Do we really need 5 hours of ‘DWTS’?

September 25, 2008 · Print This Article

dancing with the stars.

New York (CMR) - I’ve been watching Dancing With the Stars from the beginning and have loved every second of it. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exagerration — I didn’t particularly like when Sabrina and Mark were eliminated in Season 5 and I think you all know my feelings concerning Samantha Harris. If you don’t, let me save you the trouble of looking through archives and tell you: I can’t stand her.

Aside from those things, I can’t wait for each new season to start. But even I have my limits. Were five hours of DWTS really necessary this first week to kick start the seventh season? Yes, I know it’s all a ratings game, and ABC fared well this première week, but man, even I thought it was overkill.

Not to say the week wasn’t packed with exciting performances, because it was. It also included the first time the contestants performed two dances, ranging from difficult quicksteps to flashy mambos.

Before the hour even began, I speculated — and hoped — that Kim and Mark, and Cloris and Corky would be in the bottom two. But when they were the second and third to be announced safe, I did the requisite, “Huh!?!”

As couples were continuously announced safe thoughout the hour and the final four pairs left were Lance and Lacey, Cody and Julianne, Toni and Alec and Ted and Inna, I had to admit I was a little nervous. And it’s that moment in the show where you realize where your loyalties lie. I wanted Toni and Alec gone — nothing against Ms. Braxton; I just find Ted so entertaining.

I don’t think it had anything to do with Ted, however. He got paired with a newcomer, and we viewers like the established pros — but even poor Edyta didn’t stand a chance this season. And while Inna isn’t the only newbie, Lacey has her own fan base, while Corky, who is paired with the hysterical Cloris, is fan fave Mark’s daddy.

But the actor, infamous for getting shows cancelled, couldn’t end this show if his shark-jumping track record depended on it. All he managed to kill off was his and Inna’s chances at winning the trophy.

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