Another month, another sickness induced hiatus and not one but two surgeries later, GMMR and Ducky are back with a new TV Talk Podcast!
Your favorite carcasters are back to talk about all of the TV we’ve soaked in from our hospital and sick beds.
We kick off the podcast with the Season 6 finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Then we move on to the fall finales of GLEE and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.
We sink our teeth into some TRUE BLOOD casting news then tackle the return of faves CHUCK and LOST.
MODERN FAMILY and THE OFFICE were Christmas fantastic, as were 30 ROCK and the increasingly brilliant PARKS & RECREATION.
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and THE BIG BANG THEORY are always worth a good conversation as is the debate over THE GOOD WIFE.
What else is on tap? How about MERCY, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, THE SING-OFF, SAY YES TO THE DRESS, HAPPILY EVER FASTER and LAUNCH MY LINE.
Did the right people win TOP CHEF and PROJECT RUNWAY? Who’s real pretty to look at and what’s our new TV Talk Podcast tagline?
Thanks for being so patient with our crazy illnesses and busy schedules. We wish we could podcast more regularly than we do and we think it’s amazing so many folks care about what we have to say regarding all things TV! You guys are the best.
It’s been 7 weeks since our last podcast and 7 weeks since we last saw each other. You totally thought GMMR and Ducky had called it quits didn’t you? How dare you…
An extended gig in the Hamptons originally sidelined the podcast, then a horrible back injury kept this terrible TV twosome apart until now!
For our first big podcast of the Fall, we thought we’d make up for lost time with a huge 2 hour 10 minute carcast full of laughs, tears, a near death experience and even some New England leaf peeping!
Shows covered in this podcast:
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, BIG BANG THEORY, GOSSIP GIRL, HOUSE, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, THE BIGGEST LOSER, THE GOOD WIFE, V, GLEE, MODERN FAMILY, COUGAR TOWN, TOP CHEF, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, FLASH FORWARD, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, BONES, SUPERNATURAL, FRINGE, THE OFFICE, PARKS & RECREATION, 30 ROCK, COMMUNITY, GREY’S ANATOMY, PRIVATE PRACTICE, UGLY BETTY, DOLLHOUSE, SOUTHLAND, WHITE COLLAR, THE AMAZING RACE, SURVIVOR, DEXTER, MAD MEN and GREEK.
We hope you enjoy our ode to Fall TV so far this season and hope you’ll join in the conversation. Leave your thoughts on what we covered in the comments section of this post! We’d love to hear what you’ve got to say about the new Fall lineup.
Last night’s episode of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE has already been marred by injuries, a dated new logo outline, a shitty new stage and contestant shake-ups galore (Billy’s out, Brandon’s in, someone’s dancing with a choreographer because Noelle’s injured) so there’s a lot to overcome on their first night out the gate for Season 6.
I really can’t tell you how sad I am to see Billy Bell leave the show but on the other hand, I could care less about possibly losing Noelle. She’s out this week due to a knee injury and if she doesn’t recoup in time she’ll be replaced by one of the girls cut during Vegas. I don’t really care yet, so swap her if need be.
Before talking about the performances, I really have to throw my two cents in about this new stage. It’s too big for the intimacy needed to be showcased by the performances and the limited views and camera angles it offers if a logistical clusterfuck. Who built a stage without first mapping out how they would shoot the actual show? And what’s with that random posse of 40 kids that get to stand by the right side of the stage? It made sense before where the kids stood in front of the physical seating but this is just ridiculous. Did they let Tyce design the new stage and layout? I mean come on… there are people who do that for a living, hire them!
Anywhoozle…
First up are Channing and Phillip who worked with returning choreographer Jason Gilkison on a Jive. The show set me up to hate Phillip before he even danced a single Jive step. I don’t do spoken word poetry… to be more blunt, I fucking HATE it. Dance-wise, I thought Phillips outfit and light feet made this one of the fruitiest male performances the show has ever had. Who knew? Channing was a surprise. Like Shankman said, she was the highlight of the piece.
My possible SYTYCD Season 6 Boyfriend Jakob is sadly teamed up with my least favorite female, Ashleigh. They were given a sultry Broadway number choreographed by Tyce Diorio. Tyce gave Jakob everything to do and left Ashleigh as a mannequin. He stole the flippin’ show and I could watch this kid all day long. She was a little slow, a little sloppy and out of place if I’m being honest. Who the frak put Jakob in that sweater? He’s melting on that stage and a wool sweater doesn’t help. Note to the wardrobe department, less is more on that boy!
More SYTYCD Season 6 Top 20 after the jump… (more…)
Last night, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE did something amazing, they gave us a look at what each of the Top 20 dancers can actually do! Before throwing the Top 10 guys and Top 10 girls directly to the “random” couplings and “random” styles we were able to witness why these kids were chosen in the first place. Bravo SYTYCD!
Too bad my DVR didn’t record the frakkin’ hour! At 11pm last night when I sat down to watch the brilliance Twitter had prepped me for, I almost passed out to discover it was not there.
Thanks to the power of the interwebs (specifically http://mjsbigblog.com/), this morning I’m able to watch and comment on some of the dances and Cat’s new crop of babies.
Wade and Amanda Robson’s group number may be the best group dance this show has ever seen. I’m not kidding, it’s cramazing! When the 3rd gang, the all boy gang, hit the stage I lost my breath a little. Whomever is featured front and center on that (too digitized online to truly tell who it was) portion is my new SYTYCD Boyfriend. The way that boy moved was pure sin!
If you, like me, missed the number here it is (while YouTube keeps it posted):
Wade Robson’s Group Number - “Comanche” by The Revels:
What SYTYCD did so brilliantly was introduce the dancers in choreographed groups.
Kevin Hunte, Legacy and Russell Ferguson are our Hip-Hop boys this year. Seriously, some of the tricks those kids did in their NappyTabs routine were out of control! That Legacy kid (oy with the name) can moooooove. I’m psyched to see what Krumper Russell will bring to the competition. Honestly an amazing routine. (Watch the Performance)
The first group of Contemporary Jazz kids (Jakob Karr, Nathan Trasoras, Channing Cooke, Ariana Debos) worked it to Tyce Diorio’s “Crying” by K.D. Lang. Onstage, Channing reminded me of GLEE’s Quinn Fabray and Jakob was a dead ringer for TRUE BLOOD’s Godric - I’m just sayin’. Ariana had some killer moves and the pirouettes Nathan did were OOC! I felt at times the dancers were dancing by themselves, not as a group, but I can forgive that because it was quite fantastic. (Watch the Performance)
My friend Beth twittered “what genius decided it was a good idea to put tapdancers dressed all in b&w in front of a b&W backdrop, for god’s sake???” and I couldn’t agree more. What the hell were you thinking SYTYCD Producers? It looked ridonkulous. Phillip Atmore, Bianca Revels, Peter Sabatino and everyone related to the show need to tone down the “history in the making” comments… we get it - tap is back… (Watch the Performance)
Going into this Jazz routine by Sonya Tayeh, these girls had the biggest job of impressing me. Not only do they have the 3 most dowdy names in SYTYCD history (Ellenore Scott, Mollee Gray and Pauline Mata) that Mollee girl annoys me. I love me some Sonya but this was the most boring, un-cohesive number of the night. Pauline may have been the best? I can’t tell… I was bored. (Watch the Performance)
It should be no surprise here that the 2nd group of Contemporary dancers blew me away. It featured Billy Bell, Victor Smalley, Noelle Marsh, Kathryn McCormick dancing a Mandy Moore routine to Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” - slamdunk! I will confess here and now that I shed a slight tear during this number. It was beautiful, masterfully danced and breathtaking to watch. That Victor is a tall hunka-hunka something on that stage, no? Excellent performances by all four dancers.
Watch Mandy Moore’s Contemporary Routine:
By now you’ve heard that Billy Bell had to leave the competition for medical reasons and is being replaced by Brandon Dumlao (Hip-Hop). It was announced yesterday afternoon and after watching this performance, it’s a HUGE loss to the show.
As I wrote on twitter after watching his cramazing performance: “It is a damn shame to lose Billy Bell from #SYTYCD because that boy brought a killer energy and brilliance to that stage.”
Sadly the statement still omits what his illness is and I guess we don’t need to know. I personally hope Billy gets better and comes to rock our worlds in Season 7!
The official statement from the Bell Family:
Billy’s family would like to thank all of the fans that came out to show their support for Billy this season. It has been an amazing experience for all of us and has really meant a lot to Billy. We feel like Billy made it through all of the tough auditions and now that the fun was beginning, he has to leave the show. We were all very disappointed when we heard the news and Billy was devastated when his doctors told the show that if he continued to dance on the show before he recovered, he could possibly die. It will take several weeks for him to recover and as a result, he will be unable to return to Juilliard as of right now. We are hoping he will be able to return in the Spring. Billy is still quite ill but was released from the hospital today. He’s feeling better but still needs to rest.
As of right now, Billy is hoping to re-audition for Season 7. He really enjoyed working with the show and had a lot of fun. Although he is sad that he will not be a part of Season 6, he hopes that the producers will allow him to return for the next season. If you would like to wish Billy a speedy recovery, I’m sure he would appreciate it. You can do so by posting on the facebook fan page or his facebook.
Thank you so much for sharing your love and support with our family.
The Bell Family
Thanks to our friends over at SYTYCDISM for originally posting the statement.
On with the dancing…
Jason Gilkison gave the Ballroom trio (Ryan and Ashleigh DiLello, Karen Hauer) some supposedly sexy sassy Samba to work introduce them to the world. Personally I was pretty bored. I think knowing that Ryan and Ashleigh are a married couple makes me not want them to do well. I’m an asshole, I know this. Something about them just rubs me the wrong way. Ryan’s suit wasn’t doing anything for me either. That white piping on that horribly round breasted jacket was a serious distraction. (Watch the Performance)
Overall I have to say that I’m more impressed with the level of dancing than I have been since Season 2. There is some unreal talent on that stage this season, I just hope it continues as these kids start getting mixed up in styles that are not their own.
Possible SYTYCD Boyfriends this season: Jakob, Nathan and Victor
The new Fall TV season is less than a week away and while I’ve been busy trying to watch all the new pilots I have to say that I’m not super excited about the new crop of shows. Bummer huh?
My podcasting partner in crime GMMR and I have been trying to schedule time to talk Fall TV and we hope to have all of the network podcasts up in the next week so hold tight. We’ve posted our thoughts on the new shows for The CW so please listen to that podcast to see what we love and/or hate.
In the meantime here are the shows I plan on watching this Fall. Shows in BLUE are what I plan on watching LIVE or DVR’d. Shows in PINK are ones that I will have to catch online or via iTunes.
MONDAY (click to enlarge) Monday’s have traditionally been a pretty busy night of TV viewing for me. However, this year it’s looking pretty open.
I’m annoyed that the power hour that started my night of television last year has been split up because BIG BANG THEORY and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was a partnership made in heaven. I’ll be interested to see what happens to BBT at such a late hour (and I hope to remember its on that late) and if I feel like the vibe is the same without it’s partner.
Another year, another chance to officially drop HEROES. Last year I decided to watch then within 5 episodes I dropped that lame duck for the 2nd time in 3 seasons. Going into Season 4, I’ve vowed to not even give it a single frame of consideration. Will. Not. Watch!
After a brief vacation from the kids on the Upper East Side, a summer marathon has renewed my love for all things GOSSIP GIRL. That doesn’t mean I won’t get annoyed with the repetitive storylines and the lame quick-wrap secondary storylines - it just means I’m excited for the show to return and kick some ass! Let’s not fuck it up Savage & Schwartz.
If you’re interested in ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE starring Jenna Elfman, Ashley Jensen and Grant Show you should watch. It’s a very traditional sitcom and paired with TWO AND A HALF MEN, I think it’s going to be a huge hit. I just don’t see myself watching it week to week. The pilot is cute, Elfman is adorable and the premise is fun. Mark my words, this is one of the biggest new shows in 09.
TUESDAY (click to enlarge)
Believe it or not, I’m only watching two shows on Tuesday’s but hell if that isn’t four frakkin’ hours of television.
I’m a total sucker for the weight loss and emotional meltdowns of THE BIGGEST LOSER so there’s no chance I’m not watching Bob and Jillian bust some fatties once again. Love that damn show.
Obviously you know I’m a huge SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE junkie so that’s a no brainer - or is it? I’ve been very vocal about how I don’t love the idea of bringing SYTYCD to the Fall. I love having it as my summer obsession because I have less shows to watch in the summertime which means more time for a Paso Doble or two. Pushing it on us in the middle of the onslaught of new and returning shows seems cruel and I hate that it’s going to take up two hours of my Fall TV schedule. There… I’ve said it.
I’m not gonna lie - from time to time I will probably watch The CW’s reboot of MELROSE PLACE. I actually enjoyed the pilot episode. It’s 100% better than I expected it to be and surely my partner Jon will want to pop in and out of that salacious complex.
*If you’re wondering about BETTER OFF TED, don’t worry its coming back after DwtS ends (which isn’t soon enough)!
**ABC’s reboot of V starts November 3rd at 8pm (shitty time slot for a show that is not suited for 8pm) and I’m super excited. I loved the original as a kid and I really enjoyed the pilot for the remake. Plus, it’s got Elizabeth Mitchell, Alan Tudyk and Scott Wolf!
WEDNESDAY (click to enlarge)
Wednesday night is really the only night I’m giving new shows a chance at making it into my live/dvr rotation.
SYTYCD has it’s results show at 8pm and that’s followed by GLEE (which we all know I flippin’ heart). It’s a great one-two punch and I’m really looking forward to Wednesday’s - thanks FOX!
Over on ABC, my favorite new comedy, MODERN FAMILY gets paired up with the pretty good COUGAR TOWN. Trust me when I tell you to tune in to MODERN FAMILY. The pilot has laugh out loud funny jokes throughout and one of the best, THE BEST, things I’ve ever seen in the final few minutes. COUGAR TOWN is fun, a little dirty and honestly who doesn’t love having Courtney Cox, Busy Phillips and Josh Hopkins back on their screens?
EASTWICK is not as bad as you think it might be. The hour grew on me as it progressed and I’m willing to give it a couple weeks which is more than I can say for many of the new shows this Fall.
And the Winner of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Season 5 is…
We just finished the finale and cannot believe that the season is over. For our final SYTYCD podcast of the season we examine the results, the Judges Choice Encore performances, and the big surprise of the night!
Find out which Judge we wished was shanked; which Judge needed a new top; which podcast host was almost murdered tonight and which podcast host performed a Season 6 audition piece!
There’s a lot of laughter, a few screams, some tears and even a moment of terror jam packed into this finale podcast so listen up and join in on the discussion.
Thanks for an amazing season and we’ll be talking SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE once again this fall.
Here we go kids, it’s the Season 5 Finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE! Kath and Dan discuss all of the routines, the finale expectations, the Judges commentary and Cat Deeley’s awesomeness.
Did Kayla, Brandon, Evan and Jeanine live up to previous seasons’ finalists? Were the finale dances as amazing and memorable as years past? Did Shankman dazzle us with his genius or completely disappoint us? Who gave us one of the most unbelievable solo’s in the history of the show?
The Top 6 from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Season 5 performed which means Kath and Dan are back for another podcast. With each contestant performing 4 routines, there’s plenty to talk about.
There’s a quickstep, some disco action, a cramazing contemporary routine, some not so amazing hip-hop and some banoodles solo numbers.
We spy on Kath’s new neighbor; we ponder the likeness of a certain contestant to a certain vampire on TRUE BLOOD; we complain about some choreographers; we forget some choreographers names and probably put our feet in our mouths more than once!
A week from the finale, we also discuss how this season has played out, our feelings about the results so far and declare who the winner of SYTYCD Season 5 should be.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE celebrated its 100th episode by reuniting a ton of alums, working out some killer encore performances, having Katie Holmes sing and dance a spell and then reality kicked in sending two more dancers home.
In the latest SYTYCD TV Talk Podcast, Kath and Dan are joined by their weekly viewing partners in crime Jess, Whit and Heather! We’ll warn everyone now, we’re all a little punchy after the sad sad elimination and our special SYTYCD cake had us all on a little sugar high. Yes, we had a 100th episode SYTYCD cake… jealous much?
Wondering who went home last night? Wondering if I screamed bloody murder? Love it or hate it, SYTYCD continues and so does the TV Talk Podcast!
Last night solidified what I’d been slowly figuring out all season, that the Season 5 finale of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE should be a showdown between Jason and Kayla.
The two videos from last night’s Top 8 performance episode are all the proof you need to know my gay ass is right on target!
Jason and Kayla’s Broadway Routine:
Jason and Kayla’s Hip-Hop Routine:
*These videos keep getting removed from YouTube but I’m doing my best to catch it and replace them when someone else posts.
**UPDATE: If you watched last nights 100th episode, then you know I let out a scream of all screams when not only were they in the Bottom 2 but that Jason was eliminated. Damn shame.
The Top 8 performed on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and once again Kath and Dan are back to talk everything good, bad and droopy eyed.
We ponder whether or not guest judge Ellen DeGeneres was a necessary addition to the show and more importantly if a backstory can manipulate the audience to the point that it corrupts the purpose of the show.
I’m hanging at the beach so I still haven’t seen all of last week’s SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE but come hell or cargo shorts, there was no way I was missing my one time TV Boyfriend Travis Wall’s choreography debut!
I’m not gonna lie, it brought a little gay tear to my eye - the routine is that beautiful! Also, how amazing is it to see my baby all grows up? Travis Wall, this routine was cramazing!
Another week of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, another week of the SYTYCD podcast!
With only 6 couples left to perform, each pairing was given 2 dances to master. Some rose to the occasion, some crashed and burned under the pressure but one thing remained consistent… the Judges are out of their minds and way off base this season.
Kath and Dan recap each of the 12 routines, comment on the lack of criticism from the Judges, risk another late night Police raid and flip out over having Wade & Mia choreography in a single episode!
Find out who we think should make the Top 10 for Season 5, the injustice that’s surely upon one of the male dancers and even GLEE(k) out over the newest McKinley High Glee Club promo.
Sit back and take it all in kids, we’ve got plenty to say this week! Thanks again for listening and if you like what we’re doing, please tell a friend.
You know I love me some SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE but I’ve been so busy this summer that I haven’t had time to participate in the weekly eliminated dancer calls. However, that doesn’t mean everyone should miss out on what the fallen have to say!
This past week, Karla Garcia and Vitolio Jeune took questions from the press (and bloggers) about their time on the show, being eliminated and what their plans are for the future.
Here are some of the questions and answers for your enjoyment… hey, we have to kill some time before tonight’s SYTYCD Top 12 Perform!
Question for Karla: I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your week with Vitolio. I know you guys didn’t have that much time together as a couple, did you feel like that was a hindrance or how did it go for you?
Karla: Yes, it was really hard because after Jonathan got eliminated I was really emotional just because we got really attached over the past few weeks and then all of a sudden I had to be paired up with a brand new partner. We had to find that connection and that chemistry in very little time, plus the added layer of having the hardest dance style ever on the show that we had to work with. So it was a challenge but I think we’re both professionals and I think we both had that motivation to show America that we can attack this kiss of death, and that’s what we shared together and that’s what brought us together, I think. So that made it easier.
Question for Karla: Could you go on a little bit more about that, about the quick step being the kiss of death. I know it looks really hard when we see it in the audience and everyone refers to it as the kiss of death, but tell us more about why it’s so hard.
Karla: Yes, when we opened up that card and it said “quick step” I think I was already practicing my solo, especially when everyone else around us had a genre in their comfort zone. I felt almost defeated but it was that motivation to attack this hard dance style. The real blessing was having Jean-Marc as a choreographer because they can really make or break your experience and you know, he was very involved and invested in us and he knew that it would be a difficult task and he knew that the quick step was very hard to learn. You have to stay close, in contact. Your hips have to stay together the whole time. Your feet have to move really fast and you have to work very intimately with your partner. That was hard because Vitolio and I had never worked together, so that was another challenge.
There were just so many layers in having this kiss of death. So technically I think Jean-Marc guided us a lot. He’s very fun-loving and with all the analogies, like I said in my package, a lot of the analogies he used to help us with frame and with finding that connection physically and the entertainment quality of it. I think he gave us a great routine choreographically to make it easier to learn the style, because there were other things to focus on like the acting part and the conceptual part of the routine, there was a story and there were things to play off of, so that we weren’t too focused in on doing the quick step perfectly.
Continue reading about Karla & Vitolio’s experience on SYTYCD after the jump… (more…)
We knew SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE couldn’t go too long without doing some sort of Michael Jackson tie-in and I think taking a number from THE WIZ is a fun way to pay tribute without ramming it down our throats (that’s what she said).
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