How do you solve a problem like Maria? - Problem Solved!

After 6 months of competition (and yes, that is a hell of an audition for a role), the voting was finally tabulated and Canada got it's Maria for the upcoming revival of the Sound of Music.

The crowd was certainly alive last night as Elicia was chosen as Maria and knocked Robo-Maria (Janna) on her schnitzel.

I was happy to see that it was a girl with warmth, heart and innocence that won. I was seriously concerned for the past few weeks that Janna was going to win (she seemed to be the Judges' favorite) but it appears that this voting thing actually paid off.

It was a shame that we didn't get to see all the other girls before the big reveal (if they do something like this again, they really need to have a clue about how to put a show like this together) as I wanted to see their reaction to who won. Would it have been shock or awe that it wasn't Robo-Maria? I actually missed seeing Simon the past couple of episodes as I wanted to see how he would react to the winner.... maybe there will be a follow up on the website.

Congratulations Elicia! I really hope to get the chance to see you perform and am sure that you will do a great job.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? - End Game

Finale week is finally here -- and after all the drama of the past few weeks it's finally down to fresh faced Elicia (my choice) or Janna (the Maria clone).

The Judges were short one last night as Simon had personal business (things were a tad less twitchy last night), and his royal whatever Andrew was feeling a bit under the weather and I was just waiting to see how obvious they were going to make their choices. I still think that have already decided on their winner and are just playing along until they can reveal who the winner is.

As the girls got whittled down from 3 to 2, there were several comments thrown out that made it clear that Jayme was too sexy for the role of Maria (as I have been saying for weeks), and we found out the Janna got the most votes and would be part of the final vote. Janna is too polished and too perfect for the role, and she lacks the wide eyed innocence that I see in Elicia. Maria is innocent and not some fembot. Needless to say, all of my votes went to Elicia and I hope to see her in the winner's circle tonight. Hopefully the Judges feel the same way, and from a few of their comments you might think that will be the outcome but stranger things have happened.
I for one, am just glad that it is over.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? - Week 5

After the complete debacle of last week and the exit of Donna, the Couch Potato is still a little miffed and still feels like Diva Donna was forced off by stacking the odds against her. I wonder if the Freedom of Information Act would give me access to the voting records, I still have a problem believing that Donna's legions of fans left her hanging... but then again this is probably just another one of those random rants.

Conspiracy theories aside -- I do have to say the "surprise" appearance of Lord Webber last night left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I loved the bit with John Barrowman (those lucky girls) and he just reinforced his sexy image. Elaine had to start dropping names and after mentioning Richard Geer, the fricking Lord of Whatever made a bitchy comment about gerbils.
Puhleese, that is not behaviour befitting the most common folk -- let alone a so called Lord. Just nasty stuff. Simon didn't do much but live up to his name of Sir Twitches-a-lot. Thankfully Gavin is there to keep things semi-serious, I am starting to find his hosting style quite amusing.

As for our Marias --- Janna is completely boring me to tears at this point and I don't want to see her as Maria now, I still don't see Jayme as Maria (as I have said for weeks), Marisa disappointed last night with her performance so I gave all my votes to Elicia. She did a great job last night and hope to see her in the final Maria Show Off. I almost tried to vote for Donna anyways last night.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? - Week 4

Well , well, well ..... it appears that the Lord (Andrew Lloyd Webber) doesn't like Donna that much -- and let the conspiracy theories loose because after last night I have the definite impression that they are trying to force Donna out of the competition.

This is not one of my favourite things .... last night they gave another muted performance to Donna ("Another Challenge" as Simon Lee likes to call them), who, despite the challenge, rose above it and sang the hell out of the song. I do have to say that the fact that they paired up that performance with a very dynamic one was an even more blatant attempt to try to dissuade the voters. It didn't work at my home, as we maxed our votes out for Donna on line and by telephone and I hope that she is here next week to blow Andrew Lloyd Webber off his chair with her dynamite voice and presence.

At least John Barrymore is still a fan of Donna .. Elaine seems to be on the other boat and Simon ( Sir Twitches-a-lot) will do whatever his Lord wants, so the odds seem to be stacked against her at this point and so I am really crossing my fingers tonight.

As for the other performances, as I have been saying for weeks, Tamara has to go ( I was still shocked that she was kept last week and Kyla was sent home), and will probably be joined by Janna and Elicia in the bottom 3. While Janna kind of bombed last night, she will probably make it to the next round due to her previous performances. Jayme seems to have stepped up her game but I still have problems seeing her as Maria and she is my other choice to leave, but that probably won't happen as she turned out a good performance last night. Marisa is turning into the pleasant surprise that I wouldn't mind see win if Donna doesn't .. that was a great rendition of Downtown last night.

Go Donna !!!

How do you solve a problem like Maria? - Week 3

Week 3 has arrived and this week is double elimination week. I am not sure if that means that the ratings are not what is expected (it was in the top 25 at the beginning but has fallen since then) or if it is part of the 'formula'. It's a new show for Canada so it seems kind of experimental at the moment.

Our Marias performed Musical Theatre numbers last night, and a few of them were absolute stand outs (Marisa and Elicia were outstanding, and Janna and Donna were great) -- I thought that Simon was having a seizure while watching one of the girls with the way that he was twitching. Of course, for all the great performances there were a few of them that fell to the side. I am pretty sure that there is no tomorrow for Tamara (sorry dear) and it's time for our little pink lady (Katie) to hit the road. There was some mumbling at the beginning of the show about Donna being a bit of a diva and that not being appreciated by Elaine. John was hilarious and said that every leading lady he ever worked with was a diva and a bitch (or at least the good ones were) and that he doesn't care. I hope that it doesn't affect Donna's chances this week (hard to say, some of the girls were terrible but bad impressions can be just as dangerous) and she is still around when they are trimmed down to 6 tonight. Donna got all of my votes again -- I still see her as Maria and think she could be a huge success.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? - Week 2

Week 2 has arrived and last night all of our remaining Marias were "taken out of their comfort zone" and given songs that have been made famous by Canadians in this (almost) Canada Day

episode.

Donna is still rocking the house big time... she was one of the very few (there were only 3 performances that did anything for me) that seem to score big points with the Judges. Kyla did a nice job (but I am still convinced that she can't be Maria because she is too curvy and sexy... Maria isn't that top heavy usually or have cleavage) and Marisa redeemed herself after having to sing for her life last week. She impressed the hell out of me.

The show seems to be finding it's rhythm better this week and even Gavin seems to be more on the ball (there are the occasional awkward pauses or he has to run to get on camera), but I am still finding it very friendly as far as reality shows go and wondering if the girls will start cat fighting or being hyper competitive amongst themselves .. well ... this is Canada after all and I imagine that they will still end up being polite .. much to the disappointment of John Barrowman. Our dear friend seems to find us Canadians as talented but less ruthless than our counterparts across the pond ... and maybe that isn't a bad thing. I think that Jayme needs to go tonight.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? - Vote !

Things got off to an interesting start with the first week of performances and tonight will be the first elimination.

Albeit the technical glitches ( yup it was live, and it was interesting to see one of our Marias have to deal with a dead microphone) it was a fun evening. I enjoyed how each of the Marias sang a different song (not from the Sound of Music) that they had to belt out like it was musical theatre, and some of the Marias did an amazing job.

I love seeing John Barrowman as one of the Judges and hope they find their rhythm after the first week. It seemed rushed at times for the Judges to get in their opinion, and it looks like John is going to be the hard ass of the group. I was hoping that Elaine or Simon was going to take that role but it appears that Captain Jack is on board for that reason. If last night was any indication, I think that they got tons of votes (or had tons of technical issues) that kept the lines busy last night as I gave up trying to call in after more than an hour and went online to vote for ... drum roll please .... the fantastic Donna who gave me the shivers hearing her belt out " I am changing" from Dreamgirls that was unbelievable.

Here's hoping that she is still around after tonight -- what a voice and such presence!

Reality Round Up - Are you the one?

The CBC started running the Canuck version of " How do you solve a problem like Maria? " this week, looking for the next lead of the Sound of Music on Broadway. I am a huge fan of the classic film and it is a regular holiday staple here. There are some very big names that are associated with the show such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Simon Lee, Elaine Overholt and John Barrowman (yes he of Torchwood and Doctor Who fame) as the regular judges.
The hilarious Gavin Crawford (from 22 Minutes) is hosting-- and Gavin does have a completely nonchalant attitude towards the whole thing.My favorite contestants so far are Donna and Katie -- but we'll have to see how things develop as neither are the typical Julie Andrews look. I love the marketing for the show -- the simple M? logo and the catch phrase " Are you Maria?" make the concept sound simpler than it actually is. It looks good so far and has my interest, let's hope that now we are to the " Top Ten" situation and the voting will start that the real contenders step up and show us why they should be Maria.

So you think you can Dance ? has finally passed the selection process and we are now into the partner competition part of the series. I enjoy the competitions (and find that the dancers and choreography are even more difficult than last year), but am still looking forward to when half the herd has been culled and we are down to the final 10. That's when the competition gets really interesting. Is it just me or are the Judges being even more difficult this year? I know the game is up several levels, but I find the Judges too critical. Twitch and Comfort are a couple of my favorite dancers so far. Last week we lost the first couple, and this week it's kind of up in the air after several iffy performances.

Farmer wants a wife pulled a quick one last night and we are down to the final 2 girls, Christa and Brooke. It's funny... they are the 2 that I thought from the beginning matched well with hunky farmer Matt, and my heart has grown big on Christa (who I think has enough spark to keep Matt on his toes) and have gotten so tired of the ever virginal Brooke, who just seems to be trying too hard and not in the right ways. Here's hoping Matt chooses Christa... now in a perfect world I would love to see the gay version of this one...

Tori & Dean: Home sweet Hollywood started up this week and I am glad to see Tori back in the fast lane. I can't believe how pregnant she is (again) and looking forward to seeing if we will find out some of the back story of her return to 90210. Will things ever be cool with Mommy dearest? Dean is getting back in the acting gig and I can't get over how adorable Liam is.