I need to get to bed. So, my comments about the winner go in a big spoiler box.
[spoiler]I fully understand why Rick is leaving. His height and odd facial gestures have been a major problem all season. I respect how hard he’s worked. As a former NBA player he understands the need for practice and intense workouts. But, dance is really for smaller guys. I’ve noticed most pros are under 6 foot. The smaller guys look more graceful.
I never got past the Frankenstein look with Rick ever since that weird punk rock outfit with purple Mohawk he sported a couple weeks ago. The extremely heavy sweating was also an issue too. It was just a little gross to look at.
At least Kyle is entertaining. It seems like Kyle and Lacey are finally starting to work together as a team. Lacey seems over her issues with Kyle. At first she was like the cool chick stuck with the fat, nerd at the dance. Lacey finally seems to have accepted Kyle as a partner. Maybe their best dances are yet to come. With Rick nothing was going to change. He’s not going to get any shorter or less sweaty.
Rick has Eliza Dushku to go home to. That’s better than a mirror ball trophy any day. ;)[/spoiler]
Ice Skating with Celebrities, or something very close to that. I watched a few episodes, the only pairing I recall was Olympic pairs skater Jenny Meno and Todd Bridges.
The only thing I remember about it is that Lloyd Eisler, of famed Canadian skating pair Brasseur and Eisler (his partner, Isabelle Brasseur, is one of the pros on Canada’s hockey players try figure skating show, Battle of the Blades) was partnered with Kristy Swanson of Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Kind of Terrible Movie fame, and then they got married.
I wish they had said who the skaters are going to be – they’re of more interest to me than the stars, frankly. It looks like most of the stars are going into it knowing how to skate fairly well, though, which makes sense.
Oh, and for *this *show – I think Rick did pretty well, considering how tall he is. Cheryl did a good job of choreographing for the height difference [esp. liked the number props week when she was up on the bar or whatever it was, towering over him], but ballroom dance is a genre where excessive height is a disadvantage.
I’m astonished Bristol is still in it – my guess would her mother’s fans have been active. I hope she or Kurt goes next; Kyle isn’t a great dancer, but he’s more finale-worthy than either of them.
I don’t think Dancing with the Stars is going to be very good. I’ve heard of exactly one of the Stars, Sean Young, who was the female lead in Blade Runner, almost thirty years ago. She’s just short of 52. She has some dance background, but still, unless you’re Torvil and Dean, you really don’t have much business on the ice at that age.
I’m disappointed that Rick went home before either Bristol or Kurt, but I’m not in a position to complain because I didn’t vote. I don’t really care very much.
Wow, the instant dance came off way better than I thought it would. Very surprising, at least for some of the couples. I thought they all did really well.
So, in an actual dance competition, they would get their music when they stepped on the floor, and then get to talk back to the judges after? Awesome…
Kyle’s first dance was great. Really great. Lacey’s dress was hideous.
I’m beginning to wonder if Jennifer Grey is putting on the injury for sympathy votes.
Kurt didn’t thrill me.
Bristol was better than usual, but didn’t have the stacatto movements she needed.
Brandy was beautiful. I wan tthe cape. Still no emotional content between her and Maks.
2nd dances - again Kyle hits a homerun. Jennifer, Edyta called and she wants her dress back. Nice dance, though. I can’t believe Maks - was he trying to sabotage Brandy?
What was the point Maks was trying to make? Did he mean that some of the judging should be based on the quality of the professional’s dancing? What wasn’t being taken into account? How would coming to a rehearsal and seeing how hard everyone works help the judges?
Wow, Lacey’s costume tonight had my jaw dropping. That girl has some very nice legs. A quarter inch less fabric and we would have known if she shaves or not. I normally never paid much attention to Lacey. Who knew she could look that good?
I was glad to see all the celebrities did good in the insta dance. We saw some of the season’s highest scores tonight.
Kurt & Anna did pretty good in the first dance. The insta dance was, just… ok.
Lacey & Kyle. Honestly I didn’t see Kyle’s first dance. I was… uh distracted. Their insta dance was really good.
Derek & Jen - Excellent job in both dances. I’m puzzled why she wasn’t wearing a knee brace or at least a support band. Seems logical that bum knee needs a brace. Veteran Basketball players wear a support band in nearly every game.
Brandy & Max – First dance was very good. I thought they were over scored on the insta dance. Max tried slipping in weak choreography and the judges busted his ass over it. Why did the judges turn around and give such silly high scores?
Bristol and Mark - In a normal week their scores would be very good. But, the other couples really blew them away tonight. I got a soft spot for Bristol. I think dwts benefits from genuine amateurs. But, I just can’t vote to send her to the semi-finals. The better dancers deserve the chance.
It’s not really the judges that are to blame - it’s the producers. Maks blogged this week about how the instant dances are really more of a way to ratchet up stress on the pros than on the celebrities. I’m not sure he’s really right - and I am sure that he didn’t “get” what they wanted the same way everyone else did. The solution was not to come up with one minute of dancing, then faff around at the beginning and end and maybe repeat something, it was to come up with two minutes of dancing, then ruthlessly cut it down to size once you see the music. It’s not like the marathon (or a “real” competition) where you can assume that no one is watching you for the whole thing, so repetition is less likely to be noticed.
But he feels that the whole “mixing it up” thing that they are doing this season is treating the pros like furniture that can just take whatever nonsense they dish out, without even checking whether they can really handle it. At least, that’s my impression.
Yeah, Maks’s attitude was pretty bad, and I was happy to see that the judges seemed to be judging Brandy, the contestant, and not Maks, the pro.
You’d think he’d know by now that the judges like to see some dancing right out of the gate. I picked that up just watching a couple of episodes. (Along with Carrie Ann’s fixation on whether something is a lift.)
I think there are certainly legitimate complaints to be made about the judging on this show, but the crap Maks was railing about is one of the things I think the judges should be calling people on more not less. The dancers on this show spend an awful lot of time not actually dancing.
That said, story/set-up opens are common on this show, and I didn’t get the impression that the instant dance was meant to change that particular element of typical choreography. An attempt to build story and character into the dance on short notice (see: Lacey and Kyle who did a smashing job of this) should probably have been rewarded as an example of the couple still doing a fully developed performance despite the hurdle of not knowing the song.
Now, had Len called Maks on that open because it was boring and it sucked the life out of the room, I’d have agreed with Len completely. Had he called Maks on that open because long opens that don’t involve any dancing or skill are lazy, I’d have agreed with Len completely. But calling Maks on the open because it was an instant dance and they should have been dancing instantly? That was just dumb.
I was surprised at the instant dances. I thought the female celebs would have it easier because in a worst case scenario, they could just get led around the floor - and that’s not what seems to have happened at all. Lacey & Kyle pleasantly surprised me as did Kurt & Anna. Maks really didn’t do well with the instant dance at all and Mark did as well as he could. Bristol always looks like she’s marking. Her movements never finish.
My prediction, Kurt’s out tonight, Kyle’s out next week, Brandy, Bristol, and Jennifer in the finals.
Anyone know why the tango has so many leg flicks? Is it supposed to represent something in the dance? I know it’s a sexy dance. I can’t figure out what the leg flicks represent.
Mark put a lot of leg flicks in Bristol’s tango. Way more than I usually see.
When Bristol decides she needs to go to Alaska for a few days, who pays for everyone’s (Mark’s, film crew’s, etc.) travel expenses? Yeah, I know it’s the show, but geez, talk about entitled.
I dunno – what’s his face, the skater, was on tour during the whole run of the show. His partner had to follow him all over the USA. Traveling has been part of the show for a wide variety of couples. I don’t think Bristol should be singled out on that point.
I normally never paid much attention to Lacey. Who knew she could look that good?