Dots And Stripes

I so disagree! This was the most I've liked Luke in a long time. I missed Danica's performance because I was watching the news, but she's one of the few this season who has a great voice. I think others have good style or artistry, but Danica is one of the only ones I just want to hear sing everything. I'm cool with Team Pharrell and his oldies. I find the oldies preferable to Nick Jonas or generic songs I'll forget ever existed in a few months. As much as I loathe Adam, I must admit I'm a fan of his song choices this season. Matt is picking interesting songs but has an unremarkable voice. Damien started slow but ended strong this week. I still can't warm up to the guy who sang the Bruno Mars song. I loved seeing Christina back. More of her and her crazy, please! I still don't get Anita. I liked her auditions, but that's about it. I can go for a CWB, and Blake, win. I'm not a country fan, but he showed something special tonight. Reagan can't leave too soon for me.

This guy is on Team Adam and singing a Nick Jonas song (Nick Jonas still makes music? I thought the world was safe from that.) so I'm predisposed to disliking him. After the performance, same impression. Maybe my new least favorite just for that perfect storm of awful.

Watching the last episode I realized how much I missed Dmitry and his one-way-moneyisms. He's hilarious. He was absolutely disgusted other designers would spend time talking in the work room. Clothing aside, I hope he makes it to the end for sheer entertainment value.

I wanted Jean Kelly to be better than she was tonight. Not good. Wrecking ball (Ricky?) also disappointed me. I liked the cute as a button teenager from Gwen's team. I think she has potential. Luke has charisma, so much so that I actually wonder if he could break the Voice curse after the show. This was the first time I really liked Taylor (when in doubt this season, call someone Taylor). After a night of bad karaoke, I really enjoyed his performance. Sugar and Elijah (sp) leaving would make me happy. I don't see Pharrell letting both of them go though. Eliajah as front runner? I hope not. The judges were an absolute mess tonight. Adam and Gwen especially. Blake's final critique of the night made it all worth it though. Bake is the MVP of the coaches. ETA: Does anyone remember the commercial Blake was talking about? I don't think I do.

Thanks. I thought I had put an and in there. My mistake. I know Damien sang the Sam Smith song. Speaking of that song, does anyone know it well enough to know if it's a man singing about his wife? Damien saying it was song about an unfaithful wife jumped out at me a little. I've always just seen it as a song about someone who is unfaithful more generally.

I liked Damien and the guy who sang the Beach Boys from Team Adam. Adam's bro must go. Always. Blake is a great salesman. His team was kind of lackluster tonight. James David was a little too country for me tonight. I'm hoping he'll do something more pop in the future so I can enjoy him more. Little Kelly Clarkson doesn't share the real Kelly's pipes. She started well enough tonight, but it didn't work for me. Pharell and Blake continue to be amazing all around.

They've been in the bottom 2 before, but not this week. Simon was the highlight of the week for me. I really like him and I hope he manages to stay another few weeks. Unfortunately this was the second week in a row where the quality of dancing wasn't great. I think Frankie had an off week due to lack of rehearsal time. She was still good, but not her best. The Rumba just isn't Jake's dance. I still think he would do better with another, more experienced pro. Janette bugs me. If I were voting, I would have voted for Judy. I know, she's terrible. I like Anton and I find them entertaining together. Sure others are better than her, but there are still several celebrities left who I find less entertaining.

Men may not mean girl their way out of deals, but Mark and Kevin have their own nasty ways of speaking to and rejecting entrepreneurs. IMO, it's a little unfair to single out the "mean-girl" who happens to be the only woman on the panel half the time. I think Robert was building himself up a little. I don't think most people would call him the sport shark, so he just decided to bestow that on himself. Then again, there's not much competition. This isn't exactly a young, athletic group. I would, however, approve if all of the sharks started comparing themselves to spice girls.

I felt a little embarrassed for Craig with the way Gwen went on about wanting to give him a new look. The plus side is I'll actually remember him now, although I may forever know him as the Chad Kroeger look-a-like. (Thanks,BogoGog24) I can't be bothered to learn who most of these singers are at this point. My favorites at the end of the knock outs are wrecking ball guy and country James Taylor. I'm sure I'll learn their names eventually. I knew they were going to save Blake's save for the last battle. Then the editors made it super obvious he was taking about his old team member. At least the "my girl" thing was a nice fake out from Blake. I would watch a show full of Blake and Taylor Swift talking to one another. I totally need Swiftomine after watching her as a mentor. She was completely invested and clearly takes her craft seriously, even if I still think her vocals leave a lot to be desired.

I agree. I also liked that they realized Louise had to be messing with Tina. It would have been completely out of character for Louise to just fall for Jeff like everyone else. They still got in a nice twist of having Tammy and Tina run with it. The show managed to have the characters play there expected roles while still having something of a surprise. It all worked for me. Bonus points for having Bob know Louise had to be behind the original prank. Linda didn't have all that much to do, but I really loved her this week. I realized just how much I missed her (and this show) when she was decorating the diner. She was also amazing supporting Tina and her ghost boyfriend.

Any sketch with Ron Swanson and Bob Belcher is a win to me. I'm so sick of hearing about the midterms that I was thrilled to see John attack it from another angle. Some of those state reps are absolutely insane. John has also shamed me into researching my state legislators, although it likely won't change my vote for other reasons.

I think whether its medically safe or not, the audience would have a hard time watching a pregnant woman being lifted, particularly by an amateur. I'm inclined to think Ola isn't pregnant. James spent over a month locked in the Celeb BB house. It could have happened before or after that, however, it does narrow the window of time. I'm inclined to think a married woman throwing up is bound to start rumors, especially since Ola has said she wants a baby. While I'm here, I think Trend is incredibly bland. On the floor and off. I really hated his samba with Pixie last week.She's a great dancer, I just wish she had a pro with a more natural personality and charisma.

I like Torah and I wish she had a stronger partner. Whose brilliant idea was it to give her a contemporary dancer who is too short for her? Ricki Lee has also won me over and so has her partner Jared. They have a really fun partnership. I think Ricki Lee sometimes goes overboard with the "acting" in her dances, like in her foxtrot, but I appreciate that she's a performer. Does she have any chance at winning this or should I just resign myself to another male star victory now?

I'm sure it does happen somewhere. My guess is those judges would use other low paddles more often.Every judge is different. I wouldn't be surprised to see Craig give a 1 on Strictly, but I would be shocked to see that from Bruno or Darcy. I still say it's odd that Kym would suddenly break out the 1 paddle when she seldom gives anything lower than a 5.

That's what has me suspicious. Has Kym ever pulled out even a 2 before? I just can't imagine all four judges pulling out a 1 unless someone had planted the idea. I think I stumbled across something saying ratings haven't been good so far. The routine was up on youtube (it might still be there) and while it was bad, I could see judges giving it a 4 or 5 out of kindness. To be fair, it was jazz. If producers are going to assign jazz, a dance I've been told has no rules, no one should be shocked when the result is something that defies rules. He did at least attempt a few steps that resembled dancing. I can't shake the feeling producers wanted buzz and so they ran with it. Bad dancing is nothing new or even that unusual. Maybe Mark's reputation played into it too, but I personally don't know anything about him. I was more shocked to see April go just because she's Aric's partner. I thought for sure she'd be a finalist on that alone. The only celebrity I had ever heard of was Torah, so I really have no idea how famous these people are relative to one another.

I don't know if the episode number is correct because it doesn't count results shows, but I'm just trying to follow the existing format. Movie Week! Who knew it was possible to do ballroom dances using a movie theme without acting out the entire movie? I was shocked Pasha was allowed to dance to a song from Armageddon without wearing a helmet, then I remembered this is Strictly and not DWTS. It's refreshing. Frankie and Pixie are consistent standouts, although I've warmed up to Frankie more so than Pixie. I'm not sure if that's because of Kevin or in spite of him. He has a personality, which is a must for me, but I'm not sure if I quite like what that personality is. Frankie was great although she looked lost for a few moments. This was the most I've liked Pixie although the routine started to lag at the end. She and Trent looked washed out with all of the yellow and blonde happening. Her skirt was amazing though. Sunetra's dance was probably a real triumph of style. Her dancing itself was ok, but everything else in the production elevated the number. Gorgeous costumes, appropriate music, and enough acting on her part to smooth over some bobbles made the whole number better. Overall well done and good for Brendan for taking a good song and running with it. I still wish Jake had a different partner. Last week's salsa was great and completely in Janette's wheelhouse. I wish they would switch in Joanne for the ballroom numbers. Speaking of Joanne, that samba was just awful. Not a fun awful either. Scott's costume was terrible too. Just no. Tim is awful too, but I find him more enjoyable. I want him and Natalie to stick around for a while. I'm disappointed to see Simon struggling. I like him and I'm actually warming up to Kristina a little. I hope this week was a fluke and he makes it far. I think he has a lot of potential.

Oh Cory was stupid a times. Remember when he was shocked to find out teachers want students to study for tests? Or the time he actually read the assigned book all the way to the beginning. Stupid Cory was key to several of my favorite BMW episodes. I thought Riley was more self-centered than stupid this episode. Thinking she was the forgotten wasn't so much stupid as oblivious. A kid thinking the world revolves around them isn't all that uncommon. It's something I would expect her to grow out of. I actually thought that this episode was slightly more subtle with its lesson. Sure it was obvious where it was going, but I think earlier episodes would have had Cory spelling it out to the kids that the staff was the forgotten. This time he let them figure it out on their own.

Loved Amy in this episode. Teachers need a break too, Amy! Jake and Terry were so funny together. Jake having to be the responsible one to Terry's drugged up truth telling was a nice change. Also, Terry's arms are absolutely insane. I also liked seeing a nicer side of Rosa. She managed to be really sweet while maintaining her edge.

I think "Good Neighbor" refers to the comedy group Kyle and Beck had before SNL. I'm not a fan and I wish they wouldn't get so much airtime for their pre-taped stuff on SNL.

Korina was a complete brat. Char did not deserve to be on the receiving end of that. However, I will say the whole thing kind of make me like Korina more. Until now she's just been kind of bratty in an annoying way. This episode her made her bratty in an entertaining way. It also helped that she immediately received her comeuppance. I also imagine a lot of other designers would have resented having to compete again in that situation considering Char already had one save and extra time for the zipper. Char is the weakest designer left, IMO. She has received more than her fair share of passes. I totally think without Sean she wouldn't have pulled off that look and it was telling that when the judges raved about the cape, it was in large part because of Sean. I think Char has talent, but I don't think her skill set matches the demands of Project Runway. Char could probably do better work if she weren't under such a time crunch, but that's to what this show is about. She does seem like a lovely person though and I don't blame her for still giving her all to stay in the competition. If the show keeps passing her through each week, of course she's going to keep fighting to stay. Sean showed himself to be very strategic this week. Of course he wanted to help Char for his own sake. It would have been interesting to see what he would have done if he would have been paired with the designer he saw as more of a threat. I appreciated his honesty.

The good news is Colin realized Michael is sitting next to him during update. The bad news is they have zero chemistry. I blame Colin. He didn't really sell the stereotypical uncool white guy persona. He needs to figure out something else. Michael did really well. I noticed he didn't quite land some jokes that sounded like WU standards, but he also hit a few out of the park that sounded like something he put his own spin on. I think Sarah did a good job with what she was given. I really liked the weird car sketch at the end. (Is it wrong to say Adam Levine getting run over made it better?) I was expecting some nod to the featured players who get overlooked considering Sarah's history with the show. Kind of ironic Pete was completely MIA this week. Kyle's uncomfortable taped piece didn't work for me again this week. Make it stop. Finally, I noted last week that Aidy was everywhere but I didn't expect that to last. She wasn't given nearly as much to do this time. I didn't notice anyone being used all that much this week.

I heard a noticeable back-up track, which was especially apparent when Arianna stopped singing at times. That said, the back-up track sounded very different from the main vocals. To me, I thought it was very clear from that she was singing live most of the time.

This thread needs a bump. Pharrell has impressed me in his first two episodes. I think he's got a lot of depth too. I expect him to have more than just a few tricks.

What a waste of Chris Pratt. An hour and a half of interviewing Pratt would have been better. This is the guy Amy Poehler! called the funniest cast member on Parks and Rec. With the exception of the rap battle, the writers didn't seem to give him anything he could really run away with. That's on them. Lorne should have introduced Colin Jost and Michael Che before Weekend Update tonight. I know, I know, he probably did. I just didn't see any interaction or chemistry. Just two guys sitting a few feet away from each other. Why did we keep Colin again? He's such a waste. Michael already has more personality and was able to interact with the guests a little. He does need to enunciate a little more, but that can come with time. Just keep him away from Arianna (I understood maybe 2 words she sang all night). The Update set looks great. The guests on Update were solid and new guy already seems more comfortable than most of last season's new crop. A little too much Aidy last night, but if this season is like last, that will change on a weekly basis. Last season we would get a cast member front and center all week only to see them fade the next. IIt would be nice to see more balance.

Admittedly I missed the first minute of the mug pitch, but I agree that it was a beautiful design. I think it looked cool and different, and that's what would make some people pay a premium for it. Since he was talking about needing to sell more in order to bring down the price, what better way to do that than to say feature the product on a national tv show? If only this guy could get his product on tv. Oh wait... I also though Lori missed the point of the silicone in the glass. Glass isn't a good barrier, that's why glasses sweat in the first place. Lori's suggestion of replacing the red silicone with another layer of glass just seems like a non-starter, although I admit I'm no scientist. I get her point about wanting a cleaner aesthetic, but that will take time for him to develop. I guess Barbara missed the Easy Bake Oven redesign a few years ago. I agree with everyone who said these women were trying to market to girls without explicitly turning boys away. It was classic Barbara. She tends to have very specific ideas about marketing, packaging, etc. I remember her tearing in to investors before for having bad packaging. It's not so much that I think Barbara is never right about the packaging, it's just that she seems to get stuck on one idea of how things should be done. Those women probably got the right investors anyway.