The 34th season was my first for a show that has more seasons than I years. If I made it this far to 30 then they must be doing something right as well.
It was a show that grew on me the more I got to know the stars, professional dancers, judges, and hosts. I was most familiar with Robert Irwin, Andy, the Pentatonix singer, Topenga, and the lady from Parent Trap. A lot of people kept saying that this was the most talented cast yet and I could see why. Week 1 most of the new dancers are rigid, stiff, and uncomfortable. By the end you can see the growth and confidence of everyone who made it that far.
Robert was easily my favorite and I was so happy for him to win. He has such a wholesome and fun personality that is very reminiscent of his father. Jordans final freestyle went hard in the paint and I had to go get my phone to give her 10 votes as well. I know she didn’t have a shot popularity wise, but she did the best in the finale.
I was equally impressed with everyone’s instant dances where they had to put on a routine to a 1/4 randomly chosen dance style. They were given a song and 5 minutes to practice before performing. All 5 finalists killed it and it was hard to believe how little prep time they had. The freestyles were also great for all 5 and if I was any of them I’d rewatch my dance on the daily till death do me part.
Andy was another fun watch that I’m glad made it as far as he did. Obviously it’s my first watch, but he feels like what the show is all about. He’s progressing every week and providing heartfelt dances. He shouldn’t have to feel guilty about staying over someone else because of that. I was also annoyed at Derek one dance for saying something to the effect of “we’re about at the halfway point so you know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ” He basically told him that he should be out which rubbed me the wrong way.
Speaking of, the main thing I disliked about the show was the judging. Sometimes the judge would say a dance was incredible, amazing, absolute perfection. Then it gets a 9 instead of a 10? Other times someone would give a criticism (mainly Carrie-Ann) and then start addressing the crowds booing instead of being confident in the critique. Yes, we get you are giving feedback. Stop wasting your very short judging time trying to defend yourself instead of providing that feedback. Bruno also annoyed me near the end with his constant buzz word spewing, but I know that’s his shtick. There was a woman guest judge one episode I didn’t know, but she killed it with the scoring and advice. She told people to “work on this” or “improve this” in an extremely tactful way that made it obvious how bad the other three were at consistently doing that.
Overall it was fun to watch over 11 weeks and I’m sure I’ll be watching next year with my girlfriend and her sister.
Rating: 814/1000
Alex Reviews All 