Ms. Amused

This is the first in a series of posts about Dancing With The Stars Season 6. Why? Read on….

**Wrote this last week but was still getting this blog back into shape.

I’ve decided to live blog this because I had so much I wanted to say last time and never got around to writing it up.

Tonight: 12 dances in 2 hours for a double elimination tomorrow.

I’ve decided to live blog this because I had so much I wanted to say last time and never got around to writing it up.

Tonight: 12 dances in 2 hours for a double elimination tomorrow.

Predictions: Based on the first (and only) dances we’ve seen so far, Kristi Yamaguchi & Mario look to be the two that will wind up in the final round. Of the men, Adam Corolla got the worst score but Penn isn’t too far behind him. Personally I enjoyed Adam’s dance because for once, the yellow outfits and the song just really went well together and the song was pleasing to hear. I can’t say the same for some of the other songs used. However, it’s clear that elimination in the men tonight will be a toss up between Penn & Adam who were distinctly trailing the others. They both have big fan bases but since Adam is a radio personality with a fanbase used to “calling in”, he might survive tonight’s elimination. Either way, no surprises on the male side of the competition in the first couple weeks.

As for the women, does anyone doubt that Monica Seles will be the first eliminated woman? She trails the other women by a quarter mile. I think she’s given it an admirable try but this is a competition and her stiffness and clear discomfort in the first dance made her an easy choice for elimination tonight.

Why I’m watching Dancing With the Stars? For Marlee Matlin (not because she’s deaf but because I am) and Steve Guttenberg who I adored when I was growing up on endless repeats of Police Academy movies. Steve was actually a bonus, as I’m not sure I would have watched just for him. I’ve also enjoyed watching dance movies especially ballroom ones and I dallied with learning it in college though never put that much effort into it. Didn’t have the right kind of focus then.

So… my favorite male is first up tonight and I giggled at his dance partner’s mom who professed fangirlyness for Steve and his Police Academy movies. Now I really wish he was dancing with the mother and not the daughter because after all as the mom pointed out, she and Steve are the same age and she’s gorgeous. They’d look smashing on the dance floor and not so much like a man dancing with his daughter.

Since I didn’t blog last time, let me say it now that I was really wowed by Steve last week. Now I realize why I was always so fond of him. The good natured Mr Congeniality guy that always came across in his characters seems to be a big part of who Steve really is. The ‘little boy on Christmas morning’ joy he had for the whole thing was just adorable. He was the only man to wear long coat tails and I’ll say it, when he did his first turn out and started dancing forward, I immediately thought of Gene Kelly. The gentlemanly grace of Gene was resurrected by Steve whose smile made it hard to notice any missteps he might have made.

I’ve written this whole thing with the DVR paused on Steve’s smiling face. He’s looking good in that Miami “beach suit”. Lets see how he does the mambo!

Whoo!! Nice performance! Steve, I love you and your smile but you need to close your mouth some… and looks like the judges are all saying the same thing. Ahhh they were hard on Steve, the female judge was nice enough to point out that he did pick up steam in the middle. That’s probably when he did that fun bit where his partner mocked kicked him in the ankle and they perfect segued into the next part of the dance.

I do have to agree with the judges that Steve seemed a little more focused on “charming” the crowd and his dance suffered a bit for it. I’d be interested to know if they ever show more of the rehearsals. Perhaps on the dvd? I’d watch (though I’d rent not buy the dvds)

“The best thing about this is that this show makes the world a better place” ??? What an odd thing to say right after getting your scores which were decidedly on the low end?

OHH that was funny… 3 of the other male contestants and Winokur did a little 3 Men and a Little Lady thing… ahh so many fond memories of 80s movies starring Steve!

Ahh Cristian and Cheryl are next… I don’t even know who Cristian is but I have heard about the recent scandals of Cheryl cheating on her boyfriend Matthew Lawrence (how could she cheat on such a yummy man like that?) with some previous contestant partner. I predict she’ll end up banging this guy too.

Hmm what’s up with that dress? Those dots are not flattering and distract in a bad way. However, I like Cristian’s costume and I want to hear what the judges have to say about his footwork. I really liked it. The ending had pizzazz.

Judges are talking… Ok Cristian? Close your mouth Looks like the judges all thought well of it, just a couple of missteps but given the ambitiousness of the routine and that this is the 2nd dance, forgiveable. Maybe I’ve just watched too many movies lately with Tim but I look at Cristian and keep thinking oooh Timothy Olyphant’s on Dancing with the Stars?

Next is Monica Seles. She certainly looks a lot better tonight. The pink gown was pretty but she didn’t look natural in it which probably added to the appearance of awkwardness. Ahh that’s awesome that Jonathon went with her to Japan. He’s cute. I feel like I’ve seen him before in a movie. I like how he is with her, he knows he’s got the worst female contestant but rather than give up and try to hide her like that other guy did with Winokur (I don’t think I’m going to like him ever, he reeks of slimeyness).

Oh interesting…. En Vogue song. Damn… Jonathan is hot and you can really see him working to make Monica look good. Oh how I wish Winokur had gotten him instead. I commend whoever dressed him in that sleeveless shirt.

Who loves Carrie Ann right now for not tearing Monica apart like Bruno did? I like that Carrie Ann and Len both noted the problems but were encouraging rather than devastating in their comments. And aww… Jonathan’s expressions of pride in Monica. Makes me feel gooey inside. Or is that the leftover candy jellybeans from Easter?

Ahh Penn’s up! I hope he lasts through elimination cause he’s a funny guy. OH MY GOD… he broke the banister!!! He and Kym look really good together. And I LOVE their outfits. Kym’s wearing the best dress I’ve seen so far this season.

Penn looks like he’s holding up ok… the only real problem was when he had to do his matching leap. I just don’t know what that stuff at the beginning is about with the voodoo doll.. was this a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy song?

Heheh Penn arguing with the judges… but I’m right there with the audience cheering when Carrie Ann said that she liked Penn out there. I do too.

Priscilla Presley up next. Last week was surprising. Very much like Steve evoked Gene Kelly, Priscilla had a similar grace that got her up to 2nd place with the women I think. Surprised everyone I’m sure. I wonder about her a little though because her movements in all the candid shots are exaggeratedly slow. Almost like she’s a little drunk? Not sure what to make of it. If she keeps up what she did last week, she’ll have good lasting power. Hoping that Marlee can beat her though later in the competition when the easy outs are gone.

NICE dress! I could only see the top of it before. Another good performance. Not as high score as last week but I agree with what all the judges said, Priscilla needed to be a little more relaxed and “give it” but not so far that she went over the top.

Dammit… lost everything I just wrote about Shannon. Short form. Have always liked her even though she’s easily “hate her because she’s beautiful”. Think she lives near me cause her house & street look like the part of Hollywood Hills that I live in. Last week, I had a different take on the dress and was surprised when I heard the judges’ statements on it. I thought “Distract them from the lack of skill with the legs”. They said “don’t show your legs unless you’ve got the skill to back it up”. Either way, I did NOT like the dress. Can’t see the whole dress yet from tonight but it looks regal.

And her partner? CUTE AS A BUTTON. My definition of male beauty when I was growing up was Christopher Atkins in The Pirate Movie & The Blue Lagoon. This guy comes very close to that with his blond tanned surfer looks, great smile and charming boyish personality.

Yep she definitely lives somewhere nearby. That looks like one of the roads up towards the Hollywood sign.

WHOA VERY NICE!! I could see some little stiffness in her back sometimes but way way better than last week. And then the kicks off the judge’s desk and the pair of moves that followed it into the finish? AWESOME!! She may have blasted way past everyone else and yep Len just said “Best dance so far tonight”. I’m sure Mario & Kristi will still come out above her but very very nice to see. Ahh Derek is her partner’s name and yep… the highest score of the night with solid 8s.

Ahh that Jason sports guy is next and Edyta is his partner… I don’t know who he is but I was like “GET OVER IT” with all the talk about “is it manly to dance”? But then he had the balls to come out in a tutu so that gave him back his princess points … minus .5 for the way he took it off after. However these rehearsal scenes? He’s not looking worried anymore. Maybe he’ll win me over tonight.

And the grand prize goes to Jason! If he doesn’t get a better score this week then last, I’ll eat my… *looks around* remote? BTW Edyta’s dress was fab, very sexy and salacious without being over the top. Given how “reality” shows are often scripted and cut to portray a “story” that bears little resemblance to the actuality, I have to wonder if the editors of DWS set Jason up to look more of a bumbling insecure macho man?

Wow… all 9s! Mario & Kristi just officially got competition! Oh and now I want to watch the Mambo Kings again. Little trivia fact, it was Antonio Banderas’s first english speaking role and he didn’t learn English til after the movie. They gave him his lines phonetically the whole way through. I couldn’t tell!

Ok so Marissa is Winokur’s first name and Tony is her not so worthy partner. Before we get into tonight’s performance, here’s why I’m so anti-Tony right now. Marissa is clearly “the heavy girl” in this season. And everything about Tony’s tone and body language in the rehearsal and interview segment leading up to their performance last week screamed “Ugh I got the loud fat girl…”. Which is so uncalled for cause Marissa’s delightful to watch on the show, always with the BIG happy smiles. If Steve is Mr Congeniality on DWS this season, she is the Miss version.

Then when they hit the stage? Oh MY GOD… those PANTS!! Now correct me if I’m wrong but in ballroom, it’s the opposite of the peacocks in the animal kingdom. The Woman should shine… the man should complement but never compete with or outshine her. So by wearing those glitter pants and the opened shirt to the belly coupled with a choreography that focused on lots of fancy steps and moves for him while she was a glorified chorus dancer waving her arms in the background. Just seemed to give proof that whatever his thoughts were about Marissa…. he clearly had no faith in her ability to carry off the dance and was trying to compensate without even giving her the chance to try.

I was so glad that the judges (Len, I think it was) called him on it big time. And tonight it looks hopeful that he might have actually done his job this time and focused on teaching Marissa what she needs to know to be the star. Because at least he’s dressed in proper attire that complements her…. not overpowers her.

Damn… battery is dying. Will have to stop the live blog for now and post comments on the rest after the fact.

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Ok the elimination show is sitting on my DVR and I’ve got a Subway sandwich to eat while watching it. Dinner & Dancing, the home edition!

I’m going to run through the rest of the performances real quick so I can get on with finding out who was eliminated.

Marissa’s dance was way better and her scores reflected it to. I notice that there was a lot of footage cut in showing Tony being much more attentive and giving lip service to doing the best he can for Marissa. It showed in the dance too. Perhaps the previous week was creative editing designed to bias us against Tony? Hard to know when you’re not actually there for it all.

Adam was also better though still has a long way to go. He keeps complaining about his stiff body but seems to me that Penn has the same issues and does better? I loved the paint on her leg.

Marlee was great! She looked fine on the quickstep to me. And I notice that she made a comment about it sounding like trying to hear a song in another room while you’re in the shower. Maybe she does hear more than I do?? Bruno’s showing himself to be utterly biased in her favor. He raves every chance he gets.

Kristi… wow… it’s clear she’ll be in the final round and the question is just will it be Mario or Jason trying to catch her? But then again, anything can happen! Another top score which puts her clearly in the lead. I love her dance partner for his silliness in rehearsal.

Mario… a shade under last week’s performance but still good. He sported the sleeveless look too so I approved.

And now for one last thought before elimination:

This evening, I had the sudden realization that Steve was close enough to the bottom that it’s quite possible that the audience will vote Adam AND Penn above him and he’ll be the first man eliminated! I really hope not. I wasn’t one of the ones voting because I don’t watch the show live and voting is closed by the time I do but if he makes it, I’m going to try and vote next week to be sure he stays as long as possible. I’m not worried about my girl Marlee, she’s solid for a couple weeks I’m sure.

Oh please don’t send Steve home tonight!! Send Adam, he’s the stiffest of the bunch for sure. Penn next… that’ll give Steve time to get a leg up above “9th ranking”