SYTYCD Recap: A Glitch in the System

32 Comments

1. 1
   georgiababe
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 4:37 pm

   I had the exact same reaction as you did about Nigel saying outright that he’s not voting for Cyrus. What an ass. I threw the jeans that I was folding at his stupid fucking face. This is as bad as the time when he clearly wanted Mark to go home (in Season 4) so he gave Mark the first (and ONLY!) country two-step, which was a total disaster, and then the next week he saddled Mark with Comfort as a partner and gave them a quickstep. Remember that? THAT made me mad.

   Also, WHAT a pervert, man alive. He is just disgusting.

   I haven’t read the recap yet, but I HAD to tell you that you are definitely not alone in your feelings towards Nigel, he is infuriating!

2. 2
   Lurker
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 4:47 pm

   I had so many friends on facebook comment that they were voting for Cyrus just because of what Nigel said … and after I watched the segment I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a ploy to help Cyrus win. I will agree that he is amazing at what he does, and his dance with Twitch was awesome, but he is not a well rounded dancer like the rest of them are. I actually feel really bad for Chehon. Nigel’s an ass!

3. 3
   ANTM Fan
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 4:55 pm

   I also thought that Nigel’s statement was a shameless ploy to get votes for Cyrus. In fact, I agree with everything you said in this recap. After the way he’s been blowing smoke up Cyrus’s a$$ all season, it just felt so disingenuous to me.

   The group number was embarrassing. Maybe the worst group dance I’ve ever seen on this show. Although it did show off, again, how outclassed Cyrus is by the other dancers.

   I also had the same thoughts about the pas de deux. That particular section of the Nutcracker has never been my favorite, and it’s not like there’s a shortage of classical routines to choose from. I thought both Eliana and Chehon were fabulous, but I worry that people who don’t have a lot of experience with ballet won’t realize how hard Chehon worked in that routine.

   I just don’t think we’ve seen any growth from Cyrus. He’s great at what he does, but he half-asses everything else. (And, to be honest, I thought Tiffany completely outdanced him in the hip-hop number.) Chehon, on the other hand, has shown tremendous growth. He was a little stiff at the beginning but the way he’s inhabiting all the different styles at this point in the show is amazing. He so deserves to win this.

4. 4
   Luke
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 4:55 pm

   Last week Cyrus gets the first ever dubstep routine! This week Cyrus gets the first ever animation routine! What will Nigel come up with next?

   I’ve been so pissed at the show for all the Cyrus love…I don’t think they have ever given him a serious critique. EVER. The switcheroo on the paso doble was also ridiculous, I bet Elaina just though ‘Great, guess I’m doing all the work again?’.

   His dance with Cheon just showed all his limitations. I like the guy, but it’s hard to give him credit for a win when he’s one styled it right into the finale? He can’t feel good about it either.

5. 5
   sagittariuskim
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 5:16 pm

   This season has been so frustrating.

   I think has done a disservice to Cyrus. Nigel keeps going on and on about how much Cyrus wants to learn, and it obvious he does. Yet no one has given him and opportunity to grow or learn. I really hope Cyrus doesn’t win because I hate to see the amount of backlash he gets for something that’s Nigel doing it.

   Chehon has grown on me. And I was disappointed with the Nutcracker too. Is there actually anybody out there who finds the Nutcracker exciting? To me the Nutcracker is one of those things nobody wants to admit isn’t that great because it’s a classic.

6. 6
   Andrea
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 5:23 pm

   The thing that irritated me even more than Nigel’s comment about not voting for Cyrus was that he told literally every one of the finalists that they were his ‘favourite’ something, except for Tiffany…

   He does this every season, he always has to say who he likes best, even though NO ONE cares. Tiffany has been by far the most consistent and surprising dancer of the season, and she can dance circles around Cyrus but yet she just doesn’t matter in his mind? Pathetic.

7. 7
   Lauren
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 5:29 pm

   I watched this a little later than the live showing BC of my many other TV viewing commitments. So by the halfway point, I was power voting for Chehon. Then I get to the end and listen to Nigel’s manipulative statement about Cyrus. As I’m on my phone, voting for Chehon, I’m yelling at my TV in defense of poor Cyrus, who looked totally flabbergasted. I had a second of feeling bad for voting the other way before realizing that’s exactly what Nigel wanted. I feel terrible for Cyrus though, to be told something like that on TV ( and I really don’t think he realizes the manipulations involving him).

   I will say this for Cyrus: my boyfriend watched the first half with me. He hates the show, and has very little appreciation for dance in general. After every dance I loved, I’d turn to him expecting him to be all “yeah that was great”, but he could have cared less. Then Cyrus came on for his solo. My boyfriend looked at me and said “Now that was pretty cool”. I guess that’s why people like him and keep voting: his style is so different from what we are used to, and is awesome when done right. I had to laugh over the fact that he could care less about Eliana or Chehon (no comment on Tiff other than to say she was hot), but perked up when Cyrus came out.

8. 8
   cattyfan
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 5:49 pm

   I stopped watching the show weeks ago, but it’s apparent in the stills that Tiffany forgets to point her feet half the time.

   And Cyrus? His continued presence in the face of better dancers being sent packing is what made me quit this season.

9. 9
   Riley
   Posted September 16, 2012 at 5:59 pm

   Whenever I watch this season it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. If I keep watching next year (who am I kidding, of course I will) I think I’ll just fast forward through the judges’ comments. Nigel makes my skin crawl.

   Really hoping for Chehon to win over Cyrus. I’d like Eliana to win for the girls, but I won’t be upset if Tiffany wins.

10. 10
    KartofflMuter
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    It’s inexcusable to announce who you are or are not voting for before the phone lines open. Some people vote against a judge -just because. I think he was counting on it. As for animating dance style-someone by now really should have stepped up and said, “ok. But what else can you do?” Chehon doesn’t resort to ballet every week. So no-he didn’t belong in the top 20. I want Cole. I want Cole. I want Cole. And DOGS won AGT???? REALLY. Nap time.Me,240 Vicodin,and Piglet. This sh it must stop. It’s global warning.

11. 11
    R.
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    If we say something about Cyrus being pimped by the judges without a reason (and we should!), we also have to say something about the obviously favoritism towards Eliana. Don’t get me wrong, I think she is amazing, but in this finale she had a ballet piece, a contemporary piece and a routine where with a pole as a prop. She also got to do her second routine of the season with Alex Wong. She only had to do one latin ballroom routine far from her genre (and was not very good at it) and both times she did hip hop was never hard hitting routines. It’s pretty clear that the show wants her to win.

    And that’s why I’m rooting for Tiffany. As she said in her package, girl was never showed before the top 20, during the course of the season had the largest variety of styles (and only danced twice in her own), was great in most of them and was able to capture the attention of the audience. She is amazing and hopefully will go very far in the bussiness.

12. 12
    Lizbot
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    I didn’t watch this week (I didn’t need the frustration, but I will watch the routines on youtube — fastforwarding past the judges’ comments, of course), but in reading the recap it really strikes me that they’re completely strayed from the original vision of the show — having dancers show what they can do across different genres. Sure there was some ballroom thrown in there, but generally it seems as though most of the routines catered to the strengths of each dancer – chehon and eliana got mostly ballet and contemporary, tiffany got mostly contemporary and jazz (and hiphop, which she already has shown she can do), and cyrus got hiphop and animation. I’m sure I will love some of the routines when I watch them, but I really miss being surprised by the breakout performances we used to get on this show. Booo, Nigel! Boo! You ruin everything!

13. 13
    KartofflMuter
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 6:51 pm

    Don’t forget -once they’ d determined Chehon no hip action,they gave him one Latin dance after another.

14. 14
    georgiababe
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 7:39 pm

    Alright, done the recap.

    I want Chehon to win, so badly. I can’t vote – being from Canada – BUT I am rooting for him so hard.

    As for the girls, I honestly don’t care. Either will be good.

15. 15
    vallegirl
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 8:52 pm

    I had a different take on Nigel’s dick move. I was likely being delusional thinking Chehon was gaining, so Nigel was just giving himself some cover after the inevitable Cyrus win. They all spent the entire season telling him how inspirational he was because he could (barely, poorly) learn choreography and acted like his inability to even straighten his leg was no biggie because that’s just how awesome he is, and now that he’s going to win Nigel wants to get some cover from propping a nondancer.

    And even though the costumes kind of gave away what Chehon and Eliana were dancing, I was still hoping maybe for Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky pas de deux or something from Rubies. (Not that I know anything about ballet, I just remember watching Edward Villella dance on PBS when I was little.) Especially Rubies since that was choreographed on Villella and he was also a spectacular leaper.

16. 16
    sfspurri
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 9:18 pm

    I totally agree on Nigel playing us on voting for Chehon instead of Cyrus. It pissed me off because 1. That’s extremely rude to do to Cyrus after blowing smoke up his ass all season. And his “lower your shoulders” critique, his ONLY critique, was only used twice throughout the entire season. So that must’ve been a major shock for Cyrus, when Nigel has been rooting for him all along! I don’t think Cyrus should win the competition, but he does seem like a really sweet, genuine person, and they’ve fucked him over all season. Anyway, 2. It’s insulting to the viewers. We’re not that fucking stupid. Obviously, when you make a comment like that, all the Cyrus fans are going to worry that a lot of other people feel the same way and are going to use their votes to the maximum to prove Nigel and everyone else wrong.

    Also, I’m not sure if you noticed since it wasn’t mentioned in your recap…I did enjoy the Cyrus & Twitch animation, but at one point, Cyrus turns in the opposite direction and then quickly shuffles over when he finds he’s facing Twitch and not away like he’s supposed to. It was great otherwise, but that one misstep kind of ruined a lot of the routine for me.

    I wish there was more Mad Chad in the rehearsal clip. He’s amazing and super hot.

17. 17
    leslilly
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    Pottymouth, Nigel is an asshole. Plain and simple. Do you follow him on twitter? I’ve tweeted comments to him before – he, or someone, reads them. I was really disgusted by Nigel’s manipulation as well. and sometimes, the old fucker just doesn’t make sense. At one point, 3 of the 4 contestants were his “favorites” in one way, shape or form. I sense that Nigel sees other people as stupid/dense & that he believes he can get them all to do what he wants. Very transparent & just icky. and I HATE the pervy stuff! jesus christ on a pogo stick! we get it – you’re horny. shut up already!!!
    Sorry. Had to vent.
    I really really really want Chehon to win.

18. 18
    NatPatBen
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    Interesting point made by R. (post 11)… I hadn’t thought about the show pushing Eliana as hard as Cyrus, but now that you mention it…. [I still love Eliana!]

    I took Nigel’s ridiculous comments at the end to reflect the thoughts: Oh no! While I like Cyrus and wanted him on the show and to get very far, I definitely don’t want him to WIN this thing! That will not reflect positively on the show. Time to switch who I support!

19. 19
    georgiababe
    Posted September 16, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    Also, did I mention? Twitch is WAY HOT. I loved him in his season (and since) because he seems like a total sweetheart but HELLO did you see his muscles? Man alive, I would jump that man’s bones in a heartbeat.

20. 20
    L
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 6:18 am

    It was Nigel trying to have his cake and eat it to. He follows all the talk on twitter and the blogs. First, he wants us to talk about the show (he kept asking on twitter if it was trending). Second, now he gets to say if Cyrus wins, but I told everyone that his form was bad (once in the finale). America voted for him. If Cheon wins, he gets to say to him now look what I did for you. It’s horrible, it’s deceitful, and it pretty much puts the crown on why this is the worst season ever.

    Which is a shame, because I do think Eliana is one of the best dancers the show has ever had. Allison and Danny are my two most favorites, but it’s a damn shame that Eliana’s talent has been wasted overall on this show. I think Eliana did a greatjob in her hip hop, broadway, jive, quickstep, and paso. She had just as diverse a repertoire this season-certainly more than whitney or cyrus.

    And I thought Tiffany’s looking back piece was really interesting. It was very meta about how aware she was that she wasn’t in any of the audition footage, how she looked just like the girl she danced with in the opening top 20, how none of the judges talked to her. It was a true underdog story, not this crap garbage they are trying to sell with Cyrus. And then she danced to Fantasia which pretty much sums her up.

21. 21
    Enrique's Mole
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 6:37 am

    RE: Cyrus never being given the opportunity to grow

    I wonder if the choreographers tried to give him more difficult choreo to do, but he just couldn’t do it. And then rather than have a dance disaster on the show, they dumbed routines down for him so that he could do something, even if it was just shuffling around and hefting a partner now and then.

22. 22
    sagittariuskim
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 9:29 am

    I could understand the choreographers dumbing down the choreographer for Cyrus at the beginning of the season. But as the season went they should have gradually made it more difficult for him. Isn’t that how learning works start with the easy stuff and worked your way up to the hard stuff?

23. 23
    Juno
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 9:36 am

    Re: the comment that Eliana was being pimped like Cyrus because she got ballet and the burlesque pole dance in the performance finale – I think that TPTB tried to give all four dancers routines for the final performance in which they could demonstrate their excellence.

    Everyone keeps talking about how “no one else can do what Cyrus does” – but I defy any other female dancer who has ever been on the show to use that pole the way that Eliana did. Tiffany – who I really like a lot – could barely even get halfway up. Eliana and Chehon FTW!!

24. 24
    KartofflMuter
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    I never ever thought Cyrus would get this far-so obviously,the fix is in. What ever happened to them openly drawing their next week’s dance style out of the hat? Fairness-what happened to fairness where everyone was subjected to the quickstep? And what exactly does Cyrus to that is so damn special? I still don’t get it. I really don’t .It bores me.

25. 25
    wcsdancer
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    Yep, despite all of Nigel’s “pick up the phone and vote” and “America is speaking”, it’s not truly in the voters’ hands until the final. Up until then, if TPTB want a dancer/s in the bottom, they put them there regardless of the viewer votes. Cyrus was kept on the show.

    Twitch so obviously outdanced Cyrus. It may have been Cyrus’ style, but IMO it made it glaringly obvious that he should have gone weeks ago.

26. 26
    zbird
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 7:43 pm

    I haven’t finished the recap yet,nor read the comments, so if someone already said this, forgive me: I think Cat was counting the actual number of dances the dancers were doing live that evening, which was 5. The group number (blech! Tyce sucks and I’m sure you’ll concur when I get to that page) was pre-taped. You can tell because before the commercial cut away they show the dancers ready for their next number, and then suddenly they are in different costumes for the group dance, and then back to the costumes they were wearing before commercial.

    I have to defend my lovely Cat y’all! Love her! Hate Nigel. Hate Mary. Hate Tyce. Love Dimitry!

    Okay, back to read the cap.

27. 27
    kron
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    ugh Nigel’s such an asshole. I’d already voted for Chehon and Eliana before I had a chance to watch the show, but after I heard Nigel’s comment I wanted to go back and vote for Cyrus. Then I realized that was probably Nigel’s plan all along and got mad at myself for falling for it and at NIGEL BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN SO MANIPULATIVE AND BIASED THIS SEASON.
    Seriously, is it just me or have all the other dancers danced twice as much as Cyrus all season? It seems like the choreographers haven’t really given him a chance. But at the same time, maybe it’s because Cyrus really can’t do the moves and they have to make him look somewhat decent?
    I really hope Chehon wins. He was so amazing this episode. But I also have to say Chehon wasn’t as versatile as I had hoped. Most of his ballroom dances were pretty bad. Loved his rumba this week though! Of course I might have been greatly influenced by Dmitry’s presence. That man is so hot
    I was so excited for Chehon and Eliana’s dance! I’ve been waiting all season. I want to see Chehon and Alex do a piece together next!
    Eliana’s been my favorite all season, but Tiffany’s been growing on me the past few weeks. I loved their dance it was so much fun! By the end of the episode, I really did not know who to vote for anymore.
    Tyce’s routine was such a hot mess. It reminded me of that piece Chelsie and Twitch did but WORSE, sloppily put together and so disorganized.
    Random question, but did anyone else think Will looked kind of like Russell with his new hairdo?

28. 28
    Enrique's Mole
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 5:58 am

    @Kron – I thought Will *was* Russell at first!

29. 29
    PottyMouth
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 3:53 pm

    georgiababe: LOLOLOL! I threw my water bottle at the TV! Luckily it was empty at the time.

    Lurker: AHHHHHHH!!!!! See?!?!? I think that’s exactly what Nigel was hoping for. Have I mentioned lately that I hate him?

    ANTM Fan: Oh yeah, that group number was an embarrassment. BitchyPants is usually terrible, but he REALLY outdid himself this time!

    Luke: Thankfully Nigel can’t come up with anything else, but I’m sure he would if he could!

    sagittariuskim: I completely agree. It’s been obvious from the beginning that Cyrus is excited to be there and to learn and it’s ridiculous that no one has given him the opportunity to do that. The Nutcracker is fine, but there are so many BETTER ballets to choose from and even the Nutcracker pas de deux could have been done to show off Chehon JUST as much as Eliana. They just chose NOT to do that. I blame dickhead Nigel.

    Andrea: Good call! I completely missed that!!! He’s such a jerk.

    Lauren: I think the really terrible thing is that Cyrus has no control over Nigel says to him and the fact that they keep blowing smoke up his ass is ridiculous. Also, I’m not surprised that your bf thought Cyrus’ solo was cool – the dude is awesome at what he does. I just wish they’d given him OTHER stuff to do or let him go.

    cattyfan: LOL! I wasn’t even trying to capture unpointed feet! I may have joined you in quitting were it not for my commitment to recapping. I got so angry midseason I really thought that maybe I should just be done with this show after this season. Of course that probably won’t happen, but it’s the first time I ever even thought it.

    Riley: You should always keep the mouthwash nearby when watching. Nigel is such a perv and always makes me feel squicky as well. He’s so gross.

    KartofflMuter: I was with you until the dogs winning AGT. I don’t watch that so I have no idea what you are talking about. I prefer Pooh bear over piglet, but to each his own.

    R.: I’m not going to deny that there is favoritism toward Eliana. I think it bothers me less because the girl is freaking WONDERFUL and I’ve been routing for her from the beginning. That said, I wouldn’t lose my shit if Tiffany won. She has been winning me over week after week. As a former ballerina I would LOVE to see both ballet dancers win though.

    Lizbot: YES!!!!!!! You are SO RIGHT. I think this show has become a giant ego trip for Nigel. What’s always been so exciting season after season was seeing someone really KILL it in a style that is not their own: Danny and Lacey’s sexy samba, Alex Wong doing hip hop, Ivan making a major break through with contemporary. I miss those WOW moments.

    vallegirl: Hm. That is an interesting alternate view of Nigel’s dickery. Either way, he is an asshole. But it’s not like we didn’t know that already. Oooooo! Rubies would have been fantastic! What a (semi) wasted opportunity.

    sfspurri: I completely missed that until you mentioned it! I think Twitch kept pulling my focus and at that point I wasn’t really watching Cyrus anymore. Good catch! LOVE Mad Chad. SOOOOOO amazing (and hawt).

    leslilly: I do follow dickhead Nigel. He is such a jackass to everyone and just as condescending on Twitter as he is on the show. I especially loves how he likes to call people morons when they give him shit about something. Because you can’t possibly be intelligent if you disagree with the STUPENDOUS Dizzyfeet. What a douche.

    NatPatBen: I dunno, I find it hard to believe that Nigel had an oopsie moment. But who knows? Hell could freeze over too, right??

    georgiababe: Get in line.

    L: Allison and Danny are two of my favorites ever as well. But Eliana is up there as well and I agree that she has gotten the short end of the stick this season what with being paired up with Cyrus. I almost talked about Tiffany’s journey piece, but then I would have had to talk about everyone else’s as well and I was NOT doing that! I also found it interesting that she seemed very aware of just how invisible they tried to make her. It’s obviously she was originally intended as fodder.

    Enrique’s Mole: You may be onto something there, but then they should have allowed him to fail and go home. Personally I think Nigel was OBSESSED with him making the top twenty and the tour and once they got to that point they couldn’t very well let him TANK, could they?

    Juno: AMEN!!!

    wcsdancer: Remember when America used to decide the results once we hit the top ten? I think it’s ridiculous that they tout this as being America’s favorite dancer when America’s vote counts very late in the competition. UGH. The whole voting process really pisses me off.

    zbird: Ah! That makes sense. Usually Cat is right on and so I got so confused when she was wrong. You defend Cat all you want! I love that lady!

    kron: He’s always been an asshole, lol! I agree that Chehon wasn’t as versatile as I had hoped; but he has improved over the course of the season and the dude can DANCE. It will really be a travesty if he doesn’t win.

    Thanks so much everyone for reading and for all your great comments. I honestly don’t think I would have made it through this season without all of you.

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure that you DO NOT talk about the winner in this comment thread. I am going to do my best to get the final recap done as quickly as possible, and the forums have a thread where you can talk about the winner to your hearts’ desire in the meantime!

    See you all soon!

    SWAK, PottyMouth

30. 30
    wcsdancer
    Posted September 19, 2012 at 10:35 am

    @PM, even early on, it was totally the producers’ call concerning who would be eliminated. I watched an interview w/ Benji (S2) in which he said the final four got to have a Q & A with Nigel and Nigel said the producers can override viewer votes until the finale.

31. 31
    Chrissy
    Posted September 19, 2012 at 9:46 pm

    In the early years (must admit I didn’t watch a lot of series 1 but since 2, I’ve seen every single episode) the voters had Total Elimination Rights at Top Ten. But then, in Five, Janette went out at top 8…probably due to Melissa having the BCD the week before…and Nigel was very vocal that he’d hoped she would win (although he did appear delighted a few weeks later when Janine took it). I think he didn’t want that to happen ever again; hence the judges keeping (some) control until nearly the end.

32. 32
    wcsdancer
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 11:19 am

    Sorry, Chrissy, but even in S2 the producers were in control. Benji said they could ask anything they wanted except who was going to win. Nigel confirmed that the producers could indeed override the viewer votes until the final.