I actually don’t quite get how Joey Fatone is even allowed to be in this thing. He was in a boy band. Surely they don’t imagine he was in a boy band with no dance instruction?
I know what you mean. However, the winner of S.2, Nick Lachey, was also in a boy band. And it was quite obvious that Stacey Kiebler had extensive ballet training.
I missed part of Monday’s show so didn’t feel qualified to comment overall, but what the hey, I’ll go ahead anyway.
The dances I did see were all flawed in some significant way: my personal faves, Joey’s *Star Wars bit and Apolo’s Pulp Fiction deal, were both cute and clever, but I can see why Len might have gotten a bit put out by the gimmickry. And that should have been a black wig, not blonde, on Apolo’s partner, shouldn’t it?
The rest, meh, except for Heather Mills, who continues to amaze, for me not so much because of the leg thing but because at the start she just seemed so dour, so, er, unpretty, and unlikely to have really gotten stuck into this. At this point I’m actually rooting for her simply because she seems to be having more fun than anyone, except maybe Joey.
Actually, there was kind of an interesting thing going on that I’ve seen happen in previous series: the front runners are starting to feel a bit more confident about themselves, so they begin to do stuff that’s not part of the standard ballroom syllabus, then get slapped down for it. Like Laila, who’s dance I did not see but apparently didn’t dance in the hold enough for the judges. Heather definitely did get a pass from the judges on the inappropriate footwear, and I’m not going to condemn her for it, but I wonder if there might be some noise on this from the other contestants down the line.
Mills explained in the post-dance interview that the prosthetic had to be flat footed in order to have bounce. Can’t imagine anyone complaining about that without looking like a world class asshole.
Am I the only one who really didn’t like Heather’s dance? Walkovers twoweeks in a row was too much and her upper body was weird, somehow.
Leeza’s dance was dull. Shandi’s was duller. Clyde’s inability/refusal to extend is not helping him (but he does have the ABA fan base). Billy Ray has a solid fan base that isn’t going anywhere (“he’s trying so hard, and he’s PRO FAMILY.” Last year’s “pro family” contestant would have been final three, had her family not exploded. Why can’t they find a country star with the slightest bit of rhythm?)
Leila & Apolo (but that thing he did with Julianne had to be called a lift, right?) right now are still my favorites - and Joey is right there.
ETA: question about the lift
Nick Lachey is the ex-husband of Jessica Simpson. His brother, Drew Lachey, is the one who won Season 2.
Oh yeah. In either event, Drew was also in the band 98 Degrees, so my argument is still sound.
John Ratzenburger has been adorable. I love watching the dancing even if I have no sense of rhythm. Clyde frustrates me. I was so glad to see Shandi go, especially since her partner creeped me out so much.
-Lil
I haven’t been watching that closely this season. I’ll go to the TV and watch one or two perfomances and I haven’d voted for anyone yet. However, I am seriously considering just voting for Joey Fatone from now on, just on the basis of the Star Wars Tango. Anyone who would flaunt his geekiness like that is okay in my book.
That was entirely Maksim’s fault. He knows better than to put an extended period of dancing apart into the middle of a tango. It might be ok in American style but not in International.
Aw, shucks, twickster, just callin’ it like I see it, as always. Trust me, after the flap over the “fix” in the first contest and the mind-blowingly maudlin two hour finale of #2, I never dreamed that this show would get a damn clue and stop taking itself so seriously. And if you’d told me four years ago that I’d completely lose all interest in Survivor and The Amazing Race and get so sick of American Idol’s predictable drama that I can’t even be bothered to watch to comment anymore…well…I’d have been suspicious. 
Right now DWTS is the most watchable…well, least unwatchable of the reality programs. Shouldn’t that be worth some kind of award?
I think the whole point of putting in a former boy bander is simply to have a clear favorite. Let’s face it, having twelve equally mediocre contestants isn’t very exciting. Put in a man to beat, and you inject a little competitive drama in a show with virtually none to speak of, and make it all the more thrilling if someone is able to beat him. Don’t forget that if Stacy Kiebler hadn’t inexplicably fallen apart in the final two weeks, Nick Lachey’s victory would’ve been far from in the bag.
Not pleased at the elimination, and quite frankly stunned at a reality competition of any stripe that knocks two beautiful women first. My only solace is that I could never remember her name. 
The next couple weeks should be interesting, as there at least four contestants who could tank at any moment (John, Billy Ray, Leeza, Clyde), and we won’t have any idea which one it’ll be until we hear it.
And since everyone seems to have an opinion of him, let me say that I love Bruno Tonioli’s harangues with the dumb crowd; I actually think this is one of the best reasons to watch. It helps a lot that not only does his opinion count (unlike Simon Cowell), he’s doesn’t have to give a damn about anything other than the quality of the performance (unlike Simon), he has no interest in “fixing” the contest (unlike Simon), and he enjoys his job (unlike Simon). He’s hamming it up and trading barbs and getting riled up and having the time of his life. I’ll go so far as to say that the show is in trouble if he ever leaves; there are times when he’s more entertaining than what’s happening on the floor.
That’s because he’s got a rocket in his pants!
The recent-convert coworker asked me if he’s gay – my answer was “Who knows? Who cares?”
I thought Carrie Anne was right about Heather – it wasn’t as good as she’s been.
And please, may we send ABA Clyde home now?
swoon I thought Joey was fantastic – that 10 was legit.
I agree completely, twicks, Clyde needs to glide on home.
Wow, that was one of the more entertaining episodes of the series, mainly for the judges coming down like a ton of bricks on just about everyone. If only they’d show that kind of critical eye consistently. Clearly, however, they were out to make a point about a perceived lack of work ethic among the contestants. I do hope we’re not gonna see a bunch of 9s and 10s next week unless they’re really earned.
I pretty much agreed with the rankings if not all the scores. Joey was miles ahead of everyone else in both style and technique, and pure joy to watch. Apolo is doing a bit better, he and his partner probably get a few extra points for being ridiculously cute, and he seems a lock for the final three. Probably Eye-an as well. From an ability standpoint, Laila’s up there, but partner Max seems to be floundering a bit coming up with decent choreography; tonight’s turn, from the music to costumes, reminded me of a '60s Soviet ice skating pair, and not in a good way.
By contrast, Heather’s partner is indeed quite the dab hand at choreo, but she’s still impressing me with her commitment. I get the complaints about her shoulders on tonight’s dance but she did the best waltz of the bunch, IMO.
Of the rest, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, BRC is working at it, improving, and may actually get to the late rounds if he can keep getting better each week. For the rest, flip a coin; they’re all toast, near as I can see.
I felt bad for Ratzenberger–true, he didn’t dance well, but the judges’ comments seemed kind of cruel.
I thought the judges’ were quite generous with Billy Ray’s scores. I would have put him closer to the others at the bottom of the pack.
I, like the judges, have been disappointed by Laila these last two weeks. She needs to step it up.
I agree that Laila is going backwards, thanks to Maks’ crappy choreography. Last week he broke the freaking rules (hello? Did you not see Mario get spanked last season for breaking the rules?) and this week he couldn’t decide who was the bull and who was the cape, so he just bagged the whole style of the Pase Doble.
**Apollo and Juliane ** are just adorable. I loved their dance. It helps that I liked the song. (“If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”)
Leeza has a terrific body, but she took every bit of sex appeal out of the Pase Doble.
Ian did fine. Not earth shattering, though. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed (for once) with Cheryl’s choreography. Her spins could have been more graceful. And I hated the song.
Holy crap was Edyta’s choreography terrible. John just looked foolish.
I loved **Heather’**s choreography. Intimacy obviously isn’t her strong suit but the one legged spins were beautiful.
Clyde is painfully bad and should go home. The judges are strangely contemptuous of him and I’m wondering if he’s not spending a lot of time in the gym, er, ballroom.
**Joey ** hit it with all cylinders. I loved his ballet leap. I’m glad he didn’t camp it up.
Boy, Len sure had his panties in a twist this week.
Thoughts on this ep.:
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Highly grateful for the judges’ banter, because it was definitely more entertaining than much of what was on the floor tonight.
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The thing I feared the most has happened. Two contestants with potential were tossed because they weren’t household names or couldn’t build momentum, just before multiple other contestants have hit the wall, meaning that we’ll be enduring at least three weeks of horrendous performances (especially since they’ll be doing two now).
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Getting really sick of the endless calls to vote. “Vote! Your vote matters! They need your vote! You have nine votes! So use all nine votes! Vote for who you want to stay! Vote! Vote!” And after the elimination, it’s “The bottom line is, you gotta vote. They need your votes. Your vote matters. You gotta vote for who you want to stay. They can’t do it without your vote. You gotta vote. Vote.” Jeeziz!! How about, oh, releasing the vote totals so everyone can have some idea of who’s in trouble and who isn’t so you don’t have to repeat the obvious 100 flippin’ times a week?
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Seriously, does it have to be booing every damn time? Look, if you’re going to act like an ignorant jerk and irritate three people whose opinions matter more than anyone else’s, at least mix it up. Whistle! Groan! Grumble! Give the raspberry! Growl! Stomp! Something different!
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Three time slots for nine performances? The hell? Man, I have to start recording this already.
At any rate:
Leila Ali - Another solid effort from her. Judges pointed out some problems, but it’s nothing serious.
Apolo Ohno - Not really all that surprised at the generous score; at this early stage, that’s just their way of pointing out someone to watch. He looked as strong as always and is definitely one of the favorites by now.
Ian Zeiring - He looked just fine to me; any problems were minor. Unusual 7-8-9; first one I remember seeing.
Leeza Gibbons - Have to go with the judges here: just plain dull. She really looks like she simply doesn’t have the chops for this contest.
John Ratzenberger - He’s been a great sport all the way, and it’s hard to see him clearly struggling with the demands of this contest now. Unremarkable performance.
Clyde Drexler - He was a question mark from day one, and now it looks like the wheels have completely fallen off. Really do not like his attitude to the judges. What he needs to realize is that he’s not Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith. His popularity is with Houston Rockets fans and maybe some Portland Trailblazers fans. NBA stardom is not going to carry him, especially with the voting limitations.
Billy Ray Cyrus - Anyone else think that crying bit was completely blown out of proportion and shamelessly played for sympathy? (Or considering that this is reality TV, should I just take that as a given?) Anyway, the thing I like about him is that he knows he’s not that good, and because he can admit that, he can work on overcoming his limitations and putting on a decent show. Which is exactly what he did tonight. Still more passion than skill, but at least he’s no longer an embarrassment, and considering who we have, that’s pretty good.
Heather Mills - A little awkward at points; considering how much she trouble she had with this dance, she did all right.
Joey Fatone - I put the over/under at that girl becoming an absolutely unbearable pain in the butt that you don’t want to see or hear for another microsecond at 3 weeks. As for the boy bander himself, he looked great, as usual. 10 may be a bit inflated, but it’s too early to start having a cow over that. The #1 favorite, bar none, hands down, without a doubt, in like Flynn.
So who’s it going to be? Fatone, Ohno, and Ali are absolutely safe, I don’t see Zeiring going anywhere, and Mills’ slight stumble won’t knock her out in this early stage. Cyrus got an unlikely second wind and should make it easily. That means it’s going to be Drexler, who had the lowest score of the night, or Ratzenberger or Gibbons, tied for second worst. IMO, Drexler deserves to be eliminated, which of course means that it won’t happen. Of the other two, Ratzenberger has just a little more cred (supporting player in famous sitcom vs. obscure morning talk show host), so I’m picking Leeza Gibbons to take the unhappy walk.
It was like an entirely different dance than everyone else had been doing…wonderful.
rest of the Pasos:
Leila - Paso music has always, always been a huge “WTF was that?” on this show. But I think they were really hurt by that song that I know and for some reason cannot place, but was not a good choice.
Billy Ray - I think he got the spirit of the dance right. But not the dance of the dance. I totally got what Carrie Ann said.
Leeza - I wonder if it’s Tony. She was not good, but the choreography wasn’t either. And his choreography with Sara last year also wasn’t good (and neither was she).
John - not his dance. And Edyta started doing that “I’m dancing around my prop, oops, partner” thing that she does, again. Which doesn’t work.
Waltzes:
Apolo - they are just so cute. Even when his head was wrong (I’m learning, I caught the head thing), it was adorable.
Clyde - couldn’t they have partnered him with someone taller? I didn’t think it mattered that much in some of the other dances, but it was really obvious in the waltz. It made the badness look worse.
Ian - solid. Not great, but with the horrors of the paso this week, solidly good.
Heather - I liked her better this week than last week, and Jonathan can choreograph.
I’m hoping Leeza or Clyde tomorrow.
EEeeeeeek! People told me, “You like dancing, you should watch this.” Huh. There are beginners in my tap class who can do a better paso doble than some of those guys. And I considered the waltz a disaster for everybody.
And I thought it was dancing with the stars? Where are the stars? Who are these folks? Apolo Ohno I recognize. My kid recognized the basketball player. Speed skaters and NBA players are not stars. I recognized the names of the Icky Breaky Heart guy and Leeza from years ago, and of course Sir Beatle’s ex wife. Who are the rest of these people? Where are the stars?
I’m afraid that I really prefer to watch people dance who are actually good at it. Exceptions made, of course, for recitals put on by the school where I take tap. (They are not all better. But some of them are.)