S30.E01: Season 30 Premiere

[CheshireCat]

Quote

Professional dancers pair with celebrities to train and compete in ballroom dancing, receiving guidance from a panel of experts along the way.

Air date: Sep 20, 2021

[ams1001]

Well, I recognize five names from this season's "star" list (and maybe a couple others that sound vaguely familiar but I absolutely could not tell you what they do).

Also why do we live in a world where "Influencer" and "TV Personality" are jobs?

Edited September 21, 2021 by ams1001

[DEL901]

That intro where they showed each of the “stars”…that was the lamest intro ever.  Crappy clothes, lame choreography.   

[Bliss]

Tara's wearing a mirror ball.

This is taking recycling to a new level.

[CraftyHazel]

7 minutes ago, Bliss said:

Tara's wearing a mirror ball.

This is taking recycling to a new level.

…with linebacker shoulder pads!  It makes it look like she has a pin head.

[ams1001]

37 minutes ago, CraftyHazel said:

It makes it look like she has a pin head.

👀...no comment.

Edited September 21, 2021 by ams1001

[nickp1991]

The Miz is on Dancing with the Stars as Monday Night RAW is airing Is that technically a conflict of interest?

[Bliss]

So far, so good. JMO. (I mute the host at times and then try to read her lips..)

Mel was great, even with Gleb..., I've never seen that tall a jive, and the famous scandal girl is really good. Just watched Jimmie and Emma - they were fantastic!

Artem, you wear leatherette so well.

OT: I'm missing my old gang who used to snark all through the show... we had such fun! Anyone remember LOTT?

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Bliss said:

Mel was great, even with Gleb..., I've never seen that tall a jive, and the famous scandal girl is really good. Just watched Jimmie and Emma - they were fantastic!

Yeah, I really liked Jimmie and Emma, too. They could be a couple to keep an eye on as the season plays out. 

As someone who grew up loving the Spice Girls, I'm automatically rooting for Mel C. :D. I look forward to seeing how she does, too. And in regards to Melora, I know her from both "The Office" and "Monk". Her resume in general looks pretty impressive. She was good, too. 

Olivia looks SO MUCH like her mom, holy crap. 

Watching Suni and Sasha now - Suni's really adorable, I like her :). I think she and Sasha are going to make a really cute team. 

[ams1001]

9 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Watching Suni and Sasha now - Suni's really adorable, I like her :). I think she and Sasha are going to make a really cute team. 

I was hoping she'd get Sasha. Or Pasha (I figured it'd be one of the shorter guys).

Peloton virtual instructor makes you a "star" now?

[Lady Whistleup]

Amanda is like the ringer. She has a musical theater background. 

[Bliss]

2 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Amanda is like the ringer. She has a musical theater background. 

Agree... and thank goodness! I appreciate the dancers who look like pros - and want the judges to score them accordingly.

Amanda's dance would have been a 10 if it was near the end of the season 10ish.

Is it just my opinion, or does it seem as if the raw talent is higher than it used to be? Mind you, the show isn't over yet... maybe they saved the duds for the end.

Spoke too soon!

 

[ams1001]

Now I know why I recognized Amanda Kloots's name. 🙁 Her husband's story was all over the news at the time (might have been the local stations but I'm in the NY metro area so it was a big story there).

No one cares about your outfit changes, Tyra.

Cobra Kai can go home. It's a dancing show, not a movie remake. Let's go. (Did he even dance?)

[DEL901]

1 minute ago, Bliss said:

Agree... and thank goodness! I appreciate the dancers who look like pros - and want the judges to score them accordingly.

Amanda's dance would have been a 10 if it was near the end of the season 10ish.

Is it just my opinion, or does it seem as if the raw talent is higher than it used to be? Mind you, the show isn't over yet... maybe they saved the duds for the end.

Looks like quite a few contestants have dance experience incluJoJo Siwa who hasn’t performed yet….her claim to fame was a show called Dance Moms I believe.  

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Bliss said:

Is it just my opinion, or does it seem as if the raw talent is higher than it used to be? Mind you, the show isn't over yet... maybe they saved the duds for the end.

Yeah, for the most part, people have been pretty good so far. 

Martin, though. Wow. That was...um...interesting :P.

[Fostersmom]

That was horrible, 70’s or not.

[DEL901]

Just now, Annber03 said:

Yeah, for the most part, people have been pretty good so far. 

Martin, though. Wow. That was...um...interesting :P.

That’s what happens when they cast someone who is 75. 

[mtlchick]

I would have liked to have seen Billy Zabka or one of the kids instead of Martin Kove.  When it starts with a speech, you know that the content would be non existent. 

43 minutes ago, nickp1991 said:

The Miz is on Dancing with the Stars as Monday Night RAW is airing Is that technically a conflict of interest?

Personally I thought Carrie Ann knowing Amanda due to their (limited shared) time on the Talk would be the conflict of interest.

[Tink]

Suni is of Hmong descent, the transcription said Samoan, I believe. (My boyfriend likes the subtitles on, so now I’m just used to them) it irritates me that they can’t get a fact like that correct, seems disrespectful.  The cast seems pretty good so far, except the Karate Kid guy. But geez, he’s 74!  Besides being on Broadway, Amanda was also a Rockette, so definitely some background there. I never heard of at least half of the “stars”.  Whoever helps Tyra with dress and hair isn’t doing her any favors.

[ams1001]

Just now, Tink said:

Whoever helps Tyra with dress and hair isn’t doing her any favors.

heh...my friend just texted me: "that dress isn't flattering." I said none of her dresses have been particularly flattering on this show.

[Koalagirl]

4 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

I would have liked to have seen Billy Zabka or one of the kids instead of Martin Kove.  When it starts with a speech, you know that the content would be non existent. 

Personally I thought Carrie Ann knowing Amanda due to their (limited shared) time on the Talk would be the conflict of interest.

Carrie Ann dated Artem for 3 years. I would consider that a conflict of interest. 

[Annber03]

Interesting choice to put Kenya, who's wearing red, on a couch that's also red - when I first saw her sitting there I was like, "Holy crap, is that all part of her dress?" and then I looked again and realized she was sitting on a couch :p. 

I liked her dance, she was good. 

[kristen111]

I wish Bruno would shut the fuck up and sit down.  He looks ridiculous in that outfit too.

[ams1001]

I don't like Pasha with the beard...😕

The dances are so short I'm missing half of them. I look down at my computer for a second and it's over.

[CraftyHazel]

All I can say is, I’m thankful they got Matt James to shave that dreadful beard off for the show.  

[nickp1991]

Is it too late to vote off Tyra??

[Fostersmom]

JoJo is obnoxious and she looked deranged. I can’t wait for her shocking elimination. It can’t come too soon.

[Annber03]

"Jojo and Jenna" is a bit of a tongue twister :p. But they're fun together - I agree their first dance was a little hectic at times, but I'm interested to see how they do this season.

Overall, a pretty good start to the season, lots of decent to strong dancers here :). There's quite a few couples who could be frontrunners as time goes on, and many of the contestants seem to have their own fanbases, so...yeah. Could be interesting to see who fares best from this bunch. 

[LexieLily]

I didn't know this was an open thread during the show! 

Tyra has somehow gotten worse at this gig after one full season under her belt :p. Calling Emma, Jenna? Her outfits, both of them, were super-unflattering - this isn't an awards show, why the costume changes? And then when she talked about Derek's Vegas residency she name-dropped derekhough.com for tickets and then looked at Derek and said "That's your website!" I've given up on getting rid of her, but she is worse than useless. 

Wow, is the 4/3/3/3 the worst score we've had since Master P?

Olivia Jade was exactly who I thought she would be, but wow, does she look like her mother. No, Olivia Jade, you did not 'take a break' from social media for self-reflection, you lost all of your YouTube sponsors. It's also not the greatest look that she's doing this show for a rehabilitation tour but first week out she's dancing to a song that has the lyric over and over again "it's not my fault."

Suni Lee looked petrified, poor thing, but she ended up at the top of the leaderboard, yay! My favorite moment of the entire night was post-dance when Sasha made a point to have Suni Lee show just how much she is/was trained to smile before and during a routine. Sasha won't let TPTB do her dirty like they did Simone.

Don't know who Pasha's partner is, even after the explanation, but joking about Pasha giving her broken ribs if she doesn't learn the choreography right wasn't the best introduction to her :p

Bachelor Matt looks like Kobe Bryant. Lindsay (and Witney) looks good for having babies last year. I never watched 90210 and don't know much about Brian Austin Green except him dating Sharna, but his cute, shy little "hey, babe," when he saw her at partner introductions was adorable :) Maybe they'll do better than Julianne Hough/Chuck Wicks and not break up after the show.

Jenna totally fell during that dance. An 8 for that one, really? Is that to counteract the potential anti-gay bias?

I missed Len last year and having him here again is exactly why. No fuss, no messing about, he just wants the dance. 

[DEL901]

2 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

JoJo is obnoxious and she looked deranged. I can’t wait for her shocking elimination. It can’t come too soon.

I actually liked her more than I thought I would.  

[CraftyHazel]

I don’t actually mind JoJo.  She talks too fast, but she’s not as annoying as many others, so I don’t mind if she stays.  I’d rather lose Olivia Jade, just for being Olivia Jade.  But ultimately, I don’t much care.

[DEL901]

6 minutes ago, CraftyHazel said:

I don’t actually mind JoJo.  She talks too fast, but she’s not as annoying as many others, so I don’t mind if she stays.  I’d rather lose Olivia Jade, just for being Olivia Jade.  But ultimately, I don’t much care.

I think JoJo is in a big transition and I don’t mean coming out.  Her fan base has always been younger kids.  She’s always looked so young.  She seems like she’s just starting to lose the baby fat in her face and is growing up.  She even ditched the ponytail and moved the bow to her shoulder which is huge for her, LOL   I’ve only ever seen pictures of her in magazines and she ALWAYS had the pony and bow.

Olivia Jade just wants to pimp her new podcast.  

[nickp1991]

Jojo and Jenna dancing together is going to help so many people!!

[Annber03]

12 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Her outfits, both of them, were super-unflattering - this isn't an awards show, why the costume changes?

My mom was wondering the same thing :p. She wasn't keen on her dresses, either. Especially the second one - she was like, "It's all too...much...". 

Quote

No, Olivia Jade, you did not 'take a break' from social media for self-reflection, you lost all of your YouTube sponsors. 

Heh, I did not know that, but yeah, that definitely puts a different spin on her situation. I'm curious to see how long she lasts, 'cause I don't know that this little redemption tour is going to work for her the way she hopes it will. But then again, considering some of the other people with questionable/awful pasts who've stuck around longer than they should've...who knows. 

Quote

I never watched 90210 and don't know much about Brian Austin Green except him dating Sharna, but his cute, shy little "hey, babe," when he saw her at partner introductions was adorable :) Maybe they'll do better than Julianne Hough/Chuck Wicks and not break up after the show.

I never saw that show, either - I've just heard the name. I know he appeared on the most recent season of "The Conners", so if he's still going to be on there, then hey, this is a good promotional opportunity for him/the show and network. I too do wonder how he and Sharna will fare going forward as a couple, though, yeah. 

[madpsych78]

This premiere did not suck at all.

I thought Len underscored Iman. He was actually pretty decent for someone who was 6'5" doing a Jive. I do think Daniella could have given him a bit more content, but honestly, he had some natural moves for an NBA player. 

Really the main celebrity who was not great was Martin Kove. He seemed quite stiff and unprepared, but I think Britt did him wrong by putting that speech at the beginning. I feel like the older male celebs traditionally do not do as well as the older female celebs though (except for Tommy Chong, he was excellent). 

I was actually a little underwhelmed by Suni Lee. But if there is any pro with a lot of experience with gymnasts, it's Sasha. He understands how they will nail the technique much more quickly than the performance. 

Personality-wise, I think my least favorite is going to be Christine. There is just something about her that is off-putting. 

I actually liked Jojo. But I think the dark horse is going to be Melora.

 

 

[Lady Whistleup]

If Amanda has a weakness it's that she's extremely tall, and ballroom dancing tends to favor females who are shorter. 

I thought Suni was cute, although more awkward dancing than I would have expected.

[edie3]

I just can't stand the "Lisa Frank threw up on me" outfits JoJo wears. And how can you give a couple that had a fall or almost fall, an 8?

The basketball player was good, to be so tall.

And Suni is just so cute!

Some of these you just need to see them dance again to see how good they really are.

Edited September 21, 2021 by edie3

[scenicbyway]

It was interesting that the judges hinted that Martin hadn’t been showing up to practice. Everyone only gets 3 hours a day. He looks really inflexible here but doesn’t in Cobra Kai.  As for his age, there have been plenty older than him that have done well on the show.

I thought Iman was underscored, he had better footwork than most of the men.

Jojo was what I expected, I even wondered if Jenna slipped on purpose. I did wonder if they put her last in the lineup because they were worried or hopeful for ratings.

Everyone but Martin seemed to have potential.

[Lady Whistleup]

Iman moves better than most of the NBA players they get on the show. Helps that he's on the short(er) side for the NBA: he's "only" 6'5".

He's not going to get far though. I have no idea why this is but NBA players are treated like red-head stepchildren on the show. 

[angelamh66]

Two things come to mind after this premiere... 

Is this show’s base audience ready and willing to accept a same sex dancing pair? I hope so, but I doubt it. 

Is that same audience willing to accept someone who committed fraud by posing for fake rowing pictures to cheat and lie her way into college? I hope not, but I’m afraid so. 

[LexieLily]

8 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

It was interesting that the judges hinted that Martin hadn’t been showing up to practice. Everyone only gets 3 hours a day. He looks really inflexible here but doesn’t in Cobra Kai.  As for his age, there have been plenty older than him that have done well on the show.

Is that a downgrade because of Covid precautions? Didn't it used to be 5 hrs per day in studio?

[StatisticalOutlier]

47 minutes ago, Tink said:

Suni is of Hmong descent, the transcription said Samoan, I believe. (My boyfriend likes the subtitles on, so now I’m just used to them) it irritates me that they can’t get a fact like that correct, seems disrespectful. 

What you're seeing is captions, not subtitles like you see in foreign movies which are produced with a lot of skill and time.  I don't know much about how instantaneous captions are produced, but they're notoriously inaccurate, whether produced by humans or robots.  You could see the hesitation by the captioner before putting up "Samoan-American.  It just wasn't clear to the captioner what word was being said.  They're not getting a fact wrong because they don't deal in facts--they deal in what they hear, like a court reporter.

1 hour ago, Bliss said:

So far, so good. JMO. (I mute the host at times and then try to read her lips..)

Speaking of reading lips, what was that mess in Brian Austin Green's intro, with the black screen, and then the dubbing?  I can read lips a little.

He really did say, "You know me best as David Silver from Beverly Hills 90210."  The words and his lips matched perfectly.  But then it went to a black screen, during which we hear (but not see) him say, "It was an amazing experience but I will not be using any dance moves from the 90s."  Then the image comes back and he says, "I would embarrass myself" (which matches his lips).  Because of the black screen, I seriously doubt that was really all one sentence, and wouldn't be surprised if the "I would embarrass myself" has nothing to do with dance moves from the 90s.

And then it got even worse.  We hear him say, "I'm doing Dancing With the Stars because of my girlfriend Sharna."  But his lips said nothing of the sort.  It was like watching a dubbed Sergio Leone movie. 

What I think he said was, "Sharna and I have been dating for a while now. She's" and then there's a cut, and then I can't make out the rest but I  do see the word "passion."  The cut really gets me--if you're dubbing something completely different from what he was saying, why bother with a cut? 

Really sloppy. 

Also, I remember The Miz from The Real World, and just looked it up and it was 20 years ago.  He was doing the The Miz thing back then, and color me surprised that he turned it into something (I'm talking about the WWE thing, not DWTS, of course).  I just thought he was weird.

[Annber03]

3 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Speaking of reading lips, what was that mess in Brian Austin Green's intro, with the black screen, and then the dubbing?  I can read lips a little.

He really did say, "You know me best as David Silver from Beverly Hills 90210."  The words and his lips matched perfectly.  But then it went to a black screen, during which we hear (but not see) him say, "It was an amazing experience but I will not be using any dance moves from the 90s."  Then the image comes back and he says, "I would embarrass myself" (which matches his lips).  Because of the black screen, I seriously doubt that was really all one sentence, and wouldn't be surprised if the "I would embarrass myself" has nothing to do with dance moves from the 90s.

And then it got even worse.  We hear him say, "I'm doing Dancing With the Stars because of my girlfriend Sharna."  But his lips said nothing of the sort.  It was like watching a dubbed Sergio Leone movie. 

What I think he said was, "Sharna and I have been dating for a while now. She's" and then there's a cut, and then I can't make out the rest but I  do see the word "passion."  The cut really gets me--if you're dubbing something completely different from what he was saying, why bother with a cut? 

I was wondering what happened there! I thought at first it was some issue with our area station - it's out of southern Minnesota and they've had some storms this evening up that way, so I wondered if there was some kind of glitch or something. 

But yeah, if they were trying to change some aspect of what he said, that was a really awkward way to go about it.

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, angelamh66 said:

Is this show’s base audience ready and willing to accept a same sex dancing pair? I hope so, but I doubt it. 

I wonder if the fact that Jenna is (as far as I know) straight (and married) makes it better for those who would have a problem with it. (Like, they can't do a showmance with them or anything like that.) Also Jojo is 18 but looks and dresses like a kid (from what I've seen, anyway) so it's maybe less sexualized than it might be with someone who looks and acts older? I dunno. 

7 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Speaking of reading lips, what was that mess in Brian Austin Green's intro, with the black screen, and then the dubbing?  I can read lips a little.

I just assumed there was some kind of glitch and the sound and video were out of sync after the black screen. Now I'm wondering... (I wasn't trying to read his lips or anything, though.)

[LennieBriscoe]

Sporty Spice Girl Mel C. was pretty darn good! Gleb is handsome, but that chest is rather Ken-dollish.

The Miz (who?) Mikey from Ohio, was just okay. Whoever put him in those hideous gray pants needs firing! "Witney" with no "h"? Really?

Wow. Iman is proof I went from NBA fanatic to zero in 60 seconds! Never heard of him. But DANG if I couldn't watch him dance all night!

All I want for Christmas is Olivia Jade's legs. I'll leave out extra cookies and milk. 

Jimmie Allen and Emma were okay, but I like the more intense, close-together Tango. 

Bruno's new hair color makes him look older and less endearingly sassy!

Melora (fab outfit!) and Artem were terrific!

Awww, Suni and Sasha were so cute! But one could see her counting and concentrating! She has the physical prowess, though!

Edited September 21, 2021 by LennieBriscoe

[madpsych78]

22 minutes ago, angelamh66 said:

Two things come to mind after this premiere... 

Is this show’s base audience ready and willing to accept a same sex dancing pair? I hope so, but I doubt it. 

Is that same audience willing to accept someone who committed fraud by posing for fake rowing pictures to cheat and lie her way into college? I hope not, but I’m afraid so. 

Good point!

[Evie]

I was pleasantly surprised by the premiere. I think everyone but Martin has a lot of potential. My favorite was Melora. Olivia Jade was good, but she can go first.

[Linderhill]

I knew when I saw Tyra blab that she was going to change outfits 4 (or maybe it was 5 times, I was too annoyed to remember) as her big announcement on ET last week that I would not be tuning in Monday night.  My DVR dutifly recorded the show but I don't know if I'll actually watch.  Someone really needs to remind Tyra that people are NOT watching for her.

[madpsych78]

I just copied and pasted the rankings from Wikipedia. It's a little sloppy, but what I find striking is that all of the female celebs were scored higher than all of the male celebs. The lowest-ranked female celeb (Olivia Jade) still earned a higher score than the highest-ranked male celeb (4-way tie between Brian, Matt, Cody, and The Miz).

1JoJo & Jenna29129.0

2Amanda & Alan28128.0

2Suni & Sasha28128.0

4Melanie & Gleb27127.0

5Melora & Artem26126.0

5Kenya & Brandon26126.0

7Christine & Pasha25125.0

7Olivia & Val25125.0

9Brian & Sharna24124.0

9Matt & Lindsay24124.0

9The Miz & Witney24124.0

9Cody & Cheryl24124.0

13Jimmie & Emma22122.0

14Iman & Daniella21121.0

15Martin & Britt13113.0

 

[DietCokeJunkie]

43 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

 He looks really inflexible here but doesn’t in Cobra Kai.  

I remember him looking terrible on Cobra Kai, like he could barely walk. If he hasn’t had knee replacements yet, he desperately needs them or is due for new ones. 
That said, I’d prefer to see Olivia go home first. All I could think during her intro was “did her parents make a ‘donation’ to the judges?” Why are we rewarding entitlement and bad behavior?