Liveblogging: Dancing with the Stars, Show #1

I rarely watch TV other than PBS, The West Wing and HBO's Rome. No reality TV except for my one guilty pleasure... Dancing with the Stars.

Yes it's hokey, but I don't care. It might be the biggest gathering of B-list celebrities since Hollywood Squares, but don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Ballroom dancing is no joke; I know because I've taken lessons, including private ones that D. got me as a birthday present.

Last night was the first show of the second season (all shows are live) with a fresh batch of ten celebrity contestants and their professional dance partners performing either a waltz or a samba. Some were surprisingly good, a few were astoundingly bad and the rest did a good job.

The pair with the least number of judges' and viewers' combined votes gets eliminated tonight. The field is still too crowded to predict a winner; easier to predict who'll go. Then again, anything goes when viewers' votes are involved. It can quickly deteriorate into a popularity contest, although I generally agreed with the results from last season.

I'm liveblogging tonight's half-hour show when the voting results for the first round are announced. Please note that I have linked to video feeds of each couple's performance from Raphael Pungin's blog.

The professionals just finished a couple of exhibition numbers to show how it's done. The hosts will be announcing the losing couple soon. My guess is Ashley del Grosso and Rapper T. since his performance was awful. He didn't even seem to be trying and wasn't even dressed for ballroom.

The couples returning next week were announced first.

First couple returning is... (ex-boy band member) Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke. This is the best performance so far: fresh, snappy and enjoyable to watch.

Second... (L.A. newscaster) Giselle Fernandez & Jonathan Roberts. Giselle did a great job; her late father who wished she can dance must be very proud.

Third... (actress) Tatum O'Neal & Nick Kosovich. She fought through the dizziness and did a good job; Tatum is giving it her best shot.

Fourth is... Ashly DelGrosso & (music mogul/singer) Rapper T. It's a shock they didn't get booted, although to be fair, Rapper T. is a last-minute stand in for his son and had only a week to practice. Still, they should've been gone.

Next is (WWF pro-wrestler) Stacy Keibler & Tony Dovolani. She's leggy and looks gorgeous on the dance floor; a little stiff, which would change as the competition continues.

(Oakland Raider) Jerry Rice & Anna Trebunskaya are safe, too. Rice was a pleasant surprise; the guy can swing those hips!

(Soap star) Lisa Rinna & Louis van Amstel are also coming back next week. Lisa was very limber; a bit nervous but still a good job.

Ditto for (actor) George Hamilton & Edyta Sliwinska. George looked awkward in spite of turning on the charm; hopefully he'll improve with time.

Only two couples are left; one won't be returning.

That couple is... (ESPN Anchor) Kenny Mayne & Andrea Hale. Next to Rapper T., Mayne was the most deserving to get booted. Another awful performance. Yes, he worked hard and deserves kudos for that, but didn't they all? The guy was a good sport, though and quite the ham.

That means the other couple, (actress) Tia Carrere and Max Chmerkovskiy, made the cut. Barely. Tia did good, but there's room for improvement.

Next week: the quickstep and the rhumba.

Note: All this time I've been writing it Ashley DelGrosso when actually it's Ashly. This and all succeeding posts have been corrected to reflect the change.

posted at 9:51 PM by City Muse

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