Dancing With the Stars -- Premiere

The 2 hour premiere of Dancing with the Stars kicked off last night with a wide array of characters. I don't understand how or why Jake "The Bachelor" Pavelka or Kate Gosselin got on the show, but whatever. One new thing about this season is host Brooke Burke. I don't know where Samantha Harris went off to, but that's alright because I liked that Brooke did not yell or shout into the microphone when talking to the performers. What a relief! The other thing that makes Brooke a good host is that she can empathize with the dancers, having gone through the process herself.
Top performances from the premiere would have to include Nicole Scherzinger (partner Derek Hough), Niecy Nash (partner Louis Van Amstel), and Erin Andrew also had a strong performance with Max.
What I don't understand is after such an awesome performance by Nicole, Len just nailed right into her. I don't know if he was watching the same performance as everyone else. Even Carrie Ann and Bruno looked at the grumpy old judge wondering what crawled up his shorts. Something was definitely prickling at his backside last night.
Kate Gosselin was so hard to watch that it just seemed like time was slowing down, dragging out the two minutes or however long the dance actually lasted. I really don't know why she signed up for the show, she a) can't dance, and b) doesn't belong there. I was surprised that Len didn't dig into her. However, that's alright, because Bruno certainly said it all. I'll give her credit for having a brave face on it though.
On a more confusing performance, Pamela Anderson did a good job in hiding her lack of rhythm with all the hair tossing and bright Barbie pink outfit. I also have to give her some credit for livening up the stage after Kate's performance.
Then there was good old Buzz Aldren. The man is 80 years old. I have to say I felt myself rooting for him somewhat. I don't expect him to go very far, but I'll say he held it together well enough. I'm not sure if his stiff movements were due to an elderly thing or lack of rhythm thing, or maybe it was a bit of both. That might work better for him with the Waltz though. What was cruel was Len giving Buzz a 4. Like I said, Buzz wasn't that great, but there have been performers who did worse and at least got a 5. Then again, if anyone is going to find a low card to pull out on any night, leave it to Len. Tom Bergeron was in good form with the comebacks to Len's "critiques" though. Where the contestant can't really say much, Tom pretty much says what the rest of us are thinking.


For a full bio of the contestants, please check them out at:
ABC Dancing With the Stars