Thadeeeyus

They talked about this at the end of the Afterbuzz show last week. I thought it was interesting that it was brought out in the open like that.

Just saw Penny's episode and realized that I'm familiar with where she lives. Kind of crazy. I just wanted to address a couple of things mentioned in this thread. Her apartment complex is not subsidized but it's a large complex so I guess there could be some units set aside for that. Also, they could very well have a 2BR apartment. There's one 2-BR model that has a bedroom right as you walk in the door.. This would be across from the room where Penny is. The camera never looked in that direction and the layout of the kitchen looked like this particular model. The other BR is down the hall on the other side of the living space.

I enjoyed Corky's appearance a few weeks ago more than Shirley, but I still liked her being on the show. She did seem to come in with an agenda to explain Mark's displeasure with recent scoring, going back to the Halloween dance, and I'm glad she did, because I had similar thoughts. But it unfortunately took away from the time to discuss last night's dances, especially the trios. I agree with Anna's comments almost all of the time and I like it when she comes just short of giving away backstage secrets. Krysten is ok. As far as I''m concerned, Suri can leave. She seems to think the show is SYTYCD.

I feel the same way. I'm still enjoying Tommy immensely, but I would hate for him to stay longer and bump off any of the remaining couples. That trio should have been scored much lower. I look forward to Sadie's dances every week and her and Alfonso's trios were the best of the night for me. I loved everything about her foxtrot. The choreography was classic, the ladies were beautiful and had great lines. Kudos to Mark for that. I love that Sadie had on the white gloves and Emma the black ones. They weren't doing anything to hide her arms. This girl is being taught how to sell her dances Even in the jive, her facial expressions sold the routine and made it enjoyable. As someone who is firmly on the Grassy Knoll, I think Sadie's 10's were planned, and since her mistake wasn't that noticeable, they stuck to the scripted scores and didn't mention any negatives. Otherwise, it might have interfered with their plans for next week. Farewell to Lea. She did a good job but it seemed the time was right for her. As a balletomane, I'm always excited to see contestants with a strong ballet background, but I'm often disappointed that they don't blow people away with their dances. Jane Seymore was the same way.

This is my problem with Derek and it has been for several seasons. I don't deny he's talented, but I think he's more of a master producer than a master choreographer. He can take bits of pieces of dances that he's seen and make them suit his partner, and present them in a way that fits the show and will have the average viewer convinced they've seen a masterpiece. It doesn't matter if the judges don't comment on missed steps, or a lack of steps by his partner, because most viewers don't see that and will be swayed by the judges' comments. But I love the technicalities of dance and I do see the mistakes and it irritates when those mistakes aren't mentioned. Derek really is the best pro at staging his dances to match the situation. I understand why the show is pushing him but I still don't like it. For the most part, I don't favor any pros and judge any partnership by how they do that season. Unfortunately, Derek is the only pro I cannot do that with. I cannot judge him or is partner objectively because of my perceived favoritism towards him. I liked Derek during his first few seasons, and I defended him for his "demented lines" comment. I remember the awesome job he did with Brooke when he would stick with the rules of the dance. Then he started doing Broadway-style numbers instead of the ballroom style he'd been assigned. The judges would criticize, then give them the highest scores of the night, and that dance would be all over ABC the next day. I sensed collusion, and it turned me off. ITA with the comment upthread about Julianne just wanting to be famous and Derek possibly following in her footsteps. When Derek was in his band, wasn't he saying that music was his first love? I get that same vibe. (Anyone watching Nashville? haha) At the same time, I can't say as I blame him. If he has the opportunity, why not? It's just that my heart was in the ballroom dancing with this show, and I've always enjoyed the ballroom pros and their special expertise. I was not a fan of Lacey or Allison being on the show for the same reason. Most of these pros teach or take classes during the off season and are still perfecting their skills. I've never had the impression that Derek does that unless it's some performance that he is doing.. I don't dislike Derek personally, but I strongly dislike what the show has become the last few years, and for me, the push of all things Derek is a big part of that downward spiral.

Yes! I thought the same thing. Bethany completely missed some steps and of course that wasn't mentioned. Why? That's the plan. I'm one who thinks that the entire show, minus the actual eliminations, is scripted, down to the judges comments, scores, who gets the extra dancers and special effects, who "wins" the group dance, who gets promoted on abc. I was just watching GMA and had to change the channel because they were pimping Bethany and Derek, without even mentioning who got eliminated. Sadly, it's all part of the plan. I loved Alfonso's dance. I've enjoyed Tommy this season but wish he had gone last night. I'm enjoying him so much more than Michael, but the guy seems like he's run out of steam and would like to exit.

Exactly! Cannot stand Julianne. This is important to remember for all contestants for anything that is aired on the show. The producers make the decisions about what to air and they will always go with something that creates a buzz. The stars don't just sit in front of a camera and say whatever they want to say. They are asked pointed questions in order to get comments that reflect what the show wants to present. And the more controversy-provoking, the better.

I am in love with Mark and Sadie's partnership this season, and this is after really disliking Mark for several seasons. Sadie's gracefulness on the floor came as a surprise and they are just so gosh-darn comfortable with each other. It's like a breath of fresh air watching them dance. Considering Sadie's lanky build, she is surprisingly fluid on the floor. I loved her arms last night. Wasn't Grandma there because a chaperone is required at all times? I've loved having Tommy on the show this season but his charm is wearing thin. I still think he shows surprising gracefulness at times but his inability to remember some very simple steps is starting to grate. That was a very poor foxtrot. He's had a good run but it's time to go. The Val and Janel showmance -yuck! Just dance. Alfonso was good and I think Lea is better than the production and choreography indicate. Someone upthread said that Val and Artem should choreograph less technical routines. I agree, and they should choreograph something on a level where they partners don't look like spazzes trying to execute it. Brittany was ok but overscored. Antonio was ok but I didn't like that is entire package was focused on the pro. I can't even comment about Michael but I'm very afraid he is going to stick around. And TPTB - please lose the troupe during the regular routines. It makes the dances look like a mess.

So that newer viewers can't see how good the show used to be??? That it was actually watchable. Or see how the judges used to do a better job.

Wow. It couldn't have been more obvious to me last night that the judges were just holding up preassigned scores. None of them seemed to care what those scores were. I've always believed that, but at least they used to try not to be so obvious, What a joke this show has become.

Sadie's dance last night didn't impress me as much as her others have. I feel like the choreography didn't suit her body type, especially the more gymnastic moves. Her legs are too long to execute those moves cleanly and I think her partner needs to be taller to make that look good. I would have rather seen more foot work.

Or the power of promotion. Video of that dance was all over the morning talk shows the next day. There was no mention of any other dancers, except for Betsy, and that's because she was there.

Thanks for the link, spanana. This was very interesting. I'm in agreement with most everything Corky and Anna said. The exception is that I can't manage to find anything positive to say about Michael, and they were able to, even if it wasn't about his dancing. Wow, they really were not holding back expressing their feelings about Allison! Have to agree with them - I'm curious about how Jonathan will do with a new partner. I also agree with the comments about certain dancers not being open and giving themselves to the routiines, and others who are open to anything. And those are the ones who are the most enjoyable to watch. I loved Sadie and Alfonso's dance on Monday. They were just fun routines that were well danced. I was particularly impressed with Mark's choreography. As someone on Afterbuzz said, it was a perfect fulfillment of the concept.... or something like that. And Sadie's arms/hands were beautiful.

I was thinking this last night. I want those legs! She does have problems with pointing her toes, as one of the judges pointed out, but I sure am enjoying her enjoying being on the show. Go Betsy!

Haha. I will never forgive them for that. And Charlie actually danced! Sucks he had to have a partner that wasn't being promoted by TPTB.

Since I have no hope that really good dancing will get the recognition it deserves, I'm rooting for Betsy and Tommy to go the distance. They are enjoyable to watch, they actually can do some dancing, and they are the focus of their partnership, instead of their pros being pimped. I am enjoying them the most this season. My next favorite is Sadie. I loved everything about the waltz that she and Mark did. The choreography and the costuming suited the music. I disagree with Julianne's comment about Sadie's arms. I felt her arms were perfect for this dance. Kudos to Mark for doing something understated and for letting his partner shine.