So, I found this article in the Mirror Online, which is a UK paper (Tabloid?), and had to share it. As most of you know, Len and Bruno also judge Strictly Come Dancing which is the British version of Dancing with the Stars. SCD is the original version of DWTS and as you saw from the pictures I posted that Derek took last week when he visited the set, they mirror each other fairly closely (although we have better pros ). Anyway, Len and Bruno are very good friends and extremely hilarious – you have to read the entire article, it’s a scream. If you never do anything other than watch DWTS on TV and visit this site from time to time, you would never know that Len was so flippin’ hilarious. You already know about Bruno, I’m sure. Some excerpts are below.

Strictly best friends
By Beth Neil 12/12/2009

ODD COUPLE REVEAL WHY THEY’RE A PERFECT MATCH

One is a fired-up Italian. The other is a twinkly-eyed Englishman.

They couldn’t be more different, but Strictly Come Dancing’s Len Goodman, 65, and Bruno Tonioli, 54, are the best of pals.

Q What is your first memory of the other?

Len: Bruno wasn’t the gregarious character we know now. He didn’t burst forth until we started doing the American show where there’s a lot more shouting and screaming.

Bruno: I thought he was very posh and distinguished – then he opened his mouth. It didn’t take long for us to start laughing our heads off because we’ve got the same wicked sense of humour. We had an instant understanding.

Q What is your best memory of a night out together?

Len: When we’re over in the States for 11 weeks during the spring we’ll go to the pictures together or out for a pizza and we always have a great time.

Bruno: There was one where he got absolutely paralytic. We were in America and they started serving cocktails. Len was bouncing off the walls. It was so hysterical I nearly p***** myself.

Q Who’s the best drinker?

Len: Neither of us. The cheapest dates in the world, me and Bruno.We’re half-cut when we’re sober so it doesn’t take much to tip us over the edge.

Bruno: We’re both as bad as each other.

Q Which of you is the best-looking?

Len: I’m a natural beauty, but Bruno relies on cosmetics to bring him up to my standards. He’s a gym fanatic and for his age he’s got a good, firm body. But he loves to show it off. Any excuse to whip his T-shirt up and display his pectorals. When we’re in LA he sits out in his under shorts with his nuts and bolts exploding out of his blimmin’ Y-fronts. It’s not a pleasant sight.

Bruno: Well me, of course. I’m younger and sexier. Len needs to go to the gym because he’s putting on a bit of a belly. I’m going to make him come to the gym with me every day when we go back to America. He’s going to look like Schwarzenegger.

Tags: Bruno Tonioli • Dancing with the Stars • Dancing with the Stars 2010 • DWTS • DWTS 2010 • Len Goodman

I found a lengthy article on Season 9 at Daemon’s TV - a site I’ve not previously heard of. As far as I remember. Anyway, they have a bunch of new pictures, including some of Lacey Schwimmer and Mark Decascos – see below. In addition, they also have some information that I’ve not seen before  for this season which actually concerns me a bit. They say that there will be another pro competition for a spot on the show. As you know, we have more pros than we (normally) have celebrities.  I don’t know that we need to add more – although some of the older ones are getting  a bit stale, plus I would not be at all surprised to find that Derek and Mark need a season off. This will be their fifth in a row, in addition to multiple tours and peforming with their band, the Ballas Hough Band. Even at the young age of 24 and 23, respectively, that is a LOT of work.  I guess we’ll find out if this is true in a couple weeks.

Some excerpts from the article:

Following is the schedule for Season Nine (dates and times subject to change):

* “Dancing with the Stars,” two-hour performance show, MONDAYS beginning, SEPTEMBER 21 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) through NOVEMBER 16

* “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show,” one-hour, TUESDAYS beginning, SEPTEMBER 29 (9:00 -10:00 p.m., ET) through NOVEMBER 17

* “Dancing with the Stars,” 90-minute performance show, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 (8:30-10:00 p.m., ET)

* Season Finale, two-hours, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET)

“Dancing with the Stars” returns with new surprises and all the elements viewers have come to know and love, including the Pro Dancer Competition, where world class professional dancers have the opportunity to compete live on the “Results Show” for a guaranteed spot on next season’s show. “Macy’s Stars of Dance,” which features some of the most renowned dancers and choreographers of our time, will also be back on “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show.” One of the Macy’s Stars of Dance performances will be the hugely popular “Design-a-Dance,” where fans have the chance to select their favorite professional dancers, dance styles and wardrobe at www.abc.com. In addition, couples will once again take part in a team formation dance, and a variety of new elements will be incorporated into routines involving all couples. Four new dance styles — the Bolero, the Charleston, the Two Step and the Lambada — are also going to be introduced. The middle stages of the competition feature the return of the “Dance Off,” where contestants will perform a dance style of their choosing to fight for their spot in the competition, and three consecutive double eliminations promise the most dramatic period of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Be sure to click the link above as there is more to the article and many more pictures than what I’ve posted here.

Tags: Aaron Carter • Ashley Hamilton • Bruno Tonioli • Carrie Ann Inaba • Chuck Liddell • Dancing with the Stars • Dancing with the Stars 2009 • Dancing with the Stars Season 9 • Dancing with the Stars Season 9 Cast • Debi Mazar • Derek Hough • DWTS • DWTS 2009 • DWTS Season 9 • DWTS Season 9 Cast • Edyta Sliwinska • Lacey Schwimmer • Len Goodman • Maksim Chmerkovskiy • Mark Ballas • Mark Decascos • Tom Bergeron

I really, really, really hope this isn’t true. As cranky as Len can be (and he is particularly hard on my favorites, it seems ), I really don’t want him to be replaced, even temporarily.  I do understand the possible health reasons, but I’m going to hope and pray that Len is all better and back in the center seat on DWTS in the fall.  Anyway, here are some excerpts from the article from “Irish Central” that popped up for me this morning:

Multiple sources confirmed to IrishCentral what has been a flurry of Internet buzz — that Flatley is being considered as a replacement for judge Len Goodman, who recently announced that he was recovering from treatment for prostate cancer.

Flatley has already appeared as a guest judge on the show, and was a huge hit with viewers. An industry source told IrishCentral that “Len would be almost impossible to replace, and we don’t want to replace him. But his health comes first. If he decides he needs the rest and wants to step down, how could we do better that Michael Flatley?”

Tags: Dancing with the Stars • Dancing with the Stars 2009 • Dancing with the Stars Season 9 • Dancing with the Stars Season 9 Cast • DWTS • DWTS 2009 • DWTS Season 9 • DWTS Season 9 Cast • Len Goodman • Michael Flatley

According to the Mail Online (which I think is London’s Daily Mail), our favorite cranky judge Len has had surgery for prostate cancer, which was in it’s early stages:

Strictly  Come Dancing judge Len Goodman has undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in his prostate gland, he has revealed.

He had the operation three weeks ago – without telling any of his BBC colleagues – and now says he feels ‘right as rain’. 

The 65-year-old told The Mail on Sunday he will be back on the show in the autumn, and credited his swift recovery to doctors spotting the disease early at his annual check-up.

The news of Len’s cancer scare will come as a shock to colleagues on the hit BBC show, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, because the ballroom dancing teacher has told only his closest friends and family.
‘No one at the BBC knows,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to tell everyone – it’s not necessary to blabber it out to everyone.

Best Wishes, Len and I hope you are all well soon – if this article is any indication, it sounds like you are!

Tags: Dancing with the Stars • Dancing with the Stars 2009 • DWTS • DWTS 2009 • Len Goodman

Videos I hadn’t seen before…which doesn’t mean they’re new, just that I hadn’t seen them before.

These are cool – the Paley Center panel on DWTS. I had posted a couple of these before, but I hadn’t seen quite a few of them:

Conrad Green on Casting Stars

Judges on the Shows encouraging of Dancers

Jane Seymore and Drew Lachey on Dancing

Len Goodman on Constructive Criticism

Co-hosts on the evolution of hosting

Hosts and Dancers on Relationships

Dancers on Best/Worst Costumes

Drew Lachey on dancers getting hurt

Dancers on choosing costumes

If you let the video play to the end and then the next videos come up automatically, there are interviews with all of the Season 8 stars and pros – more that I had never seen before.   A cute one with Shawn Johnson. It appears there is one for each star for week one and week two.

Tags: Bruno Tonioli • Cheryl Burke • Cristian de la Fuente • Dancing with the Stars • Dancing with the Stars 2009 • Dancing with the Stars 8 • Dancing with the Stars Season 8 • Dancing with the Stars Videos • Derek Hough • Drew Lachey • DWTS • DWTS 2009 • DWTS 8 • DWTS Season 8 • Jane Seymour • Julianne Hough • Len Goodman • Samantha Harris • Shawn Johnson • Tom Bergeron

ABC and Dancing with the Stars made a great decision to keep the Dancing with the Stars 2009 top 3 final performances to only an hour. It was a great hour of entertainment. Any longer and they’d have been stretching for content. Here’s my review of the top 3 from tonight’s show.

Shawn Johnson – Anyone that watches Shawn has to just love her little girl innocence and her cute personality. Her detractors use that against her, but that’s a big plus for me. Sure, she doesn’t have that adult woman’s nuance in her dancing, but she’s so precise in her movements.

Shawn’s freestyle was far and away the best of the night. I was really disappointed that she didn’t pull at least a few tasteful gymnastics tricks, but it was still entertaining.

Gilles Marini – Gilles’ paso doble was Gilles being Gilles. It was well done. He deserved good scores. I don’t think it was a 30 performance, but it was great. Gilles has been solid all around and Paso works really well for him.

Gilles freestyle was my least favorite of the night. The freestyle highlighted Cheryl instead of Gilles. If I was evaluating Cheryl, then I’d have given it a 10. Cheryl really danced it with some amazing personality. Plus, I think that Gilles should have stuck with the sensual stuff he started with. When he went to playful, he just didn’t pull it off very well. The effort was there, but it just felt awkward. I should also mention that I think it’s a joke that Len would mark down Melissa for her “choice of style” but would still give a 10 to Gilles who had much less dancing (see Carrie Anna and Bruno’s comments).

Melissa Rycroft – I still wonder if it was a strategy for Melissa to wear 2 bikinis for her routine or if it was just coincidence. She did look pretty stunning. She did look a little awkward at a couple times in her Paso Doble. So, I think the scoring was accurate for her Paso.

I really enjoyed Melissa’s freestyle. It was occasionally disjointed, but unlike Len I really loved that she incorporated her cheerleading moves into the dance. It shows her versatility which is what I think freestyle should be all about. It’s just shameful that Len would mark down her score just because he didn’t like that style of dancing. Lesson for all those doing a freestyle in the future: add in at least some ballroom or get marked down by Len.

Watch tomorrow for me to post my final Dancing with the Stars power rankings.

Tags: Dancing with the Stars 2009 • Dancing with the Stars Finale • Dancing with the Stars Season 8 • Dancing with the Stars Vote • DWTS 2009 • DWTS Finale • DWTS Season 8 • Gilles Marini • Len Goodman • Melissa Rycroft • Shawn Johnson

I read this a while back and I thought it was so funny I had to share it. Here’s an excerpt of a blogger’s take on Dancing with the Stars:

That is why I have some sad news for you fans out there. It pains me to say that will be the last season of “Dancing With The Stars.” Hey, it’s been a nice run.

So what inside information do I have that this is the final season? None. Did I go to a fortuneteller? Nope. But I do know TV. And I do know about proven theories and guaranteed certainties. The curtain will fall on the show because of the following two words:

Ted McGinley.

I can’t say how wrong I think this blogger is. Dancing with the Stars isn’t going anywhere. Part of the appeal of the show is getting to know new stars and bringing old stars back from the grave so we can laugh at them.

Dancing with the Stars isn’t being canceled any time soon. Although, I do wish that they’d mix the show up just a little bit and allow the professional dancers a little more freedom with their choreography. Only problem is that Len’s heart might not be able to handle that change.

Tags: Dancing with the Stars • DWTS • Len Goodman • Ted McGinley