Seemed kind of late to be adding to the other threads, so I thought I'd start a new one with my random thoughts about the GPF - I just saw it on CBC this weekend.
First - two entries in Worst Costume EVER: Tatiana Navka's OD "dress" - it wasn't even Vegas showgirl, it was Vegas stripper. The tuft of blue feathers on her ***, the teeny, tiny rest of it in blue and brown leapard spots - I don't know that I've ever seen anything so hideous in my life. I almost didn't watch the dance I was so distracted by the sheer awfulness of what I suppose I must generously call her "skating dress."
In the men's field there was Lambiel once again in that atrocious white and orange zebra-striped monstrosity. Get a new costume man!
Onto the actual skating.....
Mens: The short programs were a joy to behold. Oda, Takahashi, Buttle and Lambiel all had great ones, though I have to say, Oda's choreography is the first I've seen from David Wilson that I actively dislike. Both his short and long programs weren't very good. They made him look very young, for starters, and he didn't seem comfortable with the slightly comedic intent. Now Browning could have pulled that off, but not the just-out-of-juniors Oda. He doesn't have much of an artistic connection with the music yet, but that will probably come with time.
Takahashi I was very impressed with. His artistry shone. The commentators said it was obvious he really enjoyed skating to his SP music, and I have to agree. He was totally free out there. Also a wonderful job in the long.
Having read some of the comments on the threads here before seeing the event, I expected Buttle's long to be a disaster, but in actuality it wasn't nearly as bad as I was led to believe. Sure, he had a couple of blips on the jump landings, but he fully rotated all of them and had two triple axels - I know I read a comment somewhere that he didn't have any??? and I can't understand it. He stepped out of his second one, but his first was textbook, in combination with a slightly flawed triple toe. I don't think any of the other men even attempted the triple axel-triple combination. No quad, but then, several of the others fell on their attempts. I would have liked to see a cleaner skate, but in no way was it a total failure, and I would argue with anybody who said he was held up unfairly by the judges here.
Lambiel was great with the two quads, however I didn't like his program as much as I did earlier in the season when I saw it with less successful jumps. I'm not quite sure why....does anybody know if he's taken some of the choreography out?
Ice Dance:
Navka/Kostamorov looked smoother than earlier in the season, and it's not the worst FD I've ever seen, but not terribly memorable IMO. No doubt, however, this will be good enough to win them gold at the Olympics. Their OD music - also used by G&G (I think it was them) always reminds me of Torvill and Dean's masterpiece OD in Lillehammer - it's the only time I think I've ever really seen any ice dance team capture any kind of credible latin feel on skates. Needless to say, both teams' OD's suffer by comparasin.
I preferred G&G's FD from last season. I'm sitting her now typing a day later and I can't say I remember much about their program. Not a good sign.
D&L - these guys were fabulous (yes, I'm a proud Canadian fan, if you couldn't tell) So happy they're having a great season, and so happy to be genuinely interested in their material - I haven't always been in the past. I like both the OD and their FD is a signature piece for them. A few more miles on these and they'll really be challenging.
One beef - learn how to twizzle already. It's a required element and they do it comparatively badly. They're slow, tentative and often out of synch. I find it the one glaring area where a number of other teams have a obvious advantage over them.
Was really disappointed CBC didn't show Del&S. I loved this team - my faves from the Worlds last year - and I wanted to see their new material. I understand it wasn't a great skate for them, but I still would have been interested to see the dances themselves.
Pairs:
This is by far the discipline I'm least interested in these days. The programs almost all look like a series of disconnected elements with the skaters painting by numbers. None of the top teams are anything special. When Tot/M most likely win the Olympic gold, it'll be one of the most mediocre wins in a long while. They're kind of the best of a boring lot. In their favour, they are smooth, polished, and actually manage to look like a pair on the ice and have some kind of chemistry. Try as I might, though, I just can't love them.
Then there's P&T. I was shocked, shocked I tell you to actually find this team exciting in the SP. I have never found this team exciting. Ever. Not even when they won worlds. But for some reason, their short was rather inspired. It was like they were skating to music. And were excited. Unfortunately all that had left the building by the time they did their long to a dreadful piece of musak that did nothing for them.
Zhang and Zhang looked robotic as always. This team has no chemistry with each other and none with their music or the audience. They have a series of impressive tricks as opposed to choreography. They could very well be on the podium in Turin. Sigh.
S&S - the German pair. Hmmmm. Slightly interesting. They have potential. I don't think they're quite there yet, but they can get there.
O&S - I think this team has actually devolved. They seem worse now than when I first saw them and thought they had potential. Their programs are dreadful - this year and last - and I'm sure that doesn't help them. But for all their classic Russian style, they have almost zero connection with any music I've seen them skate to. This team is stagnating and need an overhaul.
Ladies:
Yeah, Asada was impressive - but IMO overrated. She still looks like a little girl competing with women. I know some don't agree, but seeing her at the GPF just reinforced this view for me. Slutskaya (and I'm not a fan) just looked miles ahead of her, even with the flaws in her skate, on overall presentation. As did pretty much the rest of the field, even Nakano and Ando.
I wasn't terribly impressed by the ladies competition. Not many of the skates really interested me.
First - two entries in Worst Costume EVER: Tatiana Navka's OD "dress" - it wasn't even Vegas showgirl, it was Vegas stripper. The tuft of blue feathers on her ***, the teeny, tiny rest of it in blue and brown leapard spots - I don't know that I've ever seen anything so hideous in my life. I almost didn't watch the dance I was so distracted by the sheer awfulness of what I suppose I must generously call her "skating dress."
In the men's field there was Lambiel once again in that atrocious white and orange zebra-striped monstrosity. Get a new costume man!
Onto the actual skating.....
Mens: The short programs were a joy to behold. Oda, Takahashi, Buttle and Lambiel all had great ones, though I have to say, Oda's choreography is the first I've seen from David Wilson that I actively dislike. Both his short and long programs weren't very good. They made him look very young, for starters, and he didn't seem comfortable with the slightly comedic intent. Now Browning could have pulled that off, but not the just-out-of-juniors Oda. He doesn't have much of an artistic connection with the music yet, but that will probably come with time.
Takahashi I was very impressed with. His artistry shone. The commentators said it was obvious he really enjoyed skating to his SP music, and I have to agree. He was totally free out there. Also a wonderful job in the long.
Having read some of the comments on the threads here before seeing the event, I expected Buttle's long to be a disaster, but in actuality it wasn't nearly as bad as I was led to believe. Sure, he had a couple of blips on the jump landings, but he fully rotated all of them and had two triple axels - I know I read a comment somewhere that he didn't have any??? and I can't understand it. He stepped out of his second one, but his first was textbook, in combination with a slightly flawed triple toe. I don't think any of the other men even attempted the triple axel-triple combination. No quad, but then, several of the others fell on their attempts. I would have liked to see a cleaner skate, but in no way was it a total failure, and I would argue with anybody who said he was held up unfairly by the judges here.
Lambiel was great with the two quads, however I didn't like his program as much as I did earlier in the season when I saw it with less successful jumps. I'm not quite sure why....does anybody know if he's taken some of the choreography out?
Ice Dance:
Navka/Kostamorov looked smoother than earlier in the season, and it's not the worst FD I've ever seen, but not terribly memorable IMO. No doubt, however, this will be good enough to win them gold at the Olympics. Their OD music - also used by G&G (I think it was them) always reminds me of Torvill and Dean's masterpiece OD in Lillehammer - it's the only time I think I've ever really seen any ice dance team capture any kind of credible latin feel on skates. Needless to say, both teams' OD's suffer by comparasin.
I preferred G&G's FD from last season. I'm sitting her now typing a day later and I can't say I remember much about their program. Not a good sign.
D&L - these guys were fabulous (yes, I'm a proud Canadian fan, if you couldn't tell) So happy they're having a great season, and so happy to be genuinely interested in their material - I haven't always been in the past. I like both the OD and their FD is a signature piece for them. A few more miles on these and they'll really be challenging.
One beef - learn how to twizzle already. It's a required element and they do it comparatively badly. They're slow, tentative and often out of synch. I find it the one glaring area where a number of other teams have a obvious advantage over them.
Was really disappointed CBC didn't show Del&S. I loved this team - my faves from the Worlds last year - and I wanted to see their new material. I understand it wasn't a great skate for them, but I still would have been interested to see the dances themselves.
Pairs:
This is by far the discipline I'm least interested in these days. The programs almost all look like a series of disconnected elements with the skaters painting by numbers. None of the top teams are anything special. When Tot/M most likely win the Olympic gold, it'll be one of the most mediocre wins in a long while. They're kind of the best of a boring lot. In their favour, they are smooth, polished, and actually manage to look like a pair on the ice and have some kind of chemistry. Try as I might, though, I just can't love them.
Then there's P&T. I was shocked, shocked I tell you to actually find this team exciting in the SP. I have never found this team exciting. Ever. Not even when they won worlds. But for some reason, their short was rather inspired. It was like they were skating to music. And were excited. Unfortunately all that had left the building by the time they did their long to a dreadful piece of musak that did nothing for them.
Zhang and Zhang looked robotic as always. This team has no chemistry with each other and none with their music or the audience. They have a series of impressive tricks as opposed to choreography. They could very well be on the podium in Turin. Sigh.
S&S - the German pair. Hmmmm. Slightly interesting. They have potential. I don't think they're quite there yet, but they can get there.
O&S - I think this team has actually devolved. They seem worse now than when I first saw them and thought they had potential. Their programs are dreadful - this year and last - and I'm sure that doesn't help them. But for all their classic Russian style, they have almost zero connection with any music I've seen them skate to. This team is stagnating and need an overhaul.
Ladies:
Yeah, Asada was impressive - but IMO overrated. She still looks like a little girl competing with women. I know some don't agree, but seeing her at the GPF just reinforced this view for me. Slutskaya (and I'm not a fan) just looked miles ahead of her, even with the flaws in her skate, on overall presentation. As did pretty much the rest of the field, even Nakano and Ando.
I wasn't terribly impressed by the ladies competition. Not many of the skates really interested me.
Mr. Doggy totally agrees!!
