Stuff I've enjoyed recently

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:14:45 GMT

Wrestling: The amazing match on last Friday's WWE Smackdown between Rey Mysterio and John Morrison for the Intercontinental Championship. Nearly half an hour in length and never a boring moment. Rivals the tables, ladders & chairs match between Jeff Hardy & C.M. Punk at Summerslam for the best wrestling I've seen since I started watching again.

Honorable mentions:

a) Bob Barker (of The Price Is Right fame) guest-hosting on Monday's WWE Raw. The opening segment -- complete with the game show theme song, the announcer calling out wrestlers planted in the audience as contestants to "Come on down!", and most of all a sour Chris Jericho in his wrestling trunks with a yellow 'Chris' nametag slapped on his chest -- was everything I hoped it would be. I just wish they'd used Barker on a different episode, rather than the one building up to this Sunday's Pay Per View, so that they could have really gone wild with the format without having to sell the PPV storylines.

b) John Cena's excellent "I will not quit!" promo last week, Dusty Rhodes' swerve followed by Randy Orton giving Rhodes the RKO as his son Cody Rhodes looked on, torn between his father and his ally/mentor. Very well scripted, and the wrestlers really sold it. Points deducted for Orton looking increasingly orange due to spray tan abuse.

Soap opera: Stacy Haiduk's riveting performance as Patty Williams aka Mary Jane Benson on The Young and the Restless. Normally, I abhor the whole Fatal Attraction-style woman-spurned-turns-psycho trope -- like, I really, really hate it with a passion. I think it's the idea that this trope needs no further explanation -- that we're supposed to assume that women's psychology is such that they're only one romantic rejection away from insanity. And this case, at least on paper, should be no exception, especially on a show that already has two other female characters in the midst of nervous breakdowns (no, seriously! Driving one to random acts of shoplifting that landed her in a mental institution, and leading the other -- victim of a gaslighting plot preying on her history of mental illness -- to hallucinations, a hit-and-run accident, and a miscarriage-turned-hysterical pregnancy).

But Haiduk is so mesmerizing that I don't care. Even when the storyline has faltered, as it has many times, Haiduk infuses such conviction and commitment into the role that it smoothes over all of the plotholes and dubious motivations. And the layers and subtlety that she brings to the role somehow manage to keep her character sympathetic even when she's committing unforgivable acts (though it helps that most of the other characters involved with her aren't particularly sympathetic themselves).

Reality dance competitions: Okay, despite my fears, the America's Best Dance Crew Bollywood challenge last week ended up with some awesome choreography & performances. One especially welcome choice -- they assigned each crew a different "Bollywood" dance style to incorporate into their routines. A very strong episode overall, and tied with the excellent "Bollywood" group routine on last week's results show for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, choreographed by Slumdog Millionaire choreographer Longinus "Longi" Fernandes.

Comics: Nothing special that was new out last week (Invincible Iron Man lost a bit of momentum after the last few issues), but I'm enjoying catching up on some stuff I'd missed -- most notably the sadly canceled Manhunter. It reminds me a bit of one of my favorite '80s comics, Steven Grant's Whisper.

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Brief thoughts while watching last week's Smackdown

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:12:00 GMT

I'll miss Jeff Hardy, but how much do I love that the WWE's new heavyweight champion C.M. Punk's gimmick is that he's straight edge, complete with magic marker 'X's on the back of his hands, and harangues the crowd about their drinking, smoking, and drug use?

(I am worried that last night's Bollywood challenge on America's Best Dance Crew will turn out to have been a train wreck, so I haven't watched yet. Anyone who's seen it, please advise?)

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SYTYCD Canada results show

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:57:25 GMT

Insta-reaction:

WTF voters?!?

WTF JUDGES?!?!?

In other news, next week's theme on America's Best Dance Crew is Bollywood. *crosses fingers*

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PSA

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:17:42 GMT

Whether you're disenchanted with the current season of So You Think You Can Dance, or worried about going through withdrawal after the Thursday finale, I've got good news -- the fourth season of America's Best Dance Crew begins on Sunday on MTV! Previous winners include the JabbaWockeeZ and Quest Crew. Bonus -- Shane Sparks is a judge, and Mary Murphy & Nigel Lythgoe aren't!

While you're waiting for Sunday to come, you can sample previous seasons on ABDC's MTV website (offer may not be applicable outside of the U.S.?). Or just get a taste of dance crew competition via this music video from ~~Varsity Fanclub~~ Big Bang:

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Frameshift

Stuff I've enjoyed recently

Brief thoughts while watching last week's Smackdown

SYTYCD Canada results show

PSA