This is the first and possibly only stop I am seeing this year. And I really did enjoy it. This show is 100 times better than the show the last two years.
I wasn't sure about the imbalance of so many pairs and so few singles, especially women. But I think it actually provided more interesting group numbers and combinations of skaters than SOI has had in recent years.
So onto the Todd report....
Todd was the first one on the ice for the opening and he landed that triple axel, but it was a little wild and he had to struggle a little to hold the landing. He also landed a clean double axel at the end with Kurt and another clean triple. I didn't catch the pick in, but it was probably a toe loop.
Todd was great in Channel 1 Suite, but I don't think this number gets the crowd going as well as his more dramatic numbers. He received a nice round of applause, but I didn't see anyone standing. Todd did land a good triple axel, triple salchow, triple toe loop, and a fourth triple which I missed the takeoff on. It was one of those 3-turn entrances so it was a salchow, toe loop, or flip.
I am not sure I like the narration for Power Play. And the "I'll stand naked in the spotlight" line lost a little when he was standing in front of a little girl in the on-ice seats who was trying to get his attention, so he waved back at her. It was cute, but didn't quite go with that part of the narration. It was hard to watch the pairs and Todd, but he did a really huge waxel at one point instead of a double axel.
Miserere is a wonderfully powerful program, but Todd didn't skate it as well as he normally does. He had a turnout on the landing of his triple axel, landed a lovely triple loop and another triple. I think it was a triple toe loop, but I must confess that I was expecting a double axel so I didn't catch the takeoff. He had to step out on his triple lutz. But even with the mistakes, Todd did receive a partial standing ovation.
The closing number is interesting. Todd seems to fit in well and it must be hard for him to be turning against his normal rotation as much as he does. But Todd was really into the choreography and seemed to be having a great time.
