2008 Gymnastic’s Womens All-Around Olympic Results

Last night proved to be one of the cloesest nail-biting competitions of the entire Olympics thus far.  The general gymnastics media pegged Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson as the main competitors for the womens all-around title, but as these Beijing Olympics have proven, nothing has set in stone, and nerves or other factors can take Gold away in the blink of an eye. 

As pointed out on the opening event, the vault, the Chinese women were definitely going to be a huge threat, along with the Russian, Skenia Semenova , and Romanian, Steliana Nistor.  As it were, after the first event the troubles began.  Nastia landed her vault perfectly and if looked at in slow motion, the execution was flawless, yet she scored in the low fifteens, because her start vaule was lower.  Still myself and the judges included were dumfounded by the amount of execution deductions they claimed existed.  It’s perfectly fine to have higher standards and not want to give enormous scores easily, but when they are earned and deserved, they certainly should be deemed, rather than the FIG’s political agenda.  Shawn Johnson, the reigning world all-around champion, and Yilin Yang the Chinese lead woman performed difficult vaults and recorded respectable scores.  After the first round Shawn Johnson was in second place and her companion and friend Nastia Liukin trailed in sixth on the way to uneven bars.  Romanian, Steliana Nistor, was in first place after an amazing Uneven Bars routine.

By the time the women had reached bars the tension was high.  Nastia turned out a very respectable score of 15.475 with the only visible mistake a small hop on the dismount.  Her routines start value was a 7.7, the highest in the competition along with Yilin Yangs Uneven Bar routine.  Almost an entire point of execution deductions were made.  The judges and the crowd were left wondering what happened to Nastia’s score.  Shawn Johnson was clearly underscored as well.  Her start value was much lower, but she turned out a nearly perfect routine with the most difficult dismount being done on the apparatus with a stuck landing.  Russia’s Ksenia Semenova received an enormous 16.475 to counter Nastia’s 16.650.  However, China burst out with Yilin’s routine, similar in structure and execution to Nastia with a 16.725.  Frankly, it was extremely high.  The Russian actually had the best bars performance overall.  In any case, disappointment and concern was in the air on the way to balance beam, with Nastia trailing in second and Shawn Johnson now in the 6th position.

The questionable scoring became evident again on beam.  There were some exquisite performances by the Russian girls, but Yilin’s routine was full of awkward bobbles and no fluid movement.  She was obviously uncomfortable on the appartus.  She still managed to pull out the huge score of 15.750, which shocked the commentators and myself.  While Shawn Johnson’s routine had a few errors in it and an even bigger score, it was executed 100% better still had little to do with the over-scoring of Yang.  Nastia made another seemingly perfect routine that did score big, but still left everyone wondering exactly what must be done to have a perfect routine.  Her lead was slight over Yang’s, and Johnson and Semenova trailed slightly after that by the time Floor Exercise was reached.

Semenova had an elegant and passionate performance on floor with extremely fluid choreography and dance.  Her score was lower because of her start value once again, which seemed a shame beside such beautiful execution.  Yilin Yang followewed with a routine that’s start value was much lower and execution almost clumsy.    She stuck her landings, no question, but her dance and actual form during tumbles were sloppy and awkward.  During the team competition she was not briliant here, but certainly better.  She scored a solid 15.000, which did seem fair and left the door wide open for Nastia, and the opportunity for Shawn, who is the reigning world champion on floor exercise to snub her.  Each did just that.  Both performed the best I have seen them all Olympics with beautiful and wonderfully executed routines.  Nastia was in #1, and Shawn in #2, while Yilin Yang managed to keep Semenova off of the podium with a #3 place finish.

After the Uneven Bars, I had felt nervous, but still exhausted as the competition was going past midnight on Eastern Time here.  But by the balance beam it had turned out to be one of the tightest and most exciting All-Arounds ever.  I was wide awake by the final Floor Routines.  Nastia was cleary the winner, with a near perfect night, though her scores didn’t entirely reflect that.  Shawn, Semenova and Yang all performed well to and have much to be proud of too, but none could catch Nastia’s quiet elegance and strength as she made herself Olympic Champion.  Her father, a former gold medal winning Russian gymnast and also her coach was full of proud tears watching Nastia on the podium and the American Anthem being played.  I joined both of them in pride and joy.  Some of the scores were questionable, but I think the results were fairly accurate.

The questions about scoring will continue throughout the mens inudivual apparatus finals tonight, along with the womens tomorrow.  Some people are complaining about a Chinese bias from last nights performance, but I don’t know if that’s the real issue.  The only thing clear is that there is enormous holes in the scoring system that creates inconsitancy in scores given, and isn’t clear on when deductions are and aren’t given.  If anything this gives off the impression that certain gymnasts are being favored while others not, and an investigation is both fair and worthy, especially when the Chinese government is already being fervently investigated for their competing women being underage.  Yuyuan Jiang undoubtably gives the appearance of a very young girl, but then so do many of the other women.  This is an issue of perception that will do no good arguing about if the FIG can’t prove their accusations, which I think regardless they will never have.

Ignoring the indescrepencies of the scoring issues last evening, and the ones before, last night was exhilarating and exciting.  It’s been the first time in many years gymnastic’s has been so much fun for me.  Most of the women really raised their own bar and made it a very competitive night.  Even Yang with her Bronze was brilliant for the most part.  Small mistakes that both she and Johnson made is what separated them from Nastia, who left no room for error.  It was great to see another American women win the Olympic All-Around since Mary-Lou and Carly. 

The men get to perform their event finals tonight and the women tomorrow.  Have a safe weekend and see you then.  Michael Phelps also races his 100 Meter Butterfly at 10:10 Eastern Time, and Track and Field begins.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure and if you scroll down the results of the Top 14 women:

 

Here are the official results thanks to  yahoo sports:

 

Gymnastics – Women’s Individual All-Round Final Ranking

Medal	Country	Athlete	Vault	Uneven Bars	Balance Beam	Floor	Score
								Gold	Flag of USA	Nastia Liukin	15.025	16.650	16.125	15.525	63.325
Silver	Flag of USA	Shawn Johnson	15.875	15.275	16.050	15.525	62.725
Bronze	Flag of CHN	Yilin Yang	15.175	16.725	15.750	15.000	62.650
4th	Flag of RUS	Ksenia Semenova	14.750	16.475	15.925	14.775	61.925
5th	Flag of ROU	Steliana Nistor	15.025	15.975	15.550	14.500	61.050
6th	Flag of CHN	Yuyuan Jiang	14.825	15.875	15.425	14.775	60.900
7th	Flag of RUS	Anna Pavlova	15.275	14.525	15.975	15.050	60.825
8th	Flag of ROU	Sandra Izbasa	15.075	14.300	15.875	15.500	60.750
9th	Flag of GER	Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina	15.750	14.900	14.875	14.600	60.125
10th	Flag of BRA	Jade Barbosa	15.025	15.075	15.500	13.950	59.550
11th	Flag of ITA	Vanessa Ferrari	14.700	15.200	15.600	13.950	59.450
12th	Flag of GBR	Becky Downie	15.025	15.625	14.700	14.100	59.450
13th	Flag of AUS	Georgia Bonora	14.850	14.625	15.100	14.375	58.950
14th	Flag of ITA	Lia Parolari	13.950	15.350	15.125	14.500	58.925

Olympic Gymnastics Mens All-Around Results

The night began with nerves high and tension thick.  The induvidual all-around competition consists of the six mens apparatus’s with their total scores combined.  One wrong mistake on one event could be the coming undone for a leader.  Just ask Yang Wei.   In Athens, it was his fall off high bar, that gave way to Paul Hamm’s perfect routine that earned him the gold.  But this competition there was no Paul Hamm to get in his way.  However, there were some very tough competitors including Korea’s Yang Tae Young who had made a protest at the Athens Olympics that he had been scored too low and should have been Olympic All-Around Champion.  Also included was Germany’s Fabian Hambuechen.  Twenty-two year old American hopefuls,  Jonathan Horton and Alexander Artemev ended up fiishing ninth and 12th, respectively.

The American men had hopes of making the medal podium, but even with some of the greats faltering in huge ways, Horton couldn’t seem to pull together a stuck landing on his less difficult routines and Artemov did his less difficult routines to the best of his ability.  While a medal wasn’t in their plans for last evening they did more than was required of them to help the American team win their Bronze medal Monday night.

However, Horton’s missed opportnities at strong landings were minimal in comparison to the faltering of the more seasoned favorites for the all-around.  Fall after fall on “The Beast”, the Pommel Horse, made for an evening of dismay and hopes for many gymnasts.  A nasty fall for the Japenense hopeful and former silver medalist, Hiroyiuki Tomito on Still Rings dashed his hopes of Olympic All-Around Gold.  Fatigue, Stress, and pressure seemed to weigh heavily on most of the competitors last night.  All save Yang Wei, who performed his superior routines solidly enough to earn him the All-Around title and abled him to continue his mission to win EVERY gold medal available to the mens competition.

Winning silver was 19-year-old Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who American team alternate David Durante had touted as a dark-horse contender. The bronze went to little-known French veteran Benoit Caranobe, who was 33rd at last year’s world championships and 17th at the 2004 Olympics.

Yang Wei crushed his competition and here were the final results:

1. Yang Wei, China, 94.575.

2. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 91.975.

3. Benoit Caranobe, France, 91.925.

4. Hiroyuki Tomita, Japan, 91.750.

5. Sergey Khorokhordin, Russia, 91.700.

6. Maxim Devyatovskiy, Russia, 91.700.

7. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany, 91.675.

8. Yang Taeyoung, South Korea, 91.600.

U.S. Finishers

9. Jonathan Horton, Houston, 91.575.

12. Sasha Artemev, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 90.675.

There were certainly many upsets for Tomito, Fabian, and the Russians, and the Americans finished very respectively for the top twenty-four male gymnasts in the world.

Also, there was again some discussion about the new way the judges have been tallying their scores, and this is the main issue I was talking about a few days ago.  It’s perfectly fine to encourage gymnasts to try more difficult routines and push themselves harder, but is it truly fair to award someone a higher score when they have fallen on their face attempting this tougher element (IMO they haven’t completed the element fully and shouldn’t be given credit for it if they fall during it’s attempt) than someone who has a very difficult routine and executes it perfectly?  This is where the FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) is at it’s greatest dispute.  In 2006, they felt the scoring was too simple and as some in the gymnastic community have joked,

“was altered to uneducate gymnastics fans who caught on too easily when the scoring was altered years ago”

Last night one of the Japenese did a tremendous vault but took almost five running steps, two of them out of bounds after his landing and still received a 16.100 because his start value was so high.  I don’t think this contributes to the sport or helps the gymnasts or makes it fair for them at all.  Certainly not when the highest an athlete can score on Pommel Horse is  mid 15.000’s and has the opportunity to score high 16.000’s on vault on Parallel Bars.  The scoring system is flawed and needs to be corrected so it is truly fair to everyone.  Gymnastic’s IS a subjective sport to a point, and the judges have tried to make it organic enough that it is just a bunch of elements so their opinions can’t be criticized.  Their intentions have nobility, but the results are not at all what the intent was, and this Olympics has shown something must be done.

I like that the athletes are trying more difficult moves and elements, but what I would enjoy more is if they could execute them properly.  What is the point of watching them do something great if they fall on their face and still get a high score.  It just doesn’t seem right.  I don’t have the answers to fix this judging problem, but there is one and it needs to be fixed.

But they won’t be for this Olympics, so we can only hope the best for our favorite gymnasts.  Tonight is the women’s all-around competition.  Former World Champion Shawn Johnson begins her quest for induvidual gold! See you!

USA Womens Gymnastics Blow It

All of the build up for this womens American team was absolutely anti-climatic.  Two nights ago in the preliminaries they were plagued by injuries and unfortunately last night for them, in the Team Competition they completely fell apart at the seams.  Their competitors, the Chinese, were everything I said gymnastics has been lacking lately.  They were elegant, effortless, and full of personality and poise.  Even the rare times they faltered it didn’t rupture their mood or their team.  They geled together and had one of the most exciting gymnastics team sets I have ever seen.  Even their floor exercise routines were the best of the competition, something the Americans are known for as their strongest event and the Chinese their weakest.

While the Americans did not perform up to their ability, they were not the only ones.  Romania and Russia struggled as well, Russia with two falls on balance beam, which gave Romania room to move into the bronze position.  This was the first Olympic team Gold Medal for China in the womens gymnastics genre, and they performed everything in spades.  They were nearly two entire points ahead of their closest competitors, the Americans, with a final tally of 188.9 while the Americans trailed with 186.525.  Four years ago in Athens the Americans also earned a silver medal in the team competition.

While the pressure obviously affected the team, after their second rotation and an amazing high bar turn out by the team, they were close competitors, but unfortunately Alicia Sacramone, the team captain, had a fall and and a few large wobbles on beam. China had also had a fall on beam, so Alicia killed opportunity to close the one point gap between the two teams fighting for gold.  The blame can’t be solely laid on Alicia, because on floor exercise neither Shawn nor Nastia lived up to their abilities either.  While they didn’t fall on their bottom as Alicia did, both stepped out of bounds and performed sub-par to their abilities.  China on the other hand performed brilliantly on floor with routines that offered difficulty but also had a flow and dance and performance quality that you don’t see often anymore.  It was exhilarating!

Sacaramone’s response to her error’s:

“I thought there was an advantage because I’ve been on the international competition scene a long time, but today I guess I let the pressure get to me.  Today it got the best of me.”

The U.S. womens team coach Marta Karolyi said:

“We worked hard and we very prepared,” said Marta Karolyi, coordinator of the U.S. women’s team. “Unfortunately, we made two mistakes. You can’t win gold with two mistakes.”

Right she is.  There is no doubt if Sacramone hadn’t fallen off beam it could have been a different ball game, but she and it wasn’t and a silver medal is still something to be incredibly proud.  Dispite USA’s mistakes they were still good enough to hold that position.  Congratulations to The Chinese Men’s and Womens teams for winning in their home country, but the American’s will be back for those All-Around titles.  See you then!

The final score: Gymnastics Judging

Since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when Kim Zemeskal was slotted to take home the entire all around competition and lead the Americans the the podium for a medal of sorts began my love for the amazing sport.  When my hero Kim Zmeskal didn’t live up to her expectations but a new shinning star Shannon Miller helped not only lead the team to a bronze medal, but also gained her own silver in the all around competition and more silver and bronze in the induvidual competitions.  With the Russians and Romanians led by Tatiana Gutsu, Svetlana Boginskaya, and Lavinia Molosovich, all creatures seemingly above real human ability, was a time where judges occassionally gave out the score of PERFECT TEN.  The score was mostly and still today remembered by one of the all time greats in the sport: Nadia Comaneci, the great Romanian back in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.  Never had so many tens been awarded, and never had such perfect gymnastics ever been performed.

Prior to Barcelona there were gymnasts like Nadia, Olga Korbut, and Svetlana that’s focus on the beauty and perfecton was balanced with attempts to do bigger and better tumbling and skills, but sometimes shortly after those 1992 summer games that balance has and is still since lost in array of strange scoring and a ridiculous standard for “stunts” rather than skills performed.

Now, 16 years later, the gymnasts have TWO scores: Difficulty and Execution.  So far I have seen no gymnast with difficult above  7.000 (it still goes up to ten I think-someone correct me if I’m mistaken) and the execution is rated up to a 10.000 as well, though I’ve seen nothing better than a 9.500.  So for the most part scores that are executed well are somewhere in the fifteens and brilliant in the sixteens when scores are combined.  Let’s discuss what this does to the sport exactly.

It means a gymnast can actually have a fall off of the balance beam or high bar and still win the all around competition if the skills they do are that much more difficult than another gymnast.  They may not have the most flawless best performance, but they have the most difficult so are allowed more errors as their score becomes higher from the difficulty category.  This doesn’t encourage perfection or beauty, it encourages bigger tricks and less mastery of those skills.  It’s become more important in the sport to try bigger things that to actually master them, and in it’s essence that completely destroys the art of gymnastics.

So many of the routines I watch now are empty and souless.  Just element after element being repeated and attempted to get done wih as few errors as possible.  There is no real dance to most of the floor exercise routines, it’s more of jump to jump, step to step, move to move, no personality, nothing that defines one gymnast from another other than the color of their leotard and the difficulty to which they perform.  The balance beam has completely lost it’s flow and it’s enigmatic essence. 

My young heart still loves the sport and what it once was and what it stood for.  In womens specifically there was such beauty, elegance, and a real definition from country to country.  Even Atlanta’s Olympics still gave that vibe off, but since then things have not been the same.  There are no Mary Lou Rettens, Keri Strugs, Dominic Dawes, Svetlana’s, and Shannon Miller’s for girls to dream of being.  There are these machines out there doing moves and elements, but not being something more.  I wish I could get back the magic of Barcelona, and feel it again, but for now I will just have to live with it’s memories and the idolisms of youth and hope.

I will forever remember the amazing dance and technique of Svetlana.  Kim Zmeskals amazing tumbling on floor exercise with a bubbly hopeful personality.  Nadia and Olga’s ability to make everything beautiful and perfect.  Keri Strug’s heart and determination.  Mary Lou’s ground breaking success and inspiration for American gymastics.  And though Kim Zmeskal will always be my favorite we all have Shannon Miller to thank for 8 years of amazing gymnastics for the United States.  From Barcelona to Atlanta, she was the best gymnast this country has ever had and always an exciting pleasure to watch compete.  Today the sport truly misses her quiet elegance but explosive performing technique.  She was one of the most exciting gymnasts to ever watch, and I had the pleasure of actually seeing her perform live at an exhibition show a year after Barcelona.  Her, Svetlana, Keri Strug, Mary Lou, and my all time favorite male gymnast: Vitali Sherbo of Belarus. 

Tonight is the womens team competition, and the U.S.A. is in close competition with China for Gold Medal contention.  With injuries plaging the Americans it will be interesting to see how they pull together!  See you all there!

USA Mens Gymnastics takes a Bronze Medal

Last night was the team competition in Mens gymnastics.  China was the overwhelming favorite and they lived up to their expectations by staying above the other competing teams by leaps and bounds.  A surprise story was the USA mens team being in medal contention.  After the injuries of Paul and Morgan Hamm, the two strongest men from the country only first time Olympians remained, but needless to say, they rose to the occassion, with Jonathan Horton as the teams anchor.

There was a tight race between the more experienced Russians and Germans and the defending champions Japan.  After some mistakes in the first few rotations the United States actually lead at one point, only to eventually be overtaken by the far more experienced and better teams of Japan and China for the Gold and Silver.  But the American squad didn’t let bronze slip away from them as the men came together and performed some of the best gymnastics any of them ever knew they were capable of.  There scores came off lower than the Chinese, but each nailed their routines on the High Bar making a momentemous build up for the floor exercise, but then followed by a disappointing display on Pommel Horse, which allowed the Japanese team to pass them for the silver.

Congratulations to the American men who truly weren’t even expected to do more than show up for the top five.  Not only are they Olympians but they are Olympic medalist’s.  Also congratulations to the phenomenal Chinese team who performed some of the most amazing routines I’ve seen in ages.

Tonight more from Michael Phelps and Womens Team Gymnastics!  Be there at primetime or be square!

So You Think You Can Dance: Finale Performances

Last night I was subjected to the dismal affair of having to work during last nights finale.  Luckily I work in a restaurant that was rather quiet and was relieved to catch almost all of the performances.  However, I had the unique perspective of viewing them without any music.  (Watched all of them with Music this morning)  This may seem like an awful cripple and for routines like the Jive and the Foxtrot it was a bit, but for dances like Josh and Katee’s Lyrical and Courtney’s solo the body translated without a necessary soundtrack playing in the backround.  It’s actually inspired me to watch some old performances muted and just watch the dance tell the story. Pretty interesting stuff.  Anyway, moving on.  Let’s get down to the nitty gritty, the actual dancing.

Courtney Galiano:  Courtney should be incredibly proud of herself for making it to the final four.  She started off as a girl I thought wouldn’t even be near the Top Ten, let alone gracing the finale.  But she did bring grace to her final performance and showed her wonderful spirit and dedication to her dance once more.  After watching the other three, I believe Courtney is the only sure fire one to not be a winner.  Just dancing next to Katee last night it was evident how much better Katee is than her.  Each move was ended with something just a little more special than Courtney could muster.  Courtney is one of the best dancers the show has ever had, but Katee has something magical and natural that every dancer wants, and not Courtney nor the other men on stage have that quality.  Also, it was obvious by the end of the night that Courtney’s energy had waned.  I don’t think this will sway her fans, but it certainly could have an affect on those that were Chelsie Hightower fans and likely to be swayed in any direction.  Favorite Moment? Probably her solo or the Tyce Diorio routine with Katee, even though she was outshined by Katee she was still amazing.

Twitch:  Twitch has been truly one of the most compelling dancers to watch on the show throughout the past four seasons.  His technique is not always there, but his originality and absolutely brilliant solo’s are a rare gem indeed.  He was great with his duet with Josh and the rest of the night, but I think Josh outshined him a little on their routine together.  Will his amazing solo and infectious personality be enough for him to win the entire thing?  I am simply not sold.  Not based on his performance alone, but because I believe Josh’s following is more than likely stronger than his, and Katee’s almost for sure, though I think if the votes were tallied he’d have a considerable amount more than Courtney.  But am I wrong and will he be crowned America’s Favorite Dancer?  I will not be shocked by any means. Favortie Moment? Undoubtably his solo last night, though he and Courtney’s hip hop routine was a lot of fun, as well as his duet with Josh.

Josh:  Josh was 100% amazing last night.  From his jaw dropping solo (the best even over Twitch’s in my opinion) to the jive, to the dumbfounding Trepak, and his duet with Katee choreographed by Wade Robson, that literally brought tears to my eyes even with no music upon first viewing.  To experience the language of dance without hearing the actual music, only seeing their bodies conveying the message was actually a gift.  It was probably my favorite routine all season if not all four seasons.   I am completely in awe of what it said and the way it was danced.  Again, the chemistry of Josh and Katee is undeniable, but not just the chemsitry, when they dance together it becomes this cataclysmic moment where the earth has come together just so they could be together and dance during this season.  I’ve seen couples that have danced together for years that don’t move together and come as one like Josh and Katee do.  Will Josh win though?  I think it’s a very distinct possibility, and though I’m really behind Katee here, I will be incredibly happy and prepared to celebrate if Josh wins.  His best moments were the Lyrical routine with Katee and his phenomenal solo.   I sometimes forget his roots are a hip hop popper.  In a way it would have been nice to see more of his solos.

Katee:  Let’s be frank.  By all means and standards Katee should win.  Does Twitch have a better personality? Yes.  Is Courtney’s enthusiasm infectious? Yes.  Is Josh’s ability to perform so well despite his lack of training dumbfounding even the naked eye? Yes.  Nonetheless Katee in my eyes is the best dancer ever on the show.  Not once has she performed anything, even a solo, that was not flawless and absolutely stunning to view.  I like her, but the second she dances I love her.  She doesn’t just finish her moves and perform things technically well, her heart and soul are in every single move she makes, down to her fingertips, and each time she dances, that elegance and her own love for dance shines through all of our televisions at home.  So yes, Katee can dance, but what I see mostly is an inert love for that dance that can translate through any move as heartbreak or happiness and make each time she performs a tangible experience for us viewers.  What she has embodied is something we don’t get to see from most dancers ever, a true unjaded love for her art.  Does Katee have loyal voters?  She must because she has been safe every week.  Will she win? I dearly hope so, because beyong anyone else that has ever been on the show she deserves it.  But if she doesn’t I am just thankful we were all so lucky to watch her dance this season.  It truly raised the bar and made it something even more special than the previous three seasons.  Best moments? Every single performance she had.

I do have doubts, but I am rather sold that Katee will be our winner, both because I hope it believe she has the loyal fans that enjoy dialing their cell phones over and over again. I put Josh behind her in votes, then Twitch, and I believe Courtney will be the first to walk off the stage tonight.  That being said last night was probably the best finale ever on the show.  I’m excited and nervous for tonight.

Cat Deeley was literally flying off the meow meter last night in some twisted Gold dress that looked like something an Egyptian Queen would have worn.  Hope Cat’s bad dress syndrome has officially been overcome as the second half of season four we’ve been graced with the most lovely host on televsion dressed as such.

That’s about all I have to say, other than a small inquiry about the gentlemen that returns each season for auditions that goes by “Sex”.  I am almost 100% convinced he came into my restaurant last evening and watched the show (he even requested to put it on).  On his way out he did one of Sex’s signature jumps.  If it wasn’t him, it could have been his twin.  That’s it,  please leave a comment if you  have any information regarding, because I found it hysterical.

Watchmen Trailer

When an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorshach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion.

Directed By Zack Snyder, this is the big movie to look forward to next summer.

Stargate and Star Trek: Science Fiction Cousins

The world of Stargate is somehow still flourishing well over a decade since it’s creation on the silver screen.  With the series SG-1 surving an entire decade and the spin-off show Stargate: Atlantis now still flourishing even in it’s fifth season Stargate appears to have many years left in it.  Both of the straight to DVD films, The Ark Of Truth and Continuum have measured a surprising success, one that has evoked the question of whether or not more should be made in the coming year or the focus of Wright and Cooper should be diverted to ANOTHER Stargate series entitled: Stargate Universe.  Go to Gateworld.net for more on Stargate Universe, though most of the talk is hush hush at this point. 

Comparisons have been made to Star Trek over the years, and though each show is very different many of the major qualities are the same.  Both have maintained a longevity, if not in their original series in the universe of their creation with spin-offs and feature films.  No other shows in the science fiction genre have managed this kind of success, and while Star Trek began to dwindle towards the mid-90’s Stargate began it’s reign in that time.  Each show maintains themselves on a predominantly superficial level, making the shows fun and light hearted, but each have survived so long because of excellent writers, scripts, and amazingly charismatic casts.  All of the fundementals for great Sci-Fi.

I’m just glad to see Stargate live on fervently at this point and not just through legacy.  It obviously has a lot more fun to offer and many of us junkies waiting for whatever new piece of fun we can get our hands on.

Cheslie and Mark Say Goodbye: SYTYCD

The night begins with a lovely performance choreographed by Mandy Moore.  It was simply lovely.  Afterwards Cat Deeley makes a stunning entrance in a blue disco ball type dress that stops just before her long legs end and made for a breath taking debut for the elimination night.  Several meows awarded to Cat who was also even more silly and adorable than usual, and twenty kudos to her for making a Star Wars reference.  She is truly infectious and one of the best hosts on TV for this kind of genre.

Obviously, the elimination would be bitter sweet regardless of who went home.  I simply had my fingers crossed that Katee or Josh wouldn’t be leaving, the rest of the four wouldn’t have me heart broken either way.  Beginning with the women Katee gets another get out of jail free card and relief washed over me.  I’m sure myself and thousands of other viewers thought this would be the goodbye ceremony for Courtney Galiano, and maybe even she thought it too.  Either way when the news that she was safe and Chelsie Hightower had been eliminated sank in shock and disbelief and then disappointment struck Chelsies porcelin face.  While Courtney celebrated and many of the audience with her, many were obviously shocked Chelsie was going home.  I don’t think America got it wrong here.  Chelsie has been a great and solid performer throughout, but Courtney has grown so much more since the beginning and also has a much more outgoing and fun personality that Chelsie has offered.  What it really boils down to was last week Courtney was in the bottom two and I think her fans went dial crazy to save her.  I think that worked.  I believe the same thing happened with Twitch.

The mens was less shocking for me, and even though I found Mark to have a much stronger night than Twitch performance wise it wasn’t upsetting to see Mark go.   Several weeks back he probably should have, and while he DID rise to the occassion and make an exciting wonderful top six, him leaving is no shock.  I was shocked to see Josh safe right away, and pure and simply relieved.  Next week I’m going to make sure I call over and over again for both Josh and Katee, even if they fall on their faces, which I don’t think will be possible.  Twitch is a great performer with something really unique about his dance, but I don’t think he’s going to win it, or Courtney either.  Unfortunately, for the gracious kind hearted Mark his trip ended with SYTYCD, but I’m sure he’ll undoubtably move on to something else.  I’ve never seen anyone dance like him ever.  If anything he should be a choreographer with his unparelleled creations. 

Predictions for winner?  I think Katee, but Josh may take it as well, but as this season has proved, nothing is set is stone.  Onward to the FINALE next Wednesday.  I’m holding my breath with anticipation.  I hope I don’t pass out.