DWTS 10: Benise, Melissa Ethridge and Another Results Show

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

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

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

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 ...

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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 ...

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??

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!

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 ...