ShawnJohnson-related stories
Posted Jun 8th 2009 2:04PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Apprentice, Celebrities, Big Brother (US), Dancing With The Stars, Ratings, Celebreality
I can't watch
I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! The show is basically
Big Brother but with an unwillingness to compete. Why do celebrities sign up for physically and mentally demanding reality shows when they don't want to compete? I'm looking at you,
Dustin Diamond. To attempt to get some viewer sympathy, the celebrities are playing for charity. I feel bad for the charities that Heidi and Spencer have because I wouldn't want their douchebag antics associated with the charity's image.
Celebrity reality shows can succeed without having to play the charity card. It's all about maintaining the quality level.
Continue reading Charity doesn't make for better TV
Posted May 20th 2009 1:02AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E21) The night started with a grand swoop of the set, something I wished that would be used more often. Unfortunately, the episode really dragged on until the last hour. I guess I'm now prepared for the long results show for
American Idol tomorrow.
I get to make my final jab at Samantha Harris for the season:
someone has to fire her stylist. That dress was ugly.
The outcome was a little bit of a shock, but I would appreciate a win from any of the three contestants. We start (and end) the night with Lady GaGa, and she didn't do half bad.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: The Finale
Posted May 19th 2009 12:38AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
We're finally at the end of the season with the three strongest dancers. After ten weeks, I have no clue how Belinda Carlisle did back in week one. At this point, you could tell me that Nancy O'Dell was eliminated in week two and I would believe you. The mirror ball trophy was placed in front of the judges table and the judges seem excited about the competition. Unfortunately, we got some more disappointing freestyle performances.
The interesting thing about the three competitors is that their strengths are in different categories. Shawn is probably the quickest learner and can technically perform. Gilles is best with Latin, and Melissa is best with Ballroom. Melissa probably has the biggest hill to climb, coming from third place and stuck with a Latin performance.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: Week 11
Posted May 13th 2009 12:32AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E19) I normally have the opportunity to watch
Dancing with the Stars in high definition, but this week's results show I watched from the 4:3 resolution. I have to admit, this show needs the extra sides of frame for HD. There is a degree of beauty missing from the show.
One thing I forgot to mention about Melissa's performance last night was that she got an unlucky draw. I find it unfair to have the Cha-Cha near the end of the season since it lacks the flair of the Salsa and Samba, or the passion of the Paso Doble. I gave her some credit for doing as well as she could, but she lacked the passion.
It turns out that Afton was cursed. Everyone that Afton touched, including herself, got eliminated. More about the professional competition and the elimination after the jump.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: Week 10 Results
Posted May 12th 2009 1:04AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E18) Tonight's episode didn't have to be two hours. I already suffered from watching a three-hour finale of
The Celebrity Apprentice, and when I saw the show start with a professional group dance, I knew this episode was going to be padded. That three-minute buffer of dancing could be worse; Samantha Harris could have tried to interview the celebrities for three minutes.
I caught Samantha Harris this afternoon on the syndicated version of
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, covering for Meredith Vieira, and she was a little better on that show. I have to think that she just can't roll with the punches as well as Tom Bergeron. Her flaws really kicked in tonight as she fumbled through the whole show. Can't we have a contest to find a new co-host?
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: Week 10
Posted May 5th 2009 12:23AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E16) Tonight we found out how badly Melissa's injury affected her:
not at all. If anything, the injury made her work harder. We're provided with two dances per celebrity tonight (one ballroom, one Latin), and even though the show could be accomplished in an hour and a half, we're given another half hour of padding.
We start the night with a professional group dance demonstrating ballroom. The best part of the professional dance was that there was an audience shot right after, and no one looked impressed. After ten minutes of padding we start the night with Shawn Johnson.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: Week 9
Posted Apr 21st 2009 12:34AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E12) After getting rid of Steve-O, mysteriously everyone got better. The average tonight was 26. There were some definite standouts.
We are reminded that the clothes were created by the contestants. I'm happy to see Edyta with clothes on, but I'm a little saddened that there was no denim for Ty. Unfortunately, Samantha was channeling
Pollyanna and I was expecting her to have a milk bucket ready for her daily chores. Take a tip from Cat Deeley and find a hip stylist. Speaking of which, more
So You Think You Can Dance references after the jump.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: Week 7
Posted Apr 14th 2009 12:38AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E10) We're finally at the half-way point where (presumably) the bad dancers have disappeared. We have our four early standouts and then the other four. It's weird that there are only three female celebrities left, but those three are the best.
How do I love this show when there are two large flaws bringing it down? The musical arrangements this were horrendous. The band's take on "If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce and "Dance Dance" by Fall Out Boy were atrocious. Samantha still hasn't improved; this week she called Len a "Poopy head."
On a fashion plus, I got my wish of Edyta wearing legwarmers. Even Lil Kim has a pair. More musings after the jump.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars: Week 6
Posted Mar 31st 2009 2:52AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Reviews
(S08E06) "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth" – The WozTonight was the breakout night where the leaders all blasted past everyone else. Three of the last week's top four contestants in the front all received 10's. I'm a little nervous for Ty and Chuck now, and although I like both of them, if the four in the front progress the way they are, then the rest of the pack will slowly be eliminated.
This week introduces new dances in hopes that they will reinvigorate the competition and take people out of their comfort zones. The double elimination is looming and the contestants tried their best to be safe. We start the night with another trip on the stairs with Karina, and that isn't the only thing that proves this show is live. Len accidentally uses the term "Jitterbug" instead of "Lindy Hop," but quickly recovers. Also, throughout the whole show, Samantha goes through puberty. More analysis after the break.
Continue reading Dancing With the Stars: Week 4
Posted Mar 27th 2009 5:18PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Dancing With The Stars
Other than injuries plaguing most of the contestants, there are a few issues still making the celebrity dancing competition complicated on
Dancing with the Stars. I love the fact that
Denise is confused that she was eliminated. It's not like she was even top tier of dancers (Shawn, Gilles, Melissa, and Lil Kym), or even the middle pack (David, Ty, Lawrence, and Chuck). She was in the bottom heat with Steve-O, the Woz, and Holly. If I were the other three, I'd practice hard and hope I wasn't double eliminated.
Also, as a minor update, along with the opening credits finally being used, the pictures of Holly and Melissa have been update to match the rest of the contestants on the
official website. No longer the really
bad Photoshop job plaguing the contestant's page. It doesn't exactly match the other contestant's photos, but it's better than nothing. More news after the jump.
Continue reading Dancing with the Stars celebrity updates
Posted Mar 10th 2009 12:30AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Celebrities, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps
(S08E01) After hearing the lineup of "celebrities" that were performing, I was definitely on the fence. Then Jewel and Nancy O'Dell dropped out, and I was excited to see how Holly Madison and Melissa Rycroft would perform with less time than everyone else.
It floors me that these two looked better than several of the men. There was the most evil of glares coming from Jewel during the whole show. After the jump, a quick rundown of all the performances.
Continue reading Dancing With the Stars: Week 1
Posted Jun 26th 2008 6:02PM by Brett Love
Filed under: OpEd, Cable/Satellite, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, So You Think You Can Dance
I'm going to hazard the guess that if you are a regular visitor to TV Squad that you, like me, probably watch more television than the average bear. Partly out of good old fashioned curiosity, and partly because I'm paying for all of those channels so I might as well use them, I make it a point to cover as much of my cable TV package as I can when time allows. Doing so, you end up finding some odd and interesting things. After the jump, five things I've learned from my cable TV over the last week or so.
Continue reading Things I learned from my cable TV
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