S29.E01: 2020 Premiere

[Kira53]

10 hours ago, boyznkatz said:

Carole Baskins didn't annoy me as much as I thought she would, but she was so awkward. I still don't get why they gave her the pimp spot.

Carole Baskins was last so people would stay through the whole show to see her.  She is the Sean Spicer of this season.  I think she will have staying power.  The fact that people are accusing her of murder will only be another part of the story of why people will vote for her.  AJ was the first to dance to catch his many fans and lure them in.  Many were going just tune in for him but I bet they stayed.  Never saw Tiger King or listened to the BackStreet Boys so I was watching because I have been watching since the first episode of season one and I have never missed an episode.  I prefered to keep Tom but Tyra isn't keeping me away from one of my favorite shows.  Does anyone know Neve's dancing background?  I hear he's on the show to fix his reputation away many have come on the shower to improve bad press. Didn't see his shadow either. I don't expect there to be any stars and dancing in the stars.  I think Justine also has dancing background. I did see her in "6 feet under" and really liked her.  Please take that tall old man off (won't happen soon enough).

[Quickbeam]

I know it’s wrong but I just love watching Gleb. Plus every time he’s on my husband says “who’s the Errol Flynn look alike?”. It makes me laugh.

How tiny is Anne Heche? I think she’s even smaller than the Disney girl. 

 

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

How tiny is Anne Heche? I think she’s even smaller than the Disney girl. 

The internets tell me she's 5'5" and Skai is around 5'2".

[blackwing]

 

3 hours ago, McManda said:

I like to believe it's the other contestants cheering and booing from the catwalk to make up for the lack of audience. I mean, who doesn't want Emma yelling out reactions?

That said, I didn't find them as bad as the real audience. I mean, there was no stopping from the judges while the noises quieted down. The automatic booing as soon at a judge started talking in previous seasons was old and annoying, especially when the judges were right. I don't miss that at all.

I know we saw them in the balcony but I would be surprised if it was them cheering and booing.  I don't think it'd be sportsmanlike to boo, and the cheering was way too loud to only be 15 people.  If this show truly is live and not on a delay, then I think it's just some tech guy pushing a button for the cheering and oohing sounds and adjusting the volume with a dial or lever.  I'm also not convinced it's live... with no audience it's easy to just tape during the day whenever they want, and then production adds in the cheering later on.

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I didn't think she was horrible, exactly, I just didn't understand what she was doing there. It just seems like such a random and odd choice for a host. It's like Tyra Banks hosting Ice Truckers or something. Just . . . why? They put a bunch of names into that big spinning cage they pull the Powerball out of and out came Tyra Banks' name.

Well, if you look it that way, why was Tom Bergeron any less of a random and odd choice when he first started as host?  He was a TV reporter, then he hosted a game show (Hollywood Squares) and then America's Funniest Home Videos.  I'm sure he had a script on both shows.  What made him such a good host for DWTS?  He doesn't have any dance experience as far as I know.  He's just used to talking to people as a competitive reality TV host.  He had the same background (TV host) then that Tyra does now (TV host).  Tyra is no less used to talking to people than Tom is.  She hosted a reality show and had her own talk show I think.  She has a different style of course than Tom but to me this show has always been about the competitors, not the host.

[legaleagle53]

36 minutes ago, Kira53 said:

Does anyone know Neve's dancing background?  I hear he's on the show to fix his reputation away many have come on the shower to improve bad press. Didn't see his shadow either.

Nev has supposedly had extensive training in dance and in fact partly either majored or minored in it in college, but you'd never know it going by how bad his posture and footwork were.  He was ridiculously hunched over in hold when he should have been upright, open in the upper body, and fully stretched out in his upper frame, his butt constantly stuck out when it should have been tucked in, and I'm pretty sure he missed most of his heel leads, if not all of them. If he's had extensive training in dance, then he's had some of the worst professional instructors ever, and Jenna's been no help, either.

Edited September 16, 2020 by legaleagle53

[OnTime]

57 minutes ago, blackwing said:

She has a different style of course than Tom but to me this show has always been about the competitors, not the host.

Yes, the show is about the dancers.

Now there is no audience, no "live" Len, no flashy troupe dancers and no pizazz. I understand they can't keep that but they could have kept Tom. Too much change! 

[crowceilidh]

Quote

Color me shocked that I loved Golden Boy Hough as a judge. I really couldn't stand him as a pro because I felt he was overpraised and overscored, but he was clear, constructive, and positive at the table.

I don't watch the judges on DWTS but I expect a lot of that's to do with the experience and gravitas from _World of Dance_.  He's treated well there and he's been trained well there.  I think JLo did a good job and set expectations high - it's really interesting to see the real gravitas which they create (even though they are still very schtick-y), especially when you've been steeped in the fake gravitas that DWTS lathers on their judges (even Len). 

I found Jenna unrecognizable (face work? hair colour/style change? starving herself?)and missed the intro to her dance - I was completely bewildered about who I was watching.

Tyra was boring.

 

[ams1001]

11 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Nev has supposedly had extensive training in dance and in fact partly either majored or minored in it in college, but you'd never know it going by how bad his posture and footwork were.  

I looked at his wikipedia page and it says he got into photography after studying dance for five years, and studied both photography and dance for two years in college before being expelled (for punching someone..!). Doesn't mention what kind of dance or give any indication of what level he was at. (It also doesn't actually say either or both subjects were his college major..."studied in college" could mean a few different things. Major...minor...just took a bunch of elective classes in something that interested him...)

[TVMovieBuff]

I would go so far as to say there shouldn't even be scoring on Opening Night. It is just a chance to have the dancers get out there and find out what it is like to dance for an audience. Even though this season, the audience is unseen. 

It's a shame Pasha is paired with a dancer he can't do much with. I liked him last season with Kate Flannery and wished to see him with another viable partner. The wait continues!

I'm so pleased with Derek as a judge. Derek Hough is the best thing to happen to dance in 30 years. He is a genius. 

 

[ChicksDigScars]

On 9/14/2020 at 11:37 PM, Emily-D said:

 

Finally, a mention for Derek who I thought was brilliant. His positive energy and enthusiasm is so important for the show. We can rightly criticise ABC for firing Tom and Erin, but bringing Derek in was absolutely the right call and well worth whatever the price was. 

AMEN. As sick as I was of the Derek Show when he was a pro and always seemed to be assigned the ringer (as opposed to poor Keo, who every season, except for one, has gotten an older lady guaranteed to last no longer than three weeks). 

HOWEVER, as a judge, Derek is golden. And yes....better than his sister. 

Color me shocked that I loved Golden Boy Hough as a judge. I really couldn't stand him as a pro because I felt he was overpraised and overscored, but he was clear, constructive, and positive at the table.

THIS. One hundred times, THIS. 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by ChicksDigScars

[iMonrey]

Quote

Carole Baskins was last so people would stay through the whole show to see her.  She is the Sean Spicer of this season.  I think she will have staying power.  The fact that people are accusing her of murder will only be another part of the story of why people will vote for her. 

They always try to include someone controversial as a ratings gimmick, and I hate it. But I don't think Carole will have the staying power of someone like Sean Spicer. For whatever reason, the voting audience tends to be far more forgiving and supportive of the male celebs than the females. I think it mostly comes down to the fact that people tend to think it's a lot "cuter" when men are trying to dance. (Also . . . as noted, many people believe Carole killed her husband so, there's that. 😵 )

Quote

Well, if you look it that way, why was Tom Bergeron any less of a random and odd choice when he first started as host?

It's a fair point but Tyra is best known as a Super Model and I'm inclined to associate her with fashion and modeling which is why she feels so out of place here, as opposed to someone more "neutral." 

Also, Tom has become so closely identified with this show it makes replacing him even trickier. You can't just plug in some random celeb to fill his shoes. It would be different if this were some new reality show but it's not, it's a well-worn commodity. You could justify a former pro or someone else associated with the dance world much better as a replacement host than someone like Tyra Banks.

[Quickbeam]

18 hours ago, ams1001 said:

The internets tell me she's 5'5" and Skai is around 5'2".

I meant she’s tiny in all dimensions....(Anne Heche)

[LexieLily]

Has the show even tried to explain the COVID-rules? They don't make much sense to me, to be honest. We've got the social distancing at the extended judges panel desk, no audience or celebrequarium or group dances or pro numbers, the couples are standing six apart from Tyra post-dance when they get their scores, and each dancer got their own bubble/square to hang out in when watching the other dances. But the pros and their celeb are, obviously, up close and personal during the dancing.

Cheryl mentioned in an article that the DWTS pros that are married to each other (Pasha/Daniella, Sasha/Emma, and Val/Jenna) can't live together, but all the other pros can live in their homes. Peta can go home to Maks, Cheryl can go to her husband, etc. I don't understand the reasoning. Is DWTS springing for three hotel rooms for one person from each married couple? Say Jenna is eliminated the first week and Val sticks around until the semifinals, is Jenna stuck in a hotel room for two or three months or can she go home?

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Also, Tom has become so closely identified with this show it makes replacing him even trickier. You can't just plug in some random celeb to fill his shoes. It would be different if this were some new reality show but it's not, it's a well-worn commodity. You could justify a former pro or someone else associated with the dance world much better as a replacement host than someone like Tyra Banks.

I agree with you, it's not that easy and Tyra doesn't fit the bill.  Alfonso Ribeiro could have, not that I want to have to think about suitable Tom replacements.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I totally forgot that the new season started but thankfully all the dances got posted on the official DWTS youtube account yesterday!

in case anyone else missed the season premiere (or if any of these dances are worth rewatching), they're under the cut:

Spoiler

Opening number

AJ McLean's jive

Chrishell Stause’s tango

Vernon Davis’s foxtrot

Anne Heche’s cha cha

Jeannie Mai's salsa

Jesse Metcalfe’s quickstep

Skai Jackson's tango

Kaitlyn Bristowe’s cha cha

Nev Schulman’s foxtrot

Johnny Weir's cha cha

Justina Machado’s cha cha

Charles Oakley’s salsa

Monica Aldama’s foxtrot

Nelly's salsa

Carole Baskin's paso doble

 

 

[realdancemom]

I agree that this was a bad time to get rid of Tom with all the social distance rules, no audience, etc.  I missed him on Monday.  To me, it would have made more sense if Tyra replaced Erin.  She could interview the contestants but not be in charge of moving the show along. 

I'm still going to watch the show since I mostly watch it for the dancing.  This was a big cast so it's easy to forget somebody.  There is a lot of potential since I mostly remember just three terrible dancers:  Chrishell, Carole, and Charles.  Since the cast is so big, I hope the judges do get to choose from the bottom two dancers at least until we get to know the dancers more.

Derek was a great judge.  He gave good critique and was supportive.  He's not grumpy like Len even though I usually agree with Len.  The other judges gave good tips too.  Bruno did seem more subdued.  I think this is due to social distancing.  So he can't touch the other judges. 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hey, remember all of those other season premieres where Tom Bergeron was the star of the opening number? In other words, it's obvious that TYRA IS HERE.

OMG, are we going to have the fake audience applause sounds for every dance this season? STOP IT, SHOW.

AJ is coordinated and knows how to learn choreography, but I know he's going to get the "he has an unfair advantage because he was in a boy band" criticism which means he needs to be even better than what we saw in this jive. Cheryl needs to get him to focus on details like not letting his feet flop around like limp fish during flicks. The most surprising thing is that this routine wasn't set to a BSB song.

Chrishell is moderately coordinated but she really has to work on finishing her moves and her carriage. She learned the choreography but her dancing looks very amateur because she lacks polish. Her tango was fine but a bit messy/frantic.

Vernon seems pretty coordinated so I didn't understand why the cameras kept doing closeups (which is what they usually do to hide sloppy footwork) and why Peta decided that they needed to pose for like a full ten seconds in the middle of the dance. He needs to work on his posture a bit, but that's not uncommon for taller people. His foxtrot was better than I expected it would be. He has such a great smile!

Anne's cha cha wasn't bad. She had a few really good moments, but her footwork is a little sloppy. There were some sections that seemed unnecessarily slow/simple. I was distracted during this routine because the liquidy silver material for their costumes was giving me flashbacks to when I used to go clubbing in college.

I know very little about Jeannie Mai, but for some reason I assumed that she would be a decent dancer. I thought she was pretty game but the main quibble I had with this performance was the choreography, which is obviously not her fault. I think she has potential but that Brandon is going to have to give her a lot of specific corrections to make her into a great dancer. She really threw herself into that lift, which bodes well for her. You can't be timid and afraid!

Jesse's quickstep was pretty good. Quickstep can be a tough dance, especially to start with, and he looked pretty light on his feet (instead of stompy and heavy as some celebs have looked). I think he might be a frontrunner!

I haven't watched any of Skai's tv shows, but I just assumed that since she was a Disney star she would be at least moderately coordinated. I think she has potential - some of her footwork was really quick and clean. She has a gorgeous smile so I hope Alan encourages her to smile a lot.

I never got into the Bachelor/ette series so I had no opinions about Kaitlyn going into this. Based on the frequency of the closeups and the extreme longshots (both utilized to hide subpar dancing), I'm guessing she's the celeb that can't dance very well but TPTB want to keep around.

I've never watched Catfish so I'm in the same boat with Nev. He seemed very smooth (although a little flat footed) and Jenna was smart to give him some little poses and moves that made him seem charming.

Johnny Weir was unsurprisingly good. What I really noticed during this routine was how average Britt seemed as a pro. She's fine as a dancer, but she doesn't seem to have the pop of a ballroom dancer. Her dancing looked like someone who had taken dance for a long time and then learned ballroom.

Justina had by far the most sass and personality while performing and she's coordinated enough to do the choreography so I'm really rooting for her. She looked like she was having so much fun and she was really selling it.

Sorry, Emma, no matter how many turns and lifts you do, you can't disguise the fact that Charles Oakley is not a good dancer and needs to be eliminated first. He had that 100 yard stare which makes me think that this is not fun for him.

Monica was decent but she got a lot of those longshots too so I'm withholding judgment until next week. She seemed very poised and her carriage wasn't bad.

Nelly is a perfect example as to why I defend celebs who are coordinated (athletes, people with non-ballroom dance training) when people claim that they have an unfair advantage. The man can do a standing back tuck but he can't do a salsa. Being coordinated doesn't mean you can automatically do ballroom well. He's got a lot of personality so he will probably outlast some of the better dancers. Hey, remember when Master P wouldn't wear ballroom shoes? I was waiting for one of the judges to complain about Nelly's shoes.

Carole is clearly not a good dancer so I'll be surprised if she lasts long. She and Charles were the weakest dancers this week (with Nelly not far behind) and as much as everyone enjoyed talking about Tiger King for like two weeks, I don't think she can get enough votes to last more than a week or two. On the plus side, she really looked like she was having fun so at least she's enjoying the experience. And if we're going to compare Carole and Charles, her routine seemed to have more content and less faffing about to hide her lack of skill.

[Annber03]

21 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The most surprising thing is that this routine wasn't set to a BSB song.

Ha, oh, I'm sure that's coming :p. 

Regarding Johnny Weir, I just found out recently that he's the same age as me. For some reason, I thought he was a few years older. 

[kitcloudkicker]

4 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Cheryl mentioned in an article that the DWTS pros that are married to each other (Pasha/Daniella, Sasha/Emma, and Val/Jenna) can't live together, but all the other pros can live in their homes. Peta can go home to Maks, Cheryl can go to her husband, etc. I don't understand the reasoning. Is DWTS springing for three hotel rooms for one person from each married couple? Say Jenna is eliminated the first week and Val sticks around until the semifinals, is Jenna stuck in a hotel room for two or three months or can she go home?

I think they would probably be able to go home? I mean don’t quote me on it, but the point of keeping them apart seems to be more so that 1 COVID case doesn’t take out 2 couples from the competition. I imagine if anyone gets it, or gets exposed to someone who has it, they and their entire household would have to quarantine. This probably forces whoever is affected to withdraw from the competition. If the marrieds are still living together, you end up with 2 contestants exposed and double eliminated. But if one of them is already eliminated it won’t matter (to the show, that is) if they have to quarantine. They’re already out.

[marykat71702]

Finally was able to watch, but it's late, so just a couple of quick comments right now...

Tyra wasn't as completely unsufferable as I thought she would be(which was extremely), but she was still pretty bad and uncomfortable to watch.  Bring back Tom!

Have there always been that many crotch shots with the Tango dresses?

Poor Pasha, I really enjoyed him last season, and seeing his reaction to his partner(and who could blame him?  Also, they were the only ones that didn't hug<shrug>)made me kind of sad. I was hoping he would get a good partner this season.

I am glad that they are bringing out the lower numbered paddles again, it gives them somewhere to go.

Anne said her breakout role was Six days, Seven Nights, but I remember her mostly from Another World(yes, I'm that old 😂)

On 9/14/2020 at 9:01 PM, LexieLily said:

P.S: Pasha's shell-shocked look of disbelief and inability to know what to do when Carole Baskin showed up in his rehearsal room was the best part of the entire night.

I felt so bad for him when I saw that 😞

Edited September 17, 2020 by marykat71702

[Lady Calypso]

So, I rewatched the entire show last night with the commentary and judging. I felt like Tyra did a slightly better job than I thought she would do. I did enjoy seeing her excitement over hosting and I think she means it, and I thought she did an ok job at asking the celebs different questions (although some of them were a bit too intrusive). She's obviously no Tom (and never will be) but I'm willing to give her a chance because she really wasn't a bad host. 

As for the judging, I think having Derek as a judge was an extremely smart choice. I was watching a Youtube video that Lindsay did on Tuesday with commenting on the season and she talked about how she thought Derek was a great judge because he could give proper critiques that the pairs needed since he's been in the pros' shoes before and, thus, knows what he's talking about. Plus, Derek really did balance out the entertainment value with actual critiques as best as he could (seeing as they needed to watch out for time, I noticed the judges spoke far less than usual and cut it to 30 seconds max each, if that). Bruno and CAI did also give their critiques as usual but I see Lindsay's point when she says it's different coming from someone who actually has had to do the job that the pros do. 

As for relooking at all the dances, I change my opinion a bit on Justina. I think Sasha gave her the right amount of choreography and although I do stand by my opinion that he could definitely push her more and she would deliver, I thought he gave her excellent material for this first week. I also didn't realize how close the choreography for Vernon/Peta's dance was in comparison to Meryl/Maks from years ago but....there really were a lot of the same movements and at similar places in the same song! 

I was more impressed by Johnny/Britt's dance upon another rewatch as well. I also think that Kaitlyn/Artem's dance was more subdued than I thought it was. It was as if Artem slowed down some of the choreography at times....which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

[realdancemom]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

As for relooking at all the dances, I change my opinion a bit on Justina. I think Sasha gave her the right amount of choreography and although I do stand by my opinion that he could definitely push her more and she would deliver, I thought he gave her excellent material for this first week.

Justina had such sass and she's going to be amazing in the Latin dances.  I'm glad that Sasha didn't give her too much choreography.  When he was partnered with Ally Brooke, he often chose really fast songs and jam packed it so that sometimes she didn't finish her moves or it looked sloppy.  Like Justina, she also had the sass and attitude.  She was also a good dancer so I thought it was Sasha's choreography that failed her a little.  I agree with you that Justina could be pushed a little more but I just hope not too much that it affects her performance.

I'm old.  When I think of One Day at a Time, I think of the show with Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli, and MacKenzie Phillips. 

[luvthepros]

On 9/15/2020 at 4:31 PM, athousandclowns said:

I have not watched in years but am going to try this season.  I think having Carol Baskin on is in really bad taste I hope she goes soon.    Maybe Tyra will dial it down after she reads feedback. 
I really liked Tom. 

Just the opposite for me. I have watched every episode since season 1, episode 1. Not watching this season. No Tom? I'm out.

[marykat71702]

16 hours ago, realdancemom said:

I'm old.  When I think of One Day at a Time, I think of the show with Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli, and MacKenzie Phillips. 

Same here

[Linderhill]

I watched the dances on YouTube since I wasn't happy about the Tom/Tyra situation.  The only problem with only watching the vids is that you don't get the scores or the judges' comments.  I went ahead and watched my recording and FF thru what I could of Tyra's schtick.  I don't care how thrilled she says she is to be host, I think she's hoping to get a bunch of ball gowns out of the gig and try to make it all about her (which it isn't).  I'm not sure whether I'll watch the same way next week.  I'll see how I feel.

[Bill H.]

Tyra was fired from AGT and now hosting DWTS?  Has this network lost their minds?  She was terrible on AGT and nearly cost Simon Cow the show, but he wised up and fired he.  This woman is nothing but trouble.  She has no class at all, show dresses like a hooker and has no business hosting a cock fight.  Bring Back Tom and that will bring back that class that this show has always had.

 

[vdw84]

1 hour ago, Linderhill said:

I watched the dances on YouTube since I wasn't happy about the Tom/Tyra situation.  The only problem with only watching the vids is that you don't get the scores or the judges' comments.  I went ahead and watched my recording and FF thru what I could of Tyra's schtick.  I don't care how thrilled she says she is to be host, I think she's hoping to get a bunch of ball gowns out of the gig and try to make it all about her (which it isn't).  I'm not sure whether I'll watch the same way next week.  I'll see how I feel.

If u dont want to contribute to the ratings, u can watch at https://ustvgo.tv/tv-guide/ This how im watching because I dont have cable. I would recommend u downloading a vpn first before using the site for ur own protection and privacy, they offer one on their site but if u have one of ur own then use it.

Edited September 19, 2020 by vdw84

[MsTree]

Weren't we all promised something new and/or exciting? Minus Tom & Erin, it seems like the same damn show to me 🤔🤥

[Recyclorette]

12 hours ago, MsTree said:

Weren't we all promised something new and/or exciting? Minus Tom & Erin, it seems like the same damn show to me 🤔🤥

This ^^^  Just when we want the familiar, we're promised exciting change, and we sure didn't even get that.  Someone else made the point that the show is about the dancers, not the host.  While that's true, for those who enjoyed watching because of the unique family feel the show had, this change really matters.  It also doesn't help that Lindsay and Witney are not there, though it was nice to see Artem and Sharna (without the awful purple hair, finally).  So, although Covid and other cast changes are not helping the situation, I still think Tyra is an awful pick for host.  After Tom's wonderful humor, she was annoying and a total bore. I found her gaudy look repulsive and all that hair made me itchy.  If this show survives this season, I think it will be just because people are craving something new to watch during lockdown.  I'll be shocked if it's still around post Covid.