Wednesday, July 27, 2011

SYTYCD season 8 Top 8 Performances

Some quick thoughts about the routines performed from the top 8. Even though they separated the girls and boys up for the first part of the show, the 8 danced together for the last half so I've lumped my comments together for the two partners.

Sasha:
Quickstep w/ Pasha - I usually love Johnathan Roberts' ballroom choreo (and it's great to see him on here instead of DwTS) but I did not like this routine. You know something's wrong when even Pasha isn't doing it for me.

Melanie:
Contemporay w/Neil - It's Mandy Moore so OF COURSE she's set the dance to an 80s pop song, this time revisiting Total Eclipse Of The Heart. But you know what? I loved this routine! I really want Melanie to be in the final 2; she's amazing. Shirtless Neil wasn't bad either. Yum. Melanie's grandma's reaction to Gaga saying she was her favorite dancer was priceless.

Sasha/Melanie - Jazz from Sonya Tayeh
I mean, come on. Could you ask for a more perfect partnership. I LOVED this routine. My top 2 in this competition hands down. Can I get an all female finale?

Caitlynn:
Hip Hop w/ Ivan - I'm liking all of the new hip-hop choreographers this season (no offense to NappyTabs ans Dave Scott), especially this Marty Kudelka guy. I thought Caitlynn was pretty great and Ivan was a revelation! I hated him so much in season 2. I'm so worried after the judges tepid praise for her, that Caitlynn will be going home. So I threw a bunch of online votes her way.

Tadd:
Jazz w/ Lauren F. - LOVE. I couldn't even make fun of Mandy Moore using yet another 80s song. Because it's Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" and because she choreographed a fun routine that LaFro and Tadd killed (dropped hat and all).

Caitlynn/Tadd - Foxtrot from Johnathan Roberts
Once again I liked the ballroom routine a lot more than the judges. Gosh I really think Caitlynn is going to go home unless folks out there vote like fucking crazy.

Jordan:
Jazz w/ Ade - Ugh. I really can't stand this girl. She's so annoying that I can't even appreciate how truly a great dancer she is. I hate her face. Not even my beloved Ade could make this crap Tyce Diorio routine good. But then the judges fucking SHOCKED me by gushing over Jordan's performance. You guys! I'm afraid that the judges are totally going to ignore the people (again) and keep this irksome girl to torture me another week.

Jess:
Lyrical Hip-Hop w/ (gag) Lauren G - When did I start liking Jess? Sigh. This isn't good; I need one of the guys to hate. And why is he so good at hip-hop (at least lyrical) all of a sudden? I rarely dislike a NappyTabs routine and this was no exception; Gaga totally trashed NappyTabs though (hee hee). I still HATE Lauren Gotleib though. There's nothing anybody can say that will change my mind.

Jordan/Jess - Rumba from Jason Gilkerson
So much damn ballroom tonight, jesus. Hee hee Jess is so short, Jordan had to dance barefoot. At least Jordan got criticism for once.

Ricky:
Jive w/Anya - Wow. Ricky's kind of great at ballroom. What's up with that?! This was a great jive even though Nigel and Mary had criticism for it; done to one of my favorite covers, "River Deep, Mountain High" sung by Celine Dion. I am concerned based on past weeks and the judges that he might go home this week.

Marko:
Contemporary w/ Allison - Damn Sonya Tayeh, your choreography slays me. Marko and Allison were perfection. Gaga crying was a BIT much though.

Ricky/Marko - NappyTabs hip-hop
These two contemporary dancers kind of killed it with swagger. Gaga really hates NappyTabs doesn't she?

Other SYTYCD stuff:
As of this writing I'm leading in my 2 So You Think You Can Dance fantasy leagues and I'm #6 ranked nationally. Let's see if I can pull this off.

And on a sad note, they just released the list of the 2011 SYTYCD tour cities and neither Seattle nor the surrounding area are on it. In fact, the tour isn't coming to the Pacific NW or western Canada at all. I'm so damn disappointed I can't even tell you. I guess I'll be flying to Bakersfield CA? Fuck.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Reality TV Round-up - July 2011 Edition

As usual my Tivo is clogged with hours upon hours of reality television. Good stuff (yes, there IS good stuff) and bad stuff. Competition stuff like Big Brother, SYTYCD, and The RW/RR Challenge; fun stuff like Ice Loves Coco, Million Dollar Decorators, Roseanne Barr's new show, and candid stuff like Celebrity Rehab, and my fave 1 Girl 5 Gays. I love it all!

Here's some of what I've been watching and dissecting this month -

Roseanne's Nuts: I've never been a big Roseanne fan. I didn't watch her sitcom when it was on, and I've always found the antics surrounding her to be a little exhausting. So why the hell did I decide to record and watch the premiere of her new reality show on Lifetime? I don't know. But I'm glad I did. I love everything about it. Roseanne is now living in Hawaii with her boyfriend John on a 50 acre macadamia nut farm. She has this weird (but hilarious) hippie dude named Greg that camps on her land and that she takes care of in exchange for his calm zen-ness. In the first couple of eps, Roseanne's eldest son comes to visit from L.A. She's constantly running around on her tractor and jeep, chasing pigs or trying to kill dangerous, invasive foliage on her land; all while spouting an endless stream of curse words. She's my new hero.

Big Brother 13: As much as I love Jeff & Jordan and am excited to have them on my screen again, this season of Big Brother is already SO ANNOYING. I may only watch the Thursday live shows and catch up by reading the live feed summaries.

Million Dollar Decorators: How can the season finale for this gem already be next week?! I've tweeted my love for this show for weeks but I can't reiterate enough how much I love Ross Cassidy, project manager and boyfriend of designer Jeffrey Allan Marks (who Ross adorably calls "JAM"!). He's South African and an ex-model, and he's a ruthless task master and he is indespencible. I love his hair and the way he's always putting it up in messy ponytails or flipping it over to the side; I love his clipped accent; I love his laugh. I want Ross to live with me and yell at me to "snap out of it and get things done!" I also love me some Jacqueline, designer and textile artist Kathryn Ireland's old French housekeeper. Forget what I said about Roseanne, JACQUELINE is my hero. I want to be her when I grow up - only wear crisp white shirts and black pants, tie my hair up in fabulous Hermes scarves, have a loose interpretation of "cleaning", only cook appetizers, and drink wine all damn day. Perf. All of the designers on the show are pretty interesting. I can't wait for season 2.

Ice Loves Coco: Who knew that Ice T and Coco (I still don't know if she uses a last name; surely she doesn't go by "Coco T") could be so charming? They're a great couple. And seriously? Ice T looks so much like my friend Jim, I can't stand it. Hilarious.

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew: Oh lerwd, this show. Sean Young makes me sad y'all. I really feel for her. Bai Ling is CRAZY. Like chemically imbalanced. I think that she needs a higher level of care than Dr. Drew (who is slowly losing boyfriend status the more he's on my tv screen) and his stupid 21 day tv treatment show can provide. I'm surprisingly sympathetic to Michael Lohan, and it's been actually nice to see Steven Adler back in rehab. Oh, and Amy Fisher is a fucking bitch.

The Challenge - Rivals (RW/RR): Kenny! What is wrong with you baby? Where's my cocky, joking, handsome, smart-ass who's quick with the quips and a challenge beast? Did that pasty, UGLY, red-headed freak Wes kill your spirit once he partnered with you? I want the goofy, hot, clever Kenny pictured below to come back onto my tv screen! In other news, shut up Johnny Bananas.

Friday, July 15, 2011

2011 Emmy Nominations - Who got robbed? Where did they get it right?

Sorry I've been away so long; too busy with work and catching up on the hundred of hours of TV recorded on my Tivo to be able to take time to blog.
I was too busy earlier this week laughing my ass off at the Emmy promo video with Joel McHale and Melissa McCarthy to remember that the nominations were coming out on Thursday, so this commentary is a little late, but I don't care.
Below are the 2011 Emmy nominations with my comments:

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men

Eh, we're off to a fairly good start. It's nice to see a nom for Game of Thrones. And one could only expect FNL to get one because they're in their final season. The Good Wife and Mad Men also had critically and audience acclaimed seasons. My problems here? As much as I love Dexter, last season wasn't that great (I mean seriously it was hard to top the superlative season 4) and I f'in hate Boardwalk Empire. Justify should have totally taken one of these places in the list!

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
30 Rock
Parks and Recreation

Woohoo! Parks and Recreation got nominated! I know some are up in arms about Community not getting a nod, but seriously that show isn't as funny as y'all think it is. I'm fine with these nominations full stop. If only Parks & Rec would win.

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Timothy Olyphant, Justified
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

Hugh Laurie? Again? For this pitiful, lame, past season of House? No, just no. I've never even seen this damn show but I know Laurie doesn't deserve a nomination this year.

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Mariska Hargitay, SVU
Mirelle Enos, The Killing
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

No Kyra Sedgwick this year for The Closer? harumph. No Katey Sagal for Sons of Anarchy? As much as I love Mariska Hargitay (and will never tire of the joy of saying her name aloud), giving her a nomination every year is becoming rote and unnecessary.

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation

Not one single problem with these nominations. Well, I still think Nurse Jackie is a drama NOT a comedy, but I definitely think Falco deserves recognition for her work as Jackie. Amy or Martha FTW please!

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Steve Carell, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Louie C.K., Louie

The nominating committee really did a great job with the lead comedy acting categories because I also love these noms. Especially the one for Louie C.K.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Unlike a lot of people, I'm still just as much in love with Modern Family and its cast as I was the first season, so I was really pleased with season all four of the guys from this gem get a nom. I hate the fucking "Men" show, but Cryer getting a nomination is probably well deserved. And I even though I do not understand why everyone loves Chris Colfer so much, his nomination in this category is also expected. BUT I think that Nick Offerman deserved a nomination for his Ron Swanson from Parks & Rec.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age

This category is all about Dinklage and Goggins for me. Love them both, and hope it's a tie so that they both get a statuette.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Fawking Betty White does not deserve a damn nomination for that decidedly UNFUNNY crap show. Betty White as a person is awesome but this blind love for her where she just gets accolades handed to her has to stop. Merritt Wever should've been nominated for Nurse Jackie instead! I'm fine with the other noms. When was the last time you saw a SNL cast member get a nomination though? That's the power of Bridesmaids for ya'.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Margo Martindale, Justified
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

The two Good Wife nods, and my fave Margo Martindale are deserving nominations. The other 3? Hendricks is fine I guess, although this past season of Mad Men didn't give her much to work with. But Forbes and Macdonald? Their characters are easily the most annoying parts of their respective shows. If Martindale doesn't win this I will be PISSED.

OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Kennedys
Mildred Pierce
The Pillars of the Earth
Too Big to Fail

Yay for Downton Abbey! Boo for The Kennedys! All of the others are fine.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
Taraji P. Henson, Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Jean Marsh, Upstairs Downstairs

Um, is this "Taken" thing a Lifetime movie? Because the title certainly sounds like it. For some reason I'm surprised about McGovern's nomination here. Not that she wasn't great in Downton, just that I kind of thought of her as more supporting than lead. But who would want to go against  Dame Maggie in the supporting category?!
                   
OUTSTANDING ACTOR, MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
Barry Pepper, The Kennedys
Idris Elba, Luther
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
William Hurt, Too Big to Fail

No problems here I guess, except, didn't Carlos come out a million years ago? And didn't Ramirez win the Golden Globe and the SAG for this role? So how the hell is he eligible? CONFUSED.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce
Melissa Leo, Mildred Pierce
Mare Winningham, Mildred Pierce
Eileen Atkins, Upstairs Downstairs

Just go ahead and give the Emmy to Maggie Smith now. Eileen Atkins was also awesome. Feisty old English grandmas FTW!

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR, MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Tom Wilkinson, The Kennedys
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Brian F. O'Byrne, Mildred Pierce
Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
James Woods, Too Big to Fail

ZzzzzZzzz predictable. Don't care at all about any of these people.

BEST VARIETY SERIES
The Colbert Report
Conan
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Real Time with Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

Again, predictable but it's nice to see Conan get a nod and not Jay.

OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
Hoarders

Antiques Roadshow
Deadliest Catch
Mythbusters
Undercover Boss
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

Go Antiques, go Antiques! No seriously, these all seem like deserving contenders.

OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
American Idol
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef

SYTYCD got a nomination finally for something other than choreography!

OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Jeff Probst, Survivor

My beloved Cat Deeley FINALLY got a nomination! So ecstatic that the Emmy voters finally pulled their heads out of their asses. If Probst or Seacrest wins again I will be really fucking annoyed.

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On
Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking
The Kennedy Center Honors
Lady Gaga Presents The Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden
The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway

I surprisingly have seen all of the nominees this year. And I think except for the Kennedy Center they were all produced by HBO? Anyway, I'd like to see Carrie or Paul take it.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Episodes, "Episode 107"
Louie, "Poker/Divorce"
Modern Family, "Caught in the Act"
The Office, "Good-bye Michael"
30 Rock, "Reaganing"

Good choices for Episodes, Modern Family, and Louie. But there were much funnier episodes this season for the Office and 30 Rock. And what about Parks and Recreation?!

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Friday Night Lights, "Always"
Game of Thrones, "Baelor"
The Killing, "Pilot"
Mad Men, "The Suitcase"
Mad Men, "Blowing Smoke"

It always bugs me when a show gets more than one nomination in the writing categories. I feel like they should limit it to one each. I don't know why I don't feel the same way for the acting categories, but I don't. I could think of at least 7 episodes of Justified that could've and should've been nominated.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report
Conan
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Saturday Night Live

No surprises in these nominations, but I would love to see someone other than The Daily Show writers win for once.

I have to say, I am pretty darn excited for September to roll around to see who wins. And Jane Lynch is hosting so that should be awesome.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Beautiful Nole

I can't get enough of these photos of my beloved Novak Djokovic from the July/August issue of L'Uomo Vogue. He is seriously so damn hot. And that adorable dog in his arms (lucky pooch!) is Novak's poodle Pierre.
Novak played very well against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (also adorable) today in the semi-finals to guarantee the #1 standing.
Good luck in the 2011 Wimbledon finals!