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SENSATIONAL RANTINGS REGARDING NUTTY, ASTOUNDING, FRIVILOUS, QUIRKY, MAUDLIN, REMINISCENT, EXOTIC, SOCIETAL, OBSCURE AND RANDOM ITEMS OF INTRIGUE
Warning: This video contains footage of an octopus hiding under a coconut shell that it has carried around just in case it needed to hide from something. Watching this footage may contradict your previous assumptions about animal tool use, and may be too adorable for some viewers.
Jakob & Ellenore: Broadway – (Choreographer Tyce Diorio) - This was a great final piece for the two of them because they are both so theatrical. Tyce always does great stuff. Super sassy.
Russell & Ashleigh: Lyrical Jazz – (Choreographer Sonya Tayeh) - This was nice, but ended up being forgettable for me when up against the routines of a similar style we saw tonight. Sonya is one of my favorite choreographers but this was a little tamer than her norm. Russell really can dance anything it seems, and its nice that we got to see these two dance together since Ashleigh's injury prevented that last week.
Ryan & Ellenore: Jazz – (Choreographer Garry Stewart) - I actually thought this choreography was really cool and super unique (great for Ellenore) but it felt a little slow and I agreed with Nigel that though the dance was supposed to be robotic, it left it feeling too cold.
Russell & Ellenore: Paso Doble – (Choreographer Jason Gilkison) - This was nothing special for me. Not as good as the Paso Doble that Kathryn & Legacy did earlier this season, and none of the Paso Doble's this season were as good as some from previous years (Like Jeanine & Brandon last season). Ellenore was beautiful though and Russell was a strong partner.
Jakob & Kathryn: Contemporary – (Choreographers Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden) - They FINALLY got to dance together and they miraculously got a contemporary routine and them together was all I hoped it would be and more! Cheesy and cliche, but true. I'm not familiar with these choreographers, but this piece was just stunning. Why couldn't these two have just danced together from the beginning?! They compliment each other so ideally. Sigh. At least I got to see them dance together once. Best of the night, and not just because these two are my favorites. This piece just perfectly represents exactly why they have been my favorites.
Ryan & Ashleigh: Contemporary – (Choreographer Travis Wall) - This was very lovely and very, very sweet to watch, them being married in real life and all, and finally getting to dance together on the show. Getting Contemporary right after the perfection of the Kathryn/Jakob Contemporary seemed a little unfair though. This was a tender piece for them to get to do together, but since they are both Latin Ballroom dancers its really to bad we didn't get to see them dance something together in that style to finish out the show.So last year a new show on ABC started called Castle. It just sort of had a half season in the Spring but then got picked up to come back for a second season this Fall. My cousin Melanie, a woman of excellent taste, mentioned positive reviews about it on her blog in the Spring, and I simply need to concur. It's a procedural drama which isn't typically my cup of tea. (Can I use that idiom if I don't actually drink tea?) Procedural dramas, which are typically focused on police or courtroom stories, usually bore me- I was never into NYPD Blue or any of the Law & Order shows. I liked CSI for the first couple of seasons just because it was so new and different, but soon got over it. For me, its more about the characters than the crime plot. So I only like procedural dramas like the late Ally McBeal or the current Bones or The Mentalist because they have more humor and story arcs than traditional procedural dramas and they have quirky, likable casts.
Castle falls into this category. It stars the wonderful cult favorite Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a famous and arrogant mystery novelist who starts following a straight-laced female detective around to use her as a model for the lead character, Nikki Heat, in a new novel he is writing. She (Det. Kate Beckett, played by the lovely Stana Katic) is of course, not thrilled about this, but he is buddies with the Mayor and gets his way. Creative author that he is, he actually ends up quite an asset to the team, and as they both start to actually like each other but don't want to admit it, hilarity ensues. Currently in the show, the book he was writing based on Det. Beckett, a novel called Heat Wave, was just released with rave reviews and he just got a deal to make it a series and write three more novels based on the Nikki Heat character, aka, Det. Becket, and so she is stuck with him. A fun twist to the traditional crime drama show, and I can't imagine anyone but Nathan Fillion playing Castle.
Well, the writers of the show in reality actually wrote a full novel of Heat Wave, supposedly by 'Richard Castle,' complete with a dedication to the Becket character and reviews by real-life authors, and it came out this past Sept. 29th:
Ashleigh & Legacy- Contemporary & Hip Hop: The first one I really liked. It was creative and entertaining. The lacking of the second routine was totally not their fault, it was the weak choreography and the cheesy/dramatic costumes. Over-the-top costumes can work, but only if the routine is playful or satirical, like the crash test dummies with Ashley & Kupono last season, or the zombie group routine in season two. I found myself rolling my eyes at this one. I though Ashleigh held her own, but I think this new partnership is showing how much Kathryn carried Legacy.
Kathryn & Nathan- Broadway & Rumba: Broadway can often fall flat, and this coming from a declared show tunes fanatic, but they aced it. So good to see Nathan with someone new, though I still think he is overrated. The judges, except for token judge #3 Adam Shankman, thank you Adam, were hard on the Rumba. I completely agree that Nathan had no passion, but come on people, Kathryn absolutely smoldered in this routine. I felt like, though he dances beautifully, Nathan was really just there to showcase Kathryn in both of these numbers. (Do I sound partial? ;)
Ellenore & Jakob- Quickstep & Contemporary: She is soooo likable and he is soooo amazingly bendy. They had a great night. There is no way either of them is in the bottom. Quickstep is not my favorite, but they looked fabulous and did a good job. Their Contemporary was my favorite number of the night. Sonya is quickly becoming my favorite choreographer with Mia gone.
Mollee & Russell- Lyrical Jazz & Jive: Though I thought both of these were great choreography and very well danced, I didn't quite get how over the moon the judges were about this couple and their amazing chemistry. I didn't feel it. I just can't get myself to take Mollee seriously for some reason, even though I will happily acknowledge that she is a very athletic dancer and seems very sweet, and I actually really like Russell, but I was a little surprised by just how fanatical the judges were about them. I wish I could jump on the Mollee bandwagon with everyone else, but just can't quite. I enjoyed both of the numbers but I didn't feel the numbers. If that makes sense ;)
(I couldn't find the Jive)
I actually didn't agree with a lot of the judging tonight and I think its because this is the first week the judges don't get any real say in who gets voted out, so they have to speak up for their favorites while they have any pull. I'm thinking that tonight the girl voted off will be either Noelle or Ashleigh and the guy voted off will be either Ryan or Legacy.