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.

So true about the shower.

TC:Masters = excellent.

I loved the chefs watching the girl scouts criticize their food.

I suspect that the college cleaned the hell out of it for the show.

Yeah, my office building polished everything in our floor bathroom when someone fancy was having a press conference in our office, and they were definitely not filming the bathroom! So I can imagine.

I loved the chefs watching the girl scouts criticize their food.

It was hilarious. I liked what Michael Schlow said about keeping big-time chefs humble.

I suspect that the college cleaned the hell out of it for the show.

Oh, I'm sure. It's just when he made that comment I reminisced on some of the dorm showers I'd used back in the day. I'm not even sure "clean" describes the water.

**shudders**

I really loved how much fun they seemed to have. Especially watching the Girl Scout critics!

And yet, they all took it seriously, too. Listening to critics like that, face to face, has to be a very new experience for some of them, especially when you're established.

TC:M - I know! They really did seem to be having a blast (except at the end when they were abruptly competitive, hee) and I liked how they interacted with each other. It must be fun for them to get a chance to work side by side.

And I love that they listened carefully to the critiques. Definitely a new experience, and I think it's one they'll benefit from. I especially liked seeing them quail in fear when they saw Gael.