Helene Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 If he made it to the next around over a more clearly talented dancer like Tia, it would have killed the show's credibility. An extremely deserving boot. What would this credibility be based on? It's an audience participation show. The audience decides 50% of who goes onto the next round. The judges have made it clear by their scores that Master P/Ashly are not just the worst, but they don't even get 5's or 6's as their lowest marks, by the later rounds a sign of "nice effort, good attitude, you galumpher." Link to comment
carbro Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 Thanks so much (as always ) miliosr! I missed both shows this week, so welcome most happily the news that P has finally been tossed. Link to comment
miliosr Posted January 29, 2006 Author Share Posted January 29, 2006 Helene -- maybe a better way to put it is that a Master P victory over Tia would have killed the audience's credibility. Just my two cents worth! Link to comment
canbelto Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I think the show is falling into a depressing conumdrum: the most endearing of the candidates (Jerry, George) are also its worst dancers. But they are so likable, it's hard to vote them off. Of the two, Jerry is marginally the better dancer, so I predict George will get a sad farewell if not this week but next week. I predict the middle-of-the-road talented (Tia) I predict will go next. Final Four: Drew and Stacy (who are the judges' darlings), Lisa, Jerry. Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 1, 2006 Author Share Posted February 1, 2006 Ratings for Week Four: Thursday (performances): 19.4 million viewers (season high) -- 6th for the week (season high) Friday (results): 14.0 million viewers -- 18th for the week Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 4, 2006 Author Share Posted February 4, 2006 The Miliosr Report - Week Five Overall Impressions 1) What happened to the music this week? It was as if the singers took a collective dive off of a vocal cliff. Is the noise within the studio so loud that they cannot hear themselves and the band? 2) Quite a contrast between last week's performing guests -- The Pussycat Dolls -- and this week's performing guest -- Barry Manilow. I don't mean to be snotty by writing this but does Barry Manilow still have a big following? Seriously, does he?? Scoring by the Judges 01 Stacy/Tony 02 Drew/Cheryl 03 Lisa/Louie 04 George/Edyta 05 Jerry/Anna 06 Tia/Maksim Miliosr's Impressions (All the teams did the samba) Stacy/Tony The biggest knock against Stacy has been her icy demeanor and Tony's tendency to bring the choreography to a screeching halt so he can "pose" her and show off her shapely legs. I thought they answered their detractors this week -- there was much less posing and Stacy actually looked like she was having a good time. For me, this was the best dance of the night and their best dance of the entire competition. That being said, the judges' scores were ridiculous. Three "10s" for the first couple of the night? And Carrie Ann did her credibility no good by saying that Stacy is dancing better than some of the professionals. Oh really? George/Edyta First off, George looked very handsome in his tux. He looked like he travelled in time from a Betty Grable musical circa 1942! To his credit, George did more dancing this week and he showed that he travels well across the floor when he actually dances. His problem (as I see it) is still the same -- George is almost doing performance art at this point. He's presenting the concept of dancer rather than actually dancing. Lisa/Louie I don't agree with Carrie Ann's criticism that they were doing more of a disco routine than a samba routine -- the moves were there. Not my favorite routine of the night but a nice meat-and-potatoes routine to carry them along in the competition. Tia/Maksim This is sad for me to write but I thought this was the worst performance of the night (even worse than George's performance art.) Two things went wrong. Maksim blundered by having so little dancing at the start of the dance -- Tia more or less stood there for a long time. I wrote on my pad (yes, I am a dork who writes my impressions on a pad): "When is the dancing going to start?" Another problem related to Tia's flexibility. Due to her recent pregnancy, she doesn't have the same flexibility as Stacy and Lisa and, as a result, she lacked serious amplitude during the performance. This is a tough thing for me to write but I think not having her normal strength back really hurt her this week. Jerry/Anna This was mildly better than George and Tia's performances but not by a lot. Jerry has a great personality and I think it will carry him into the Final Four but I still say his dancing has no real flow to it. Carrie Ann was right when she said that he is still too self-conscious out there. Drew/Cheryl Another fine performance (fast/good footwork/crisp) although I thought Stacy and Tony got the better of them this week. (The six teams also did a group salsa number) Oh dear. This must be the Dancing with the Stars equivalent of the Partridge Family-style group singalongs on American Idol. All I can say is that the best part of this was watching all the drama (Anna and Maksim arguing over floor space) at the rehearsal. Sorry guys -- better luck next week with the group Viennese waltz (no doubt set to Cher's Greatest Hits!) The Bottom Two I can't object to Tia/Maksim and George/Edyta being in the cellar. Both teams were clearly the worst of the week. The Bootees My preference would have been for George and Edyta to go based on the premise that Tia and Maksim have done more actual dancing (and done it better) over the last five weeks than George and Edyta. Still, Tia and Maksim were living on borrowed time -- they were in the cellar three of the last five weeks. Given that this is an audience participation show, competitors must gain traction with the audience (especially if they don't have a built-in fan base like Jerry, Stacy and possibly Drew) or face getting booted. Tia and Maksim never managed to make much headway with the audience and so (even though I hate to see them go) it was their time. Next Week I suspect George and Edyta will go next but I'm not so sure what happens after that. Tune in next week to find out! Link to comment
Starr Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 I really enjoy your reviews of the show. Thanks! I believe Barry Manilow has a new album coming out, so he's all over, will be on Martha Stewart's show on Monday. Some of my 3rd grader's classmates watch and vote. Big surprise they like Drew and Stacy. Link to comment
Helene Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 I don't mean to be snotty by writing this but does Barry Manilow still have a big following? Seriously, does he?? We might argue which is worth the following, but just like Neil Diamond and Tom Jones, he does. The biggest knock against Stacy has been her icy demeanor and Tony's tendency to bring the choreography to a screeching halt so he can "pose" her and show off her shapely legs. I thought they answered their detractors this week -- there was much less posing and Stacy actually looked like she was having a good time. For me, this was the best dance of the night and their best dance of the entire competition. I agree completely. That being said, the judges' scores were ridiculous. Three "10s" for the first couple of the night? It was, as you said, the best dance of their competition, and, in my opinion, by far the best dance of the competition. The judges could have tied any other couple, had they been as good. The likelihood of anyone having the technical ability to surpass this performance was so slight, particularly since Drew Lachey, her only real competitor, doesn't have much articulation in his back, that I had no problem with them taking the chance. I saw too many absolute top figure skating performances downgraded to "leave room" under the old 6.0 system, when there was a snowball's chance of anyone else surpassing them, and I was glad to see such a great performance rewarded with a strong statement by the judges. And Carrie Ann did her credibility no good by saying that Stacy is dancing better than some of the professionals. Oh really? I agree with her comment. Not entirely end-to-end, and I'm not saying Keibler was as good as Cheryl Burke or Nick Kosovich's wife (seen in exhibition with her husband), but I think she danced with a better combination of dance quality and technique than Ashly Delgrosso, for example, and not just Delgrosso with Master P, but when she did a routine with a pro partner earlier in the season. I was shocked when I saw how un-amateurish Keibler looked. This is sad for me to write but I thought this was the worst performance of the night (even worse than George's performance art.)Two things went wrong. Maksim blundered by having so little dancing at the start of the dance -- Tia more or less stood there for a long time. I wrote on my pad (yes, I am a dork who writes my impressions on a pad): "When is the dancing going to start?" Carrera's performance looked a little deflated. I don't think Latin is her strength, particularly since she's not in top shape (although in amazing shape for having given birth a few months ago.) You had also mentioned earlier about competing fan bases, and I think hers was eaten into by Rinna. This was mildly better than George and Tia's performances but not by a lot. Jerry has a great personality and I think it will carry him into the Final Four but I still say his dancing has no real flow to it. I don't disagree, but of all the men, amateur and professional, he's the one I'd choose to dance with. (Which would make him look like he had superb flow by comparison ) Another fine performance (fast/good footwork/crisp) although I thought Stacy and Tony got the better of them this week. I think Cheryl Burke rocks. Sorry guys -- better luck next week with the group Viennese waltz (no doubt set to Cher's Greatest Hits!) Link to comment
Starr Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Tia is mostly known from the movies(True Lies, Wayne's World). Lisa Rinna was on Days of Our Lives for years(Grandmother loved that show). I think we all know the power of soap opera fans, ie Kelly Monaco from last year. If she had a career like Tia or even Tatum, she wouldn't have made it past the 2nd round. Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 6, 2006 Author Share Posted February 6, 2006 I'm glad you're enjoying the reports, Starr -- I certainly enjoy writing them! Helene -- You make a good point about the "10s". I guess I'm just of the opinion that what's good can always be better (although I have to say that Stacy and Tony were very good indeed.) Thanks for the feedback about Barry Manilow! Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 Ratings for Week Five: Thursday (performances) -- 18.8 million viewers (10th) Friday (results) -- 16.0 million viewers (12th) This was an interesting week for the show because the 12th season of Survivor debuted against Dancing with the Stars on Thursday. I was curious to see what impact Survivor would have on the show's ratings. As it turned out, Survivor didn't have much impact at all. While Survivor finished ninth on Thursday night with 19.2 million viewers, Dancing with the Stars only dropped slightly from its pre-Survivor average. Link to comment
dirac Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Off topic. Not only does Barry still have fans, but he may rise to the top of the charts shortly, although I am not sure I regard this as a Good Thing. An article on his new album, with a recap of his career, below. http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2006/feb...rrymanilow.html Barry Manilow is back in a big way. The 70s crooner, whose hits started to dry up two decades ago, is this week having the biggest comeback since Rod Stewart and doing it the same way. His new album ‘Love Songs of the 50’s’ is a sure bet to debut at number one in the USA this week. One of the odd things about advancing years is that you develop a certain perverse affection for stuff you used to hate, just because it’s older, like you. I can’t tell you how much I hated Manilow when I was a kid (“Oh, Mandy, you came and you gave without taking,” etc.) Never would I have thought that I’d listen to “Copacabana” with a smile on my face, as I did the other night. But I digress. Back to the show. Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 The Miliosr Report - Week Six Overall Impressions This week made me so, so nostalgic for the 80s -- Dynasty, Dirty Dancing, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". I don't care what anyone says -- the 80s were great! And if you ask Joan Collins (a.k.a. Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan) herself, I'll bet she'll tell you the exact same thing!!! Scoring by the Judges 01 Drew/Cheryl 01 Stacy/Tony 03 Lisa/Louie 04 Jerry/Anna 05 George/Edyta Miliosr's Impressions Jerry/Anna (paso doble) Their paso doble really suffers when it is compared to Drew and Cheryl's paso doble from several weeks back. I would have liked this a lot more if Jerry had done the bit with the cape instead of Anna. I also thought there was too much standing around and what dancing there was was too simplistic. Jerry is a nice guy but it is clear he is not keeping pace with Drew, Stacy and Lisa. Drew/Cheryl (tango) I hated this on first viewing and I couldn't figure out why. I then watched it without the sound and I loved it. So, this is a case where the inappropriate music (badly sung) undercut the performance. It didn't feel like a tango with the sound on but it was absolutely a great tango when you watched it with the sound off. George/Edyta (rhumba) Oh Blake Carrington, I don't what to say that I haven't said already. You're the last of an almost extinct breed of Hollywood showmen but Len was right: there just wasn't enough content. Lisa/Louie (quick step) "9 to 5" is my favorite Dolly Parton song so I was favorably disposed to them from the get-go. Imagine my surprise when I found myself loving the routine. Lisa looked a little uncertain with her footwork from time-to-time but, otherwise, they were dynamite together. My favorite performance of the night (just ahead of Drew and Cheryl) and their best performance of the competition. Stacy/Tony (jive) I didn't love this and, unlike with Drew and Cheryl, I can't give an adequate explanation as to why not. Maybe because their dance last week was so outstanding that anything they did this week would seem disappointing in comparison. Not bad at all -- I would put them a few steps behind Drew and Cheryl for the night. (The five teams also did the Viennese waltz.) This was a big improvement over the group dance from last week. Using an Alicia Keys song for the Viennese waltz was novel although I found myself missing the Season One insanity of setting the Viennese waltz to "I Got You Babe"! The Bottom Two No complaints at all about George and Edyta being in the cellar. I would have put Jerry and Anna in the Bottom Two instead of Lisa and Louie, though. The Bootees The audience loved him (and it would seem that everyone on the show loved him too) but it was time for him to go. He added a lot to the general hilarity of the show but he was long past his sell-by date. The Final Four I have to say that I'm satisified with the Final Four. I think Lisa and Louie are in real trouble, though. It's very possible that Jerry has been leading the audience vote since Week One and, if that's the case, then Lisa and Louie have their work cut out for them this week. I don't think she has the kind of built-in fan base that Jerry, Stacy and Drew have and, if you read the fan boards, her personality tends to be much more polarizing than the other three. Based on what we have seen so far, I think Lisa and Louie deserve Final Three but that is by no means a certainty at this point. Stay tuned! Link to comment
Starr Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 With trying to catch Roberto Bolle in the Olympics and the start of Speedweeks at Daytona, I totally forgot about the results show. Thanks again for the update. Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 Ratings for Week Six: Thursday (performances) -- 20.0 million viewers (11th) Friday (results) -- 14.6 million viewers (20th) The Olympics pushed the show down in the rankings even though the Thursday show was watched by 20 million people. Much more intriguing to me is that the Thursday show beat Survivor this week in terms of viewers and ranking -- Survivor finished 12th with 18.8 million viewers. Link to comment
Helene Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 One of the odd things about advancing years is that you develop a certain perverse affection for stuff you used to hate, just because it’s older, like you. I can’t tell you how much I hated Manilow when I was a kid (“Oh, Mandy, you came and you gave without taking,” etc.) Never would I have thought that I’d listen to “Copacabana” with a smile on my face, as I did the other night. But I digress. Back to the show. I was thinking about this through four performances of Nine Sinatra Songs. Oh how my best fourth-grade friend and I used to make fun of her parents' "Strangers in the Night" 45**. And there I was the last two weeks, wishing the music would never end and trying to decide which Sinatra to buy and download. So why is the music on this show so inane and derivative from the 80's, when the great originals have all been reissued to CD and whose royalties have probably expired? When the judges complain that the routines are like disco, what do they expect when the dancers are dancing to disco? (**For those born in the CD age, vinyl played at 45 rpm's [probably not even an option on most of today's turntables].) Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 18, 2006 Author Share Posted February 18, 2006 I've been meaning to post this: Following his appearance on Dancing with the Stars, Barry Manilow's The Greatest Songs of the Fifties topped the Billboard albums chart after selling 156,000 copies. The miliosr report should be up later today . . . Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 18, 2006 Author Share Posted February 18, 2006 The Miliosr Report - Week Seven Overall Impressions I found this week to be a tense, quarrelsome week -- dancers bickering with judges, judges bickering with each other, etc. The stress of the competition appeared to take its toll this week. Scoring by the Judges (Rankings reflect combined scores for two dances) 01 Drew/Cheryl (55 out of 60) 01 Stacy/Tony (55 out of 60) 03 Lisa/Louie (53 out of 60) 04 Jerry/Anna (41 [ouch!] out of 60) Miliosr's Impressions Stacy/Tony (quickstep) I was in complete agreement with Carrie Ann: the choreography just wasn't risky enough. When you compare Stacy and Tony's quickstep with Lisa and Louie's you really see quite a difference. I fault Tony for this as he appears to be choreographing not to lose rather than choreographing to win. Jerry/Anna (tango) First off, I hated the bit with the broom. Len was right: Jerry isn't George and he doesn't have George's theatricality. On the whole, I thought this was a bit of a disaster. Jerry's posture is weak and he is not good with his feet. And the routine didn't look much like a tango. Lisa/Louie (foxtrot) I didn't see the footwork mistakes Carrie Ann referred to at the beginning of the performance but I have to agree with her about the weak holds. Still, what they lacked in precision they certainly made up for in a kind of slinkiness that perfectly suited the song ("Fever"). Drew/Cheryl (foxtrot) This was the best of the first round of dances. Interesting choreography, better posture for Drew, impressive musicality -- great partnership! Stacy/Tony (cha cha cha) Another disappointment from them. The falls were well-executed but all-in-all there was too much standing still. Again I had to agree with Carrie Ann -- I just didn't buy it. Jerry/Anna (rhumba) Better than their first dance but that's not saying much. They have nice chemistry and Jerry is trying hard but Len was right (again!) when he said that Jerry was the worst competitor left in the field. Lisa/Louie (cha cha cha) Great, complex routine to a song ("Material Girl") that might as well be Lisa's theme song. Louie's costume was unfortunate, though -- he looked too much like Denny Terio! (And don't pretend that you don't know who I'm talking about!) Drew/Cheryl (rhumba) I wasn't as fond of their second dance as I was of their first. Like Stacy and Tony, I thought that this was too 'posey' and that there was too much standing around. I had to agree with Len about the nature of the routine being wrong for this particular dance -- I thought it would have been better for a tango. (When I think of a rhumba, I think of Rita Hayworth and Cesar Romero with cocktails in their hands having a ball on the dancefloor in a Technicolor Fox nightclub!) The Bottom Two I had no problem with Stacy and Tony being in the cellar this week -- I thought they had an off night. Jerry and Anna should have been in the Bottom Two instead of Lisa and Louie, though. The Bootees Lisa and Louie did not deserve to go at all but once the judges tied Drew and Stacy she was done for. I came to enjoy her dancing and her spunky attitude and it's a shame that she didn't make it to the Final Three. She deserved better. Voting Patterns Here's how I think the vote went this week: (I'm not sure if Drew and Stacy got 4 points each for tying in the judging round or 3.5 points each (1st and 2nd place points combined) so I'm giving a range. The scores reflect points after the judging plus points after the audience voting.) Drew/Cheryl -- 4 (or 3.5) + 3 = 7 (or 6.5) Jerry/Anna -- 1 + 4 = 5 Stacy/Tony -- 4 (or 3.5) + 1 = 5 (or 4.5) Lisa/Louie -- 2 + 2 = 4 In the "4" scenario, Stacy still winds up in the cellar against Jerry because the audience vote is the tiebreaker in case of a tie. The Final Three Jerry wins if, for instance, Drew finishes first with the judges but finishes last with the audience while Stacy finishes second with the judges and second with the audience. Assuming Jerry will win the audience vote but finish last with the judges, he needs the above scenario (or one similar to it) to happen for him to win. I pick Drew to win with Jerry as the spoiler. The performance show is on at its regular time this week (against the Olympics, Survivor and American Idol!!!) but the results show will be on Sunday night. See you after the finale! Link to comment
Helene Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 (((((((((((Lisa and Louis))))))))))) They did not deserve to go. I love Jerry Rice as much as the next person, but he is now out of his league. But at Marshall's, Michelle Kwan won the audience vote by an overwhelming about with two underwhelming programs, so at this point, it looks like it's the audience's call. Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 26, 2006 Author Share Posted February 26, 2006 Ratings for Week Seven: Thursday (performances) -- 19.3 million viewers (8th) Friday (results) -- 15.8 million viewers (17th) Reminder: The finale is on tonight! Link to comment
Helene Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Oy, after a great samba, Stacy Keibler was eliminated from the final three based on the audience vote. Drew Lachey and Jerry Rice are the last two men standing. Link to comment
Helene Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 I didn't realize it was the last show, but the winners are Cheryl Burke and Drew Lachey. Link to comment
miliosr Posted February 27, 2006 Author Share Posted February 27, 2006 Congratulations to Drew and Cheryl -- I'm very satisfied with their win! Your fearless correspondent is exhausted after devoting four hours (!!!) to this show this week. Although I will be recuperating at an expensive spa in a sunny climate for the better part of this week, have no fear -- the Miliosr Report for the final performances/results will be up sometime this weekend. Link to comment
carbro Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 "Better part of the week," I'm sure! Enjoy, and I'll await your report with more than a tinge of envy! Link to comment
miliosr Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 Just checking in from the spa! Ratings - Week Eight Thursday (performances) - 17.7 million viewers (9th) (In the 8:00-9:00pm EST hour, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor and The Olympics combined for 71 million viewers.) Sunday (finale) - 27.2 million viewers (!!!) (3rd) (The Season 2 finale set a series record with 27.2 million viewers.) Link to comment
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