Grey's Anatomy - Season 5, Episode 1

So, after a brief period of jumping the shark followed by a promising post-writers-strike return, Grey's is back for another season with a 2 hour premiere.

First thing I noticed....what's with all the bleeding commercials?? Seriously! I'm pretty sure if you took all the commercials out, this would have been a regular hour long episode! Christ.

Now really onto the show. After watching this premiere, I find myself wondering, is this show even relevant anymore? Really? This is coming from someone who was a huge fan in the beginning. Part of the reason that Carra is now somewhat a TV watcher is because I forced her to watch Grey's. I've sat through all 2 hours of the premiere and I have virtually no connection to any of the characters. I'm not getting excited about any of the story lines. I just don't care.

I think the problem is that a lot of the characters are just simply...annoying. Meredith, Izzie, Meredith's sister (see, I can't even be bothered to remember her name!). The only one I'm even remotely interested in is Sloane....and they're doing nothing with him!

In regards to the actual happenings in this episode, I have a few thoughts.

• The dream sequences were completely unnecessary; especially the Denny one near the end. Dude died two years ago...Let. It. Go.
• Meredith whining about her relationship the entire episode is a ridiculous step backwards. We ended the season last year with her taking a huge step forward and making a concrete decision about her relationship. She then spends the entirety of the premiere questioning that decision. Backwards. How much more enjoyable would it have been if they just played out the Rose conflict and left Meredith's neuroses out of it?
• Lexie lusting after George...I'm not buying it. She doesn't sell it well. It doesn't work. As much as I enjoy T.R. Knight, his character would be so much better off if they had taken him in a completely different direction when he failed his intern exam.
• The icicle impalement - while providing some chuckle-worthy moments, completely unbelievable. How long did Christina lay there without the thing melting? At all? Need I remind the doctors of the MEDICAL show that normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That's warm. Ice melts. The military medic provided some much needed distraction, I enjoyed his repartee with Yang.
• The Callie/Hahn lesbian relationship just seems like the writers are grasping to pair everyone up.

The one thing that will save this episode for me, at least to the point of getting me to watch next week, was the Chief's speech at the end. It struck me as a wiping clean of the slate by the writers. I would like to see the Chief lay down some rules around the personal shit at the hospital. I would like to have the opportunity to get wrapped up in the medical storylines which sadly have been incredibly secondary to all the relationshipping. Remember the two people impaled together in the train crash? Remember the guy with the bomb in him? There was no time for sweating the what ifs in the various relationships with those ones! The medical storyline in this episode was strong, but not enough time was spent on it. I found myself wondering if as many patients would have died if the doctors could have filed away their personal garbage for a more appropriate time.

So, like I said, I will be watching the next episode, but I am not committing myself for the entire season based on this episode. Speaking directly to the writers: MAKE ME CARE!!!

Oh yeah! Those two strangers stuck on a stick... I remember them! I was quite horrified by it, actually... probably why I blocked it...

My first intro to Grey's was of course by Kim... Ahhh, friends who love pushing TV on me... and then giggling darkly as they watch me flounder in the pool of obsession. So obsessed, in fact, that in Season 3 I walked around for a week saying "Meredith fell in the water. Meredith fell in the water and no one saw!" Entertaining at first to most people, then likely annoying as the week drew on.

Anyway, I watched the first 2 seasons on DVD, then watched the 3rd season in real time with the rest of the world. Toward the end of the 3rd I noticed I wasn't really enjoying it as much. By the end I had committed to Season 4, but if they couldn't grab me by Christmas, I was walking.

I made it through Season 4's first episode. Done. It was embarrassing. I walked.

Then by fluke (actually because it followed SYTYCD one night) I saw the last episode of Season 4 and it seemed noticeably better. So I made the same deal. And after watching Episode 1 of the 5th, I... I don't know. I agree with Kim pretty much on all points (especially about Meredith and Derick, who I used to love), and will make my decision next week as to whether or not it will earn 1 hour a week of my life.

However - Izzy's hair all short like that? Best part of the night for me.

So You Think You Can Dance: You Pick the Music

So a thought occurred to me today...

I was walking to ye olde day job this morning, shuffling through my music library on my iPod, and came upon Hedley's song "Old School". As I was listening, I thought 'It would be kind of cool if one of the choreographers on SYTYCD picked this song to do a waltz or something to. It's a different kind of song for a waltz, but it seems to have the right rhythm for it.'

Then I thought, 'I wonder what kind of songs other viewers would like to see/hear on the show and what kind of dances they would pair them with?'

So that is the question I pose to you, PGTW readers. If you had the connections, what songs would you pick to be used on the show, and what style of dance would you choose for said songs? Leave your suggestions in the comments (you don't need an account or anything, you can do so anonymously). I'm intrigued to see your responses!

Cheers!

Del Amitri - Tell Her This

Just sort of stuck on this song today....

Carra's Restaurant Review on Menuism

For anyone in North Vancouver thinking of going to the new One 12 on 13th and Lonsdale, you maaaaaay want to read this first...

http://www.menuism.com/restaurants/baI-EyHq4r3AkUaby-mumT-one-12-restaurant-north-vancouver-bc

SYTYCDC Auditions Part 3 - Montreal & Calgary

Okay, the judges in Montreal are Jean Marc (did he colour his hair? it seemed darker to me...), Tre and Dan.

Louis-Philippe Deslauriers - His samba seemed really stilted to me. Straight through to the finals? Really? This guy looked like Ricky Martin! That goes a long way with me... And for Tre too, it seemed... but as soon as she made a schmoozy comment about him, JM basically told her he didn't want to hear about it. Which, really, considering how many times we've had to wait for him to go change his pants...

Nicola Archambault - Thinks he's way more punk than he really is. He's...quirky, I like it. Sort of meh from the judges but he's through to choreography and eventually makes it to the finals. I really liked him, it worked for me.

Lara Smythe - Lots of gymnastics type stuff, but it looked like she almost smacked her forehead on the floor. Straight through to Toronto.

Bad dancer montage. When will people learn that hip thrusting is not dancing. When they show the bad ones, I am always amazed at how painful it is!

Jeremy Tran-Huu - I will let you know now...popping blows my mind! I have no concept of how someone can get their muscles to do that. If someone can do that, I'm a fan. He's straight through to Toronto. I thought he was fantastic, but really thought he needed to go to BBC to be convinced he had other layers.

Katie Lee - I don't know if I would've worn the sweatpants with that outfit, but she seems to have it goin' on. The judges are loving it. Ugh, I don't need to hear JM sing Funkytown anymore. (I said outloud - 'Don't do that.') Straight through to Toronto.

Vincent Olivier Noiseux - We first learn that his girlfriend makes it through to Toronto but we don't see anything of her performance. First impression, I wasn't expecting this guy to be very good, but...I was wrong. Straight through to Toronto.

Meaghan Wegg - She's a Cirque college graduate? Seriously? They have that? I wanna go! Lots of tricks, but not really a lot of dancing. Dan seems to agree with me. He's smart like that. Regardless, she's straight through. Another one I needed to see in choreography.

Jennifer St. Pierre - Uh oh...she's got a crush on Dan. This can't be good. Yep, not good. Sweet mother of God. JM has the dead eyes. Dan looks slightly vomitous. Eeeeh, I'm getting a bit of a stalker vibe. The judges are being gentle with her. (I thought Dan really handled himself well.) I’d get started on that restraining order Dan. LOVE when she says "You'll see me again..." yeah, like peering inside your window, or chasing your car, or picking your leftovers out of the trash...

Justin Jackson - Yay! A tap dancer! His dance doesn't seem to really go with the song, but he's good. Tap dancers never really make it very far though. Tre: "Your feet are disgusting!". In more ways than one I imagine! He's straight through to Toronto. Pasha did a solo to this song back in the day... I remember useless crap like that - oh! Pasha danced to that, like 2 years ago, for 30 seconds - yet lock myself out of the house on a regular basis cuz I forgot my keys...

Yonni Fournier - He's a salsa dancer. Seems pretty tight, but this probably would've looked better for him with a partner. Okay, the judges like it, but I have no idea what that sound was that Tre just made. She should refrain from doing that in the future. Off to Toronto he goes. I felt the judges were pretty soft tonight.

Tiger Son - He's popping (shirtless), so points from me (uh huh), but the whole aggro vibe isn't doing anything for me. He's very angry...even getting good reviews seems to make him angry. He thinks he's better than everyone else. He's through to choreography...and ultimately off to the finals. Not entirely sure how I felt about this.

Danny Arbour - He's doing the samba with a partner that's not competing. He's good and seems really into it. Tre hits on him...disturbing. Straight through.

Kaitlyn Fitzgerald - Cute and really into what she's doing. I'm anticipating a Toronto ticket...and I'm right! JM - "That was effort......less." Nice em-phasis.

Sami Elkout - Hip hop...didn't seem like a lot going on in the beginning but got it together a little way in. I would have said send him through to choreography, but he's got a ticket to the finals. The whole King-Fu thing cracked me up.

Cody Vannell - Dude, this kid looks like he's 12! (Ha, that's EXACTLY what I wrote down too!) This kid is a hip hop dancer who I could see being able to pick up choreography really well. He's just got that kind of movement. Through to Blake Bootcamp and through to the finals.

Phairy - Ummm....yeah....this guy's missing his calling as a drag queen. Seriously, someone needs to hook this guy up with Miss J from America's Next Top Model. Ugh, he's in the bargaining phase...not good. Aaaaand he's gone.

Dario Milard - Wow...I don't think this guy's arms are are connected to anything under his skin. Crazy. No commentary, straight through. He was awesome! Love the music, love the moves... love it.

In Calgary the judges are Tre, Jean Marc, Shean Cheesman, Jeff Thacker. (I don't know who some of these people are.)

James Jones - B-boy, crazy tricks. Straight through.

Ashley Irvin - She's worried about falling. (I was more worried that she lost a sock along the way) Doesn't look like she needs to be worried about it. JM: "You get me at 'ello". Hee. Sean's crying. Okay. May we pause here, for just a minute? He's crying. Because she's from Calgary? That was the connection that brought the tears? Man, is he in for a rough night. I don't know if anyone told him, but tonight? They're pretty much ALL going to be from Calgary. She's straight through.

Misha Myroniuk - Amateur 'dating coach'...yeah. Dancing some sort of tango. He's sort of creepy. Through to choreography, ultimately he’s out. Creeeee-py.

Christian and Denitsa - They're really good. Eeewww... I think JM just orgasmed. I kind of thought the open backed shirt would put him over the edge. Through to finals.

Lee Savage - Seems like a lot of the same stuff...not really exciting. Tre calls it 'oatmeal'. He's out. Poor guy - rejection AND a pulled hamstring, all in one night.

Matthew and Jared - Cowboy dance off!! It wouldn't be an episode in Calgary without the obligatory stereotyping! Both seem pretty goofy. Both are through to choreography but ultimately sent home.

Izaak Smith - Medieval fighter. He's doing that lyrical hip hop thing. I'm liking it. Looks like he took some cues from the Katee/Joshua routine from SYTYCD US (ed. note - I originally had this as Mark/Chelsie until Alina set me straight!). Straight through. Holy smokes, are we plugged into the same socket here tonight Kim? I wrote that down to the word!

Hermanie Shairp - Carra will cry during this one. She's in a wheelchair but still dances. I wish they had shown her full performance instead of montaging it, 'cause it looked really nice. Predictably she's going home. You know, I did really good on this one! Hardly cried at all! I think I'm toughening up.

DJ Dove - Not good enough in Vancouver, not good enough in Halifax aaaaaannnnnd....going through to the finals....after choreography. And after JM says something like 'You know? If you were good, you'd be really good. But since you're not, you kind of suck.' Followed by Tre's 'You know those other auditions? Where we said no? Well this audition wasn't as good as those.'

So I’ve decided that Tre irritates me. Going forward I’m going to try and ignore her. I’m also confused by their decisions for choreography vs. straight through, but auditions are over now, so I won’t have to bitch about that anymore.

The show isn’t back now until October 1st, so we’ll be blogging about some other stuff in the meantime to keep you all entertained. Stay tuned! Feel free to post any comments - we'd love to hear your thoughts... if they're nice... :)

SYTYCDC Part 2 Auditions - Vancouver and Halifax

Sorry we missed recapping the first night of auditions for SYTYCDC - had no idea that Television Without Pity only covered off on American shows, thus creating the need for this blog!

I'm not used to this show being aired on Sundays, so I'll admit I actually forgot about it until late in the afternoon.

And another admission, before I get started? I don't watch TV. Or at least I didn't... until this damned show came and stole my heart. He he he...Completely my fault!! Sigh. Now I'm a hopeless addict that sobs uncontrollably in almost every episode, and can't really explain why that is.

Alright, so we start off the night in Vancouver at the Centre for Performing Arts - so close to home! Wonder if I'll see anyone I know...

Our judges are some guy named Paul Becker (sorry, no idea who he is) (the fact that he choreographs for the Jonas Brothers doesn't make me respect him very much!), Jean Marc Genereaux (JM) and of course, the one who makes me cringe, makes me laugh, makes me plug my ears, makes me look away in embarrassment, Mary Murphy. And it just wouldn't be SYTYCD without her. It hurts me to say that.

Started off strong in Vancouver - Kevin Mylrea, some guy who just couldn't string his words together, was great and was put straight through. We moved on to Nicole Bowser - who, hold on, she's from Mississauga... - who is a "hairographer". A hairographer? What the... anyway, she was really good too, big smile on her face the whole time... and JM who wants so badly (or is it bad?) to be Nigel, complete with the leering over all the pretty girls. She gets put through to choreography and ultimately to Toronto.

Next guy, Victor Van Tran - kind of a B-boy, hip hop thing going on - off to choreography for you too. Jeremy Brama, who Mary called the Running Man did just that. He ran. And wow, did she crack herself up with that one. And the thing I love to hate about Mary's laugh is that it contains nothing but big, loud HA's. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. They actually put this guy through to choreography, but he didn't make it to the finals. The bonus is, there was a significant decrease in screaming in this episode. Much appreciated by me!

Then a whole bunch of crazy people. That Paul calls a "hot, hot, hot, hot, hot mess".

Next up, a little cutie from Cuba - Arassay Reyes (sp?) - dancing to Gloria Estafan and the Miami Sound Machine! Fun! She has her dad with her, and he's just so proud when she makes it through to the finals. She was cool! I appreciate people who can dance like that, 'cause I know for sure, I never could.

Oh oh. I think this one might make me cry. Tyrell Witherspoon, from Winnipeg... tells a story of his mom passing away the day before his 21st birthday... I'm welling up. Dammit. Great dancer, great flips and tricks, and looks so scared to be hopeful while the judges are stringing him along - and straight through he goes!

Candy thief Ferdinand Tocol is up next... his shoes are on the stage? I don't... okay, now he's put them on... JM talks en francais, Mary goes HA HA HA HA HA, and they send him to Blake Boot Camp.

Jolene "Joey" Bothwell gets a "wow" out of JM about 5 seconds in. She really was quite good, very expressive - and straight through.

Finally the girl who breaks her foot. The lead up in all the commercials the other day had me thinking I'd be sitting on the edge of my seat. Not so much. Sad for Stephanie and all, and to hear her call her parents and let them know she was in the hospital was almost tear worthy - but we moved on quite quickly... to the "funkiest girl in Vancouver" says Paul. Natasha Gorrie has Mary groovin' in her seat and sending her to Blake and then through to the finals.

They go on to Tyler Jacobs, who forgot his waterproof mascara. Turns out that he should have brought it with him. He's crushed when they tell him no, but bounces back claiming his unrelenting love for Leah Miller, before flashing us a Peace Out with Love on his way out the door. I'm sorry, I found that guy painful to watch. That obvious desperation just doesn't do it for me.

Another girl that I didn't catch the name of is put straight through to the finals, and that ends the first day of auditions in Vancouver - but not before we find out that Victor Van Tran pulled a Robert Murano in the choreography.

Day 2 starts off with Emmanuel Sandu - a figure skater/dancer who thinks he is fantastic. And he really is. It's the fact that he thinks so too that's a bit of a put-off. Paul calls him a prima donna, Mary can't say Triple Axel AND started on about the Hot Tamale Train (dear lord, I was hoping we had left that train in the States, where it belongs). They end up putting him straight through to the finals, but JM has one parting shot - "Make us like you." I'm betting he doesn't. He may make Top 20, but his 'tude will get him ousted post haste.

Rachel Wainwright - oh Nigel, you are so missing out! You hear Paul ask JM in the middle of her performance "You alright over there?" Must have spilt his drink when the table shot up like that. Rachel finishes dancing and the first words out of JM's mouth? "Yummy". Seriously? That totally grossed me out, especially from a guy with a daughter. Followed by Paul saying he'd like to get his hands on her in choreography. Uh huh. Poor Mary is dog paddling just to stay alive in the middle of all this testosterone... but no matter, they send her to see what Blake can do with her. She makes it to the finals in the end. Of course she does.

Another guy, Eric Malapad, from Winnipeg that they fire straight through. I liked him, he was good.

Tiffany Anderson is a special needs worker from Abbotsford. Just those very words are enough to put JM over the edge. I... I won't say any more on this, for fear of coming off like a cold hearted hag on day 1. Needless to say, she makes it through to the finals. Okay, if you won't say it, I will. COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE! There was not even 1% of viable connection to JM's personal situation with his daughter and he busts up like his dog just died! Really?

I'm tired of hearing how cold it is - freezing, in fact! Umm... it doesn't actually get that cold here in Vancouver. Put on a jacket, you'll be fine.

A ballroom couple doing the tango - Sara Liang and Zillion (love the name) Wong - are told they are the best ballroom dancers in Vancouver and sail through to Toronto.

Poor Monique Van de Plas - she tells her story of being broken hearted and pregnant, but here she is to give it her best shot. I'm thinking this one may make me cry? No - I made it through - I think it was Mary's cringing that squashed my sentimental moment. Tyler Fraser from Moose Jaw comes to lighten the mood, Mary's chair dancing, and the judges are saying something about the funky chicken. Choreography.

Heather Morrison does a great job until she pulls a hamstring - but she holds it together long enough to go get her ticket to Toronto.

Oh! A cute guy! Michael Blais does a hip hop thing, Mary totally crushes on him and doesn't give the guys the opportunity to speak and just pushes him over to Blake. He ends up dropping out. Disappointing. But come on, you couldn't see that coming a mile away??

A total of 35 dancers from Vancouver are put through to the finals.

Over to the East coast of Canada - and what? No Mary? Huh. This seems... strange! Quiet...

On the panel we have Tre Armstrong, Dan Karaty (love! I heart Dan Karaty!) and Melissa Williams - I don't know her...

We start off with a smokin' ballroom number from Claudia and Francis that Dan calls "sexy"... "fantastic fire" says Melissa. We'll see them both in Toronto. They were awesome!!

Ah, Stephanie Grant, the cutie that brings us the highland dancing. She was great, but completely out of her element in the Boot Camp. Troy Miller, who was a cheerleader for 12 years, and admits to being obsessed with the Pussycat Dolls, utters a fearful "grrr" when asked if he can "bring it" in the choreography. Turns out he can't. Bye Troy. Colour me shocked!

Allie Bertram from Calgary wows everyone with her ballet performance - she was the first (and maybe only?) one to be put straight through in Halifax.

A whole series of "no"... and some girl saying something about leaving her body on stage? I don't know... I'm pretty sure they tell them at the beginning not to leave their belongings on stage when they leave....maybe she didn't get the memo.

Marie-Christine (said with strong french accent) Edmund is "cute as a button" they say - she makes it through in the end.

Now we have... we have Tomiko Allen. Poor Dan. He's trying, I think he really is. He admits to being scared. They put her through to choreography, solely based on the amount of grit and determination she brings to the table. Before Boot Camp starts, she melts down a bit, but a hug from Blake can fix most anything. It doesn't get her a ticket or anything, but...

And we're done. Next week is Montreal (for some reason I'm quite looking forward to that) and Calgary. See you there!

I'll admit, I don't pay as much attention as Carra does to the auditions. I just snark my way through them. Overall I though Vancouver was pretty lacklustre, which is unfortunate. Halifax seemed rushed. So, pretty much meh for me. I get far more interested when we hit the finals.

Cheers!

What We're All About

So you may find yourself asking, 'What the heck is 'Pop Goes the Word' all about?'. Indeed, what are we all about?

Well, the idea to start the blog first came about as a way for us to respond to/recap episodes of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. You see, Carra and I are avid fans of So You Think You Can Dance and thoroughly enjoy the recaps posted at Television Without Pity. Alas, being an American site, TWOP doesn't cover the Canadian version of the show. So we have taken it upon ourselves to carry you, dear readers, through the season.

So now you may find yourself asking, 'Why not call the blog something to do with So You Think You Can Dance?'.

My answer to you, friends, is that Carra and I are women of various interests that we occasionally have thoughts about that we'd like to share with you. So, in addition to our SYTYCDC recaps, here you will find tidbits on various pop cultural, political, literary and entertainment topics, as we each feel the desire.

We welcome you to Pop Goes the Word as we all embark on this endeavor and hope you enjoy what we have to offer.

The postings will be done in tandem, with mine (Kim) being in white and Carra's looking like this.

Cheers! Enjoy!