On ABDC, I don't think the trick crews are required to use their gimmick every week, but I don't see how they could not, no? I mean, the non-jump rope parts of Saltare's routines are definitely the weakest (even though for all that, I think they are better hip hop dancers than both the cloggers and Break Skate and I, in general, heart Saltare a whole lot)

I think this season of ABDC is tons better than last. I'm enjoying Blueprint Crew and Poreotix. I like that crew with the jungle theme, although Gaga week was not their strongest. I'm even OK with Heavy Impact. And there's no crew that I hate as much as I did Afro-borike. Basically, though, I think ABDC shot themselves in the foot by having Jabba in season one. No crew is ever going to be as good as they were. Even Qwest, whom I also loved a lot, weren't as consistently awesome as Jabbawokeez. When the bar is set that high in S1, everything else is bound to be a let down. But overall, I feel like the quality of the crews this season is definitely up a tick from the last few seasons. I'm also enjoying Omarion as Shane's replacement, although being better than Shane is a low bar, right? And JC continues to be one of the best reality show judges going, although not nearly as fashion forward as he once was. I miss those really out there get ups he used to rock. Oh, well. We'll always have L'il Mama.

Oh also, Undercover Boss is excellent reality TV crack. So manipulative and yet soooo satisfying.

Agreed. I even liked the Hooters episode. The fact that it was a family company just cracked me up.

It was something how boggled the guy was that people could possibly think there was an Issue with Hooters.

But I wish they'd be less about the "here's a fabulous vacation or promotion for the overworked peon I happened to encounter" and more about "hey, maybe there's a lot of people in my organization with these issues."

I only really watched the first couple so maybe that's not fair. From the commercials it seems on target.

I'm still tweaked with the way the Hooters CEO dealt with that horrible manager. Just apologizing and comparing the waitresses to his daughters is not enough. That man was vile. Even if he thought the camera were there for a documentary, he still acted like that on camera and chose to represent the company that way. Fire-able behavior. Seriously. I feel so horrible for any of the folks who worked at that location.

I still think the Waste Management episode is the only one that actually dealt with needed change instead of just band-aids.

Seriously. The fact that that guy lasted even beyond filming is kind of boggling, and sort of soured me on the whole thing.

The only "excuse" I can think of is an issue with the way franchises handle personnel. I don't know enough about that - but even if the CEO couldn't directly fire him, at least he should have recommended that to the franchise owner and come down on the dude harder during the face to face.

Oh yeah--it's entirely possible that since it was a franchise, he as the CEO could only strongly suggest to the franchise owner that the guy be fired.

That said, I'd have been a lot happier if he dealt with the guy better in the post-job interview bit, and if instead of just "Gee, this guy is awful and the girl was great!" he considered whether maybe there needed to be some CORPORATE-WIDE retraining. Much like his publicity campaign with the hot girls, but more urgent and lawsuit-preventing. Ahem.

Oh my goodness. This Katie girl never found the pitch. They use "pitchy" every other minute but they don't break it out now? Wha? The judges must really, really want her on the show because they totally soft pedaled how awful that performance was.

Siobahn - House of the Rising Sun. Unofficial season 9 anthem. And she's on pitch. After starting acappela. In this, the season of suck, I'll take it. I enjoyed her. She's quirky and fun.

That episode aired how many weeks ago and I still get ragey when I think about it. I guess that means it was "compelling tv", but it compelled me to not watch any other episodes (at least so far).

Lacey/The Story - I hate this song, so we're already off on the wrong foot. And she's bringing the nasty, whispery voice with the weird breathiness and baby sighs. And it's still off pitch, she's sharp all over the place. And the judges are just lying to her straight up. Yick. Hate this girl.

Katelyn/I Feel the Earth Move - interesting song choice. It hasn't been done to death on the AI stage. Weird pacing on the song and she seemed a little bit flat the whole way through. And I agree that she didn't really vibe with the song. It was just kind of there. But at least she can sing.

On another note, shut up, Judge #4. For the love of god.