Cletus Among Us

I don't know why it took me so long to find this forum! It might have something to do with my being remarkably not Jeopardy! material. Anyway, I'm also Team-Just-Want-a-Great-Game. I'm even more excited about this competition than I've been about any of the recent Jennings/Rutter matchups. Give the vets a rest, you know? For now, my heart says Team Julia, but Ben and Arthur have handily proven their champion statuses. Re: The Water for Elephants FJ. I got stuck on the Horton reference, too, but then I also confused the Lorax story with Horton. And I read Water for Elephants, too. I'm kicking myself for not getting that one since one of the (limited) best parts of that book was its passionate, informed stance on the greatness of elephants. Oh well, not Jeopardy! material. Did it appear to anyone else as if Ben mouthed the words "Oh shit!" when his answer turned out to be correct?

Yeah, I've enjoyed Christina Applegate as a judge/jidge on this show before but over-familiarity seems to be a problem at this point. She sounded very condescending when she was talking to Casey and kept interrupting him when he tried to answer her inane question. Then she criticized Jacque and Zack's faces (during ballroom! A genre that practically begs for over the top faces!) but has never mentioned it when Jessica, her favorite, is concerned. Boo. For once, I really enjoyed the contestants' dances with each other just as much (and in some cases, a bit more) than their dances with the All-Stars. Thought the Broadway was lovely even if it was once again The Ricky Show, was pleasantly surprised to see Casey and Jessica nail the disco, and even liked the aforementioned foxtrot. I actually thought this was a great night for Valerie. Even if she didn't do that much during the Broadway number with Ricky, she captured the spirit of the dance well. And I thought the hip hop with Twitch was adorable and just the right amount of saucy. Then she performed her solo and the magic went away. At least one-trick ponies like Cyrus and Fikshun were really good at their tricks, you know?

Tucker and Jenna did a hip hop routine to his music last season. Granted it was the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil music, but I guess the legal hurdles were cleared. I'm interested to see what kinds of themes and dances will be done within the theme. I am NOT looking forward to the inevitable lamenting of Jackson. Also, with this kind of a precedent established, it really makes me sad to know that Wade Robson will probably never return to SYTYCD. I hope he's doing well in all capacities.

Yes. Supposedly, that was "the thing you don't know about Jacque" that Zack talked about when the contestants were doing those intros. So really, I guess we have Zack to blame for that whole stupid plot. I want it to die. Cat comes off worse for continuing to bring it up, and it reinforces the image of this crop of dancers as silly kids with little crushes. I loved the Valerie/Ricky hip hop and Travis Walls' group number for the boys. I felt meh about Mandy Moore's group number for the girls, though I did LOL when I heard the song choice. For once, I'd love it if one of the choreographers did a women's group program that highlighted the strength, athleticism, and playful qualities of the female dancers - like the Jasmine/Comfort hip hop from last season but on a larger scale - instead of putting them in flowy garments and having them flail around each other. Sadly, I wonder about the future of this show and suspect there won't be a next time unless it's later this season.