PureDWTS Season 28, Week 1: Power Rankings
So we wrapped up the premiere of the “new, improved!” DWTS a little over 24 hours ago, and I’ve got some mixed feelings. My main concern: in the wake of the disastrous year the show had in 2018, they’re currently trying to reinvent/rebrand the show to give ratings a boost and maintain a hope and a prayer of this show surviving into 2020. The only problem? I feel like the rebranding involves just turning DWTS into Strictly Come Dancing 2.0.
Yes, they’re essentially the same show, in terms of the concept, aesthetic, etc. But Heidi and I have long been reminding people that comparing DWTS and SCD is a bit like apples and oranges, because the fact that the two shows air in completely different markets makes each take on slightly different flavors. Americans and Brits are two different cultures that have different tastes when it comes to television – I have yet to meet an American that understands the appeal of British soap operas (I can’t tell you how many times I fell asleep trying to watch the same god-forsaken episode of EastEnders in college because a girl in my dorm was from London and swore up and down that it was the greatest TV show ever), while I’ve heard more than one Brit puzzle about why American television is so violence-driven (same girl in my dorm was CONVINCED we all carried guns on our person because she had watched 24 before coming to college). And there’s obvious differences between our humor, with British humor being quite a bit drier and high brow than more crass, slapstick American humor. Given all those differences – would it be a stretch to assume that Americans expect different things out of DWTS than Brits do out of SCD?
With respect to DWTS and what I’ve observed in my 10 years of blogging, I tend to think Americans care less about how many syllabus steps a routine has and care more about being entertained and wowed by a memorable dance. I know SCD is more driven by syllabus content and correct execution of the steps, and low-scoring of non-compliant routine is more commonplace than it is here in the US, where it’s unusual to see any paddle lower than a “6” taken out after week 1. So for things to shift rather suddenly from the DWTS focus on entertaining and memorable dance numbers to a more content-driven approach from the judges, I have to wonder: is this sh*t gonna fly…? Some of the best choreographers we’ve seen on DWTS are the ones that really thrive when they’re unfettered by syllabus requirements – think Derek, Mark, and Julianne, who all ended up Emmy nominated at some point as a result. We’ve still got a few pros in the current stable that I think choreograph best in a more out-of-the-box setting – namely Jenna, and possibly Brandon. Then again, with the prospect of an Emmy nom a distant memory since the departure of Derek and the onslaught of more competition in the Outstanding Choreograhy category…maybe it’s time to start focusing more on content? I honestly don’t know – but I’m not sure the answer to all of DWTS’ problems is just tweaking everything to match SCD. Time will tell, especially after we hear about this new elimination twist next week…
One good thing to come out of the “let’s do it like SCD!” gambit? The delayed reveal of the partnerships left us more likely to get unexpectedly WOWED by some of the contestants – and I daresay with all the chatter about Hannah, Karamo, Kel, and Sailor, I did NOT see James coming at all. I was genuinely and delightedly surprised, which was nice. I also didn’t head into this season with a favorite – there were a few contestants/partnerships I found intriguing, but nobody that I knew from the jump I’d be voting for…so I felt like I was seeing everything with fresh eyes. But shall we get on with the rankings? 🙂
1.) James & Emma – Immediate thoughts after watching his tango: “Hi, I’m James Van Der Beek, an affable, self-deprecating, kinda-dorky white guy that (gasp!) can actually dance, and I’m here to avenge fellow affable, slightly-dorky-white-guy-that-can-also-dance James Hinchcliffe.” Easily the best tango of the night, and really the best dance of the night, in terms of the whole package of technique, showmanship, and overall presentation. He had the posture and frame, and the timing was right; while his feet could use work (most everyone’s feet could use work at this point, though, really), he already seems to have a good understanding of where his upper body, lower body, head, and arms should be at any point during the dance – and that seems to be half the battle with the men on this show: just knowing where to put everything. He was a confident leading man and he sold the dance well, while still coming off as a likeable, down-to-earth guy…which is often the other half of the battle in this competition. We’ve seen really good dancers that just don’t seem to resonate with the audience (i.e. Tinashe, Heather, Sabrina) and we’ve seen not-great dancers that people seem to really root for (Bill…and Grocery Joe, and *cringe* Bones). Thankfully, I think James is going to excel with both…which makes him a force to be reckoned with this season, along with the fact that I think he and Emma just vibe really well together. From the moment he was announced on GMA, I thought of him as “Emma-bait” – the exact type of really likeable and hard-working partner that she really shines with, a la Bill and Drew (and really, John too). Interested to see if he fares this well in Latin (I’m thinking he might be someone that does ballroom better than he does Latin), but I’m excited about this pairing. And I’m totally here for another totally-unexpected great dancer that might be able to make up for Hinch’s robbery 😉
2.) Hannah & Alan – Might have been the fact that they were first out of the gate, might have been the fact that there just seemed to be really high expectations for these two in the preseason, but this dance…was good, not great. Hannah definitely has some dance skills, but I think it’s going to take some time for Alan to break her of what I would consider some “cheerleaderish” tendencies: softening some lines, posing, using more of a wide-stance jazz technique for Latin steps, and seemingly treating routines as a series of 8-counts as opposed to really feeling the timing of the dance. I’d like to see more bending and straightening in her legs, and tighter turns – and the potential is there. I think she’s a fantastic showman, though – she looked pretty confident for most of her dance, and looked like she was having fun. I do think she’s an ABC darling, and is still really popular with the general viewing audience – so on top of probably being the most trained (and polished, from her pageant days) of the female celebs this season, I think she’s going to have the votes to take her far. I’m not entirely convinced right now that she’s going to be one of the last two standing, but she’ll definitely make it to the back half of the season. She seems to have a good chemistry with Alan, but PUH-LEASE – resist the showmancing urge, Llinares & Co. You seemed like you might have been flirting with it, with that Bachelorette-themed intro, but I can assure you that following through is going to end poorly for all involved.
3.) Lauren & Gleb – If I had to guess, I’m thinking the show might be angling for a female celeb/male pro victory this season – which I guess makes sense, when you look at our stable of champion female pros and the men have…Val. And if this is the case, I think the most likely candidates for a good ol’ pimpin’ by the judges are Hannah and Lauren – both likely have the fanbase to carry them, and aren’t total slouches in the dancing department. While Hannah is definitely the more polished of the two, I think Lauren may be the better showman – she’s got a bit more of a raw, exuberant energy than the more collected, focused Hannah. Which is not to say she’s a bad dancer – she does have rhythm, and while she’s a little stutter-y on some of the faster steps, she’s got some agility too. I’m getting a Kellie Pickler vibe off of her – probably did some cheerleading way back in the day, but needs the right pro to harness that latent talent. Is it Gleb? Prolly not. 😛 I guess the one upside to Gleb’s time wasting choreography is that it gave Daniella something to do and brought Britt (that was Britt on Lauren’s right, right?) back from the dead in the now-defunct troupe – but aside from that, it flies in the face of the new content-focused strategy the judges have, you’d assume he’d get docked, right? Nah. Still got the 3rd highest score of the night, for a lot of signature Gleb time-wasting and posing. Should have docked points for that atrocious Peter Pan-looking getup he had Lauren in – yikes. Well at least Lauren is likeable, which is probably going to take her far this season. We’ll see how likeable (or unlikable) Gleb makes himself this season…
4.) Ray & Cheryl – Ehhh…I’m having a hard time here, given Ray’s past. I don’t know that I’m ever going to reach a point this season where I embrace him fully…but I will say that the dude seems to have a good energy and really, really wants to be there, so I’ll credit him that. He sold his performance, for sure. On the flip side, since I’m calling out time-wasting, I thought the bit at the beginning with him doing that damn squirrel dance was unnecessary, and I saw more than one whiffed hand pass and turn – he’s exuberant, but he still needs to nail his choreo. As for the choreo – seemed like body roll, hip wiggle, turn, repeat. Not the most innovative or memorable salsa I’ve seen, but what I did see was folks on Twitter just eating it up. I’ve not always been the biggest Cheryl fan, but I will say this: her fans are passionate, and have stuck with her over the years – which translates to some longevity for her partners. The chatter I heard about Ray was polarizing – those who are familiar with his checkered past seem to absolutely hate him, but those who are Ravens/general NFL fans seem to think he’s the Tom Brady of linebackers and thus, a god. I don’t think Ray’s gonna win, but I have a feeling he’s likely to stick around for awhile this season based on he and Cheryl’s combined fanbases – so I guess I’m just hoping he takes this seriously and puts in the work.
5.) Karamo & Jenna – Prior to last night, I had Karamo pegged as one of the last two standing this season – and I still firmly believe that (who will be there with him is up for debate). And Karamo has some natural rhythm and dance talent, ON TOP OF being a really good showman. Like Ray, it’s not hard to see that he’s really happy to be on DWTS and is having a ball. So why did he and Jenna’s seemingly flawless salsa get lambasted by the judges? First of all, I think the judges are giving him a bit of the Jordan Fisher treatment – he’s obviously a contender, and they’re nitpicking a bit in order to give the impression of a more level playing field (it got so ridiculous during season 25 that Len actually complained about Jordan’s finger styling at one point…seriously). But beyond that, upon second and third viewing, I actually found myself saying “This isn’t as good as I thought it was initially.” And part of it does have to do with technique – there wasn’t much in the way of hip action on Karamo’s part, and at times he almost seemed a bit too bouncy. Additionally, in what is somewhat unusual for Jenna (at least when she has a talented partner), the choreography was…kinda bland. Lot of salsa basic, turn here, trick there…nothing like the edgier, more “out there” fare we saw from her when she partnered Adam. Honestly, this salsa seemed a bit interchangeable with more than one other high-energy, premiere-night showstopper – it had the same kind of energy as Rashad’s week 1 cha-cha, DeMarcus’s week 1 cha-cha, hell, even Nyle’s week 1 cha-cha. It was a good routine, but it was ultimately another generic party dance. Where Adam’s week 1 cha-cha stood out as something new and different (by virtue of its voguing/drag queen inspired steps), Karamo’s salsa was…more of the same. Makes me wonder if Jenna erred on the side of caution with the new “focus on content!” edict from the judges, and ended up with something safe but boring. On top of that, they’ve already played the hell out of “Juice” this season, between GMA and other promo spots – so the dance suffered in the same way Bethany’s week 1 jive did back in season 19, which overplayed “Shake it Off” to an obscene degree. So when you pit this generic party dance up against the edgy and unexpected tango from James, it just tends to pale in comparison. The good news is that this week was kind of a freebie, and hopefully these two can create something a bit more interesting next week.
6.) Sailor & Val – I’m still just a little dumbfounded at how this all transpired. TO BE CLEAR – I absolutely believe that Christie is genuinely injured. Don’t get it twisted, like some on Twitter were choosing to do. Not pulling a Wendy Williams over here. After watching the video, it just seems like an utterly banal way to incur an arm fracture: Christie was literally just walking around Val, looked like she tripped over his foot (which she didn’t see…?), used her arms to brace her fall, and voilà – broken arm. Wasn’t even dancing yet – just walking. Anywho – I’m glad they clarified that Sailor had been rehearsing since Friday, and didn’t try and play it off as her only having mere hours to rehearse the routine, as they seemed like they were trying to do on GMA. And per a source, Sailor does have some dance training, contrary to what she said in the package. She definitely has some understanding of rhythm and movement, and seemed to handle the first few bars of that foxtrot quite well. Things got a bit dicier after that – saw a few thrown-away arm lines and some shuffle-y footwork while in hold. And there was the small matter of her lip syncing the entire song, which got a tad distracting, but I’ll cut her a break given the time frame she had to work with and she probably needed SOMETHING to help her remember the counts. It was a decent dance, given the time frame – I’ll give her that, and I give her props for basically getting shot out of a cannon by taking her mom’s place in the 11th hour. But the amount of effusive praise the judges were heaping on this dance made me think the fix was in – Sailor was going to get the high score and be labeled “one of the ones to beat” this season, based on a decent-for-the-amount-of-time-given foxtrot with a lot of posing and walking back and forth (and a big prop). I think it’s hogwash that it got a point better than Karamo & Jenna and two points more than Ally & Sasha (both who had more content), but I’m guessing they were giving Sailor a handicap, given the shortened period of time she had to learn the dance in. I think Lauren and Hannah are going to end up being the judges’ darlings this season; the question is, will Sailor be one, too? I don’t think she has the fanbase of the other two, but she does have Val…who is somehow the most popular male pro. Will it help her or hurt her? We shall see…
7.) Ally & Sasha – I definitely approached this partnership with a sort of weariness after the riot-at-the-resort of season 24, when the Harmonizers attempted to hijack this site and turn it into a Normani fan page. But I was pleasantly surprised by Ally, who I feel has a completely different energy both on and off the floor than Normani – where Normani is confident, bold, and sexy, I think Ally’s vibe is more sweet, down-to-earth and carefree: she’s exuberant, throws herself into the moves 100% (even if she’s not feeling terribly confident in them and is maybe a tad nervous), and makes an effort to put on a good show. And really, she’s not nearly as bad a dancer as some were warning me she’d be (Harmonizers, safe to say I understand you the least) – I’m maintaining my stance of “Even the ‘worst dancer’ in a pop group is likely still a better dancer than the average person!” She’s clearly picked up some understanding of rhythm and musicality from her time in Fifth Harmony, though I will say she has a tendency to dance adjacent to the beat and not quite on top of it. She’s not off-time…but she’s not perfectly on it, either. And while I praise her ability to really commit fully to her moves, I think it sometimes gets a bit frantic-looking – maybe Sasha could work with her on committing to a step without overselling it? Generally, I thought this was a really respectable dance, and probably deserved a point or two more than it got in the grand scheme of things. Do I see them lasting long in the competition? Ehhh…ask me again after the elimination next week, when we have a better feel for how the voting might shake out. At this point, my concern is that Lauren already kind of fulfills the “young singer” niche more easily by virtue of singing country (which appeals more to the politics of the show’s main demographic), which doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for Ally, who might end up falling victim to the weird relationship this show has with young, female pop stars. Time will tell.
8.) Kate & Pasha – Another pleasant surprise for me last night – not only Pasha being a warm, down-to-earth pro, but Kate actually being quite a performer! Hers was the first routine of the night that actually made me sit up and pay attention – she’s a performer, for sure, and was 110% invested in her routine. Sure, there were a few whiffed steps and the technique was just ok, but I really didn’t care – I was entertained the whole time. And dare I say that some of Pasha’s choreo had a vaguely Ballas/Hough feel to it? While the judges may insist that they’re harping on content this season, I have a feeling some of the out-of-syllabus, flair-type steps Mark & Derek became somewhat known for are going to still be quite popular with the audience – and may trump this newfound crusade for content. I think their routine this week is likely memorable enough to keep them safe next week, but I worry that Kate may be cannon fodder among all the young, able-bodied, and experienced dancers this season – I really hope these two carve out a niche as the entertainers of the season and are able to stick around for awhile based on that. If nothing else, I think Kate had the funniest intro package 😛
9.) Kel & Witney – This was another partnership that I feel suffered from high expectations in the preseason, which didn’t really get lived up to last night. Kel’s tango wasn’t terrible, but it seemed to lack the finesse and precision that made James’ so great – posture could use some work, and his footwork got a bit wishy-washy at times. However, it did start off strong, and I think Kel could be one that gets set up with a really good growth arc this season – maybe another Frankie Muniz-type journey, with ups and downs but ultimately a strong finish? Part of me thinks that ballroom is just not Kel’s forte, and he may actually shine brighter in the Latin dances – which could be interesting to see, as I think he and James are kind of competing for the “90s nostalgia” vote this season, and I think James could be the opposite (better in ballroom than in Latin). I have them pretty low simply by virtue of going in the dreaded “spot of doom” – 2nd, and being somewhat middle-of-the-pack in their scores. I tend to think they’re safe next week (particularly if they can come back and pull off a stronger dance), but if someone was getting eliminated last night, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see them in jeopardy. Oh well – last night was a test run, next week counts. Kel had my favorite men’s costume of the night – loved the watercolor suit. Not quite as wild about Witney’s lip jewels (they looked splotchy from far away), but they still made a pretty pair 🙂
10.) Lindsay – Regardless of how you feel about her partner, she worked her magic once more and pulled some stuff out of him that I don’t think anyone could have anticipated. She was given lemons and made lemonade, and did so with grace and aplomb. Nothing but respect for her work ethic. I think that routine may be just enough to keep her and her partner safe through the first elim (as it seems to be generating a lot of chatter), so I’m not banking on them leaving next Monday – but I wouldn’t be disappointed if they did leave, as it might extinguish the dumpster fire that is currently my Twitter mentions. The bulk of my followers seem to be taking the same tack about this situation that I am, and are choosing not to devote any energy to it; however, of the outliers that are immolating my mentions, half think Lindsay was rude to her partner and needs to apologize and be more supportive as a partner, and the other half think Lindsay was too nice to Sean and should have refused to partner him in the first place. I think both parties are living their best (delusional) lives 😉 I’ve said it many a time on Twitter, but I’ll say it again here: I think Lindsay came across as the consummate professional in her interactions with her partner, and those that think otherwise make me worry that they have a rather dated opinion of how interactions between men and women in a professional setting should be (hint: kissing ass isn’t required of the woman). And for those that are calling for her to resign as a pro to “take a stance” against her partner’s casting – so, y’all are gonna pay her lost wages, right? And her legal fees when she gets sued by ABC for breach of contract? And you’re going to personally ensure that she doesn’t get blackballed from future dance gigs because she’ll be known as a quitter that’s difficult to work with, right? If anything, I would think Artem & Sharna’s unceremonious dismissals from DWTS would give some folks better perspective on just how tenuous the pros’ positions are on the show from season to season – turn down a spot this season, maybe you don’t get offered one next season. And maybe word gets around to other choreographers that you’re a diva that is picky about her partners, and suddenly the phone stops ringing with gigs…in a career that already has a very short duration, and becomes even shorter for women who choose to become mothers. I’m not going to begrudge Lindsay for trying to remain professional and continue her career…and I have no patience for armchair pundits who piously call for her to step down. Easy to dish out judge-y advice when you’re not the one suffering the consequences, hmmm?
11.) Mary & Brandon – So cute, these two. Mary clearly loves her some Brandon (in a playful but appropriate way, of course) and Brandon is more than willing to play off her energy. I believe I referred to him as “Mr. Steal Your Grandma” – just very charming and respectful, and not inclined to just write Mary off as an “old lady” that’s probably not going to win this season (that’s more of the attitude of a couple other pros, ahem). And writing her off would be a mistake anyway, because Mary’s still got some moves – I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well she kept up. Sure, there were a few little bobbles, but Mary just kept going and managed to get back in the groove after each one. I think foxtrot suited her well – it allowed for more easygoing grooving, rather than the hard-hitting moves of some of the salsas and cha-chas we saw last night. LOVED Mary’s pistachio gown – my favorite female costume of the night, I thought it just looked really classy and a little sexy, and the color just popped well on her. Brandon delivered on the choreo – plenty of foxtrot basics to please the judges, while still being fun. So why do I have them this low, you ask? I didn’t see a whole lot of chatter about them after their dance – there was plenty of good buzz about James, Karamo, and Hannah, and not-so-good buzz about Lamar and Lindsay’s partner, all the commotion about Christie’s broken arm and Sailor stepping in at the last minute, and also the disadvantage of having to perform a more leisurely dance between two more hard-hitting ones (Ray’s salsa and Ally’s cha-cha). My worry for them is more of a “getting lost in the shuffle” concern, rather than anything super negative. I hope I’m wrong – there’s definitely other couples I’d like to see leave us before this one. But they’ve got another week to make an impact, so fingers crossed.
12.) Lamar & Peta – Full disclosure, I feel protective of Lamar – without getting into too much detail, I’ve recently started actually processing a lot of unresolved grief surrounding my uncle’s death from an overdose 7 years ago, and it’s brought up some feelings for me that I might be projecting onto Lamar to a degree. Lamar just seems so fragile to me at times – someone that’s really just clinging to sobriety as hard as he can, and is feeling really vulnerable as he’s just trying to move on with his life after a rough few years. So for him to go out and give what I would consider a not-terribly-exciting-but-very-respectable effort on the floor, only to be lambasted by 2/3 judges is a damn SHAME, if not a borderline bad judgement call with respect to his mental health. The “3’s” were unnecessary – for the amount of steps he did on-time and with generally ok technique, that score is asinine compared to others that were given out for routines that really weren’t that much better (and had far less actual dance content). Did Len & Bruno really need to go there? I mean, it’s not like this show is a paragon of dance integrity – so why start the crusade for dance morality with Lamar? I’m sure there’s more at play there, but I digress. It wasn’t the best foxtrot I’ve seen, but it also wasn’t the worst – and I don’t want Lamar to feel like his worth is somehow being measured by this three-ring circus of a reality show that I’m somehow still blogging after 10 years (my Pureversary is this week). So I’m hoping the judges/viewers/whoever the hell is determining who gets eliminated each week (TBD next week, I guess) see fit to give him another shot – but given the number of people I saw on Twitter that were siding with Len & Bruno, I’m feeling skeptical. I was proud of you, Lamar – you went out there and did something that likely terrified you, and put on a brave face when you got ridiculed for it. One other note – Peta, if Lindsay can take a nearly 2′ height difference between herself and (geriatric) Kareem and somehow make magic with it, I don’t want to hear another peep about the 1’3″ difference between you and (younger, more able-bodied) Lamar. Pick Lindsay’s brain if you’re stumped – I’m sure she could give you some pointers.
Thoughts after the first show? Do you have a favorite now, and is it different than the favorite you had after GMA? Any thoughts on format changes?
I really only dislike Ray and He-who-should-not-be-named, and now thinking about your words really changed my perspective on Lamar. Not that I had a problem with him per say, moreso his ties to a certain family, but I’m now kinda hoping he has a good night this upcoming Monday. He deserves a redemption! It would help his journey in life!
I actually like that they have gone back to the original concept of DWTS being about the couple and the given Ballroom or Latin dance rather than trying to compete with SYTYCD. It was refreshing to see couples just DANCE without the light shows props and extra dancers.
The obvious problem is after years of freestyle like production numbers will
the viewers agree with this “less is more” approach or will they get bored and tune out? I think that is going to depend a lot on the pros teaching and choreography.
The best pros will be able to adapt and bring us great routines with or without the bells and whistles. The ones who tend to rely more on lights props and extra dancers may have more trouble with this new format that gives them nowhere to hide.
I mean I get what they were trying to do, and I guess I appreciate that they’re trying to make it more traditional since I also felt like it was becoming freestyle after freestyle after freestyle. I also disliked having the backing dancers every dance, so it was a nice change… (Gleb, however…) But I also agree that they got to be careful not to take away all the “sparkle” of the whole show. As you said, and as being a watcher of SCD and DWTS, the two shows are apples and oranges.
As I said before, I don’t mind the low scoring, but it has to be more reasonable. Giving Aly’s cha-cha a 5 then giving his “salsa” only one point below doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
I didn’t mind the first show. My biggest gripe was with the camera people. My god, get your act together. Anyway, time will tell if the show does well. I have to say: I do miss Sharna a lot. She’s taking the cut a lot better that I would have.
I liked having less of the fiddly bits and more dance content. The camera people were awful particularly during Jenna and Karamo’s dance. James and Emma are definitely the couple to beat at the moment but I can see several other contenders as well. We’ll see how they progress in the next few weeks. I do miss Sharna. She’s taking it well and was at the premiere working for Extra. I’m sure it was a shock to her after being on for so many seasons.
Well done, Court!!!
Here are my faves in order…
1. James and Emma – Wow. They absolutely took my breath away and gave me a moment. Beautiful tango. It’s like they’ve been dancing together forever. His posture was just stunning. He never broke character once. Great choreo by Emma. Stunning!
2. Ray and Cheryl – I so look forward to watching football players…and Ray isn’t going to be any different. Wow to his charisma, his personality and all the muscle. These two are going to be a powerhouse. I have a feeling my Dad is really happy. He’d love love love this union.
3. Sailor and Val – Ok, this is the first time I love one of Val’s partners and HIM too. They were beautiful and having so much fun out there. I loved her posture and lightness. They left me just wanting more!!
4. Lauren and Gleb –- For just their first dance, these contestants kept blowing me away. These two were no different….they came out with the entertainment factor big time. I loved the choreo, the set, the lights, and the glittery costumes. Gleb has a contender if they work really hard.
5. Kel and Witney – Another strong tango for just being his first dance. I loved his facial expressions as well. He was totally into it. Impressive
6. Sasha and Ally – They were magnetic out there. I loved their energy from the get go. I’d pull out every trick in the book with choreo with her if I was Sasha. Excellent!
7. Kamaro and Jenna – It was a little messy on BOTH of their parts. Everything could have been more polished and sharper. I also think he needs to get a little more centered and take everything a little more seriously. Jenna needs to really get creative with everything.
8. Hanna and Alan – Hanna really came out strong and ready to go. I loved her smile and joyness. She missed some steps and she could have had stronger turns, but super dance. She has possibilities too.
9. Sean and Lindsay – Straight up, I loved their smiles and joy. Sean couldn’t have had a better partner for support and a dance trainer. His timing was off some as mentioned by the judges, but, he’s listening to Lindsay and he had so much fun. Oh yeah…and I love how he embraced his costume and the color. Hilarious.
10. Kate and Pasha – I loved her attitude straight up. She was stiff and weak in her leg work and movements, but, like Lindsay with Sean, I thought Pasha did such a good job getting her ready. His smile is infectious.
11. Mary and Brandon – She was stiff in her movements and off balance, but, she oozed the sexy and was a smooth delight too. I loved her attitude and Brandon was adorable with her.
12. Lamar and Peta – It’s so good to see Peta back. I just love her, but, I fear she won’t be here long. Lamar needs a lot of work and not sure right now if he can pull this off, but, I loved his hold and smile.
Ok, just for the record – his name is Sean Spicer, not “he who should not be named”, or anything else. I’ve always enjoyed your opinions and comments, but I find that your omitting Sean Spicer’s name from your commentary, just because you don’t like him, is very unprofessional. I’m sure he’s not going to last long on the show, and he certainly doesn’t deserve to, but can’t you just be a professional?
My rankings aren’t too far off from yours so I feel better lol.
1)James & Emma: Right now they are my pick to win this season and he really surprised me.
2)Hannah and Allan: I figured she would be good but she really wowed me.
3)Ray and Cheryl: Did I expect to like him this much? No. He is really fun to watch and has a lot of potential.
4)Karamo & Jenna: He is one to watch out for since he can dance and has the showmanship to go with it,
5)Lauren & Gleb: I find her to be a tad bit boring but she can dance and did everything Gleb asked her to do in that dance well.
6)Sailor and Val: She did that after three days…..i am intrigued.
7)Ally & Sasha: I like her a lot and she can dance. Just re watching her dance made me realize how nervous she seemed to be.
8)Kel & Witney: Loved them and he has a lot of potential.
9)Kate and Pasha: The biggest surprise of the night for me and I love it.
10)Mary and Brandon: She is so iconic and I had high hopes and she met them all.
Which leads me to my least favs:
11)Lamar and Peta: It was cute and I still feel like those threes were a bit much. Saying that, he is an early out for sure and Peta seems happy so at least there is that.
12)Sean and Lindsay: train wreck. Just so oddly weird to watch but just so bad.
Well, Patricia, I suggest you read more carefully, because I never once referred to him in my post as “he who should not be named”. I referred to him as Lindsay’s partner, which is what he is. And with all due respect, I don’t lose sleep at night over whether Patricia Harper that comments once every two years at Pure thinks I’m unprofessional or not. This blog doesn’t pay my bills, and I’ve paid my dues for the past ten years blogging this show – and I reserve the right to write (or not write) about whomever I choose. And really – I think his presence on this show is what’s unprofessional, and that’s why I’m not gratifying it by saying his name. I don’t want this site to show up in searches when his toxic followers are looking for places to troll. This site is not for them, and I’m not going to contribute to the buzz that ABC is so clearly pandering for. As always, nobody has a gun to your head forcing you to read this site, so if it’s that off-putting to you, STOP READING IT.
That’s my first, last, and only comment on the subject. Drop it or get blocked.
my “block” rankings, based on nothing but good vibes:
top third:
James & Emma (tee hee – gotta toot my own horn here because I never get this kind of stuff right, but I called the James the dark horse of this season after the GMA announcement)
Kate & Pasha
Karamo & Jenna
Mary & Brandon
middle third:
Hannah & Alan
Kel & Witney
Ally Sasha
Ray & Cheryl
bottom third: all the rest
James killed! love Mary & Brandon – I think her hair getting in her eyes was her biggest problem! hope Kate & Pasha stick around awhile – both are just joys
Sailor was over-scored; Ray was under-scored (he owned that number!); IMHO
on to next week …. will be interesting to see how the voting/eliminations are going to work.
I’ll just remind you all that great pros (like Derek and Mark) turned out MANY fantastic dances that were amazing to watch with nothing but their partner to rely on. One of the best dances of all time was just Kellie and Derek. Go back and watch HIS dance to Uptown Girl with Jennie Garth – week 1, first dance – and it had ten times the content that Val and Sailor did. Or course it was also probably a minute LONGER.
Well, LEAVE if you don’t like it Patricia. And no, we don’t have to be professional – we do this blog for fun. OUR fun, not just yours.
Hannah and Alan will take some beating. She is a good dancer with an astronomical fan base. Their likes on dwts videos is 3 times more than anyone else. I know it doesn’t always translate into votes but must surely be an indication of the voting. With the changes being made all I can see so far is the judges marking slightly harder (which will slip as the season goes on) and the public vote being handed to the social media popular stars. The likely outcome is worse than before in my opinion. This tends to suggest that Lindsay and her partner will hang around longer than we hoped.
Great post and insights into the new season—wholeheartedly agree with your rankings, especially the top two! I’m anxious to see if James is as competent & strong in Latin as he appears to be in ballroom.
I have to also comment on the lackluster opening to the show—I was really hoping for a strong pro production number to reinvigorate the audience after an entire year’s absence (and with Mandy Moore gone).
Less commentary from Erin would have given more time to the pros dancing & they eliminated her interviews entirely toward the end …
Also, I was hoping for more traditional Latin music selections for the salsa numbers! I just feel the show continues to miss the mark in some of their music choices, it would be one way to showcase more diversity.
I loved James and Kel going in for purely nostalgic reasons, and they didn’t disappoint. Kel did make mistakes but I still thought he did well overall. Like others, I’m curious to see how they handle Latin, especially James. But he seems like a showman that will put on a crowd pleasing routine that will make up for any shortfalls in his dancing. Emma’s one of my favorite pros and I’m thrilled she’s got a solid contender. That doesn’t happen for her very often. Kate was a pleasant surprise and her and Pasha seem like a fun pair. I hope they are around awhile. I think ballroom might be stronger for her, but I’m excited to see another Latin dance from them. Also liked Ally, Hannah, and Lauren, although I think Gleb might be her downfall. I enjoyed Lamar but know he’s likely not going to be around long. Mary was nice too, but again, not sure how long she’ll be around. I like Sailor, but something about that whole situation bugs. I hope going forward the focus is now on her and they don’t keep referencing her mom having to drop out.
Lindsay can’t win no matter what she does. I think she’s being as professional as she can be given the situation. I’m sure all the ladies, minus Peta, absolutely dreaded the moment they found out Sean was cast (Peta was too tall so she knew she was off the hook).
I loved the changes so far. I’m glad they are going back to a more traditional feel with the dancing-nothing flashy and no 50 extra back up dancers. @Heidi, I agree about Jennie/Derek-as far as I’m concerned that the only ‘Uptown Girl’ routine for me. I can remember so many routines from the early seasons vividly, but can barely remember anything from last season. Curious what the twist is to the voting, and whether that along with the live voting ends up making any difference. If Sean is in the bottom 2 against anyone and they don’t get rid of him this season could be a loss. He didn’t bring a barrage of ratings, only negative publicity. He needs to go, and I want him gone just as much for Lindsay.
I was very impressed with James and think he and Emma will be hard to beat. My top 3 were James, Hannah and Ally, and I also liked Mary and Brandon. I enjoyed Ray’s dance but I don’t think he or Lindsay’s partner should be on the show. I don’t like the new focus on syllabus steps and low scores, and I agree that Lamar seems depressed and they should not have picked on him. I was excited to see Christie, and have little interest in seeing her daughter dance.
I’m a huge Queer Eye fan and expected Karamo to be amazing. Instead, I didn’t like his dance at all. Jenna did very well with Adam, but he was a natural dancer, much more so than Karamo. Has she gone far with a non-dancer? I really wish they had paired him with a pro who has a proven track record with non-dancers, like Lindsay or Emma, because I’d love to see him do well.
@marintx, she had Joe last season. If it wasn’t for Bobby win, him clomping his way to the semi finals would probably get way more attention. He was hopeless, but I don’t think Jenna helped.
@Heidi, the only Uptown Girl for me will always be Jennie/Derek’s cha cha. I can remember dances so well from the early seasons but can barely name five from last season. I’m glad they are going back to basic switch the dancing more, and not having extra dancers and props to hide how bad of a dancer the celeb might be.
Something about the whole Christie/Sailor situation bugs. I’m not with the conspiracy theorists who think Christie is faking, but something just seems weird about it all. Maybe it’s the fact she miraculously fit into her moms outfit (somehow I doubt it), or the package when they showed her saying she was stepping in for her mom. Whatever the case, I hope going forward this can be about Sailor and they don’t reference her mom every week.
I went in rooting for James and Kel for nostalgic reasons and they didn’t disappoint. I’m so happy Emma got a solid contender, because they doesn’t happen for her very often. Watching her IG story after the show she was glowing. I enjoyed Hannah, despite saying I’d be rooting against anyone from Bachelor Nation after Joe last season. But it’s nice seeing a Bachelorette and at least she can dance. I also hope she keeps shutting down any attempt at putting her in a showmance. Kate was a pleasant surprise, and I think ballroom will be her stronger suit. Pasha I feel is going to be a great addition, and they are a really fun pair. I hope they make it far. Also rooting for Ally, and I think Ray will go far. I wasn’t crazy about Karamo, but I don’t think Jenna gave him enough to do (he seems like he has the ability to do better than that), and I feel like Gleb will be Lauren’s downfall. However, with Idol back on ABC, what better way to promote it than having a successful former Idol contestant taking home the mirrorball.
I hope Lamar outlasts Sean. I know there’s the height difference but I don’t feel like Peta did much for him in that dance. I’m curious how he’ll do this week and whether she at least tried with him.
Overall I loved the premiere, and am curious whether the live voting and whatever the other twist is ends up having any impact. If Sean winds up in the bottom 2 next week and they keep him over someone else then they clearly didn’t learn.
I really think the show should adopt a “five second rule,” in which the partners have 5 seconds to get into the style of dance. Also, it’s time to do away with other pro dancers being in the dance, except for maybe the freestyle, and perhaps not even then.
I did not manage to get on the Live Blog Monday, so read all the comments before coming to this article. This is a followup to #76 Cindy’s comment from there.
My question is for a Moderator or anyone that may know the answer: Are the producers throwing away all votes from Pacific and Mt. Time Zones, or can fans from those areas still vote in the 8 – 10 pm Eastern time slot, even though without some streaming service they probably have not seen the dances? The latter is bad enough, but if the area codes from the western states are blocked, the producers would be curtailing what, 15% of the US population? How can they ask viewers to get involved in a reality show by watching, but telling them at the same time their votes don’t count, but we will certainly use your watching for advertising revenue purposes?
This of course would never have been a problem in the UK, but the US is vastly bigger.
Courtney I have to agree with you on everything you said about James and especially thinking from the beginning he was a perfect Emma partner. The only thing I will say is I saw him as being a good competitor from the beginning. I think what surprised me is he came out better than expected.
I’d say that some my thoughts post GMA are pretty much in line with my thoughts post show. I expected to that Hannah, Kel and James would be my favorites and they were. Kel needs some work but he has potential and I do seem him having a frankie journey with Wit.
I think for me sometimes I have trouble getting into a partnership with the pros I’m not a fan of. Unless it’s someone I really love a lot. Of course I’m trying to be open but I think that is why I initially was really excited for Karamo and Lauren but their pros are my least favorite on the show. Also for whatever reason I keep forgetting about Karamo of all the dances of the night his to me keeps slipping my mind.
As an avid office fan I enjoyed Kate and new pro Pasha although I’m still a bit salty about Keo being left partnerless but that’s my own problem. I was also presently surprised by Ray who I know has a checkered past but his dance was memorable for me. Mary also impressed me and Brandon reminded me of what a great addition to the pro line up he is.
The real surprise of the night for me was Ally. I wasn’t expecting to like her based on her interviews Pre show and her group affiliation because man did Normani annoy me. However Ally is a perfect match for Sasha and I could put her in a final with James, Kel, and Hannah.
Sad for what Lindsay has to deal with this season. She’s a queen for how she’s behaving and I have nothing but respect for her. I think overall she has been lucky with her partners so she was bound to get a bad one eventually but I never had any doubt she would make him look good and feed us enjoyable content even with very little skill.
Overall the changes are 50/50 for me I don’t love them don’t hate them. interested to see about this whole new voting business. I did still think there were some major discrepancies in the scores. I am excited dancing is back and look forward to this season. As of now hoping James wins but Hannah or Kel would be fine alternatives.
Happy Pureversary, Courtney!
I went in rooting for Karamo and came out rooting for Mary & James.
I liked the return of British Voice and the Strictly-ish style of the intro dance. The dropped cameras and putting Christie on the stage during Sailor’s judging really bugged me. Peta outdanced her partner, like is she really in that big of a hurry to get back home to The Fam?
Lindsay is setting a good example of how to deal with difficult work situations. Sooner or later we all get stuck working with a teammate or client that is no bueno.
My boyfriend photographed Len’s facial expressions. He wants to make shirts that have Len’s angry face and “No Mucking About!”
We’ll be sure to wear it during Gleb’s routines. I have a feeling we’ll also need it for Val.
I was pleasantly surprised at how well James did. I think I’ve seen him in the audience over the past few seasons and I think he really wants to be here and learn how to dance, plus he seems like he has some natural ability/showmanship.
I also love Kate, her package was so funny and even though she may not be have the greatest technique, her dance (besides James) was the first one I wanted to re-watch. I am really interested to see her and Pasha’s journey.
also, the new scoring format threw me off. It makes sense that they’re lower and not giving 8’s on week 1 because there is always room to improve from week 1 to the finale but giving out 3’s was unfortunate. I agree with Courtney and her thoughts on Lamar. I used to watch Lamar and Khloe and have paid attention to his struggles and journey over the past few years. He definitely had a dark past and made mistakes but he’s trying to overcome that with sobriety. I remember seeing him in the audience quite a bit when Rob was on DWTS. I definitely have a soft spot for him.
I am totally impressed with Sailor and Val. Considering she only had three days to practice, it really doesn’t matter if she has a little training or not–she had to learn a whole routine in that short amount of time AND how to dance a style she likely has not danced before.
I am also a little sick of “disastrous year last year” because Bobby Bones won. Frankly, he is NOT that well known and to lay it all at the fans feet that he won is ridiculous. And he worked his backside off. No, he wasn’t the BEST dance but he was definitely the one who showed the most improvement. And isn’t that supposed to be the reason for the show? To take someone who is NOT a dancer and teach him or her to dance?
First of all, Mellie, COOL YOUR HEELS. I’ve got a feeling you’re just looking for a fight and some attention, but I’ll humor you to a degree. I never even mentioned Bobby’s name in this post – and last year was disastrous for this show due to the paltry ratings of both season 26 and 27. THAT is a fact. You’re putting up straw men so you can be fake mad about stuff I never even said. Whether Bobby “worked his backside off” is debatable, as I saw very little improvement from him over the course of the season and saw a lot of trash talking instead. And we’ve debunked the whole “this show is about taking non-dancers and teaching them to dance!” gambit multiple times over the years, but here it is again: this show is what the fans make of it – and that differs from person to person. Your opinion isn’t wrong – but it’s not the only valid one.
And yes, Mellie, it’s going to matter that Sailor has dance experience because they’re likely going to continue the narrative of “oh wow, look at her with no dance experience and Val doing such a great job with her!” under false pretenses. You were impressed with her? Cool. Now miss me with the shouty caps.
Unfortunately, I can’t see Lamar improving much on the show. It’s hard for anyone over 6’5″ to master these dances. Basketball players haven’t fared well on the show.
I’d be sad if Mary left the show before Lindsay’s partner. I’d like to see her dance for 4 weeks before she gets the boot.
I think “Juice” should’ve been choreographed for a Cha Cha rather than a Salsa. Jenna’s choreo can be hit-and-miss. That choreograogt could’ve been given to any mediocre male dancer and it didn’t showcase who Karamo is. She has a partner with potential, so I hope she adapts her choreo to match up with his strengths.
After rewatching a few times I’d say my rankings of favorites would go as such.
1st- James and Emma
2nd- Hannah and Alan
3rd- Kate and Pasha
4th- Kel and Witney
5th- Mary and Brandon
6th- Lamar and Peta
7th- Ally and Sasha
8th- Lauren and Gleb
9th- Karamo and Jenna
10th- Sailor and Val
11th- Ray and Cheryl
12th- Lindsay
Er, yes it is all the fans fault, Mellie. When the judges give low scores and someone still wins, the only way for that to happen is FANS. And when the number of regular viewers go down, that gives more power to fanbases. And Bobby was on the radio EVERY DAY whining for votes. No one else had that platform.
That he showed the most improvement is YOUR opinion. And that being the reason for the show is also YOUR opinion. Neither is set in stone.
While for the huge fans it might not be so appealing, it makes sense in terms of ratings if they’re going for a more strictly style. Strictly is regarded as the very biggest, or at least one of the biggest shows in the UK. The last season average 10.6 million which is higher than DWTS even though there’s 5x as many people in the US.
But you’re still neglecting the point I made above, Andrew: British viewers are not the same as American viewers. Sure, what SCD is doing may be working great for them OVER THERE; there’s no guarantee it’ll work the same way here. It’s an entirely different market.
I am disappointed with the voting system as described. How is this different to when Bobbie Bones won? We are still in the situation where popularity wins over dance and people who are not DWTS fans from year to year win out again. It will be near impossible for Hannah not to win based on her social media support. This is different to just fan numbers as they are hitting the same social media platforms that the voting is based on. She could dance the worst by miles in the finale and still win by miles under this voting system. I know what people might think that people have had massive fan bases in the past and not won – but this was not under this type of voting system. Hanna seems to be really nice and she can dance. But the current way of voting will only sort out second and third place. First place is already sorted in my opinion.
The difference is obvious. You only have the two hour duration of the show to vote. That means no fanbase is sitting up all night voting – and yes, that did happen. The judges are still going to have to do their part and score appropriately, of course. But I think fans are underestimating the number of people who would spend hours voting. Bobby Bones fans would do it, yet the truly good dancer’s fans would vote on their one phone and their one email account and call it good. So of course this reduces that by a good bit.
I don’t mind some changes to the formula but the new producers and crew seem to be focusing too much on going back to the roots and making it more like Strictly. Like Courtney said, while it might work for the Strictly audience, it doesn’t mean that success will translate the same over here. If the new elimination style is how Strictly does it with the bottom 2 in a dance off and the judges save one couple, I’m afraid it won’t sit well with American audience. They already tried that in season 9 and it just didn’t go well with the audience. I think a judges save would be ok if they can use it once. If they do it like Strictly, it would suck if one really good dancer celeb kept landing in the bottom 2 with the votes and judges kept saving them. Wouldn’t really help with their morale. I think it is a little bit better to have those surprise eliminations than saving a good dancer every week when it would be clear they’re not getting the votes. We also already see the crew are not as well versed with our commercial breaks and camera work. Strictly also still has a live band that doesn’t translate well to doing current mainstream music. While I don’t mind more content, I felt DWTS pushed the limits and allowed more creative content and made dances more exciting and Strictly is just kind of stayed the same and a bit boring. I also hate most of how strictly does their packages because they’re all really cheesy. I like to see more what the training is like as opposed to cheesy staged video packages strictly does. Sorry for the long rant lol. With all these new changes, I feel like it has affected how the pros choreograph now 🙁
I have a comment to add to this. This coming Monday, Sept.23 I do not want to see all the shots of Bobby Bones in the audience. IMHO, Bobby Bones is the main reason DWTS took a year off. We did not need a reminder of him.
I think the most objectionable aspect of the live voting is how it, by nature, diminishes the votes from the Western half of the country. How many of those viewers would make the effort to vote without watching the dances? Or figure out how to get a live stream up? 5-7pm PST is also not the most convenient time…people are on their way home from their day, getting dinner ready, etc.
For those PST and MST viewers who do manage to vote, their votes will have to be based on their favorites and the previous week(s) of dancing. The current evening’s performances will not factor into their voting at all, whereas for EST and CST voters, they will.
I gotta disagree, Steve. Those “surprise” eliminations are fun when they happen once or twice a season. Not EVERY FREAKIN’ Week such that we end up with a loser winner simply because he had a platform to rally his fans to vote every week. With the smaller viewing audience, they gotta make changes so the Bobby Bones’ of the world don’t win every single season. Or would you be okay with a Bristol Palin Champion? Most rabid fanbase wins? So SS should win this season? In the last few seasons, the most rabid fanbase may have won, but that person (Jordan or Rashad, for example) was also a great dancer. But last season, the biggest apparent fanbase went to the person who not only couldn’t dance, but was a spiteful, mean little weasel. So, yes, I think we need a great equalizer against rabid fanbases and if that’s a dance off, so be it. It’s actually FAIR. Now, if the really horrid SS doesn’t get close to the bottom two or three, then we’ll have a problem.
[…] like to point out that I referred to Hannah’s dancing as “cheerleaderish” in both week 1 and week 2, and the word suddenly entered Carrie Ann’s vernacular this week when she was […]
[…] got a gut feeling that she may be getting lost in the shuffle. Just an odd gut feeling…the same one I had about Mary after week 1, and we see how that turned out. I think going into it, she was already at a disadvantage for […]