The Australian version has ten celebrities, so your version might be similar to ours. It could be a bit different, though, in that we don't lose a celebrity after the first episode, only after the second. Also, the men don't all start with Cha Cha and the women with Waltz, it's divided between them.
Week 1: Cha Cha or Waltz
Week 2: Quickstep or Rumba
Week 3: Jive or Tango
Week 4: Foxtrot or Paso Doble
Week 5: Samba
From week 6 until week 9, the couples do the four dances they haven't already done. The Viennese waltz is done by the remaining couples in week 8. In week 9, the couples do the last dance they haven't done, and then another routine of a style they've already done. The final is between two couples.

I get this, but personally I love the music - it always surprises me (usually with its cringe-worthiness, but still). I especially enjoyed this week's quickstep to "The Neutron Dance". I rolled me eyes, yeah, but I was also kinda happily nostaglic. I haven't thought of that song in 10 years.

Thanks for the link, Andreanne! LOL on the P in Master P. I'm thinking Pitiful is more like it.

MichaelaRae total WORD to everything you put in your post!

Tatum was on ET tonight. She is one crazy, bitter woman. She was complaining about the judges and how unfair they were to her. According to her they were too uptight. She said they will never get A level actors if they don't loosen up. She then said she would do it again if asked.

I'm having a hard time viewing the clips,,, am I doing something wrong? Help me.



She is on something, really.

Sure, but JUST posing (and I really saw very few legitimate dance steps in between the posing's) to me isn't dancing. And shouldn't be compared equally to people who ARE learning how to do actual dance steps, particularly really complicated ones like the quickstep.

I doubt it. Seems like either people love her, or aren't all that impressed by her....at least not as compared to other dancers there.


Of course it's part of dancing, I don't disagree with that. But there should be pose, step, step, pose, step, step, pose...shimmy, shimmy, pose, step, step, pose. That sort of thing going on! And I can honestly say that as much as I lurve the idea of SurvivorColby or DavidAngelBoreanaz participating next DWtS, I'd be just as critical of them if they stood around showing off their attributes ;)

You know how these things go, though. People are in the smitten stage right now. If all we continue to get are poses, then she'll be out of there soon. I was shocked that they rated her so high compared to Giselle, who did the damn dance!

I agree. Watching Tatum on ET was painful. Rambling on about the A-list and the possibility of the producers inviting her back showed such poor judgment on her part. She did appear to be hovering dangerously close to spinning out of orbit.

I'm thinking back to some interviews she did to promote her book. Perhaps I was misinterpreting her words, but it did seem to me as if she attempted to sidestep any questions about whether or not drugs were no longer part of her life. I think she was trying to imply that she was drug free but never really would definitively state it.

I admire Nick for being chivalrous and caring with her. I just hope she reciprocates his caring with some of her own and doesn't pull him into any of her PR mishaps.

I just checked the CBS website and Tatum is still scheduled to be a guest tonight. Wasn't it on Letterman that Tatum's sort-of step-mom, Farrah Fawcett, had her meltdown a few years ago? I shudder to think what's going to happen with Dave and Tatum.

After seeing Tatum's appearance on ET, perhaps her "people" have rallied around to help. Prepping her and getting her Letterman-ready. It would seem that making her view a video of that Farrah Fawcett meltdown, could serve very effectively as a scared-straight technique.

Svenska Flicka you are not alone in thinking that Stacey poses too much. She is pretty, but I was not impressed with her dancing. Nor am I impressed with Giselle. I thought she was very stiff. Probably nervous and all, and her 'inner Lahtina' bugged me. Hey, be Latina or not....not just only when you need to show some passion. Annoying.

Free Ashley!

So can we open a betting pool that next year they quickstep to Hey Yah by Outkast? The sad thing is I'd watch.

And they rhumba or tango to "Don' Cha" by PussyCat Dolls. At least there's no Britney music. But if they Jive to "Oops, I've Done it Again" I will climb through the TV to personally kill the music director. My husband is betting on anything by the Gorillaz. He just knows Duran Duran will show up next week, or "Hey Mickey". The trainwreck he wants to see is Master P dancing anything to Wipeout (Fat Boys/Beach Boys). He think's P will hurt himself. Or we will hurt ourselves laughing at him.

I think Giselle may have greatly increased her voter base when she broke into speaking Spanish. But it did not appear to be a calculated move on her part so that is to her credit. It was only when they persisted in continuing to question her about her inner Rosarita that she seemed to spontaneously bubble over into Spanish.

I must say that although I was unfamiliar with her before this show, I am liking her. She comes off as very disciplined. And having a flamenco dancer for a father. How cool is that?

Plus her partner, Jonathan, seems to love to dance so much that the joy of it just exudes from him making me in turn love to watch him dance. Not to mention that he's funny, too. "Cigarette?" Good one, Jonathan.

There was last season. I think they did the Samba to 'Toxic.'

Yoinks.

Now I would love to see something to Hey Ya or to Groove Armada's "I see you baby...

I thought it was the Tango. ('Cause that makes so much more sense.)

I'd love to see an all-80's music episode. They could waltz to "Tarzan Boy" or tango to "Pac-Man Fever."

An all 80's episode would rock! As long as they put the correct songs with the correct dances. I like Stacy's personality a lot she seems to be having fun and I like that she is taking it seriously but I still am not crazy for her dancing style. I am curious to see how and what she will do this week. Giselle I like a lot becuase she does great dancing and doesn't do too much of the touching herself thing. I personally like everyone(have my favorites) besides Master P. They all are trying hard and having fun and that's cool to see.

Don't read this week's TV Guide ( dated Jan 23-29). They spoiler the next vote (can you say rigged?) on page 77.

The dance floor is looking more spacious now that we've lost three aspiring movers and shakers. But if all goes well tonight, the one that needs to go will mambo right out of the running.

No shit it's rigged! I mean come on Master Pathetic staying in there as long as he has just proves that!! It sucks that this show has to stoop down to this level. But I have to say I don't understand the spoilers. Maybe I am just DUH right now.

If this season follows the pattern of other versions, then the two stars who end up in the finale will have to dance all the possible dances eventually. So the finale two will really have to prove their stuff in a variety of dancing styles, Stacy. I think she is a good dancer, but I would like to see her have to tackle something more challenging with a lot more movement, like the quickstep and the jive.

You mean in TV Guide. They screwed two different shows in one week! That's just crazy. Unless they planted it to misdirect gamblers...

Me neither. I thought the show was live, so can TV Guide be looking into the future? All I can think of is that they meant to say two celebrities have been ousted, instead of three.

That TV Guide blurb doesn't look like a spoiler for me, more hopeful thinking, IMO.



I'm not sure that it's rigged, his fans are probably voting for him. I really wouldn't be surprised.

That's my guess, too. I think votes from a pre-existing fanbase are what kept Kelly Monaco in the first few weeks of season one (y'know, when she was really crappy).

I think Kelly's fanbase was wildly over-rated. GH isn't that popular and Kelly's character at the time didn't get that much airplay.

First week was pity votes. People felt that she was better than Evander and that he should go first rather than her. I think it was a huge surprise to people that Trista went first rather than Evander.

When Kelly did the Rumba it intrigued people because she was the opposite of wooden and while the dance didn't have much technical difficulty the floor was smokin. The backstory of Alec being all work and serious and intimidating the first week was a major contrast to the second week's performance in which she appeared to have melted him. She really hooked people that second week, and she again got low scores though not lower than Evander in the second week.

By week three, the jive, she had won the hearts of viewers with her spunky attitude and the romance people were imagining with Alec. By then people were also hooked on Alec's hotness (is that a word?) and the rest is history.

I know numerous people besides myself that became a Kelly fan due to DWTS.

This year the only people I had heard of were Tatum and George. I nobody's fan yet, but I could become a fan of Tia, or Giselle, or Drew, or Stacy.

I find myself thinking along the same lines, being worried for people who don't deserve to get kicked off before Master P. People who deserve to get the chance to improve. Tia and Jerry are in that category for me. Best dancers so far are Drew and Stacy IMO.

That's not a spoiler. It says "if all goes well," there will be a certain result in the voting. Meaning, if the audience does what TV Guide thinks they ought to do.

Didn't Kelly also benefit from her 'wardrobe malfunction'?

infosaturated, what I'm saying is that I thought Kelly was far and away the absolute worst that first week -- yes, I thought she was noticably worse than Evander. And my only problem with Trista's dancing (in relation to the other contestants, natch) was her frozen beauty pageant smile. I hadn't even considered the possibility of pity votes. Hell, the whole concept of pity votes is kind of weird and creepy and sad to me. So my theory about Trista going and Kelly staying with the first vote is that people hated Trista as a celebrity and were fans of Kelly for her work on the soap opera. I personally don't love or hate either one of them but I figured the voting might have shown a bias.

The reason why I think it's a spoiler is

it says that three have been eliminated and if all goes well, the one who needs to go get done in by the mambo. "Needs" seems to be Master P. Given the P hatred of the person who wrote it, it looks like they know something. Since they totally spoiled the Skating thing, I put it in spoilers because it seems to be insider knowledge.

Do they mean two instead of three have been eliminated?? Also: If they do mean 3 have been eliminated then that means that someone else besides P will go this week and then hopefully finally P will be gone next week?

All I can say is that I can't wait for tomorrow! I normally don't get this excited(I used to for AI) but I am excited for tomorrow night. Also does anyone know who the special music guest will be this week or are they not having one? Thanks!

Black Catholic, try this: If all goes well Bush will be impeached in 2006.

This is just my wishful thinking. It doesn't mean that I've rigged Congress, or have insider information as to what the year will bring. It's just what I think should happen.

I can't see the TV Guide quote as a spoiler, or evidence of anything beyond the fact that the writer noticed that Master P doesn't dance & thinks he should go.

From TV Guide Online's entertainment news:



Edited because strikethrough script doesn't copy well here.

That would be true, Black Catholic, if Mambo were one of the dances being done on the show, but it isn't. Tomorrow night's dances are the Tango and the Jive. Mambo is a separate Latin dance that is never done in the International-style competition which forms the basis of the competition seen here and in all other versions of DWTS. The dances featured on DWTS are limited to Foxtrot, Waltz, Quickstep, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Samba, Cha-Cha, Rumba, Jive, and Paso Doble.

In other words, the article was speaking figuratively, not literally, regarding the possibility of a couple "mamboing" off on Friday's result show.

I just like DwtS for its cheesy music, costumes, music and Tom's jokes! I long ago gave up on expecting fairness in any of these reality shows where audiences get to vote.

Watched Tatum O'Neal on Letterman last night. All pre-jitters about her appearance proved unwarranted because she was terrific. Not just good. Terrific!

Maybe it was the competitive nature of DWtS that had brought out all her nerves. I'm guessing if she had lasted longer there, she would have come to have more confidence in her dancing abilities because she seemed quite comfortable with Dave on his show. Of course, he was very gracious and hospitable to her so that may have had a lot to do with it.

The Letterman show probably booked her hoping that she would have a monumental Farrah-flipout but you could tell that Dave's inner decent guy was on her side. There seemed to develop a nice rapport and chemistry between them. It was apparent that Tatum liked him and found him attractive and Dave seemed to like her, too. He kissed her hand twice. I'm always a sucker for watching that gesture of his -- never get tired of him doing that.

Tatum looked really nice, too. She had on this black dress. It wasn't a flashy kind of thing. But sometimes tailored and subtle can be even more provocative. And Dave certainly did not seem oblivious to her female presence. Her hair looked good, too. She had a lot of restless energy which she channeled into running her hands through her hair. Well, ok. That shows that she's not the kind of person who insists on every strand being in its designated and sprayed-on spot.

One of the things Tatum and Dave talked about was how her children had reacted to her being on DWtS. She said that her son who is in college had been cringing with embarrassment until he and his friends actually watched the show. Then, to her surprise, their response had been positive. I'm guessing some of her son's friends may even be crushing a little bit and may soon be trying to finangle invitations to try and get to meet her.

She went on to say that she had spoken by phone to John McEnroe and he had been very supportive and said nice things about the dancing.

Tatum also spoke very highly of Nick Kosovich. She could not have been more complimentary. And you could tell that she meant it, too, and was not just paying lip service. I think she's had some time to get some perspective and get over her disappointment about leaving the show. The impression she gave was that she was sincerely glad to have been on the show and glad for the experience.

After reading her book, I felt compassion for her. But I didn't really expect to like her. And yet after seeing her on DWtS and then on Letterman, I found that I did. I hope DWtS ends up being good for her career. And she gets offered some excellent acting roles.

Oh yeah, she also mentioned that she and Nick had worked up this really cool tango that she had been looking forward to dancing with him on the show.

Thanks for the Letterman recap, claire22. I totally spaced and forgot to tape it.

Bruno and Cheryl have new blog entries up at the ABC site. Blogs

I was glad to read Bruno's nice comments about Tatum and even happier that he said Master P is the worst dancer and should have gone before her. Bruno said that he doesn't know which couple will be dancing which dance this week, but Cheryl revealed that she and Drew are doing the Jive. That should be fun!

BlackCatholic, I think the thing in that TV Guide blurb that you think is a spoiler is really a typo or an error that got by the fact checker (assuming that TV Guide even has a fact-checker).

But I guess we'll see for sure very soon now!

I was impressed with Tatum on Letterman. After hearing the other reports about how bitchy she was, I was almost afraid to watch. But she came across very nicely, and not even as crazy as she seemed on DwtS2. Who knows, maybe we'll get to see her Tango with Nick if they bring everyone back for the grand finale episode like they did last time.

ETA: I just realized that two weeks have gone on, and I don't actually hate any of the Stars yet. Well, except for P, but he's so out of his league in so many ways on this show that I don't even consider him to count on the hate list.

I'm curious then. They've done the Waltz, Quickstep, Cha-Cha and Rumba. Tomorrow they're doing the Jive and the Tango. So that leaves 4 dances and there are more than 4 weeks left, right? Because they added more couples this time around.

I remember when someone would give us the scoop on what song the contestants were singing on AI that night. I wish we could find out what everyone was dancing before the show tomorrow night! I guess that's fun for me!

After all the dances have been run through once, the remaining couples will be required to do whatever dances they didn't do the first time around. That will be more than enough to fill out the remaining weeks, up to the finale, where the final two couples will either do a dance that they either did previously or a dance that they have never done, and a freestyle dance. This is what happened during the first season, and it is what also happens in all the other versions of DWTS.

I don't think that TV Guide blurb counts as a spoiler, either. And there's no error, either. On the date in question, three couples will have been eliminated. The "needs to go" sounds like sour grapes to me. It sounds like whoever wrote the blurb is still irked over Kenny and Tatum's elimination, and is saying that they hope that the person who gets voted off is the worst dancer, instead of the least popular.

I'm not saying the voting is 100% above board, but it would be odd that they'd blatantly spoil this week's vote when the dances haven't even happened yet. It's my understanding that the skating show is pre-taped and the audience doesn't have any input. It would be a lot easier to spoil than a live show like DWTS.

A bit O/T but yes, Skating with Celebrities is pre-taped and there's no audience voting. Pre-taped makes sense to me because skating on ice is so dangerous that a live accident might be too much to witness...although some might enjoy it.

From Buno's blog

Hee I like how he flat out said MP was the worst and then made the above comment because it is so obvious he just doesn't think of P as even being IN this contest. It's like how many people here say they love all the celebs with the understanding that P is off in some other part of the universe. If only they could just ignore this dufus completely and refuse to put him on. I suppose the suits are happy for the attention but if I were one of the judges I'd be upset my opinion means so little.

Master P is there purely for the ratings and so that it stirs up controversy. This show has turned into AI and it's sad. Also I have to say that I have decided to change who goes this week. I think Giselle will go this week and then Tia. I don't hear anyone talk or post about Giselle and Johnathan and becuase everyone feels bad for Tia they are going to be giving her pity votes.

And ad for tonight's "Entertainment Tonight" billboards a piece on Tatum and if there's anyone out there who loves Nick as much as I do, the clip showed him with her, so I'm definitely tuning in!

Yes, but I'm worried that it's part of the same footage they got of Tatum and Nick directly following Tatum being eliminated. That's where she was going on and on about how unfair everything was and not really thinking through how she was coming across.

I think ET may be doling out that same clip package and milking it for as long as possible. Making Tatum look wacky.

Maybe not, though. Maybe they're doing some follow-up. Hope so.

Thanks for the reminder about his blog. After going over and reading it, one of the impressions I was left with was that Bruno was trying to be very careful to point out that P was still there because of the audience vote. Because the judges had voted him the lowest.

Yes, that's technically accurate concerning P, but it doesn't really present the whole picture, I don't think. Because Judge Carrie Ann gave Tatum a score of 5 and gave P the higher score of 6. Additionally, she had nothing but negative comments for Tatum's rhumba but overall was quite effusive in her praise to P (perhaps lathering him up for a nice juicy choreography contract for herself in the future). Carrie told him that he had hit all (note she didn't say some or even most, but all) of his steps (huh? was she looking at the same dance that the audience saw) and all of his choreography.

Then, although Len and Bruno did give Tatum a higher score than P, they described her dance in completely negative terms leaving a harsh impression. Len did begin his first sentence positively but then ended it with a big slam. And kept slamming.

In contrast, many of their comments to P were very encouraging. They kept reiterating how much he had improved leaving the audience with that positive impression of him.

And in case we weren't getting the message that Tatum was the worst of the worst who had ever worsted, Tom Bergeron then used the occasion immediately following the judges negative comments to her to tell the audience that remember, someone will be eliminated tomorrow night. Gee, I wonder who they wanted that "someone" to be.

So Tom chose to make that point (well actually was directed to do so by the producers) in direct proximity to Tatum's dance. Could be wrong, but I don't remember him saying that after anyone else's dance.

If I had confidence that P were really there because of the audience vote, then I would accept it. But I don't. I think that the producers have dipped into whatever loopholes the fine print of the legalese allows them, and that they, not the audience, have kept P around because they like the controversy he generated.

At any rate, I think it will soon be a moot point. I'm expecting this may well be his last week because I think he has outlived his usefulness to the producers. And maybe they are realizing that he's jerked them and the show around for a lot of free publicity -- for his son, his clothing, his shoes and his company. When he does finally leave, he will have gotten a lot more out of ABC then they ever got out of him.

Those are really good points, mmnl, and imo -do- make the judges share co-responsibility for P still being around. Also, I was thinking that the judges are mentally relatively ranking the dancers (lst, 2nd, etc) when they give the 6s, 9s, etc. rather than having an objective criteria for "a 5, a 6, etc."

But Carrie Ann rated P as being, in her opinion, the better dancer for the quickstep than Tatum was for the rumba. How can she justify that? I wish she'd do an interview where someone could ask her about it. Even if she wasn't ranking and just was using objective "5, 6, ..." scoring criteria, it is very puzzling. (except for supporting "TPTB want him to stay"). I'd love to hear the judges' explain it.