Don't get me wrong, I love Mark, but...WTF, America?

See, this is just the thing that has me worried for my poor, beautiful Mark. Mark wasn't even in the B2 on Thursday and he is not the one who beat out Will for votes. Twitch was. I think Mark and Will's fan bases overlap, yes. And I also think that Mark's fans went into overdrive voting for him last week to try to save him from the outrageous bus throwing that the judges were trying to do to him. (And really, it was Olympic calibre) But what really got Will was that he had a good night (as he always does) on a night when the other boys all had at least one bad dance (and Twitch had two). So while other fans were highly motivated, Will's fans weren't. It's not a Mark vs. Will thing, but it sure is playing out like that, which is sad because now I think Mark's gonna get a tsunami of backlash. And it will mostly be undeserved, IMO.

Also, I guess I'm just not that shocked. I mean, I was shocked, but I never had Will in my top 4. From the beginning, he was destined to be the Blake of the season (minus the diva bitchiness of course). He was clearly the "best" technical dancer, as well as a lovely performer and solid partner. But America wants a story or a journey. They don't want to see a great, talented person who's off the charts fabulous from the beginning. That's not Horatio Alger-y enough. The only reason Danny made top 2 last season is that Nigel and Co. gave him that bullshit "Tin Dancer gets a heart" storyline. In four seasons of SYTYCD, the best technical dancer has never won. Blake in S1, Travis (or maybe even Ryan) in S2, Danny in S3 and Will now. (And it's even worse when you consider the ladies. Watching Ashle go down in S1, Allison go down in S2, Jamie in S3 - all technically better than the girls who made top 4) Further, I doubt that the best technical dancer will ever win on this show. On AI, you can have the best voice also have a compelling, up from nothing storyline play out (Kelly in S1, Fantasia in S3 though I know some would argue that, Carrie) over the course of a season and that can propel you to the win. But if you are a phenomenal technical dancer, you've been really good for a long, long time before you got on the show. You've probably already experienced some success in the dance world and acquired some admirers and mentors who are going to work with you regardles of where you place. So,you will be perceived as not "needing" to win and won't garner the votes that will push you to the top.

And now I've spent way too much time thinking about SYTYCD.

I am now annoyed by Next Food Network Star. What food expertise? He didn't tell us anything about the food! What if America still doesn't get plantains? What makes his version of jerk different from real jerk??

Argh!

(Not sure why I even care about this -- it's not like I've watched any of the previous winners' shows!)

Also, I'm bummed out that this week is just an hour of SYTYCD on Wednesday, and it's 9-10, just like PR.

NFNS: I'm happy with the results. I may watch this show. I definitely wasn't going to watch either of the other two.

I was amused to see "Food Network Star Show" in the Tivo search list.

Just a reminder, Ted Allen's Food Detectives starts tonight.

Oh, I didn't know that!

Thanks!

Well, the spoilers were true. I only watched the very end last night - to see.

This morning I watched about the first 10 minutes and thought that Adam's show sounded a bit like "Ask Aida" and that Lisa's show was a bit like Mary Nolan's "Chic and Easy. ("Chic and Easy" isn't very good. Lisa's might have been better.)

Lisa's show was a bit like Mary Nolan's "Chic and Easy. ("Chic and Easy" isn't very good. Lisa's might have been better

I was so turned off by the commercials that I never watched it. I like Guy's Big Bite, though. And he's turned into a big Food Network 'ho. Love him!

Yeah. Well, I hate Guy.

Really? I find Guy kind of adorable.

I was surprised they went with Aaron, honestly. There doesn't seem to be anything new about his show. He was great, very personable, but it was just sort of predictable.

I loved Adam's approach -- having the webcam and the person to talk to was perfect for him, and I liked the idea of him taking tried and true recipes and tweaking them to suit callers. But then I've never watched Ask Aida, so I don't know how similar it would be.

Lisa was good -- I could see her doing a Barefoot Contessa or Giada type show, sort of understated and much crisper natural light (rather than the very saturated, in your face colors and light of Rachael's Thirty-Minute Meals, let's say), but they have shows like those. She was good, but she still wasn't as friendly and relaxed as I like.

Ask Aida is brand new - I think it starts next month. (That's why I wondered.)