(S09E13) Tonight on Dancing with the Stars there was some actual content tonight: the dance-off. Unfortunately, that meant that there was no encore performance. Instead we go right into Taylor Swift.
Musical Performance - Taylor Swift - "Jump then Fall" - Anyone notice that the stage Norah Jones had last week was just audience chairs? Taylor Swift is a horrible live singer (squeaking every time she sang the word "jump"), but luckily we had some professionals who reminded me of Ryan & Ashleigh from So You Think You Can Dance. Their lift near the end was the best part.
As we mentioned earlier, Tom DeLay was knocked out of Dancing with the Stars last night with injuries to his feet. He's not the first person to have to leave the show after getting hurt, and now it has all been turned into a horror movie. Warning: contains scenes of shoes in eyes.
Has SNL done a Dancing with the Stars spoof yet? Is it always as crazy as last night's episode? I'm showing the clip below (click here if you want to skip all that dancing) because it not only has Donny Osmond about to make out with judge Bruno but it also has one of the great TV quotes of the year (concerning Utah), someone mentioning Donny should have used more tongue, the phrases "airy fairy" and "turn to the dark side," and random clapping from stars from Modern Family (I know, I'm sure many ABC stars show up for some cross-promotion).
Good thing that Paula Abdul was there to bring an air of normalcy and logic to the whole evening.
I think we can all agree, no matter what your politics, seeing Tom Delay dancing to "Wild Thing" on Dancing with the Stars was rather...surreal. Last night, Stephen Colbert talked about it.
I never want to hear the phrase "knee slide into a fist munch" again.
Flipping around last night, I caught the last half-dozen or so rounds of the National Spelling Bee on ABC. It was all there in primetime glitz and glory: bright lights, flashy ESPN graphics that show the participants' best finish in previous bees, the lovely Erin Andrews prowling the backstage area, and Tom Bergeron making lame quips during the "play by play."
It was quite a slick production. Then I remembered something: They're kids.
I mean, they're under enough pressure as it is, and it's not always from the competition itself (ever see Spellbound, the movie that spurred the bee's popularity? Some of those parents were pretty harsh). Why add to the pressure by having them try to spell these difficult words on live primetime television?
This month we're taking a look at celebrities who did TV commercials.
Whenever you get into any profession, you have to start at the bottom. The TV business is no exception. The stars you see in prime time today probably cut their teeth working in TV commercials. Heck, some of them still do TV commercials even after they become big stars (but it's often overseas...shhhhhhhh).
After the jump, a sampling of TV commercials from years ago that star celebrities who are now household names. If you're old enough to remember these commercials, you'll probably say to yourself, "Oh yeah, I remember this ad, but I didn't realize that he was in it!"
Since the reality television boom isn't going to end anytime soon, this could be a lucrative career path for the up-and-coming toddler who likes to ham it up with a microphone. After all, in this time of economic woes, what could be a better goal than glam, glitz, red carpets, and Emmy awards?
The reality show genre encompasses the gamut from talent contests to living in the jungle to living in a house with insufferable drones and drama queens and beyond. As a result, the hosts for these shows are going to be a varied lot, as well. Who are these people? How did they get where they are? And, more importantly ... what do I think of them? Read on.
You would think from the comments at the link above that past seasons have had stars like Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep on the show. They think the entire cast for this new season is disappointing, a bunch of nobodies. Hey, Wozniak pretty much invented the home computer industry! And I would say that Denise Richards, David Alan Grier, Jewel, and Lil' Kim are pretty well known. There are always some unknowns or fringe celebs in the cast too (though not always the ones we want to see).
I don't watch the show, but as a Mac user I kinda have to tune in at least once to see how Woz does. This is the second time that Woz will find himself in the reality-show spotlight (I know, DWTS is more of a competition show). He dated My Life on the D-List star Kathy Griffin not too long ago. I wonder if Steve Jobs will be watching?
(S07E21) In the grand tradition of Dancing With The Stars, everyone came together for the glorious task of turning 3 minutes of results into a two hour ratings bonanza. If you have seen the finale before, you know how it all went down. Take a couple of musical numbers, interviews or dances with all the eliminated contestants, and add in a whole lot of replays as the show looks back at all that has gone on. It's not the greatest recipe for a two hour show, but after 20 episodes of top ten numbers, I suppose they've earned it. I'll not spoil the big surprise before the jump, so hit the link for a brief look at all that went on, and to find out who took home the mirrorball.
(S07E20) After two and a half months, and nineteen episodes, it all comes down to this. Our remaining three couples made their way back to the ballroom for what Tom called, "The most closely contested finals ever." That was an apt description after what we saw in the semi-finals. With Lance & Lacey wrestling the lead away from Brooke & Derek as we neared the end of the season, it really looked like season seven could go to anyone. How would it play out? Would it all come down to the big freestyle numbers? And, oh yeah, which dancing kids team won? The answers to all of those questions, and a look at the rest of the finals performances, after the jump.
(S07E19) The big question coming into the results show this week, obviously, was who would make it through to the finals. That, on its own, was probably enough to get most of the crowd to tune in. The powers that be could have just banked on it and tossed any old random segment out there to fill up the first 50 minutes of the show. Some Jimmy Kimmel here... a highlight reel there... the numbers would have still been huge. Lucky for us, that's not what they did, at all. It was the biggest musical event the show has ever seen. Along with those big results, we saw performances from Leona Lewis, John Legend, Julianne Hough, and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. If that wasn't enough, reigning champ Kristi Yamaguchi stopped by to dance. It made for a fun hour. The results, and a look at all of those performances, after the jump.
(S07E18) And then, there were four. If you wanted, you could make an argument for Maurice Greene, but I think the viewers did a solid job narrowing the field down to these four teams. Coming into the semi-finals, all of them had a legitimate shot at making it to the big show next week. It would all come down to their two week 9 performances. Along the way, we had a little bit of something old, and something new. As in years past, the stuffiest of the judges made his rounds to all of the final four teams for Len Goodman's Master Class. New to this season, they also managed to work in two pro numbers as examples of what to look for in the salsa and the jitterbug. It all added up to a pretty entertaining night. There were 10s, and there were 7s. Who came out on top? The scores, and a rundown of all the performances, after the jump.
(S07E17) It's crunch time. A trip to the semi-finals was riding on the results tonight. One couple would fall just short of that goal. Would it be the steady, season long leader, Brooke? Or the young, and sometimes erratic, Cody? Have fans warmed up to big Warren Sapp? Or do they prefer their championship athletes to be of the faster variety, and favor Maurice? And what of Lance & Lacey? Is it just Len, or have fans turned on them too? The answers, are after the jump, along with a rundown of the various performances and taped packages. Those include my favorite results show performance of the season, and my most hated piece of filler as well.
(S07E16) Week eight. We're getting down to it now, just two weeks away from the finals. You can certainly make a case for a couple of teams that would be considered the favorites, but at this point in the competition, anyone can win. All of the teams are one bad number, one set of nutty judges scores, or one weak fan vote away from elimination. Upping the pressure this week, not only would each team be performing both a ballroom and a Latin number, but each star would have to do a 15-second solo.
(S07E15) After a night off so we could all take in the results of the big election, it was time to head back to the ballroom and knock six teams down to five. Tom opened the show by calling Monday the wildest night yet, noting that the gap between top and bottom has never been so great. That disparity is, of course, the result of the ridiculous team judging. Would it lead to another shocking elimination? The results, as well as a look at musical guest Lionel Richie, two pro performances, the return of Dance Center, and stars of dance with Dave Scott (pictured), is after the jump.
Flipping around last night, I caught the last half-dozen or so rounds of the National Spelling Bee on ABC. It was all there in primetime glitz and glory: bright lights, flashy ESPN graphics that show the participants' best finish in previous bees, the lovely 
This month we're taking a look at celebrities who did TV commercials.
Since the reality television boom isn't going to end anytime soon, this could be a lucrative career path for the up-and-coming toddler who likes to ham it up with a microphone. After all, in this time of economic woes, what could be a better goal than glam, glitz, red carpets, and Emmy awards? 
This is probably only logical, since Macs are all you see on TV shows when a character owns a computer: Apple co-founder 
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
