Posted on August 31st, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Television
TVGuide.com has been hyping this “Criminal Minds” promo since Friday. It has finally hit YouTube and guess what? It actually is pretty great! Executive producer Ed Bernero told TV Guide that viewers shouldn’t assume too much from the promo saying, “a trailer is not necessarily in continuity. You may not be getting as much spoiler info as you think.”
So, should we be worried about Hotch (Thomas Gibson), Morgan (Shemar Moore) or someone else? At least it looks like Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) is safe. Oops. I hope I didn’t just jinx her.
Taking full advantage of their post – “Dancing with the Stars” position on ABC’s schedule, the season premiere of “Samantha Who?” will be dance themed. The premise is a dance competition that has Samantha (Christina Applegate) and her mom (Jean Smart) becoming partners in order to defeat mom’s archrival, Paula Drake (Cybill Shepherd). The big news for me is that Cybill’s partner will be none other the DWTS pro, Mark Ballas. We all know how expressive Mark is on the dance floor so this should be fun. ”Samantha Who?” will premiere on Monday, October 6th.
Check out the link below for all the promo shots on Entertainment Tonight’s website. Plus, don’t forget that the brave and classy Christina Applegate will be part of the ”Stand Up To Cancer” special on ABC, CBS and NBC this Friday, September 5th.
Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Television
NBC isn’t saying anything yet, but Kristin at E! has confirmation from Jennifer Aniston’s publicist that she is currently filming a guest shot on “30 Rock.” I’m not a faithful “30 Rock” watcher (although I do think Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy is brillant) but if Jennifer is on it will definitely be appointment TV for me!
Entertainment Tonight has put up new rehearsal pictures of all the season 7 ”Dancing with the Stars” couples on their website. Above are Toni Braxton and her partner Alec Mazo. Check out the link below for all 13:
Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Princess Kitty in Television
Michael Ausiello is breaking HUGE “Ghost Whisperer” news over at the Entertainment Weekly website. I can’t even bear to write it myself, so I’m just going to give the link.
Do not click on it if you hate to be spoiled but…………………if you’re a big fan of the show, I think you’re better off knowing so you can get prepared.
I was pleased that at the opening of the show they gave us the complete results of last night’s voting. I thought for sure they would make some of the contestants wait through the entire show to find out. Host Jerry Springer called them up, two at a time, and told one that they made it and one that they didn’t. The first four going into the top 20 were Extreme Dance FX, Jessica Price, The Cadence and Neal E. Boyd. The first four leaving the show were Ronny B (thank you, America!), Shimshi, DC Cowboys and Derrick Barry. That brought it down to just The James Gang and Elite (little Alex Pyles). Jerry said that they came in 5th and 6th in the voting and the judges (Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff) would decide which act would go through. I must have missed this piece of info previously. In my opinion the judges got it right and gave the fifth slot to The James Gang but I really didn’t need to see young Alex burst into tears upon hearing the news. The Salty Old Dog didn’t care for the head-to-head matchup, with extreme close-ups, either. He did think of a new tag line for NBC though:
NBC: The Fourth-Place Network That Makes Little Girls Cry!
To their credit, The James Gang were absolutely wonderful to Alex. They didn’t jump around celebrating. Instead they gathered around and shielded her. One of them began to walk her off-stage, with his arm around her, talking to her. Then, when he got to the side of the stage, he lifted her up so she could get a big round of applause from the audience. He then carried her all around the stage. Bless his heart – he got her to smile and totally screwed up Jerry’s timing for the show.
Eventually we got to the evening’s performances. Again, there were 10 acts and five would be moving on to the top 20. All in all, it was a pretty weak night.
Beyond Belief Dance Company: They had a nice, sharp routine with lots of gymnastic elements. The only problem I saw was that there were simply too many of them. It gets difficult to watch when they are all doing different things. Piers found the ending “electrifying” but said the beginning was “ropey”. Sharon thought they were “sassy” but needed to add more dance styles to the routine to take them to the next level. David thought they “nailed it.”
Paul Salos – the Sinatra impersonator. This man is very lovable. He does his own singing so, for me, that separates him from a couple of the other impersonators. He did “My Way” and, while I thought he was slightly off key in a few places, his phrasing was a perfect match to Frank. Unfortunately the music accompanying Paul was much too loud and overwhelmed his voice in several places. Whoever is running sound needs to control the levels better. Piers found irony in the song choice because Paul didn’t do it his way. He did it Frank’s way. He wants to see Paul in the finals. Sharon describes Paul as classy and David said, “Baby, you are Vegas.”
Kazual – Ouch. This was a tough one to hear. They seem like four wonderful guys but they made some bad choices. Only one of the four (we learned later that his name is E.J.) had a voice suitable for the lead and the rest sounded weak, and off-key, during their solos. Piers X’d them early on in the performance. He said that they had a great sound when they all harmonized but only one of them could carry the lead. You could tell that this was tough for them to hear (the guy told he should be the lead seemed to flinch at hearing it) but Piers was right. Sharon agreed but David thought the problem was nerves and that they eventually overcame it during the number. Piers disputed that and Hoff yelled back at him. The odd thing was, what Hoff was saying as he yelled at Piers actually agreed with what Piers had just said. You kind of lost me there, David.
Zooperstars – the balloon-type creatures. Without a doubt, this act is completely ridiculous but I laughed through the whole thing – especially when the snail-like creature ate the guy from the stage crew. I also get a kick out of how they do all their interviews and promos in character. Piers absolutely hates them and said he wanted to shoot them with darts. Sharon thought they’d be great for a half-time show but probably not for Vegas. I’d have to agree with that assessment. There was much made about whether Piers and Sharon weren’t getting it because they’re British, but I’ve seen enough British comedies to know that they laugh at stupid stuff too. Truthfully, I’d call Zooperstars my guilty pleasure of the show. I know I shouldn’t like them….but I just do.
The Wright Kids - three young kids in a band who the show has never featured before. The girl plays the mandolin, one boy plays guitar and the littlest boy plays a standup bass. Apparently, they’ve been playing bluegrass through the auditions but decided to go with a pop song for this round. They did “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees. I don’t think this was a good choice. They probably should have stuck with what they knew best. The young boy singing lead struggled with the lower notes in the verse. At the beginning it seemed that their strength was in how they played the instruments but that was quickly drowned out by their accompaniment. Another point against the person running sound. Piers loved them and, while acknowledging that they weren’t the best singers, said that they made up for it with charm. Sharon congratulated them on taking the risk of changing styles and David said they were like watching The Partridge Family.
Jonathon Arons - the dancing trombonist. Jonathon is actually a very good dancer but this time his trombone playing left a lot to be desired. It either sounded very rough or couldn’t be heard at all. I’d blame the not being heard on the sound guy again but, this time, he might have been doing us a favor. Piers said he enjoyed the act because there’s nothing else like it. Sharon also loves Jonathon but did acknowledge that the trombone sounded bad. David described it as the worst trombone playing and yet the most entertaining act so far.
Daniel Jens – the singing Army Specialist. Frankly, this is the best he has sounded but I still don’t think he’s strong enough to compete with the other singers. He sounded very good on the gentle notes at the beginning but weakened substantially when he was pushing it to try and get a “rocker” edge to his voice. Piers thought it was a good performance but his voice wasn’t ready for Vegas. I think that was a fair assessment. Sharon thought it was a great song choice but noted that he seemed short of breath half way through. David called him inspirational.
Slippery Kittens – the moms who dance burlesque. I’m still not impressed by them. There are plenty of women in Vegas, wearing skimpy costumes, who are much better dancers. Piers X’d them and didn’t pull any punches when he said, “Unusually, for an act like you, when you took your clothes off, I found myself wanting you to put them back on.” Sharon thought that was mean and said she could picture them in Vegas. David called them Baywatch: The Next Generation. I’m not sure whether that was a compliment of not.
George the Giant – This was awful! We got an elaborate build up about how he had passed out in rehearsals for the trick and 911 had to be called. He was rolled out on stage, all chained up, and then was hung upside down while he quoted Harry Houdini. A mariachi band then came out and children ran up and began hitting him like a pinata. A woman started beating the chains off him with a baseball bat and candy fell out of his clothes. Yes, it was just as ridiculous as it sounds. Piers called it childish, embarrassing and pathetic. Sharon called the big build up to that act silly and David called it a little “strange”. George reacted to that by getting all huffy and saying “that was the point.”
Queen Emily – She looked spectacular and sounded great……..most of the time. I think this was another case of the sound levels being off. Anyway, the audience in the theater loved her as did all three of the judges. Piers declared that they had found a superstar. Sharon told Emily she had it all and David declared her the frontrunner. Despite the problems, on this night, she was the standout.
This is a case when it’s harder to pick five that I would like to see move on than it is to pick five to cut. I would definitely put through Queen Emily and Paul Salos. My other picks would be Beyond Belief Dance Company, Zooperstars and Jonathon Arons but I don’t really think any of them have a realistic chance of winning.
Because he’s such a sweetheart - here is Paul Salos’ performance from last night:
The show opened with everyone seeming quite relieved by Beth Joy’s exit. They felt the tension and craziness level would be significantly reduced. Laurie was proud of Andrew for being the “last little dog standing” but had concerns about his size putting them at a disadvantage. Travis shared that he looks up to Bill for his knowledge and pointed out that Bill was the only one left in the house who helps him with his training of Presley. For his part, Bill said he was “tickled to death” to be able to help someone with their dog. A bit later in the show there was a scene of J.D. and Laurie complimenting Travis on how willing he has been to listen to advice and act on it. Laurie was particularly impressed with how much Travis has learned and added, “You were getting it too much. I had to put you on lockdown!”
Dog Bone Suite Challenge
Host Jarod Miller informed the group that this week’s theme was ’courage’. As you may guess from the photo above, it involved an elephant named Suzie. Suzie was put on a track 80 feet away from a circle that each dog sat in. She would gradually walk towards the dog until she got to the 20 foot mark. There she shook her head and trumpeted. If the dog continued to stay in the circle, she would walk up to them and pick up a banana placed on the circle’s edge. If the dog moved outside the circle, it was eliminated from the competition.
Teresa & Leroy: Poor Leroy was not at all pleased with this situation and exited the circle pretty quickly.
Laurie & Andrew (pictured above): Andrew was awesome! He stayed perfectly still in that circle for the entire thing and never barked or even flinched. Plus, he could not have been more adorable looking up at that huge elephant.
Bill & Star: Star lasted until the head shaking and trumpeting. Interestingly, when she moved it wasn’t to run away from the elephant. She actually looked like she wanted to walk around it to investigate.
J.D. & Galaxy: Galaxy also made it to the trumpeting part but then got scared and wanted to be with J.D.
Travis & Presley: With a lot of coaching from Travis, Presley stayed in the circle for the whole thing. Unlike Andrew, though, poor Presley did a lot of flinching. As an added note, Travis is just too cute when he baby talks to Presley.
This left Presley and Andrew tied. For the tie-breaker, the dogs had to sit in the circle together while the elephant charged at them. The owners stood in between the dogs and the elephant with their backs towards the elephant. Laurie wasn’t thrilled about that part. The first dog to lift his rear end from the ground would lose. One more time, Andrew sat there without moving a muscle. In fact, he never even looked remotely bothered by the elephant! Presley was quite brave too, but he did eventually stand up.
Laurie won the Dog Bone Suite and the “leg up” in the Best in Show challenge - which Jarod said he’d explain the next day. Meanwhile we got a glimpse at the softer side of Laurie when she got back to the Suite and found a note from her husband. She got too weepy to read it in front of the others. It was a very sweet moment.
Best In Show Challenge
This week’s challenge was called ’stunt dog’. The owners and dogs had to perform a series of stunts – an incline ramp, a balance beam and a zip line. As winner of the Dog Bone Suite Challenge Laurie got a “leg up” for this event in the form of a film and TV stunt dog trainer named Tom Roche. They got to work together, separate from the rest of the group. The other owners got to practice with safety trainers but had to take turns and could watch each other. Travis took full advantage of this and studied every move J.D. made. J.D. commented that he wished he could hide in a corner and work on his own and Travis chimed in that he was glad J.D. couldn’t. In the course of the practices, we learned that J.D. was opting not to practice the zip line with Galaxy because he thought it might make her more reluctant to jump off the ramp at show time, and Teresa is still struggling with Leroy’s barking.
The next day, when the contestants saw the actual setup, they were shocked at how high up the balance beam and zip line platform were. Harnesses were put on the dogs and the people and they were tethered for the entire event. The ramp and balance beam were designated as red and blue indicating the level of difficulty. One ramp had less of an incline that the other and one beam was wider than the other. Before the event, judge Victoria Stilwell expressed skepticism about any dog completing it and Allan Reznik thought that if any dog would, it would be Galaxy.
J.D. & Galaxy: Not surprisingly, J.D. opted for the more difficult ramp and beam. Galaxy handled them both without a problem. When J.D. called to Galaxy to jump off the zip line platform, she did so immediately with her tail wagging the whole time she was zipping. I have to say, J.D. was rather delightful through the event, cheering his Galaxy on.
Teresa & Leroy: Teresa also picked the more difficult ramp and beam and Leroy handled both easily with a minimal amount of barking. When it came to the zip line, though, he lost it and barked hysterically at Teresa. Eventually he did jump off the platform but the baby wasn’t happy about it.
Bill & Star: Bill had Star go up the easier ramp (he later said it was because Star wouldn’t run with the harness on and he didn’t think she could make it up the steeper ramp without a running start) and the more difficult beam. Star handled both with ease. When she got to the zip line platform, Star just looked at Bill like he was crazy for asking her to jump. She wasn’t even remotely threatening to do it, so Bill finally gave up.
Travis & Presley: Travis opted for the harder route up the ramp and across the beam and Presley ran through both challenges. He quickly jumped off the platform when Travis called him, but I got the feeling that was more about Presley being an exuberant puppy rather than a disciplined dog following a command. I will say, though, Travis did learn well from watching J.D.
Laurie & Andrew: Laurie wisely chose the easier ramp for Andrew and it still took him a while to get all the way to the top on his little legs. She had him cross the tougher beam, which he handled with no problem. When it came to the zip line, though, he wasn’t having any of it. Laurie gave up pretty quickly because she recognized that Andrew absolutely did not want to jump.
Allan liked the trust between Teresa & Leroy. Judge Wendy Diamond also thought they did a great job but said Leroy’s barking was driving her crazy. That’s the last thing Teresa needed to hear because she’s still stressing about the barking too much and probably just needs to let it go for now. Allan liked J.D.’s constant praise of Galaxy and, after slamming him last week for his training methods, Victoria was complimentary about J.D. this week. She liked how he made the whole thing seem like a game for Galaxy. On the other hand, Victoria thought Travis made the event harder for Presley by getting him too worked up. Wendy criticized his inability to get Presley to sit and stay at the very beginning of the event calling it Dog Training 101. Wendy didn’t like that Bill opted to take Star up the easier ramp (wait a minute, didn’t you all criticize him last week for pushing his older dog too much?) and Victoria added that she liked Bill’s training style but ultimately, Star didn’t complete the event. Allan commented that the easier ramp might as well have been Mt. Everest for a little maltese and was impressed by how far Andrew got in the event. Victoria was also impressed but, just like Star, in the end Andrew didn’t jump. Victoria ended by saying that this was going to be their toughest elimination so far.
Back at the house we learned that Galaxy was hurt and limping rather badly. J.D. was very concerned and had the Head Trainer check her out. The trainer said she didn’t think it was an emergency, or a life or death situation, and J.D. was relieved to hear that. By golly. I think I’m actually warming up to J.D.
When they reconvened for the judges’ decision, we learned that J.D. & Galaxy were voted best in show. By this time Galaxy was really limping badly and everyone expressed their concern. Teresa & Leroy were also declared safe for the week so the bottom three were Laurie & Andrew, Bill & Star and Travis & Presley. This ended up being the least amount of criticism ever given to a bottom three. Wendy reiterated that Presley was a bit out of control. Allan pointed out that Star wouldn’t jump off the platform and also went up the easier ramp and Victoria commented that Andrew exhibited stress signals at the zip line. Ok, wait a minute. Of course he was stressed at the zip line. It is not natural for a dog to jump from that height. I actually think Laurie should have been praised for having stopped the event as quickly as she did when she saw how Andrew was reacting.
Ultimately it was Bill & Star who were eliminated with Victoria saying that the judges had no choice because it was the weakest performance. Everyone was in tears, including me – especially when Bill kissed Star on the top of her head and said, “Thank you, orange dog.”
As a commentary, I was ok with the elephant challenge because, sometimes, it is very important for a dog’s safety that they blindly obey their owners’ commands. I don’t agree with the inclusion of the zip line challenge, though. I believe Galaxy jumped from the platform because she is simply a well trained dog that completely trusts her owner. On the other hand, I think Presley jumped because he’s just a puppy who got excited and doesn’t know any better. The last thing Presley needed was to be left with the idea that jumping from a large height has no consequences. He doesn’t understand that he was wearing a harness. He just knows that he jumped and it was ok. This challenge was a bad call by those in charge of this show.
In next week’s preview we learn that Galaxy’s injury might be serious enough to force that team out. I’m hoping that, once again, that’s just hyperbole but I am confident that J.D. won’t risk his dog if she is hurt badly.
This episode, and all previous ones, can be viewed at CBS’ website here:
Posted on August 27th, 2008 by Salty Old Dog in Television
With summer waning and my taste for reruns fading (and not being a big fan of summer reality shows like Princess Kitty is), I was glad to hear these bits of television news for the upcoming season:
1. Laurence Fishburne joining CSI. I lost my taste for “CSI” some years ago. A couple of the characters left me cold, I never could get excited by William Petersen’s hyper-analytical, world-under-the-microscope Gil Grissom, and let’s face it: if you’ve seen one rubber corpse on the morgue table with the Y incision, you’re seen them all. But the news that an excellent, riveting actor like Laurence Fishburne was joining the cast made me think I might have to re-visit Las Vegas. He might provide the show with a much-needed shot in the arm.
2. Angela Bassett joining ER. Okay now! John Wells decides to add an established actress for the last season of “ER”, so he gets one of the most glowingly beautiful women in Hollywood to don a white coat. Attaboy, John! I’ve been a Bassett fan since she showed off her guns as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It”. As a bonus, Wells signs Courtney B. Vance, Bassett’s husband, for a four-episode arc. Here’s hoping Vance gets to play a character much different than the buttoned-down, uber-controlled prosecutor he played on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”. He deserves the chance to show off his acting chops.
3. NBC Renews “Life”. Very glad to hear this, as I’m a big fan of this show and its star, Damian Lewis. I’ve been in his corner ever since the fantastic job he did in HBO’s “Band of Brothers” years ago, and even more so after “Life” hit the air. Lewis is excellent in the dramatic scenes, and has a surprisingly good touch with his character’s quirky comedy. (Plus, he is neck-and-neck with Hugh Laurie in the “Which British Actor Does the Best American Accent?” race.) I also like the prickly relationship he has with his tough partner, well-played by Sarah Shahi, and seeing Adam Arkin is always a treat.
4. USA Renews “In Plain Sight”. I flat-out love this show, period. The plots are a nice mixture of drama and comedy, the writing is sharp, and the actors know how to deliver. The by-play between the main character and her partner is priceless, like something out of “The Thin Man” or one of Cary Grant’s screwball comedies. Most of all, I love Mary McCormack. She’s smart, sassy, sarcastic, snide and sexy (and those are just the “S’s”.) Plus, I’m hoping the producers think of some way to get her in another cut-down-to-there cocktail dress like she wore in an earlier episode this season. (Note to Princess Kitty: Before you get mad at me for that, please remember your own comments about the hunky singing Chippendales dancer on “America’s Got Talent.” Fair is fair.)
USA did a series of clever promos for the show and below is my favorite:
The semi-finals for AGT have finally started! The show was promoted constantly during the Olympics so the ratings should be good this week. But I have to say, I wish I hadn’t been right about little Kaitlyn Maher. I said that I expected we’d see her “I’m from America” clip about a hundred times and I don’t think that turned out to be an exaggeration. I am now absolutely convinced that they put her in the top 40 just so they could beat that promo to death.
Anyway, we were back in LA with host Jerry Springer and Judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff for the live show. Ten contestants performed and the top 5 vote getters will progress. Tonight we’ll learn who those 5 are and we’ll get to see, and vote on, the next ten.
Extreme Dance FX - The hip hop cloggers. In the setup clip we saw Piers telling this group that they needed to improve their look. This time around the costumes were flashier but still modest. It’s a nice change of pace to see a dance group that isn’t using the crutch of skimpy costumes. I thought it was a solid, tight performance but I would have liked to have heard more of the “clogging” sound from them. The hybrid of styles is great, but I’d prefer it lean more towards the clogging than the hip hop. Piers acknowledged that he wasn’t their biggest fan going in to tonight’s performance but he liked their new look and how they performed as a unit. Sharon thought they were “on fire” and liked the combination of styles. David said he worried that they would be too young (they range in age from 14 to 26) but they proved him wrong.
The James Gang - As David said in their intro, they hip hop dance to 1920’s style music. I have been eager to see this group again, but this performance was disappointing. The saxophone in the backing music was fighting for dominance with the vocals. The dancing wasn’t sharp and they added in some magic tricks that weren’t necessary. The costumes were fantastic, but everything else was a mishmash. Piers thought the second half of the number lost its way and that they were trying too hard to impress. His quote, “You are very good at what you do. Don’t try to be too complicated.” Sharon and David agreed, with Sharon suggesting that they should establish their style for the audience first before introducing in everything else. All three expressed their hope that The James Gang would get another chance.
Derrick Barry – the Britney Spears impersonator. As I’ve said before, physically Derrick is amazing. His face truly does look like Britney and I agree with Sharon that his abs are awesome but………..it’s still a lip syncing act and I can’t get past that point. Derrick performed “Hit Me Baby One More Time” and the production values were fantastic – which only highlighted another problem. It was so much like the video that the expectation was for Derrick to dance just like Britney did and that wasn’t the case. His moves were not as sharp and he wasn’t showing the confidence that Britney had. Piers actually X’d him during the number. He doesn’t seem to be a fan of the genre in general and suggested that Derrick concentrate on being Derrick and let Britney be Britney. Sharon disagreed and said that she loves him and there is room for two Britneys. David thought that there was definitely a place for his act in Vegas. Funny Hoff should say that, as it seems Derrick has spent the last four years performing his act in that very place:
Elite (Alex Pyles) – the little girl who does martial arts with her dad. This time they put on a pirate act and the fighting didn’t look as realistic as it did the first time around. Alex is a good martial artist but I think her focus should be on the actual sport rather than making it a piece of entertainment. I just don’t think there’s enough there. The judges, on the other hand, loved it. Piers loved the creativity, Sharon thought Alex could be the next Lara Croft and David thought the act could go in many different directions.
Ronny B – As David said in the introduction, “Stand by for a nightmare.” For crying out loud, he isn’t even a creative “bad act”. He totally copied William Hung and performed “She Bangs”. Ugh! I would really like to know what his backup dancers – who’ve actually got talent and have probably been training for years – were thinking while rehearsing this number. David got a few points from me for X’ing the act but then lost them for his positive, albeit babbling, comments. Piers said Ronny won’t win, but he loves the enthusiasm and Sharon commented that Ronny had an absurd amount of confidence. To his credit, it does seem that Ronny knows exactly what kind of act he has and is just enjoying his 15 minutes.
The Cadence – the drumline act. Originally Sharon said no to this group and all the judges recommended that they add music and choreography to their act. They did follow the advice, but they still left me cold. I think I’ve just seen too many drum corps and marching band drumlines that were better. Piers expressed appreciation that they listened to the judges but thought the opening of the act was weaker than the ending. Sharon stated that she wanted them to be animals – specifically like Animal from “The Muppets”. Actually, that’s not bad advice. David thought they needed to “tighten it up.”
Jessica Price – One of the blond girl singers. Initially I was worried about Jessica and this competition. When she spoke about her estranged father, she seemed so vulnerable that I wasn’t comfortable seeing her exploited by a TV show. After this performance, I’m feeling better about her being here. In the introduction piece, Jessica informed us that her Dad did contact her and told her he was proud and now she wants to concentrate on overcoming her shyness. Jessica performed “Time After Time” and did a very interesting rework of the song. I thought the chorus was stronger than the verse, but she showed a lot of potential and I hope she continues on the show. Piers thought the performance was “fantastic” and Sharon expressed that Jessica’s Dad should be very proud of her. David said that he thought Jessica had a good chance of winning the show. I have to add here that Jessica was the Salty Old Dog’s favorite of the night. Please, America, vote her through. He’ll be really cranky if you don’t.
Shimshi - A magician we’ve seen very little of up to this point. For his act, he had someone from the audience chose a card from a deck. He then put the card back in the deck, hung the deck from a hook and did a back flip while simultaneously grabbing that specific card from the deck using tape stuck to his shoe. I thought it was pretty impressive. Piers and the Hoff thought it was just a card trick. Sharon vehemently disagreed with that assessment and I’m on board with Sharon. It may not have been the flashiest act in the world but it was definitely more than just a “card trick.”
DC Cowboys – The all male dance group. Oh guys. I really wanted to like your act but….it was kind of a mess. They were not in sync with each other at all. Some of them were moving like they were afraid of their boots slipping on the floor. They were nice eye candy but nothing else. Piers even X’d them during the number and described them as fun but below the show’s standards. Ummmm. I agree they weren’t good but, as long as Ronny B is still around, I don’t think Piers should be doing much bragging about the show’s “standards.” Sharon acknowledged the lack of dancing ability but thought their bums…..er, personalities, made up for it. David just thought the whole thing looked off.
Neal E. Boyd - Neal sang “Somewhere” from “West Side Story”. There is no doubt that Neal has an excellent, well trained voice but this arrangement didn’t work for me. He sounded wonderful on the big, high notes but my ear had trouble reconciling the quieter notes with his big vibrato. His voice is his voice and I’m certainly not suggesting he alter it. I just think he needs to be very careful about song choices, keys and arrangements. His voice is so naturally suited for opera that he’s going to struggle when he leaves that genre. In this case, I think “Somewhere” might have worked for him if he’d gone with the Barbra Streisand arrangement which would have given his voice more of a chance to soar. The judges all loved the performance with Sharon describing it as “superb” and David saying Neal is one of the top contestants. Piers also loved it but I have to take issue with his comment. He said that “only in America” can you have a guy who sells insurance for a living come on stage and give that kind of performance. That makes a lovely snippet for a promo but I should point out to you, Piers, that most of us have seen Paul Potts so we know that, in Britain, a cell phone store manager can do it too. I really dislike pandering.
At the end of the show we found out which act was voted into the top 40 to replace The Russian Bar Trio. All eight contending were trotted out on the stage to learn that Donald Braswell won the online voting. I don’t think it was really necessary to have all the others there just to disappoint them again. Plus, it had to drive them nuts to see Ronny B perform. They didn’t even get much additional publicity because the show didn’t have a graphic of their names and the camera was on the wrong people when Jerry started reading them off. Honestly AGT, you couldn’t give them a least a little break?
My picks for the five to continue on are Extreme Dance FX, The James Gang, Jessica Price, Shimshi and Neal E. Boyd. Tonight we’ll find out who really got the votes plus……………it looks like Eli Mattson will finally get to perform again!
Because Salty liked it so much, I’m attaching Jessica’s rendition of “Time After Time.” Thank you to “gorbidog” for posting it on YouTube:
It didn’t take long for interviews with the “Dancing With The Stars” professionals to hit the net. Below are a couple good ones I found. They include a look at the newcomers, Lacey Schwimmer, Inna Brayer and Mark’s dad, Corky Ballas. He’s only 48 and he and Mark are practically identical!
The picture and sound don’t always sync up in this YouTube video but it was the most comprehensive one that I found.
