Dancing with the Stars

Kim Reis

Reality TV this Fall is starting off with a BANG!!  Monday was the kickoff of Dancing with the Stars.  Can someone say OVERKILL?  Three nights of Dancing with the Stars (Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday)??  That’s a bit much.  I mean, I like the show - but 3 nights will burn me out.

Anyway - Tuesday night is Biggest Loser on NBC at 8pm!  YAHOO!  Wednesday is America’s Got Talent on NBC at 9pm where the top five finalists perform. Can’t wait for that!  And America’s Next Top Model is also on at 8pm on Wednesday.  Survivor Gabon starts this Thursday at 8pm on CBS.  And then Friday, Gone Country & Outsider’s Inn round out the week.  Amazing Race 13 starts on Sunday and, although this is not reality TV - I’m so psyched that Desperate Housewives starts up again on Sunday too!  Thank GOODNESS for my new dual channel TiVo!! 

Now - back to Dancing with the Stars.  First off - too many nights.  The contestants are:

Cody Linley (had no idea who he is - but they said he’s a “Hannah Montana Star”.  On her show.)
Youngest dancer on the show and he was more interested in checking out his teacher than focusing on the dance.  HA!  Young hormones! He’s cute and sure can move.  He did a nice job for his first week.  Judges said he has huge potential, but they only gave them an 18. 

Rocco DiSpirito (a chef)
His teacher sprained her ankle during rehearsal and was taken to the hospital, but she will dance tonight.  EEK!  I was on the edge of my seat for their entire performance, but they did fine.  Judges gave them a 14 for their first time out.

Toni Braxton (a singer/performer)
I had no idea that she has heart disease.  She’s nervous about her health and I hope voters don’t choose based on sympathy.  Although I’m impressed that she’s overcoming her health issue, I want her to be judged solely on her dancing ability.  The judges loved her.  I think she did OK.  I wasn’t in awe, but she has a cute body.  They got a score of 22, best score of the night.  I think Cody did better.

Maurice Greene (track Olympian)
He’s paired with Cheryl Burke who has won the title twice for DWTS.  They danced to such an upbeat song and, at the beginning, they were waltzing around the floor like they were a prince and princess dancing to a slow song.  Looked weird.  But he did OK.  He was a little heavy on his feet.  The judges didn’t rip him apart like I thought they would.  They got an 18.

Brooke Burke (didn’t know who she is, but they said she’s a host and model)
She’s very beautiful but she has a lot of trouble remembering her steps.  What hips!  WOW!  She should do a Hawaiian luau dance.  She can really shake those things! They did a lot of shaking, but didn’t move around the dance floor very much.  They really stayed in once place for a long time.  It was sexy and hot.  The judges loved her.  They gave her a score of 23.  That became the highest of the night.

Ted McGinley (actor - I couldn’t remember what he was in, but I recognized him.  AHA!  He was in “Married with Children”)
Ted is paired with a teacher who is in DWTS for the first time.  That already puts him at a disadvantage.  He’s going to take a lot of work to be graceful.  He’s rather clunky, but he tried so hard.  I like him and I would love to see him progress through the competition.  I like to see the underdogs do well - and he’s starting as the underdog for sure.  The judges could have been worse on him, but they were kind.  They gave him a score of 18 (which I think was generous).

Lance Bass (from one of those boy bands - NSync)
He says he was the worst dancer in the band but I wonder if he’s trying to convince the voters that he doesn’t know how to dance but he really does.  He didn’t look like someone who can’t dance.  They are trying to be the wild duo with their black sequin outfits and their biker dude look.  We’ll see if that pays off or not.  Len Goodman doesn’t like that look and he likes traditional dances.  So, he was obviously tough on them.  They got a 22.  Nice score.  I think Lance will go far in the competition.

Cloris Leachman (actress, much older than the rest of the group.  She could barely walk down the stairs when they introduced her.  We’ll see how that goes)
She’s so cute!  She’ll do OK for a few weeks, but I don’t think she’ll win.  But I sure do give her credit for being out there - that’s for sure!  She kept going up to the judges to look them in the eye - it was so funny.  The director & producers were probably freaking out that she was fluttering about during the judges comments.  They had to reel her in!  Was she drunk??  She got a score of 16 and they had to mute her microphone because she swore twice.  HAAAA!

Jeffrey Ross (I had no idea who he was - he’s a comedian)
He injured himself during rehearsal when he was poked in the eye.  He scratched his cornea and docs recommended that he shouldn’t perform.  But he’s going to perform anyway.  He’s definitely not graceful and he will need a ton of work.  He’s clunky on the floor.  Funny guy, but he’ll be going home soon for sure.  The judges tore him apart!  WOW!  He got a score of 12 - OUCH!

Kim Kardashian (they called her a reality TV star?  Huh?)
She is paired with last season’s DWTS title winner as her teacher.  They danced the fox trot which is very elegant.  They danced to the Pink Panther theme.  WOW!  Hot!  They looked great.  She did a great job and the judges were a bit hard on her.  She got a score of 19, not so bad.

Susan Lucci (My FAVORITE this season.  I’m a big All My Children fan!!!)
I couldn’t wait to see her perform!!!!  She is so tiny and that will most likely work to her advantage.  She’s with a veteran teacher of DWTS and I’m so glad he’s with her.  I hope she wins!!!  They danced to “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”.  And - when they started - SHE STUNK!!!  Darn it all!!!  She was so stiff and couldn’t keep a beat to save her life.  She was just as clunky as the comedian.  DAMN!!  The judges tore her apart - rightfully so.  She got a score of 15.

Misty May-Treanor (Beach Volleyball Olympian)
She’s not graceful enough for a woman and she was rather stiff. It almost looked like she wanted to lead - HA!  Len was too easy on her.  And, of course, he gave her an 8.  WHAT?  They ended with a score of 21 - but I think that was too high.

Warren Sapp (football player on Tampa Bay)
For a big guy - he’s pretty light on his feet.  You can see in his facial expressions that he wants to win so bad!  He’ll do OK for a while, but I don’t think he’ll take the prize.  His vest kept riding up on his body and that was mighty distracting for me.  The judges loved him and gave him a score of 21.

So - from that lineup, I hardly know any of them.  I hope Susan Lucci goes far because I love her, but it doesn’t look promising.  All 13 of the contestants will perform two dances this week.  One Monday and one Tuesday.  At first glance, I think this will be a man’s year to win.  The women are rather weak.  Cody & Lance are pretty good. Long week of TiVo for sure!