Cripes, cripes and cripes!
Forget the fact there was a two-hour premiere Thursday on So You Think You Can Dance. Did you get a load of that first hour alone?! Enough was packed into it to satisfy the neediest fan.
Not only did we see some of the most funktastical moves yet (well *duh* Michael … it was the first episode of the season, you big dork), but there was fast-trackedness right from the get-go.
First (as if you didn’t already know) Her Screamness Mary Murphy is back in the fold. Ode to joy. I can feel my molars on edge already. Now, don’t get me wrong: Mary’s kickin’ in her own right,but I could do without all the frantic “tamale train” hijinks. Or — in the case of the premiere — the overabundance of crocodile tears. Zounds, but she was weepy! Pace yourself, Mary … it’s going to be a long season.
Then, there’s the protracted antics of Nigel Lythgoe and his fakery in awarding the Vegas tickets to those strung along into thinking they didn’t make the cut. Once or twice is cute; too many times over the course of two hours of show is overkill. Enough, already.
Speaking of making it to Vegas: Seriously? Ten dancers in a row super slide on to Sin City within the first sixty minutes of program? What the hell? Did some of’em get hold of a little Captain America Super Soldier Serum and amp up? Cripes and cripes indeed!
And let’s not forget about Christopher “Lil’ C” Toler tossing out interesting adjectives such as “organtic” and brain-twisters like “very submissive unto your own dominance.” (Truth be told, I’m torn between rolling my eyes and being jealous of his exclamations. I might have to use that last one during the course of the week and see how it pans out.)
At the last, I want to call out one dancer from last evening’s debut: Amber Williams, the 18 year-old ball of energy from Brigham City, Utah. I’m sorry … but no one in BC is this frantic and deranged. While she’s got the pep of the Tasmanian Devil and an unknown length of fuse who knows when will reach its ultimate end, she’s gonna get short sheeted from this competition. Mark my words. She’s “got it,” but it’s not going to see her through. Not this time around:
We’ve a few more auditions to get beneath our belts before the down and dirty get down and dirty. And you know me and audition rounds — they’re usually a blast to find not only the unknown, raw talent but the shithouse rat-crazy “dancers” mixed in with the serious folk.
Onward …
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on May 27, 2011 @ 21:11 EST5EDT
Mary said “organtic” not lil C
*POST AUTHOR*
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See?
That’s what I mean! There’s so much that went on in the episode, it was difficult to keep up!
You are correct, dejjavou … Mary and her teeth did say it.
I was half holding my ears in anticipation of her yelling at me … must not have heard it coming from her …
I always fast forward through Lil C’s comments. They hurt my ears. He could be right as rain on all matters but he makes a fool of himself when his mouth opens.
I think I heard somewhere a while back that Mary really can’t do all the yelling she used to do because she’s had some medical issues during her season away from the show (thyroid cancer). But she did let out a few at the start, so maybe they’re just trying to throw us off guard. Either way, I missed her (never thought I’d say that) and I actually didn’t make it all the way through last season because it was lacking whatever it is Mary brings to the show.
And I LOVE this show. Much more than any singing competition because singers are a dime a dozen with only a few true major talents out there who don’t require the talents of technicians to make them sound good. Dancers don’t have that luxury and they either bring it to the floor every time or they’re out the door. I just see a completely different vibe and emotion from the dancers on SYTYCD compared to the singers on, say, Idol. Every dancer wears their heart on their sleeve and I get so invested in them that I can feel the large grin on my face when someone really good gets to advance, I feel the heartbreak when good but not great ones don’t get to move on and, even though all I know about dance has basically come from this show, there are pieces that actually move me to tears (like the second girl on the premiere) and I don’t even know why. For someone to be able to do that without words but just through movement is just miraculous and that’s why I love this show so much.
*POST AUTHOR*
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It might sound strange to the casual observer, Chuck, but in many ways I feel the same.
I remember beginning to watch this show several (4? 5?) seasons casually and then it started becoming more than just an aside. I got invested over the course of a season in the players of the game.
And you’re correct: These guys and gals must wear their hearts on their sleeves. It’s the only way they can do it in order to move on. Have a bad day, you’re almost assured of getting the boot; do your best and at least you know you did, stay or go.
Additionally, yes: I have been moved to tears at some of the performances. It might sound weird, but when something like this can do that, I feel my intelligence quotient has risen.