Tonight marked the final episode of ABC's summer hit, Dancing With the Stars. If you had told me that I would have spent the summer reviewing a show on ballroom dancing, I probably would have laughed at you and said something like "I would rather smoke the stems and seeds than watch any ballroom dancing on TV." For those of you who may not be hip to that analogy, let's just say it is a situation that requires either massive amounts of desperation or utter stupidity. Well, I don't know if I am desperate or stupid, but I did enjoy the show, and was looking forward to seeing who was going to be crowned the winner this week. Would it be John O'Hurley and Charlotte Jorgensen, the embodiment of grace and elegance? Or would it go to Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo, the underdogs who have rode their youthful style into the finals? We'd only have to endure 60 minutes of television and a half dozen Bergeron jokes to find out.
This week, each pair would perform a repeat of their favorite dance, and then come back to do a "no holds barred" freestyle. The way Bergeron made it sound, it was like we were to be prepared for an Ultimate Fighting Championship and not a ballroom dance.
Before we started, with the repeat performance, we got to see a little bit of the teams while they practiced for their freestyle. John and Charlotte went first, and we saw that John was really having a difficult time learning how to do the lifts and get Charlotte off of her feet and spun around without killing anybody. She's not that big of a woman, unlike, say, Rachel Hunter, and John is old but not frail, so clearly there was something wrong with his technique. He would have to call in somebody a little more seasoned to give him a few lessons from the man's perspective.
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Comments (27)
No, the right team didn't win. How can you give a perfect score to a routine that was quite obviously flawed (in many, many ways)? Maybe they were too busy looking at her titties.
1 of 27 | Posted by wtf | Posted on July 7, 2005 3:30 AM
Did you hear Kelly go, "Oh, Christ!" after Bergeron announced they were winners, and then he kind of whispered, "We're still on!" and she went, "Oops!"?
Not like it's all that scandalous, but I imagine the legions of her General Hospital minions, er, fans -- whose well-organized voting, I theorize, was the only way she was able to stay in this competition -- may think otherwise.
2 of 27 | Posted by Rita Moreno | Posted on July 7, 2005 4:00 AM
I am so pissed off - John and Charlotte got totally ripped off! He was pissed, too - you could tell.
3 of 27 | Posted by Testiculon | Posted on July 7, 2005 4:14 AM
One 10, maybe. Two 10s, possibly. Three 10s? No way. That absolutely smacks of collusion on the part of the judges and ABC. The only way for them to outscore John and Charlotte was to score three 10s. I seriously doubt I will watch this show if it's brought back for a second running, which it no doubt will. I also agree that John looked like he wanted to put his fist, or the judges, through the nearest wall. Good for him, he deserves to be angry.
4 of 27 | Posted by jo | Posted on July 7, 2005 5:24 AM
clearly, the wrong team won. John and Charlotte did better throughout the whole competition. Kelly and her man( cant remember his name) only won because the people watching the show are women who have nothing better to do but watch soap operas all day. I didnt vote, i wish i had now
5 of 27 | Posted by Gena | Posted on July 7, 2005 6:48 AM
Here's the only problem with the fixed game scenario - the tiebreaker goes to the person with the most audience votes for that week:
http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancing/scoring.html
If John and Charlotte had won the audience vote last night, they would have won last night. If John and Charlotte had won the judges scoring and lost the audience vote, they still would have lost last night because Kelly and Alec won the audience vote. I think it still smells fishy, but with this convoluted scoring method that they have, it looks like John and Charlotte didn't have a chance. John and Charlotte could have beaten Kelly and Alec by 20 points with the judges and the audience vote still would have given to Kelly and Alec, because that is the tiebreaker. Sucks, I know.
But yes, three 10s on the final routine, especially when there were a lot of problems with a lot of those landings during their lifts, seemed excessive.
6 of 27 | Posted by J-Unit | Posted on July 7, 2005 7:05 AM
You could always give it the tried-and-true "American Idol runner-up" spin:
"Even though I'm a hardcore O'Hurley-girly, let me just be the first to say I, for one, am GLAD John didn't win. Now he can go out and create his own dancing identity rather than be forced to do the lame, sappy, formulaic dances that ABC would have forced him to do. Enjoy your year as ABC's dancing puppet, Kelly, you dirty whore."
7 of 27 | Posted by Mike | Posted on July 7, 2005 7:25 AM
What a GIP!!! I can't even imagine how John and Charlotte must feel if I'm this p-o'd! Last night's show was a COMPLETE disappointment!!! Three 10s? Are they kidding me???? They're routing was good, I'm not saying it wasn't. But perfect???? um, no. It was sloppy and awkward at parts and the lifts were HORRIBLE!!!! I'm absolutely disgusted.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a "Kelly hater" or anything. In fact, I felt badly for her when they were so horrible to her in the beginning weeks. I never thought she deserved that. And I do agree she's come a long way. But they were NOT better than John and Charlotte. PLUS, I wanted to puke when she commented "I've always been the underdog my whole life" - is she kidding me??? Yeah, poor you. Rough life having a beautiful face, a slammin’ body, and on one of the hottest soap operas around (I'm guessing considering it's been around forever - I don't do the soap opera thing...I even have two friends on two different soaps and I still RARELY catch them. I usually leave it up to my sis to tell me when/if something interesting happens w/their characters and then MAYBE I'll Tivo).
And, J-Unit, I don't see how you figure that and J&C would’ve lost either way. Did you see somewhere how many votes each couple received? The way I figure it is this: even if J&C received 10K votes, and K&A received barely over half that amount, they would win because each of their votes was counted as double.
Either way, I don't care, I won't be watching if they were to do a DWTS2. COMPLETE and UTTER disgust is what I feel. What happened last night is exactly why I used to refrain from these "vote off" reality shows. They're never fair - they're ALWAYS skewed (still surprised over the Hilton mama getting rid of BOTH of her colorful characters).
Sorry. End of rant.
8 of 27 | Posted by Christy | Posted on July 7, 2005 8:41 AM
J-Unit, sometimes the seeds and stems come in handy.
9 of 27 | Posted by shelley | Posted on July 7, 2005 9:13 AM
Guys, you haven't lived until you've strained your bong water through a coffee filter.
10 of 27 | Posted by Testiculon | Posted on July 7, 2005 9:26 AM
What a joke. Why did Kelly win? One reason: Good TV. The judges ceaselessly pimped the "underdog" angle, which ABC picked up on, and we all know where that leads.
When you've already written the compelling story, you kinda have to follow it through to the end. What's a good underdog story if the underdog doesn't actually win? People always expect less from the underdog, so every mistake is minimized, every success maximized. (If you don't believe me, just remember the 2000 election.)
11 of 27 | Posted by flush it all away | Posted on July 7, 2005 9:38 AM
The right team didn't win. Sure, Kelly had the internet vote either way (her legion of GH fans made sure of that) but the three perfect scores? Come on. She almost fell flat on her face twice and Alec slipped.
I hate to jump on a silly bandwagon, but it seemed like a fix (I know, it's shocking that a reality t.v. show is fixed).
ABC ruined 6 weeks of enjoyment for me and I probably won't watch a second edition of the show because it just seems so rigged.
12 of 27 | Posted by nicole | Posted on July 7, 2005 9:39 AM
John and Charlotte were ROBBED, plain and simple. If Kelly had not been a soap star (and a slutty naked one at that) she would have been out after the first round. This was a popularity contest, not a talent contest.
For shame, America, for shame . . .
13 of 27 | Posted by happy_gal | Posted on July 7, 2005 9:46 AM
First off, I thought Kelly and Alec's routine was great.
Second, is it just me or did it seem like practicing in the pool was just an excuse to see eachother in swimsuits.
14 of 27 | Posted by tv freak | Posted on July 7, 2005 10:38 AM
What about that Lost commercial for oceanic-air.com?
15 of 27 | Posted by mck | Posted on July 7, 2005 1:48 PM
Of course the wrong couple won. I knew from the beginning when I learned half of the score would come from the viewers that Kelly would win. She's a soap star, and there are no more loyal fans than soap fans!
Enjoyed the show anyway and plan to watch #2.
16 of 27 | Posted by Jim | Posted on July 7, 2005 2:03 PM
Fluff won over substance. I thought this was a "dance" contest not whatever Kelly and Alec were doing contest. I was more disappointed than I should have been. John and Charlotte were ROBBED.
And, yes, I thought the pool scenes were a little much. Sort of a wet t-shirt thing.
17 of 27 | Posted by Kathy | Posted on July 7, 2005 4:25 PM
yep, i knew it. kelly would gyrate her way into first (not to mention a little flashy flash). of course j. peterman was better & deserved to win, but big deal - it's not like it's a real competition. just look at the prize - a freakin' DISCO BALL with "dancing with the stars" across the front.
18 of 27 | Posted by rhm | Posted on July 7, 2005 4:58 PM
Enough about Kelly. Can we bring Alec back next year? I know he greases up his hair quite a bit but I sincerely love him because he looks like a latin Cillian Murphy - and who couldn't use one of those in their life? Not into the short thing, but every once in a while I do disregard my height requirement.
(damn i missed the pool scene because well i wasn't really watching the show.)
19 of 27 | Posted by jayneatomic | Posted on July 7, 2005 8:30 PM
mck,
I had to rewind my dvr to make sure I didn't imagine it. What a clever ad.
Btw - John Hurley didn't really lose, he's already got a few commercials running so clearly the show boosted his lagging career.
20 of 27 | Posted by TinkerbellAPixie | Posted on July 7, 2005 8:40 PM
I live in Philadelphia and I'm pretty sure that John O'Hurley is the voice for the BEN FM radio station... and from what I'm told there's a similar station in other markets (JACK FM, BOB FM, etc. etc.)... anyone else know? anyone else care?
21 of 27 | Posted by Greg | Posted on July 7, 2005 9:47 PM
Of course, Kelly Monaco won. Didn't she have the Cinderella story on the Cinderella, whoops, Disney, whoops, ABC network.
22 of 27 | Posted by dan | Posted on July 8, 2005 5:41 AM
John and Charlotte were clearly the better dancers! They oozed charisma, charm and graceful, dance elegance. After all this was a BALL ROOM dancing competition, not who-can-shimmy-and-shake-and-girate the best. Kelly sure had that down. I didn't even know who she was before this show, so I didn't dislike her because she's on a soap. And yes she did improve over the show, so she should have gotten a "Most Improved" award, NOT won the competition!! John and Charlotte were the best! It was so enjoyable to watch them, I sure was rooting for them. I hope the next Dancing with the Stars isn't as rigged, er I mean disappointing.
23 of 27 | Posted by lesleyaggie | Posted on July 8, 2005 11:42 AM
And what about that completely craptastic "trophy" that the winners got ? Looked like a 6th grade science project, complete with glued on gold glitter. Next time they should let these teams play to win money for their favorite charities at least.
24 of 27 | Posted by Shoe-In | Posted on July 8, 2005 1:11 PM
Yeah, I know it's just a TV show but it got me so riled up. John got Robbed plain and simple and I really think someone owes me an apology. I haven't seen a fix like this since the NBA Finals.
How is it that not one 10 is given out the entire length of the show and a routine in which the professional male slips, the celeb actually waits a half second for the pro to move into a step (Twice at that) and finally gets dropped on her knees to close it out warrant three of them?
What would be harder, John lifting Charlotte or Kelly being lifted by Alec? I'm sure if you asked non-GH fans if the right person won you'd get close to a 3 to 1 ratio atleast.
J-Unit, you're right about the voting too. Totally blows. There's gotta be some show in which the judges have atleast 2/3 the power. That way Crappy McCrapperson can't stay on longer than he should.
25 of 27 | Posted by Mital | Posted on July 9, 2005 7:22 AM
Did anyone see Kelly and Alec on Jay Leno the other night? They danced a little ditty before commercial and she fell on her face, again, or she would have if Leno hadn't caught her. She should just blame it on the fake boobs throwing her balance off.
Alec is russian, not Latin, who knew?
26 of 27 | Posted by jayneatomic | Posted on July 9, 2005 7:24 PM
I don't think that Kelly should have won either. I think that ABC messed up big time, and they will see this when they lose money in advertising and stocks etc. We started a petition over on the ABC message board (I did not write it.), and the link is http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?ballroom&1. You can sign it if you want to, or you don't have to. It's up to you! The petition has been mentioned in an article, and ABC declined to comment. I just thought that I would let you all know!;)
27 of 27 | Posted by guest | Posted on July 14, 2005 9:23 PM