Friday, June 5, 2009

WHY I LOVE LATE NIGHT...

Steve Martin and Paul Simon on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

this clip is everything I love about live tv. It made me laugh out loud, it made me a little uncomfortable a couple of times, and, you know...Steve Martin.

enjoy.

Well done, Conan

I love Conan O'Brien. Jay Leno has never made me laugh out loud. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I was excited for the new incarnation of the Tonight Show. As far as late night tv goes, I wasn't a regular watcher of Leno or Letterman. I thought David Letterman had a much better show by miles, but for me I would generally tune in when a guest I enjoyed was on. Late Night With Conan O'Brien was the only late night talk show that I would generally watch all the way through.

I watched the first two episodes of Conan's Tonight Show this week and happy to see that what I love about Conan translated so well into the new time slot. First of all, that set is GORGEOUS. I love love love it. I love the way Conan relates to his guests, the way he makes you feel like you are watching as two old friends are catching up. There is so much I want to say about why I think Conan O'Brien is the perfect choice for the Tonight Show, and so many responses to the critics who think that Jay's shoes are too big to fill and that people don't "get" Conan's humor, but this post on the best week ever blog, written by Dan Hopper in response to a review printed in the New York Post, does it so much more brilliantly than I could ever attempt.

read on!

SYTYCD WTF?!?!

I love So You Think You Can Dance. I love the level of talent that is represented on the show. The dedication, the passion and the commitment of these dancers is so moving to watch. It's always hard to see a favorite from the early auditions get cut before making it to top 20. Having said that...I think the judges made a HUGE mistake this season and I'm really quite upset about it.

Last season, we met Natalie, a beautiful dancer who came to the audition with her roomate/best friend Katie. In the end, there was room for only one of them in the top 20, and Katie moved on to be one of my favorite things about the show. In fact, I think she should have won. Flash forward to this season. I was so excited to see Natalie again. I was thrilled when her solo proved my memory to be right on the money, that I had not built her ability up in my head after all. She's that good. She made Sonya cry. The judges were blown away. Game on.

In Vegas, she breezed through early rounds and then during the Jazz choreography by Sonya, she was singled out by the choreographer who told the other dancers "you wanna see what I like?? Natalie and Brandon, will you come forward and show everyone?". Somehow when performing that EXACT choreography in front of the judges, they were not impressed. Even if she didn't blow them away, I don't think anyone could have argued her ability overall. Then the judges gave her that "we expected more from you" crap. It's not fair to have different standards for different dancers. At that moment, she was eliminated. Just like that, they sent her home. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???? Everyone was shocked, including Sonya, who did NOTHING to defend Natalie.

Throughout the next hour and a half we watched a lot of dancers stumble and disappoint, and almost ALL of them got a second chance. They were able to perform either the same choreography again or their own solo in order to 'dance for their life'. Good for them, some of them really deserved it. So did Natalie. GRRRRRR.

Anyway, the top 20 looks like an interesting mix this year, including a really cute, young male dancer that I don't remember seeing before they told him he was through to the show. I am really really happy that Evan made it to the top 20 this year because he is a breath of fresh air. I can't wait to see who they pair up together!!!