I’m pretty sure that Louis was trying to make a “number of the beast” joke that fell very flat.
Another tweet from Tom Bergeron:
Best friends, according to The Insider.
I got the impression that she kissed Len not because he complimented her dancing (he only gave her a 6 IIRC) but for saying that her age wasn’t the least bit a consideration in his judging- he judged her the same as he would anybody else. She’s been in show business 50+ years and would probably rather get an honest 6 than a pity 8.
Hi. Taking a little while for me to warm up to this, and the first couple weeks aren’t of much consequence, anyway. I’ll watch the episode when I have the time and try to handicap the field a bit. For now, just general comments.
It’s interesting to see how the show has evolved over the years. Surprisingly, I think most of the changes have been positive. Reducing the influence of rabid fanbases was a must, as was giving judges more control. (I get a very strong feeling that Bruno Tonioli would’ve quit a long time ago if this didn’t happen. He does not strike me as the kind of person who puts up with disrespect.) It looks like voters have wised up and are no longer dominated by emotion; they’re not going to throw all their weight behind a hopeless case out of spite. As for the dancing itself, the overall quality has gone way up from the early days, and even the weakest also-ran at least makes an effort.
I still don’t like old fogeys and political fire hazards on the show, but as long as it’s just one each, I can live with that. I think a lot of the novelty surrounding contentious choices has worn off, and no one’s going to give them a free ride anymore. I thought it was fantastic that Florence Henderson asked to not receive preferential treatment, and it’s a safe bet that anyone who does expect it from now on will get shown the door in short order.
As for “ringers” becoming standard, I think this was simply a necessary step, and I don’t even find anything unfortunate about it. Yeah, okay, it was cute watching a hulking football player win it all, but cuteness and inspiration and effort and honor and overcoming limits and blah blah blah only work for so long; at some point we want the trophy to actually mean something. It’s very simple: You gotta beat the best to be the best. Whether or not you do, the title goes to someone who truly looked like a champion.
And if I may bring up another sports aphorism (chill out, I don’t do this that often 
): To finish first, you must first finish. No matter how dominant they may be, remember that all it takes is one slipup, one untimely injury, one emotional breakdown, and it’s game over. It’s easy to say in retrospect that Kristi Yamaguchi’s wire-to-wire victory was never in doubt and she was just too good, but the fact was that up to the very last dance on the very last day, NOTHING was locked up. Now that multiple big guns seems to be the order of the day, we could be looking the first truly exciting finish ever.
Eliminaton:
Michael Bolton. And this after he received the second sub-4 score in the HISTORY of this show. No howls of outrage. No massive knee-jerk backlash. No bleeding-heart gusher of sympathy. The voters accepted the fact that he wasn’t any good and let him go. Awesome. About time they grew up.
I think it means less when it means ‘this person with extensive dance training applies it to the ballroom, crushing a whole bunch of people with no dance training at all’ than when it means ‘this person with no dance training worked his/her ass off and learned to dance’.
If it was just about the best beating the best then the only people on that floor who’d even contend would be the pros. Of course, those competitions already exist – they’re the ones the pros compete in with their real, professional partners. This isn’t about that.
Yeah, he got that 3 from Bruno – but geez, louise, that was a spiteful 3. He was bad, but he wasn’t an affront to all that is good and holy, he was a middle-aged guy who had started learning ballroom/latin a month earlier. Despite his defense of himself, Bruno was just wrong to be so nasty to him, both in what he said and in the score he gave.
First off, having just watched Michael Bolton’s jive, I’m not surprised at all that he left. It was dreadful, and it totally deserved the 3 Bruno gave it. Maybe he was a bit unlucky that he got such a tough dance so early, but that’s just the nature of the beast. And I think it’s fantastic that, for the first time ever, the judges are free to be brutal. I hate the idea that you’re allowed to tell a contestant how much he sucked only if you have no power to affect anything (hello, Simon Cowell!). Now it’s put up or shut up. For EVERYONE. Awesome.
As for Jennifer Gray being on, well, obviously not everyone liked that decision, but it’s certainly defensible. It’s perfectly reasonable that the producers thought she’d be rusty and not have the pop and luster she used to, maybe have a little problem with chemistry from being paired with a man literally half her age. I honestly don’t think they expected her to be that good that soon. I certainly didn’t. In any case, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Let’s just keep watching and see how it shakes out.
And having watched everyone else, I am friggin’ relieved that she’s on. This could be the weakest field ever. No joke, I am seeing no-names who would’ve been middle-round cannon fodder in previous seasons having a realistic shot at the final here. Unless one or two contestants have a real breakthrough, we could be in for a long season.
Early prospects. Of course, anything can happen, but I already know who will not be winning this thing:
Kyle Massey
A complete cipher. Seriously, all I remember is that it looked okay and he didn’t seem to be perspiring too much afterward. I do know, however, that having excess fat is nothing but a huge liability in a dancing competition, no matter how feverishly Tom Bergeron tries to deny it. Will be sent packing soon; there’s just nothing going for him.
Florence Henderson
Give her credit for demanding to be treated as an equal. If willpower were all it took to learn a dance, she’d be a major contender. Unfortunately, she just doesn’t have the stamina, and she also has no background in ballroom dancing; she was genuinely surprised at how complicated a quickstep is (and she did a really simple one). There is absolutely no way she isn’t going to absolutely bomb out at the two-dance stage, and I’m hoping the voters are kind enough to see her off before then.
Rick Fox
It’s tough enough for a 6’8” bruiser to be graceful and fluid without the complication of a lingering injury. I don’t care how big a smile he puts on, that foot is a colossal albatross, and as routines become more complex and fatigue starts to set in, it’s only going to get worse. It’s nice that he’s giving it all, but, again, we’ve had enough of cheerful lovable scrappy underdog stories. He wasn’t a superstar in the NBA, so the fan vote won’t save him.
Margaret Cho
Well, now. After all I heard about her last week, I was anticipating a Ryan Leaf-level meltdown. Not only did she pull her head out of her butt (undoubtedly not an easy task, given the size of both), she actually looked…dare I say it…good! She looked lively, too, and didn’t seem hampered at all by her weight. However, so far all we’ve seen from her is Shimmying 101, no complicated maneuvers like slides, jumps, or lifts. Not sure how she’s going to handle those. Particularly lifts. Actually, I don’t even want to think about that right now. She doesn’t have a prayer of wining this, but she’s going to last a lot longer than most of us gave her credit for.
Mike “The Situation” Sorentino
I think some of us pegged him wrong. He doesn’t strike me as a colossal douchebag, and he’s probably going by his nickname simply because it’s better known. He showed a lot of energy this week and may actually be the most athletic of the stars. The problem…which is going to loom huge when he starts doing the complicated stuff…is that he doesn’t have a clue what a ballroom dancing contest is about. Yes, there are differences between the different dances. Yes, they’re subtle. Yes, you have to practice until you get them right. Yes, it’s going to take some time. Yes, the judges’ opinions matter. Yes, you have to give them what they want, or you will be eliminated. Which is exactly what will happen to him.
The ones who are going to contend for this:
Jennifer Gray
Wow. This not-a-baby is no joke. That was a great quickstep, especially for just the second week, and those arm twists at the end were amazing. And her neck surgery, if anything, will serve as a constant reminder of what’s at stake and keep her hungry. She is the only one who has looked great…not decent, not pretty good for her age/condition/experience, but GREAT. By far the one to beat, and right now no one else is in the same zip code.
Bristol Palin
I get the feeling that she’s just a wee bit in over her head right now. She looked liked she was struggling just to remember what to do and I haven’t seen anything my sister couldn’t do after two minutes’ practice. On the plus side, she has a fantastic attitude, no arrogance or sense of entitlement whatsoever (which, given Sarah’s track record, is nothing short of miraculous), and right now there’s nothing else commanding her attention. Make no mistake, being able to go into every week focused and fully loaded goes a long way in a contest like this. And let’s not forget the voters. As Vote For The Worst should have taught us, never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. She will go far, and don’t be surprised if she makes the final.
Kurt Warner
At first, I was ready to dismiss him as yet another ex-jock also-ran. My assessment improved after that jive…somewhat. He’s having a lot of fun out there, he looks smooth, and there isn’t any obvious glaring flaw I can point to. There are limits to what he can do, but much less than for Fox or Cho. On the “star power” side, he’s famous, but not world-beating ultrafamous like Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith. Could be a good run for him.
And the two I can’t peg just yet:
Brandy
Physically, she has all the tools. She’s lithe, athletic, and full of energy, and she knows how to work sex appeal like the back of her stiletto heels. Her problem? Attitude. I know that reality TV always plays up the drama, but it’s clear that there are serious chemistry problems brewing between her and the pro. Furthermore, judging from her jive, it looks like she’s every bit as clueless as Sorentino. (Here’s a hint: going solo = DO NOT DO EVER.) I can’t even imagine how long it’ll take her to learn a lift. I’m not the least bit surprised she was in the bottom three. If she can rein in her ego…and FAST…she should be considered a strong favorite. But all the signs are pointing toward an emotional blowup on the horizon, and like I said, even one of these is fatal.
Audrina Partridge
A wildcard. Looks in good shape, reasonably elegant, and best of all, has no emotional or psychological baggage to speak of. Yet. If friction with her family, or worse, her boyfriend, starts building up…well, it’s not going to be pretty. Could leave in two weeks, could make the final. It all depends.
Jennifer may be a ringer, but that was a hell of a samba.
I don’t watch, but was channel flipping. How bad was The Hoff if he got booted and Margaret Cho did not? I mean wow, she just looked … wow.
The costume designers must really hate Lacey & Bristol.
Other than that I wasn’t really surprised this week. Nothing is inspiring me to vote either for or against anyone.
It’s pretty easy for me to pick who not to vote for, their names rhyme with “go.”
And–who designs those costumes? Seriously.
I mean, I love fringe, but…on pants?
Also, how can anybody not know who the Eagles are? I mean, you can hate them–fine. But not to know who they are? Come on, Lacey.
They are really straining themselves to come up with odd things to waltz to. “Take it to the Limit”–seriously? I think the degree of difficulty has to go up when people must dance to stuff like that.
Last night was just meh for me, except for the loathing of the Cho. Kyle continues to be my unexpected like. Rick Fox is still gorgeous. Flo did an okay job, not anything to move her on. Audrina was pretty and did a nice job. Brandy and Maks are a train derailment approching the curve, I think.
I think anyone paired with Derek or Cheryl has a real advantage over the rest of the field. Between the choreography and their teaching methods, they seem to bring out the best in their dancers.
StG
I was going to say that Maks’s methods always end in disaster, but I was wrong – he’s made it to the finals three of the eight seasons he’s competed, which isn’t bad.
I really don’t see a ringer this year. Jennifer was in a “dance” movie 20 years ago. She is not a dancer. She wasn’t even the good dancer in the movie. I personally thought Brandy would be better considering she sings and dances, but I have been sincerely unimpressed with her. I think Audrey has an excellent chance of being in the finals. She is definitely improving every week and it doesn’t hurt that she is very pretty with long, long legs.
Really love Kyle, he’s so energetic and suprisingly graceful. Still a little rough around the edges, but improving. Like Kurt more than Rick, but neither are too bad considering their size and the fact that they’re athletes.
I think contestants who are in the performing arts ( including some athletes from the Olympics) have less of an obstacle to overcome in the appearance before an audience. They are practiced at portraying characters and showing emotion in their movements. So the football/basketball players have to learn to perform and also how to do intricate dance moves. Bristol also is having this problem of overcoming embarassment/stage fright.
I like the fact that no one is overly good and we get to watch as they learn and improve over the weeks to come.
My thoughts from this week:
Jennifer – Despite my feeling that she’s a ringer, she’s super-engaging, personality wise, so I’m growing to like her. She and Derek are actually pretty adorable together, despite the age difference, and their “story” was really well done.
Florence – Didn’t seem to really do the “story” challenge. Simply dressing in costumes and relying on the audience being familiar with Sound of Music isn’t telling a story.
Kurt – His b-roll was adorable. His arms are still stiff as hell, though, but at least he’s bending them a little when he thrusts them out awkwardly – like he’s aware of the concept of having line, but can’t actually achieve it.
Margaret – I was worried about her when I saw her costume, thought she wasn’t going to take the dance seriously. I think she did, and it just didn’t help that much. And I had no idea what she was talking about in terms of the story. It wasn’t the story in the song, but it wasn’t any other story, either.
Audrina – She gets very stiff when she’s doing anything on only one leg, but otherwise, she looks good.
Bristol – No personality and an incomprehensible story. She always looks like she’s marking.
Brandy – I didn’t seen this whole routine, so I don’t know how well the story worked, but the bits of dancing I saw, she was really working it.
Kyle – First of all, I have to nominate Lacey’s costume for ugliest of all time. I’m still not sure whether Kyle is just kinda taking the piss out of the whole thing. He seems to have trouble appearing serious, but that might just be his personality.
Situation – That was terrible. I’m not sure anybody could have danced well to that music, though. Maybe if Derek was choreographing.
Rick – I think the story was pretty clear here, and I really liked the role reversal in having Cheryl on the bar, forcing, Rick to dance up to her. Their height differences are a constant refrain and it’s good that she’s working with them instead of against them. I did think he spent a fair bit of time not dancing at the beginning, though.
My guess is that Margaret’s going home, and if there’s a bottom two, Mike is in the other half of it.
My updated final three predication is Jennifer, Rick and Audrina.
Haven’t seen the results yet. For now, just a couple brickbats (that’s what they’re called, right?):
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I stand by my previous statement about how weak this field is. I did notice, however, that everyone is at least trying, and I have to respect that. Give the producers credit for finding competitors like Henderson, and Cho, who are severly limited but take the contest seriously and don’t expect handouts.
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I really could do with some better music choices, and Take It To The Limit is far from the worst of it. First off, I propose a rule: Nothing with a repetitive refrain. Because when you compress it for this show, it’s only going to get more repetitive. Secondly, I’d rather not have songs that…well…send the wrong message. You all remember that Copacabana is about a murder followed by a showgirl’s downward spiral into madness, right?
That was the weirdest results show in a while. Between the bizarre choice of encore, the mixup with playing the recaps of the dances of the wrong couples, Cheryl & Rick’s miscue on the “in jeopardy”, that whatever-the-hell-it-was with Mark and Val - just weird.
I won’t complain about the celebrity selected to go home, though.
What was that between Mark and Val, other than strange and rather ego-stroking for the two boys? I must say, though, that Chmerkovskiy 2.0 is quite good looking.
Margaret got booted off. I’m happy. The gay-pride-themed dance was a big mistake. She doesn’t understand that this isn’t a forum to air her personal views. The people who watch this show don’t want to see that. Lance Bass understood that, which is why his homosexuality was never even mentioned.