derek (love that guy. I tend to watch Derek more than Jennie so can't comment much on Jennie [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img])

[katyseagull]

Huge shocker on The Bachelor. Boy am I disappointed. Something is wrong with that guy. Can't quite put my finger on it but he's sooo serious. He talks all sincere and from the heart but he led those girls on and that is not right. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

I don't know about this phrase "I care about you" that he kept uttering. lol, "I care about you. Now get the hell out of my life." What the heck?

A long time ago someone asked me what it meant to say "I care about you". I laughed. I didn't know what it meant. I'm pretty sure it means "I do not love you". Does it mean something different to guys?

[odellthurman]

[ QUOTE ]
Huge shocker on The Bachelor. Boy am I disappointed. Something is wrong with that guy. Can't quite put my finger on it but he's sooo serious. He talks all sincere and from the heart but he led those girls on and that is not right. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

I don't know about this phrase "I care about you" that he kept uttering. lol, "I care about you. Now get the hell out of my life." What the heck?

A long time ago someone asked me what it meant to say "I care about you". I laughed. I didn't know what it meant. I'm pretty sure it means "I do not love you". Does it mean something different to guys?

[/ QUOTE ]

That was really weird. I think he is gay. Seriously, I think he is homosexual.