I have to say that I do believe Olga (Todd's choreographer) has created another classic. Todd's newest addition to his repertoire has absolutely everything - spins, footwork, a kneeslide, a bodyslide, Russian splits and lots of intricate in-between choreography, some of it completely new (as in, not done before by Todd ). The program also contains an inordinate number of jumps for an exhibition program - five triples (loop, Axel, Lutz, toe and - believe it or not - the dreaded Salchow - I figure he must have decided he needed the practice ) plus a double axel. In other words, this program is jam packed with content, all skated with the kind of passionate conviction only Todd can provide. Tonight all five triples were successfully executed (including the Salchow, although that one had a kind of wonky landing and looked rather crooked in the air - obviously he *does* need the practice ). The number received a terrific audience response, one of the best of the evening.

There seems to have been a bit of jockeying with the order. Todd still precedes Plushenko, but he no longer follows the acrobats. Philippe follows the acrobats now, while Surya follows Philippe and Todd follows Surya. The closing ensemble number is definitely cute, although I do agree with whoever said it's not as effective as last year's Bolero number. For those eager to spot Todd as quickly as possible (not so easy to do as all the guys skate out wearing cowboy hats) he's one of the guys wearing orange.

As for the rest of the show, well, maybe I'm getting jaded or maybe I've just been spoiled by one too many great post-competition galas, but I found most of the rest of it to be rather a snooze fest. Apart from Todd, the highlight of the evening were the pairs - particularly Kazakova/Dmitriev (the magic is still there!) and Sale/Pelletier (whose Melodie d'Amour program is even better than when I saw it in Vancouver), followed by Irina Slutskaya.

As for the rest of the cast - first, the other pairs. I'm not a big fan of Bereznaia/Sikharulidze, but I always seem to enjoy their exhibition numbers and this latest - another Chaplin number (nothing like their competitive program) was delightful. Meanwhile, Brasseur/Eisler I would classify with the acrobats rather than the pairs, and as for the acrobats - well, once you've seen their act, you've seen their act.

Dance, such as it was - well, having come fresh from Vancouver and two of the greatest exhibition programs I've ever seen (Drobiazko/Vanagas' Adagio - probably *the* greatest dance program of all time - and Anissina/Peizerat's Suzanna) well, the less said about Punsalan/Swallow and Usova/Platov the better.

The ladies - of which there weren't as many as usual - Sasha Cohen's ribbon number is more about the ribbon than about the skating. I was so hypnotized by the ribbon I forgot she was skating. Not good. Surya was Surya and looked and skated pretty much the same number she usually skates. Bobek's Cabaret number cries out for Katarina Witt (and doesn't get her). And as for Michelle - I cannot for the life of me understand how on earth she was able to find yet another forgettable, coma-inducing piece of music in the best Beautiful World tradition (I never really understood the meaning of GFB until Michelle started digging up these numbers). I'm starting to think I might actually like her skating if the music she chose would give me a fighting chance. The bright spot among the ladies was Irina, skating that lovely techno type number nobody who wasn't in Vancouver for the gala saw because it hasn't been broadcast yet . Sarah Hughes I'm sure would have provided another bright spot had she been there.

Finally, the rest of the men......well, it says a lot when I have to say that Elvis, with yet another point and shake number (actually, it's one he's done before) was literally the best of the rest of the men. At least the skating content was greater than the point and shake content, and he skated with a lot of energy. Tim Goebel did skate a real program (complete with Triple Axel), but unfortunately the Ricky Martin music he's chosen is a not a good choice for him, because it highlights like nothing else could his complete and total inability to interpret a piece of music - in other words, it was actually painful to watch, he was *so* not skating to the music I found myself flinching more than once. Michael Weiss sporting shiny white pants spent more time wiggling his hips and doing belly flops (totally intentional) on the ice than any actual skating. I may be hopelessly humor impaired because I didn't find Dan Hollander even remotely funny and hadn't a clue as to what he was trying to do in his program. Rudy was neither particularly entertaining nor particularly offensive - and I haven't a clue why Viktor Petrenko thought it necessary to go for laughs with his Presley medley (Love Me Tender wearing a Ball and Chain? I don't get it). Philippe as a Ricky Martin inspired matador stripped (big surprise, I know) And Brian Boitano closed the show with what has to be the single worst number I've ever seen him skate - and over the years I've liked most of his numbers. But this thing is hideous. And last, and most certainly least, the best I can say about Plushenko is the number has been considerably toned down since Vancouver and, interestingly enough, didn't stand out even remotely in a show that had already seen so many gimmicks, wiggling butts and audience mauling from most of the other guys (Timmy, Todd and Brian being the exceptions) that Plush actually gets lost in the general bad taste shuffle.