Robert was just OK.

yes. I kept thinking how much better Mark would be in the routine. I thought that Courtney let him down, though. She was just dancing her part, not dancing with him.

AAAARGH. I had written a whole post and it got EATEN, while Lauren was dancing her solo (which I didn't see...stupid hotel room and no TiVo).

I am excited there is boy on boy dancing, I'm hoping there'll be more. But does it have to be NappyTabs? OK, but the bit at the very end cracked me up.

Let's see...I liked Alex's solo, and Billy's, and surprisingly, Robert's. I'm not loving Robert, generally, but was surprised to like his solo. Melinda's tapping was good but the rest of her body was awful.

Melinda--I hated her dancing (there was something weird about her feet, and I wished Mary were around to critique) and was surprised (but a little irked--late much?) when the judges called out that they'd rather see Cristina (I sure would've!)

Jose--didn't have to DANCE a salsa (or whatever--I've forgotten now what that was supposed to be), but it was entertaining...

I was hoping Allyson could make a man of Kent like she did Ivan, but not so much. I kept expecting it to turn into a Doriana disco.

I didn't really like the Ashely number, but that may have been the choreo, I'm sure it was difficult to dance.

And I agreed with the judges--Adechike seemed to be more relaxed this week doing the hiphop

And Lauren? Was not sultry enough. I would've liked to see that danced with OlderKasperzak and someone else.

Alex Solo/Rule of the Planet - Work, dammit! He's fierce.

Lauren and Neil/Joey Dowling/Jazz/Let Me Entertain You - First off, great routine from Joey. Seriously, why do they let Tasty keep doing Broadway? Second off, I gotta give it up to TBC for working it in spite of almost having a Janet level wardrobe malfunction. And overall? She kinda turned it out. Het technique was flawless as usual, and I feel like she continues to grow in her connection to her partners. I barely saw her playing to the audience or to the cameras at all. She was very there and present with Neil. And maybe she didn't 100% get there with the character, but I liked her more in this piece than I ever have.

Ashley Solo/Royal T - She wasted the first 10 seconds standing around and the rest was a hair flinging, trick throwing nightmare.

Billy and Kathryn/Stacey Tookey/Contemporary/Jar of Hearts - I wanted to like this routine more than I did. There were lovely moments in it. That one part where they were seated on the ground back to back and then they used each other's bodies and weight to roll up to a standing position? Magically delicious! But some of the lifts were shaky shaky. It's pretty clear that Billy hasn't done a lot of partnering. More than technique, as the judges pointed out, what lacked was connection. Connection to his partner. Connection to the story they were telling. The dance was technically proficient but kind of cold and clinical. So sad. I still love Billy, though.

Robert Solo/Hold You In My Arms - Now that, I loved. Talk about grounded! Just those few walks forward at the beginning? Heaven. That was really really good.

Jose and Anya/Dmitri/Samba/Long Time - Wow. I kind of loved it. Was it technically correct? Well, no. But Jose worked the shit out of it. He brought that Latin machismo and swagger to the table and he owned that dance. He connected with Anya. He was there for her. He was a strong, commanding lead. He was sexy as hell. I watched him as much as I watched her. So yeah, I lov

Melinda Solo/Empire State of Mind - Good tapper. Best thing she's done on the show. I still want her gone.

Kent and Allison/Mandy Moore/Jazz/Heartburn - Mandy didn't use an 80's pop song? My world is all asunder. Once again, I didn't buy Kent at all in the piece. Hungry jazz face. Ha! I love Adam Shankman. Kent just came off very forced and false. His technique was on point, as usual, but the judges were right. It was very dance recital. On his part. Because Allison was serving. Sassy! Kent really needs to mature and fast.

Adechike Solo/Ruthless Gravity - Amazing. So grounded and fluid and powerful. That was a grown ass man dancing. Where has that dancer been all season?

Lauren Solo/Unchained Melody - Return of the hair flipping, inappropriately smiling TBC. Fantastic. So I can go back to hating on her now.

Alex and Twitch/NappyTab/Hip Hop/Outta Your Mind - That was the shit. Alex Wong shut it down. He's so phenomenal, he made subpar choreographers like NappyTab step up their game. He is taking this show to a whole other level. He's just on another level so far above all these other kids it's kind of not fair. Alex Fucking Wong. There are no words.

Bottom three tonight? Melinda is a given. Every week until she goes home. I would like to see Kent hit B3 this week, though I don't think he will. It would be a good reality check for him. The third spot could go to Ashley for continuing to be aggressively nondescript. Could be Adechike despite his best week ever for performing early and being good but not great. Maybe even Billy for being underwhelming with a great partner and in his own style. Every week, it's hard because no one is really bad or out of their depth. In fact, they're all reall freakin' good, even the stank and the boring. So it's anyone's ballgame. For my money, they're all playing for the chance to be runner up to Alex Frikkin' Wong. He's a beast.

I did not realize until this week that there was someone named Ashley on this show.

Not that anyone cares, but the cooking wine is 15% alcohol. So, basically, wine.

Huh! I haven't used it since I turned 21 and could buy the real stuff - it makes no sense to me that it's legal to sell to minors without being de-alcoholized, even with all the crap that's added to make it undrinkable.

Yeah, it makes no sense. And they definitely don't treat it like alcohol - here, in the grocery store they have to get a 21+ cashier just to check you out and input your DOB, but they treat this stuff like any condiment.

But moving on to last night's ep - WHO ARE THESE PROFESSIONAL COOKS WHO HAVE NEVER MADE A PIE???

I hated the guest-judge's hair, but I really appreciated him saying at one point "my grandmother's not a chef, but she can make a pie." COME ON CHEFS, PIE IS NOT THAT HARD.

It always surprises me, too, Jess. These people have never had a dinner party or family holiday where they made a dessert? It baffles me.

Mmmm - pie.

Although not many of those last night would have made me say that.

Also, I'm curious how that choclate thing was anymore not a pie than a quiche would be (though the chocolate thing looked good).