Susan's #PodSquad: The Habitat

September 12, 2018 Susan

The Habitat follows a crew of six people living for a year on an artificial planet Mars (actually in Hawaii) to test how humans will fare when we send them to Mars for real. But they’re not just isolated from their normal lives for a year; they’re as close to isolated from planet Earth as they can possibly be. They have to act as if they are actually on Mars, meaning, for one thing, that they can’t even open the door to their habitat without donning a spacesuit first. Interested yet?

Are You the One S7|E5: Get Thee to Rehab

September 11, 2018 Emily

This was a bizarro episode of Are You the One? that is unlike any normal episode of the show. They’re throwing the whole formula out the window, so this recap is also going to be all over the place. I just don’t know what to say. You all know I was concerned about the exes not coming back with the loss of challenges, but Mtv of course found a way to work exes into this season anyway. Through the unmatched couples attending “Relationship Rehab.”

Here’s the thing I never get about set-ups like this. How is this any different from just staying in the house? All the same people are there. But it’s like a camp ground now instead of a house with a pool. There’s also a lot of glow-in-the-dark paint in rehab. Don’t get me wrong. The glamping set-up looked fun, but… like, why is this rehab?

So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 4 Get Vulnerable

September 7, 2018 Emily Martin

Vulnerability. It's a quality that is intangible and yet become so important in these final weeks of competition on So You Think You Can Dance. At this point, several (if not all) of the top four are on equal footing when it comes to dance ability, so whether the audience is able to view the dancers as "vulnerable" or not can win or lose the season for these contestants. Often, a far superior dancer will go home because of this perceived lack of vulnerability, which is what I guess happened here and why we have landed ourselves with this top 4. They certainly aren't the best dancers of the season, but they are perhaps the most vulnerable? Who knows? Who can argue with that?

In this episode, Vanessa Hudgens says, "being vulnerable is the connective tissue of your soul." Do you know what that means? Because I don't. This is probably why I don't have what it takes to be a contestant on this show. That's probably the only reason. Right?

Anyhow. On to the performances.

Are You The One S7|E4: Just A Bunch of Random People on Some Horses

September 2, 2018 Emily

That's right. Time to get the bottles poppin' because here is your weekly Are You the One? recap that I know you've been desperately waiting for. A lot of drama went down this week. Tea was spilled, COFFEE was splashed all over the counter, couples were formed, other couples were tested, people got into drunk fights and called each other by the wrong names, horses were ridden across the foggy moors. All in one hour of television. Let's go.

So You Think You Can Dance: Who's Going to the Finale?

August 31, 2018 Emily

It’s already time for the finale next week, guys. My head is spinning. How did this happen so quickly? Who even are these people? Why does it feel like the auditions were twice as long as the live show? Can FOX stop the madness? Even Nigel pleaded with FOX this week to bring back the Top 20, so what do we have to do to make that happen? Like, if we’re gonna do this show. Let’s do it RIGHT, right?

Anyhow, here’s how everything went down.

Are You The One S7|E3: Do Not Infer With Me Right Now

August 26, 2018 Emily

Episode 3 of Are You The One starts off where we left off, with Bria freaking out and screaming for her mom. This is not good TV. This is stressful.

Also Bria took up so much of last week’s episode(s) that Kenya giving Lewis a BJ totally flew under the radar for me. Yes, that’s how much Bria’s wailing is addling my brain. Please make it stop. Anyway, on with the recap.

So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 8 Get Whittled Down to 6

August 24, 2018 Emily

And the number of dancers continues to dwindle ever so quickly before we even have a sense of what these dancers can do. How is the American public supposed to feel inclined to pick up the phone and vote for people they barely know? This is why starting with 20 is so important. Or one of the many reasons. In my frustration, I searched the Internet for some sort of justification for WHY they've cut the beginning number of dancers in half, and this article on Dance Network was the best argument I could find.

But I still disagree. Yes, keeping the numbers down to 10 rather than 20 means we're getting much more skilled dancers right off the bat. But the show has never been about finding America's BEST dancer. The wording of the show clearly says America's FAVORITE dancer. Part of what makes someone a "favorite" is the journey, rather than the end result. We want to see dancers falter and get better after receiving feedback. We want to root for the underdog and watch them grow and get better. Cutting the show down to a Top 10 doesn't give space for growth. And the show happens so quickly now that the dancers that are on the show are simply proving how good they are now, rather than getting an opportunity to become even better.

But on with the show, I guess. Sigh.