Tex's Take

DWTS 10: Benise, Melissa Ethridge and Another Results Show

2010-04-27T22:35:00.000-05:00

Tonight on Dancing With the Stars 10, another star was sent packing. I thought all the couples did a pretty good job last night, and they all worked hard. The scores were such that pretty much no one except Nicole and Erin were safe, I thought.

I like Erin/Maks, but Maks is getting snippy with Len ... again ... and I hope it doesn't hurt his partner. Yeah, he goes through this almost every season, but he's started early and it's already getting nasty. Today I read that he said that Len was too old to be on the show. Way to win friends and influence judges there, Maks.

Right off the bat, though, Erin/Maks were told that they were safe, so what do I know? Chad/Cheryl did their Argentine Tango in the encore performance and I enjoyed it just as much as last night.

Tonight I also got a treat. I got to see my Tony dance with a worthy dance partner. He danced with Chelsie while Maks danced with Anna T. during Melissa Ethridge's first song, 'Fearless Love'. They looked beautiful. Alec Mazo danced with Edyta for her second song, 'Come to my Window'. I love watching our pros dance together.

The other musical guest, Benise, played a guitar salsa number, but brought his own dancers. *Imagine a frowny face here*. The man was freaking awesome on that guitar, but I'd have preferred to see our pros do that salsa. I bet it would have looked better.

In the midst of the musical numbers, they brought back Dance Science. Edyta and Dmitry were studied to see if they were indeed athletes. Their findings? Dmitry can jump as high as Kobe Bryant, Edyta can spin faster than Lance Armstrong's pedals on his bike, and together they are more precise than a hummingbird's wings. Impressed?

And, oh yeah, this was the results show and we needed to find out who was being sent packing. Niecy/Louis and Jake/Chelsie were in the bottom two. And the couple eliminated was Jake/Chelsie. I kind of hated to see him go because he was coming out of his shell and it did look like he was getting better and enjoying himself. But then, that could be said about any of the stars left, so ...

Next week, in addition to their dance they also have the cha-cha challenge. That should be interesting. Hard to imagine that there are only 5 weeks left. And every week counts. Last week Jake was in the top three of the leaderboard and this week he's gone. Who will come through next week on Dancing With the Stars 10 and will anyone falter? Guess we'll just have to tune in to find out ...

DWTS 10: There's a Whole Lot of Swingin' Goin' On

2010-04-26T21:07:00.000-05:00

Tonight on Dancing With the Stars, the stars have two dances for the first time. They all participated in the Swing Marathon after dancing the Samba or an Argentine Tango. Who ruled the dance floor? Could Pamela bounce back from her bottom two placement of last week? Would the two professional dancers show the others up?

Jake/Chelsie up first with the Samba. He looked like he was loosening up after doing so well last week. He has his shirt open trying to look sexy, but he doesn't do it for me, lol. He almost tripped again on the stairs near judges table, but kept his footing. He did a pretty god job, but it just looked awkward to me ... very high energy though. Len said that he showed more confidence, showing more polish, but he was lacking in rhythm a little bit. good job, well done. Bruno said he lacked rhythm and bounce. He didn't wiggle correctly. Carrie Ann said he pushed himself to the max, but he needs to connect to the music. Scores: three 7's for 21/30 so far.

Evan/Anna - Dang, this kid's hair looks funky even without the hair shellac. He hit his head when Anna flipped him in Swing dance practice, got a mild concussion, but he's okay to dance. Evan is such the performer, his Samba looked so good. He has such good lines. I think this may be the band 'Massacre of the Week' for 'Rewind'. Ugh, but the dance was really good to me. Bruno said he had good lyrical lines, but it didn't work in this dance. His legs were turned out, kept the hips from working right. Carrie Ann said that she felt like he lost thebattle with this Samba. His lines didn't work. Len called it his worst dance. It was too balletic. Evan did take the criticism well, though. Scores: Three 7's for 21/30, his worst scores this season.

Niecy/Louis will be attempting a comedic Argentine Tango. Oh my ... looked like she handled those leg locks or whips or whatever they're called... I thought it was kinda cute. She was going after food in the dance, lol. Carrie Ann told Niecy that it was nice to see her finally dancing, improved from last week. She was in the zone, but they didn't need the comedy. Len enjoyed the performance, thought the comedy worked with the dance. Lacked a bit of intensity, but it was good. Bruno thought she put a lot of work into her footwork, lacked a bit of intensity, but she worked hard and it showed. Scores: Three 7's for 21/30. I don't understand the scoring this week ... whatevah...

Erin/Maks got the sexy Samba this week. Okay a samba to a remixed Beethoven? Ahhh ... Maks stripped off his shirt. Erin who? Was she out there? I know I didn't like her costume, though. That hot pink feathery skirt was ugly. Len said that she's getting a 7 but she should be getting 8-10. He wants to see her dance, she can do it. He's fed up with the hijinx of Maks, ie the shirt tonight. Bruno said that she did dance tonight and did it well all the way through. Carrie Ann said that Samba one of the hardest dances, but she nailed it. Scores: Two 9's and a 7 from Len for 25/30.

Chad/Cheryl hoped to rebound with the Argentine Tango. He looks very sharp. I'm loving this dance. He really brought out the big guns this week. He did that very well, he looked good. All three judges responded to Chad's comment during his practice video that the judges were very tough on him. Bruno nannered on, but said that tonight Ochocinco proved that he can dance. Carrie Ann said that tonight he nailed it. Len said that on dwts you either grow or you go. Tonight Chad grew. Scores: Three 8's for 24/30, their highest scores ever.

Nicole/Derek had the Samba. She was all excited thinking she'd get to do her Ricky Martin and Gloria Estevan moves. She confused the Samba with the Salsa. Once again, they're trying to convince the viewers, during their practice video, that she's not a ringer. Once again, they were unsuccessful. And once again, she made the dance look effortless. And I swear I saw some PCD moves in there. Carrie Ann said 'Opa!'. She said that she was afraid that Nicole couldn't grow, she was so good. The only criticism she had was some of Nicole's facial expression. Len said that the line at the end was ugly, but the choreography was tough. He called it a hodgepodge of gyrations and sexy moves, but not a samba. Bruno called it one singular sensation and other stuff, he liked it. Scores: 10 from Bruno, 9 from Carrie Ann, and a 7 from Len for 26/30.

Pamela/Damian hoped to escape the bottom with an Argentine Tango. Um, she's a brunette tonight. Dang, she's sexy even as a Brunette. this is a very sexy, understated Argentine Tango. Her makeup isn't very good tonight, though. Len said that the Argentine Tango is about seduction, and she does it very well. The lifts were good, overall very good. Bruno said another week, another great character from Pamela. She played the sexy Latina very well. Carrie Ann called it unquestionably sexy, but her legs were a little too loose, technique not as good. Scores: Two 7's and an 8 from Bruno for 22/30.

Last, but not least, was the Swing Dance Marathon. All stars side by side dancing for comparison and bonus points. Couples eliminated one by one, last couple standing gets 10 points. Jake/Chelsie out 1st for 4 points. Niecy/Louis cracked me up, but 2nd out for 5 additional pts. Lots of swinging and lifts. Evan/Anna 3rd out for 6 more pts. Chad/Cheryl 4th out (7 more pts). Pamela/Damian hanging in there, but they are the 5th out for 8 more pts. Erin/Maks and Nicole/Derek were the final two. Erin/Maks next out for 9 points. And to no one's surprise the judges picked Nicole/Derek to win and receive 10 additional points. Actually, though, I thought Maks/Erin did a better job. More dancing, less tricks.

So tonight's final leaderboard looks like this:
Nicole/Derek 26+10 for 36/40
Erin/Maks 25+9 for 34/40
Chad/Cheryl 24+7 for 31/40
Pamela/Damian 22+8 for 30/40
Evan/Anna 21+6 for 27/40
Niecy/Louis 21+5 for 26/40
Jake/Chelsie 21+4 for 25/40

I really do not understand the judges scoring tonight. Maks, in his TVGuide blog, commented on how inconsistant and unconstructive the judging has been. He makes good points but I hope he doesn't sabotage his partner making his point. My leaderboard actually looks about the same. The numbers would be different, but the rankings similar. I don't understand Evan, Niecy and Jake getting all the same scores. I thought Evan deserved higher. But oh well. With the judges scores so close tonight, it all depends on fan base.

Who will go home tomorrow night on Dancing With the Stars? I'm sure I don't know. I think the judges tried to help Pamela by keeping her in the marathon longer for more points. Jake and Niecy may be in the most trouble unless their fans get to votin'. What do y'all think?

DWTS 10: Passion Week

2010-04-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

Tonight on Dancing With the Stars 10, the stars will be doing the rumba and the tango. It's Passion Week for the 'Double Score Showdown'. Last week Dancing With the Stars was the #1 show! Tonight the stars will get two scores, a technical score (T) and a performance score (P) with a total possible score of 60.

Here are my introduction impressions: Nicole looks beautiful. Whoa, Pamela's dress looks like a bikini with a sheet wrapped around one half. She's definitely in competition with Edyta for least dressed. Ladies doing the Tango are dressed, those doing the Rumba ... not so much.

In the Tango, judges will be looking for viennesse crosses, contra check, continuous outside swivel as the required elements. Jonathan Roberts and blonde Anna demonstrated the Tango and, of course, they knocked it out of the park.

Erin/Maks were first up with their Tango. Erin was having back spasms, but she didn't want a big deal being made of it. Singers flat singing 'Sweet Dreams'. Annie Lennox should sue. I enjoyed this Tango after the beginning. She looked more nervous than usual, though. It's hard to go right after the pros, and I wonder how much of her distress over the showmance speculations weighed on her. I think her heel got caught in her dress at one point. Len's criticism was too many steps made on toes instead of her heels. Bruno said she started well and went wrong and could never catch up. Carrie Ann said performance suffered because of her attention to technique.
T - three 6's for 18/30
P - three 7's for 21/30
Total - 39/60

Evan/Anna were up next. Len told Evan that he must work on his feet and on tucking his bum. They've been focusing on the details this week in practice. I really hate Evan's hair. Looks like a whole tube of bryl creme or something in it ... ugh. Their Tango is wonderful, though... at least to me. I have no clue, though, what the song was supposed to be cuz the singers were awful. This dance was strong, powerful, he had a catlike arrognce, spot on, said Bruno. Carie ann said working on technique boosted his performance, Len watched his viennese crosses and he nailed it, great performance.
T - two 9's and a 8 from Len 26/30.
P - Two 9's and an 8 from Len for 26/30
Total - 52/60

What do the judges want to see in the rumba? Besides romance, required elements are spiral into rope spin, opening out, and sliding doors. Dmitri and Kym demonstrated. Kym was in her underwear and a shirt, looking gorgeous. That was an absolutely beautiful dance. I wouldn't want to follow that ...

Niecy/Louis had that misfortune. Louis tells her that the rumba can also be spritual, could be therapy. They dedicated this dance to her brother that died too soon. This is a decent rumba to 'What Do You Say?'. It was actually better than I feared it would be. Niecy was in tears once again. I hope she gets something lighter next week. Len said that he would have liked to have seen more hip action, there were no highlights. Bruno said that hips never happened and sliding door didn't gel. Carrie Ann apprecited the emotional connection, but it didn't read well in the dance. Opening out was beautiful, but could have been bigger.
T - three 6's for 18/30
P - 3 6's for 18/30
Total - 36/60

Aiden/Edyta also have a rumba. Their practice was kind of amusing. He looks sexy, but Edyta says that in actuality he's very shy. She worked hard to get him to feel her up more during the dance, lol. They practiced their dance aboard a cruise ship for some soap fan thingy. For their dance tonight, Edyta has on half a costume, while he's fully dressed. I didn't get the emotion really from this dance. The women in the audience did, though. Carrie Ann said he was more confident, but movement starts from the bottom. His starts at the top. Len said that he danced the dance but there was no flow, all starts and stops. Bruno said that he was robotic, movement must flow and be continuous, but that did not happen. Backstage, Aiden said that he got good advice from his fans this week, don't talk back to the judges and other things similar to what Len said a couple of weeks ago.
T - three 5's for 15/30
P - three 6's for 18/30
Total - 33/60

Nicole/Derek have said that they will basically play to win Len over this week with their Rumba. They still think we're stupid. They pretend that she's worried about this dance. I just rolled my eyes. Their dance was absolutely gorgeous, but it didn't flow as well as usual. She was kind of stiff. Bruno babbled, but called her out on a few stumbles and said he wanted a little bit more sex. Carrie Ann called her out on being nervous, was a bit out of sorts. Liked the traditional lines, worked well, but was out of her game. Len said good balance between technique and performance, but said her arms were overextened in sliding doors. I'm thinking that they are trying to get her some sympathy votes by being tough on her. Make people think that she's not a ringer.
T - two 8's and a 9 from Carrie Ann for 25/30
P - two 8's and a 9 from bruno for 25/30
Total - 50/60

Jake/Chelsie were fun to watch in practice. He had a t-shirt made up with Len's words of wisdom and 'Trust Your Pro' on the back. They had a tango that was interesting. I loved the way they used the stairs. There was a move that at first I wasn't sure was a move or a misstep. I wasn't sure if he almost fell, or if that part was on purpose. Okay, it wasn't supposed to be like that, he did turn his ankle or something. Len said he attacked the dance, attitude was great. Bruno said it was very messy, lost his posture, footwork questionable. Carrie Ann said biggest problem is the way he holds Chelsie. Not quite connected, but she liked his performance tonight.
T - two 6's and a 7 from Len for 19/30
P - two 6's and a 7 from Carrie Ann for 19/30
Total - 38/60

Tony and his partner were next. For their practice, they attempted to pull on our heartstrings by hearing Tony's partner whine about her life. She says that she pities Tony ... so do I. Tony worked so hard trying to get blood from that turnip. Band and singers massacred 'For Your Entertainment'. Bruno said she had a mini breakthrough, she was actually dancing, but don't get too excited. Carrie Ann said that she was proud of her. She has determination, but what was up with the semi lift at the end. Len complimented Tony on getting his partner to perform her best dance so far.
T - two 5's and a 4 from Carrie Ann 14/30
P - three 6's for 18/30
Total - 32/60
They were very generous with their performance scores.

Chad/Cheryl worked hard on their rumba. She said that sometimes she feels like he's dragging her around the football field instead of the dance floor. He bought her this beautiful ring, but can he bring it to the dance? LOL, whoa, he had some serious hip action going. The singer was killing Alicia Keys, and that wasn't a compliment. Hey, their Rumba wasn't bad, at all! I liked it quite a bit. Carrie Ann said that Chad turned on the heat, this was his best dance, posture improved, loved the hip action. Len said improvement in posture and perforance, best dance, well done. Bruno said that Cheryl has him smokin' this week. He was fluid, sustained the lines, commended him for that. Brooke asked Chad about that expensive ring. It was whoa, bling. Rumor I read said that it cost $22K. He said it was just a thank you, a friendship ring.
T - 8 from Bruno, 6 from Len, 7 from Carrie Ann for 21/30
P - two 8's and a 7 from Len for 23/30
Total - 44/60

Pamela/Damian got the pimp spot. Len warned her to keep her Rumba for the ballroom and not the bedroom, lol. You go, girl! Wow, that was hot, very sexy. Len said that it was understated, sophisticated, did the good spiral, and a litle overdressed for his taste, lol. Well done, great dance. Bruno said that she did refinement and elegance but was still sexy. Technically this was the best dance she's danced. Carrie Ann said that it was beautiful, profound, and magic. Every once in a while, though, something strange with her arms.
T - two 8's and a 7 from Carrie Ann for 23/30
P - 7 from Len, 8 from Carrie Ann, 9 from Bruno for 24/30
Total - 47/60

The judges Leaderboard looks like this:
Evan/Anna - 52
Nicole/Derek - 50
Pamela/Damian - 47
Chad/Cheryl - 44
Erin/Maks - 39
Jake/Chelsie - 38
Niecy/Louis - 36
Aiden/Edyta - 33
Tony and his partner - 32

My leaderboard was pretty much the same, but of course I only go on performance. I had Chad/Cheryl above Nicole/Derek, actually. Also I think that Tony and his partner were overscored and that will probably doom Aiden/Edyta. Tony's partner's worshippers will keep her safe, so I suspect that Jake/Chelsie will join Aiden/Edyta in the bottom two. And that's too bad. It's time to put Tony out of his misery. Overall, though, this show was a downer. It wasn't as joyful or fun as it usually is and the music really sucked. Hopefully next week they'll have some fun dances to do. What did y'all think of this week's Dancing With the Stars 10 performance show? Who do you want to see go bye-bye?

DWTS 10: Tell Me a Story

2010-04-05T21:47:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. This is week three of Dancing With the Stars 10. What will it bring? Last week they beat American Idol in the ratings, can they do it again? What will the misguided Americans pull this week? They voted off one of the most promising stars last week, who will go tomorrow night? I refuse to give Tony Dovolani's partner any more publicity, so she will just be known as Tony's partner.

My first impressions of the night were that Brooke's dress is beautiful, Niecy looks gorgeous, and Chelsie has on a black wig. Nicole/Derek are dressed like sailors in blue and white, and I see from some of the costumes that the Paso Doble is on the menu for tonight. They've also been challenged by Len to tell a story in their dance without props.

Some of our pros gathered to show us what the dances for tonight were supposed to look like. Jonathan Roberts and blonde Anna partnered and Lacy was dancing there too, along with Dmitry. I don't know who Lacy's partner was or Dmitry's. They all very ably and beautifully demonstrated the Waltz, the Quickstep and the Paso Doble.

Evan/Anna up first. There have been reports of him breaking two toes, so let's see how he manages the Quickstep. LOL, Anna described it to him as the jive in ballroom form. Their story is as a man and wife. He's waiting for her and she's running late. Cute, like from the Chaplin era music. They didn't mention his toes, but I know they have to hurt with this dance. My untrained eyes really enjoyed the performance. thought they did a great job. Len has a smile on his face and said it cheered him up to watch. But the only little negative was that he needs to work on his feet. I have no clue what Bruno said, but it was good. Carrie Ann said it was great. Fantastic job. Anna really looks beautiful tonight. Brooke did mention the broken toes in the celebraquarium. Two 9's and an 8 from Len for 26/30.

Buzz/Ashley waltzed to 'What a Wonderful World'. It's a daddy/daughter dance where Buzz is the returning war hero. He's not doing too bad. It's still a bit of just walking through the steps, but it was a very sweet waltz. Bruno called it royal, dignified but much better looking when he was standing still. Didn't flow, but he did look regal. Carrie Ann saw and believed the story of the returning dad. Len said it had an innocent charm about it, but the technique was poor and the routine was over simplified. I think Ashley and Tom stopped Buzz from throwing his hat at him, LOL ... Two 4's and a 5 from Carrie Ann for 13/30.

Off topic: I love that Snickers commercial with Aretha Franklin. And twenty eight minutes into the show and only two couples have danced ... what a waste of time ...

Jake/Chelsie did an Egyptian/Safari themed Quickstep to 'Walk Like an Egyptian' with Chelsie as Cleopatra coming out of the tomb. It was really cute and Jake looked more relaxed and seemed to be enjoying himself. Carrie Ann said it was very nice story telling while keeping it in line, Len said that his legs were too flexed for the quickstep, but production was slick, quite entertaining made him smile. Bruno ... yeah. But performance very good, but his legs were too flexed and he lost his frame at times. Three 7's for 21/30

I'm drooling over those electrolux appliances

Niecy/Louis did a waltz. She's looking for the love of her life in the 50's and finds him. The story is of an interracial couple and everything against them, socially and legally. Louis said that he's still fighting that battle today. Music was 'With you I'm Born Again'. Oh my, it was so beautiful. I'm in tears at the story. Loved it. Wow. Len said it was brave and they pulled it off for the most part. Niecy has to work on her footwork, emotionally just right. Bruno said it was well acted, but Niecy stumbled a bit at the beginning, must work on her feet. Carrie Ann called it a very important story to tell, but didn't understand the ending. Called Niecy a very emotional dancer. Backstage with Brooke, Niecy said she stumbled because she got nervous because she's not used to people seeing her cry, only laugh. Three 7's for 21/30

Chad/Cheryl had a Paso Doble and his costume jacket had 'Ocho Cinco' on the back, lol. In this paso, the matador is not trying to kill the bull, but him trying to seduce her, but she's not having any of it. He's such a fool, he cracked me up with practice video. Unfortunately, it wasn't even close to the best Paso Doble that I've seen on this show, but it was very entertaining and better than last week. Bruno said that the power/presence is back and Bruno was rolling his r's like crazy, lol. Carrie Ann said he was focused and miles ahead of last week, but must work on shoulders. Len said much better than last week, needs to work on his posture. Well done. Two 7's and a 6 from Len for 20/30

Pamela/Damian also danced a Paso Doble. She's a gypsy flamenco dancer and she's going after Damian, the matador. She's an animal activist and is very anti bullfighting in real life and wanted to bring that to the dance. Chaco arrived to help Pamela with her flamenco/Paso Doble. Dance is to 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood'. Okay, y'all, I used to study to this song, LOL. She's did a great job. I'm loving this Paso! Carrie Ann definitely got the story, but she's got this certain artistry, body moves beautifully. Tonight she may have thrown herself off putting so much into it. Len said she coped very well with the nerves, completely focused, just needs refinement, very well done. Bruno called her a Brigit Bardo type gypsy dancer. Underneath the bombshell, she really can dance and he wants to see it. Three 7's for 21/30

Aiden/Edyta had a quickstep. Their story: He's an artist and is painting the woman of his dreams, and she appears as Edyta. To relax him a bit, Edyta brought his family in to celebrate his birthday. He's got a cute 7 month old little girl and a beautiful wife. Their dance was to 'Hey Soul Sister', and that had to be the band's massacre of the week. He did better than I thought he would. Not as stiff. But I didn't get the chemistry between them that was supposed to be there. He was so relieved when it was over, lol. Len was critical, wanted him to go with it a little bit more. Bruno thought he looked much better than last week. Carrie Ann said his confidence is growing, he's more relaxed, but he was too bubbly, light on his feet. Two 7's and a 6 from Len for 20/30

Erin/Maks waltzed and their story was that she was going to turn herself over to him. He wanted her to waltz blindfolded and she wondered if he was going to be inappropriate, lol. She looks beautiful and yes, he did blindfold her. The dance was gorgeous. She did give herself over to him, with total trust. Bruno called her kinky and warned her to watch out for Maks. This week blindfold, next week handcuffs, lol. He called their holds fantastic, but said that she's not finishing her moves. Carrie Ann called it beautiful story telling. Said prop worked well, was profound, hand grips gave away that maybe she didn't totally trust him. Len said that it had the most boring start. The waltzing they did, he liked, but there wasn't enough of it. Two 8's and a 7 from Len for 23/30.

Tony and his partner's story is about the paparazzi. Tony got an acting instructor to help his partner in her performances. This Paso Doble could be ugly. Her hair looks hideous. She starts on the red carpet and he's the press. This was awful, she wasn't even dancing. Did she decide not to do her steps again? Carrie Ann called it odd. Was glad that she could channel her emotions, but it was strange. Len said she got through the dance, but that it was too pedestrian. Too much walking, no dancing. Bruno said that for once she played the character, but it didn't translate to dancing. Three 5's for 15/30. They were generous.

Next week double score showdown. Each judge gives two scores, one for technique and one for performance.

The last dance of the night belongs to (surprise, surprise) Nicole/Derek. Their story for their quickstep is two sailors sloughin' off. They showed fake practice video of her supposedly stressing out. I rolled my eyes. They were wonderful and darned near perfect as expected. The audience is on their feet. Len got the story, but didn't get quickstep. They broke holds, had a lift. Beautifully done vaudville. Bruno said as a performance, it was incredible, but he agreed with Len as far as the quickstep. Carrie Ann said lift and broke holds ... two rules broken, but when they take it on the road she wants front row tickets. So, once again, Derek does what he wants and the only one that punished him for it was Len. Nine from Bruno (after agreeing with Len as far as broken holds and lifts), 8 from Carrie Ann and a 6 from Len for 23/30.

The judges leaderboard looks like this:
Evan/Anna - 26/30
Nicole/Derek - 23/30
Erin/Maks - 23/30
Pamela/Damian - 21/30
Niecy/Louis - 21/30
Jake/Chelsie - 21/30
Aiden/Edyta - 20/30
Chad/Cheryl - 20/30
Tony/his partner - 15/30
Buzz/Ashley - 13/30

Tex's Leaderboard has Niecy/Louis up higher, Jake/Chelsie a bit lower. For entertainment, Derek/Nicole have to be near the top, but I hate that he didn't do what he was supposed to do ... and on purpose. He basically told the judges screw them, the audience will keep them in. And Bruno was his lapdog. My favorite performances were Niecy/Louis, Pamela/Damian and Erin/Maks. Least favorite? Tony and his partner.

So who will the voters reward and save? Will poor Pamela be back at the bottom even though she doesn't deserve to be there? Will the two worst dancers/performers on the show be safe again? Tomorrow night on the second results show for Dancing With the Stars 10, we'll find out. See ya then ...

DWTS 10: The First Couple Eliminated Is ...

2010-03-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the first results show of Dancing with the Stars 10. Right off the bat, no wasting time, 1st couple safe is Buzz/Ashly and 1st couple in bottom 2 is Pamela/Damian. It was cute seeing Nicole jump up in joy when Buzz was announced as safe and you should have seen the jaws that dropped when Pamela/Damian were announced as in the bottom two. I admit that shocked me, as well.

Len gave his opinion of all the contestants to waste some time. I think we got enough of his opinion last night. The drama last night and today was basically the whole Tony/Kate mess. Today popeater.com actually posted an article saying that Kate tried to get Tony fired.

Anyway, the encore performance was, of course, Nicole/Derek's jive. She is a fabulous dancer, but that is how she makes her living. Have you ever seen the Pussycat Dolls perform? However they want to couch it, she's a professional dancer and she and Derek make a terrific couple.

Special musical number of ballroom fusion, choreographed by Michael Jackson's choreographers and performed by our pros. It was wonderful, I love the pro numbers. I wanted to see more of Damian because we've seen the others. They then had Adam Corolla back for a funny bit. I don't usually like his humor, but tonight he was actually funny.

Next couples safe were Aiden/Edyta and Niecy/Louis. Backstage Brooke did some very awkward interviews with Pamela/Damian and Buzz/Ashly. You know, the dumb question like "How does it feel to be in the bottom? Are you surprised?" Sheesh. Anyway, Tom announced that the female chosen to perform in the Macy's Stars of Dance Design a Dance was Melissa Rycroft. There are seven available previous male stars to choose her partner from. I basically just saw Warren Sapp, Maurice Greene (my favorite George Jefferson), and Cameron Mathison, but Cody Linley, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Joey Lawrence are also in the running.

The next time waster, I mean Musical Guest, is a medly of Beach Boys songs performed by the Beach Boys and John Stamos. I love the Beach Boys, they performed Kokomo, and I got to see Damian dance some more, so it's all good.

Next we had The Len Commandments (with him dressed appropriately as Moses)
Thou shalt not kill time (fru fru stuff that Len hates)
Thou shalt not take the judges names in vain (lots of bleeps here)
Thou shalt not steal dance moves (do your own choreography)
Thou shalt not interrupt me (or he shall smite you ... yeah, you, Bruno)
Thou shalt not do lifts (or Carrie Ann will get ya)
Thou shalt have rhinestones (lots of rhinestones)
Thou may honor the judges (with roses)

Len then Challenged each couple to show a story for next week without gimmicks or tricks. Show the story through the dance.

The next couples safe were Evan/Anna, Jake/Chelsie, and Nicole/Derek.

Macy's Stars of Dance performance was a special one celebrating life and hope among the survivors in Haiti. Okay, I was in tears. Short interviews with a Haitian Ballroom Champion and a champion Mambo dancer. The Mambo dancer was in NY when the earthquake hit and when he got back to Haiti, he found out that his little boy was dead. He said that in dancing there is hope. They got together some dancers that they said cared about Haiti. There were 5 couples dancing to Hips Don't Lie by Shakira. The men were Haitian, and their hips didn't lie. There were also Haitians on mambo drums. I enjoyed that performance. For more information on how to help, go to www.abettercommunity.com

Next couples that will be back next week are Erin/Maks and Chad/Cheryl. That leaves either Shannon/Mark or Kate/Tony to join Pamela/Damian in the bottom two. That makes me sad because I don't want to see Shannon or Pamela leave but I know ABC is enjoying the drama too much and Kate's worshippers won't let us get put out of our misery and have her leave. After an extra long commercial, Kate/Tony were told that they were safe. Insert eye roll here.

Shannon/Mark are the first couple eliminated from Dancing With the Stars 10. That really stinks. They only then announced that yesterday Mark hurt his knee and would have been out for six weeks. Shannon said that she wouldn't have wanted to continue without him anyway. My question is this: Did Shannon/Mark really have the lowest score or was his injury the reason for their premature departure?

Well, the first two weeks of Dancing With the Stars 10 turned out to be full of drama and surprise. How will they manage to match this next week? I'll be tuning in to see. Did y'all agree with this elimination? Is this on the up and up? Post your comments ...

DWTS 10: A Lot of Jive Talkin' Goin' On Here

2010-03-29T22:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight was part 2 of the Dancing With the Stars 10 Premiere. No one was eliminated last week, but the scores and votes carry over to this week. Tom teased that there would have been a big upset if there would have been an elimination last week. I checked Dial Idol and they had Kate as the only sure safe, and Aiden leaving. That really stinks. But her fans are coming through for her, bless their hearts (phooey). The dances this evening are the Jive and the Foxtrot. How did the stars do?

Shannon/Mark - They have the Jive this week and Mark has another ambitious choreographed routine and Shannon wants it to be easier. That was a topic of contention in their practice video. Mark refuses to dumb down the routine just because the judges freaked her out last week. He was right. She's got some seriously stick legs, lol ... I loved that routine! Smiled through the whole thing. Len said it was fast, fun, energetic, but a few times they lost some control. Bruno liked it. Energy level much better, really engaged the audience. Carrie Ann said she thought they needed to make it easier, but Mark was right. Great improvement. Two seven's and a six from Len for 20/30 and their two week score 38/60

Aiden/Edyta - Aiden feeling the pressure. They have a Foxtrot this week and the two of them are not having an easy time of it. Edyta stormed out when she felt that he wasn't getting the routine in a timely fashion. I love Edyta to death, but I'm thinking that she's taken some flak for last week's routine. They seem to have worked it out and put together a very nice dance. Much better than last week. This was a very elegant showcase for Edyta. He did the steps, and yes, this week he actually had some steps. Bruno sees a glimmer of hope, payed attention to footwork and frame. He has to keep focus an believe he can do it. Carrie Ann said they did a nice job, last week they tried too hard, but this week they let the dance work for them. Len said they were economic in their movement, must flow more, footwork good, showed improvement. Edyta telling Brooke how much pressure she was under to make a good routine for Aiden. Two 6's and a 7 from Carrie Ann for 19/30 and 34/60.

I truly don't understand the scoring because Shannon deserved a higher score, I thought, than Aiden from Carrie Ann and Len.

Evan/Anna - Anna felt that most of the judges comments were spot on last week, except commenting on their lack of chemistry. They have a jive this week and he took her back to Naperville to help their connection. They had a 'Grease' feel to their routine, and I'm not just talking about all the grease in his hair. Cute routine, lots of fast fancy footwork by both. Carrie Ann is happy, said it was great, lots of energy. Connections made personality shown. Len is happy, too. Tall guys usually struggle with jive, he did great. Said though that there was something funny about his feet. Bruno called him Greased Lightning. Told him to point his feet more, big improvement. Three 8's for 24/30 and 47/60. Awkward moment when Brooke tried to joke about Evan's love of cheesecake and being able to enjoy it while he was on the show and no one got the joke.

Wow ... they just showed a preview of Tony's practice session with Kate and he said that he quit and walked out. Tony is the most mild mannered, patient man. Wonder what that misdirection is all about.

Niecy/Louis - I was personally cringing when I thought of Niecy trying to do elegant. Their practice had me crackin' up! They are so funny together, lol. Hahaha! They did a 'Diva' Foxtrot. It was really cute to watch, and, honestly, I was very surprised at how good it was. Definitely still showed her personality. Len said it showed musicality, personality, a lil sass. Compared to last week she was a revelation. Bruno, nicely done. compared her to a milkshake. Carrie Ann called her spectacular. She wants to see bigger from Niecy next week. Niecy replied that she can do big, lol. Three 7's for 21/30 and 39/60.

Jake/Chelsie - Hey, I saw more personality from Jake in that practice video than the total time I saw him in Bachelorette and Bachelor, which admittedly I didn't watch regularly. They had a jive this week. It was pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did Evan's or even Shannon's actually. He looked kind of awkward still to me. Bruno said that Jake wants this badly, energy and determination great. Must work on procedure and technique. Carrie Ann called them on a lift. Great start, loved the energy. Len said he coped very well, little heavy sometimes, needs to be lighter on his feet. He has great potential. Oooh, you shoulda seen Chelsie's face when Carrie Ann called that lift, lol. Two 7's and a 6 from Carrie Ann 20/30 and 40/60.

Buzz/Ashly - Nowhere to go but up from last week. This week in the foxtrot he said that he was going to give it the Aldrin umph! Danicng to 'Fly Me to the Moon'. Yes, he was still stiff as a board, but he did the steps and I enjoyed watching it. It wasn't nearly as painful to watch as last week was. Carrie Ann said it was a very tender, charming Foxtrot. Tugged at heartstrings. She also said that he looked like he was so afraid to step on Ashly's toes. Len said that he will not criticize a hero. he inspires people, anyone can get out there and dance. Bruno said that he looked like he was avoiding craters while he was dancing. They got three 4's for 12/30 and 26/60. I thought they did better this week, but their scores were worse... shrug

Nicole/Derek - Nicole whined that she wanted to do a 50's jive but they got a contemporary song. Insert an eye roll here. The other stars are worrying about learning the routines and she only has to complain about the music assigned to them. My problem with her is that it looks like she is only having to learn choreography, and not learn to dance as the others are. That shouldn't matter, but it does to me. Of course it was good, but whatever. Len was ambivalent, parts were fantastic, very talented dancer. Bruno said it was phenomenal. Carrie Ann loved it. Two 10's and an 8 from Len for 28/30 and 53/60. Too early for a ten, I'm thinking. But that's what happens when you have two professional dancers dancing together.

Erin/Maks - Erin is cracking me up in their practice. She's a tomboy trying to be a princess and she's losing her mind, lol. Maks says that he's having a hard time being the calm one in the relationship and I laughed about that. They make a good pair. He won't walk all over her. Erin does look like a princess in her Foxtrot, though. And she moves very smoothly. This is a very pretty dance, perfect for a princess ... not a diva like Niecy, though, LOL. Oopsie, Wardrobe malfunction after the dance. Maks to the rescue! Bruno called Erin a natural, has ease of movement, very elegant. Make sure to finish the movements. Carrie Ann said she was a beautiful, lyrical dancer, great use of flexibility. Less tension on the hold. Erin said there was tension because she was trying to find his bicep, lol. She's good for him. Len said movement fluid and posture good but then said something about the show having the best professionals and the stars needing to shut up and follow them (not just to her, but in general). Two 8's and a 7 from Len for 23/30 and 44/30.

Pamela/Damian - She's gonna channel Marilyn Monroe with this foxtrot. Damian says that Pamela's very good at getting into character. Okay, so yes, she did put on a Marilyn performance, with a touch of Betty Boop. I didn't see much actual dancing, but there was a lot of performance there. Carrie Ann said part of being good on the show is being versitile. She brought Marilyn Monroe back to life. Len said it had an elegance and cheeky charm, work on posture. Told her to get her bust off of Damian, lol. Bruno called it a great tribute to the original Blonde Bombshell ... and the dancing was good, too. Two 7's and an 8 from Bruno for 22/30 and 43/60

Chad/Cheryl - Another couple that had me cracking up. Chad flirted, Cheryl blushed. If he did well, she gave him a kiss. Very elegant foxtrot, but he looked kind of awkward. They put some fancy moves in the middle that I know Len is gonna hate. His posture wasn't great, but he didn't poke his butt out, lol. That wasn't too bad, though. Len said that he hated it, terrible posture, would glance when it was over. Bruno said that he looked uncomfortable, cumbersome and ungainly. Carrie Ann said that he had great potential, but he has to stop thinking so much ... just be in the moment. I obviously enjoyed it more than the judges did. Backstage, you could tell how crushed Chad was by the criticism. Two 5's and a 6 from Carrie Ann for 16/30 and 34/60.

Kate/Tony - Kate was being very condescending to Tony and he had enough. Then she started crying to the camera. about how she just doesn't understand, whine, whine. He did come back, though. Insert eye roll here. I love Tony and am so sad that he got stuck with her this season. This is a freaking awful jive. She doesn't even know the steps. Get this woman off this show please. QUIT voting for her! Bruno talking about his memories and that she's turned it into a nightmare. Dance is a performing art, she needs acting lessons. Carrie Ann said on the positive side, she made it thru the whole routine. Her feet came off the floor, and she kept bouncing when she didn't know what else to do. Len said nerves got her. Don't go down as a wimp, go out fighting. Three 5's for 15/30 and 31/60. Dang she was overscored. Even Buzz did better than she did tonight, I thought. At least he remembered and did all the steps.

At the end of the second week, the judges leaderboard looks like this:
Nicole/Derek - 53
Evan/Anna - 47
Erin/Maks - 44
Pamela/Damian - 43
Jake/Chelsie - 40
Niecy/Louis - 39
Shannon/Mark - 38
Aiden/Edyta - 34
Chad/Cheryl - 34
Kate/Tony - 31
Buzz/Ashly - 26

My thoughts: Yes, Nicole and Derek were the best, but of course they were. Of the rest, I enjoyed Erin/Maks and Niecy/Louis the most. Something about Evan bugs me. He has beautiful moves, no doubt, but I don't love him as much as I expected to. I was most disappointed tonight with Chad/Cheryl. He looked so stiff, I expected better. I think he's overthinking this thing. The worst? Kate/Tony without a doubt. Yes, I thought her performance was worse than Buzz/Ashly. I really wish Nicole/Derek weren't in this. Then it would be a very fun, wide open season.

Tomorrow night is the first Dancing With the Stars 10 elimination. Unfortunately, the worst dancer won't leave. The worst attitude won't leave either. The one with the smallest fanbase will be leaving, but that's how it goes. Kate's army will keep her around for awhile no matter how much she stinks up the joint. What do y'all think? Who should leave? Who will leave? Leave a comment ...

DWTS 10: And So It Begins ... Again

2010-03-22T22:13:00.000-05:00

They welcomed us back to a new season of Dancing With the Stars with familiar music and a new co-host. I saw Samantha on some ET show or something right before this one, so she's doing okay. I'm looking forward to Brooke being backstage with the performers.

I took exception to some of the introductions. Pamela Anderson began it all looking and acting rather slutty just walking down the stairs. "Hardest working mom in show business" for Kate Gosselin? I dont think so. Even Tom had to qualify that.

Anyway, first up tonight were Chad Ochocinco/Cheryl Burke with a Cha-cha. Gosh, he cracks me up. He's pretty smooth. Had some hip action goin on there. Was it perfect? Nah, but it was fun to watch. Len called him a rough diamond at the moment, needs some polish, but a great start. Bruno said he had a huge talent, but rough. He can dance and can't wait to see him do it again. Carrie Ann said he had a lil 'sumptin sumptin' goin on there. They got three 6's for 18/30. Those scores didn't match the comments or the dance I watched.

They have some catbird thing instead of the green room backstage. They call it the Celebraquarium. It's in view of the studio audience, actually, and they get to watch the others dance on the floor instead of via monitor. It's pretty cool.

Next was Shannon Doherty/ Mark Ballas with the Viennese Waltz. She looked beautiful. There were a few mistakes where it looked like she forgot her part. But it was better than I expected, actually. Bruno commented on the difficult choreography especially for week 1. Didn't flow for him. They showed her dad in audience, and he looked so proud. Shannon said that she was doing the show for him. Carrie Ann said that she was impressed. Started out of sync, in her head, but got better. It's coming. Len said Viennese Waltz said ease and elegance, and she portrayed it. Great job, work on footwork. She was so emotional, she was crying. Very touching. They also got three 6's for 18/30. Brooke was very encouraging and supportive.

Erin Andrews/Maksim Chmerkovskiy - She started off joking him saying that she asked for Tony, lol. They are gonna be cute together. They also had the Cha-cha. Okay I started with disappointment. She was not as good or as smooth as I had anticipated. It might have been nerves, but I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to. The judges didn't agree. Carrie Ann said it was a nice surprise, good movement, great connection. Needs to work on arms and legs not sharp enough. Len called her a funky monkey, they mean business. Gave her things to work on, but good job. Bruno began early making up words, but he said a wonderful debut. Judges gave them three 7's for 21/30.

Jake Pavelka/Chelsie Hightower were next with the Viennese Waltz. He started off whining, and Chelsie started having to give him pep talk. His dance started with a rose, to Seal's song. Enuf with the roses and Bachelor references, pls. He was kind of stiff, but she was beautiful. It was pretty good, though, actually. Len thought Jake moved very well, work on posture, don't stick buns out, great potential. Bruno told Jake to calm down, don't bounce her about so much. Good effort, but looked like a horse. Carrie Ann said she was impressed, lines gorgeous, bravado easy on the eyes. Romance worked on the dance floor, work on posture, but excellent job. They got two 7's and a 6 from Len for 20/30.

I'm beginning to think that Chad is getting screwed by going first ...

Niecy Nash/Louis van Ansel - I love Niecy Nash, she cracks me up, she's such a freaking clown. She said that she wanted to go from a big girl who stands in the back to nice, thick grown woman who stands in the front. They also had a chacha. I smiled through the whole performance, they are so cute together. Very funny, entertaining; hope she hangs around. Bruno talked about her focus, Carrie Ann called it very nice, energy fantastic. Len called it clean, clear precise, but uneventful ... nothing happened. Niecy said that she was just happy that she had a bite of cheeseburger before the dance and that she remembered her routine. HA! They got a 7 from Carrie Ann, a 5 from Len and a 6 from Bruno for 18/30.

Evan Lysacek/ Anna Trebunskaya - Ugh, he didn't wash that gunk out of his hair. He commented that his turns are in the opposite direction than when he skates and it makes him dizzy. Doing Viennese Waltz - wow, very beautiful. Carrie Ann did a Mary Murphy squeal. Told him that he had to remember to connect with the audience and to point his toes, but it was very good. Len said he had great artistry, but has to work on his footwork, work on chemistry with Anna. Bruno said he moved with grace of a slug, but that it was beautiful?? He got 8's from Carrie Ann and Bruno and a 7 from Len for 23/30.

Special message from the International Space Station before Buzz Aldrin/ Ashly Costa. I'm so happy she's back. I loved her dancing, too bad she won't be around long. They gave him the Cha-cha first. Unfortunately, this is as painful as I expected it to be. Poor Ashly. He got a standing ovation, I guess for surviving it. Len commented on his watching Buzz walk on the moon, commented on his bravery for coming out there, but the dancing wasn't good. Bruno said he did a chachacha, but it looked like he still had on his moon boots. Carrie Ann said that Buzz inspired a ton of people tonight. They received 5's from Carrie Ann and Bruno, and a 4 from Len for 14/30

Okay, scores and votes from tonight will be combined with the scores and votes for next week to determine the first star eliminated.

Nicole Scherzinger/ Derek Hough got the Viennese Waltz. It was as gorgeous as I expected. She's a ringer. Bruno was astounded and very pleased. Carrie Ann said the bar has just been set. Hasn't seen a routine right out of the gate like that ever. Len brought them right back to earth and told her to work on her technique. 9's from Carrie Ann and Bruno and a 7 from Len for 25/30. Brooke called her out on her choreography and dancing background, but Nicole said that this was nothing like what she's ever done.

Aiden Turner/ Edyta Sliwinska (fully covered with a parka) - I don't know anything about this guy since I don't watch All My Children. He is a cutie, though, and seems to have a fun personality. Their first dance is a Cha-cha. Okay, that parka didn't last long and she's back to wearing almost nothing. Unfortunately, he was just a pole for Edyta. Carrie Ann said she liked the approach, but it felt disjointed. Len said there's a dancer in there, but said he stood there shaking his wobbly bits. Bruno said there was nothing going in the groin and compared him to Kenny Mayne ... yikes... three 5's for 15/30 .

Kate Gosselin/ Tony Dovolani got the Viennese Waltz to start. I love Tony ... almost as much as I love Maks. Saying that, he did a beautiful job, but that was boring. She had a fake smile on her face the entire time. Len said first dance is like first date, she looked nervous, didn't dance with fluidity. Bruno said this must be hard, technique was terrible, but she must learn to perform. Carrie Ann made excuses for her and said that there was a sweet vulnerability, she'll get better. They got a 6 from Carrie Ann and 2 5's from Len and Bruno for 16/30.

Pamela Anderson/ Damian Whitewood got the pimp spot. He's new from Burn the Floor so he's got to be a fabulous dancer, but is he a good teacher? In practice, something happened and he ended up with his face in her boobage. Alrighty then. They have a Cha-cha. She said she's awful. She really looks slutty, but she's not as bad as she said she was going to be. It was actually pretty good. She definitely sold sex with that routine. Bruno only thinks of sex, sex and more sex when he watches her. Carrie Ann said that she's been waiting the most to see her, and she did not disappoint. She was having fun and was fully engaged. Len said that this cast has been brilliant. Thought this dance was a mess, though,lol. She got a 6 from Len, 7 from Carrie Ann and a 8 from Bruno for 21/30. Was she drunk or high??? She sure appeared to be when backstage with Brooke.

The second round of dancing and judges scoring will be next Monday. After tonight's round one, the judges leaderboard looks like this:

Nicole/Derek - 25
Evan/Anna - 23
Erin/Maks - 21
Pamela/Damian - 21
Jake/Chelsie - 20
Chad/Cheryl - 18
Shannon/Mark - 18
Niecy/Louis - 18
Kate/Tony - 16
Aiden/Edyta - 15
Buzz/Ashly - 14

My leaderboard looks a little different. Yes, Nicole and Evan are at the top, but Chad and Niecy are above Erin, Pamela and Jake. I judge on entertainment, though. I also thought Brooke had a good outing as well. She was relaxed, encouraging and supportive without coming across as fake or patronizing. She has room for improvement, but I think that she will do well.

Remember no show tomorrow and the first Dancing With the Stars elimination show is NEXT Tuesday after another go round of dancing next Monday. It was a very good first show, and I can't wait until next week. What did you think of the season premiere of Dancieng With the Stars? Agree or disagree with the judges? Let's discuss ...

DWTS 10: Pairings Announced

2010-03-02T09:07:00.003-06:00

Good Morning,
The pairings have been announced for this season of Dancing with the Stars. Last night I wrote about the so-called stars, so I'll spare you from repetition ... mostly. Some of the pairings I like, and some, not so much.

Chad Ochocinco is paired with two-time champion Cheryl Burke, who returns for her ninth season. This could actually be a good pairing. Chad has a great work ethic, and if his show off dances on the football field are any indication, he's got good feet.

Jake Pavelka joins Chelsie Hightower, in her third season. I've never watched him, so I don't know how he'll do on the dance floor. I love Chelsie, though, so I hope he's not too, too bad.

Nicole Scherzinger teams with Season 7 champ Derek Hough, who returns for his sixth season. Figures that he'd get her. What is he holding over the producers' heads that he always seems to get the above average dancers, if not ringers? This actually aggravates me because, I'm not a big Derek fan. But it will probably be good for her, as he's a good choreographer. This might be the ringer couple.

Aiden Turner will partner with Edyta Sliwinska, the only pro to compete in all ten seasons of "Dancing with the Stars." Again, I just know this guy has a pretty face, so I've got nothing.

Shannen Doherty will dance with two-time "Dancing with the Stars" champ Mark Ballas, who returns for his sixth season. Ooh, who'd he piss off? Unless she's seriously reformed, this could be a very good ego battle. Might be fun to watch for a while.

Kate Gosselin teams up with Tony Dovolani, who returns for his ninth season. Poor Tony. 'Nuff said.

Evan Lysacek will dance with Anna Trebunskaya, who returns for her fifth season. About time that she gets a partner that has some moves. When I've seen her dance with her husband, Jonathan Roberts, she's been beautiful and he's a beautiful skater, so I have high hopes here.

Niecy Nash joins Louis Van Amstel, who returns for his sixth season on "Dancing With the Stars." Hmm, this could be interesting. Kelly Osborne lightened Louis up quite a bit last season, so they should have some fun.

Buzz Aldrin will be partnered with dancer Ashley Costa (formerly DelGrosso), who returns for her fourth season. Aww, I love Ashley. I just wish she'd have gotten a different partner.

Pamela Anderson joins professional dancer Damian Whitewood, who makes his "Dancing with the Stars" debut this season. This guy was with Maks in 'Burn the Floor' so he's an awesome dancer, but we have no idea of his choreography or teaching style.

Erin Andrews teams up with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who returns for his eighth season. This might be another team to watch. Like I said, she's had some dance experience since she was on her college dance team. She's worked in a man's field, so I would think she'd be pretty strong willed so Maks won't be able to walk on her. I think this might just work. I hope so, cuz I love me some Maks.

Well, there are the pairings. Unfortunately, we have to wait until March 22 to see them in action. I'm getting excited, though, are you?

DWTS 10: Cast Revealed

2010-03-01T23:29:00.004-06:00

Wow, I haven't blogged in a good long while. Time for me to do something about that. I've been watching Survivor and The Amazing Race, but with the DWTS cast being announced tonight, I knew that I couldn't remain silent any longer.

I love this show, but a few of the contestants for this upcoming season have me either shaking my head or gritting my teeth. I know that it's all about ratings for ABC, but I'm afraid that my viewing pleasure will be greatly diminished.

Kate Gosslin? Come on, she is so overexposed already. Yes, she has that bandwagon of worshippers that think she can do no wrong and they'll probably dial til their fingers fall off. That's all that matters to ABC. Too bad they can't cash in on the Anti-Kate movement by having us vote OFF our least favorites. That's a fairly large group, as well. I never watched her show, but the discussion on a few of the message boards that I haunt have me feeling nauseous when I venture into those threads. At first they were amusing, but the way her fans demonized her ex-husband and gave her wings and a halo turned me off. Her supporters are loyal and vocal and I'm afraid that they'll keep her around.

Another controversial 'celebrity' cast is Shannen Doherty. In her day, she was about as polarizing as Kate. You either loved her or hated her. I guess it's only fitting that since they cast 'Kelly' from 90210 a couple of seasons ago (Jenny Garth), it was 'Brenda's' turn.

Pamela Anderson? Don't understand this one at all. Is pole dancing a new genre? I can't imagine her doing too much more than bumping and grinding.

Speaking of bumping and grinding, there's Nicole Scherzinger. You know her, she's the only Pussycat Doll that could actually sing. I guess she's got the sexy siren role. I'm thinking that she might have some dance experience other than what she's shown with PCD.

Erin Andrews is another enigma. Another of the ABC family, she's an ESPN reporter. What she's most famous for is her peeping Tom suit. Some freak secretly taped her (no, not a sex tape) in a hotel room through a peephole and posted it on the internet. She filed charges, won the case. She was on the basketball dance team while in college, so she should at least have some rhythm. Will she be able to capitalize on the goodwill from her case and the ESPN viewer votes? Or will she be like Kenny Mayne?

The last female is Niecy Nash. She has the potential to be entertaining. I think she's hilarious at times, and she can be rather raunchy. Depending on her partner, her practice videos and confessionals could be a blast. Or not. I'm not sure if she can dance or not, but I hope she can.

As far as the guys go, they are also a mixed bag. Jake Pavelka? Another show that I refused to watch, but read about. He wasn't exactly a fan favorite. I guess ABC has to back it's own horse and he was just their cash cow on The Bachelor. It'll be interesting to see how that works out for them. Going by the popularity of Melissa, I guess they're banking on the same for him.

Chad Ochocinco fills the football player role. I like him, he makes me laugh. His tweets tend to be very entertaining. He has his detractors that call him a showboat (yeah), but I think he will be fun to watch. He's a perfectionist, but I think he can laugh at himself. His touchdown dances show that he has some moves, so he should last awhile ... I hope.

Buzz Aldrin is 80 years old, so he has the geezer role. He's an American institution, so I really hope he acquits himself well. Rumor has it that Kym Johnson will not be on this season, so I don't know who they will pair him with, perhaps Edyta.

Evan Lysacek is our newest Olympic gold medalist on the show. He's got moves as he showed on the ice the past couple of weeks, and he should have the popularity now to last a while. I just hope he washes that crap out of his hair. The greased back look isn't very appealing.

And last but maybe not least is Aiden Turner. I have no clue who this guy is. He was on 'All My Children', another ABC show, so he follows Susan Lucci and Cameron Mathison on the dance floor. I suppose that he'll bring in that built in fan base.

Who'll go first and who'll go until the end? Who will take home the Mirrored Ball Dancing With the Stars trophy? Hard to tell right now, I know who I'd like to leave first, but that's neither here nor there, lol. Hopefully we'll find out the pairings soon. Melissa was with Tom Bergeron tonight when he announced the contestants. Does this mean she won the job to replace Samantha Harris? That's another question that will be answered soon. What will this season bring? We'll see.

BB11: It's Almost Over

2009-09-15T00:07:00.001-05:00

Tonight's the last night of the Big Brother 11 feeds, and I have mixed emotions. I'll miss staying up all night and getting up to go to work in the mornings, but these final three I won't miss. I will not miss hearing the three of them bash Michele. I will not miss Natalie threatening Kevin, nor her ignorant views on homosexuality. I will not miss Jordan playing sweetheart out one side of her mouth, and out the other the constant trashing of Russell and Michele. I will not miss Kevin talking to the camera asking for America's vote and talking about how fabulous he is.

The only excitement in the feeds the past couple of days has been the banner today and the guessing on whether they will be healthy by Tuesday. I swear ... some of the things they have been cooking and eating are enough to make anyone sick. Some of us have been wondering how Big Brother would deal with it if all three of them had diarrhea during the live show. They've been eating undercooked food, they've cooked bad fish and eaten it, and they've made the most disgusting concoctions. Ugh ...

The decision to carry all three to the finals did not make things any more exciting to me. In fact, it's made it worse. All three have been lying to each other, and then stressing that they've been lied to. Nastiness and paranoia have run rampant. Everytime it's only two of them together, you can pretty much guarantee they're trashing the third and talking about making the final 2. Hey Big Brother, can we have a do-over?

One thing is for sure. I have no idea who will be the final two. All I know is that Kevin and Jordan will battle for part 3 of the final Head of Household competition, and I don't think either will throw it. After that, I'm in the dark. I don't know what either of them are thinking. I think Jordan will take Natalie, but I'm not sure. And I think that Kevin will take Jordan, but I'm really not sure about that either. And the final vote? I think that Jordan could beat them both, especially if it's close.

Tomorrow Big Brother 11 will be officially over, but the season won't be over on Superpass. In addition to Flashback, Real has some fun things planned. Tomorrow and Wednesday, don't miss Express Lunch. Chelsia is in Los Angeles for the Finale, but Missy will be in the studio. Tuesday, she'll take questions from the chat room and Wednesday, she and Chelsia will go back to the phone in questions.

Also on Wednesday, keep checking for the clips of the interviews that Chelsia will be doing from the Big Brother backyard on Finale night. She's been taking questions via Facebook and Twitter and will ask the questions that we want to ask. And at 4pm PT, there will be the Big Brother hour. Then Chelsia will be going to Las Vegas for the big Vegas Reality Bash and Superpass will have lots of coverage.
· Live streaming from Meet and Greet at M Resort in Las Vegas , Friday from 4 to 8
· Live streaming from the pool party at M Resort, Saturday 9pm to Sunday 1 am
· Interviews from the M Party starting Wed, 9/23

And next Thursday, 9/24, SuperPass will be hosting a Live Chat from Columbia City Theater in Seattle at 6pm PT. There will be a live studio audience and two mystery guests. If you're in the Seattle area and want to be in the audience, send an email to askbigbrother@real.com.

So remember, just because the houseguests will be leaving the Big Brother 11 house, that doesn't mean that the SuperPass party is over. Stay tuned for more live chats and other fun activities. I'm looking forward to hearing from the evicted houseguests, how about you guys?

BB11: What's a Guy To Do?

2009-09-08T16:36:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. Watching the Big Brother 11 feeds this long weekend has been similar to watching paint dry. They slept, they ate ... they slept, they ate ... and oh yeah, Kevin and Natalie played chess.

The only real excitement was watching Natalie threaten Kevin. Kevin told Natalie last night that the Diary Room told him that he'd be better off keeping Michele. Oh boy, did Mount St. Natalie erupt. She reminded him that he swore on his boyfriend, his family, etc. that it would be him and her in the Final 2, nevermind that she made her own F2 deal with Jordan. She went on and on with various threats and finally she said that if he kept Michele, not only would he lose HER jury vote, but that he'd also lose Jessie's.

That is cockamamie on a couple of fronts. Number 1, Natalie cannot guarantee Jessie's vote, and number 2, if he's up against Natalie in the finals, he won't have those two votes anyway. Kevin should know that Jessie didn't care for him, so why would he count on that vote?

Now, without a doubt, Kevin has a big choice. Natalie is bullying him into keeping Jordan. I think he's afraid of Natalie, and afraid of making her mad. This is similar to him being afraid to save his BFF Lydia when she was on the block because it would have made Chima mad. He also thinks that Jordan is an idiot and that he'd be able to steamroll over her in the Final Head of Household competition. I can understand that, but this is Big Brother and in Big Brother, stuff happens. That final part of the HoH competition is usually a crapshoot with no skill required. If she were to beat Natalie in one of the first two parts and make it to the third, she could win. That's an especially good point since Natalie has a F2 deal with Jordan and may throw a part to her ... to keep her hands clean.

Natalie would be sitting pretty if Kevin were to keep Jordan. She has a deal with both to take her to the finals and she wouldn't have to win anything and keep her word to each. If she doesn't win, she doesn't make the choice, therefore, she didn't break her word to take them with her. Kevin's biggest nightmare would be for Jordan to win the final competition because then he'd be joining his fellow jurors on question night.

If Kevin were to keep Michele, he'd be in Natalie's spot. No way either of those females would take each other the finals, and while he couldn't completely relax, he wouldn't have to worry about going out 3rd. Granted, on paper, Michele wouldn't be as easy to beat in the final HoH as Jordan, but even if she won, he'd go to the Finals. And since he's good with words and she isn't, he'd still have a very good chance of winning the big money.

The downside to that is having to listen to Natalie's mouth for the next few days. She'd be furious and I'm sure that she'd let him know all about it. Worth it? I think so, but all I have to do is turn off the feeds. What do y'all think? Who should Kevin keep tonight on Big Brother 11, Michele or Jordan? And who do you think will win this first part of the Final Endurance competition? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts ...

BB11: The Final Four

2009-09-03T23:40:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, how are you guys feeling? Are you hoarse from screaming at your television sets? Lots of people out there in Big Brother land have probably alternated between screaming and crying. From the reaction I've read, many don't expect to have a good week.

The legions of Jeff/Jordan fans seem to still be in shock from Jeff's elimination. The problem is that they are blaming everyone except Jeff. His bad play caused his eviction. His decision to go with Natalie and Kevin instead of sticking with Russell and Michele had a direct correlation to him going to the jury house. Heck, why should his fans be any different. Jeff, himself, refuses to acknowledge that it had anything to do with it.

Speaking of the Jury House. I enjoyed seeing that. I knew that Jeff and Jessie would be able to put aside game issues and get along. How funny was Jessie outting Natalie? I'd have never expected that. I can only imagine that Lydia told him something about Natalie that turned him against her. Russell definitely did not look impressed by her lie. If she makes it to F2, I wonder how that revelation will impact votes. In my calculations, I had given her Jessie and Russell's votes, but now, I don't know.

Most of the people that I talk to or chat and/or post with can't stand Natalie. It's clear to me that she's not America's Sweetheart. I may not like how she's played the game, but she's played the game. I never would have thought a strategy of lying, stealing, and planning to cheat would get anyone far. But here she is in the Final Four, and with her Head of Household win, here she is in the Final Three. She's not dumb, and she's been drilling for what, in the past, was the final Veto competition and one part of the final HoH competition. She and Kevin made a calendar with paper and playdoh and have plotted all the past competitions by name and dates. Last night she was drilling and seemed to have the information down pat. As long as the final Endurance competion doesn't involve bugs or water, she should do well in it, as well. She has a good shot at F2.

Kevin's the target of both Michele and Jordan this week, so he'll basically have to win the Veto competition to make it to F3. Don't count him out, though, as lately he's done very well. Natalie's been drilling him on names and dates, too, so he could very well pull this off. He may have floated through at the beginning of this season, but lately he's shown that he's a force to be reckoned with.

Michele is in trouble ... still. Once again, she has to win the PoV to stay in the game. I was hoping that she'd win HoH, but she made a really stupid choice on the Lydia/Jeff question. She was complaining that she couldn't really hear the questions, but she should have said something then and there. She's the target of Michele and Kevin, and who knows with Jordan. She does well in competitions, so she may pull it off. She's been using her birth control pill container as a calendar of events, so she may know her stuff.

Jordan is in the best position right now, other than Natalie, to make the Final 3. She is no one's target, and everyone thinks she's weak. She could go to F3 without winning a thing by herself. We saw Jeff give her that Head of Household and she admitted to listening for Michele's steps in the Veto competition that she won.

There you have your Big Brother 11 Final Four. Nominations should be Friday, Veto competition on Saturday maybe, and the live veto meeting and eviction on Tuesday. The final endurance challenge, part 1 of the final HoH, should also begin Tuesday. Thursday we go from 3 to 2. Wow, this thing really is almost over. What do y'all think of the Final Four? Who do you want to win? Comment below.

Update: Approx 9pm BBT - The feeds came back on and it looked like the houseguests had a luxury competition. It looks as if it were some kind of grab competition, as they each have new clothes and seem to be really pleased with them. We should see this as well as the nominations on Sunday night.

BB11: The Show(mance) must go on ...

2009-09-03T18:30:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. As it stands now, the showmance of Big Brother 11, Jordan and Jeff, will come to an end tonight. However, if you frequent a few Big Brother message boards or Twitter, you'll find a core group that insists that Big Brother, CBS and/or Allison Grodner will find a way to keep our love birds together. They insist that the show just can't go on without them.

In the CBS Big Brother Forum poll, 62% of those responding say that they won't watch Big Brother 11 again if Jeff gets evicted tonight. I got that tweet a couple of times today and I actually did go look for myself. What the tweets don't include, though, is the fact that only 284 people voted.

Many of them are insisting that the stupid key from Pandora's Box will miraculously save Jeff tonight. Before Tuesday's show, the key was to a new Power of Veto that would save him. I think the key was solely to free Kevin, but I seem to be in the minority. Part of this is the fault of the producers. That competition was poorly executed. It didn't help that they showed it on the show out of order. The competition actually occurred on Friday afternoon prior to the nominations. I imagine that the 'twist' was the possibility that the results would cause the Head of Household (Kevin) to change his nominations. As it was, there was no twist. The houseguests had a quasi-luxury competition for cash. Kevin pretty much missed out because his ally was greedy.

But anyway, back to our showmance. I admit that they were kind of cute in the house. Neither of them were the sharpest crayon in the box and that's what made many of their interactions so amusing. They inadvertently gave us many of the best quotes of the season. As game players, though, not so much. They spent the first three weeks being martyrs, and if it weren't for the clique twist, Jeff may have been the first one gone. Once power was handed to Jeff, though, he didn't wear it well. Yes, getting Jessie out with the Coup D'etat was a good strategic move, but then the problems started.

The bad air in the Head of Household room got to them, too. Why else would you backdoor an ally before the other team was totally defeated? Not a good game winning strategy ... just ask BB6 Howie. And the irrational hatred the two of them had for their allies was baffling. Michele had done nothing but support those two and all they can do is bash her. Mr. Wonderful even called her a smelly c-word, which is a total turn off for me.

Their belief in their new best friend Natalie will turn out to be their downfall. Instead of a Final 4, one of them will be going out at 5. They trusted their game enemies to keep their word, and totally bashed and blew off their game team members. They've continued to trash Michele this week when all she's tried to do was save Jeff. Jeff is the target and he's been trying to guilt Kevin for not keeping his word. Hmm, let me see. Kevin should feel guilty for fooling an antagonist, but Jeff has no guilt for lying to his ally, Russell. Why is it okay for Jeff to break his word on his family, but not okay for Kevin to merely break his word? That's the game, boy-o.

That sense of entitlement and superiority has kept me from jumping aboard the Jeff/Jordan luv train. They've been cute to watch on the feeds, when they haven't been playing bash and trash, but that's been about it. Take a look at the Flashback from last night around 2am and you'll be laughing as hard as I was. And if you miss them too much, take a look at the Flashback Hotspots thread and rewatch your favorite Jeff/Jordan moments, and share them below. Because it looks as if it's over, unless we have another 'twist' this evening. I tend to doubt it, but with Big Brother 11, we've been told to 'expect the unexpected'.

BB11: She Was Gonna Do What??

2009-09-01T18:11:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, how's it going? Today was the Power of Veto Meeting in the Big Brother 11 house. What should have been a no brainer, quick and easy ceremony looked like it would be anything but.

Earlier today, I was flabbergasted to find out that Michele was seriously considering using the veto on Jeff. Yeah, they almost had her convinced that the only way to save him would be to take him off and they would promise to vote to keep her. I admit that I was almost ready to reach through cyberspace to slap her upside her head. It's really beginning to bug me how intrusive the Diary Room people are this season. It was right after a Diary Room session that Michele brought up this stupid idea.

Yesterday, Sunday, Natalie and Jordan tried to convince Jeff to approach Michele with this plan and he refused. Then today she brings it up? Oh come on. And while yesterday I was ready to give Jeff props for refusing the idea, today he not only agreed, he showed his true colors yet again. He promised Michele that he'd vote to keep her if she did it, then turned around and told Jordan that it would be 2-0 to evict Michele. Yeah, his armor is seriously tarnished.

The feeds went to trivia for the meeting after a good little while of Michele, by herself, looking as if she were seriously considering this folly. Thankfully, it didn't take too long after the feeds came back for us to find out that she hadn't totally lost her mind. She did in fact use the veto on herself and Jordan was put up as a replacement nominee.

Tonight, the houseguests found out how much they won in the Pandora's Box non-luxury competition. They were called separately into the diary room and told their totals. Jeff won $3181, Jordan $1726, Natalie $1900, Michele $2563, and Kevin $626. They said that Kevin would have won more if he'd been unlocked sooner. No mention of any additional prize or benefit from Jeff having that key. I think it was simply to unlock Kevin, but various bloggers and tweeters have speculated everything from a car to a 'black power of veto' to a 'platinum power of veto'. The last two having something to do with Jeff being able to take himself off the block and force Kevin to put up Natalie.

At this point, however, it was simply a handcuff key. I suppose that we will find out for sure on Tuesday's show. At least that's what we've been told ... but then last Thursday they told us that we'd find out on Sunday. Anyway, what we WILL see on Tuesday will be the Power of Veto competition, which was the midnight Morphomatic, the scheming and game talk and then the PoV meeting. I'm looking forward to seeing at least the PoV competition.

So barring an unforseen manipulation, it looks like Chima's dream of an all girl F4 (she included Kevin, so I will, too) in Big Brother 11 will come to pass. Not to say that Jeff is not working it to stay. I'm just not sure which way Natalie is blowing. She's either playing Jeff or she's playing Kevin. She lies so well, I don't know who she's not lying to. She's promised Jeff that she'll vote for him to stay if he and Michele throw HoH to her, but she's promised Kevin that she'd vote Jeff out. What do you think she'll do? How do you see this playing out? Comment below.

BB11: It's the Morphomatic!

2009-08-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

It was time for that fun Power of Veto competition. After a weird day in the Big Brother house, the houseguests had a midnight competition. The day started with some kind of Pandora's Box competition that left them paranoid for the rest of the day.

I'm still not sure of what happened there. Actually, I don't think the houseguests are sure of what happened today. Apparently they released the deadly sin greed and we're not sure what the consequences are. They each, except for Kevin, got to grab money let loose outside. Kevin opened that secret door and was handcuffed. Jeff found the key and released him. Sunday's show should be a good one. There were lots blacked out.

Big Brother really screwed with their heads today. After leaving them hanging in the aftermath of the Pandora's Box thing, then they started the Alien in the Mirror gag again. It didn't scare as many as in the past, but it did add to the paranoia. They knew they had a midnight veto competition, but they had absolutely no idea what it would be. At one point Jeff was convinced that the key he found earlier would help him win the veto.

Oh hey, in between all the craziness was the Nomination ceremony. Kevin stuck to his guns and nominated Jeff and Michele. Jeff attempted to guilt him into nominating Jordan instead, but Kevin wasn't buying it. Why Jeff would get upset with Kevin breaking his word when he did last week is beyond me. Oh, the hypocrisy.

Michele went on another crying jag, but seemed to talk herself up. I was feeling sorry for her on the one hand, but disgusted on the other. I like her sometimes, but I still don't get her. Her social skills are seriously lacking and that's really hurt her game, I think.

Then there was the PoV. The feeds were blocked for another two and a half hours and when they came back on, guess who was sporting the Veto medal? Michele! Yes, she managed to save herself. She said that she had her crying jag and then psyched herself up for the win. The tide has turned again.

Right now the plan is for Michele to take herself off and for Kevin to put Jordan up. They are all talking of booting Jeff, but there are five days until eviction and Jordan is already talking about getting people to vote her out to save Jeff.

The web should be interesting this week. The Jeff/Jordan people are already threatening mutiny, swearing to never watch Big Brother again. The ups and downs of Big Brother. They've been on a high since he won the Coup D'Etat, and now this ...

So anyway, what a busy 36 hours or so, with more to come. What do you think of what's been going on? Tell me below ...

BB11: S'more the Merrier

2009-08-28T00:47:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, what did you think of tonight's Head of Household competition? Other than the fact that it was also recycled, it was pretty cool, I thought. Recycled, you ask? Well yes, it was a recycle of the teacup competition from BB8.
This S'more competition was nice and messy. The houseguests had to maneuver down a graham cracker slip and slide and fill a container with hot chocolate from a cup with a hole in it. It was crazy. I think they said that it would be a total of about a four mile walk back and forth to fill up the container enough to fish out a marshmallow.
So how'd they do? When the feeds came back on, and BTW, thanks CBS for not keeping us in the dark for the entire competition this week, Kevin was in the lead. It looked like he was having the easiest time and he was trucking up and down that track. Natalie seemed to have the hardest time, although I'm not entirely convinced that she wasn't throwing the competition. Michele was in second place behind Kevin and Jordan was third.
As time went by, though, Jordan was falling further and further behind, while Kevin increased his lead. All three girls had a really hard time making it from one end to the other, and it didn't seem like Kevin was struggling at all.
After about an hour and a half, Kevin won Head of Household, although the feeds went to fish right before the end. I was hanging out in Dingo's chat and right as we said that the marshmallow looked like it was touching the top, we went to fish.
So who will Kevin nominate on Friday? Not too long after the end of the competition, he told Natalie that he was going to put up Jeff and Michele. The worst case scenario for them would be for Jordan to win the veto, but they don't think she will. There is some question as to whom they will target for eviction, but they say that they have time to discuss that after the veto competition and meeting.
And what was that about a Big Brother 11 twist? Well, we still don't know. All we know for sure is that they've locked up the Have Not room. All the houseguests seem to have moved into the Have room. Maybe tomorrow they'll reveal what's behind the door. We'll see. What do y'all think? Speculate away ...

BB11: And Then There Were Six

2009-08-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. How was that for almost a week of Big Brother in an hour? We saw Jordan win the Power of Veto competition, choose not to use it, and the house evicted Lydia 3 votes to 1. What they didn't show was how Jordan and Jeff waffled all week and make a new alliance with Kevin and Natalie.

When the show ended, the final six, minus Jordan, were competing in the next Head of Household competition. I was so mad at CBS. They gave us a brief flash of the competition in progress with Kevin seemingly in the lead, but other than that they left the trivia up. Why have Julie tell people at the end of the show to turn on their feeds, or get them, if they weren't gonna show us anything?

When the feeds finally did come back on, all of the houseguests were in the kitchen with Jordan, Natalie and Jeff feeding their faces. It seems that in addition to not being able to see the rest of the Head of Household competition, we missed what turned out to be a Food Competition. Who won, you ask?

Well, Jeff is the new Head of Household. I don't know what happened because he was not close to the lead. There was some mention of gold cans, but since we didn't get to see ... Kevin was one can behind, but was handicapped for one minute for some reason. And it looks like Michele, Kevin and Russell are on slop. Jordan didn't even play in the HoH comp and she gets to eat? Guess we'll all have to wait until Sunday to see how that played out.

The question of the moment, though, is this ... who will Jeff nominate? Will he stick to his first word and put up Natalie and Kevin, or will he stick to his second word and put up Michele and Russell? Woohoo ... we get another week of Jeff/Jordan paranoia! Yes, I rolled my eyes as I typed that.

What will this week in the Big Brother 11 house bring? Goodness only knows. Jeff will have to show his hand, though. Who do you think he will nominate? Who should he nominate? I look forward to reading your comments ...

Is It Something In the Air?

2009-08-20T00:17:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, I've just been sitting here shaking my head. Instead of the HoH room, Big Brother should call that room the SoS room, as in Stuck on Stupid. What is it about that room that brings out the idiot in them all. The latest to suffer from this mysterious malady are Jeff and Jordan.

I've been saying all along that they aren't that bright, and they seem determined to prove me right. What kind of idiots turn on two allies based on something said by people who have been on the opposite side the entire game? They obviously want to earn the dumb label given them at the beginning of the game.

I've said before that, although you may not like her, Natalie has been playing one heckuva game. She's earned her stripes, again, this week. She's gone from sure out, to perhaps pulling off the move of the game. Her lies have so wrapped up the couple that America seems to love, that they're about to pull off a Howie move.

What's that, you say? Well, remember when Howie blew the game for his entire alliance by evicting James, an ally, instead of a member of the opposite team? Well, it looks like Howie's stupid throne will be taken by this duo. Instead of putting their distrust of Russell to the side until a more appropriate time, they've allowed a lie by someone who has her back against the wall to take their heads out of the game.

Natalie started off the game with a lie, about being 18, and has continued lying since. People around the internet have been calling her Gnat, but I call her cat. She's like a cat with 9 lives. Never count her out, she finds a way to come out on top. It's unbelievable to me how she still has those people believing her. She's pretty much lied about everyone left, and she's not done.

She's promised Jeff and Jordan safety if she wins Head of Household. Ha! Just a couple of days earlier she told everyone that Jeff had replaced Russell as her target. Natalie has been the ringleader of Team Jesse, in fact I've called it Team Natalie. What makes Jeff so arrogant as to think that she'd switch her allegience? Did it not even enter his mind that her pledge is a little convenient? You just know that the minute she wins, she'll throw at least one of them on the block in a heartbeat. I wouldn't be surprised to see her convince them to throw a competition to her as a gesture of goodwill, lol.

He's not even the Head of Household and he's letting a little bit of power go to his head. He's taking the fact that America gave him some power as meaning that he has game. Pfft, he's showing how little game he really has. One move does not a game make. Perhaps he should have been on that landing playing chess a little more.

Many fans love them some Jeff and Jordan. Well, these two may be taking their place among the ranks of the loveable losers of Big Brother. What do you think? Are y'all still firmly on the luv bus?

BB11: A New Sheriff In Town

2009-08-16T00:57:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Jordan, the new Big Brother 11 Head of Household. In about 24 hours of craziness, we saw Michele nominate Chima and Natalie, a Chima meltdown and eviction by the producers and another Head of Household competition.

This competition was also a luxury comp. It sounds like the one where after you take a golf shot, you can steal a gift from another houseguest. From what I gathered on the feeds, Jordan either won by getting a hole in one, or was given the HoH by Jeff. The prizes, as I've read or heard were:

Jordan - Head of Household
Jeff - Trip to Hawaii
Natalie - Phone call home
Kevin - $5,000
Russell - Spa Visit
Lydia - Red Unitard

Yes, you heard it right, the red unitard is back. But wait, this one is special, it's a Superhero unitard. It has a gold lame bikini bottom, a black cape and black goggles. If that's not bad enough, she died her hair a hot pink.

Before Lydia got into costume, though, there was major drama. She got into a screaming fit with Michele, complete with that awful C-word being thrown out there by Michele. She actually acted as though she was under the influence of some substance. She poured out all of Michele's beer that she received as HoH, and her soda. She's really trying to get evicted first. She does NOT want Natalie to have Jessie to herself for that first week.

Jordan has other plans, though. She wants Natalie out first. One reason given was that Natalie would come after her. Well, since neither Lydia nor Natalie has won anything, I wouldn't be too worried. The real reason, I think, is that she's afraid that Natalie and Russell would team up again.

Speaking of Natalie, she got into it with Michele, too. More screaming ensued and Jeff tried to be the peacemaker. I think he was channeling his inner Rodney King with his enteaties for them all to just get along. Kevin pretended that all along his whole thing was playing therapist and mediator, but when he was alone with Natalie and Lydia later, he was egging them on in their ideas to mess with the other four. They plan on targeting Jeff's temper and Michele's things.

At the moment, Jordan plans on nominating Natalie and Lydia, with Natalie the target. A couple of them said that Jordan's nominations weren't until Monday. If true, that's really gonna throw the schedule off. I guess we'll find out something sooner or later. Until we do, I guess we'll have to settle for anticipating the drama that's building up in Lydia. I'd be very surprised, though, if it were the quiet, relaxing Sunday that the houseguests are expecting.

What do y'all think of the new HoH and the Big Brother 11 season so far? Crazy, huh? For me, this has got to be one of the most volatile casts yet. They casted for a High School clique season, and they got the high school mentality that goes with it. One thing it hasn't been, though, is dull. Oh and Chima is fighting back, here's a letter she wrote to Big Brother Examiner rebutting CBS official statement of her being removed.

BB11: Fast Forward Even Faster

2009-08-15T17:03:00.001-05:00

Well, y'all, looks like Big Brother 11 will get it's Double Elimination this week after all ... just not in the way they'd originally planned. Julie Chen announced on Thursday that next Thursday would be a week of Big Brother in an hour. They would have had live eviction, new Head of Household comp, immediate nominations, Power of Veto competition and meeting and the second live eviction all in one hour. That's not the way it will happen now.

After the chaos of last night/ this morning and Chima's subsequent removal from the house, the houseguests were informed that Michele's reign as HoH was over. They were told to prepare for a new Head of Household competition and Michele can't compete. Many are calling this a Do Over, I'm calling it a Faster Fast Forward. One of Michele's nominees, and actually her target, was evicted so it wasn't a total bust for her. And she got her letter from her husband. I hope she gets to keep her treats in her basket.

So that was our first eviction for the week. Today starts part two. Who will win this next Head of Household? Will the mini-golf setup they received last night have any bearing on it? If so, that may be a plus for Team Jeff. He and Russell did really well in practice last night. Will it be a competition of knowing the dates of what happened in the house? If so, that may be to Team Natalie's advantage. Last night before the feeds cut off, they were going over all the dates on the chess board using playdoh as markers.

I'm just hoping that Team Natalie's bad behavior doesn't benefit them. Lydia is already trying to do damage control. She told Michele today that she had nothing to do with any of the movement of clothes, that it was all Chima. Kevin got his bid in last night for his innocence. Lydia didn't quite throw Natalie under the bus, but close. She's joining with Kevin in trying to play both sides now. Don't get me wrong, it's a very smart move.

So who will win this next HoH? What will that do to the weekly schedule? I'll be updating this article as information becomes available. The feeds have been on fish for quite a while now, so I'm guessing that the HoH competition is in progress.

Update: 4:40pmBBT - Jordan has won this Head of Household competition. They think that nominations are tomorrow.

BB11: Chima Lost Her Mind

2009-08-15T13:30:00.000-05:00

Wow, y'all! This has been a crazy couple of day in the Big Brother 11 house. I think we all knew that something fierce would happen once Jeff used the Coup d'Etat, and it did. Chima, Natalie and Lydia reverted to childhood and caused havoc in the house. And as of right now Chima is no longer there.

Last night Team Chima were total brats. The were furious that all their campaigning to Michele about nominations were for naught. They tried everything they could to get Russell nominated. They constantly reminded Michele of her promise the week before of safety to Chima and Natalie. They kept repeating to her all of the things they said that Russell said and did to her. Natalie generously offered her allegiance to Michele ... wasn't that nice? When all was said and done, though, Michele nominated Chima and Natalie with her stated target being Chima.

Well, Ms. Chima lost her freaking mind. She was openly defiant to Big Brother. I heard a number of 'Chima, please put on your microphone' announcements and saw her flip them the bird. Kevin got her microphone for her and she tossed the whole thing into the hot tub. She refused to get a replacement one and her little dog Kevin went and fetched a new one for her. She made repeated remarks about production, which sent us feed watchers to fish over and over again. She repeated her threats to leave and her and her little groupies talked about having production over a barrel if they all left.

They dumped all of Jeff's clothes out a drawer, they took Russell's rosary that his grandmother sent him and they hid it. Oh, and get this, Ms. Chima commented that he's not even a catholic, he's a Muslim extremist. They threatened to put red m&m's into Michele's food (Michele is allergic to red dye 40), and also threatened to go into the HoH room to mess with her stuff. They had the rule book with them so they could make sure that the chaos they caused was not against the rules. All of the Michele stuff was, which is probably why they were only threats. I know the feeds cut to fish after the m&m remark.

After an extended period of fish, we came back to Kevin sitting outside on the couches with Michele telling her that he was fed up with his wimmin (yes, I know that's spelled incorrectly). He was complaining to her and then the feeds were cut once again. And they stayed off this time. Feedwatchers speculated on the cause of this feed blackout. Most of us agreed that it had something to do with the brats, and we'd thought that Allison Grodner must have been called in, but after that ...

When the feeds came back on an hour and a half plus later, Chima was gone. Her picture on the memory wall was still in color, but she was gone. Natalie said something about her not even packing, then fish. What the heck happened? Did she leave or was she asked to leave? Will we ever find out? What will the creative editors at CBS choose to show us on Sunday ...or Tuesday? Remember Sunday's show only goes up to the nomination ceremony, so they may not tell us anything then.

What will this do to the Big Brother 11 schedule? Power of Veto competition is supposed to be today, but there's only one nominee. There's supposed to be a Fast Forward double eviction this Thursday, is that still on? What about the jury? Will they be a person down, or will the viewers get one of their fondest wishes and get to be that seventh vote? What are your thoughts on any or all of this? Hold on to your seats and stay tuned, I'm sure that there will be more to come.

BB11: What the Hell Is Wrong With These People?

2009-08-08T02:31:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. I'm really ticked off right now. I've had it up to my hairline with these houseguests ... all of them. Maybe I was raised differently, but to me it is not okay to use racial stereotypes and bigotry. These folks have taken the art of dissing to a new low. I've heard enough use of the f*g word, calling people and things homo and things like that. Even America's favorites, Jordan and Jeff, have gotten into the act.

The latest is demonizing Russell by calling him a terrorist because of his middle eastern heritage. BS, I say. Chima is the latest recipient of my Douchebag of the week award. For all her calling out of Braden for his bigotry, she needs to look in the mirror and call herself out. I've had about enough of Ms. Thang.

Her remarks that she's going to go around calling Russell a terrorist and that it was okay because Americans hate Middle Easterners was awful. Her calling him a terrorist and making snide remarks about his friend that flies planes is veering close to slander. Oh, and hey, she's commented that she couldn't be sued for slander because of the contracts they've all signed.

Amber caught hell for her Jewish comments, Adam lost his job over his comments, but where's the outrage over Chima's? These comments are just as bad as those others were. They're malicious and ugly.

I know CBS is too worried about the dollar to do this, but I'd love for them to air a montage of the bigoted comments made in that house just this season. They've made it a point to sanitize their broadcasts, even the fights, to keep out these types of comments. Wonder if they're afraid to lose advertising dollars. There would certainly be outrage. But why do they continue to portray these people in such rosy red colors? Why let them get away with it?

Remember when the UK Big Brother evicted someone for their racist comments? All it would take is one time here and the problem would be nipped in the bud. If they don't evict them, give them penalty noms. They are adults, they should have learned by now that there are consequences for their words and actions. If not, I think Big Brother has a responsibility to us to refuse to reward these bigots.

BB11: Is This the End For Russell?

2009-08-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, a new week, a new Head of Household and a new power should mean a very interesting week in the Big Brother 11 house. Of course a member of Team Jesse has won HoH once again, but the Coup D'Etat may or may not shake things up. As the weeks go on, we learn more and more about the houseguests and, at least I do, get somewhat attached to some of them.

Russell has been a big disappointment to me. I called him a meathead at first, then I began to like him. I'm really into MMA, and I enjoy getting to know the fighters through UFC's version of the Big Brother house called The Ultimate Fighter. Russell didn't seem to be the typical MMA fighter, though. He seemed to be intelligent and able to move from group to group well. Maybe it was too many smacks and kicks upside the head, but he freaking lost his mind. It's like Dr. Jeckyl/ Mr. Hyde with this guy. He's so big and imposing, that his outbursts can inspire fear. This guy was sitting pretty in the game, but he blew it with his perhaps fake outbursts on Ronnie and Chima. And he ruined what could have been a very good alliance with Michele when he went off on her and told her business. What's wrong with this guy?

Last week, he'd made an alliance of sorts with Jeff and Jordan, but managed to ruin that, with his flaky behavior. He had Chima in the palm of his hand, or could have, but he screwed that up too. His running off at the mouth about Chima to the wrong people might spell his doom. Ms. Chima has the Head of Household this week. Instead of sitting pretty with his lady in power, he's in big danger. She wants him out. Because he abused Jeff's trust, Jeff may not save him with his Coup D'Etat power. He's burnt bridges all over the house and I don't see anyone that he would survive against in a vote and I don't see anyone that would save him.

Will Russell go from Head of Household with a supposed easy week to evictee in fourteen short days? It sure is possible, and wouldn't really surprise me. But the way things go in the Big Brother house, anything can happen between now and next Thursday. I sure hope y'all have the live feeds because if you don't, you're missing a whole lot. So what do you think? How can Russell save his game ... or can he?

BB11: Monday Night Fights

2009-08-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, last night was a doozy in the Big Brother 11 house and I hope you didn't miss it. Wasn't it HBO that used to host Monday Night Fights? Well, Showtime was the host of this episode. Russell vs. Chima, Russell vs. Michele/Chima, Kevin vs. Ronnie ... Big Brother's version of restraining orders issued ... and Natalie/Jessie off everyone's radar. If y'all have Big Brother After Dark recorded, you want to watch it. If you don't, then fire up the feeds, make use of that flashback option and start at about 10pm BBT.

Say what you will about Natalie, but that lil girl is playing this game. She and Jessie basically masterminded the entire drama and sat back and enjoyed it. They noticed Michele getting a little too close to Russell, so they lied to him to drive a wedge into their growing connection. Then Jessie fed into Russell's growing paranoia while pretending to be a 'friend'. Meanwhile Chima and Lydia have been badmouthing Russell for the past couple of days, and he's heard it. Quite interesting, though, that he spurned the advances of both women since Thursday. I really think Chima thought that she would run this HoH like her little buddy Natalie ran Jessie's.

Anyway, round one of last nights heavyweight fight began when Russell was supposedly trying to straighten things out with Chima. Chima was tired of what she supposedly perceived to be Russell lying to and about everyone and insisted on bringing Michele into it, since she was one topic of conversation. Natalie did her work well in poisoning Chima against Russell, if she needed any help.

Poor Michele. She thought she'd made a friend in the house after their long conversation this past weekend, and then she gets totally thrown for a loop when Russell began screaming at her and accusing her of things that she didn't do or say (thanks again Natalie and Jessie). It sure seems like everyone is threatened by her, because she seems to be on most people's radar, especially after those two veto wins.

Russell and Chima were toe to toe. He was all up in her face and she was in his. They were screaming at the top of their lungs and I thought for a moment that he was going to throw her down the staircase that they were standing at the top of. At this point, I was pretty much cheering Chima on. The girl stood her ground and she was making some good points. Natalie, the good friend that she is, pulled Chima back out of that confrontation and 'helped' calm them both down. Uh huh ... Later, though, it started again and Chima, after consulting the Diary Room, threw water on Russell twice.

Now, see, I don't agree with that. If he'd retaliated, all hell would have broken loose and the cyberworld would be screaming abuse. Where are all the people that screamed when Dick threw pickle juice or whatever on Jen? Isn't it the same thing? I went off then, and I'm going off now. It infuriates me that the Diary Room said that they don't encourage it, but that it wasn't against the rules. I think it should be. It's a physical confrontation. I applaud his control. In the real world, I could see him grabbing her at the very least. Personally, I'd have snatched her up by that weave.

Whew, anyway, later Kevin and Ronnie went at it and Kevin ended up chest bumping Ronnie. And the guy that talks all big and bad in the Diary Room cried like the wuss he is. Jordan and Jeff pretty much stayed out of it, but Jordan couldn't help running her mouth off to Chima in the Spa Room. Like Michele accused earlier, Jordan is 'leaky'. They tried to drag Jeff into it, but he wasn't playing along. I'm beginning to like him more and more.

Jessie, meanwhile, sat back and enjoyed the show. Once again, when confrontation takes place in the house, he disappears. His little pitbull, though, did plenty of stirring of the pot. Although her original plan fell through, she didn't sway any votes toward getting Ronnie to stay, long term, this might have worked for her. Russell is now public enemy number one and she's also spread quite a few lies about Michele to make others leery of her, too. While at the beginning of the week, the Nat/Jessie alliance was a target of many, she may have succeeded in buying her and Jessie a few more weeks in the house. Russell lost major cool points last night and probably blew his game. Time will tell.

Once again, a week that should have been chill, with a common target on the block, turned out to be chaos. They are stressing me out, and I'm not even there! I even clicked my heels three times last night, muttered 'there's no place like home', and turned off the feeds. And guess what, y'all, that was only Monday night! There are two more nights and three more days before they have another competition. Between those fights, nothing to do, and worry over the 'Power', these folk's nerves are shot. Big Brother ended up issuing their version of restraining orders against Chima, Russell, Kevin and Ronnie. They have to stay three feet away from each other. We'll see how long that lasts and if it does any good.

Now, for those of you that don't have the feeds YET, see what y'all are missing by just watching the very watered down version of the show? Click here and get your free trial . Come see what you're missing in the Big Brother 11 house. In the meantime, what do you think of last night's antics? Comment below, I'm curious as to what you're thinking.

BB11: Who's Really Doin' Whom?

2009-08-01T15:27:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all, expect the unexpected on Big Brother 11 and this week may turn out to be very unexpected. I see next week being an entirely different game. Between the disintegration of the cliques and all the speculation on the mysterious power, these houseguests have shown some different colors.

First there is Russell and his nominations. His winning HoH this week really helped no one except Jesse and Natalie. Unfortunately for Russell, he only thinks that he is in Jessie's inner circle and feels some kind of obligation to him. I guess I can kind of understand that because Jessie basically saved him from going on the block and leaving when Ronnie had HoH. But Jessie and Natalie will be the end of Russell.

Russell nominated Ronnie and Lydia and wants Ronnie gone. Jessie, Natalie and Chima (for some reason) are rabid about keeping Ronnie. Chima is almost doing what she's condemned Lydia for doing. She's about ready to whore herself out to keep Ronnie safe. Chima is pinning her hopes on changing Russell's mind about who he wants out. She's promised Russell that she'd vote the way he wants her to, but she's also promised to keep Ronnie. What will she do?

Michele is also in an awkward position if the nominees stay the same. Does she truly have an alliance with Ronnie? Or was she telling the truth when she said that she wanted him gone? She might end up being the swing vote ... if the nominees stay the same. Everyone is being so sweet to her now ... wonder why.

All this speculation could be moot by Thursday because of the veto or because of the Coup D'etat. The Power of Veto competition is today, and if these people are smart, they will go all out to win it. Remember that Julie told them that the only two people guaranteed safe for the next two weeks are the Head of Household and the Power of Veto holder.

The houseguests have been chosen to play and they are Russell, Lydia and Ronnie, of course, and then Jessie, Kevin and Michele. If anyone other than the nominees wins it, will it be used? Good question. Jessie may or may not save Ronnie, he won't if he thinks he has the votes to save him. Kevin may or may not save Lydia, again depending on how he thinks the votes will sway (but honestly, I don't believe Kevin will win anything).

I'm curious about something though. If Jessie, or anyone, wins PoV and they take Ronnie off the block, can he be re-nominated through the Coup D'etat? The scenario that I'm thinking is this: Jessie takes Ronnie off, Jeff or Jordan win the Coup and on Thursday, they put Ronnie back up. That would be hilarious.

Hang on tight, y'all, this week in the Big Brother 11 house could be a bumpy ride. Who do y'all want gone this week? And who did you vote for to win the Coup D'Etat? Oh, and hey, have you been to the CBS page lately? You can also record advice, ranging from wardrobe to hygiene (are you listening Natalie?) for the houseguests by calling 1-323-386-2350 by 11:59 pm BBT Sunday August 2nd. I want to know what you're thinking ... comment below.

Update 3:15pm BBT - For the second time in a row, Michele is the Power of Veto winner! Let the games begin. Ronnie's already been working her. What will she do? Add your comments

BB11: Hangin' in There

2009-07-31T00:02:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, the Banana Man is gone, but will the next Head of Household end up with egg on his or her face? Hey, it's possible. For once, CBS teases of a potential game changer was right on the money.

As expected, the cliques are no more. I think we all had that part. I admit that I didn't think Big Brother had it in them. When they said game changer, I figured it was another exaggeration. Part two of their big message was the return of the Coup D'Etat.

America's Choice for the Coup winner can negate one or both of the nominees at one of the next two evictions. Only safe people are the Head of Household and the Power of Veto holder. The week of strategizing and demonizing could be for naught ... and I love it.

Someone, like Jordan, who will never win a competition on her own, could end up with major power. You know how some people like to show their arses once the veto ceremony is over, figuring that they are safe for the week? Psych! Up and out in less than an hour on Thursday.

Jessie is still whining about America's Player getting him evicted in week 4 last season. Well, guess what ... it could happen again. Ha! Yeah, in week 4, if Jeff or Jordan hold the Coup D'Etat and Jessie doesn't have the PoV, they could put him up and he get evicted by America's Choice. That would be so evil ... bwah haha.

At the end of tonight's live eviction show, the first live endurance Head of Household competition was begun. I bet you want to know who wins, don't ya? Well, here are the results so far ...

When the feeds came back on over 30 minutes after the show, Lydia and Kevin were already out. Ronnie dropped shortly after that and after another short blackout, Natalie was sitting in the bleachers. Unofficially, Kevin won the $5000

7:20 BBT and the only ones left are Russell, Chima, Michele, Jeff and Jordan.

7:27 BBT Jordan Drops

8:00 BBT Russell, Chima, Jeff and Michele still hangin' in there

8:11 BBT After taking a heck of a lickin' from that diploma, Chima is down

8:33 BBT Feeds come back and Russell and Jeff are left

Jordan gets to pick the Have Nots for next week and Ronnie has figured out the twist.

9:00 BBT Both guys are hanging in there ... don't really trust each other enough to deal.

Guys hanging tough. They're getting smacked all to heck with that diploma. Still no deal. Russell wants a letter from his pops and Jeff doesn't trust Jessie's influence.

9:25 BBT Jeff drops and Russell is the new HoH

Jordan drew names for Have Nots and they are Natalie, Kevin and Jessie

BB11: Case of the Bitter Banana

2009-07-27T15:53:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all, it seems that Casey, the Banana Man, will take center stage on Big Brother 11 this week. He supposedly throws the Power of Veto competition, gets stuck wearing a banana suit for the week, wins the house a margarita party and gets put on the block. Let's start the pity party.

For me, his disappearance will be just fine. He's back on the top of the Douchebag of the Week heap, if you ask me. Yeah, I know he's disappointed in being nominated, but if he was such 'a grown ass man' as he said numerous times last night, he'd be better behaved. Instead of 'grown ass man', perhaps just 'ass' would do.

As my long time readers already know, I just don't cotton to a man calling a woman a c***. Period. It's not cool. That's how he referred to Lydia last night because she didn't tell him that Jessie was talking about putting him on the block. I know the legions of Jeff/Jordan/Casey worshipers are already saying that it was the 'heat of the moment', that 'he was just frustrated', yada yada yada. If it's not in your head and in your heart, it won't come out of your mouth. He went on and on about being a man and being classy, but he didn't walk the walk ... he just talked.

Y'all know I'm not a Lydia fan, and that's the excuse some of his defenders are using. In fact, she's also on my fast train to eviction, but I'll not sit idly by while this 40 something teacher of our youth is using this term to describe her, or any female. No, Mr. Turner, that is NOT classy, nor would a real man have to sink to that level. You'd think a teacher would have a better vocabulary.

Then today, he has to verbally attack ANOTHER female. And this one he never even met. He's gone on his rampage calling Ronnie's wife a walrus or sea lion or some large aquatic animal, among other names. Hey, dude, just because you got played, it doesn't make you a man to diss someone's wife. If in fact you did throw the PoV competition, it just makes you even stupider.

Yes, there are those that will excuse him because Lydia and Ronnie are not considered part of the 'good people' *insert rolling eyes here*, but not me. I've endured night after night of you whining about the other half of the house and trying to make yourself out to be so much better than they are. I have not forgotten that at the beginning you were part of that other side, before you made the decision to vote out Chima and got busted on it. I've not forgotten that it is only because of 'white guilt' that she's still there, according to you.

Well, Mr. Banana Man, I hope you get to visit with Julie and do your Big Brother 11 exit interviews on Thursday in your little yellow suit. Knock yourself out ...

BB11: Jessie's Dilemma

2009-07-26T02:34:00.000-05:00

Mr. Pec-Tacular finds himself in a bit of a pickle this week on Big Brother 11. He pretty much has an alliance of some sort with everyone in the house and he's Head of Household. Last Monday it seemed that this week's HoH would have a very easy week, but in true Big Brother style, the tide turned.

Ronnie had such a mucked up reign, he'd be the logical choice for eviction, and if he got nominated he still would be. But that's the rub. Ronnie lucked out when Jessie won HoH. Other than his Team Brain clique, that was his best chance of surviving this week. He must have been sweating when it came to a tie between Jessie and Jeff. He'd for sure be on the block if Jeff was HoH.

With Jessie, though, it looks like he'll be safe. Because of their alliance, Jessie has told Ronnie that he'd not be nominated. This may or may not come back to bite Jessie in the butt. Last week the entire house came to a consensus that Ronnie'd be up and gone. Jessie's decision not to put him up will for sure anger the Jeff, Jordan and Casey coalition.

Jessie's original nominees were Jordan and Michele. Everyone was pretty cool at first because they still thought that after the veto competition, Jessie would 'do the right thing'. When names were drawn to participate in the veto competition today, there were some happy faces because Ronnie was not picked to play. It also caused some consternation because Casey commented that certain people didn't seem happy enough that Ronnie wasn't chosen.

I hate that we don't get to see the competitions on the feeds. We get trivia for hours, and CBS condenses it to perhaps 10 minutes. This one in particular sounds fascinating. It was messy and had prizes. Jessie won $2500, Casey won a margarita party for the house and a banana suit and Michele won the PoV. What's this banana suit, you ask? I guess it was supposed to be this year's version of the red unitard. Lucky for Casey, it's not a full body catsuit. It basically just fits on and over his top part.

Michele winning puts another decision onto Jessie. Who will he put up in his place? His choices are basically Ronnie, Chima, Kevin, Lydia and Casey. I, personally, would like him to nominate Lydia, but after last night that probably won't happen. Once again, Ms. Lydia attempts to use sex to ensure her safety. The last time she only gave Jessie a handjob, but last night they went all the way. Was it coincidence that she did this just hours after proclaiming to Kevin that she uses sex as a weapon? I have one word for her ... whore.

But anyway, Team Jessie (minus Kevin and Lydia) thinks that Casey will be nominated on Monday and Team Jeff (plus Kevin and Lydia) think that Ronnie will be going up on the block. Which will Jessie choose? Or will he go totally off the grid and nominate someone different? After all, in Big Brother time, it's a long time from now until Monday afternoon.

BB11: Club Jessie - Part Two

2009-07-24T00:28:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all. What a week this has been on Big Brother 11. Ronnie sure had a memorable reign, and I'd venture a guess that it was probably among the worst, if not the worst reign. He started his week being cocky as all get out and ended the week whimpering in his Head of Household room. The puppetmaster made one too many moves.

He's not done, though. As badly as it looked for him on Monday, he will probably be around a while. It looks as though he has an alliance with Jessie, Russell, and Natalie and he has his clique with Chima and Michele. As badly as Russell treated him, and in spite of how it was shown on the CBS show, Russell snuck Ronnie food and entered into an unholy alliance. Of course, we don't really know how genuine either of them were when they made it. They are all liars, and darned entertaining about it. If nominated, though, Ronnie may very well have the votes to stay. This game is crazy.

And his chances look even better now that Jessie has won the HoH competition. I was really surprised that the offbeats did so badly. They were up late practicing last night. But, oh well. The Athletes are safe again and the populars are down to one. I thought that the producers might have produced a twist this week because the populars turned out to be not so popular.

This may end up being another crazy week. The majority of the house thinks that the target is Ronnie, but Jessie and his main core group aren't on that page of the book. They've all talked about backdooring Ronnie, so he might have some peace until the veto competition is over. After that, though, all bets are off if Ronnie does not win the PoV. They will all expect it to be used and Ronnie put in as a replacement nominee. I don't know how Jessie will play that off with all the different little factions that he has going on.

He has the clique thing going on, the Athlete/Brain thing, he has the Lydia thing (and where Lydia goes, it seems that Kevin and usually Chima will follow), he has a side deal going with Casey, and a different one with Jeff and Jordan. I think that's the entire house!

Right now, the only houseguests that have even talked about putting Jessie on the block are Laura, who is gone, and Russell. And Russell can't put him up because they are in the same clique. This might change after the PoV meeting if he has the opportunity to put Ronnie on the block and doesn't. Is it worth the chance to him? How valuable is Ronnie to Jessie's game Those are some questions that are facing Jessie this week.

So who will Jessie nominate? Russell and Natalie both wanted Casey up at one point, and they all seem to want Michele up for some reason. Jessie, though, has that secret late night alliance thing going with Casey, so it would not surprise me if he was safe. If that is the case, who will he put up? He can't put up Jeff, and that leaves Jordan as the only other person from the other side of the house.

Here's to another wild week on Big Brother 11. Right now it seems as if they're all getting along and having fun (except Ronnie), but you just know it won't last. Do y'all have your feeds yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Try them for free by clicking here. Once you have them, if you miss something overnight, check out this thread on http://boards.real.com/ for times and cams of Flashback worthy moments. Who do you think Jessie will nominate this week? What will the repercussions be? I'm interested in reading your thoughts so comment below.

BB11: Ronnie's Big Weekend

2009-07-18T22:55:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all, very interesting weekend thus far in the Big Brother 11 house. After Ronnie won the Head of Household competition on Thursday, the hamsters started scurrying. Which side of the fence would Ronnie fall on or would he still try to straddle the fence? He met with everyone and their grandmas that night and generally held court. He stayed busy trying to convince Team Jeff that he was not the hinky vote and was still on their side.

Laura showed that she actually had a brain in addition to those boobs. She figured out what Ronnie was doing and tried to convince her teammates of the same. For the most part they believed her, but it didn't do any good. Besides that, I'm sure they had another rat in the henhouse. I'm convinced that Casey is working with Jesse and as time goes on nothing has changed my mind.

Team Jesse (or Natalie) has this serious hate on for Laura and it was pretty much a given that they'd convince Ronnie to put her up. Maybe they do realize that she's not dumb and she has them figured out. She pretty much does. Too bad that she has no power right now.

That team is just so content right now to let Jesse/Natalie run the game. If they're not careful, they'll run right to the end. They are considered bullies, but they have such control, that I seriously think that Laura would be the only one to put them on the block. The mind control is amazing. They have their own team in check and also have deals going with Casey and Jeff. I just shake my head.

Friday they had their Have/Have Not competition, with special guest Big Brother 10 winner, Dan. From what the houseguests have let out, many of them showed their behinds. Sounds like casting really scraped the bottom of the barrel with this crew. There must have been more than one part to this because in addition to one clique losing and having to live in the jail room with no hot water and slop, Casey and Chima (who are not even in the same clique) won a movie. I was not surprised to find out that the Populars lost the comp, with Jordan and Laura, they are the weakest clique.

Almost as an afterthought, Ronnie nominated Laura and Jeff. Jeff pretty much told Ronnie to nominate him, so that he'd at least get to play in the PoV competition and that was the out that Ronnie needed. He's still trying to pretend that he's not totally in Jesse's pocket. He also gave them some story about trying to backdoor Russell. Ronnie hates Casey and there is only one reason why he would not put him up ... Jesse.

Speaking of Russell, I don't know what to make of him right now. He's running scared because I think he realizes that he's not part of the Jesse/Natalie inner circle. Last night he hung out with Team Jeff and Natalie got her panties all in a wad. He must be a traitor since he dares to speak and hang out with the others. That's all she needed to try to convince Jesse that they needed to try to get him out. It didn't help that he went off on Lydia. He was talking to Natalie and Lydia butted in with a smartass comment. He went off on her saying that it's not always all about her. She then went crying to the diary room and she, Chima and Kevin concocted this scheme to try to convince the Diary Room that Russell was a physical threat and they were afraid for their safety.

Today was the Power of Veto competition. In addition to Ronnie, Laura and Jeff, Natalie, Russell and Casey also played. After another marathon session of Big Brother Trivia, we found out that Jeff won the PoV. So now the rest of the weekend should be busy in the Big Brother house. Everyone will be trying to convince Ronnie to put up their choice. At one point, it was going to be Russell and Jeff, Jordan and Lydia are working hard to convince Ronnie to do exactly that. Jeff and Jordan might really have the votes to keep Laura, especially after last night. Lydia will deliver her vote along with Kevin and Chima's and then there will be Jeff and Jordan. Team Jeff will have survived another week without even being in power.

Who do you think Ronnie will name in Jeff's place? Who do you think he should name in his place? I look forward to reading your comments below. If you don't have the feeds yet, this would probably be a good time to give them a try. Just click here and start your free trial.

BB11: Ronnie Really Holds the Power Now

2009-07-17T03:56:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, what a show, huh? Big Brother 11 had to have it's drama, didn't it? HamsterDame wrote in her last post that Ronnie had the power, and she wasn't kidding. Not only did his vote for Braden to leave tie it up, but then he came right back and won the Head of Household. Must be a dream come true for such a Big Brother fan.

The problem for him is that now he's going to have to make some hard choices. I don't know how he's gonna keep straddling that fence. He's playing so hard, I'm kind of expecting him to spontaneously combust at any moment. I know he voted with Team Jock this time, but I still don't know whose team he's really on, if any. Ronnie is playing for Ronnie, which is what he's supposed to do, but sheesh dude.

I've been sitting here watching the feeds since the show, trying to figure out an angle for this post. I don't care for either side. Natalie is too loud and abrasive, and so is Chima, but I don't like Jordan either. I think she's fake and the fact that she thinks it's perfectly alright to indiscriminately use the terms 'gay' and 'fag' is very offensive to me. I cheered Michele tonight when she told Jordan that it offended her. To sit there and talk about how she's too nice for those people and the show and then turn around and use those terms just makes me want to puke. And I hate the fact that every year, you have your houseguests dividing into what they call the 'good' people and the 'evil' people.

I just don't know what to make of these people. They have to live with each other 24/7. I would think that they'd at least try to get along. But they don't. And they don't care. It has to be so tiring to be so miserable all day every day. I can see not trusting anyone, but you can at least be civil, I would think. You would also think that after 10 seasons, I should be used to asinine behaviour from the houseguests, lol.

Tonight the house is split into factions along the vote line with Ronnie still trying to play monkey in the middle. He is insisting to Team Jeff that he was not the rat. Not only that, he's insisting that it's either Casey or Michele. I don't think they believe him, but what can they do at this point? He has insisted to them that if he finds out who the rat is, he'll put them on the block. Is this setting up a Casey nomination?

You've noticed that I haven't written a word about Chima's speech. I can't believe she did it. Nothing she said was a lie, but still ... I was appalled when I found out that she said something about Braden calling Julie a whore. She had the truth on her side, but not the right. After hearing Jeff say something last night about since they were able to keep someone who makes racial comments in the house, then they could keep anyone in the house, I laughed a little when I realized that Chima was calling them out on keeping a misogynist and a bigot in the house. I didn't feel sorry for Braden, but I felt sorry for Julie. She didn't deserve that. I'm sure, though, that the CBS show only folks were confused because they made a point of whitewashing Braden's rant against Lydia and Kevin, and they didn't show anything of the games when he said that about Julie. In case you missed her rant, CBS posted the video here.

So who do I think Ronnie will nominate? I'm not sure. I'm thinking that Casey will go up, and he's mentioned putting up Laura, too. At one point I heard Kevin's named thrown into the mix, too. I haven't heard him mention any names to Team Jeff, other than the 'rat', but he can't nominate himself. But we've seen how the Big Brother house turns on a dime. The only people safe are Ronnie, Chima and Michele. Who do you think he'll nominate? Who do you think he should nominate? Comment below.

Update: Okay Team Jock (basically Jesse, Natalie, Chima, Lydia and maybe Ronnie) just named themselves NBK, for Natural Born Killers, meaning no silicone, no steroids, all natural. They have a handshake and something they do after winning. Haven't they figured out that the minute you name yourself you become losers? I'm rolling my eyes here ... later, y'all.

BB11: Braden or Chima - Who Will It Be?

2009-07-16T02:23:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all, what a difference a day makes on Big Brother 11. Yesterday, it was all but over for Braden. There was no question that he was going home. Tonight, however, it's all in the air. What happened here?

First of all, Chima is an idiot. Yes, I know most of them are idiots, but let's talk about Chima for a minute.

Number One: She has not campaigned one iota this week. Yes, I know she thinks she is just the pawn, but really. For a self proclaimed fan, she's not playing smart. You always check in and campaign regardless of what they tell you. You count the votes yourself and work them. Don't depend on anyone for your life. This is an individual game, after all.

Number Two: Two nights before the vote you do NOT go off on a vote that you need. Yes, I agree that not cleaning up after yourself after making a mess on the toilet is nasty. Yes, these are grown folks and they should all clean up the bathroom. However comma it is not smart to keep going on and on about Michele being nasty in the bathroom ... with her sitting right there. And to keep verbally abusing your own clique-mate is not good play.

Then there's Braden. He is playing well right now. He's played it cool, after going off on Lydia and Kevin the other day. He's gone back and apologized to Kevin, although I don't know if it helped. Don't get me wrong, I think he was a jerk and he's still douchebag of the week, but he's playing it smart. He's quietly gone to people not in the jock alliance and lined up votes to stay. He's had his buddy Jordan campaigning for him, too. Will it work? I honestly don't know.

Why don't I know? Basically because some of them are playing both ends against the middle. Tomorrow night after the vote looks like it will be explosive. There are people telling both groups right now that they have their vote. The two groups right now are the jocks, minus Jeff, plus Chima and Lydia and then the Jordan/Jeff/Braden group.

The jocks have played this stupidly. They had an alliance with the brains, but they pissed it away. They also had an alliance going with Laura. They were so self absorbed, that they didn't even try to keep their alliance members satisfied. Laura was pretty pathetic in just wanting to be accepted, but they neglected to do that, and Jordan was able to move in and scoop her up, the same with Michele. Now it looks like those two votes will go for Braden to stay.

I see the vote going 4-4 right now, but I don't know about Casey or Ronnie. Both of them are playing nice with both groups and telling both groups that they have their vote. Casey and Ronnie told each other that they are voting for Braden to stay, but right after, Ronnie went running up to Jesse. Casey does not like Chima, but he, too, seems to have this thing going with Jesse.

And what about this Casey/Jesse relationship? There are videos out there with Casey and Jesse being in the same venues, participating in the same bikini contests down in Florida. We didn't have the feeds the first few days they were in the house, so we don't know if they discussed this.

Anyway, y'all, this has been quite the entertaining week in the house. Two defined groups in the house already, with your floaters and ego on both sides. Lots of people out there are so in love with Jeff that they overlook the fact that he's really no better than Jesse and Russell that they love to diss. He has an ego if you listen to him, and he's also on video making very negative discriminatory comments. But then, none of them are angels. They've all overplayed this week.

Braden or Chima, which houseguest will still be in the Big Brother 11 house this time Thursday night? Comment below and tune in to find out ...

BB11: 'Fight For Your Right'

2009-07-13T21:20:00.001-05:00

Woohee! Hey y'all, it was a pretty explosive early afternoon in the Big Brother 11 house. Think of the Jeff/Russell/Natalie bruhaha as a prelude. Things have been brewing since then, I think, and this afternoon was a boil point. Notice I said 'a' boil point and not 'the' boil point. In keeping with the high school theme, it seems that they casted a bunch of hormonal immature personalities.

Round 1: Braden vs. Lydia/Kevin

This one's been brewing since the Veto meeting when Braden replaced Lydia on the chopping block. Braden blames Lydia for his nomination and let her know in no uncertain terms. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, the language he used was a bad thing. He threw around derogatory and/or racial slurs like they were oh so normal. Yes, Braden took over the Douchebag slot from Casey. Go check out the RealPlayer SuperPass Flashback at around 12:45 ish BBT today to watch this mess.

Round 2: Jordan vs. Lydia

I call this one the Battle of the Blondes. This was a typical non-physical high school girl catfight and my daughter and I cracked up watching it. 'I didn't do anything to you', 'but I tried to talk to you',' but I thought you were my friend' ... yeah, you know what I mean. It was really pretty funny. It comes not too long after the first round, so just keep the Flashback running.

And this was in a couple of hours, y'all. If you don't have the feeds, then you need to click on the link now and get them!

BB11: To Veto or Not To Veto

2009-07-13T01:26:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all. It's been a crazy weekend in the Big Brother 11 house. These houseguests have hit the ground running. They're making me tired trying to keep up with the alliances and loyalties. I've about given up. For the most part today was pretty tame compared to the past couple of days. The only thing that really happened was the veto meeting. Would Russell keep the nominations the same, or would things be shaken up.

For some reason, Saturday night Jordan tried to convince Lydia that she needed to convince Russell to leave things the same. Hello? Lydia is on the block, why would she try to convince Russell to keep her up there if there was an opportunity to come down? No, Lydia was not loyal to your little group, Jordan, but she's not stupid. I had to just shake my head over that one. Jordan is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'm still trying to figure out if she's really as stupid as she's acting, or if it's just that ... an act. Sometimes I really think that she's got the dumb lil hick role down to a 't' Sunday she claimed not to know what an egg white was. I'm sorry, I'm not buying it. Yes, I seem to be in the minority. I don't think she's the bee's knees, just a cute lil old thing. I know quite a few of those sweet lil southern misses that are conniving as heck.

I really wanted to like Ronnie coming in to this. You know, us computer geeks need to stick together. But I tell you, he just gets creepier and creepier. Not only is he playing both sides against the middle, he seems to be in everyone's business and pops up everywhere they want to talk game. He wants to be liked so much, but he's overplaying his hand.

At this point, the only houseguests that I still like are Michele and Kevin. They seem to be the most normal. Of course, it's early. So far, though, Michele is playing a pretty good game. She gets along with everyone, but doesn't seem to be jumping into the drama. And she seems to be handling her 'have not' status very well, without the whining. Her secret about her Ph.D. is out, though. I think Casey busted her on it. I'm not sure yet if he was joking about it or not. Kevin, too, is kind of playing under the radar. He hangs out with pretty much everyone, but stays out of the drama. He's not in anyone's crosshairs.

Russell is not my favorite houseguest, but he can stay around awhile. He's not stupid, is able to carry on relatively interesting conversations, and he looks quite yummy. I may turn the sound off, but I love to watch him work out. I think he'll be more tolerable once Jesse is gone. The two meatheads together seem to decrease the IQ's of anyone around them. Wonder if Michele could work out a scientific theory for that phenomenom.

Speaking of meatheads, Lydia seems to have convinced them that Braden was a big threat. Maybe she knows more than I do, but I don't see it. The only thing I've seen him do, other than sun and swim, is drop names. He's supposedly partied with a who's who of LA celebrities and has negative stories to tell about them all. Did any of you watch 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here'? Yeah, yeah I know. Well they had this little segment on the celebs and their name dropping. Well, in just the few days of the feeds, I think Braden has them all beat.

But yeah, Braden is now the next biggest threat to the meatheads next to Jeff, and they can't nominate him for eviction. So what did they do? At the Veto meeting on Sunday, Russell took Lydia off the block, and Jesse replaced her with Braden. They tried to convince Chima that she was just a pawn, but she knows what can happen to a pawn. Both sides seem convinced of the votes, but they shouldn't be. I really have no clue as to the outcome. I can only presume that the brains and the athletes, minus Jeff, will vote to keep Chima and that will give her 4 votes to stay. They are assuming that Lydia and Laura will also vote with them. Braden will have Jordan and Jeff, for sure, and probably Casey. Kevin is a big wildcard.

But hey, this is only Monday, or late Sunday night. They have until Wednesday to shake things up some more. What do y'all think of the new nominations and who do you think will be the first houseguest eliminated from Big Brother 11?

BB11: A Wild and Wooly First 24 Hours of Feeds

2009-07-11T01:29:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all, it's been a very busy 24+ hours in Big Brother 11 Land since the feeds were turned on. We've gotten to learn a bit more about the houseguests, some a little too much more, and we've seen alliances begun. We also learned that Team Brain were the first occupants of the 'Jail Room', the room with the pallets on the metal flooring.

Jesse, the first Head of Household nominated the first two houseguests for eviction and the first Power of Veto (PoV) competition was held. So did Jesse target one clique or did he share the wealth? Are the Populars and the Athletes together, as it usually happens in high school, or are they more individual than collective?

When the RealPlayer SuperPass feeds were turned on, and Big Brother After Dark (BBAD) came on it quickly became apparent that Jesse nominated Lydia and Chima. It seemed that Chima was pretty calm about it, but Lydia started working it. She went from sexpot, to cry baby, to hardcore gamer in a matter of less than an hour. She must have worked every male in that house. It was quite interesting to see that she and Jordan had changed into lingerie right before BBAD came on. And yes, there were some remarks about it. I originally thought Laura would be the trampy one, but it seems like Lydia and Jordan want that crown.

It's very early in the week, but the house seems to be almost even in the choice of who to evict and who to keep. But then again, it depends on who they talk to. The only ones I'm 'almost' sure of are Natalie and Team Brain to keep Chima, and Jordan and Team Outcast to keep Lydia. It would be stupid, I would think, to vote against someone in your own clique if there were anyone else available to vote out. Jesse promised to keep Chima if it were a tie vote, but that's subject to change, too. Especially if Lydia keeps up what she calls 'Operation Sexpot'. She was all over him last night. She gave him tears, she kissed up to his greatness, played the pitiful poor me card, etc. She worked it. And it did seem as if it were working. You know how meatheads love to be adored. She pulled the same thing with the other meathead in the house, Russell, but to a lesser extent (at least that we know of).

Natalie promised Chima that she was safe, and she is seeming to be content with that for some reason. Or maybe she's waiting until closer to the day. Natalie has been a big disappointment. I originally called her manipulative, then I softened to her after hearing her interviews, but now I just think she's not too smart. For someone who supposedly is such a big fan, she's going about this all wrong. First she told stupid lies then she became almost unbearably arrogant. She is the BB11 version of BB10 Michelle to Jesse, only she's not as sociable.

Douchebag of the week, though, goes to Casey. Why, you ask? This morning he was talking to fellow Outcast Lydia and he told her that the only way Chima would stay in the house is if it was 'White Guilt'. Yeah, he was the first to play a race card. He went on about if she stayed it would be similar to Obama winning. I want to slap him. He undid all the relatively benign feelings I had for him.

And last night, I was feeling benign towards him. He did a great job emceeing the BB11 Beauty Pageant. That was so fun to watch, and very enlightening. Little Miss Dr. Michele showed us a whole nother side. She strutted her stuff in that bikini, and she did it well. She's such a little cutie. I think she's my favorite right now (and I hope that wasn't the kiss of death for her). I honestly think that she could go far in this game. She's personable and seems to fit in with everyone, at least so far.

The nominations, though, mean nothing until after the Power of Veto competition and/or meeting. Jesse, Chima and Lydia played along with Russell, Jeff and Natalie. Weird how the entire Team Athlete got to play and it was meaningless for them. So it ended up being a 2/3 chance that the nominations would stay the same. Allison Grodner teased us via twitter that this PoV competition could change the 'complexion' of the house. Of course, we probably won't see it until Tuesday. We do, however, know that Russell won the competition. And something else we know is that something happened during the competition between Jeff and Russell because about 2 hours later, Jeff was STILL bitching about Russell. And Lydia is stirring the pot.

Seriously, though, there are about 5 days until the first eviction of Big Brother 11 and already it seems as though I've been watching these people forever. They're playing too hard, too quick. And there's already talk of the "Good People" vs. the "Evil People". The house is already being divided and that makes for a long season ... and that's too bad

And the Thirteenth Houseguest Is ...

2009-07-09T21:17:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! What a great start to Big Brother 11! Not much was revealed that we didn't know, but it sure was nice to get back to business. I LOVE BIG BROTHER! We got to meet the twelve new houseguests, see their reactions to the first two twists, and watch the first Head of Household competition.

As the houseguests got their first looks at the house, I thought it was funny how no one wanted the pool room. Jeff, Laura, Michele and Natalie were the unfortunate ones, and even more unfortunately, there were only three beds. The girls agreed to double up so that Jeff could have a bed, with Michele telling the Diary Room that if she were single, she'd double up with Jeff, lol.

My very first impressions were pretty much right on, except that I like Jeff and Russell a bit more than I thought I would and Chima and Natalie a bit less. Chima's laugh would drive me totally bonkers and she laughs often, for stupid reasons. Natalie came off as a bit cocky, which surprised me. I thought she'd play the game a bit more strategic. She was even annoying her clique mates.

Speaking of cliques (like that smooth segue?), they are as follows:

Athletes: Natalie, Jeff, Russell
Brains: Chima, Michele, Ronnie
Populars: Laura, Jordan, Braden
Off-Beats: Kevin, Lydia, Casey

The houseguests found out their cliques at the first Head of Household competition and the second twist (the first being the clique thing). Even though they might win the competition, none of them would be the first HoH. This was where the Mystery 13th Houseguest came in.

That Mystery houseguest was no stranger to the game. Whichever team won the competition would get an advantage in that they would get a fourth member. We were told (the hgs were not) that if the Brains won, Brian from BB10 would re-enter the house. If the Populars won, Jessica from BB8 would come in. If the Athletes won, it would be BB10 Jesse, and BB5 Cowboy would represent for the Off-Beats.

The competition was pretty strange, and strangely amusing. Each houseguest wore a pair of very large underpants and were told to hang on to these toilet seats with their names on them. At Julie's signal, they were lifted into the air giving them all wedgies. The object of the game was to hang on the longest. The Brains were first out with the Off-Beats following behind. It was down to the Populars and the Athletes, no surprise there, and Casey was the last Off-Beat to drop leaving Natalie and Jeff still hanging for an Athlete win.

The show went off with the houseguests all going back into the house to see who would join them. A couple of the girls guessed that it would be Jesse. We were shown very little of the interaction between Jesse and his new teammates. I know that as soon as the feeds and Big Brother After Dark come on, we'll get a better idea of where things stand in the house.

What did y'all think of the show? Are you looking forward to Jesse continuing his reign of terror? I, personally, don't think that he'll be any better than he was last summer. Who do you think that he'll nominate? Probably not the big boobed chicks, but maybe they'll surprise me. Will they nominate two from the same clique or will they share the wealth? What kind of alliances will be made? I can't wait to get the answers to these questions! Big Brother 11 has truly begun!

Tomorrow is the day!

2009-07-08T16:10:00.003-05:00

One day left until Big Brother 11 and I'm ready. Reformatted the hard drive on my computer this past weekend and installed fresh new copies of my essential software, made sure the feeds were working, stocked the fridge, and warned the family. I even took some vacation time beginning Friday to immerse myself in this experience.

One new avenue I'm exploring this season is Twitter. I've had it for a while, but I've not experienced Big Brother with it. The season has not even started and I'm already enjoying it. I'm not talking about the repetitive spam to retweet this and that or to visit their sites or to try to get big brother as one of the top topics. I'm talking about the tweets that contain real information.

In addition to the information that you might get from me about new articles here, or from Chelsia and MissyZ tweeting about new or fun stuff with RealPlayer Superpass, or the ladies at BBDish, this year Big Brother itself is tweeting. The producers have a twitter site, the HoH (Head of Household) will be tweeting, and Allison Grodner herself has a twitter account.

The past couple of days they've been feeding us information that has just whetted my appetite and made me whinier that we don't have feeds yet.

From @agrodner22 today
We can already crown the sorest loser on BB...and it is only day 3! about 3 hours ago
Exclusive announcement from the "Chenbot" tonight on Ferguson!

from Big Brother HOH
Following the Premiere Show on Thursday July 9, check in for tweets from the Big Brother HOH!

From Big Brother Scoop
Today:
Ronnie claims that after 3 days in, he's already lost 4 lbs!
A MAJOR tantrum at the BB house last night!!
Yesterday:
Lydia is rocking her gold pants right now!
Major surprise in the Big Brother house tonight. Hope the HGs are ready!!
He's been out in the sun so long, he's starting to burn!
In memory of MJ, houseguests are out of bed and performing Thriller!!
Monday:
I never thought that she would fit in THAT clique...but she totally does!
Seriously!? Less than 24 hours in the BB house and alliances are already forming!

We are missing some good stuff! It looks like this year there will be more openness and more information flowing. Are you ready for this? I am!

Tex's Take on the Big Brother 11 Men

2009-07-04T19:35:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all, welcome back! It's about that time again. I'm ready to give my first thoughts on the Big Brother 11 Men. They seem to be a diverse group, but not as interesting as the women. I've already posted my one word descriptions, as well as those of HamsterDame, Chelsia and MissyZ and after reading and watching more about the houseguests, a couple of my impressions have changed a little.

Diane Henry's interviews were very good and I'm sad that her interviews with Casey, Jeff or Kevin haven't been posted yet. Anyway, her posted interviews were at least 10 minutes long for each houseguest, so I was able to get quite a bit of information. I also watched InsideDish interviews and I was disappointed. Maybe at some point, he'll release the rest, but what was on his show was more about Ross than about the houseguests.

While we have what seems to be the requisite bar recruits, I was pleased to see that many of the houseguests are actually fans of the show and actually applied, whether it was online, at open casting calls or by answering ads on Craigslist. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of hamsters that classify themselves as big fans or even as Big Brother nerds. With very few actor wannabes, I am getting excited for the game to start. There should be some interesting strategizing, especially as many of them say that their plan is to strategize on the fly and to be very flexible.

Let's talk about the males:

Jeff Schroeder - My one word for him was 'meh'. He didn't stand out to me at all ... a big whatevah. He played football in college and he says that that is his proudest accomplishment, okay Mr. Jock. He comes across as very sweet, though, in interviews, almost too sweet. He admits to wearing his heart on his sleeve and would be open to a showmance. He says that he plans on being true to himself. I think I want to change that word from 'meh' to 'sucker'. Some of the less scrupulous players will play him like a fiddle.

Braden Bacha - I used 'pfft', a couple of others used 'douche'. I haven't changed my mind. Other than finding out that he was nude in an episode of what reality blurred called a 'supernatural gay soap opera' what else did we learn about him? Well, he plans on 'rockin' the show' for exposure for his acting career. He says that he can cry on cue and plans on using his acting skills in the house. Arrogance, ignorance and two-facedness piss him off and says that he'll work to get rid of negative energy in the house. Yes, I rolled my eyes quite a few times while reading and watching. Okay, maybe I'll change my word to 'douche', too.

Ronnie Talbott - 'Know-it-all'. I think Ronnie might get far in this game. He looks like such the sweet little nerd, but he's got that competitive drive thing going. He was a champion debater and many hard core gamers are very, very competitive. He's also a huge big brother fan. He's studied the game and can name in order all of the evictees from all the prior seasons starting from 2. He says that he can compartmentalize like Dr. Will, but tends to be more emotional. That could actually work for him. If he can play mild mannered cub reporter, I think he can fool everyone and be a monster at the end.

Russell Kairouz - 'Macho'. Hmm, I may have to steal Chelsia's word and call him a 'meathead'. I really wanted to like him because he's a MMA fighter, and I love MMA, but I don't know. He actually says they call him 'Russell the Love Muscle'. Good grief. I think I will just stop there. I hope he doesn't think the Big Brother house is 'The Ultimate Fighter' house. Cuz that's usually a house full of meatheads, a giant frat house. He does come off as charismatic, though, and that might work for him, strategically.

Kevin Campbell - 'Fabu'. He's the token flamboyant gay guy, I guess. He describes himself as 'ghetto fabulous'. He says that he was in the closet so long that he has the tools to deceive anyone. His strategy is going to be to highlight and magnify others' flaws. I see him as Marcellus x2, and that's not necessarily a compliment. Will we see Marcellus/Amy version 2 with him and Jordan? I can see that happening, actually.

Casey Turner - 'Ugh'. I don't know. Diane didn't have her interview with him posted and with Ross he did this stupid rap. He's the oldest guy in the house, but his night job is that of a DJ, so he may have something in common with the others. He confesses to being worried that the camera will focus on him picking his nose, which is a big turn off. I do NOT want to see that montage, hence the ugh. All of the interviewers seem to like him and say that he's a nice guy, though, so I guess we'll just have to see.

So there you have it, Tex's Take on the Big Brother 11 Houseguests. Take it with a grain of salt. I'm invariable wrong on these things. Remember that at the beginning of last season I couldn't stand Dan or Memphis. What do you think? Vote and comment below.

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Tex's Take on the Big Brother 11 Women

2009-07-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, welcome back! It's about that time again. I'm ready to give my first thoughts on the Big Brother 11 Women. They seem to be a diverse group of women and very interesting. I've already posted my one word descriptions, as well as those of HamsterDame, Chelsia and MissyZ and after reading and watching more about the houseguests, a couple of my impressions have changed a little.

Diane Henry's interviews were very enlightening, in particular, and I'm sad that her interviews with Laura, Casey, Jeff or Kevin haven't been posted yet. Now I know a lot of people don't like Diane, but I do. I felt sorry for her in season 5, cuz she got played, but I didn't dislike her at all. Now some of her fans ... that's a different story. Some of those so called Divas were scary. Anyway, her posted interviews were at least 10 minutes long for each houseguest, so I was able to get quite a bit of information. I also watched InsideDish interviews and I was disappointed. Maybe at some point, he'll release the rest, but what was on his show was more about Ross than about the houseguests.

While we have what seems to be the requisite bar recruits, I was pleased to see that many of the houseguests are actually fans of the show and actually applied, whether it was online, at open casting calls or by answering ads on craigslist. Yes, Lydia and Michele were Craigslist applicants. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of hamsters that classify themselves as big fans or even as Big Brother nerds. With very few actor wannabes, I am getting excited for the game to start. There should be some interesting strategizing, especially as many of them say that their plan is to strategize on the fly and to be very flexible. Many of them claim that they're going to pretty much hide their talents, for example Michele says that she won't tell anyone about being a neuroscientist and Natalie says that she's not going to tell about being a tae kwon do champion. Wonder how that will work for them since Big Brother 11 has that classification twist going.

Let's talk about the females:

Jordan Lloyd - 'Ditzy'. I'll stick with that. I saw two interviews where first thing she did was tell that she got a boob job three weeks ago. Say what? I think she got the America's Sweetheart role this year and she might pull it off. She was recruited and never saw an episode until about a month ago (hmm, get recruited, watch some tape, get a boob job ... see a connection here?). She's gonna use that small town country girl persona to the max, and I'm not sure I buy it. She interviews very well and comes across as such the innocent little sweetheart. She claims that she's a bad liar and that she's worried about getting on people's nerves because she talks a lot, especially when she gets excited. I'm gonna keep my eye on this one.

Natalie Martinez - 'Manipulative'. That was harsh, I'm thinking now. I really liked her after her interview with Diane. She's another huge fan and went to an open audition in her town. She's tiny, but tough. A champion tae-kwon-do competitor, she seems to have her head on straight. She's also a poker player, which means she's good at reading people. It'll be interesting to see her game play. Will she be manipulative, or merely a good game player? Jury's still out on this one.

Michele Noonan - 'Brainy'. I stand by that one. She has a Ph.D. in neuroscience for pete's sake! Neuroscientists study the brain and as she's a research scientist, the houseguests will be her lab rats. She's a big fan and answered a Craigslist ad for a woman with an interesting occupation. She thinks she will hide her Ph.D. and says that she won't be wearing the 'dork costume'. Michele says that she's a pretty tough Jersey girl, and that not much gets to her. She uses yoga to diffuse her anger. I think I'll have to root for her because my daughter is a Jr. Biochemistry major and is another non-stereotypical science nerd.

Chima Simone - 'Chameleon'. I'm not sure about her. She has this bigger than life personality that will either endear her to the others or quickly get on their nerves. She even knows it. She says that she will have to dial back on her energy at first. She's an 'in your face' type person that will go off on people if they piss her off. Sigh ... I'm hoping that she can control that and not have very many ABW (angry black woman) moments. She's all about Girl Power and really wants a female alliance to work, but says that she has to be cognizant of those women that will throw her under the bus. She was a high school teacher for two years after graduating, so she should have a good handle on the nonsense in the house. She's another of my favorites.

Lydia Tavera - 'Interesting'. I'll stick with that. She looks tough, but seems like she's a softie inside. She does say though that she will flirt with the guys and the girls to get herself farther in the game. But she also says that her goal is to get everyone's trust. She's a huge Harry Potter fan and has a HP tattoo, and she has the Prince symbol tattoo'd on her finger (I knew I liked this girl). In fact, she says that all of her tattoos mean something to her. Her mom told her to leave her bitchiness at home, wonder if she did, lol. She hopes that people won't judge her on her tattoos and gets to know her, but it won't bother her too much if they do. In fact the only thing that will bother her is spiders.

Laura Crosby - 'Tramp'. Huh, that will work. She says that she's worried that her cleavage will be a disadvantage, but then she goes on to say that she wants there to be some pushover men types in the house so that she can use her body to manipulate them. She may just be the biggest beyotch in the game. She says that she is not afraid to hurt feelings, lie or manipulate to win. She claims to be a Big Brother nerd, has studied the game and strategies, and that she's spent a lot of time on the message boards during past seasons. I'm fully prepared to dislike this trick.

So there you have my first impressions of the Women of Big Brother 11. I know I'll probably change my mind a number of times, and my favorites never win. What do y'all think? Vote and comment below.

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BB11: Random Thoughts Before the Start

2009-07-01T10:57:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all! There's lots of information out there on the house, the houseguests and the game. I'm not ready yet to do my first thoughts article, but I didn't want to let any more time go by without posting some of what I'm thinking. This is where my head is:
House
Earlier in the week, CBS posted photos of the house. I'm not too impressed with it overall. I think my favorite rooms are the HoH room and the red-orange bedroom. The kitchen and dining areas aren't too bad, but there's not really too much difference in these from previous seasons. I see a washer and dryer, so the washboard theory is blown. And it seems as if they have all the running water they need. That's really a shame. I think they dropped the ball on their eco-friendly theme by not having touch control or sensored water faucets. In fact, the only things I really saw eco-friendly was the recycled materials on the walls and the recycle bins.
One room actually has bubble wrap on the walls. Great. So the houseguests will to to that area and pop bubbles while they discuss strategy so that the microphones don't catch what they say. The room that they have decorated like a pool is a cute little room ... for kids and not for sleeping. In the spa room there are a couple of bikes with light bulbs. Will that be for a competition similar to season 1? Will they have to take turns pedaling for power in the house, perhaps for the hot water heater? That'd be cool. And what's up with the locked room? Is that the room that will look like a slum for their Haves/Have nots theme? The red-orange room looks like it could be a Haves room. It has a very classy look to it. But that doesn't fit with the pool room, so I don't know.
Houseguests
I'm not sure yet how I feel about them. There are the requisite models and wannabes, but there are also some that look interesting. One rumor out there that is everywhere is that they will be broken down into the four groups: jocks, populars, nerds and outcasts. I can see this cast fitting into those cliques. There is only one guest over 40, three in their early 30's and the rest are 20 somethings. The Bi-sexual tattooed Nanny, Lydia, fascinates me, as do the Gamer, Ronnie, and the Neuroscientist, Michele. CBS released the photos and bios of 12 houseguests today, but said that the mystery 13th would be released next week. That doesn't make me happy. What's up with that? It seems to be feuling the Sheila return rumor. I just don't see the purpose of it. Why bring her back? She finished third, she wasn't all that interesting OR popular, and she doesn't seem to have the fan support to justify her return. But then I don't want any of them back, so ...
No Housecalls
Well, CBS, or rather Gretchen, announced the end of Housecalls, but there are plenty of contenders for that spot. CBS seems to have crowned Ross the Intern as the official host for the post-Housecalls-era show. I don't particularly care for him, don't really find him funny, so I probably won't be a regular watcher of his Friday only web show. Real SuperPass has their Thursday and Friday lunchtime show with Missy and Chelsia (BB9), which I'll catch the archives of. And at one point Evel Dick (BB8) was promoting his own show with Janelle (BB6 & AS). It'll be interesting to hear how each show does.

Well, I'll be back later in the week with more of my thoughts on the houseguests, after I catch the pre-show interviews that are bound to pop up. And check out the Film.com/bigbrother page for more stuff about Big Brother 11.

BB11: Welcome Back to My Summer Obsession

2009-06-27T18:18:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! Welcome back! Less than two weeks to go until my summer obsession begins and I'm so excited, and I just can't fight it ... oh, sorry, that slipped. Rumors are flying and they span the spectrum from the believable to the 'yeah, right'. The media tour participants can start talking on the 29th, so I suspect that is when the finalists will be sequestered. RealPlayer SuperPass has new features, the house is rumored to have had an eco-friendly makeover and, once again, we've been promised an exciting group of houseguests. What's not to be excited about?

What are these new RealPlayer features, you ask? One that I'm especially excited about is Flashback. I have a day job and I'm in the Central timezone, so I can't stay up all night, every night with the houseguests. With Flashback, though, if something happens during the night, I don't have to go try to hunt down youtube videos. I simply hit the Flashback tab, pick the date and time and 'Bam!', all four camera feeds at that time are presented for me to pick from to watch. When I heard about this feature, I did a little happy dance. The next feature excites me as well. You know how in the past with the QuadCam, you'd have video from all four cameras, but audio from one (and that wasn't your choice)? And when you picked one to watch and clicked on the button, you'd miss something? This season, you'll be able to watch all four feeds and quickly navigate to the feed that you find the most interesting. If this excites you nearly as much as it does me, make sure that you get your Early Bird discount for the season by clicking here.

As far as the house and the game itself, there has been, as usual, a good deal of speculation. I've read on a variety of sites that the house was going to be eco-friendly. How far that goes, and what it entails, is up in the air. I've heard that there's no washing machine. I don't know if that means that it will be back to the washboards and wringers of the earlier seasons, or if they will have the opportunity to win one in some kind of competition. They do waste a lot of hot water and I wonder if they will limit the times they receive it like they did in earlier seasons. There are many things that they could have done to make the house more eco-friendly, like build with recyclables and that sort of thing. We should find out some time this week what they've incorporated.

Have you heard the rumor about the two tribes? I have, too. I read rumors that the houseguests will be split into two permanent tribes instead of different tribes for different competitions. One rumor I heard was that one tribe will be the 'Haves' with the other the 'Have Nots', with the Haves living in luxury. Random competitions would be held to decide who would have the luxury half of the house. Another rumor, which I discounted pretty much immediately, was the one where they'd have two houses. It would be pretty amusing, though, if instead of whisking the jury away to a luxury resort or other luxury location, they just moved them across the lot to another trailer. I also read that there will be twelve newbies and at least one prior houseguest moving into the house. I'm not really sure how I feel about that one. Right along with that rumor, I read on Sheila (BB9) Kennedy's myspace blog that she'll be 'traveling for three months'. Coincidence?

I think the rumor that I'm least excited about is the High School Theme rumor. Some nonsense about high school cliques and who was your enemy type of thing was mentioned. Well, if I wanted to watch that mess, I'd have watched High School Reunion on TVLand, but I didn't. Just how I want to spend my summer ... watching the jocks and the cheergirls try to bully the others. Pfttt. *Insert eye rolling emoticon here*. I mean, if they did it, I'd watch, but it would suck a lot of enjoyment out ... until the others rebelled and turned on them. I really hope they don't do that, though, and just let them form their own alliances.

And I'm really bummed about the cancellation of Housecalls. For some reason, that was one of the few videos that wasn't blocked at work, so I was able to watch it at my lunchtime. It ticked me off that they never talked about what happened on the feeds because they considered them spoilers, but I still enjoyed hearing about the show. RealPlayer SuperPass is stepping into the breach, though. Chelsea Hart from BB9 and Missy Zeigler will be hosting Big Brother Express Lunch call-in show on Thursdays and Fridays at 12:00 pm pst. They'll have lots of call in guests as well as talk about what's going on in the house. That's just another reason to make sure you've signed up for SuperPass.

Now, are y'all as excited as I am? I hope you are. Let's play!!

Dancing With the Stars 8: And The Winner Is ...

2009-05-19T22:15:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! Welcome back! This is the Final Results show for Dancing With the Stars 8 and tonight one of the three remaining couples will take home the Mirror Ball Trophy. Each couple danced once more for the judges and a winner named. That was about 15-20 minutes out of this 2 hour show. That means, yes, you guessed it ... more filler.

Just Dance was sung first by Lady GaGa. I've never heard of this chick, but she's awfully weird looking. Oh, I like this song, didn't know who sang it. You have to see her to believe it. She's just looking bizarre. Her costume has one leg, she has bleached blond hair or wig, short in front, long in back and a variation of the Kiss makeup on her face, it looks like.

If you missed last night's show, or the replay earlier, you can read my recap here. There was only a two point difference in the judges score from last night between all three couples. Tonight's dances were judged, but the viewer votes still count for 50%. Gilles and Melissa both chose dances that they already scored 30 on and Shawn chose a dance that she got a 28 on.

They did a recap on the first three weeks and the first three couples eliminated danced. Belinda/Jonathan did a Salsa, Denise/Maks did the Quickstep, and Holly/Dmitry danced a Samba. Tom announced that Samantha will be starring as Roxi Hart in Chicago on Broadway this summer. That surprised me. Didn't think she had it in her ...

The Woz/Karina were back doing the Quickstep. He's been practicing, lol. More recaps followed ... sigh. David/Kym followed with their Viennese Waltz. After his behavior and interviews when he got bounced, I'm surprised they invited him back. Steve-O/Lacey came next with their Foxtrot. He didn't fall on the step this time, aww. He looked good. Samantha called DAG on his interviews and asked about his experience and he kissed up to the judges. Hmm ...

After a recap of the Pick A Pro competition, Anna was announced as the winner, and guaranteed new pro. She then did an encore of her Quickstep with Maks. Loved it again. They look great together.

LT/Edyta re-danced their Jive. They showed Warren Sapp in the crowd cracking up, it was so funny. Chuck/Julianne did their Samba and yes, he wore his red satin pajamas .

Jeffery Ross was back with another roast. He wasn't funny last season, I don't know why they brought him back. He described the judges as Smokin', croakin' and flamin'. That was the only funny thing he said. He called the finalists The Underaged, The Un Wed, and the Unpronounceable. Like I said, he wasn't funny.

Then they recapped the end of the season. Lil Kim/Derek repeated their Jive with Derek trying to steal the trophy to Jailhouse Rock. And last, but not least, Ty/Chelsie did their Lindy Hop.

Finally, our three finalists were introduced. First up with the final dance is Shawn/Mark doing a Cha Cha. It actually looked like she enjoyed it more this time around. It was really cute, kept a smile on my face. Len said that, like an athlete, the longer Shawn went, the better she got. His problem in the past was her lack of performance, but tonight she brought it. Bruno said she was great. Carrie Ann said that in the last three weeks she's powered her way to the top and she belongs here. Scores: Three 10's for a perfect 30, and a three dance total of 88/90

Melissa/Tony went second with their Samba. Loved their Samba Roll. This was really one of my favorite dances, in part cuz I loved how it fit the music. Ha! At the end Tony kissed Bruno. Bruno said that it was more appetizing the second serving and said that she had a body made for dancing. Carrie Ann called her a muse of dance. Said she brought out the best in Tony. Len said that she had a presence. She mixed style, elegance with performance. Scores: Three 10's for 30 and three dance total of 86/90

Lastly, Gilles/Cheryl reprised their Argentine Tango. This was better than last time. They put a lift in there that I don't remember seeing the first time. Their hooks were clean and the passion was hot. Loved it. Carrie Ann said that he's a very special performer, brings a special artistry. Len said that they were the couple that brought him the most pleasure this season. Took him back 50 yrs with that tango. Bruno called it an Argentine Triumph ... A star is born ... and some other stuff that only Bruno could say. Scores: Three 10's for 30, three dance total of 88/90.

Judges leaderboard looks the same as last night:
Shawn/Mark - 88/90
Gilles/Cheryl - 88/90
Melissa/Tony - 86/90

Love Game performed by Lady GaGa. Now she has on this hot pink number, with a different blonde wig and better makeup. But she had a cane type thing with a mesh bathroom puff on the end. Strange woman. This song is weird, too. She wants to take a ride on your disco stick. Yeah, uh huh.

An hour and fifty minutes into the show and there is a commercial. We still had no clue who would win this thing. The third place couple was announced and it was Melissa/Tony. We just had a commercial and now they are sending us back to another one not 2 minutes later. Sheesh, finally. Tom said that there was less than 1% difference between 1st and 2nd place. The winners of Dancing With the Stars 8 are Shawn and Mark! Mark looks even more shocked than he did last year. Derek did his repeat of lifting Mark on his shoulder and Chuck finally lifted Shawn. On their way out the door, Tom said that they'd be back in September with Dancing With the Stars 9. So I'll catch y'all then.

Dancing With the Stars 8: The Finals

2009-05-18T20:26:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! Welcome back to the first part of the finale of Dancing With the Stars 8. We're down to the three best dancers, how will they do tonight in the Paso Face-Off and their Freestyles? The Freestyle has been known to make and break this thing wide open. After tonight's two performances, the viewers will vote. Tomorrow night they get another set of judges scores. Last year I thought there was an elimination before that last dance, but the way that Tom was talking, I'm not sure.

I'm quite excited. I was so looking forward to this Paso face-off. All three couples are capable of some seriously hot dancing. Melissa was in an Edyta-type costume, Shawn looked cute, but I like Cheryl's costume the least. It is white with orange and red flowery pattern, instead of the black/red or black/white combo. This week each judge visited individual competitors to give them tips. Bruno went to work with Shawn, Carrie Ann with Melissa and Len with Gilles. Bruno seemed to give Shawn some really good tips to help her paso pop. Carrie Ann surprised me and really helped Melissa with her aggression. Len also surprised me. He took off his suit coat and got down and dirty with Gilles to pull out the best in him.

They are doing the Paso to So What? I'm Still a Rock Star ... which seems like an odd song, but it seemed to work okay. It was a little distracting at times, though. Each couple takes a turn at a solo part and they come together at the end. Shawn/Mark were up first and they were really good. Shawn left it out there. She's come such a long way. Melissa and Tony were up next and they were good, too. They were much better than last time. Gilles/Cheryl brought up the rear and I think I liked it the least. I think it's because he seemed to me to be stiffer than the two pros. He had the disadvantage of being the only guy and following Tony and Mark. Don't get me wrong, all three Paso's were really good, and they are definitely all deserving of being here. Len told Shawn that this Paso was much better, he noticed one mistake in Melissa's but better than last time, and he told Gilles that this one was not hectic like he complained about last time. Bruno said each one was splendid. I don't know what else he went on about. He really complimented Melissa with her confidence and called Gilles a leading man. Carrie Ann said that all three were incredible dancers. She said that there wasn't as much of an emotional attachment with Shawn, but she did a great job and complimented the other two.

The scores were as follows:
Shawn/Mark - Two 9's and a from Bruno for 28/30
Melissa/Tony - Two 10's and a 9 from Len for 29/30
Gilles/Cheryl - Three 10's for a perfect 30/30

First up in the Freestyle is Shawn/Mark. Shawn said that they were not going to use excessive gymnastics because last time they got marked down. Apolo Anton Ono visited their practice to give her a pep talk. They are dressed in all black leather, including hoods and white sparkly masks and white gloves. I'm not liking the costumes. They soon stripped off the hoodies and pants and Mark revealed what is becoming his trademark look with the too short sparkly pants, bow tie and jacket. They both had on sparkly Chuck Taylors and she had on suspenders and lime green top to match his lime green sparkly jacket. It was such a cute, fun dance! A nice mix of dance and tricks. I loved that. Bruno said that they were going for the gold, and it was an explosive performance. Marvelous. Carrie Ann said it was youthful, energetic. Len loved the fun, speed, precision. He loved it. Scores: Three 10's for 30

Melissa/Tony are up next. Tony was disappointed the last time he was in the finals, and he's determined to leave everything on the dance floor this time. They are both in all black, he in a muscle shirt and she in sparkly bikini type top. Too much awkward looking hip hop and tricks for me and it didn't jive. It looked like she choreographed this instead of him, using her DCC background. A couple of the lifts were neat, but meh ... I was disappointed. Carrie Ann loved her new attitude, but thought the choreography was disjointed. Len said that she showed her versatility, but it was not his cup of tea. They went for the cheerleader/hip hop instead of the ballet, elegant type dance. Bruno also thought it was disjointed, not as perfect. The dance didn't flow from move to move, but from trick to trick. Scores: Three 9's for 27

The final Freestyle belongs to Gilles/Cheryl. They got the pimp spot, but did they do it proud? He had to call in a pain management specialist for his shoulder because of the lifts and tricks. He's very nervous. Another dance starting on a chair, but this one a la Flashdance. She choreographed a seriously sexy dance, one full of lifts. I was actually laughing at parts of it because it was so corny, though. Len said that it was slick, he loved the slow sexy part. Proved he's a real dancer. Bruno said great performance, but he wanted a bit more actual dancing. Carrie Ann found it an odd choice. Flashdance was for showcasing the female. She expected to see a whole lot more. I have to agree. Scores: Two 9's and a 10 from Len for 28.

The final leaderboard looks like this:
Shawn/Mark 28+30 for 58/60
Cheryl/Gilles 30+28 for 58/60
Melissa/Tony 29+27 for 56/60

What did you think of the night? I thought Shawn totally took the night, especially the Freestyle. I loved the Paso from all three couples, but felt really let down for the Freestyles. I felt robbed, especially by Melissa/Tony. I am a big Gilles fan, but based on tonight, Shawn wins it for me. Who will take the Mirror Ball Trophy as the winner of Dancing With the Stars 8? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 10 Results Show - Finalists Revealed

2009-05-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, welcome back. Tonight was the Dancing With the Stars 8 Week 10 results show. In addition to another couple being eliminated, Raphael Saadiq sang, the Design A Dance winner was revealed, and our Pick A Pro competition continued. Last night Tom gave a little spoiler when he introduced Maks and Kym in the crowd and said that they would be performing with our two remaining prospective pros. Since Mayo was the only male remaining, the fact that Kym was participating spoiled his selection. Who would join him in the finals, Anna or Afton? The most important question of the night, however, was whether or not Ty's 'Army' would once again save him from elimination.

Tonight's show began with said Rafael Saadiq. He seems like some kind of 60's Motown throwback act. He brought his own dancers, which I always hate, and I wasn't impressed by them at all. Our dancers would have done him proud. This performance was kind of bizarre. I like the music, I grew up with 60's Motown, but the performance was different. The recap followed, if you missed it, read about it here.

They picked Shawn/Mark's Argentine Tango for the encore performance tonight. I enjoyed it more tonight than I did last night to be honest. Then for some reason they thought we'd care what Helio, Brooke Burke, and Drew Lachey thought about this year's final 4. I don't, so I'm not recapping it.

Wow, Afton was eliminated from Pick a Pro. This week, the prospective pros had to choreograph two dances, one latin and one ballroom, and they'd be partnered with one of our pros. Mayo was partnered with Kym, and Anna with Maks. Mayo/Kym were first with a Tango. That was a very sharp tango ... but the music seemed to de-evolve to Lawrence Welk music. Len was very happy with it, Bruno thought it was beautiful and Carrie Ann said that she was very impressed with his choreography, but she wanted to see more of his personality. Watching Anna with Maks in practice was interesting. She handled him well. Anna/Maks did the Quick Step for the ballroom round. Wow, their feet were flying across that dance floor. They looked really good together. I had a smile on my face all the way through that routine, it was fun. Bruno called it magnificent, Carrie Ann payed her a compliment by saying that she may have outshined Maks tonight, and Len waxed effusive, saying she brought the best out in Maurice last week and in Maks this week.

Rebecca Farmer was introduced as the winning costume designer for Design a Dance and the winning dancers were Derek, Julianne, Mark and Lacey. They did the Quick Step to 'It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing'. The dresses were pretty until they took the bottoms off, could have done without that. I'm kind of bummed that Julianne and Derek were chosen again, though. No wonder that there are rumors that the three of them, I'm including Mark, are talking about not being on the show next season as a ploy to get more money. They obviously think that they are the total shiznits, and with good reason it seems. They're good, without a doubt, but none of them are my favorites. Oh well.

Next was the latin round for Pick a Pro. Mayo/Kym did a Cha Cha to 'Shake Your Groove Thing'. This looked like a dance from Saturday Night Fever more than a Cha Cha. I didn't get into that one. Carrie Ann said that Mayo was a wonderful dancer, but wonders if he's versatile enough for the show. Len said that he's a great choreographer, but said the Tango was far superior. Bruno said that Mayo is better in ballroom, but he has to be careful. He'd have done a proper cha cha, instead of disco. Anna/Maks did a Samba for her entry. This dance was sharp as heck. I loved it! Anna blew Mayo out of the water today, I'm thinking. Len said that from week 1 until tonight she's brought it. He predicted a win for her, and that if she's not back next season he'll show his bum in the supermarket. Bruno said that she was a stunner in both ballroom and latin. Carrie Ann said that she wants to see more of her, wants to see her come back.

After a shameless plug for The Bachelorette and introduction of Chris Harrison, they finally got to the elimination at :52 after the hour. The first two couples guaranteed a spot on the Season Finale are Gilles/Cheryl and Shawn/Mark. Before they put us out of our misery, they showed a commercial for Land of the Lost movie, among other things. How many people here remember the Saturday morning show? The movie looks silly, though. Back at :59 after, Samantha made a point of telling us that the 2nd couple in the last two is not necessarily in the bottom 2. Still wasting time by talking to the judges about the two couples remaining, but ran out of time so Carrie Ann didn't get to talk at all. On this tenth week of competition, Ty/Chelsie were eliminated. Good grief, the band sunk to a new low by playing the 'na-na-na goodbye' song for their final dance.

So our final three couples are Gilles/Cheryl, Shawn/Mark and Melissa/Tony. This thing is up for grabs, I'm thinking. Any one of these could win the jeweled ball. That's the way it should be, though. We'll also find out next week, which new pro will be joining the next season. So what do you think? Did the fans get it right? What do you expect for next week on Dancing With the Stars 8? Cheryl's freestyles have been awesome in the past, so I'm expecting big things from her. Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: It's the Semi-Finals and Lil Kim is Living in Gilles Pants

2009-05-11T21:33:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! It's week 10 of Dancing With the Stars 8 and, as last week showed, this is anyone's ballgame. I don't even know if tonight is necessary. It seems that the fans are gonna vote for whoever they fancy regardless of what they do on the dance floor. I'll try to curb my cynicism as I recap what happens. Tonight's show opened with three couples, Julianne, Dmitry, Karina, someone that looks like Chelsie, Louis, and Alec dancing a medley of dances to 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?'. Very cute and entertaining number. I wish Tom would introduce the dancers and not just the choreographer. Tonight is the semi-finals and our semifinalists were then introduced. Four couples, eight dances and two hours ... that means a lot of filler.

Before they danced, we looked back at the couple's breakthrough latin and ballroom dances. Up first was Melissa and Tony. We got to see basically the whole of their week three Foxtrot and their week nine Samba as they talked us through it. Then they were interviewed by Samantha and Tom. Gilles and Cheryl also picked their Foxtrot from week nine to review and critique and also their week five Paso Doble. Tom asked Gilles about Cheryl's 'crankiness' in their dance instruction and Gilles told him that that was the way he learned. Shawn and Mark chose the Week nine Quick Step and the week nine Paso Doble. Ty and Chelsie picked the week two Quick Step and the week four Lindy Hop. Hmm, I didn't know the Lindy Hop was a latin dance until tonight. Why couldn't this show be 90 minutes this week and skip this part?

Thirty minutes into the show, we finally get to the ballroom round. Melissa/Tony and their Quick Step were first. I wasn't crazy about the pattern of her dress, but they did look very classy in black and white. Their final swing move was very impressive. This dance was very nice. Len thought it had great musicality and her feet were much improved. Gorgeous. Bruno thought it was very good, but it wasn't as crispy and exhilarating as it should have been. Carrie Ann agreed with Bruno that it was very nice and pretty, but she didn't feel the connection. Backstage, Samantha tried to create drama with a stupid question about how they felt when they wanted to repeat last week but had to take the criticism from the judges that they just did. They sidestepped her very well. Scores: Two 9's and a 10 from Len for 28/30.

Gilles/Cheryl got the Waltz for the ballroom round. Cheryl brought Jonathan Roberts in to help Gilles with his sophistication, frame and polish. Her dress was a beautiful white frothy number. This dance was so beautiful and elegant. He was going for sophisticated, but I still saw a broody latin lover. He just can't tone down the sexiness. His carriage looked better and I did see some rise and fall in his movement. Bruno said that that was the way to start his way into the finals. Unbelievable, beautiful, then he went off on one of his ramblings. Carrie Ann said that this dance was breathtaking, complimented Cheryl on choreography and Len said that he was giving them a sitting down standing ovation. Scores: Three 10's for 30/30, their first since week four.

Shawn/Mark performed the Argentine Tango. Okay, the beginning reminded me of their Paso with their characterizations. I didn't like Shawn's costume, it wasn't flattering, but the dance was very cool. Their first lift was wonderful and their hooks look really good. In fact, I loved all of their lifts. Carrie Ann said that she worried that Shawn wouldn't be able to deliver the emotion required, but she didn't need to worry because they delivered. Len said that they showed the maturity and intensity. Honestly their best performance. Bruno called her Catherine Zita Shawn. He was very complimentary. Scores: Three 10's for 30/30, their first of the competition.

Wrapping up the ballroom round was Ty/Chelsie performing the Viennese Waltz. In their practice video, they concentrated on showing Ty's personality as a justification for their being here. Chelsie looked beautiful dancing, even though I really didn't like that white top and belt with that aqua dress. Ty's frame was about perfect, as usual, and they looked very nice. I saw a bobble almost at the end, but I enjoyed the dance very much. Len complimented Ty on his hard work and mentioned the issues of the dance, but overall thought it was fabulous. Bruno wasn't nearly as complimentary (which means that Ty will make the finals because he was mean) and Carrie Ann mentioned how he can generate support, but it was not his best dance and there were some wobbles. The judges really had a three way spat over the comments with Len playing defender. Well the judges once again probably helped mobilize Ty's 'Army' ... sigh. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 for 25/30.

After the ballroom round, the leaderboard looks like this:
Gilles/Cheryl - 30/30
Shawn/Mark - 30/30
Melissa/Tony - 28/30
Ty/Chelsie - 25/30

Before the latin round, we saw hometown background filler on each competitor. I'm not gonna recap that and hopefully it will be over soon. For Melissa they focused on her prior dance experience, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and The Bachelor. Yes, I rolled my eyes when they blathered on about The Bachelor fiasco.

Melissa/Tony did a very cool looking Cha Cha. She did not forget what she learned about shaking her hips and her boobies, though, lol. That last swing was awesome. I loved this dance. Bruno said that at times it was fabulous, but not all the way through. They didn't sustain te energy throughout the entire dance. Carrie Ann thanked her for listening and acting on criticism. The connection was there, but there were some footwork issues. Len liked it, but not as much as he wanted to. At times, it was lackluster. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30 and a 55/60 for the night.

Next we visited Cannes, France to do the background for Gilles. They focused on him getting his work ethic from his dad, then touched on his modeling background to earn money for his family. Gilles/ Cheryl got the Salsa, and dang that man can move his hips. I loved their orchid costumes and their dance. I had a smile on my face all the way through. Carrie Ann gave them a standing ovation with her little fly girl move. Gilles Marini at his best, she said. Len said that he was almost speechless, he wishes he had an 11 paddle. Bruno said that Lil Kim was alive and well and living in Gilles pants. Um, I'm speechless on that one. Both Bruno and Carrie Ann said that he deserved to be in the Finale. Scores: Three 10's for another 30/30 and 60/60 for the night.

Off to Iowa to do the background on Shawn. Of course the focus is on her gymnastics and how it's shaped her. Shawn/Mark's second dance tonight was the Jive. It was adorable, and Mark had on what's becoming his trademark, too short pants, with shiny socks. I smiled all the way through. It was such a fun dance to watch. Len began by complimenting the house band, and thought the dance was fun, but there was too much messing about dancing, not enough jive. Bruno sid he likes it when she goes wild. He saw a lot of Lindy Hop in the Jive though. Carrie Ann said that it seemed like they lost a little steam towards the end, but she liked it. Scores: Two 9's and a 8 from Len for a 26/30 and a total of 56/60. Wow, I definitely didn't see that 8 coming. And I really disagree with her getting an 8 when they gave Ty an 8.

Back to Texas, this time for the background on Ty. In comparison to the glamour and glitz we saw with Melissa, we saw the rodeo this time. Ty/Chelsie's final dance was the samba. Chelsie was her regular bouncy, dshaking self. He was his usual stiff self. I don't think he even attempted to shake except in that one little solo thing he did.. I enjoyed watching her, but not him. Bruno said that he has resilience and determination, he made a great effort. Carrie Ann voted him MVP of season 8, did not comment at all on this dance. Len said that in ballroom he's Arthur Murray, but in latin he's Murray in a hurry. He did compliment Chelsie on what she's been able to accomplish with him. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 from Len for 23/30 and 48/60 for the night. They gave him 8's after either not commenting on the dance, or giving lukewarm compliments on his effort, but gave Shawn an 8 for that fun Jive. Right.

The final leaderboard looks like this:
Gilles/Cheryl - 30+30 for 60/60
Shawn/Mark - 30+26 for 56/60
Melissa/Tony - 28+27 for 55/60
Ty/Chelsie - 25+23 for 48/60

What should happen is that Ty should be eliminated. What will happen? Hey, with his fans, anything can happen. Nothing against Ty, and he's certainly come a long way, but it will truly suck if he makes it to the final. What did you think of Semi-Final night on Dancing With the Stars 8? I mean the dancing, not the hour of filler. Did you agree with the scoring? What do you think tomorrow will bring? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 9 Results Show and Round 3 of Pick a Pro

2009-05-05T21:27:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! Tonight was the Week 9 results show and Round 3 of the Pick a Pro competition. Would our favorites make the cut or would tonight be another 'shocking' elimination? To start of the evening, Melissa and Tony reprised their perfect 30 Samba. And it was just as good tonight as it was last night. That Samba took them to the top of the leaderboard, but two couples were only one point behind. At this point, they recapped last night's show. If you missed it, read the recap here. I'm excited about tonight. DanceCenter returns! That segment cracks me up.

First performance is of a Frank Sinatra hit, 'I Get a Kick Out of You', by Jamie Cullum. I don't know who these two pros are dancing, but they are good. Looks like a Quick Step, and yep, it's quick, but very glamourous looking. That was a wonderful performance.

DanceCenter time with returns with Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne, and Len. Both Jerry and Kenny had some kind of sparkly tatoo things on the side of their faces and Jerry was shirtless with a tux collar and tie. First to be dissected was Ty. Kenny says that Ty is 7'8", and he's glad they are celebrating a bad dancer, but Len disagrees. They are talking about how he is fully committed to the show. Lil Kim was next and described as lil. Len said that she was the ultimate performer, but was then cut off. Jerry said that she has one one major ASSet and knows how to use it. Shawn was called lil'er than Lil Kim. Len cut off again when he was trying to analyze her and told that they didn't want to hear his mumbo jumbo. Video footage shows Mark turning into a chipmunk. The last two contestants were to be talked about later. For some reason, this wasn't as funny as it usually is.

Next some results. In no particular order, the first couple moving on to the semifinals is Gilles/Cheryl. He was excited, I think. He jumped straight up and shouted Yes!

Then DanceCenter was back. Melissa was described as pretty. I I thought they were gonna slam Jason talking about her public humiliation, but they were talking about Tony, lol. They showed practice video and showed him laughing when she got hurt. They do some serious video manipulation, lol. They complimented her jive and said that it wins the award for the best use of denim. Gilles was described in French. Kenny totally dissed the French and Len corrected him. Oh Yum, love the video ... called Gilles 'Sex on a Stick'. Back in the studeo after the video clip, hahaha, all three guys shirtless to make fun of Gilles. Kenny needs a tan, and Len ... uh yeah. Now this was DanceCenter!

Macy's Stars of Dance performance ... Largest ever seen. Acrobatic dancers with a large star shaped structure as a centerpiece that they danced on and around. to Coldplay's 'Vida la Vida'. Very cool performance, back to the Macy's Stars of Dance that I love. Unfortunately, they never said the name of the performing group, only the choreographers.

The first couple in our Pick a Pro competition was next. Afton, paired with Cody Lindley, got a Samba. Cody compared Afton to Julianne and they showed how busy he was with Hannah Montana. He hasn't lost his hyper-ness. Once again the house band massacres a song, this time a Shakira song. That Afton can shake her stuff. That was a pretty good performance, very fun to watch. Another royal blue costume, between last night and tonight it was a blue parade. Len complimented Afton on her teaching and choreography. Bruno said that she got Cody to sell himself, and Carrie Ann said that she brought it up a notch.

The next couple going on to the semifinals is Melissa/Tony.

Mayo and Lisa Rinna were next in our Pick a Pro competition. There is a seven inch height difference and Lisa said that she had to get used to it. They did a Quickstep in black and gold. she had on a beautiful gold dress with orange and red. That was pretty good. I thought it suffered because we saw that quickstep pro couple at the beginning. Bruno said that Mayo made the most of Lisa's assets, Carrie Ann complimented him, but said that they got out of control, and Len said that they did a good job. Oh and I did see Omarosa sitting behind Harry Hamlin. I'm thinking that even if Mayo doesn't win, he'll be back because Carrie Ann said that he'd be great for the taller female celebrities.

Anna was up last with Maurice Greene doing a Tango. My Banty Rooster was back! For some reason, Maurice picked a dance that he hadn't done before. He said it was because he wanted to see how good a teacher she really was. This is going to be a challenge. Wow, he looks great doing this, I'm loving it. She did a great job with him. This was my favorite. Carrie Ann loved it, said Afton brought something out in Maurice, wonderful performance. Len said that she got the most out of her celeb. Bruno called her a miracle worker, said that Maurice never looked better. Next week the final two will be paired with a current pro and will have to choreograph both a latin and a ballroom dance.

Now the last three couples will hear their results. Moving on the the semis will be Shawn/Mark, which left Lil Kim/Derek and Ty/Chelsie. Tom made a point of telling them that they were in the bottom two. After five minutes of commercials, tom told Lil Kim/Derek that they were eliminated. Wow. The audience was in shock, very quiet. This was what I was afraid of last night ... Derek was full of praise for her and the looks on the faces of the remaining dancers was very telling. Mark looked devastated. This ending was bad.

Okay, y'all. I know we talked about how this could happen, but were you surprised? What will this mean for next week on Dancing With the Stars 8? Will the rodeo crowd continue to vote on something other than dancing ability? Will the judges make sure that Ty's scores are so low that he cannot win, regardless of his 'Army'? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: The Return of the Bionic Booty and the Latin Lover

2009-05-04T21:32:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! I'm back! Didya miss me? Last week we saw what they called the 'shocking' elimination of Chuck/Julianne from Dancing With the Stars 8. And controversy abounds when the subject of Melissa and her injury comes up. All over the web I read pros and cons about her continuing and how unfair it was that she's still there when she didn't dance. Chuck started to say something about it last week on the show, and then the peanut gallery weighed in. Jewel wrote on both her MySpace page and Ty's rodeo blog that she felt that it was unfair and that in rodeo if you didn't ride, you didn't get a score. Hey, Jewel, btw, this isn't the rodeo and even if Melissa was eliminated, I don't think your man would win.

Tonight the stars performed two complete dances and perform a solo during the Latin round. They are all banged up, how would they do? The show opened with Jonathan, Dmitry, Louis, Kym, Lacey and Anna doing a medley of ballroom dances. Now that's the way to start off a show! That was really fun to watch.

Once again we heard Len say that they were going to separate the contenders from the pretenders. In this ballroom round, the judges will key on Melissa's footwork, the balance between emotion and technique from Gilles, the elegance from Lil Kim, posture from Shawn and flair from Ty.

The first couple to take the floor was Shawn/Mark doing the Quick Step. Shawn had a really rough time during their practice video. But their dance was really fun to watch! She was pretty in blue and they looked like they had a blast. They got a standing o from the crowd. Len said it was fun, joyful and carefree, finally got to see her personality. But they broke their hold in the middle of the dance, which is a no-no. Bruno said that Shawn danced like Sporty Spice, was great fun. Carrie Ann said that this was her best dance ever, but she has to take a point off because they broke the rule (the hold, I guess). Scores: Three 9's for 27/30.

Next, Ty/Chelsie were up with their Argentine Tango. They definitely made the most out of being able to do lifts. This was very cool, I really liked it. Bruno said that Ty won't let anyone down with his strength and determination, but the Argentine Tango needs a bit more subltety. Carrie Ann commended Ty for his progress, but said it was a little stiff, saw a mistake on the hooks. Len said that they captured the essence of the dance, it was their best dance. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 from Len for 25/30.

Lil Kim/Derek have the Waltz for the ballroom round. So far they win the worst musical accompaniment . This singer was awful. I wasn't loving this, something was off. I may have been distracted trying to cover my ears though. Carrie Ann gave lots of constructive criticism and saw mistakes, said it wasn't her best. Len said that the Waltz is challenging, he saw some missteps, but he was shocked by the quality of the dance. Bruno said that she was trying to be a lady, but she's better being a tramp. He didn't see her being comfortable with the dance, arm extensions and missteps. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 from Len for 25/30.

Len is on new meds and it's making him very pleasant and less critical, lol. Oops, spoke too soon ...

Gilles/Cheryl danced the Foxtrot. Oh my, he looked very debonaire, very smooth. Haha, he threw Carrie Ann a kiss during the dance. I liked that, he did a good job, got a standing o. Len said that he couldn't help but enjoy the performance, from the music to the dance, but the rise and falls were lacking. He never stretched. Bruno said that it was in a class of its' own as a performance. sophisticated yet elegant. Carrie Ann told Len that he was crazy, performances like this would carry Gilles to the semis. He finished every line, did a great job. Scores: Two 10's and a 9 from Len for 29/30 as a birthday present for Cheryl, I think.

Aww man, I thought we were about halfway through the show, but it's back to 2 hours instead of 90 minutes. And I think the extra 30 minutes will be commercials. There've been enough of them after each dance.

Melissa is back from her injury, she's getting a new treatment and she says that it's manageable. She and Tony have the Viennese Waltz first. She looks absolutely beautiful. The dance was gorgeous, they glided across the dance floor. Bruno said that she was a vision, lighter than air. He called it beautiful and romantic, very balletic. Carrie Ann needed to see more torque in her upper body, but it was beautiful. Len complimented her all out, but said that he's still not a fan of her feet. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30

At the end of the ballroom round, the Leaderboard looks like this:
Gilles/Cheryl - 29
Shawn/Mark and Melissa/Tony - 27
Ty/Chelsie and Lil Kim/Derek - 25
My thoughts were that ballroom would favor Shawn, Ty and Melissa, but I expected Gilles and Lil Kim to shine in their latin dances. Gilles did much better than I expected in ballroom.

Last week Genya Mazo was eliminated from the Pick a Pro competition. This week, each of the remaining pros have to teach a dance to a celeb from a previous season. Afton got Cody Linley, Anna got Maurice Green, and Mayo got Lisa Rinna for their 'Star' partners for this week's test. Tomorrow night we'll see how each prospective pro can bring out the best in their celeb.

Then our pros from earlier were back to demonstrate a medly of Latin dances. I could watch these six for hours. Of course Dmitry couldn't keep his shirt fastened all night, and had to sport an open shirt. They looked great in their royal blue, but I thought the music was kind of different.

In the Latin round, the judges expect a party out of Melissa and sex appeal, they want smooth and less hectic from Gilles, Len is scared to see Ty, Bruno wants hip action. He wants aggression and bold from Shawn, cute doesn't cut it. Len wants to be stung by the queen b, Lil Kim. They are all most excited to see Lil Kim. Basically, they gave her the round and 10's before the round began. Each of the stars are also expected to have a solo of at least 15 seconds in their routines.

Shawn/Mark are up first with their Paso Doble. You go, girl! I liked this much more than I expected to. Very entertaining and fun to watch. Very sharp and well done. The audience loved it. Carrie Ann said that it was a difficult song to do a paso to but she nailed it! Len liked the solo part, it was clean and precise but it wasn't over exciting. Bruno said that Shawn showed them tonight that she had the killer instinct, she scored big. Scores: Two 10's and a 9 from Len for 29/30 for this dance and a total of 56/60 for the night.

Ty/Chelsie are next up with the Rumba. Chelsie is so cute. She made me smile during their practice video. They know that Gilles also has a rumba, so they feel extra pressure. Okay, I was cracking up watching Ty try to swivel his hips. He had the pageant smile pasted on his face, looked very fake. At the end he swiveled his hips and gave a big kiss to his wife. I laughed out loud. Len thought the solo was sweet and had charm and saw hip action, but in his first dance he was a peacock and in this dance he was a feather duster. Bruno said that Ty is one of the most likeable contestants and compared him in this dance to Kenny Mayne, versus Mario Lopez. Carrie Ann said that the dance was a little wooden, but his solo was very creative (the swivel and kiss to his wife). Her comments made it very plain that she didn't think that he should move on. His fans will be dialing their fingers off again this week since both Bruno and Carrie Ann were mean to him. I bet the comments on his blog will be blowing up in a couple of hours. A thousand commercials later, okay so I exaggerated a little bit, they got their scores. Scores: Three 7's for 21/30 for this dance and a total of 46/60. Ty commented that his solo didn't get him great scores from the judges, but he hopes he'll score later, lol.

Lil Kim/Derek danced the salsa. Dang, in their practice video, she looked so trashy doing a solo part. She was so excited to bring back her bionic booty. Imagine me rolling my eyes here. It was fun to watch and had a share of tricks, but personally it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. I'm sorry, but you can be hot with class. Bruno went off on one of his tangents, he said her booty could do no wrong, but he did see a mistake. Carrie Ann said that she's never seen a booty move like that. She said that her solo was out of control. Len called the dance delicious, but also remarked that the solo lost a little bit of control. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30 and 52/60 total.

Gilles/Cheryl are back with a Rumba and Cheryl demanded that he bring back the Latin Lover. Their practice video was hot. That man can move his hips. He started his dance with his solo and other than the hip movement, it was very strange. The dance itself was very hot. I loved it. Oh dang, they rolled on the floor on top of each other at the end. Whew. His wife had a big ole grin on her face. Carrie Ann said that it was very hot, but thought the solo was overindulgent. Len said that it looked fantastic in the studio, but he did make a comment about not liking the solo or the roll on the floor. I don't have a clue what Bruno went on about, actually, but at the end said that it was very good. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30 and 56/60 for the night, tieing him with Shawn for the top of the leaderboard.

The final dance of the night featured Melissa/Tony with their Samba. In practice, she was very nervous about her solo. I thought she did it very well, actually. I love Tony more every week. I had a smile on my face through the entire dance. It was so much fun to watch! Len said that tonight was all about who deserved to move on and she 100% should be here next week. Bruno said that her samba had everything anyone could want, he was happy to be here watching it. Carrie Ann said that she felt that she had to point out the flaws to give them something to work on for next week. Then she said for them to take the week off because the dance was flawless! Scores: Three 10's for a perfect 30/30 and 57/60 for the night to take over the top spot.

This was a long show, but very entertaining beginning to end. The night ended with Melissa/Tony at the top of the leaderboard and Ty/Chelsie bringing up the rear. Only one point seperates Melissa, Gilles and Shawn.

The Leaderboard looks like this:
Melissa/Tony - 57/60
Shawn/Mark - 56/60
Gilles/Cheryl - 56/60
Lil Kim/Derek - 52/60
Ty/Chelsie - 46/60

Who do you think deserves to go home? I really do think Ty does, but will the comments from the judges spur his fans to a frenzy of voting again this week? And if they pull through, who will go home in his place? We'll find out tomorrow night on Dancing With the Stars 8. Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 7 Results Show and Pick A Pro Round 1

2009-04-21T23:21:00.000-05:00

Tonight on Dancing With the Stars 8, the Group Dance is the Encore Performance tonight. I wasn't very thrilled to hear that, but it was actually a little better tonight and Chuck lost that stupid blonde wig. After the dance, they of did a recap of last night. During the recap, they showed Melissa injuring, or re injuring her rib during practice. Poor girl looked like she was really hurting.

The first musical performance was Natasha Bedingfield singing 'Soulmate' and Lacey and Dmitry doing a beautiful contemporary looking dance. I wasn't crazy about the song, but it's whatever. Tom didn't introduce the dancers until after the dance, but Lacey has a unique look and Dmitry I identified by his open shirt, hahaha. Then a group of International Ballroom Champs, opening on Broadway, calling themselves Burn the Floor performed next. That was wonderful! I'd go catch their show in a hot minute!

In backstage interviews, Samantha let it out that next week, in addition to their individual dance, the stars and their partners will be participating in the Team Dance. There will be Team Mambo and Team Tango. Then, in no particular order, the first three couples told that they were safe were Chuck/Julianne, Melissa/Tony and Shawn/Mark.

The Pick a Pro competition was introduced next. Six dancers will compete for one spot for next season. The kids are dancing in pairs tonight, but are actually competing against each other. Each dancer will have a unique telephone number. The judges will give comments, but not score. Only thing that matters is the viewers votes. After this week's votes, the bottom male and the bottom female will be eliminated.

Afton DelGrosso and Brent Borbon were up first with a Cha Cha. I remember her sister, Ashley, who used to be a pro on this show. I loved her. These two are comfortable with each other because they danced together in Le Reve. Ooh, I liked that dance! Very flashy and energetic. I don't like her as much as I liked her sister, but those are two very talented dancers. Anna Demidova and Mayo Alanen were up next. They are friends, but have never danced together. Tonight they did a waltz. That was beautiful, oh my. He sort of reminded me of Louis while he was dancing. That was the most beautiful waltz. It's going to be tough for me to pick a favorite. Snow Urbin and Genya Mazo were the last two to dance and they got the Rumba. Genya is not as manly looking to me as his brother, Alec, is, but he dances manly like Alec. Snow is another So You Think You Can Dance alumnae, so she may have a leg up on the competition as far as fan base. Heck, I won't be able to vote this week, because I don't have a favorite yet and they all looked terrific.

Next up was Celtic Woman with a Show Dance Champion couple. I absolutely love Celtic Woman and catch them as many times as I can on PBS and this song, 'You Raise Me Up', gives me chills whenever they sing it. The dance fit perfectly and was beautifully performed. Wow, they ended that dance with him leaning backwards and her standing on his chest. That looked gorgeous and sounded gorgeous.

Finally, back to the eliminations. In no particular order, Lil Kim/Derek and Gilles/Cheryl were told that they were safe. Ty/Chelsie and LT/Edyta weren't necessarily the bottom two, but tonight LT/Edyta were the lowest and were eliminated. To tell the truth, LT had the biggest grin on his face and promptly set up a tee time on the golf course in Miami. He was very gracious and appreciative to TPTB and Edyta.

Next week on Dancing With the Stars 8, the couples will have two dances judged, their individual dances and the team dance. How will that affect the leaderboard? Last season, remember, that team dance really shook things up. What did you think of the show tonight? I enjoyed the extraneous performances more tonight than I have in a while, especially more than last week. What say you? Comment below

Dancing With the Stars 8: Getting Their Smooth On and Revisiting the 60's

2009-04-20T22:59:00.001-05:00

Last week on Dancing With the Stars 8, Steve-O's train finally left the station. Tonight was tougher on our celebs since they not only had to learn their individual dances, but also the group dance. This wasn't the judged one, as I thought last week, but the one big group dance that was not judged. Remember the gosh awful hip hop routine last year when they stuck Cloris up on the stage and posed her periodically? Yeah, that one. Last year, hip hop ... this year, the 60's. Right. This week the stars designed the costumes and some of them were quite interesting. Edyta is covered from neck to toe with a fur edged royal blue coat and Julianne in a red fringie mini dress. Lil Kim is in the Edyta role with a sparkly bikini looking thing with a flowy chiffon body scarf.

Anyway, first up with their individual routine was Melissa/Tony. The judges think her too nice, so tonight Melissa wants to bring out her inner man eater in their Argentine Tango. To help her, Tony took Melissa to Wisteria Lane to be tutored by their idea of the ultimate man eater ... no, not Edie, Susan. Yeah, that's what I said. Anyway, I loved their Argentine Tango. It was awesome. The footwork was fantastic. I kept waiting for her to get her feet tangled up in his or vice versa, but it didn't happen. This was an excellent start to the night! Len said that it was fantastic and complimented their footwork and lifts. He did see a tiny blunder, though. (I didn't) Bruno said that Melissa's legs were like magic tools in the hands of a master (Bruno was full of it, tonight). Carrie Ann said that this was by far the best Argentine Tango of the season and called them the King and Queen of legal lifts. Scores: Two 10's and a 9 from Len for 29/30

Last week, LT did much better. This week, he had to take a time out to do a golf tournament for his foundation, so he gave Edyta golf lessons so that she'd feel out of her element as he does every week. Their dance this week is the Waltz and it must be elegant and graceful. Last week he got his groove on, he said, but this week he needs to get his smooth on. Edyta looked absolutely beautiful in the long flowing dress that she had on under the coat, and their dance was beautiful, too. I saw some mistakes, and at one point, a scarf from the dress was draped over Edyta's head, but I enjoyed watching this. Edyta joked that she had on so many clothes that she got tangled up in them. Bruno said that there was romance and compared the beginning to Dr. Zhivago, and then he turned. He said that it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. Carrie Ann said that she saw more freedom in the movement and Len said that they kept grace in the dance. He said that it was graceful and elegant. He pointed out their mistakes, but said that they did better than he expected. Scores: Three 7's for 21/30

Lil Kim/Derek jived their way to the top of the leaderboard and this week they have the rumba. Derek says that they have to tone down Lil Kim's sexiness and was stressing over the choreography. While Derek was worrying about toning down her overt sexuality, she was designing a minus costume for herself. That costume was skimpier than the ones normally worn by Edyta and I wasn't really impressed by the dance either. I was honestly bored watching it. The judges comments were kind of in line with my thoughts. Carrie Ann called it understated and underwhelming, Len said that parts of it were great, but she needs to go with what she does best, and Bruno said that it was a good rumba, but that taking the raunch out of Lil Kim was like taking the tequila out of a margarita. Negative comments aside, the scores were: Two 9's and an 8 from Len for 26/30 and I thought these scores were inflated. Carrie Ann was underwhelmed and still gave her a 9? I guess that's like watching the mistakes in their jive last week but still giving them a 10.

Chuck had a concert this past week and took the opportunity to work the crowd for votes. Chuck/Julianne had a samba this week and Julianne's focus was on technique. She's dressed in her little bitty red mini dress and he's dressed in red satin shirt and slacks. I enjoyed this dance much more than I expected to. He was moving his lil scrawny hips, haha. Len said that this was by far their best dance to date, Bruno commented that Chuck must really want this and that he was working his butt and hips, and Carrie Ann gave them high fives and told them good job. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30

Last week Ty/Chelsie dropped to second from the bottom and this week they have the waltz. It's supposed to be romantic, but Ty feels awkward because he thinks of Chelsie as his adopted daughter. Chelsie brings Jewel in to help them get their heads right for this dance and she does a good job. This was a very pretty dance, really quite sweet. Bruno says that Ty is back in the game. This was a difficult dance but that it was well done. Carrie Ann commented on his beautiful frame and posture. Said that her dancer was back and Len said that it was well done ... spot on. Scores: Three 8's for 24/30

Shawn/Mark had a busy week. She missed the practice for the group dance and some individual dance time because she was jetting around receiving the Sullivan Award, which is a very prestigious award for amateur athletes and also a Character Counts award. She dressed Mark as a nerd this week for their Cha cha, with a tux with too short sleeves and too short pant legs with sparkly socks that matched half her dress. The other half of her dress matched his tux. And they did the cha cha to Michael Jackson's PYT. Yeah, okay ... It was pretty good for what it was and they put elements of MJ into it. I enjoyed watching it, it just didn't feel like a cha cha to me, even though I did see the cha cha footwork. Carrie Ann loved it, said that the dance came to life, Len said that the cha cha is difficult, but they did a great job. Both of them commented that her technique is always wonderful, but this week the feeling was there also. Bruno called her a cheeky little devil and compared her to a young Debbie Reynolds or Mitzi Gaynor, which, in my opinion is a big compliment. Scores: Two 9's and a 10 from Bruno.

Last, but not least, is Gilles/Cheryl. Last week they fell to third and Tom made a big production of talking about him being dumped from his perch at the top of the leaderboard. This week they have the Viennese Waltz. In practice his arm movements were too harsh and aggressive so Cheryl took him to a synchronized swimming coach to help him smooth out his movements. The coach had him doing the dance underwater and he said that it helped him to soften his arm movements. Okay, they get the Awful Music Rendition Award of the night. The music and the singer were AWFUL. In spite of this, I thought the dance was beautiful. She had on a very pretty gold satin gown that matched the inside of his brown suitcoat. Len called the dance romantic and said that they had lovely location, but that he needs to work on his footwork. Bruno compared it to a dance in Gigi, the Lap of Honor. He called it glamorous, but said that he still managed to put some sexy in it. Carrie Ann called Gilles one of the most graceful male dancers that she's seen, but says that he needs to watch his posture. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30

Then there was the group dance. The practice was ... I don't know how to describe it. I guess they had fun. It sort of reminded me of that segment of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In where all the people are dancing until they freeze and someone tells a joke. I really was not looking forward to it. But, actually, I enjoyed the dance itself more than I expected to. The girls were all good, but of the male celebs, only Gilles was good. For some reason Chuck came out in a blonde wig. Each couple had a little solo part and that was forgettable all around. Bruno called it sublime silliness, fantastic fun. Carrie Ann said that the girls brought their A game and Len said that it was fun, full of energy and fantastic. Well, I wouldn't go that far ...

Anyway, at the end of the night, there was a new leader. Melissa/Tony were at the top with 29/30, with Shawn/Mark right on their heels with 28/30 and Chuck/Julianne and Gilles/Cheryl close behind with 27/30. LT/Edyta brought up the rear with 21/30 and second to last was Ty/Chelsie with 24/30, then Lil Kim/Derek with 26/30. Those are really close scores and I'm thinking that any one of them could go home. Will LT's fans save him? Will this be the week of the surprise exit?

Tomorrow night on the Dancing With the Stars 8 results show, in addition to the elimination, Natasha Bedingfield will be singing along with a performance by Celtic Woman, which I'm looking forward to. I love catching their specials on PBS. Also the first round of Pick a Pro will be held. You can read about that here.

What did y'all think of tonight's show? Who was your favorite and who should go home? Did anyone else feel like that group dance was just a waste of time? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 6 Results Show

2009-04-14T21:16:00.001-05:00

Tonight is the week 6 Dancing With the Stars 8 results show. Last night Lil Kim jived her way to the top of the leaderboard and Ty dropped almost back to where he started, near the bottom. As we've seen the past few weeks, the fan vote has a lot to do with placement. Who will be safe and will head home?

Lil Kim/Derek's jive was chosen as the Encore Performance. Last night she had a wardrobe malfunction that was hidden so let's hope wardrobe has her 'girls' under more control tonight. I noticed Tom step in front of her, but it was only later that we found out why. Whoever does costumes needs to do a better job. Their jive was good again tonight.

First, from the revival of West Side Story, some of the cast with 'America'. I'm too much of a purist for this. I liked the interplay between the men and women in the original better than I liked this. I still have Rita Moreno and George Chikiris in my mind doing that song, as I've seen the movie hundreds of times I'm sure. It was okay, though.

Tom let us know that there was no Dance-Off tonight. What's up with that? They need to get some consistency here. I'm sure it's made some conspiracists speculate. They had all the couples on the steps and called Lil Kim/Derek and LT/Edyta down first and told them that they would be back next week.

Julianne and Tony danced to 'Goodbye' by Rascal Flatts. I'm not a country music fan, but I am a fan of theirs. Wow, this dance was freaking awesome! He flipped her all over like a rag doll, but she stayed graceful throughout. Beautiful song and beautiful dance. Oh heck yeah, this I loved!

Next week, instead of the Pros, the stars will be designing the costumes. This ought to be interesting. Lawrence joked with the head costumer that he was gonna put a little more clothes on Edyta since his mama will be watching. Lil Kim teased that she was gonna put Derek in sparkles and a pimp cup. Steve-O teased animal print. I'm kind of looking forward to this.

Back to the results, Shawn/Mark and Melissa/Tony were called down next and told that they would be back next week.

Well, Carmen Electra was featured in this weeks Macy's Stars of Dance Performance. I knew their definition of 'Star' was different than mine, and this was just another example. When did she become a 'Star of Dance'? Anyway, this was choreographed by an original member of the Pussy Cat Dolls so if you guessed that it would be kind of raunchy, you would have been correct. And the dancing wasn't all that good either. They are lacking with this segment this season ... sigh. I'd have rather watched our pros dance.

Rascal Flatt's performed their rendition of The Beatle's song 'Revolution'. I recognized Chelsie and Mark dancing, but not the other pair, and Tom didn't tell us who they were. I liked that dance, though, it was pretty cool. Not as good as the first performance, but it was pretty good.

Four couples left, Gilles/Cheryl were told that they were safe. Then Ty/Chelsie, Chuck/Julianne, Steve-O/Lacey were left to sweat it out for a commercial break. Someone fell asleep at the button, though, because it was not a smooth transition from show to commercial and Tom was heard to say something about 'Well, that was abrupt'. Once back, Chuck/Julianne were told that they were safe. They made sure to tell us that the other couple left is not necessarily in the bottom two. After wasting a few more minutes talking to the judges, Steve-O/Lacey were told that they would be leaving tonight.

As a counter to the ugliness that was David Alan Grier, Steve-O was very funny and gracious in his goodbyes. If you don't know what I'm talking about, google DAGs exit interviews and see how ugly he really was. Anyway, next week on Dancing With the Stars 8, we can look forward to seeing the costumes that the stars come up with.

What did y'all think of the show tonight? Was it finally time for Steve-O to go? What did you think of the other entertainment. Who do you want to see as the entertainment for next Tuesday? Let's brainstorm. Comment below.

Dancing With the Stars 8: Romance and Fun in a Neat Lil Package

2009-04-13T21:06:00.002-05:00

Last week on Dancing With the Stars 8, a shock result sent David home. All the Stars are upping their games this week. Can anyone top Gilles? Jive and Rumba tonight. Past championships mean nothing. We're at the halfway point in the competition. Who'll bring it? Random thought here: coming down the stairs, Lacey's costume looks trashy, like she came out wearing lingerie. Julianne looks beautiful, as does Edyta. Cheryl and Chelsie look cute as buttons.

First up with the jive is Ty/Chelsie. Last week he was stiff, can he loosen up this week? Their practice was hilarious because he was so stiff and Chelsie tried to get him to loosen up. She brought a trampoline to help him feel the jive and she brought a hula hoop. He was surprisingly good at the hula hoop. Those two are so cute. She made the dance look like a country line dance. He was doing pretty good until he lost his place. But she helped him get back on track. This routine wasn't perfect, but it was fun to watch. Len said that Ty was charming and had a bewildered look. He tries 100%, but tonight it took him a while to get started, and it wasn't that good. Bruno said that the line dancing was good, but the jive part was not. Timing a bit rough. Carrie Ann said that it was an exciting jive, didn't think he found his footing, though. Some dancers are suited to particular dances, this one was just in the middle. Backstage with Samantha, he admitted that he messed up a bunch, and that in front of all those people once he messed up it kind of snowballed. Scores: Three 6's for 18/30

Shawn/Mark have the romantic rumba. Last week she won the judges hearts back. Wow, their practice video looked scary. She was so uptight. She'd told him that she was missing her prom, so he recreated it, in the hopes of helping with the dance. She surprised me. I loved that. It was romantic without being overly sexual. Bruno said that it was so beautifully cute, almost angelic. The innocence of romance. He wants her to work the hip action a bit. Carrie Ann said that she could see the discomfort of the dance in her eyes, but the 2nd half was good. Len said that sometimes the rumba can warm and sometimes it can burn, but this one was just right. Backstage, Mark said he worked to keep the dance fun and age appropriate. Scores: Two 9's and an 8 from Carrie Ann for 26/30

Tomorrow's Stars of Dance performance is a number choreographed by an original Pussy Cat Doll. I'm rolling my eyes here. From talking about romantic to smut. More random thoughts here: Ooh, ooh, Edyta brought Warren Sapp to practice for LT and I can see them trying to play up the real life romance of Julianne and Chuck again. Dang, that philly cheese steak sandwich looked good in that Tum's commercial, and I really want that 2010 Fusion Hybrid. You know, I read earlier today that the show makes over $4 Million per hour from the commercials that most of us ff through. See, this is why I shouldn't watch the show live, I go off on tangents.

Oh we're back and next up is LT/Edyta. Last week he dodged elimination, but what will he do with the jive? In practice, he's such a perfectionist that he can't have fun. People were saying around the net that he didn't look like he wanted to be there. I don't see that. I see a perfectionist that is getting frustrated with his lack of success. Edyta brought Warren to loosen him up. It looked like he was so much happier after the visit. He's moving better and he had a lil smile on his face. He shouldn't look down at his feet so much, though. He looked more comfortable than last week, that's for sure. I smiled throughout the whole dance. Tom commented that Warren was a good influence. Carrie Ann said that LT brought his groove back, it was so much more enjoyable to watch, caught a lift. Len said lots of basic movement. Said that LT was very intense, but showed the light inside his personality. Good job. Bruno said that Lawrence was alive and kicking. On time the entire way, his best performance yet. Backstage, LT said that Warren reminded him that he was supposd to have fun. This was better because this music at least had words and a constant beat. Scores: Two 7's and an 8 from Bruno for 22/30.

Melissa/Tony with the rumba. She wants to come back from last week. She was disappointed that they practiced so well, and then didn't deliver. In practice, they looked like they were having fun. They even loosened up enough to make a Bachelorette joke. Tony said that he thinks that she's really taken to this dance. This was very pretty. Not as hot as I expected, but I enjoyed it. What's up with the males wearing these sheer, sparkly open shirts tonight for the rumba? Len wanted the dance to be more earthy, less balletic. Great job. Bruno said that she's voluptuous and so exotic, and her body takes on incredible ease. I think he said that he wanted her to let it go. She has everything to gain. Carrie Ann said that the emotional quality of the dance moved her. Get her hips going, but everything else is there. Scores: Three 9's for 27.

Lil Kim/Derek hit a high note last week with their Viennese Waltz, but can they keep it up? Derek said that this week they should have an advantage because they were adding a lot of 'flavor' to this dance. They did a 50's era jive. Lil Kim was the very sexy looking cop with Derek the jailbird, dancing to Elvis' Jailhouse Rock. I really hate the faces that she tends to make when she's dancing. The dance was cute though. Queen Latifa in the audience really enjoyed it. Bruno went on one of his rants. He said that she rocked, it was fabulous. Carrie Ann said that it was amazing. Fantastic choreography, and such pizazz. Len said that it was fun and had such energy, but they got so carried away with the Jailhouse Rock, but it was lacking in the jive dance essentials. He enjoyed it, but it was a mischaracterization. Scores: Two 10's and an 8 (from Len)for 28/30. Samantha made a disparaging remark about Len's 8, but Derek said that Len was right and he knew it, but they took a risk.

Last week Steve-O/Lacey received the lowest scores, and this week they have the rumba. Lacey tried to pull romance out of him, and it looked so hard. He admits that it will be a major challenge, they look at each other as brother/sister. He is in love, however, with his dog and Lacey said that she was going to try to channel that love into their rumba. It was a sweet dance, he didn't do much dancing though. I still don't see why she wore her underwear. Carrie Ann said that there was something oddly mesmerizing about watching them dance. She really enjoyed it, long way from last week. Len said that you can't confuse movement with dancing and it was no good. Bruno said thank goodness for racy Lacey. Steve was charming, but the dance was bad. Scores: 7 from Carrie Ann, 5 from Bruno and 4 from Len for 16/30

Gilles/Cheryl had the lead for the third straight week last week. This week, though, he can't be the sexy Gilles, he has to be the fun Gilles. I'm wondering if they can pull this off. Their practice video didn't look very promising. He was getting frustrated, so she took him to a soccer pitch and it helped his spirit. Fun in black leather ... yum. I had a smile on my face the whole way. At one point it looked like he lost the beat of the music, but he got back on beat. Dang this beat was fast. I loved this dance and it was so sweet how he ran across to kiss his wife. Len said that he showed a lot of the qualities of the jive, but a pity was that he went a little bit wrong on a step in front of him and again he found it frenetic. Bruno called it fast and furious, put 110% into the dance, great performance, but they tended to lose some of the sharpness because of the speed. Carrie Ann said that his arms were weird, because of his injury, but a good job. Christian de la Fuente was in the audience looking hot. Scores: Two 9's and an 8 from Len for 26/30.

Julianne/Chuck impressed the judges last week with their Viennese Waltz, but they seem to be feeling a lot of pressure with this dance. they were feeling like because they were a couple that it would be devastating to hear that there was no chemistry. They were back on the kick of hard to separate the girlfriend from the teacher. They were very snippy with each other, so they went to the place they had their first date. Chuck realized it was not about the steps, but about the connection. Wow, that was hot. Bruno said that he'd like some more of that please, switched on the raunch factor. Technically not perfect, but it was a step in right direction. Carrie Ann was fanning herself. Most passionate sexy number of the night. Work more on technique, great job. Len said that parts of it was more suitable for the bedroom, not the ballroom. Some great lines, some poor lines. Mechanical and animal. This was a little too raunchy for him. Backstage Chuck said that this was his favorite dance. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 from Len for 23/30.

Tomorrow night in addition to the Macy's Stars performance, Rascal Flatts will sing and there will be a performance by the cast of West Side Story. And next week, in addition to their individual dances, there will be a group dance. I'm thinking that it will be like last season when they were split into two groups and the scores from their group dance were added to their individual scores. That was really bad for one of the groups.

But this week there is a new #1. Lil Kim/Derek took over on the top of the Leaderboard with 28, but Melissa/Tony are nipping at their heels with 27 and Shawn/Mark and Gilles/Cheryl have 26. Steve-O/Lacey brought up the rear once again with 16, but Ty/Chelsie only had 18. Steve-O's fans kept him out of the Dance Off last week, will they come through again? Who impressed you the most and who should leave? Comment below or send me an email to ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 5 Results Show with Etta James and Demi Lovato

2009-04-07T23:19:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! Tonight's Dancing With the Stars 8 results show featured musical numbers by Etta James, Demi Lovato and Le Reve in addition to an encore performance, a Dance-Off and another couple leaving. Who would it be? Steve-O/Lacey had the lowest judges scores, but what would the voters say?

Right off the bat the show began with the encore performance. I really wanted to see Gilles/Cheryl again, but since they danced last week I knew it wouldn't be them. In fact since I spied Lil Kim posing behind Tom, I correctly guessed that she and Derek would be repeating their Viennese Waltz from last night. The dance was as beautiful as last night.

As they recapped last night's show, they showed that part of Melissa's foot problem was that she put her foot through the bottom of her dress. Watching in slow motion, I'm amazed that she managed to stay on her feet, not to mention finish the dance. Props to her for that. But then I'm a klutz and I'd have been flat on my face ... or my butt.

Tom and Samantha announced the first two couples that were safe. Shawn/Mark and Lil Kim/Derek will be back to dance for us next week. Off on another tangent here, I was reading that Cat Deeley was standing by to sub for Ryan Secrest last week in case he was too sick to go on. The Idol stage is right across the street from the DWTS stage ... I wish she would have subbed for Samantha last week. I love Cat, she's awesome.

Anyway, the first guest was Etta James singing her classic "At Last". Maks and Karina did an absolutely beautiful dance to that song. Once again I had to ask why we had to watch Ms. James sitting and singing instead of watching the entire dance and listening to the singer.

Then in a backstage interview, Steve-O revealed that his dad said that if he went to the Dance-Off and his judges score stayed the same, he would need a 12% edge in audience voting to beat the next lowest couple. Foreshadowing perhaps? Well ... no. Tom and Samantha then told Gilles/Cheryl and Steve-O/Lacey that they were safe. Guess he got more than his 12% edge. Then Chuck/Julianne and Melissa/Tony were told that they'd be back next week.

Next up was the Macy's Stars of Dance Performance. Okay, I was very curious to see this. Le Reve is usually done in a large pool of water, or water theatre. In fact, I read that all of the performers, in addition to being dancers and acrobats, had to be scuba certified. How would they pull this one off? Well, they did their performance without the water. Don't get me wrong, it was a very cool performance of dance and acrobatics, but it was a bit of a let down for me because I wanted to see them in the water. Y'all should check out some of the YouTubes available.

Demi Lovato, some Disney girl, sang this song called "La La Land". I didn't care for the song, but I did enjoy getting to see Benji Schwimmer dance again. His partner, Tori Smith, was okay, but Lacey or their cousin Heidi would have been better. Oh, and their costumes were ugly, too.

Ty/Chelsie were put out of their misery and that left David/Kym and LT/Edyta in the bottom two. To be honest, I didn't enjoy either of their dances enough last night to want to see them again, but alas ...

First up were David/Kym with their Viennese Waltz. This was the one that looked more like a torch dance than a romantic Viennese Waltz. I loved watching Kym, she's a glorious dancer, but I didn't see much improvement. The judges did, though, especially Carrie Ann. Last night, she said that there was a disconnect, but tonight she said that their dance felt connected and showed more passion. Their score from last night was 22, tonight they got three 8's for 24.

Lt/Edyta repeated their Paso Doble. LT should have talked to Warren Sapp or something, because as much as I love my football guys in this competition, he's not doing it for me. Warren's Paso Doble was very cool, this one left me cold. In fact, I thought that they did better last night. All three of the judges mentioned that the music they had was very difficult and commended them for being able to follow it. Len said that they made a real improvement from last night. The scores didn't reflect that, though. Last night they got a 20 and tonight they got two 7's and a 6 (from Carrie Ann) for another 20.

After yet another commercial break, Tom told David/Kym that they were the couple leaving. Wow, he must really not have a fan base. What did y'all think? Did the right couple go home? Comment below and I'll catch y'all next week.

Dancing With the Stars 8: Hot Paso Dobles, Smooth Viennese Waltzes and Pec Envy

2009-04-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! It's time for another fun Dancing With the Stars 8 performance show. Last week, the Woz and Holly Madison were sent packing in a double elimination. How did our faves do this week? The two dances being performed were the Paso Doble and the Viennese Waltz. I've made no secret as to my favorite, and I think he could rock either of these dances. The Paso Doble is passionate, intense and aggressive and the Viennese Waltz is beautiful and romantic. It was interesting, to say the least, seeing how the stars did.

First off the block were Chuck/Julianne doing a Viennese Waltz. Julianne was 'pretty in pink' and their waltz was very pretty. Chuck came out tonight like he really wanted this, it looked like he was more invested. He was a partner and not a pole. The judges gave mixed reviews. Len said that Chuck was finally out of hibernation but he needed to work on the finesse of the dance and his footwork. Bruno told Chuck that he was emerging from the shadow of Julianne. It was a good performance, but he needed to work on his timing and Carrie Ann called a questionable lift and said that he lost focus in places. When he was on, he was great, but this performance wasn't there for her. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 (from Carrie Ann) for 23/30.

LT/Edyta were first up with a Paso Doble. In his confessional, he said that he wants the aggression and intensity that he had on the football field. This dance was pretty good. It was kind of slow for me in the beginning, but by the middle, it had picked up nicely, I thought. Bruno called LT the Prince of Darkness. Said the dance started off badly, but then got into gear. Carrie Ann said that he had a limited range of motions, but that she commended them for working to that music. Len said that the intensity was good but the dance quality wasn't there. He did say, though, that it was their best dance so far. Scores: Two 7's and a 6 (from Carrie Ann) for 20/30.

Shawn/Mark weren't happy with dropping to the middle of the pack last week and were looking to go back to the top with their Viennese Waltz. I thought it was beautiful, they just flowed around the floor so gracefully. I loved it. Carrie Ann said that simplicity was the best route to success, called the dance beautiful. Len said that it was romantic and lyrical, but told her that she stepped forward with the ball of her foot instead of her heel (?). Bruno called it sweetness and light, said that it had great flow and musicality. He said that the simplicity worked, but told her to work on keeping her shoulders down. Scores: Two 9's and an 8 (from Len) for 26/30.

Melissa/Tony were challenged this week with the Paso Doble. She admitted that she needs to show aggression and intensity and to lose her cheesy grin (her words, not mine). This Paso was just okay for me. It was too soft for a Paso Doble, I thought. For me, it was her worst dance yet. Len said that she was an excellent dancer and that this was a difficult routine. He pointed out her blunders and said that the dance lacked aggression. Bruno said that it was a difficult routine, but that most of it was beautiful. Carrie Ann said that it was fantastic choreography, but tonight she seemed off balance and her footwork was off. She also called a questionable lift, which she said might have been caused by a footwork blunder. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 (from Bruno) for 25/30.

David/Kym did a different Viennese Waltz, at least for me. While the other couples went for soft and romantic, this was more sultry, like a torch song. I liked her, but he was a little stiff. Bruno said that it started well and that Kym was mesmerizing. He told them that the tricks were unnecessary, when they stuck to classic, the dance worked. Carrie Ann said that there was a disconnect there. Their unison wasn't working. Len, on the other hand, said that the story worked and that it was a difficult performance but well done. Scores: Two 7's and an 8 (from Len) for 22/30.

Then it was Gilles/Cheryl's turn at the Paso Doble. Their practice video showed them at a martial arts studio with his little boy. They were so cute together ... sigh. All that and a loving papa, too. I admit that I was concerned when he came out earlier with only a plain black button up shirt and black slacks, but that concern was for naught. He had exchanged that shirt for a black open front bolero type jacket with silver sparklies. He has a very nice chest and this was a very nice Paso Doble. What am I saying?? This was a super hot Carmen flavored Paso Doble! Bruno and Carrie Ann were on their feet and the girls in the audience were going crazy. Carrie Ann said that it was passionate, that it almost brought tears to her eyes. She said that they brought to life the heart and soul of the dance. Len said that he liked the passion, but that it was hectic in places. He made a snide comment about not getting the open jacket and Tom said that Len had pec envy. Bruno said that Gilles went for the kill. It was a battle of supremacy between him and Cheryl, back and forth, but he nailed it. Scores: Two 10's and a 9 (from Len) for 29/30.

Poor Steve-O/Lacey had to follow that. At least, though, they had the Viennese Waltz instead of a Paso. He was so bummed after the scores last week that Lacey brought his friends to practice for support. It was a pretty amusing practice video. This was another variation of the Viennese Waltz. He came out like a French Mime and the dance was so sweet. I really liked it. She was a maiden and he was courting her, it was really sweet. The judges weren't as impressed. Len did say that it was their best dance, Bruno said that the timing was on tonight and Carrie Ann said that it had a beautiful emotional quality and called it beautiful and sweet. Such good comments didn't equal good scores, however. Scores: Three 6's for 18/30. They got robbed.

Ty/Chelsie had the most eyebrow raising Paso Doble of the night for me. A Paso Doble to Heart's Barracuda? Who picked that crap out? That had me off from the first and I didn't quite recover. It wasn't bad ... but I didn't think it was very good. Ty was stiff and the dance didn't flow. Bruno said that it was too robotic. The steps were there, but it was too stiff. Carrie Ann asked where her little dancer went and Len said that it wasn't up to the standard that they set the last two weeks, but still better than the beginning. Scores: Three 7's for 21/30.

The last dance of the night belonged to Lil Kim/Derek with a beautiful Viennese Waltz. They pulled it off well. I'm not a Lil Kim nor a Derek fan, but I thought this dance was gorgeous. Carrie Ann said that she was beaming all the way through. They were perfectly matched and brought the story to life. Len said that it was lyrical and that he loved the musicality, but the dance was lacking in Viennese Waltz footwork. Bruno said that he, too, had a huge smile on his face. He said that they made the Viennese Waltz look sexy. Scores: Two 9's and an 8 (from Len) for 26/30.

Wow, that was a good show tonight. Most of the couples really picked it up. Once again Gilles/Cheryl were at the top of the leaderboard with Shawn/Mark and Lil Kim/Derek close behind. Steve-O/Lacey were bringing up the rear, but they were only 2 points behind LT/Edyta and 3 points behind Ty/Chelsie. Tom made a comment earlier in the night about Gilles/Cheryl's 30 in week 4 was only the second one in show history. The first one was Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas and they were eliminated in week 6. That was chilling. I hope the better dancers stick around to the end this season.

So, it was obvious who my favorites were, what about y'all? Who's on the top of your leaderboard? Steve-O/Lacey are at the bottom, but I honestly don't think they belong there. I thought his dance was better than Ty/Chelsie and LT/Edyta. What did you think? Who will be in the Dance-Off tomorrow night? Yes, the Dance-Off is back along with the Macy's Stars of Dance Performace of Le Reve from Las Vegas. Singers Etta James and Disney's Demi Lovato will also be on board to fill the 60 minute Dancing With the Stars 8 Results Show. Catch y'all then. Make comments below or drop me an email at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 4 Double Elimination Results Show

2009-04-01T00:09:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! Tonight on Dancing With the Stars 8, we were told the bottom three couples for the first time and then the bottom two were eliminated. As usual there were musical numbers, dances and other fillers to stretch the show to an hour and two minutes. Samantha was sounding sick last night and tonight her time on camera talking was limited. Tom was out front while Samantha spent her time backstage.

I must be psychic or something! First Gilles got to do the Argentine Tango and then last night I wished for an Encore performance instead of a Dance-Off. My wish was granted! I got to see Gilles/Cheryl do that super hot Argentine Tango one more time and it was even better than last night. Whew, that was hot.

After a recap of the Leaderboard, which showed Gilles/Cheryl alone on the top and Woz/Karina on the bottom, Tom put Gilles/Cheryl and LT/Edyta out of their misery and told Holly/Dmitry that they were in the bottom three.

Next week one of the dances will be the Paso Doble. To show us how one is supposed to look, Chelsie, Lacey, Julianne, Derek and another male dancer performed this very cool Paso while Kevin Rudolf sang his hit 'Let It Rock'. It shouldn't have worked, but it really did. That was a way cool Paso, very enjoyable to watch. I just wish they'd let us watch the dancers more while the singers sang off camera. What do we need to see them for?

Shawn/Mark were told that they were safe right before another special number. The couples that don't get the Paso Doble next week will be doing a Viennese Waltz. To demonstrate the proper form for this was a group of International Champions, choreographed by Louis Van Amstel, doing this beautiful dance to 'Annie's Song'. Wow, this dance was gorgeous. This is one of the first times that I've enjoyed dancers other than our pros doing ballroom.

Chuck/Julianne were told that they were safe, while Steve-O/Lacey were told that they were in the bottom three. After that, Cheryl, Tony, Kym and Dmitry danced to a BoyzIIMen Motown Medley. Kym and Dmitry really looked good together. All the dancers were good, of course, but the singing was not so good. I actually cringed at a couple of points.

Lil Kim/Derek and Melissa/Tony were told that they were safe and then they wasted some more time. I don't even know what it was, I fast forwarded through it. Finally Ty/Chelsie were told that they were safe, as were David/Kym. This means that Woz/Karina joined Steve-O/Lacey and Holly/Dmitry in the bottom three.

Who went home and who squeaked through? Dun Dun Dun ... Since by this time, they were running out of time, Tom quickly told Holly/Dmitry and Woz/Karina that they were leaving. They did get the time to enthuse over their partners and their experiences and we were reminded to go to abc.com and vote for the Design-A-Dance. The dance, Quick Step, and the song, 'It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing', have already been chosen. The dancers and costumes are still to go. Catch y'all next week when we'll get to see Paso Dobles and Viennese Waltzes on Dancing With the Stars 8.

Dancing With the Stars 8: The Argentine Tango and The Lindy Hop with Little Lenny Hardbutt

2009-03-30T23:37:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all! Tonight is the end of another trying week for our Stars on Dancing With the Stars. They've dealt with more injuries (Holly) and a stalker (Shawn). Tomorrow is a double elimination and tonight they've been given one of two new dances that may even be new for their Pros. The Argentine Tango is sensual. It's different from the regular tango in that the dancers can be cheek to cheek or far apart. The Lindy Hop is fun and for enjoyment feturing kicks, tricks and lifts. Last week I wrote of my desire to see Gilles do an Argentine Tango and my wish was granted! I may just fast forward thru the show until I get to his dance. Sorry guys.

Just kidding. First up was David/Kym with a Lindy Hop. To get the gist of the dance, they went to a club called The Lindy Groove to pick up some pointers. I thought their dance was cute and very energetic. I wasn't impressed by the lifts, though. The judges also gave mixed reviews. Len said that it was fun, had energy and captured the flavor of the dance, but he lost the rhythm a couple of times. It wasn't David's best, but it wasn't his worst. Bruno also commented that he lost the timing a few times and Carrie Ann thought that it was great, that they kicked up the energy. Scores: Two 7's and an 8 (from Carrie Ann) for 22/30

Lil Kim/Derek had the first Argentine Tango of the night. It was okay for me. Technically it was sound, but, in my opinion, it didn't sizzle. I think the problem is that I see the female in a Tango as sophisticated as well as sensual, and I don't see any sophistication in Lil Kim. I'm in the minority, though. In addition to the standing ovation given by the audience, the judges loved it. Bruno was all worked up and I don't have a clue what he was blabbering about. Carrie Ann said that they are the real deal. The dance had drama, she had beautiful lines and was sensuous. Len, bless his heart, said that he was knocked out by the choreography, not so much by the sensuality. Scores: 9 from Carrie Ann, 8 from Len, and the first 10 of the season from Bruno for 27/30.

Chuck/Julianne did the cutest Lindy Hop. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. The judges didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I did. Carrie Ann and Len both said that they wanted them to push it to the next level, that they needed to go for it more. Bruno liked the style, but he said something about it being too loose around the edges. In their practice video, they showed Chuck having big problems with a lift/trick that Julianne wanted to put in their dance. He was terrified of falling on his head and Julianne ended up cutting it out of the dance. I wonder if that influenced the judges comments about them stepping it up. Scores: Two 7's and an 8 (from Carrie Ann) for 22/30

LT/Edyta were next up with an Argentine Tango. LT was having major problems visualizing the man's role, so Edyta brought her gorgeous hubby, Alec, to demonstrate. Now that I could have watched all night. We only got to see pieces, but what I saw, I loved. I bet that those two would set that stage on fire. Then it was back to earth watching LT dancing with Edyta. I enjoyed it more than I expected to actually. It wasn't as technically sound as Derek's Tango, but I enjoyed the story they told with the dance, the characters. Once again, the judges didn't agree with me. Len said that they did a good job, but that it was kind of heavy and lacked passion. Bruno said that LT was menacing and intense, that his character was good, but that he walked instead of glided and Carrie Ann said that they exuded power and it had good choreography, but that they lacked chemistry. She said that LT looked like he was afraid of Edyta's sensuality. Scores: Two 7's and a 5 (from Len) for 19/30. This prompted Tom to call Len 'Little Lenny Hardbutt'.

Ty/Chelsie got the Lindy Hop this week. Today I read the cutest interview with these two over at tvguide.com. It made me love them as a couple even more. He joked that he and Jewel were going to adopt Chelsie and she joked that if they did she'd have to get up too early to do chores on the farm. Really cute interview and a really cute dance. I loved it. Nice mix of dancing and tricks and it was so much fun to watch. All three judges seemed to like it and all remarked on the transformation from week 1 to now. Len even went so far as to say 'Hot Dog and Darn my britches, what a great routine'. Alrighty then, lol ... Scores: Two 8's and a 9 (from Carrie Ann) for 25/30

Why, oh why, would they give The Woz/Karina an Argentine Tango? Sensual and Woz don't belong in the same article, not to mention paragraph or sentence. I was reading today that Woz is going to give Karina away at her wedding, which I think is super sweet. Unfortunately, though, I think Woz is getting a little cocky. I thought it was cute at the beginning when he said, 'The judges have forsaken me, but the Geeks shall inherit the earth', but I didn't think it was cute at the end when he made a smart remark about he was still standing after more critical comments from the judges. Their tango wasn't as bad as I feared, but it wasn't good. It wasn't even particularly entertaining, as his previous performances were. Carrie Ann remarked that it laced passion and that it felt really long, Len gave him props for attempting a proper Argentine Tango, and Bruno came right out and said that he loved him, but his dance stunk. Scores: Three 4's for 12/30, which is better than last week.

Melissa/Tony did an awesome Lindy Hop. She mentioned during her practice video that she was going to challenge herself this week and she did. This dance had some awesome lifts and tricks and the dancing itself was really cute. They did this amazing trick at the beginning and again at the end where she flips over his back and that he brings her back to the front through his legs using his hand on the back of her head. You really have to see it to appreciate it. The judges loved it, too. Len said that it's starting to break down to the Pretenders vs. the Contenders and they were contenders. Bruno said it was eyepopping, fantastic and had the full range of steps. Carrie Ann, after being critical of Melissa last week, gave them high fives and said that NOW she was impressed. She complimented Tony on the fantastic choreography. Scores: Two 10's and a 9 (from Len) for 29/30! Fantastic scores!

Holly/Dmitry were another couple that I really did not want to see do an Argentine Tango. Dmitry would probably do well, but Holly? Ugh. Anyway, their practice video showed that she hurt her ribs last week and she was still having pain. She went to the doctor and he told her that she strained the muscle around the rib but cleared her to continue. You could tell that she was in a great deal of pain, but was trying to work through it. Whoa, did she almost fall of the stool at the beginning of her dance? She didn't recover very well from that slip up. They did a nice trick at the end, but the dance itself was lacking. I didn't think it was awful, but just not that good. The judges liked it less than I did. They each remarked on her falling off the stool at the beginning and that it went downhill from there. Len praised Dmitry for the choreography of the routine, but said that the bad start caused a negative attitude. Scores: Two 5's and a 6 (from Len) for 16/30

Steve-O/Lacey got the Lindy Hop. In their practice video, he was very uptight so Lacey brought him a clown costume to help loosen him up. It seemed to do the trick ... at least in practice. I thought it was better than last week. There were a few missteps, but it was fun to watch. The judges didn't like it, though. They all commented on his lack of rhythm and timing. He always seems to be a step behind Lacey, as if he watches to see what she does before he does it. Scores: Three 5's for 15/30.

FINALLY! What I've been waiting all night for ... Gilles/Cheryl and their Argentine Tango. And my, was it worth the wait. That dance was freaking awesome! I had to turn on the ceiling fan, it had gotten so hot in here. Dang that was good. They flashed to Carrie Ann fanning herself ... I agree. Len said that it was another fantastic performance. He waxed eloquent in his description saying that they showed every element of the dance. Bruno called Gilles the quintessential Latin Lover, he has an almost deadly animal magnetism. Bravissima! Carrie Ann, when she finally could talk, said 'Holy Cow! Jeez Louise!' She said that she couldn't tell who was the pro and who was the star. Scores: Three 10's for 30/30!! Well deserved, I thought.

Shawn/Mark had the unenviable position of following that dance. They had the lindy hop and after watching Shawn in her element at the gym, Mark decided to pack their dance full of tricks. I think they went a little far. Their routine was fun to watch and it was certainly full of tricks, but I didn't see much dancing there. The judges agreed with me, that it wasn't their best effort. Both Len and Bruno commented that there was not enough dance, but Bruno said that it was a spectacular feast of tricks and gymnastics. Carrie Ann said that it was a polished performance, but that whe was a little heavy with her footwork. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 (from Bruno) for 25/30.

Well, boys and girls, that's it for another performance show. Gilles/Cheryl are alone at the top of the leaderboard this week with a perfect score, but Melissa/Tony are hot on their heels with a 29. Lil Kim/Derek and Ty/Chelsie really picked up their games and Shawn/Mark slipped to a tie for fourth. Once again The Woz/Karina bring up the rear, but as we saw last week, that doesn't mean a thing.

Tomorrow night, the bottom 3 will be revealed with a double elimination. BoyzIIMen and Kevin Rudolph will be performing and a special dance choreographed by Louis Van Amstel. I really wish that we could see the best performance on the Results show instead of two bad ones in the Dance-Off. What did y'all think? Will the geeks save Woz again or will he end up in the bottom this week? Who do you think will be in the bottom two and who will go home? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 3 Results Show

2009-03-24T23:49:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! It's that time again. Time to say goodbye to one more couple on Dancing With the Stars 8. Next week, though, there will be a double elimination according to Tom. After an extra long recap of last night's show, Karina tells us that if they are there next week, we'll see a new move ... and she pokes The Woz in the tummy and he giggles ala The Pillsbury Doughboy.

The first four couples are told that they are safe and there are no surprises until the fourth couple. Melissa/Tony, Gilles/Cheryl and Shawn/Mark are let off the hook. Who was the fourth couple? The Woz and Karina. The judges looked shocked, Tom was shocked, Woz/Karina were shocked. After my wanderings around the web, I'm wondering if this was a judges backlash. There was plenty anger and indignation about how the judges talked to him last night. People felt that they were undeservedly and unnecessarily rude and mean. I counted quite a few people on a couple of boards that gave all of their votes to Woz and Karina because of that.

In the TMI moment of the night, in the stupid Samantha interview, Woz told us that he was more shocked than anytime in his life except when he was served divorce papers ... um ... okay.

Also safe this week are LT/Edyta, David/Kym, Chuck/Julianne and Lil Kim/Derek.

In addition to a double elimination, the celebs and their pros will be doing one of two new dances, the Lindy Hop and the Argentine Tango. To demonstrate the basics of these two dances were ... Cloris and Corky. It was a cute segment, I guess, but not as funny as I think they were aiming for. Ooh, I hope Gilles gets the Tango ... but I bet he won't.

The two musical numbers came next. Maks, Tony, Dmitry and Karina danced to Hall & Oates singing Maneater. This was an awesome dance. How come I never realized how sexy Tony is? The dance had the three guys showing off for Karina and at the end she picks Maks, of course. Then Alec and Edyta sang to Adele singing Chasing Pavements. I've never heard her sing, but I love her voice. I really like that style of music and the song she sang. I also loved that dance. It was so beautiful, I miss Alec.

The last four couples standing were Steve-O/Lacey, Holly/Dmitry, Ty/Chelsie and Denise/Maks. Steve-O/Lacey were put out of their misery first and Ty/Chelsie were also told that they were safe. That means that this weeks Dance-Off will be between Maks/Denise and Holly/Dmitry. They both repeated their pitiful Sambas.

First up were Holly/Dmitry. She worked on her bottom half and I guess she improved a little. She still looked stiff and awkward to me. The judges all seemed to think she did better and gave her three 6's for 18. Last night she got a 17. Denise/Maks were next. It looked to me like she walked the steps instead of danced the steps, but the judges disagreed. They all enthused over the improvement in her performance. Len even went so far as to tell Denise that she proved that she deserved to stay. They gave her two 7's and a 6 (from Carrie Ann) for 20. Last night they got a 16.

Both these teams can leave, as far as I'm concerned, but after four minutes of commercials, Denise/Maks were given their walking papers. Wow, I really didn't expect that after the judges scoring. I guess this couple really had no fan support. Maks must have ticked off his loyal following with all the kvetching he's been doing. It's mean of me, but I gave a quick laugh because Karina outlasted her man after he made the comment he made that Karina deserved better than she got. Right after I thought that, the camera panned to a visibly upset Karina. I almost felt bad.

Anyway, what do you think? Did y'all pick the right couple to leave? Who do y'all want to do what dances next week. I know I will drool to see Gilles/Cheryl do the Argentine Tango. That is one sexy dance when it's done right. I definitely do NOT want to see Steve-O or Woz do it. Okay, I probably just jinxed it and they will both have it. I think Tony/Melissa could do a hot one, too. They'll probably have everyone's favorite couple (insert eye roll here) Chuck/Julianne do one to show us their chemistry. Your thoughts? Comment below, and I'll catch y'all next week.

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 3 and He Gave Up Golf For This

2009-03-23T23:20:00.000-05:00

Week three of Dancing With the Stars 8, and we finally have all of the stars participating. Week one doesn't count because of Jewel and Nancy. Tonight's dances are the Samba and the Foxtrot. Who'll bring it and who'll drop the ball? You know, this season for me, is good because I don't see anyone just going through the motions. It seems like all of the contestants from the best to the worst are all working their hind ends off to give us the best show possible. And I appreciate it because this is another long two hour show.

First up tonight are Denise/Maks doin' the Samba. To loosen Denise up, Maks showed up to practice in drag as a Samba Queen. Maks, that's not a good look for ya, honey. Their Samba was just okay for me. I didn't enjoy watching it and it didn't look like she enjoyed doing it. The judges pretty much agreed with me. Len said that the Samba is the hardest of the Latin dances, but theirs needed more of a latin kick and more hip action. Bruno said that it was flat and full of holes. It was a waffle instead of a Samba and it didn't have a party feel. Carrie Ann agreed with Bruno and told Denise to mask her fear and to work on her hands and arms. Scores: Two 5's and a 6 (from Len) for 16/30

Chuck/Julianne had the first Foxtrot of the night. In their confessional, they whined about the judges being too hard on him, that they had higher expectations of him since his girlfriend could dance. Yeah, whatever. But in spite of the music, and the whining, I enjoyed the dance. Chuck did much better this week. But actually that's not saying much, since last week he just posed. Anyway, I did like it. The judges appreciated his effort, too. Bruno said that he was glad to see Chuck in the driver's seat and starting to dance WITH Julianne. Carrie Ann said that this dance showed that Chuck could possibly be a contender and Len said that it was good, but not great yet. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 (from Len) for 23/30

Holly/Dmitry were next with their Samba. I really didn't think this dance was fun to watch. She tries hard, but she looked so awkward. I cringed through most of this dance. Carrie Ann said that this was rough to watch, that it was totally disjointed. Len said that she needed to work on her footwork. He said that she was like a match, hot on the top, wooden on the bottom and Bruno said that her feet weren't going the right way and that her hip action was not correct. Scores: Two 6's and a 5 (from Carrie Ann) for 17/30

Steve-O/Lacey had another rough week. He had to ease back into the dancing because of his back. I worry about him. He said earlier that he was going through addiction recovery while doing this show and I'm sure he's been given meds for his back. He looked like PeeWee Hermann for his Foxtrot. It was a cute dance and I enjoyed it until the end when he fell and hurt his back and ankle. Len clapped for him because he said that he came out and did it, and it had elements of a proper Foxtrot. Bruno said that he was the model of propriety. He started so well and then fell to pieces. Carrie Ann said that she liked that he learned from his mistakes and that she's sorry that he's had such a rough time. Scores: Three 5's for 15/30

LT/Edyta were next up with their Samba. He cracked me up talking about how he gave up golf time for dance ... and he doesn't give up golf for anything. This Samba wasn't technically the best, but it was very fun to watch. LT's got a little rhythm going there, haha. Bruno said that LT was pretty light on his feet for a big guy and has rhythm. He told him not to doubt his ability. Carrie Ann said that they did a good job, that he has a new found confidence and a twinkle in his eye, but she wants him to go for more difficulty next time. Len said that he liked LT's work ethic, but wants more hip action and less shoulder action. Scores: Two 7's and a 6 (from Len) for 20/30

Shawn/Mark did a very beautiful and elegant Foxtrot. Bruno and Carrie Ann both remarked on how it looked like she was just gliding across the floor, similar to an ice skater. Carrie Ann called her a princess, Bruno called her a beautiful bejewelled hummingbird and Len said that it was the best dance so far ... yeah, by a long shot. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30

My new dance honey, Gilles, and his partner, Cheryl did a very hot Samba. His mom came to visit practice and it was so sweet to see. She told him that she wanted more, and he gave it to her. That man can shake his lil booty and hips. Len said that he was a good dancer, he lacked a little rhythm at the beginning, but he made a hard dance look easy. Bruno called him a throbbing, red hot poker ... down boy ... said that the Samba was a party dance and Gilles makes everyone want to party with him. Carrie Ann said that it was excellent and that Gilles brought out something special in Cheryl and he shook things that Carrie Ann didn't know guys could shake. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30

David/Kym did a decent Foxtrot. It started out really good and slowed down for me. Kym said that this week she wanted to showcase David and I think she did a good job. The dance didn't really wow me, but David did a lot of dancing and he did a good job. Had a big Broadway vibe. Bruno said that they took the Foxtrot to Broadway and that it was a big transformation for David. Carrie Ann gave him two snaps and gave props to the choreography and Len said that it was his best dance so far. Scores: Three 8's for 24/30

The Woz/Karina got the Samba. Okay, I'm scared for him. I cannot imagine his body doing this dance. On top of that, he had another trip to the hospital this week and he pulled his hamstring. He was still cringing in pain trying to dance on Sunday. This Samba was just awful, but strangely enjoyable, if that makes any sense. They even threw in something that I think was supposed to be a worm. It was funny watching Bruno cover his face. Carrie Ann said that he was cute and adorable, but at some point the novelty wears off. She called his worm a slug, lol. Len said that the dance was killing him. He hopes that the audience was entertained, because it was bad from start to finish. Bruno just called it the worst Samba that he's ever seen. Backstage, though, they got a standing ovation for his efforts. Scores: Two 3's and a 4 (from Carrie Ann) for 10/30

Melissa/Tony did an old-timey, big band looking, gorgeous Foxtrot. I loved it. Len said that it had great musicality, but said something about working on her ball/heel foot thingy. Bruno called it beautiful to look at and easy to love and Carrie Ann called her an excellent dancer but told her that she needed to challenge herself a little bit ... it was too easy for her. Scores: Three 9's for 27/30 And it seems that LT has to take Melissa golfing since she got at least three 8's.

Lil Kim/Derek had a Samba. They did a good job, but it was missing something to me. The girl can shake her butt, that's for sure. Bruno said that it worked for him. He called her a pocketsized Venus with Supersized sex appeal. The dance was not perfect, but she sold it. Carrie Ann said that it was hot and they went for it. She loved it. Len said that Lil Kim had a bionic booty but asks Derek to put more basic dance moves into their routines. Scores: Two 8's and a 9 (from Bruno) for 25/30

And last, but certainly not least, was Ty/Chelsie and their Foxtrot. It was a very nice and elegant dance. Poor Chelsie slipped and fell near the beginning, but Ty was a pro and didn't miss a beat. He helped her up and they just kept going, and they did a nice job. Carrie Ann called Ty the most improved by miles and said that they looked fantastic. Len said that he was a bit stiff and lacked musicality, but that the routine was fantastic and they had a great recovery. Bruno said that Chelsie was turning into a miracle worker. They had that one mistake, but it was an excellent dance. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 (from Bruno) for 23 That's a good score considering that fall. It was bad, but he handled it well and the male pros made sure to give him props backstage.

So that was it. Another long night watching Dancing With the Stars 8. I think that next week I will record it and begin watching it 45 minutes later. I bet I can catch up with fast forwarding through all the commercials and filler. I couldn't believe that they had a bunch of commercials after every single dance. That was overkill. I did enjoy the dancing though. Top of the leaderboard again were Gilles/Cheryl, Shawn/Mark and Melissa/Tony and poor Woz/Karina are bringing up the rear again. I enjoy watching him dance, but his poor body is falling apart.

Tomorrow night's musical guests are Hall & Oates and Adele and two more couples will have to participate in a Dance-Off. Who do you think those two couples will be? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 2 Results Show

2009-03-17T22:29:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all, I'm back again! This time with my recap of the first elimination show of Dancing With the Stars 8. There is a new twist this season, with the Celebrities with the two lowest point totals having a 'Dance-Off'. There were also three special musical numbers this evening, a Macy's Stars of Dance performance and songs by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Jewell.

The show started right off with Mark, Cheryl, Lacy, Tony, Derek and Julianne dancing to a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy song. You know, I thought this would be some crazy hard rock group, but was pleasantly surprised. I love big band music and this was kinda like Big Band with a rock twist. Very cool. Oh, and the dancing was good, too.

Steve-O was backstage and was interviewed. He hopes to stay, and he took total responsibility for that front flip (take that, you judges) and said that Lacey tried to talk him out of it. That led to a Tom Bergeron crack about what's it coming to when Lacey is the voice of reason. I hope he stays a while because I think that he and Lacey will have some interesting dance routines.

Eight couples were put out of their misery and told that they were safe. They were: LT/Edyta, Shawn/Mark, Chuck/Julianne, David/Kym, Denise/Maks, Melissa/Tony, Lil Kim/Derek, and Gilles/Cheryl. As much as I love Maks and Julianne, their comments this week (actually their whining this week) about Melissa have me sort of rooting against them. I didn't hear Maks complaining when his partner was Mel B, who had plenty of dance training, and Julianne shouldn't be complaining about anything since she's been given all these breaks already this season. Every season there is a contestant with more of a dance background and every season someone complains about it. Anyway ...

They wasted some time by having a little segment on a Celebrity Survival Guide by Cameron Mathison. He had the following tips for the Celebs to follow if they wanted to be successful:
-- Don't trip on the stairs
-- Make friends in the Red Room and then psych them out
-- Always cry in the confessional
-- Always kiss up to the judges
-- Make friends with the spray tan girl
-- And finally, to prevent injury ... don't sign up.

The two remaining special musical numbers followed. The Macy's Stars of Dance performance was choreographed by Michael Rooney, son of Mickey Rooney, and was a tribute to the Music of Hollywood's Golden Age. It was just okay for me. 'Our' dancers would have done a much better job, the girls especially. I also wasn't too impressed by the choreography. It looked like something just thrown together. I wonder how long they gave him to come up with this. I did, however, love seeing Mickey Rooney in the audience. Then Dmitry and Chelsie danced to Jewel's rendition of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. It was a pretty dance, but it looked like a typical SYTYCD routine and, of course, Dmitry just had to have his shirt open. *rolling eyes here*

Finally back to the results ... Holly/Dmitry, Ty/Chelsie, and Steve-O/Lacey were told that they were safe. That leaves Belinda/Jonathan and Steve Woz/Karina as the bottom two and the participants of the first ever Dance-Off. The way this worked was that the judges slate was wiped clean, tonight's scores will count for 50% of the final score, with the audience vote counting for the other 50%.

Belinda/Jonathan were up first and chose to repeat their Salsa from last night. Last night the judges kept harping on her lack of hip action, so that's what they worked on today. It was really sad, though. She focused so much on her hips, that she messed up on her footwork. It wasn't as much fun to watch today, she didn't look as if she enjoyed it as much either. The judges agreed. They complimented her better hip action, but all remarked on her losing her footwork. Backstage, she kept apologizing to Jonathan for letting him down, and he just kept telling her that he was proud of her. Scores: Two 6's and a 5 from Carrie Ann for a total of 17, one point less than last night.

The Woz/Karina chose to replay their Quick Step. This guy just makes me smile when he dances. He just seems to have so much fun. I enjoyed this routine once again. The judges commented that he's not a good dancer, but they enjoy watching him. Backstage, Samantha asked both couples some really assinine questions. She asked how they would feel if this was their last dance. What does she think? I'm waiting for someone to just give her a look and then ignore her. Scores: Two 6's and a 5 from Len for a total of 17, the same as last night. Bruno had a paddle malfunction and held his score paddle up backwards.

With the judges scores equal, it was up to the audience vote. And the first couple eliminated from Dancing With the Stars 8 was Belinda/Jonathan. It was really sad, but frankly, she wouldn't have lasted very long. I feel badly for Jonathan, though, lately it seems that he gets booted early. Don't forget to go to abc.com and vote for the Design-a-Dance. This past week plus the dance was voted on and the Quick Step was chosen. Now the vote is for who we want to see dance. I hope the dancers chosen are not the Houghs this time.

Well, catch y'all next week. What was your reaction to tonight's show? Did the right couple go home? Comment below.

Dancing With the Stars 8: Week 2 and I'll Still Call Him Superman

2009-03-17T12:32:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all. It's only the second week of Dancing With the Stars 8, and the injuries just keep a comin'. Over the weekend, there were reports of injuries to Steve Wozniak (foot), Steve-O (back), and Gilles (shoulder). At the time, I wondered if any of those injuries would have a big impact on the show. It didn't take long to find out that, at least in the short term, the answer was yes. During introductions, Lacey came down the staircase alone and Tom Bergeron commented that Steve-O had hurt his back earlier in the day during dress rehearsals. Well, either Tom was kept in the dark, or they deliberately were keeping from us the prior back injury. Anyway, we got the first of several teases that we'd learn more about the situation later.

To begin the night, Holly/Dmitry did the Quickstep. During their practice video, they decided to get to know each other better, to help the chemistry issues. Holly told us that her mantra is "Every day is a Holly-day". Okay, stop gagging now. The funny part was that Dmitry kept thinking that she said 'holiday' and he was like ... okay. I guess it kinda loses impact when you have to explain it, hahahaha. Anyway, their Quickstep was okay. The footwork was pretty good, but there was no chemistry. The judges weren't glowing in their comments. Len said that the footwork was good, but that she had bad posture up top, Bruno said that it looked like she was running after Dmitry trying to catch up and Carrie Ann said that she looked like a doll. He was dragging her around. She told Holly that she needed to be more of an equal partner in the dance. Scores: Three 6's for 18 this week and a two dance total of 36/60.

David Alan/Kym were next with a Salsa. He impressed me by insisting to Kym that he didn't want to just stand around while she danced, but that he wanted to dance, too. And she did choreograph for him to dance. I thought the dance was very entertaining. I'm not a pro, but I know what I like and I liked this one. The judges? Not so much. Bruno said that he was only in one character tonight, but that his timing was off and his hip action needed work. Carrie Ann said that harder was not always better and that they lost the musicality trying to hard. Len said that there was too much Kym, not enough David and that the hip action was lacking (* remember this comment because I'll rant about it later) Scores: Two 6's and a 5 (from Len) for 17 this week, and a two week score of 36/60.

Denise/Maks did the Quickstep. It was just okay to me, nothing spectacular or even very entertaining. Her footwork was good, but she just looked stiff and uncomfortable about the upper body to me. The judges disagreed with me again (yes, this is a reoccurring theme this week). Carrie Ann said that this was much better, fantastic even, but that there were a few missteps. Len said that it was quite an improvement, but that they momentarily lost sync and Bruno agreed on the improvement and said that there was great leg action. The only entertaining part of their segment, at least for me, was that after the judges comments, at Maks suggestion, Denise either patted or pinched Tom's tushy. Scores: Three 7's for 21, and 39/60 for the two weeks.

Belinda/Jonathan's Salsa was next. Jonathan said that he was going to make this wild and exciting and put in a few of her moves from the Go-Go's. I thought it was a fun, cute routine. Even though I saw one big mess up, I had a smile on my face the whole dance. Of course, the judges saw a different dance. Len said that it was exuberant and fun but it lacked hip action. Bruno said that there was progress made, but she needs to work on her timing and rhythm and Carrie Ann just dissed Belinda and told her that she was lacking in grace. Scores: Three 6's for 18, and 35/60 total.

Ty/Chelsie were next with their Quickstep, and I was worried. I like these two and don't want them to leave right yet. Alright! This dance is so much better. It was so cute and entertaining. Ty is such a cutie pie and he worked so hard. And the judges seemed to agree with me this time. Carrie Ann cheered and said that she was so proud of him. Bruno commented that he was riding that Quickstep, he had good posture and was much improved. Len called it a metamorphosis. Last week he was a caterpillar and this week a butterfly (um, okay). Scores: Two 7's and a 6 (from Len) for 20, and 34/60 for the two week score.

Shawn/Mark's Salsa also had me worried. I'm just not sure if this little girl can handle the Latin dances. She's so immature and inhibited and the Latin dances are just so sexy and free. Their Salsa was pretty good. I didn't enjoy it as much as many of the dances, but technically it was good. Once again, the judges commented similarly, but their scores didn't reflect the comments. Bruno called her a cute little thing, charming and precise. But she has to work on her naughtiness and flirtation. Len said that she was clean and precise. She needs to let it go a little more in latin dancing, and Carrie Ann said that her footwork was good and precise and that she was very focused. Scores: Three 8's for 24 and 47/60 for the two weeks.

The Woz/Karina had a Quickstep that had me cringing before it even began. Woz has a bad foot. He had an MRI this week and was told to rest his foot as much as he could and to use a walking cast. The doctor did not tell him that he couldn't dance, though. He's a big man already and with a broken foot, how would he handle this dance, in particular? Well, he handled it. It looked awkward, but he looked like he had so much fun, and it was fun to watch. I love this big guy and his whole attitude. Len said that it was great antics, Carrie Ann said that he was such a trooper, that she enjoyed watching him, but he needs to work on his arms and his endurance. Bruno was nasty to him again. He called him Wall-E this week (teletubby last week), rusty, made with spare parts, but resilient. Scores: Two 6's and a 5 (from Len) for 17, and 30/60 total.

Then came the Salsa from Chuck/Julianne. I thought it was a Julianne Salsa and Chuck posed. She came out in her bright costume with lots of, not ruffles, but you know those strings that hang off the costume and he was in all black. And she flashed and wiggled and jiggled and moved all around him while he stood there. Whatever. All three judges put Julianne on blast for it, but their scores didn't reflect their comments. Scores: Two 7's and a 6 (from Carrie Ann). I was pissed because David Alan did SO much more than Chuck and Len made a pithy comment about it and gave him a 5. Anyway their two week score is 40/60. Wonder if that is written into her contract that she can't be given bad scores for bad choreography.

Anyway, I soon calmed down when I saw LT/Edyta's Quickstep. I was so happy to see him do so much better. He still isn't quite in the Emmitt and Jason category, but he's definitely improved. This routine was fun to watch, entertaining. The judges agreed. Carrie Ann sang "That's the Way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it" and told them that it was much better, smooth and powerful. Bruno commented that he's a competitor, he came out there and performed and Len said that it was difficult choreography, but that it was well done. Scores: Two 7's and a 6 from Len for a 20. WHAT?? He dances, Chuck poses and they get the same score??? Bull hockey! Dang it, now I'm mad again. Two week total 36/60

We finally get a Steve-O update. During dress rehearsal, he fell on his mic pack and hurt his back. During their practice video he was saying how he was gonna do this salsa Steve-O style, which told me that he was going to put some risky moves in it. He'd already had some back problems, it was shown. And he was icing it between dancing. Well at the end of the routine in dress rehearsal, he and Lacey both did a front flip. Lacey landed correctly, but Steve-O landed flat on his back ... on his mic pac. Lacey said that he got up from that, but when they went back stage, they were rehearsing a move and he hit his back on her and it swelled up and at that point they took him to the hospital. Lacey did say that initial reports from the hospital were that there was nothing broken.

The show decided to judge him and Lacey on their dress rehearsal. That really stinks, because there is no excitement, no polish on a dress rehearsal performance, but oh well. They showed the performance and it was pretty good. I bet it would have been awesome during the show. The judges were harsh with them all seeming to blame Lacey for his getting injured. It wasn't a traditional salsa by any means, and it was out there even for Lacey, so I figured that they wouldn't like it. But they actually surprised me with how much they disliked it. Scores: Two 5's and a 4 (from Len) for 14, and 31/60 for the two weeks.

To lighten things up, Lil Kim and Derek performed their Quickstep to 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. She was quite refined (for her) and it seemed very smooth. Bruno commented that she did bling very well and he loved it. Carrie Ann said that it was great, fantastic choreography, but that they needed to work on their holds. Len was harsh. He said that she's definitely not shy, there was not a lot of quality, no refinement and virtually no body contact. His comments were harsh, but the scores were not. Scores: Two 8's and a 7 (from Len) for 23 and 44/60 for the two week score.

Melissa/Tony followed with their Salsa. Now THAT was a salsa! Best one of the night and best dance so far. Very entertaining and it was the most like a traditional salsa. I was shaking along with them, and I wasn't the only one, haha! Carrie Ann said 'Finally a real salsa!' and called it slammin'. Len said that he was gyrating in his seat (that was a visual that I could do without, thanky very much), and Bruno made some cooking analogy talking about so much content and so much flavor. He wanted more and thanked them. Scores: Two 9's and an 8 (from Len) for 26 and 49/60 for the two week score!

And last, but definitely not least, my new Dancing honey Gilles and his partner Cheryl doing a Quickstep to 'Kryptonite'. He came out looking just like Clark Kent, down to the glasses. Oh, man this was my second favorite dance of the night! Very close second, too. Maybe it's tied for my favorite dance. It was awesome, I loved it! And at the end he threw off his glasses and tore open his button down shirt to show his spandex with the G on it. Excellent dance! That was the way to end this thing! Judges agreed, too. Len said it was great, well done. Bruno called it French class with American flair, and Carrie Ann told him that they were quickly becoming fan faves. I hope so because he probably had the smallest fan base coming into this thing, and he deserves to stay. Scores: Three 9's for 27! Woo hoo! and 51/60 for the two dance total.

And that was it boys and girls. Another entertaining two hours of dance. Gilles/Cheryl top the judges leaderboard with 51/60, Melissa/Tony are on their heels with 49/60 and Shawn/Mark have 47/60. Down at the bottom are Steve Wozniak/Karina with 30/60 and Steve-O/Lacey with 31/60. That doesn't mean much because there will also be two weeks of viewers votes added in. This year, they will tell us the bottom two, and instead of that being it, those bottom two teams will have a Dance-Off. According to abc.com: In the "Dance-Off," the judges scores from the first 2 weeks are wiped out and the judges scores from the "Dance-Off" performance will replace them. The viewer votes from the first 2 weeks still count. The new judges scores from the "Dance-Off" and the viewers votes from the first 2 weeks will be combined to determine the eliminated couple.

While it sounds like a big thing, it really isn't. As I see it, the only thing it will accomplish is to let us know who the bottom two are, so that if we're fans and our fave survives, we can vote our tails off this next week. It will also allow the judges to manipulate their scores (as if they don't already) to determine who they want to leave. Maybe. Only if the voters totals are close, because if they're not, then it shouldn't matter what the judges do. Unless they're weighted, which they won't tell us. And I bet every week, whoever gets the highest judges score will stay, regardless of fan vote.

Anyway, Tuesday night is the first elimination and the musical guests are Jewel and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Macy's Stars of Dance performance is, according to Tom, a contemporary twist on the golden age of Hollywood Musicals, whatever that means. But I usually love that segment, so I'm looking forward to it. So who will be in the dance off and who will leave? Comment on that or on your thoughts of the show below or shoot me an email at ladytex@tvfunspot.com and I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow with the recap of the results show.

Dancing With the Stars 8: "I Wanna Put My Foot in the Waltz's Butt"

2009-03-10T12:15:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all! The season premiere of Dancing With the Stars 8 was a good one. There were the expected bad dances, the expected good dances, and even the unexpected good ones. This is a non-elimination week and the scores earned along with the vote counts will carry over to next week. A new twist have the bottom two couples doing a dance off to get the judges to change their scores. As everyone knows, two female celebrities dropped out of the competition last week, Jewel and Nancy O'Dell. For the intros only 11 couples came out and we were told that we'd find out the replacements later.

The first couple to dance this week was Lil Kim / Derek. In their little pre-dance blurb we learned that Lil Kim became a fan while she was in prison and that she was dedicating this first dance to all her girls in the Federal Detention Center. Alrighty then ... She also made a remark that she's gonna be Black Barbie to Derek's Ken. Okay, so I didn't really have an open mind about her to begin with, and this really didn't help. So, for their dance, they did a Cha-cha to Nasty Boys. Uh, yeah. So I guess they're going to cater to the hip hop crowd with her this season. The dance really wasn't that bad, for what it was. The judges seemed to like it, giving her three 7's for a score of 21.

Next up was Belinda / Jonathan. She's our token older lady this season. They had a decent waltz. She was kind of stiff, but I think it was nerves. I loved that she was actually singing the words to the song as she danced. The judges didn't like it nearly as much as I did with Bruno being particularly brutal saying that she started off like Julie Andrews and it turned into Cloris. I didn't see that at all. Carrie Ann told her that it wasn't great, but it definitely wasn't Cloris. She also gave her some good advice, to trust Jonathan and to let him lead. She received two 6's and a 5 for a score of 17.

Lawrence (LT) / Edyta came out next. I used to have such the crush on this man ... sigh. Unfortunately, he looks like he will be the one to break the streak of football players doing well and going far. Emmitt, Jason and Warren he is not on the dance floor. I was quite disappointed. He was so worried about looking like a fool, that he didn't enjoy himself and it showed. This Cha-cha was pretty bad. The judges pretty much agreed with me, but gave him some useful advice for next week. They gave him a 6 and two 5's for a score of 16.

This next couple surprised me. My original predictions had Steve-O being one of the first to go, but maybe not. The Steve-O / Lacey combo make a good team. He's got a rough row to hoe, though. He's balancing DWTS with rehab and he said that this week, "I wanna put my foot in the Waltz's butt". I really enjoyed their Waltz, it was fun to watch. Not perfect, by any means, but very entertaining. I was impressed at how seriously he is taking this. The judges, however, didn't like it as much as I did. Len admitted that he expected much worse, Bruno called it a big pile of slapstick, but fun. Both he and Carrie Ann told him that he needed to work on his technique. They gave him two 6's and a 5 for a score of 17.

I have no clue who this Gilles guy is, but they called him the "Sexy Naked Neighbor". Uh yeah, he IS sexy and the Cha-Cha that he and Cheryl did was HOT. The judges agreed complimenting him for pulling it off and Cheryl for the choreography. He probably has the smallest fanbase, so he's gonna have a hard time staying in this thing, but if it was based on performance alone, Cheryl could possibly be on her way to her third trophy. The judges gave them three 8's for a score of 24.

The real life couple, Chuck / Julianne, were next. They are gonna ram this real life couple thing down our throats until we puke. I was already rolling my eyes at them before they even hit the dance floor. In spite of myself, however, I kind of liked their Waltz. It wasn't my favorite, and she has some work to do to get him up to championship status. The judges thought that it had good spots, but that it was also hectic at times. Bruno said that it looked like he was chasing her at times, and the Lift Police (Carrie Ann) said she caught a lift. They got two 7's and a 6 for a score of 20.

Next we had our first replacement dancer. Tom introduced Holly Madison as Jewel's replacement. They made sure to let us know that she had been on the cover of Playboy 4 times ... whatever. She only had one week to prepare this Cha-Cha with new pro Dmitry Chaplin from So You Think You Can Dance, and it looked it. I didn't like it at all ... all flash, no substance. All she did was shake her fake boobs and her butt. The judges liked it better than I did with only Bruno honestly critiquing her by telling her that she lost the timing quite a few times. The judges gave her three 6's for a score of 18.

Ty was up next with his partner, new pro Chelsie Hightower, also from SYTYCD. She is just cute as a button and may give Julianne a run for her money for the cute little bubbly blonde role. Poor Ty, though. I think he just did this for his wife, Jewel, and now she's out. He looked so awkward and uncomfortable with this cha-cha. This man has no rhythm. The judges, other than Bruno, struggled to find something kind to say. Bruno said it looked more like an army drill than a cha-cha. The scores were also brutal, two 5's and a 4 for a total of 14.

The next couple is one that I was waiting for. Shawn Johnson / Mark Ballas did a very pretty waltz. When they showed the practice clips, I was a bit worried because she came across as very young and immature. Gotta remember that she is a very sheltered 17 yr old. While it was a pretty waltz, you could see her gymnastics with some of the awkward arm movements. She had a tendency to throw her arms out there instead of letting them flow. The judges agreed and enjoyed this performance with Carrie Ann almost in tears. Bruno and Len both commented on the gymnastic arm thing, but were very impressed. She got two 8's and a 7 for a score of 23.

Then came another cringe moment. Steve Woz is a typical nerd. This co-founder of Apple Computers even came out to his 1st meeting with his pro on a Segway. He's really sweet and a big teddy bear. He said that he just wants to prove that nerds can dance. I have only two words to describe his and Karina's Cha-Cha ... oh my. Len said that the good news was that it held his attention, but it was a disaster. Bruno called him a teletubby gone mad and Carrie Ann siad that he was what the show was about, taking the celebrities out of their comfort zones and doing something new. The judges gave them two 4's and a 5 for a score of 13.

I had no expectations for the next couple. In fact, I had them pegged as early exits, too. David Alan Grier is another comedian that I don't find particularly funny and I didn't know if he'd take this seriously. He started off on the wrong foot trying to joke with poor Kym Johnson, who didn't get his jokes at all and didn't know how to take him. They did a Waltz to one of the worst renditions of "You Light Up My Life" that I've ever heard. And it wasn't half bad. You know I'd forgotten that he'd worked with Carrie Ann, when she was a Fly Girl on "In Living Color" and she warned him to be careful with his facial expressions while he danced, they could be distracting. Bruno also commented on his face and said that with his face he was 4 or 5 different characters in that one dance. Len said that it was more good than bad, lol, but that his bum sticks out when he dances. This couple received two 6's and a 7 for a score of 19.

My Maks was up next with his partner Denise Richards. I don't know what to make of her. Something about her bugs me, but I can't root against her because I wanna watch Maks. What a conundrum. Whoa, this chick may not last long though. Maks had her in tears already! We all know it takes a strong woman to deal with Maks, and that's usually who they give him. Either they screwed up, or she's stronger than she's coming across. Their Cha-Cha was just okay. I didn't really enjoy watching her dance, and she distracted me from watching him! The judges all saw some potential there with Bruno saying that she has it all, but doesn't know what to do with it. I guess time will tell. In the meantime, the judges gave them three 6's for a score of 18.

And last but not least, the replacement dancer for Nancy O'Dell. They tried to keep this one undercover, but they did an awful job of it. We got to see Jason from The Bachelor dump this poor girl twice in this show, once instead of practice film. Melissa and her partner Tony had two days to learn and practice this Waltz, good thing she has a dance background. Good job! She's a very pretty dancer, you can see her ballet training. All three judges agreed with Len and Bruno calling Jason a loser. She received two 8's and a 7 for a score of 23

There you have it. A very long evening with lots of dancing and information. No Tuesday show this week, but if you go to the website, they are doing the Design-A-Dance thing again. This week, the vote is for the style of dance. Next week, the stars dance again Monday and have an elimination show on Tuesday. The scores from this week and votes will count toward that elimination. Gilles and Cheryl top the leaderboard this week with Shawn and Melissa close behind. Bringing up the rear is Steve Woz and Ty Murray.

What did you think? Were the scores justified? How did your favorite do and who did you like the most/least this week? Comment below or email me at ladytex@tvfunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 8: First Thoughts

2009-03-08T23:47:00.001-05:00

Hey Y'all! It's that time again! Hard to believe that another season of Dancing With the Stars is getting ready to begin. And not only that, it seems that the injury bug that plagued last season has started early. We've not even begun and two dancers have bitten the dust (cue music).

Nancy O'Dell and Jewel have both suffered injuries forcing them to drop out of the competition. Jewel has suffered stress fractures in BOTH legs and Nancy has a torn meniscus. So will we start down two teams or will replacements be found? Well, over the weekend, replacements have been named.

I admit that when I first heard rumors that some playboy chick named Holly was bragging about going on the show I cringed and buried my head in the sand in denial. All I know about her is that she's a young pretty girl that shacked up with an old ugly rich guy on national tv. And she shared him. Ugh .... But alas, she was telling the truth and it seems as if she will be partnered with new pro Dmitry Chaplin. Now I remember Dmitry from So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). He wasn't my favorite, in fact, I called him the poor man's (or woman's) Maks. So I laughed when I heard that he was going to be on this show WITH my Maks. Those dynamics should be interesting, I think.

What hasn't been confirmed by ABC, but is a widespread rumor, is the replacement for Nancy. I've seen everywhere that Melissa, the jilted ex from this past season of Bachelor, is stepping up to the plate. Melissa is a NFL dancer, so I know she has some moves. Will they translate to the ballroom floor? We'll see. She would also seem to be coming in with the pity vote. Lots of people feel sorry for the way she was treated by the new bad man of reality TV, Jason, and that may equal more votes. She will be partnered with Tony Dovolani and I think this will be a good team.

Shawn Johnson will also be one to watch. This tiny gymnastic champion also has dancing in her background and she'll be partnered with Mark Ballas. He's a wonderful partner who seems to do very well in choreographing to his celebs strengths.

Denise Richards, Lil Kim and Belinda Carlisle round out the women. I think that Denise Richards was cast as the woman everyone wants to hate this season, you know, the Heather McCarthy role. Her partner is Maks, so I can't root against her. Lil Kim does the hip hop thing, but she's kinda coarse and I'm leery of watching her do a ballroom dance. Her partner is Derek Hough, and I really don't know how that combo will play out. I look for these two to be out soon. The only thing I know about Belinda Carlisle is that she was in the Go-Go's, a group I loved back in the day. Now I have “We Got the Beat” stuck in my head. Her partner is Jonathan Roberts, who I'm glad to see back in the mix.

Then there are the guys. The football player role is being filled by Lawrence Taylor, the original LT, this season. I know that he used to be quick on his feet, and he was sexy as heck with a smile that wouldn't quit. Oh, sorry ... focus here. I don't know how kind the years have been to him since he retired from football or if he's kept himself up. He's being partnered by Edyta, lucky chick.

The resident geek is Steve Wozniak, The Woz, of Apple Computer fame. This has nothing to do with dancing, so I guess we'll see if this geek has rhythm. His partner is Karina Smirnoff, who I am only beginning to like. I used to totally despise her because of her attitude, but it seems like she's toned it down since she got involved with Maks. Wait a minute ... maybe I like her less now, I'll get back to you on that one.

I know who David Allen Grier is, but that's about it. That's more than I can say about the other guys. I don't have a clue who Steve-O, Gilles Marini, or Chuck Wicks are. The only reason I've heard of Ty Murray is that I saw him on some race car driving reality show at some point. Oh, and he's married to Jewel. Ty is partnered with another newbie, Chelsie Hightower, who I absolutely loved on SYTYCD. Kym Johnson is David Allen Grier's pro and Cheryl Burke is teamed up with Gilles Marini. Steve-O is partnered with Lacy, which I don't know about. Is she being punished? I see him in the not funny comedian who can't dance role. We'll see.

I read that Chuck Wicks is the sweetheart of Julianne Hough, who just happens to be his partner. Wonder if that was written into their contracts. She'd previously announced that she was taking this season off to concentrate on her music career and tour with none other than Chuck Wicks. I'm not sure how I feel about that favoritism shown to her partnering with her honey. They come into this with a big leg up on the rest of the cast seeing that they don't have to get familiar with the other or worry about chemistry.

My early picks for best dancing teams are the Shawn/Mark team and the Melissa/Tony team. Who'll be the first out? I would guess Steve-O or David Allen Grier. Dancing With the Stars premieres Monday, March 9th at 8/7 central with a two hour show. Don't miss it!

Dancing With the Stars 7: And the Winner Is ...

2008-11-25T22:40:00.001-06:00

Tonight, the night we've all been waiting for. One hour fifty minutes of fluff for probably less than ten minutes of what we all want to see. The stars were slated to do one more dance tonight. Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus were on hand to sing. All the eliminated stars were there to perform again, too. So was this a memorable finale or did I just lose almost two hours of my life?

To read my recap and the results, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: It's Finale Time!

2008-11-24T21:02:00.002-06:00

Tonight, the final dances on Dancing With the Stars 7. Who'll bring it and take the mirrored ball trophy home? The three finalists are as different as can be. You have your boy bander, your athlete and your model/hostess. Brooke has been consistently good, Lance has come a long way with a new pro, and Warren has been charming his fan base. If it were totally based on technique, Warren would be a goner. If it were personality based, Brooke would be gone. All three have entertained in their own way. Tonight they had the Samba smackdown and freestyle.

I was really entertained by all of the dances. There weren't any obvious clunkers. I wasn't as impressed as the judges were by Brooke and Derek, but they were good. I was a little disappointed in Lance and Lacey's freestyle as I wish it weren't hip hop. Warren brung it. He was so much fun to watch, as usual.

To read the entire recap, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Week 9 Results with the Queen of Soul

2008-11-18T21:33:00.002-06:00

Hey y'all. Once again when I don't get a chance to watch the Dancing With the Stars 7 performance show, all hell breaks loose. What happened to Brooke? I was really happy to see that there would be an hour recap show prior to the live show and it was worth watching for me. Lance and Lacey left them all in the dust. Both of their routines were the best, I don't care what Len says. I definitely did not think that Brooke and Derek deserved that 10 from him over Lance.

The finals of the Ballroom Kids competition also took place in that first hour. Each of the finalist couples got visits and coaching from one of the pros. Karill and Hanna were first. They received a visit from Tony and they did a cha cha. It was really cute, they were very peppy and did a great job. Julianne visited Mitchell and Maria. They did a samba and it was excellent. This was my favorite. Craig and Samantha were coached by Maks and did a jive. They did much better, IMO, than they did in the first round. It was then put to the viewers to decide the winner.

The second hour had musical performances from Aretha Franklin, Leona Lewis, Julianne Hough (yes, our Julianne) and John Legend. Aretha belted "Chain of Fools" and "Respect", Leona Lewis sang "Bleeding Love", John Legend sang "Green Light" and Julianne sang a song from her new CD. For the complete recap, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Week 8 Results and Therapy With Dr. Drew

2008-11-11T21:37:00.000-06:00

Hey y'all. Tonight on Dancing With the Stars 7, in addition to the elimination of one couple, musical performances and a special dance by Lacey and her brother Benji, we finally saw the Design-a-Dance. Also, we were teased that Dr. Drew did couple interviews and touched a few raw nerves. Of course, even though we just watched a one hour recap show, we got another recap to start the show. This recap was highlighted by backstage banter between the judges. Len agreed with me about Lance's solo. I commented that it was too much hip hop and Len said it was too much boy band.

For my complete recap and results, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: I'll See Your Two Dances and Raise You a Solo

2008-11-10T21:03:00.002-06:00

Hey y'all! Tonight on Dancing With the Stars 7, the stars have quite the challenge. Not only do they have to learn two complete dances, they must learn and perform a solo of at least 15 seconds during the Latin routine. Two weeks until the finals, who'll step up to the plate and who'll falter?

The ballroom round was fun. Brooke/Derek and Warren/Kym got identical scores of 28 for their Tangos to lead the pack. The Latin round had Brooke/Derek getting a 27 on their Mambo to take the overall lead. Warren/Kym are only one point behind. I, personally, thought that Warren/Kym had the most entertaining dance of the night with their Jive, but the judges didn't agree.

Maurice/Cheryl and Cody/Edyta are at the bottom of the leaderboard with 48/60. Read my entire recap over at TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Week 7 Results Show - They're Dancing on the Ceiling

2008-11-05T21:31:00.002-06:00

Hey y'all! Monday night, there was a twist on Dancing With the Stars 7 and it really affected the leaderboard. A disasterous team dance for Team Cha Cha sent Lance/Lacy, Susan/Tony and Cody/Edyta to the bottom of the rankings even after good scores on their individual dances. Team Paso (Warren/Kym, Maurice/Cheryl, Brooke/Derek) scored a 29 on their team dance while Team Cha Cha only scored a 20. That helped Warren/Kym because even though they had the lowest individual dance score, they shot up to third place.

Tonight's show featured musical guest Grammy and Academy Award winning singer/songwriter Lionel Richie and a Macy's Stars of Dance performance choreographed by Dave Scott. Kenny Mayne and Jerry Rice were also back with Dancecenter.

To read the rest of the recap, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: One-Two-Three TEAM!

2008-11-03T22:41:00.001-06:00

Hey y'all! Tonight's Dancing With the Stars 7 has a different twist. Last week the stars and pros did a group number, but tonight they will split into teams and be scored on the team dance in addition to their individual dance. The teams will be Team Cha Cha versus Team Paso Doble. Last week, Lance and Lacey took over the top spot on the Leaderboard, can they hold on or will Brooke and Derek reclaim their throne? Len is back, will he be well rested and chipper, or is he still as crotchety as ever? Let's find out ...

First of all, let me just put this here. Most of the couples had a rough week at practice. There were arguments, tears, pain and doubts. There ... now I won't have to type that 4 or 5 more times. That seemed to have been the recurrent theme of the practice videos. I think the only ones that didn't have conflict were Brooke and Derek. Cody and Edyta only had a rough week because they were new to each other. They simply had chemistry issues.

How did your favorites do? What was up with that team dance? To find out, read the rest of my recap at TVFunSpot

Week 6 Results Show - Michael Flatley is STILL the Man

2008-10-28T22:54:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, looks like I missed a good show last night as I drove home to Texas from South Dakota. Brooke dropped from the top spot and seems to be injured, Julianne temporarily left to have her appendix removed, Lance rose to the top of the Leaderboard without Len being there and the judges finally gave Cloris the scores she's deserved. I may be one of the only females around that likes Edyta, so I'm glad to see her back, even temporarily.

The Encore Performance this week appeared to be the hip hop number. Did I call it or what last week when I said what they'd do with Cloris? Too bad they couldn't do the same with Susan, she was awful. From my wanderings on the web, I know that many people started dissing this number last week without even seeing it, but I rather enjoyed it. Since I missed the show last night, I'm glad it was repeated.

To read the rest of my recap, head over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Week 5 Results Show - It's Macy's 150th Birthday!

2008-10-21T21:48:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all! Welcome back. Tonight is the Week 5 Dancing With the Stars 7 Results show. ABC decided to do a 60 minute recap of the 90 minute Monday night show prior to the results show, but I recapped that last night so go here if you want to read about it. The musical guests tonight were the Brian Setzer Orchestra and a special Macy's Stars of Dance performance. There was also another round of Ballroom Kids.

I enjoyed both musical guest numbers. Be sure to catch the youtube of the Macy's Stars of Dance performance, it was awesome. I wasn't happy with the results of the elimination, but I wasn't really surprised. For my recap of the show, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: New Dance Showcase

2008-10-20T21:58:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the halfway point of Dancing With the Stars 7. The previews for this week show Cheryl chastising Maurice, calling him lazy. Then while practicing, he drops her ... whats up w/ that? Also there are four new dances: West Coast Swing, Hustle, Salsa and Jitterbug. The format will be 2 stars for each dance, with the dances shown

Lance/Lacey and Toni/Alec tackle the West Coast Swing, Susan/Tony and Warren/Kym do the Hustle, Cloris/Corky and Maurice/Cheryl Salsa, and Brooke/Derek and Cody/Julianne handle the Jitterbug.

Overall, I was very disappointed in the West Coast Swing. Lacey got called on the carpet by the judges. They told her that her job was to showcase her star, not herself. My favorite dances were the two jitterbugs. The Hough kids did wonderful jobs.

To read my entire recap, head on over to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Week 4 Results Show - Dirty Campaign Ads Are Not Just for Politicians

2008-10-14T22:35:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all. Welcome back for the Dancing With the Stars 7 Week 4 Results show. Last night, Lance and Lacey had their coming out party and Cody and Cloris also got their best scores yet. Warren fell back to the middle of the pack and Rocco is teetering on the edge. Tonight, another couple was eliminated, Ne Yo sang, Los Vivancos danced and we got to see round 1 of the Ballroom Kids competition.

For the rest of my recap, go to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Sir Dance-A-Lot Reigns

2008-10-14T00:01:00.002-05:00

Tonight was a Tango and Samba night on Dancing With the Stars 7. Last weeks scores and votes will be combined with this weeks to determine who will go home. Rocco was saved last week, would he improve enough and get enough fan support to save him again? How many times will Cloris make us cringe tonight? And will Lance and Lacey please Len or Bruno and Carrie Ann? Those questions and more were answered on tonight's show.

It was a fun night, with Lance and Lacey breaking through. My guys, Warren and Maurice disappointed, but hopefully their two week scores will be enough to keep them around. To read my full recap go to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: To Call It Wacky Would Be the Understatment of the Year

2008-10-06T22:49:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all, welcome to week 3 of Dancing With the Stars 7. As most of you know by now, Misty May-Treanor had an accident on Friday while practicing. What we don't know yet is how bad it is, and how this will affect the competition. Tonight we'll see the other 9 couples do the Jive or the Viennese Waltz and find out about Misty.

My favorite dances were the Viennese Waltzes by Brooke/Derek and Warren/Kym. Toni/Alec also did a very interesting interpretation of the Waltz. Maurice and Cheryl had the best Jive. And Cloris? Well, she was Cloris.

To read my recap go to TVFunspot

Dancing With The Stars 7: Week 2 Results Show - It's a Jessica Simpson Night

2008-09-30T22:21:00.000-05:00

Last night on Dancing With the Stars 7, the stars danced the Rumba or the Paso Doble. Brooke/Derek and Warren/Kym soared while Cloris/Corky and Rocco/Karina crashed and burned. After two weeks and three shows on the bottom of the leaderboard, would Cloris finally go home, or would her fan base save her again? If she stays, who will go? I must love y'all and this show because I turned from the White Sox/Twins game to get those questions answered for you.

After the first recap of last night, yes, the first, Warren and Kym were chosen for the Encore Performance of their Matrix inspired Paso Doble by the judges. And let me tell ya, it was just as enjoyable tonight. I still marvel at how that big man can move. Then after the second recap of last night, Tom got right to business. He told us that after the judges scores were combined with our votes the following two couples, in no particular order mind you, were safe: Toni/Alec and Rocco/Karina.

To read the rest of my article go to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: Winner, Winner Big Chicken Dinner!

2008-09-30T00:31:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all! Welcome back for week 2 of my Dancing With the Stars 7 recaps. This week the stars and dancers will either do the rumba or the paso doble. Going into the week, I'm looking forward to Lacey's choreography and manly man Maks doing the Paso. As the stars were introduced, I first noticed the costumes. They ran the range from pretty, pretty (bet those are for the rumba) to traditional Spanish dress and then dominatrix wear. They had only 4 days to prepare this week, so it will be interesting to see how they do.

So how'd they do? Who ended up on the top of the leaderboard? Did anyone fall off? Memorable performances? Read the rest of my article here at TVFunspot.com

Dancing With the Stars 7: Week 1 Results Show

2008-09-24T22:22:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! Welcome back to the third night of Premiere Week for Dancing With the Stars 7. Tonight one more couple was eliminated and The Jonas Brothers and Jesse McCartney performed for our listening pleasure. Well ... for someone's listening pleasure because I don't even really know who these kids are. Anyway, whose fans pulled through and who will be going home?

Based on dancing only, Cloris should be leaving. She's hilarious, though, and is very entertaining, so she may be safe. I don't know how big a fan base Kim Kardashian or Ted McGinley have, so I think they may be in danger of leaving instead. Thank goodness we don't have to wait two hours tonight to find out.

They opened the show tonight with all of the pros dancing to "Under Pressure". Wow, that was hot, hot, hot. I loved seeing them all. And to realize that there were brother and sister, father and son, and husband and wife was awesome. In addition to his son, Mark, Corky had two of his students, Derek and Julianne, out there dancing with him, as well.

To read the rest of the article go to TVFunSpot

Dancing With the Stars 7: "I Always Had the Moves, Now I Know the Rules"

2008-09-23T23:57:00.001-05:00

Tonight was the second night of the big three night Premiere of Dancing With the Stars 7. All thirteen couples had to learn a second dance this week, but only twelve got to perform. Who was safe and who was the first couple eliminated? And who rocked the house tonight?

After a recap of last night, which saw Brooke and Derek at the top of the leaderboard and Jeffrey and Edyta at the bottom, we learned that they will tell one couple at a time that they were safe and they'd dance right then. Tonight's dances were the Mambo for those that did the Fox Trot last night and the Quick Step for those that did the Cha Cha.

To read who stayed and who was eliminated go to TVFunSpot

Dancing With The Stars 7: From QB Killer to Dance Floor Thriller

2008-09-23T00:31:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! Finally, the premiere of Dancing With the Stars 7 has arrived. Thirteen new Stars, 3 new Pros and a return of curious song selection await us. We have an octogenarian, a soap star, Olympic gold medalists, and a chef among our dancers. Tonight they will do either the Fox Trot or the Cha Cha. Who will entertain us and who will deserve to be gonged? Two hours and thirteen dances, let's get to it.

To read the rest of the article, go to TVFunSpot .

Dancing With the Stars: First Thoughts

2008-09-17T23:33:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! I am so excited about this new season of Dancing With the Stars! This group has such potential for entertainment. Note that I didn't say dancing, but entertainment. There are a couple that I think will be good dancers, but also a couple that I think will be good entertainers.

When I saw the cast, I honestly just sat a moment. They certainly ran the gamut this time. There are a few athletes, some singers, some actors/actresses, a chef, a comedian and Kim Kardashian. They bill her as an actress, but does a sex tape count? One good thing is that I don't see a ringer this season. The past few seasons you could pretty much pick out the winner or the finalists from the first, but this time I can't.

For the rest of the story, click here

Big Brother 10: Finale Thoughts

2008-09-17T09:15:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all. Last night was the Big Brother 10 finale, and I miss it already. I missed Big Brother After Dark last night. Although the last couple of nights have been boring with only Dan and Memphis in the house, it was still pleasant ... you know? This finale was the first one in a while where I didn't have to hold my nose and watch. Either of them would have been fine winning for me. I didn't like the way they did everything, but both played the game and for the most part they played clean.

CBS wastes too much time on recaps at the beginning of each episode. The finale wasn't as bad as last Thursday's show, however. They only recapped once, in color, and not twice, once in color and the other in black and white/sepia tones. And then we got to see the jury waiting for the final jury member. Some of them were still bitter, and it was still funny.

Keesha wasn't the most bitter of the crew, surprisingly, but she still wanted Memphis to be the final juror. Libra wanted it to be Jerry, because he wasn't the 'gingerly old man you thought he was'. Renny didn't want it to be Jerry, because she didn't want to spend any more time with him. Renny must have been off her meds again, because last night she was back to the wacky ole woman she was at the beginning.

It was funny and kind of sad when Jerry appeared. No one got up to hug him or show him any affection. I guess since they didn't need him anymore, they didn't have to be nice. He wasn't bitter at all as he told them what happened after Keesha left and then they started talking about the final 2 before the jury questioning.

Renny really kind of turned me off last night. From her bitterness in the jury house, to her curtsey and camera hogging at the live show, she made me look at her in a different manner. I always knew there was more to her than she showed in the house. I pegged her as a phony, but wow.

Michelle, on the other hand, was actually kind of impressive. Yes, she was still bitter, but I ignore that, haha. She was not fooled by Dan's offer of the trip and took pleasure in letting both Jerry and Memphis know about it. I was also laughing when she called Dan out during the jury questioning. On the trip he told her that it wasn't just him, that it was his alliance that set her up for the backdoor, but he quickly backed down when Michelle asked him about it in front of his alliance. That was about the only time Dan wasn't totally confident.

Dan, basically, had them eating out of his hand by the end of the questioning. His final plea was like the pep talks he gave the girls at that one endurance challenge. Memphis, though, didn't do himself any favors. He never really answered any of the questions, and kind of seemed very insincere. Dan was a pro and Memphis suffered for it. He was totally outplayed here.

Back at the live portion of the show, when the jurors cast their votes, most of them were very classy. And then there was Renny. She had to get more camera time and she went on and on about something ... I don't know what, I tuned her out, but she basically told us that she voted for Dan. Jerry mumbled something about voting for the person that was nice to him (huh?) and that he'd explain later.

In theory, I like the portion of the show where Julie Chen brings back the evicted houseguests that didn't make the jury. In practice, though, it seems that every season only one or two get to talk and the others are ignored. That pretty much happened this year, too. As usual, Brian took over. I guess he appointed himself spokesperson for the entire group and proceded to lecture and analyze the play of the jury members. I liked him when I interviewed him, but his 15 minutes are up. Steven just sat there and nodded his head in agreement with everything Brian said, similar to the chat last week. I don't remember Angie saying a word and Jessie was Jessie.

Actually it was pretty funny when Julie told them about Dan being America's player for a week and America targeting Jessie for everything. Jessie really wasn't happy about it and told America what they could do. Good thing Julie didn't say anything about it until after the votes were cast, because there may have been some changes.

When the votes were finally shown, I was surprised. It ended up going 7-0 for Dan. The jury members decided that Dan played the better game, or they were still under the spell of his pep talk. While that didn't bother me at all, America's Favorite Juror did. I didn't vote, but if I had, I definitely would not have voted for Keesha. I've already told y'all how I feel about females that call other females the C word. From my wanderings on the web, Keesha ought to thank April for this money. I don't know how many times I saw where someone posted that they voted 50 bazillion times for Keesha to win just so that they could see April's bitter beer face. Well, Keesha won the cash, and the voters got scammed. April was very ladylike and gracious when she congratulated Keesha.

All in all, it was a decent finale. I wish we could have a show like 'After the Rose'. Come back in a couple of weeks after the jurors have been home and told what really went on in the house. Wonder how they'd act then. I'm sure we'll get some inkling as the post-show interviews and chats start happening. What did y'all think of the show? Were you pleased with the outcome? Comment below.