Cue that theme music!

Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 by Travis Cody in
24



YAY! It's back!

Welcome to Season 6 of Dancing With the Stars.

The pros lead off with a hot Latin routine. Yes Matt, Cheryl looks fantastic as do all the ladies. Pam would also like to let you know that the male pros are plenty sexy, even without Maks.

Tonight, the male celebrities dance Cha Cha Cha or Foxtrot. The female celebrities dance tomorrow. And then everybody dances next Monday, with a double elimination to follow on Tuesday.

Got that?

Here's what the dances are supposed to look like.

Cha Cha Cha is a cheeky, lively, flirtatious dance...


Foxtrot is smooth with continuously forward or backward moving patters. The clip is an International Standard Foxtrot, which features continuous hold. American Style Foxtrot is more open, which is what the pairs performed tonight. I chose the International Standard because I love the elegance of it.


Now let's get to it!


Penn Jillette and Kym Johnson dance Cha Cha Cha. He had a lot of fun with this but it wasn't too much of a Cha Cha Cha. We smiled because we enjoyed the performance. It was definitely entertaining. He was too heavy in his feet, which was to be expected because of his size. But he did try to do the steps. He didn't have the proper hip action, although his energy was great. He's not the worst we've ever seen because he embraced the dancing and didn't make it too silly. Judges say 5,6,5 for a total of 16.


Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska dance Foxtrot. Great deep bend on the knees at the start of that dance. He uses his size very effectively. He has good posture except for a couple of times when he looked at his feet. His turns were controlled and he didn't lose his balance much. That was really nicely done. He looked elegant and smooth, and they looked very good together. He learned technique very quickly, but we agree with the judges that he needs to work on the character of the dance. But great first dance. Judges say 7,8,7 for a total of 22.


Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke dance Cha Cha Cha. He may not have a huge fanbase to start, but expect that to change. He's not polished, but the man can move. And Pam says he's sexy and charming, so that helps too. He needs to work on technique and posture, but Cheryl will take care of that. He had energy and performance, and lots of potential. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.


Adam Carolla and Julianne Hough dance Foxtrot. We're dancing Foxtrot to Mellow Yellow, the first of what will be many wacky music choices. He's not as heavy footed as we expected, but he's not graceful either. He had decent footwork but he tended to curl in on himself a bit which made the close holds a little more awkward. He did the steps without making fun of the dance, which we appreciate. We expected to hate it, but we didn't. It could have been a total trainwreck, but it wasn't. Judges say 5's across for a total of 15.


Mario and Karina Smirnoff dance Cha Cha Cha. Karina had neck surgery before the season started to repair a herniated disc. Yikes! These two have real chemistry. His hip hop background helps him in this dance and he's definitely a performer. The dance was sexy and hot and really well performed. He's not perfect...he needs to work on his footwork. But it was hard to see in the Cha Cha Cha unless you know what to look for. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.


Steve Guttenberg and Anna Trebunskaya dance Foxtrot. He performed the dance, but it was slow and awkward. We could tell how much fun he had with it and that he really enjoyed himself. He really does want to do this well and that makes him fun to watch. We smiled. Whether he can improve is another question. But he is charming and genuine, and we enjoyed watching the dance. He didn't do any better than Adam or Penn, but he didn't do worse either. Judges say 6's across for a total of 18.

24 Mario & Karina
22 Jason & Edyta
21 Cristian & Cheryl
18 Steve & Anna
16 Penn & Kym
15 Adam & Julianne

Well, after the first dances it looks like we have three guys who need to polish technique and can challenge to win, and three who need to control their clumsiness and very likely have no chance. Mario, Jason, and Cristian are well ahead of Steve, Penn, and Adam at this point.

Pam and I split. She thought Mario did the best, but voted for Cristian. I agreed that Mario was best, but only slightly over Jason and I voted for Jason.

Last season I asked y'all to tell me who were your favorites so I could post some encores. So tell me again in comments who you liked, and I'll do my best to find the clips.

Now lets bring on the ladies!

24 comments:

  1. j says:

    The couple doing the Cha Cha in the first video were BEYOND amazing. Wow! I'm glad that you and your wife have something to share and enjoy with each other.

    Be blessed - Jen

  1. I SO thought of you and Pam when hubman told me the show was back! It's hard to say but I really like "Intervention" better. Sad state of affairs, no?
    I'm just happy hubman enjoys it so much and I'm going to make sure he checks out your blog.
    ~~~Blessings~~~

  1. Liz Hill says:

    YAY!!! it's back!!

    Purrrr on the videos sugar.

    I have to say I really liked JT--he is starting off at a level some of the others won't attain.

    It looks like a very interesting season and I can't wait for the ladies tonight.

  1. Unknown says:

    I missed it, but I want to see Steve Guttenburg dance :P

  1. Hated Adam....thought Penn was a big ole horse clomping around, but at least he looked like he was having fun...Steve is this year's 'feel good' celebrity...the guy with a little chance that the fans will embrace...Jason seems to be the guy to beat - he just looks like the one who will do well on all the dances...not sure Mario can do that...

    Not sure I will see all the women tonight with the radio show...

  1. Schmoop says:

    It's nice to see you are getting your fix. Now let's see Cheryl nekkid. Cheers!!

  1. Travis, sounds like you and Ivanhoe really enjoyed the show! But tell me why do celebrities like Penn and Steve Gutenberg do this if they aren't too good at it? I remember Steve Gutenberg from movies back in the, what, 80s, 90s? Cocoon was a great movie!

  1. Ivanhoe says:

    Great review! Now I know where to go if I miss one episode. If I voted last night, I would be torn between Jason & Mario.

  1. adam corolla? really? that sounds like a train wreck! sorry! ha ha ha

    smiles, bee
    xoxoxoxooxoxoox

  1. Dottie says:

    this is so cool because my husband doesn't like to watch shows like this and I tend to forget that they're on so I miss them. Good to know I can keep up with it here! You rock!

  1. How did I just KNOW there's be a dancing with the stars post here today?!?!?!
    Glad you have your show back on!

  1. Kimmie says:

    I loved both video's. Very beautiful dances. My hubby watched with me last night and seemed to enjoy the show. I hope he stays and watches it weekly with me, he usually heads off to the bedroom for his Crime Shows! LOL! You are lucky tha Pam and you can share the fun together all the way through the season! :-)

    As for last nights show...

    I think Penn is adorable! His personality is so warm and funny at the same time. The only thing was, he reminded me of Herman Munster from his hips down. Stiff as a board. He did seem like he had a very good time though. Not sure how far he will go.
    I really liked Jason. I think he will loosen up and then really knock the socks off the ladies viewers with that smile especially! He has sex appeal.
    Christian is a very good dancer with tons of potential if he listens to the judges remarks. I think Cheryl will definately get him in serious order!
    Adam I have mixed feelings on this guy. He seems like he has his heart in it, we will see.
    Mario was on his game! He looked really good out there. Of course he has been doing funky things with his hips with all the rap under his belt, so moving them won't be a problem for him. I felt he was all over Corina after the dance and saw a bit of "please stop touching me" in her facial features. Did anyone notice that. Maybe another "Mario" might get jealous???
    Steve Oh Boy...what a wonderful natured guy, but goodness he let me down. For some reason I thought he was going to WOW us. He needs to really work to stay in I think.
    My two very favorites: Mario and Jason. Third vote is Christian.

    Thanks Trav...this is fun!
    Smiles,
    Kimmie

  1. Akelamalu says:

    I love the Cha Cha - not that I can do it you understand, I just love it.

    As I'm not able to watch the programme being in the UK I'll look forward to the clips you post. :)

  1. Jeff B says:

    All must be right with the planet in your household. March madness and DWTS at the same time!

  1. I love the Fox Trot. It is an elegant dance and you have to be good to handle the lead foot changes. I'll be interested to see what you have to say about Marlee and Priscilla tomorrow.

  1. cathy says:

    Oh! I'm so happy:) DANCING!
    cha cha cha! and what a beautiful cha cha it was.

  1. TopChamp says:

    Christian's good looking.. where do I know the name from?

  1. DrillerAA says:

    Right now, I like JT. He is very elegant for his height. He may be the best football player ever to be in this competition. He is certainly better than Jerry Rice.

  1. I thought of you guys too last night...

    I liked Mario a great deal....and cristian as well....I dunno....I've always been a marlee maitlen fan...so I am looking forward to seeing her....smile.

  1. Jennifer: While we really enjoy the celebrities as they learn the dances, nothing beats watching the pros.

    Gracie: We all like what we like and that's ok.

    Turn: Woooooooo!!! Jason is also an early favorite of mine, but I'm jazzed to see the ladies tonight.

    Dana: I'll mark down a vote for Steve.

    V: I'm expecting a lot from all of the ladies tonight.

    Matt: Don't know if I can help you with the nekkid Cheryl, but as a good host I will try my best.

    Teach: Well, I think Steve just loves the show so much that he wanted to be on it. I hope Adam is gone fairly quickly though.

    Ivanhoe: They were the two best last night.

    Bee: I suspect the train wreck will be next Monday when he tries for a Latin dance. Yikes!

  1. Dottie: I'll be here with the reviews and recaps at least twice a week!

    Mo: YAY for me!

    Kimmie: Nice recap. I like to get other perspectives. It seems like we're all pretty much in agreement about how the fellas did.

    Akelamalu: My favorite from the Latin style are Cha Cha Cha and Jive.

    Jeff: Those pesky planets do seem to be aligning quite nicely.

    Jamie: I've been hearing that Ms Marlee is actually going to surprise people with how well she does. Can't wait!

    Cathy: Woooooooooo!!

    TC: Well, he's an international actor and I guess he has been on that show Ugly Betty.

    Drilleraa: Jason is my favorite at the moment too. Jerry did ok, but Emmitt took it to another level. I don't think JT is that good yet.

    Katherine: I'm really looking forward to the ladies this evening.

  1. RW says:

    Good stuff! Nice placement on the photos to Travis that can be a pain to do right sometimes!

  1. TopChamp says:

    Ah! I watched that.

  1. Roger: Thanks! It was tough to figure out at first. But I really like to set the pictures on the side with the text like that. I think it makes the post more visually interesting.

    TC: And did you like?