Dancing with the Stars Week 3: OAD 3/23/09

[Stuart Sweet]

No excuses now, friends... this season is off and running and it's time to judge each one of the contestants purely on their merits. No one was sidelined from injury this week, although both Steves came close. By the end of the night every couple had danced, and every couple was judged.

First, my compliments to Ms. Harris' wardrobe designer this year. She seems to have finally gotten some evening gowns that flatter her. Now, on to the fun and games:

The producers of the program have wasted no time in setting up the final confrontation... it seems likely to be Miss (Shawn) Johnson vs. Ms. Rycroft. Both dancers, along with their partners Mr. Ballas and Mr. Dovolani pulled off very respectable routines for week three. Miss Johnson looked so nice and sweet, just the right character for her foxtrot. Ms. Rycroft seemed to float on air as she danced in a routine that seemed to go by too fast. The judges were overly generous to both of them... they were nowhere near good enough for a 9/9/9.

Playing the role of spoiler this time around will be Mr. Marini and Ms. Burke. Ms. Burke seems to simply light up when she has a partner with some talent to work with, and their samba was dripping with flavor and was, in my opinion, the best technical performance of the night. It was more deserving of the judges' score of 9/9/9 although perhaps, as I said, it's too early to give that score to anyone.

The contenders were tightly packed this week. Mr. Wicks and Ms. Hough danced a very serviceable foxtrot, smooth and fun. This is the sort of dance Ms. Hough excels at, and the judges handed her 8/7/8 in acknowledgement. Ms. Kim and Mr. Hough were, in my opinion, scored a little high at 8/8/9 with a samba that did not have enough content in my opinion and was nowhere near that of Mr. Marini's. Mr. Grier and Ms. (Kym) Johnson were also scored too generously in my opinion. Mr. Grier seems like a goof even when he works very hard and the foxtrot was the wrong dance for him. The judges scores of 8/8/8 were an unnecessary reward.

Mr. Murray and Ms. Hightower deserve special mention here. Mr. Murray has clearly grown a lot in just a short time as he was able to recover from Ms. Hightower's slip. The judges, who probably would have scored him lower, handed out 8/8/7 for a serviceable but uninteresting foxtrot.

The lower judges scores remind us that this is a popularity contest, not a skill contest. Some were too high, some were too low, but all seemed blatant attempts to influence public opinion.

Mr. Taylor and Ms. Sliwinska earned scores from the judges that place them in the middle, but I put them much closer to the bottom. For whatever reason, the producers of this program want to see a male sports figure go at least to the halfway point. Mr. Taylor has the smile and the charm, but his disco-laden samba didn't have the character of the dance, or for that matter much content. While I would have given them a 6, the judges edged higher: 7/6/7

On the other hand, the producers seem to want us to quickly pass judgment on Ms. Richards and Ms. Madison. Their sambas were not terribly interesting, and neither one of them are terribly good dancers, but it seems to me that their real crime in the producers' eyes is that they're not terribly interesting. Sucker that I am for the over-35 women, I find myself unsympathetic to Ms. Richards, and simply bored by Ms. Madison. This is not to say that they're not trying hard, but they don't seem to shine in a competition setting. Look for one of them to bust out in tears in the next episode or two to gain some sympathy. In the meantime, Ms. Richards' 5/6/5 and Ms. Madison's 5/6/6 are not guarantees that they'll make it another week.

Now onto "the Steves." At this point it's utterly unfair for Mr. -O to stay in the competition. He's engendering the sympathy vote and that's not fair to the other contestants. The doctors on the show need to send him packing. My heart goes out to Ms. Schwimmer who is trying so hard this season. Mr. -O's score of 5/5/5 is utterly immaterial. Get that man in a bed.

On the other hand, they judges sent a clear and undeserved message to Mr. Wozniak, using numbers that should only be used for dancers who don't even try (like Season 2's Master P.) Mr. Wozniak's no dancer, and we all agree on that, but he is out there trying his hardest. This man is one of my idols and deserves more consideration. 4/3/3? Really? It wasn't that bad. Nothing's that bad, is it?

Who will be kicked off this week? If the doctors win over the judges, it will be Mr. -O. Otherwise, I'm a bit worried for Ms. Richards.

[Stuart Sweet]

By the way, the preceding review is dedicated to the victims of the Butte, Montana plane crash, who had ties to my local community.

[hdtvfan0001]

By the way, the preceding review is dedicated to the victims of the Butte, Montana plane crash, who had ties to my local community.
Thanks for the review....and very sorry about the tragedy. Quite the loss of 3 very nice families.

[jodyguercio]

Excellent review Stuart and +1 to the dedication this week. May our thoughts and prayers be with the families in their time of grief.

My two cents:

Top three:

Ms Johnson, Ms Rycroft, and Mr Marini. All three couples are head and shoulders above everyone else. If I had to pick an audience choice for winner right now out of these three, Ms Rycroft with her recent Bachelor fame is going to garner the popular vote.

Most improving:

Like him or not, Mr Murray is getting better all the time. Some would expect the pros to be the ones picking up their partners when they slip. For him to remain composed like that and continue on shows his "try". While his latin dances are going to be his downfall, the ballroom numbers will be where he will shine. His upper body training for all those years in the rodeo are what make his ballroom numbers so enjoyable to watch.

Middle of the floor:
Mr Wicks, Mr Taylor, Ms Kim, and Mr Grier. All respectable dancers, but I don't see any of them getting close to the top three any time soon.

The heels are falling off the shoes:

Ms Richards and Ms Madison. Ms Richards just can't relax and Ms Madison just does not have the talent.

Already dancing off the floor:

Mr -O and Mr Wozniak. For all his heart, Mr Wozniak is just not a dancer. He can try all he wants, he is just one of those people that will never get it. Mr -O is plain and simple to hurt to dance at all.

Mr -O needs to do the right thing and just withdraw tonight, but the dance off is probably going to be between Ms Richards and Mr Wozniak with Mr Wozniak going home.

[Lee L]

I like Wozniak, but I do think he was by far the worst. I was kind of amazed how well he did given his hamstring issue. I wonder if he was sitting off stage with a physical therapist and or heating pad right up until it was time to go.

Steve O and DEnise Richards are close on his heels. I guess th drugs are what allowed Steve-O to do all that stuff. THough I guess he did not have to keep dancing after his crazy stunks on Jackass.

[machavez00]

The producers of the program have wasted no time in setting up the final confrontation... it seems likely to be Miss (Shawn) Johnson vs. Ms. Rycroft. Both dancers, along with their partners Mr. Ballas and Mr. Dovolani pulled off very respectable routines for week three. Miss Johnson looked so nice and sweet, just the right character for her foxtrot. Ms. Rycroft seemed to float on air as she danced in a routine that seemed to go by too fast. The judges were overly generous to both of them... they were nowhere near good enough for a 9/9/9.

Remember, Miss Johnson is gymnast not a dancer, although that helps her when is comes to some of the lifts and such. We'll see if she can turn off the smile and sweetness when it comes time to do the tango and the paso doble.

[Sharkie_Fan]

The heels are falling off the shoes:

Ms Richards and Ms Madison. Ms Richards just can't relax and Ms Madison just does not have the talent.


I know that beauty and grace are not the same thing, and dont necessarily go hand in hand...

But, still, it's shocking to me that these two women can seem so utterly lost on the dance floor.

For some reason, I see them, and a part of me thinks that an attractive woman like that must have some natural grace.... and yet these two seem completely lacking in any grace at all when they step on the dance floor.

And that's not just a knock on their dancing skills. I've seen poor dances before where you see some measure of grace from the dancer, but they just didn't perform a particular dance well.

I haven't watched as closely as some of you, or with the critical eye that some of you watch with, but I haven't seen that glimmer of grace waiting to escape from either of these two... and that just seems so odd to me.

I love watching Woz dance each week - he is SO much fun - even if he's utterly incapable of anything that remotely resembles dancing.

[jodyguercio]

Remember, Miss Johnson is gymnast not a dancer, although that helps her when is comes to some of the lifts and such. We'll see if she can turn off the smile and sweetness when it comes time to do the tango and the paso doble.

But also remember, Ms Johnson even stated in one of her pre-dance interview segments, that because she is a gymnast the hardest thing for her to do will be to show emotion. The tango and paso will be very easy for her to not be emotional during for that very reason.

[Stuart Sweet]

I agree with Señor Chavez00. It will be a big stretch to see little Miss Johnson tackling a serious, sexy dance. It's so wrong, those of you with pre-teen daughters know what I'm talking about.

[Lee L]

I know that beauty and grace are not the same thing, and dont necessarily go hand in hand...

But, still, it's shocking to me that these two women can seem so utterly lost on the dance floor.

For some reason, I see them, and a part of me thinks that an attractive woman like that must have some natural grace.... and yet these two seem completely lacking in any grace at all when they step on the dance floor.

And that's not just a knock on their dancing skills. I've seen poor dances before where you see some measure of grace from the dancer, but they just didn't perform a particular dance well.



I think part of it has to do with strength, especially core body strength which helps with so many things in dancing like posture and balance. They are both attractive and thin, but is it at the expense of muscle.

Kind of like a few seasons back and one supermodel was on. Her partner said she was "deceptively unfit". She looked hot but it was all show and not from building lean muscle.

Conversely, I think this is why athletes do so well.

[jodyguercio]

Well if last night doesn't go to show that, in the end, this is as much a popularity contest as it is a dancing contest I don't know what will. For as much of a fan of the show I am, I do not agree with the bottom two or with who went home last night. I just don't.

[Charise]

Well if last night doesn't go to show that, in the end, this is as much a popularity contest as it is a dancing contest I don't know what will. For as much of a fan of the show I am, I do not agree with the bottom two or with who went home last night. I just don't.
You are so right! I do feel, however, that Denise was right down there with the Steves and Holly. There just isn't enough time to make those with no rhythm into dancers. :D

The "geeks" are apparently voting in droves to keep Woz dancing. I hope it only lasts another few weeks!

Nice recap, Stuart! I finished watching Monday's show while Tuesday's was recording, but I always have time to read here.

[Stuart Sweet]

To quote Mrs. Shadow... while she was discussing a different reality show:

"America doesn't do a very good job picking idols."

Still, congrats to the one person who correctly guessed Denise Richards... :D

[phrelin]

:rant:
As of last night, we "threw in the towel" and won't be watching the show.

It was hard enough to accept it as half popularity contest. But the judging has become intolerable and the "stars" this year demonstrate why USA Dance (http://usadance.org/) (formerly USABDA) divides the competition into Pre-Teen, Junior, Adult, and Senior age groups and divides those groups into experience/skill level competition groups ranging from novice to championship.

This year my wife has been preannouncing the judges scoring half way through each dance routine based on her interpretation of the producers' obvious TV viewer ratings objectives and each judge's prejudices. She is almost always right and we agree with Stuart's observations about the 9's - there haven't been any dances at that level even at the adult novice level assuming 10 represents a perfect performance and a 0 represents the average American couple dancing at the prom in 1955.

Assuming this is adult novice level dancing, based on the performances so far the judges scoring at a minimum should be balancing the popularity portion with numerical score averages that reflect the skills in this group ranging from no more than 2 to no more than 8. That would assume the show is supposed to reflect how competitive ballroom dance is judged. Instead, I feel like the judges are Arthur Murray Dance Studio teachers, half-teaching you, half-selling you to keep on paying them. (Incidentally, at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio web site (http://www.arthurmurray.com/index.htm) we have the following announcement: Emmitt Smith, Dance Champion and Pro Football Legend, is the new celebrity endorser for the Arthur Murray Dance Studios.)

It's become as bad as international amateur competitive skating in the 1960's when the Soviet Bloc and the French judges would blatantly vote political objectives.
:rant:

[jodyguercio]

You are so right! I do feel, however, that Denise was right down there with the Steves and Holly. There just isn't enough time to make those with no rhythm into dancers. :D

The "geeks" are apparently voting in droves to keep Woz dancing. I hope it only lasts another few weeks!

Nice recap, Stuart! I finished watching Monday's show while Tuesday's was recording, but I always have time to read here.

Don't get me wrong Charise, Denise nor Holly would have a chance at even sniffing top 5 honors, I just don't think either one of them were nearly as bad as Steve-O or Woz. But thanks to the popular vote, two bad dancers went head to head and two truly bad dancers were spared yet again.

[Henry]

Any percieved injustice with the judging (who should have gone versus who should have stayed) will most likely correct itself next week when they eliminate two couples.

America's vote has always been screwy, at best. We are not professionals in this art, and yet some expect the voting to be objective. Of course it's going to be a popularity contest (Wosniak being a case in point). But he too will be leaving soon, along with Steve-O and Holly, etal, until there's but one couple standing. It's just a matter of who America tires of first to determine the order in which they leave.

The judges and the producers would like to influense that outcome, and they do. What else is new? It's the ratings ... it's TV.

[Stuart Sweet]

:rant:
As of last night, we "threw in the towel" and won't be watching the show.
:rant:

I can certainly see why you've come to that decision. If they had a season of "Dancing with the Pros" (no stars, just recognizable pros) and the judging was more weighted on the three judges and less on America, I think I'd like that better.

[jodyguercio]

I can certainly see why you've come to that decision. If they had a season of "Dancing with the Pros" (no stars, just recognizable pros) and the judging was more weighted on the three judges and less on America, I think I'd like that better.

Or borrowing on an idea you floated to me Stuart: do a DWTS: All Stars season. Have some of the former #2,#3, and #4 contestants go up against each other. Or you could go with a DWTS: Champions Face-off, or whatever you want to call it, and have as many champs as you can dance against each other.

[Henry]

Or you can just sit back and watch erstwhile adults make fools of themselves ... all in the name of entertainment, of course. :)

[machavez00]

I can certainly see why you've come to that decision. If they had a season of "Dancing with the Pros" (no stars, just recognizable pros) and the judging was more weighted on the three judges and less on America, I think I'd like that better.

That airs on PBS and it's called America's Ballroom Challenge (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ballroomchallenge/index.html).

[Stuart Sweet]

I've tried to get into that show but last season did not air in HD on my local PBS. I guess it's time to try again.

[Charise]

That airs on PBS and it's called America's Ballroom Challenge (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ballroomchallenge/index.html).
Which was unfortunately shortened to 2 hours this year instead of the last couple of years' 5 hours. It's a real shame, especially when you look at how many hours are wasted on DWTS.

[Charise]

Don't get me wrong Charise, Denise nor Holly would have a chance at even sniffing top 5 honors, I just don't think either one of them were nearly as bad as Steve-O or Woz. But thanks to the popular vote, two bad dancers went head to head and two truly bad dancers were spared yet again.

No question there, jody--I certainly agree. I even voted here for Woz to leave this week. I expect there to be a few surprises thrown in too--maybe Ty or David goes before the Steves?

Usually by the last 5 or 6 weeks though it seems as though the novelty has worn off and the voting gets more oriented to the dancing itself. I didn't care for Sabrina Bryan's aggressive dance style, but she was voted off way before anyone expected, even though she was suggested as the probable winner. I think that happened before the last month of the show, when the fan base, unfortunately, seems to matter much more than dancing ability.

[Lee L]

It's a real shame, especially when you look at how many hours are wasted on DWTS.


I will have to say, that even though they do waste a ton of time still, it seems much better now that there is some real content in the results show with the dance off.

Still, I pity the fool that has to watch this show without a DVR.

[Charise]

Still, I pity the fool that has to watch this show without a DVR.
:D