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And We're Off: Dancing with the Stars premiere (Day 1)

Yippee! My favorite show is back. Every season, just as the first music is about to begin I get so giddy and excited. This show is about pure joy and fun to me. I have an inner dancer living deep within me and watching this show makes me so darn happy!! Yay!

Now to the serious discussion. I took notes last night and had planned to go one by one through each of them but I think I'd rather group these folks into 3 categories -- 1) those who did about what I expected (good and bad), 2) those who were disappointing and 3) the surprises (good and bad).

Let me start with a few general comments. First, I loved Samantha's dress and after watching the Emmy's I can see that there is a trend toward dresses with prints. It was lovely. Secondly, this night confirmed why I thought Tom Bergeron should have won the Emmy -- that is one funny man -- quick on his feet. At one point he alluded to the censors taking shots in the control room preparing for Cloris Leachman. I didn't know what he meant until after Cloris danced, but in retrospect it was a funny, funny reflection. So, my heart still belongs to Tom!!

Those Who Danced as I Had Expected
Now to dancing and we'll start with the dancers who gave me just about what I expected. I think is this category would fall Rocco DeSpirito, Cody Linley, Brooke Burke, Jeff Ross, and Kim Kardashian. I think Rocco was charming and held his own but didn't do anything that wowed me. He's got potential and I hope he's around for a little while to see what he's got.

The funny thing about Cody Linley is that he's paired with Julianne Hough who has been the "young'un" for so many years and now she's the older one in the pairing. I think this pairing has really great potential, but the showing last night was just about what I expected.

While Brooke Burke was the top dancer, I don't think this surprised me much. They emphasized that she was a model and models haven't usually faired very well, but I think of her from "Wild On" days and figured she was a little more free flowing than, let's say, Josie Marin. I did think it was odd she wore pants. I think she was nervous and that she has great potential. As she danced and right after, I thought how it seemed that Derek Hough was always partnered with these beautiful but insecure women (Jenni Garth, Shannon Elizabeth, and Brooke) but after they spoke to Brooke for a bit, I don't think she's insecure. She was nervous, yes, but she's not going to be insecure like Jennie and Shannon and that makes her powerful. I think she's a contender.

Kim Kardashian was just fine. Nothing really shined in the way of personality or dance but nothing was problematic. Again, I think nerves keep everyone dampered down a bit, so I think she has some potential, but unless some story line emerges to make everyone really love her, I think she's going to be a middle of the pack person.

And then there is Jeff Ross. I expected him to be bad and he was bad. Bad like Penn Jillette or Kenny Maine. I think his days are numbered. I don't see that he has much of a fan base (other than Edyta fans) so I wouldn't be surprised to see him go this week (and probably tonight).

Those Who Were Disappointing
There are four dancers who fall into this category and one is my favorite Misty May Treanor. The other three are Cloris Leachman, Susan Lucci, and Maurice Greene. I'll start with the latter three.

WOW -- what can I say about Cloris Leachman. I wrote in my notebook -- She is TOO old. I'm sorry. I think that it is phenomenally great that she joined this season and has done the work, but this is beyond George Hamilton or Wayne Newton. The potential for growth and development seems very limited. On top of that, the woman is a loose cannon. While I think she is a funny "dame", I also think she might be just a bit "addled". If I was uncomfortable with Adam Corolla's ramblings last season, Cloris has him beat by 10 miles. I think she must have flashed her ta-ta's to the audience because Carrie Ann was laughing so hard she couldn't stop. And poor Corky Ballas, everything seemed so out of his control. Bravo to Cloris for taking this challenge, but I'm just hoping beyond all hope that she doesn't make it beyond this week. I'm sure there will be others who loved her and want her to stay, but I don't think I can stand it.

The other truly big surprise for me was Susan Lucci. I thought she was a shoe-in. I expected her to be graceful and lithe like Jane Seymour. Carrie Ann's comment hit it on the nose for me. She said that Susan looked "fragile" and that was a great word. She was so stiff and not a stiff that comes from nerves. More like a stiff that comes from age?? She seemed to have no flexibility, especially down her back. It was really surprising. But I expect Susan to take on this challenge and I'd be really happy to see her move on through this competition. She doesn't, however, look like the front runner I thought she was.

Maurice Greene was disappointing in that I think I had the high expectations associated with atheletes. I think he was fine, but I expected something more (like what I got from Warren). We'll see tonight. I do think he's a showman, as was evidenced by his running days when he would finish the race, pull off his shoes, and have a colleague run out and spray them with a fire extinguisher -- he was that hot!! Funny! So, we'll see.

Then, there's my girl -- Misty May. OK. It really wasn't that bad at all. I think I would have been thrilled if I hadn't read an article online that alluded to her being so graceful. She did well, but she wasn't Kristi Yamaguchi. I was also really surprised by how muscular (and somewhat masculine) she looked on the floor. Maks was a bit reserved, which was also disappointing, but I think that's been the case in the past. I think I felt the same way the first week with Mel B. and look how that turned out. So, even though I had hoped for a bit more, I'm still encouraged and excited for my favorite -- Miss Misty May.

Those that Surprised (or Excited) Me
The final four dancers that get my accolades are Toni Braxton, Lance Bass, Warren Sapp and Ted McGinley. Let me start with Ted. You know, some men get better looking with age and I think Ted McGinley is one of those men. I loved his whole riff about being an outdoorsman and just like all you guys sitting in your barcoloungers drinking beer. But when he got on the floor he was dapper and fluid and had good lines. I'm in no way thinking this fella is going to make it to the finals. He's got fan base problems because I don't think he's extraordinarily well known and because he's got a new partner. But I was surprised by how well he showed.

Then there's Toni Braxton. Toni hasn't been one of my favorites but I did kind of expect her to do ok. I think what surprised me was how endeared I became to her. As soon as she expressed that she was doing this because her heart disease diagnosis had made her fearful of so much, she had me hooked. I think her taking on this challenge is phenomenal. I'm still a bit scared for her health, but I think it's great that she's found a way to face and, hopefully, banish those fears before they ruin her life. You go, Ms. Braxton!

Then there is Warren Sapp. My goodness, the audience was freaking out in the first 10 seconds. It was a show-stopper. A fun, fun routine that showcased how a big man, a big football player can be light on his feet. This is a big guy. And he had a lot of fun. I don't think he's a contender, like Emmitt Smith. But his performance was definitely a great way to end the night.

And finally, there is Mr. Lance Bass. I think that Lance may have scored the best pairing of the year with Lacey Schwimmer. There's an energy and dynamism with that pairing that makes me excited to see what they'll do each week. Lance started out by saying that he was the worst dancer in N'Sync, but I'm not sure that is true. He seemed to have some skills last night. What I liked the most of the performance was he and Lacey's pushing the edge -- making the Cha Cha hip, young and fresh, which both Bruno and Carrie Ann agreed with. It's probably not surprising that Lance did well, but I was just really excited about how excited his routine left me.

We've got quite a competition ahead of us. My predictions for this week are Jeff Ross and, hopefully, Cloris Leachman. Everyone else deserves another week to loosen the nerves and show us what they got. We'll see what tonight has to offer. I'll be back!!

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And We're Off: Dancing with the Stars premiere (Day 1)