# Dancing with the Stars, Season VI **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196 "2008-02-19T00:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/41 "2008-03-19T18:34:37Z")
[QUOTE=Oy!] Shannon: It seemed to me that she did a series of perfect poses and moves, but not a dance. [/QUOTE] Same. To my very uneducated eyes, it seemed that she had less content than Marissa, but only Marissa got called on it. Monica is so likeable and trying hard. I would like to see her get better and better. I hope she gets to stay. I really liked Kristi & Marlee’s dances. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/42 "2008-03-19T19:10:56Z")
Odd. Seles is the youngest female contestant (34), yet she looks in her mid-forties. I wonder how much of that is the sheer stress she’s clearly experiencing from being in this. Also odd: the youngest woman is 34. This is over all a much older bunch of women than has been the case in the past. A bit surprising, given how much more demanding female ballroom/Latin is than male, not only because of the high heels (and, guys, don’t underestimate how difficult that is!), but also because of the acrobatics that are virtually demanded these days, especially in Latin. The producers may realize that the audience here is middle America in every sense, including middle-aged, and also that (at least I would assume) the majority of watchers are female. They just eat up someone with whom they can identify, as witness Marie Osmond’s success last season. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/43 "2008-03-19T19:25:29Z")
Wow, Marissa and Shannon were both born in 1973. I’d’ve guessed Marissa was 10 years younger than that, based on the immaturity of her presentation of self. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/44 "2008-03-19T22:30:21Z")
kunilou - The judges try their very best to be honest (and they’re a helluva lot smarter than any other group of reality TV judges I know of), but only a fool thinks that they’re immune from outside pressures. Especially since The First One Eliminated carries such a terrible stigma. The only good news is that mercy grading has a short shelf life, so it ultimately really doesn’t matter. If the 5 worst go out 1-2-4-3-5, 2-1-5-3-4, or even 5-4-3-2-1, it’s all the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_piglet\_cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@running\_piglet\_cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_piglet_cheese)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/45 "2008-03-20T04:03:15Z")
There was just no expression in Priscilla’s face. It’s like to mask her fear she froze it in a mannequin pose. 8’s This is probably the furtherest my score has differed from the judges’. I gave Prissy 6-7. Marlee and Marissa were my favorites because they just seemed to be having the most fun. They are supposed to send home two next week. I’m predicting Monica and Christian. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/46 "2008-03-24T16:36:59Z")
Two-hour show tonight (actually 122 minutes, per TVGuide dot com), with all 12 couples dancing again for our voting pleasure. Double elimination tomorrow night. Let’s hope Monica’s nerves have lessened a bit and she dances well enough tonight to save her. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/47 "2008-03-24T16:43:45Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Let’s hope Monica’s nerves have lessened a bit and she dances well enough tonight to save her. [/QUOTE] Let’s hope she doesn’t, so I can gawk at Shannon Elizabeth for another week. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/48 "2008-03-25T00:38:56Z")
Gotta say, making people do the quickstep in week two is just … mean. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/49 "2008-03-25T01:07:06Z")
I’ve got to say, Penn Gillette doesn’t like criticism _one little bit_. His comic asides seemed to be hiding a really simmering anger. StG ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/50 "2008-03-25T01:13:19Z")
I don’t know if Penn is trying to hold in his anger with his comments, I think he’s trying to laugh off the criticism and be self-deprecating but it doesn’t come off to well because he’s a huge, kinda scary guy with a big booming voice. I think he’s genuinely having fun. However, he’s just so big he has a lot more to overcome to look good. Monica looked scared and very out of her element. Priscilla looked like she was dancing in slow-mo, there just wasn’t much energy to it. Shannon was great and her routine was a lot more difficult than Jason’s. Jason was good but I noticed that he really didn’t have to move around a lot and Edyta just danced around him most of the time. It’s easy to look good when your choreography isn’t that complicated. I don’t think he deserved 9’s for that. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/51 "2008-03-25T01:32:53Z")
Yeah, I was impressed with Shannon – I think **Slacker** can rest easy, she won’t be out this week or next. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/52 "2008-03-25T02:33:32Z")
Heh, ABC managed to get in some footage of Mario with his shirt off. Go figure. OK, so for me the ‘best improvement’ awards for Round 2 go to Shannon and Derek for an ace quickstep, and Priscilla and Louie for a surprisingly precise mambo. Yeah, I know Len said he didn’t want precise so much (then turns around and gives Christi a 9 for pretty much just that reason), and I give Priscilla the nod despite the fact that, no matter how much I tell myself it shouldn’t matter, that face freaks me out. Just me talking here, but I’ve gotta wonder how Shannon gets 8s and Jason gets 9s for what seemed a considerably less technically proficent routine. For that matter, Penn gets the (slight) edge over Monica? His footwork was indeed atrocious. Also, dude, don’t feel you absolutely have to mouth off to the judges every chance you get. Same for you, Adam. I have a pretty much perfect record of not correctly guessing who’s gonna go home any given week, but Guttenberg or Gillette, and, much as I’d like to see her continue, Seles, were at the bottom as far as skillz are concerned, for both weeks. We’ll see. Lastly, Samantha, let’s try really, _really_ hard not to stick your mike in Marlee’s face again next week, 'kay? 'Cause you’re sort of confirming all those comments people love to make about what a ditz you are. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/53 "2008-03-25T07:05:48Z")
New rule of thumb: The more the routine looks like a sumo match, the more desperate the star is. Penn Jilette will last as long as the fans go for his schtick, no longer, no shorter. It’s clear that, much like Amanda Overmeyer, there just isn’t a whole lot he can do. But he has a great sense of humor and has never treated this as anything other than the fluffy, pointless exhibition that it is. I _like_ the attitude he’s taking with the judges: jawing and ribbing without descending into jerkishness. I don’t mind him going early, but it’d be a damn shame for it to be the first week. C’mon, you can’t tell me you’d rather see Adam Carolla _and_ Steve Guttenberg. Priscilla Presley is working her heart out, and right now she seems more than happy to ride the wave. Predictably, she’ll eventually run out of steam but last a lot longer than you’d expect someone of her age to. Should be interesting. I think the judges were spot-on about Steve Guttenberg. He’s just very ordinary, and that, coupled with his has-been status, will spell his doom very quickly. Fan club or no, I’d be stunned if he lasted past the third week. I don’t think Jason Taylor deserved a 27 either, but there are always a few gifts in the early rounds. I’m pretty sure the judges like his potential and want to make sure he doesn’t get embarrassed (especially given the amazing track record of athletes in this competition). He looked smooth enough to deserve a pass into the next round, which is all that matters. Remember, from now on everyone starts from zero every week. Monica Seles was lackluster again, and I think the 15 was very well deserved. She’s going to need a miracle to survive, and I don’t see who’s going to give her a flood of sympathy votes. She accepted the challenge, she did her best, and someone has to be the first. No dishonor. Kristy Yamaguchi was fabulous again. Looking at her, I think what really helps is not only her figure skating background, but being completely free of the baggage that’s plagued so many figure skaters. No so-close regrets (Michelle Kwan), maturity issues (Sasha Cohen), too-much-too-soon albatross (Tara Lipinski), unrealistic image problems (Nancy Kerrigan), or emotional issues (Irina Slutskaya/Oksana Baiul). She’s a woman on a mission and isn’t letting anything get in her way. Right now, the only question is where she’ll end up. Drew Lachey or Stacy Keibler? The rest is a mix. Wait until the round of 8 before asking me to get all detailed about everybody. To close, and because this bears repeating, the whole point of this show is entertainment. So as far as I’m concerned, the most entertaining competitors deserve to keep going. (Of course, I absolutely _loathe_ last-man-standing eliminations being used here, but I’ve pounded that point home enough times, so I won’t rehash it.) The last thing I want this to turn into is a cold, mechanical skill competition. Comedians, wizards, and outright weirdos are a _good_ thing. Two words: John Ratzenberger. So if a clown like Penn Jilette doesn’t deserve to win it all…I say at least let him have one more week. Just one. (Just out of curiosity, and this doesn’t have anything to do with anything…what the hell _was_ the result of the first season? What I heard was that Kelly Monaco won, there was a protest or something, they had a “playoff” and the guy won, but later this result was thrown out and Monaco is the official winner. It got so ridiculous, some fans actually thought this would kill the show. That’s how bad it was.) ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/54 "2008-03-25T13:16:33Z")
Steve Guttenberg - surprisingly bad. I agree that he spent too much energy on that facial expression. Christian - better than Steve but they don’t have chemistry together. And since I fast forward past all the filler, I still have no idea who he is. Monica Seles - She’s trying but she just can’t feel the music. Shame that. Penn - anytime you have to resort to the tie erection schtick, you’re doomed. He was like a lumbering dancing bear flopping around a rag doll. I was worried about Kym because if he stepped on her, she might be seriously injured. That leap he did was just horrifying. And being argumentative with the judges isn’t cool. Priscilla - I agree that the plastic surgery on her face is very distracting because her facial expression doesn’t change. She used to be so lovely and now she has the cold expression of a china doll. Anyway, she did fine but I thought the dance was very short. She worries me because she was so exhausted at the end that she couldn’t even respond to the judges. Shannon - I’ve heard of this girl but have no idea what she’s done. They did great. Jason - He’s so graceful for being such a tall man. It’s nice to see someone able to match Edyta’s sexiness. Great dance, great fun, great chemistry. Marissa - great energy and fun. I don’t know how she’s going to carry off a sensual number though because what makes entertains me is her high watt smile. Adam - He’s just such a stereotypical white guy who can’t dance. And he tries to detract from his horrific dance by being funny. Marlee - She’s a great dancer. And she’s still beautiful despite her wrinkles (take note Priscilla). I wish her leaps and leg extensions would have been more confident. Kristi - No surprise that she’s great. Far and away the best dancer among the women. My only criticism is that they don’t have a lot of chemistry as a couple, though it’s masked during high energy routines. Mario - Once again, I have no idea who this person is, but he was fun to watch. I love to watch macho men dance. He’s got the muscles to carry her off and the rhythm to match. Best of the night (men) - Jason & Edyta Best of the night (women) - Kristi & Mark (Carrie Ann looked great tonight. And wasn’t the audience star-studded? The Fonz!) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/55 "2008-03-26T01:18:53Z")
**The Results Show is airing on the East Coast – spoilers ahoy!** Steve makes it to next week!!?!?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/56 "2008-03-26T01:41:23Z")
OK, first I get subjected to a mediocre version of a favorite song (“Take On Me” conjures up memories of the best of my misspent youth), then one of my favorites goes, then I get another mediocre version of a favorite song. :grumble: :grumble: I should switch over to _Last Restaurant Standing_ on BBC America. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/57 "2008-03-26T01:47:24Z")
The Jonas Brothers really get on national TV and trot out a couple covers? This is the hot new band? UGh. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/58 "2008-03-26T01:58:47Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] The Jonas Brothers really get on national TV and trot out a couple covers? This is the hot new band? UGh. [/QUOTE] Exactly what I was thinking. Only I threw “badly done” in between “couple” and “covers.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/59 "2008-03-26T02:09:46Z")
Funny. I moved them up from rotten to mediocre. I still didn’t hear anything worthy buying from them. If they came on the show to increase their visibility or fan base, I don’t think they succeeded. As for the women’s elimination, I’m not surprised, but I hope she had a good time. On the other hand, I want Penn back! I’m joining his protest dance! ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-vi/438196/60 "2008-03-26T02:10:53Z")
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