I DVR'd the program and haven't gotten through all the performances yet, but here are my impressions:
Pairs: Wish we could've seen them.
B/A: Love the original dance. It seems so much more serious and mature than last year. I can't wait to see their free dance.
D/L: Loved "Somewhere in Time" last year. Love their lifts, but I didn't really like their program. It seem slow and almost ponderous. It doesn't help that I don't like the music.
Japanese men: Liked what I saw of Takahashi and Oda. A shame about the jumps, but I thought Takahashi's presentation esp. was wonderful.
US Men: Smith was all right. Kind of meh, but I can see him as the third man. I really liked Weir's program. If he can pull it together, I think it will be a masterpiece by nats/worlds. Lysacek bored me. I didn't really want to see his Carmen program, and he didn't seem to have the same spark as last year.
Mai Asada: I loved her program. It was so well put together. She is such a lovely, lyrical skater, and I can def. see her at World's if she doesn't falter.
Emily Hughes: Still not a fan. And not very memorable. I saw her performance this morning and can barely remember it!
Re. quads: I think Campbell's is a good place to try them because the comp doesn't mean anything in the World standings. It gives the skater a chance to at least try it in a competition and get it out there. However, they said Johnny wasn't feeling well, so I dont' really mind if he didn't do one. Better to not do one while ill and not at full strength rather than risk injury.
