So You Think You Can Dance - 2x10 (Original broadcast 6/28/06)

Clearly, I was giving Ben too much credit when I called him Thurston, since Ben is more of a Dan Clowes drawing come to life.



To be honest, I thought his solo was pretty rad, but what a way to shoot yourself in the foot.



Speaking of the seriously ugly, Mary Murphy continues to grate on my nerves by putting the "w" in "wha?" But beyond her general incoherence, she's gross. Her upper-face has been botoxed into total paralysis, she's so sunburnt that she'll be spontaneously breaking out with melanoma within a few weeks, and her screaming which has achieved trademark status, paining me to no end.



Why have this bloated shrieking maniac as a semi-regular judge when Cicely and Olisa are so much foiner?



Cicely in particular, since she moves with such control and confidence that she is officially the hottest judge to be on the show. Because what else is sexier than a lady doing the robot?



But let me further rhapsodize the show's transcendant ugliness.

Exhibit A:


Jaymz is supposed to be hot? Dude looks like a neanderthal, which explains why he's misspelled his name. He has at least another week to figure out this walking upright thing.



Exhibit B:
In addition to Mary Murphy inflicting herself on the show, why did SYTYCD invite an in-character Wayans brother to choreograph this week?



That's ballroom maven H3ather Smith, in case you're wondering. Suffice it to say, she's very, very disturbing to look at.

And now I tire of this ugly theme; thus, onto prettier things.

Exhibit A is the surprisingly unannoying Cat Deely, who is a hundred-fold improvement over her predecessor, Lauren "Dirty" Sanchez.



The one is English (!) and fresh-faced, the other was created in a lab of mad science and requires fresh human brains to survive, which would be cool if she hadn't been such a black hole of personality.

What has impressed me so far about Cat Deeley (aside from having such a cheeky English name) is that she seems much more sincere than Plastic Zombie Sanchez. Cat Deeley (her full name is simply marvelous and I must say it each time in its entirety) is better on her feet and ad-libs with far greater facility, even if she occasionally forces her banter with contestants. And she's bloody tall, too! Well, maybe not that tall: she's listed at 5'9".

But comparing her to the competition:



Dancers be short! </no duh>

All of this praise totally reverses my opinion of her when she hosted the auditions, coming off more like a generically bland tottie. Fortunately, she's absolutely bringing the charming cheek. Well, maybe not exactly bringing it, but she has refreshing personality for a reality show host.



Mee-yow! (Geddit? Cos her name's "Cat"? Hyuk hyuk!)

Exhibit B:
Not exactly a looker, but Benji is winning me over.



Exhibit C:
Ryan and Heidi's Cuban Rumba, i.e. the routine of the season!



Click here if you want to download a higher resolution version. The file hiccups about two-thirds of the way through, which was no fault of my own.

Indie rating: Elastica - "Three Girl Rhumba"