Yep, the people voted in Status Quo over Kaba and Jabba. I have actually thought that the judging on this show has been amazingly on point. They are not afraid to call the groups out when they mess up or when their choreography is not up to par. They also give props when they are due. Especially J.C. Even when I didn't agree with him, he was never afraid to bring the divo bitch attitude. And I enjoyed.

I don't think Status Quo is a terrible crew. Once they got rid of those five ridiculous hair flingers (not Fish and Chicks, the other ones) I really think there wasn't too much dead weight. It's just that over the course of the show, Status Quo has had too many weeks where one of their members (usually the one with the braids who's ostensibly the leader) just totally fuck up - forget the moves, get off count with the rest of the crew, miss a trick, etc. They were sloppy almost every week. And I found their choreography to be way too trick heavy. When they actually stopped and just danced, they often weren't together and were very, very sloppy (sloppy arms especially!). I agree that Kaba's choreography fell off a little bit during both Broadway week and the week where they had the set with all the props. But, I thought their dance last week was ridiculous and they are always super clean and synchronized.

And word on missing Live in Color. They were robbed the week they got voted off. And that was all on the judges, can't even blame it on the fans. They chose to save Fish and Chicks after Live in Color did that vampire number which was off the chain.

I really have liked the judging a lot, in what I've seen. They give constructive criticism even when they're raving about them, and certainly when they're not. And they notice things the average viewer probably doesn't, and can point it out, which is more than I can say for most vocals judges on teevee these days.

I think that they need to swap out Li'l Mama - her criticism is at times incoherent. I think JC is a little hard on them, but perhaps that serves its purpose.

The choreographer for SYTYCD is a decent judge, but I think the judges spoke WAY too highly of Br8kSk8t - who I absolutely couldn't stand.

I did not enjoy Br8kSk8t and I think they probably shouldn't have been put on the show in the first place. No matter how hard they tried to spin it, they were not, in fact a dance group any more than would have been a group of hip hop ice dancers or hip hop bicyclers or any other group who didn't primarily, you know, dance . . . on their own two feet . . . without the aid of other movement devices. But that was not the judges' fault. They didn't pick the crews who got onto the show. And once Br8kSk8t were on the show, the only thing the judges could do was comment on what they brought to the stage each week. Which objectively was very good, for what it was. Which was skating. Not dancing. But again, not the judges' fault.

ETA: I loved Lil' Mama. Thought she was a better judge than Shane and she was stupid funny and clearly enjoying herself. She was death on calling out mistakes and dancers who didn't mesh with their crews. She hated sloppiness (as do I when you're supposed to be moving as a group) and she was actually really knowledgable about dance (even when she was mistakenly calling out "ronde de jambe" like she did in the Fish and Chicks routine). I thought the judge panel, for the most part, rocked.

Mike Rowe has that kind of appeal that other men totally don't get, I think.

What's not to get? He's good looking, has a great sense of humor, is articulate and obviously intelligent, and doesn't have a problem with looking like an idiot on camera. All while doing a show that he has called a tribute to his father.

Damn. Now I need a cold shower.

(even when she was mistakenly calling out "ronde de jambe" like she did in the Fish and Chicks routine)

Ooh. Oh, good. I heard that comment and thought I just hadn't seen something right. Hee.

Anthony Bourdain talks dirty to Michael Ruhlman.

Re: America's Best Dance Crew

Anyway, now I'm sucked into the dance crew show, damn you all, and I can't believe no one talked about Kaba Modern's wardrobe during the evolution of dance number! That was HOT.

I don't remember thinking that the costumes as such were all that hot, except for the rip-away pants the girls had on -- they were unexpected.

I loved Kaba Modern's dance through hip hop history (especially the N'Sync shout out!). It's utter crap that they are gone and Status Quo lives to dance another day. The final two totally should've been a Kaba/Jabba battle to the death. That would've been amazing.

Kaba's choreography was well-done and the transitions were SO much smoother than Status Quo's -- Status Quo's history dance was really a mess. If they hadn't had immunity I don't think they'd be there for the finale. (And if I can say so, WTF was up with the jack-in-the-box/clown tribute to hip hop? Maybe it's just because I share Sam Winchester's clown phobia, but that whole routine did nothing for me.)

And word on missing Live in Color. They were robbed the week they got voted off. And that was all on the judges, can't even blame it on the fans. They chose to save Fish and Chicks after Live in Color did that vampire number which was off the chain.

There were a number of weeks that Fish and Chicks, or even Br8kSk8t, got saved that I was thinking it should have gone to Live in Color. I did agree with JC that some of their moves were getting repetitive, but they should have been around longer.

I think that they need to swap out Li'l Mama - her criticism is at times incoherent.

I have to agree. It's not that she doesn't make reasonable statements sometimes, but more often it seems that gibberish is coming out of her mouth. Seriously, it's not that it's slang or anything, it's just incoherent utterances that make Shane and JC and Mario laugh at her, but serve no useful purpose otherwise.

I just saw Jabba's routine for "All That Jazz" again, and I am marvelling at it. I must admit that the very first time I saw it it left me flat. I think part of that is because I was thrown by the music being so alien to what I am used to hearing that I was thrown by the differences between the traditional version of the song and the "master remix" they used. But the more I see of Jabba's routine, the more I am flat-out impressed at that small bit of genius.

What does that mean, "master remix," exactly?

And yeah, that was an incredible routine. I loved the end bit where they were the band so much. It was perfect and crazy and a tribute but still stylized in that Jabba way.

I can't find america's best dance crew with the tivo. when does it come on? what channel?