‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Worst season ever?

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It was such a straightforward, unsurprising results show that I bet you could accurately guess who went home. Fortunately, for the sake of discussion, though, I happened to read the following tidbit Thursday night in the ‘What to Watch’ section of this upcoming week’s Entertainment Weekly. Under the listing for next week’s ‘SYTYCD’ finale, Jessica Shaw writes, ‘The final four vie for the title … but is winning the show’s worst season to date really a victory?’

‘Worst season?’ I thought to myself. To quote ‘Clueless,’ way harsh, Jess. If anything, I thought last season was the show’s weakest season, as the show and viewers struggled to adjust to the ‘all-star’ system and lack of Mary Murphy. But in general, ‘SYTYCD’ is a show that I don’t think ‘worst season’ can be slapped on as easily as, say, an ‘American Idol’ or ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ No matter who’s at the judging table or who’s dancing with whom, we’re still seeing amazing artists and athletes work their butts off in a way that no other show delivers.

It’s possible I’m just full of baloney and Jessica is totally right that this is the worst season to date. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Otherwise, like I said, there are no surprises going into next week’s finale and there wasn’t too much tension in the delivery of the results since the decisions were based on votes alone. I felt bad for Lauren and Kent, who danced beautifully (and how about that kiss at the end! They didn’t seem like they were faking it too much) but were introduced by Cat Deeley as performing because ‘we’ve got a bit of time tonight.’

I preferred Lauren and Kent anyway to Pia Toscano, AKA that pretty girl who got kicked off ‘Idol’ so early last season. Toscano seems to have been getting a little bit of coaching in terms of onstage ‘tude, but she’s still aways from being a star in her own right. She needs to figure out a hairdo that doesn’t make her look like the girl who looks like Kim Kardashian and I don’t think she’s quite found her hit single yet.

If you like crotches and abs, though (and who doesn’t?) there was a lot to enjoy in the Bad Boys of Dance’s ‘Tron’-themed dance. Seriously, anatomy aside, the hybrid hip-hop/ballet performance was very impressive.

And next week your finale will consist of Melanie, Sasha, Tadd and Marko. Caitlynn’s definitely a talented dancer and seems like a sweet girl, but, as Nigel put it, Melanie dances from her heart and Sasha dances from her soul, and you just can’t compete with heart and soul. I also wasn’t very surprised that Ricky was eliminated either, just because he’d been in the bottom so many times before, I thought eventually his last time would come.

Do you agree with the final four? And are you like me and are hoping for a surprise Mia Michaels appearance next week? And did you ever celebrate National Dance Day? (I didn’t, but I thought about it.)

ALSO:

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‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Pick a favorite, already!

Show Tracker: Complete coverage of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’

-- Claire Zulkey
Twitter.com/Zulkey