Some Christmas traditions
Dec. 26th, 2019 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessMerry Christmas, all. (In the spirit of discosure: of course Christmas is a mixture of things. I was a bit grumpy having woken up to have to do family logistics - still unresolved - today, some friends of mine are having tough times that put my issues into perspective.)
Yesterday, I watched the Strictly Christmas Special - about the only show amid the ‘festive offecting’ that is appointment TV for me, and it didn’t leave me enraged, so that’s good.
We started off with Joe ‘I’m the show’s Charlie Bucket' Sugg and a cute dog, got a nice camera angle of him dancing with Dianne and then too much time to ponder how heinous the blue dresses they’d put the pro ladies in were. Another memorable bit: Kevin ‘pinching’ the Lovely Debbie McGee from Giovanni. Posh place, disjointed opening number for me.
In the studio, TessnClaud were celebrating Quality Street and showing off their legs (more so than Claudia did all year?) White to gold from the judges.
First couple and first actual couple: Gemma and Gorka, who I ought to snark about weaponising their baby, but they were endearingly down to earth (her: we’ll embarrass her as a teenager with this video, him: breaking the baby replica outfit). The jive was fine. She looked great and kept up all the way through. Christmas inflation was present and correct in the scoring.
On to Mark and Janette doing a salsa, so one kind of knew what was coming. I thought he was a little better, because he had a little more to do, but he possibly suffered from comparison to Kelvin. I can’t say I noticed the blunder, so I was a little surprised he got the same as Gemma.
Next, Chizzy and Grazziano (and she did her best to get him a partner on the main show, apart from that note that made dogs howl in the VT, possibly apt in a year where so many cast member have suing badly). Conceptually, the start of their dance was ‘workplace sexual harassment via dance’. I liked her gown, and her sass. I thought her leg action was okay, but there were lots of bits where Grazziano was doing much more work until we had The Splits.
Was this when Claudia sold the cracker joke?
Richard and (poor) Luba had a foxtrot. He was always going to be at the bottom of the leaderboard, though I thought he was decent in hold. What I didn’t get out of him was decent characterisation.
Actual couple no. 2 Joe and Dianne, and I can totally believe they dance in the kitchen. Did she expect, when coming on this show, that street commercial would be her bag? He kept up with her and the routine was a class above anything that had come before. Rightly, there was lots of praise from the judges for the choreography, although I don’t think the quickstep section was served well by the pattern of their trousers. Excited kid Joe getting a Christmas prezzie and grown-up Joe embarrassing his gran were still not as cute as Gemma and Gorka’s baby.
Speaking of not being served well by their outfits, only the skirt flaring out redeemed Debbie’s. Happy Kevin (from Grimsby) and, again, I’ll believe Gio telling him he could do anything with Debbie dance-wise. It was a very classy routine, lovely, crowd-pleasing accents, great footwork and swing, sway and a nonchalant ‘I can do splits, too, Chizzy.’ Her delight at the 40 (even if it’s a Christmas 40) was sweet and Kevin had the sense to know this show was about her.
As Mariah Carey or her holograph couldn’t turn up for her ‘All I Want for Christmas’, we had another ex One Directioner wandering among some fake Christmas trees that, sadly, did not turn into dancers. But Nadiya and Johannes turned up and did some lovely dancing and impressive lifts to grab all the attention.
I can’t be Grinchy about the charity segment, because Gemma rooted it beautifully and there were little kids who were clearly thrilled to bits at the whole thing.
And then, the vote, and I was wondering if Joe being a part of the team this year would swing him all the 2019 cast member votes, but the power of The Lovely Debbie McGee and Kevin from Clifton doing proper ballroom was irresistible. I understand this result was leaked, but I hadn’t known it, although it was the result I was hoping for from since the line-up was revealed.
I liked the final routine, the dreamy treatment of the song, fan usage, of course, in yet another nod (intentional or otherwise) to the past year on the show.
Yesterday, I watched the Strictly Christmas Special - about the only show amid the ‘festive offecting’ that is appointment TV for me, and it didn’t leave me enraged, so that’s good.
We started off with Joe ‘I’m the show’s Charlie Bucket' Sugg and a cute dog, got a nice camera angle of him dancing with Dianne and then too much time to ponder how heinous the blue dresses they’d put the pro ladies in were. Another memorable bit: Kevin ‘pinching’ the Lovely Debbie McGee from Giovanni. Posh place, disjointed opening number for me.
In the studio, TessnClaud were celebrating Quality Street and showing off their legs (more so than Claudia did all year?) White to gold from the judges.
First couple and first actual couple: Gemma and Gorka, who I ought to snark about weaponising their baby, but they were endearingly down to earth (her: we’ll embarrass her as a teenager with this video, him: breaking the baby replica outfit). The jive was fine. She looked great and kept up all the way through. Christmas inflation was present and correct in the scoring.
On to Mark and Janette doing a salsa, so one kind of knew what was coming. I thought he was a little better, because he had a little more to do, but he possibly suffered from comparison to Kelvin. I can’t say I noticed the blunder, so I was a little surprised he got the same as Gemma.
Next, Chizzy and Grazziano (and she did her best to get him a partner on the main show, apart from that note that made dogs howl in the VT, possibly apt in a year where so many cast member have suing badly). Conceptually, the start of their dance was ‘workplace sexual harassment via dance’. I liked her gown, and her sass. I thought her leg action was okay, but there were lots of bits where Grazziano was doing much more work until we had The Splits.
Was this when Claudia sold the cracker joke?
Richard and (poor) Luba had a foxtrot. He was always going to be at the bottom of the leaderboard, though I thought he was decent in hold. What I didn’t get out of him was decent characterisation.
Actual couple no. 2 Joe and Dianne, and I can totally believe they dance in the kitchen. Did she expect, when coming on this show, that street commercial would be her bag? He kept up with her and the routine was a class above anything that had come before. Rightly, there was lots of praise from the judges for the choreography, although I don’t think the quickstep section was served well by the pattern of their trousers. Excited kid Joe getting a Christmas prezzie and grown-up Joe embarrassing his gran were still not as cute as Gemma and Gorka’s baby.
Speaking of not being served well by their outfits, only the skirt flaring out redeemed Debbie’s. Happy Kevin (from Grimsby) and, again, I’ll believe Gio telling him he could do anything with Debbie dance-wise. It was a very classy routine, lovely, crowd-pleasing accents, great footwork and swing, sway and a nonchalant ‘I can do splits, too, Chizzy.’ Her delight at the 40 (even if it’s a Christmas 40) was sweet and Kevin had the sense to know this show was about her.
As Mariah Carey or her holograph couldn’t turn up for her ‘All I Want for Christmas’, we had another ex One Directioner wandering among some fake Christmas trees that, sadly, did not turn into dancers. But Nadiya and Johannes turned up and did some lovely dancing and impressive lifts to grab all the attention.
I can’t be Grinchy about the charity segment, because Gemma rooted it beautifully and there were little kids who were clearly thrilled to bits at the whole thing.
And then, the vote, and I was wondering if Joe being a part of the team this year would swing him all the 2019 cast member votes, but the power of The Lovely Debbie McGee and Kevin from Clifton doing proper ballroom was irresistible. I understand this result was leaked, but I hadn’t known it, although it was the result I was hoping for from since the line-up was revealed.
I liked the final routine, the dreamy treatment of the song, fan usage, of course, in yet another nod (intentional or otherwise) to the past year on the show.
