Ba ba ba ba baaa baaa baaaa! Ba ba ba ba ba! C’mon, sing it in your head…you know you want to. (And if you sang it like a sheep, you’re a sick, twisted individual. Let’s be friends.)
Tonight we have the first episode of Season 15 of Dancing With The Stars – the All Stars Season! It’s been hyped pretty significantly. The question is: Will it stand up to the hype? Time will tell, my friends. Time will tell.
I’ve got to be honest here…I was considering skipping the blog this season and just watching the show. I mean, sure, I was excited about the new season. But, there was just something about it that had me going “Meh” for a little while. However, there were a few compelling reasons to continue the blog. A few friends provided some of those reasons; but watching the show itself sort of pushed me over the edge.
(Though, some might say I’ve been ‘over the edge’ for years – but that’s another blog for another day.)
There’s also the fact that Tom Bergeron is now the Emmy-winning host of the show…and Brooke Burke-Charvet wasn’t wearing something too excruciating tonight. (We’ll see how long that lasts.)
Well, first of all, let’s mention who the stars and professionals are this year – in the order they danced tonight:
- Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson – Some will likely remember Joey from his days in *NSYNC (I do because I’m that old), but my favorite memory is Joey as Angelo in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He was damned funny in that. He’s been paired up again with Kym this season.
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough – An Olympic gold medalist and former DWTS champion paired up with a multiple Mirror Ball winning Pro. This should be good. She’s dancing with Derek this year, though she danced with Mark the year she won. Let’s see what Derek can bring out of her.
- Sabrina Bryan and Louis Van Amstel – I’ll be honest here, I don’t know much about Sabrina. I missed the season when she was “tragically” eliminated. So, it will be interesting to see what transpires. (I hope Louis can keep his ego in check – I have issues with him, sometimes.)
- Helio Castroneves and Chelsie Hightower – I did see Helio dance a few times during his winning season, though I didn’t see the whole season. What I saw, I liked. And Chelsie is always a crowd-pleaser.
- Pamela Anderson and Tristan McManus – Again, I didn’t see the original season in which Pamela competed. However, I just can’t grasp it. Pamela Anderson. Really? That combination of boobs and high heels can’t be safe. Eh, maybe she’ll surprise us. I hope Tristan has all of his lucky charms lined up.
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovalani – I remember the “drama” surrounding Melissa’s first season. Didn’t she, like, get her heart broken on The Bachelor and then, like, have just two days to drown her tears in dancing? Well, whatever. Tony seemed happy to have this partner back.
- Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff – I saw parts of the season when Apolo won. I remember his freestyle routine with Julianne Hough – I liked it a lot. Eight gold medals to his name. Impressive. Let’s see how impressed Karina is with all that gold.
- Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd – Oh, is this a pretty couple or what?! Though I will end up drooling over Peta this season, even I have to admit that Gilles is one hell of a sexy man. And, he can dance. So this should be good.
- Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas – Oh, here comes the controversial contestant!! Some people love her. Some people hate her. Either way, people end up talking about her! She’s partnered with Mark Ballas again, which was probably a good decision. I simply can’t imagine her paired with a Chmerkovskiy.
- Drew Lachey and Anna Trebunskaya – Now, isn’t this the guy who did the really awesome cowboy themed freestyle with Cheryl Burke to win the competition? That was a good dance. (Not to be confused with the guy who did the really awesome cowboy themed freestyle with Peta Murgatroyd to win the competition.) Let’s see how Drew holds up with the fiery Russian red-head. (I love me some Trebunskaya!)
- Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy – So Kelly is the winner of the first – ever – season of DWTS. Huh! I remember that season (though I don’t remember her…weird?) – this show has come a loooooooong way since then. Can Kelly handle it? Can Val handle it?
- Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – It’s back-to-back Chmerkovskiys! There are women across the country who are simply twitterpated at the thought. Kirstie and Maks are, perhaps, the perfect partners. They’ve become good friends, which means that they get along, but they also don’t take shit from each other. I think they will prove, once again, to be entertaining.
- Emmit Smith and Cheryl Burke – Twinkle Toes is back…and paired up with Cheryl once again. With all of the men in the competition who were once paired up with Cheryl, it must have been tough to determine who she would pair up with again this season. (Oh, that makes her sound like such a floozy!)
Alrighty! Those are the dancers…how did they do on night one? Here they are – not in the order they appeared, but in the order they scored.
(In the past I recapped each dance, gave quotes from judges, and broke down scores. This time, I’m just going to give quick summaries. As the competition heats up in later weeks, things will get more broken down. )
A couple notes about scoring this season. First, the judges have – rightly – indicated that they will be judging more strictly this season. Well, yes…it’s All Stars! Secondly, the judges can now give scores in half-point increments. I’m in favor of this. I’ve actually thought it would be a good idea for a few season now.
- Emmit and Cheryl dancing the Cha-Cha: 24.5/30
- Yes, indeed, Twinkle Toes is back. For such a large man, Emmit sure can move on that dance floor! He’s got the technique, he’s got the charisma. He’s going to be tough to beat if tonight is any indication.
- Gilles and Peta dancing the Foxtrot: 24/30
- Like I said, is this a pretty couple or what? A lovely dance – some nice technique and they sold it. Good job here. Peta is the “reigning champion” – the confidence really showed in her choreography.
- Sabrina and Louis dancing the Cha-Cha: 22.5/30
- Yes, Sabrina is a good dancer. I really liked this particular dance. I thought it was fun and feisty. And I appreciate that Louis highlighted his partner throughout the dance. Good job, Louis. Keep it up. But Sabrina needs to rein it in just a bit. She got a tad out of control at times.
- Shawn and Derek dancing the Foxtrot: 22/30
- Another really nice dance. It’s clear that Shawn has grown up a bit…though at 20-years-old, she’s still the youngest competitor. Derek did a nice job – as usual – with the choreography. Can’t wait to see what they do next week.
- Apolo and Karina dancing the Cha-Cha: 22/30
- Oh, they’re wearing glowing costumes. Very nifty. This dance was full of energy and shows that Apolo can still bring it – even 5 years later. I think he might need to build his stamina up a bit to keep up with Karina, but for the first night, this was a really nice dance.
- Helio and Chelsie dancing the Foxtrot: 21.5/30
- Again, some really good technique for a first dance. I think Helio needs to clean it up just a bit – he was having fun, but it looked like he lost some focus. Perhaps a bit too much fun. The performance was great. Just needs better footwork.
- Drew and Anna dancing the Foxtrot: 21.5/30
- Hmm…I’m not sure how I feel about this one. The choreography is nice. Anna, as always, looks beautiful and dances so wonderfully. Drew is a good dancer, but he just seemed off to me tonight. Like he wasn’t really into it, or something. I can’t put my finger on it.
- Kelly and Val dancing the Cha-Cha: 21.5/30
- In some ways, Kelly is the most disadvantaged dancer this season. It’s been the longest since she’s been away and Season 1 only had 6 weeks. This is the first time she’s done a Cha-Cha in competition. I think she did a really good job of it, too! She’s in the hunt. Make no mistake.
- Melissa and Tony dancing the Foxtrot: 21/30
- While it didn’t seem like much of a Foxtrot to me (but what do I know?), it was a good dance. I liked the choreography and Melissa did a good job. Len won’t like the dramatics at the beginning, and all of the judges will want them in hold more. But, it was really entertaining. Tony has a great smile.
- Joey and Kym dancing the Cha-Cha: 20.5/30
- I really like Joey’s charisma. He just sells it and looks like he’s having an absolute blast. If Kym can sharpen up his moves and find some control for him, I think he’s going to be a contender.
- Bristol and Mark dancing the Cha-Cha: 19.5/30
- Hate her or love her…Bristol didn’t dance badly tonight. Let’s give credit where credit is due. She came out of the gate with much more confidence than she did in the past…and she really did do her best to really sell the dance.
- Kirstie and Maks dancing the Foxtrot: 19/30
- I love Kirstie and Maks…together, they work; they fit. But I have to say that I was expecting more from Kirstie this time. I think she was expecting more of herself, too. The choreography was pretty and appropriate, but I don’t think Kirstie brought the gusto she usually brings to dances. I expect she’ll still be around next week, so I hope the gusto comes with her.
- Pamela and Tristan dancing the Cha-Cha: 17/30
- Oh, why does this happen to our favorite leprechaun? Watching this dance was painful. Back in the day, Pamela was attractive – she turned some heads on Baywatch for sure. But, now the whole thing seems “put on” – like her make up. If she survives to next week – and I’ll be surprised if she does – she’s REALLY going to need to step it up. Really.
There it is, boys and girls: the scores from the first night of DWTS – All Stars. Tomorrow night will bring the elimination of one of these couples – I think you know who I think will leave. But, we’ve seen stranger things happen – just to members of this cast alone in their original seasons!
As an extra special treat…Justin Beiber (Bieber? Beeber? Boober? Bib-feeder? Oh, who cares?!) and Pitbull will be performing on the results show tomorrow night. I’m sure I’ll be turning the channel or going to find something do drink around then.
What are your thoughts about tonight’s episode? Who are your favorites?
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Frivolous Views 
Ba ba ba ba baaa baaa baaaa! Ba ba ba ba ba! C’mon, sing it in your head…you know you want to. (And if you sang it like a sheep, you’re a sick, twisted individual. Let’s be friends.)
Tonight we have the first episode of Season 15 of Dancing With The Stars – the All Stars Season! It’s been hyped pretty significantly. The question is: Will it stand up to the hype? Time will tell, my friends. Time will tell.
I’ve got to be honest here…I was considering skipping the blog this season and just watching the show. I mean, sure, I was excited about the new season. But, there was just something about it that had me going “Meh” for a little while. However, there were a few compelling reasons to continue the blog. A few friends provided some of those reasons; but watching the show itself sort of pushed me over the edge.
(Though, some might say I’ve been ‘over the edge’ for years – but that’s another blog for another day.)
There’s also the fact that Tom Bergeron is now the Emmy-winning host of the show…and Brooke Burke-Charvet wasn’t wearing something too excruciating tonight. (We’ll see how long that lasts.)
Well, first of all, let’s mention who the stars and professionals are this year – in the order they danced tonight:
Alrighty! Those are the dancers…how did they do on night one? Here they are – not in the order they appeared, but in the order they scored.
(In the past I recapped each dance, gave quotes from judges, and broke down scores. This time, I’m just going to give quick summaries. As the competition heats up in later weeks, things will get more broken down. )
A couple notes about scoring this season. First, the judges have – rightly – indicated that they will be judging more strictly this season. Well, yes…it’s All Stars! Secondly, the judges can now give scores in half-point increments. I’m in favor of this. I’ve actually thought it would be a good idea for a few season now.
There it is, boys and girls: the scores from the first night of DWTS – All Stars. Tomorrow night will bring the elimination of one of these couples – I think you know who I think will leave. But, we’ve seen stranger things happen – just to members of this cast alone in their original seasons!
As an extra special treat…Justin Beiber (Bieber? Beeber? Boober? Bib-feeder? Oh, who cares?!) and Pitbull will be performing on the results show tomorrow night. I’m sure I’ll be turning the channel or going to find something do drink around then.
What are your thoughts about tonight’s episode? Who are your favorites?
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