The Judges: Nigel and ... Whoever Else They're Inflicting on Us This Season

[crowceilidh]

Boy Nigel has got handsomer as he has got older - he was pretty godawful looking in 1969.  It's really amazing how often he is front and centre in this troupe:

 

[dcalley]

https://youtu.be/5a4NPZamnZU

A bit of Colbert's interview with her is here.

Edited October 10, 2015 by dcalley

[Rick Kitchen]

The city of San Pedro, Misty Copeland's home town, is naming a town square after her.

[Mertseger]

Blake Lewis of American Idol gives some idea of what Uncle Pervy is like as a producer: https://www.yahoo.com/music/first-person-my-american-idol-experience-by-191954633.html. Manipulative, patronizing, but, ultimately, able to admit it when the contestant is right

[ToxicUnicorn]

Interview with Misty Copeland and President Obama:

 

 

[crowceilidh]

Well, I did NOT see that coming.  SYTYCD's fb page is announcing that Mary will be back this season.  I like Mary, but she can be tedious with all the screaming and carrying on.  She was best on SYTYCda when she was judging with Luther.  Those two are awesome together.

[Mertseger]

Yay, Auntie Scream is back! Now, if we could just get Misty as well ...

[crossover]

4 hours ago, Mertseger said:

Yay, Auntie Scream is back! Now, if we could just get Misty as well ...

Yay for Mary.  If Misty is going to judge fairly, I'd like her too.  Her comments were good but she wasn't independent enough.  She fell in line with TPTB with her praise of the chosen and dumping on the fodder.  Because she is so respected, people are swayed more when she goes on and on about how well a contemp dancer did in ballroom.  It took them a while to rein Mary.  But, she was so much better when she was more honest about the ballroom performances.

[calipiano81]

I'm so glad Mary is back. She may get crazy, but I love the energy and enthusiasm she brings and the dancers get so excited when she's excited. And they desperately need someone who can critique the ballroom dances, yet also appreciate and explain when someone does ballroom well.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Misty Copeland will be a guest judge for two episodes of World of Dance - should this give me hope that she might be a guest judge on SYTYCD this season too?

[dcalley]

I would say the opposite, unfortunately. I don't think either show wants a judge from a competing show in the same season.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

If it were some rando, then I would agree. But when it's someone as high caliber as Misty Copeland, I think Nigel will take whatever he can get since he isn't really in any position to make demands on someone like her. Similarly, they are having Fik Shun as an All Star this season and he's also competing on World of Dance. They could have said no, we want you to be exclusive to SYTYCD but that would have meant they would have lost him as an All Star. They'd rather have him and deal with the non-exclusivity than not have him.

[Guest]

I think Nigel would be thrilled to have one of his all-stars, whom he considers his personal discoveries, win or go deep in World of Dance.  And I think Fikshun is getting a favorite treatment over there, so it's entirely likely.  Nigel seems very proud of DWTS picking from his stable.  

Which I think is the right attitude, tbh.  Not that he created them like he sometimes seem to act like but he should be happy the exposure they got may have helped their careers.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jesse Tyler Ferguson did the #Ham4All challenge. I'm surprised that Nigel hasn't jumped on this opportunity to seem cool and with it.

[Mumbles]

I have seen a lot of lame celebrity judges - Jenna Dewan, Katie Holmes, the pretentious Christina Applegate - but I think Vanessa Hudgeons may be the absolute worst. "Omigod you guys! That was lit!" She adds absolutely nothing. Would it kill them just to do rotating choreographers? Former contestants? Geez. 

[jewel21]

I actually skipped all of Vanessa's judging tonight because the constant giggling and lame commentary drives me nuts and makes me cringe. I just feel embarrassed for her. And then I feel bad for thinking mean things about her.

[LexieLily]

Like I said in the episode thread, Vanessa needs to put some clothes on and stop giggling. Unless she has a shit-ton of dance-related (or any) credentials I don't know about I fail to see how being Gabriella in High School Musical qualifies her to be a judge.

[spanana]

I have no issues with Vanessa's clothes because she's a grown woman and can wear whatever she chooses to wear.  But she sucks as a judge.

[Mason]

I was okay with Vanessa during the auditions, because she was kind and encouraging. But that's not what's needed now; her brand of niceness isn't strong enough in opinion to counteract Nigel's insensitivity. (I'm rating his "deep hurt" comment to Robert just one rung lower than his comment about Evan's "hooded eyes.") What we need is a judge who's willing to say "what do we know about someone else's deep hurts?" and move on to more constructive commentary.

Speaking of Kasprzaks, I'm reminded of Nigel's criticism of Ryan's whoppee cushion tapping as overcompensating for... I want to say appearance, but I honestly can't remember what the reason was. Valid or no, these sorts of observations should be shared privately not on national television.

[Koalagirl]

I  just can't deal with Vanessa.  She ruins the show for me.  Last night I purposely watched on my DVR so I could just FF through her remarks. 

[Duke Silver]

I haven't heard Vanessa's voice since the very first episode.

I only watched DVR'd epiodes & FFWD through every judges' comment part.

[srpturtle80]

On 8/22/2017 at 10:32 AM, Koalagirl said:

I  just can't deal with Vanessa.  She ruins the show for me.  Last night I purposely watched on my DVR so I could just FF through her remarks. 

Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Which is weird, because I never had a problem with her before this show. I can not listen to her, I FF through everything she says. It also doesn't help that all her critiques sound exactly the same. Ugh. 

[NorthstarATL]

Were there auditions for a Cher bio film or musical that Vanessa just got back from? And did she get the gig or lose to a guy? I need to know.

[SnarkyTart]

On ‎8‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 7:32 AM, Koalagirl said:

I  just can't deal with Vanessa.  She ruins the show for me.  Last night I purposely watched on my DVR so I could just FF through her remarks. 

Vanessa is probably the most superfluous judge they've ever had on this show.  Everyone is "amazing" and "so so good".  I can't think of one comment she's made that was constructive, meaningful, or not already said by Nigel and/or Mary.   I'm having enough issues with this All Stars format of the show, and Vanessa's making it so much worse.   

[Sugar]

I haven't been too bothered by shitty judges in the past, but I have to say that Vanessa almost makes me want to quit the show. She's not even relevant/young enough to encourage the teen demographic to tune in - she's certainly past her HSM heyday. Other than attending Coachella, I'm not sure what she's been doing the past few years that makes producers think anyone under 18 will care about her. I really try not to put down other women, but she comes across as a huge bimbo. Completely vapid, with nothing interesting to say beyond "beautiful", "wow", "amazing". I'd take Christina Applegate or JTF over her any day - hell, I think I'd even prefer Paula Abdul. BLEH.

Or - how about we switch things up and let some of the All Stars judge? Nigel, Mary, and maybe 2-3 others? Or have them rotate based on genre, i.e. bring in Paul+Jenna for ballroom (if we're stuck with her, I mean), Marko + Alison for contempo, Comfort/Fikshun for hip-hop, Robert for jazz, etc. I'd rather hear a trained perspective than someone who's just impressed by the novelty/flash of a routine.

[treeofdreams]

Vanessa needs to get a new vocabulary.

Everything is "You crushed it!"  "You blew me away!"  "That was insane!"

Drinking game, anyone?

[NorthstarATL]

If I had not seen (and heard!) Vanessa judge prior to this week, I would have assumed that she was doing a parody of a dumb blonde to go with the wig. Sadly, it's just her.

[Mumbles]

I can't imagine what it must be like for these very talented dancers to stand there and listen to Vanessa with her "Omigod you guys!" shtick. I do notice Vanessa often shouts out to the choreographers by name, I wonder if it's a suck-up move.

[treeofdreams]

Didn't the judges used to give actual critiques of the dancing, or am I misremembering?  Now they just seem to be cheerleaders, telling everyone how fabulous they are.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that they started out with their final ten who will all be on the tour, so they are hoping to ramp up interest in the tour by all the "you are the best" hype.

[SoCal Mema]

My sentiments are on the same page with everyone here about Vanessa.  If they come back for another season, they MUST replace her (and retire the word AWESOME, AMAZING).  There are enough credible folks out there to judge and that 3rd seat should not be for someone trying to famewhore themselves back into the spotlight.  I also am hopeful we won't have anymore All Star contestants.  Return to the original 20 format.  So much of this season was spent mugging for how much they'd improved (staring at Comfort, as almost every routine she was in, it was all about her performance), and I could do without Allison.  I know it's lame, and she gets lots of love because of being married to Twitch, but something about her bugs me.  Sometimes it feels like she is over-dancing/performing, if that makes any sense.

[Skycatcher]

I have really tried to watch this show -  I love dance shows. For the most part I like this one. But I wish somebody would put some duct tape over Mary's mouth. I am so tired of her screaming. Her comments are insightful, her enthusiasm is contagious. Then she opens her mouth and screams. I can't change the channel fast enough.

[Kayce]

7 minutes ago, Skycatcher said:

I have really tried to watch this show -  I love dance shows. For the most part I like this one. But I wish somebody would put some duct tape over Mary's mouth. I am so tired of her screaming. Her comments are insightful, her enthusiasm is contagious. Then she opens her mouth and screams. I can't change the channel fast enough.

OMG she sounds like one of my cats screeching when she's peeved....I love her comments and enthusiasm as well BUT that screech of hers...there should be an auto mute button :) 

[little black cloud]

Seriously? Are we going to have to endure Laurie Ann Gibson every episode? I find her nearly impossible to tolerate. She seems desperate to pull focus. So dramatic and grandiose.

I've dropped this show and come back to it more times than I can count. I love the dancers and I love watching them try so many styles. Usually it's been the asinine way Mary Murphy screams that's driven me away -- somebody needs to ram the hot tamale train into a mountainside, daaaaamn -- but I think this time it's going to be awful old Boom Kat who does it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, little black cloud said:

this time it's going to be awful old Boom Kat who does it.

Ha, I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembers her as Boom Kat!

[nx74defiant]

Larieann is annoying me with her name dropping and acting so superior because she knows who Alvin Ailey is.

[ruffy666]

As a group, I like these judges better than any in the past few years.  I know people hate on Mary Murphy and I agree that she can be a little much but I find her passion and enthusiasm for dance to be so genuine, I can't help but like her.  Laurie Ann is at least saying SOMETHING that isn't just just "OMG, YOU GUYSSSSsssss!!!!!!!" so she's already an improvement.

Overall I'm just happy the show was renewed and mostly without gimmicks (that 360-camera thing is pretty silly but harmless)

[displayname]

2 hours ago, ruffy666 said:

Laurie Ann is at least saying SOMETHING that isn't just just "OMG, YOU GUYSSSSsssss!!!!!!!" so she's already an improvement. 

Well, I mean... If we're considering this an improvement, why couldn't we just have knocked a judge off? I don't get the point of 4 permanent judges. Three is OK, and I loved the 2 + rotating format. I'd even get just Dominic being an addition here, to have our Ballroom and Hip Hop advocates balancing out Nigel's pretense that contemporary is the only real form of dance or whatever. I really don't care about four different people yelling about how Nureyev himself would be put to shame watching some of the somersaults these kids did to yet another love song, though.

[ruffy666]

56 minutes ago, displayname said:

Well, I mean... If we're considering this an improvement, why couldn't we just have knocked a judge off? I don't get the point of 4 permanent judges. Three is OK, and I loved the 2 + rotating format. I'd even get just Dominic being an addition here, to have our Ballroom and Hip Hop advocates balancing out Nigel's pretense that contemporary is the only real form of dance or whatever. I really don't care about four different people yelling about how Nureyev himself would be put to shame watching some of the somersaults these kids did to yet another love song, though.

Totally fair point.  I would assume their thinking is "Laurie Ann Gibson is a name some people might (!?) recognize as having street cred."  I dunno!

[realdancemom]

When LAG was first announced, I wasn't pleased.  I mentioned that I wished it was Debbie Allen instead.  I wasn't sure about Domenic either.  But now that we've seen four episodes, I think this group as a whole has given more constructive criticism than any other regular group of judges without being a b* about it.  The last point was somebody like Mia who I really liked as a choreographer but thought she was really mean as a judge.

[rlc]

My daughter is at nationals and Nappy/Tabs are two of the hip hop judges! Can’t wait to see how they score them after a full season of having their hip hop number judged by contemporary judges.

Edited to add that Nappy/Tabs were awesome and enthusiastic judges. Cannot wait to hear their comments. My girl’s group won high point gold first place, and Superior High Score Award 6-8 Hip Hop Division. Yup- I’m bragging.

Edited July 17, 2019 by rlc

[Mason]

Of course by now he would have matured, but I'm liking Dominic a lot as a judge. Didn't like him as a contestant on SYTYCD, liked him in QuestCrew, didn't particularly like him judging on ABDC. I seem to go back and forth a lot 🙂 

Don't know if you all realize he broke up with Lauren a while back: 

I'm glad to see he's found someone else.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I can’t wait to hear Nigel’s reaction to this news:

Same-sex, gender-neutral dance partners now allowed to compete in national competitions

[Tikichick]

One of my biggest disappointments in this season is hearing Mary Murphy extol ballroom performances that even I could see were problematic as if they were perfection.  It's absolutely fine, and actually preferred IMO, to indicate areas where improvement is needed AND tell dancers you appreciated their efforts in other ways.   Dancers working their hearts out to do a great job can use constructive criticism and also hear that they're on the right track with other parts of their performance.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Vanessa Hudgens has been cast in Lin-Manuel Miranda's adaptation of tick, tick...BOOM!

[crowceilidh]

I am miffed by the news that they have sidelined Nigel.  Given that this once-brilliant show was his baby, and that he is an executive producer, I'm not sure how that happened.  If they replace him with some actor nonentity like Jenna Dewan, I will be even more miffed.  Bring back Lil C or Dan Karaty or Mia.  Dan is such a seasoned judge now -- so far as I can make out it's his life in Europe and he was really really good as a judge on SYTYCD Cda.  And surely Mia is over being mean for the sake of being mean?  I like Mary all right, but her attitude about some of these horrible dances being the second coming of Ballroom is old.  Hate LAG.  I can't imagine this is going to go well.

[DanaK]

New judge panel: Twitch, Matthew Morrison and Jojo Siwa

 

[LexieLily]

tWitch! 

[rlc]

Matthew Morrison was wonderful on Broadway. I first saw him starring along with Kelli O'Hara in The Light in the Piazza.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_in_the_Piazza_(musical)

[AncientNewbie]

It's still early and there's a judging chair now open to be filled...but I'm okay with the new panel. I felt Mary became too one note, and never understood why there was a ballroom specialist and not specialists in other disciplines permanently on the panel. And Nigel could be a bit of a lecherous old man at times, although Morrison has now proved you don't have to be an old man to do that...

So, anyway, I'm willing to give Twitch and JoJo a chance. As long as there's no Hot Tamale Train, they'll have my interest. 

[h2ogirl]

Leah Remini? Really? Seems out of left field.