Giselle Melanson lives and writes in Halifax, Nova Scotia; where the weather is cold, but the people are warm. Giselle enjoys killing her inner-child by watching people degrade themselves on reality TV, which makes fools of us all.  

On this week’s episode of The Next Best Thing, the impersonators take to the stage for the Semi-Finals, where only five finalists will be chosen by the judges. After last week’s lackluster show, this episode has a sink-or-swim quality, so when the host asks, "Are you ready to be impressed?" it better be good! 

Recap: The evening’s first impersonator, Cookie Watkins, turns-out an energetic performance as Tina Turner. From certain angles, she looks dangerously like Oprah’s best friend, Gayle King; but her on-stage mannerisms are definitely Tina. She has the pipes to belt out Turner’s signature 80s hit, "What’s Love Got to Do With it?" but at times, her intonation strays from the original version we all know so well. The audience gives her a standing ovation, at which point you have to wonder: are the audience members tourists from off the street who think this actually is Tina Turner?  

Next up: John Morgan impersonating George W. Bush.  Morgan receives overwhelming boos from the audience when he takes to the stage - presumably this reflects the audience’s feelings about Bush rather than the impersonator, since he hasn’t even said a word at this point.  The judges, however, give him good reviews. 

Donny Edwards next performs as a young Elvis Presley. Although he resembles Elvis, he isn’t what you would call a dead-ringer.  His singing, however, is spot-on and he garners praise from the judges. 

Next comes the evening’s Lucille Ball impersonator, who is clearly emotionally connected to the late Ball - she begins crying while describing off-stage what she thinks Ball would think of her. She is followed-up by "Tim McGraw," whom one of the judges describes as having the "charisma of Dr. Phil McGraw."  

Natalie Reid then takes to the stage to perform a skit as Paris Hilton.  More endearing than the actual Hilton, Reid charms the audiences with her clever quips about Lance Bass – explaining that she doesn’t know much about bass since she’s not into fishing.  

The evening’s Shania Twain impersonator demonstrates that an impersonation of a singer is always best with a signature song – she belts out a tune that is not recognizable as one of Twain’s hits, and falls flat with a wavering voice.  

Next, "Jay Leno" comes out with an impersonation that is even stronger than his audition, while "Celine Dion" is shakier on-stage, although she maintains the same wide-eyed facial expressions that Dion is famous for.  

"Bono" makes the same mistake as "Shania" with his rendition of "Fortunate Son" – why not "With or Without You," or another signature U2 hit? He is followed by "Simon Cowell," whom the judges agree went "in and out" of his impression of the smarmy American Idol judge.  The evening closes with a  Madonna impersonator, whose version of Madonna’s 80s hit, "Borderline" is exactly that. 

Finally, it’s judging time, and all of the impersonators are gathered on-stage together, in what looks like an awkward remake of "We Are the World." The results are revealed…. The contestants who will go on to the finals are: "Paris Hilton," "Tina Turne,r" "George W Bush," and "Lucille Ball." Audiences will have to wait another two weeks for part two of the Semi-Finals. 

Score: a YUD. As they continue to weed out the bad impersonators, the show only gets better. 

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