Week 7 Scorecard

I'm ready for another double elimination week...and to see the costumes designed by the "stars", rather than the professional dancers.  Once we get through this week, we should (hopefully!) be down to just the good dancers...instead of the dancers with the largest fan base.  At risk?  I think Michael Irvin (although his fans have been keeping him in...and last week's dance off wasn't bad...well, compared to Louie's), Kelly Osbourne, and Aaron Carter.  We'll see who survives Tuesday night's LIVE...in no particular order...double elimination!

DWTS Scorecard-Week 7

Week 6 Scorecard--Are You Ready for the Dance Marathon?

In addition to the ballroom dance this week, the couples are also learning the Mambo in preparation for the Dance Marathon.  This sounds really hard to me.  I guess they are all going to be on the dance floor Mambo-ing until they are called off one couple at a time...until the last couple stands.  So, not just a basic routine that they can practice over and over, they have to really learn this dance so they can keep moving without repeating the same steps over and over.  This should separate the Louie Vitos from the Louis Van Amstels and the Michael Irvins from the Mark Ballases! 

We're more than half way through the competition, so it's time to send the laggers home.  I'm voting Louie Vito and Michael Irvin off the island...you know, if anyone cares what I think.

Happy viewing.  Your scorecard for the week is below.

"Dancing With the Stars" Scorecard-Week 6

I'm In Mourning for Natalie...and Really Mad At Those Judges!

I can't believe Natalie went home...and I can't believe Len had the nerve to blame it on the audience voting for the underdogs!  Natalie doesn't have the fan base some of the others have.  But she might have had a fighting chance if only the judges hadn't placed her in second to last place.  She just didn't have the fan base to vote her out of that position.  Shame on you, judges!  I really think they should vote on the curve.  After all, that's how Jerry and I do it--we give half points and quarter points...whatever we need to do so we don't give two couples the same score. 

Anyway, the rest of the week went like this:

HUGE Apologies About Confusing Changes to My Blog!

Okay.  I plead the fifth!  I'm new at this.  I'm basically clueless and have no idea what I'm doing.  I had this Blog set up all nice and neat-ish.  I tried to set up a Blog for our neighborhood, so we'd have a place to post pictures and things.  But, all the things I did to customize that Blog, carried over to this one.  I've just spent a long time fixing it.  So, if you see anything that says "My name is Neighborhood 25" or anything, please let me know.

Week Five Scorecard...Do the Hustle!

Here is your scorecard for week five.  I'm ready for the passionate Argentine Tango, the dramatic Paso Doble, and the...um...1970s disco Hustle? 

Let's see, somewhere in this pile of totally useless facts I've gathered, there must be a list of ages.  Who might have actually been alive in the 1970s and actually old enough to be out at a disco to see the Hustle?

Donny Osmond...not that I think Mormons actually went to discos in the 70s...and possibly Mark Decascos, but only if he would have borrowed his older brother's ID or something.  This is pathetic and makes me feel very old!

"Dancing With the Stars" Scorecard-Week 5

What's With Changing the Encore Dance on Us, Judges?

Heh!  On Monday night Len said he wanted to see Derek and Joanna's Lambada as the encore dance.  On Tuesday, he wanted to see Melissa and Mark's Charleston.  I'd be seriously ticked off if I were Derek and Joanna!

Well...that was about it for drama on the results show this week.  Two boring filler segments containing shocking revelations, such as:

--It's stressful to be standing under the red light listening to the scary music during elimination.  Who knew?
--Some of the stars have cute kids.  Some of the stars have kids that threaten other stars with comments like "our dad can beat up your dad".  Yawn.

Week Four -- The Four New Dances

Last week's four new dances were...interesting.  In retrospect, did we need four new dances?  Jerry and I both kept saying that we didn't know how to judge the dances because we weren't sure what they were supposed to look like.  Perhaps that was for the best with most of the couples!

In no particular order...okay, it's alphabetical because that's how my notes are and I'm too darned lazy to sort them any other way!

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" "Dancing With the Stars" Week!!

Oh, my gosh.  My two worlds collide!  "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is holding auditions October 19-23rd for their upcoming "Dancing With the Stars" week.  If you're going to be in New York that week, sign up to audition.  I'll be happy to be one of your "phone a friend" lifelines!!

http://millionairetv.com/special/dancingwiththestars/

Linda

Week Four Scorecard

Here is your scorecard for week four.  It will be very interesting to see how the professional dancers do with the four new dances this week.  I seem to remember the addition of West Coast Swing to the program last season threw a couple of the pros into a bit of a quandary.  For instance, Derek had to look the dance up on the internet to see how it is done.  So, the pros may have had a bit of a stressful week.  I bet we'll get to see all the backstage drama.  I can't wait!!

Happy viewing.

"Dancing With the Stars" Scorecard--Week 4

So Two Couples DID Go Home Last Night

I figured Tom DeLay was going to have to drop out due to his injury--the first major injury of the season!  And I guess I can understand the producers going forward with eliminating the couple "we" chose to send home in order to eliminate the number of "ballroom bloodbaths" (Tom Bergeron's term) mid-season...especially since we're now down to a more manageable 11 couples...just about where we usually start a season.  And, so, we bid a fond farewell to Debi Mazar (who was she supposed to be again?).

Last night's biggest shocker was the judges choosing Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya (Why couldn't she have taken her husband's name when they got married?  Roberts is so much easier to spell!) for their encore dance.  What??  Of course Mýa (top of the leader board with 27 points) wasn't going to be chosen for a second week in a row, but I thought Natalie Coughlin (with her 26 points) was a shoe in.  But then when Chuck was announced, I figured he was the one being sent home and this was an opportunity for his fans to be reminded just exactly how bad he is so they wouldn't get bent out of shape and come searching for the judges in a dark alley.  Since Chuck wasn't sent home, I can only assume a large of amount of alcohol was involved in Len's decision.

I Don't Think Anyone Will Get Voted Off Tonight

Okay, in my infinite wisdom, I don't think anyone will get voted off tonight. I think Tom DeLay will wind up dropping out due to his two fractured feet and that will save Chuck Liddell or Michael Irvin from getting the boot.

Let's face it, Tom DeLay isn't as bad as I feared he might be, but he shouldn't risk permanent long-term physical disability for the sake of the show. He's at best a middle-of-the-road dancer, but he's not going to win. The prudent thing to do would be to drop out.

Week Three Scorecard

Are we ready for Week Three's Sambas and Rumbas? Don't forget to vote in the poll on the right and let me know who you think should go home next.

Here is your play-along-at-home scorecard:

Dancing With the Stars Scorecard--Week 3

And Then There Were 13...

Okay, these results shows are starting to get on my nerves a bit. There's just too darned much filler that has absolutely nothing to do with ballroom dancing. So...in no particular order, here's what I thought:

Week Two Dances

This is a lot of "stars" to review! I can't wait until we get down to a manageable number of (good!) dancers. Did you notice an excessive number of audience boos when the scores were announced?

So...in alphabetical order:

Your Scorecard for Monday Night

Hello, Dance Fans.  Since ABC doesn't seem to be consulting me on what will be coming up this week, I'm guessing (hoping?!) the relay dance continues.  I found it really helpful to judge and compare the dancers during the relay--same music, same dance, and similar costumes.  I've included space on this week's scorecard for relay dance scores.  If they don't do a relay dance, just ignore those columns.  I've also added the dial-in numbers next to each of the professional dancer's names, so don't forget to call in for your favorites.

DWTS Scorecard Week 2

They're Holding a Spot for You In the Losers' Club

Okay, I'm ready to slit my wrists.  NOT because Macy Gray and Ashley Hamilton were kicked off the show (I mean welcomed into the Losers' Club!), but because Edyta is being sent home as well.  I LOVE making fun of her outfits (or lack thereof).  I'm really upset about this!  Had I only known, I would have made fun of her legwarmers more.

I really liked the entire program last night.  It was fast-paced and there wasn't a lot of totally useless filler.  And the filler segments they did were actually amusing.  I actually thought the Losers' Club was very funny.  Kenny Mayne, Penn Jillette and Jeffrey Ross did an admirable job of representing the club members.  But what about the others?  Trista Rehn Sutter?  Tucker Carlson?  Paulina Porizkova?  Josie Maran?  Monica Seles?  Belinda Carlisle?  What?  They were all too busy to attend last night's televised club meeting? 

And as long as the club has been formed, don't you think they ought to go ahead and let Jonathan Roberts and Edyta Sliwinska in, too?  This is not the first time Edyta has been sent home first--thanks to Jeffrey Ross.  Nor is it the first time Jonathan Roberts has gone home first--thanks to both Monica Seles and Belinda Carlisle.  In fact, Jonathan goes down in DWTS history as the first professional dancer to get kicked off first in two consecutive seasons.  (Cheers from the crowd!!)  How humiliating.  Hopefully they get paid for the whole season and not just for the shows they actually manage to stay on.

It Was Ladies' Night

"She's a Lady" was a great kickoff to an evening full of dancing that, well...wasn't as bad as Macho Monday.  Overall, the ladies were far better than the men.  In fact, I'd rather send two men home and keep all the ladies, except that we'd then have to endure another week of Macy Gray. 

So, in the order of their appearance, so we don't confuse Samantha (I loved her hair last night!) Harris:

The Men Dance 'Cuz It's "Macho Monday"

Oh, boy.  Where do I begin?  I'm not sure about sending home one man and one woman this week because unless the women really suck, they're going to have a hard time being worse than some of tonight's men!

--On a positive note, I loved the "Boys are Back In Town" opening number!
--I've really missed the sparkly dresses and the feathers and the fringe.
--Who was that guy with Marie Osmond?  And why did the camera man have to keep showing them?
--Donny's "Yeah, baby!" is getting on my nerves already and I've only heard it twice so far.
--Loved the addition of the relay dance.  I really like getting to compare the dancers side by side with the same music and similar costumes.
--Nice to see Gilles and Shawn in the audience.
--Kelly Osbourne has really cute hair (if she'd just lose the big, red, floppy bow).
--I just can't wait (yeah, right!) to hear Miley Cyrus' music video premier on Wednesday.  I'm just sure it's going to be full of ballroom dancing.  Because, why else would it be on DWTS????
--Did you see Cheryl's Jazzercise commercial?  Very inspiring, but she owns a flipping dance studio and she's made her own dance/exercise DVD, so I seriously doubt she's out signing up for Jazzercise classes.  I'm such a skeptic!

This Week's Eliminations

I found out on "Good Morning America" this morning that two people will be eliminated this week--one man and one woman.  I've adjusted the poll at the side of the Blog so there are two separate polls--one for the man you think will be eliminated first and one for the woman.  The men are dancing tonight and the woman tomorrow night.  I like that--it will make it easier to compare them.  Happy viewing!!

Only one more day!

Season 9 of "Dancing With the Stars" starts tomorrow.  I'm getting my TV set warmed up right now...actually, my DVR.  You won't believe this, but we're not going to be home tomorrow night!  I know, it's shocking, isn't it?  But since neither ABC, nor Lyric Opera of Chicago, seems inclined to change their schedules, I'm just going to have to watch it on DVR.  And if there's a power outage, I'm coming to YOUR house to watch it on your DVR, so don't delete it right away, okay?

If you're reading this...and I have no idea who might be...please leave a comment predicting who you think will win this season's fabulous, sparkly mirror ball trophy.  Please post your comments before 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night.  Yes!  Before the first "star" makes that fateful voyage (I hesitate to use the word "trip") down the curved staircase, I want to know who you think is going to win. 

Based on the fact that I know almost nothing about any of the "stars", and might only recognize four...maybe five...of them in a lineup, I'm going with Mark Decascos.  And that, my friends, is because I think he's very handsome.  But, I'm also predicting Donny Osmond is going to be in finals. 

I can hardly wait!!

Here's your Week One scorecard, so you can play along at home.  To print it, double click on the blue title "Score Sheet Week 1" and click on print...or click the drop down next to the word "More" and click on print.  Happy viewing!

Score Sheet Week 1

Season 9 Pairs Announced

Hello, Dance Fans. The professional dancer/"star" pairs were announced today.

I wonder how they are determined? Perhaps someone thinks it's Kym's turn to win because she's paired with Donny Osmond. She deserves a chance at the sparkly mirror ball trophy after having suffered through Jerry Springer and Penn Jillette. Two-time winner Cheryl, on the other hand, has Tom DeLay. I'm not sure I hold out a lot of hope for him...in spite of the fact that his daughter apparently is a professional dancer. Maybe he'll surprise me.

Anyway, the pairings...along with the backgrounds of each of the professional dancers...are shown below:

Dancing With the Stars--Season 9 "Stars" Announced

Hello Dance Fans! The "Biggest Cast Yet" is revealed for this season's "Dancing With the Stars". Um...that's based on sheer numbers (16) and not, as you might think, either star power or actual weight. (Something they have yet to try...you know, kind of like a cross between "Dancing With the Stars" and "The Biggest Loser". Oh, wait, that's been done with this year's fabulous(?) "Dance Your A$$ Off" (replace the dollar signs with the letter "s" and you'll get the actual title) starring Season 6's Marissa Jaret Winokur.)

And here they are...in no particular order...unless you count alphabetical, which Samantha Harris wouldn't because...well, that would involve knowing all her letters. Oh, no! Kind of early in the season for me to be THAT catty. But, it's been a long DWTS-less summer and I've had no one to make fun of for months!

(All information taken directly from the ABC Web site, so don't blame me for their sarcastic comments--I've got plenty of my own!)