Ade and Melissa - She is a jewel. When Mandy is on, she's really on. That was lovely. And the lift in second? Ridiculous. That was a beautiful piece danced beautifully.

Kayla and Max - A real Samba. I'm so happy that Louis is on this show. And these two really executed. She has legs for days. Great way to end the show. That was sassy and fun. I'm still not sold on Max. He's not bringing the requisite level of Russian hotness, but he'll do for now.

Tony and Paris were by far my least favorite couple and should be going home but I think Tony has a fairly large fan base at this point, so who knows if they'll even hit B3. I hope they'll be there. I'd bet that Asuka and Vitolio will hit B3, too, although their problems were for the most part not her fault. Sucky choreography will do them in. I don't know who else will hit B3. It could be Phillip and Jeanine because by the time we got to the recaps, I'd forgotten what they danced. Kupono and Ashley could also hit B3 if people don't get the Wade piece. Personally, I'd put Jonathan and Karla there. Not that I didn't like them, there was just a little spark missing.

I adore Kupono. Ashley was a revelation, though. I didn't know what to expect from her, but she brought it. Both of them have insane body control. Some of those isolations were astounding. And the hands and the footwork . . . so quick. I really enjoyed that. I don't know if that's going to get fingers dialing though.

It got mine dialing!

I always vote for my top three (in the hopes that none of them are then in the B3, of course) and the only couple I ran into busy signals for were Philip and Jeanine, so I think they'll be safe this week. Of course, I had to vote for Brandon and Janette, because the hell I'm going to let Mia win on this one.

I watched Top Chef for the first time tonight, and imagine my surprise when they were cooking and eating in the dorm I lived in for two years. Too bad that didn't happen when I was on the food beat at the paper. Anyhoodle, I wanted Keller to win from the start -- he was the most together, dealt with hiccups with grace, and really had the best reputation of the four. So that's good.

The judges were really soft on SYTYCD tonight -- I guess they are just letting god sort them out this week. The dances were strong, admittedly, and I'm so happy to see Wade again. But Richard effing Marx? I honestly couldn't watch the dance. That was fucking ridiculous.

See, this is where I get excited, when I watch, and critique, and wait for the judges to say something and they don't, and then come in here and Kat has already said the things I picked up on!! I feel all excited.

I am very over Tasty Oreo, and I only occasionally like NappyTab's "lyrical" stuff--and when it's not "lyrical" it needs more OOMPH.

Nigel can stuff it with all the "under the radar" crap. Whose fault is it that they didn't have any camera time during early audtion rounds, the tooth fairy?

OMG, seriously! The only reason I know about the others is because you CHOSE to feature them in the earlier shows. Geez.

And that first attitude turn? Lovely center

I noticed that too, in the Evan and Randi piece! Bets that with the "large family" and "already married" bits, she's in the Mormon Mafia?

Me, I LOVED the crash test dummies number--the way their arms moved was awesome!!

I hated the silent film number. Sigh.

I figured Mormon for Randi also- her bio on the Fox site says she's going to school in Utah so it's pretty much a lock. I thought that she and Evan did have good chemistry, though. Not sure what will happen when they draw hip hop.

I also hated the silent film number. Although I had been hoping they would tone down Asuka's coy "sexy" thing which seemed a little like pandering, I felt like this dance made her seem oddly old.

Okay, first Top Chef: Masters. I am so excited for this show! I was worried about the format (although I realize you can't actually take premier working chefs and stick them in a house until they roll around on the floor giving each other noogies) but I like how they've structured it. It gives immediacy to the challenges.

I was glad Hubert won, and think it's infinitely funny that he essentially won by the difference of the Junior Girl Scout vote. Hey, little redhead girl, you stand up with your opinions, you rock it. I loved it because her critiques were specific.

I loved that the challenges were so totally Top Chef challenges. I thought maybe they'd be giving them more free reign as pandering to the Master nomenclature, but no, there they were rinsing pasta in the shower. In the shower, y'all. A college dorm shower! (How much do I love it turns out to be bon's dorm? I love it a lot. Did you ever make risotto in your dormroom, bon?)

Anyway, I'm glad he won, because I felt like he was really thinking about the challenges, and more importantly, thinking about his audience. He made sophisticated, interesting food, but he made it cute animals for the kiddoes and mac&cheese for the college kids.

I also loved the cabbage soup because it seemed so much like something that college kids really could cook in their dorms, thus making the whole floor smell like cabbage for a week.

And ha to the freezer! Rookie mistake. Totally the sort of thing that happens on Top Chef. Glad to know the pressure gets to everyone.

I like it when the judges are contestants. I think it will make them better judges in the future.

Now SYTYCD: There were definitely some surprises in there for me. Some of the couples I thought would be weaker when I saw the pairings surprised me and some of the ones I thought would be stronger were far worse.

Every one of the dances were easy for at least one partner, right? Is this on purpose? Do they always do that? I don't remember it being like that. I think it led to them thinking that the group overall is stronger, but I think there will definitely be a shakedown over some styles.

Agree, though, that Cute!Tony was the roughest, as expected. Too bad, he's got all that charisma, but technically he's just not there. And Phillip has him beat clean on the hiphop. I think Phillip did a great job, and while I agree that Jeanine didn't keep up with him, she did better than I expected.

Asuka & Vitolio I liked, but there was no connection at all, and although I dislike the criticism for artificiality, because it was styled that way, I did feel that there was something missing. No chemistry, maybe?

(Oh, and re: her name, I'm just pleased it's getting said close to right. I think we all have Dice-K to thank for American ability to drop the soft syllables in Japanese.)

I think the cha-cha is also low, but only because there were some great other dances. Also because I was trying really hard to avoid hearing that song, but it turns out it was to no avail because I had heard it.

I don't mind Tasty! It must just be me. But I liked Evan & Randi a lot, although I was predisposed to like Evan. I thought it was a gorgeous number, and I thought they really put it all out there, despite her hesitation.

Oh, the Bollywood. I'm glad we still have Bollywood, but I think the judges are still infatuated with the idea of it and aren't giving a good technical judging of it. Their timing was way off, and I think a lot of things could have been sharper. It's not just that you're doing finger movements, but that the finger positions are precise. It's not just that your feet are moving quickly, it's that your movement on the balls of your feet is completely different. That said, it was a tough routine and they did well with it.

The foxtrot was nice, but they needed more eye contact, I think. Again, chemistry, maybe?

Really, Richard Marx? Really? But it was really nice, and go Melissa for the old people!

Oh, Kuponohi'ipoi how I love you. That was a fabulous piece, love Wade, but excellently executed as well. And scary! I was so worried the judges wouldn't respond to it, but I thought it was just great. I thought that this was going to be a weak pairing, but Ashley was great in this. And the storytelling was wonderful, which I love in dance.

Kayla & Maksim, wow. I'm bummed that they Americanized his name, because I think Maksim is more memorable, but whatever, boy can dance. Also, he has plenty of requisite Russian hotness for me. I think Kayla is a real natural because she adapted well to all the styles. It makes me feel like contemporary was just a default for her. I'd like to see her expand her training.

However, he has one of the problems I think will crop up for these guys, and that is, I think he may be stuck in his style. We'll have to see, but right now I just can't picture him doing krump.

Still! All said and done I think we're off to a great season!

Liese,

they randomly draw dances of a hat, don't you know. (wink wink)

I watched Top Chef for the first time tonight, and imagine my surprise when they were cooking and eating in the dorm I lived in for two years.

I was wondering about that! Hah.

In the shower, y'all. A college dorm shower!

I had a moment of horror when he was describing doing this and saying something along the lines of "so it was clean."

Dude, have you ever seen a dorm shower before? Not big with the hygeine.