Dancing with the Stars - Buzz's ouster

In this ABC photo, Evan and Anna show how it's done.

No one can be shocked, and most must be a little relieved, that poor Buzz Aldrin's dancing was put out of its misery this week on "Dancing with the Stars."

His reasons for doing the show kind of said it all - he was doing it for fighter pilots, veterans, the space program, old people - but was any of that about dancing?
The 80-year-old was a charmer, no doubt - although his early constant flirting with dance partner Ashly kind of came off as "creepy old man" more than "grandfatherly."
This week, the rehearsal footage revealed a lot of drama in the couples, but not for Evan and Anna, who soared to the top of the leader board, and dazzled with their quickstep. Evan's broken toes did not affect his performance in the slightest.
Several of the other dancers pouted and bickered - some broke the rules, like Nicole and Derek, who may have given a show-stopping performance, but there is a week devoted to freestyle and this was not it. Some gave performances that were best described by the judges themselves, as "odd" and "hard to watch" - looking at you, Kate Gosselin.
Early concerns were Evan may just come off as too "boring" and "normal" for this glittery program. But this week certainly showed that being good at what you are supposed to do and following the rules holds its own benefits - a chance to move on to the next week.
So there are benefits to being the nice, good, hard-working guy after all. I for one hope it continues to work for Evan.
 

Dancing - Shannen's ouster

Shannen Doherty and partner Mark Ballas on Monday on "Dancing with the Stars." / AP photo

The internet is abuzz with speculation since Shannen Doherty's unexpected elimination last night on "Dancing with the Stars."
What it came down during the broadcast to was three surprises, two within the first minute of the show:

1) Buzz Aldrin was safe

2) Pam Anderson was in the bottom two

3) Kate Gosselin survived, and was not in the bottom two

I would not call Shannen's elimination that much of a surprise and will explain why here. Let's go point by point.

1) Buzz got sympathy votes. He clearly cannot dance, but he's a sweet old guy and people felt sorry for him. I would contend a better way to show him support would be to let him off the show - he does not know what he is doing - but he wants to be there, so I don't think I am right about that.

2) Think about this. Do we really think "Dancing with the Stars" demographic and Pam Anderson's fanbase are the same? Maybe we did before last night, but they are obviously not. I thought Pammie laid it on a little thick for both dances - but showed more talent in her foxtrot. The judges loved her both times. America's housewives didn't want to watch her exude her Pam Anderson-ness any more. If she's going to survive, she's going to need some Maxim readers, stat.

3) In this contest, we vote FOR someone, not against him or her. If the voting was against, I still think Kate and her tantrums and hair extensions would be out for sure, but there are some people out there who look at Jon with his Ed Hardy shirts and skanky girlfriends and think it's a wash, they're both awful - so it looks like she squeaked by for now. Plus, we love the drama. The tabloids wouldn't keep putting her on the cover if we weren't buying. Remember, "Jon and Kate" only became a real hit after their marriage hit the skids.

And that's what did Shannen in, too - drama, or more precisely, a lack of it. She and her partner were all smiles, she was doing it for her dad, she was crying and grateful - she was the anti-Kate. People made their choice. They voted off the woman who talked about her dad and got along with her partner, and kept the one who treated her partner like one of her kids and caused him to walk off at one point during the second episode (a first, host Tom Bergeron chirpily said).

If it's something different than that, prove me wrong.

Anybody else worried about Evan Lysacek about now?

Dancing with the Stars

My latest project is I have been following Olympic Gold medalist Evan Lysacek in his quest for the mirrorball on "Dancing with the Stars."

I have been Live Tweeting the episodes and they show up on this page on Monday and Tuesday nights. Also, I do a recap that runs in the Naperville Sun.

Here are the first two stories.

http://bit.ly/bz1AAJ http://bit.ly/9pc6e4

http://bit.ly/bz1AAJ