The cheese is Big Brother All Stars. I know I should be more excited about this. I love this sick train wreck of a show. For some reason, watching them introduce the potential houseguests last night….I wasn’t feelin it. I want new people. New season. I don’t miss these people enough to want to watch them do this all over again. And I thought I would.
Hmmm…..

So we’ll MAC on some good stuff instead, like the dancing on last night’s So You Think You Can Dance. I think all of them are great in some way and last night each of the couples really came through - even the ones who were a bit rocky, also had the biggest learning curve and I was impressed by how well each of them adapted to such foreign dance styles.

My favorite, which surprises me given my so-so feelings about him pre-season, was Benji. He and Donyelle are really a great team and this guy is such a pro, with both dance skills and attitude. I thoroughly enjoy watching the two of them, on and off stage. A pure joy.

I also really enjoy Travis. Martha is a bit more generic to me, but I like the two of them together and I think he’s such a skilled dancer, but also seems to have a real professional demeanor as well as a good sense of humor about himself and the whole process.

In fact, all of the couples seem to be really dedicated and keeping their heads about themselves. I like them all to some degree.

Yes, even Ben and Ashlee. They’ve been the most hammered couple yet, two weeks in a row without a dance style either of them favors. I was impressed by how well they came through with the jive last night. I am not a Ben fan, but the boy put it out there. And Ashlee did, too. I have to admire that.

Musa and Natalie - whew baby! I was impressed with just how much he’s growing, given he’s never been classically trained as a dancer. And I love the bond between these two. That they’re smokin’ hot don’t hurt em any either.

I am officially liking that they are all paired for the duration of the show. I guess the shock will come when they boot off two people who aren’t already paired with each other, leaving their partners to join up. That will be very interesting. I’m anticipating that, too. Best of both seasons that way.

The guys all really brought it last night. (Dmitry? Yum. That is all.) His partner? Not so much. I think Joy should be the one taking a hike tonight, but they better not pull a Stanislav on Dmitry or I’ll not be a happy dancing camper. (Remember Stanis danced just fine last week, too - so it could happen.)

There was something to enjoy in each couple’s performance last night, and often the weakest of the night was paired with a strong dancer (see above) so there were no horrible duos, just not as good performances by some of the dancers.

My bottom three for this week -

Joy and Dmitry - only because Joy really is the weakest dancer on the show and it’s the only way to vote her off. I hate that Dmitry goes on the block with her though.

Ivan and Allison - I like Ivan, think he’s cute. And Allison certainly did her best, but overall I was more lukewarm to their performance than the others. They seem less mature than some of the other partnerships, and although hard workers and fun to watch, just not as up there on the food chain as some of the other pairings. Not their fault, they’re just young.

Aleksandra and Jason - another strong/weak pairing. A shame Jason had to tone down his dance skills (though I agree with why they had him do so) only because, selfishly, I’d like to see him do more. But Aleksandra is a step away from Joy on the “needing to go” list.

Ryan/Heidi might also find themselves in the bottom - but although I agree that, like Ivan/Allison, they were a more generic (though good) performance, I think the two of them collectively have more to offer and should stick around longer. And I want Ben/Ashlee to stick around, too - if for no other reason than at least one of them should get to dance in a style suitable to their background.

That leaves Jessica and Jamyz (yep, that’s how they spelled it last night. Weird.) as the only couple I haven’t MAC’d on. I really enjoyed their performance and also think they have enough to offer that they should stick around. Sort of middle of the pack for me, like Ryan/Heidi. But I’m curious to see what else they can bring.

I enjoyed Shane Sparks last night (though I thought he was off base with his jive comments, making it more about the style than their performance. He disappointed me in that.) I also liked Mia’s more hard hitting criticism. Doesn’t make her popular, but she’s truly trying to help the dancers. Just hard to do in front of millions of people and be rewarded for the effort, but I’m glad she sticks to her guns and doesn’t just make it a love fest. But that she also doesn’t make it a bash fest just for the sake of bashing. She’s clear about why, and what they need to do. Nigel is all over the place and though not entirely evil, I just don’t like him. Smarmy wanker.

Oh! And how great was it that they had the SickStep Crew on? Loved that! Loved. It was great seeing Ryan again, and in his element with is boys. I was just wondering why Hawk didn’t join them. That was really disappointing. Great opener to the show.

I think this show has found a really great balance between performance and backstage footage - they keep it all about the dance. (Last Comic Standing - really, pay attention. No, really.)

Can’t wait to see how tonight works out!

Reminder!! It’s the last day to find one of my Aussie heroes and enter this week’s drawing for a free book. See Monday’s blog post for all the details and good luck!

Tags: Writing //