BWAH!!!! You owe me a new keyboard. Mine's full of 7Up Plus!

The thing is, the producers want the audience to yell and scream and boo. I was at a taping last season, and we were under specific instructions to really whoop it up for both good and bad. They even had a comic there to to keep the audience energy at near-frenzy level during the commercial breaks.

Too funny.

Or if Bai Ling was a contestant and she had to sing while dancing.

Come on ,fess up. Some of you wanted her on the show.

Well, let me ask you this... who exactly do you think is chomping at the bit to be on the show on a couple weeks of notice? Who is going to be available for the next 10-12 weeks and have an agent, manager, attorney and publicist on board in time to start rehearsal *and* who is male with an appeal to the hip hop/urban demographic?

I don't think that Master P is the second coming of Mother Theresa at all... my point is that it's extremely difficult to book someone on this kind of short notice, and the way the show is set up, they can't do it without a 10th "celebrity." Booking people six months ago was one thing. The show could probably pick and choose who they wanted and cast their "Aging Soap Opera Diva," "Superstar Athlete," "ADD Oscar-Winner," etc. Casting someone with a couple weeks notice is something else entirely, and beggers can't be choosers.

Goodness knows that I don't think that Master P is good (although he did at least mostly stay on time which is more than can be said for either Kenny Mayne or Giselle Fernandez) and frankly, I think it's just as likely that Romeo od'd on cocaine and is spending the next three months in rehab (please... I know nothing, and I'm not saying that that's true at all... just that I think that that is fully as possible as the reported basketball injury which could very well be true). BUT I don't think the show had a lot of choices when Romeo dropped out, so I don't think that Master P was exactly elbowing people out of the way, but was willing (for whatever reason). The show took what it could get.



I think Drew has probably pulled the best partner out of the men this time around. She seems tough as nails, but from the clips of their rehearsals she seems to actually *teach* which is not something that can be said of a lot of dance instructors, and I think it's an art in and of itself. Her choreography was also excellent for him, challenging and with lots of things to work on, but not impossible at his level. She's laid a great foundation for him.

Days later and I'm still pissed I don't get to hear Kenny's funny take on this show anymore. Dammit!! What idjits in America voted for P-itiful?? Geez!! Did they buy his "Doing this for victims of Katrina" spiel? I can't explain it any other way.

Does anyone have a handy-dandy list of the dance songs used in the show? I had no idea so many pop hits were 3/4 time and could be used for waltzing. My husband and I start a ballroom dancing beginners class next week, and I'd like to get some kind of CD of some of the more recognizable hits to dance to. I can't remember what the songs were, and can't find it on the official site.

Although I enjoyed "The Family" (I'm waiting for the 'Where are they now' update special), I've never enjoyed George Hamilton. Hasn't he learned that his schtick is old? And that DwtS fans HATE those O'Hurley facial expressions? If Master P isn't going to be in the bottom two, then George should have been there instead of Tia.

Stacy Keibler? You may actually get me to watch "professional wrestling". Yowza. This girl is beautiful. I think she'll be making the jump to movies soon after this.

I seem to recall Tia Carrere having her baby more than just six weeks ago. Maybe it was a couple of months. She really must have gained a lot of weight during her pregnancy. I know she said that this show was a good way to lose the baby weight, but I've seen women who have lost it all in just a matter of weeks.

Why couldn't the show have moved forward with only nine contestants instead of 10?



Those are better numbers than the premiere of "The Book of Daniel" on NBC. I am a bit worried the numbers may slip if only because this season requires much more of the viewer's time. The regular Thursday show will be 90 minutes compared to an hour last season and then there is the new Friday results show. If Master P continues to stick around at the expense of the other contestants, I can envision viewer dropoff.

They could have very well have gone with 9 celebrities instead of 10 by making the first night a non-elimination round and letting the viewers see two dances before voting someone off. They could have totalled the scores between the two weeks or something. American Idol has done it.

Here is a VERY ironic finding: Master P has a song that is called "Kenny's Dead". I found it while I was looking through the music list for a karaoke song. Also did anyone else notice during the first show George Hamilton in back of Jerry R and Master P(they were comparing muscles) and George H was making a kind of gangster yo yo yo hand gesture?? I noticed it and I laughed so hard. For that he has my attention and my admiration.

I truly believe there are more people than you think that would do it. Hollywood has more non-working actors than working actors. And they are not going after A list stars so, since the show was a hit last year, there were a lot of people that would consider being on this year. JMO

And about having to clear your schedule for 12 weeks, Kelly Monaco kept her job the whole time she was on DWTS.

Add to the all this the anecdote that on the last series, there was supposed to be another dancer too, and he dropped out just before the pre-show learning period because he wanted more money. So, if they could go ahead without a last-second replacement then, then why not now?

I, too, am wondering if there was some sort of contractual thing that compelled Master P to save Romeo's butt. See, I can't imagine that there was nothing in the contract about injury that was bad enough to prevent the Star from dancing. And then there's the whole thing about George Hamilton sticking with it even through several broken ribs. Anyway, the earliest news article I saw searching with Google News about Master P joining the cast was December 14th. That means he had a little over three weeks to train. Some of the Stars and Pros were dancing nearly every day to prepare, but Master P only came for one session (that's what I thought I heard Ashly say) in three weeks?

It's just a little flishy. I tried looking at Romeo's official web site, and it's gone. I dug around through a slew of Hip Hop news and gossip sites, and none of them had any specific information on the injury, and several of them of them used the word "alleged" when speaking of Romeo's "untimely basketball injury." I'm guessing the kid just decided he didn't want to do it, and Master P offered himself up so as to avoid a legal dispute over the contract.

Sorry to go off topic but does anybody know how well it did in the ratings? I know it was up against Will and Grace.

If he goes before my dear Lisa Rinna then I will definitely quit watching. I'm really pissed because I was seriously pulling for him! I thought, wow we have this great fish out of water senario and he's going to blow us away. I just knew they were going to get him into those dancing clothes somehow. Boy I can't express my disappointment.

They could've gotten ANYONE other than him. Movies have been cast in less than a week, that is no excuse. I think they should've gone with another soap star, but ABC probably doesn't want anyone from CBS or NBC. I'd much prefer seeing Kristoff St. John from The Young and the Restless or someone like that.

Okay now getting back to the point of my posting...Lisa! :D I thought she did good and she looked great. I was *so* pleased to see her make it through the next week. Something that surprised me is that the judges seemed a little hard on her. She did far better than George Hamilton and that horid Tia Carerra, but her reviews weren't as good as I expected.

What I like about her, beyond being a fan beforehand, is that she is trying unlike Master P. I've seen her dance on SoapTalk and she has ZERO rhythm. I had no idea she could pull it off, but she's doing a great job. BTW, I do wish she'd grow her hair out and dy it brown again. When she dressed up like Priscilla Presley and Kelly Monaco on SoapTalk, she looked MUCH MUCH Better with the longer, darker hair. It takes attention away from her lips and makes her look young.

Other celebs I enjoyed were Jerry Rice, Drew Lachey (though he was overrated), Stacy and the guy who went home.

I was getting the impression that judges Len & Bruno, were hinting to the audience to vote for the P word. They kept stressing his potential, if he tried. Seems both felt P possesses some natural dancing ability, whereas Kenny does not, so they don't want to be bothered w/him.

The dork that I am, re-played Drew's & Jerry's segments multiple times (most enjoyable to watch, to me). 1) Only to look at the men, ditto the women; 2) only watching the guys below the waist; 3) and then only above the waist; 4) repeat for their female partners.

I agreed with Drew on the top, from the get go. He had a crispness to his moves, a snap, that the others didn't have. His pro partner, incorporated upper body moves almost equal to his footwork. And, he did it with the appearance of enjoying himself, with relaxed expressions. Qualities that we begin to see in the dancers, as the season progresses. I see a lot of potential in Jerry. Right now, the focus was on learning the steps. Nothing was going on above the waist, really. Since last season, I'm always watching the men's shoulders & posture. Jerry's still concentrating so hard on doing the moves, his face is totally stoic. He's got to start straightening his shoulders.

It irked me at how Len glossed over Stacey's "elegance, grace and extension", and then trashed her program. Those qualities are what they strive for all season, no? And if american smooth has been deemed acceptable, the judges need to be on the same page about it, keeping their personal preferences separated.

Well, then, if it's that easy, why don't you think they did find someone else? It's not like the producers are looking for a lousy celebrity (well, not lousy in that way).



When a show is sold to network, the producers are guaranteeing X number of hours of programming to the network. This season (unlike last season), the way the show is structured there's an extra half hour a week with the "results" show. If there were no 10th celebrity to vote off, there's no results show, and they'd be short at least a half an hour of programming. ABC is way more likely to be picky this season now that DWTS has turned into a cash cow, and their beachhead on Thursday night programming.

It did great. It came in first, even I think for the second hour, and built on the already significant audience numbers it had in the summer.

But maybe, as some have suggested, this controversy with P will end up cutting into the ratings and alienating some of the audience.

I remember reading that, like Idol, for many people, DWtS had become one of their family-time shows. A show that the entire family, spanning small children to adults, could sit and enjoy together.

Well, ABC by providing P a platform for his thug self, kind of spits in the face of these people.

I'm sure they'll try to somehow sell the whole mess in the next episode as some kind of redemption arc. Please. Oh, the spectacle. P shufflin for ABC, The Man.

I think P should announce that some previous commitments or something prevent him from continuing. Much to his regret, of course. And they should bring back Kenny Mayne as a replacement. I'm sure he's already got some routine rehearsed and could get up to speed by Thursday.

Other than being a horrid dancer on the first ep., and poorly dressed (but sans the hat, he was dressed as "well" as Rice), how does P's inclusion on the show "spit in the face" of DWtS-watching families? He hasn't projected an iota of that "thug self" you mention. Is it the cornrows? The hat? And "shufflin' for the Man"? No less so than anyone else on that show, regardless of race. These attacks on P are getting a tad overblown and a mite personal, methinks.

On the subject of Tia's weight, if she is breastfeeding (which she might be since she brought the baby to the rehearsals with her), then she couldn't do the strict dieting that many celebs do to regain their pre-baby form quickly. She would have to rely more on exercise and even then couldn't get her weight too low.
Romeo could have done something like dislocate a knee playing basketball..that is fairly easy to do. A friend of mine at work just dislocated his knee while sitting crosslegged on his bed, reaching to get something and twisting and falling off the bed. And he is just 18. The doctors ordered him not to put any weight on it for a couple of weeks and then he still has to be careful and wear a brace a while longer. George Hamilton's broken ribs, while very painful, are not on a weight-bearing part of his body and would not keep him from dancing. A leg injury would keep Romeo from being able to put any kind of stress on that leg, and would certainly keep him from dancing. Still, wish they could have found Ashly a better replacement partner than P.
Of the men, I was wanting Kenny to go until I saw the non-spectacle that was Mess-ter P. But as other posters have said, at least Kenny tried...and at one point his shoes slipped on the dance surface and he had to play catch-up with his partner. I didn't like all of his joking around when he was supposed to be learning the routine...wonder how he would have done with the Russian Drill Sergeant as his partner?

I thought Tia did a lovely job and her facial expressions were what I want to see when someone is dancing...like they are enjoying what they are doing...not the grim expressions some dancers have, or the obvious "I am trying to remember the steps" that we have seen with some....or the crazy mugging for the cameras (that seriously bugs). I think Stacy also has a lot of potential. Her partner needs to remember that there is more to the dance than lines and extensions and posing, though. He seemed to want to showcase her legs and overchoreographed the leg extensions...Stacy could only do what she was instructed to do. She does have some "dance" background..prior to the WWE she was a Nitro girl in the old WCW. Totally different type of dance from ballroom, though.
As much as I like Ashly I want P gone next week. I fear we are going to see Lazy P and Crazy T-atum longer than we want to. At least Tatum did a decent job...if we could just mute her interviews and can her mugging. P's worthless gangsta ass needs to be booted. Of the men, I liked Drew the best, followed by Jerry and George.
I hope we see more of the pros demonstrating the next week's dances...that way we get our Ashly fix and don't have to suffer through P. She and Louis looked great together.
The show goes to 90 minutes next week, now that they have all the introducing of the celebs and pros to us.

No, it's the attitude. And nice way of stifling discussion and criticism, by the way, by not so subtly implying racism.

I was waiting for the P to start out his dance by casting off his hat and Goodwill coat, to reveal something more appropriate to the occasion underneath. I know nothing more about his athletic abilities (or him for that matter) than what's been stated here, but if he's anywhere near as good as you've said, dude just wasn't trying. One may hope for a disapprobation campaign, but a message channel has to have a receiver and the set doesn't seem to have even a spark in him. Couldn't they get George Forman to take P to the naughty room and teach him a little respect?

I suspect as the number of couples dwindles, ABC will go to an hour format on Thursday, with the half hour result/exhibition show on Friday.

What I've noticed as a non-expert is when the pro partner dances up a storm, it makes the amateur they're paired with look worse. Drew and his partner seemed more equal, which I think helped show off his abilities. Whereas the Russian girl with Jerri was flaunting her steps (and that ridiculous butt-widening outfit--why do these women favor an across-the-butt cut?!), and it was more obvoious they were on completely different levels. Choreography is the key, I think.


nkk, I had the exact same thought yesterday. How thrilled I would be if that were to happen!!

Because he came off like he didn't give a damn and was too good for it, and--contrary to common sense--even threatening. The threatening feeling I got was from the judges' reaction to him, not so much he himself. Geez, they were almost licking his feet all out of proportion to his craptastic performance. Carrie Anne's idiotic attempt to find something good to say, that he framed his partner--I'm no dancer, but that was really a stretch. And not one of them said anything truly negative, not like Kenny got when Bruno called his performance demented. It's like reverse discrimination, and it's annoying to see. Whereas Jerry was critiqued like any of the other competitors, despite being African-American, because he's not a threat and from the 'hood, I suppose. He could take it, apparently, but the judges seemed afraid P would throw down his hat, swear a blue streak, and walk out. The judges even made a point of talking to P like he was "from another world, the hip-hop world," like he was being a great ambassador coming to the ballroom, and he himself waxed on about the kids in the ghetto. It's like he gets more credit than any of them because he comes from hip-hop instead of, say, sports broadcasting. Why is that? Why does that give him bonus points? The man's filthy rich! All of them--P, the judges, the hosts--have made special accomodations just for him, and it's annoying for me as a viewer when we could have a different C-list celeb who would be enjoying themselves. I get he didn't have much time to practice, which would mean he should be cut a break, but he himself said he didn't care to do well, so my sympathy ends there. I have no interest in pissy ganstas if they won't even try by wearing the right clothes. That hat!! Geez, what a spit-in-yo-face statement that was.

No, CSI beat DWtS rather handily in the second hour in all categories...households, viewers, adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. That's why I'm surprised ABC went to a 90-minute Thursday night format this year. CSI crushes everything in the 9 EST time slot and will continue to do so.

In the first hour, DWtS beat a repeat episode of CSI, but not by much. The CSI rerun drew 4.5/12 (-0/1 behind ABC) among adults 18-49 and 5.7/14 (-0.3 behind ABC) among adults 25-54. In the first hour, DWtS did lead in total viewers and households.

And don'tcha think if he did have a "basketball injury" that he'd be sitting on the sidelines like Harry and Nick cheering his father on??

Oh, ABC is way happy about DwtS's ratings...nobody expects to beat CSI, just having a presence (and DwtS more than doubled ABC's Thursday ratings from before) on the night is great.

Timeandtide, I'm not viewing P through rose-colored glasses. He's a disgusting thug who has no business being on a family hour reality show, especially when he's completely blowing it off. In case you didn't take the time to peruse the list of articles about him from the link I previously posted, I'll list a few titles for you here:

Master P Says He's Innocent
Master P & Silkk Formally Charged
Master P on His Arrest
P Miller and Brother Arrested

Charges Refused In Soulja Slim's Murder
Guilty Plea Entered By Master P
No Limit Records Quietly Files Bankruptcy
Choppa Leaves Master P's No Limit

Master P Faces Hollow-tip Bullet Charges

Master P Ordered To Pay Up Money
Judge Considers Punitive Damages Against Master P

The majority of the positive articles I see on that list are P promoting himself. I see nothing postive about him period and think he only degrades a really fun show. ABC needs to just get rid of him.

P does degrade the show but his attitude adds to the drama, like how in Survivor I Richard being obnoxious spoiled things on the surface but made the season unique. P is going to be the thorn in people's sides.

I read an article that P missed most of his practices. He had much more than a week to practice. I don't know when Romeo dropped out, but in plenty of time. Ashley is quoted saying others were already on their second and third piece while she wasn't even halfway through the cha cha, and she couldn't chase P down to make him show up.

Cheryl and Louis have blogs on the ABC board. Louis sounds really sweet in his. Cherly's blog contrasts with the edited sequence on the live show. In her 12/30/05 blog she seems very no worries - confident Drew has what it takes and takes to choreography and timing well, good work ethic - they are doing 4 hours a day and he practices in his own time on top of that. They've started quickstep which she thinks will be easier on him since there's only one hold. She said they were ready and she couldn't wait for the competition.

I thought Anna's costume was very sexy. She's got an ass like an apple, and her costume showed it off to an almost distracting extent, but it wasn't unflattering. I want to see her give Jerry more to do - Drew did many more mirror moves, more real leading, Jerry did great with what he had but there were more obvious moments of stillness and just propping her. He should be great in quickstep though. Those two are my favorites.

An apple a day...

I got the exact same feeling in regards to the judges going easy on Master P/P Miller ( Is there a reason the show has to switch back and forth on his name? Can't they stick to one ridiculous nickname?). They sat there and criticized everybody else for little technical things that the average viewer would have never noticed and then give a pep talk to the one guy that stood like a bump on a log. I guess its easy not to make technical mistakes when you don't actually do anything.

It irked me a little that Kenny Mayne and partner were eliminated before the waste of space, but since Kenny was bound to go in either the first or second week its not that big a deal yet. I didn't mind his humor but it probably did alienate some people who thought he was flippant, which didn't help his survival chances. At least he tried, even if his reward was to be called a demented Pinocchio. I think it will be a bigger deal if Master P survives next week, because every other team remaining is clearly better.

I'm amazed at how people can watch the same show and come away with such different impressions. I guess that's why they make chocolate and vanilla!

I loved Lisa and Tatum. I thought they were both way better than anyone else. I am not a fan of Lisa's at all - and her unfortunate lips are a huge distraction. But she and her partner flowed as though they were one. My son (who was watching elsewhere) said exactly the same thing when we compared notes later. I wasn't prepared to like her, but I thought she was fantastic. With the help of her partner, of course.

I just finished reading Tatum's autobiography, and I guess that's why I was on her side before the show even started. I was pleasantly surprised at how well she did. It was beautiful. After reading her book, I have to say that she does not think of herself as an Academy Award winner - not by a long shot. I'm sure that was DWTS PR and nothing more. She absolutely doesn't define herself that way. Also, someone upthread said she appears needy. Yes, she does, and yes, she is. Reading her book didn't make me totally love her, but it did give me insight. She's come a long way. I think it's great she's doing this.

I thought Tia was awful. I'm shocked that so many people disagree. She was clunky and ungraceful, and it has nothing to do with the baby weight. I had expected her to do at least fairly well, and I thought she was awful - not at all pleasing to watch.

Everyone else pretty much blurs, except for poor Ashley, who did a beautiful job, throwing her heart totally into it, but was unfortunately partnered with someone who never should have been there. She was all about effort, and he was all about no effort at all. It was a travesty, and a shame. She definitely deserved better, and he's a poor sport. I liked Kenny a lot, and thought he'd last a big longer since he's so funny and self-deprecating in an amusing way. I guess others didn't like his dancing OR his personality, so that was the end of him.

I'm undecided about most of them, but would love to see Tia go, and Lisa and Tatum stay. Of course this could change over the course of the show. Which I love, by the way. Very addicting!

Just speaking for myself, I didn't think Master P was threatening towards the judges. I didn't think he was very good, but I think he did make somewhat of an effort, and he seems to be there for a good cause (Katrina). Kenny, he really seemed like he didn't care, IMHO, and he was more interested in baiting the judges or cracking jokes. He seemed wrapped up in some kind of sportscaster machismo that didn't mesh well with this show.

I hope Tia gets a few more weeks. I've always been bothered by Lisa Rinna and her shrieking and the desperate need for attention she always has on her talk show. She always has to be the biggest one in the room. Everything in her video with Louis seemed really fake to me. The other women have genuine personalities, I don't get that with her.

How thugish, he failed to file a corporate tax return.

I have to agree with you, TimeandTide. I didn't like P's lack of effort (and therein, lack of respect for the show and audience) but also I didn't see "his thug self" on display or "spitting in the face" of anyone--just a guy who didn't practice.

I didn't think the judges were easy on him, either (except for the scoring, and they may be constrained by DWTS from insulting the celebrities -too- much with the numbers. Giving P a third of the points possible is already pretty low).

I also felt that Len, in particular, took him to task. "Meet my eyes when I talk to you" wasn't exactly full of respect when you're talking to an adult (not that I disagree with his point). Also, Len telling him that "P is for Practice" and the repeating that same bit of scolding on the "results night" was just like he was talking to a child.

I'd rather have someone say my dancing was "demented" (especially if, like Kenny, I was already laughing at it myself) than to lecture me like I was a 5 year old.

Again, I don't blame Len. I agree with him. But I don't think he left any doubt that they thought P's dancing (and, more to the point, his effort) was very substandard.

In its first hour on Thursday, DWtS scored an 11.2, winning the hour. At 9pm, where it was facing competition from CSI, its household numbers actually increased to an 11.6. I gather ABC is thrilled with these numbers, since the show is pulling in a terrific score even when facing some tough competition. They've also seemed to retain most of their audience from the summer season.

As I noted before, the Friday results show scored an 8.6, which is terrific on a Friday night, as it's a major increase from the sitcoms that have been airing in primetime for the past few years.

I am truly hoping Master Pathetic will go this week. Even though I like Ashly he is bringing the show down. I want to watch people that actually WANT to dance and to be there and that are having fun. He is just annoying and a major drag. I think it's pretty poor of him not to show up with the proper shoes or outfit I find that disrespectful. Hopefully he will be out this week and we can see the REAL competiton and fun begin! I have to say this whole Master pathetic thing reminds me of the Scott Savol problem on AI. Scott had a bad attitude and got to stick around over a LOT of other good singers. I don't want Master Pathetic to stick around over good dancers!

What really bugged me about P was his complete disregard for Ashly. Here she is practically breaking down and crying because of his lack of effort and he didn't look like he cared one whit, in fact he continued on his "too cool for school" line. That is what really bugs. He would be pissed if he was putting on a rap show and the replacement for one of the artists that had to pull out didn't show up for sound check, and half-assed his performance.

Compare that to Lisa, who in her video said several times that she would give it her all for Louis, because she didn't want to let him down. That's a winning attitude all the way in my eyes.

Because they had no clue that Master Pathetic would act like a total asswipe.

On this site we don't have to be nice to anyone, except each other.

I have to say even if Master Pathetic was nice it would still be hard for me to watch her without Joey. Those two were spunky and adorable together on the dancefloor. I am not a Lisa Rinna fan but I have to say I am really liking her on this show becuase she is funny and looks to be trying her hardest.

We're also supposed to let the mods moderate.

Anyway, I don't think I'm going to miss Kenny Mayne, but I never liked his ESPN bits much, either. He may have been trying a little harder than Master P, but neither of them seemed to be able to tone the machismo down enough to spend enough time working on the dancing. Maybe Master P will turn it around, but I think it's more likely it's going to be only fun once -- I think he'll be gone next week.

It probably didn't help that she went second in the lineup. They left a little leeway for higher scores and it caused them to over-compensate when it came to the others scores. I would've place them much higher than the judges did, but I'd still put Drew on top.

You ARE supposed to let the mods moderate, and that includes not making cracks like "we're supposed to let the mods moderate."

If you have a problem, please get in touch with the staff. Don't snot back and forth about the purpose of the site or the rules, because it's as off-topic if you're right as it is if you're wrong.

Me, either. What I meant is that they seemed threatened by him. Not the same thing. P didn't do anything overtly threatening, but I think they could all tell by his lack of proper dress and his disinterest that he wasn't into doing this at all, and that caused them to feel disturbed, thus the nicey-nice talk and higher scores than he should have received.

And yeah, I thought Ashley looked like she wanted to cry. P is a real gent, that one.

I think the judges were trying to be extra nice to P because he had come in at the last minute. They might not have known about him only coming to 1 practice and how frustrated Ashly was. I think they were giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Len in particular was awesome in his defense of Ashly. I think P was taking advantage of her youth and I loved how Len gave Ashly all that praise.

I really loved that about her, and how excited she was at making it to the next level. Hell, she gets a pass for getting Louis to get his hair cut alone! I thought she moved beautifully, and did a much better job than the judges gave her credit for.

I don't think Master P did come in at the last minute. If it were that last minute Ashley's segment would have been dropped as Anna's was last year. In one of the Season II DWTs articles I googled Ashley was off balance because Master P was not showing up and everybody else was way ahead. She didn't say she was under the gun because they had less time to practice - simply that he was missing the practices scheduled. I think he had at least weeks, not "a" week. That said, Len's attitude was patronizing - he should just say what he has to say and not speak to him like he's five, I agree.

A friend of mine says the press release that announced Romeo's departure and Master P's replacing him was dated December 8th. The earliest I could find via Google News was a UPI article dated December 14th.

Master P is messing with our sweet Ashly!! Supposedly there is a "Save Ashly" campaign going on somewhere. I heard about it, but haven't found the web site for it yet. I love that the Pro dancer is bigger than the Star now. :-)

Regarding his outfit...if he had lost the cap, I think the pinstripe suit would have worked fine. He was wearing a red shirt, which went with Ashly's red dress. I know people were criticising his shoes, but if he's pro-basketball-tall then he's probably got big feet too, and it's quite possible that the dance shoe manufacturers simply don't make big enough shoes. Wearing black dance sneakers was possibly his only option.

But that doesn't excuse him not showing up for practice! Where is the P-Meister's work ethic?? (He obviously has one or else he wouldn't be a Hip Hop mogul.)

Whoever said they didn't see an injured Romeo in the audience is on to something...really, if he wanted to do the show and just got hurt, wouldn't he show up supporting dear old dad and sporting a crutch or a cast or something?

Someone on another board suggested that Romeo didn't want to do the show becuase he found out that he was dancing with Ashly. His problem with her... she wasn't pretty. People make up some really stupid rumors.

My problem with his attire was, while it went with Ashly's dress, his red dress shirt wasn't tucked in. C'mon. You're in a dancing competition with professionals that are dressed to the hilt, and you can't even tuck your damn shirt in?

And that friggin' hat with the Bling! P on it made him look even more ridiculous.

I just watched the videos (I don't have a TV) and I'm confused by the one judge's comment to Stacy Kiebler. What is the difference between American Smooth and International Smooth (Standard?) that meant the choreography for Stacy's waltz should have been okay?

I thought Drew was definitely the best male dancer and that's why Cheryl choreographed a more balanced piece. Anna did carry a lot of the dancing with Jerry, but I think that's because she felt she had to. There were a number of side-by-side moments or separations and he was noticeably stiffer. Drew, otoh, looked great all the time. I think Jerry has a lot of potential, though, and I liked his attitude in the interview when he talked about his teammates expecting him to represent. It was great to see him take the dancing seriously.

It's hard to compare the men and the women, though, because the styles are so different. I was very surprised that Tatum placed the highest of the women as I thought both Giselle and Stacy danced better. Stacy seemed close to a pro, to me. She has wonderful grace to match her flexibility.

So if the press release was at the beginning of December and the show was last week, he had about a month. Assuming the press release went out when Master P was signed, sealed and scheduled. It's not great but it's do-able, and it's certainly more than a week.

When it comes to Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz, the difference between American Smooth and International Standard is very marked. In International Standard, the couples stay in "closed dance hold" the entire time. That's when the lady has her left hand resting on the man's right shoulder, and her right hand is in the air, holding the man's left hand. Their fronts are lightly touching each other. There are no instances in Standard when the dancers break apart for anything. This position is also referred to as "closed hold" or "closed work." Len likes to see a lot of closed work in the ballroom (meaning, not Latin) style dances. I would have thought he would have gotten over than since last series, but I guess not. It's kind of annoying of him to go on about this -- American Smooth style is very TV friendly because of the underarm turns, the opening out, the side by side moves, and all of that. It's also a little easier on new students, as dancing continuously in closed hold requires a lot of organization, coordination, balance, perfect timing, and that sort of thing.

All of the women were dancing American Smooth style, which encompasses both closed and open hold steps. Some teams incorporated more moves that used the "closed hold" than others, but personally I didn't see a big discrepancy between the teams in terms of open versus closed content. It seemed to me that sometimes Len would complain about someone not doing enough closed work, and other times he wouldn't even mention it, even though another couple seemed to be doing about the same amount as someone he had previously complained about.

We already know the guys are doing Quickstep next week...but what are the ladies doing? Or is everyone doing Quickstep?

(Edited to remove redundancies.)