# Dancing with the Stars, Season VIII **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066 "2009-02-09T15:01:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/1 "2009-02-09T15:01:29Z")
The lineup for Season VIII, starting March 9th, has been announced. Highlights: _Pop star of yore_ – not a boy-bander this time, but the lovely **Belinda Carlisle** of the Go-Gos. Also **Jewel** (see below). _Rap star_ (a first for this category, I think?) – **Lil’ Kim** _Country singer_ – **Chuck Wicks** , who is Julianne Hough’s boyfriend. Yes, they’re being partnered. (I thought Julianne was taking the season off?) _Tabloid hottie_ – **Denise Richards** _Hottie, male_ – **Gilles Marini** _Attractive menopausal woman_ – **Nancy O’Dell** _Jock, NFL_ – **Lawrence Taylor** _Jock, male, other_ – Rodeo star **Ty Murray** ; who, in an interesting first, is married to another competitor, **Jewel** _Jock, female_ – Gymnast **Shawn Johnson** _Comic relief_ – **David Allan Grier, Steve-O** _Tycoon_ – **Steve Wozniak** More detailed bios [here](http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=about). (And, BTW, there’s a third couple as well – pros Maks and Karina are now engaged.) ---
**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:** [February 9, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/2 "2009-02-09T15:29:41Z")
Maks and Karina are engaged? I like Maks and think he’s a good guy. I hope they do well together. I’d heard several weeks ago that Donny Osmond was going to be on. I guess not. Wasn’t Master P a rapper? Bring on the spandex and fake tan! StG ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/3 "2009-02-09T15:34:34Z")
Oh, right, Master P – you can see why I would have blocked that from my memory. 😃 Yeah, Karina kicked Mario Lopez to the curb last year sometime, and she and Maks announced their engagement a couple of months ago. I hope she’s not just rebounding, because I’m a Maks fan too. (As are the vast majority of heterosexual women who watch the show, I think. 😉 ) And I’m delighted that the Donny Osmond rumor proved to be a red herring. Do you think he ever will do the show? I’m guessing not, but I’m not sure why I think that – perhaps because Marie did so well. Though their competition thing is part schtick, I think it is also part real. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/4 "2009-02-09T18:10:11Z")
Do gymnasts typically take ballet or is that just figure skaters? Woz plays Segway polo - not sure if he can do anything athletic much less dance (figuring out the minimum number of chips to implement some taks now THATS a different story) Brian ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/5 "2009-02-09T18:24:04Z")
Easy win for Denise. After all, she is both a starship pilot \*and \*a nuclear physicist. Ain’t nothing she can’t do, put her mind to it. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/6 "2009-02-10T04:42:41Z")
Wasn’t Karina’s other Mario a rapper, too? Here’s a partner lineup I saw on a ballroom dance board - not sure where the info came from. Belinda Carlisle & Alec Mazo David Alan Grier & Kym Johnson Jewel & Jonathan Roberts Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough Lil’ Kim & Mark Ballas Gilles Marini & Lacey Schwimmer Ty Murray & Karina Smirnoff Steve-O & Chelsie Hightower Nancy O’Dell & Tony Dovolani Denise Richards & Maksim Chmerkovskiy Lawrence Taylor & Cheryl Burke Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough Steve Wozniak & Edyta Sliwinska ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/7 "2009-02-10T15:48:28Z")
Ah, shit, Lacey’s back? I was hoping she’d be a one-season aberration. And Chelsie Hightower – do we know her? ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/8 "2009-02-10T16:04:29Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Ah, shit, Lacey’s back? I was hoping she’d be a one-season aberration. > > And Chelsie Hightower – do we know her? The name rings a bell with me, but I am a So You Think You Can Dance fan, not a DWTS one. Looking her up..yup. She was partnered with Mark on season four of SYTYCD. I think she was the cute little blond who did really well in those quirky pieces Mark (the tall, quirky brunette) seemed to inspire. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/9 "2009-02-10T16:12:14Z")
Someone’s giving Steve-O another chance to mug for the camera? Damn. His 15 minutes were up some time ago. I don’t normally mind the Jackass boys - hell, I often find them hilarious and wish them well - except for that guy. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/10 "2009-02-10T18:49:43Z")
> [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](#): > > The name rings a bell with me, but I am a So You Think You Can Dance fan, not a DWTS one. > > Looking her up..yup. She was partnered with Mark on season four of SYTYCD. I think she was the cute little blond who did really well in those quirky pieces Mark (the tall, quirky brunette) seemed to inspire. Ah, right, okay. I am a huge _SYTYCD_ fan, but I will say I hope she does better than Lacey on understanding what her role is as a pro on _DWTS_. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/11 "2009-02-12T19:54:44Z")
OK, apparently whoever posted the list I reposted before was talking out of their ass. Here are the [official pairings](http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=021209_01): Belinda Carlisle - Jonathan Roberts David Alan Grier - Kym Johnson Jewel - Dmitry Chaplin Shawn Johnson - Mark Ballas Lil’ Kim - Derek Hough Gilles Marini - Cheryl Burke Ty Murray - Chelsie Hightower Steve-O - Lacey Schwimmer Nancy O’Dell - Tony Dovolani Denise Richards - Maksim Chmerkovskiy Lawrence Taylor - Edyta Sliwinska Chuck Wicks - Julianne Hough Steve Wozniak- Karina Smirnoff The Woz and Karina - _that_ sounds like a match made in heaven. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/12 "2009-02-12T20:11:18Z")
I notice Tony got Nancy O’Dell – not too surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/13 "2009-02-12T20:27:31Z")
I’ve never watched the show, but I might just to see Steve-O try to give his partner an [UFIA](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ufia). That guy’s a serious wreck. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/14 "2009-02-12T20:48:04Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > I’ve never watched the show, but I might just to see Steve-O try to give his partner an [UFIA](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ufia). That guy’s a serious wreck. I wouldn’t try it with Lacey - I think you’d bring back a bleeding stump. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/15 "2009-02-12T21:10:24Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Someone’s giving Steve-O another chance to mug for the camera? Damn. His 15 minutes were up some time ago. > > I don’t normally mind the Jackass boys - hell, I often find them hilarious and wish them well - except for that guy. But he’s paired with Lacey! Which means that we can get both off my screen quickly with a minimum of fuss. How does Tony always end up with the “Attractive Menopausal Woman”? ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/16 "2009-03-05T22:15:04Z")
[Jewel is out](http://www.comcast.net/articles/entertainment-eonline/20090304/b102750/) - too bad. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/17 "2009-03-05T23:02:39Z")
I was all set to make a Master P joke, but they seem to have lined up a replacement already. Yikes, though – less than a week to practice? I wonder if they’ll give her some kind of “you’re not allowed to vote her out, she’s a trouper for stepping in at the last minute” guarantee? ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/18 "2009-03-05T23:45:56Z")
And now [this article](http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/2009/03/jewel_odell_out_at_dwts.html) says that Nancy O’Dell is out, too. They’re dropping like flies, and the competition hasn’t even started yet! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/19 "2009-03-06T13:14:50Z")
Jesus. Are they overtraining the celebs? Maybe they should bring back Corky Balas – he did a good job of moving Cloris Leachman around the floor in a way that made it look like she was dancing. ---
**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 6, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066/20 "2009-03-06T14:16:20Z")
At least you can tell that the stars and the pros take it seriously! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-season-viii/485066.md?page=2)