I don't know how many people get CBC, but I thought I'd start this thread for those who aren't sick of talking about the GPF yet, since I just finally saw the dance, pairs, and complete mens.
Pairs: One of these days I'm going to post a whole thread about how I must be the only person (or at least the only skating fan) on the planet who doesn't "get" Shen and Zhao. They certainly deservedly won this competition hands down, but I just can't get behind all the superlatives. Though they have admittedly improved a great deal in artistry, and were always great technically (aside from those pesky side-by-side spins that it looks like they've finally mastered), I still find them rough around the edges and artistically lacking. The sometimes jerky hand-holds, and sloppy basic unison is still a wrinkle, for me. I also don't think they relate to each other on the ice any better than they ever did. So in spite of the great speed and jump elements, I'm always left wanting more. I certainly don't hate them, I just don't get the love, so to speak.
Totmianina and Marinin were a snooze. Petrova and Tikhonov were a huge snooze and shouldn't have beaten the Canadians. The long programs were comparable mistake-wise, and Langlois and Archetto did marginally win this portion, but they should have clearly won the short program, which they skated relatively cleanly as opposed to Petrova Tikhonov who had two BIG mistakes. That was a frown moment. Like many others I was surprised at how much the other two Chinese teams struggled.
Dance: I wasn't thrilled with the ice dance competition overall. I found myself not caring much who placed where. The Russians were definitely the class of the field, but I don't think it had so much to do with technique as choreography. I was mainly left lethargic by the uninspired free dances this year. The choreography for practically everyone looked as if it could have been to any piece of music, not just the one that happened to be playing during their performance. Nobody really stood apart, except Navka/Kostomorov. Difficult they may be, but where was the theme or feeling or distinctiveness to set the program apart? It made me miss the great dance couples of the past.
Mens: Plushenko/Sandhu.... Gotta pay attention to those rules.... Sandhu won this one fair and square due to Plushenko's lapse. I really enjoyed Sandhu's skate, and hope he can put together some more great ones in the future. Plushenko needs someone to push him.
Pairs: One of these days I'm going to post a whole thread about how I must be the only person (or at least the only skating fan) on the planet who doesn't "get" Shen and Zhao. They certainly deservedly won this competition hands down, but I just can't get behind all the superlatives. Though they have admittedly improved a great deal in artistry, and were always great technically (aside from those pesky side-by-side spins that it looks like they've finally mastered), I still find them rough around the edges and artistically lacking. The sometimes jerky hand-holds, and sloppy basic unison is still a wrinkle, for me. I also don't think they relate to each other on the ice any better than they ever did. So in spite of the great speed and jump elements, I'm always left wanting more. I certainly don't hate them, I just don't get the love, so to speak.
Totmianina and Marinin were a snooze. Petrova and Tikhonov were a huge snooze and shouldn't have beaten the Canadians. The long programs were comparable mistake-wise, and Langlois and Archetto did marginally win this portion, but they should have clearly won the short program, which they skated relatively cleanly as opposed to Petrova Tikhonov who had two BIG mistakes. That was a frown moment. Like many others I was surprised at how much the other two Chinese teams struggled.
Dance: I wasn't thrilled with the ice dance competition overall. I found myself not caring much who placed where. The Russians were definitely the class of the field, but I don't think it had so much to do with technique as choreography. I was mainly left lethargic by the uninspired free dances this year. The choreography for practically everyone looked as if it could have been to any piece of music, not just the one that happened to be playing during their performance. Nobody really stood apart, except Navka/Kostomorov. Difficult they may be, but where was the theme or feeling or distinctiveness to set the program apart? It made me miss the great dance couples of the past.
Mens: Plushenko/Sandhu.... Gotta pay attention to those rules.... Sandhu won this one fair and square due to Plushenko's lapse. I really enjoyed Sandhu's skate, and hope he can put together some more great ones in the future. Plushenko needs someone to push him.
