telly natter
I had another Strictly dream during last week. I was watching a round-up programme, weirdly presented by Terry Wogan, that irritated me because he just said what the scores were instead of showing the judges delivering them. Tom and Camilla did some weird spinning on their heads bit in their dance, and James Corden was a contestant (perhaps with Kristina. He'd lost a lot of weight in his face, got a tan, and was talking to camera about how the dancing had finally clicked for him.)
I watched Heroes, Dying of the Light on iPlayer on Thursday night - and figured out how to get it on full screen, which made a big difference.
I sat down knowing that two of the writers were sacked and nobody likes the show anymore...And,
They killed Adam (or did they? She typed optimistically). Like that!? They brought him back…for that!? What a waste, especially as none of this season's new characters have been that engaging. Plz can Anders be cast as an American in something I want to watch.
Otherwise, well, I still like the tortoise. Grunberg did his best, but 'soulmates'! No-one can rescue that. I might grow to like Daphne as a character, but my issues about her and Matt still stand.
I approved of Sylar up to a point, (!!!) although the Petrelli Oedipal mess is a rubbish superpowered soap opera. (The only mildly interesting thing is that Arthur's removal allowed his sons - particularly Peter -'s powers to flourish/develop.) Plus, Milo V. looked hot.
The Claire thing was boooring apart from Mrs B being rather awesome, because it was obvious how it was going to go, and I think Noah picked the wrong lady to work for/with him, because Claire and Mrs B shone far more brightly than her. Ando + Hiro were not that funny or revelatroy, but at least Not!Niki showed some sense. But 'mildly interesting/occassionally funny' doesn't particularly make up for the 'Oh, come on!' factor, which was pretty high. Hence turning to read fanfic, which seems to be spreading from a Molly focus to good Adam/Elle, if anyone knows of any. I immediately went to find Elle/Adam fic and the first one I found was good, and it's all weird, because I only rarely like dysfunctional ships and I was somewhat blah about them in canon, but that's where my brain/inclinations went, and now I've read som good stuff, I want the layers of their screwed-upness. And this is what fic offers. Essentially, ficwriters' explorations, speculations and musings (even unbetaed speculation about Molly and co's future) are more interesting and credible than season 3's frenzy.
Dancing with the Stars
Brooke was back! Yes, it was within her comfort zone, but it was a pretty flawless performance, and team paso doble (sp?) was great. Lance and Lacey saved the cha cha cha from being an unmitigated mess. Despite the picking side thing (flashbacks! to sitting around, bored, waiting until they'd run out of sporting and co-ordinated types) I like the team challen$ge, although they surely can't manage it next week with an odd number.
I'm glad Susan went and that Cody and Edyta got the benefit of the doubt. (He looked about fourteen trying to be sexy, and they might as well have drssed him in flares and been done with it). But it looks like being Brooke and, well, it depends on the dance for the others. I like Cheryl and Maurice as a couple the least. Don't know if it's her, him or them.
Strictly Saturday
Wow! All the women's dresses were either passable or good, and the passable ones worked when they were dencing. High points: Lisa's dress, the fact that Heather was wearing red for a tango (it should be a law that you wear warm colours for a tango) and I really liked Rachel's hair and make-up.
I voted for Austin (why five, Craig, why?) - the clever choreography and story worked for me, and Craig's five was so ludicrous. I laughed myself silly over John and the judging - but I was borderline exhauseted and hysterical last night. I thought Rachel should perhaps listen to Arlene, because Christine, who is a less proficient dancer, manages to communicate her joy when she's dancing - a la last night - which Rachel fails to do. (PS Who do we love the most? Matthew or Brian?) Jodie is loveable, even though she was back to being bad again.
And to be fair, Brendan's unspoken "but WHY didn't we get a 10?" face was deserved. They got no criticisms, made no mistakes (hi Tom and Camilla) and weren't boring (hi Cherie and James) and I say this as so not a Brendan fan. Anyway, the swopping of the top four or five is fascinating, because for all Arlene's "I don't want to hear 'this dance really suits you'", that is the case for Austin and Cherie. Maybe not Tom, it depends more on how much he's focusing. Rachel should just show off her legs, frankly, and Lisa's the unknown quantity
I wonder if the judges will get to send John home tonight. I wonder what will happen if they don't. Will we have a segment on It Takes Two where they go out and chastise members of the public face to face for voting for him?
I live blooged my thoughts on The X-Factor last night, but to recap, everyone went for Mariah Carey's ballady covers and were mostly boring. Alexandra was the best IMO, and Diana was sick, but got a free pass. Louis was bitchy, Cheryl talked nonsense.
X-Factor Results
Why did they have a kettle whistling in the background of 'Hero'? I bet it upset some dogs.
And then the bottom two was announced (in no particular order and the long, dramatic pauses present and correct) and I was a little shocked. I was convinced Daniel would be there. I mean, I GET the voting for John thing, I look forward to his performances every week and he's funny and charming, but all that's keeping Daniel in is pity. Okay, I thought it might have been Rachel or Ruth against him, but both would have been safe. I s'pose Rachel got the 'shouldn't have been there last week' sympathy vote. Or something that reading the tabloids might explain. Ruth did do a terrible vocal and Laura was blah.
I also thought, before they sang, that Laura The Voice would be safe (although she'd never win the show outright). When they sang, Ruth was a million times better than in the first show and Laura was back to being as good as ever, and I realised it would be closer than I thought, but I thought the judges might let it go to dead lock. But then I suppose the 'fight' thing is true - Laura looked very numb when she wasn't singing. I suppose that, unlike Diana and Alexandra, she hasn't learned to perform on the stage or on the TV. I don't like her voice and I don't think she's THAT different. I would also have covered her arms more. But back to the connecting/perfroming thing, I think that Rachel has been guilty of that a lot too, so, I don't know.
I watched Heroes, Dying of the Light on iPlayer on Thursday night - and figured out how to get it on full screen, which made a big difference.
I sat down knowing that two of the writers were sacked and nobody likes the show anymore...And,
They killed Adam (or did they? She typed optimistically). Like that!? They brought him back…for that!? What a waste, especially as none of this season's new characters have been that engaging. Plz can Anders be cast as an American in something I want to watch.
Otherwise, well, I still like the tortoise. Grunberg did his best, but 'soulmates'! No-one can rescue that. I might grow to like Daphne as a character, but my issues about her and Matt still stand.
I approved of Sylar up to a point, (!!!) although the Petrelli Oedipal mess is a rubbish superpowered soap opera. (The only mildly interesting thing is that Arthur's removal allowed his sons - particularly Peter -'s powers to flourish/develop.) Plus, Milo V. looked hot.
The Claire thing was boooring apart from Mrs B being rather awesome, because it was obvious how it was going to go, and I think Noah picked the wrong lady to work for/with him, because Claire and Mrs B shone far more brightly than her. Ando + Hiro were not that funny or revelatroy, but at least Not!Niki showed some sense. But 'mildly interesting/occassionally funny' doesn't particularly make up for the 'Oh, come on!' factor, which was pretty high. Hence turning to read fanfic, which seems to be spreading from a Molly focus to good Adam/Elle, if anyone knows of any. I immediately went to find Elle/Adam fic and the first one I found was good, and it's all weird, because I only rarely like dysfunctional ships and I was somewhat blah about them in canon, but that's where my brain/inclinations went, and now I've read som good stuff, I want the layers of their screwed-upness. And this is what fic offers. Essentially, ficwriters' explorations, speculations and musings (even unbetaed speculation about Molly and co's future) are more interesting and credible than season 3's frenzy.
Dancing with the Stars
Brooke was back! Yes, it was within her comfort zone, but it was a pretty flawless performance, and team paso doble (sp?) was great. Lance and Lacey saved the cha cha cha from being an unmitigated mess. Despite the picking side thing (flashbacks! to sitting around, bored, waiting until they'd run out of sporting and co-ordinated types) I like the team challen$ge, although they surely can't manage it next week with an odd number.
I'm glad Susan went and that Cody and Edyta got the benefit of the doubt. (He looked about fourteen trying to be sexy, and they might as well have drssed him in flares and been done with it). But it looks like being Brooke and, well, it depends on the dance for the others. I like Cheryl and Maurice as a couple the least. Don't know if it's her, him or them.
Strictly Saturday
Wow! All the women's dresses were either passable or good, and the passable ones worked when they were dencing. High points: Lisa's dress, the fact that Heather was wearing red for a tango (it should be a law that you wear warm colours for a tango) and I really liked Rachel's hair and make-up.
I voted for Austin (why five, Craig, why?) - the clever choreography and story worked for me, and Craig's five was so ludicrous. I laughed myself silly over John and the judging - but I was borderline exhauseted and hysterical last night. I thought Rachel should perhaps listen to Arlene, because Christine, who is a less proficient dancer, manages to communicate her joy when she's dancing - a la last night - which Rachel fails to do. (PS Who do we love the most? Matthew or Brian?) Jodie is loveable, even though she was back to being bad again.
And to be fair, Brendan's unspoken "but WHY didn't we get a 10?" face was deserved. They got no criticisms, made no mistakes (hi Tom and Camilla) and weren't boring (hi Cherie and James) and I say this as so not a Brendan fan. Anyway, the swopping of the top four or five is fascinating, because for all Arlene's "I don't want to hear 'this dance really suits you'", that is the case for Austin and Cherie. Maybe not Tom, it depends more on how much he's focusing. Rachel should just show off her legs, frankly, and Lisa's the unknown quantity
I wonder if the judges will get to send John home tonight. I wonder what will happen if they don't. Will we have a segment on It Takes Two where they go out and chastise members of the public face to face for voting for him?
I live blooged my thoughts on The X-Factor last night, but to recap, everyone went for Mariah Carey's ballady covers and were mostly boring. Alexandra was the best IMO, and Diana was sick, but got a free pass. Louis was bitchy, Cheryl talked nonsense.
X-Factor Results
Why did they have a kettle whistling in the background of 'Hero'? I bet it upset some dogs.
And then the bottom two was announced (in no particular order and the long, dramatic pauses present and correct) and I was a little shocked. I was convinced Daniel would be there. I mean, I GET the voting for John thing, I look forward to his performances every week and he's funny and charming, but all that's keeping Daniel in is pity. Okay, I thought it might have been Rachel or Ruth against him, but both would have been safe. I s'pose Rachel got the 'shouldn't have been there last week' sympathy vote. Or something that reading the tabloids might explain. Ruth did do a terrible vocal and Laura was blah.
I also thought, before they sang, that Laura The Voice would be safe (although she'd never win the show outright). When they sang, Ruth was a million times better than in the first show and Laura was back to being as good as ever, and I realised it would be closer than I thought, but I thought the judges might let it go to dead lock. But then I suppose the 'fight' thing is true - Laura looked very numb when she wasn't singing. I suppose that, unlike Diana and Alexandra, she hasn't learned to perform on the stage or on the TV. I don't like her voice and I don't think she's THAT different. I would also have covered her arms more. But back to the connecting/perfroming thing, I think that Rachel has been guilty of that a lot too, so, I don't know.