Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars with Lisa Vanderpump

It seems like only yesterday a new show started up on ABC, the premise of which seemed silly to me, and now we are about to have the premiere of Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars.

The premise no longer seems silly to me. Although the use of the word "Stars" in the title remains a bit silly, what with many of the "Stars" usually being people I've never heard of.

The "Stars" doing the dancing this time are Kellie Pickler, Dorothy Hamill, Ingo Rademacher, Aly Raisman, Zendaya Coleman, Victor Ortiz, Andy Dick, Lisa Vanderpump, Jacoby Jones, D.L. Hughley and Wynonna Judd.

I am familiar with more of these "Stars" than I usually am when I learn of the new dancing cast of "Stars" on a new edition of DWTS.

This time I am aware of the "Stardom" of Kellie Pickler, Dorothy Hamill, Ingo Rademacher, Andy Dick, Lisa Vanderpump and Wynonna Judd.

I had read that Derek Hough was bailing on Dancing with the Stars. But that turned out to be not true, because he is paired with Kellie Pickler. Kellie Pickler I remember from American Idol. She is amusing.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, my favorite of the professional dancers, because he is one amusing Ukrainian, is off the show. However, Mak's brother Valentin, is paired with a Disney "Star" I've never heard of before named Zendaya Coleman.

My favorite of all the "Stars" is Lisa Vanderpump. I know Lisa from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I think Lisa is about to find herself millions of new fans. And millions of viewers are also about to find themselves totally charmed by a little Pomeranian named Giggy. Lisa will be dancing with a new pro named Gleb Savchenko. The name makes me think it's another Russian. Lisa paired with Maks would have been fun.

Andy Dick is a funnyman. He is paired with another new pro, Sharna Burgess.

Wynonna Judd is hoping that doing a lot of dancing will help her lose some weight. I think she looks just fine just the way she is. Wynonna is paired with Tony Dovolani, who won the previous season of Dancing with the Stars, dancing with Bachelor reject, Melissa Rycroft.

D.L. Hughley is a stand-up comedian who I've never seen. He will be dancing with Cheryl Burke. Usually whoever gets paired with Cheryl Burke does real well.

Dancing with the Stars always seems to have a professional basketball or football player I've never heard of. This time it is a Baltimore Ravens wide receiver named Jacoby Jones. He will be dancing with Karina Smirnoff. Karina's partners usually do well, except for ex-fiance, Maks, who Karina dumped.

This time we have 2 professional sports people. In addition to Jacoby Jones, a boxer named Victor Ortiz is paired with another newcomer, named Lindsay Arnold.

We also have a couple non-professional athletes.

Famous Olympian figure skater, Dorothy Hamill, is paired with the Irish pro dancer named Tristan MacManus. Tristan always seems to do well with his partners.

Another Olympian, Aly Raisman, she being a gold medal winner at last summer's London Olympics, is paired with two-time winner, Mark Ballas.

And finally we have an ABC soap star, Ingo Rademacher, Jax on General Hospital. Ingo will be dancing with Kym Johnson.

I did not watch the All-Stars version of Dancing with the Stars. Watching former "Stars" be "All-Stars" did not interest me. Watching a new set of "Stars" try to learn to dance, that interests me.

It will be amusing to see how Lisa Vanderpump does. I suspect she may do surprising well.

Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for February 18 - February 24

The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for for February 18 - February 24. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.

Once again NBC has no shows in the Top 20, while ABC and CBS dominate the Top 20. The Academy Awards had 40.4 million viewers, almost double the number who watched the top-rated scripted show, NCIS. American Idol continues its ratings slide, coming in at #7 on Wednesday, #9 on Thursday.

Rank	Show name	Network	Viewers in millions	Season-to-date average (in millions)
1.	Academy Awards	ABC	40.4	--
2.	Oscars Red Carpet (8:00)	ABC	25.5	--
3.	NCIS	CBS	21.1	22.2
4.	Big Bang Theory	CBS	17.6	19.0
5.	Oscars Red Carpet (7:30)	ABC	16.5	--
6.	NCIS: Los Angeles	CBS	16.3	18.2
7.	American Idol (Wed.)	Fox	14.4	16.8
8.	Person of Interest	CBS	14.2	16.1
9.	American Idol (Thu.)	Fox	13.7	16.0
10.	Two and a Half Men	CBS	13.4	14.1
11.	Oscars Red Carpet Live (7:00)	ABC	12.4	--
12.	Blue Bloods	CBS	11.2	13.2
*	Elementary	CBS	11.2	13.1
14.	Criminal Minds	CBS	10.7	13.4
15.	CSI	CBS	10.6	12.0
*	Modern Family	ABC	10.6	13.3
17.	Mike & Molly	CBS	10.3	11.1
18.	2 Broke Girls	CBS	10.2	11.6
19.	Castle	ABC	9.9	11.6
20.	CSI: NY	CBS	9.5	11.0
*	Vegas	CBS	9.5	12.8

Seth MacFarlane Did A Good Job Hosting The Oscars

Before watching Sunday night's Oscar Show I figured Seth MacFarlane was going to be a host dud on the James Franco, Anne Hathaway, David Letterman level of dud-ness.

I figured wrong.

I thought Seth MacFarlane was the best host the Academy Awards Show has had in a long long time.

I have read some reviews where the reviewers have opined that Seth MacFarlane was sexist, racist, tasteless and irreverent.

Irreverent? That's a complaint? This is the guy who created Family Guy. Wouldn't it be irreverent if he weren't irreverent?

I think the sexist complaint had to do with the rather over the top song and dance number about all the actresses who have bared their boobs. The Bare Boobs number was part of the rather long opening to the show. Captain Kirk had showed up from the future to help MacFarlane fine tune his hosting to improve the reviews from worst host ever, to something better. Which led to a Family Guy type segue to the Bare Boobs number, among other segues.

The only example, I read, of supposed MacFarlane racism, was MacFarlane wondering if Daniel Day Lewis, who said he stayed in his Lincoln character 24/7, whilst filming, felt compelled to free Don Cheadle, and I assume, other blacks, upon seeing them.

This really was not all that funny. But racist? I don't think so.

Before the Oscar show, besides Family Guy and the movie, Ted, being products of Seth MacFarlane's imagination, I knew nothing about him. After enjoying him being the host of the Academy Awards Show, I am now a Seth MacFarlane fan.

Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for February 11 - February 17

The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for for February 11- February 17. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.

Three CBS shows, Big Bang Theory, Person of Interest & Two and a Half Men are the Top 3 in the Top 20 in this week's Nielsen Ratings. The season premiere of another CBS show, The Amazing Race, came in at #12. While former top-rated CBS Reality TV Show, Survivor, premiered at #18. As usual, CBS dominates the ratings, while NBC falters.

Rank	Show name	Network	Viewers in millions	Season-to-date average(in millions)
1.	Big Bang Theory		17.9	18.8
2.	Person of Interest		14.9	16.0
3.	Two and a Half Men		13.7	14.0
4.	American Idol (Wed.)		13.5	16.9
5.	American Idol (Thu.)		12.6	16.3
6.	Elementary		11.0	12.9
7.	2 Broke Girls		10.9	11.6
8.	Blue Bloods		10.7	13.1
9.	Mike & Molly		10.5	11.0
10.	Modern Family		10.0	13.2
11.	60 Minutes		9.7	13.1
12.	Amazing Race		9.6	9.6
*	Hawaii Five-0		9.6	11.2
14.	The Mentalist		9.4	11.7
15.	NCIS: Los Angeles		9.2	--
16.	Castle		9.0	11.5
*	How I Met Your Mother		9.0	9.7
18.	Survivor: Caramoan		8.9	8.9
19.	Bones		8.8	9.6
20.	CSI: NY		8.6	11.0
*	Grey's Anatomy		8.6	11.8

Malcolm Is My Only Favorite On Survivor: Caramoan Fans vs. Favorites

The premiere of Survivor Caramoan Fans vs. Favorites was the lowest rated Survivor premiere since Survivor became a CBS hit.

I did not watch the Survivor premiere when it premiered. My DVR forgot it was supposed to record it. And I did not know that Survivor was starting up again, last Wednesday, February 13, 8/9C.

I have since watched the first half hour of the Survivor Caramoan premiere, via U-Verse On-Demand. I was stopped half way though by a strong wind which knocked out my power and Survivor. I'll likely watch the rest of the premiere later today.

I'd blogged previously about being non-plussed about the people who were returning as "Favorites" to this iteration of Survivor.

Seeing the "Favorites" really made it seem odd that the majority of them were being designated as "Favorites."

Many of the "Favorites" I do not remember.

It strikes me as odd, what with so many people being Survivor, fans that so many people are given a second, or third chance, rather than always going with new people.

Francesca Hogi is one of the "Favorites" who I remember. Even though she was the first to get the boot on Survivor: Redemption Island. How could she be a "Favorite" if she was on the show for such a short time?

I remember Francesca due to her disdain for fellow "Favorite" Phillip Sheppard. How can Phillip Sheppard be a "Favorite?"

Some of the "Favorites" I have no memory of. Like Brenda Lowe, Corinne Kaplan and Andrea Boehlke.

Which means of the female "Favorites" I only remember the aforementioned Francesca and Dawn Meehan. Dawn Meehan was on Survivor: South Pacific. I remember her, but she sure was no "Favorite."

Of the male "Favorites" the oddest one, to me, is Russell Hantz's nephew, Brandon. How can this guy be a "Favorite??

I sort of get Erik Reichenback being a "Favorite" due to his very memorable boot after giving away his Immunity Idol. I also get John Cochran being a "Favorite" due to he being a very memorable nerd.

Of all the "Favorites" Survivor: Phillipines' Malcolm Freberg seems to me to be one who actually likely is a "Favorite" with the fans of Survivor.

However, the "Fans" on Survivor: Caromoan likely did not view Survivor: Philippines due to the time lapse between filming and airing, so they likely have no clue about Malcolm.

By the end of Survivor: Philippines Malcolm had gotten very noticeably skinny. By the time he arrived at Survivor: Caromoan Malcolm appeared to have added some weight. He likely started pigging out as soon as he learned he was going to be stranded on an island again.

Malcolm is pretty much my only favorite of all the "Favorites." So, I guess I'm rooting for Malcolm to win the million on his second try. But, I am also guessing that is likely not going to happen...

Watching The Virgin Bachelor Sean Lowe's Cruel Thoughtless Behavior

It always sort of embarrasses me to admit I watch ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

Watching, for me, would not be possible without the Fast Forward function on the DVR. Hitting FF helps speed through the Sacred Rose Ceremony and a lot of the other fluff, while watching drunken drama and psycho nutcases, like this season's amusing villainess, who calls herself Tierra.

Tierra got the boot this week, on St. Croix, after she had just one too many crying breakdowns.

The Bachelor this time is an ultra white blond guy named Sean Lowe. Sean got rejected by Emily Maynard on the last season of The Bachelorette.

Sean did not get rejected by Emily due to performing badly in the Fantasy Suite portion of the hunt for a husband. Due to not wanting her little girl seeing mommy bringing three different guys into her all night Fantasy Suite lair, Emily told her 3 final potential husbands it was a no go.

Which must have been a HUGE relief for Sean, because this week we learned, via US Weekly, that Sean is saving his Fantasy Suite fantasies til he has a ring on his finger. Apparently Sean did way too much Fantasy Suiting when he was in college, so when he got out of college he re-virginated himself with a good Christian cleansing, vowing to save himself from any pre-marital un-virginating behavior.

Which should make the Fantasy Suite portion of the current wife audition process interesting. We have not seen Sean have a conversation with any of his potential lifelong bedmates regarding his need to have a ring on her finger tod make the candidate a wife before he fulfills her fantasy.

We have seen the preview where, at the end of the season, Sean is standing on the Sacred Proposal Pedestal, when a rejection note is delivered. That note, according to rumor, comes from Lindsay, saying she can not go through with getting proposed to.

Was this caused by Lindsay being disappointed at not getting to take Sean for a test run in the Fantasy Suite?

Supposedly, after being rejected by Lindsay, Sean does not propose to his #2 choice, Catherine, but instead proposes that they date after the show. Catherine is the potential wife who blurts out strange tragedies, like telling Sean she saw a girl killed by a falling tree when she was 12, which led her to decide, right then, she wanted a husband and a lot of babies. This week Catherine informed Sean that on the Extremely Important Hometown Dates Sean would not be meeting her dad, because her dad tried to kill himself in front of Catherine and so he got sent to an asylum in China. I think I heard that right.

I started off liking Sean, he seemed like a nice kid from Texas. But the more I've seen of Sean the more he seems like a bit of a meathead. With a sadistic streak.

First the meathead part.

For example, at the end of each episode, after the credits, an outtake is shown. This week it was Sean telling one of his potential wives that when he was a kid his dad caught him peeing into his desk. Then there was the outtake that showed Sean being a macho man in various venues in Canada, and then being totally inept with an ax. My favorite was the outtake with the Iraqi, Selma, in the Joshua Tree National Monument zone, where Sean was trying to drive a jeep. But he keep killing the engine, over and over again. At about kill #20 Sean blurted out "son of a bitch", which marked the first borderline profanity we've heard from him. At some point after start try #30 Selma kindly suggested that he might want to take off the parking brake. Ooops. Sean begged Selma not to tell anyone about his humiliating ineptitude.

And now Sean's sadistic streak.

The dates on these shows are often ridiculous, with the datees doing stuff that no sane people ever do on a first date, like bungee jumping off bridges, rappelling down skyscrapers, cliff climbing.

The show's producers design the ridiculous dates, with The Bachelor or Bachelorette getting to have input.

For instance, Sean could have said I am not going to have a one-armed girl, Sarah, climb down the outside of a skyscraper. Instead, in addition to skyscraping, Sean had one-armed Sarah roller derbying, boat rowing, jumping in the freezing water of Lake Louise in Banff. And then suddenly sending Sarah home, after she Polar Bear Plunged, because he knew he was not going to put a ring on her finger and he wanted to spare her the pain of waiting in Canadian scenic splendor for the Sacred Rose Ceremony, where she would not get a Sacred Rose.

However, at that Sacred Canadian Rose Ceremony, Sean sent the Iraqi, Selma, and Daniella, home, not sparing them the false hope, while enjoying scenic splendor. And before he gave Selma the boot Sean kissed Selma on TV, even though Selma had told Sean that her strict Muslim relatives would be very upset, so Sean sent Selma home with a kiss that might, minimally, at least, get her a verbal stoning.

Sean could say no, I am not going to have the girls canoe across Lake Louise and then put on their bikinis for a dip into glacial melt, barely above freezing, water. Sean could say, no, I am not going to scare a girl by rappelling down a cliff. Or with the frightened Iraqi, Sean could have said, no I am not going to have her climb up a cliff, she is scared of heights.

And then this week, Sean broke into the girl's sleeping quarters, waking the three he was taking on a date, with a camera in their faces, because he wanted to see what they looked like without makeup, then giving them 5 minutes to get ready and depart. If I was Sean I would have told the producers I am not going to do this, and if I was one of those 3 potential wives I would have told Sean to bug off.

Some quotes about Sean, and The Bachelor, from various TV forums....

This show is horrible, but so fun to watch.

Thing is, if Sean really wants a buddy to do extreme sports with, I agree that he'd be better to just get a guy friend for that--much of what he is putting these women through is downright cruel and thoughtless.

I used to like him, but seeing how ridiculously dense he is about possibly causing real harm to these girls makes me wonder...

Yeah, between being re-virginated and seeming to enjoy scaring his potential wives, in various ways, I don't think Sean is grown up enough to have himself a wife yet.

Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for February 4 - February 10

The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for Nielsen Rating's Top 20 for for February 4 - February 10. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.

Rank	Show name	Network	Viewers in millions	Season-to-date average (in millions)
1.	Grammy Awards	CBS	28.4	--
2.	NCIS	CBS	21.8	21.8
3.	Big Bang Theory	CBS	19.0	18.7
4.	NCIS: Los Angeles	CBS	16.7	17.9
5.	Person of Interest	CBS	14.9	15.9
6.	American Idol (Wed.)	Fox	14.3	17.2
7.	Two and a Half Men	CBS	14.1	13.9
8.	American Idol (Thu.)	Fox	13.3	16.5
9.	Criminal Minds	CBS	12.0	13.3
10.	2 Broke Girls	CBS	11.4	11.6
11.	Blue Bloods	CBS	11.2	13.1
12.	60 Minutes	CBS	11.0	13.3
*	CSI	CBS	11.0	12.1
14.	Elementary	CBS	10.8	12.8
*	Mike & Molly	CBS	10.8	11.0
16.	How I Met Your Mother	CBS	10.3	9.8
*	Vegas	CBS	10.3	12.7
18.	Hawaii Five 0	CBS	9.9	11.2
19.	Modern Family	ABC	9.8	13.3
20.	CSI: NY	CBS	9.6	11.0