Summer Rant – Hot Stuff

In the heat of summer nights, things have been burning up the screen with the past couple of episodes of So you think you can Dance? and the Final Four. I am still surprised that Janette was let go the other week and then Melissa last week as I thought both of them were some of the strongest dancers, but it’s hard not to like all of the dancers as all of them have been incredible this season. I have to agree with the Judges that this is the BEST season ever, the most talented and some of the most incredible choreography.

It’s a shame that Kat’s stylist is so hit and miss this season as she seems to look fabulous one night and then like a mermaid threw up on her another night. Seriously, I  can not get over how fugly some of those frocks are – that green animosity from Thursday night has scarred me for life.

Things were very busy last week and I didn’t have time to rant, but I have to say a couple of things about last week’s 100 episode celebration. First, Ellen was hilarious as a guest Judge and brought some very funny moments to the show. The whole Katie Holmes fiasco is another story. Her so called “Performance of a life time” was all lip sync and no substance, I think her real performance of a life time is her “marriage” with Tom Cruise or whatever those Scientologists call mating ceremonies. Enough said.. yeesh!

I am not at all surprised that Brandon was chosen for the Final Four – he looks like a winner to me and seems to have won over even his most fervent critics. The guy is stunning to watch (and of course it really doesn’t hurt that he is modest and loves to dance almost completely naked) and has one of the most perfect physiques that you have ever seen. Pure talent through and through and he reminds me of Will (guest dancing on the Results show and sporting some new facial hair) from last season.Although a tad self indulgent, the performances of all of the Emmy nominated pieces were as stunning as ever. I bow in gratitude at Mia and Wade for blowing my mind with their outstanding work, but I am pretty sure that our local girl Stacey Tookey will be getting some nods for her great numbers this season. I can hardly wait until SYTYCD Canada starts on August 11th, just after this round of the American competition.

So we have Brandon, Jeanine, Evan, and Kayla as our Final Four, and while I am a tad surprised to see Evan there, I know it’s because of his cute puppy eyes and his glowing personality.Ade was a tough competitor but didn’t bring more than Brandon, who I am pretty sure will be the last guy standing and the ultimate winner this season, but the one surprise may be Kayla, who has been shining since Day 1 and is a very talented dancer. As much as I love Jeanine and admire her talent, I am still surprised that she was there to to the Final Four and it will be a huge surprise if she wins. I always thought that either Melissa or Janette would have been there at the end instead of her.

I was peeved that The Superstars skipped last week and I have to wait for the Finale, I have been getting used to my jock fix each week with Maks and when this ends will have to wait until the next season of Dancing with the Stars. Some things you can never get enough of.

There are things that I have been trying to see if I like ‘em and unfortunately as interesting as the concept of Hung was, the actually performance has been kind of limp and it will be Off the Watch List. New shows and concepts are always hit and miss and it’s a question of whether or not the actor can suck you in. I was not getting the big performance that I wanted, and that may be because the show was too hetero-centric and didn’t speak to me.

Kathy Griffin’s guest are being more interesting than her and not in an endearing kind of way. Her bomb at the Apollo was just ridiculous as she should really know the audience and limits before shooting off her mouth. Getting banned from everywhere is no way to build a career and the more the gays get neglected the more bitchy we get. There is the D List and then the STUPID List. I wish that Margaret Cho’s show had been picked up again but alas, that seems to be another victim of alternative programming. This has not been the best year for for gay characters or icons on TV.

Triple Sensation was incredible (and short unless you saw some of the extra episodes on Bold) and I am was happy to see Leah win the big prize. It was fascinating to see the performers work with all the big names and get such intensive training. The concept and execution of the show was great, the contestants all incredibly talented and I hope to see more. I was surprised that it was mostly girls at the end, but encouraged to see the talent in these young performers. It’s a shame that there are not enough opportunities for Performing Arts in Canada and that there is always the allure of Broadway to call our performers away.

Top Chef Masters has been astounding and has given me the appetite to pay more attention to the regular series, and makes me eager to see the Next Iron Chef series that will be rolling out on Food Network. It’s a shame that the Canadian version doesn’t air series the same time as the US one (some things I will never understand). I was thrilled to see our modest Chef Anita Lo pull out the win in round one and I am still surprised about how so over the top gay Opera’s personal Chef Art Smith is. Not that it’s a bad thing, it is actually nice to see one of those big old girlfriends from down South who is so out there that no one cares and is found charming instead of flaming.