What the hell was Cat Deeley wearing? It was like I never turned the channel from V. Apparently, a lot of those new choreographers came from SYTYCD Canada. I was a lil disappointed in Lil C:
Top 2: Ashleigh & Jakob, Noelle & Russell
A&J have already demonstrated they’re forces to be reckoned with, so their terrific number came as no surprise (though he’s still the guiding force of that partnership, I think). But N&R were an unknown quantity, and while it’s still too early to tell with Noelle, Russell is indeed being positioned as a star and has the chops and personality to do it. The new style was welcome, but their total commitment is what sold it, and that says a lot about both of them.
Saving Graces: Pauline & Peter, Kathryn & Legacy
Quicktime & Broadway are usually killers, so I’m hoping this doesn’t hurt these two likable pairings, because they did a good job with what they had to work with. Legacy still continues to amaze, but I think Kathryn got a bit short shrift from the judges. P&P are both really appealling, and the casting for their routine was perfect, but I’m definitely interested to see how they’ll handle some more challenging numbers.
And my wife could not stop talking about how much she hated Cat’s outfit. She never ever talks about that kind of stuff, but every intro produced another outburst from her about the weird, shimmering lizard-skin dress she was wearing.
Marking Time: Karen & Kevin, Channing & Victor
Karen’s a hottie, but Kevin is a weak link–handling himself quite well under the circumstances, but dancing in the shadow of the other hip-hoppers who are simply on another level. Channing is lovely and more attractive (to these eyes) than most of the other women, but none of that comes across on stage, and having a new partner that’s equally gifted but also just as charisma-less is a recipe for a slow death. Simon was right–this was their style, and while it was nice, it really needed to blow people away, and I have a hard time seeing either of them ever really doing that.
Bottom 2: Ellenore & Ryan, Mollee & Nathan
One talented couple who seem really mismatched–Ryan’s huge and Ellenore’s tiny, so they already had their work cut out for them with the synching. But that number wasn’t good and they’ll need to step things up as they continue to contend with pieces outside their comfort zones. As for M&N, watching them was like witnessing two kids playing dress up, and the thought of giggle-monster Mollee ever being “sexy” just makes me feel skeevy all over. But as unbearable as she is, that “We’re hot! Whooo!!!” outburst from Nathan but him on my Hate List permanently–about as stupid and immature an outburst as one could possibly imagine after having the judges just handed your ass to you on a plate. These two couldn’t possibly exit fast enough, and I’m really hoping that Adam’s assertion that they have an avid fanbase is simply the producers’ wishful thinking.
Great scorecard (Raj rating 
), ArchiveGuy – definitely agreed with your assessments. Well, except for Kathryn – I agreed with the judges that a wee bit less “cute” would have made the number work better.
Only one confusion:
Simon = Nigel?
Or to put it more elegantly, it’s hard to pull off a sexy samba when you look so darn virginal.
I was puzzled by that remark – since the audience hasn’t voted yet. Maybe he reads the producers’ email.
:smack:
I couldn’t agree more, provided you substitute “a viewer” for “another dancer”.
[raises hand to volunteer]
Totally underwhelmed by last night’s performances. No pizazz or sizzle. The only two routines in my estimation worth mention were Ashleigh and Jakob’s jazz routine and Noelle and Russell’s afro/jazz number. Both were rather unique and danced beautifully. The rest of the night, meh.
My favorites of the dancers are Ashleigh, Russell, Ryan, Kevin and Ellenore.
I think Channing and Victor and Pauline and Peter will be in the bottom 2. (I think it was P&P who did the quickstep). Although Mollee and partner by rights should be there, but I think they have a fan base that will keep them there a little longer.
Also enjoying the new choreographers. Hope they bring Travis back, his routine was great earlier in the season. Wonder if they could get Derek Hough from SYTYCD? His choreography is truly amazing.
Something I noticed last night during the judges’ reviews was Mary’s mimicing of Adam’s adjectives. If he said “amazing”, she followed suit; or he said “adorable” again she would repeat it. I’m thoroughly enjoying Adam’s critiques as being truly helpful without being demeaning. It makes Mary’s squeals and shreaks all the more annoying.
I found myself quite distracted in Jakob and Ashleigh’s piece as the “When you want to come” part of “Relax” had been edited out. It amused me to where hubby in the other room asked what was causing my reaction; I told him, “Listen to the song.” Took me out of the dance element a bit–I found myself waiting to see if the line would appear somewhere.
Now we’ve be singing “When you want to commmmmmmmmmme…” all day.
And yes, Mollee was awful. Her hips just don’t move, and she seemed heavy footed. I actually liked the quickstep piece, and Legacy continues to impress. I think Mollee’s piece and the “hip hop” (in quotation marks because the way it was danced…yeah) piece were the worst of the night. We shall see what the results show reveals.
Completely different note: As a 7+ month pregnant woman still undecided on a baby name, the spellings of all of the names mentioned here hit my irritation button. Ashleigh, Jakob, Mollee…c’mon, what’s so terrible about Ashley, Jacob, and Molly? Harumph.
If I was in charge, you would have just gotten your License to Name Babies approved.
Indeed. I had to be reminded by my roommate last night not to hate Mollee for her name because her parents deserve that honor.
Sometimes, when I read these threads, I wonder if you people were in my living room, listening to our commentary. Because my roommate may have said the same thing, only cruder. 
In Jakob’s defense, that is the preferred spelling in German – unlike the other two.
Plus, it may or may not be the fault of the parents – I can totally seeing young Molly (or even Mollie) thinking, “Not show-biz enough!” (or even just going through that tweener uniqueness thing – I spelled my first name with an “i” instead of the standard “y” for a few months when I was twelve).
Well, to be fair (and risk losing my Baby Naming License), one middle name we’re considering is Eero. It’s a Finnish name pronounced “arrow,” so it’s not made up or creative spelling–just certainly unusual. Hubby took a liking to it, particularly because of a well-known architect and designer Eero Saarinen.
We have a very unusual Eastern European last name–certainly not Finnish, by any means, but hubby sees it as justifiable reason to have a more unusual first or middle name. FTR, my current fav for a first name is a traditional (and traditionally spelled), common male first name…so, again, makes having something more unusual in the middle a little easier to take. Plus, if Son 2.0 gets bored with his first name and wants to be creative, he can go by his middle name. That’s what a friend of mine in high school did–all growing up, she was Kristin. Then in high school, she went by her middle name: Rain.
Okay, German spelling of Jacob is Jakob? He gets a pass. And I can see Mollee being bored with Molly, but geez. “Mollee” is such an ick spelling. “Ashleigh” is, for some reason, more forgiveable to me, though still not my fav.
I’ve often wondered if they required strange/oddly spelled names to get on the show. Katee? Kherrington? Twitch?
I’m enjoying the show, but I’m not buying their pitch that “These are the most talented people we’ve seen, ever!” They are a talented bunch of dancers, but I find myself more able to see the mechanics of lifts this year (“first I grab your hand, spin you up, lift you —uhhhh! ---- straighten elbows, hold”) than I have in previous seasons.
I love Adam as a judge. I think that he realizes that these are some incredibly talented people, and deserving of respect, so he always has something positive that shows that respect — but he also respects them enough to not be a cheerleader (a la Paula Abdul), and offers constructive comments when warranted. He seems like a delightful guy.
I don’t like Adam. Among other problems, he takes too long to deliver his critique. Last night I was fast-forwarding through his critiques.
I prefer Mary’s and Nigel’s feedback (Mary’s screaming notwithstanding)
Also, I don’t see this season’s dancers as being better than last’s. They always say “This is the best season yet” and “The performers this year are the best we’ve had so far” on these types of shows (e.g. SYTYCD and American Idol). I guess it gets people to watch, but I think it’s disrespectful to all the performers from past seasons.
I’m not so elderly that I can’t lust after teenagers, but Mollee crosses the line into JonBenet Ramsey territory. In rehearsals she barely looks 13 to me. For the performances the makeup artists can just about bring her up to a trampy 16 year-old in appearance.
I’m not surprised that Paulinegot the boot, because I can’t remember one distinctive thing she’s done since the start of the season.
On the other hand, I would’ve preferred that Kevin instead of Peterget the axe, since he’s been coasting on A-for-Effort sentiment, and his solo was absolutely nothing to write home about.
At least we know thatBroadway & Quick Stepcontinue to be the kiss of death.
But I’m sure that Nathan would’ve preferred to be in the bottom 3 than getting schooled on national TV. Seeing Nigel administer that brutal tongue-lashing was glorious, and richly deserved.
Wow, I think that big bug in Cat’s hair crawled up Nigel’s ass. Not that I disagreed with anything he said, but wow–he pulled no punches in saying it.
Are we spoilering when it’s aired nationwide? Eh, to be safe:
Mollee looked more horrified not being in the bottom three than she may have if she had been. It’s also apparent Nathan saved their pairing because the tweenagers think he’s kyoot. Hubby and I, both middle school teachers, rewound Nathan’s “Hah hah! Yeah I’m funny!” to :::head dropped in shame::: reaction as Nigel scolded him–seriously, we see the same reactions with our 12yro students who Aren’t Quite Getting It, but mean well; they’re just immature. He, six years their senior, demonstrated that same immaturity.
Once the last “dance for your life” solo ended, I said to my wife, “wow- they all pretty much sucked”. Nigel’s delivered the smackdown before, but last night he seemed particularly annoyed. I’m sort of glad he called Ryan out on his clumsy back handspring-thing; I was afraid he was going to land early and snap his neck.
Mollee needs to spend some time with that sultry Latin dancer- is it Karen? That chick has sensuality to burn, and Mollee needs a mainline infusion of it.
Ruffian – we generally only spoiler until the show has aired on the West Coast, but spoilering is never the wrong thing to do.
I shared everyone’s astonishment that Nathan and Mollee weren’t in the bottom 3. Alas, the well-deserved criticism of both of them will probably ensure that they’re safe for another couple of rounds. Agree with the consensus that they’re both horrifyingly immature – we tried to tell them that Mollee was, but would they listen? It will be interesting to see how they handle things moving forward.
Sad, but not surprised, to see Peter go – more so than any other dance discipline, including krump/hip-hop/locking/all that other crap I can’t tell apart, serious tap training doesn’t really transfer over to any other dance skills – it’s all about the feet, the feet, the feet. Any tapper good enough to have gotten onto SYTYCD has obviously had some classes in other genres, but not enough to make them truly competitive in this arena.