They Shoot Greasers, Don’t They?

They Shoot Greasers, Don’t They? by Roxanne McDonald

Grease Academy has begun; no more laughing, no more fun; if you don’t show your teeth or tongue, you will pay a forfeit.

I’m watching my favorites, Derek Keeling, the John Stamos look-alike, and Allie Schultz, the one with the Elisabeth Shue eyes and teeth. I’m also watching, in some ways, a throwback to not only the preparation for the 50s setting of Grease but the trial and elimination process.

Interestingly enough, while the final contestants perform for Kathleen Marshall (choreographer, Tony Award winner) and Jim Jacobs (original co-creator of the phenom, Grease),

getting the eye rolls, the laughs, and the notes and points scratched down on those intimidating clipboards–a process somewhat typical to contemporary elimination shows—the actual eliminations are done when David Ian arrives.
As one “Grease: You’re the One that I Want” competitor tells us, since David Ian walked through the door, it’s put the pressure on. It’s getting real, now.” And the format for elimination is unique to today’s reality and more in line with the atmosphere of the 50s.

During the dance and sing segments, each contestant performs in tandem. David Ian then walks about the room and touches the shoulder of anyone who is not Danny or Sandy, because he or she is not singing or dancing well enough for the role. It is, I noticed, the same way the judges at 50s dance marathons would eliminate someone.

However, as David Bianculli of the New York Daily News suggests, “Grease: You’re the One that I Want” is still not very “desirable”.

The competition is not all that stiff, critic Bianculli points out. And the fifties format would work for mass appeal if it were more consistently used throughout (say, if the judges were in crewcuts and poodle skirts—gender-appropriately, of course), rather than just used here and there. So, while I have my favorites, I find I don’t break traffic laws to get

home in time for the next episode, I am not running up a big bill (or any bill) to vote for my favorites, and I even often forget to watch and subsequently record some fan commentary.
There isn’t much audience engagement, empathy, or interactivity, it seems. Or there is not enough. For some reason, we don’t care for the characters…we don’t love any one performer so much that we set up sticky websites that glean major traffic in an instant. We don’t even hate them enough to do the same.

Not that we expect a Simon Cowell clone to judge the contestants right offstage left, or some slimy Junkyard Jon (or whatever that moniker for the Survivor guy who lied a lot is) or Omarosa the grossa to be trying out for Danny and Sandy…but hey, how about some reason to spend all our time buzzing the Net about the Grease hopefuls? Or, maybe you could not pre-empt our other must-see TV programs?
SirLinksAlot Grease: You’re the One that I Want Links

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