S26.E01: All-Athletes Edition Premiere

[OnceSane]

Quote

Each couple performs a cha-cha, salsa, fox-trot or Viennese waltz; eliminations are based on judges' scores and live viewer votes

[mtlchick]

"I was the best figure skater in the world and I had it taken away from me."

GIIIIIIIIIRL, NO! But hey, it got Alison Janney out to the ballroom.  

Out of the sake of loyalty, I'll watch the "season" but this is going to be painful to fast forward through.

[Runningwild]

Decided to recap everyone about halfway through the show, so this isn’t quite complete and I don’t know a lot about dancing, but here goes:

Chris - pretty good!

 

Kareem - about what I expected from someone his age and height

Jennie - Middle of the pack  kids were cute  

Jamie - good

 

Marai - my early pick to win it all. 

 

Arike - that looked bad. Don’t know why the judges were so enthusiastic. 

 

Adam - could be in the finals. Did he fall out of the spin?

 

Johnny - ridiculously rich!! Yikes! That is not John Fogerty. Had to mute the sound. Michael Waltrip sighting. He did pretty good. Not great. Not the worst. 

 

Tonya - ugh. The first thing I think of when I hear her name is Nancy Kerrigan got whacked in the knee because of her.  Tired of her and her sob story. Not horrible. Still hope she goes home tonight. 

 

Josh - Very good! There were some parts that weren’t great but overall - wow!

 

Eliminated - Jamie/Artem and Johnny/Emma. So close to getting Tonya out!

Edited May 1, 2018 by Runningwild
Forgot Jennie.

[Hiacios]

Josh and Sharna were awesome!!!

 

Tonya really surprised me by how good she was.

[stonehaven]

Lots of great dancers tonight...and one of them was...gulp..Tonya Harding...I cannot root for her(although my Mom is)..and then one I liked was sent home...there was another figure skater I liked too...

Gonna be tough to see the good ones go..and four weeks is NOT enough to savor every cheesetastic moment!

[madpsych78]

On the basis of dancing skills PLUS personality, I'm glad that Jamie and Johnny went. 

I know Tonya is polarizing, but she was not bad at all. Especially for a Fox Trot!

Wow, Josh prevented this from becoming an all figure skater competition!

Jennie was actually pretty good as well!

Kareem was the weakest of these competitors technically, but I agree with the judges that he needs to loosen up. He did do a good job of remembering the steps. He needs to channel his inner Tommy Chong.

[vavera4ka]

Oh Artem is out right away? Lol

 Bai, show. 

[Uke]

Not too excited for the start of this mini season.  Feeling kind of lethargic about it.  But I'm here and I'll see how it goes.

Chris:  Good start, very ambitious choreography.  Witney, very twirly, she loves lifts but the entry and exits were a bit awkward, especially the first one.  Very middle-of-the-road scores.  Hard to tell if they're good or not good enough.

Tom says to lock in your votes after the last dance but by then the site will be jammed up and I don't think he mentioned yet that 2 couples will be eliminated partially based on those votes.  Someone is gonna get screwed.

Kareem:  He looked like he was having fun but he didn't move much. As Bruno said, simple and dignified. The 6s were generous.

Jennie:  Nice start. A couple missed hand grabs and a couple times it looked like she forgot something as she was waiting for Keo to catch up.  Also a couple times he was really pulling her across the floor. Looks like 7s are for good-but-not-spectacular, so for that, I'd agree with the scores.

Jamie:  She seemed a little lost - Artem was really pulling her around.  Looked under-rehearsed to me.  Agree with the 6s. The 7 was a gift.

Jennie is an example of what is wrong with this mini season (one of many things!)  There's no time for normal first show jitters.  Jamie is another example - there's no time to realize after the first show that this really is harder and requires more time and effort than expected. Next week is mid-season!

Mirai:  Wow! That was great! (Witney, take note, that's how those lifts are supposed look).  I think she may have to watch her mouth with her comments and asides.  She comes off a little snide.  (I didn't see much of the winter olympics and virtually no media)  7? The 8s were good.

Arike:  She looked very heavy-footed in those sneakers.  She'll need to get used to heels. Also her dress bothered me - is that the best Gleb could come up with?  The outfit needs to fit her dance AND personality.  I'm ok with the scores but if she makes it to next week, she needs to lose the sneakers.

Adam:  Good but a few wonky moments and he fell out of his pirouette.  I tried to focus only on him as Jenna annoys me with her mugging for the camera.  I wondered if CAI was holding out on Mirai to give an 8 to Adam. Yup!  They'll probably do the usual he's ahead this week, she's ahead next week "horserace" nonsense.

Johnny: Most entertaining dance of the night so far, full of personality.  Messy and it looked like an aborted take-off of one of the lifts.  This is Emma's niche.  Taking someone with no dance potential and making him fun to watch. Agree with the scores.

Tonya: the first thing I think of when I hear her name is not triple axels - it's a lead pipe and a knee.  She's trying hard to prompt sympathy, but sorry, none from me.  Let me hear an apology first.  Well, enough of that. She was always a power skater, not known for elegance.  That was adequate but no elegance or softness to it.  The judges were very generous in their comments.  (He has to beat his wife? ewww) Wow - they really want to keep her.  Terribly overscored. All 7s would have been plenty.

Josh:  I've been debating whether he belongs in my top 3 - ohhh yea! He does!  Great job!  Man can move and a likable, hard working personality to boot.  (He's been fun to watch on Sharna's IGstories, especially taking a ballet class with little girls-funny!)  Agree with the scores.

I guess that explains the overscoring for Tonya.  She might have been eliminated otherwise! (Sarcasm)

Edited May 1, 2018 by Uke

[Lovecat]

Wow, that Mirai Nagasu thinks she’s far more precious than she really is. I liked her a whole lot better before I had to listen to her speak.

I don’t like Tonya Harding’s poor, poor, pitiful me routine, but that dance was really nice.

The last guy who danced, Josh the football guy, was great! He’s going to give the skaters a run for their money.  He’s got moves, and that “unnnnnnhhhh” Carrie Ann was going on about so eloquently :)

I’m bummed Johnny Damon is gone. He wasn’t that great, but he looked like he was having a great time. In a normal season he probably would have stuck around longer.

[doLLish]

This 4 week season feels so...cheap. Like they shouldn't have even bothered. So I'm not gonna bother writing couple by couple analysis.

Just a couple thoughts:

Adam and Jenna were amazing to watch. I love this pairing. I'm a Giants fan and was fully ready to clown Josh Norman and inwardly screamed when he delivered my favorite performance of the night. Something about Mirai is...I don't want to say unlikable but there's...something. Her and Alan were good too. I'm happy to see Jenna and Alan flourishing this "season." I'm intrigued by Arike's college student storyline. Gleb was great with her but I need to see some heels.

Everyone and everything else was pretty forgettable. I was so curious about how eliminations would work and now that I see...lol. My Mirrorball winner prediction: Adam and Jenna.

Edited May 1, 2018 by doLLish

[Annber03]

Just now, mtlchick said:

"I was the best figure skater in the world and I had it taken away from me."

GIIIIIIIIIRL, NO! 

Yeeeeeeah, I was side-eyeing that comment of hers pretty heavily, too. She certainly managed to skirt all the way around that huge unmentioned elephant from her past that was sitting right there, didn't she? 

Her dance tonight was pretty decent, though, not gonna deny that. 

As for other contestants, okay, yeah, Adam and Jenna have a really cute rapport and are quite good together. I liked Josh, Chris, and Mirai, too, though I do agree about Mirai's comments here and there. But she was quite good. 

Also, never thought I'd see the day when "Centerfield" got played on this show :p. 

[sinycalone]

I thought the first and the last athletes were the best....Chris and Josh.  Lots of content, each showed real dancing skills.  

[mtlchick]

2 minutes ago, doLLish said:

Something about Mirai is...I don't want to say unlikable but there's...something.

Ever since she had that trainwreck of an interview that was so bad it was hilarious to Sports Illustrated, I feel like she needs a good slap, even after she apologized.  But hey, she wanted to be on DWTS "because I want to be a star."  She got her wish.  

[Mu Shu]

Uh Tonya, you never won a world championship, therefore you were never the “best” figure skater in the world. Nothing was taken from you, you just fucked up every opportunity you ever had.  Now that you’re a middle aged woman, all your bullshit looks worse.  Sorry ma’am, but I find you ungainly, and you’re a pathological liar.   

[ams1001]

My favorite part was Sasha trying to high-five Kareem. 

[madpsych78]

12 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

Wow, that Mirai Nagasu thinks she’s far more precious than she really is. I liked her a whole lot better before I had to listen to her speak.

I don’t like Tonya Harding’s poor, poor, pitiful me routine, but that dance was really nice.

The last guy who danced, Josh the football guy, was great! He’s going to give the skaters a run for their money.  He’s got moves, and that “unnnnnnhhhh” Carrie Ann was going on about so eloquently :)

I’m bummed Johnny Damon is gone. He wasn’t that great, but he looked like he was having a great time. In a normal season he probably would have stuck around longer.

Well, with all the skaters being so controversial off the dance floor, I predict that Josh will win.

And, I predict that the basketball players will be voted off next week.

Edited May 1, 2018 by madpsych78
Add next week's prediction.

[Hiacios]

4 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

Well, with all the skaters being so controversial off the dance floor, I predict that Josh will win.

And, I predict that the basketball players will be voted off next week.

I hope you're right. It's about time Sharna wins for once.

[smiley13]

3 minutes ago, Hiacios said:

I hope you're right. It's about time Sharna wins for once.

Sharna does not deserve to win.  She is the blight on this season.  We are rid of Golden Boy, Val and Maks, but Sharna is still there,  Can she please just go away!

[Morrigan]

When they were waiting for the score tallies or whatever, the little "interviews" with Mirai and Adam were SO awkward! Poor Adam - sometimes he's got it with the witty Oscar-Wildean jibes and sometimes he just falls flat. Oh well, loved his dance - he's my favorite, though I loved Josh, having never heard of him before. He's got an easy, fun way about him, despite the brashness. Wish I could say the same about Mirai. She's so gorgeous but that fake, occasionally smirky, full of herself attitude is grating. Reminds me of Ashley Wagner. These skater girls are just too too precious ugh (when they're not being psychopathic like you know who... I haven't seen I Tonya but I guess it must rehabilitate her - not in my book - nothing could. I'm happy for Sasha though.)

I feel sorry for Jamie but her personality was so bland and I couldn't understand what she was saying half the time. They gave the Louisiana one (softball?) more of a decent edit and identity - plus she had her own children in the dance!! Savvy how Lindsay got the "cancer survivor" bit in too (which I didn't know) - didn't know you had it in you, Linds. He was really really bad though - and I thought the baseball guy who went home was hopeless too.

I liked the basketball girl and her smooth moves but she'll probably be out next week - at least she's got an "excuse" - getting ready for finals. I would have felt bad if she went home this week so good job Gleb. I didn't think you had it in you to summon up at least 'some' enthusiasm for an unlikely finalist.  Shaking my head at poor Artem. Shoulda stayed in the UK, I'm afraid. And go Alan!! I'll overlook Miss Malaprop for your sake. I also hope Keo has a good season - he's so likeable.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Morrigan
misspelling

[madpsych78]

6 minutes ago, Morrigan said:

I liked the basketball girl and her smooth moves but she'll probably be out next week - at least she's got an "excuse" - getting ready for finals. I would have felt bad if she went home this week so good job Gleb. I didn't think you had it in you to summon up at least 'some' enthusiasm for an unlikely finalist.  

She is the Alec Skarlatos of this season but Gleb is no Lindsay.

[saber5055]

Chris the luge guy was surprisingly good so got some votes from me. He's low key so I figured he needed them. Adam has been my tv boyfriend since the olympics so I'm hoping he wins. He got more votes from me. I thought Josh was too OTT (and out of line hitting on Sharna) in his interview. His dance was very good, but that attitude earned him no votes from me. I also voted for Tonya. She was good, and I'm over what happened all those years ago. (Plus I dislike Kerrigan intensely for her Oksana and Disney snark.)

Four weeks ... this would have been a better full season than the "regular" full season full of people most of us have never heard of so I don't bother watching any more.

Oh: I forgot to say, I also gave some votes to Keo's pants. Looking forward to seeing them again next Monday night.

[Toonces464]

I'm already bummed this season is only 4 weeks long. I think there are several people who we could've really seen grow and get better in a regular 10 week season. Instead, I think people were just power voting the hell out of their faves tonight so they didn't get eliminated, rather than splitting votes to keep people around they wanted to see more of.

Adam and Jenna are already on my nerves, as is Mirai. Her dancing reminds me so much of Meryl Davis and that brings back horrible flashbacks of my least favorite season ever. I really liked Josh a lot (he reminds me of Rashad) and would love to see him and Sharna win but I think the script is already written for Adam and Jenna. Val in the front row in a bright orange jacket didn't hurt. All that was missing was the dog inside his jacket.

I really wish Lindsay would've given Kareem a bit more to do than just having her and Haley dance around him. Yes he's 70 but he can move a bit and could've pulled off a few more steps.

Tonya surprised me, she was good. I also wanted to see more of Chris and Jennie. But with the two skaters and Josh pretty much a lock for the finals, I think only one of them will push through to the end.

Not surprised Jamie went home, bummed about Johnny. I don't think he would've won, but I think in a regular season, his personality would've come through and he would've stuck around for a bit. 

No more short seasons please!

[Caseysgirl]

Mirai is a bit full of herself and that vocal fry will drive me insane!

Edited May 1, 2018 by Caseysgirl
Spelling

[LadyNebula]

Adam, my PA brother, killed it. Plus dancing to "Sissy That Walk?"  Brilliant. RuPaul is always welcome.

So... Tonya. I hated her attitude (you're not the victim, honey), but I always liked her as a skater. I wasn't expecting much from her because she was NOT an artistic skater.  Her strength was always the technical side. But she really surprised me tonight. I thought she was lovely. That said, let's not forget that all controversy aside, she was a pioneer in the sport. Triple axles ain't easy. She's as much of an athlete as the other contestants, and I'm judging her based on that and her dancing. She may keep surprising us. 

[Ladyrain]

Has it been mentioned here - or explained by ABC in general - why this season is so abbreviated?  They've done the same thing with Idol.  And I hate it!  Do they they think we all have such short attention spans that they have to rush things through in what seems like 10 minutes?  And also - is this a one-off or will all future seasons be condensed like this one?  Gawd, I reeeaalllly hate this.  It's so unfair to the dancers (and singers on Idol) not to get a proper chance to develop.

[angelamh66]

I am just not on the Tonya redemption train. And while I really like Josh's dance the best, he is such a punk on the field I just have a hard time rooting for him. So... go Adam? Or the luge guy.

[spunky]

So Alan is the Val and Maks of this season with his little annoying partner. I swear this show is overly hyping Jenna. There are people in the troupe who have been there longer and are better dancers, both Britt Stewart and Brittney Cherry come to mind. Adam is equally as annoying as his best friend. 

Josh was the best of the night for me. I hope he finally gives Sharna a mirror ball. Tonya sweetie, your dumb husband is the reason why your dreams were shattered, so cry a river to him. Okie could be great if she would just trust Gleb. As annoying as Val could be, I think he might have been a better partner for her.

[Thadeeeyus]

32 minutes ago, Toonces464 said:

Adam and Jenna are already on my nerves, as is Mirai. Her dancing reminds me so much of Meryl Davis and that brings back horrible flashbacks of my least favorite season ever. I really liked Josh a lot (he reminds me of Rashad) and would love to see him and Sharna win but I think the script is already written for Adam and Jenna. Val in the front row in a bright orange jacket didn't hurt. All that was missing was the dog inside his jacket.

I feel like Adam and Mirai are being overhyped and I'm tired of them.  As soon as Josh danced,  I forgot all about them. :)   

[crowceilidh]

I loved Arike's story and Gleb was very tolerable with her.  I don't know what can be done about her shoe problem though.  The dress was very nice from many angles and kinda like a big bag at other angles, but it would have been totally cool with high heels in a way that wasn't possible with running shoes.

ETA: Gotta say, I'm ffing through an AWFUL lot of this.  I would really like to know what they're trying to accomplish.

Edited May 1, 2018 by crowceilidh

[Toonces464]

47 minutes ago, Caseysgirl said:

Mirai is a bit full of herself and that vocal fry will drive me insane!

Another thing that reminds me of Meryl Davis...that grating little girl voice!

38 minutes ago, Ladyrain said:

Has it been mentioned here - or explained by ABC in general - why this season is so abbreviated?  They've done the same thing with Idol.  And I hate it!  Do they they think we all have such short attention spans that they have to rush things through in what seems like 10 minutes?  And also - is this a one-off or will all future seasons be condensed like this one?  Gawd, I reeeaalllly hate this.  It's so unfair to the dancers (and singers on Idol) not to get a proper chance to develop.

Because they blew the budget load on Idol.

[LennieBriscoe]

Just saw the fabulous "Stars on Ice," and Adam shook my hand! Go, Adam! 

I also heartily dislike the rushed "seasons"---more accurately, the almost-disdainful eliminations---of this show and AI. I have no idea what TPTB are thinking.

[Wings]

Adam for the win.  Precious man.  His wit is dry and understated . Ellen hired him on the spot during his appearance on her show hanvig met for the first time. Love the guy n he was superior in his dance.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Wings

[JRoot]

Isn't this a contest on who can dance the best? 

[Uke]

2 minutes ago, JRoot said:

Isn't this a contest on who can dance the best? 

More like a personality contest where the "winner" hopefully can dance a bit.

[legaleagle53]

5 minutes ago, JRoot said:

Isn't this a contest on who can dance the best? 

In theory, yes.  But in practice, no -- and it never really has been, even going back to the first season.

[crowceilidh]

Wow - I thought Adam and Jenna were pretty good together.  WTF is Jenna doing to her face?  That is NOT going to age well.

Sorry that Johnny went - that certainy wouldn't have been my pick - I thought he and Emma were pretty cute.

Glad Artem and awkward girl went, but am not really glad Keo got to stay past 1st elimination (I just don't like his dancing style; I wish they'd replace him).  I wonder if he can make a habit of it?

Josh is defo my fave.  Love the comgination of costume colours and hair.  I ffed through most of the package, but it seemed like Sharna was being quite standoffish in response to his flirting.

Erin's dress was stupid.

[vdw84]

1 hour ago, madpsych78 said:

She is the Alec Skarlatos of this season but Gleb is no Lindsay.

Val would have been good with her. We can say what we want about V but he is good with young girls.

[chocolatine]

I don't understand how the voting works this season. Isn't the person who goes last completely disadvantaged because there's only a two-minute window to vote for them? Are viewers supposed to pre-vote for their favorite before seeing them dance? And the viewers who don't watch live in the Eastern time zone don't get to vote at all? It would have made more sense to do the elimination the following week so that each athlete would have been able to do one Latin and one Ballroom dance, especially with two being cut every week.

[LennieBriscoe]

Ooh, I'm cut to the quick, JRoot! 

Are you suggesting that Adam Rippon did NOT dance well? *cough8/8/8cough*

Are you further suggesting that there can be only one person we must all root for, because there's some objective "best"?

Hey, I might root for Adam because I, too, live in PA! ?

[vdw84]

5 minutes ago, crowceilidh said:

osh is defo my fave.  Love the comgination of costume colours and hair.  I ffed through most of the package, but it seemed like Sharna was being quite standoffish in response to his flirting.

Im pretty sure she dont want another silly showmance. She just wants to dance and not focus on having viewers think her partner and her r becoming a thing.

[crowceilidh]

Oh I forgot to say, Adam had some really strange feet stuff going on at times - looked like he was dancing in casts or something.  Did any of the judges mention it (yep, as usual, I'm ffing through ALL the idioticness)?

[mehtotheworld]

I guess this will be the first season I’ll be watching since four years ago with Meryl/Charlie (which was actually the only season I watched), but I don’t think I’ll like it as much. Only four weeks is kind of hard to really get invested, though I’ve followed Adam and Mirai’s careers for a while now. I do love seeing all the figure skaters rooting for them, but I have to say Adam is kind of hit or miss with the quips and Mirai seems well meaning but clueless/dim. I’ll still be splitting my votes for them unless someone else catches my attention (Chris is an early front runner there). I would think Adam would be the early favorite to win. Am I overstating his Olympic popularity? 

I’m not even a Red Sox fan, but I could never root for Johnny Damon, so I’m glad he’s gone. I hope Tonya is next — she was in on it! Come on people. 

[Poohbear617]

I love kareem but they need a better tailored suit on him.  It made him look like SLENDER MAN.

[MsJamieDornan]

I still don't like Keo.

[Boosey02]

2 hours ago, Ladyrain said:

Has it been mentioned here - or explained by ABC in general - why this season is so abbreviated?  They've done the same thing with Idol.  And I hate it!  Do they they think we all have such short attention spans that they have to rush things through in what seems like 10 minutes?  And also - is this a one-off or will all future seasons be condensed like this one?  Gawd, I reeeaalllly hate this.  It's so unfair to the dancers (and singers on Idol) not to get a proper chance to develop.

Idol was airing on Mondays, and they need DWTS to end in time for The Bachelorette to start. I guess to do both shows they had to have short seasons. I don't like it either.

4 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Ever since she had that trainwreck of an interview that was so bad it was hilarious to Sports Illustrated, I feel like she needs a good slap, even after she apologized.  But hey, she wanted to be on DWTS "because I want to be a star."  She got her wish.  

She annoys me too. I thought Adam was funny though.

[MsJamieDornan]

1 hour ago, vdw84 said:

Im pretty sure she dont want another silly showmance. She just wants to dance and not focus on having viewers think her partner and her r becoming a thing.

My guess is that she will do almost anything for attention.

[mehtotheworld]

1 hour ago, Poohbear617 said:

I love kareem but they need a better tailored suit on him.  It made him look like SLENDER MAN.

I didn’t want to be the first person to say it...

[Poohbear617]

I'm just glad to hear I'm not the only one who thought it. 

[displayname]

Jenna is far too good for her partners. She should either tone it down a little, or become a judge. :P

[Emily-D]

Having caught the dances online, if Sharna can’t pull out a win this season then she might as well give up. She’s got the charming likeable non ringer with the stand out opening dance. Basically Rashad 2.0. Thought the right two went home, Arike’s score just gave her the edge over Jamie but I suggest that she’s toast next week. The second one is tougher to call, I think Kareem could knock someone better out, maybe Jennie? Final two will be Josh and Adam.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Emily-D