cali1981

How infinite is the universe? Throw in Kellie and Derek and some others and the answer is "by about that much".

I'm sure that we can count on it but, hopefully, the show runners will have learned something about putting controversial political figures on the show. Probably not however. Maybe John Bolton will a "celebrity" dancer next season.

I wanted James to be in the finals and then win but after he was bounced, I felt that Kel would probably win. Hannah winning was OK but frankly, I thought that all of the freestyles were meh. I could picture Len inwardly cringing at all of the gimmicks and group routines. The most memorable freestyles in the show's history have always been the pro and his/her partner telling an emotional story by just dancing together on the floor. Think of Maks/Meryl, Derek/Kellie, Derek/Bindie and others where there were no gimmicks and no other dancers. In Kellie Pickler's case in particular, her freestyle clinched her win (remember Derek lifting her while she was "climbing" in perfect sync with the music and lyrics?) To me, a great lyrical, emotional contemporary routine is always a winner. The are exceptions, however. Val and Rumor's blazing hot Tango was great as was James and Sharna's contemporary where the supporting dancers worked perfectly.

Episode 5, Into the Abyss, was excellent with solid performances by Joel Kinnaman and Sonya Walger. The one weak spot in the series is the performance of Michael Harney as the network science guy who is the anchor for the mission broadcasts. Maybe this is what the show runners want but his delivery gives a new definition to boring. It is way too deliberate. I was in my early 20s when the Apollo program began and none of the network science/space program reporters spoke in this manner. Jay Barbree on NBC and ABC's Jules Bergman were firecrackers compared to Jack Broadstreet. A more realistic portrayal was done by Lane Smith in From The Earth To The Moon.

When I posted last week, I said that James would likely not win. I don't want to say that his elimination was pre-ordained but as soon as the judges low balled him with eights on his first dance, his fate was sealed. Does anyone think that the judges, on this show and SYTYCD, don't shape results with scores or critiques? To my old eyes, it's not exactly opaque. I suppose that the final result is up in the air but my suspicion is that Kel is going to win. His dancing, in the minds of the judges (and by extension, the voters) has been on an upward curve for a number of weeks now.

So Spicer is finally gone. His dancing looked like Peter Boyle's "Putting on the Ritz" in Young Frankenstein except that Boyle was ten times better. 😀 I wonder if a lot of right wing blog sites will be claiming that the vote was rigged. Oh well, Make America Glad Again! Last night may have saved DWTS from two consecutive final results debacles and insured its renewal. The semi-finals should shape up well with contestants ranging from good to very good. I have feeling that James is not going to get the Mirror Ball Trophy though. One thing that has struck me more this season is that maybe it's time to get a new judges panel. Len gets grumpier every season and more unfair and nit picky in some of his critiques and scores. Bruno's act has gotten old and Carrie Ann gets pretty loopy at times. Maybe she stays to insure continuity but some new blood wouldn't hurt. I'd like to see how Tom, the consummate professional, would interact with new faces. I'm sure that he would be as good as ever, maybe even better because his ever sharp wit would be aimed in different directions.

Maybe the best policy would be to have people who had not been active in the political world for a given time period, perhaps five years. This would tamp down some of the "passion" vote for or against them. It wouldn't necessarily eliminate it in the cases of very polarizing figures but, in that case, the best course of action would be not to cast them. The show, if it's to survive, needs a serious attitude adjustment by the production team.

I didn't realize that Spicer has been campaigning for votes on right wing outlets. Look at this: "Sean Spicer said he hopes his presence on Dancing with the Stars is continuing to send a powerful message to members of the intolerant left – that conservatives are “equal participants” and “cannot be canceled out” – during an appearance on Breitbart News Sunday" I'm sorry but if this is not against the show's rules it should be. Frankly, Spicer should be disqualified for blatant politicization of this season. It's outrageous and terribly unfair to the other contestants who are quietly plugging away at trying to improve every week. If there's an award for profit of the year, Tom Bergeron should get it. If there's another award for A-hole(s) of the year the show runner/producers should get that one.

I have not seen Tom exhibit one iota of disdain for Sean during this season. He has been doing this for too long and is too much of a professional to do that. But the point that he made when the cast was announced is well taken. From what is apparent, Sean Spicer's presence has mired the show more deeply into politics than previous celebs with political histories. Maybe the suits at ABC think that this is a good ratings ploy but for some of us who have stuck with the show since day one, it just looks like another indication that the pool of legit "celeb" is drier than ever and that the show is getting closer to going off the rails. Sometimes I wish that PTB would remember that first word in the show's title is "Dancing", not gimmickry.

Tom Bergeron's concerns when Spicer was included in the cast have unfolded right before our eyes: “A few months ago, during a lunch with ‘DWTS’ new Executive Producer, I offered suggestions for Season 28. Chief among them was my hope that ‘DWTS,’ in its return following an unprecedented year-long hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations,” Bergeron wrote in a note posted on his Twitter account Wednesday. “I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement. Subsequently (and rather obviously), a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.’ It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call. I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions.” Spicer should, minimally, have been bounced last week but there is clearly a politically driven voting block supportig him that is strong enough to negate the judges' scores. It's very unfortunate. The show runners should have paid heed to Tom's opinion. Each week that Spicer survives at the expense of another vastly superior dancer is just one more black eye for the show. Truthfully, there's a part of me that almost hopes that Spicer wins. After last season's debacle, it might just be enough to finish the show off.

I realize now that you were in agreement My bad and please accept my apologies. After all when great minds think alike, there should be peace and harmony in all things.

My, my how presumptuous of you. Amy Klobuchar was going to be given a fair amount of time by design. I was annoyed because the show had a potentially good panel that was short changed because of the Stern love fest.

I'm almost 25 minutes in. Is there a rest of the show? This is very disrespectful towards the other guests tonight. This is where Bill's producer should be yelling at him to end this love fest between him and Howard.

I finally watched the season opener last night and sat through a lot of it thinking "who are all these people?". The show can sometimes get a little too cute with its alternating time lines and this episode was even beyond that. Sure, the last few minutes did tie some of it together but there had to be a better way to introduce these folks.

Katie Porter was a student of Elizabeth Warren's at Harvard Law School and graduated Magna Cum Laude, not too shabby an accomplishment. Before being elected to congress last year she was a law professor herself. If you've seen her question witnesses at committee hearings, you know how tough she can be at grilling someone. As she showed on Bill's show that night, she can also be funny as hell. Bill needs to check his own impulses when it comes to booking guests. As others have said, he keeps having the same go to guests on who end up disrupting the flow and limit the ability of others to get a few words in. At the very least, some of his guests need to be gently schooled in proper etiquette on a panel show.