Territorial Bloggings

It’s been a while since I wrote anything about realitytv in general, and about SYTYCD:4 in particular. That’s been partly accidental, but mostly purposeful. I just enjoy this show so darned much that I didn’t want to spoil it by writing about it. For, if I were to have written about it, I would’ve analyzed it, and if I would’ve analyzed it, I would’ve over-analyzed it. And that would’ve sucked some (most?) of the joy out of it. And that’s what AI exists for, right?

Anyway, with last night’s final performance show, I figured I could risk a quick post about this, the best season of the best realitytv show currently on TV. SYTYCD gets almost everything right — it’s a magical mix of art, pop-culture, personality, beauty, lust, storytelling, judging, hosting, sincerity, cheeziness, viewer engagement, choreography, vocation, work/work-ethic, and (above all) talent. Others are good (Survivor, The Amazing Race, etc…), but none are better than SYTYCD. None!

And this season has been the very best of the four seasons of SYTYCD. Each of the elements have been at their very best, most significantly the dancers and the choreographers. There have been more magical performances this seasons than, I think, in all three previous seasons combined. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But not by much, if at all.

This was/is the right final four, that was gotten out of the right top ten (noting, of course, that Jessica is the rightful member of the top ten instead of Comfort, who only performed in the top 10 due to Jessica’s injuries…). Incredible as it seems, this is a no-compromise final four, in that they all bring talent, skill, entertainment, and likability to the stage. There is no need for the caveat, “…well, so-and-so is so talented, but they just lack that connection…” or “…so-and-so is popular, but just lacking in skill/technique…” with any of them. They have all proven over the course of the season that they are supremely talented, even outside their areas of specialty, to the point that they don’t need/expect special allowances.

Who do I like? I like them all. Who has surprised me the most? Well, at the start of the top 20, I didn’t have any of these four pegged to make it this far — the only two I had pegged for the finals at that point were Kherington & Will. I liked Twitch because, well, Twitch is so darned likable. Courtney is just so darned cute & hot in equal amounts (and has been a bit of a surprise in that she really did earn this spot over Chelsie of the magical legs & hips!).

The best & truest surprise(s), though, have been Joshua & Katee. Together and individually, they have been the story of this season. From Katee nearly un-making the top 20, to Joshua’s dearth of formal training (relative to everyone else), to their magical chemistry together and with their various choreographers, these two have been the face of SYTYCD:4. They deserve to be the final two dancers standing. In all truth, they deserve to be co-winners.

Alas, that will not be the case.

That being the case, I want Joshua to win. I think he can win. He would be a legitimate winner. He would be a deserving winner. As would Katee. (Courtney & Twitch just slightly less so…) Joshua, though is just my personal preference.

Unfortunately, I won’t get to see the results until tomorrow (Friday) because the FOX affiliate in Chicago is tape-delaying the finale until 11pm in order to show a Bears preseason game. A regular season game I could understand, but a preseason football? Spare me…

-ghp

Well, it seems that the surest sign of summer is here – the blogging doldrums. Lots of posting fodder rattling around in my head, along with all sorts of good intentions about writing witty & insightful posts to pass those pearls of wisdom and entertainment along to you, but darned little follow-through.

Typical.

So, I’ll give you a few things here that are on my mind at this moment, even though they are largely unrelated. Sure, they could, and possibly should, be broken up into separate posts, but…

SYTYCD:4 – Week 2 was predictably enjoyable, and the eliminations were neither surprising, nor problematic. By and large, what transpired merely solidified the opinions I described last week. I did, however, think of another reason why SYTYCD is better than AI – the way they do the voting & eliminations. By letting America determine the bottom 3, and then having the judges pick the contestant eliminated out of that bottom 3, SYTYCD helps ensure that America going stupid doesn’t taint the whole process – IOW, they retain some necessary editorial oversight. America gets input and the professionals get to shepherd the process along – everybody wins!

Sweet Tea – One of the things that I truly loved about living in North Carolina for 12 years was sweet tea. Not iced tea with sweetener in it, like I had grown up with, but honest-to-goodness tea, brewed in such a way that the sugar gets infused into the drink to such a level that your teeth start to rot just by bringing the cup up to your lips. The best sweet tea is usually found in little bbq joints where you get the best chopped pig, hushpuppies, & brunswick stew. Oddly enough, some of the best sweet tea I ever had was from the NIEHS cafeteria in Research Triangle Park, NC. Down South, they know that sweet tea is a proper menu option, and that adding sugar to unsweet tea is neither effective nor holy. Oddly enough, the sweet tea that is now being sold at McDonald’s isn’t all that bad for a mass market, fast food beverage. It’s not quite good enough to make me believe that it’s “real” Southern sweet tea, but it is just good enough for me not to be really torqued off by it. IOW, I like it.

The Brothers of John the Steadfast – This is a new organization of Lutheran laymen, organized “to defend and promote the orthodox Christian faith which is taught in the Lutheran Confessions, provide financial support for Christian new media (e.g. Issues, Etc.), and to support other endeavors selected by its membership that defend and promote the cause of confessional Lutheranism.” I recommend that you check them out at their brand-spanking-new website (they’ve been running out of a blog for a few months, while they got the formal website up & running), because they look like they’ve got some good stuff lined up & in the planning stages. While you’re at it, also check out the Augustana Confraternity…

I’m sitting here at the keyboard thinking there’s more that I’ve been wanting to write about, but my mind just went blank. That’s been happening more often lately. I must be going senile – just because I started kindergarten at 4, does that mean I’m going to start blanking out at 40? Yikes…

-ghp

I’m so glad this show is back. It’s up there with Survivor & The Amazing Race as the very best realitytv shows going. And yes, my goodness yes, it’s so far and away better than Idol that it,s not even funny. The format, the judges, the voting, the contestants, the host — all better!

This season is shaping up to another good one. I don’t really have any die-hard favorites (on the level of season 2′s Allison) yet, although I could easily see Will, Jessica, & maybe Chelsie H. emerge from the pack.

SYTYCD brings out a rather primal/visceral reaction from me, in terms of what I like in/from the dancers. I find that the less I intellectualize it & the more I just feel & enjoy it, the better it is. It’s almost the exact opposite of how I approach Idol, in terms of analysis and breaking it down. Combined with the overall superiority of the show (especially with the judges, who happen to be choreographers that have actual, you know, current credibility & chops in the profession, so they actually speak truth rather than risk spouting crap like the Idol judges do so regularly…)

A quick word here about the choreographers. I’m not sure I’d want to ever really see Mia Michaels do her work & practice her craft (after all, who really wants to see sausage get made?). But, my goodness does that woman get beautiful results! The routine that she created for Mark & Chelsie H. was amazing, as her routines usually are. I don’t pretend to understand the creative, artistic mind, but I do know enough to appreciate good art when I see it — and more often then not, Mia Michaels choreographed routines are good art.

So, that’s another reason SYTYCD is a superlative show – it produces good art & makes it accessible to many folks (like me) who wouldn’t normally consume it.

I like the girls attractive, but mere superficial looks aren’t enough. Thus, this year I’m leaning more towards Jessica the most, closely followed by Chelsie H., Courtney G., & Kherington. Susie may have learned a lesson, because she toned things down nicely in week 1, and was well served by putting on more clothes & less makeup – but I don’t think that it should keep her in for the long haul. Comfort & Chelsea T. are worthy finalists, if only because they have great character and obvious talent. Kourtni L. is on the border for me – I think she could emerge as a serious contender, but I could just as easily see her wash out pretty quickly. I think I’d prefer the former. Katee? In week 1 I thought she & Joshua gave the best, “most pleasant surprise” performance. But I don’t think I care if she stays much beyond this next week or two.

The guys must be graceful & powerful but still manly. If you’re too gay you can’t really butch it up & fake it — it shows through – you can be nice, pleasant, & engaging, but just not a great, manly dancer is all (witness Chris, Matt, & Thayne). But guys like Will, Joshua, & Twitch have got it in spades. That’s why they’re my favorite guys so far this season. Mark is right behind them, just because he’s such an engagingly quirky & unique dancer. Marquis & Gev? Meh. They do nothing for me, they’ve done nothing to really stand out that much so far, so I hope they don’t do anything to drag any of the girls down too far before they get eliminated.

Overall, I agreed with the week 1 eliminations (Jamie & Rayven), in that I didn’t disagree with them. Truth be told I might have sent Matt home instead of Jamie, but overall it was a machts nichts to me. I was more annoyed by America putting Will & Jessica into the bottom 3 instead of Gev & Courtney G. — that was inexplicable & uncalled for.

All in all, though, it’s enough that SYTYCD is back & we get to enjoy it for the rest of the summer.

Yay for us!

-ghp

Thank you, America, for getting it right.

Now, I just hope you keep it up & do it again in November…

Oh, and why did Randy feel it was necessary to dress up like Captain Kangaroo last night?

43 episodes of AI:7 — it was a long haul, wasn’t it, people? We made it, though. And I just want to take this chance to thank you all for your time & loyal readership these past five months. Knowing that y’all read my scratchings makes me happy. It’s also pretty darned cool. Heck, I’d do it even if it was only an audience of bigsis (just ’cause I love the image of making her dissolve in giggles at work!), but knowing that there are also good folks out there like TK, IndianaJane, & thewife, along with a bunch of other unnamed/non-commenting folks? Well, that makes it even better. So once again I humbly thank you all for stopping by & reading.

Tonight, So You Think You Can Dance starts its 4th season. This show is, for my money, better in almost every way than AI – the format, voting, contestants, judges, & host are all better. And I don’t feel compelled to do an exhaustive breakdown/write-up of each & every episode — that’s a pretty good thing too, I think you’ll agree.

Anyhoo, congrats to David Cook, the best (yes, I said the best) AI champ ever. And big props to me for getting it right and having called it many, many, many weeks ago. I’m. that. good.

-ghp

Well. Here we are. It’s all come down to this. What started back in January, ends here in May.

We made it. Yay for us.

David & David. And I even get to make a throw-away pop-culture reference to an obscure mid-80′s, sorta one-hit wonder (hint: Google the title of this post/entry. Bonus points if you got the reference without having to Google it. Even more Bonus points if you know what handsome Kevin got got or what miss Christina drives…)

I’m glad this season is just about over. I’m glad that I’m reasonably confident that David Cook will beat Gnome-boy. I’m really glad that So You Think You Can Dance 4 starts on Thursday! This season of AI has embodied all that is good & bad about the franchise. It’s been up & down. It’s been excessive, loud, overbearing, self-important, faux, cloying, & absurd. It’s also been inspiring, touching, chock-full-o-talent, fun, and just plain good. It’s been a pleasure to watch, and it’s been a guilty pleasure. Sometimes both at the same time.

Michael Buffer? Boxing-style tale-of-the-tape? Meh…

Cook will win. Archuleta is an immature 17. Last year, Jordin was a mature 17, and it showed, as she grew before our eyes over the course of the competition. This year, Gnome-boy has regressed each week, especially when compared against the stark professionalism & maturity of David Cook. Gnome-boy has become more & more child-like each & every week. He hasn’t crumbled, per se, but neither has he grown and excelled. And that’s a damning observation, when push comes to shove.

David Cook, on the other hand, has grown, stretched, and matured as an artist. He has developed a killer instinct as a contestant on the AI stage, understanding how to work within the parameters of the weekly grind, in terms of manipulating arrangements, genre, & song choices. He’s mastered this as much as anyone ever has on the AI stage. Anyone.

Note: that coin flip? Gnome-boy won it, but had to look out to Daddy-Dearest in order to make his choice…

Round 1 – Clive Davis’ Choice

Cook: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – A nice enough interpretation, but not a knock-out performance. The performance by the band didn’t do justice to the vocal performance, IMO, and that brought it down a notch or so. That said, his fanbase is solid, and it’s a fanbase that is (I think) virulently anti-Gnome-boy, so he won’t be hurt.

Here’s the thing, though – I don’t think that tonight’s performances matter, in terms of the final vote & results. I think the voting blocs are pretty much set. There might be some play amongst undecideds, but only if someone really screws up & drives votes to the other guy. That is, I think votes could be lost tonight, but not won…

Archuleta: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – A typical performance by Gnome-boy. It was well within his narrow range of expertise. As long as he isn’t challenged to go outside that zone, he’ll be OK and he’ll make his fans swoon (and the judges risk statutory indictment). Given what usually happens on finale performance shows, then, I think he’ll be safe.

Round 2 – Songwriter’s Choice

Cook: Dream Big – The up-tempo choice was a very good one, as was bringing out the guitar. He is well served when he plays up his rock-star/front-man chops. The song itself wasn’t near as good as the first one, but the performance was way better. He’s proving his versatility. He’s proving his artistry. He’s proving his bones & why he deserves to win the whole enchilada.

Archuleta: In This Moment – Ballad. Blah, blah, blah. Message. Meh, meh, meh. The same old Gnome-boy. The same old wooden moves & hand gestures. The same old, oh-so-meaningful facial expressions & squinty-closed eyes. Gosh! I’m so over the saccharine triteness from Utah. When Randy says “You can sing the phonebook, you’re so hawt, dawg!” you know it wasn’t that good.

Round 3 – Contestant’s Choice

Cook: The World I Know – Acoustic start = nice. Emotive connection with the song = outstanding. Emotion after finishing the song = outstanding. He’s very possibly the perfect AI contestant. A rocker. Sensitive. A theater guy. A bit Emo. Funny. Mature. Humble. Sincere. Respectful. Consistent. Creative. A risk-taker. Seriously, what’s not to like? What’s not to vote for?

Re: repeating a song, David was right, Simon was WRONG.

Archuleta: Imagine – COP. OUT. He is a coward. An unimaginative coward. This proves to me he’s an immature, and probably insecure, artist, because at this most important stage of the competition, he regressed & retreated to a safe place rather than boldly make a new conquest. For this alone, he deserves to lose the competition. Begone Gnome-boy, you epic annoyance – darken my TV screen no longer. (Well, ok, one more night, but after tomorrow, no more!)

Now that all is said and done, after 5 long months, I’ll leave you with this:

1) The judges are full of it. Plain and simple. They want Gnome-boy to win. A knock-out? Nope. He was the best? Nope. I don’t see it and I don’t get it. Archuleta will not, I repeat NOT, be a moneymaker for them – he’s destined to be a dud, as he doesn’t even have Broadway potential.

2) Cook for the win — Make it so, America.

-ghp

The latest offering from the American Idol brain trust — The Next Great American Band — ain’t all that bad.

Compared to its siblings, it’s different in certain ways & similar in others. Overall, however, I’d say that it bears a closer resemblance to AI than to SYTYCD. That’s not bad & it’s not good; rather, it just *is*.

I liked that the first two “rounds” were handled differently, in that the “open auditions” were done via DVD submissions, which served as the fodder for producers to winnow things down to the 60 bands that were flown out to the Nevada desert for the equivalent of AI’s Hollywood & SYTYCD’s Vegas phases. The producers erred on the side of brevity for this first installment, and I think it was an overall good choice. Hewing too closely to the formula that requires lots of “train wreck” auditions might’ve been just a bit too much for this initial installment. The two hour premier left me wanting a little bit more, instead of feeling fatigued & abused by the parade of delusion & ineptitude.

The host (the New Zealand version of Seacrest) is ok. He’s no Cat Deely, but he’s ok.

The judges are right out of the AI playbook, except that Sheila E is so far & away better than Paula that it’s not even funny, and Johnny Rzeznick does a more credible job in the Dawg role than the caricature that Randy has become. Dicko’s Aussie spin on Simon’s “bad/mean” slot isn’t bad, but I can’t help but be distracted by the fact that he looks & sounds to me like Darrell Hammond playing a role in an SNL sketch.

The top 12 bands represent a reasonably diverse cross section of the musical spectrum. It’s nice to see genres as diverse as big band swing, bluegrass, gospel-tinged heritage, Philly-funk, new-wave/punk, 70′s hard rock, 60′s Brit-pop, speed/heavy metal, and country-pop. It’s not cookie-cutter in any way — I mean, come on, who would’ve thought that there’d be two bands that feature the mandolin?!? Cool!

My personal favorites at this point are the Clark Brothers (the trio of brothers who are sons of a traveling tent revivalist) and their gospel-tinged heritage music, The Muggs with their Detroit 70′s hard rock (in a serious Ted Nugent, Stranglehold-era vibe), Sixwire with their very slick country-pop sound, and Rocket because I’m a sucker for their neo new-wave/punk, Go Go’s type of sound.

I think that Franklin Bridge could also go a long way, and it’s quite possible that they could work their way into my favs list, as they are really, really good with their whole Philly power-funk sound.

None of the rest of the bands are really grabbing me all that much. Light of Doom could be interesting, if only to see how their speed metal sound will develop. They’re also interesting because they’ve got such strong musicianship for a bunch of 12 & 13 year-olds. Musically, they really do do justice to their metal genre; unfortunately, their vocals & overall presentation (keep your shirts on!) hold them back.

It’s not the best of shows — it strikes me as more of a Summer realitytv offering — but it’s certainly not the worst show out there. And that, is good enough to keep me watching.

-ghp

Because I need something to write about (as I hate the thought of having less than one post per week…), here’s some news about Survivor:  Survivor China’s Cast Revealed

Yay… The fall TV season is just about here. At least I’ve got that going for me…

And Sabra winning SYTYCD was a good thing…

I’ve been trying to spend more time reading books lately, because reading books is better escapism than spending time online (i.e., writing/blogging)…

<*sigh*>

-ghp

[tags]

pop culture, realitytv, sytycd, survivor

[/tags]

Not much to say lately. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…

I’ve got work-angst & I’ve got church-angst. I feel like I’ve been fighting a two-front war, with the main casualties being my own internal compass/well-being and (more importantly) the folks that I’ve been trying to protect from the two-front war (i.e., my family). Even on the best of days I can be a bit cranky, but throw in stress, worry, and a lack of sleep? Well, that’s not all that good, knamean?

So, I’ve set into motion some things that I hope will lead to a lessening and/or elimination of one or both fronts. That carries some angst of its own, but it’s more of a “good” angst than what’s been going on…

I hate to feel/sound like the pharisee of “The Publican & The Pharisee” fame, but keeping track of last week’s ELCA Churchwide Assembly (aka national convention) both cheered me and horrified me. I was cheered because it helped me realize that there are some Lutherans out there who face far more difficult circumstances than I do. The ELCA is seriously messed up & whacked out on a bunch of issues. I’m even more horrified about many of the things that they are doing over there, not the least of which is this: Lutherans to allow pastors in gay relationships. For some very interesting discussions about all things related to the ELCA’s CWA, check out the discussion forums over at the ALPB. It’s really sad & amazing to see just how much twisting and turning can be done in the effort to make God’s Word be “relevant” to our sinful minds & feelings. Lord knows I’ve got planks in my own eyes, but still…

So You Think You Can Dance is about to wrap up this week, and I’ll be sad to see it go. I’ve said it before — in a great many ways, SYTYCD is my far-and-away favorite of all the realitytv shows out there. I’m not sure exactly who I want to win, much less who I think will win, this season. That’s more a testament to the strength of the remaining dancers than it is an indictment of my decision-making prowess. In the end, though, I think a girl will win it this year, and I think it’ll be either Lacey or Sabra…

That’s enough new content for now…

-ghp

[tags]

blogging, christianity, church, convention, lutheran, realitytv, sytycd

[/tags]

I’ve been saying for over a year now that So You Think You Can Dance is better than American Idol. It’s just obvious to me, as well as to those in my realitytv inner-circle.

Well, now it seems as though even AI & SYTYCD producer Nigel Lythgoe is on board with that assessment, given his quotes in this entry over at Reality Blurred.

The money quote, speaking about SYTYCD :  “There isn’t a Sanjaya here, although I do think Sanjaya helped the last season of Idol. I think there’s enough talent with enough great stories to warrant the fact that we are basing it on their talent. No one needs to alter their hair on this program.“

You betcha!

-ghp

[tags]

realitytv, sytycd, american idol

[/tags]

Taking some time out from the grand renovation…

Last night on SYTYCD, there was oddness a-plenty!

First, America got stuck on the stupid again, when the votes came in showing that the bottom 3 couples were Lauren/Neil (I can see it), Sara/Jesús (kinda-sorta), & Anya/Danny (I don’t like them, well Danny, but they sure are good enough to not be anywhere near the bottom 3). Cedric got a sympathy vote, pure & simple. It was good for Shauna, because she really didn’t deserve to be in the bottom 3, but my goodness Cedric certainly did.

Thus, we got a guys bottom 3 of Danny, Jesús, & Neil. Danny & Neil gave superlative solo performances, while Jesús merely did ok. For his efforts, he got Sanjayed — sacrificed on the altar of subjective emotionalism, despite the fact that he was obviously more talented (in terms of this show). Last week Jimmy got Sanjayed, and this week it was Jesús’s turn. Bummer.

As for the girls, I really would’ve liked to have heard more of an explanation about why they chose Jessi to leave instead of Lauren (who, IMO, was most deserving of the boot, despite being just about the cutest pretender to my Allison’s throne…). If the medical thing was the main reason, then they really should’ve just disqualified her after having missed Wed’s performance show. If it was somehow based on dancing ability, then I must say that I thoroughly disagree with the judges’ reasoning. Jessi wasn’t going to win, but neither was it her time to go — she still had a few weeks left, IMO, before she deserved to leave.

That all said, my favorite single dancer is still Lacey, and my favorite couple is (quite surprisingly) Dominic & Sabra. They just look so good together, work so well together, and have such a wonderful spirit together. In a great many ways, they remind me of Ivan & Allison from last season (with a hint of Benji & Donyelle thrown in for flavor…).

What a good show.

-ghp

[tags]

sytycd, realitytv

[/tags]