Television! You Black Emperor

I Watch Classic Who: The Sea Devils

2012-01-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

To get the obvious out of the way, "The Sea Devils" is a maritime remix of "The Silurians": from the hibernating reptilian subterranean hominids waking up to reclaim the planet from all these belligerent hairless apes, though the apes intend to preemptively exterminate them first, all while the Doctor futilely tries to broker peace between the two species. However, "The Sea Devils" notably

America's Next Top Model: All-Stars (Cycle 17)

2011-12-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say something about the All-Star edition of my favorite show ever, and boy, do I ever have stuff to say about this. First: I can fix the results, if not the unfortunate brostep soundtrack. Next, I'm obliged to mentioned Angelea's disqualification. I've yet to see anyone put forth a compelling case that she did not originally win (because if she was a

SYTYCD Bookkeeping

2011-08-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

Captain Save-A-Holmes here with a followup post of stuff that slipped my mind. biki comments, "around the time of the top 6 or top 8, I decided Caitlynn looked a lot like Heidi G. when she smiled. what do you think?" I kinda see the resemblance a little bit? Ok, now I see an incredibly poor Photoshopping job? momo comments: Leee! thanks for sharing your showcase tango! I'll bet it was a

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Four (8x22, 8x23)

2011-08-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

I hate to align myself with the conspiracy theorists, serial whiners, and miscellaneous feebs, but I can't deny that the finale week is noticeably subpar, even considering the season's overall deficiencies, which are caused in large part by my preferred hobby-horse, the glut of contemporary. Reiterating an old concern I've had about the show, SYTYCD seems to have hit upon a formula that roughly

SYTYCD Top 4 Results AKA OMG Winner Announced Open Thread

2011-08-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

From how I imagine the demographics breaking down, I think that the competition is Melanie's to lose. (Obviously, I'm reducing the complexities of who votes for what into gross generalities, but it's useful for making points.) I doubt that she shares that many voters with Sasha, so the scenario where the two of them split enough votes for Marko to win seems fairly remote. The real question is how

SYTYCD Top 4 Perform Open Thread

2011-08-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being late! Here you go. Prediction: Two ballroom routines, two hip-hop, and the rest jazz/contemporary. Prediction: Our current streak of guest judges who don't suck will end tonight.

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 6 (8x20, 8x21)

2011-08-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

So, with three contestants whom any viewer could have pegged as finalists in the opening weeks of the competition, I've been thinking about an argument that I occasionally hear about how it hardly matters when certain dancers are eliminated because they weren't going to win anyway. It's not an argument that I particularly like, though for reasons that I can't entirely explain. For one, it's a

SYTYCD Top 6 Results Open Thread

2011-08-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Barring insanity, Marko, Melanie, and Sasha are going to be in the finale. Whether Ricky or Tadd will join them is anybody's guess.

SYTYCD Top 6 Perform Open Thread

2011-08-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Janette's my all-time favorite female contestant, and possibly my all-time favorite period. Not sure if I've made that sufficiently clear.

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 8 (8x18, 8x19)

2011-07-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to So You Think Dance is An amorphous Mass of Star-Struck Eyes, Longing Gazes, and Heteronormativity! Although the performances this week aren't a patch on those of the top 10, the results are far more judicious, so take your pick of the two that appeals more to you (good art, or a functional ethical system). Since last week is like so last week, I'm more interested in talking about

SYTYCD Top 8 Results Open Thread

2011-07-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Time for the annual "Top 8 Shocker." Lay your wagers. My guess: The judges finally send Jordan home.

SYTYCD Top 8 Perform Open Thread

2011-07-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

I hope that Sasha draws Pasha so that I can call them "Psasha."

Stuff I Forgot To Mention

2011-07-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

After all the contemporary routines this season, and in particular Stacey Tookey numbers with a woman and man having relationship issues, you can understand why the following completely slipped my mind in my previous recap: Jess and All-Star Kathryn - Contemporary (chor. Stacey Tookey) Watching this while trying to forget the surfeit of similarly toned numbers, I have to say that Jess is showing

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 10 (8x16, 8x17)

2011-07-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

One thing that I try to do when I blog SYTYCD is to try to stay grateful for the show itself and not to take its many flaws and shortcomings to heart, which usually involves some sort of arguing against the show's many detractors (and as long as I've been seriously blogging the show, i.e. season 3, it's had its detractors in spades arguing against it at a deeply moral level). I'll admit that my

This One's For Amanda

2011-07-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

xoxox

SYTYCD OMG Top 10 Results Open Thread

2011-07-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Mitchell? More like "Male Camel-Toe." Momo comments on Tango technique: re: tango--Marko did not have his feet under him all the time (too many toe leads) in the tango which is why his posture was off, I think. Whether one is doing Argentine, and leaning into the embrace or American ballroom and making a martini glass shape, the forward steps should involve a heel lead and rolling through the

SYTYCD OMG Top 10 Perform Open Thread

2011-07-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Colleen - "I'll Read You A Story" Slow-motion pas de deux. Elastica - "Stutter" SYTYCD could always use more songs about not being able to get it up. Espers - "Dead King" A waltz that's at once weedy and Arthurian. Mazzy Star - "Fade Into You" Contemporary with a mournful alt-country flavor... though a Viennese might even work with a sufficiently creative choreographer? The Knife - "We

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 12 (8x14, 8x15)

2011-07-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

This week's performances have left me excited, for what reason I don't know; the number of dances I enjoyed is the same as most weeks. Am I that jazzed psyched to see Sasha dance with a different partner? Well, put it like that, kind of, but the real reason is because I have a special guest contributor to help me rate the dances: none other than the finally Emmy-nominated Cat Deeley! We all

SYTYCD Top 12 Results Open Thread

2011-07-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Who will take Cat's Championship Belt off of her? The answer... after the jump!

SYTYCD Top 12 Perform Open Thread

2011-07-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sara shares some of her favorite SYTYCDAU routines, and the following quickstep is really charming: The performance is pretty good (though his arm tone and frame isn't consistent), but for me, the choreography itself is off-the-charts charming. I'm a little surprised she didn't link to this ANGRY FOXTROT IS ANGRY, though, featuring Kieran and Jess: It's when I went from thinking, "Get

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 14 (8x12, 8x13)

2011-07-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

I hasten to note that this two-pane does not reflect the views and opinions of this blogger (i.e. I suppose I'm pandering to an outspoken segment of viewers) -- the show's sundry faults do not constitute an existential threat to my happiness. Even if I disagree with some (many) of its inclinations, they're not morally outrageous, i.e. it's their show, and they have a fundamental right to pimp

SYTYCD Top 14 Results Open Thread

2011-07-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Just remember:

SYTYCD Top 14 Perform Open Thread

2011-07-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

For the Whovians among us.

So You Think The Judges Are Supposed To Offer Useful Advice?

2011-07-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last week was especially bad for the judges in a season where they've already showed utter disdain for concrete critiques. Nigel, who usually at least keeps the dancers straight, mixes up Chris and Robert (as I mentioned in my prior post), but he also asks Mitchell why the voters keep putting him in the bottom three -- when: it's only Mitchell's second time in the bottom; the first time was due

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 16 (8x10, 8x11)

2011-07-04T23:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to So You Think This Is So You Think You Can Dance Australia, Season Three! To wit: Several seasons ago, I felt that the narrative aspects of the show didn't matter and that the most important (perhaps the only) factor in appreciating the show is the dancing. Now, time (read: senility) has prompted me to reconsider my stance, as has the paucity of contestants whom I can sink my

SYTYCD Top 16 Results Open Thread

2011-06-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

My first wishlist of music was a little, how you say, a deliberate pisstake filled with songs that mostly aren't danceable. (Yet, I somehow refrained from including any IDM -- I'm so proud of myself.) But I've been reconsidering a more "realistic" set of indie-damaged songs (not "realistic" in the sense that they might appear on the show, but music that's inherently danceable), and since I love

SYTYCD Top 16 Perform Open Thread

2011-06-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Talia givin' me ideas, for free:

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 20 Again (8x08, 8x09)

2011-06-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

Does this mean Iveta will never get her monkey? Unfortunately, I doubt pity will save us from her Terminator rage. But beyond any simian and cyborg concerns, among the worst things about such an early elimination is that Iveta never got to tango (by far my favorite of the ballroom styles). I'm especially distressed because my two favorite SYTYCD tangos feature one ballroom specialist who

SYTYCD Top 20 Maybe We'll Get Actual Results This Time Open Thread

2011-06-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Perhaps, like Cat, we should close our eyes and hope for or imagine a better outcome.

SYTYCD Top 20 Perform Again Open Thread

2011-06-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here's Tasty and his hot new remix to keep you company.

So You Think You Can Dance - Top 20 (8x06, 8x07)

2011-06-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I don't get this show. I can, for instance, think of one person who could've been eliminated this week. I wonder why Nigel asked Mitchell and Robert to dance again, since they both more or less repeat their solos (Robert's throws some variations into his, but it's largely the same routine), and which I doubt would (and evidently did not) make a difference in terms of assessing the

SYTYCD Top 20 Results Open Thread (UPDATED)

2011-06-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Bloomsday. Update: Please feel free to comment whenever the show starts for you. That is, don't refrain from commenting to keep from spoiling me -- this is a place for you all, not me, and furthermore, I doubt I'll be able to watch the broadcasts live this year. So there you go, permission to comment freely!

SYTYCD Top 20 Perform Open Thread

2011-06-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

IT BEGINS.

SYTYCD Administrative Odds and Ends

2011-06-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

First, I want to remind everyone that I'll be posting open threads for each episodes if demand stays up, so keep an eye out for those and please contribute! Second, Music Wishlists/Predictions/Suggestions seem to be making the rounds on the So You Think-osphere, so, why not me? Boris - "Farewell" Bardo Pond - "Montana Sacra II" Fuck Buttons - "Sweet Love For Planet Earth" Mogwai - "You Don't

So You Think You Can Dance - 8x05 "Meet the Top 20"

2011-06-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Mallory sisters, for making my job that much easier. Also, thank you to Nigel for revealing the finalists and immediately showing them in action so that viewers aren't left in the lurch. However, no thanks for giving me less time to make fun of the top 20 on superficial reasons and forcing me to skip recapping the "VEAGS Callbacks" so that I can focus on the dancing right away.

SYTYCD - "Meet the Top 20" Open Thread

2011-06-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Back to a Top 20, talk about 'em here.

So You Think You Can Dance - Audition Thoughts Redux

2011-06-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

Given my current habits and schedule, nowadays I have less time to write something up properly, so here are additional thoughts that I left out in my rush to get my previous post up. But before that, I was wondering if any readers would like an open thread in which to discuss episodes as they happen (seeing as good SYTYCD blogs keep folding)? If so, register your opinion in the poll to the

So You Think You Can Dance - 8x02 "Salt Lake City / NYC Auditions", 8x03 "LA Auditions"

2011-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the good developments of this season's auditions is the burgeoning number of solos that I've taken to describing as industrial contemporary (i.e. dancers with jazz/modern/classical training performing a cold, mechanistic, angular routine, often to industrial (not quite full-on NIN, which would scare the tweenies who watch) or electro (again, not quite fully electro) music), which I like to

America's Best Dance Crew (Season 6) - Finale Anticipation

2011-06-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

As ever, ABDC is wrapping up its season with two crews facing off for the title: I aM mE, a popping crew featuring none other than Phillip Chbeeb, and Iconic Boyz, featuring, in D-Trix's words, "a bunch of dancing Justin Biebers." (More accurately, they're more like Justin Bieber's younger brothers, as the Boyz are mostly 11 years old.) The difference between this season and past seasons, though,

So You Think You Can Dance - 8x01 Atlanta and Oakland Auditions

2011-05-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I saw Depeche Mode playing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, which is in Mountain View. The first thing that Dave Gahan said once the band stepped onto the stage was, "Hello, San Francisco!" And at least one other time later in the concert, he again exhorted the crowd as "San Francisco," which, of course, is roughly 40 miles north of the venue. What is it, then, with touring Brits

SYTYCD Reflective Hype: B-Boys and B-Girls, Gather 'Round

2011-05-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

With season 8 nearly upon us, what better way to anticipate what is certain to be an epic season -- EPIC EIGHT, you heard it here first -- than by posting that laziest of critical discourses: A LIST. And not just any list. No! A list that I wrote 1.5 years ago. Do you see how committed I am to bringing you all the phreshness? So without further ado, my ranking of Don't Call Them Breakdancers,

No Reality But Reality

2011-05-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Kelefa Sanneh, a writer for The New Yorker, recently wrote about reality tv, and far from the hand-wringing moralizing that you tend to get when hoary publications deign to examine the genre, the article has quite a number of insights that are worth highlighting. After dismissing one author of a book who approaches reality television in a reflexively denigrating and superficial way, Sanneh

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 16) - 16x06 "Sonia Dara"

2011-04-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Monique is totally over Top Model. In the long history of ANTM eyerolls, this one is impressive, with its tracing out of nothing less than INFINITY and everything. If only she had lasted longer, she could've challenged Molly as the Queen of Cycle 16 Eyerolls. And, per Ana, either of them could've signed their glossy pictures -- NO HEARTS, HEARTS ARE LAME -- with their eyerolls. But really --

John Adams - 1x02 "Independence"

2011-03-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

John Adams has been in my Netflix queue for a while, and I've finally started making my way through it. I've never been a fan of colonial/pre-Independence American history, so I'm not surprised that I couldn't latch onto the first episode, which is primarily a legal drama surrounding Adams' representation of British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre. I'm also not generally a fan of Paul

America's Next Top Model - 16x05 "Rachel Zoe"

2011-03-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Was it just me, or did this episode, with all its not-so-subtle innuendo of sapphic intrigue, seem like it was written by a horny teen-aged boy (i.e. me many, many years ago) (i.e. last year)? I mostly blame Monique (and by blame I mean "adore"), who knows exactly what she's got to offer and is offering it to be on top. It's rather frightening how Monique practically has a direct line

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business - 18x05 "Don't Ruin the Basketball Game"

2011-03-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

Even though the racing has been inept (the Goths) with deplorable frequency (GOTHS), I find myself anxiously awaiting each episode. My best guess is that my familiarity with the racers is a big factor -- that I just enjoy seeing some of my old favorites like the Globetrotters -- but also that we haven't seen much in the way of whining and complaining. (Though, again, the Goths.) I'd hesitate to

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 16) - 16x03 "Lori Goldstein"

2011-03-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

After Ondrei's sad departure served as a reality check, ANTM got back down to its usual brand of inanity, and I'd like to emphasize how usual it was even allowing for the fact that this was the makeover episode. I mean, is it really a makeover episode if nearly half the girls didn't get makeovers? I almost wonder if this is some kind of Emperor's New Clothes thing going on, as if Tyra is

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 16) - 16x02 "Alek Wek"

2011-03-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've gone so long without blogging my favorite show ever, I hardly feel like the theoretically belaboring and contrarian aesthete that you all love and fear. So then: two episodes in, and I think I feel more remote from the girls than is usual at this point in a cycle -- my off-the-cuff feeling is that it's down to the format of the first episode, which dispensed with ANTM's old standby of

Survivor: Redemption Island - 22x03 "Keep Hope Alive"

2011-03-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

Russell just messed with the wrong illiterate redneck who can barely speak English.

Dwayne McDuffie

2011-02-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

Dwayne McDuffie died suddenly this month, news that all but struck me between my eyes. Not yet 50, he helped diversify both the comics industry and its stories, an accomplishment which can't be understated, but which I wasn't aware of until his passing. Even without knowing that, however, what little of his work I'd read or seen meant a lot to me, for the simple fact that he was a great writer.

The Chicago Code - 1x03 "Gillis, Chase and Baby Face"

2011-02-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

I guess I miss The Wire? And that's, like, why I'm bothering with a network cop show? Unsurprisingly, The Chicago Code doesn't compare favorably to The Wire because it's a completely different species of tv show: it happily deploys police procedural conventions and cliches, it's starkly moralistic (everyone is either clearly good or bad, with few if any moral shadings, and if they have any

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business - 18x01 "Head Down and Hold On"

2011-02-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know who was clamoring for another All-Stars edition of TAR, but here we are, and I'm not going to complain too much. OK, I actually, I will: no Beauty Queens (think this is the fastest I've ever brought up the BQs in an edition of TAR where they're not participating), or, considering the conceit of this season, no Lena and Kristy. But neither of them were apparently eligible, since both

My First Concert In Over A Year

2011-02-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

The last time I tried to go to a gig was in November of 2009, I believe, when my car essentially broke down. So I was pretty determined to make the trek to the City on a weeknight, especially when, well, fancy fishnets and effects pedals were so abundant. My review, here.

Doctor Who - "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"

2011-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

On the suggestion of Chris K., I watched "The Talons of Weng-Chiang," which is a rollicking adventure story that happens to be an artifact of an obviously different era. The good: this is the first proper period piece of Who that I've seen (I'm not counting "The War Games," because... well, because it doesn't feel like a period setting), and seeing the Doctor in a deerstalker and getting all

The Mr. Rochester Effect

2011-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Reader, I married him. - Jane Eyre Last week, Alyssa bemoaned the frustrating predictability of romantic comedy [which feature] the idea that someone, often a woman, needs to learn a lesson in order to find love. Terminal disease seems like a particularly vindictive way to deliver that education. Dying of cancer isn't cute, it's not fun, and it's not kicky. That post extends a similar theme she

Classic Who

2011-01-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

The nice thing about being a nu-Whovian is that when the current incarnation goes on break, there's no lack of older material to mine through. I knew going in about old Who's legendarily tight budget (which translates to its shoe-string effects), and actually, I find the cheapness impossibly quaint. However, the most jarring consequence of the budget constraints of the serial era is just how much

Survivor: Nicaragua - 21x14 "What About Me?"

2010-12-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

Distilling this installment of Survivor to a single word, "lopsided" comes to mind. On one end, this season has been marked with uninspired, hopelessly stupid gameplay and the ne plus ultra of righteous butthurtedness, and prior to the finale, the only remarkable aspect of Nicaragua had been Brenda's all-time, astronomical hotness. If we had stopped at the penultimate episode, that single word

The Amazing Race - 17x11 "I'm Surrounded by Ninjas"

2010-12-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Raddest thing this leg were the soldiers and their prodigious abilities of breaking things with their feet. Like, dude did a flash kick! Dude! Curious bit of editing sleight of hand. Here, Brook matches the headband with her soldier... ... runs with her soldier to get the clue... ... and here is the soldier who actually breaks the board: Like I said: curious. I wasn't terribly happy to see

The Amazing Race - 17x10 "I Hate Chinese Food"

2010-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

After years and years of intensely watching reality programs, I'm pretty certain that the one thing that makes or breaks a season is not the exotic locales, it's not the twists and challenges thrown at the contestants, or any other idea cooked up by the show's producers. Instead, the most reliable thing that determines the quality of any given season of a reality program is the cast. If a season

Survivor: Nicaragua - 21x10 "Stuck in the Middle"

2010-11-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Quick thoughts: If the food that NaOnka stole had stayed buried, the tribe would have been in better shape after the fire burned all of their stores. Now that there's only one Kelly left in the game, why is she still called Purple Kelly? They should give her a new nickname to accord with how visible she's been on the show, i.e. Ultraviolet Kelly. Marty's contempt/disdain for Jane was over-the-top

Survivor: Nicaragua - 21x08 "Company Will Be Arriving Soon"

2010-11-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Although reality tv contestants are generally reduced to caricatures by the shows they appear on, I always hope that at some point the genre grows up a little bit and depicts its contestants as something closer to complicated human beings. Almost all the time, though, my hope is at best quixotic and maybe naive, because shallow characterizations are so conventional that they've become an

The Amazing Race - 17x01 "They Don't Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin!"

2010-09-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Obviously: I've always had trouble telling apart the same-gender teams. For instance, Dustin and Kandice, better known as the Beauty Queens, were indistinguishable from each other to my eyes for a season and a half -- and they are my favorite team ever. Similarly, the former NFL cheerleaders from two seasons ago -- one of them was a raving ugly American, her partner by contrast was subdued to

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 15) - (15x02) "Diane von Furstenberg"

2010-09-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

Because I have to say something about my favorite show ever. So... did you hear how this season cycle of ANTM is trying to escape from its reality tv ghetto fabulousness and gain credibility in the high-fashion world? I don't know if Tyra has mentioned yet about the Vogue Italia cover, or the big-name photographers and designers? Honestly, though, I'm a little wary, on the verge of

Shut Up and Dance: Step Up 3D and The LXD

2010-08-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

To state get the obvious and expected out of the way, Step Up 3D has an utterly disposable story that fills up the time between some brain-melting dancing. So first, the griping: both of the male leads, if the plot occurred in the real world, are selfish pricks. Luke, the main character, is the supposedly steadfast leader of the Pirates, his ragtag-yet-appealing (whodathunkit) crew, but he

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Three (7x22, 7x23)

2010-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'll say. And we were all paralyzed at the prospect of Kent walking away with this competition, when we seem to have forgotten (myself included) the Corey Principle, which says that tweens can launch a given non-threatening boy into the finale but that, as seemingly a monolithic and intimidating a demographic as they are, the Twi-hard set alone aren't enough to push him over the top. See, for

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Four (7x20, 7x21)

2010-08-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

The worst thing that can visit upon a reality television, for all of its reductive narrative abilities, is predictability. You would think that a genre that routinely strips its contestants of complexity would consistently and invariably result in the predictable, but somehow, the unexpected tends to occur anyway. That said, SYTYCD has been running on the flatly expected this season (I mean,

Inception

2010-08-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

My official stance on the movie is that it was diverting but judging Inception within Christopher Nolan's oeuvre, I'd rank this around The Prestige or Insomnia. In stories that create their own worlds from scratch, if they create their physics and rules arbitrarily, then viewers will arbitrarily find rules to question as inauthentic or inorganic, as I did with the Limbo idea which seems like an

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Five Six (7x19, 7x20)

2010-08-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Before I resume talking about the resurgence of hip hop this season, can I just ask the judges to never say "swag" or "swagger" or even "swagga" ever again? They've leaned on the term so hard -- I'd say out of sheer laziness or ignorance of what gives hip hop its flavors -- that I'd rather they use "radical" or "gnarly" instead. Are we cowabunga on this? Anyway, as I can't stop talking about

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Six (7x16, 7x17)

2010-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Funny -- if SYTYCD can get through next week without any further injuries, we'll have gone from five people performing to six people performing. To put the matter glibly: reality television elimination, ur doin it wrong. The judges' decision to put off elimination this week illuminates the all-consuming nature of subjective opinion. I can hardly begin to argue with people who think that Jose is

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Seven (7x14, 7x15)

2010-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

You think that the spate of season-ending injuries is karmic retribution for carrying 11 dancers instead of the much-touted 10 going into the competition phase of the show? But wouldn't you know it? The second I start to question the season, it comes back hard with some hot quality. I initially disliked the All-Stars hanging around onstage during the critiques, but sometimes they actually

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist - 1x03 "Judging A Book By Its Cover", 1x04 "A Shock to the System"

2010-07-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying Work of Art as reality television even as a couple of my judgments of the show seem to be panning out -- namely that far from a majority of the contestants really have the attributes of artists (a game I like to play is "How big a poser is this guy?" And by "this guy," I mean Ryan, whose work on the show is cut from the blandest Realist mediocrity and whose

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Eight (7x12, 7x13)

2010-07-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

As much as I hate to say it, I've been feeling disconnected from this season; I'm not so much dissatisfied with the quality of dance (at this point, I think we're at about par), but more to the quality of the show as a reality program. Specifically, I haven't been able to connect with any of the dancers on a level that I did in seasons past. The obvious thing to point at, because I am the lowest

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Nine (7x10, 7x11)

2010-07-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hip hop hasn't fared well in the last several seasons of SYTYCD to the point that you can mount an argument that hip hoppers have been effectively discouraged from even auditioning for the program. But this week, the style came back strong and had its in years, and I'd say that its resurgence did wonders for the fortunes of SYTYCD as well. The style kicked off the week with an appropriately

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist - 1x01 "Self-Reflexive", 1x02 "The Shape of Things to Come"

2010-06-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

It was bound to happen, sooner or later: high art gets its own reality tv show. Or maybe more accurately: I've been waiting for just such as a show as Work of Art. The program is brought to you/me by the ex-producers of Project Runway, so you know it's going to be well-executed reality tv and thus fairly familiar in terms of the art-product reality genre (the one glaringly poor production aspect

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Ten (7x08, 7x09)

2010-06-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well. I suppose there's something to be said for being eliminated this early -- even after dancing the routine of the night, easily and by far -- because then I won't get too attached to the season's best ballroom girl, Cristina in this case. (I'm also thinking about what happened with Janette. No, I'm still not over her elimination, and it's not because I'm a bitter old man -- I prefer to call

So You Think You Can Dance - Top Eleven (7x06, 7x07)

2010-06-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

If I have to suffer through another Lakers championship, then I'm not going to feel guilty about taking slight pleasure in a Laker Girl getting eliminated from SYTYCD -- which I had some small part in (i.e. by not voting)! Kudos to me for getting something done in this life, especially after a week of performances that did not come close to melting my face. Other people's faces, apparently,

Making Up For Lazy SYTYCD Blogging

2010-06-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

It's not a season of SYTYCD if someone, at some moment, doesn't dance like a Muppet: I would be all in for loving Lauren if I could be sure that she's not saying something derogatory about dancing "with Koreans half the time." Please someone translate her for me. About the Wade (and at this point, I should know better and say "Wade and Amanda") and Amanda routine: Robert was front and

So You Think You Can Dance - 7x05 "Meet the Top 10"

2010-06-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on the top 10 + 1: I bet Ashley Galvan got into the Top 11 solely on the basis of the Ashley Rule. She says she's a huge football fan, even though she's from SoCal. The Gump from Yoknapatawpha has the potential to seriously get on my nerves, but he did crack me up with his "I'm single!" exhortation. Alexie used to be a Laker Girl, which I shouldn't hold against her but I am a petty

So You Think You Can Dance - 7x04 "Vegas Callbacks Pt. 2, Top 10 Revealed"

2010-06-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

A handful of notes for the second Vegas episode: The fractious group (consisting of Melinda and Robert, plus not-quite Top Tenners/Eleveners Khadija Nicholas and Arielle Coker) may have been dreadful, but you have to hand it to them -- they managed to render Tasty Oreo completely speechless. Like seriously, he didn't make a single inappropriate noise throughout their performance. Right

SYTYCD Odds, Ends

2010-06-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

A post on what I was trying to say with my previous recap. Also, as amazing as Ida Saki was, I managed to improve upon her audition:

So You Think You Can Dance - 7x02 "LA and Chicago Auditions", 7x02 "Dallas and Nashville Auditions/Vegas Callbacks"

2010-06-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

An abbreviated recap because I've been extraordinarily busy, not to mention sleep-deprived. I might try to get some additional media up later in the week, so keep an eye out. The run of audition and callback episodes that precede the competitive bulk of SYTYCD is interesting because these episodes are a lot more like other reality programs than the rest of the show is. Namely, the auditions

So You Think You Can Dance - 7x01 "New York and Miami Auditions"

2010-05-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Where better to start than the beginning? That is to say, the teaser for the first episode of the season (which you can watch at SYTYCD.ca). It starts with these indelible words: I've been waiting for this opportunity since I was a little kid. If you want to make it as a dancer, you've got to make it on this show. When I get on that stage, I know I'm not holding nothing back. This is your one

So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 All-Stars Photo-Telepathy

2010-05-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have the privilege of being a telepath and so am able to tell you what the All Stars are thinking in this Season 7 promo photo. This is TECHNOLOGY, people. (Click for full-res telepathy.) (TECHNOLOGY.) Indie rating: Lee Ranaldo – "Ambient Loop For Vancouver"

Lost - 6x17 "The End"

2010-05-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Now this is the Lost that I know -- a pointless, anticlimactic culmination that was so tonally misguided that I checked to see if Ronald D. Moore was involved. Just before it aired on my coast, I made fun of someone on Twitter for choosing to watch the combined manipulative sentimentality of Tom Hanks and Senor Spielbergo (ok ok it was only produced by them, but I can't stand either of them as

Who knew cats and dogs could get along so swimmingly?

2010-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

(Apologies to my Twitter followers for repeat content.) Indie rating: Fripp & Eno - "Evensong"

Doctor Who - 5x06 "The Vampires of Venice"

2010-05-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

One sentence review: stupid and fun. It's weird that so far, I have on balance preferred the non-Moffat episodes to the Moffat-penned episodes. Then again, I prefer Moffat's one-shots ("The Girl in the Fireplace" and, of course, "Blink") by far over the two-parters. (I did enjoy all of Jekyll, however.) Also... Indie rating: The Ettes – Where Your Loyalties Lie

So You Think You Can Dance Season 7 Anticipation

2010-05-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

So, um, did you all hear about the new format? (I'm in the blogosphere, breaking your news.) I've given some additional thought to the All-Stars/pro partner angle. I'm fairly conflicted in standard ways -- it'll be nice to see, for example, Twitch again, but I'll miss the chance to ship the Save the Last Dance couple -- but after the novelty of the new partnering format wears off, I think it'll

Random Thoughts on Reality

2010-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

I've been asked about an emergent critical split between so-called "high" reality tv (Project Runway, SYTYCD, Top Chef) and "low" reality tv (Rock of Love, The Hills, Real Housewives). Notwithstanding the fact that I don't watch any such programs as the latter, my standard response falls broadly along the competitive/documentary axis -- that the more a show tests its contestant for specific

I'm Still Here

2010-04-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah, sorry for falling off the face of the blogosphere -- I've been hit by a fatal combination of an increasingly busy schedule and the worst case of writer's cramp I've ever experienced. However, for those of you interested, I've started a catch-all Tumblr. Indie rating: Ke$ha - "Blah Blah Blah"

The Secret of Kells

2010-04-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

I'm an enormous Pixar apologist, but I have to say, The Secret of Kells is better than Up. The Secret of Kells is inspired by The Book of Kells, which is a gorgeous illuminated manuscript of the four gospels from the New Testament (and which, incidentally, plays a part in Finnegans Wake), that, you'll read elsewhere, is one of the most important artifacts in Irish history. And... well, I

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 14) - 14x04 "America's Next Top Vampire"

2010-04-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

Despite my initial excitement for this cycle, I anticipated being disappointed sooner or later, and lo, it turned out to be sooner. But the weird thing is that at least so far, I can't characterize the reason I'm not feeling this cycle. I mean, besides that any girl I've identified as a potential hero has met with reality death, Tyra-style, guaranteed. Alasia, as much as I don't like her,

Random Thoughts on Reality

2010-03-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Watching reality television and following contemporary politics are of a kind: us observers identify the participants who signify views and opinions that they share with us, those who don't share our opinions are vilified, and thus, the (zero-sum) competition between the two "sides" takes on moral urgency. Indie rating: Autechre – "pt2ph8"

Books Without Pictures

2010-03-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Matt Yglesias listed 10 books that influenced him, and briefly put, I have a few more books to add to my never-ending list. Even more briefly put, any time there's a chance for me to compile a list, like, hey, why not. I don't have anything so pithy to say by of introduction as Matt does, only that as an ex-English major, my influences naturally tend towards fiction (no real capital-T Theory here

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 14) - 14x01 "Be My Friend, Tyra!"

2010-03-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

Heading into this cycle, I was inordinately excited, largely because Cycle 13 was so surprisingly awesome. A lot of my love for the previous cycle was due to the fact that the girl whom I wanted to win actually won; I should mention that as Cycle 13 began, I was on the verge of giving up ANTM altogether, pretty much because the winners since Cycle 6 (exclusive) had been so consistenly iffy as to

Oscar Thoughts 2010

2010-03-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

Didn't actually watch it, but that's not going to stop me from bloviating. I was rooting for Lee Daniels to win Best Director. Why? Because there's no solidarity like Lee solidarity, even if some of them only spell the name with two E's. I was rooting against Carey Mulligan winning Best Actress, because if she had won, she'd would've priced herself out of a return to Doctor Who and hey presto

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains - 20x03 "That Girl is Like a Virus"

2010-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

I honestly hope that Russell and Parvati fall in love, because consolidating two of my least favorite Survivors into a couple is a more efficient use of my hate. Someone should tell Tyson that Heroes vs. Villains is an all-star edition, and so he should've brought his A-game barbs, not some sawed off wound-licking excuses like worrying for the other tribe's sanity, lame jibes about "steroid

What the Hell, Yoanna?

2010-02-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

Nothing about this makes me happy. Indie rating: Oneida - "End of Time"

From the Olympic Village

2010-02-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Today I bring a special treat for you all -- guest blogger and philosopher-figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, straight from the Olympic Village. привет, капиталистических хуесос! That is how we say, "Hello, my Western friends!" in my mother tongue, Russian. I am word-class 3-time Olympian, 3-time World Champion, 6-time European Champion skater Evgeni Plushenko! Now that my event, men's figure

Models of the Runway - 2x06 "Role Models"

2010-02-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

Models of the Runway may be the most useless show I watch because the usual competitive reality tropes hardly apply to it; although the designers clearly aim to pick models whom they consider strong, the ultimate winner of MOTR depends far more on the designer she's attached to than on her own modeling skills. If a designer throws gank up on the runway at Bryant Park, the model won't win no

Albums 2000-2009: 10-1

2010-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

10. Ellen Allien - Remix Collection (B-Pitch, 2004) By the end of this decade, I'd forgotten the seductiveness of the all-mighty 4/4 beat, a lapse that I redressed with this little mix. Although Allien typically offers the kind of sleek and mechanical techno I like (at the same time throwing in some funkiness that I could do without), for whatever reason, I don't much care for her studio albums.