Three months ago, if you asked me who Melissa Rycroft was I would have had no clue. I've never watched an episode of The Bachelor in my life. I spent my Mondays watching The Big Bang Theory and Jon & Kate Plus 8 and never got why or when they started the idea of rejected contestants becoming the bachelor/bachelorette. Then out of nowhere, Nancy O'Dell has to pull out from Dancing with the Stars. The ABC executives shuffle and put Bachelor contestant Melissa Rycroft in her spot. Half of America is happy to see her rebound from national dumping; the other half doesn't know who she is. Thus the big question: Is Melissa Rycroft a star?
The answer is no. She may be a celebrity, but she's currently basking in her 15 minutes of fame. That doesn't make her a "Star." A virtual nobody gets to hang around with a gold medalist, a Bond girl, and the co-founder of Apple just because she got dumped on national television. Sure, she may have been a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, but I've never been to a football game in my life. If there were only two criteria for the show - being a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader and winning a reality show -- that means that the Amazing Race winner, Starr Spangler would also be eligible. I don't consider her a celebrity.To make it worse, she's now being pegged as the ringer of the season.
Part of Star-power is staying in the public eye. Most, if not all, of the people cast on Dancing with the Stars have been around for at least a year. Holly Madison has at least been a Playboy since 2005, and her show has also been around since 2005, surviving five seasons. Last year, Kim Kardashian had her E! show a year before she was on Dancing with the Stars. Three months of The Bachelor doesn't seem like enough time to consider oneself a "Star."
There have been many D-List celebrities that have wanted to be on or were rumored to be part of this show, including Brooke Hogan and Florence Henderson. I'm sure several of these people were on call as backups. The real question would be: would they boost ratings? No. Melissa Rycroft was on television the week before and was fresh in people's memory. I doubt that people remember the song "About Us" or the show Hogan/Brooke knows Best. No matter what people think of Melissa, the ABC executives got the buzz they hoped for.
Will Melissa Rycroft become a star after the show? Possibly. If she wins the show, she can use the pull to create celebrity and transition that into acting, dancing, or even singing. If I wanted to see someone launch into stardom, I'd watch a show like American Idol. I appreciate that other reality shows allow obscure celebrities, like writer/actor Mike White on the Amazing Race and former SWV member Taj on Survivor, but when the show actually uses the word "Star" in their title, I expect stars. Dancing with the Stars is all about seeing celebrities breaking out of their comfort zone.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-19-2009 @ 12:13PM
Bill said...
Star? no. TV Personality? Yes. She's probably as big of a "star" right now as Nancy O'Dell.
In this day and age, more people probably know who Melissa is.
http://tvnewsandnotes.blogspot.com/
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 8:59PM
marina said...
I agree. I really like Melissa. I think she is a real person, with lots of potential to be a star. Just give her a chance.
3-19-2009 @ 12:27PM
Josie said...
She's not a star, but how many actual stars do you think would be willing tp go on this show with only two days of practice? I think the pool they could have chosen from was very limited.
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 12:44PM
Dave said...
Is Gilles Marini a star? Can you name one other thing he's known for other than his Sex In The City nudity?
Is Ty Murray a star? Based on what, his CMT reality show? How about Steve-O?
Did you know who Josie Maran was a few seasons ago? Did anybody? How about Albert Reed? Did any non-NASCAR fans have a clue who Helio Castroneves was?
Honestly, some of us are getting real tired of TVSquad's constant dumping on reality TV -- even with the creation of the reality-free feed, it seems like half the reality posts are bashes. When is the reality TV bash-free feed coming?
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 2:22PM
Jimmy said...
Great post.
I was going to ask: Is Steve Wozniak a star?
3-19-2009 @ 3:25PM
Michael Pascua said...
I will say one thing, I'm a big fan of reality television and grew up to early seasons of The Real World, Road Rules, and The Eco Challenge (that's technically a reality documentary). It's not that I have beef with reality television, on the contrary I think that reality television sets itself up for commentary. VH1 creates the term "Celebreality" to create a hybrid and i don't mind D-Listers on a cable show. When ABC, a big name company owned by Disney, wants to tell me what they think a "Star" is then that's when backlash hits.
Let me defend the two Steve's really quick:
Steve-O was on Jackass and the two Jackass movies. Jackass the Movie almost grossed $80 Million and was number one in the box office the first weekend it was out. You can't say that that's not an accomplishment.
Steve Wozniak helped the whole Apple ball rolling. If you own an iPod or a Mac, it was because of the Woz's contributions in the 70s. You can't deny that.
There have been many celebrities on this show that I've never heard of until their season: Stacy Keibler, most of the Soap stars, most of the Disney stars, most of the athletes. But after watching them dance, I support them. I will probably support Melissa because she dances well. (On the flip side, I would probably support Holly because I like Kendra)
3-20-2009 @ 2:22PM
seriously dude said...
Anyone familiar with rodeo and bull riding knows... YES Ty Murray is a star... he's a 9 time World Champion. And that was all before his CMT reality show... which other people watched. He's probably one of the best known rodeo/bull riding names around. Just because he's not a star in YOUR little world, doesn't mean he's a star.
And Helio Castroneves is Indy, not Nascar. Evidently you don't watch either. Some folks do. He's won the big races. He's a star in racing.
Maybe you should branch out a little... these people are well known in their areas, just as actors or skaters or football players are in theirs.
As for Melissa, any past experience - and it's certainly not in ballroom - is what made her a viable candidate, because no one with NO experience could pick up a ballroom routine that quickly.
And ABC is smart enough to cash in on her fame. There are folks watching, who watched The Bachelor but never watched DWTS before, because she is on there. She's as or more well known than some of the others on there!
3-19-2009 @ 12:51PM
Ryan said...
I'm also guessing she was probably still under contract for an other reality show (aka the new Bacholette) and they just shoved her on Dancing with the Stars as opposed to risk playing phone tag with legit stars.
I'll bet you in the future they'll have a couple people on reserve as "back up stars" just in case this happens again.
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 2:22PM
Dave said...
I've never heard of her before. Not that it matters, there are enough actual stars to draw me in, she's immaterial. I didn't even know she was going to be on until the show aired. At that point, who cares?
To be fair, I still don't know who Nancy O'Dell is.
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 3:02PM
Theresa said...
And I didn't know Holly, the guy from Sex in the City or the Apple guy. she is a star for those who watched Bachelor
3-19-2009 @ 2:43PM
marye said...
even though i was not a big fan of the bachelor i am soooooooo proud that melissa stepped up to the plate and refused to be looked at a loser or even worse second best..congrats..show us what you've got!!!
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 3:28PM
MDR said...
Florence Henderson a D-list celebrity? She has more name recognition and visibility than all these other so-called stars combined. Just mention Mrs. Brady and every viewer will know who you're talking about. Here's an idea. Why not have stars from favorite shows compete on DWTS? The Bradys vs the Cosbys. Heroes vs ER. 60 Minutes vs The View!
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 3:30PM
Michael Pascua said...
I think Florence Henderson is a "D-Lister" because she hasn't been seen in many things except for Polident commercials in the past decade or two. At least Cloris Leachman was on Beerfest (and really funny in it). I'd love to see her on filling the "mature celebrity" spot that they usually have.
3-19-2009 @ 4:02PM
MDR said...
Beerfest? Really? It wasn't her decades of acting or numerous awards including an Oscar and eight Emmys that made her a "star"? That's just so sad.
3-19-2009 @ 7:51PM
Michael Pascua said...
I'm trying to point out that Cloris gets hired for jobs. Florence Henderson gets old person commercials.
3-19-2009 @ 4:14PM
melanieheida said...
The Bachelor actually had quite a few viewers.
Melissa was the favorite for sure this season.
Here is what happened:
America fell in love with her from the beginning
The bachelor picked her to win
He proposed to her
She said yes
A few months later he broke up with her on national television to start dating girl #2 instead
The worst part is that she can't even be the next bachelorette because they asked girl #3 to be it!
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 4:27PM
GL said...
I don't watch The Bachelor ever, but I knew all this. It isn't really a stretch to see her on this show. That said, I couldn't have told you the gal's name or picked her out of a police lineup.
3-20-2009 @ 8:55AM
Ginger said...
Half those people on the show aren't what I would call "stars". There's been seasons when I have no clue who 3 to 4 of those people are, especially lately. What's with all the Melissa bashing. She's gorgeous, dances great, and actually right now is just as much a star if not more than the has beens that have been on there. Hopefully after DWTS this will open up doors for her to where she gets to become a full fledged Star! I say work your 15 minutes girl and make something out of it!
Reply
3-20-2009 @ 8:18PM
Jason Chapa said...
Four words: WHO GIVES A S!@#?
Reply
3-25-2009 @ 12:21PM
Lisa said...
who cares if Melissa is a star? Since she's on the show that means Tony gets to dance. I don't care if they pull people off the street and pretend they are stars as long as it mean I get to watch Tony, Maks, Kym, Chelsie and company dance. I tune in to see them
Reply