Use this thread to talk about changing rules, new judges, new dances, and new contestants. Post links to rumors, reports, articles, or whatever and discuss.

Wasn't really sure where to put this, because I don't think it's a legit rumor, just a one-off sentence. But Danny Gokey sure as hell isn't on my wish list, so I'm opting for here.

Just say no to Gokey!

The only relevant sentence in case you don't want to click:

Nooooooooo!

Please, dear DWTS gods, no!

I was so glad to get his obnoxious personality off my TV when he finally got voted off Idol and I don't need or want to ever see Gokey again.

Ugh no...I am guessing he was joking though. I can see the 'no fair' comments flailing now because of his fan base.

I kind of like the new rule that limits the hours per day that the stars can work. I think it may lead to less impressive dancing for a longer period of time, but the show isn't really about that IMO. I think that its good for the pros too, they must get run down even though they are in shape, they are facing long days continually for months that are emotionally and physically demanding. I think the professionals will rise to the challenge and that it will open up more possibilities in picking stars for next season.

I remember seeing a piece on whatever show Nancy O'Dell is on, it was referring to the number of injuries on the show. It was early in the season. Maybe week 2 or 3. Anyway, they interviewed Cheryl and Gilles. Cheryl said that she and her partner were only doing 4 hours a day- at that time. She said that she felt that more hours could lead to injury. I also remember around that time, Gilles in the interview's during the show or somewhere else said that Cheryl would have to send him home because he wanted to keep going. He also admitted that in hindsight, he was glad that she did.

Nancy O'Dell admitted that her and Tony were doing 5 hours a day.

My point being, they may follow Cheryl's example and increase the time incrementally- or maybe not.

I also think this is typical of DwtS. They always put teaser's out and then Tom B. explains it more in depth on the show. Sometimes the teaser's are worth it and sometimes not.

No!! I do not want any former AI people!! Especially one who is dating a current pro!! Its just not a good idea.

As for the new rules, seems good to limit the hours. We shall see how it all works out.

The only thing I hope for in season 9 is that we see the return of the "3 injured". I really think it'll work great and be a greats story as well. All 3 have different partners. Misty had potential and Nancy was looked at as a frontrunner because she was given the pimp spot in the first show and Conrad stated she was very good.

If they bring the 3 injured ladies back, they need to make this the season for 7 female celebs and 6 male celebs. Anna is essentially replacing Julianne so keep the other 5 ladies. Cause I think with the 3 injured ladies, they need to insert 4 new female stars instead of 3 new ones and 3 returning.

I would like to see that as well. I am not sure though if Jewel would come back as I read somewhere she saw how tough it was on Ty but who knows. Misty had stated she wants to continue and she has been seen in LA lately so maybe!

I wonder if TPTB are going to do another real-life couple again.

Re: the new rule limiting rehearsal hours -- it sounds fine/doable during the 1-dance-a-week stage, but once the show goes into two dances per week mode, I think it's gonna be suicide in terms of dance quality. I like seeing incredible dances on the show, one of the reasons why I never objected to 'ringers' because they were often the ones I counted on to consistently deliver a good dance when others would flop. Similarly, I think the dance quality will suffer with 2 dances per week, which I'm not happy about.

I do hope that TPTB are planning on increasing the rehearsal limit as the show goes on; that would make the most sense. Only having 10 - 15 hours to learn each dance seems unreasonable.

I think the dance quality always suffers once it gets to two dances a week, so I'm skeptical that it will suffer more from limiting time. I'm not a big believer that the extra time actually produces results.

I do wish the show would stop doing dances the pros don't know how to do. The only one I think has worked consistently is Argentine Tango (even though a number of the ATs were really more of a hybrid ballroom tango/AT). I also really like lifts being saved until the freestyle. It made the freestyle more exciting to have that be the moment when lifts finally got busted out. Now it's much more anti-climactic. Sadly, I've heard no signs that the show agrees with me.

YMMV, I always saw the no lift rule as a way to keep the playing field level with older celebs. George Hamilton comes to mind, Jerry Springer and a few others. I always felt it was a behind the scenes contract thing w/ certain celebs to protect them from injury. The exception would be the season w/ Cloris Leachman but she knew her limitation's( mostly).

All of the sudden, 2-3 season's ago, they lifted the lift ban on some of the dances. I think the pro's were kind of pushing for it, because they knew they had to jazz up some of the routines/ choreography in order to help their celeb stay in the game longer.

I was always puzzled when they started introducing dances that the pro's weren't familiar with as well.

I guess it's an attempt to change things up a bit. Initially, the group dances were ballroom, Latin dances- the viennese waltz and others. Then they started w/ disco, then the 60's this year. I'm talking the entire group- not when they split up into teams. It confuses me at times.

Well I do think there is such a thing as overrehearsing, but there are different extremes. For celebs who may not be used to learning choreography IMO it is unreasonable to expect them to pick up a dance and learn how to perform it in 10 - 15 hours. Of course the dance quality typically suffers by the time we get to two dances a week, but I think it will suffer even more. I mean, jeez, picture poor Ty trying to learn a dance in 10 hours.

So, who's in the running so far for Season 9? I realize it's early but...

I've heard several mentions of Omarosa, Bethenney Frankel, Roselyn Sanchez, Kurt Angle, Aubrey O'Day, Deborah Gibson, and Suge Knight.

There's also speculation about the return of Nancy O'Dell, Jewel, and Misty May.

I'm not excited about any of these possibilites at the moment, though.

ESPN's sideline reporter Erin Andrews says that she wants to be on DWTS. She says that she would do a better job than Kenny Mayne did of representing ESPN.

So over on Lacey's thread, there is post about a tweet she sent. It referred to rumor's of her being paired with Donny Osmond. So I don't if he is going to be on next season, but if he is. Who would they pair him with. I am not sure how tall he is. But I'm thinking he is on the tall side.

Kurt Angle, former Olympic gold medalist and current professional wrestler, contacted about appearing on DWTS.


ETA:

From Kathy Sledge’s daughter twitter:



I have no idea who she is.

Depends on what you define as "tall". If Donny is 5'11", I'd say that's the max. I believe Alan is the tallest of the brothers at 6'1" and Donny is shorter than him.

God, I hope Donny Osmond isn't on. I'm hoping this is just another unfounded rumor started by Donny himself to generate press about him. He will be worst than Marie when it comes to being annoying/irritating.

Donny Osmond- hmm please no. He will be worse then Marie.
Kurt Angle- haha that would be cool.
Never heard of the other person.

Here's some information on Kathy Sledge.

Suge Knight, mentioned upthread, is 6'4" so maybe he's for Anna Demidova (or whatever her last name is.) And I was hoping for Michael Jordan!

It couldn't be Osmond or Angle because they're both under 6'

Who is dating a current pro?

I'm pretty sure that was in reference to Joanna Pacitti--former American Idol contestant and current girlfriend of Mark Ballas.

I have resigned myself to the belief that Donny Osmond will be cast at some point. If not the upcoming season, then maybe the next.

Rita Wilson was recently asked if she would ever do DWTS and she said she loves the show and would love to do it, but is not sure if her schedule would allow it at this time.

Hi~ where did we hear of this "new rule" limiting rehearsal time? I know that Shawn Johnson had limited amount of time to rehearse because of her age and school... Curious, thanks!

Maybe he will get Anna D?

I've heard a rumor that Manny Pacquiao is asked to be on DWTS. I wonder if he'll get Cheryl.

According to this site, he's 5'8" and a half. He could maybe reach 5'10" with some really tall hair and some shoes with a heal, but he's not tall enough for Anna D. He'd be a good height match for Lacey or Cheryl.

Kelly Ripa to Mark: Just Say No to Dancing



Do you think that's a definitive "no" on his part?!?! Ha!

It's funny that this comes up now. I was just thinking about him doing the show today while watching "Hope & Faith". It's too bad he won't do it. I actually think Kelly should do it.

I would also love to see them both on the show.

Isn't Suge Knight a bad guy, like a serious bad guy? I know that TPTB were hoping to expand their audience with Little Kim, but I think he's in a whole different category. Yikes.

Donny Osmond wants to do the show. He’s requested Lacey Schwimmer as his partner. - according to Lacey.

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if they turned Donny down for this year and told him to comeback next year when Julianne returns. I heard that they were supposed to be partnered together or that one of them wanted to work with the other. I could see the show putting them together becuase they would probably make an unstoppable duo.

I could see them putting Donny with Lacey too, and fanbase wise I have a feeling they would be just as unstoppable. Lacey's picking up popularity while more people are tiring of Julianne. That and I think you could pair anyone with an Osmond and they wil wind up in the finals.

Also beyond that as much as the show loves them some Wonder Triplets, they have the last five trophies. I actually think the show would prefer a different pro win this time around and I'm guessing they would prefer Lacey or Chelsie.

That kinda assumes that the show can direct who gets to the finals in advance, which I don't find credible. I mean, Brooke Burke? Helio Castroneves? Sure, the three Olympians are obvious wins (just like an Osmond would definitely go far), but the other two were far from it, IMO. As soon as you try to make it so someone else wins, another Brooke or Helio pops up. I just don't think it can be done, realistically. If they were worried about Mark, Derek or Cheryl winning again, they wouldn't ask them back for a season. Sure, give Derek another 30's married mom predicted to leave early - how do you know if she'll be a Brooke Burke or a Denise Richards? I don't think the show thinks about pairings based on likelihood of a win - can you give a Shawn to someone other than Mark (or Derek). Ick, no. Can you give an Apollo to anyone other than Julianne (isn't he rather short?)? What if you give Lacey someone hugely popular, thinking that person wins and he turns out to be a male Kim Kardasian?? For that matter, they've never given Derek an obvious winner, yet they've given two to Mark. I just don't think they care who wins as long as the fan favorite pros last long enough for the audience to develop a bond with one or two of the celebs.

Then again - if Mark, Derek and Julianne (and, IMO, Cheryl) really are the "favorites" they are likely the favorites for a reason. The producers see fan mail, they see Design a Dance numbers....probably all kinds of data that tell them who the popular pros are. So...do you really care if those three or four pros win numerous times in a row if they are very popular? Or, better still, do you advertise the season as "Can any of THESE professional dancers break the Ballas/Hough streak??!?" then show the pictures of the other pros. Wait for it. ;-)

Donnie in general? Please. No.

I didn't mean that the judges are rigging it, nor that they care that much which pro wins. Who could have predicted that unknown Gilles Marini would be a crowd favorite (the producers nary gave him a mention pre-season) or that Ty would make such a great run. Or Helio or heck, even Cristian making the finals. I don't think the show is going to go to any great lengths to stop any certain pro from winning.

But there are certain stars that you know will have the fanbase to go far from day one. See Kristi or Shawn. Was there ever a question that either of Mark's wins were finale bound from the moment their names were introduced? And unfortunately, I think Donny and Marie qualify in this group as well. The Osmonds have a fanbase and if Marie had enough of one to reach the finals and knock out plenty of better dancers along the way, than it's pretty much a given Donny will too. So in a sense with someone like Donny, they are essentially guaranteeing the pro paired with him a long run on the show and yes, a shot at the trophy. That is why I could see the show pairing him with someone like Lacey or Chelsie. I don't think it's so much a matter of wanting Julianne or Cheryl to lose (though Julianne should be gone next season) so much as the show wants a new hot young golden girl to reign supreme and Lacey and/or Chelsie are the obvious choices.

I also do think Cheryl will get the dud this next season, just because the show will deem it her turn again.

Topic, please. The topic is speculation about season nine (which you are partly discussing) but if you want to talk about which dancers the producers favor in your opinion, take it to the grassy knoll thread. Thanks.

From the Media thread, it says Season 9 begins on Monday 9/21 with a 2 hour premiere and then again Tuesday 9/22 with another 2 hours and a results show the next day, Wednesday.

Meaning they are following season 7's schedule of 13 stars and 2 go home first week or that one night is guys then next is girls and then one/two go home Wednesday.

They won't do the 2 dances then we vote thing? I liked that method.

Edited for capitalization...

They maybe go the Season 7 way. I didn't like that.

It's 2 hours on Mon. and 2 hours on Tues. It makes sense.

Maybe they'll do both a ballroom and latin routine, and then the results on Wednesday? That would be kind of awesome.

Vera Wang on DWTS? I hope so.

Can you imagine Vera's costumes? Randall will be in heaven designing with her. He's probably giddy over the prospect!!

Vera looks small...does anyone know how tall she is? It looks like she'd be a candidate for Mark, Derek or Alec.



I didn't like it either. I think of all the formats, I like having two dances before the first elimination (Ty from this season shows, in part, why). I really liked Season 6's format (and maybe Season 5 as well, I didn't watch as closely) where they had men perform one night, women the next and then the next week, they all performed and then they had the first elimination (though I would have prefered a single elimination).

But yes, I think they're going Season 7 route. I'm not sure why, because they leave people with around 4 days to prep for Week 2. Hopefully they won't give difficult dances like the rumba in Week 2 again if that's the case.

Rumba was a Week 2 dance for the first three or four seasons of DWTS, at least, along with the Quickstep. Returning it to that week would simply be restoring the original dance schedule.

What the couples don't need is Samba in Week 3 (which is what happened this past season, IIRC.) But even that would be better than doing what the Dutch version did this year-- how would you like to have to do the Samba in the FIRST week of the competition?

What about this scenario:

One set of celebrities (men) dance on Monday 21.9 and the other set (women) dance a day later on Tuesday 22.9 like they had on season 4,5 and 6.

Then they have a special on 23.9 where they show rehersals, how pros and celebrity meet and the pros dance.

And then they have a result show on 29.9 where 2 celebrities (worst men and woman) get voted off.

I would love this.

Vera Wang would be . . . surreal. DWTS is not ready for this. I hope this is not a publicity stunt.

Vera could be interesting. Would she have final say on her costumes or Randall?

More speculation for Season 9--former pro gymnast Dominique Moceanu, paired with Tony Dovolani.

I follow DWTSblogger on twitter http://twitter.com/DWTSBlogger and just saw an exchange between DWTSblogger and http://twitter.com/Dmoceanu about Tony.

When I first heard the Vera rumor my first thought was petite 60 year old? That has Tony written all over it!

Here's the pic she promised:

"Family + Tony"
http://twitpic.com/72wot

Looks like that may have been taken at some event featuring Tony (?) I'm looking at the poster that's on the window in the background.