General Gabbery: DWTS

[doLLish]

This is the worst cast ever. They are really struggling to get people now. I like Grocery Joe but seriously? Not the lead, winner or runner up but a night one cut?

The only saving grace this season is Tinashe, who will give us spectacular performances, until she’s inevitably eliminated after being dressed down by the judges every week for being too this or not enough that and by the audience for being too much of a ringer.

I also find it interesting how Brandon managed to get the hands down best dancer in the competition his first time as a pro. I’m not mad at it at all but I really would like to know how they decide this things because I don’t think it’s ever happened before.

Edited September 12, 2018 by doLLish

[Lady Calypso]

7 minutes ago, doLLish said:

The only saving grace this season is Tinashe, who will give us spectacular performances, until she’s inevitably eliminated after being dressed down by the judges every week for being too this or not enough that and by the audience for being too much of a ringer.

I'll be honest; I have never heard of Tinashe so I have no idea how capable she is. If anyone could give me a rundown on her, that would be great. Is she really well known? 

I also don't know who Joe is. I've heard of Grocery Store Joe from The Bachelorette, but don't know why he's well known.

Those two seem to be the ones that other people know of and who I should probably get to know. 

[spanana]

I think this cast is on par with just about every cast.  Also I feel like every season some people say this is the worst cast ever thing, so nothing new there.  But yeah, I don't know if I'm super excited about any but at least it's a cast without an obvious winner.  Yes, Tinashe would be based purely on dance talent but I suspect the older demos in middle America won't take to her, etc.  Even on GMA of course they focused on her dance background so I expect lots of ringer backlash.  I mean, they introduced her by talking about how she was hand selected by Janet Jackson to dance in a tribute.

But I really see no difference in the star wattage of this cast versus other recent casts.  So I don't really get those complaints.

I have no idea how well Grocery Store Joe is liked or not liked, but Jenna is acting on her posts as if he's an A-list star so that is funny in and of itself.  But when you aren't even called by your real name and rather a nickname, that sort of says something about your level of fame.   That said of course the Bachelor franchise is popular so he make it to mid season. I would be surprised if he lasts beyond that unless he's a secret dance prodigy.

And yeah, I'll never bring myself to root for anyone fro the Bachelor franchise.  No matter how nice they may come across.  IMO your fame is questionable if your main claim to fame is not being a douchebag.  Bar is low for men I guess.

Edited September 12, 2018 by spanana

[doLLish]

Just now, Lady Calypso said:

I'll be honest; I have never heard of Tinashe so I have no idea how capable she is. If anyone could give me a rundown on her, that would be great. Is she really well known? 

I also don't know who Joe is. I've heard of Grocery Store Joe from The Bachelorette, but don't know why he's well known.

Those two seem to be the ones that other people know of and who I should probably get to know. 

 

She’s a mid tier pop singer who’s had a smash hit single but pretty much struggled with any type of mainstream success in the aftermath. I wouldn’t say she’s well known as in she’s a household name but most people that listen to pop music would know of her, if that makes sense. For those that do know her, she’s generally praised for her dancing and she’s very good at it. She’s been dancing a long time and it shows when she performs. Obviously not ballroom style, but I do believe it will translate pretty easily and Brandon will get the best out of her.

Joe is a Bachelorette contestant who was sent home the first night of his season but came back and found some modicum of “fame” on Bachelor in Paradise. Honestly, he’s a really lovely guy so he’ll be easy to root for.

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, doLLish said:

She’s a mid tier pop singer who’s had a smash hit single but pretty much struggled with any type of mainstream success in the aftermath. I wouldn’t say she’s well known as in she’s a household name but most people that listen to pop music would know of her, if that makes sense. For those that do know her, she’s generally praised for her dancing and she’s very good at it. She’s been dancing a long time and it shows when she performs. Obviously not ballroom style, but I do believe it will translate pretty easily and Brandon will get the best out of her.

Ok, thanks. I read a little bit about on her Wikipedia but also wanted to hear from someone else. I think, with her name probably not being known with the DWTS audience (or the majority of them), it might help her out with showing off her natural dance ability while not being like Normani, in that people expected her to win because she's well known as a member of a popular girl group besides being a great dancer. In other words, she won't just get the votes because of how popular she is (however, that can also hinder her with more well known names). She's not slated for the finale because of her name, so her dance ability will need to come through for her, which it sounds like it could. 

Also, just looking at her bio, I recognize the other girls in the group that she was in before her. 

6 minutes ago, doLLish said:

Joe is a Bachelorette contestant who was sent home the first night of his season but came back and found some modicum of “fame” on Bachelor in Paradise. Honestly, he’s a really lovely guy so he’ll be easy to root for.

Well, hopefully he has some dance ability then! I'll wait to see with him. 

[vavera4ka]

ok the only names that I immediately recognized were John Schneider and Mary Lou Retton.

Because of discussion here I know who Evanna is. If not for this board, I wouldn't have recognized the name. I probably would have recognized the face, but wouldn't have been able to place it.

I might tune in, or watch it a day later on Apple Tv. Can't say I'm, too excited...

[Lady Calypso]

21 minutes ago, vavera4ka said:

Because of discussion here I know who Evanna is. If not for this board, I wouldn't have recognized the name. I probably would have recognized the face, but wouldn't have been able to place it.

I am a young adult so I think Evanna will be most well known with people between the ages of 18-35, the ones who grew up in the Harry Potter era. Luna Lovegood is one of my favourite characters ever so that's why I'm likely to watch this season until she's eliminated. 

I recognize John Schneider's name but couldn't tell you exactly what he's done. I know I've seen him in things, though.

31 minutes ago, spanana said:

I think this cast is on par with just about every cast.  Also I feel like every season some people say this is the worst cast ever thing, so nothing new there.  But yeah, I don't know if I'm super excited about any but at least it's a cast without an obvious winner.  Yes, Tinashe would be based purely on dance talent but I suspect the older demos in middle America won't take to her, etc.  Even on GMA of course they focused on her dance background so I expect lots of ringer backlash.  I mean, they introduced her by talking about how she was hand selected by Janet Jackson to dance in a tribute.

But I really see no difference in the star wattage of this cast versus other recent casts.  So I don't really get those complaints.

I agree with this. I have never heard of Tinashe before and I suspect the average DWTS viewer hasn't either. It sounds like she'd be more well known with the younger teen crowd. I mean, her background sounds impressive but it also sounds like the potential to be a "ringer". However, unlike previous season ringers, she's not for sure before the show even starts. Factor in that she's with a new pro who won't have the fanbase to get those votes, and it's not a guarantee for her to be in the finale. She could be, but it's not for sure. 

33 minutes ago, spanana said:

I have no idea how well Grocery Store Joe is liked or not liked, but Jenna is acting on her posts as if he's an A-list star so that is funny in and of itself.  But when you aren't even called by your real name and rather a nickname, that sort of says something about your level of fame.   That said of course the Bachelor franchise is popular so he make it to mid season. I would be surprised if he lasts beyond that unless he's a secret dance prodigy.

Seriously, this Joe guy may have been mentioned a few times in The Bachelor/ette circle, but the general media may have only covered him that one time the first week he was eliminated. I remember reading that name once and then I promptly forgot about him. He will likely make it far because of The Bachelorette, but he's gonna need to rely on his dance ability. 

35 minutes ago, spanana said:

And yeah, I'll never bring myself to root for anyone fro the Bachelor franchise.  No matter how nice they may come across.  IMO your fame is questionable if your main claim to fame is not being a douchebag.  Bar is low for men I guess.

Since I'm still new to this show, I haven't seen too many Bachelor contestants, but I did like Nick Viall and wanted him to get farther than Bonner Bolton. 

[vdw84]

Im truly excited about Brandon getting Tinashe, I think they did this so he can show his stuff and possibly be everything that keo never was and that is the diversity male pro that has great promise on this show full of blondes and russians, just kidding but its true.

[RomanKat]

1 hour ago, doLLish said:

I also find it interesting how Brandon managed to get the hands down best dancer in the competition his first time as a pro. I’m not mad at it at all but I really would like to know how they decide this things because I don’t think it’s ever happened before.

 

Short answer: New showrunner.  Jenna and Alan got Adam and Mirai last season; Brandon gets Tinashe this season.  New pros getting best dancers has happened before (e.g. Mark had Sabrina, Dmitry had Mya), but it's been a long time.  It's also been reported that Brandon handled his mentoring duties on the pre-taped Juniors editon well.

ETA:  Hayley, OTOH, needed help on Juniors from SYTYCD alum Malene Ostegaard and is back in troupe for now.

Edited September 12, 2018 by RomanKat

[kcrabtree06]

Completely random, but I definitely had a dream last night that Alex Trebek was doing DWTS!!

[Bridget]

Just jumping in to say that Harry Potter fans run the gamut of ALL ages and among both genders. New fans of all ages are discovering the books/films every year, so Evanna is definitely well known to a certain demographic, but for the non HP fans, you’d be surprised who the fans are. (We are everywhere! Haha!)

I know of the nicest lady in Arizona who has a gorgeous HP tattoo on her upper arm that she got a few years ago. (If I told you her age, you probably wouldn’t believe me.) 

I think Evanna Lynch’s fanbase is/will be bigger than what non-HP fans might be able to anticipate. I just saw the YouTube video from 2008 (dancing to my the Rihanna song) and she’s definitely got rhythm & musicality. 

I have no idea how long she’ll last since she’s competing against a gymnast, a football player and a pop singer I have never heard of. 

(I teach high school and I’ve been asking the kids who she is! So far, only a few ppl out of the 110 students I’ve seen today know who Tinashe is.) 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Bridget

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, RomanKat said:

Short answer: New showrunner.  Jenna and Alan got Adam and Mirai last season; Brandon gets Tinashe this season.  New pros getting best dancers has happened before (e.g. Mark had Sabrina, Dmitry had Mya), but it's been a long time.

I mean, if I were a showrunner looking at most of my "star" pros aging out of the show or going on to work on other projects, I'd make the call to try to create some new buzz by getting my new pros some partners with a fighting chance to stick around for a while. 

It'd be nice to see Brandon (and/or Alan) step up and bring some energy in the way of a Mark, the male pro lineup has gotten pretty lackluster in the past few seasons. ("The answer is, 'Artem, Gleb, and Fetch.'" *ringing in* "What is, 'Things that are never going to happen?'") 

Edited September 12, 2018 by kitcloudkicker

[limecoke]

It’s an everlasting mystery to me why they persist in saying the “stars” are non-dancers while casting a professional dancer every season.  I don’t care that it’s  “not ballroom.”  Nonsense.

I know who four of these people are and I only know about Joe from the Bachelorette.  I didn’t watch the athletes season and I don’t think I’ll watch this one either.  Frankly it’s getting too boring and predictable.

[Toonces464]

3 hours ago, DkNNy79 said:

Agree.  I'm only familiar with Nancy and Mary Lou.

Me too. And John Schneider.

[Jobo05]

Have mostly tuned out DWTS for a couple seasons now. The last one I really paid attention to was season 23. Will check in for Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl, but that's about it. I can no longer vote, so some of the fun have been taken out for me.

[Emily-D]

All three young girls have a good chunk of dance experience so will do very well in terms of scores but it depends on which of the three draws votes. The Bachelor guy will probably be like any other Bachelor guy. A rubbish dancer but a good guy who gets loads of votes and lasts weeks longer than they should. DeMarcus will probably do very well because he has Lindsay and she does well with anyone. The Disney kid with Witney has dance experience as well. They’ll be someone though on premiere night that comes from nowhere and surprises everyone and wins fans on the night. My money’s on Bobby Bones.

[MsTree]

3 hours ago, spanana said:

But when you aren't even called by your real name and rather a nickname, that sort of says something about your level of fame

You might want to talk to "Ga-Ga" about her level of fame.

[spanana]

1 minute ago, MsTree said:

You might want to talk to "Ga-Ga" about her level of fame.

That is not what I meant.  There is a difference between branding yourself with a performance name that sticks, often chosen by the performer in question  Versus getting stuck with a moniker like Grocery Store Joe from one episode of Bachelor.  Also from the little soundbites I've heard from the guy, he doesn't even like the name.  Even the DWTS promo calls him Grocery Store Joe as opposed to his actual full name.  Which I assume they had to do or nobody would have ever heard of the guy. 

But no, if you choose your own performance moniker, that is an entirely different beast.

[MsTree]

23 minutes ago, spanana said:

That is not what I meant.  There is a difference between branding yourself with a performance name that sticks, often chosen by the performer in question  Versus getting stuck with a moniker like Grocery Store Joe from one episode of Bachelor.  Also from the little soundbites I've heard from the guy, he doesn't even like the name.  Even the DWTS promo calls him Grocery Store Joe as opposed to his actual full name.  Which I assume they had to do or nobody would have ever heard of the guy. 

But no, if you choose your own performance moniker, that is an entirely different beast.

I get it, but that's what they do on these reality shows in order to differentiate one Joe from another, or one Ashley (speaking of Ashley I.) from another. No shame in that.

[vavera4ka]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I am a young adult so I think Evanna will be most well known with people between the ages of 18-35, the ones who grew up in the Harry Potter era. Luna Lovegood is one of my favourite characters ever so that's why I'm likely to watch this season until she's eliminated. 

I recognize John Schneider's name but couldn't tell you exactly what he's done. I know I've seen him in things, though.

 

Luna was my fav character too. But I never knew the name of the actress. 

I know John Schneider from Smallville. (not old enough for Dukes of Hazzard)

[BeeBop88]

I am really excited to see Cheryl and Juan dance together. Looks like the man has got some sweet moves, and it doesn't hurt that he is very handsome. I am hoping Cheryl can win her 3rd MBT. I feel she has a partner that can take her to the finals, if nothing else. Brandon must think he died and went to heaven. A ringer on his first season as a pro is a gift sent by God. I can't remember that ever happening before. It is usually the seasoned dance pros that get the ringers. I wonder how Val feels about it. Other promising dance partners I think are Milo/Witney, Evanna/Keo, and Demarcus/Lindsay. Let the dance battles begin!!!!

[BeeBop88]

2 hours ago, limecoke said:

It’s an everlasting mystery to me why they persist in saying the “stars” are non-dancers while casting a professional dancer every season.  I don’t care that it’s  “not ballroom.”  Nonsense.

I know who four of these people are and I only know about Joe from the Bachelorette.  I didn’t watch the athletes season and I don’t think I’ll watch this one either.  Frankly it’s getting too boring and predictable.

Exactly how I feel. A dancer has musicality, they can emote, and how to present themselves the best on stage. It does not matter what genre they train in. And nowadays, many dancers are cross-trained to a degree.  A couple seasons back, they had Heather as a contestant. She was definitely a pro dancer, and if she had a pro dancer as a partner that was good in choreo (instead of Maks), I really think she would have gone further. Just look how good she and Alan danced together. Alan put some of his choreo talent in, it was not all Maks.

Edited September 12, 2018 by BeeBop88

[LexieLily]

I am absolutely sure they won't touch the Mary Lou Retton/Larry Nasser support with a ten foot pole but I can't help but wonder if this will affect how Sasha works with her or interacts with her given that he partnered with Simone.

Edited September 12, 2018 by LexieLily

[vdw84]

47 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I am absolutely sure they won't touch the Mary Lou Retton/Larry Nasser support with a ten foot pole but I can't help but wonder if this will affect how Sasha works with her or interacts with her given that he partnered with Sasha.

They always giving sasha this controversial people but this is just low to give him Mary Lou, omg. Not only was sasha partnered with simone but they still remain great friends today, this is just so wrong, im sure he want be disappointed if they get eliminated early on because honestly who is going to vote for that.

[friendperidot]

Speaking as an old person, the only people, I've heard of are John Schneider, I'm even too old to have put up with Dukes of Hazard nonsense, but I had a very young male cousin, 3 at the time, who adored it; Mary Lou Retton, I didn't know about the Larry Nasser thing, I really didn't follow the story, but unfortunately, I am too familiar with sexual abuse and harassment; Nancy K, I was also not a Facts of Life Fan, but I liked the theme song as sung by Gloria Loring, who I watched in her time on Days of Our Lives. I said, I was old. I don't follow football, haven't since a move to DC in the mid 70s and was told I had to love the 'skins - still hate 'em and it turned me off football forever and I remember when the Dallas Texans moved to KC and became the Chiefs, I actually went to games in those days. I don't really watch sports except for Olympics. I find the whole Bachelor/Bachelorette revolting. I quit listening to popular music about the time the Eagles got going good, so all pop stars are a who? for me. My feelings about Full House and it's now successor are about the same as my feelings about Dukes of Hazard and the Facts of Life, I was too old for those to be appealing. 

I love the older dancers and yep, I voted for Gladys Knight. I even liked Chloris Leachman and Valerie Harper, now those were the shows I watched and the music I listened to.

Overall, I have no dog in this race this year, don't usually, but I'll give it a watch or two. Oh, who am I kidding, the tv will be turned to it every week even if I pay no attention. 

But since most of my friends are old like me, and several of my FB friends like dance too, some of them have been posting videos of older championships or just and old couple dancing, usually swing. Those people flat out move. There is no reason an older person can not do a good dance or turn in a good performance, it does not have to be "sexy" as some people seem to think and old people sexy is not ewww or gross to the old people being it. Most of them are so fun to watch, they just turn out good performances. Of course, if the old person has health problems or a poor teacher, they are not going to do a good dance performance. And as much as I love to dance, now I'd be in that category, I broke my foot in June, still having pain, but learned today, no surgery and I can ditch the boot! Go me!

[madpsych78]

6 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

I mean, if I were a showrunner looking at most of my "star" pros aging out of the show or going on to work on other projects, I'd make the call to try to create some new buzz by getting my new pros some partners with a fighting chance to stick around for a while. 

It'd be nice to see Brandon (and/or Alan) step up and bring some energy in the way of a Mark, the male pro lineup has gotten pretty lackluster in the past few seasons. ("The answer is, 'Artem, Gleb, and Fetch.'" *ringing in* "What is, 'Things that are never going to happen?'") 

 

7 hours ago, kcrabtree06 said:

Completely random, but I definitely had a dream last night that Alex Trebek was doing DWTS!!

Sometimes dreams do come true... LOL!

Anyway, I'm 40 and the stars with whom I am most familiar are Mary Lou Retton and Nancy McKeon - even though I was a kid in the 80s. But I am familiar with Juan Pablo because I do watch Fuller House. I'm pushing for him and Cheryl, if only because Cheryl does really well with Latino celebs (Cristian, William) and he has shown himself to have some skills on non-ballroom dances. 

Not surprised that Sasha was paired with Mary Lou because of the height factor, but I am surprised at some of the other pairings on the male pro/female celeb side. It's interesting that Val, not Artem, got Nancy. Val's had his share of younger contestants but this might be his first contestant over the age of 50. I'm also surprised that Alan, not Gleb, was paired with Alexis. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

So now that the cast is official, time for some SNAP THOUGHTS!!

 

Male Celebs

DeMarcus & Lindsay: Lindsay gets another athletic partner to work her magic with. I'm familiar with him on the field but have no real feel for DeMarcus the person. If history tells us anything, he's probably going to be around for a while. If not the finale, top 6 for sure.

Milo & Witney: Witney gets another young (possibly immature partner). Feels like a safe bet for a relatively early elimination. Witney outside of Alphonso and the dull bachelor guy has been susceptible to some early exits.

Grocery Joe & Jenna: I'm assuming Bachelor Universe nation will keep him in the competition for an extended run. I'm not a fan of Jenna so that's a bit of a bummer for me.

Juan Pablo & Cheryl: ??????????????????????

John & Emma: If he's bad right out of the gate, he might be first or second out. I really hope they don't push the Trump supporter angle hard because that would be really annoying. *Alternative opinion, if he has a warm & self-depricating personality Emma might conjure up some magic like she did with Bill Engvall and they could make a much farther run than anyone expects.

Bobby & Sharna: If he can dance at all, I think he makes semi's or the finale. Sharna is quote unquote overdue a win (and I think the show will push that relentlessly) and I just feel like Bobby's massive fan base from country music may come over to DWTS and vote in droves.

Female Celebs

Tinashe & Brandon: The overwhelming favorite if we were just judging on dance ability alone. Having a first year pro is a bit of a variable (but people in the know think that from his stint on the Junior edition, that Brandon is going to acquit himself quite well on the main show). She feels like a Zendaya/Normani hybrid so I think she makes the finale. Could easily fall victim to the judge's panel manipulations and come up short though.

Danelle & Artem: Honestly, I have no idea how this is going to go. I just would be surprised if she lasts more than a few weeks. She has to have the smallest fan base by a mile (Artem doesn't bring a ton to the table in this respect). I'd be shocked if she goes out 1st.....but anywhere from 2nd to 4th elimination feels about right.

Mary Lou & Sasha: The Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastics issue makes me unable to judge her neutrally. I hope she goes out first. I really hoped that her stance would blow up in her face and they could still replace her (keeping Sasha in the competition).

Alexis & Alan: Generally speaking, pure models don't do well on this show. Possibly Alexis could upend that trend. Comparing her to the last model (Charlotte McKinney who went out 2nd) is like night and day. I do think Alan might be rising a little bit as a male pro which helps her. The elephant in the room might be how much they push a showmance to try and boost her performance.

Nancy & Val: Meh. I hope she's not uber-self conscious. Feels like middle of the pack. It might force Val to get a little bit more creative with some of his choreography this go round.

Nikki & Gleb: Nooooo! I don't want to have to root for Gleb, that's just wrong. But Nikki Glaser is a riot, and I want her to do well so what to do? What to do?

Evanna & Keo: If you were betting, you'd say she's going to go early because of Keo. Will Harry Potter-philes watch and vote in droves? If they do, she could totally upset the apple cart.

Edited September 13, 2018 by PhD-Purgatory15

[marykat71702]

10 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I recognize John Schneider's name but couldn't tell you exactly what he's done.

He was Bo Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard and he was in Smallville.  I've also heard that he's a country singer.

The names I'm familiar with this season are John, Mary Lou, Nancy, Bobby Bones, and Juan Pablo.

I had no clue about the Mary Lou/Nassar thing.

Usually I find that, out of the contestants that I have never heard of in the beginning, there is at least one(if not more) that I end up liking more than I would think.

[Maya S]

13 hours ago, RomanKat said:

Short answer: New showrunner.  Jenna and Alan got Adam and Mirai last season; Brandon gets Tinashe this season.  New pros getting best dancers has happened before (e.g. Mark had Sabrina, Dmitry had Mya), but it's been a long time.  It's also been reported that Brandon handled his mentoring duties on the pre-taped Juniors editon well.

ETA:  Hayley, OTOH, needed help on Juniors from SYTYCD alum Malene Ostegaard and is back in troupe for now.

Where did you hear about Malene helping Hayley?

[legaleagle53]

And when did Juniors air?  I completely missed it because apparently nobody on here watched it!

[kitcloudkicker]

41 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

And when did Juniors air?  I completely missed it because apparently nobody on here watched it!

It hasn’t yet. That’s why the thread about it is in spoiler tags.

Edited September 13, 2018 by kitcloudkicker

[madpsych78]

16 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

So now that the cast is official, time for some SNAP THOUGHTS!!

 

Male Celebs

DeMarcus & Lindsay: Lindsay gets another athletic partner to work her magic with. I'm familiar with him on the field but have no real feel for DeMarcus the person. If history tells us anything, he's probably going to be around for a while. If not the finale, top 6 for sure.

Milo & Witney: Witney gets another young (possibly immature partner). Feels like a safe bet for a relatively early elimination. Witney outside of Alphonso and the dull bachelor guy has been susceptible to some early exits.

Grocery Joe & Jenna: I'm assuming Bachelor Universe nation will keep him in the competition for an extended run. I'm not a fan of Jenna so that's a bit of a bummer for me.

Juan Pablo & Cheryl: ??????????????????????

John & Emma: If he's bad right out of the gate, he might be first or second out. I really hope they don't push the Trump supporter angle hard because that would be really annoying. *Alternative opinion, if he has a warm & self-depricating personality Emma might conjure up some magic like she did with Bill Engvall and they could make a much farther run than anyone expects.

Bobby & Sharna: If he can dance at all, I think he makes semi's or the finale. Sharna is quote unquote overdue a win (and I think the show will push that relentlessly) and I just feel like Bobby's massive fan base from country music may come over to DWTS and vote in droves.

Female Celebs

Tinashe & Brandon: The overwhelming favorite if we were just judging on dance ability alone. Having a first year pro is a bit of a variable (but people in the know think that from his stint on the Junior edition, that Brandon is going to acquit himself quite well on the main show). She feels like a Zendaya/Normani hybrid so I think she makes the finale. Could easily fall victim to the judge's panel manipulations and come up short though.

Danelle & Artem: Honestly, I have no idea how this is going to go. I just would be surprised if she lasts more than a few weeks. She has to have the smallest fan base by a mile (Artem doesn't bring a ton to the table in this respect). I'd be shocked if she goes out 1st.....but anywhere from 2nd to 4th elimination feels about right.

Mary Lou & Sasha: The Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastics issue makes me unable to judge her neutrally. I hope she goes out first. I really hoped that her stance would blow up in her face and they could still replace her (keeping Sasha in the competition).

Alexis & Alan: Generally speaking, pure models don't do well on this show. Possibly Alexis could upend that trend. Comparing her to the last model (Charlotte McKinney who went out 2nd) is like night and day. I do think Alan might be rising a little bit as a male pro which helps her. The elephant in the room might be how much they push a showmance to try and boost her performance.

Nancy & Val: Meh. I hope she's not uber-self conscious. Feels like middle of the pack. It might force Val to get a little bit more creative with some of his choreography this go round.

Nikki & Gleb: Nooooo! I don't want to have to root for Gleb, that's just wrong. But Nikki Glaser is a riot, and I want her to do well so what to do? What to do?

Evanna & Keo: If you were betting, you'd say she's going to go early because of Keo. Will Harry Potter-philes watch and vote in droves? If they do, she could totally upset the apple cart.

I think Juan Pablo and Cheryl will go far, but not because of Fuller House or his fanbase. I think it will be a combination of his dancing, sex appeal, and Cheryl's fanbase.

[spanana]

This season may be interesting because I see a real two sided arguments from fans.  The younger mostly teen/early 20 fans on twitter are all fans of the younger cast and seem to be mobilizing behind Evanna, Milo, Tinashe etc. and assume all the oldies will go first since they don't know them.  However I also see a lot of tweets from middle aged/older people saying that they only names they know are John, Mary Lou and Nancy and so those are naturally the ones they are most drawn to pre-season.  Obviously dancing plays a role and opinions change after one night, once we get initial packages plus dancing...but I'm not sure which side will win out.  I certainly don't see any of John, Nancy or Mary Lou winning but the younger fans seem to writing them off as first outs and I'm not entirely sure.  Maybe if one of them either comes off incredibly badly openly night or dances so bad that it can't be ignored.  I'm a little iffy on what sort of fanbase Gleb's person will have.  So there are some question marks here.

DWTS posted these get to know the couple vids on their youtube page that are worth checking out and give a bit more insight on partnerships than the initial soundbites.  Interestingly I think the Bobby Bones vid has the highest views, which is only interesting to me in the sense that you would think the young kids with their younger fanbases would have the most views.  So what that says about Bobby's fanbase I don't know, but I think he's going to be around for the long haul.  By contrast, John has the lowest views.

Edited September 13, 2018 by spanana

[RomanKat]

10 hours ago, Maya S said:

Where did you hear about Malene helping Hayley?

The junior edition taped this summer for fall airing.  The puredwts blog posted several entries with social media tidbits, semi-spoilers, and official promos.  This blog entry addresses fan speculation about Malene:

Quote

...former SYTYCD contestant/Danish ballroom competitor Malene Ostergaard following Kami & Hudson on Twitter.  I’m not sure what significance everyone thought she had, but source confirmed my suspicions that she was simply assisting with choreography – she’s not a host, she’s not a judge, she’s not going to be a permanent fixture on the show.  Literally just there to help Hayley with choreography.

In another blog entry confirming season 27 pros, the blogger commented on Brandon:

Quote

...did very well as mentors on DWTS Junior, particularly Brandon, who I’m told is an excellent choreographer. Unless they give him an absolute dud, I could see him sticking around for awhile this season.

DWTS pros sometimes get help with choreography, and it's not necessarily a big deal.  For Hayley and Brandon, however, their overall work on DWTS Junior may have helped Brandon become a higher priority for pro status.

[clytierising]

Quote

Nikki & Gleb: Nooooo! I don't want to have to root for Gleb, that's just wrong. But Nikki Glaser is a riot, and I want her to do well so what to do? What to do?

So much this.  I expect to be voting for her.  I'm hoping that if she can get him to take himself a little less seriously it might not be icky.  But his ick factor is huge for me. 

[penbrat]

I am very very mildly interested in seeing what John S. and Nancy can do, although I do not think either will go far.  Other than that zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz for this season

[boyznkatz]

I'm actually sort of interested in the younger contestants, since most of them seem like ringers and will probably give good performances. Except for the bachelor dude...I have zero interest in him.

I don't know, Gleb might be more interesting with a comedienne. We'll see. I could sort of see them being like Maks/Kirstie Alley. Normally I didn't like Maks, but he was hilarious that season.

Edited September 13, 2018 by boyznkatz

[PhD-Purgatory15]

More SNAP THOUGHTS!!, after watching everyone's (minus Mary Lou) Introductory video on DWTS's ytube page.

Milo seems very 17, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. He's got that polished/engaging/bright personality that all the Disney teens and kids tend to have.

Tinashe, lol everyone else's "go to dance move" was super basic or cheesy....and she breaks out a full-on down to the floor split. Brandon (in those two minutes) seems to be really, really on for the camera and over-amped up in terms of his personality. I think he needs to find a bit more balance, especially with Tinashe as his partner

Alexis seems genuinely sweet and down-to-earth...and maybe a little too low-key of a personality for DWTS. I hope she doesn't get lost in the shuffle early because I'm not sure she has a lot of natural dance ability or rhythm to draw from. She and Alan seem to have a pretty good rapport early on. The fact that her video count is relatively high up there is definitely a good sign that her social media following is engaged, for now at least.

DeMarcus, seems very on brand as a retired NFL'er taking on DWTS. He's a big dude in the range of a Jason Taylor so I wonder if the more standard dances might suit him than the Latin ones with a lot of body shake/rhythm.

Grocery Joe, Jenna better hope the Bachelor Nation is ready to vote like crazy because this dude looks kind of hopeless. And a bit of a weird (not warm/funny) self-deprecating personality too. 

[Maya S]

4 hours ago, RomanKat said:

The junior edition taped this summer for fall airing.  The puredwts blog posted several entries with social media tidbits, semi-spoilers, and official promos.  This blog entry addresses fan speculation about Malene:

In another blog entry confirming season 27 pros, the blogger commented on Brandon:

DWTS pros sometimes get help with choreography, and it's not necessarily a big deal.  For Hayley and Brandon, however, their overall work on DWTS Junior may have helped Brandon become a higher priority for pro status.

Thanks, I forgot that I read that entry.  I have mixed feelings about pros using ghost choreographers.  On one hand, it shows Hayley's limited ballroom experience that she wasn't ready to choreograph and it's frustrating that DWTS would rather have a contemporary dancer mentoring in a ballroom competition than an actual ballroom dancer, especially one as accomplished as Malene.  On the other hand, at least Hayley wasn't too proud to get help unlike past contemporary dancers who will not be named.  

[treeofdreams]

I'm out of the loop about Mary Lou Retton - what did she do/say to be labeled a Nassar defender?  I can't even imagine anyone defending him

[BeeBop88]

26 minutes ago, Maya S said:

Thanks, I forgot that I read that entry.  I have mixed feelings about pros using ghost choreographers.  On one hand, it shows Hayley's limited ballroom experience that she wasn't ready to choreograph and it's frustrating that DWTS would rather have a contemporary dancer mentoring in a ballroom competition than an actual ballroom dancer, especially one as accomplished as Malene.  On the other hand, at least Hayley wasn't too proud to get help unlike past contemporary dancers who will not be named.  

I have mixed feeling about using ghost choreographers too. I have been told the reason these ghosts aren't mentioned on TV show is because they don't work for DWTS, they work for the dance pro. Or something stupid like that. I think it kind of leans to a certain degree to dishonesty, because there are times some of the pro dancers seem to take credit for stuff they didn't do. Like when a judge compliments a dancer's choreo and they smile and say thank you, when you know darn well they are not capable of being that creative (aka Witney). Those ghosts must be paid a good chunk of money to keep their mouths shut. 

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, BeeBop88 said:

I have mixed feeling about using ghost choreographers too. I have been told the reason these ghosts aren't mentioned on TV show is because they don't work for DWTS, they work for the dance pro. Or something stupid like that. I think it kind of leans to a certain degree to dishonesty, because there are times some of the pro dancers seem to take credit for stuff they didn't do. Like when a judge compliments a dancer's choreo and they smile and say thank you, when you know darn well they are not capable of being that creative (aka Witney). Those ghosts must be paid a good chunk of money to keep their mouths shut. 

I don't even remember them being used in the earlier seasons. I remember Maks used Mandy Moore to help choreograph Erin's freestyle, but he was very upfront about it and the fact he brought in help because he didn't know contemporary, which had never been done on the show before. 

I also remember him having a huge meltdown during his season with Brandy and being unable to choreograph her Argentine Tango, so Tony did it for him. That wasn't hidden either.

[Bridget]

Re: John Schneider AKA “Bo Duke” 

I saw him “dance” during the cast announcement on GMA this week. It was awful. B-A-D. I had to Ffwd the segment...and it was only a few seconds long!

I suspect he will be one of the early exits, if not the first.

I doubt his political views will matter because I know I’m not the only one who remembers watching Bristol Palin on TWO seasons of the show.

Many celeb dancers, who were a lot better than BP during both seasons, went home earlier than they should have. BP was able to stick around a lot longer because she had a large built in fan base even though she was so terrible.

Edited September 14, 2018 by Bridget

[bobthefrog]

12 hours ago, spanana said:

This season may be interesting because I see a real two sided arguments from fans.  The younger mostly teen/early 20 fans on twitter are all fans of the younger cast and seem to be mobilizing behind Evanna, Milo, Tinashe etc. and assume all the oldies will go first since they don't know them.  However I also see a lot of tweets from middle aged/older people saying that they only names they know are John, Mary Lou and Nancy and so those are naturally the ones they are most drawn to pre-season.  Obviously dancing plays a role and opinions change after one night, once we get initial packages plus dancing...but I'm not sure which side will win out.  I certainly don't see any of John, Nancy or Mary Lou winning but the younger fans seem to writing them off as first outs and I'm not entirely sure.  Maybe if one of them either comes off incredibly badly openly night or dances so bad that it can't be ignored.  I'm a little iffy on what sort of fanbase Gleb's person will have.  So there are some question marks here.

DWTS posted these get to know the couple vids on their youtube page that are worth checking out and give a bit more insight on partnerships than the initial soundbites.  Interestingly I think the Bobby Bones vid has the highest views, which is only interesting to me in the sense that you would think the young kids with their younger fanbases would have the most views.  So what that says about Bobby's fanbase I don't know, but I think he's going to be around for the long haul.  By contrast, John has the lowest views.

Actually, Joe's video currently has the most views. Joe has 55000, Bobby's has 53000, Milo's has 41000 and everyone else is somewhere between 11000 and 29000 with most in the teens. The top three most liked official cast photos are Joe (56000), Evanna (46000) and Juan Pablo (39000).

[BeeBop88]

5 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

I don't even remember them being used in the earlier seasons. I remember Maks used Mandy Moore to help choreograph Erin's freestyle, but he was very upfront about it and the fact he brought in help because he didn't know contemporary, which had never been done on the show before. 

I also remember him having a huge meltdown during his season with Brandy and being unable to choreograph her Argentine Tango, so Tony did it for him. That wasn't hidden either.

Yeah, but Mandy Moore and Tony both work for DWTS, so I guess their names could be mentioned. I don't mind if the dance pro's use outside choreo. Not every person who is a talented dancer can be a talented choreographer. It just bothers me because it seems a bit shady that the choreographer that does the work, is not credited for it. But whatever. I think out of all of them, Sharna, Val, Jenna, Sasha, and Emma do a lot of their own choreography. The reason I say that, is because all of them have done choreo for SYTYCD.  That Argentine Tango that Witney and Frankie Muniz did where it was a Pirates of the Caribbean theme, Sharna and Mark Ballas choreographed that.  It's one of the few dances that I still remember, it was so good.

[LennieBriscoe]

One word: WHO?!

Never watched the shows of John Schneider and Nancy McKeon. ?

Mary Lou Retton is legit. ?

GroJoe (I'm determined,  heh!) is semi-legit. ?

Everyone else is only quasi-legit. ?

And get off my lawn! ?

Edited September 14, 2018 by LennieBriscoe

[Mrs. P.]

I haven't watched this show in years, but I'm going to tune in this season to see Cheryl and her hunky partner. I don't have a clue who he is, but no matter. I didn't know who Gilles Marini was either and I pretty quickly fell in love with him. Maybe lightning will strike again for Cheryl!

Edited September 14, 2018 by Mrs. P.

[Annber03]

I'm familiar with Nancy, John (never saw anything he was in, but I've heard the name and have heard of the show "Dukes of Hazzard"), Nikki, and Mary Lou. I've seen the 'Harry Potter' movies, but that was years ago, so Evanna's name didn't immediately ring a bell for me, and I haven't seen "Fuller House", so I don't know any of the new people who are part of that show. 

The rest of the contestants don't ring a bell for me at all. But I'll still watch. The people I am familiar with, it'll be interesting to see how they do, and the people I don't know, it'll be fun, hopefully, to get to know them as the season goes on. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

 

Anybody who says they are completely unaware of Tinashe, was clearly living under a rock a couple years ago :-) This Proactiv commercial was inescapable for a solid year it felt like...

Edited September 14, 2018 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Toonces464]

8 hours ago, BeeBop88 said:

Yeah, but Mandy Moore and Tony both work for DWTS, so I guess their names could be mentioned. I don't mind if the dance pro's use outside choreo. Not every person who is a talented dancer can be a talented choreographer. It just bothers me because it seems a bit shady that the choreographer that does the work, is not credited for it. But whatever. I think out of all of them, Sharna, Val, Jenna, Sasha, and Emma do a lot of their own choreography. The reason I say that, is because all of them have done choreo for SYTYCD.  That Argentine Tango that Witney and Frankie Muniz did where it was a Pirates of the Caribbean theme, Sharna and Mark Ballas choreographed that.  It's one of the few dances that I still remember, it was so good.

Mandy wasn't employed by DWTS back then. But I agree with you, it's shady. One thing I've always heard is that it was actually Sharna who choreographed most of Maks's later dances with Meryl but she certainly never got credit for it. It makes sense because I don't think Maks is capable of that level of choreography.