Thank god this amazing performance from the So You Think You Can Dance kids was the opening number of the show because I didn’t start watching until almost 1:30am.
Amazing energy, amazing choreography, amazing Travis Wall… the only thing missing was Neil Haskell and some Cat Deeley! Hell, the show even had some Mary Murphy screaming, what wasn’t to love?
How much do I love the Haskell family? First they hooked a brother up with backstage passes for the tour and then last night I got an email from them reminding me to watch Fox’s New Year’s Eve show which would be featuring a performance by Neil Haskell. Happy New Year to the Haskell Family!
Watch Neil Haskell’s Solo Performance from Fox’s New Year’s Eve Show
I’ve been scouring the internet all morning for video and so far this is the only one I’ve found. I checked and this is the only one that my buddy Ted from BloggingSYTYCD has too. So, if another video is uploaded without words through the performance, I’ll post (or let me know).
Everyone’s sick of end of year lists but how can I not do one on my favorite TV shows of 2007? I always find these lists hard to do because 12 months is a really long time and we watch a LOT of TV. I wish I could prepare enough ahead of time to write up some great “moments” that stand out but let’s be honest… I don’t get paid to do this so that’s not gonna happen.
Regardless, the end of the 2006-2007 season provided lots of thrills and even a few tears. The 2007-2008 season started off so promising but as we all know, many shows just didn’t live up to the hype and the WGA Strike has kind of killed any hope of making this a banner year for television. So what did I choose? Did I pick a previous favorite that ended last May? Did I give a sophmore series about superheroes another nod? Did those Housewives make a showing after being off the list for so many years? Here goes.
Ducky’s Favorite TV of 2007:
30 ROCK I was late jumping on the 30 Rock train but once I gave it a chance late last winter, I instantly fell in love. 30 Rock is the successor to Arrested Development and I actually may love it even more. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin together are impossibly brilliant and the supporting cast only add to the mayhem and madness. Highlights: Season 1’s “I love NY in springtime” moment, Season 2’s return of Will Arnett, “Me Want Food” and “Gay for Jamie“.
CHUCK Chuck Bartowski, how I love you! The funniest thing about Chuck is that GMMR and I had seen the pilot probably 10 times before we hit Comic-Con where Zac Levi and crew got a superheroes reception from the geek gala. I don’t know that the show has lived up to my expectations but I can’t say that I don’t love watching it every week. There’s an inherent sweetness to this action-comedy that makes me squee. Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski are magnificent together and anytime Adam Baldwin gets to be a smartass, I’m on board. So sad that the WGA Strike put an end to our enjoyment of the Nerd Herd! Highlights: The Pilot, Chuck and Lou, Captain Awesome’s many skin shots, and the return of Bryce Larkin.
DAMAGES Week after week this intense drama built to a shockingly graphic climax and it kept me guessing every step of the way. Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Ted Danson delivered crazy intense performances for 13 weeks, proving that summer is not for the lazy brainless reality shows any longer. It was great interviewing most of the cast this summer, it really made me realize how brilliant the writing of the show really is. Kudos to FX for sticking with Damages and granting us 2 more seasons. Highlights: The endless time shifting and the seemless togetheness of it all, Glenn Close’s reaction to Ray Fiske blowing his brains out, the closing moments on the dock.
DOCTOR WHO/TORCHWOOD The one-two punch of Doctor Who and Torchwood coupled with my going to Comic-Con made 2007 my geekiest year to date. Season 3 of Doctor Who was probably the best of the new series. While I loved and miss Rose, Martha was a great companion. Capt. Jack may have ended up on Who at the end of Season 3 but more importantly he kicked some demon ass all season on his own show, Torchwood. Harkness, Gwen, Ianto, Owen, and Tosh made their show so much more than a spin-off. Torchwood delivered thrills, chills, and tears and I cannot wait for it’s return early in 2008. Highlights:Who’s Donna the Runaway Bride, “Human Nature” and the scary intense weeping angels of “Blink”. Torchwood’s gayness, “Random Shoes” with Eugene, Billis the scariest wrinkled creepy since the Preacher Kane from Poltergeist.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS The Dillon Panthers won State, the audience won another season and all seemed great down there in Texas. Then poor Tyra and Landry had to dump a body in a river leading to the most interesting coupling the show could ever have concocted. Some balked at the stunt plotline but I welcomed it once I saw how unbelievable both Adrianne Palicki and Jessie Plemons would make their roles. The Taylors continued to bring one of the most realistic and beautiful families to television not to mention Connie Britton’s acting her ass off. Highlights: Winning State, Plemons acting, Santiago’s first moment in the game during “The Confession”… breathtaking.
LOST Say what you will about Season 3 of LOST but the addition of Juliet and the jump forward solidified the show as greatness in my book. While it took a bit to flesh out Ben’s backstory, Juliet’s arrival on the island, Mr. Friendly’s allegiance, and the involvement of the Whidmore’s it was all worth the wait. We got some great answers this season, some scary twists and turns, some great revelations, some wonderful death’s, and HELLO, the chaos surrounding who’s coming to the island in Season 4? Matthew Fox continued to bring anxiety and sadness to the role of Jack and it’s a damn shame he wasn’t nominated for something this year. I’m psyched for it’s return on January 31st! Highlights: The story of how Juliet came to the island, the death of Charlie, the flash-forward, and Patch!
MAD MEN Seriously, do I even need to explain why Mad Men is on the list? The acting, the writing, the art direction, the costuming, the genius? Another summer sleeper that rocked my socks! Highlights: Jon Hamm as Don Draper, any scene with Joan, the sadness of the era, Don Draper’s carousel pitch.
PUSHING DAISIES The facts are these: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth and Chi McBride are my favorite finds of 2007. Bryan Fuller created a vivid, magical world I didn’t realize was missing from making my life complete until it slapped me in the face. My favorite pilot of 2007 led to stalking Fuller and Co. at Comic-Con, creating a fansite called ThePieMaker.com, and landed me on the Red Carpet interviewing these great talents. What a summer and fall leading up to the premiere of Pushing Daisies. This show makes me beyond happy and I cannot wait for its return in 2008. Highlights: The pilot, Ellen Greene, the musical numbers, Ned & Chuck, Bryan Fuller and Lee Pace recognizing me on the red carpet with hugs all around. Swoon…
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE I have to include SYTYCD because seriously could there have been a bigger obsession all summer long? Sure I loved Damages and Mad Men but sweet lord did it not compare to my lunacy over Neil Haskell and the rest of the dancers on SYTYCD. Highlights: Neil and Sabra’s boardroom brawl, Cat Deeley’s flawless hosting, Mary Murphy’s continued screaming, Wade Robson’s increased involvement, Debbi Allen and Shankman, backstage on tour.
SUPERNATURAL Love those Winchester’s. In a year that saw Sammy go real dark, the demise of YED, and a soul searching Dean, how can I not love Supernatural? The end of Season 2 was a wild wild ride but the beginning of Season 3 proved that this show is not and will not be stereotyped. Broadening the horizons of the demon world has suited the show nicely. Sure the addition of Ruby and Bela has been problematic for some but I can overlook that because the suspense and the gore has increased! Highlights:Visiting the set last May, blood and more blood, Supernatural:Origins comics, the return of Gordon.
The rest of the best:Battlestar Galactica, Big Bang Theory, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Project Runway, Psych, The Closer, The Office, Top Chef and the end of Veronica Mars.
Should be on the list but isn’t for one reason or another: Dexter (never finished Season 2 because we got rid of Showtime but I’m dying to see the rest), Bones (just got addicted so I felt it couldn’t be added just yet - though let it be known that I’m obsessed), Dirty Sexy Money (something just isn’t right just yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it).
Have a safe and Happy New Year! Looking forward to a wonderful and hopefully television filled 2008.
It’s New Year’s Eve which means I’ll be in bed by 12:01 a.m. — whoo-hoo! Yeah, I’m increasingly more smug and old manish on New Year’s Eve. When I was a kid my parents would always have a huge party so it was great fun. When I was old enough to celebrate it with friends, it was a bunch of hardcore kids, a cactus accident, and no booze as all of us were straight-edge. Well, a decade or so later and I’m still not going to toast the new year with a drink so it’s kind of lost it’s luster.
I’ll probably head downtown for the parade and the “family” fireworks (over by 7:10 p.m.) and then head back home where I pray noone in my building is having a party so I can settle in to watch Cat Deeley, Strokey Clark, and some others until it’s time for me to say goodnight to 2007.
Remember back in the day when MTV had the best New Year’s Eve show ever? It was a huge countdown of the best videos of the year, then a huge party with a bunch of amazing artists performing. The best always being the alternative bands performing covers of 80s tunes just after the stroke of midnight. MTV’s gotten increasingly shitty so at most in recent years I’ve popped over for a second or two, enough to know I hate every one of their on air “talents” and enough to know that I hate almost every “artist” out there today.
This year we have even less to look forward to on MTV as that whore Tila Tequila basically has the night to her skanky self. Then add Perez, Kid Rock and Good Charlotte… hold on while I jump up and down looking for rope to hang myself with. How Mary J. got hooked into this telecast is beyond me. Girl, get out while you can. Tila Tequila’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade 2008 (11 pm/MTV)
Ex-MTV goldenboy Carson Daly is back on NBC with Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz. Project Runway’s recent dress form Tiki Barber is a correspondent. I don’t care for the newish waifish Carson Daly nor Alicia Keys… and is it New Years 1995 because I know Lenny Kravitz hasn’t had a hit in at least 10 years. New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly (11:35 pm/NBC) (more…)
Saturday night I was able to see the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Tour in E. Rutherford, NJ. Hell I missed Albany and Boston so I had to do something. When my friends Matt and Armando who live in NYC let me know that they had an extra ticket, I was on my way! After all, they are as obsessed as I am about SYTYCD and their love for these kids knows little boundaries — perfect tour going partners, that and there was always the chance that they’d molest Neil so I didn’t have to make an ass out of myself.
So I’m in NYC eating at Kate’s Joint when I get a voicemail. When we leave I check my message and who is it? Oh, it’s a Neil Haskell sibling wanting me to call her back. So, I punched holes in my iPhone trying to dial Erin Haskell back as fast as I could to find out that Neil is hooking me up with backstage passes.
*record scratches*
Does everyone know that I wrote about attacking her brother all summer long? Granted, she knows its all tv blog crushing but whatevs, a little funny. So yeah, I currently heart The Haskell Family more than my own. Fact.
So, after telling Matt and Armando and resuscitating them we were gearing up for the show. Look out Jersey tweens, the bitches are on their way.
Problem #1: We get there and they tell us no camera. I point out that the website for the stadium says the cameras are allowed. They try to pull some crap about at the last minute, production said they didn’t want cameras. Pants on fire much? So we went back to the parking garage, put the camera’s in our crotches and walked back through.
All I could think was, here Lacey hold my camera and then her finding a pubic hair stuck on the lens or something. It was in my crotch afterall. I’m just sayin’…
Problem #2: Go to pick up our backstage passes and realize that as much as I think Neil Haskell is my new BFF, he’s so not. He misspells my last name. Who cares right? Call me Sally Sunshine if needed. I was ready to start saying I was Benji Schwimmer. Any. Means. Necessary.
We get our passes and head on up to our seats. After some borishly lame videos of the dancers telling us random Tour facts and acting quite poorly (I love you kids more than my parents but WOW), the show began.
Executive Producer and Judge Nigel Lythgoe intros the 5 worse auditions from Season 3, we laugh but really it’s just being polite because 5 is a manageable number. 6 and I would have been slapping little children.
Then the lights dimmed, Cat Deeley into’d the kids and the show began! Like I said in my pre-teaser yesterday, I didn’t take notes this year because I just wanted to sit back and enjoy the show. I wanted to take in all the choreography, study the dancers, and obviously be a catty little school girl.
There were a couple new routines just for the Tour, there were the usual favorites, there were solos by each of the Top 10 dancers, there were some dancer introductions, and there was plenty of screaming!
My favorite routine to watch live this year had to be ‘Hip Hip Chin Chin’ with Lacey and Danny. It was good on the show, but there was something about seeing Lacey work that sexual magic on stage that just made my sizzle. I know I’m gay as the day is long but sweet jesus…
I also loved the Imogen Heap number “The Moment I Said It” with Danny Tidwell half naked leading the rest of the cast. It was one of my favorites from the season and it did not disappoint or lose any of its impact in a large stadium. The number is sick! Here’s one of the two videos I took from E. Rutherford.
Watch Danny Tidwell and Cast Dance Imogen Heap’s “The Moment I Said It” Routine
The votes just keep rolling in and I love that everyone is still so enthused about making sure their favorite routines survives another week. Last week over 13,000 votes were logged which means some of you sat there all day just voting, aren’t you sweet. In the end, two got the boot and we’re now left with our TOP 4 ROUTINES.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Video Death Match!
Here’s how it works: Watch the Top 4 Routine videos below and vote on your favorites. Next week, the two routines with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated, revealing our Top 2 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Routines of Season 3! After that, we vote on a winner in time for the Tour to start!
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Video Death Match
Week 3 Results
The results are in and after a record number of votes (over 13,000), the two routines leaving us this week are:
That SAMBA y’all wanted so bad didn’t make it as long as I thought it would. I’m also a little disappointed to see that Mia’s Therapy Session/Father Dance was eliminated… NOT!
Let’s have one last look at the two routines your votes could have saved.
Last week you guys voted like maniacs! Almost 10,000 votes were cast for your favorite routines. In the end, three were eliminated. There are 6 routines left in the Death Match only 4 can remain.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Video Death Match!
Here’s how it works: Watch the 6 videos below and vote on your favorites. Each week, the two routines with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated until we are down to the Top 2 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Routines. Then we vote on a winner in time for the Tour to start!
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Video Death Match
Week 2 Results
The results are in and after this week’s record voting America (almost 10,000), the three routines going home are:
Jaimie and Hok’s Hummingbird/Flower routine (really folks?), Pasha and Lauren’s Transformers routine (not sad to see Lauren leave), and… sadly IMOGENE HEAP’s Opening Number featuring Danny Tidwell half naked with a big duct-tape X on his chest.
That’s a lot to take in. Each week it’s just going to get harder and if you people start cutting my boy Neil, there’s going to be some serious ramifications. That’s all I’m saying!
Let’s have one last look at the three routines your votes could have saved.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Season 3 Winner is…
SABRA JOHNSON!
Let’s rewind though shall we?
Before I get to writing this up I have to tell you all some shockingly bad news. I lost 45 minutes of the show tonight. Something happened with our power and from 8:33 to about 9:15 I missed SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE! A part of my soul is missing as well. Anyone who wants to fill me in step by step can in the comments section, help a brother out!
The show starts and Cat Deeley looks like a glorious Grecian Ostrich with her hair pulled back with the crown braid and that crazy poof of ruffles! She loves poof and she loves animal prints, so an Ostrich is actually semi-fitting for our beloved host.
The Top 20 are introduced in the order they were eliminated and the stage looks so insane with all of them there again! Everyone is in white and I’m having horrid nightmares of Idol’s All-White Angelic Charity Event Night(mare). I loved seeing everyone again because as the weeks go on and more happens, I actually tend to forget a face or two. Jessi looks really good, guess that heart of her’s is still holding out. Dominic and Sara got a huge response when they were shown and Pasha gave Lauren a version of the butt-bongos.
Then it was time for our Top 4 and it was glorious to see them up there, the envy of 16 others! Lacey Schwimmer, Neil Haskell, Sabra Johnson, and Danny Tidwell. This game is ON.
I feel like I was drugged, gang raped, and left in an alley in a pool of my own urine after watching the tour du force that was SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE’s Performance Finale tonight. It was two hours of dancing and awesomeness with extra awesome.
Can I make a confession though? I don’t know if I’m feeling overwhelmed or underwhelmed. I feel like so much happened yet nothing amazed me beyond belief and really, it left me feeling like this episode turned the whole competition on its ear and no one dancer has it in the bag.
Sabra seemed like the clear winner coming into tonight’s performance finale yet after the show ended I feel that she’s second if not third in line to win.
So who does that leave in the pole position? Get ready to call me a hypocrite and a late comer, but I have finally bought a ticket on the Hot Tamale Train with Danny Tidwell as Conductor and Lounge Act. *hides in shame and puts back to crowd with stones*
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Finale Part 1 airs tonight!
If you came looking for spoilers for tonight’s performance finale, I’m not posting them because I myself did not want to be spoiled as to which routines were performed tonight and which partnerships were formed.
I’m over the spoilers and ready to be shocked and amazed by Lacey Schwimmer, My BF Neil Haskell (semi-nude), Danny Tidwell and Sabra Johnson.
I’ll be watching tonight not from the confines of my own abode, but from the Woo with GMMR and a gaggle of other adoring fans. Should be one hell of a time! Here’s to hoping Wade works out some routines along with Mia Michaels and seriously, some Mandy Moore!
Who wants to take a stab at how many SYTYCD Alums will be in the house? Benji is a given, Travis Wall (and his lapdog Jailbait Ivan), Cousin Heidi will be lucky to get 10th row balcony they way they treat her, and possibly Nick Lazzarini?
Also, is it wrong that I want a DANCELIFE/ SYTYCD Cross-Over Series? God that would be amazing. Everyone already hates Blake, so it would make for some dramarama! Plus, Dancelife is on my mind because the Gossip Girl Preview plays the theme song which I seriously can’t stop dancing to in my underwear.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE has announced their Top 4 finalists America and I’m one happy man! America got it right for a change and made My Top 4, Their Top 4 as well!
Top 4 Finalists competing for the title this Thursday night are: Neil Haskell, Sabra Johnson, Danny Tidwell, and Lacey Schwimmer
That means that Pasha and Lauren were sent packing. Kisses, hugs, but it had to be done! I feel shame in admitting this, but in that big empty auditorium I actually started to feel bad that Lauren was going home. I know in my heart that she and her baby fat face needed to go but with no one there to cheer on her demise, there was something lost in the moment. Seriously though, both Lauren and Pasha were champs when it came to how they handled going home and that’s all you want to see at this stage of the game. (more…)
