The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog: November 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Special to the Blog: Interview With Denis Petukhov! (And Right Back Atcha, Bethenny...)

Many thanks to @ler_che on Twitter for this screen cap

from last night's SWTS, which she titled

"Strict judge Johnny Weir."

Beautiful!

Johnny critiques the performance

of Jonny Moseley and Brooke Castile.

I especially like this screen cap because of his nails. :)

Well, what a night. I was really bummed to have to say goodbye to Denis Petukhov and Sean Young. Sigh. Here I was all poised to vote for them on every available phone, and then--wham. What a letdown. Although I have to say that I thought Jonny and Brooke, Brandon and Keauna, and Rebecca and Fred all did brilliantly.

I also thought the show had better and more consistent energy than last week; I loved seeing Tanith out of her "nest" and handling the interviews so well; but I'm still not a fan of Vernon. At all.

And then there was this:

Way to stay classy, Bethenny.

And thus she set the tone for her fans and their Dark and Evil Apocalyptic Conspiracy Theory TwitterFest that followed last night's episode. The huge outcry over Bethenny's scores started a week ago and then really went into overdrive last night--and for some reason was mostly aimed at Johnny even though all three judges scored Bethenny similarly both weeks. Apparently Johnny is OUT TO GET BETHENNY because he's JILL ZARIN'S BEST FRIEND and JILL ZARIN CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE and MUST BE STOPPED before she and Johnny can RELEASE THE HIDEOUS MUTATING RAY OF DEATH. Or something.

You know, normally I stay as far away from stuff like this as is humanly possible without slipping into a parallel dimension. But I just couldn't stop myself from engaging briefly. So here we go:

(Oh. I see. Now you're saying it's a conspiracy? So it's NOT just Johnny? Even though all the vitriol is aimed solely at him?)

All righty then.

Imma just set these facts down here and tiptoe quietly away:

So Laurie Ann thought Bethenny was better in both categories this week; Dick thought she improved technically but not artistically; and Johnny thought she improved artistically but not technically.

But facts could not quell the Twitter hysteria, which reached such a crescendo that Johnny finally tweeted this:

And then he got on a plane to Australia.

By the time he lands it will be Wednesday there--two days and nearly 8,000 miles from Monday. Sounds good to me. I hope he has a wonderful time and a fabulous show in Melbourne! (and also maybe has time to post a twitpic or two ...).

Anyway.

In the meantime, we must cope with the loss of Denis and Sean from the show. Denis was kind enough to answer some questions via email for the blog (yes, he's just that cool! Thank you so much, Denis!), so here is his interview--although I know we're all hoping we haven't seen the last of him on SWTS ... (For more on Denis and Melissa, their beautiful love story, and their skating career, please visit their Wikipedia page and their gorgeous new website!)

What was it like to be competing again ... even though it's a TV show, and it's probably not quite the same as having Melissa for your partner ...?
It felt very different, but the spirit of competition was still there! This is a great show, and Melissa and I hope that it helps highlight us as teachers and entertainers as well as skaters.

1999 "Golden Spin of Zagreb." Discuss.
Golden Spin is an ISU international competition in Zagreb, Croatia. I won this competition in 1999. And Melissa and I have talked about this event since she was in Zagreb a few weeks earlier for the Junior World Championships, but fate was not ready for us to meet yet! Ironic how our paths seemed to have always missed each other until we met the next year, in 2000 ...

So, what's Melissa been doing while you've been on the show?
She is very busy! She is a great expert; she choreographs programs; she is directing our own entertainment events; and she's been helping with SWTS. She received an award from the US Olympic Committee for our program in Hartford, Connecticut, called "Fever on Ice," which fuses academics and physical education through ice skating. Please check it out at www.eduskating.com! She also has been doing some commentating for IceNetwork as well as SWTS correspondent reports on our YouTube channel, OlympianUncut.

You're an amazing choreographer who has created programs for other elite skaters, including Johnny Weir and Evgeni Plushenko. Did you choreograph your and Sean's routines for the show?
No, I primarily concentrated on training Sean and finetuning the routines we were given. Cindy Stuart and Doug Webster have choreographed our programs, and we've had great fun working with them!

How in the HELL have you coped with that tiny rink???
It's great! Melissa and I have done performances at Rockefeller Center for the Today Show and other events, so I am quite used to transferring skating routines to all different-sized rinks.

What has been the most surprising thing about the show for you?
I would say the set, and the amazing job that the producers have done. It is absolutely breathtaking, and we hope that it goes into season 2!

Did you really feel like a frolicking bunny during the first episode?
To be honest, bunnies were probably the last thing that was on my mind at that moment!

Denis, you were one of the best parts of SWTS, and a class act all the way. We'll miss you.

And so, for anyone who has never seen it, or who needs to see it again (and again and again), I leave you with this stunning performance by Denis, Melissa, and Johnny, called "Fallen Angels."

The next episode of Skating With the Stars

airs next Monday, December 6,
at 8 pm EST / 7 pm CST!

Don't miss it!

Yes! There are still VIP meet-n-greet tickets available
for Holiday Dreams on Ice,
the spectacular December 11 show starring Johnny
and hosted by Perani Ice Arena in Flint, Michigan!
The meet-n-greet is limited to just 50 guests,
so reserveVIP tickets today with this form!

Please remember to check out
Johnny's new official website!
It debuted recently to many rave reviews
on Twitter and Facebook,
so be sure to take a look around!
Love the intro page with the Swan photo
and handwritten note from Johnny. :)

Designer T. Rains and Johnny have teamed up to raise money and awareness for The Trevor Project! This organization is "determined to end suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources." Proceeds from the "Army of One" t-shirt sales will go to The Trevor Project foundation. Order yours today! Your support is greatly appreciated!

For more information, please visit www.thetrevorproject.org.

Monday, November 29, 2010

SWTS, Episode 2: Attack of the Bitch Slap! Because 9.36 Million of My Closest Friends Can't Be Wrong!

The lovely Melissa Gregory offers a recap of SWTS episode 1
and invites your comments on her YouTube channel!
She'll be bringing us the inside scoop each week
(while we're busily voting for her husband, Denis Petukhov ... )

Yes! SWTS episode 2 is tonight!!!

Let's pause and remember this moment from last Monday's premiere:

And this one:

And also this one:

Yet despite all this mesmerizing fabulousness (and I get giddy just imagining what glorious .giffy goodness might come out of tonight's episode. BTW I just mistyped that as "epidose" which, given the current level of my addiction, seems medically accurate), episode 1 had hardly finished airing last week before the naysayers pounced, decrying the premiere's "poor showing" in the ratings and sagely announcing that it was DOA.

I beg to differ.

You know, it's all about the spin. And I'm not talking about on the ice. I leave that to Johnny, and also the wonderful Denis Petukhov. (#TeamDenis! #Votevotevote!)

The initial overnight Nielsen ratings indicated that SWTS benefited from some DWTS spillover in its first hour, starting off with 19.45 million viewers. The perceived problem is that this number dwindled steadily throughout the program's 107 minutes to eventually end at 6.9 million.

It's that 6.9 million that has the headshakers out in force, abandoning the pulse-check and drawing up the sheet while the patient is actually still breathing just fine on his own and is, in fact, trying to text his mom.

Excuse me.

As if 6.9 million people showing up to watch TV is like nothing.

It's sure as hell more than I would want to have over for Thanksgiving.

(Although we did actually prepare enough food for them all. Really. Oh, while you're here, could I make you a turkey sandwich? Or 40?)

But article after article snitches up its nose and harrumphs as if we're talking about a number that simply involves hauling out the extra card-table chairs from the downstairs closet and setting them up in the living room. There we go: Seating for 6.9 million. Done. Let me just grab the extra napkins and we'll be all set.

Oh, BTW: The final adjusted ratings indicate that SWTS actually garnered 9.36 million viewers. Which means we might indeed have needed one more pumpkin pie after all.

So, in a holiday week where even Glee experienced a 20% drop to land barely above SWTS at 10.41 million, let's put these numbers in perspective, shall we?

Here's how SWTS' 9.36 million stacks up against last week's ratings for some other popular programs:

House -- 9.24 million

How I Met Your Mother -- 8.73 million

The Simpsons -- 6.59 million

Lie to Me -- 5.63 million

Chuck -- 4.80 million

WWE Raw -- 4.73 million

Sarah Palin's Alaska -- 3.04 million
(This gives me hope for America, especially since Palin's ratings dropped 40% from the previous week's premiere of about 5 million. Although there are still 3 million people who inexplicably tuned in for the second episode and to whom I'll be writing gentle notes of support and encouragement [WTF is wrong with you Holy Mother of Gaga don't give this woman any more attention don't even make eye contact PLEASE we're trying to ignore her so she'll just GO AWAY] as soon as I finish this entry. But in any case, Johnny and SWTS premiered in nearly twice as many households as did Sarah. Hello, Congress. The people have spoken. Pay attention and repeal DADT already. And how about marriage equality for all ? Here, I'll get you some more pie while you're working on that ...)

So WTF with all the doomsday scenarios? No, SWTS is not Masterpiece Theatre. Let's all be OK with that. And no, I'm not some highly paid bean-counter executive in TV-land, nor an online in-love-with-the-sound-of-my-own-snark TV critic, nor even a math-challenged judge for the USFSA. I'm just a consumer WITHIN (barely but I'm hanging on with a death grip here) THAT ALL-IMPORTANT 18-49 demographic who does, in fact, make all the major purchasing decisions in my household. So listen up, because I'm one of the ones that the networks want watching their stuff.

Yes, there were some rough spots in SWTS, and some room for improvement (More Johnny! More Tanith! Less Vernon! Or how about all Tanith and no Vernon? I'm sure he's a nice guy--all sexting aside erm OK maybe "nice" isn't the word I'm looking for here--but I don't think he's connecting well with the American audience. But Tanith, unscripted and free to comment with all the considerable charm and knowledge she possesses, could be magic. Throw in Johnny skating every week and you've got ratings to the power of unicorns).

And yes, Monday night's DWTS audience was 24.20 million. But comparing SWTS' premiere numbers with the juggernaut that is the DWTS finale is grossly unfair. Skating is rather more of a niche audience. Everybody thinks they can dance. Fewer people can relate to skating. A lot of people even realize they can't skate. I'm one of them. But I love to watch other people do it. It's interesting and pretty and risky. Like that boy I regret never dating back in high school.

But mostly I love to look at Johnny and listen closely to everything he says about bunnies and weaves and priorities, which only he could cover lucidly and most enjoyably within a single episode of any show, and then look at him some more. And then ask my friend Jenn to .gif the hell out of everything he just did.

And I'm not alone. Me and my 9.36 million friends already have the chairs set up and the last of the leftovers ready to serve. (Yeah, I know: Tonight's SWTS episode may draw fewer viewers than last week's premiere did. But that's OK because I'm really running short on gravy now anyway.)

And given a few more epidoses, a whole lot more people are going to discover the riveting magnetic undeniable overpowering we're talking world-domination-level here fascination that is Johnny.

We're definitely going to need a bigger room.

So back off, negative spinmeisters, get the f*ck out of the way from in front of my TV, and let me watch Johnny and Denis and all the rest just do their thing.

Sheesh. You people are analyzing numbers like you don't know anything.

Which reminds me: Anybody catch the new commercial from the USFSA?

The next episode of Skating With the Stars

airs TONIGHT
at 8 pm EST / 7 pm CST!

Don't miss it!

For more information, please visit www.thetrevorproject.org.

Special holiday offer!
In exchange for a donation to Toys for Tots,
Trish Aaron-Misiura will send you one handmade,
Johnny-inspired Christmas ornament! More info here!

Very special thanks to the amazing Jenn Kittler,Official Johnny .Giftress for the blog,for her invaluable .gif contributionsthat rendered me useless once I saw themsince then I had to just watch themoverandoverandoverandover ...
Please vote for Johnny as "Must-Follow Personality"in the Fourth Annual Mashable Awards!To vote, enter "@JohnnyGWeir" in the box after "I nominate,"and then choose "Must-Follow Personality"from the pull-down menu.VOTING ENDS TODAY, Monday, November 29!The top five in each category will advanceto the finalists' round, which begins December 1.

copyright 2010 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

SWTS: Spectacular! Weirvelous! Totally Sparkly! So Want To See (More)!

OK, this is the show I really want to see.
"Johnny." Every night on ABC. :)

But until I have my JWe-TV (all Johnny all the time because too much is never enough etc. etc. need to start working on a network theme song BTW which clearly must include the line, "bunnies frolicking across a beautiful meadow..."), I will happily watch the "Meet Johnny Weir" intro piece from SWTS over and over and over. Except that the only place I can find it thus far is on Gawker.tv, a site kind enough to actually post the video, but who thoughtlessly failed to provide an embed code. (Dear ABC: Once again your watches appear to be set on geologic time. Did no one sit down and gently explain to you about Johnny's fans and our need to instantly mainline all pics/vids as soon as they have been captured, even if they're just blurry plixi uploads?) So if you need me, I'll be spending the day over there where they also have the video of his Poker Face performance...

OK then! Wow! We made it through the first episode of SWTS and no skate blades sliced any femoral arteries or anything. So yay!

And actually, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The production values were better than I expected, the routines were fun to watch, I found myself actually rooting for everybody because I am amazed at the risks--both physical and career-wise--these celebs have willingly assumed in order to do this show, and (except for the extraordinarily long commercial break about
three-quarters of the way through in which I finally looked up from texting absolutely everyone I've ever met and wondered if I had somehow accidentally changed the channel because where the hell was my SHOW), the episode really moved along rather briskly and all of a sudden it was over! Time to race to the computer to spend hours NOT being able to vote at ABC.com because according to their watches of course it was only half-past Precambrian--plenty of ice ages to go before they realized maybe their servers were on overload and they ought to FIX THEM. But at least I was able to vote immediately from every available phone in the house--four different cell phones and a land line--and yes, I spent all my votes on #TeamDenis!

OK, let's talk about that for a minute. Denis was absolutely superb, totally my fav among the pros. And I can see why they paired him with Sean, one of the weakest skaters on the show. Because only Denis, with his experience, strength, artistry, confidence, and sheer talent, could make the two of them seem flowing and elegant and in sync. But kudos to Sean: She's damn gutsy to be doing this at age 51.

I actually liked all the couples, though I thought Vince Neil was even less steady on skates than Sean. And I was really surprised at the harsh scores from all the judges for Bethenny Frankel. I'm not a Bethenny fan, but I did enjoy her and Ethan's performance and am kinda puzzled by the super-low marks. But then, as my Twitter friend @patinaglace noted, it wouldn't be figure skating without a judging controversy... (at least the math--BIG NUMBERS ON HANDHELD PADDLES LOL--was fairly simple to follow, though how the judges' scores combine with the audience votes and translate into the results smacks a bit more of the square root of the USFSA...).

Loved Tanith. Vernon Kay: Not so much.

But the highlight of the show was, of course, Johnny. From his brief intro piece, to his comments to the contestants, to his Poker Face performance (on that little teeny tiny rink OMG), he was dazzling. As always. He did seem a bit nervous to me--but then, I'm used to BGJW and all the unbridled warm crazy that goes on there. I know he mentioned in one of the AMA interviews (don't know which one! too many to keep track of!) that he was aware that this is ABC and Disney and family-friendly, and I think that may have accounted for some nerves.

Anyway: I was so excited when the show FINALLY got started!

And then there he was.

And it was like this whole year flashed before my eyes: Discovering Johnny via a random tweet of his Festa '09 Poker Face; Nationals and the fur freakout; frantically reading everything I could find to catch up on his entire career; Olys and the unbelievably appalling scores for which I still have no words; Dorothy Hamill's voice breaking when she had to ask him about those idiot comments; his press conference; withdrawal from Worlds; lots of red carpets; Russia; Skate for Hope; Japan; Dirty Love!; AIDS/LifeCycle; his year-off announcement, tweeting from his hotel in the middle of the night that he hoped his fans weren't disappointed in him; Lake Placid; more Japan; All That Skate; HRC Visibility Award; rumors about some Skating With the Stars show...

Is it wrong that all of a sudden, when I saw him, I got a little teary?

Because there he was, on a major network, in prime time, starring on a show that follows the number-one show in the entire country, poised and perfect and beautiful and funny, for all the rest of America and the world to fall in love with.

After one of the most wrenchingly bitter disappointments of his life some months ago--now he's here.

Wow. Just wow.

Mysterious ways. Who would have thought that NOT winning the gold would have opened so many doors for him?

So, so proud to be his fan.

And I'm just one in a number that keeps growing exponentially and way way faster than ABC could possibly keep up with, given that they're all still standing around wondering where the tech services guy is. Just since last night, he's gained 300+ followers on Twitter and another 300+ on Facebook. I'm pretty sure he's the number-one draw to keep viewers coming back for more on SWTS.

And that's not just my opinion. I leave you with a small sample of the Twitter feed from last night to roll around in while we wait for next week's episode (click for a more readable view):

Catch the next episode of Skating With the Stars

this coming Monday, November 29,
at 8 pm EST / 7 pm CST!

Don't miss it!

Please remember to check out
Johnny's new official website!
It debuted last week to many rave reviews
on Twitter and Facebook,
so be sure to take a look around!
Love the intro page with the Swan photo
and handwritten note from Johnny. :)

For more information, please visit www.thetrevorproject.org.

Yes! You can own a fine art print of Johnnyperfect for any/every room in the house! Prints of artist Peter Jurik's "Showtime!" are available for purchase from his website.More info here!

Here it comes: Johnny's quarter-century memoir,Welcome to My World, will be availableJanuary 11, 2011--that's just two months away!You can preorder it now on Amazon!

Please remember to register to receivethe JW Art Project's email newsletter!
They have great tidbits to offer,
and you get a special sneak peek at an exclusive photo
from the Artbook when you sign up!
Special holiday offer!
In exchange for a donation to Toys for Tots,
Trish Aaron-Misiura will send you one handmade,
Johnny-inspired Christmas ornament! More info here!

Please vote for Johnny as "Must-Follow Personality"in the Fourth Annual Mashable Awards!To vote, enter "@JohnnyGWeir" in the box after "I nominate,"and then choose "Must-Follow Personality"from the pull-down menu.You can vote once a day until Monday, November 29!The top five in each category will advanceto the finalists' round, which begins December 1.

copyright 2010 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved

Monday, November 22, 2010

OMG IT'S TONIGHT!!! SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Johnny tweeted this photo of his SWTS dressing room door

(he has a dressing room! gaaaaaah!)

last night after the AMAs ended, along with this gentle reminder:

"Watch us tomorrow! 9 pm EST on ABC!"

(Oh BB, my TiVo has been set for ten days now

so I can watch the show live and then watch it all again ... )

YES!! TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!!!!!

Squeeing With Total Spazzosity!

Simply Wild That (it's) Starting!

Since We (have been waiting forever possibly longer for) This Show!

And wow, weren't last night's twitpic-laden AMAs a wonderful little preview of what's to come? Those few minutes onstage, during which Johnny was of course beautiful and sparkly and funny, were just the perfect appetizer for the nearly two whole hours of His Ab-Fabness that's coming tonight!

I say "nearly" two hours because:

(1) My trusty TiVo has noted that tonight's SWTS premiere is actually starting at 9:13 pm EST / 8:13 pm CST which I have confirmed at the SWTS site and also which, as times go, isn't at all incomprehensibly bizarre, but apparently DWTS' cup runneth over tonight by 11 minutes and then there's two minutes of commercials and then FINALLY! and,

(2) I think there are some other people on the show.

So it won't just be Johnny on camera for about two hours straight (although that's the show I really want: Just Johnny. Just sayin'.).

So here are my fave pics from the AMAs:

A yfrog pic tweeted by Agentress Tara:

"On the carpet just hugged k perry

now onto leno's ross the intern."

I LOVE Ross! Follow him on Twitter @helloross.

Hope to see this interview posted somewhere soon!

From the Official AMA's stream on yfrog.

Fab side view of his hair!

Twitpic from @hunterw, self-described roving reporter,

who notes: "Johnny Weir is wearing

some type of shirtdress under his blazer."

He also tweeted this quote from Johnny:

"I'm wearing heels and a dress, basically,
under this blazer, and I'm not afraid"--
a quote that also was picked up by the AP
in their "Vignettes from the American Music Awards."

Twitpic from eTalkCTV:
"Johnny Weir working the press line backstage at AMAs."

Johnny teamed with actress/singer Christina Milian

to present the award for Favorite Latin Music Artist.

This photo was taken after Shakira was announced

as the winner and Johnny quipped:

"Shakira couldn't be here tonight, so this is mine now."

eTalkCTV immediately tweeted: "Shakira wins Latin AMA.

Johnny Weir's hair accepts award on her behalf."

Love this shot, especially because the

(pink? purple?) color in his hair is visible.

I'm guessing we have Beauty Bear Eric Alt

to thank for bringing us this hair magic. :)

A wink and a nod from Johnny--

and another view of the hair color.

And this beautiful shot--the hair again,

gorgeous Chanel brooch thingy, and .... just Johnny.

So for any who missed it, fan Wendy Stevens was Johnny-on-

the-spot, so to speak, and uploaded his AMA moment to YouTube within minutes (thank you, Wendy! Because even though I saw the show, now I can watch my favorite part over and over again yes there is an obsessive pattern here why do you ask ... ?):

So there you have it: Everything we need to get us in just the right mood for tonight's SWTS! (Squeefest With The Star who is Johnny of course what a silly question.)

Speaking of YouTube, I came across this luscious tidbit yesterday from Melissa Gregory, whose husband, Denis Petukhov, is skating with Sean Young on the show. (Disclaimer: Yes, I am completely biased. And unlike the USFSA, I don't pretend not to be. I LOVE Denis and Melissa, and I am going to be voting my fingers off for him and Sean! I hope you'll join me! Team Denis all the way!)

Melissa posted a little preview video on their YouTube channel in which she announced that she's going to be offering insider updates throughout the coming weeks of SWTS:

Oooooo .... this should only add to the fun! To stay in the know, please subscribe to Melissa and Denis' YouTube channel, then follow Melissa on Twitter here and Denis on Twitter here.

OK then! I think we're all set for tonight! Oh wait--one more thing: For international fans--or anyone else who doesn't receive ABC--the network says that you can watch full episodes free online here. I hope it works!

Squeeeeeeeeeee!!!

OMG! Skating With the Stars premieres

TONIGHT! Get those DVRs ready
and tune in to ABC at 9:13 pm EST / 8:13 pm CST!

Don't miss it!

For more information, please visit www.thetrevorproject.org.