Reality Rundown: Who Loves Sandwiches?

Finale! Food Network Star - The final three are all amped to make their pilots but a twist comes: only two of them will make pilots. The chefs have one last camera challenge to make the best dish of their life; loser leaves. Jeff's sandwich is a deconstructed eggplant parmesan. The selection committee loves the sandwich and call it one of Jeff's best yet. Susie makes slow cooked pork in LARD. G-R-O-S-S. She presents it well, as Susie always lights up when she tells family stories; the carnitas were flavorful and the margarita doesn't hurt either- get crunk! Vic makes an Italian seven fish dish and tells his story of Christmas Eve stories and makes sure to tell his family stories more than food ones, which Bobby says he needed. The selection committee deliberates the pros of the remaining three before making a final two decision: Susie and Jeff will film pilots and Vic Mo aka Vic Vegas is out. Vic isn't upset at all and realizes this process help him find the real him.

Jeff and Susie head to the Food Network's studios to film their pilots by the most amazing director of all time: Guy Fieri. Guy is super annoying but he is really the only true star this series has produced, so it makes sense. Along with the selection committee seeing their pilots, focus groups will also view the pilots and provide feedback. Jeff overuses the catchphrase "Boom!" and even Guy is like, "THAT'S annoying." Jeff shakes off his "crutch word" and nails the pilot. Susie's mouth is going faster than her brain, so gets her pep talk and then, whaddayaknow, knocks it out of he park! So if you're keeping track, it's the same old thing they do every finale: start out terrible and then end on a high note.

Last evaluation everrr and someone is going to get a show. Jeff and Susie enter the studio and face Bob, Susie, Giada, and Bobby one last time. Turns out the focus group is not impartial strangers but the eliminated finalists. I'm sure Penny will be totally kind-spirited! Susie's pilot is called "Spice It Up!" and it's full of family stories and energy. The focus group gives their feedback, which includes Penny claiming Susie isn't engaging (BS). The rest of the focus group really enjoys Susie's personality and show. Jeff's pilot "Sandwich King" has good information and the humor we've come to enjoy from him. The focus group is split: Vic and Penny see him as a star, while some other dude whose name I forget thinks it's too schticky. The selection committee provides their feedback too. Susie is radiant, infectious, cooks with soul, and tells beautiful stories when she cooks. Jeff really knows how to make a sandwich, has a big personality, would appeal to either gender, humorous, and has a very unique culinary perspective. So who is the winner of their own show? Jeff the Sandwich King!

Read More

Reality Rundown: America's Favorite Dancer Is... Melanie!

Food Network Star • Finale! So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - The final 4 have done some hard tasks, but this week is probably the hardest: Iron Chef America. There are 2 battles and they have to prepare 3 dishes; when not battling, they have to do on-the-side commentary and also critique dishes. Since Jeff won the last challenge, he gets to pick his challenger and select Susie, which means the other battle is Mary Beth vs. Vic. Since everyone needs a sous chef, 4 ex-stars return to help; Jeff gets to select his so he picks Whitney. The other chefs draw names Vic pulled Jyll, Susie pulled Chris, and Mary Beth gets effed again by drawing her mortal nemesis, Penny.

Battle #1: Mary Beth vs. Vic vs. rack of lamb. Mary Beth makes the dud choice right away of all 3 dishes being lamb chops. Susie's commentary is corny and has no depth; Jeff rules and tries to outshine Susie, which he totally does and continues to turn on VP of Marketing Susie Fogelson. Penny is being an awful sous chef, going super slow, and the selection committee notices Penny's slowness, leading Alton to question her. What a total bitch. Vic's 1st course is a rare seared loin of lamb with an arugula salad. His 2nd course is a lamb-burger with a garlic mayonnaise and way over-cooked fries, but the burger is exceptional. Third course is a broiled lamb chop with a mint and Grand Marnier sauce, and the mint jelly makes everyone cringe. Mary Beth serves second with her theme of Sunday suppers over the seasons, starting with a wintery Israeli cous cous with grilled lamb. Her next dish is pan-cooked lamb chops with fall pears, but the lamb is overcooked and fugly on the plate, even if the concept is great. The final dish is the "umami explosion" with sun-dried tomato on the lamb, but it's another bit of overcooked lamb. So Mary Beth has great stories, bad execution, to sum it all up.

Battle #2: Jeff vs. Susie vs. lobster. Jeff is sticking to his sandwiches, with a bisque to show some versatility. However, Jeff loses me at putting walnuts in a lobster roll. You're ruining it!! Susie wants to make ceviche, stew, and an enchilada. Mary Beth is good at commentary because she has food knowledge and some personality (and some lame jokes). Vic is not good at commentary because ad-libbing is really not his forte. Jeff hits a speedbump when he plans a BLT variation using avocado and there isn't any in the kitchen; mayo it is, except Jeff also realizes all his courses contain store-bought mayo. Jeff presents first: a lobster roll is his first dish, and it turns out the walnuts was not an epic fail, and helps his Sandwich King POV. The second sandwich is a Baja style lobster taco, but the batter is too thick on the lobster. His final course is a lobster club sandwich with a lobster bisque shooter, which they like but wish there was a little lemon in that mayo. Susie then serves her first course: a lobster ceviche that really pops in a lime, lemon, and orange marinade. Second dish is a swiss chard stuffed lobster enchilada and the panel loves her creative spin on the dish. A lobster stew completes Susie's portion of the night and the selection committee is smitten, while Jeff is totally panicked that he lost.

Judging time. The committee acknowledges that Mary Beth's asshole sous chef handicapped her in the battle, but saw her panic when Alton Brown stumped her during commentary. Mary Beth is praised for being the best judge on the Iron Chef panel. The issue this week is her execution was off and if she's off, home viewers wouldn't get it right either. Vic made an amazingly successful dish (lamb-burger) but failed with that mint jelly crap. Vic's commentary was meh and he tried to be proactive, though he wasn't a very good judge since he was a little soft on the cruelty. Jeff cooked all his lobster superbly but is chastised for not using his own mayonnaise, especially during an Iron Chef challenge. Major props are given to Jeff for charming Alton Brown as well as sticking to his POV of sandwiches. Susie's three dishes were an overall smash, really honing in on her roots but making it even a little sophisticated. Her commentary was lacking in authority, though this is overlooked. In terms of the battles, Susie beats Jeff and Vic defeats Mary Beth; that means Susie and Vic advance to the finale. My 2 favorites, Mary Beth and Jeff are the final 2, and I don't even need to watch further to make the correct observation: Mary Beth is eliminated.

Finale! So You Think You Can Dance - Performance finale time! The top 4, Melanie, Marko, Sasha, and Tadd, will strut their stuff one last time before America selects their favorite dancer. To help guide our decision is the greatest dancer of our lifetime: Kate Holmes? They balance out her stupidity (she’s a fan of the show!) with director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, who directed Footloose the best movie ever. The 4 will dance routines with the All Stars and each other, so I’ll split my recap the same way.

Fun with All Stars! Sasha and All Star Mark (who dances for Lady Gaga now) dance a piece tailored especially for Sasha and the obstacles she’s overcome, choreographed by Sonja. It’s such a fierce, tough routine and Sasha is so badass; this is better than drawing stupid disco. Lil’ C finally choreographs and we get the return of season 4 winner, Joshua. Joshua and Tadd perform what is maybe the first routine I’ve liked Tadd in all season. It’s some grimy hiphop, a nice difference from the corny love stuff we get all season, though Tadd does smile a little too much. Stacey Tookey crafts a contemporary piece about unrequited love for Melanie and All Star Robert and as usual with Melanie, it’s wonderful because her emotions are so raw. Marko and last season’s winner Lauren dance another break-up routine (man, choreographers get dumped a lot) but with two powerhouse dancers you really get to see magic happening as they perform. I’d say it’s the best routine of the night.

The final 4 partner swap extravaganza. Marko and Melanie dance the season’s (thankfully) only disco number. Disco is so hokey and needs to go away, which I could’ve sworn it did when it died 30 years ago, and this routine doesn’t do either of these talents any justice. Sasha is a skanky diner who wants to bang her waiter in a Broadway routine and boy, is Sasha in it to win it. Marko is great as well but man did those nerd glasses throw me off. Tadd and Sasha dance the cha cha choreographed by Dancing with the Stars pro, Mark Ballas. It’s sexy and has a spanking like 10 seconds in, you know, for the kids, but overall it’s awkward and poorly danced. Tadd is a cheater caught by Melanie and the shoes (and clothes) come off in the process. I feel like the costume designers hate Melanie by putting her in high-waisted stretch pants when she has some curves down thurr. I don’t see the sexy in the routine and am bored by it, but the judges like the routine and the dedication to character. What a lackluster finale (and Nigel agrees). Melanie and Sasha bring their girl power again as housewives that breakfree from the clutches of their dull lives. The gray stage and bright costumes reminds me of Pleasantville and the dancing is stellar as you feel the build-up of sadness to jubilation in their quest for freedom, until reality sets in and they’re trapped. Great story, great piece. Marko and Tadd get a twist on normal hip hop: gumboot stepping from South Africa. Costumed as goldminders and dancing to “B.O.B.” by Outkast, it’s a fucking mess. Like the sloppiest dance I’ve seen all season and this supposed to be the best. Yikes.

The performance finale was no doubt the worst episode of the season. The choreography for the most part really let the talent down. There were some excellent pieces, but others were just dreadful (disco, gumboot stepping). I still believe it will come to Melanie and Sasha, and I’ve been Team Melanie since the beginning so I'm routing for her to win, but I could see Sasha sweeping in and getting the win.

The results are in but before the news can be announced we are treated to some of the best routines of the season. The judging panel, with extras in the form of Sonja, Lil' C, Robin Antin, Tyce Diorio, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, congratulate the four for a job well done this season. Nigel apologizes for being rude to the guys last night saying they couldn't win, so either he knows something we don't or he just has a guilty conscience.

Memorable routines of the seasons are performed and I was going to list them all, then realized that's so boring. My favorites that they performed again: Sasha/Kent dancing against the wall, Melanie and Marko's jilted at the altar hip-hop, Robert and Miranda's "Break Ya Neck" bird dance (forgettable dancers, fantastic dance), All Star Neil and Melanie's beautiful Mandy Moore "Total Eclipse of the Heart" piece, Marko and All Star Allison's contemporary routine that brought Lady Gaga and his mom to tears, Twitch's romantic hip hop with Sasha (and he's fresh from the Step Up 4 set!!), and of course, the statue routine by Travis Wall (my favorite of the whole season). Cat Deeley requested they re-air the top 8 circus routinesince it made her cry.

The winner of SYTYCD UK, tapper Matt Flint, performs on the show as part of his prize for winning. He performs in a trio with Jess and the tapper guy who got eliminated like week 2. Good thing my mom is missing the finale- she hates tapping. But the routine is pretty great. Later, the final 4 get to meet Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, and Henry Shum Jr. from Glee and go to the Glee 3D premiere.

At the beginning of the second half of the show, the final 4 are brought out to announce the 4th place dancer: Tadd. Not a surprise that he's 4th and I still can't believe he made it this far. I blame it on a mediocre group of male dancers this season. With 20 minutes left to the show, Marko is eliminated from the competition; my Melanie/Sasha final 2 prediction from weeks ago came true! Before the final results, Sasha and Melanie dancing their fierce Sonja jazz routine which shows how powerful they are and what an unstoppable force they were all competition. Time for the big moment. The winner of So You Think You Can Dance is... with 47% of the vote... MELANIE!! Won' lie, got a little verklempt as I maintain she's one of the best dancers this show has ever had.

Read More

Reality Rundown: Sue Ellen Crandell Knows A Lot About Dance

Food Network Star • So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - The "stars" head to Chelsea Market's market area for their challenge. They have an hour to run around and taste a bunch of junk, then have to pick one favorite and tape a "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" segment. My best thing I ever ate: pineapple Dole Whip Float from Disney World. Yours? So the "stars" run around and taste tons of grub and also ask a lot of questions so that their segment has information and not just saying, "this tastes good!" Susie's best thing is a pork dish but just lists ingredients rather than convey how tasty the food really is. Vic talks about a dish that's both chicken and eggplant parmesan, but must not listen at all since he too ignored describing the taste of the dish. Jeff heeds advice and talks about a delicious reuben, making me super hungry and showing he's a natural for this show. Mary Beth is a food blogger, so describing food is her forte, and she's sooo into the food even if she says "milimeter" too much. Whitney is immediately intimidated because Mary Beth also did crepes and did it first, so then it gets a little awkward eventhough she could've said the same thing cause she felt the same emotions. Bobby gives the win to Jeff, with Mary Beth right behind him.

The Star Challenge this week is to turn a protein into a roast. As winner of the Camera Challenge, Jeff gets to assign the proteins: Whitney- pork crown roast, Vic- prime rib, Mary Beth- duck, Susie- leg of lamb, and for himself, rump roast. Turns out not only are they making roasts, but they are getting roasted. The "stars" will serve their dishes to "A-list comedians" which includes Louie Anderson (yeah), Judy Gold, Gilbert Gottfried (f-yes), Aubrey Plaza, and Anthony "Hang Time forever" Anderson.

Vic serves his big-ass bone in prime-rib, which looks like Medieval Times portions, served with potatoes and maybe some asparagus. The panel thinks he should stick to the mama's boy angle and ditch the stupid-ass Vic Vegas thing. Mary Beth has never cooked a whole duck before so is in panic mode. She presents the panel blackberry glazed duck with potatoes roasted in the duck fat- tres fancy! Mary Beth's personality is totally lost in a boring, academic presentation- total nerdfest and not a single Aflac duck joke. Jeff's rump roast translates to an Italian beef sandwich with homemade chips and au jus. Jeff and the comedians hit it off and he gets forced to relive his old stand-up days of making jokes about being a fat kid. Gilbert tells Jeff he'd give him a cooking show just to never heard his stand-up again. Zing! Susie makes a spiced leg of lamb with chipotle potato au gratin and braised carrots with beets and carmelized onions. A shitload of starches tonight, fo sho. Susie is bright, bubbly, and still able to convey her emotional back story with a delicious dish. Whitney is all smiles until she talks about her parents and then gets all weepy. She prepares Berkshire pork and gives the TMI of the animal being only 3 years old and killed a week ago.

Judgment day. The panel was happy with their food and performances, meaning not everyone sucks now. Susie is praised for her raw talent and thinks she could be an excellent teacher and personality for the network. Whitney "inspires confidence" but she's kind of a drag and not fun. Mama's boy Vic is happy to leave Vic Vegas behind and become this new man, though the judges worry he might change personalities again. His massive slab of Flintstones meat didn't help much in the earning points department. Jeff did well with the comedians without trying to outfunny or get overshadowed, which turns Susie Fogelson on. Mary Beth's duck was delicious, despite her earlier panic, but she was such an Encyclopedia Britanica with her dumb duck facts. Jeff, Susie, and Vic are the stand-outs, and Jeff takes top honors again. 3 in a row for Jeff! The judges deliberate over whether to keep Whitney's top notch cooking skills or Mary Beth's eloquent way with words. It's Whitney who leaves the show tonight and I hope my buddy Phil is not still crying at he reads this recap.

So You Think You Can Dance - Holy crap, the finale is next week! Time flies fo sho. The guest judges this week are Christina Applegate (SUE ELLEN CRANDELL, PEOPLE) and Lil' C. And since there's so little left, I guess I should recap all the routines.

Ladies! Melanie is Little Red Swaggin' Hood and Twitch is the Big Bad Wolf for a Nappytabs hip hop fairy tale. It's every bit as awesome as that one sentence conveys. Talk about two powerhouse dancers together. Sasha dances with Kent (!!) in another beautiful Tyce Diorio contemporary routine about hitting the wall in a relationship. Tyce has been on fire these last few weeks and this one might be his best yet. So athletic and emotional, as they dance literally against a prop wall. Caitlynn sambas with my boyfriend Pasha, leaving me full of envy especially with that unbuttoned mesh shirt of his. Ow ow! Back to the topic at hand, the dancer is totally sexy and Caitlynn puts her hammy grins away as much as she can.

Fellas! Marko's paso doble with All Star Janette, and choreographed by All Star Dmitry, is hotness. The chemistry and intensity was there in full force. Tadd gets a period piece with All Star Ellenore which lets him swing on a classy chandelier. I think this routine should be called "doin' it on a chandelier." It's Sonya weirdness for sure, but I also felt it didn't have much actual dancing (Nigel agrees with me). Ricky is the controlling boyfriend with sticks to control All Star Jamie and it's the kind of routine that can save Ricky from being the obvious eliminee this week. Ricky's lines are amazing and the props don't hold him back.

The top 6 together! Ricky and Sasha are tasked with the first ever whacking routine, which is crazy-ass arms and legs. The costumes throw me off from enjoying the routine fully because I just don't understand if there's a story or timeframe or what. Spencer Liff must be a big Center Stage fan (as @NineDaves pointed out on Twitter) because the routine is about a dancer hot for her choreographer, but he's just in love with her dancing. COOPER NIELSEN, PEOPLE. That being said, holy shit this routine was HOT. Melanie is pure perfection and I will be crushed if she doesn't win this show. The night ends with another shitty boyfriend dance routine. The good news is it's danced with a lot of power and energy and not much smiles. Plus, Marko rules. Lil' C calls it double hashtag bucc, so all in all, a great night of dance.

To begin the results show, the top 6 dance a contemporary routine around a giant rose which concludes "prop week" on SYTYCD. Enough props, just dance! The judges don't want to reveal the results since there's only 6 left so instead of dancing for their lives, the bottom guy and bottom girl will be eliminated. Melanie and Marko just the stress relieved early when they are given the good news that they made the finale. The time fillers are awesome tonight: SYTYCD reigning queen Lauren and runner-up Kent perform Travis Wall's Emmy nominated "Collide" routine again and yes they kiss- ooo! The the Bad Boys of Dance perform to "Derezzed" from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack and you had me at the Daft Punk. Then early-jilted American Idol standout Pia Toscano sings. But who makes the finale? Sasha advances for the girls, sending Caitlynn home. I predict that next week the votes come down to Melanie or Sasha for the victory. And the lucky fella that'll dance in the finale is... Tad, so Ricky goes home.

Read More

Reality Rundown: Gaga for Dancing

Food Network Star • So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - The 6 "stars" leave the Los Angeles mansion for Newwww York City's Flathotel, then quickly head to Food Network's HQ at Chelsea Market. Bobby Flay greets the "stars" in the shiny Food Network kitchens and then brings in Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa who hates being a good person. The Camera Challenge is to sum up yourself in a cupcake. FYI, I'd win the shit out of this challenge. I guess because none of them are bakers, a lot of the "cupcakes" are merely savory items stuffed in a cupcake tin. Whitney makes the "wise" choice of serving Ina Garten a complete replica of Ina's signature cupcake. I can't believe she doesn't get completely reamed for not making something original because it's supposed to be themselves in a cupcake, not your take on Ina. I liked Mary Beth best with her delicious strawberry cupcakes and story about picking strawberries with her son; the judges liked her best too. They also liked the taste of Jyll's chocolate orange cupcake, less her phony personality. Jeff is the challenge loser for "taking savory to a new level" which means "sucky."

Rachel Ray's raspy mug shows up on a TV screen to invite the "stars" to appear on The Rachel Ray Show for their Star Challenge. Each "star" is given a mystery dome and under each dome is a classic family dinner they have to put their own twist on. The dishes are: Vic- lasagna, Mary Beth- Shepherd's Pie, Susie- Chicken Stir-Fry, Jyll- Meatloaf, Whitney- Chili, Jeff- Porkchops and Applesauce. Along with the 3-minute cooking demo, they also have to do an intro to their segment and a Q&A with the studio audience. So complex! (not really)

Rachel gives a quick hello to the finalists in the Green Room before bringing each out to do their intro, demo and Q&A. Whitney is first and coins the term "gourmazing" which makes my stomach churn. Whitney begins very mechanical and teachy, but is able to get in some personal facts about her brother and gazpacho in thanks to the Q&A during the demo. Mary Beth is super enthusiastic about her Sunday Suppers but her Shepherd's Pie is a pretty basic recipe so she runs out of talking points and energy. Vic is the mam's boy that looks like a thug- get it?! The judges have a boner for him and I just see early flashes of a new Guy Fieri. Vic combines lasagna with chimichangas (lachanga), meaning he shoves leftoever lasagna into a tortilla (but forgets to mention this), fries it, drops in sauce. Oh superb. His demo is boring and has no Q&A. Susie kind of implies Mexican food is low class and she'll make it better. Her take on stir-fry is a fajita and it's sooo boring to watch. My favorite moment is her ignoring the audience member who wants to ask a question. That woman will go hungry forever! Jyll has a great intro and then gets totally stumped when someone asks how her show would be different from any others and she's like "Sheeeeeeit." Jeff's intro about turning any meal into a sandwich is a slam dunk and then high fives the crowd. I love him most. Along with a great sandwich, Jeff aces the demo and Q&A from the audience, while also schmoozing for a second appearance on the show.

Stop: panel time. The judges like Mary Beth's physical presentation of the Shepherd's Pie but her demo was an information-lacking bore. Jeff is praised for personality but said the demo lacked in knowledgeable info. Jyll was not funny and has no idea what her culinary POV is, which is a bad move to make at week 8 when you can't articulate your thoughts. Vic's omission of facts about the lasagna being leftoever ruined it all, though Bobby still think it tastes crappy. Judge Susie doesn't like that star Susie perceives Mexican food to be a sloppy mess. Whitney's chili tasted good but was more of a soup. She presents and teaches well, but her personality and stories are lacking. Jeff and Whitney are the top 2, with Jeff taking the victory for the week. Jyll, who has been stumbling around for weeks, is finally sent home to give the robot that she is a well-deserved oil change.

So You Think You Can Dance - The top 8 perform twice this week, paired with each other and then with an All Star. Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel is choreographer/film director Rob Marshall and one111111 of the biggest pop stars on earth, Lady Gaga. This is a pretty huge get.

Favorite routines of the night. Melanie is paired with Neil in a contemporary routine about the crossroads of a relationship. Melanie is effortless perfection, as usual, and receives a standing ovation. Gaga loves Melanie and even says she'd hire her immediately to dance with her. Marko and Allison bring tears to all eyes, particularly his mom and Gaga who has a soaking wet face by the end, in their Sonja Tayeh contemporary piece about basking in the guilt of being judgmental. The dance is just beautiful and their dancing is so strong, and the tears in their eyes while dancing are so real. Marko and Ricky get our first double-dude dance in a janitor hip hop. Imagine if Bert Hoover had swagger: this is the routine. It's awesome. Melanie and Sasha bring the house down in the final performance of the night: a fierce jazz routine of sort of robotic creations or something. Know this: it is awesome and to me the obvious lead-in to these 2 being the last girls standing in this competition. I think a female winner is coming again!

Not favorites but notables. Sasha dances with my boyfriend Pasha in the best rhyme scheme name duo for a crazy quickstep to "Puttin' on the Ritz." The intro is fun and quirky but transgresses into the usual ballroom stuff that the kids don't vote for. Caitlynn and All Star Ivan (!!!) pair up for a hip hop routine where Caitlynn shows she's got some smooth moves and some great chemistry with Ivan. Jordan and Ade play badasses together in a jazz routine choreographed by Tyce. It's fast and has a lot of lifts and acrobatics. It's very 80s. Tadd dances with reigning SYTYCD champion Lauren Froderman in a jazz heist which involves Tadd borrowing a lot of Michael Jackson's moves. Caitlynn and Tadd do a classic foxtrot, reminiscent of Fred and Ginger and the old days. The costumes are gorgeous but you know no one is voting for this.

Least favorites of the night. Ricky is tasked with the jive alongside Anya. It's like fate keeps giving him the dances to get him eliminated. The dance is really fun and energetic but c'mon, no one ever votes for the jive. Nappytabs comes out of hip hop hiding to choreograph Jess and Lauren Gottlieb. I wanted to love it but I think the choreography is meh and they have no chemistry so it was dull to watch. But upside: no corny faces. Jess and Jordan do a sexy little rumba with no chemistry, but I can't focus on anything but the costume giving Jordan some nasty side rolls.

Result show! The top 8 perform a group contemporary piece dressed like an antique circus or in Jess' case, The Joker as a ringmaster. More surprising: that wonderful pieces is choreographed by Tyco Diorio and it's been so nice seeing him get out of his hokey Broadway box. The bottom 4 this week are Jordan, Caitlynn, Jess, and Tadd. Ok, now Tadd is a shocker cause I thought Ricky was a goner (see above). To fill our time, the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers performs and it's pretty spectacular. I've crapped all over Christopher Scott's routines this season and I think that's because he clearly excels at group choreography, not pairs. Later, guest judge of the week Lady Gaga performs "The Edge of Glory" and "You and I" in a relatively normal outfit: black bustier (like Selena!) with pointy shoulders and a black studded angular skirt. Most importantly, one of Lady Gaga's most prominent backup dancers for years now is Mark Kanemura from season 4. I loved him (and still do)! Enough distractions, let's get the verdict! Jordan and Jess are eliminated this week which means my fantasy team isn't a total bust. Cause let's face it, isn't thsis really all about MY fantasy team?

Read More

Reality Rundown: Gutter Sexy

Food Network Star • So You Think You Can Dance
Food Network Star - At the halfway point the "stars" have mid-terms, with 2 people going home at the end of the week. The Camera Challenge is easy enough: prepare your signature dish and do a 2-minute demo. All the demos are terrible except for the winner of the challenge, Whitney, who told a story about serving gazpacho to her sorority sisters. Yes, that is all it takes to win a challenge.

Bobby Flay comes right to the house to explain the next challenge: create a dinner party in their house for the selection panel and Wolfgang Puck. Since Whitney won the challenge she gets to assign who shops for decor (Mary Beth, Penny) and then the order the chefs will serve, and therefore the courses. Her order is Jeff, Vic, Mary Beth, Penny, Jyll, herself, Susie, and Chris gets sacked with dessert. The kitchen in their home isn't huge (and has only 2 ovens) and the pantry is far from stocked, so this is an interesting challenge. Chris has hardly any chocolate, no recipe, and warns everyone not to touch the temperature on his side of the oven (which of course happens), so yeah do the reality show math.

Dinner time! First course is Jeff's beef carpacchio over arugula, which is a surprise to the panel but they enjoy the dish and his presentation. Vic's course is mozzarella stuffed with arugula and fried, which is nice and crispy and another improved Vic performance. Mary Beth serves butternut squash soup but the cayenne she tossed in overpowered the rest. Penny's dish is shrimp over figs and more fucking arugula (find another green, people!); the dish is delicious and she's warm in-person. Jyll presents her sweet corn risotto and Wolfgang Puck winces looking at the dish. He gets up from the table, takes Jyll to the kitchen, and shows her how to really make risotto. SERVED! She's humiliated but keeps that smiled glued to her face. Whitney's main course is a roasted chicken with an Asian puffed rice flair, channeling her parents as inspiration. The food's good but she's still meh. Susie didn't have Mexican cheese so instead use chile relenos using feta, impressing the panel with her improvisation and the taste of the food. Chris closes off the night with a chocolate fudge cake with Creme Anglais and a lot of apologies and excuses for being shitty.

Selection panel aka who else is going home besides Chris? Whitney and Vic receive praise for their dishes, but it's the personality element holding them back. The panel loves Susie but has concerns about her lack of focus, which leads into her crying about her story of applying to cooking school. Jyll cries over her risotto humiliation. The panel enjoyed Jeff's salad but deep down wish he did his usual sandwich. Penny makes amazing food but has no life on camera. Chris is immature and tries to defend his cooking experience and Bobby puts him in his place immediately. It's awesome. Mary Beth can articulate her food well but her cooking hasn't been up to snuff. Chris and Penny are both eliminated meaning the trip to New York will be a lot less drama-filled.

So You Think You Can Dance - The top 10 dancers so sayonara to couples and now will dance with an All Star from season's past. You know what that means: me drooling over Pasha. Also drooling over this week's guest judge, Neil Patrick Harris, who is such a great judge I would take him on the panel forever. Let's break down my favorites and least favorites (because there were no real clunkers).

Faves! Marko and Chelsie Hightower, now a Dancing with the Stars pro, do an insanely fast and sexy samba. For anyone thinking Marko might drop down in quality without Melanie, you're wrong. He's amazing. Caitlynn and my boyfriend Pasha sexily dance an Argentinian Tango together to make me super jealous. The lean-ins for almost kisses and the passion- ahhh love it. Sasha is paired with fan favorite Twitch (star of Step Up 3D!!!!!), but my heart sinks when Christopher Scott is the choreographer because his stuff on this show has been terrible. The good news is that the routine, about a married couple that re-ignites their missing sexy flame over breakfast, is finally great. Not just great, maybe one of the best of the season? In the new greatest pairing in the history of the world, Melanie gets to dance a Viennese Waltz with Pasha. Two Pasha routines? I die. Speaking of dying, this routine is about a guy who has lost his will to live, so his lady tries to make him OK again. Melanie is sort of ethereal, floating across the stage. The routine is just so beautiful. Clarice and Robert close out the night with a high-energy Bollywood number. This is the best Bollywood routine I have seen in a long time, plus Clarice and Robert have great chemistry even with his hammy smiles.

In the middle I'll put Jordan's contemporary. It was danced so well and a stand-out piece for Jordan, but something about Jordan has never clicked for me.

Least favorites. Mitchell and Melody (the only All Star I've never seen before since I started watch season 2) do a Broadway Jazz routine where they pretend she's a plane. I'd prefer a helicopter, but I'll take it. It's a very Tyce routine, it didn't seem like an airplane (and NPH shits all over it and I love it). I don't see the votes rolling in for it. Rickey and season 2's Allison are having a bad dream in a Tyce Diorio jazz routine. It's a much different style than the usual Tyce piece, which is great, but I think Allison completely outshines Rickey to the point that I hardly watched him. The judges think he kept up with her, but I disagree. Jess and Kathryn perform an eye-contact free contemporary routine. The routine is absolutely stunning, but I will say I feel this piece showcased the All Star more than the contestant for a large portion of it. And Jess sucks at lifts.

Results show! The top 10 perform a Broadway routine that I didn't like and it wasn't even choreographed by Tyce- the biggest shocker of them all. The bottom 4 dancers are Mitchell and Rickey for the boys and Clarice and Jordan for the girls. Besides the dancer's possible last solo, time filler includes a ballet dancer who looks like a young Steve Zahn, getting tested at the Gatorade Sports Science Center (you all fail!!), and a performance from Blush (?) with Snoop Dogg. Now it looks like the rules changed because in the past at the top 10 mark, America's votes were the sole decision but now the judges are involved. What this means is I planned my fantasy picks all wrong because I went based on America not the judges. After a long rambling about even losers are winners on this show, Mitchell and Clarice are eliminated.

Read More

Reality Rundown: Balls Deep

Food Network Star • So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - 1 hour episode, rejoice! The "stars" head to a parking lot with 3 food trucks and host of The Great Food Truck Race, Tyler Florence. The teams will have to create a food truck concept and film a 30 second intro to their truck and that commercial will determine which food truck they try. Vic, Jyll, and Orchid decide to do a crazy taco truck, "Fierce Food Fusion." Their commercial is fun and friendly and really overuses "We're gonna have a great time!" Whitney, Jeff, and Susie do "Balls on the Roll" which I guess it like different meatball subs? Susie doesn't like the balls, but Whitney overrides her. Their commercial is balls puns overload, which worries Tyler. Chris, Penny, and Mary Beth put "the wrap back on the map" (didn't know it left) and say they're "Chris' Angels" (ew) and then bore us. Ugh, awful.

The next morning, Balls on the Roll puts on their red headbands and head to the other "stars" to see their poorly decorated food trucks. Was the budget for this $11? What terrible decals. The chefs prep their dishes in the trucks and then the 150 guests and judges enter the hanger where the trucks are. First, though, they have to watch the commercial to decide which one food truck they will dine at. Bobby Flay must have smoked up before because he laughs really hard at the extremely bad promos. As if they paid the crowd, there's double-take head turns to the mere mention of "balls" (except Tyler and Bobby who lose their shit laughing).

Penny is so slow so when a line begins forming for her filet mignon wraps and none are ready, it looks bad. Good news is it tastes amazing. Mary Beth places peacemaker to the crowd during the extreme delay; too bad her chicken is bland and Chris' lobster is non-existent and filled with cream cheese. The Fusion truck interacts well with the crowd, making everyone a happy camper, but Orchid feels left out of Jyll and Vic's BFF banter. When interviewed by the panel, Orchid tries to talk but the judges keep interrupting like assholes and when she gets to speak she gets overshadowed. Jyll's taco is way better than last week, Vic's "Phillrito" is a good combo of cheesesteak and burrito, and Orchid's slaw is sour. As for Balls on a Roll, guess no one likes penis humor cause they have very few customers (until people get tired of waiting in lines and then head to the truck). Once the people try the food, they love it (except Whitney's fall-apart falafel). Susie's soup is spicy and Jeff's meatball from a family recipe is a hit.

Judgment time. The panel liked the Wrap It Up concept, hated the commercial, but only liked Penny's wrap (but of course the team makes sure it's known that Penny's slowness affected service). The panel is completely turned off by the catfights and don't like Penny's animosity since people are supposed to like the stars on the network (insert immense laughter here thinking of all the horrible people on the network). Fierce Food Fusion is a hit personality-wise with the people. They love Jyll's shrimp po-boy taco and Vic's burrito and heart and soul. Orchid gets the criticism for being overshadowed and having a subpar dish. Balls on the Roll is chastised for the abuse of ball jokes, especially Whitney who is trying so hard to have a personality that it hurts. Susie is informed that she needs to explain and define her food because if not the people won't get it. The panel loves Jeff's story of the food (as well as the meatball sub itself), but is tired of his hacky comedy. Vic is named the overall winner of the week, with Susie and bitchy Penny as runners-up. Mary Beth, Orchid, and Whitney make up the bottom 3 of the week. Early front runner is Orchid is eliminated from the show.

So You Think You Can Dance - We're in the last episode where you vote for pairs which means we'll all be making the painful choice of supporting Melanie or Marko instead of the pair. Joining Nigel and Mary on the panel this week is Sonja Tayeh and Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. There are 2 routines tonight so I'll just do a best/worst routine and not list everything as to not make the longest paragraphs ever.

Best. Louie Van Amstel from Dancing with the Stars choreographs power couple Melanie and Marko in a tango. It is sexy and I love the move where Marko dangled Melanie over the edge of the stage, but the ending with the insane flip is where it's at. Words can't even describe this move- it's so insane! They follow it up with a beautiful contemporary piece, again highlighting their perfection in dance. Sasha and Alexander dance the paso doble clad in black leather. It's strong and powerful with Sasha being the matador (usually the male role), though it loses some steam near the end. Their second dance is a Tyce Diorio piece where they just sort of dance their hearts out and their passion shows; they are definitely in the top 10 now. Jordan plays a vulturous woman preying on Tadd in a Travis Wall piece, and it's nice to see the darker side of Travis. Jordan and Tadd can really shine, which is probably good since their other routine sucked (see next paragraph). Caitlynn is super-hot as a quasi-adulteress and even gets to slap Mitchell across the face, though she gives a lot of dance recital faces that bug me (and Nigel). Jess and Clarice's jive is so fun and happy that it's hard to not enjoy it. Their hip hop was danced well too, but the routine was too hokey for me (sorry Christopher Scott, but I don't think your work on this show is any good).

Worst. Ryan and Rickey do a Broadway routine about a movie poster coming to life. It's danced meh, it's a tad bit dull, not extremely challenging, and doesn't help them since they are unpopular. Their cha cha is fast and Ricky does well, but Ryan is sloppy and they don't have much sexy chemistry so it didn't work well. Caitlynn and Mitchell represent the children of Uganda fighting in war in their hip hop. Ummm yeah. Unlike other routines that take on social issues, this one isn't good and they aren't synchronized. Jordan plays Sleeping Beauty in a Broadway routine to "Out Tonight" from Rent. There's just something that doesn't click about this. The pacing/timing is weird, Jordan makes dumb faces, and it's corny.

Results show! The group performs what seems like an eternity in a ballroom/jazz fusion thing. More importantly, guest judge Jesse Tyler Ferguson foretold the future the night before as Cat Deeley was nominated for an Emmy for best reality show host. The show was also nominated for best reality series and numerous choreographers (Travis Wall, FTW!). The downer of the episode is that 2 dancers will get cut and not get to dance with the All Stars. Who are the All Stars? Well not Alex Wong who snapped his other tendon a week ago. This show really does not want him back in karmic ways. The All Stars are Melody (S1), Allison (S2), my boyfriend Pasha (S3), Twitch, Comfort, Chelsie (S4), Brendon (S5), Kathryn (S6), and Robert (S7).

The bottom 3 couples are Caitlynn/Mitchell, Ryan/Rickey, and Sasha/Alexander. Wait, the one week I finally don't call Alexander awful he ends up in the bottom? Oh world, you amuse me. Alexander's solo is god awful, so bad that I am willing to take a hit in my fantasy team to never see him dance again. Ryan and her giant mouth are eliminated from the girls in a unanimous vote, however the guys vote was 3-1 and Alex is eliminated for his horrendous solo. Well I've wanted him gone for weeks and it's happened. Too bad I didn't put him in any spots to earn some points.


Photo Credits: BuddyTV.com, FoodNetwork.com

Read More

Reality Rundown: Hot Tamale Train to Elimination

Next Food Network Star • So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - The "stars" are brought to the LA food landmark Mel's Diner (like me!) where they are greeted by a bleached porcupine in a red convertible: it's Guy Fieri! Guy explains the Camera Challenge, which is that each of them will host segments of a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives fake episode. Turns out, everyone is pretty terrible at hosting except Whitney who is likable and natural. Highlights of the worst: Susie makes up words, Penny keeps interrupting the waitress, Jeff's interviewee grows to hate him, and Hipster Justin picks up a hip hop persona.

Magically, it's the Fourth of July in TV land and the Star Challenge is to cook an All American Food Festival sponsored by MGD 64 (more product placement- drink!). They are randomly assigned dishes and it's Orchid who gets most screwed since she gets brisket with merely 2 hours to prep. Along with serving the 150 guests, each "star" needs to do a 3 minute presentation to that crowd. Susie and Vic are the best presenters, getting across personal family stories while also presenting the food. Mary Beth comes across as a pro, with the words flowing smoothly and naturally. Jeff is OTT with a flag cape, guitar and headband. The crowd hates Penny, which is hilarious. Jyll immediately admits Mexican cuisine defeat. Hipster Justin adopts a new personality again, this time of a maybe more annoying Guy Fieri. Even Guy tells him to get a grip, so you know that's not good.

In the judging panel, the top 3 are Susie, Vic, and Jeff. Vic made a more sophisticated lobster roll and had a nice story about his grandmother threatening him with a rolling pin. Jeff's craziness won over the crowd and his pretzel crusted chicken sandwich finally gave him "sandwich king" cred. Susie had a great personal anecdote, spicy ribs, and a really unique and flavorful slaw; she is the winner of the week.

The bottom 2 are Orchid, Jyll, and Justin. Penny almost makes the bottom for being a bitch that the public doesn't like, but her food was too good to eliminate. Orchid's problem is that her brisket wasn't done enough and she's not growing in the competition. Jyll comes off as a frigid TV news anchor and easily admitted defeat for her carne asade. However, Hipster Justin is the one heading out the door for a gross hamburger and his ever-changing personalities.

So You Think You Can Dance - The top 14 perform in front of the massive audience and "esteemed" panel of judges. I'm using quotes because Carmen Electra is a judge this week, so maybe strip aerobics is a genre this week? But the hugest news ever is Travis Wall joins the judging panel for the first time- yay! Some credibility is back!

There are 2 group routines, just like last week. New choreographer Justin Giles crafts a routine for the 7 guys, with each playing a different stage of the grieving process. With spotlights on each guy as they dance their stage of grief, it's a beautiful routine and what I see as the first of many amazing routines by Justin. The girls do a jazz routine of 7 sexy women ridding the world of men. Last week they poisoned them, this week rejoicing at their funeral. Hot? It's a sassy routine to a kind of creepy song; I dig it! I am loving the influx of new choreographers this week. Having these new minds in the mix brings new styles of dancing but also gets us viewers to truly vote for dancing and not our favorite choreographer.

Time for the best! Marko and Melanie play 2 kids who run off to elope in a jazz piece by newbie Ray Leeper. They have red hot chemistry and Melanie earns the title of Travis' favorite dancer in the competition. Clarice and Jess team up with Justin Giles (2 routines in a week for the newbie!) for a contemporary piece about a couple whose relationship is ending. This is a dance this couple really needed to show they can be serious and emotional when they dance, especially dance clown Jess. Ryan and Ricky perform a jazz routine by Chucky Klapow (not related to the Chucky doll) about "cult of fashion" members. I'm expecting Party Monster club kids and am so excited. It's 80's glam to David Bowie's "Fashion" and I love its quirkiness. Caitlynn and Mitchell fall in love in a Mandy Moore contemporary routine. There's such a happy energy with spins, lifts, and passion. Such a refreshing change from all the breakup routines tonight! Favorite of the night!

And the bottom. In a smooth waltz choreographed by Toni Redpath, Jordan plays a singing siren (like a mermaid) seducing Tadd. It's danced very well and a pretty routine, but maybe not exciting or memorable enough to lock in votes. It's not that they were bad, just not the best. Sasha needs a new partner stat, as Alexander totally brings her down in a hip hop routine by another new choreographer, Shaun Evaristo. The dance is Alexander trying to get a kiss but with his horrible moves and the lack of chemistry, it's a definite no. Ashley and Chris join yet another new choreographer, Liz Lira, for a sexy salsa. I know I harp on them every week, but it stinks and is sloppy, not sexy.

Results show! The group performs an energetic Bollywood routine with costumes in every color of the rainbow. Enough fun, let's get to the soul crushing. The bottom 3 couples are Chris/Ashley, Jordan/Tadd, and Ryan/Ricky. Sasha is clearly carrying Alexander, and I'm pissed cause they fudged up my fantasy scores. Time filler: Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet performs, more talk of that dumb National Dance Day, and a performance by Florence and the Machine. To get the best fantasy points I'd like Chris gone, but his solo is slammin'. Heading home for the girls is Ashley, though warnings are given to the remaining girls to step up their dancin'. Despite an amazing solo, Chris' work with choreography sends him home with his partner.


Photo Credits: BuddyTV.com, FoodNetwork.com

Read More

Reality Rundown: This Blog Post Brought to You by Kellogg's

Food Network Star • Finale! The Voice •
So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - The "stars" are greeted by former winner, Melissa D'Arabian, and a room full of Kellogg's products to create an "impressive and sophisticated" bite size hors d'oeuvre for the Camera Challenge. The judge for the challenge is Iron Chef Michael Symon, who I heart greatly. Susie doesn't get the product name right, but hipster Justin (as opposed to dullard Justin) more awesomely sounds like he says his dish tastes like "human" than "cumin." Jeff makes a poop joke faux-pas thanks to his bran joke. Jyll is the winner of the challenge for her crab cakes with Rice Krispies. Chris makes a surprising improvement and is #2 this week for his harnessed performance of corn flake chicken nuggets.

The Star Challenge is to cater a lunch in teams for the cast and crew of Cougar Town inspired by the different groups that work there: art department, crew, writers, vanities, and cast. Penny considers herself a cougar so is soo excited; vomit. She's not so excited to be paired with Mary Beth and the feeling is mutual. Hipster Justin misheards Susie over the phone and buys 2 boxes of quinoa instead of 10. Yeah, big difference there. His salmon is also chock full of bones so he better do a good job pokin' around there. Jeff/dullard Justin can't find ground chicken or turkey, so Jeff wants to get tofu. Later in the kitchen they get an inspirational talk from this week's guest judge, Paula Deen. The advice is not, "More butter, y'all," much to my surprise.

At the set, Bobby and Paula interview the "stars" as they do final meal prep and that's when Paula gives butter advice. The crew member announces it's time for lunch and in come the crowds. The stars of the show get to sit at a fancy table and get served while the rest of the crew it's buffet style, because they are lowly crew. Chris is a pleasant surprise again, while Orchid gets a little starstruck. Jeff uses his personality to charm the panel into liking his tofu, while dullard Justin keeps up with his nickname. Paula surprisingly likes the tofu dish, as does the rest of the diners. Hipster Justin still has a boring personality, Whitney's dish was a boring snack of vegetables, and Susie's called a spitfire and made a tasty dish. Vic impresses the rich and famous and his food is hearty, despite being vegetarian. Jill made salad- BFD. The best part is they like Mary Beth, hate Penny and her burnt tasting mac and cheese- ha!

The judges pick a winner from each team, and then the losers are up for elimination. Highlights of the best: Vic is praised for his turnaround and Jeff is given kudos for making the best tofu any of the panel has ever tasted. The winners (safe people) are Jeff, Orchid, Mary Beth, Susie, and Vic. Aaand the worst: Jyll made a confusing salad, dullard Justin is still boring and his food wasn't even good enough to back it up, and hipster Justin has an identity crisis. Penny's mac and cheese is discussed and loudmouth Chris pipes in that he thought the cheese was burnt, pissing her off more. Jyll and Chris are quickly dismissed to safety, leaving Penny, Whitney, and the two Justins. For some reason, the panel is pretending viewers would like watching some major bitch host a show, so they keep Penny. Out of the competition is Justin B aka dullard Justin because watching paint dry is more interesting than him.

Finale! The Voice - The coaches decided "just hours ago" (suuuure) to perform Queen's "Under Pressure" to symbolize this experience for their finalists. Since there's 2 hours and only 4 contestants, I expect a lot of time filler. Each finalist will sing twice: once with their coach and once with an original song. Ughhhh, why?

Javier and Adam collabo with producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins for his original song. His song is called "Stitch by Stitch" and it's a well-written song but boring. I'd change the radio station if this came on. Javier's duet with Adam is to "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson, a personal favorite. Now I want to watch Captain EO on YouTube. In rehearsals I liked the duet, but live it doesn't work for me. It's missing something.

Dia and Blake duet to "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty and it's sung really well and a great performance, even if their Men in Black inspired costumes make them look like a-holes. Her original song is written by a dude who's worked with Adele, which is perfect for Dia. "Inventing Shadows" has Dia sitting at the piano (surprise!) with some backup dancers behind screens. She sings it well but all I can picture while listening is long, lingering Grey's Anatomy glances in montage form. Just not my cup of tea but I plenty of folks that are Dia's fans.

Vicci's original song is produced by Butch Walker, Cee-lo's "homeboy" and he's worked with Pink and Dashboard Confessional. Vicci also feels Cee-lo's producing capabilities is an asset the other contestants don't have. Her song "Afraid to Sleep" is really good, though I think she was a little flat at times. Her dance moves are a little corny too, but I think with some more time to finesse the song it could be a strong radio single. Vicci and Cee-lo's duet song choice is amazing: "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. YES! The live performance is over the top with mediocre child break dancers, with Cee-Lo dressed like Bowser and Vicci sort of Mad Max looking without being covered in a layer of dirt. It's a fun performance but in all honesty it doesn't sound that great. It sounds like when I played Band Hero for hours and I did drums and vocals.

Christina's duet with her finalist Beverly pays homage to an artist Christina loves: herself. No surprise, she has the bald woman sing "Beautiful" with her cause get it, Beverly is beautiful too even if she has a shaved head. Gaaaah. The thing is, I think Beverly is so damn good so even with this stupid song choice I love the performance. Beverly sings so well that she distracts me from the maroon hat Christina snatched from Blossom's closet. Beverly's original song is titled "Lovesick" and it's good upbeat single, especially for her voice. She also dances around to the point of laying on the piano. Beverly rules, for realsies.

Based on all 4 finalists' performances over the night, and despite me not being her fan, I predict Dia will win The Voice. So let's fast forward and head on over to the results show.

Finale! If the crowd cheers are any indication in announcing the final 4, Dia's a shoo-in to win (my mom pointed out she was the top song on iTunes- sorry LMFAO, you're out).

Each of the final 4 gets to perform one last time with a famous musician. Vicci Martinez performs "Drops of Jupiter" with the lead singer of Train. I didn't think I could hate this song enough, but nope I can hate it more. Crappy duet and Vicci's weird bounce dancing- fast forward! Javier is joined by Stevie Nicks to sing "Landslide," a song I absolutely love though I kind of wish Beverly got to sing with Stevie. That aside, it is an amazing performance, with beautiful harmonizing together. Great duet! Beverly sings "Good Life" with that guy from One Republic because... honestly, I don't know. Kind of a random choice, as random as Beverly's super long suit coat. This is not a good duet- fast forward! Blake adds one to the spank bank, having his wife, country singer Miranda Lambert, sing with his finalist, Dia.

Results are in! Carson tells us, or should I say poorly reads from a teleprompter, that the winner and runner-up were only 2% apart. Following the iTunes charts mold, the top 2 are Dia and Javier (they were the #1 and #2 single). The winner of The Voice is... JAVIER. So Adam Levine coached a champ and the guy who was used in the original promos to show an amazing voice won. The end!

So You Think You Can Dance - This is such a tough night to decide best and worst, mainly because I am rocking the HitFix Fantasy SYTYCD League after week 1 and I want to stay in the top. Lil' C, king of Krump, and Kristin Chenowith, of Broadway, Pushing Daisies, Glee, and other awesomeness, sits in on the judge's pangel for the Top 16. Along with the partners, they 16 are split into 2 groups for routines. One group does a Tyce Diorio Broadway with lots of chair dancing to "Hit the Road, Jack." It's a fun routine with a little 'tude and lots of tossed chairs. The other group routine at the end of the episode is medieval women poisoning men. It's actually sort of a sad romantic routine as they lovingly dance and eventually convince the men to drink the poison and die. Debbie Downer alert!

Best: Miranda portrays an "upper class working girl" (that means prostitute, dummies) for a Broadway routine with her partner Robert. It's sexy and has this sort of Gregory Hines (faux) tapping bit I like a lot. Good thing for that week 1 reprieve of these 2 could've been toast. In a Nappytabs lyrical hip hop piece, Markko plays a jilted groom who realizes that Melanie, his BFF, is the one he really loves and stays by his side. The story is great, Markko's watery eyes are so honest, and the dancing is amazing. Still my favorite couple! This leads the judges to all make out with each other (not kidding), including Nigel and Lil' C- HOTNESS! Rickey/Ryan are a couple in love, but full of heartbreak, in a contemporary piece by kooky Sonja. I pegged these 2 before the episode as bottom 3 shoo-ins, but the routine, which includes spinning Ryan out of a ribbon wrapped around her body, is beautiful and emotional. Jess is a crooner who sweeps a Clarice off her feet in a foxtrot. I think they both dance it well, but I also know these two are pretty low in popularity polls. I'm so torn!

Middle of the pack: Sasha and Alexander's routine is contemporary (by Dee Caspbary), meaning they both really lucked out again. Sasha's character is the memory Alexander has lost. It's a routine full of energy and amazing jumps, oh and Sasha hiding inside a piano and popping her hands out like a creepy magic show. Alexander does get some advice to learn to connect to the audience better, which is true. I much prefer Sasha over him. Caitlynn/Mitchell perform a hot and spicy samba choreographed by my beloved Jean-March Generaux!! Lots of sexy hips swishing and shimmies- all the good ballroom stuff. At the beginning it was a slam dunk, but now I wonder if they'll fall to the bottom for not being as memorable. Jordan/Tadd wake up after a crazy night of one night stand bangin' and end up in each other's clothes. It's a good routine but I think they lack chemistry and Tadd is way stronger than Jordan in the dance. I know the judges loved it, but fans also aren't digging Jordan.

Worst: It's yet another kooky Sonja jazz routine, this time danced by Ashley and Chris. Decked out as Beetlejuice Swamp Things I guess, but I never connected with the piece and found myself bored.

After a really unsynchronized and kind of dull group routine we jump into the results show. The bottom 3 are: Ashley/Chris, Miranda/Robert, Caitlynn/Mitchel. FFFF my fantasy team of predicting the bottom 3 is screwed. Instead of Caitlynn/Mitchell I had Clarice/Jess. Damn my top scores are ruined! Time fillers into a performance by dance troupe Access (he's in a wheelchair!) and some ballroom dance champions- no lip synched performance by a singer! In a not unanimous decision, Miranda is eliminated for the girls. Her partner, Robert, goes along with her.



Photo Credits: BuddyTV, FoodNetwork.com

Read More

Reality Rundown: Whoopie Pie Connoisseur

Food Network Star • The Voice •
So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - Why is this show 90 minutes now? Gah. The Camera Challenge is to make Hershey's chocolate products into dinner. A vending machine randomly assigns their candy and there's Reese's, Peppermint Patty's, etc. I'd name them all but I'm not getting paid to promote their candy like these fools are. Chris puts notes on his hand as if he's about to take an exam and never studied. Vic dips asparagus in chocolate (bleckh) and made an overcomplicated dish, while Alicia continues to be the worst on-camera presence ever and made something that tasted more dessert-y. Jyll is the winner for some her Almond Joy shrimp and great performance; as winner, Jyll gets an advantage in the Star Challenge which I hope includes a name re-spelling.

After hanging around in the "butler's pantry" (seriously Food Network), the chefs re-enter the kitchen to find Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman and Restaurant: Impossible/former fraud Robert Irvine in the kitchen. The "stars" are split into two teams of six (one cooks for Robert, one for Duff) and most create an "over-the-top" dessert display, must feed 150 guests, and each make their own dessert as well as two team dishes. Jyll is able to pick her team (Duff, who wants kind of kind desserts) and her teammates: all the women except bitchy Penny. Smart move! Team Robert (sophisticated desserts) are all the guys and Penny.

In the kitchen, the men's team is loud and spilling, while the lady's side is calm, quiet, and full of girl power camaraderie. However, Alicia is still a frazzled nut who might not remember her cake recipe which is clutch for her cupcakes and the team dessert (cake pops). Susie's churro tanks so she comes up with a plan to call them pancakes. You know, that classic dessert of pancakes- durrr. There's a cookie disaster, but they try to turn it into a crumble. On Team Robert, the only thing messier than Chris is their actual kitchen, which is covered in pastry excess. When Robert notices there is no leader, he forces the team to select one so it's culinary talented but boring to watch Justin. The bigger problem is that Chris' cakes suck so Justin wants to remove these atrocious messes from the menu. Last minute, they make some fennel seed ice cream or something pretentious like that. Hurricane Chris drops his pies all over the floor and burns himself. God, go home already!

The displays are set (Team Robert's is eye-catching thanks to some boxes that Penny fought the women over) and the crowds roll in. The women are really personable and welcoming, while Chris is schmoozing with the ladies- ugh. Alicia and Susie's dishes are pretty terrible, with a cupcake being compared to cornbread and the pancake chewy. Penny has to prove Team Duff was so bad that she digs in the trash to show the remnants of terrible desserts. The judging panel hate the desserts on Team Duff as well, with a few exceptions (Whitney's cream puffs, Jyll's carmelized banana sandwich dipped in chocolate, Orchid's chocolate pecan pie). On Team Robert, Chris offends the panel by speaking only to Bobby Flay and ignoring the others. Their presentation is bland and but many of their desserts are delicious, a surprise since they are a team of cooks not bakers. Vic's cream puff with a tequila filling pleases the panel, Justin's corn pudding is tasty but should've had real corn, and Penny's dessert is a slam dunk. If only she wasn't a complete a-hole most of the time. Chris' dessert and Bobby obsession sucks.

Panel deliberation time. Team Robert discusses their hectic leadership. The panel worries that Penny won't translate into a likable person for viewers. Justin B's dishes are tasty, maybe a little easy, but he's a dullard. Other Justin is sort of the same- he doesn't stick out. The panel unanimously loves Vic's dessert, and hate Chris' tart and his Bobby Flay obsession while ignoring the others. They are the winning team and unfortunately Chris is still on this show. Kill us now.

Team Duff sucked. Their personality and presentation was wonderful, but the food made the diners gag with a few exceptions. I wish they'd just give Orchid the prize cause she's awesome, but the panel says she's not growing. Alicia takes credit for some leadership but also learns her cupcakes were underbaked (she's shocked). For someone who makes cupcakes for a living, that's pretty damn sad. She breaks down again. The bottom group are Alicia, Susie and her failed churro pancake, and Mary Beth's runny milkshake. We've saved from another cryfest next week and Alicia is eliminated.

The Voice - I'm not even kidding when I say Christina Aguilera's stylist should be tarred and feathered in front of a public audience. Honestly, she dresses so fucking terribly. The only thing worst than Christina's outfits is Carson Daly's wooden hosting. How does a many host TRL for like 8 years and someone still have an NBC late night show have such terrible hosting skills?

Anyways, Cee-Lo's team gets the verdict from the votes. America saves Vicci Martinez who sang that amazing rendition of "Jolene." Cee-Lo gets his choice of a save which includes the longest rambling ever of god knows what. My beloved American Juniors are eliminated and Nakia, aka Not Horatio Sanz is saved in the competition. Then Adam Levine's team comes up and the most obvious vote ever is revealed: America saved Javier. Adam doesn't know what to do, babbles on (I fast forwarded), and eventually saves Casey (eventhough his original plan was to save Jeff). What sucks most is being told I was going to save you but nah, nevermind. Sorry mah man.

So the 8 semi-finalists perform and we vote and one person from each team will move to the finals based on our votes and the coach's score. Frenchie performs "Like A Prayer" with some weird disco beat, which I think sort of ruins the song. Nakia is assigned Adam Lambert's "What Do You Want From Me", which allows me to internally scream that in my head. He performs in a white suit at a piano, keeping with Cee-Lo's trend of trying to make a current song super artsy when instead it's like Meatloaf. "Losing my Religion" by REM is Dia Frampton's song so it'll be acoustically delightful. If I liked folksy Grey's Anatomy music anymore I'd totally love Dia, but it's not my style. However, I think she stands the best chance of winning besides Javier. Because Adam Levine loves a good cliche pick, he has Casey do "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston. Seriously Adam? Find a new song catalog. It's a super pitchy performance more like the Dolly Parton version, but at least her dress is adorable.

Beverly McClellan sings BB King's "The Thrill is On" dressed like a vampire, as my roommate points out. But man Beverly sing; can I mention again she's my favorite? Fan favorite Javier goes for a weepy Coldplay song (but adds some rock pizazz) and it's another fantastic performance though he has some crazy facial ticks and squints. He even goes sans-hat, a first for him. The awkwardness that is Xenia sings something by The Script? Never heard of them and again, her Grey's Anatomy soundtrack voice doesn't appeal to me. Vicci Martinez closes the show with Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over" which is overplayed, but I bet Vicci can rock it. For some reason they give her a pompadour and some drums to play with a drum circle (but not in an actual circle).

Filler time, besides a lot of coaches blabbing about nothing. Maroon 5 performs their new "Moves Like Jagger" single and Christina Aguilera comes on stage in her Forever 21 hot mess of an outfit to sing. She sings better than she is styled. Blake Shelton performs some song called "Honeybee" (how dare his disgrace my name origin) with his team of ladies (Xenia, Dia) too but I mute it. We also see the system for votes: coaches score + audience vote score. The coaches votes split 100 points between their team and write it on enevelopes that we'll see on the results show. My prediction for the final 4: Cee-Lo- Vicci, Christina- Beverly, Blake- Dia, Adam- Javier.

The 8 perform as a group to George Michael's "Freedom" (no "I Want Your Sex"?). It is way better than Idol, that's for damn sure. Cee-Lo is a huge time waster by babbling about the troops and reading a poem. In the least surprising thing ever, Cee-Lo split his points as 51 Nakia, 49 Vicci. Wow, way to take a stance. America's "score" counteracts the 2 point different and Vicci Martinez advances and Nakia is eliminated. Cee-Lo then performs and I fast forward cause I don't curr.

Adam Levine's team jams with him and Gym Class Heroes then faces judgement. Adam gave Javier 65 points and Casey 35; he explains it's because Casey is young and has a career ahead of her and Javier needs to stay in to "play the game." Playing to win, nice one Adam. America obviously agrees and Javier moves on. Blake brings Xenia and Dia on the road with him to perform; Blake went 50/50 on the points, another non-shocker. The most obvious decision ever is revealed and Dia Framption stays alive. Team Christina is probably the only close battle of the night: the battle of the baldies. Both women are such powerful singers, but I thought Frenchie's disco Madonna last night didn't work. It's no surprise that Christina splits her 100 points evenly which to me means this whole point system was a big waste. My pick, Beverly McClellan, moves onto the finals- yay! So go me for getting all of the final 4 correct- I rule!

So You Think You Can Dance - No one got eliminated last week, so all 10 couples perform again and 4 dancers are gonna get cut. The guest judge of the week is Debbie Reynolds? I hope she tells stories of being berated by Gene Kelly.

Let's first go over my favorites of the night. Caitlynn and Mitchell work with Stacy Tookey on a contemporary piece about a girl who is too insecure to leave her controlling boyfriend. It's beautifully danced and their emotions are so real- loved it. They get so into it Mitchell even cuts Caitlynn's nose- what an abuser. Wooo Robert and blaaah Miranda perform a Nappytabs hip hop routine about a woodpecker. Yeah, just go with it. I liked this routine more than I thought I would and was surprised at Miranda's ability. Though I did think they lost steam about 3/4 of the way through. Overall, I dug it a lot, especially Debbie Reynolds' Woody Woodpecker impression. Jordan and Tadd are tasked with the Viennese Waltz with Jean-Marc Genereux (!!). I think the dance is really pretty. I also like Jordan's purple dress- it's so sparkly and such a good purple shade. It's surprising how good Tadd is at the waltz considering he's a b-boy.

I have 3 middle ground routines. Melanie and Markko are totally adorabz still and do a jazz routine with some sweet bowler hats. Markko drops his hat at some point but overall I like it though it might be my Melanie-love bias. Sasha and Alexander dance a topical hip hop piece about a soldier coming back from Afghanistan and reuniting with his wife. I'm torn because Sasha is beyond amazing in the routine; I can't look away from her. Alexander, in my opinion, was a clunker. I think the storyline biased the judges from truly evaluating them properly. Clarice and Jess' contemporary is danced well but something about it gets neither the thumbs up or down from me. Maybe it's because Jess had a dumbass costume.

And now my least favorites. Rickey and Ryan get a Mandie Moore an X-rated jazz routine to 80's classic "Addicted to Love." There's a lot of pelvic thrusts, Ryan has George Washington hair and makes ugly faces; I didn't care for it but the judges loved the skankiness. Missy and Wadi take on a cha cha with my most favorite choreographer, Jean-Marc Genereux and his fantastic French accent. Missy's leopard costume is so unflattering with side straps that give the illusion of rolls. Wadi gets the brunt of the criticism, while Missy gets praise. It's not very memorable. Iveta and Nick get the dance everybody wants: Bollywood! I think the judges overly praise the Bollywood routines. They said it was entertaining and yes it was fun, but it wasn't synchronized at all. How did they not miss this? They are really trying to make Iveta last. Chris and Ashley tell the story of a woman visiting her man behind bars for a Broadway routine. They had me at the Crybaby soundtrack for "Please Mr. Jailer," but they lost me with zero chemistry. It was supposed to be super sexy but it wasn't at all (but the judges love it- Mary even puts it on her famous Hot Tamale Train); it just makes me want to pull out my Crybaby DVD and watch the original scene.

The top 20 dance as a big ass group again, choreographed by Dave Scott, dressed in coat, tie, and plain bermuda shorts. I enjoy the simulated slo-mo stage walking at the end best. Four dancers are eliminated tonight and since there's only 6 dancers in the bottom, this should get interesting. The bottom 3 are... imaginary drum roll please... Melissa and Wadi's terrible cha cha, "29 year old" Iveta and her partner Nick's uncoordinated Bollywood, and hammy-faced Ryan and Rickey.

The time fillers of the night include shoving Gatorade product placement down our throats (and learning to eat ice cream sundaes instead of a sleeve of crackers), a performance by Rage Crew (teen and kid dance crew that's really talented), and a pitchy performance by LMFAO with Quest [crew] as their backup dancers. They didn't even perform "Shots" but just know I'll sing that in my head all night anyways.

The solos are good times as always. I really enjoy the musicality of Wadi's breakin' but it's not the best breakin' solo ever. Rickey truly dances for his life and it's awesome- I think it's more anti-Ryan votes than non-Rickey fans. Poor Iveta (aka Xuxa) has to do that ballroom shimmying around the stage alone which is always really weird to watch. Ryan of course makes more ridiculous faces when she dances. The judges deliberate and are unanimous with their decision. For the women, Ryan stays and Iveta and Missy go. For the men, Rickey stays for his amazing solo, eliminating Wadi and Nick. Man, I predict well!


Photo Credits: BuddyTV.com, FoodNetwork.com

Read More

Reality Rundown: Some Losers' Eliminations Delayed for 1 Week

Food Network Star • The Voice •
So You Think You Can Dance

Food Network Star - The Camera Challenge is to create a pizza to reflect their culinary style and also present their pizza on-camera with a story to back it up. Bad news is that there's a twist: after today's Camera Challenge, one person will be eliminated. My favorite presentation is Katy's, not because it's good but because her personal story is that she made pizza with a "Chinese worker." The winner is Penny, whose story of being a Middle Eastern mama with a pizza to match worked better than her sexpot approach. Juba, Vic and Justin are the bottom 3. Juba's presentation sucked and his pizza was undercooked. Justin was awkward in front of the camera, while Vic spoke for 20 seconds and totally blanked after he brought up his mom (but he at least served food for once). Juba is eliminated.

The wannabe stars return to the studio for their Star Challenge: make restaurant food accessible. There are 3 restaurant style dishes which they'll have to recreate for the home cook, while also being time consuming. There's red wine braised short rib (time), abalone with caviar berblanc (expensive), and sweet soy glazed pork belly and scallion pancakes (technically difficult). They are split into 3 groups and will compete against each other and Penny gets the honors of assigning the dishes. Abalone: Orchid, Justin B, Vic, and Chris; Pork belly: Whitney, Jeff, Jyll, Justin D, Alicia; Short Ribs: Penny, Mary Beth, Susie, Katy. In side interviews we learn that Penny assigned the dishes to handicap her biggest competition: Orchid.

The big shocker is who will be eating the food: all the Food Network chefs who also have restaurants. Talk about an intimidating panel. The selection committee is in the kitchen as the "stars" prep and will ask them questions, since a host needs to be able to do two things at once.

Highlights of the kitchen: Mary Beth charms the selection panel. Katy's red wine reduction ignites into a fireball on the stove (it's awesome). Later, Katy gets a nice ripping into from Anne Burrell who points out Katy has a plastered on fake smile. Jeff makes the panel laugh while sweating into his spring rolls. Whitney's food delights, but she's such a frigid, unfriendly face at times that it's not appealing. Alicia is a flustered mess, making the creepiest faces that stress out the panel (she cries post-judging). Orchid uses canned oysters, appalling the panel. Chris can't find vermouth so uses pernot, but doesn't know what it is. Justin is a dullard.

At the judging panel, Penny is probed about her strategy to take out other competitors, like sabotaging Orchid and putting herself again other women she figured she could beat. The women are rightfully offended, but loudmouth Chris admires the gameplay. Since we just watched them get judged in the kitchen, the panel room comes off as repetitive. The 3 winners in their categories are robotic Whitney, steadily-improving Mary Beth, and Justin B based solely on food and not being a real-life Frankenstein. The bottom 3 are frenetic crybaby Alicia, Katy and her overcomplicated dish, and douchebag Chris. Katy is eliminated because her food had way too many ingredients and maybe because her smile would never disappear from that head of hers.

The Voice - Carson Daly intently reads a teleprompter to explain the voting or whatever. Christina fake cries about being so attached to her team. America saves my girl Beverly, the bald white woman (and Carson promptly rubs her head in celebration). Christina also gets to save one of the women from going home and to stay to sing: she selects Frenchie. "Bald girls unite!" says my roommate.

Tori and Taylor are the first from Cee-Lo's team and performs "Boogey Woogey Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters. Maybe they heard this on a Kidz Bop album? I love these girls and wanted to love the performance, but it doesn't sound great and the blonde's voice is way better since it sticks out. Soul singer Vicci Martinez sings "Jolene" by Dolly Parton and I'm hoping for great things cause that is a tight-ass song. Man, she is amazing. She also spells her name like VICI from Small Wonder and since that's my avatar I think we are kindred spirits, or bosom friends if you are an Anne of Green Gables fan. Horatio Sanz-doppelganger Nakia takes on Kings of Leon and because this show is all about the VOICE they distract you with backup dancers spinning flames. But he is pretty good despite the fire show behind him. Curtis Grimes, the country guy, is assigned 80s classic "Addicted to Love" and I can't imagine this being listenable. Maybe it's good if you like country but it's an earsore for me.

Casey Weston is Adam's team's leadoff; she sings that "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" song or whatever by KT Tunstall. I'm not a country-ish person but I kind of like her performance and I'm all for drumming on plastic barrels. More surprising: Christina finally breaks the mold and gives valid criticism/advice (and then Cee-Lo follows). Devon, the nerdo, performs One Republic's "Stop and Stare." He doesn't have the chops to pull it off for me and I think it's an average performance overall. Jeff Jenkins, the chunky guy who made a creepy comment about wanting to date "the legal Thompson sister", jumps into the passenger seat of "Jesus Take the Wheel." The winter wonderland backdrop and his emotional story about the song can't distract from how crappy he sounds. But maybe that's only me because the coaches loved him?

Cee-Lo's team meets at a spa together and we're spared of seeing Cee-Lo in a white robe. They then put on some funky 70s threads and perform "Everyday People." It's the saddest modern day interpretation of The Patridge Family ever. Cee-Lo rocks a wonderful Richard Simmons-esque, bringing a smile to the world (ok, not really, he always dresses like a goof). Team Adam keeps their clothes on and simply has a nice meal at Adam's home. Him and his posse sing "I Get By With A Little Help of My Friends" aka The Wonder Years themesong. I guess that Chicken Little looking kid is playing the role of Paul? Javier, the crown jewel of the show, is the final performance and performs Sarah MacLachlan's "Angel." Cue the faces of sad puppies. It's an amazing performance and it doesn't make me think of sad animals.

The show wraps up the save results for Blake's team. In the most obvious vote ever, America's save goes to Dia for her performance of "Heartless." Anyone else remember when Kris Allen did an acoustic guitar version of "Heartless" on Idol? I do. In a move that boggles my mind, Blake saves awkward Xenia, sending his dudes home. She has zero personality so yeah, great move!

So You Think You Can Dance - The top 20 are assembled and pairing and now the dancing begins! Joining Nigel and Mary Murphy is guest judge Megan Mullaly aka Tammy 2 aka Lydia from Party Down aka Karen from Will and Grace. It's like a bit of Ron Swanson is with us tonight. Already there is an injury: Mitchell injured his elbow so is put into the bottom 3 for tomorrow night to dance for his life. Sucky! Because there's a of dancers, I'll focus on my best of and worst of, as I usually do.

Best! Melanie and Marko win for most adorable pair and also lucky enough to get a Travis Wall contemporary routine. Painted as statues, the routine is so graceful and the emotions so pure and real. I got chills from this number. Favorite dance of the night by a landslide, favorite couple. Missy and Wadi pair up for a jazz routine where Pandora's Box is opened and sexy demon clones appear. They are a good pair and this routine is pretty awesome and incorporates Wadi's hip hop and parkour skills. Sasha and Alexander are blessed by the choreography gods out of the gate with a Travis Wall contemporary. The piece is genius, as usual, with Alexander being chased by his conscience (which for some reason has a skirt on that resembles goose plumage). Tapper Nick and ballroom/Xuxa doppelganger Iveta get the dreaded quickstep week 1. Good for Iveta the ballroom old lady, but for this show: no one votes for the quickstep. However, it's danced well so kudos since it's usually a 98% hot mess another other season.

Worst is the wrong word so we'll just say, not my faves. None were bad, just some didn't click for me. Ryan and Ricky pull lyrical hip-hop about a guy remembering the love for a girl long gone. It's a nice routine but Ryan smiles so GD much it's distracting and the judges point it out as well (but she was supposed to). Caitlynn's partner Mitchell is injured, so she tackles the Sonya Tayeh jazz piece with season 7's Robert. Swoon alert! The judges really loved it, but I kind of was underwhelmed, despite a few cool moves (like Caitlynn sort of floating on Robert's back). Miranda and Robert (Urkel glasses guy) dance Latin which excites me only because I saw husband and wife ex-contestants Ryan and Ashley assisting choreographer Jason. For the routine Robert rocks silver glasses, which is important to update. It's a really fun, upbeat routine though dressing them like 60s go-go dancers doesn't convey "Latin" to me and the dancing itself was only OK.

Results show! The top 20 dance with canes and I'm didn't dig it. You could almost see them concentrating on the cane maneuvers so the footwork, etc. was sometimes off. The bottom 3 are Jordan/Tadd, Clarice/Jess, and Miranda/Robert; Mitchell is also in the bottom since he didn't dance last night. They all dance for their lives with solos. In time filler, Keri Hilson performs (I say perform because she was obviously lip syching), there's Russian dancing by a pro, and there's a sneak peak at a Lady Gaga video (who I totally forgot got her TV debut on SYTYCD years ago). Oh and she's going to guest judge the show this season; kinda huge even as a non-Gaga fan. There's a big ol' twist: Mitchell and Robert are requested to dance for their life a second time. The judges delay the guy decision by bringing out the ladies, then don't make a decision and bring the guys back out. After dicking around for a long time, no one is eliminated and instead 2 couples will go home next week.


Photo Credits: BuddyTV, FoodNetwork.com

Read More