Well, now that I’ve cooled off from those hot, steamy Argentine Tangos and my eyes have stopped bouncing after watching the Lindy Hoppers, I can think enough to type this up. Wow, that was a fun night! There were some really great dances and then ... there was Holly and the Woz. Oh my. Samantha’s child got her sick but the show must go on! as she infects the cast with her germs, getting close during interviews and waving that contaminated microphone in their faces.
We are informed that Tuesday two couples will be eliminated. Wondering how that dance-off will work, or if they will even go with that.
Len is asked to explain the new dances. He says while the hold is set in a regular Tango, the Argentine Tango is a sensual, provocative dance where the hold can be many things - cheek to cheek, or farther away than normal. The Lindy Hop is more "rock ‘n roll" with lots of tricks, lots of kicks. It’s a fun jitterbug-style dance. Lifts are allowed in both dances this week.
Starting the evening are David & Kym with their Lindy Hop. Kym is trying to explain it to David, who spends most of his time in rehearsal with a confused, lost look on his face. He tells Kym he really needs to see others doing the dance so she takes him to a Lindy Hop Club - a small, American Legion-looking hall full of young adults throwing each other around with youthful exuberance. Instead of overwhelmed (which would be my reaction) David gets excited about the dance. David & Kym’s version was really cute and full of energy. Len told him the dance was fun and energetic, although he lost a little rhythm. (I’m surprised he didn’t lose a limb, the way he was hopping and kicking!) Bruno told him he was "pumped full of energy" although that may have made David lose a little footwork. Carrie Ann was much more pleased, telling David "you’re not the youngest cookie in the bunch" but he was very energetic, especially when he "kicked up the tempo at the modulation" - and Bruno even agreed with that. I think their scores could have been better: 8-7-7=22.
Lil’ Kim & Derek will be the first to dance the Argentine Tango. I’m thinking this one ought to be right up her alley (and wondering if she’ll get the Paso Doble if she’s still around, that would be pretty good too!) Derek tells her he doesn’t really know much about it and he’s learning right along with her. He stresses that she has to play a character for this dance, and Kim tries but she and Derek are "used to having fun" during rehearsals and it’s hard to keep a straight face. They pull it off for the live dance, though, I thought it was pretty darn good. Bruno was excited, rising out of his chair to tell them "that was more than a tango, it was a tale of forbidden beauty." He called it terrific and complimented Derek on his choreography. Carrie Ann told Kim she has made an incredible transformation. Len then gets his serving of boos when he says he was "knocked out by the choreography but there was no sensuality" in the dance. Len tried to explain his point: ''Buenos Aires. A bar. Smoke-filled. Small room. Sensual. Quiet. Passionate. Then a quick fiery moment. And then BACK into the passion! That was lacking.'' Carrie Ann and Bruno protest mightily, saying "the fire department is parked outside!" Their scores matched the judges’ remarks: 9-8-10=27.
Chuck & Julianne are next with a Lindy Hop, which I think is a great choice for them. I just don’t picture Chuck doing a Tango, and he likes the idea of being able to show his goofy side. We find out that Chuck may have some deep-rooted problems, though, because he’s petrified to do a flip that Julianne has choreographed because he fell on his head playing basketball as a kid. (Just how hard did he fall on his head? I didn’t notice any half-of-his-head-is-gone scars.....) They had fun with the dance, dressed as 50's diner wait staff, but it looked to me as if Chuck wore out a little at the end. Carrie Ann liked it but told Chuck he has to "go for it" more. Len told him it was competent "but competent won’t get you through to the end." Bruno asked for a "pizza to go, but can you make it crispier?" Backstage, Samantha and her germs asked Chuck about being a "scaredy cat" about falling on his head, and poor Chuck looked bewildered - "What’s wrong with not wanting to fall on your head? It hurts!" Their scores were ok: 8-7-7=22.
Lawrence & Edyta will be doing the Argentine Tango. This ought to be interesting - Edyta has a big guy to toss her around. She explains the character of the dance, the sensual passion - and Lawrence asks "I’ll still be married after this dance, right?" He can’t get the hang of the character of the dance, though, so Edyta asks her hubby Alec Mazo to come in and help. Alec demonstrated some of the lifts and steps and Lawrence seemed to catch on better, although I wasn’t sure about the passion that was supposed to be part of the dance. Len told Lawrence dances like these make it difficult to portray a character, especially if one isn’t from the acting profession - and it lacked passion. Bruno disagreed, saying it was menacing and intense, a good character. Carrie Ann split the difference, saying that he exuded power and did the steps well, but they lacked chemistry and Lawrence looked "afraid of Edyta’s passion." Len really surprised everyone with his score: 7-5-7=19.
Tom calls Len "little Lenny Hard Butt" and mentions that "Samantha’s voice is disappearing faster than my 401k."
Ty & Chelsie are up next and doing the Lindy Hop. They discuss her slip last week, in which she stepped on her dress, and in true cowboy no-nonsense fashion, Ty remarks that Chelsie "just needs a shorter dress." He’s looking forward to the Hop, saying being able to be aggressive and physical will help with his nerves. I’m looking forward to it too, actually - this guy is a rodeo rider and he’s really getting good at this dancing stuff (bowlegs and all). Chelsie is showing her ability to teach, sitting on the floor and making Ty get all the footwork down before she joined him for the routine. She's teaching him the basics instead of whirling him around right away, and I think his improving dancing every week is surprising everyone, including Ty. Bruno tells Ty he’s "kicking with the vitality of a young stallion." Carrie Ann repeated herself from last week that "Ty Murray is a dancer!" She complimented Chelsie on her teaching ability. Len reminded Ty that he gave him a 4 the first week and "dreaded seeing you coming out here again" but "darn my britches" Ty’s coming along just great. (Len, Englishmen cannot do "western" well at all. Stop it.) Backstage Ty tells Samantha that Chelsie is a great teacher and that "they might outdance us but they won’t outwork us." Their scores: 9-8-8=25.
Okay, it’s Steve & Karina’s turn, and he gets the Argentine Tango. I really can’t see Steve hopping all over the place, but I don’t see him being passionate enough for the Tango either. Actually, I can’t see him doing much at all and why the hell is he still around? Steve says there’s been a lot of love and hate this season. "The judges seem to hate me and the fans love me" so he wants to show some appreciation. He takes off with a gang of people on Segways and shmoozes a crowd of people to vote for him. "The judges have forsaken me but the Geeks shall inherit the earth." Spare me, Woz. Just. Go. Away. Carrie Ann stumbled all over herself trying to say something positive, saying Steve is the "ultimate underdog" but that the dance felt really long. Len told him "well done for attempting a proper tango" and told him it was an improvement from last week although "improvement is relative because last week was so terrible." Bruno has really been on Woz’s case, telling him "we love you but that stunk." Woz looked at Bruno with a quirky grin and said "I’m still standing" which didn’t faze me until I read the Entertainment Weekly blog this morning and found out Bruno was in the video for Elton John’s I’m Still Standing. Check it out, you can catch Bruno throughout the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lK-0wfHutk. Anyway, the scores we expected: 4-4-4=12.
Melissa and Tony will be doing the Lindy Hop. I’m really happy for Tony that he found a capable replacement when his original partner Nancy O’Dell dropped out. I figured he wouldn’t last long with O’Dell, and was in for it with Melissa having two whole days to practice before her debut, but they are doing so great together and Melissa is getting pretty darn good. In rehearsal, Tony may be rethinking his clothing and may want to add a cup/jock strap - he was teaching Melissa a trick where he pulls her through his legs, and she seemed to smash her face into his - um, Happy Place and hurt his nads. Their dance was fun and she didn’t cause him pain in the live dance although it did look like they bobbled their last lift. Len was impressed, telling Melissa "you have the potential to go all the way." Bruno was even happier, calling it "eye-popping fun" and saying Melissa showed she could do the full range of steps. Carrie Ann, who last week told Melissa to challenge herself more, said "now I’m impressed!" and told Tony it’s the best choreography she’s seen so far. Tony told Samantha that they took Carrie Ann’s comments last week to heart and he was very proud of Melissa. Their efforts paid off: 10-9-10=29.
Holly & Dmitri are going to do the Argentine Tango. I’m not in any way, shape or form impressed with Holly or her (lack of) determination to learn to dance, and I’m thinking either of this week’s dances will not work for her (but this is the lesser of the two evils). She hurt her ribs during last week’s live dance, and is in major pain trying to learn the dance. She goes to the doctor and finds out she just strained the muscle around her ribs and doesn’t have to worry about hurting herself more, so she’s going to carry on like the trooper she is. (*rolling eyes*) The dance wasn’t all that - she smiled throughout the dance and I didn’t see the passion and sensuality the dance called for (which surprised me because she was a Playboy model and Heff’s girlfriend for years, and you would think she would be pretty free in the sexual department). She fell off the stool at the beginning of the dance and Bruno commented that she had a bad start that just kept getting worse. He told her to "drop the Barbie and bring out the Vixen." Carrie Ann gave her credit for trying after the mishap, and told Dmitri to build up her strength. Len told Dmitri it was a fantastic routine and "there is light at the end of the tunnel" but she has to work on her core strength. Holly annoyed me further by nervously giggling throughout the entire judges’ comments. I feel bad for Dmitri. Oh, and poor Holly, who shows us the big bruise on her leg from rehearsals. (My eyes are gonna roll right out of my head.) Their scores: 5-6-5=16.
Steve-O and Lacey will Lindy Hop. Steve is stressing about the dance, saying "there’s so much going on, it’s very chaotic." Lacey tells him he needs to lighten up - "It shouldn’t be this hard" - and brings him a clown outfit, complete with necessary makeup - I guess Steve-O used to be a clown in the circus (used to be?) He decides he has to get in touch with his inner clown because "Gosh dang darnit, what the hey, I’m here to have fun." Then comes the dance, and Steve proves yet again that he has no rhythm or timing or - dare I say it? musicality. Carrie Ann tries to be positive yet again, saying he’s had a rough road but "tonight you got through your routine." Len told Steve that his timing is a big issue and Bruno mentioned that the dance looked "more hopping mad than Lindy Hop." Bruno said it looks like Steve puts a barrier between himself and the music and Steve should "just listen to the music." Steve was still proud of himself, telling Samantha that he overcame his anxiety tonight. Their scores shocked Steve-O: 5-5-5=15, with Steve-O laughing that they are the same as last week’s scores (when he forgot most of his routine) - "What are they thinking?"
Gillis & Cheryl will do an Argentine Tango, which I’m looking forward to. Hey, the guy is pretty hot just standing there, let’s see him exude a little more hotness with Cheryl! He’s putting pressure on himself and Cheryl is having none of it, being the tough teacher and not letting Gillis get caught up in a pity party. She tells him to "pretend you’re in love with me" and relies on his acting experience to get him to stay in character. And Oh. My. Goodness! That dance was HOT! They got a standing O from the crowd and Carrie Ann was fanning herself. Tom even commented "that was fierce!" Len was impressed, saying that it was "yet another fantastic performance" and that they showed every element of the dance. Bruno called him the "quintessential Latin lover" and said he performed that Tango with "almost deadly animal magnetism." Carrie Ann was overwhelmed, saying "I can’t feel my face!" and saying she couldn’t tell who was the professional and who was the amateur. She pointed at Gillis’ wife in the audience and said "You! Woohoo!" and some of us were envious. (If he can get this passionate with someone he is totally platonic with, can you imagine how it is with his wife?) Samantha gets him to stumble all over himself, saying "it’s easy to fall in love with Cheryl - uh, er, in a dancing way." He gives her all the credit and they get all the points they can get: 10-10-10=30.
Shawn & Mark will finish the evening with the Lindy Hop. Talk about right up her alley! Shawn takes Mark to the gym not only to demonstrate what she can do (I guess Mark doesn’t watch the Olympics) but to let Mark try out the balance beam. I really thought he’d do better but of course, he falls off. Shawn is excited because this week she doesn’t have to worry about being a character, she can be herself. "I don’t have to act mature, just have to have fun." Mark uses her ability and tosses her all over the place, and Shawn tosses around on her own too, starting the dance with back flips that I think may have been taken from one of her floor exercises. The judges were not impressed, all of them saying the dancing was lacking. Bruno called it a "spectacular feast of tricks and gymnastics, BUT" she was a good dancer and should remember that. Carrie Ann noticed that she wasn’t as light on her feet as she should be (probably because she regressed from dancing to gymnastics, where sticking your feet is a must). As expected, Len said there were too many tricks and more dancing was needed. Backstage Shawn was happy to see Mark get nervous at the gym, considering she gets nervous about dancing, and she now knows Mark is just a regular guy. Their scores weren’t bad: 8-8-9=25.
So here are the standings:
30 - Gillis & Cheryl
29 - Melissa & Tony
27 - Lil’ Kim & Derek
25 - Ty & Chelsie
25 - Shawn & Mark
22 - Chuck & Julianne
22 - David & Kym
19 - Lawrence & Edyta
16 - Holly & Dmitri
15 - Steve-O & Lacey
12 - Wozniak & Karina
And, I’ve been trying to get back on the ABC website (since I voted, of course) to get an explanation of the Dance-Off and see if they explain how they’ll work that (or not) tonight, but can’t log on. I guess everyone is trying to get their votes in at the last minute (you can vote until noon in your time zone). So instead of totally screwing up my computer, I’ll try again later and let you know tomorrow with my results report. Who will go home? I’ve got my wishes, but that doesn’t mean they’ll come true!
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I Guess You Gotta Die to Get Kicked Outta Here....
Okay. I understand that at the beginning it’s not as much about dancing as it is a popularity contest. I get it that Denise Richards was gonna go sooner rather than later. But how on earth did Denise Richards go before Steve-O, Wozniak or Holly Madison?????! My heart is broken - Maks is gone! At the very least people could have voted for HIM!!!! I’m verklempt. (And I’m not even Jewish!) America, you have disappointed me. Okay, fine, I am a professional and will get through this blog, albeit with a heavy heart.
Tom begins the show by announcing that there will be two eliminations next week. I guess they were counting on one of the injured Steves to drop out, and when they (to our dismay) decided to keep going, the producers had to go to Plan B. "In no particular order" they announce the first four safe couples: Melissa and Tony, Gillis and Cheryl - don’t you just love Cheryl’s reaction to good scores and staying in the competition? She always looks surprised and genuinely happy. Shawn and Mark are safe this week. And .... Steve and Karina!!! I was thinking that Karina was getting better at not looking so dour while waiting for her fate (which was certainly the bottom two tonight - wait, what??!!!) Wozniak looked totally shocked and Karina screamed like a schoolgirl, hopping all over. All the couples got a good chuckle out of it and I tried to pick my chin up off the floor. Okay. That means Steve-O and Lacey or Holly and Dmitri are gone for sure. Right? RIGHT?
Not many people (except perhaps teenage boys or "teenage" men) were impressed with Steve-O as a member of the Jackass crew and expected him to actually be a jackass. His dancing ability wasn’t all that. But, the longer he sticks around the more I realize that he’s really not a bad guy, tattoos and all. In his confessionals he was genuinely bummed about messing up his Foxtrot the night before. "I knew the dance and I just .... blew it." (Empathy is fine, I just don’t see how it translates into votes!)
Backstage Samantha interviews the safe stars. (Notice her earrings? Can they be any bigger?) Woz is told he got the lowest score since Season 2, and he mentions that he was more shocked to still be around than when he got served with divorce papers. Melissa was happy, saying they put in a lot of work and many hours of practice, with Tony piping up "I know!" in the background. (I did a little research on who in Season 2 got the lower score and found this in Wikipedia: "The scoring begins with the judges' marks. Each judge gives a 1 to 10 score, for a total score of 3 to 30 (the lowest individual score, however, was a 2 for Master P's Paso Doble in season 2, and the lowest total score for a dance was an 8)." Couldn’t find who got the 8, but assuming it was Master P probably isn’t that big a stretch).
The next four safe couples are announced: Lawrence and Edyta; David and Kym; Chuck and Julianne and Lil’ Kim and Derek. (Side note: my apologies to Derek Hough for losing my mind yesterday and blogging his name as "Derrick." Where that came from I have no clue!)
We are now treated to a demo film about the two new dances being introduced for next week. It was announced at the beginning of the show that Cloris and Corky would dance for us - now that they’re not seriously trying to compete it’s fun to see them. The Lindy Hop is one of the dances. It was explained that "Lindy" means "young woman" - and showing Cloris during this explanation was the ultimate irony. "It is a dance of young exuberance" and we see the two leaning on each other and panting. The Argentine Tango is a dance sometimes connected with "women of the evening" (Cloris, looking confused, realizes she’s not gonna make ANY money) and includes "the chase" (see Cloris chase poor, terrified Corky), "flirty feet" (if Corky wasn’t so old he might actually enjoy this part), and "furious foot flicks" (shown with sped-up film). It gives us "the emotional connection between the couple," and we see a passionate kiss between Corky and Cloris. And let’s see how that helps the couples learn the dances for next week! (*Right*)
Hall and Oates come out to perform "Man Eater." I liked them when they first arrived on the music scene (still do, actually) but I was shocked to see how short Hall is. That quickly changed to Karina’s dance with Tony, Dmitri and Maks, which was HOT! At the end of the song, Karina pushes away Tony and Dmitri (and their regular shirts) and chooses Maks (of course) and his open-shirt bare chest. *Sigh* (If any of this "old lady love for Maks" makes anyone uncomfortable just let me know, I suppose I can keep it toned down a bit. Maybe.)
Adele (whoever that is - I reiterate, I’m old) comes out and sings, sounds pretty good to me. Not as good as seeing Edyta and hubby Alec dance together and I’m sure the men enjoyed her (lack of) costume.
After some talk from the stars about the Dance-Off, the remaining four couples are told who will be dancing off. Steve-O and Lacey are told they are ... safe? Okay, okay. Holly and Dmitri will be dancing off with .... Denise and Maks! Ty and Chelsea will live to dance another day (and it’s a good thing too. I realize as far as notariety he’s not a big name, but his dancing ability is much better than one would expect from a cowboy!)
Holly and Dmitri will dance their Samba once again. They got a 17 Monday night and I saw no reason to improve upon that score - and it looked like her foot still came off the ground on the "lift." Len said she made a little mistake in the middle, but she came out "hot" tonight. Bruno told Holly she had "no worries about hotness" but her timing leaves a bit to be desired. Carrie Ann praised her for keeping her foot on the ground this time. They got one more point this time: 6-6-6=18.
So out come Denise and Maks to reprise (better, hopefully) their Samba. Denise looks like she messed up too, and she still can’t shake it much. Bruno surprised me by saying "I cannot believe how much you have improved from last night." Carrie Ann said she was good under pressure and Len said "the Dance-Off gives the opportunity to prove that you should stay, and tonight you do (deserve to stay)." They go 4 points better than the 16 of Monday night: 6-7-7=20.
There’s a little controversy about what Carrie Ann wrote on the paper (allegedly she wrote "7" but showed a "6" on her paddle) and I checked out her blog to find out her explanation - and I’m even more confused now! The excerpt from Carrie Ann’s blog:
Let me explain what happened. We score on a piece of paper. All three judges write down their scores on a piece of paper and I hand it off to Rob, our stage manager, who takes it to the booth where the producers and graphics person are waiting for it so they can type it in -- so when we actually show our paddles, they have the piece of paper in hand (and the numbers are displayed on-screen). Tonight there was a mix-up between Bruno's score and my score. Bruno gave Denise and Maks a 7 and I gave them a 6. I think that most people figured it out just by looking at it. It was just a mix up that was not that big of a deal. Denise’s score was in fact a 20 and Bruno and I held up the correct paddles that represented our actual scores, the ones we'd written on the paper. So, there was no real problem.
Tom was saying that Carrie Ann wrote down a 7. Carrie Ann blames it on the producers misreading the paper. I still don't get it - I guess it’s just me being slow on a Hump Day morning....
I'm going to do some research on the Dance-Off being meaningful, too. Denise and Maks did MUCH better than Monday night, improving by 4 points and beating Holly and Dmitri by 3. Yet it really didn't mean much in the end because they still went home. Anyone in my frame of mind thinking that the Dance-Off is interesting, but seems unnecessary? It seems like torture for the stars (kind of on par with making the ousted American Idol sing after they've been told to go home).
Anyway..... Bye-bye Denise and Maks. *snif!* Are you as shocked as I am that the Steves are still around? Who on earth is voting for them? Who should go next? Looking forward to the new dances (and do you have any idea what they're supposed to look like after Cloris and Corky's demonstration?)
Tom begins the show by announcing that there will be two eliminations next week. I guess they were counting on one of the injured Steves to drop out, and when they (to our dismay) decided to keep going, the producers had to go to Plan B. "In no particular order" they announce the first four safe couples: Melissa and Tony, Gillis and Cheryl - don’t you just love Cheryl’s reaction to good scores and staying in the competition? She always looks surprised and genuinely happy. Shawn and Mark are safe this week. And .... Steve and Karina!!! I was thinking that Karina was getting better at not looking so dour while waiting for her fate (which was certainly the bottom two tonight - wait, what??!!!) Wozniak looked totally shocked and Karina screamed like a schoolgirl, hopping all over. All the couples got a good chuckle out of it and I tried to pick my chin up off the floor. Okay. That means Steve-O and Lacey or Holly and Dmitri are gone for sure. Right? RIGHT?
Not many people (except perhaps teenage boys or "teenage" men) were impressed with Steve-O as a member of the Jackass crew and expected him to actually be a jackass. His dancing ability wasn’t all that. But, the longer he sticks around the more I realize that he’s really not a bad guy, tattoos and all. In his confessionals he was genuinely bummed about messing up his Foxtrot the night before. "I knew the dance and I just .... blew it." (Empathy is fine, I just don’t see how it translates into votes!)
Backstage Samantha interviews the safe stars. (Notice her earrings? Can they be any bigger?) Woz is told he got the lowest score since Season 2, and he mentions that he was more shocked to still be around than when he got served with divorce papers. Melissa was happy, saying they put in a lot of work and many hours of practice, with Tony piping up "I know!" in the background. (I did a little research on who in Season 2 got the lower score and found this in Wikipedia: "The scoring begins with the judges' marks. Each judge gives a 1 to 10 score, for a total score of 3 to 30 (the lowest individual score, however, was a 2 for Master P's Paso Doble in season 2, and the lowest total score for a dance was an 8)." Couldn’t find who got the 8, but assuming it was Master P probably isn’t that big a stretch).
The next four safe couples are announced: Lawrence and Edyta; David and Kym; Chuck and Julianne and Lil’ Kim and Derek. (Side note: my apologies to Derek Hough for losing my mind yesterday and blogging his name as "Derrick." Where that came from I have no clue!)
We are now treated to a demo film about the two new dances being introduced for next week. It was announced at the beginning of the show that Cloris and Corky would dance for us - now that they’re not seriously trying to compete it’s fun to see them. The Lindy Hop is one of the dances. It was explained that "Lindy" means "young woman" - and showing Cloris during this explanation was the ultimate irony. "It is a dance of young exuberance" and we see the two leaning on each other and panting. The Argentine Tango is a dance sometimes connected with "women of the evening" (Cloris, looking confused, realizes she’s not gonna make ANY money) and includes "the chase" (see Cloris chase poor, terrified Corky), "flirty feet" (if Corky wasn’t so old he might actually enjoy this part), and "furious foot flicks" (shown with sped-up film). It gives us "the emotional connection between the couple," and we see a passionate kiss between Corky and Cloris. And let’s see how that helps the couples learn the dances for next week! (*Right*)
Hall and Oates come out to perform "Man Eater." I liked them when they first arrived on the music scene (still do, actually) but I was shocked to see how short Hall is. That quickly changed to Karina’s dance with Tony, Dmitri and Maks, which was HOT! At the end of the song, Karina pushes away Tony and Dmitri (and their regular shirts) and chooses Maks (of course) and his open-shirt bare chest. *Sigh* (If any of this "old lady love for Maks" makes anyone uncomfortable just let me know, I suppose I can keep it toned down a bit. Maybe.)
Adele (whoever that is - I reiterate, I’m old) comes out and sings, sounds pretty good to me. Not as good as seeing Edyta and hubby Alec dance together and I’m sure the men enjoyed her (lack of) costume.
After some talk from the stars about the Dance-Off, the remaining four couples are told who will be dancing off. Steve-O and Lacey are told they are ... safe? Okay, okay. Holly and Dmitri will be dancing off with .... Denise and Maks! Ty and Chelsea will live to dance another day (and it’s a good thing too. I realize as far as notariety he’s not a big name, but his dancing ability is much better than one would expect from a cowboy!)
Holly and Dmitri will dance their Samba once again. They got a 17 Monday night and I saw no reason to improve upon that score - and it looked like her foot still came off the ground on the "lift." Len said she made a little mistake in the middle, but she came out "hot" tonight. Bruno told Holly she had "no worries about hotness" but her timing leaves a bit to be desired. Carrie Ann praised her for keeping her foot on the ground this time. They got one more point this time: 6-6-6=18.
So out come Denise and Maks to reprise (better, hopefully) their Samba. Denise looks like she messed up too, and she still can’t shake it much. Bruno surprised me by saying "I cannot believe how much you have improved from last night." Carrie Ann said she was good under pressure and Len said "the Dance-Off gives the opportunity to prove that you should stay, and tonight you do (deserve to stay)." They go 4 points better than the 16 of Monday night: 6-7-7=20.
There’s a little controversy about what Carrie Ann wrote on the paper (allegedly she wrote "7" but showed a "6" on her paddle) and I checked out her blog to find out her explanation - and I’m even more confused now! The excerpt from Carrie Ann’s blog:
Let me explain what happened. We score on a piece of paper. All three judges write down their scores on a piece of paper and I hand it off to Rob, our stage manager, who takes it to the booth where the producers and graphics person are waiting for it so they can type it in -- so when we actually show our paddles, they have the piece of paper in hand (and the numbers are displayed on-screen). Tonight there was a mix-up between Bruno's score and my score. Bruno gave Denise and Maks a 7 and I gave them a 6. I think that most people figured it out just by looking at it. It was just a mix up that was not that big of a deal. Denise’s score was in fact a 20 and Bruno and I held up the correct paddles that represented our actual scores, the ones we'd written on the paper. So, there was no real problem.
Tom was saying that Carrie Ann wrote down a 7. Carrie Ann blames it on the producers misreading the paper. I still don't get it - I guess it’s just me being slow on a Hump Day morning....
I'm going to do some research on the Dance-Off being meaningful, too. Denise and Maks did MUCH better than Monday night, improving by 4 points and beating Holly and Dmitri by 3. Yet it really didn't mean much in the end because they still went home. Anyone in my frame of mind thinking that the Dance-Off is interesting, but seems unnecessary? It seems like torture for the stars (kind of on par with making the ousted American Idol sing after they've been told to go home).
Anyway..... Bye-bye Denise and Maks. *snif!* Are you as shocked as I am that the Steves are still around? Who on earth is voting for them? Who should go next? Looking forward to the new dances (and do you have any idea what they're supposed to look like after Cloris and Corky's demonstration?)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dancing With the Stars: Can it be any more painful?
Cue the music! Watch the stairs! LIVE! From Hollywood - it’s Dancing With the Stars!
Up first are Denise Richards & Maks with their Samba. Denise is being too serious about learning the dance and Maks says "you’re not having enough fun, not getting into the dance." He tries to lighten her up by dressing in a pink Samba outfit, complete with bra and ruffles and feathery headpiece. It definitely loosened her up, she was cracking up! Maks shook his shoulders and his bra fell down! Their dance seemed a bit stiff, though. Something fell off during the dance (maybe a hairpiece). Tom tells Maks after the dance "you are one ugly woman." Len begins the comments by saying the Samba is the hardest Latin dance to learn. She needs more hips, but she did a good job. Bruno wasn’t so kind: Denise was so flat "you were more of a waffle than a Samba." He said there was no party atmosphere and she is going backwards in her dancing. Carrie Ann added that she’s going with Bruno. She can tell that Denise is frightened to death. Their scores suck: 5-6-5=16
Next are Chuck Wick & Julianne to dance the Foxtrot. Chuck wants more to do this week, not let Julianne do all the work. Just because he dates a ballroom dancer doesn’t mean he knows how to dance - he grew up on a potato farm and played sports. But! They looked pretty good! Bruno tells Chuck that he’s happy to see Chuck "in the driving seat." Dancing is give and take, and you are starting to balance each other out. Carrie Ann was excited, saying "you could possibly be a contender!" She like the way they were in sync with each other. Len said it’s hard to teach dancing to someone - he tried to teach his wife to drive. They are good, but not great yet. Their scores: 8-7-8=25
Holly Madison & Dmitri are going to dance the Samba. Holly is getting frustrated, saying it’s tough to learn the proper dance steps and she thinks Dmitri is not used to teaching someone who has no dance experience. Dmitri tells her to "just forget it" because he thinks she’s not trying. Holly says he’s wishing he had Jewel back. There was a lift! What will Carrie Ann say? She was stiff, but she shook it when she had to. Carrie Ann said "it was rough to watch, Holly was totally disjointed." She notice the lift (of course - it was a bit blatant). She said it looked like Dmitri was dragging her around. Len told Holly to work on her feet. He said the dance was like a match - "hot at the top but wooden at the bottom." (Tom says that’s the first metaphor he understands from Len!) Bruno told her the top shelf was "the land of plenty" but the footwork wasn’t there. Their scores: 5-6-6=17
Bad back and all, here come Steve-O & Lacey to dance a Foxtrot. He’s been told to "ease back into it." The doctors said to rest but he doesn’t want to, he wants to prove to the judges and the fans that he deserves to stick around. He didn’t look like he proved anything except that he was a bad dancer - he forgot some moves and fell a bit on the steps at the end. Len told Steve-O that the "O" stands for Ovation which he deserves, because he tried to come out and do a proper Foxtrot. Bruno said "you came out as a model of propriety but fell to pieces." (Is it me or is Bruno really being the nasty one this year? I seem to remember Len was always the one to be obnoxious - but now Len has tempered his criticism a bit and Bruno is being downright mean sometimes. Maybe his boyfriend left him or something.....) Carrie Ann says Steve-O looks as if he’s in genuine pain and gives him credit, saying "Not many stars would watch their video to see what they did wrong." Backstage, Samantha asks what went on - "I just went blank. I tried so hard I guess I tried too hard." Lacey said he was great, considering he hurt his back again and tweaked his ankle besides. Dismal scores: 5-5-5=15.
Football great Lawrence Taylor & Edyta (the mostly naked) are dancing a Samba. Lawrence is talking about a shorter rehearsal time, saying he even gave up his golf this week "and I don’t give up golf for nothin’!" It paid off because their dance looked pretty darn good to me! Bruno told him "for a guy of your size you’re pretty light on your feet and you have rhythm!" He added that Lawrence had to have more confidence though, and have fun. Carrie Ann went along the same lines, saying "I see a newfound confidence in you." Len told Lawrence that "it’s nice to see you don’t let Edyta do all the work" but that he wanted to see more with his hips and less with his shoulders. Talking to Samantha backstage, he says his wife asked him to "take up ballroom dancing, but I told her I don’t dance with amateurs." (He’s sleeping on the couch tonight!) I thought their scores could have been better: 7-6-7=20.
Shawn Johnson & Mark are coming up with their Foxtrot. With Shawn’s gymnastics background she has to be hard & precise, and now she needs to learn to be smooth & elegant. She looked so much older and pulled off the elegance rather well! Carrie Ann was very complimentary, saying "you looked more than just a lady," and calling her smooth and really in sync with Mark. Len called her arms "lovely" and said it was her best dance yet. Bruno and his wonderful accent said she’s "gliding around with weightless quality like a beautiful bejeweled hummingbird." (It sounded like he said "hambird." Tom asked him what he said, and Bruno seemed to get all huffy when he had to repeat himself - and it STILL sounded like "hambird.") Their scores kicked butt: 9-9-9=27
Next are Gilles Marini & Cheryl to dance the Samba. He says he’s not as popular as the other stars so he has to work harder. His Mom came from France to watch him dance and told him (in French) that he and Cheryl looked beautiful together, while Cheryl just stood there with a weird look on her face ("are they talking about me? What did she say?") Gilles looked pretty hot in that tight red suit! Their dance was fun and I thought they did a great job. At the end, Gilles buries his face between Cheryl’s tatas (I mean as part of the dance - I’m sure if it wasn’t planned Cheryl might get a little miffed). I did notice he needs to smile a bit more though. Len said Gilles is looking like a really good dancer. Though he lacked a little bit of rhythm, he made a hard dance look easy. Bruno in his inimitable way told Gilles "you looked like a throbbing red hot poker." (I DON’T want to know). Carrie Ann called it an excellent job and noticed that "Cheryl was really workin’ it for you! You shook things I didn’t know a guy could shake." Very good scores: 9-9-9=27
David Alan Grier & Kym are dancing a Foxtrot. Kym wants to showcase David and tells him he will begin the dance by himself. David professes that "We busting out!" this week. However, his butt is still sticking out a bit in the hold. Nice, although a little choppy. Bruno told him that he had "taken the Foxtrot to Broadway." He said it was like watching Ben Vereen - "what a transformation!" Carrie Ann said it was nice, that he looked like a Rockette. She called his technique great and fluid. Len said one dance doesn’t win or lose this competition. "Last week was not my cup of tea, but this week, well done." Len said it was the best dance he’s done yet. Their scores were 8-8-8=24. Backstage, David gave Kym credit for making him better, and sang "these are the greatest judges in the world" in a Broadway kinda way.
Steve Wozniak & Karina are next, dancing the Samba. Karina told Steve the Dance-Off last week was fun, "but let’s not do it again." During practice, Steve pulled a hamstring in practice, and ended up being carted off in an ambulance. He says he’s flattered that the show is worried about his health, telling him he doesn’t have to continue, but Steve wants to. Sorry, kids, but this guy is pretty bad and probably still would be without his strained foot and pulled hamstring. He attempts a little Worm move (that’s gonna tick Len off - especially since it was a BAD worm move). They tried some kind of flip at the end of their dance and it looked messed up - Karina said it was her fault. Bruno looks disgusted in the background as Tom talks to the couple (oohh, this oughta be good!) Carrie Ann tells him "you are so cute. But at some point the novelty wears off." Len feels bad for Steve, saying "the dances are killing you." Len added that he hoped the viewers enjoy watching Steve - at least he’s consistent - bad from start to finish. Bruno doesn’t mince words - "the worst Samba I’ve ever seen. Just bad." Backstage, Samantha interviews Steve and he says "Mix dancing with Smirnoff you might end up in an ambulance." (Karina’s last name is Smirnoff, and there’s a vodka named Smirnoff - he made a funny!) Their scores are the lowest I’ve ever seen (I didn’t watch Season One, but I have never, ever seen anything lower than a 5 before): 4-3-3=10. Steve is still gracious: "I get to dance with Karina Smirnoff! The judges aren’t right, I believe we deserved less."
Melissa Rycroft & Tony are going to dance the Foxtrot. Tony accompanied Melissa back to Dallas to say goodbye to her co-workers and clean out her desk. They all gave Melissa and Tony "10s" as they walked out. I noticed Melissa has funny expressions on her face while practicing. Tony tilted her head, telling her it should look like "an olive on a martini glass." I though they had great rhythm! Tony sure is happy after the dance. Len said Melissa has great musicality and expression in her dance. He tells her to work on her feet, but "overall - fantastic." Bruno told her she is "beautiful to look at and easy to love." He likes the way she moves with the music. "It’s like music plays from your body." Carrie Ann says she’s an excellent dancer. "I love watching you move." Something, though, is lacking, so Melissa needs to challenge herself more. Carrie Ann says "This comes easy for you" and I think both Melissa and Tony are going to pass out or smack Carrie Ann with the looks on their faces. Their scores are great: 9-9-9=27. Backstage, we find out that Lawrence promised to take her golfing if she got at least three 8's. Melissa laughs and says Lawrence is in for it, she’s a better dancer than a golfer.
Up next to Samba are Lil’ Kim & Derrick. I’m thinking this should be right up her alley, shaking her ginormous booty. Kim tells Derrick "I’m gonna let loose and trust you." Derrick notes that " I can push Kim all day long and she keeps working hard." Loved the fringy skirt - it looked great on her and the dance worked well with that booty! She definitely shook it - maybe what the judges were hoping for with Kim Kardashian last season. A big butt means nothing if you can’t do something with it, and Lil’ Kim has hers figured out! Bruno called her a "pocket-sized Venus with supersized sex appeal." He said it wasn’t perfect but "you sold it to me." (I agree - after her reputation of being in jail and all, I fully expected not to like her. However, she’s hard-working, very positive, and can actually dance, and I’ve decided she’s fun to watch.) Carrie Ann says "that was hot! You draw us in to the dance." She noticed a little mistake but forgave her because Lil’ Kim was going for proper technique. Len chastised Derrick a bit saying that they went "further away from the roots of the dance" but slipped in elements of the dance. (Yeah, he’s the expert, but it looked pretty good to me!) Backstage, Derrick complimented Kim, saying "this girl is awesome!" Their scores were pretty good: 8-8-9=25
Ty Murray & Chelsea will be dancing a Foxtrot next. Chelsea explains that Ty has to make the Foxtrot look easy. Ty deadpans that "You have to do the steps and play a character but I’m no Robert DeNiro." I agree, Ty, but you sure are a lot better than I expected you to be! Considering he’s a bowlegged cowboy, Chelsea is shaping up as a good teacher. She slipped and fell during the beginning of their dance, and Ty didn’t miss a step, or even look like anything happened. I was impressed - Ty looks pretty good, suave and debonaire! Carrie Ann told him he was the most improved. She called him smooth and said "The way you handled it when Chelsea fell was great." Len started off by saying he lacked musicality and was a bit stiff (here Carrie Ann interrupted, arguing that he was wrong. Len shuts her up saying "if I wanna get that in my ear I’ll go home and talk to my wife." He’s gonna join Lawrence on the couch, I think.) Then Len goes off in a good direction, saying that he was holding up the dancer as he should, and it was a great routine. Bruno praised Chelsea, saying she was "carving out of stiff wood a Fred Astaire. If you keep it up we’re gonna see great things." Backstage, Samantha interviewed them about their performance and Ty cracked "When Chelsea fell, I thought I was the one who was supposed to fall. We didn’t practice that one!" Good scores - I thought they should have been better: 8-8-7=23.
So did everyone vote? Should Steve-O give up before he kills himself? Should the other Steve leave even if he feels good, because he's just bad? Who looks most improved to you? We’ll see who goes home tonight! I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of the results show!
Up first are Denise Richards & Maks with their Samba. Denise is being too serious about learning the dance and Maks says "you’re not having enough fun, not getting into the dance." He tries to lighten her up by dressing in a pink Samba outfit, complete with bra and ruffles and feathery headpiece. It definitely loosened her up, she was cracking up! Maks shook his shoulders and his bra fell down! Their dance seemed a bit stiff, though. Something fell off during the dance (maybe a hairpiece). Tom tells Maks after the dance "you are one ugly woman." Len begins the comments by saying the Samba is the hardest Latin dance to learn. She needs more hips, but she did a good job. Bruno wasn’t so kind: Denise was so flat "you were more of a waffle than a Samba." He said there was no party atmosphere and she is going backwards in her dancing. Carrie Ann added that she’s going with Bruno. She can tell that Denise is frightened to death. Their scores suck: 5-6-5=16
Next are Chuck Wick & Julianne to dance the Foxtrot. Chuck wants more to do this week, not let Julianne do all the work. Just because he dates a ballroom dancer doesn’t mean he knows how to dance - he grew up on a potato farm and played sports. But! They looked pretty good! Bruno tells Chuck that he’s happy to see Chuck "in the driving seat." Dancing is give and take, and you are starting to balance each other out. Carrie Ann was excited, saying "you could possibly be a contender!" She like the way they were in sync with each other. Len said it’s hard to teach dancing to someone - he tried to teach his wife to drive. They are good, but not great yet. Their scores: 8-7-8=25
Holly Madison & Dmitri are going to dance the Samba. Holly is getting frustrated, saying it’s tough to learn the proper dance steps and she thinks Dmitri is not used to teaching someone who has no dance experience. Dmitri tells her to "just forget it" because he thinks she’s not trying. Holly says he’s wishing he had Jewel back. There was a lift! What will Carrie Ann say? She was stiff, but she shook it when she had to. Carrie Ann said "it was rough to watch, Holly was totally disjointed." She notice the lift (of course - it was a bit blatant). She said it looked like Dmitri was dragging her around. Len told Holly to work on her feet. He said the dance was like a match - "hot at the top but wooden at the bottom." (Tom says that’s the first metaphor he understands from Len!) Bruno told her the top shelf was "the land of plenty" but the footwork wasn’t there. Their scores: 5-6-6=17
Bad back and all, here come Steve-O & Lacey to dance a Foxtrot. He’s been told to "ease back into it." The doctors said to rest but he doesn’t want to, he wants to prove to the judges and the fans that he deserves to stick around. He didn’t look like he proved anything except that he was a bad dancer - he forgot some moves and fell a bit on the steps at the end. Len told Steve-O that the "O" stands for Ovation which he deserves, because he tried to come out and do a proper Foxtrot. Bruno said "you came out as a model of propriety but fell to pieces." (Is it me or is Bruno really being the nasty one this year? I seem to remember Len was always the one to be obnoxious - but now Len has tempered his criticism a bit and Bruno is being downright mean sometimes. Maybe his boyfriend left him or something.....) Carrie Ann says Steve-O looks as if he’s in genuine pain and gives him credit, saying "Not many stars would watch their video to see what they did wrong." Backstage, Samantha asks what went on - "I just went blank. I tried so hard I guess I tried too hard." Lacey said he was great, considering he hurt his back again and tweaked his ankle besides. Dismal scores: 5-5-5=15.
Football great Lawrence Taylor & Edyta (the mostly naked) are dancing a Samba. Lawrence is talking about a shorter rehearsal time, saying he even gave up his golf this week "and I don’t give up golf for nothin’!" It paid off because their dance looked pretty darn good to me! Bruno told him "for a guy of your size you’re pretty light on your feet and you have rhythm!" He added that Lawrence had to have more confidence though, and have fun. Carrie Ann went along the same lines, saying "I see a newfound confidence in you." Len told Lawrence that "it’s nice to see you don’t let Edyta do all the work" but that he wanted to see more with his hips and less with his shoulders. Talking to Samantha backstage, he says his wife asked him to "take up ballroom dancing, but I told her I don’t dance with amateurs." (He’s sleeping on the couch tonight!) I thought their scores could have been better: 7-6-7=20.
Shawn Johnson & Mark are coming up with their Foxtrot. With Shawn’s gymnastics background she has to be hard & precise, and now she needs to learn to be smooth & elegant. She looked so much older and pulled off the elegance rather well! Carrie Ann was very complimentary, saying "you looked more than just a lady," and calling her smooth and really in sync with Mark. Len called her arms "lovely" and said it was her best dance yet. Bruno and his wonderful accent said she’s "gliding around with weightless quality like a beautiful bejeweled hummingbird." (It sounded like he said "hambird." Tom asked him what he said, and Bruno seemed to get all huffy when he had to repeat himself - and it STILL sounded like "hambird.") Their scores kicked butt: 9-9-9=27
Next are Gilles Marini & Cheryl to dance the Samba. He says he’s not as popular as the other stars so he has to work harder. His Mom came from France to watch him dance and told him (in French) that he and Cheryl looked beautiful together, while Cheryl just stood there with a weird look on her face ("are they talking about me? What did she say?") Gilles looked pretty hot in that tight red suit! Their dance was fun and I thought they did a great job. At the end, Gilles buries his face between Cheryl’s tatas (I mean as part of the dance - I’m sure if it wasn’t planned Cheryl might get a little miffed). I did notice he needs to smile a bit more though. Len said Gilles is looking like a really good dancer. Though he lacked a little bit of rhythm, he made a hard dance look easy. Bruno in his inimitable way told Gilles "you looked like a throbbing red hot poker." (I DON’T want to know). Carrie Ann called it an excellent job and noticed that "Cheryl was really workin’ it for you! You shook things I didn’t know a guy could shake." Very good scores: 9-9-9=27
David Alan Grier & Kym are dancing a Foxtrot. Kym wants to showcase David and tells him he will begin the dance by himself. David professes that "We busting out!" this week. However, his butt is still sticking out a bit in the hold. Nice, although a little choppy. Bruno told him that he had "taken the Foxtrot to Broadway." He said it was like watching Ben Vereen - "what a transformation!" Carrie Ann said it was nice, that he looked like a Rockette. She called his technique great and fluid. Len said one dance doesn’t win or lose this competition. "Last week was not my cup of tea, but this week, well done." Len said it was the best dance he’s done yet. Their scores were 8-8-8=24. Backstage, David gave Kym credit for making him better, and sang "these are the greatest judges in the world" in a Broadway kinda way.
Steve Wozniak & Karina are next, dancing the Samba. Karina told Steve the Dance-Off last week was fun, "but let’s not do it again." During practice, Steve pulled a hamstring in practice, and ended up being carted off in an ambulance. He says he’s flattered that the show is worried about his health, telling him he doesn’t have to continue, but Steve wants to. Sorry, kids, but this guy is pretty bad and probably still would be without his strained foot and pulled hamstring. He attempts a little Worm move (that’s gonna tick Len off - especially since it was a BAD worm move). They tried some kind of flip at the end of their dance and it looked messed up - Karina said it was her fault. Bruno looks disgusted in the background as Tom talks to the couple (oohh, this oughta be good!) Carrie Ann tells him "you are so cute. But at some point the novelty wears off." Len feels bad for Steve, saying "the dances are killing you." Len added that he hoped the viewers enjoy watching Steve - at least he’s consistent - bad from start to finish. Bruno doesn’t mince words - "the worst Samba I’ve ever seen. Just bad." Backstage, Samantha interviews Steve and he says "Mix dancing with Smirnoff you might end up in an ambulance." (Karina’s last name is Smirnoff, and there’s a vodka named Smirnoff - he made a funny!) Their scores are the lowest I’ve ever seen (I didn’t watch Season One, but I have never, ever seen anything lower than a 5 before): 4-3-3=10. Steve is still gracious: "I get to dance with Karina Smirnoff! The judges aren’t right, I believe we deserved less."
Melissa Rycroft & Tony are going to dance the Foxtrot. Tony accompanied Melissa back to Dallas to say goodbye to her co-workers and clean out her desk. They all gave Melissa and Tony "10s" as they walked out. I noticed Melissa has funny expressions on her face while practicing. Tony tilted her head, telling her it should look like "an olive on a martini glass." I though they had great rhythm! Tony sure is happy after the dance. Len said Melissa has great musicality and expression in her dance. He tells her to work on her feet, but "overall - fantastic." Bruno told her she is "beautiful to look at and easy to love." He likes the way she moves with the music. "It’s like music plays from your body." Carrie Ann says she’s an excellent dancer. "I love watching you move." Something, though, is lacking, so Melissa needs to challenge herself more. Carrie Ann says "This comes easy for you" and I think both Melissa and Tony are going to pass out or smack Carrie Ann with the looks on their faces. Their scores are great: 9-9-9=27. Backstage, we find out that Lawrence promised to take her golfing if she got at least three 8's. Melissa laughs and says Lawrence is in for it, she’s a better dancer than a golfer.
Up next to Samba are Lil’ Kim & Derrick. I’m thinking this should be right up her alley, shaking her ginormous booty. Kim tells Derrick "I’m gonna let loose and trust you." Derrick notes that " I can push Kim all day long and she keeps working hard." Loved the fringy skirt - it looked great on her and the dance worked well with that booty! She definitely shook it - maybe what the judges were hoping for with Kim Kardashian last season. A big butt means nothing if you can’t do something with it, and Lil’ Kim has hers figured out! Bruno called her a "pocket-sized Venus with supersized sex appeal." He said it wasn’t perfect but "you sold it to me." (I agree - after her reputation of being in jail and all, I fully expected not to like her. However, she’s hard-working, very positive, and can actually dance, and I’ve decided she’s fun to watch.) Carrie Ann says "that was hot! You draw us in to the dance." She noticed a little mistake but forgave her because Lil’ Kim was going for proper technique. Len chastised Derrick a bit saying that they went "further away from the roots of the dance" but slipped in elements of the dance. (Yeah, he’s the expert, but it looked pretty good to me!) Backstage, Derrick complimented Kim, saying "this girl is awesome!" Their scores were pretty good: 8-8-9=25
Ty Murray & Chelsea will be dancing a Foxtrot next. Chelsea explains that Ty has to make the Foxtrot look easy. Ty deadpans that "You have to do the steps and play a character but I’m no Robert DeNiro." I agree, Ty, but you sure are a lot better than I expected you to be! Considering he’s a bowlegged cowboy, Chelsea is shaping up as a good teacher. She slipped and fell during the beginning of their dance, and Ty didn’t miss a step, or even look like anything happened. I was impressed - Ty looks pretty good, suave and debonaire! Carrie Ann told him he was the most improved. She called him smooth and said "The way you handled it when Chelsea fell was great." Len started off by saying he lacked musicality and was a bit stiff (here Carrie Ann interrupted, arguing that he was wrong. Len shuts her up saying "if I wanna get that in my ear I’ll go home and talk to my wife." He’s gonna join Lawrence on the couch, I think.) Then Len goes off in a good direction, saying that he was holding up the dancer as he should, and it was a great routine. Bruno praised Chelsea, saying she was "carving out of stiff wood a Fred Astaire. If you keep it up we’re gonna see great things." Backstage, Samantha interviewed them about their performance and Ty cracked "When Chelsea fell, I thought I was the one who was supposed to fall. We didn’t practice that one!" Good scores - I thought they should have been better: 8-8-7=23.
So did everyone vote? Should Steve-O give up before he kills himself? Should the other Steve leave even if he feels good, because he's just bad? Who looks most improved to you? We’ll see who goes home tonight! I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of the results show!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
ANTM: New York's Finest - Thoughts
I was going to post some long recap about Top Model, but this week’s episode just seemed off. The editing is still everywhere because there are too many girls at the moment. I will note a few things that I liked/disliked about the episode:
- Horrible, Horrible photoshoot! I don’t understand why they did back to back group shots. To make it worse, the numbers were uneven so there had to be a three-group shot. There was little in the photoshoot that was remotely model-y. Sandra, Fo, and Aminat were the only three that actually looked like they could be in a high fashion shot. I find it also funny that they will crop the photo for next week for Sandra.
+ Who is that on the cover of Seventeen? Apparently it’s Lauren Conrad, but damn, she looks like Jade from Cycle 6.
+ It’s nice to see a bad walker do good and a good walker do something stupid. If they are setting up Natalie to be the Jade/Melrose/Cycle 5’s Lisa at least make her either funny or good. She’s still just a pretty face. Again, kudos to Allison (who I keep wanting to call her Nicole) for having a decent walk, even with bags.
- You know Tahlia is going home soon. She’s voicing wanting to go home to her family. Sure she turned out a good photo with a spark. The plus/minus was that it was a very commercial shot. You know, smiling and being natural. She looks like a dead fish with her high fashion shot last week.
+ I heart Sutan, he’s funny and doesn’t get enough camera time.
- Will Ann Shoket ever get replaced? Her criticism is non-existent and just a way for Seventeen to show up.
+ On the Top Models in Action section, I totally believe that Bianca is a good runway model. She has the walk. She was also on Project Runway in the last finale walking for Korto.
+ Remember that Teyona apparently looks like an alien? I realize now after seeing her teeth which alien. The Alien from the Alien movies.
- Horrible, Horrible photoshoot! I don’t understand why they did back to back group shots. To make it worse, the numbers were uneven so there had to be a three-group shot. There was little in the photoshoot that was remotely model-y. Sandra, Fo, and Aminat were the only three that actually looked like they could be in a high fashion shot. I find it also funny that they will crop the photo for next week for Sandra.
+ Who is that on the cover of Seventeen? Apparently it’s Lauren Conrad, but damn, she looks like Jade from Cycle 6.
+ It’s nice to see a bad walker do good and a good walker do something stupid. If they are setting up Natalie to be the Jade/Melrose/Cycle 5’s Lisa at least make her either funny or good. She’s still just a pretty face. Again, kudos to Allison (who I keep wanting to call her Nicole) for having a decent walk, even with bags.
- You know Tahlia is going home soon. She’s voicing wanting to go home to her family. Sure she turned out a good photo with a spark. The plus/minus was that it was a very commercial shot. You know, smiling and being natural. She looks like a dead fish with her high fashion shot last week.
+ I heart Sutan, he’s funny and doesn’t get enough camera time.
- Will Ann Shoket ever get replaced? Her criticism is non-existent and just a way for Seventeen to show up.
+ On the Top Models in Action section, I totally believe that Bianca is a good runway model. She has the walk. She was also on Project Runway in the last finale walking for Korto.
+ Remember that Teyona apparently looks like an alien? I realize now after seeing her teeth which alien. The Alien from the Alien movies.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Top Model C12 - Ep 3 Recap
It seems as though they kind of rehashed last seasons’ opening sequence with the new models in an imitation photoshoot. If you notice, it’s the shots from all of the promo shots you’ve been seeing. Tyra probably got a little lazy this time.
The girls return to Allison’s photo. She finds it strange. Fo is not angry that she’s second. Aminat, is angry that Sandra didn’t go home. She talks to Sandra and asks her if she’s a bitch. She then proceeds to tell Sandra that the better person went home. Jessica is hoping to use the criticism as homework for future photo shoots.
Tyra Mail. The mail involves sidewalks and turning heads. They have a pink and purple plaid stretch SUV. (What happened to being Green?) It’s quite girly inside.
Mr & Ms. Jay get a spy-video mail from Tyra explaining that it’s makeover time. (It’s all really stupid) She understands that there will be tears. The girls arrive in the John Berrett Salon and the girls find out that they are getting their makeovers. Celia is astounded that they got to this rare salon, it takes months for appointments to be scheduled. The girls won’t know what the makeover is since that is the trend on the show. Aminat is ready to work on that Afro.
Jessica’s plan is to be “edgy” so Tyra makes it two inches shorter, wavy curls, and with tinges of red. Sandra is shaved to just a small amount of hair; it then is turned blond. Her after shot looks mannish. Allison is getting long blonde hair. She feels like a mermaid. Nijah hasn’t washed her hair in two weeks and she basically gets nothing (I think they made it a little curlier). Fo gets cropped hair and gets a short/boy cut. She’s not used to it. Celia’s blonde hair gets cut. She starts to cry and Natalie is nervous. She gets a short cut as well. Aminat’s weave/afro is removed and replaced with a Naomi Campbell weave. Ms. Jay plays with the remaining fro. It’s quite nasty. Kortnie gets a red dye. London gets short and bleach blond which is very much like Samantha from last season.
Natalie’s time is next and right as the scissors touch her hair she tells John to wait. Jay gets pissed off at her and tries to get John to continue. She starts to freak out. Jay stops her. Nothing is happening. Fo is a little confused. Tianna’s hair is slicked back, like a jheri curl. Tahlia gets a blonde weave. She looks like a lion in the end. Fo starts to tear up because the other girls look more beautiful than her. Ugh, don’t you just hate pretty girls that think that they are ugly?
Tyra Mail. It involves seeing “eye to eye.” Back at home, Fo starts crying explaining how life was never tough and this is. She has to hide her hair to make her feel pretty. Jessica feels sexier with her hair.
The girls arrive to see Sutan (make-up artist) and Elyssa Starkman (Cover Girl Model). They explain that there are no Wal-Marts in NYC (yay!), so they bring the Wal-Mart display. Their challenge is to break into teams of three, find a person outside that represents a Cover Girl, and then explain the eyeliner and other products. Their prize? The team gets a commercial online. After teams are divided, Aminat is a little upset that Sandra is in her team, but she sucks it up. Team 4 tries to find someone but it’s a no. Each team finds a girl and they all explain the Wal-Mart wall. Aminat does a lot of the work and Sandra doesn’t say something. Team 3 had the best makeup, but they weren’t supposed to be makeup artists. Team 4 brought the items to the girl, not the reverse. Kortnie in Team 2 talked a lot and they all topped on top of each other. The winners are Team 1 (Aminat, Celia, and Sandra).
The girls go to an African themed restaurant and Sandra tries to tell the girls not to get drunk. Aminat calls her a dumbass. Sandra calls her trashy. It only gets trashy when the drunk does something stupid, Sandra.
MLAACG - McKey works with a Make A Wish girl. It’s really sweet, except for when McKey had to shove her portfolio into the girl’s general direction. They take some photos and it genuinely looks like McKey wants to help people. (Much better than wandering around the city and baking cupcakes)
The girls arrive in an alleyway; Jay explains that the photo shoot is about finding the light. Nigel Barker is the photographer today. He explains that they should have fun, but think about the strategies that they should have. Tahlia loves the rock and roll theme. Four girls walk in. Jay explains that it’s a group shot.
Group 1 (Tahlia, Allison, Nijah, Jessica) Jay explains that the girls have to hold light sticks explaining directions. Tahlia goes first and feels awkward. Alison wanted to focus on outfit and face with the two light sticks. Nijah looked a little dead in the eyes. Jessica struggles finding her light. She under-lights herself and looks like a kid trying to be monster. She gets no light in her eyes even when she holds it up to her face.
Group 2 (Aminat, Celia, Sandra, Kortnie) Aminat starts and tries her best. Celia overpowers Aminat in the front. Sandra evilly laughs at her. Celia is next and Jay tips her to bring the same fierceness that she did as an extra. Nigel is happy for with Celia’s shots. Sandra wants to do good, but she comes off looking bored. Nigel suggests giving attitude. Kortnie is a little confused, Nigel isn’t that inspired. He snaps photos and doesn’t say anything.
Group 3. (London, Teyona, Fo, Natalie) Jay tells them that the other girls were being disappointing. London goes first and does well. Teyona makes some pretty shots. She knew how to light and pose. Fo complains about laying down, and gets quite awkward. She still can’t get over the hair. She explains to Jay that she feels butch. Natalie is last and she wavers a little bit, but the shot is good.
There is more mail about judging. Aminat is a little nervous about looking boring; Fo is upset about the whole hair situation.
Apparently there is some “Once upon a time” for each judging. I didn’t even bother listening. It’s Random. Tyra explains the prizes and judges. Our guest judge Nole Marin, used to be a judge back in cycles 3 and 4. Fo is first and Tyra compliments her haircut. Tyra reminds her that she has strong bone structure. The photo lucks out and it’s great looking. Nigel calls her beautiful and explains more crying. Tyra and Nole tell her to step it up. Kortnie doesn’t light herself that well. She wasn’t feeling it. Nijah gets called out for an ugly outfit. The photo looks like a beautiful corpse, with dead eyes. London has great energy and was willing to go there.
Allison had a quirky and broken look. Nole calls her an alien and it’s a compliment. Sandra’s shot lacks any tension. Too much light and yet she seems like she was whited out. Celia’s shot is fabulous, it has tension. Jessica primps her hair before she walks in. Her photo is ugly. She puts tension in her eyes. Like a bad Jaslene. Tahlia looks bored holding the glow stick. She has no tension. Natalie’s sleeves look bad. Nole calls them out. Her shot looks great (her eyes look weird).
Tianna’s hair is wrong. The shot is great though. Tyra tells her not to rest on her laurels. Aminat is last and she disappears in the photo. Jay tells her that it’s a ghetto girl pose (Last victim was Josyln). Her face looks like a hush puppy.
Tyra and the judges talk about the photos. Fo needs to fix the hair. Kortnie needs time. London got it. Nijah looks dead. Sandra has no personality in the photo. Allison’s makeover looks great. Celia’s shot is great and she acts like she’s on the catwalk. Natalies’ shot is good. Tahlia looks dead in her shot. Jessica looks like a monster. Tianna’s shot is fantastic. Aminat took a nosedive from week one.
The girls walk in and Tyra calls out the top photo of the week: Tiana. Celia, Allison, Natalie, London, Nijah, Tahlia, Sandra, Kortnie, and Aminat. Fo and Jessica are the bottom two. Fo shouldn’t cry so much about the haircut; does she have the chameleon skills? Jessica is pretty, but it doesn’t translate into photos. Fo is safe. Jessica is going home. She didn’t know about getting the criticism. She knows she’s pretty.
Next Week: Miss Jay’s Charm School. Truth or Dare.
_____
So has anyone tried the New BuddyTV Fantasy game? I'm totally failing. Find me! My name is "RealityTVShowsBloggerPaz" Yeah i know it's long, but you gotta represent, ya know? I actually am part of several shows, including this DWTS, Survivor, Amazing Race, and Idol. I only have like minimal points for Idol :(
The girls return to Allison’s photo. She finds it strange. Fo is not angry that she’s second. Aminat, is angry that Sandra didn’t go home. She talks to Sandra and asks her if she’s a bitch. She then proceeds to tell Sandra that the better person went home. Jessica is hoping to use the criticism as homework for future photo shoots.
Tyra Mail. The mail involves sidewalks and turning heads. They have a pink and purple plaid stretch SUV. (What happened to being Green?) It’s quite girly inside.
Mr & Ms. Jay get a spy-video mail from Tyra explaining that it’s makeover time. (It’s all really stupid) She understands that there will be tears. The girls arrive in the John Berrett Salon and the girls find out that they are getting their makeovers. Celia is astounded that they got to this rare salon, it takes months for appointments to be scheduled. The girls won’t know what the makeover is since that is the trend on the show. Aminat is ready to work on that Afro.
Jessica’s plan is to be “edgy” so Tyra makes it two inches shorter, wavy curls, and with tinges of red. Sandra is shaved to just a small amount of hair; it then is turned blond. Her after shot looks mannish. Allison is getting long blonde hair. She feels like a mermaid. Nijah hasn’t washed her hair in two weeks and she basically gets nothing (I think they made it a little curlier). Fo gets cropped hair and gets a short/boy cut. She’s not used to it. Celia’s blonde hair gets cut. She starts to cry and Natalie is nervous. She gets a short cut as well. Aminat’s weave/afro is removed and replaced with a Naomi Campbell weave. Ms. Jay plays with the remaining fro. It’s quite nasty. Kortnie gets a red dye. London gets short and bleach blond which is very much like Samantha from last season.
Natalie’s time is next and right as the scissors touch her hair she tells John to wait. Jay gets pissed off at her and tries to get John to continue. She starts to freak out. Jay stops her. Nothing is happening. Fo is a little confused. Tianna’s hair is slicked back, like a jheri curl. Tahlia gets a blonde weave. She looks like a lion in the end. Fo starts to tear up because the other girls look more beautiful than her. Ugh, don’t you just hate pretty girls that think that they are ugly?
Tyra Mail. It involves seeing “eye to eye.” Back at home, Fo starts crying explaining how life was never tough and this is. She has to hide her hair to make her feel pretty. Jessica feels sexier with her hair.
The girls arrive to see Sutan (make-up artist) and Elyssa Starkman (Cover Girl Model). They explain that there are no Wal-Marts in NYC (yay!), so they bring the Wal-Mart display. Their challenge is to break into teams of three, find a person outside that represents a Cover Girl, and then explain the eyeliner and other products. Their prize? The team gets a commercial online. After teams are divided, Aminat is a little upset that Sandra is in her team, but she sucks it up. Team 4 tries to find someone but it’s a no. Each team finds a girl and they all explain the Wal-Mart wall. Aminat does a lot of the work and Sandra doesn’t say something. Team 3 had the best makeup, but they weren’t supposed to be makeup artists. Team 4 brought the items to the girl, not the reverse. Kortnie in Team 2 talked a lot and they all topped on top of each other. The winners are Team 1 (Aminat, Celia, and Sandra).
The girls go to an African themed restaurant and Sandra tries to tell the girls not to get drunk. Aminat calls her a dumbass. Sandra calls her trashy. It only gets trashy when the drunk does something stupid, Sandra.
MLAACG - McKey works with a Make A Wish girl. It’s really sweet, except for when McKey had to shove her portfolio into the girl’s general direction. They take some photos and it genuinely looks like McKey wants to help people. (Much better than wandering around the city and baking cupcakes)
The girls arrive in an alleyway; Jay explains that the photo shoot is about finding the light. Nigel Barker is the photographer today. He explains that they should have fun, but think about the strategies that they should have. Tahlia loves the rock and roll theme. Four girls walk in. Jay explains that it’s a group shot.
Group 1 (Tahlia, Allison, Nijah, Jessica) Jay explains that the girls have to hold light sticks explaining directions. Tahlia goes first and feels awkward. Alison wanted to focus on outfit and face with the two light sticks. Nijah looked a little dead in the eyes. Jessica struggles finding her light. She under-lights herself and looks like a kid trying to be monster. She gets no light in her eyes even when she holds it up to her face.
Group 2 (Aminat, Celia, Sandra, Kortnie) Aminat starts and tries her best. Celia overpowers Aminat in the front. Sandra evilly laughs at her. Celia is next and Jay tips her to bring the same fierceness that she did as an extra. Nigel is happy for with Celia’s shots. Sandra wants to do good, but she comes off looking bored. Nigel suggests giving attitude. Kortnie is a little confused, Nigel isn’t that inspired. He snaps photos and doesn’t say anything.
Group 3. (London, Teyona, Fo, Natalie) Jay tells them that the other girls were being disappointing. London goes first and does well. Teyona makes some pretty shots. She knew how to light and pose. Fo complains about laying down, and gets quite awkward. She still can’t get over the hair. She explains to Jay that she feels butch. Natalie is last and she wavers a little bit, but the shot is good.
There is more mail about judging. Aminat is a little nervous about looking boring; Fo is upset about the whole hair situation.
Apparently there is some “Once upon a time” for each judging. I didn’t even bother listening. It’s Random. Tyra explains the prizes and judges. Our guest judge Nole Marin, used to be a judge back in cycles 3 and 4. Fo is first and Tyra compliments her haircut. Tyra reminds her that she has strong bone structure. The photo lucks out and it’s great looking. Nigel calls her beautiful and explains more crying. Tyra and Nole tell her to step it up. Kortnie doesn’t light herself that well. She wasn’t feeling it. Nijah gets called out for an ugly outfit. The photo looks like a beautiful corpse, with dead eyes. London has great energy and was willing to go there.
Allison had a quirky and broken look. Nole calls her an alien and it’s a compliment. Sandra’s shot lacks any tension. Too much light and yet she seems like she was whited out. Celia’s shot is fabulous, it has tension. Jessica primps her hair before she walks in. Her photo is ugly. She puts tension in her eyes. Like a bad Jaslene. Tahlia looks bored holding the glow stick. She has no tension. Natalie’s sleeves look bad. Nole calls them out. Her shot looks great (her eyes look weird).
Tianna’s hair is wrong. The shot is great though. Tyra tells her not to rest on her laurels. Aminat is last and she disappears in the photo. Jay tells her that it’s a ghetto girl pose (Last victim was Josyln). Her face looks like a hush puppy.
Tyra and the judges talk about the photos. Fo needs to fix the hair. Kortnie needs time. London got it. Nijah looks dead. Sandra has no personality in the photo. Allison’s makeover looks great. Celia’s shot is great and she acts like she’s on the catwalk. Natalies’ shot is good. Tahlia looks dead in her shot. Jessica looks like a monster. Tianna’s shot is fantastic. Aminat took a nosedive from week one.
The girls walk in and Tyra calls out the top photo of the week: Tiana. Celia, Allison, Natalie, London, Nijah, Tahlia, Sandra, Kortnie, and Aminat. Fo and Jessica are the bottom two. Fo shouldn’t cry so much about the haircut; does she have the chameleon skills? Jessica is pretty, but it doesn’t translate into photos. Fo is safe. Jessica is going home. She didn’t know about getting the criticism. She knows she’s pretty.
Next Week: Miss Jay’s Charm School. Truth or Dare.
_____
So has anyone tried the New BuddyTV Fantasy game? I'm totally failing. Find me! My name is "RealityTVShowsBloggerPaz" Yeah i know it's long, but you gotta represent, ya know? I actually am part of several shows, including this DWTS, Survivor, Amazing Race, and Idol. I only have like minimal points for Idol :(
Monday, March 9, 2009
Dancing With the Stars -S08- Week 1
Tom and Samantha introduce us to the premiere event. There is a fancy new staircase; made. He have the 11 known contestants walk in and do the stereotypical waves hello. Jewel and Nancy O’Dell are sitting on the sidelines. Samantha reminds us that there are (still) couples competing against each other. Lil Kim opens the show.
Lil Kim and Derek Hough (Cha-Cha-Cha) Lil Kim is a Grammy award winner (Lady Marmalade) and She watched the show in prison. Amazing. Derek won last year with Brooke and he’s on that winner’s high. Lil Kim feels confident and calls herself “Black Barbie” next to her Ken. Derek uses the now abused term “Swagger” to describe her work ethic. She’s dedicating her dance to her federal detention center. She dances to “Nasty” and she definitely benefitted from good teaching. Kim also doesn’t gain air from some of the spins. I can’t help but love her legs and it seemed mostly clean on the whole, there was definitely some wobble. After welcoming the judges, Len thought the dance was first class. It was a little too wild and imposture for him. Bruno calls her nasty but tasty and compliments her booty. He points out some funny footwork. Carrie Ann sees potential and wants her to let it out. The scores are 7, 7, 7 (21).
Belinda Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts (Waltz) Jonathan and Belinda have an awkward opening but they start practices. Belinda has trouble with spins and she can’t process everything faster. She jokes about having a bucket nearby. They perform to “What the world needs now.” Does Jonathan get stuck with all the more mature women? The dance is smooth, but there is something off about Belinda’s steps. Bruno thought he looked like Julie Andrews but then she degraded to a Cloris level. He thinks that the footwork needs more help and she was heavy. Carrie Ann thinks that there are trust issues. Len thought that there was grace and elegance amidst some awkward. The judges score: 6, 6, 5 (17)
Lawrence Taylor and Edyta (Cha-Cha-Cha) Edyta points out that footballers do well and he has to continue the trend. He thinks that he has more dancablility than Jason Taylor. Edyta gives him a real pair of dancers shoes and the fear sinks in. He’s nervous that he is looking awkward and like a fool. Edyta continues her strategy to look really sexy while her partner awkwardly follows her. He seems a little heavy-footed at the moment, but Edyta’s distracting legs and dress cover up a lot of mistakes. Carrie Ann thought that he hasn’t lived up to the football player legacy. She wants him to get down and dirty. Len thinks that he needs to be sharp, but he likes the performance. Bruno thought it was a throwaway. There is something there, but he needs to perform. The judges score: 6,5, 5 (16)
Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer (Waltz) Johnny Knoxville and Wee Man go and sit in the front row to support him. Steve-O is reckless and Lacey is a rebel. It’s a match made in reality television heaven. He’s gone through rehab and he’s ready for a challenge. I’m surprised that he’s actually dedicated. He’s afraid that he’s scrawny and has “Caucasian” dancing. Lacey knows that she’s going with an uphill battle. They dance with the most awkward flip. He has this face of nervousness as Lacey’s peacock dress flows around. He shows some extra musicality. They have a nice flow and Lacey ends with a very good split. Johnny gives him a standing ovation. Len liked that he was committed and he tried, technically it wasn’t there. Len expected worse and was surprised. Bruno thought it was slapstick. He thought the technique wasn’t good. Carrie Ann had a mixed emotion because it was beautiful and awkward. She likes the determination. The judges scores: 6, 5, 6 (17)
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke (Cha-Cha-Cha) Gilles is best known as the naked guy next door in Sex and the City. Cheryl wants win number three. Cheryl thinks he dances femininely. Cheryl knows that Gilles has the smallest fan base so she wants to work him hard. Cheryl is right, he definitely is worked hard. Since he’s a lot taller than a lot of the male contestants, his legs show off more so than the other men. He probably has the most natural dancer’s frame. The dance is pretty steamy and in the end he runs a finger down Cheryl’s middle. Carrie Ann does the crazy dance and loves the potential. There was a little overextension. Bruno likes the tight and sharp moves. Len liked the mix of steps and choreography and thought the performance was fabulous. The judges scores: 8, 8, 8 (24)
Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough (Waltz) Chuck calls himself a country singer. Julianne welcomes her boyfriend (it seems awkward). Julianne works him really hard and finds him difficult to teach. There is a definite grace that the two have. His steps and extensions seem all there. Julianne is definitely working him hard. He then lifts her, accidentally, at the end spins. Bruno calls Julianne a handful. It looked good at times, but it seemed like Chuck was chasing her. Len agrees about the hectic style. The footwork is good, but it needs refinement. Carrie Ann thinks that he is one of the most graceful men. She calls out the lift and tries to nicely tell them not to lift. The judges scores: 6, 7, 7 (20)
Tom takes time to talk to Jewel and Nancy O’Dell. Jewel is disappointed to compete but she will perform next week. Nancy is disappointed, but is excited to watch.
Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin (Cha-Cha-Cha) Holly loves a challenge. Dmitry feels like he’s cheating on Jewel. Dmitry decides to just bluff the performance instead of teach technique. Holly’s legs do seem awkward and Dmitry tried his best. I think I’ve actually seen worse (Kim) She does seem to walk to some of her places. Jewel looks jealous on the sides. Tom reminds the audience that although Holly (and Melissa) have had little time to practice, they scores are based on the dance. Len thought it was not bad, but he thinks that time will help. Carrie Ann likes the charisma and knows that the moves will be better. She calls her a newborn deer. Bruno likes her looks and there were some good points. She lost her tempo at points, but there is potential. The judge’s scores: 6, 6, 6, (18)
Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower (Cha-Cha-Cha) Ty is apparently the king of the rodeo cowboys. She admits to being on So You Think You Can Dance (she can). She meets him at the ranch and he admits to being out of place. Chelsie seems to make a good coach and she turns out quite patient. Ty is afraid that he’ll be awkward. They use the stage really well and Chelsie’s best assets, her legs, are on display. Ty looks a little awkward when he does his walks and a few of his non paired sections. Jewel was quite amused. Bruno thought it was an army drill and the grabs are bad. He say’s “there is always next week.” Len knows that he was beyond his comfort level and he tried. Carrie Ann thought he was a cute cowboy, but the dancing needs more help. The judges scores: 5, 4, 5 (14)
Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas (Waltz) Mark tells her to drop some of the gymnastics-skills and learn. She giggles throughout the whole practice. Seriousness makes her laugh. Gymnastics don’t like emotion and she needs to show it in dance. Shawn throws smiles as her emotion, but her spins are smooth and graceful. Mark definitely took the time to make the choreography sexy and beautiful. Carrie Ann was moved and loved the elegance and grace. Bruno thought it was surprisingly refined. He wants her to adjust her gymnastic arms. Len agrees that she needs fluidity, but it was fantastic. The judges scores: 8, 8, 7 (23)
Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff (Cha-Cha-Cha) I love how in the intro he dances on a segway. He’s quite nervous, and Karina also knew it was an uphill battle. Steve talks binary to her and he takes thinking breaks. He starts with a boa. I like the typewriter hands that he does. He definitely is having a fun time, he even attempts knee drops. There is a minor lift at the end. Len thought that it was fascinating, he appreciated the fun-ness, and the knee section, but it was a disaster. Bruno mutters some obscene random things including “Teletubbies” and “gay parade.” He wanted the boa. Carrie Ann appreciates that he’s going out on a limb and she was supporting him all the way. The judges scores: 5, 4, 4 (13)
David Alan Grier and Kym Johnson (Waltz) There is quite a bit of awkwardness because she didn’t get his jokes. I don’t either. He keeps joking about losing his weight. Kym thinks he’s a natural dancer. I hate David’s facial expressions that he makes during the whole dance. Kym is a beautiful dancer and her choreography helps a lot. David misses some of the arm cues. The end split splits a little robotically. Bruno saw some good lines, but he leans in the holds. Bruno points out the multiple faces he makes. Carrie Ann agrees about the expressive face, the lines were neat. She also points out a lift. Len thought the good outweighed the bad. His bottom sticks out a little though. The judge’s scores: 6, 7, 6 (19)
Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Cha-Cha-Cha) Denise is quite award in practices and continuously tells him “sorry” every time they mess up. She breaks down and feels stupid. They settle their differences. Well, I guess we got our crier of the season. She definitely has the legs. But she is kind of dances like pageant girl when she performs. There are some definite awkward sections and she doesn’t really connect her bottom half with her top half. Carrie Ann thinks she has potential, but her shoulders get out of proportion. Len agrees that she gave it a shot; it was too loose. Max seems to be pulling her around. Bruno thinks she has everything, but she doesn’t know how to use it. He wants her to keep in character and dig in deep. The judges scores: 6, 6, 6 (18)
Melissa Rycroft and Toni Dovolani (Waltz) The girl with the least practice gets no actual intro. Apparently these must have been made on Friday or something. She definitely shows a lot of potential. She seems light on her toes and flowed well. It actually went really well. Nancy O’Dell gives her a standing ovation and two thumbs up. Len thinks that she’s shown potential, but she has ballet toes and she should use heels. Bruno loves her grace and fluidity and compares her to a bird about to take flight. Carrie Ann loved the lines and the natural skills. She wants some emotional connection. The judges scores: 8, 7, 8 (23)
The Scores:
High
Gilles: 24
Shawn: 23
Melissa: 23
Lil’ Kim: 21
Chuck: 20
Middle
David: 19
Holly: 18
Denise: 18
Belinda: 17
Steve-O: 17
Low
Lawrence: 16
Ty: 14
Steve: 13
No elimination this week, we’ll find out what happens next week. I can see Lawrence go home next week. We'll see.
Lil Kim and Derek Hough (Cha-Cha-Cha) Lil Kim is a Grammy award winner (Lady Marmalade) and She watched the show in prison. Amazing. Derek won last year with Brooke and he’s on that winner’s high. Lil Kim feels confident and calls herself “Black Barbie” next to her Ken. Derek uses the now abused term “Swagger” to describe her work ethic. She’s dedicating her dance to her federal detention center. She dances to “Nasty” and she definitely benefitted from good teaching. Kim also doesn’t gain air from some of the spins. I can’t help but love her legs and it seemed mostly clean on the whole, there was definitely some wobble. After welcoming the judges, Len thought the dance was first class. It was a little too wild and imposture for him. Bruno calls her nasty but tasty and compliments her booty. He points out some funny footwork. Carrie Ann sees potential and wants her to let it out. The scores are 7, 7, 7 (21).
Belinda Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts (Waltz) Jonathan and Belinda have an awkward opening but they start practices. Belinda has trouble with spins and she can’t process everything faster. She jokes about having a bucket nearby. They perform to “What the world needs now.” Does Jonathan get stuck with all the more mature women? The dance is smooth, but there is something off about Belinda’s steps. Bruno thought he looked like Julie Andrews but then she degraded to a Cloris level. He thinks that the footwork needs more help and she was heavy. Carrie Ann thinks that there are trust issues. Len thought that there was grace and elegance amidst some awkward. The judges score: 6, 6, 5 (17)
Lawrence Taylor and Edyta (Cha-Cha-Cha) Edyta points out that footballers do well and he has to continue the trend. He thinks that he has more dancablility than Jason Taylor. Edyta gives him a real pair of dancers shoes and the fear sinks in. He’s nervous that he is looking awkward and like a fool. Edyta continues her strategy to look really sexy while her partner awkwardly follows her. He seems a little heavy-footed at the moment, but Edyta’s distracting legs and dress cover up a lot of mistakes. Carrie Ann thought that he hasn’t lived up to the football player legacy. She wants him to get down and dirty. Len thinks that he needs to be sharp, but he likes the performance. Bruno thought it was a throwaway. There is something there, but he needs to perform. The judges score: 6,5, 5 (16)
Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer (Waltz) Johnny Knoxville and Wee Man go and sit in the front row to support him. Steve-O is reckless and Lacey is a rebel. It’s a match made in reality television heaven. He’s gone through rehab and he’s ready for a challenge. I’m surprised that he’s actually dedicated. He’s afraid that he’s scrawny and has “Caucasian” dancing. Lacey knows that she’s going with an uphill battle. They dance with the most awkward flip. He has this face of nervousness as Lacey’s peacock dress flows around. He shows some extra musicality. They have a nice flow and Lacey ends with a very good split. Johnny gives him a standing ovation. Len liked that he was committed and he tried, technically it wasn’t there. Len expected worse and was surprised. Bruno thought it was slapstick. He thought the technique wasn’t good. Carrie Ann had a mixed emotion because it was beautiful and awkward. She likes the determination. The judges scores: 6, 5, 6 (17)
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke (Cha-Cha-Cha) Gilles is best known as the naked guy next door in Sex and the City. Cheryl wants win number three. Cheryl thinks he dances femininely. Cheryl knows that Gilles has the smallest fan base so she wants to work him hard. Cheryl is right, he definitely is worked hard. Since he’s a lot taller than a lot of the male contestants, his legs show off more so than the other men. He probably has the most natural dancer’s frame. The dance is pretty steamy and in the end he runs a finger down Cheryl’s middle. Carrie Ann does the crazy dance and loves the potential. There was a little overextension. Bruno likes the tight and sharp moves. Len liked the mix of steps and choreography and thought the performance was fabulous. The judges scores: 8, 8, 8 (24)
Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough (Waltz) Chuck calls himself a country singer. Julianne welcomes her boyfriend (it seems awkward). Julianne works him really hard and finds him difficult to teach. There is a definite grace that the two have. His steps and extensions seem all there. Julianne is definitely working him hard. He then lifts her, accidentally, at the end spins. Bruno calls Julianne a handful. It looked good at times, but it seemed like Chuck was chasing her. Len agrees about the hectic style. The footwork is good, but it needs refinement. Carrie Ann thinks that he is one of the most graceful men. She calls out the lift and tries to nicely tell them not to lift. The judges scores: 6, 7, 7 (20)
Tom takes time to talk to Jewel and Nancy O’Dell. Jewel is disappointed to compete but she will perform next week. Nancy is disappointed, but is excited to watch.
Holly Madison and Dmitry Chaplin (Cha-Cha-Cha) Holly loves a challenge. Dmitry feels like he’s cheating on Jewel. Dmitry decides to just bluff the performance instead of teach technique. Holly’s legs do seem awkward and Dmitry tried his best. I think I’ve actually seen worse (Kim) She does seem to walk to some of her places. Jewel looks jealous on the sides. Tom reminds the audience that although Holly (and Melissa) have had little time to practice, they scores are based on the dance. Len thought it was not bad, but he thinks that time will help. Carrie Ann likes the charisma and knows that the moves will be better. She calls her a newborn deer. Bruno likes her looks and there were some good points. She lost her tempo at points, but there is potential. The judge’s scores: 6, 6, 6, (18)
Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower (Cha-Cha-Cha) Ty is apparently the king of the rodeo cowboys. She admits to being on So You Think You Can Dance (she can). She meets him at the ranch and he admits to being out of place. Chelsie seems to make a good coach and she turns out quite patient. Ty is afraid that he’ll be awkward. They use the stage really well and Chelsie’s best assets, her legs, are on display. Ty looks a little awkward when he does his walks and a few of his non paired sections. Jewel was quite amused. Bruno thought it was an army drill and the grabs are bad. He say’s “there is always next week.” Len knows that he was beyond his comfort level and he tried. Carrie Ann thought he was a cute cowboy, but the dancing needs more help. The judges scores: 5, 4, 5 (14)
Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas (Waltz) Mark tells her to drop some of the gymnastics-skills and learn. She giggles throughout the whole practice. Seriousness makes her laugh. Gymnastics don’t like emotion and she needs to show it in dance. Shawn throws smiles as her emotion, but her spins are smooth and graceful. Mark definitely took the time to make the choreography sexy and beautiful. Carrie Ann was moved and loved the elegance and grace. Bruno thought it was surprisingly refined. He wants her to adjust her gymnastic arms. Len agrees that she needs fluidity, but it was fantastic. The judges scores: 8, 8, 7 (23)
Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff (Cha-Cha-Cha) I love how in the intro he dances on a segway. He’s quite nervous, and Karina also knew it was an uphill battle. Steve talks binary to her and he takes thinking breaks. He starts with a boa. I like the typewriter hands that he does. He definitely is having a fun time, he even attempts knee drops. There is a minor lift at the end. Len thought that it was fascinating, he appreciated the fun-ness, and the knee section, but it was a disaster. Bruno mutters some obscene random things including “Teletubbies” and “gay parade.” He wanted the boa. Carrie Ann appreciates that he’s going out on a limb and she was supporting him all the way. The judges scores: 5, 4, 4 (13)
David Alan Grier and Kym Johnson (Waltz) There is quite a bit of awkwardness because she didn’t get his jokes. I don’t either. He keeps joking about losing his weight. Kym thinks he’s a natural dancer. I hate David’s facial expressions that he makes during the whole dance. Kym is a beautiful dancer and her choreography helps a lot. David misses some of the arm cues. The end split splits a little robotically. Bruno saw some good lines, but he leans in the holds. Bruno points out the multiple faces he makes. Carrie Ann agrees about the expressive face, the lines were neat. She also points out a lift. Len thought the good outweighed the bad. His bottom sticks out a little though. The judge’s scores: 6, 7, 6 (19)
Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Cha-Cha-Cha) Denise is quite award in practices and continuously tells him “sorry” every time they mess up. She breaks down and feels stupid. They settle their differences. Well, I guess we got our crier of the season. She definitely has the legs. But she is kind of dances like pageant girl when she performs. There are some definite awkward sections and she doesn’t really connect her bottom half with her top half. Carrie Ann thinks she has potential, but her shoulders get out of proportion. Len agrees that she gave it a shot; it was too loose. Max seems to be pulling her around. Bruno thinks she has everything, but she doesn’t know how to use it. He wants her to keep in character and dig in deep. The judges scores: 6, 6, 6 (18)
Melissa Rycroft and Toni Dovolani (Waltz) The girl with the least practice gets no actual intro. Apparently these must have been made on Friday or something. She definitely shows a lot of potential. She seems light on her toes and flowed well. It actually went really well. Nancy O’Dell gives her a standing ovation and two thumbs up. Len thinks that she’s shown potential, but she has ballet toes and she should use heels. Bruno loves her grace and fluidity and compares her to a bird about to take flight. Carrie Ann loved the lines and the natural skills. She wants some emotional connection. The judges scores: 8, 7, 8 (23)
The Scores:
High
Gilles: 24
Shawn: 23
Melissa: 23
Lil’ Kim: 21
Chuck: 20
Middle
David: 19
Holly: 18
Denise: 18
Belinda: 17
Steve-O: 17
Low
Lawrence: 16
Ty: 14
Steve: 13
No elimination this week, we’ll find out what happens next week. I can see Lawrence go home next week. We'll see.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
ANTM - Cycle 12 - Episode 1 Recap
Tyra introduces us to Las Vegas. After eleven seasons of photos, drama, and Jade, Tyra announces that there are 34 finalists who go to Caesar’ Palace. The first girl we meet, Celia, is nervous and thinks the whole experience is insane. Allison can’t even remember other girl’s names; she feels quite awkward in the bus. Angelea is a bitch already to the other girls. Their bus arrives in front of roman soldiers. They part and the two Jays walk in. They explain Nike, being the goddess of victory and hope that the girls can transcend beyond a model into a goddess. Sandra calls herself an African goddess. Oh no, I think we found our villain. The girls run and find Greek-inspired outfits to wear. Kortnie is the only plus size girl and she’s worried.
Jay explains that there is a photoshoot for the girls. They have to do profiles, sounds easy enough. Celia is the oldest, at 25. Fo wants a hug from Jay. Sandra thinks that she stands out (I’m already over her). Isabella lacked a little bit of hand in her pose. Aminat reminds me of Stacy Ann from Cycle 12. Kathryn is nervous being the youngest contestant. Teyona is from Woodstown, NJ; nowhere near New York. Jay thanks them and they go on to the next task.
Miss Jay explains the next task for the girls: cloud model walks. Sandra smiles nervously. Angelea has funny hand posture. Tahlia is anxious. Alex swings her arms. Monique is a conspiracy theorist. London laughs at the bad walkers. Miss Jay thanks them, but doesn’t give a lot of criticism.
The two Jays talk to the girls and more Roman soldiers start marching. Tyra emerges from the line of Spartans, like a goddess. She announces that she’s the goddess of fierce. Who thinks up of these silly stories? She wants someone to light her chariot. What? Celia calls her extra-terrestrial. She wants the girls to pose; Sandra and Angelea get into a pose tiff.
Sandra starts off first and she’s in tears in front of the judges. She moved from Kenya. She loves her dark skin and Tyra loves the chocolate color. It’s definitely an asset. Jay loves her waistline. We have a street preacher, London, and she tries to convert the Jays to Christianity. They called her a hooker. I’m not even going to attempt a Jesus/Hooker joke. Jessica has never been called ugly in her life. Bitch. Tahlia has sacrificed some college time to do modeling. She has a story as a burn survivor. Hot water scolded herself when she was younger. Note to parents, don’t ignore your children. Tyra loves her cheekbones.
Our theorist, Monique, tries to talk about the Elites. She thinks that Pearl Harbor was set up. She also got a gun for her birthday. Lone Gunwoman? Her poses aren’t that bad. Natalie has never had to work, because her family is wealthy. She’s confident, and probably won’t mind if she doesn’t lose since she has money. Aminat walks in excited and her heartbeats through her neck. She’s 6’1, with 4” heels and 3” of afro. What is that 6’8? She walks tall and proud, unlike some taller contestants.
Some of the girls talk about weak walkers in the bunch. Aminat complains about Kathryn’s bad walk. Kathryn starts crying because of her panic attacks. Celia starts to break down Kathryn as well. Kathryn comes in and talks to the judges about her pen collection. What? She holds up a hot dog pen, a pickle pen, and a pizza pen. I wouldn’t hold that Hot Dog or Pickle, Tyra; you don’t know where they’ve been. Tyra asks her about 5 top models. She names Elle McPherson, who is not a model. She names off one model, and Tyra bashes her for not having enough knowledge. She’s just nervous. Tyra wants her to change into swimsuits and asks about designers. She emerges and actually knows designers.
Alex lived a portion of her life with harder times; her audition tape was even meaner. She explains that she has to be defensive. Isabella is fresh. She has epilepsy and seizures. She doesn’t want it to hold her back. Nijah is a prom queen; Tyra wasn’t. She poses with a scowl. She tries some tap with heels, but it ends up silly. Felicia, aka Fo, is mixed-race. She’s calls herself blaxican. Also note other possible options: I love the terms “Blasian” and “Blindian” She loves her freckles.
The girls walk into the well known casino buffets and the girls start talking. Angelea talks about her daughter. She is in tears because her daughter passed away. She had a seizure. She doesn’t want to go back to Buffalo.
Angelea walks in with her long nails. Trya wants her to take off her earrings and hair. How about the nails Tyra? She pulls it off and reveals a somewhat pretty girl. Miss Jay wants to know which My Little Pony she stole her hair from. Angelea explains that she slept in the Port Authority. She had $40 and slept there. Tyra thought that it was unsafe. Unsafe? That place is just rank.
Celia enters and swirls for the judges. She feels the youngest she’s ever been, but is the oldest competitor, at 25. They show an awkward picture of her as a little girl. She moved from Kentucky to New York because she wanted fashion in her life.
Kortnie likes eating cheesecake and likes to have a healthy body. She dated Dale Earnhardt Jr. They call her a pit lizard. She doesn’t want to be known as “that person’s” girlfriend.
Tatiana is afraid of Allison’s huge eyes. Allison walks in to Tyra and the Jays and she explains that she looks like a creepy doll. She also has a fascination for blood and laments never having nose bleeds. Jay is concerned that she will bust noses for the blood. Teyona grew up around with boys and animals. She’s a tom-boy, but she wants to be a model still. Jay thinks that there is something alien about her. (Remember: Alien, not Praying Mantis)
The next day passes and the girls walk to the Jays. They announce that they will cut 34 to 21 contestants. The girls will open boxes and hope that there are golden wreathes. They go to open the boxes and most people find wreathes. Several put their wreathes on backwards, more like a headband. Fo is in tears. Angelea talks in third person about herself (Dominique much?). Conspiracy theorist, Monique, doesn’t make it. Neither does Alex.
Next up is a photoshoot with Jay. He announces that each girl has a goddess that they have to convey. Allison looks like a deer in the headlights. (Someone get a screenshot of that). Jay sends them to the hair and makeup sections. The girls push each other.
London starts first and has justice. Fo has madness. Some girls ace their poses, others struggle. Sandra and Angelea start to argue because Angelea rolls her eyes at her. The two start complaining about their ugly feet. Jay has to come in to break the two apart. Angelea knows that it’s not professional, and she doesn’t want that to get to her. Jay explains that it’s all about learning about being a model. Angelea sits back and listens. She’s afraid that she’s coming off as “ghetto.”
Tyra and talks to the Jays about each girl. Aminat has grown on Jay. Allison is weird. Angelea couldn’t find the love. Isabella is cute. Celia has crazy eyes. Fo has beautiful freckles, but looks short. They continue to talk about Kathryn, Kortnie, Teyona, and London. Nijah defined friendliness. Natalie is mushed in the face. Sandra has a stunning profile and bone on her eye brow. Tahlia is an in-between model. She probably should gain weight so that she wouldn’t have to do much on the bikini side.
Tyra welcomes the girls and announces that the girls will be going to New York City. She calls Aminat first, quickly followed by Natalie, Fo, Allison, Tahlia, Celia, Nijah, London, Teyona, Kortnie, Isabella, Jessica, and Sandra (who lightly pushes Angelea out of the way). Tyra consoles the girls and thanks them. She then proceeds to dance with the girls. She announces that they will be going to the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
New York City. The girls walk around the city and Allison is excited. Isabella is from a small town and is even more excited. Sandra is really confident and thinks that some girls don’t even look like models. Celia (who looks like Lacey from Rock of Love) is excited to be the oldest. The girls go up the Empire State Building. The girls walk to Nigel and Paulina. Nigel hands the girls their keys to the house. Celia takes the keys and she’s given the opportunity to pick the first bed. There are high pitched screams from all the girls. The whole house is black and white. There’s a runway room for practicing.
All the girls walk in and Sandra picks the most secluded bed. Celia walks in and takes off Sandra’s bag. Sandra is pissed off. She announces that there are only 12 beds and will be taking it. Aminat is so lost on why Sandra is causing drama so early in the game.
Isabella explains the seizure medication. She has three months of medicine ready for her. Sandra announces that they are sharing the bed with Celia; Celia isn’t having this. London caves and decides to sleep on the bed; she knows that she will be around for at least another week. The girls get the opportunity to talk. Tahlia explains her burns to the other girls. Jessica is proud of her.
Tyra Mail. Isabella reads a mail about bridging good and bad. The girls emerge in the 59th street bridge. They are at Guastivinos. There is a fashion show that night and they will be studying a runway. Laura is from Abaete and announces that the girls will be the models. Allison is nervous. Laura explains the mix of innocence and naughtiness. They go to hair and makeup.
Sandra thinks her walk is an 8 or 9 (what, out of a 20?). Each girl either gets good or evil. Tahlia is upset that she has to wear a pantsuit because of her scars. The Jays explain a bad girl walk and a good girl walk for practice. Teyona feels confident. Miss J opens the show doing his bad walk. Each girl walks in. Isabella is worried about the strobe lights and her epilepsy. Isabella walks in and does a lot of neck work and triumphs past the flashes. Paulina makes a face past Tahlia’s walk. Allison’s walk is awkward.
Over-confident Sandra goes to walk and she trips her shoe half-way. She decides to play it off and poses. She turns around and walks back, without walking the other half. Natalie and Celia do decent walks. The girls walk out and clap to close the show.
In the house the girls talk about the competition. Isabella talks a little about the seizures. Tahlia is crushed about having to wear full clothes. Aminat tries her best to comfort her. The girls get ready for bed Celia asks about having children. Someone suggests mating with a Centaur (I’d go for the Old Spice Centaur myself). Sandra throws a fit about the girls talking. The girls are shocked and they go to the model walking-room. Isabella and a few complain about what a bitch she is. Oh yeah.
Tyra Mail. There is a childhood phrase. It’s a photoshoot. The girls arrive in Central Park and Jay emerges as Gay Robocop. He announces that the first photoshoot is “childhood games.” Tyra thinks that girls shouldn’t grow up too fast. There are some extra models being bad models. Fadil is the photographer. The girls go to hair and makeup.
Sutan suggests a trendy and teen hairdo. Fo is a preschool teacher and hopes she could channel it. The extras are preggo, ghetto girl, and punk. London has tug of war and she falls in mud. Tahlia is too stiff playing tag. She explains to Jay to be an inspiration. He thinks it’s a little too contrived and insecure. Tahlia thinks that she’s shamed herself.
MLAACG – McKey maintains her signature pose, but looks like a real model. She looks like she actually has potential. I hope she’s not going to bake muffins.
Natalie feels nerdy and has wings behind her. She has leap frog and has a fun time. Sandra wants to be fun while she hides behind a tree. She has tension in her shoulders. Kortnie also has tension problems with monkey bars. Her arms and knees lock funny when she takes pictures. Aminat is coming off as too mean; Sandra thinks that she’s too normal. Nijah’s musical chairs are funny; she channels a little kid who plays with her skirt. Allison has double dutch and she channeled her jumps and poses. She has no clue how to play. Teyona jumps and forces her neck too far back in hopscotch. Celia looks silly using the hula hoop, she also doesn’t know how to play. Isabella has dodge ball and bends too far down. She starts to lose her grace and takes it too literally. Jessica has never played jacks, but depends on her safe poses. Jay thinks that she channeled the other girl’s poses.
The Tyra mail announces that judging will be upon them. London is hoping that she doesn’t go home first (especially since she’s sleeping on the floor at the moment). The girls talk at the table and Sandra talks about being confidence. They point out that she didn’t walk far enough. Tahlia is terrified that she’s going home. She has a stiff neck and an insecurity.
Tyra has her little picture with a kid first. She announces the same prizes as last season. The judges are also still the same, no guest judges. Sandra is first. Miss J calls out her faux-pas on her walk. Tyra explains the girls being little girls and not teen moms. Her hide and go seek is not good enough. Nigel doesn’t think that she steps out. Tyra makes her remove her scarf.
Celia’s shot was hula hoop and she channeled the youthful Seventeen magazine look. Fo’s ring around the rosy is good, but not model-y. Aminat looks good, but her earrings are removed. Her face in the photoshoot is too hard. London has tug of war and she looks great. She knows where the light is.
Jessica has jacks and her angles are nice, but she doesn’t channel the game. Teyona has hopscotch and it’s pretty, but her neck is too far back. They suggest with her small shaped head that she push her head foward. Isabella has dodge ball and Nigel doesn’t get it. They tell her that she kept putting her hand in front of her face. Nijah has musical chairs and it looks like hopscotch. It definitely has a sparkle. Kortnie has monkey bars and it’s a little too parade (the damn knee). Allison’s double dutch is pretty and evokes innocence. The background girls seem bored with life. Tyra would have whooped those girls into shape. Especially that preggo.
Tahlia has tag and she also has the same knee bend that Kortnie had. Tyra asks about the clothing options, Paulina compliments her, but Tyra tells her the obvious truth. Natalie is too hippy and her headband causes a mark on her skin when she removes it. Natalie has a pretty shot, but it doesn’t display much of anything.
The judges deliberate. Sandra’s lost in the woods. Celia is missing fingers. Fo is not model-esque. Aminat is a good walker, but is bad in pictures. London has fun, but she has off proportions. Jessica’s shot is average. Teyona has another alien encounter. Isabella looks like a little person to Paulina and is forgettable. Nijah has the best face. Kortnie (why can’t it be Courtney?) has a nice face. Allison has the great eyes and Miss J is impressed. Tahlia underperforms. Natalie doesn’t show potential to Paulina.
Tyra announces the top girl with the digital art prize is Allison. She awkwardly walks back and is reprimanded. She is followed by Fo, Teyona, London, Celia, Nijah, Kortnie, Natalie, Aminat, Tahlia, and Jessica. The bottom two is Sandra and Isabella. Isabella’s photoshoot was bad. Sandra is reprimanded for her lack of runway skills and her disappointing photoshoot. Sandra is still safe. Tyra tells Isabella to practice. She hugs Isabella and she is dismissed. Isabella is disappointed but feels confident that she feels confident.
Next Week: Sandra and Aminat argue. The girls have makeovers. There’s obvious crying.
Jay explains that there is a photoshoot for the girls. They have to do profiles, sounds easy enough. Celia is the oldest, at 25. Fo wants a hug from Jay. Sandra thinks that she stands out (I’m already over her). Isabella lacked a little bit of hand in her pose. Aminat reminds me of Stacy Ann from Cycle 12. Kathryn is nervous being the youngest contestant. Teyona is from Woodstown, NJ; nowhere near New York. Jay thanks them and they go on to the next task.
Miss Jay explains the next task for the girls: cloud model walks. Sandra smiles nervously. Angelea has funny hand posture. Tahlia is anxious. Alex swings her arms. Monique is a conspiracy theorist. London laughs at the bad walkers. Miss Jay thanks them, but doesn’t give a lot of criticism.
The two Jays talk to the girls and more Roman soldiers start marching. Tyra emerges from the line of Spartans, like a goddess. She announces that she’s the goddess of fierce. Who thinks up of these silly stories? She wants someone to light her chariot. What? Celia calls her extra-terrestrial. She wants the girls to pose; Sandra and Angelea get into a pose tiff.
Sandra starts off first and she’s in tears in front of the judges. She moved from Kenya. She loves her dark skin and Tyra loves the chocolate color. It’s definitely an asset. Jay loves her waistline. We have a street preacher, London, and she tries to convert the Jays to Christianity. They called her a hooker. I’m not even going to attempt a Jesus/Hooker joke. Jessica has never been called ugly in her life. Bitch. Tahlia has sacrificed some college time to do modeling. She has a story as a burn survivor. Hot water scolded herself when she was younger. Note to parents, don’t ignore your children. Tyra loves her cheekbones.
Our theorist, Monique, tries to talk about the Elites. She thinks that Pearl Harbor was set up. She also got a gun for her birthday. Lone Gunwoman? Her poses aren’t that bad. Natalie has never had to work, because her family is wealthy. She’s confident, and probably won’t mind if she doesn’t lose since she has money. Aminat walks in excited and her heartbeats through her neck. She’s 6’1, with 4” heels and 3” of afro. What is that 6’8? She walks tall and proud, unlike some taller contestants.
Some of the girls talk about weak walkers in the bunch. Aminat complains about Kathryn’s bad walk. Kathryn starts crying because of her panic attacks. Celia starts to break down Kathryn as well. Kathryn comes in and talks to the judges about her pen collection. What? She holds up a hot dog pen, a pickle pen, and a pizza pen. I wouldn’t hold that Hot Dog or Pickle, Tyra; you don’t know where they’ve been. Tyra asks her about 5 top models. She names Elle McPherson, who is not a model. She names off one model, and Tyra bashes her for not having enough knowledge. She’s just nervous. Tyra wants her to change into swimsuits and asks about designers. She emerges and actually knows designers.
Alex lived a portion of her life with harder times; her audition tape was even meaner. She explains that she has to be defensive. Isabella is fresh. She has epilepsy and seizures. She doesn’t want it to hold her back. Nijah is a prom queen; Tyra wasn’t. She poses with a scowl. She tries some tap with heels, but it ends up silly. Felicia, aka Fo, is mixed-race. She’s calls herself blaxican. Also note other possible options: I love the terms “Blasian” and “Blindian” She loves her freckles.
The girls walk into the well known casino buffets and the girls start talking. Angelea talks about her daughter. She is in tears because her daughter passed away. She had a seizure. She doesn’t want to go back to Buffalo.
Angelea walks in with her long nails. Trya wants her to take off her earrings and hair. How about the nails Tyra? She pulls it off and reveals a somewhat pretty girl. Miss Jay wants to know which My Little Pony she stole her hair from. Angelea explains that she slept in the Port Authority. She had $40 and slept there. Tyra thought that it was unsafe. Unsafe? That place is just rank.
Celia enters and swirls for the judges. She feels the youngest she’s ever been, but is the oldest competitor, at 25. They show an awkward picture of her as a little girl. She moved from Kentucky to New York because she wanted fashion in her life.
Kortnie likes eating cheesecake and likes to have a healthy body. She dated Dale Earnhardt Jr. They call her a pit lizard. She doesn’t want to be known as “that person’s” girlfriend.
Tatiana is afraid of Allison’s huge eyes. Allison walks in to Tyra and the Jays and she explains that she looks like a creepy doll. She also has a fascination for blood and laments never having nose bleeds. Jay is concerned that she will bust noses for the blood. Teyona grew up around with boys and animals. She’s a tom-boy, but she wants to be a model still. Jay thinks that there is something alien about her. (Remember: Alien, not Praying Mantis)
The next day passes and the girls walk to the Jays. They announce that they will cut 34 to 21 contestants. The girls will open boxes and hope that there are golden wreathes. They go to open the boxes and most people find wreathes. Several put their wreathes on backwards, more like a headband. Fo is in tears. Angelea talks in third person about herself (Dominique much?). Conspiracy theorist, Monique, doesn’t make it. Neither does Alex.
Next up is a photoshoot with Jay. He announces that each girl has a goddess that they have to convey. Allison looks like a deer in the headlights. (Someone get a screenshot of that). Jay sends them to the hair and makeup sections. The girls push each other.
London starts first and has justice. Fo has madness. Some girls ace their poses, others struggle. Sandra and Angelea start to argue because Angelea rolls her eyes at her. The two start complaining about their ugly feet. Jay has to come in to break the two apart. Angelea knows that it’s not professional, and she doesn’t want that to get to her. Jay explains that it’s all about learning about being a model. Angelea sits back and listens. She’s afraid that she’s coming off as “ghetto.”
Tyra and talks to the Jays about each girl. Aminat has grown on Jay. Allison is weird. Angelea couldn’t find the love. Isabella is cute. Celia has crazy eyes. Fo has beautiful freckles, but looks short. They continue to talk about Kathryn, Kortnie, Teyona, and London. Nijah defined friendliness. Natalie is mushed in the face. Sandra has a stunning profile and bone on her eye brow. Tahlia is an in-between model. She probably should gain weight so that she wouldn’t have to do much on the bikini side.
Tyra welcomes the girls and announces that the girls will be going to New York City. She calls Aminat first, quickly followed by Natalie, Fo, Allison, Tahlia, Celia, Nijah, London, Teyona, Kortnie, Isabella, Jessica, and Sandra (who lightly pushes Angelea out of the way). Tyra consoles the girls and thanks them. She then proceeds to dance with the girls. She announces that they will be going to the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
New York City. The girls walk around the city and Allison is excited. Isabella is from a small town and is even more excited. Sandra is really confident and thinks that some girls don’t even look like models. Celia (who looks like Lacey from Rock of Love) is excited to be the oldest. The girls go up the Empire State Building. The girls walk to Nigel and Paulina. Nigel hands the girls their keys to the house. Celia takes the keys and she’s given the opportunity to pick the first bed. There are high pitched screams from all the girls. The whole house is black and white. There’s a runway room for practicing.
All the girls walk in and Sandra picks the most secluded bed. Celia walks in and takes off Sandra’s bag. Sandra is pissed off. She announces that there are only 12 beds and will be taking it. Aminat is so lost on why Sandra is causing drama so early in the game.
Isabella explains the seizure medication. She has three months of medicine ready for her. Sandra announces that they are sharing the bed with Celia; Celia isn’t having this. London caves and decides to sleep on the bed; she knows that she will be around for at least another week. The girls get the opportunity to talk. Tahlia explains her burns to the other girls. Jessica is proud of her.
Tyra Mail. Isabella reads a mail about bridging good and bad. The girls emerge in the 59th street bridge. They are at Guastivinos. There is a fashion show that night and they will be studying a runway. Laura is from Abaete and announces that the girls will be the models. Allison is nervous. Laura explains the mix of innocence and naughtiness. They go to hair and makeup.
Sandra thinks her walk is an 8 or 9 (what, out of a 20?). Each girl either gets good or evil. Tahlia is upset that she has to wear a pantsuit because of her scars. The Jays explain a bad girl walk and a good girl walk for practice. Teyona feels confident. Miss J opens the show doing his bad walk. Each girl walks in. Isabella is worried about the strobe lights and her epilepsy. Isabella walks in and does a lot of neck work and triumphs past the flashes. Paulina makes a face past Tahlia’s walk. Allison’s walk is awkward.
Over-confident Sandra goes to walk and she trips her shoe half-way. She decides to play it off and poses. She turns around and walks back, without walking the other half. Natalie and Celia do decent walks. The girls walk out and clap to close the show.
In the house the girls talk about the competition. Isabella talks a little about the seizures. Tahlia is crushed about having to wear full clothes. Aminat tries her best to comfort her. The girls get ready for bed Celia asks about having children. Someone suggests mating with a Centaur (I’d go for the Old Spice Centaur myself). Sandra throws a fit about the girls talking. The girls are shocked and they go to the model walking-room. Isabella and a few complain about what a bitch she is. Oh yeah.
Tyra Mail. There is a childhood phrase. It’s a photoshoot. The girls arrive in Central Park and Jay emerges as Gay Robocop. He announces that the first photoshoot is “childhood games.” Tyra thinks that girls shouldn’t grow up too fast. There are some extra models being bad models. Fadil is the photographer. The girls go to hair and makeup.
Sutan suggests a trendy and teen hairdo. Fo is a preschool teacher and hopes she could channel it. The extras are preggo, ghetto girl, and punk. London has tug of war and she falls in mud. Tahlia is too stiff playing tag. She explains to Jay to be an inspiration. He thinks it’s a little too contrived and insecure. Tahlia thinks that she’s shamed herself.
MLAACG – McKey maintains her signature pose, but looks like a real model. She looks like she actually has potential. I hope she’s not going to bake muffins.
Natalie feels nerdy and has wings behind her. She has leap frog and has a fun time. Sandra wants to be fun while she hides behind a tree. She has tension in her shoulders. Kortnie also has tension problems with monkey bars. Her arms and knees lock funny when she takes pictures. Aminat is coming off as too mean; Sandra thinks that she’s too normal. Nijah’s musical chairs are funny; she channels a little kid who plays with her skirt. Allison has double dutch and she channeled her jumps and poses. She has no clue how to play. Teyona jumps and forces her neck too far back in hopscotch. Celia looks silly using the hula hoop, she also doesn’t know how to play. Isabella has dodge ball and bends too far down. She starts to lose her grace and takes it too literally. Jessica has never played jacks, but depends on her safe poses. Jay thinks that she channeled the other girl’s poses.
The Tyra mail announces that judging will be upon them. London is hoping that she doesn’t go home first (especially since she’s sleeping on the floor at the moment). The girls talk at the table and Sandra talks about being confidence. They point out that she didn’t walk far enough. Tahlia is terrified that she’s going home. She has a stiff neck and an insecurity.
Tyra has her little picture with a kid first. She announces the same prizes as last season. The judges are also still the same, no guest judges. Sandra is first. Miss J calls out her faux-pas on her walk. Tyra explains the girls being little girls and not teen moms. Her hide and go seek is not good enough. Nigel doesn’t think that she steps out. Tyra makes her remove her scarf.
Celia’s shot was hula hoop and she channeled the youthful Seventeen magazine look. Fo’s ring around the rosy is good, but not model-y. Aminat looks good, but her earrings are removed. Her face in the photoshoot is too hard. London has tug of war and she looks great. She knows where the light is.
Jessica has jacks and her angles are nice, but she doesn’t channel the game. Teyona has hopscotch and it’s pretty, but her neck is too far back. They suggest with her small shaped head that she push her head foward. Isabella has dodge ball and Nigel doesn’t get it. They tell her that she kept putting her hand in front of her face. Nijah has musical chairs and it looks like hopscotch. It definitely has a sparkle. Kortnie has monkey bars and it’s a little too parade (the damn knee). Allison’s double dutch is pretty and evokes innocence. The background girls seem bored with life. Tyra would have whooped those girls into shape. Especially that preggo.
Tahlia has tag and she also has the same knee bend that Kortnie had. Tyra asks about the clothing options, Paulina compliments her, but Tyra tells her the obvious truth. Natalie is too hippy and her headband causes a mark on her skin when she removes it. Natalie has a pretty shot, but it doesn’t display much of anything.
The judges deliberate. Sandra’s lost in the woods. Celia is missing fingers. Fo is not model-esque. Aminat is a good walker, but is bad in pictures. London has fun, but she has off proportions. Jessica’s shot is average. Teyona has another alien encounter. Isabella looks like a little person to Paulina and is forgettable. Nijah has the best face. Kortnie (why can’t it be Courtney?) has a nice face. Allison has the great eyes and Miss J is impressed. Tahlia underperforms. Natalie doesn’t show potential to Paulina.
Tyra announces the top girl with the digital art prize is Allison. She awkwardly walks back and is reprimanded. She is followed by Fo, Teyona, London, Celia, Nijah, Kortnie, Natalie, Aminat, Tahlia, and Jessica. The bottom two is Sandra and Isabella. Isabella’s photoshoot was bad. Sandra is reprimanded for her lack of runway skills and her disappointing photoshoot. Sandra is still safe. Tyra tells Isabella to practice. She hugs Isabella and she is dismissed. Isabella is disappointed but feels confident that she feels confident.
Next Week: Sandra and Aminat argue. The girls have makeovers. There’s obvious crying.
The Amazing Race Season 14 Recaps for Episodes 2 and 3
I just wanted to let everyone know that azmouse over at The Amazing Race Info Blog has posted some very nice detailed recaps of the last 2 episodes of this season's Amzing Race.
We try to handle a lot of recaps here when we can, but there is only one main blogger here handling a variety of shows. We will often link or cite more specialized blogs for a lot of the bigger shows that have many blogs devoted to them, like The Amazing Race and Big Brother.
Here are good sources for the Episode 2 and Episode 3 recaps from The Amazing Race season 14:
The Amazing Race 14 Episode 2 Recap
Amazing Race 14: Gypsies and Vampires in Episode 3
I think those are pretty good posts wirth checking out.
We try to handle a lot of recaps here when we can, but there is only one main blogger here handling a variety of shows. We will often link or cite more specialized blogs for a lot of the bigger shows that have many blogs devoted to them, like The Amazing Race and Big Brother.
Here are good sources for the Episode 2 and Episode 3 recaps from The Amazing Race season 14:
The Amazing Race 14 Episode 2 Recap
Amazing Race 14: Gypsies and Vampires in Episode 3
I think those are pretty good posts wirth checking out.
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