adamshankman

(S06E12) Yet again, because of the ongoing World Series on FOX, there was no elimination this week, which means we barely had time to process the dancing before two contestants were being eliminated. Luckily for me, it became clear pretty quickly which two performances were the weakest of the night.

There were two that were absolutely amazing as well, one that may go down as one of the top SYTYCD dances of all time. But the most important question of the night was: Did the judges agree with me as to who should have gone home?

Thankfully, by next week all these distractions will be sorted out and you and I will be able to vote for ourselves who we want to keep around.

So Ricky Gervais has signed to host the Golden Globes, which means the pressure is on the Oscars to come up with a host or hosts equally as stellar. Or interesting. Or compelling.

One star who has removed himself from the running is last year's host, Hugh Jackman. He will not return as Oscar host when the show airs on ABC, March 7.

He's currently on Broadway in a play -- with 007 Daniel Craig -- and he "quietly turned down the job" according to sources. It's not because he was a bomb emceeing the proceedings either. He didn't do the "Oprah, Uma, Uma, Oprah" joke nor did he trip on his shoelaces in the opening number. Quite the contrary, in fact. Hugh Jackman was a perfectly fine host.

But he doesn't want to do it in 2010. Maybe he doesn't want to push his luck? Maybe he just doesn't want to work that hard.

(S06E11) We finally get to the actual competition on So You Think You Can Dance. On tonight's episode, the judges cut one guy and one girl without America's help. It's okay, I don't trust America. Cat welcomes us in a stunning Chinese-inspired dress. I'm still amazed by Cat's ability to look good in anything.

As we watch the dancers open the show, we start with the newest addition to the Top 20: Brandon. Even after meeting these contestants yesterday, I still don't know them. To make it worse, the sound people kept using the live mic on the tappers, and at first I thought my ears were going.

On last night's special Monday episode of So You Think You Can Dance, producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe displayed an empty chair, just in case, he said, a special guest decided to grace them with her presence. The chair was marked with the name "Paula Abdul." (On a side note, SYTYCD was on basically in place of House -- how can such a popular show go on break so often?).

The current slate of judges, including Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Adam Shankman (in for Mia Michaels), seems perfect. Other than the fact that I wish I had the technical know-how to develop a filter that would detect when Murphy is about to sound like a claxon and automatically adjust the volume of my TV, I enjoy all three judges. And, as I've said before, I actually feel like I'm learning something from the show when they critique the dancers. When they need another voice, they have Debbie Allen, the sometimes overly loquacious Lil C, and a few others who can easily step in.

(S06E09) Tonight, we started with 38 dancers, and by the end of the hour, the Top 20 stood revealed. I'm never quite sure how to take these episodes; American Idol always has one, as well. For the most part, it's just contestants walking in front of the judges and hearing "Yes" or "No." For those of us who've been watching since the beginning and finding our early favorites, it can be a little tense and exciting.

But then I think about someone who's never watched the show, and who's maybe tuning in for the first time tonight. What a boring hour of television they would be in for. You barely get any snippets from the good dancers who make it through. Mostly it's just a parade of faces you don't know and lots of crying.

But before we get to the tears, we need to get excited. For the first time, and to give everyone a more even playing field going into the first performance show, this Monday at 8pm ET, FOX offers a special non-elimination episode where the Top 20 get to show us their stuff.

Maybe they'll change the name of this year's Academy Awards to So You Think You Can Win An Oscar? Or maybe it'll be Oscar, You Should Be Dancing. What else can we expect now that Adam Shankman has been assigned to produce the Oscar broadcast... with Bill Mechanic. The Bill Mechanic part is almost like fine print. (Or that cute kid Brick on The Middle who whispers under his breathe in a funny, creepy way. "Mechanic...")

The story here is Adam Shankman. He's a director/choreographer and dancer. He's a judge on the current season of So You Think You Can Dance. His biggest credit is Hairspray, one of the few movie musicals that has made it to the big screen and was a bit hit in the last decade. Shankman should bring movement, energy and -- perhaps -- dance to the Academy Awards?

Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic have been named producers of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, the Wrap is reporting.

Shankman is currently a judge on the Fox reality competition series 'So You Think You Can Dance.' He's also directed a number of films, including 2007's 'Hairspray,' co-starring Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer. Next up for Shankman is the Broadway adaptation of 'Rock of Ages' (for more on that, visit Moviefone).

A former CEO and chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, Mechanic now runs Pandeomium Films, which produced the well-received animated film 'Coraline' earlier this year.

(S06E07) So many judges, so little time. Tyce DiOrio, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe all sat in judgment of the 152 dancers who survived the audition rounds. The pace of the show picks up dramatically when we get to Vegas, and somehow I had myself convinced they were going to cram the entire week into tonight's one-hour episode.

Thankfully, I'm an idiot. Vegas Week continues next week for you and me. In fact, we only got through the first two days. But in that time, we lost nearly half of the contestants including several early favorites, and certainly some favorites of mine.

The more I see of these dancers, though, the more excited I am for this season. I thought last season suffered from the blands through a lot of it, despite some amazing choreographed performances, but there are a lot of really dynamic personalities already shining through.

I've said before that So You Think You Can Dance is one of the few reality shows that I actually like, despite the fact that I'm not really one who appreciates dance as an artform. It's a show that I don't think exploits its contestants or talks down to its audience, and that seems to take its subject matter more seriously than, say American Idol or other talent shows. And last night's show was more proof for me.

On American Idol, we often hear that the more insulting advice from the judges is a form of tough love, and in some cases, they have a point. Some people think they can sing and just can't, and need to be told. And there are similar scenes on So You Think You Can Dance, and similarly, some people stomp off convinced that they are "it" instead of, well, something that rhymes.

But So You Think You Can Dance is much more up front and even aggressive about telling people how they can grow. The system is better - if you show promise but the judges aren't sure, you go to the "choreography" phase and you are shown fairly empirically what your faults are, and most contestants seem happy for the knowledge, and many of them do come back.

USA may bring back 'Law & Order: CI' for a ninth season, Bob Saget is returning to 'America's Funniest Videos,' Oprah books 'Mad Men''s Jon Hamm and January Jones and more of today's top TV headlines.

(S05E23) I think Cat Deeley looked fabulous tonight. The panel was chock-full of choreographers: Lil' C, Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe. They brought them all up on the dais so they could each choose their favorite dances from throughout the season. That means encore performances of the best of Season 5. That's not a bad way to fill two hours.

In the end, though, it comes down to Kayla, Brandon, Jeanine and Evan. Who did America love the most last night and throughout the summer? The recap actually gave me tingles. Despite a distinct lack of personalities, there were some stunning moments of dance. And I'm ever so thrilled that the new season is less than a month away. It's a long show, so hang in there.

(S05E22) The judges were so excited about the final four that they even critiqued the solos. I was glad to see Adam Shankman on the panel as he's one of the few guest judges who truly offers quality criticism to the dancers. Surprisingly, hip-hop was completely absent tonight, but there were some amazing performances. And ballroom came on strong!

GROUP

"Boys Boys Boys," Lady Gaga (Pop-Jazz, Wade Robson)
That was cute. It was a little more mellow than I expected, but I do believe that every man out there with a cheerleader thing just passed out. It was a hot and fun little high school number, and nobody stood out in a negative way so I'll give them that. A feel good opening for sure.

(S05E06) The show opened, as usual, with the group number. And because The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" isn't getting enough airplay, So You Think You Can Dance threw the band a bone and used it for this Shane Sparks piece. Unfortunately, with 20 dancers on stage it's hard to make the piece not look like a bit of a mess. Sparks' choreography was pretty good, but I don't think the dancers were all equally up to the task.

When the majority of your dancers are not familiar with the style you're using, it must be even harder to put these things together. This isn't to challenge them, nor is it for votes, it's just supposed to be for entertainment. Unfortunately these numbers aren't as impressive until later in the season. At least they're superior to those awful group numbers they force on the American Idol contestants.

(S05E03) L.A. saw Adam Shankman joining the esteemed Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy. At one point he was coaxed onto stage to perform with one of the would-be contestants, where he proved that he can still hoof it. As a bonus treat, we got to see several of the finalists from last season, including winner Joshua and runner-up Katee, critique him and give him a ticket straight through to Vegas. It was a fun diversion from the true auditions.

Mia Michaels, who showed up in Seattle, is one of the most brilliant choreographers on the show, bringing some of the most exciting contemporary routines we've seen. Which reminds me that I want to see more contemporary dancers lift their left leg instead of their right one. Just mix it up people. You can do it.

(S04E21) Nigel told the final six that while they were getting plenty of applause and adulation on the show, they would have to get used to rejection if they continue on this career path. He advised that they use the rejection to propel them forward. But, the final six shouldn't feel too bad because each one of them got over a million votes going into this results show.

And the stakes are even higher going into the finale. Adam Shankman has added a role as a featured dancer in his new movie to the winner's prize package.

So let's see who will be battling it out next Thursday on So You Think You Can Dance.