WelcomeStranger

I find this to be such a clever show! Nearly all the episodes are charming, but my favorite two this season were: 1) The one wherein the little boy left to fend for himself wanders outside during Beacheroo fest and gets a whole new perspective on his young life, and... 2) The one with the MDMA party when the guest's grandfather, with his slow sepia-toned memories of America, shows up unannounced and decides to stay for the party even though his grandson admitted it was going to be a drug party. The grandfather reveals that he's lonely and dying, and "I'd like to try some of those drugs." I was afraid it was going to end badly with the old man having a heart attack or stroke while on ecstasy, but instead he just sat there and quietly stated: "So, this is the euphoria I've heard about. Yeah. I like this euphoria." I have virtually no interest in the drama of the locals in either season, except for the two bros in the VW bus and their sweet buddy comedy. :)

80s videos had the most bad-ass fantasy sequences.

Totally, Carter's transition was too quick. The show could have given that plotline a more gradual arc. Carter became so HAUNTED, so fast, it brought a really dark aura to an otherwise lightweight comedy. And suddenly by Season 1, Episode 4, he's got a perfectly comfortable, goofy grin like everyone else. Also, can two puffs on a vape pen really be that psychedelic? I guess if you're hallucinating half the time anyway, it doesn't take much to push you over the edge.

So what does it say about me when I hadn't been on Netflix for months, then I suddenly log on and binge-watch 13 episodes of this in 24 hours? This show is silly. It's corny. It's adorable. The animation setpieces are little bits of genius. My special favorite was the Tuvan throat-singing one that marked Carter's first high. I, too have a hard time working up a crap to give about Travis and What-Not Girl. But everyone else is great in their own way, even Dank & Dabby. Even Tai Kwon Douglas.

That was killer. I know this sounds cheesy and I've probably simply bought into Nigel's relentless self-hype for the past 10 years--but I'm still convinced that "tenth dimension" proficient fusion dancers like Lex would not have existed without the advent and influence of SYTYCD.

We can assume that Poussey's last night before her arrest was also the most magical night of her life. The funky avant garde club the drag queen hookers took her to, then the "Improv Everywhere" dudes dressed like monks on sparkly bicycles tooling her away. She didn't stop smiling the whole time, surely marveling at how the world is full of magical, quirky surprises. And then at the end, Poussey didn't just smile, she turned straight to the camera and busted that Fourth Wall to bits. I guess only a dead character can get away with that: grinning right at us the audience as if to say, "What a long, strange trip it's been. Thanks for joining me on this ride." Sweet.

I saw these echoes, too, and have no doubt it was intentional on the part of the show. When Poussey was on the ground with the life being crushed out of her, I saw her desperately mouth, "Help me..." It brought to mind the incident with Eric Garner, the 40-something man who found himself forced to the ground by police after breaking up a fight. His last words caught on camera were "I can't breathe." He later died in custody. Taystee's reaction was dramatic and heart-rending, but the scene that really tore me up was later,

Speaking of Broadway, does anyone know if any former contestants were in the corps of tonight's live production of "Grease"? I thought I recognized a face or two, but picking individual dancers out of a crowd has never been a talent of mine. Since this was a Fox production, I'd be surprised if there weren't any SYTYCD alums.

Oh, you are a young sprite still! This show STARTED (Season 1) when I was 35. That didn't stop SYTYCD from being a thing of magic and joy for me to watch--perhaps because I went into it having already accepted that youth wasn't forever, which freed me up to just enjoy all the talented contestants year after year, without letting my own thoughts of "being so old" intrude. My only concern with letting in younger kids is a serious loss of some of that professional maturity we get with dancers in their 20s. What age range do the Powers That Be consider "junior"? Casual TV audiences might be amazed by a parade of 12-year-olds throwing spectacular turns and tricks, but dance fans will miss the nuance and finish of the older dancers. I for one always kind of thought that even 18 was a little young, especially for the guys.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree Merry merry king of the bush is he Laugh, kookaburra, laugh kookaburra Gay your life will be. When I was a camp counselor, the little kids would sing this as a round. I think "jungle" was substituted for "bush" to make it more understandable to American ears, but other than that, all the 5-year-olds knew it was about a laughing bird. :)

Well her child is scarred for life, but at least her hardwood doesn't have to be. Haaahaha.

It was a quickstep, believe it or not, with Artem!

I know, right? I've been calling bullshit on red velvet for years. But the part where O'Neill proclaims that cream cheese icing should stay on carrot cake as God intended...that sealed the hilarity for me. I had to replay that scene like 3 times.

"Car crash girl." Hahahaha...

Yeah, all those guys that dislocate their shoulders and bend their skinny arms around behind them like a pretzel are interchangeable to me. It's the counterpart to the flail-forward and hair-flip on the girls' jazz/contemporary side. Strong ballet or contemporary male dancer will always win my heart, but this season I'm calling it now: it's going to be YaYa's season to lose.