TVSquad

(S03E20) Holy smokes. Call me crazy if you don't agree, but I'm calling this the best episode of the season. There hasn't been a standout number one performance every week, but there has always been something that didn't quite work, or didn't quite measure up to the rest. I didn't find that here.

It would seem that the talk about the choreographers stepping things up wasn't just talk as all of them delivered great routines for the dancers to perform. The criticisms were few and far between this week, from me, and from the judges. That would be Nigel and Mary as usual, joined this week by Debbie Allen. After the jump, we'll get to all of the performances, and a rant about Fox scheduling.

(S03E11) After a crazy performance show it was only natural to expect that anything could happen on elimination night. Things started out normally enough with a group performance to "The Lion's Hunt" from the Lion King soundtrack, choreographed by Tyce Diorio.

It was not my favorite of the group performances, but it was fun. The thing I found interesting was that, like last week, this one also ended with the focus on Sabra. I'm taking that as a subliminal message for people to vote for her. She's quickly becoming my favorite in the competition.

(S03E10) So You Think You Can Dance, come for the dancing, stay for the drama... One of the things I really like about the show is that they stay pretty heavily focused on the competition. Sure, we get the sometimes useless backstage bits, but they have to fill out the two hours of their summer hit somehow. For the most part though, they do steer clear of the theatrics and keep the actual dancing in the spotlight. That broke down a little tonight, though maybe not as much as it could have. More on that later.

First, look over there, it's dance legend (we can call her a legend, right?) Debbie Allen sitting in as guest judge. I had heard that she was going to be making an appearance and have been looking forward to it. She didn't disappoint either. Throughout the show she was a lot of fun. Nigel and Mary were, of course, along for the ride. So, with the introduction out of the way, on to the performances... and the drama.

J-Lo is the new Debbie Allen. Just like Allen before her, J-Lo is ushering young dance hopefuls into the television limelight. Unlike Debbie Allen, who played Ms. Grant on Fame, J-Lo will not be giving the following speech on MTV's Dancelife: "You want fame? Well, fame costs, and right here, is where you start paying - in sweat."

Lopez, who started out as a fly girl on In Livin' Color and wound up a one-woman corporation, is the producer of MTV's latest reality series - Dancelife, premiering on January 15th. The series follows the story of six dancers looking to make it big in the rough and tumble world of professional dance. You can read the stars' bios online, and an extended preview video has cropped up on YouTube. The series looks like it falls on the Laguna Beach-end of the reality show spectrum - more soap opera than competition. At least, the show's stars have more talent than your average Laguna Beach high schooler or Twentyfourseven party promoter. Now, if only I could "remember, remember, remember their names."

American Idol champ Fantasia Barrino is bringing out the big guns for her second album. The R&B vocalist's second outing will drop on December 12th, and this time she's bringing Missy Elliott, Outkast's Big Boi, Babyface and Swiss Beatz with her. The only big name producers she hasn't snagged are Timbaland, Kanye and The Neptunes, but give Miss Thing time.

Fantasia seems to be pulling a Mary J. Blige on her second release - beefing up the hip-hop element and telling fans, "I've let go of things from the past and I'm having a good time. Now I'm on a whole different level." No more drama for Ms. Barrino, and man, did she know from drama. The High Point, NC native is a single mother who struggled with literacy problems and had her rags to riches stories made into a Lifetime original movie directed by Debbie "Fame" Allen.

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino will star in a Lifetime Original Movie about her own life, called Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story. The press release describes her story as "inspired by the true story of Fantasia Barrino, a teenage mother who overcame poverty, sexual abuse and illiteracy by using her incredible voice to rise to national prominence." Fantasia will play herself. Loretta Devine (Crash), Viola Davis (Traffic) and Kadeem Hardison (A Different World) will also star. Debbie Allen will direct.

Filming begins later this month in New Orleans.