The Daily Pop

So who went home on 'SYTYCD'?

Trick question. Who went home on last night's "So You Think You Can Dance"? 

No one. 

Never, ever, ever! That's right. "We've never done this before," judge and producer Nigel Lythgoe gushes. I'm not sure that's true, though. I seem to remember that happening when there was an injury last season -- with Billy Bell. OK, after a quick search, here's proof that it happened last year: ‘SYTYCD’ SHOCKER! For The First Time Ever, No One Is Eliminated'. At the time, I wouldn't have minded seeing Billy go, but the injury was a good excuse not to cut him. Anyone remember if that's the only other time? 

Maybe Nigel meant they had never not eliminated anyone on the first elimination show, with 20 contestants, when they were supposed to send two home. Maybe? Pretty specific "never, ever" criteria. Nigel says he "wants to see more" of the dancers, but next week, they'll be sending FOUR dancers home (so they say; we'll see). So after next week, he wants to see much, much LESS of the dancers. Interesting.

Great start to 'So You Think You Can Dance' competition

I can't imagine which dancer deserves to be sent home on tonight's "So You Think You Can Dance" (8 p.m. EDT June 16 on FOX). None of the dancers were weak.  None completely messed up their style. None were especially annoying. Here are a few thoughts.

Best choreography: Our own Virginia Beach native Travis Wall had the best overall choreography for the night -- the animalistic jazz dance and the statue dance. He was blessed with my two favorite dancers on the show so far -- Sasha Mallory and Melanie Moore. One of my favorite choreographers, Sonya Tayeh, didn't have her best work for Caitlynn, but it did show nice flexibility and cool lifts. It was also nice to see Robert from Season 7 dance again so soon. I look forward to seeing more of her stuff.

The Tony Awards: A few observations

"The Book of Mormon," created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker of "South Park" fame, won best musical at the 65th Annual Tony Awards on June 12.  This was apparently expected within Broadway think-tank circles, so not a big surprise. Having heard the songs, though, I'm glad it won. I have yet to see the show live, but the songs are as funny as the "South Park" Mormon episode (look it up). And as many of the critics keep saying, the musical's story is surprisingly affectionate to Mormonism in general. A bit of warning, don't bother to hear the songs or see the show if you don't enjoy religion humor -- whatever faith you profess. I get the impression that Parker and Stone think Mormons are "just so cute!"

A few more observations:

Denim: Is a denim jacket ever appropriate for an awards show? Best actress in a play winner Frances McDormand wore the jacket I had in middle school. And was that a gingham dress? I thought maybe she was in a character for a performance -- but apparently not.

'So You Think You Can Dance' top 20 contestants chosen

First of all, I love Sonya Tayeh. Stunning choreographer. To all dance fans (and I'm not talking about "Dancing with the Stars"), the judges have picked the top 20 contestants on "So You Think You Can Dance," and it looks like a great lineup. As I should have expected, only four of the names from my audition highlights post survived the cut: Melanie Moore, Sasha Mallory, Jordan Casanova, and Jess LeProtto. Also, Ryan Ramirez, who should have made the show last year and my highlights list, finally gets to the big stage. Here's the list:

'So You Think You Can Dance' is Vegas-bound for Season 8

Wow. That's the first thought to come to mind after watching the initial auditions for "So You Think You Can Dance." With the auditions in Atlanta, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, New York and Los Angeles, the show heads to Vegas tonight to narrow the incredible dancers down to the top 20. How the judges will do that, I can barely imagine.Were this season's hopefuls incubated in a dance factory? The judges will have to put them through the ringer and really weed out the dancers who have no ability out of their own styles -- and almost none of them have ballroom experience, so that should be interesting. Poor Mary Murphy. Oh, and be sure to rewatch the L.A. audition episode at fox.com/dance for the "ballroom" joke at choreographer/judge Tyce Diorio's expense -- adults only. Does anyone else think Tyce tends to yap too much?

Apparently, they're planning a hybrid of the top 20 contestant format and the successful all-star format from last season. When the top 20 are narrowed down to 10, they will introduce the all-star dancers. Now the big question after they pick the top 20 will be, who will the all-stars be?

Here are some highlights of the season 8 auditions, in no particular order:

'Bones' and more: Local actor gets prime time exposure

 Antonio Charity will appear on the Fox police procedural "Bones" on Thursday night, the first of three prominent TV appearances for the actor from Surry County.

 In this week's "Bones," he plays a port security guard. Next week he will be in Monday's episode of NBC's "The Event," with one scene playing a garbage man. And next month he has a meaty supporting role in Lifetime's adaptation of the Nora Roberts novel "Carnal Innocence," playing a suspect (one of many) in a string of murders. Lifetime originally scheduled the film for this month but recently pushed it back to June.

Mary's back: USA's 'In Plain Sight' season premiere on Sunday

 Sunday night marks the return of "In Plain Sight" (starting its fourth season on USA) and the return of Mary Shannon, one of the best lead characters on any hourlong police procedural. And get this: She's gonna be pregnant.

 Mary McCormack, the 42-year-old actress, is expecting her third child and the pregnancy has been written into the fourth season of  "In Plain Sight." No word yet on the father of Mary Shannon's child, and no obvious candidates, but USA's press material says all will be revealed.

 The  pregnancy storyline is not introduced in either of the first two episodes, which were made available to the media for advance viewing. But these two episodes do introduce two new supporting characters - one of whom gets off to a promising start and the other of whom less so.

'Harry's Law': Where does David Kelley go from here?

As the first season of “Harry’s Law” drew to a close on Monday night, various supporting characters had paired off into couples – but we’re still assessing the depth of the love affair between viewers and the show.

The show is definitely good, and it has been one of NBC’s top-rated dramas this season. All signs are positive.

What we don’t know yet is whether “Harry’s Law” develop the cult following that tends to grow around David Kelley’s best shows, such as “The Practice” (and its spinoff “Boston Legal”), “Chicago Hope” and the incomparable “Picket Fences?” (Of course, “Ally McBeal” also had a devoted following, but it wasn’t as consistently strong as those shows, and “Boston Public” was very good but never caught fire with a broad audience.)

What's your secret TV confession?

I found out recently that a good friend of mine won't miss an episode of "Teen Mom."

Me = perplexed. I don't know the demographics of the "Teen Mom" audience, but I doubt a highly intelligent 27-year-old with a penchant for political history and JFK memorabilila is the "Teen Mom" target audience.

But then I think about all the drivel I've consumed in the past ten years, and I understand.

Besides the shows I believe still stand the test of time ("Buffy," "My So Called Life," "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman") I've watched some really, really bad TV.

Currently, there's "Jersey Shore." So many of my friends watch this show, so I'm ALMOST unashamed.

But would they judge me if they knew my love for "America's Next Top Model?" What about "Toddlers and Tiaras?"

Does anyone remember "The Starlet," from 2005? The prize was a "career-launching" role on "One Tree Hill." How about "The Wade Robson Project" on MTV in 2003?

I watched both of those shows obsessively.

My biggest confession:

I've seen every episode of "One Tree Hill." I KNOW.  This is the show they clip on "The Soup" because at one point last season, villain Dan looks on as a dog EATS the donor heart for which he's been waiting months.

Seriously. Here's the clip:

When in doubt (or bored, or lacking new TV), just watch "Buffy"

Why are ALL my shows on hiatus? "Gossip Girl" and "How I Met Your Mother" are both old episodes tonight. Last week, I didn't get any new "Grey's Anatomy," "Vampire Diaries," "The Office" or "Community."

Since I've been lacking new TV, I've been using my streaming Netflix to watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I'm up to season four, which (in my opinion) has some of the BEST episodes ever ("Hush," "Who Are You") and some of the WORST ("Beer Bad").

To what formerly must-see TV do you turn when you're all out of current favorites to watch?

*If you haven't watched "Buffy," please do. It's really, really worth it.