Max and Laura won, and I have nobody with whom to discuss it!

Yes. I admit it.

I did watch (some of) the uber-cheesy reality show "Grease: You're the one that we want!", a show modeled after one from the UK in which the lead roles of Sandy and Danny for the Broadway revival of "Grease" were chosen by the American people over the last several months. The show played on Sunday nights, and so it wasn't always convenient to watch, but when I had an opportunity I did tune in to see who auditioned, who was good, who was bad, and who was really creepy. I liken my interest in this show to that of my interest in "So you Think You Can Dance," one of my summer obsessions for the last couple of years. I love dance and musical theater, so it stands to reason that I'd be interested in a show that highlights talented people, plus I have fond childhood memories of the movie "Grease," since it was the first movie we ever recorded off the TV when we got our first VCR in 1986. I watched that damn thing over and over; I know all the lyrics to all the songs (except the few that were cut for time/schedule, like the one Rizzo sings), and my mom had the soundtrack record album that I loved to play. (Aside: kids these days probably don't understand the reference "like a broken record," do they? Nobody except DJs and music uber-geeks play records anymore).

I love watching talented people perform. I love going to the theater, the ballet, or even hearing someone I know sing and play guitar. This show, despite it's over-the-top cheez factor, was a way for me to get my "talented amateur makes good" fix while waiting for SYTYCD. I watched the first "real" show, with all six potential Dannys and Sandys (seven of each, if you cout the stunt they pulled, but those two were appropriately booted that first week), and I held my nose and tried not to notice the filler and double-hosted ridiculousness. Dannys ranged from being called "Hot Danny" to "Slacker Danny" and Sandys from "Baby Sandy" to "Religious Sandy" because obviously the audience needed to be told what to think about each of the contestants in the first show. I think I saw parts of 2 or 3 other shows, and the ones I didn't see got recapped brililantly by the forum members of Television Without Pity. This was a wonderful way for me to get filled in on the goings-on without having to actually TRY to see the show.

The last show was on this past Sunday night, and I'd seen the previous one as well, whcn it went from 3 vying for each role to 2. The final two of each were quite different - Austin, the professional, who looked nothing like a Danny and desperately tried to come off as cool and heterosexual, and Max, the somewhat funny-looking guy who came alive each time he performed, and exuded Danny-ness from the first show, were the final two Danny candidates, and I'd picked Max to win from the beginning. The Sandy finalists were the best of the group, but neither of them were particularly notable - the one I liked better won, despite being a brunette, but she never really convinced me she'll be Sandy. Honestly, though, the character of Sandy is an ingenue, rather than a real character like Rizzo, and you just have to sing well, look pretty, and go from naive to sexy over the course of the show. Not too difficult. Anyhow, I was really on the edge of my seat when they announced who would play Danny, though I knew from reading the TWoP boards that the vast majority of them were Max fans like me.

Immediately after the show was over, I was happy and excited and wanted to find out what other people were saying about the results. But the TWoP boards weren't working. Nor were they working on Monday or (thus far) today. I simly can't go any longer without sharing with SOMEONE how I felt about the stupid show, how glad I was that Max won, even though I'll never see him perform the role of Danny. So there you go. I'd save you all from having to read about it, just as I refrained from blogging about SYTYCD and I mostly refrain from blogging about ANTM, but it appears as though you're my only hope.