Well, ABC has built a nice new big ballroom for its top-rated show.
Carson Kressley, so far, appears to be this season's amusing Kirstie Alley/Cloris Leachman combo. I suspect Carson will be dancing for many weeks.
David Arquette. Not a fan. But, he did well, if overly intense. I don't know if he is divorced from Courtney Cox, or what, but she was in the audience, being supportive, along with their kid.
I only fast forwarded through one of the "Stars." That being a pro sports guy I'd never heard of, Ron Artest. He seemed annoying to me. I liked his pro partner's name though, Peta Murgatroyd.
Mark Ballas wears on my nerves. His "Star" is a Reality TVer I'd never heard of, Kristin Cavallari. Kristin is cute. Mark is not cute. Mark flails around way too much with his routines, drawing attention to himself, rather than directing attention to his "Star."
I think fan pro favorite Maks' brother Val Chmerkovskiy's "Star" partner, Elisabetta Canalis, may be the first to get the boot. Near as I can tell Elisabetta's primary claim to stardom was being George Clooney's bedmate for a period of time. Val appeared to be trying real hard to be Mr. Personality, but he seems to lack his brother's likability factor.
Speaking of Val's brother, Maks lucked out in the "Star" department with an Olympic soccer player I'd never heard of before, named Hope Solo. Hope is very likable and seemed to adjust to doing the dancing well. This may be Maks' best shot to win the coveted mirror ball trophy yet.
Nancy Grace surprised me by being somewhat graceful. She's got a pro partner we'd not seen before. An Irish guy named Tristan MacManus. Tristan has a thick Irish accent. It was amusing when he confused Nancy by saying "turd" whilst meaning "third." Apparently "turd" is how "third" is pronounced in Ireland.
I knew nothing of J.R. Martinez. I was ready to hit the fast forward button, but then I watched, drawn in by his partner, one of my favorites, Karina Smirnoff. J.R. turned out to be quite remarkable. I suspect it will be awhile before he gets the boot. And he may end up being the mirror ball trophy winner.
Cheryl Burke appears to have slimmed down. She is also one of my favorite pros. She got stuck with Rob Kardashian. Rob was better than I thought he would be. Rob has been in the press saying he hoped doing the dancing would help him lose some of the 200 plus pounds he's put on his 5' 10" frame.
Chynna Phillips did well, according to the judges. But, I was bored by her. Chynna's pro partner, Tony Dovolani, nice guy, but not one of my favorites.
Derek Hough is back. Partnered with Ricki Lake. Ricki did surprisingly well. I think she could be the possible winner. It helps having multi-winner Derek as your partner.
That leaves only one "Star" remaining. My favorite of the night. Chaz Bono. Paired with Lacey Schwimmer. Chaz has put on weight since losing weight on Celebrity Fit Club. And yet Chaz was able to move that body of his. I was surprised at how at ease Chaz seemed when it came his turn to dance, at the end of the 2 hour show. That is a lot of anxious waiting. Chaz looked pretty much effortless and like he was having himself a real fine time.
Methinks it will be either Ron Artest, Elisabetta Canalis or Rob Kardashian who gets the boot from DWTS tonight.
Over on Survivor Sucks I thought natnyc911's overall thoughts were cogent....
Ron (Meta whatever stupidity he decided he wanted his name to be)... Awful. He may do a bit better in ballroom as compared to fast latin dances but that was so rough. It was as if Lurch was dancing.
Rob... Better than I expected but nothing at all to write home about. He actually looked like a little kid that was trying to do something correct that was taught to him. The footwork when it was supposed to be gliding was anything but.
Kristin... It was okay. A little awkward when she was without Mark and he continues to grate on my nerves, season after season. She could improve a whole lot though if she sticks around.
Chynna... Nice! Really elegant. I wasn't going nuts or anything but better than everyone who came before and she should be really proud of that. Kudos to Tony for finally (maybe) getting a partner to go deep in the competition with.
Nancy... Yep, better than expected for me. A tad awkward from time to time (I expected that) but no denying that she did not stink up the floor as many just assumed she would. And her personally was good tonight and for her, that's a major plus.
David... Whoa. Relax! It looked like he drank about 5 red bulls before going out there. At one point, he was running. But he is charming and the dancing was decent. He is another that will go really far because he will improve.
Elisabetta... This was a worse than I expected situation. As awkward as Kristin was alone, Elisabetta was worse. And Val is trying TOO hard to be like Maks but it doesn't work for him. They are in major trouble tomorrow night I think.
Hope... Good! Sure, she is masculine and stuff but that can worked out. Maks has another decent shot at the trophy this season. She reminds me of the Shawn Johnson in terms of needing to be more feminine and elegant but all the tools are there.
Carson... Fun! I laughed throughout. The dancing was pretty bad but I don't think he or anyone who is a fan of his cares at all about that. He could last as long as the fans keep him in for me because he brings the entertainment. Think of it like Cloris Leachman in that respect.
JR... Now, I watch All My Children (RIP this week by the way), so I am a bit biased toward him and any soap star that does this show. That being said, he is right up there with Chynna for best of the night. It was just a really good first routine.
Ricki... Go Ricki! I think out of everyone, I would give up time to vote for her as much as I did Kirstie last season. It was a really decent job and she looks like she cares a whole lot about trying each and every week.
Chaz... I might be alone on this but I thought the scoring was low on him. He didn't deserve 8's or anything but I thought he did better than a 17. Eh. I thought he did well and definitely another better than I expected dancer.
