Mainly the Strictly final
I'm going to dare to say ‘Most Emotional Final Ever’? Possibly no surprise with four female celebs - which was historical, as we kept being reminded - who had clearly fallen in love with dancing and managed to express it enough through their bodies to get there. In my neck of the woods, Friday’s It Takes Two had been held over to air at 5.30 last night and I watched the backstage bit on the Red Button, so, by Claudia reckoning, that was 7 million hours of Strictly, just last night, with a bit of Atlantis in the middle. Seriously, my TV prompted me to keep it switched on or it was going to autosleep.
I voted six times. I said ‘shut UP, Bruce’ about five times.
I don’t have much to say about It Takes Two, except thatit set the tenor for what would follow. The four interviews, specifically the clips, seemed all about breaking some already tired and emotional contestants with all their dances and then assorted grannies, children and BFFs etc, shepherded by the ever enthusiastic Zoe.
Part 1: Judges’ Choice and the Showdance
The opening dance was fine and all four contestants looked great in red. I had Opinions about the judges’ choice when I heard about them - it was interesting that for Abbey and Natalie, they just went for the first dance to show how much they’d improved, a dance she’d botched for Susanna and a dance she had to improve on only a little to be deserving of 10s for Sophie.
For me, Abbey won this round. I love that music, loved the dance and the improvement was terrific, even I could see it. And that little moment towards the end where her face was shouting her realisation that she was never going to dance this one with Aljiaz ever again? EMOTIONAL.
Again, doing a Bruno and following my feelings, I’d have put Sophie second, because she also improved and it drew me in. This may be about how much I like getting swept away in romantic waltzes. Natalie wasn’t far off the mark - I suspect Craig marked her down for her hips - but I hate the dance (mainly because of the music and concept) and thought the judges did her no favours by picking it. Every time they replayed the ending with that effect on Artem’s teeth was cheesy. Susanna also improved so very much on the quickstep - to my delight - I also thought it worked better with her dancing with Kevin all the way through instead of the bit where he was watching her with other pros on the sofa, which was a bit skeevy.
This year, with all the build-up, I found myself almost looking forward to the showdance. Perhaps it was believing the hype about the finalists, but trusting that the pros wouldn’t ask too much of them and play to their strengths. And it pretty much came off.
I tended to agree with the judges (well, Craig, seeing as in this show, Len and Bruno were wedded to the 10 paddle, which is audience-pleasing, but leaves you blithering nonsense about 11 or 12 paddles when you encounter excellence, GOODMAN.) The weakest was Sophie and Brendans’ number although most of the lifts were fantastic, and lifts were most of the dance, and she seemed to be enjoying herself and expressing herself more than she's done in most Latin dances. There was that one lift that Darcey praised that looked like it was millimetres away from disaster, actually. But the non-lift bits were only okay, making it a bit too much like past, disappointing showdances.
Although I wasn’t crying at Susanna and Kevin’s dance, I did feel the emotion and felt for them that the judges never commented on it. I liked the style of the dance, mostly, although there was one bit that I thought was ugly and there were a few too many pauses, but that lift was impressive enough, if you’d been drawn into the dance, which the judges hadn’t. That's mainly me commenting on the choreography, not how she danced it (well). So, for one last time, we had a ‘their little faces’ moment. Gorgeous dress, also.
Abbey and Aljiaz’s rock paso/tango came pretty close to getting away with it. What I really liked were the paso/tango bits, I thought they showed all the power that the judges said that she had in her original pasos and tangos that I hadn’t seen. Lots of drama. I mean, there was the bit that the smoke ate up (they showed it in the replay) and one or two things I didn’t love, but I thought she achieved a high standard for a showdance.
BUT to quote Craig, showdance to end all showdances. From the amazing entrance onwards, Natalie and Artem’s number had class, it had wow, it even used poles tastefully. Also, that green and the nods to Singin’ in the Rain! I could go on for paragraphs, but the point is that it was brilliant and joyous and the best showdance (for a while).
By the end of this show, I’d voted for Abbey twice, because going in, I wanted her to win, although I’d thought it’d be Susanna or even Sophie by the 'never in the dance-off' logic. Just before I switched off my computer, though, Yahoo! was calling it for Abbey, so I had hopes. Anyway, after the amazing showdance, because of just desserts, I also voted for Natalie once. IT WAS EMOTIONAL, OKAY.
And it clearly was, because we had sobbing pros and contestants when they weren’t jumping about or dancing really, really well.
Atlantis 1.? Touched by the gods part 1 came as a welcome relief,and I think the fact that it was sandwiched between Strictly worked in its favour, or I’d be much crosser and sarkier. As it is, as always, I laughed at the three amigos’ shenanigans, except they didn’t quite work with ‘shall I be an assassin or let my friends die?’ angst.
They really need a woman writer for the next season. I could have done with backstory about Pasiphae and Circe, and as for Ariadne - she shouldn't go around calling Jason simple (though he is) when she is so rubbish at being royal. I wouldn’t put her in charge of growing cress, let alone being queen of Atlantis. So no, I wasn’t melting at young love and UST, I was listing stupidities and tuning out of half the Jason/Ariadne scenes. No wonder none of the court sympathised with you, wench, you hadn’t prepared the ground or nowt.
Part 2 - Contestants’ Favourite and Results.
The show restarted in that horrible way, with all the finalists dressed to do their next dance lined up, and one of the couples would never get to do it. And that couple was: Sophie and Brendan. I think it may have been the showdance wot done it, even though I was dismissive of the showdance changing people’s minds on the night going in, but it affected my voting. Also a possibility, with all the looking back, a realisation that Sophie’s highs have never been as high as anybody else’s.
So: the paso, which was totally an understandable choice (and worked as a contrast to the previous numbers). I thought Susanna danced it better, although I thought there was one moment where she was leading Kevin. And again, it was understandable that she lay spent having given so much. EMOTIONAL.
I thought the quickstep was a risky choice, because, like Craig, I hadn’t loved it the first time around, though, I definitely saw improvement all round, and Abbey and Aljaz are so, so infectious when they dance something like this. Telling that two of the dances were from Blackpool week (though I thought the bucket was too big for the floor) and one from musicals.
Because ‘I am telling you’ looked like a finals dance when first we saw it, and though I will always be a little sad that we never saw their jive, which would have been better than most if not all the jives that we saw, this was matchless. I thought she was gone when she started dancing it (in terms of crying) but actually, it was acting. Basically, she lived it and the emotion by the end was incredible. Had to vote for it because of what we’d seen and what I’d felt (and if some producer doesn’t drag her onto the West End I will be shocked, because she is so much better than Tom Chambers. If she can carry a note...) I also voted for Abbey once because she’s my favourite and once again because of all the reasons I’ve banged on about all season. But Natalie had the best hair. Natalie had epic hair.
I loved the round-up dance, because there were nice nods to everyone’s best bits as opposed to making them dance their last dance, which might not have been their best one, which would be why people voted them off.
And then...
Abbey and Aljiaz won and her genuine shock was a delight. And his delight was a delight.
I’d be interested in the breakdown of results - like who came second and third respectively and the patterns running up to that. I am glad the British public came to the same conclusions as me, because I’ve been rooting for them for weeks. I like Susanna, but maybe it’s been the dances in the last few weeks and the fact that the popular vote has saved them from the dance off one too many times. Natalie was actually the better dancer (I’d give round 1 to Abbey and the last two to Natalie if I hadn’t made myself clear) but someone who had been on a journey from no training had a better journey than her, and Abbey’s dancing was good enough, plus her improvement in all aspects, plus her ingenuous personality - because, come on, most of that was unguarded, made her an easier pick.
I have a note if they’re going to do the backstage thing again - JUDGES.
Also, one way you would stop having to go up those stairs, Brucie, is to retire.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/87134.html.
I voted six times. I said ‘shut UP, Bruce’ about five times.
I don’t have much to say about It Takes Two, except thatit set the tenor for what would follow. The four interviews, specifically the clips, seemed all about breaking some already tired and emotional contestants with all their dances and then assorted grannies, children and BFFs etc, shepherded by the ever enthusiastic Zoe.
Part 1: Judges’ Choice and the Showdance
The opening dance was fine and all four contestants looked great in red. I had Opinions about the judges’ choice when I heard about them - it was interesting that for Abbey and Natalie, they just went for the first dance to show how much they’d improved, a dance she’d botched for Susanna and a dance she had to improve on only a little to be deserving of 10s for Sophie.
For me, Abbey won this round. I love that music, loved the dance and the improvement was terrific, even I could see it. And that little moment towards the end where her face was shouting her realisation that she was never going to dance this one with Aljiaz ever again? EMOTIONAL.
Again, doing a Bruno and following my feelings, I’d have put Sophie second, because she also improved and it drew me in. This may be about how much I like getting swept away in romantic waltzes. Natalie wasn’t far off the mark - I suspect Craig marked her down for her hips - but I hate the dance (mainly because of the music and concept) and thought the judges did her no favours by picking it. Every time they replayed the ending with that effect on Artem’s teeth was cheesy. Susanna also improved so very much on the quickstep - to my delight - I also thought it worked better with her dancing with Kevin all the way through instead of the bit where he was watching her with other pros on the sofa, which was a bit skeevy.
This year, with all the build-up, I found myself almost looking forward to the showdance. Perhaps it was believing the hype about the finalists, but trusting that the pros wouldn’t ask too much of them and play to their strengths. And it pretty much came off.
I tended to agree with the judges (well, Craig, seeing as in this show, Len and Bruno were wedded to the 10 paddle, which is audience-pleasing, but leaves you blithering nonsense about 11 or 12 paddles when you encounter excellence, GOODMAN.) The weakest was Sophie and Brendans’ number although most of the lifts were fantastic, and lifts were most of the dance, and she seemed to be enjoying herself and expressing herself more than she's done in most Latin dances. There was that one lift that Darcey praised that looked like it was millimetres away from disaster, actually. But the non-lift bits were only okay, making it a bit too much like past, disappointing showdances.
Although I wasn’t crying at Susanna and Kevin’s dance, I did feel the emotion and felt for them that the judges never commented on it. I liked the style of the dance, mostly, although there was one bit that I thought was ugly and there were a few too many pauses, but that lift was impressive enough, if you’d been drawn into the dance, which the judges hadn’t. That's mainly me commenting on the choreography, not how she danced it (well). So, for one last time, we had a ‘their little faces’ moment. Gorgeous dress, also.
Abbey and Aljiaz’s rock paso/tango came pretty close to getting away with it. What I really liked were the paso/tango bits, I thought they showed all the power that the judges said that she had in her original pasos and tangos that I hadn’t seen. Lots of drama. I mean, there was the bit that the smoke ate up (they showed it in the replay) and one or two things I didn’t love, but I thought she achieved a high standard for a showdance.
BUT to quote Craig, showdance to end all showdances. From the amazing entrance onwards, Natalie and Artem’s number had class, it had wow, it even used poles tastefully. Also, that green and the nods to Singin’ in the Rain! I could go on for paragraphs, but the point is that it was brilliant and joyous and the best showdance (for a while).
By the end of this show, I’d voted for Abbey twice, because going in, I wanted her to win, although I’d thought it’d be Susanna or even Sophie by the 'never in the dance-off' logic. Just before I switched off my computer, though, Yahoo! was calling it for Abbey, so I had hopes. Anyway, after the amazing showdance, because of just desserts, I also voted for Natalie once. IT WAS EMOTIONAL, OKAY.
And it clearly was, because we had sobbing pros and contestants when they weren’t jumping about or dancing really, really well.
Atlantis 1.? Touched by the gods part 1 came as a welcome relief,and I think the fact that it was sandwiched between Strictly worked in its favour, or I’d be much crosser and sarkier. As it is, as always, I laughed at the three amigos’ shenanigans, except they didn’t quite work with ‘shall I be an assassin or let my friends die?’ angst.
They really need a woman writer for the next season. I could have done with backstory about Pasiphae and Circe, and as for Ariadne - she shouldn't go around calling Jason simple (though he is) when she is so rubbish at being royal. I wouldn’t put her in charge of growing cress, let alone being queen of Atlantis. So no, I wasn’t melting at young love and UST, I was listing stupidities and tuning out of half the Jason/Ariadne scenes. No wonder none of the court sympathised with you, wench, you hadn’t prepared the ground or nowt.
Part 2 - Contestants’ Favourite and Results.
The show restarted in that horrible way, with all the finalists dressed to do their next dance lined up, and one of the couples would never get to do it. And that couple was: Sophie and Brendan. I think it may have been the showdance wot done it, even though I was dismissive of the showdance changing people’s minds on the night going in, but it affected my voting. Also a possibility, with all the looking back, a realisation that Sophie’s highs have never been as high as anybody else’s.
So: the paso, which was totally an understandable choice (and worked as a contrast to the previous numbers). I thought Susanna danced it better, although I thought there was one moment where she was leading Kevin. And again, it was understandable that she lay spent having given so much. EMOTIONAL.
I thought the quickstep was a risky choice, because, like Craig, I hadn’t loved it the first time around, though, I definitely saw improvement all round, and Abbey and Aljaz are so, so infectious when they dance something like this. Telling that two of the dances were from Blackpool week (though I thought the bucket was too big for the floor) and one from musicals.
Because ‘I am telling you’ looked like a finals dance when first we saw it, and though I will always be a little sad that we never saw their jive, which would have been better than most if not all the jives that we saw, this was matchless. I thought she was gone when she started dancing it (in terms of crying) but actually, it was acting. Basically, she lived it and the emotion by the end was incredible. Had to vote for it because of what we’d seen and what I’d felt (and if some producer doesn’t drag her onto the West End I will be shocked, because she is so much better than Tom Chambers. If she can carry a note...) I also voted for Abbey once because she’s my favourite and once again because of all the reasons I’ve banged on about all season. But Natalie had the best hair. Natalie had epic hair.
I loved the round-up dance, because there were nice nods to everyone’s best bits as opposed to making them dance their last dance, which might not have been their best one, which would be why people voted them off.
And then...
Abbey and Aljiaz won and her genuine shock was a delight. And his delight was a delight.
I’d be interested in the breakdown of results - like who came second and third respectively and the patterns running up to that. I am glad the British public came to the same conclusions as me, because I’ve been rooting for them for weeks. I like Susanna, but maybe it’s been the dances in the last few weeks and the fact that the popular vote has saved them from the dance off one too many times. Natalie was actually the better dancer (I’d give round 1 to Abbey and the last two to Natalie if I hadn’t made myself clear) but someone who had been on a journey from no training had a better journey than her, and Abbey’s dancing was good enough, plus her improvement in all aspects, plus her ingenuous personality - because, come on, most of that was unguarded, made her an easier pick.
I have a note if they’re going to do the backstage thing again - JUDGES.
Also, one way you would stop having to go up those stairs, Brucie, is to retire.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/87134.html.