Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman recently announced that he is recovering a surgery that removed a tumor in his prostate. The interesting fact was that he found out about the cancer back in March, but decided not to deal with it until the eighth season of DWTS ended.
Len is a trouper for going through a whole season of Dancing with the Stars. He kept the news under wraps not only to America and Britain, but also many of the judges and crew for both Dancing with the Stars and British counterpart Strictly Come Dancing.
With the second week of competitions tonight on So You Think You Can Dance, I wanted to point out a trend: reality dance show contestants can't leave television. Several contestants and a few choreographers have jumped ship and have appeared on other reality shows.
The jump basically can plant an already established fanbase onto a different television show. One great example is Ty Murray on Dancing with the Stars. I'm not sure what the percentage of votes for Ty came from fans of Chelsie Hightower and her work from SYTYCD or his charm, but he definitely benefited from someone who knew to make routines that were camera friendly.
ABC will kick off its upcoming fall season in earnest Sept. 21 with three nights of Dancing With the Stars. The hit show – that continues to gain viewers no matter how much I wish it would die and stay dead -- will lead off the network's prime time schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays before being reduced to two nights a week to make room for a pair new comedies.
There's still no word on exactly when Lost will return, but the new mystery drama Flash Forward will bow Sept. 24 at 8 p.m., right before the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy.
The new seasons of Ugly Betty and Supernanny will debut in October with several new and renewed shows – like Scrubs, Brothers & Sisters, Eastwick and Private Practice – expected to show up on the network schedule later.
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.
Remember those great network promos that would have stars from various shows all interacting with each other and praising their networks? ABC is trying that again with the videos below. In the first one, Lost's Jack Shephard and Desperate Housevives' Susan Mayer are living together happily until Susan mentions a certain word (it also answers this question). In the second, Hurley is shown with various dancing stars, a nanny, and the Wipeout balls.
(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.
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.
(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.
(S08E18) Tonight's episode didn't have to be two hours. I already suffered from watching a three-hour finale ofThe 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?
(S08E17) Tonight's show was a little better for filler and padding because of the pro dancer competition. The insanity of Cody Linley makes up for having to sit through Jamie Cullum.
I don't understand the comedy of Dance Center. Poking fun at the celebrities is one thing, but trying to be a bastard to Len Goodman just doesn't seem like it was in good taste. The only positive thing I got off the whole bit was that Mark = Dramatic Chipmunk.
We started off the night with Melissa's perfect 30 samba. I have a feeling there was more double sided tape today, but also Melissa's cleavage is not as squished tonight. Yeah, I looked.
(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.
With DVRs and iTunes and Hulu and other ways to time shift your TV viewing, it's not necessary to watch TV when the shows air live. But a lot of people still plan their TV viewing for the night and actually sit down in front of the TV when their shows are on. Two of my favorite shows, Chuck and Heroes, ended their seasons last week. Now I have to find something else to watch between 8 and 10.
If you're a Chuck/Heroes fan, too, what are you watching tonight?
Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman recently announced that he is recovering a surgery that removed a tumor in his prostate. The interesting fact was that he found out about the cancer back in March, but decided not to deal with it until the eighth season of DWTS ended.
With the second week of competitions tonight on 
ABC will kick off its 
I can't watch 
(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 
At 8, ABC has the three-hour season finale of Dancing with the Stars.
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.
(S08E19) I normally have the opportunity to watch 
TNT has Basketball Playoffs all night.
(S08E17) Tonight's show was a little better for filler and padding because of the pro dancer competition. The insanity of Cody Linley makes up for having to sit through Jamie Cullum.
At 8, ABC has a new Scrubs, followed by the season (series?) finale of Better Off Ted and new episodes of Dancing with the Stars and Cupid.
(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.
With DVRs and iTunes and Hulu and other ways to time shift your TV viewing, it's not necessary to watch TV when the shows air live. But a lot of people still plan their TV viewing for the night and actually sit down in front of the TV when their shows are on. Two of my favorite shows, Chuck and Heroes, ended their seasons last week. Now I have to find something else to watch between 8 and 10.
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
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