TVSquad

(S02E01) It's hard to make a hit show, and it's hard to predict what show will be a hit. When I first heard the idea for Dancing with the Stars before the first season I thought, 'Why would anyone watch that?' Yet, here we are starting the third season and ABC has a bona fide hit on their hands. And I'm watching it. Go figure.

Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris return as hosts. And if I can go off-topic for just a minute, I have to mention Breakfast Time. I've been a Bergeron fan since he hosted the best morning show that ever was. When Tom goes into the Hall of Fame he should be wearing his Breakfast Time cap. That said, they have eleven new stars ready to dance it up. Celebrity men danced the Cha Cha Cha while the women did the Fox Trot. Here are the couples and their results.

Joey Lawrence and Edyta Silwenska - Ok, cards on the table, I'm a bit smitten with Edyta. I think you can make a case that she is the most beautiful woman on television. She gets a much different partner this year with Lawrence. 60 something year old George Hamilton had personality for days, but left a bit to be desired in the dance department. Joey looked like he was thinking his way through the dance a bit, and was criticized for his hips, and arms. Overall a good performance, and I think Joey and Edyta could be contenders. The scores, 7 - 7 - 7. Whoa! That's a bit low I think.

Sarah Evans and Tony Dovolani - The dance was nice, but what was with that dress? Terrible wardrobe choice. The judges criticize her footwork and Bruno says that she goes from Jackie O. to Barbara Bush. I guess that's his insane way of saying inconsistent. The scores, 5 - 5 - 5. Also low, I blame the dress.

Tucker Carlson and Elena Grinenko - As much as I love Edyta, that's just how much I don't like Tucker Carlson. But hey, there's no politics in dancing. How did Tucker do? Tucker dances like I do, and that's certainly not a compliment. He looked like he enjoyed it, and I think he'll work to improve, but I'm afraid he just doesn't have any talent for this. The judges criticized him for not dancing half the number and Bruno said, "What an awful mess." They score 12, but I missed the breakdown. 4 - 4 - 4? Huh, Mrs. Porter wasn't kidding when she said algebra would pay off one day.

Monique Coleman and Louis Van Amstell - Monique is from High School Musical, in case you didn't know. I didn't. She's adorable and looked fantastic in her pink dress. The dance was good, and she gains big points for personality. The judges aren't sure of the chemistry between the two of them, but are overall rather positive. I agree. They should be around for a while. The scores, 6 - 6 - 7.

Emmit Smith and Cheryl Burke - Cheryl was last season's champion. Her punishment is to be paired with Emmit. Ok, I wrote that line during the intro piece. Emmit was actually pretty good. He's smooth, and most definitely doesn't dance like me. It will be interesting to see if Emmit picks up the Jerry Rice vote. Jerry was able to stay in much longer than his dancing warranted last year. The judges are impressed with Emmit, complimenting his naturalness and, as Bruno puts it, "effortless cool." Given the fan vote, and Cheryl as a partner, I look for Emmit to stick around a while. The scores, 8 - 8 - 8. I think that's a little high, compared to the others.

Willa Ford and Maksim Chmerkovskiy - I expected good things from Willa, given her background, and she delivered. Very nice job with the dancing, and a natural performer. The judges were big on these two, calling Willa graceful and flawless. The scores 7 - 7 - 8. That's in the right ballpark.

Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff - Anna posted a couple days ago about Mario being the favorite to win the whole thing going in. Based on the performance tonight, that's a pretty good guess. These two were really really good. Mario is a dancer. They also get the award for best intro video. Karina is so cute with her 'mouse on a wheel' and 'field trip' comments. The judges loved it, saying it was one of the best they had seen tonight. And Bruno asked, "Do you have extra batteries in your pants?" Bruno is crazy. The scores, 9 - 8 - 9. I'm starting to think that going later is better. Takes a while to warm up those scoring paddles.

Shanna Moakler and Jessie DeSoto - I didn't place Shanna right away. She is best known for her MTV show Meet the Barkers. This one was just kind of ho hum to me. Nothing really wrong with it, but nothing that really stood out. Solid start for the team, but I could do with less focus on her divorce. The judges criticize Shanna's consistency and footwork. The scores, 7 - 5 - 6.

Harry Hamlin and Ashley Del Grosso - Yay for Ashley. She was stuck with Master P. last year, and nobody should have to do that. Harry is much more into it. Unfortunately, desire doesn't always translate to good dancing, and Harry's not very good. The judges aren't impressed, saying Harry is stiff and doesn't have much personality. The scores, 5 - 6 - 6. Fair enough.

Vivica A. Fox and Nick Kosovich - Yikes, another bad dress, coupled with bad hair. Vivica looked so much better in her intro video. Not a bad dance for these two. The judges liked this more than I did and compliment Vivica on her ability to sell a performance. The scores, 6 - 8 - 8. Too high I think.

Jerry Springer and Kim Johnson - Poor Kim, the champion from the Australian Dancing with the stars drew the short straw and got Jerry as a partner. Jerry is this years Kenny Mayne. And that joke that 'Hey, I really can't dance, but let's all have a laugh while I try.' just doesn't cut it more than once. The judges were kind, but Jerry should be gone sooner rather than later. The scores, 5 - 5 - 6. Too high.

Best of the night - Mario and Karina.

Biggest surprise - Emmit and Cheryl.

Should go home - Jerry and Kim. However, it will probably be Tucker and Elena. I think Jerry's humor will pull him through for one more week.

One final note regarding the production. The show is available in HD, but not formatted for SD screens. ABC should really letterbox the show if they are going to be broadcasting in HD. If you watched on a normal set you may have noticed text, especially the dancer's names, running off the side of the screen. It also made for some poorly framed shots during the interviews. If nothing else, at least move the text in enough so it doesn't get chopped off and look like the editor was drunk. And there you have it, Dancing with the Stars is back. This one isn't on our schedule for regular coverage, but if there is enough interest I'll make a point of covering it each week.