Dancing With the Stars

Let me get this out of the way.  Every year I'm initially intrigued by Dancing With the Stars but then my intrigue usually peters out sometime before the season finale.  Maybe because a favorite goes home early.  Maybe because the Viennese Waltz soon becomes a one-way ticket to Snoozeville.  Or maybe because a better show like Glee starts airing against it on another channel.

Well, since Glee is switching to Tuesday night this fall, I decided to give Dancing another shot.  Here's my first impressions of this years cast.

• Ron Artest - I missed Ron's performance. I was checking my Facebook at the time and had my back to the TV.  I did glance back at one point and noticed his hair (on top of head and facial) the shade of Dennis Rodman yellow. Being from Detroit, my immediate thoughts upon hearing his name is the picture of him brawling with an arena full of Pistons fans.  I overheard him during his intro footage mentioning having a daughter who had gone through chemo.  So, I'll brush aside my brawl at The Palace memories for the moment.  Seeing his replay, he seemed to be having fun out there. Eh, we'll see.
• Rob Kardashian - I can't believe a guy growing up in a house with that many females can be so masochistic. "Come here woman!" he commands his partner. Yuck!  I know he thinks he's being cute and flirty... but, yuck!  Then again, I retract my first sentence after remembering who these women are that he grew up in a house full of.
• Kristin Cavallari - She spends most of her intro assuring us that she "not really a bitch."  Meanwhile footage of her acting bitchy is spliced in between her rehearsal shots.  Sure, Kristin.  I've seen two seasons of Laguna Beach and all the seasons of The Hills that assure me otherwise.  Either own it or quit acting that way.  And, less squirming, more footwork!
• Chynna Phillips - Chynna was a graceful sweetheart.  I hope she goes far.  I love her husband and I love the footage of her singing "Hold On" on the beach with her skinny waist and Dutch Boy haircut.  Hold on, for one more day... You can ho-ooo-old on!  ♫
• Nancy Grace - I was too distracted with Nancy's rack hanging out to form any kind of opinion on her dancing skills.  You can take the pantsuit off the girl, but you can't... Holy moley Nance!  Cover those things up a little bit!  (And, I think they were being cheeky when they asked, "How are twins?"  She responds by saying, "They're right there in the audience!" while pointing at her kids.)
• David Arquette - I simply adore David Arquette and always have.  He was one of my favorites to see on the roster this year.  I loved his can-do attitude tonight and his ear-to-ear smile of genuine joy.  And, how cute was Coco in the audience as he proclaimed his love for his only daughter.  He's in my top three for sure.
• Elisabetta Canalis - The woman who thinks she can disguise forgotten choreography by rubbing her belly.  Won't miss her if she goes this week.
• Hope Solo - I don't know these sports people. But, she entertained me during her rehearsal footage and gave it a good sportsman's try.  I don't know her, but I don't mind her.
• Carson Kressley - Another happy roster spotting.  I've missed Carson so much since Queer Eye for the Straight Guy got canceled.  I wasn't sure how his dance skills would be, but I knew he would be entertaining to the 10th power.  And, that he was! (His dancing wasn't too shabby either.  I think.  I was distracted by all the flair.)
• J.R. Martinez - I didn't know who J.R. was, but his back story was touching. (Former infantry soldier badly injured and disfigured in Iraq turned soap star. That's right.  I said "turned soap star".)  He was such a delight to watch rehearse and had the best attitude and zest for life.  Unfortunately, I missed his performance because I had a bagel burning in the toaster. That's right, I said "a bagel burning in the toaster!"
• Ricki Lake - Derek Hough is back!  Oh yeah, and Ricki Lake is his partner.  Ricki was quite graceful and a better dancer than I expected.  And, did I mention that Derek looked like Leonardo DiCaprio in the fancy dinner scene from Titanic with his hair slicked back like that?  (But, then he did a creepy "eyebrows dancing" move during the judging.)  But, oh yeah...  Ricki was pretty good.
• Chaz Bono - The long awaited debut of Cher's daughter-newly-turned-son.  They kept stressing that Chaz was the "first transgender to compete on the show"!!!  As, if that door has been closed for all of these past seasons.  I can't think of many other transgender children of celebrities that have been trying to bust down the barrier of dancing on a C-list reality competition, but I guess that's the only label they could stick him with.  (They did refer to him as "author" at one point in the evening too.)  I was pleasantly surprised at his groovy moves and genuine smiling appreciation to be there.  I think Chaz had fun!  And, you could see both his mom and dad's showmanship shining though.  He'll be a fun one to watch this season.

Well, so far so good.  One episode down and I'm still hanging in there.  Let's hope the Fox Trot doesn't eventually do me in.  Now, if you'll excuse me... new Hawaii Five-O up next! (P.S.  I love TV!)