Althouse: "Everyone agrees: Katy Perry’s dancing sharks were definitely the best part of the Super Bowl halftime show..."

February 2, 2015

"Everyone agrees: Katy Perry’s dancing sharks were definitely the best part of the Super Bowl halftime show..."

"No matter who you are, Katy Perry’s sharks just get you."

61 comments:

traditionalguy said...: I give up. The sharks are the spermatazoa and the balls are the eggs and the singer is the perfect hot place where they come together.; 2/2/15, 10:57 AM
Original Mike said...: Meh.; 2/2/15, 11:02 AM
kjbe said...: The sharks were some low-tech, pop music fun. Nothing more, nothing less.; 2/2/15, 11:03 AM
Renee said...: Sharks were awesome.

But Missy Elliot being 43 years old. She was great! What a lovely surprise!; 2/2/15, 11:04 AM
JSD said...: Katy Perry was great, but it looked a lot like the Mexican variety shows we see in South Texas. That’s not a bad thing. Those shows actually have a lot of quality “production” value.; 2/2/15, 11:04 AM
khesanh0802 said...: People really watch the half time show?; 2/2/15, 11:05 AM
Ann Althouse said...: What's best doesn't have to be that good!

Personally, I thought the sharks were the best thing about the show. The worst part of the show was the way it sounded!

Meade went out to shovel the walk again and missed the whole thing. I sincerely believe that shoveling the snow was more entertaining.; 2/2/15, 11:07 AM
Jason said...: Great branding placement for the Hot Dog On a Stick Corporation!; 2/2/15, 11:10 AM
Old RPM Daddy said...: I liked the goofy beach balls best. One thing that bothered me was that they didn't show the transitions from one setting to the next. How did she dismount from the giant tiger after the first number?; 2/2/15, 11:10 AM
Tank said...: I found the show surprisingly boring. Last years show, starring a guy I never heard of, was much better.; 2/2/15, 11:13 AM
Jason said...: The beach balls were great, except that Tom Brady had to be physically restrained from deflating them.; 2/2/15, 11:14 AM
cubanbob said...: It was cute. Sort of like what she did once on PBS for kids. I was hoping for a lot of cleavage but you can't always get what you want.; 2/2/15, 11:17 AM
Brando said...: I normally don't care for halftime shows, but I have to say this one was excellent. The sharks and beach balls added just the right amount of weird.; 2/2/15, 11:18 AM
Joe said...: Turns out that my TV can't get NBC over-the-air in Las Vegas, so I couldn't watch the Superbowl. Apparently, I didn't miss anything.

Not a Kate Perry fan, but not having the half time show performed in wheelchairs was a change.; 2/2/15, 11:22 AM
Jaq said...: I wish she would have jumped one and brought respectability back to that pastime.; 2/2/15, 11:24 AM
traditionalguy said...: I like Katy Perry's talent. She is a real woman who is really singing real songs. That's so traditional.; 2/2/15, 11:24 AM
Julie C said...: I liked the half time show. She spent take herself too seriously and that is endearing. Loved the beach balls!; 2/2/15, 11:24 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Everyone in our house enjoyed it. Adults, teens, pre-teens. My wife commented on Katy's "beach ball boobs" in that number and thought that was a cute addition to the costume.

Yes, we all liked the sharks. Hokey fun, and good to see that Katy Perry doesn't take things too seriously.

Definitely more family friendly fare than previous years.; 2/2/15, 11:24 AM
Julie C said...: **doesnt**; 2/2/15, 11:25 AM
Julie C said...: Also Lenny Kravitz the man who does not age ...; 2/2/15, 11:27 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: I thought the Chessboard graphics on the ground was a pretty cool effect, but it would have sucked if you were there in person unless your seat lined up well with the camera angle.; 2/2/15, 11:27 AM
CWJ said...: I actually said out loud as it was taking place; "Imagine that guy's entry in his resume, 2015: Superbowl 49, Left Shark."; 2/2/15, 11:27 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Joe said...

Turns out that my TV can't get NBC over-the-air in Las Vegas, so I couldn't watch the Superbowl. Apparently, I didn't miss anything.

Yeah, except for that close football game including the Seahawks running a 30 second scoring drive at the end of the first half to tie the score, the Patriots coming from 10 points down to take the lead, the Seahawks making an impressive last minute drive that looked like it would win the game, and ending with a great defensive play to save the game with seconds left on the clock.; 2/2/15, 11:33 AM
madAsHell said...: It was a mix of J-pop, and Gigante Sabado!!
It did not appeal to me.; 2/2/15, 11:43 AM
Drago said...: JSD: "Katy Perry was great, but it looked a lot like the Mexican variety shows we see in South Texas."

Sabado Gigante will live forever!; 2/2/15, 11:45 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Agreed, IIB.

That was the best Superbowl game for a neutral viewer ever.

The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. They should photoshop Pete Carroll's head on that doomed ski-jumper of 1970's Wide World of Sports fame.; 2/2/15, 11:46 AM
madAsHell said...: I went to the grocery store before the game to buy a can of frijoles.

The shelf was bare.

When I was a kid, no one even knew what frijoles were!; 2/2/15, 11:47 AM
Birches said...: I found the show surprisingly boring. Last years show, starring a guy I never heard of, was much better.

Bruno Mars was better, but I appreciated this year's too because, like last year, I didn't have to turn the TV channel for my kids. Those sharks came off a Yo Gabba Gabba set.; 2/2/15, 11:49 AM
Anonymous said...: I don't remember the last time I've watched a half time show.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.; 2/2/15, 11:53 AM
Tibore said...: "cubanbob said
... I was hoping for a lot of cleavage but you can't always get what you want."

If Katy Perry's not enough cleavage, then I don't know if anyone can help you.

;) :D

(Joke!!!... I know what Cubanbob meant, it's just that it's too good an opportunity to pass up...); 2/2/15, 11:57 AM
Unknown said...: I would rather watch the Kilgore Rangerettes. And I don't want to watch them.; 2/2/15, 11:59 AM
walter said...: I'll have to check that out. I didn't realize they call them "sharks" these days.; 2/2/15, 12:01 PM
Tibore said...: LMAO at all the shark joke pics now.

http://s110.photobucket.com/user/elmondohummus/media/nonsmileys/left-shark_zpspzl6u6ex.jpg.html

Found that one with a caption "We're gonna need a bigger stage...".; 2/2/15, 12:05 PM
Sam L. said...: I vass unGotten!; 2/2/15, 12:12 PM
rehajm said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/2/15, 12:17 PM
rehajm said...: I actually said out loud as it was taking place; "Imagine that guy's entry in his resume, 2015: Superbowl 49, Left Shark."

In college there was a guy who worked at an amusement park dressed up as Yogi Bear. It was on his resume, and everyone gave him interviews.; 2/2/15, 12:19 PM
Mark said...: Reminded me of an Olympic opening ceremony.

Like many others I appreciated that it was family friendly. No one did anything to their crotch that I saw.; 2/2/15, 12:26 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Maybe now they can finally bring back the marching bands . . . dressed as sharks.; 2/2/15, 12:29 PM
Rae said...: Thankfully, nature called.; 2/2/15, 12:36 PM
Birches said...: Maybe now they can finally bring back the marching bands . . . dressed as sharks.

I'd watch that.; 2/2/15, 12:39 PM
Brian said...: Fun fact: Katy Perry --- presumably because she's grown wise enough to know that her otherwise charmed life could use an occasional dusting of soul-crushing disappointment -- recently declared herself to be a fan of the Ole Miss Rebels. For some time now our team's defense has been calling themselves the "Landsharks" (it's a long story); they're the ones who originated that vertical-hand-on-forehead thing you see college players do now. People down here are having a LOT of fun with Katy's dancing land sharks. I highly recommend surfing the Ole Miss social media fan-o-sphere for Katy/Landshark fun.; 2/2/15, 12:42 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Ann Althouse said...
The worst part of the show was the way it sounded!

I had always assumed Althouse was tone deaf, given her unrelenting enthusiasm for all things Dylan.; 2/2/15, 12:42 PM
Birches said...: That was the best Superbowl game for a neutral viewer ever.

Also for those of us that hate both the Patriots and the Seahawks with equal passion. I didn't realize until that interception that I was actually less annoyed with the Pats winning than I would have been if the Seahawks had.

The fight at the end sealed it for me.

Though I kept joking during the game that because I disliked both teams so much, I was just waiting for Bane to show up.; 2/2/15, 12:43 PM
Big Mike said...: Super Bowl halftime shows have come a long way from the Grambling State University marching band in Super Bowls I and II.

With the exception, of course, of Katy and her dancing sharks.; 2/2/15, 12:46 PM
JSD said...: Drago: When I’m channel surfing and I pause too long on Univision, my wife knows that I’m catching some worthwhile entertainment value.; 2/2/15, 1:19 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Birches said...

Also for those of us that hate both the Patriots and the Seahawks with equal passion.

Haters gonna hate.; 2/2/15, 1:24 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Yes, we all liked the sharks. Hokey fun, and good to see that Katy Perry doesn't take things too seriously."

How could she?; 2/2/15, 1:27 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The weird thing about the half-time show (like the opening and closing shows at the Olympics) is that it's designed to fit the stadium and be readable and entertaining in that huge space. But on TV, everything is the same size, so nothing is ever monumental. I'd rather see and hear something shot on a smaller stage when I'm watching TV. I don't find it that entertaining to imagine the point of view of those actually there in the stadium.; 2/2/15, 1:30 PM
Wince said...: Sure, it starts with just innocent dancing...

Malcom Brenner Talks about His Dolphin Affair: ‘I Had a Sexual Relationship with a Dolphin Who Seduced Me’

The 1970s was a different era. Nixon was in the White House, the Vietnam War was nearing its end, communism was in full force, and Malcom Brenner was having sex with a dolphin.

The now 63-year-old Brenner worked as a photographer at Floridaland, located in Sarasota, Florida, in 1971. He offered to tell his story in a new documentary that has been produced by Coffee and Celluloid Productions. It was recently shown at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
In the documentary, Brenner goes into detail about his sexual affair with a dolphin, one that he is adamant that Dolly the dolphin started.

“There’s something quite transcendental about making love with a dolphin,” said Brenner. “The dolphin is very aware, the dolphin is an intelligent and creative creature and making love is a consummate act.”

Brenner described how the relationship began when he took photographs of the dolphins.

I was given free access to the dolphins and I became friends with her by going swimming with her. She was very special,” he said. She announced her intentions to me by positioning herself so I was rubbing against her.”

“At first I discouraged her, I wasn’t interested. After some time I thought ‘if this was a woman would I come up with these rationalizations and excuses?” he added. “”It was when the park was closing that we successfully eluded the male dolphin so we could spend some time alone.”

He even described how the sexual act occurred.

“I started rubbing her along her back, working my way to her flukes – her tail” he said. “And as I was rubbing her and moving my hand towards her tail, Dolly was slowly rolling around her long axis.”

Dolly was eventually transported for unrelated reasons and died shortly. Brenner believes she died due to the depression she suffered when they were split up.

“I called it a relationship because that’s what it was. When she died it made me feel terrible and I fell into a depression which lasted five years,” said Brenner.; 2/2/15, 1:38 PM
Bill said...: As a stand-alone visual, the dancing sharks were fine, even absorbing. As a background to a song "Teenage Dream," though, the colors and theme were jarring. The song's title conjures up the intensity of, well, teenage dreams, but the brightly lit animals on stage evoked a much more childlike feel. I don't know if protective services should be called based on garbled metaphors, but the presentation didn't match up with the lyrics.; 2/2/15, 1:41 PM
Titus said...: I loved the Half Time show. She was really singing too. Very retro.

The game was great too!

We have two feet of snow on the ground and are getting another 12 inches today. Tomorrow we will be having the Duck Boat Parade with the Super Bowl Champs!

tits.; 2/2/15, 1:49 PM
traditionalguy said...: Take a look at Drudge's poll on GOP candidates. It appears that Meade has been voting over and over and over again using dog's names. Drudge will need to find a way to stop him.; 2/2/15, 4:21 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: I liked the beach balls' articulated mouths, and the projected pattern on the deck (with motion, etc) probably looked pretty cool if you were there and had bad seats (at the top).

I thought it was odd that they hyped the show as "Katy Perry featuring Lenny Kravitz" and then had ol' Lenny play for maybe 30 seconds (on a song I don't think actually has a guitar solo)--Missy E. was the surprise guest and she got 2 or 3 songs of her own! War on WOC? You make the call.; 2/2/15, 5:14 PM
RecChief said...: she has the two biggest ..hits..in pop music; 2/2/15, 5:29 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Okay, please forgive my stupidity about these matters, but in the video at youtube, she just seems to go from one set to the other seemingly instantaneously, with a major change of costume.

Have the pauses between costume changes just been edited out of the video, and while she was changing folks just sit there to dead air? Or, can her "dressers: get her dressed & out in seconds?; 2/2/15, 7:10 PM
RecChief said...: If I had known Missy Elliott was going to be there, I would've watched.; 2/2/15, 7:27 PM
Christy said...: Nice Katniss Everdeen homage with the ride in on the robotic lion. Even better that Lenny Kravitz was part of the show.; 2/2/15, 10:11 PM
William said...: I like Katy Perry. She's fun to look at and so was her show. I was hoping for a guest appearance by Sponge Bob, but he's into squirrels apparently.....She lip synced, right? You're allowed to lip sync when you're perched forty feet above ground, speculating about the qualifications of the roadie who outfitted your cable support and safety harness. Maybe next year they can do a tie in with Nationwide Insurance and teach us all something about the transience of human life and the frequency of accidents. It would be especially effective if Justin Bieber was the half time performer.; 2/2/15, 10:37 PM
Blue@9 said...: It was a pretty awesome halftime show. So many of those elements looked like they were CGI, but instead were costumed characters. Loved that giant lion/tiger thing as well. Its surface was composed of polygons, which also gave it a CGI-like effect.; 2/3/15, 5:06 AM
Paul Mclennon said...: my top 5
1 the game
2 hotdogs/mustard
3 polygon dog
4 sharks
5 katy perry; 2/3/15, 6:17 AM
JoyD said...: I actually watched the whole thing, not quite believing how ludicrous it was.; 2/3/15, 9:21 PM