sleepyjean

Are they allowed to leave the building with those binders? I bet they aren't, or at least they won't be anymore. At the very least, we know that when someone is cut during training camp, that blonde lady walks them back to the dressing room and makes sure they turn in the binder, the poms, and that night's practice attire. I thought that was especially sad that they can't even keep the tacky sports bras they just spent three hours sweating in. Still, Kelli has been around for a long time, and has a special genius for making sure the DCC fall in line 100%, and nobody blabs a bit of all their dirty little secrets. I think it's part contractual, part intimidation, part peer pressure, and part brainwashing.

Let's say we go along with the idea that being "on" is part of the job, and reality tv requires a certain amount of effort on her part. She really thinks the fact that she "just wasn't feeling it" that day was a reasonable excuse? Wait a sec - that should be a period not a question mark. This is Lindsay after all. And she's shown on any number of occasions that she has no compunction about skipping out on work becuase she didn't feel like doing it that day. Regardless of whether it was a real acting gig, or something she was doing for free. Doesn't bother her a bit that tons of people are standing around, waiting for her, or have invested tons of money in her project. I wish some huge director would call Lindsay up, ask her to audition for a mega A-list blockbuster movie, and tell her to be there at 2pm that afternoon. And I wish that director would decide to take the afternoon off, and let Lindsay, whenever she eventually arrives, sit there for hours, not knowing what the hell is going on. And not take her assistant's phone calls until the next day. And then the next day, tell Lindsay's assistant "oops, sorry!, I overslept yesterday. Let's meet today, shall we?" And tell her to show up completely in character, full hair, makeup, wardrobe, etc. And then not show up AGAIN. It would be sweet, sweet justice. Let her see what it feels like to get blown off after you've gone to all that effort to prepare.

I know she's done all-star cheerleading for years, but I don't recall anything about a dance background. Cassie did allstar as well. Did she have any dance before she auditioned?

I would really like to know why they changed the schedule around and pushed auditions into May. When this show first started, auditions were in April, and then the veterans went on the calendar shoot a few weeks afterward. Why have the shoot before the squad is determined, knowing that there's a good chance they're taking at least one cheerleader who won't make the team again? Why go to that expense? I also think it's odd that Kelli was ok with cutting the 4 month training camp down to 3 months. After all, don't they need all of that time to "earn" their way onto the team and prove they deserve those white booty shorts?

As soon as she said the word miscarriage, my immediate response was "I don't believe her." I figure she sat down and tried to think of what excuse she could come up with, that would generate the most sympathy, elicit the fewest questions, required no evidence or proof whatsoever, and would not require her to display any lasting physical effects or ongoing illness/symptoms. Miscarriage fits the bill nicely. Nobody is going to grill her about a miscarriage. I didn't even "sort of" believe her. Due in large part to the completely indifferent way she tossed that out, and the way she said it, and then deliberately paused for reaction. She didn't even bat an eye when some naive person off camera gasped "I'm so sorry!" I would believe an abortion, however. Miscarriage is just the sort of manipulative half-truth that's right up Lindsay's alley.

What I wouldn't give for a peek at her finances. Or even just her bookings. Is she living exclusively off of gigs like foxwoods? Apparently hosting parties is quite lucrative for C and D list celebs.

I don't know how to fix it, but this show has gone completely stale for me. I used to know who all the rookies were each year, and some of their back story. I couldn't name more than 2 or three of last year's rookies. I appreciate that they're trying to mix it up a little with things like show group auditions at Gilley's and the fan vote for training camp. But those things were merely interesting, not compelling. This show used to be appointment television for me. Now I dvr it, read the comments on the forum, and only watch the episode if the comments mention something interesting. Even then, I fast forward throught the show to get the the part people are talking about. I haven't seen a full episode of this show in years. The way the team is run is very formulaic, so no matter how they change up the show, the content is the same. Same process, same staff, same makeovers, same choreography, same uniforms, same activities, same angst. My attitude is at least in part becuase watching the show has made me cynical about the team. In the beginning, it was about young dancers with a big dream. Now the dancers seem too desperate, too foolish to make the kinds of mistakes that could be avoided if they'd watched prior seasons. They seem too willing to hand themseslves over to an organziation that monopolizes their lives, pays them very little, and takes every opportunity to cause competition between them and make them feel unworthy. The dream doesn't seem as shiny and fantastic of an opportunity, now that I know how hypocritical the organization is (the DCC are "good girls" now put on this skimpy outfit") and how much influence the likes of Kelli, Judy, and Kitty (who don't particuarly like most of these girls) have on these girls.

One detail I found interesting was when she missed the first day of shooting and sent her "representative" over to day she wasn't coming, part of the message was "please don't hate me." That tells me two things. First, she knows she is inconveniencing everyone. That's news to me, because most of the time she behaves as if she's completely unaware when she's screwing up everyone else's situation. "Please don't hate me" says that she knows and does not care. Second, she actually thinks "please don't hate me" fixes everything. As if that's any sort of apology. As if saying it means they can't be angry with her. This is how children and friends speak to each other. "Don't be mad, but..." This is NOT how professionals who barely know each other communicate with each other.

This show makes me curious to know where the line is between "protecting" the addict's sobriety and wrapping the addict in bubblewrap so nothing bad happens, ever. Everyone, including Lindsay herself, seems to believe that if she gets upset or stressed or pressured, it's bad for her sobriety and triggers her to use. I understand that much. But isn't part of the recovery process about learning how to handle things that make her unhappy or uncomfortable? Isn't that part of why she had a coach? So she could learn those things? Dealing with the move could've been therapeutic in a way. Get off your ass and prove that you can accomplish something! Anything! I wanted to applaud when AJ walked. You could practically see the lightbulb go on over her head when she realized that Lindsay isn't a recovering addict, she just plays one (badly) on tv. I felt bad for AJ. She's probably very successful with clients who WANT her help, and WANT to change. I'm sure she walked into this thinking she was going to make a difference with Lindsay...and then Lindsay completely blew her mind with the rudeness, disrespect and lack of professionalism. AJ had this look on her face like she could not even wrap her mind around it. My guess is she doesn't have many (if any) addicts in her regular clientele. This week's show was such a perfect example of how Lindsay continues to use her sobriety as a "get out of jail free" card. What she doesn't understand is every time she chooses to be unprofessional, those choices have consequences, whether sobriety is the reason for them or not. So when she misses appointments, cancels shooting, or blows off an obligation, nobody is thinking "Oh good for her. I'd rather be stood up than to see Lindsay go on a bender." They're just thinking "typical Lindsay, wasting my time and money."

I'm glad there's a forum for this show! I was going to create one, but I thought I'd be the only one here. This show needs more buzz.

Haven't watched this episode yet, but the name is spelled Sunjai. Everyone on the show seems to pronounce it like "Sanjay" and I wonder if her mom was trying to do a Kreative toddlers-and-tiaras-esque respelling of the common Indian name.

It cracked me up when Lindsay was complaining to the life coach about no one in her management company standing up for her, or she'd be getting roles right and left. That one moment in the conversation when Lindsay was saying (paraphrased) "I deserve better than the way managmenet is treating me, don't you agree?" and AJ didn't jump right in with "yes, absolutely" and Lindsay got ticked off - that was a weird moment. The fact is, if her managment is slacking off, it's because her own behavior gave them permission. When she stopped caring about her career, they did too.

I disagree. I don't think the "she had to take Danielle because she took Cassie" argument holds water at all. If she hadn't taken Danielle, there would've been howls of anger from TWOP, but that's about it. It wouldn't make a difference to ratings, to Cowboys fans, or to the number of girls who audition each year. It wouldn't mean fewer big appearances, fewer calendars sold, or fewer little girls in camp DCC. It wouldn't make the news. Wouldn't make a bit of difference in how "the public" views the squad. I don't think Kelli puts much stock in anyone's complaints other than Charlotte's, and possibly CMT's. Although people on TWOP have been very critical of favoritism toward Cassie, realistically, that's just a handful of people on an anonymous forum. It's not a big deal. Meanwhile, she's been running this team and this show, without interference, for a very long time. In Dallas, she's a much-admired member of the community. She's probably constantly getting praised for the way she runs the team. I doubt people are calling/emailing/or saying anything to her face about the way she runs her team. I bet she gets very little negative feedback, and when she does get it, she probably chalks it up to sour grapes or people just not knowing what it takes to run this kind of organization. I think she took Danielle back because she wanted to - for strategic reasons of her own. Maybe a bit of that was critical feedback, but I doubt that was the main reason.

I know Kitty makes good tv, but I'm not a fan. I don't have a lot of respect for people who are abrasive and insulting, under the guise of "just being honest." You can be honest and tough without all the extra that she does. I think Kitty is a big power-tripping fish in the tiny little DCC pond. She thinks her way is the only way, and that's not true. She and Kelli both to some degree seem to feel that the only way to get the girls where they need to be is by instilling fear in them. The best teachers/mentors/leaders I have ever had were the ones who inspired me, believed in me, earned my respect, and made me want to work my butt off to be the best. They told it like it was, but they never ridiculed me or spoke to me in a way meant to humiliate me in front of others.

Pictures of Lindsay in NYC this week. Looks like she's gone back to her natural hair color, which suits her sho much more than blonde ever did. I thought she'd finally got rid of her extensions, but as I paged through the gallery, I saw that it's all still there. Damn.

I thought it would be great to have one thread for all the videos so as this forum grows, we can find them all in one place without having to sort through old posts. I'm starting us off with the DCC performance in the 1988 Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon. To me, it puts the entire purpose and experience of being a DCC in context. Every time someone on the tv show goes on about how meaningful and important and life-changing it is to be a DCC, I think about this video and laugh my ass off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19OLOsj2RBk