Anya, the Shopkeepers of America called. They wanted me to tell you that 'please go' just got replaced with 'have a nice day.'

Xander ,'Selfless'


Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]


le nubian - May 28, 2013 8:30:52 pm PDT #20711 of 23273
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

Anthony was fucking AWESOME. No wonder he is in a company. Holy shit.


Lee - May 28, 2013 8:58:00 pm PDT #20712 of 23273
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.

SYTYCD: the two who really caught my attention were Tommy Tibball and Alexis the tapper.

The voice: Wow. I was sure Judith would go farther.


kat perez - May 28, 2013 9:09:08 pm PDT #20713 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

Oh my word, so much to say. Here goes nothing

Boston . . . and Russell on my TV screen. Oh, Boston. You DO do us right. Y’all are wicked awesome. Bring it!

Shankdaddy!! And Mary wearing pink legwarmers on her arms because . . . why?

Ashley and Phillip – Cutie pies. She kinda looks like a purple haired Amelia. She’s adorable. They are adorable together. Love that they are dancing to Christina’s Ain’t No Other Man. I enjoyed them. He’s better than she is. Really good hip action. I can see why he won the DwtS thing. She’s a little loose for a latin girl. I wanted more snap in the legs. I watched him more than I watched her, which shouldn’t be happening. Ah, well, they’re no Mischa and Maria is what I’m saying.

Natalie Vilos – Oh, no, baby. No props. This is not Energy Dance convention. Anyway, y’all know I don’t get down like this. Moving on. OK, Adam in the lamp shade was almost worth it. Not quite, but closer than other joke auditions have come.

John Tesorio – Brought his own beatboxer. That rocks. He was good. I’m not sure how much of it was just the beats that put it over the top. I mean, I’m not sure this kid is anything super special just on his own, but together with his beatboxer, it was off the hook. I’d like to see him on his own dancing to recorded music and doing something else. Off to choreo with you, young man.

Caitlin and Jeremy – The costume on this girl is fire. Body confidence like, whoa. I would like to be wearing that right now. However, as far as the dancing goes, little brother tore the house down while she was just an OK dancer. Send him back in two years. Sister is nothing special. Off to choreo with you, maybe you can make me want to watch you.

Jennifer Jones – Started ballet at 11? That’s kind of late. Also, I don’t care about your bulimia sob story. It’s already been done in Center Stage. Next. Her audition was lovely, though. Wow, that arabesque into the first turn sequence was gorgeous. Good center on this girl. I don’t know though . . . she’s not killing me. Yep, Nigel picked out the one turn that I really liked but they were all way more sold on her than I was. I didn’t think she was bad, but I also didn’t go crazy for her.

Montage #1: Hmmm, girl wearing a scarf as a skirt seemed just Ok. Black dude got serious air. Grey sweat pants has a very interesting movement quality. Liked the two guys, meh on the girl. And more dance dads. Yay!

Tommy Tibal (?) – He’s the definition of lanky. And he brought an adorable dance dad. Apparently it’s a thing now. Wow, hello plié! How you doing? The feet on this kid. Oh, heavens. Toe point of the gods. He’s a little bit of everything heavenly. Lots of great control with this one. And the slow pirouettes. Shut up. He’s crazy good. Yeah, the choreographers are gonna eat this kid up with a spoon. I want to see him in a Wade piece more than I can explain.

Jenny – Ballerina. Yay! I just love ‘em. She’s exquisite, just from the tiny clips they gave us during her pre-dance package, you could tell. My word! Look at those feet. And she’s got legs for days. Shankdaddy says she’s the real deal and I concur. Her extensions are insane and they come from a place of real turn out. It’s not just the legs that go; the hips go; the thighs go; the knees go. That’s the way you get it done, ladies and gentlemen. Worst fake out ever. As if they’d leave this creature by the side of the road in Boston.

Choreo Round: Please note that Ryan can’t replace Sasha. I do not need to see that in my choreo round. As for the contestant, John did not get put through. I agree. He gave it the old college try. Hope he comes back. Salsa sister was better than I thought she’d be. Clearly they are sending her through, although I still wouldn’t have. She’s gotta lose the salsa sexy face sometime between now and Vegas.

Jason Kidd – Not the basketball player. Just thought I’d make that clear. Oh, he’s going to get the tween girls texting and calling in. Votes are piling up as we speak. Hottie patootie. And once he started dancing, come on! Send him on through (continued...)


kat perez - May 28, 2013 9:09:11 pm PDT #20714 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

( continues...) already. He’s ready for his close up in Step Up 17: Boston Streets. This kids’s a superstar. Adam is looking at him like those cartoon characters where they are looking at you but in a thought bubble over their head, they are dreaming about a juicy steak. They better watch out for him with this kid in Vegas. They might have another Shane situation on their hands.

Shannon Tarantino – Rocking the Bow Wow Wow. And owning it. She’s gorgeous, just that first move where she bent over and reached down and then arched up into the arabesque. She is heaven. Those legs go on for days. The arabesque into the front roll was also everything. Even with just the little crawl along the ground, she completely drew me in. I just wanted to keep watching her. I see what Nigel is saying about a sheep in wolves clothing (although, on the real, she needed to put some clothes on). She looks like a Sonya type dancer when she’s really more of a Mandy type. But I liked that about her. I will keep an eye out for that one.

Gene Burstyn – Mr. Sexy. I remember him. He’s really good. He was just hella cheesy last time. And yep. He’s still really, really good. Lucky girl who gets him as a partner in ballroom. The wife was also very good. Sharp. Great legs. Great feet. She doesn’t really sparkle, but she’s competent. I don’t even know wife’s name, but it seems to be the season of families, so off to Vegas they all go.

E-Knock – I remember him. I’m actually really glad to see him back. As far as his audition routine, I wanted him to get off the floor already at the beginning. I could’ve done without the first couple of eight counts. The leap was glorious, though. Crumping to Without You is suspect but OK. I’ll go with it. I understand why he chose this piece for this audition, but there was way too much messing about and not enough dancing if I’m being really honest. It’s gonna get him to the choreo round, though, so good job, sir.

Montage #2: Red shorts girl reminds me of S1 Melanie. Boy in red shorts, I enjoy you. Girl in black shorts, nice center, lady.

Alexis Juliano – Tappers and this show, dude. I’m always a little skeptical. She holds her upper body really oddly. I love what’s going on with the legs, but I’m not crazy about the upper body. Nice turn series there, though. Makes me think she can do other stuff. Good audition. I agree with Adam and Nigel that she was great there at the end just doing a little soft shoe. Nigel does love his tappers. And she’s a cutie, so maybe.

Anthony Bryant – Ribbon boy! He’s such a lovely dancer and so completely wrong for this show. He’s really grown, too. He’s a gorgeous dancer. Solid technique, but he’s added more expression and connection and maturity than he used to have. Thank you, Mary, for agreeing with me. Sadly, he’s still just wrong for the show. And apparently still not so secretly stank. Bitch is too good to go to choreography? Please. I probably would’ve put him through to Vegas; based on talent alone he deserves it, but if the judges want you to go do choreo, then you go do choreo. You are here to dance, so dance and bring it or take your broke broke home. Ewww.

Joke auditions. Sigh. Fast forward now.

Anthony Savoy – Wow. He is beautiful just as a person. And as a dancer, come on. He’s perfection. Any company would not want to lose him for any length of time. That roll through the split in second is so, so hard. I’ve done that pull through. Forget it. And the turns and the center and . . . everything. Everything. I am living and breathing for this kid. Living for him. And I guess Nigel had to get that last dig in at Ribbon Boy. That was cheap. I can’t talk though, I’d do it.

Ballroom montage: Open shirt paso dude, I am loving it. Fringe blue girl, shake it, senora. Blue jeans dude, loving you. Ballroom is tearing it up.

Kate Kapshandy – With Max. He was from the awful first Max and Kayla pairing, so not sure how much of a boost that is. Well, she’s a little cutie. Very nice. Love the arms and the hands. Sharp feet and legs. She’s got a really supple back. I enjoy. (continued...)


kat perez - May 28, 2013 9:09:13 pm PDT #20715 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

( continues...) Loved the ending. Bam. Money. Adam does a great Bruno. I love that this show has become a pipeline for DwtS.

Toshihiko Nakizawa (Toshi) – I would watch a lot of Toshi and Cat Try to Communicate and Fail Adorably. A lot. He is fire. Wow. So great. I love it, everything about him is pure entertainment plus. Loved the little worm at the end right before the “OK” cue in the music. That audition was a good time. I kind of can’t believe they sent him straight to Vegas. That seems doomed to be a poor decision. However, I just about died to see him bust through those doors with a hearty Yatta just like Hiro on Heroes. Awwww.

Choreo Round: E-Knock hip-hop-fied that choreo but I thought he got through it well enough. However, no ticket to Vegas for him. Seems like they are being much tighter on letting people through to Vegas. That’s a shame in his particular case, but probably a good thing overall. And he took it very well. Kind of a downer note to end on, though. Thanks, show.

I am really not digging the wait between shows this season. Now I have to wait a whole week to find out if Wayne Brady is gonna choke Mary or not.


le nubian - May 28, 2013 9:09:56 pm PDT #20716 of 23273
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

yeah, I was hoping Blake's team would get thinned out some. I figure the men wouldn't go yet because they are the only ones left, but either of the others could go.

The other person eliminated probably should have gone 2-3 weeks ago.


kat perez - May 28, 2013 10:00:44 pm PDT #20717 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

The Voice:

I'm not surprised that Judith went home, though I think there are other folks that deserved to go home before her. Dude, will.i.am and Justin Beiber + a Sanjay ponyhawk is not going to get it done. If not for the fact that she's Shakira's last contestant and everyone loves Shakira, I think Sasha would've gone home this week instead of her, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

And now everyone but Blake is down to just one, right? Do not mess with country music fans. Guess that's the lesson of the day.


le nubian - May 28, 2013 10:47:35 pm PDT #20718 of 23273
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

not my favorite genre. I'm going to have to do some FF next week.


Jesse - May 29, 2013 3:19:20 am PDT #20719 of 23273
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

Listening to "Blurred Lines" a thousand times in the last couple of weeks really crystallized for me that pop music right now is about production, not The Voice. I mean, you have to be able to sing, but a great pop song needs great production. So pop singers come out of the gate with a handicap, and I think that's why the balladeers and country singers do better on these shows.


kat perez - May 29, 2013 7:54:38 am PDT #20720 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

I really have nothing to say other than that Blurred Lines is an amazing song and the unrated video is totally cracked out crazy.

Also, I agree that a big voiced ballad singer who sings "pretty" is always going to do better on these competition singing shows than singers who work in other genres. Unless you are a white guy with guitar. Then you are automatically winning and it really doesn't matter much what you sing.