I am giving up "Prison Break" and half of "Heroes" to watch this live. And I will be for the next 10 weeks. Yay! Hell, I got giddy when I noticed the new backstage area. But Drew, stop saying to get on the "horn." I do own a horn except on my car.

Jennie: She looked relieved when it was over. She did a pretty solid job, was clearly having fun and unlike Ian, didn't overthink it. The problem is, she may have...underthunk it. (Is that a word? No? Well it is now.) Meanwhile, Derek...dammit it is in the genes. He's smokin.

Josie aka the "Deceptively Unfit" one (ha!....oh wait, it's true): Alec, you have your work cut out for you. And I hope you have insurance.

Sabrina and the Dancing Ninja that looks like Shia LeBeouf: Yipes. High energy and the cha cha parts were outstanding. However I also know this show well enough to know that Len won't be digging the hip hop. That all being said, I think Mark is adorkable and I hope he's here for the paso doble...methinks he will kill it.

Marie: She's gonna bring the snark. It was slow, but it was worked...and wasn't Josie dancing.

Mel and (squee!) Maks: If anything, I'm here for the "fights" and "tantrums" and general hilarity that these two will deliver. And her awesome leg warmers. And his supertight pants.

Jane: As expected, she got the job done (that posture!), though her shoulders seemed a bit high up near the end. I really wonder how she's going to do in the Latin dances. Above all, Tony is geeking out! Hee!


So far...unless one of the men crash and burn huge and the call to all SI readers is made, Josie is in trouble. Or more accurately, we're spared of more Josie, but we lose Alec early again.

Drew! WOOOOOOOOO!

Ok...now that that's out of my system-

I am SO optimistic for the women this year. I loved them all based on their dancing, personality, or both. Based on tonight's performances my pick to go home the first week is Mark Cuban. I'm off to vote for Josie to try to make that happen. Seriously, though, I can't pick one favorite. They were great.

Also loved the pro intro demo. I think we're in for a fun season.

My first lol of the series--thanks Alec! Might throw a couple of votes their way just because of that, and because, well, I feel bad for the guy. He deserves to at least not go out first...

Rats, I wish they were repeating what they did last season with voting, I liked seeing everyone dance a Latin and smooth/standard with the combined voting.

My votes went for Jane tonight, I'm not really *feeling* any of the other women yet, I hope that changes.

Woo hoo............Drew did a great job.

* Derek & Jenny (Cha Cha): Beautiful ensemble on Jenny. I thought she was a bit stiff in the legs and looked too…deliberate? at times. She was really performing it though and didn’t look very nervous or anxious.

* Alec & Josie (Foxtrot): Squeeee, Alec! Damn, they’re both so gorgeous! She seems to be really charming, judging by their practice footage. Josie was pretty stiff in places (in her arms mostly, they didn’t flow), and she looked to be stumbling a lot of the time, but I think she did decently. It wasn’t a trainwreck. I can see the potential elegance in her.

* Mark & Sabrina (Cha Cha): Mark is a cutie. Awwww, they’re so cute together. Could’ve done without the hip-hop stylings, but they were definitely great. Not enough Cha Cha is the only real problem they had. I though she was fantastic.

* Jonathan & Marie (Foxtrot): Jonathan gets cuter every year. Mmmm, his voice. Man, she could get really irritating really fast. Marie surprised me with her dancing. I thought she’d be much stiffer, but she was pretty okay. I think that’s a testament to Jonathan as well. He’s proved season after season that he’s an amazing teacher and knows how to choreograph for his partners.

* Maks & Mel B (Cha Cha): He continues to irritate the living hell out of me. I like her. Didn’t Laila wear that outfit last year? lol She clearly has a lot of potential. That was okay, a little meh imo, but it did look like a proper Cha Cha. Maks’ choreo just continues to suck. Maks choreographs great pro dances, but his stuff for his celeb partners always blow. Why is that?

* Tony & Jane (Foxtrot): I lurve Jane and she’s gorgeous, but that hot pink isn’t a great color on her. The dress would be lovely in another color. Beautiful Foxtrot from them, but I expected as much. She was elegant and moved beautifully. Easily my faves of the night. The dance just flowed so gorgeously.


Scoring was decent for the first night, maybe a little high. I wish the judges would start lower, like with 5s maybe and move up through the season unless a couple is really great (or bad).

Music was once again horrible and the singers have gotten even worse, which I didn’t think was possible.

Gods, I can’t stand Carrie Anne. Can we keep Drew?! Pretty please!

I found myself really rooting for Jennie. I hope she sticks around. I was predisposed to hate Sabrina because of the 'cheetah girl' thing, but she was spunky :) I liked Mel B too. The girls are good this year. Bye, Josie!

Man, it's gonna be hard for me this season. I am an unabashed die-hard Maks fan, so going in I am rooting for Mel and Maks for sure. But gosh, with the exception of that Josie girl who I have no idea who she is, I loved all of them. Jenni is so freaking sweet, and I really find myself wanting her to do well. Sabrina is so cute and while I have never seen the Cheetah Girls (my kids are fans) and I did not like the hip hoppiness (?) of it, she was unbelievably good. Jane and Marie were also really likeable and pretty darn good, Jane more than Marie, but still. It's gonna be a good, but hard, season!

I have to say I surprised myself by how freaking happy I was to hear that stupid DWtS music. I missed it!

Interesting night.

I like Drew as Tom's sidekick, just wish he'd quit saying "get on the horn"..lol.

Jennie did better than I expected and I am a huge 90210 fan so I've seen her *ahem*dancing before...;o)

Josie needs to go-pronto. Sorry, Alex.

The cheetah girl(Sabrina?) was good, but there was something off-putting about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Marie Osmond is all teeth and always has been, but she did alright I guess.

Mel B cracked me up and thank GOD I get to stare at Maks' ass another season...*drools*

Jane Seymour was elegant and graceful and I hope to look like that when I'm 56!

As a sidenote: Just how much botox has Wayne Newton had? Geez!

Stop reminding us that Samantha is on leave. Keep Drew!!!
Good start. The women seem to be a pretty good group. Jennie may get by on Derek votes. I can see Mark Cuban leaving first. I don't know anything about Albert, but he's paired with Anna so he must stay. I voted for Josie. Yes, she wasn't the best. But I want more of those entertaining rehearsal footage. Alec provides great lol moments w/models. Look forward to seeing the men.

Man, is this show back already? It seems like it just ended.... Oh well, I'm not complaining.

Jennie: All things considered, I thought she did very well. Had to be nerve wracking, but she handled it well. Derek freaks me out. I think it's his face.

Mel: I love Maks, so I will give them some votes, but they weren't my favorites.

Marie: Her (and the rest of her family's) big honking teeth scare me to death, but she did pretty well for herself.

Jane: She did very well. That woman is gorgeous. Forget when I'm her age, I wish I looked that good now.

Josie: Yikes. Beautiful girl. But let the record show - Skinny ≠ Fit. If you didn't know that by now, now you do.

Sabrina: Loved it. All of it. Even the hip hop, which I knew she could do very well. I bought her B-You dance workout video, and I am not ashamed! But I also knew the judges (especially Len) wouldn't like so much hip hop. Doesn't matter. I also really liked her partner. Those two can definitely bring it. They get the majority of my votes.

All in all, a good first night. Let's see if the men can keep up.

Personally, I'm amused that the 56-year old Brit has better core strength than the model.

I am disappointed with only one woman, the one that got the highest score. I don't know or care who the Cheetah Girls were, but I thought Sabrina and Mark's Cha cha looked like it was on some serious speed.

I found myself really wanting to split votes between all of the ladies except for Sabrina, but I limited them to Jennie and one for Marie for her '22 million of them...Osmonds' joke. The only thing keeping me from voting for Mel is Maks. I am so OVER his 'bad boy' crap. I'm sick of him period.

Uptown Girl, by the way? NOT a cha cha. That was on serious crack.

So totally predictable that Drew was going to replace whatshername. I've never been a Drew fan, but for some reason the show really seems to love him. I thought he was awkward, and I think it looks kind of stupid to have two men hosting the show. The last reality show I remember that had two male co-hosts was season 1 of American Idol. He also looks incredibly short next to Tom.

For me, this show tonight was all about Dr Quinn Medicine Woman and Scary Spice. Love Jane Seymour in just about anything and everything, and Mel B was pretty good as well.

I have never even heard of this Josie or this Sabrina before. I must be old.

Did anyone notice Alec and Josie on the couch? Alec looked pissed, and there was a pillow between them. While Drew interviewed the couples, Josie kept stealing glances at Alec. There's usually so little room back there that everyone's crowded together - this is the first time I saw such a space.

Agreed, I couldn't figure out if it was her insistence about adding the hip-hop or just her personality. Blech. They did do a good job though, just not enough to overcome my initial reaction to her and vote.

The music on this show is so horrific, there are no words.

Drew scared me the first couple of backstage interviews by just running off at the mouth--but he seemed to calm down and remember it's about the dancers, not him.

And speaking of the dancers, can I just say I am LOVING the equal time/billing given to the professionals..especially in the intros.

-Jennie Garth...ok, I have a little girl crush on her. So sweet. And Derek? Seriously hot.

-Josie- the 'deceptively unfit' line was the best. Alec, I love you. Don't go. Her, on the other hand..

-I want Cheetah Girl/the Disney pimpage gone. Don't like her, don't like the prints on her ass, don't like her partner. Did he miss the "Beauty and the Geek" audition? Yeah, yeah...she can dance, but just don't like her.

-I'm older than Marie Osmond, but it still seemed like my mom had somehow gotten on DWTS. Still, I like her and want her to stay long enough to see Donny in the audience. Is that so wrong?

-I like Mel B and I think she and Maks go together well. Although the little verbal sparring/sexual tension thing Maks and his partners get into is a little old.

-I hate, hate, HATE Jane Seymour. Always have, always will..and I can't really put my finger on why. She's like a low rent, non-singing Julie Andrews wanna be. She barely qualifies as a Bond girl in my book and I'd prefer not to hear her fakey upper class trilling on my teevee every week.

So, in short.. a coupla votes for Jennie and Mel. But, bring on Wayne!!

Wow, I've really missed this show! I was excited thinking about it all day, but nothing prepared me for that opening pro number. It was fantastic. Later I'll have to slow mo through it, so I can tell who is who, and who was doing what. It was so fast, I had a hard time keeping up.

Favorite, lines of the night:
Bruno describing Jennie Garth: "Yummy Mommy"
Alec describing his partner Josie "She's deceptively unfit."
Marie Osmond on how she'll win this competition: "25 million voters and 22 million of them are Osmonds."
Mel B on meeting Max: "You're in love with yourself and you're cocky!"

I threw votes to four of the six women, so I pretty much canceled out my own voting, but its too early to pick a favorite, so I'm not worried about it.

Can't wait for the men tomorrow!

DWtS is back!!!!!

And Drew is co-host! Even better! I say ABC should dump Samantha and hire Drew permanently. He's coherent and doesn't ask dumb questions.

Jenni & Derek: She's adorable and did a pretty good job in the cha-cha. And Derek, he's smokin' hot!
Josie & Alec: She's cute and dorky but was very awkward on the dancefloor.
Sabrina & Mark: She's cute and spunky. Their cha-cha was fast, fun, and energetic. Her footwork seemed to be pretty good. And Mark is adorable. I think I will crush on him this season.
Marie & Jonathan: She was okay and acquitted herself admirably. And I love Jonathan. He's so lovely, gracious, charming, and gorgeous. Plus, he's a great teacher and choreographer.
Mel B. & Maks: I thought she did good. I can't say that I care either way what happens with her.
Jane & Tony: I love her! I have had a girl-crush on her for sometime now. She was so elegant and the dance just flowed so gracefully. If she can do the latin dances, she will be a major contender.

My thoughs exactly. I thought she was dressed a little matronly, maybe it's the Morman thing, Hopefully we won't have to wait to long to see Donny.

Jersette - that's it!! I couldn't figure out what was bugging me about her, but that's it! I used to want to BE Marie Osmond, she's younger than I am, and she turned into my mother.

I hope I look that good when I'm 36!

Oh, Jane and Tony. I love you so. They are my it couple (for now).

I was trying very hard to be fair and not pre-judge any of the men this season, but Mark Cuban acted just as asshole-y as I thought he would in that tiny interview. Whatta asshat!

Anyway, loved 5 outta 6 ladies! It's hard to believe someone as tiny as Josie was that...unfit! Damn! The other ladies were enjoyable to watch! Such a strong overall group of women! Kudos to all of them!

The male pros...HOT DAMN! Maks' still got it! The new one, Marky Ballas, must be the tallest short dude ever! He still towered over Sabrina and he's 'bout 5'6.

me too! and I'm 57.

I think Derek is a great dancer, but I swear he has permanent surprised face. It's in the eyebrows. I don't find him particularly attractive, but he seems like a nice guy.

Jennie did a bit better than I expected, but it's so hard not to like her. She just seems so gosh darn sweet.

Drew did well enough. Can't say I was at all surprised to see him considering he's tapped to be the host of that new Bruno/Carrie Ann show. I do think it's a bit weird to see two guys hosting together, but I'll take Drew where I can get him.

Most of the women seem so likable and show a lot of promise so far. Hopefully they won't all get picked off one by one.

She has no neck. She looks really stumpy. Maybe a couple weeks of training will thin her out. She's obviously in good shape -- just needs to shed some baby fat.

I was surprised by how little Mel and Maks seemed to work as a couple. I find him really annoying, but I like her. I was surprised by Jennie Garth -- I didn't expect her to be so good and relaxed!

I can't believe Josie and Alec are in the bottom. That is ridiculous. Marie barely moved!

Surprisingly well done by all, with a notable exception or two. I think the men were a little stunned at what the women did tonight. I didn't think the female pros looked too happy in the background a few times when they showed the men near the end (or were they just bored?)

I thought Jennie looked nervous at the very beginning of their dance. Then Derek(?) came up to her, wiggled his hips a little, and she got this big smile on her face (I thought she was actually laughing a little) and relaxed.

I did not like Sabrina(? The Cheetah Girl) and her attitude - did I really hear her say that she didn't care what the judges thought, she was going to hip hop her way through the competition?

Marie surprised me with how much she played with the audience and the judges. I don't know why I was surprised, though - she's been entertaining longer than everyone else on the show except Wayne.

Jane was as wonderful as I hoped she would be, but I wonder how she'll do on the faster/latin dances.

Sorry Josie, I agree that unless one of the men really crash and burn (or there's a big sympathy vote), you're gone.


One question - when they were interviewing Wayne at the end, was that blonde woman sitting behind Cheryl someone famous? I thought she looked a little bit like one of the Desperate Housewives (Nicolette?)

I don't know who Sabrina is at all. She seems like a ringer, but I don't mind seeing someone who can dance, even if she's annoying in rehearsal clips.

Josie. Oh, Josie, you're terrible. Even I'm a better ballroom dancer than that, and I suck at it. I can, however, keep myself upright without being held up by my partner.

Derek seemed to be dancing around Jenni Garth, ala many of the women pros with their male partners over the years. I think she'll improve if she gets less nervous.

The opening number was terrific. Fast, fun and popping with energy.

It's probably going to be a long season when the gal most likely to win - Sabrina - is annoying. She was just a little too "in your face" about how she was going to take all the Disney votes and run away with this. Does the show need a female winner? Yes. But, while I enjoyed the energy of their dance, it wasn't my favorite at all.

I thought Jennie Garth was sweet, Marie was funny and Jane was as elegant as I expected her to be. Mel B. was actually kind of fun and I always enjoy watching Maks. (though he really doesn't know how to choreograph a sparkling number does he?) I liked their dance but it was a little "boring". But all the women - except Josie - seemed to be in the game so yea for a good start.

Off to watch Mother and Heroes.

Better to not move much while avoiding screwups than moving more and having your center turn completely into jello.

I agree she comes off as having no neck, but I don't think baby fat is the problem. It's just her body type. I get the impression she dances pretty much all the time. So she's certainly not out of shape. I'm sure she'll lose a little as they all do, but just some people have a more squat body type.

I don't think fat is the problem, either. And frankly, a woman with some junk in the trunk isn't a bad thing. It'll make for a harder time creating lines in standard, but I think she's in no worse shape than any other woman on the show.

Cheetah Girl: For me, it was that she reminded me of Mariah Carey, who bugs the snot outta me. Also her big butt, her hip-hop, her compulsive grinning, her general babbling, her partner, and her Disney status. Otherwise she was fine. ;)

I liked Jennie, and thought she did fine. And I LOVE Derek, even if he and his sister are a little VC Andrews-ish.

Marie Osmond bugs me, but I thought she did okay for an older out-of-shape woman. Shades of Leeza tho, I hope she goes soon.

Mel B was fun, and I love her hair. I think she'll be good, and I hope she sticks around for a while.

Jane was awesome, so light and floaty! I would love to look like her, too.

Josie... well, not so great, BUT! Kelly Monaco started out rough and Alec worked wonders with her. I doubt poor Josie will hang around long enough for that to happen, tho.

I was shocked that Sabrina actually said she was happy to ignore the judges to make her Cheetah Girls happy. I guess she doesn't know that is going to majorly antagonize everyone else in the audience. That said, she was excellent for her first time out. I was particularly impressed with the speed of the footwork. Fast. Very fast. Mel B was very very good as well although you could see the missteps a bit more. She seems very focused and serious about the competition. Between this, the Eddie baby tabloid stuff, and the coming tour, it's a full on perfectly scripted mega-comeback.

I think Josie got shafted tonight. Except for Jennie, all the other women have performed to some extent on the stage. I liked her spunk and she'll get my votes to keep her around. But I have a feeling that being a swimsuit model is the kiss of death like being a Miss America.

I'll cut all the ladies some slack since they were first out! And I'm sure that brought alotta nerves for them! The band was OK but the "vocal stylists" are still sucktastic!

But is it? I always wonder how it should come out -- older star with lower expectations who sits/rests/stands for a few bars to take a break and otherwise moseys around at a slower pace versus a younger star who is held to a higher standard and has to get more in that may be sloppier. It's hard to have one yardstick for each competitor, I know, but it does get a bit annoying, to see the older competitors get inflated scores because they are so "cute" or "charming."


Hee! (and so right!) about the Mariah Carey and VC Andrews references! Derek really doesn't do all that much for me. He's just sort of blah.

Anyone else think that Marie's partner Jonathan looks like he could be an Osmond himself? Just needs a little bit more "teeth"...

Gut feeling reactions for:

Best of the night -- Sabrina (Cheetah Girl) and Mark Ballas. They were energetic and exciting. Mark is a superb dancer, I couldn't take my eyes off him. He already is my crush of the season.
The one who will win -- Jane Seymour -- most likeable personality, best coming off the interviews and decent dancing. Yeah, she's the oldest, but hell she was danced with the Kirov!
Sabrina will not win over the long haul because she doesn't have that likeablility. She came off aggressive and too competitive in her interviews which will work against her considering she's the youngest and is already dancing for a living. This show is about the underdog -- so go 56 year-old mom!!!

There should be a phone number to call and vote for him to stay. The interviews were quite pleasing.

If Wayne doesn't completely bomb tomorrow, I'm saying Josie's the first to go. I was surprised at Jennie and Marie's dancing - they did a pretty good job. And Sabarina needs to listen to Len - they'll let the hip hop cha-cha-cha go this time. The next time, they may just drop you.

Drew seemed awkward and nervous and meh - oh my! (And we GET it, dude: you got a 24 on your opening number yay many years ago. Now let's move on...)

And am I misrembering, or did Laila Ali do the exact same "I'm fanning my skirt 'cause I'm on FIYA" maneuver last season that Mel B. did tonight?

I'm glad to be old enough to have no idea what a Cheetoh Girl is, and that hip-hop hellion Sabrina really bugged me. She was like Charo's illegitimate grandchild. Only not in a good way.

The music was STANKY! White dude singer sounded like he done got goosed on some of those "UP-town Girl" notes. And...even lazy jellyfish fall in love? Really? I'd never heard that song before, and the absurd anthropomorphization-of-spineless-sea-creature lyrics really took me out of the dance. Not good!

Love ya, Jane! Love ya, Jennie! And go away, Josie!

So they toss in a couple ringers among the women but not amongst the men ( I don't consider Wayne to be a dancing threat).

"Birds Do It" is a really old song.

Voted for Marie and Jane, and also for Sabrina, just because I think that women who are not stereotypically statuesque should show up there more often.

Wayne could fall on his face and still not go home first. There is no way. Not saying he'll win, but I think it will be a toss up between Josie, Albert and Marc for first to go. Albert could be the best dancer in the world, but nobody knows who he is. Wayne is Mr. Las Vegas--bad plastic surgery and all.

Blame Alec's choreo, then. But when I said Jane had better core strength or that Marie danced better, I wasn't grading on a curve. Josie wasn't good. At all. Doesn't mean she won't get it eventually. But she's got no sense of center, from what I saw, and she was being dragged all over the place by Alec as a result. There's a reason they stayed in closed-hold so much.

That would be Wayne's wife. Seriously.

I agree it just seemed fairer that way.

Sabrina and Mark are both new to DWTS so maybe they didn’t really know how much the judges (Len) dislike changing dances - hip-hopping the Cha Cha was a no-no - but I loved it! However, I don’t think they needed to do it; they were doing great without it. Hopefully, for future dances they’ll stick to the rules. I knew next to nothing about Sabrina and even less about Mark, but I had them as my pick for the ladies. So far, I’m not disappointed. The Cha Cha is a fast, energetic dance, (just watch when the pros dance it together), and that’s exactly what they delivered.

Second would have to be Mel and Maks, although I’m not a fan.

Marie did not disappoint. She didn’t do great, but she knows how to sell it. Could anyone make out what she was saying to the judges?

I liked Jennie, but she just reminds me of Trista from season one.

I've not noticed this mentioned here, but I thought that Mel B's hands were absolutely atrocious tonight. Stiff, stiff, stiff fingers spread out like jazz hands, but flat like pancakes. Her dance was okay, but I wasn't that impressed. Have to say, loved her calling Maks on his arrogance. Hee.

Sabrina underestimated her dance training. She understands a bit about ballroom because she did get a bit of traning in one of the Cheetah Girls movies. Tango, I believe. Not a lot, but enough to understand the precision and carriage to a certain degree. Mark seems to have one hell of a hard-on for her. It's rather irritating.

Jennie did very well for the first dancer out, and I thought she deserved a bit better scores than she got, compared with others. Derek's being "starstruck" by her was just too damn cute.

Marie was slow, but did okay. I found her rehearsal footage to be annoying as hell. She acted like a teenager, all giggly and spastic. I found that quite off-putting.

Josie was, well, a whiner. It's too haaard. I'm too tiiiiired. Waaah. Don't care for the deceptively unfit and clutzy drama queen. I('m thinking that if they make it to next week, Alec may want to have a medic on hand. Poor boy's gonna need it.

I thought that Jane was elegant and poised. The only thing was she came across a bit cold to me. I did get a huge kick out of her squeal when she met her partner. I also found it charming that he's always wanted to dance with her.

I'm Wrong wrote:

That was "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love". It was written in 1928, and was one of Cole Porter's first hits.

The thing about that particular song is that just about every time someone covers it (and everyone from Noel Coward to Ella Fitzgerald to Joan Jett to Alanis Morrissette has), some of the lyrics get changed to either fit the situation or contemporary feelings. Wikipedia has an example of some original lyrics that would likely be offensive today.

According to ST Lyrics.com, the lyrics to the version Ella Fitzgerald covered include lots of references to sea creatures, spongy and spiney, clammy and scaley, and electric too. It sounded as if this was the version used tonight (complete with "lazy jellyfish" and "Goldfish in the privacy of bowls").