Just a few thoughts and ramblings (forgive me):

It's too bad about how the Dance off left a bad taste in everyone's mouth because after watching Chicago and The Mark of Zorro last night - I realized something. I gotta give props to the celebs (especially actors) for their participation and hard work and having the guts to put it all out there to be judged by experts and regular folks.

In Chicago, the dance sequences were great but it's been edited within an inch of it's life, it's not LIVE and they're not being judged nor voted on. I think DWTS is like the ultimate nightmare situation for any actor and I don't know how Kelly kept on going after the roasting she got on her first dance. What I'm trying to say in my roundabout way is that these guys won't get as much respect as they deserve and they deserve (at least the top 3-4 celebs) a heck of a lot more than Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, and Richard Gere do for their work in Chicago.

And Z-Jones' latin dance with Antonio Banderas in Zorro had nothing on the Suxy. It's so weird, because I used to remember that dance number in Zorro as being quite sensuous, but it so pales in comparrison - what can I say, the Suxy left it's mark on me ;)

Some scheduling info for S2 of DWtS from Variety:

Ok, I'm really happy about this new DwtS coming in January. I can't wait to see which "stars" will be dancing!

I hope nobody I like is in the new cast because I definitely won't be able to watch. My DVR only records two shows at once and I already have The O.C. and Survivor. Then again, maybe Survivor will be on hiatus.

Not to mention the fact that it's going to go up against the Winter Olympics in February.

Any rumors floating around about who the stars might be?

Maybe our own FormerOlympian.....?

Survivor IS going on hiatus, which is why ABC is slotting DwtS in January....great move, but now I read rumors that Fox wants to move IDOL to Thursdays too? It's crazy! No news yet as to who the stars will be....

Well Lisa Rinna has been majorly kicking herself for turning down the first season, she mentions it ALL.THE.TIME. on SoapTalk, so maybe she could be on it. She even dressed up like Kelly Monaco for the Halloween show.

I think this cast should be interesting. I wonder if they could get some bigger, current stars this time around.

Kelly just got Punk'd. She wasn't kidding when she said she had a potty mouth. And the fiestiness we saw on DWTS was nothing compared to the spitfire on Punk'd. Dyum. This makes me hope that they show a lot more of the rehearsal footage.

SHORT CUTS: Former NFL great Jerry Rice, actor Robert Wagner, Soap Talk's Lisa Rinna and Nick Lachey's younger bro, Drew, are among the aspiring hoofers expected to sign up for the second season of Dancing with the Stars, which debuts Jan. 5.... CBS' Close to Home hit a home run in its new Friday time slot, averaging nearly 12 million viewers.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Entertainment/

Looks like Lisa is doing it this time!

So Nick Lachey's younger brother is considered a "star"? Ooo-kay. And I hope Lisa Rinna's lips resist the temptation to lead.

Can anyone else picture Robert Wagner doing the more energetic Latin dances? I'm having a hard time with that one. I think he has a good 15 years on John O'Hurley.



ziglettospal, I'm not questioning the past coolness star cred in comparison to JOH, just that he's considerably older than JOH, who happened to be the oldest star last season. I just looked in IMDB.com and he's 75!!!

Sigh. I'd hoped they'd get better celebrities this time, but if they're down to Drew Lachey then I guess not. What's he famous for...being the brother of a guy on a reality show that I thought I read was either recently cancelled or was going to be cancelled?

I wonder who the other four "Stars" are, though...hopefully Lachey is the bottom of the pile. I know Wagner is old, but he's got a lot more past coolness star cred than O'Hurley ever had.

Is Lisa Rinna supposed to be in the "hot young starlet" role, a la Kelly Monaco? Because if so... no thanks. She's a bit old and IMO not all that attractive.

Drew Lachey? He's made his career mooching off of his brother... getting put by his brother in the boy band and then his countless appearances on "Newlyweds". Is he supposed to be the Joey McIntyre "former heartthrob"? Yuck and GACK.

They had better put two much better women in the other two slots if they want me to tune in.

There's supposed to be eight star/pro couples this time, so there will be three other chances to make up for Lisa Rinna.

Drew Lachey was a member of 98 Degrees. I don't think Nick is any better off than he is. He just got lucky with a reality show, Jessica reaped all the benifits of that.

As for Lisa, she is SUCH a trainwreck as a person that I can't wait to see how bad she screws up. But I do think she's really sexy as well. If she had longer hair, her lips wouldn't stand out so much. When she dressed up as Kelly Monaco for Halloween, she looked MUCH better with the long hair.

But Drew was one of those boy band guys that never seem to sing. Every group has them. From what I remember of 98 Degrees, they had two lead singers, Nick and that other guy. Drew and the last one were the invisible members. Nick was much more prominent even before he married Jessica Simpson.

I still remember Eddie and JoBo here on B96 (a Chicago radio station) were doing a news report, when JoBo reported that one of the 98 Degrees guys got married. Eddie has this voice character called Jenny who was obsessed with all the boy band guys, and it was really funny when he (as her) got on and said "which one which one? Oh, DREW? BFD!!!!!"

"BFD" is how I feel about Drew Lachey.

I think it's sad that Lisa Rinna dressed up as Kelly Monaco, considering that Lisa has been around in soap operas and general attention-seeking for years and years before Kelly.

I'll wait to see who the other "stars" are before deciding whether to tune in. They need to get a big name model, preferably from a foreign country. I think Frederique would be great.

I saw a TV ad for the Boscov's Thanksgiving Parade, which is in Philadelphia and Kelly Monaco is going to appear in it--I am not sure if she is hosting. If you live within 3 hours of Philly you can probably get it.

any votes for the professional dancers you'd like to see booted and replaced, or does it matter?

It doesn't matter in that we the denizens of TWoP don't have a say, but it would be an interesting topic.

I don't suppose that Gocha from Ballroom Bootcamp is one of the replacements. That would be a hoot (although probably not for whoever ended up as his partner).

A friend just e-mailed this story to me, but she didn't include a link. So, I can't tell you what the original source was. Kevin Nealon? <rolls eyes>

Unless TPTB come up with better eye candy than Lisa Rinna, I'll be tuning out. As a dude, I'm not interested in whatever dudes are cast, but I wants me pretty lasses.

I disagree, in that she's already done reality TV (Celebrity Mole) and I'd much prefer to see some 'fresh meat' on this show! Not people who I've already seen on other reality shows.

Lisa Rinna doesn't bug me...ages & ages ago I watched her on whatever soap she was on (until she became possessed or something & the storyline became very creepy & unpleasant), but more recently I've watched her decorating show & enjoyed it very much. I think she'd be great on DWtS!

Okay...how about adding her hubby Harry Hamlin in to the mix? Then we'd have the added dynamic of a husband/wife competing against each other (somehow with these two I imagine it would be okay to watch, that they wouldn't turn ugly with each other, but be joking throughout). Also? Harry is SO metro-sexual. Did anyone here see him when he was on the Jonathan Antin (sp?) show? Eeegads! Anyway, I'll bet that he'd do great on this!

Color me quite bored with the remainder of the potential contestants listed. Yawn.

I thought that after the success of the first run, TPTB would be able to attract celebrities a rung or two up the scale of success. Instead, it appears just the opposite has happened, and I blame it on the damn dance off between Kelly and O'Hurley. I think some celebrities who may have considered appearing on the show were scared off thinking they may be drug into another "who really won it" kind of debate.

I honestly never thought that they would attract a better 'class' of celebrity than the first round. The show requires at least a bit of a sense of humor about yourself (alternately, you can have appeared on The Bachelorette), which rules out the bigger stars. Beneath top- and middle-rate movie and television stars, what's left? Soap stars? Boy band castoffs? Older gentlemen? Which is pretty much what we're getting next round too.

I think Lisa Rinna is the exact type of person who would do this show. Trying so desperately hard to get more exposure for her flailing career and trying to capitalize on the show's success. Unfortunately, I think they could have gotten someone better.

I'm surprised that Melissa Rivers hasn't beat a path to the producers' door. She seems like the type to want this show badly.

I'm sure they will find someone younger also.

FormerOlympian , great to have you back on here. How are you healing?

I'm definitely on the mend and pain free. I'm still not able to walk, but hope the doctors will give me the green light on Nov. 29, the date of my next appointment. My biggest gripe right now is cabin fever. I've been housebound for two months.

I have two foot-long scars on either side of my leg and another that wraps around my knee. There are also some assorted small scars where incisions were for permanent screws and for the temporary screws that held the external fixator.

I was going through my hospital paperwork and noticed a charge for a procedure called "debridement of the bone." Not sure what that is, but I'm glad that, as with the other surgeries, I was unconscious. Unfortunately, I was all too conscious when the nurse removed my catheter. It felt like someone turned my johnson inside out.

I'm so psyched about Robert Wagner. I think he'll make JOH look like a clodhopper. Wagner is smooth personified.

They had better not stick Alec with RinnaLips. What a waste of half of the suxy.

Former Olympian, debridement is the removal of dead or contaminated tissue from a wound. The medical definition is the removal of foreign material and devitalized or contaminated tissue from or adjacent to a traumatic or infected lesion until surrounding healthy tissue is exposed.

Topic, please.

Tsk-tsk, these heartless network executives. Not that I really wanted to know what debridement (bad enough) of the bone (even worse) meant, because now I'm going to have nightmares. It's good to have you back, FormerOlympian. You're a tough guy.

Topic: Uh. Hmm. OK. I bet Louis Van Amstel has been bounced. Bad attitude, let the ABC princess get eliminated, messed up his exhibition. I have a feeling Edyta might be out if Anna Trebunskaya comes in. I still think we'll be seeing more American dancers this time. I only wish I could say the same for the judges, who should at least be familiar with American Rhythm and Smooth, since those styles are allowed in the rules. At least dump Len Goodman.

As for the celebrities -- yes, I resisted the the temptation to put that in quotes -- none of them will even come close to my Kasia from DWTS Poland. So there.

Any more news on Kevin Nealon?

ziglettospal, if you have inside information, please either share it or stop dropping hints.

I could have helped with that. :-)

When will the full list of stars and dancers be made known? Anybody,,, hints?

Sorry, I'll shut up.

TWoP policy, which is available in the FAQ, is your responsibility to read and understand before posting.

The relevant information here in particular regards staying on topic -- which in this case amounts to: it's about the show, not you. Coyly dropping hints like this is not only irritating, by your own admission, but causes the thread to drift away from the show and focus instead on what you can and can't say. Give the info and let it ride, please.

I'm very sorry.



It would have to be soon if the show is starting at the beginning of January. Those pros and stars have to start rehearsing, after all. Someone said they'd be announced at the time of the Ohio Star Ball, which is this weekend.

Didn't they start the lessons/rehearsals about a month before the last series started?

Please let this come to pass...

Tara Reid Wants to Dance into America's Hearts

Oh man, please let Tara Reid be on Season 2. Or at least let the producers think she has a shot. I would love to see her show up in some Ball gown at the ABC lot, stalking producers and raving about how she'd be perfect.

Oh my gosh, keep her off the screen. We have seen enough wardrode malfunctions.

OK, let's tally this up shall we?

Type.............................Season 1.........................Season 2
Soap Actress....................Kelly Monaco...................Lisa Rinna
Pro Athlete.......................Evander Holifield..............Jerry Rice
Former Boy Bander.............Joey McEntyre.................Drew Lachey
Comic Actor......................John O'Hurley..................Kevin Nealon?
Super Model......................Rachel Hunter.................????????
Reality Has Been................Trista blech!...................????????
New Categories
Debonair Leading Man..........n/a...............................Robert Wagner (yeah baby, yeah!)
?????????..........................n/a...............................????????

Man, I think I just proved to myself that I have clearly much better things to do lol

May I make a suggestion of Bai Ling. I saw her rendition of Like a Virgin and Girls Just Want to Have Fun on But Can They Sing? and saw reality show gold. In all seriousness though, she would draw in the ratings and I enjoy her quirkiness.

ETA: Want2Sleep, ziglettospal, Thanks for reminding me about Hunter and the oh so fab Robert Wagner (he's the only one I'm excited to see so far)

We could make a "debonaire older actor" category and put Robert Wagner in there for Season 2 (we've already read that he going to be one of the people).

And for the people wishing for Tara Reid, we could create "hot young starlet" for Season 2 and put her in there :-) (This is just wishful thinking though...I think she'd be cute at it.)

"Super Model" in Season 1 was Rachel Hunter. It would be beyond hilarious to get someone like Janice Dickinson for Season 2, but I'm kind of wondering if after her last show if she'll ever do "reality" again. What about Cindy Crawford?

"Reality Has Been" is a tough one, but if we juggle the sexes around I think it would be funny to get the dude who was on the first Joe Millionaire. What a train wreck. Or they could just get that Sarah chick who was on that show, the one who was also a foot bondage fetish model. I like lumpia's idea of Bai Ling. It's a different idea, and not obvious.

Edit:

Sure, Want2Sleep, why not? The more bizzare the better :-) Although I seriously can't imagine that they'd do it, though. I'm sure they'd go with someone much more appealing/well known to a wide-ranging audience. What about Amber? She's got the over-exposure thing down, what with being on Survivor twice, then Amazing Race, then getting married. She's kind of like Trista but without the same level of audience hate baggage. But she's from CBS shows, right, so I guess that quite doesn't handle the "Reality Star who owes ABC Big Time" category.

lumpia , don't forget Robert Wagner.

Please zig , tell me you're kidding?

Hey, what's wrong with my idea? Tara is a trainwreck too but I'd much rather watch Bai Ling's trainwreck - the Xphile in me enjoys the extra-terrestrial quaility of it versus the garden variety girl gone wild. lol

I saw my first "Dancing with the Stars" commercial tonight. No mention who the stars were or the dancers. Wonder what the big secret is?

My god, you are probably right, it's Bai Ling and Tara Reid. The world has ended.

I can't stand Tara Reid, so I really hope she doesn't make the cut. But I can't get enough of Bai. I'd love a cable channel that was All Bai, All the Time. That woman is crazy and entertaining.

It may be shallow, but if they don't get a tall, leggy, supermodel, I'm out. Robert Wagner, Drew Lachey, Jerry Rice and Kevin Nealon aren't exactly going to make me tune in.

Speak for yourself, blackwing--those men would be my short list for the hotties--and you just know I'll be blocking out the women to focus on them! ;)

Seriously, though, Cindy Crawford, Christie Brinkley, or Angie Everhardt wouldn't be bad additions for the straight guys--and Angie's even already a competitive reality-show veteran.

Incidentally, are we going to be stuck with Tom Bergeron and Lisa Canning as the host and hostess again? PLEASE tell me that the producers are at least getting Barbara Eden to replace Lisa!

Ouch. Although I wouldn't call going on DWTS "exposure" so much as "admitting you're a has-been and having fun with it." I thought that was the point... Don't be surprised if Lisa Rinna wins you over. There are a bunch of people out there who wish she would bring some of that soap opera magic to primetime and just come back from the dead already!

Training has begun for at least one couple. Jerry Rice has been seen taking lessons from his pro, Anya Trebunskaya. Anya is the lovely redhead who danced with Jonathan Roberts in the "dance off" this fall. (She's also Jonathan's wife and professional dance partner.) Anya is teaching Jerry Cha Cha and Quickstep.

Cheryl Burke will also be one of the new pros on the show. No idea which star she's got, but here are some pictures of her dancing with her professional dance partner, Jose de Camps. Jose & Cheryl are one of the hottest rising star professionals in the US right now.

Just a quick update! I quickly leafed through the 'Sexiest Man Alive' issue of People magazine and noticed JOH in there. The blurb mentioned that he will be joining the cast of "Chicago". No mention of what character he will play but presumably Billy Flynn.