Did anyone here watch the first episode of Dancing with the Stars (Series 3) that aired tonight?

Here's our feedback about the first episode ...

A bigger set, more "celebrities", nice lighting and a beautiful chandelier ... the show looks like it will probably pull in the ratings needed to maintain the dancing momentum and likely propel it to Season 4.


TUCKER CARLSON (MSNBC news anchor) & Elena Grinenko
Tucker has very spastic leg and feet action. Maybe that's why he was sitting down for most of the "Dance". There really is not one ounce of "natural" rhythm running through his veins. It also looked like a little dieting might have helped (although if he makes it past the next few episodes, he may very well lose a lot of weight through the vigorous training that Elena no doubt will give to him!). But his boyish charm made up for some of his lack of talent. OK, maybe we're a bit hard on him, but that's our honest opinion.

MONIQUE COLEMAN (Actress) & Louis Van Amstel
Never heard of Monique before the show, but she does look like she really works hard at maintaining her chiseled biceps. Monique's hand movements are actually quite lovely. There were some nice lines but didn't feel any on-air chemistry between the two of them. Let's hope that they can turn up their performance skills going into the future rounds. As Len said, they had about as much Romance as an Autopsy. Too Funny. For us, their routine was almost as much fun as watching paint dry. Hope that Monique steps up because she really does have potential.

SARA EVANS (Country Music Singer & Tony Dovolani
Sara who? It was nice that she was a "mom" on the road and clearly, she worked very hard with Tony. She had a nice elegance and maturity about her, just a bit steppy in some sections.

WILLA FORD (Pop Singer) & Maxsim Chmerkovskiy
Why she calls herself a "Pop Star", we'll never know ... never heard of her. She is very elegant, however, and looked very good with Maxim. These two have a certain chemistry ... and PASSION. Look forward to seeing her develop.

VIVICA A. FOX (Actress) & Nick Kosovich
Vivica is one COOL lady. Lots of attitude and determination. Quite a nice job. Would like to see her around so she can kick some *** like she did in Kill Bill.

HARRY HAMLIN (Actor) & Ashley Delgrosso
It was really fun to see Harry Hamlin & Ashley in what was probably Muskoka, Ontario ... our favorite summer vacation spot! We were up there earlier in the summer and it would have been quite something to run across them. Who knew! Harry has no natural Latin rhythm, unlike his wife Lisa. Maybe he will excel in the Ballroom Dances. Hope so! At least Ashley has a much more dedicated partner this year.

JOE LAWRENCE (Actor) & Edyta Sliwinska
Didn't recognize "Joe" with his shaved head. His arms were a bit distracting, but the guy CAN DANCE! Lots of natural rhythm - his tap dancing background definitely helped! However, Edyta looked too tall for him. Some of the camera angles made the height difference looked even greater.

MARIO LOPEZ (Actor) & Karina Smirnoff
OK, this couple is HOT HOT HOT. The chemistry is amazing, although it's weird because Mario actually looks "prettier" than Karina. Hopefully, Karina will pull her hair up in a future episode. Someone should shoot her hairdresser - it looked a BIG mess, and the way it was pulled the side made her look like she was balding. PLEASE, Karina, get rid of the hair dresser! It will be great to see Karina continue to develop Mario because as a couple, they have the "IT" factor.

SHANNA MOAKLER (reality television star) & Jesse DeSoto This couple was a bit forgettable. Never heard of Jesse before or seen him dance. Never heard of Shanna before the show either.

EMMITT SMITH (NFL legend) & Cheryl Burke
Emmit is one COOL guy. Lovely body rhythm, great fun to watch. Similar charisma as Evander in the first season ... but Emmit CAN DANCE!!! We really want to see him develop and pushed to his limits!

JERRY SPRINGER (TV talk show host) & Kym Johnson
OK, so Jerry got a low score. But we LOVED him! The choreography and music really suited him. OK, maybe there was no technique, but his sense of humour and "charm" came through. Kym is wonderful ... some nice "distractions" with her leg lines. As Bruno said, he comes from the "George Hamilton School of Dancing". We really really want him to stay around a lot longer because he is entertaining. It will be interesting to see if his transvestite-loving, gay-bashing, pole-dancing, trailer-trashing "Fans" will keep him around for a while. It was very nice to hear him say that he wants to be able to dance with his daughter at her wedding. That was a lovely sentiment. Great choice by the producers to put in "last" as the finale. He'll be the talk of Talk Radio and Entertainment news tomorrow.

TOM JONES is going to be on tomorrow. Hope he sings "K-I-S-S" because his original version makes a great Cha Cha.

Look forward to other armchair critics' comments... Please feel free to Email info@dancescape.com or post at our Global Dance Forums at http://forums.dancescape.com

Thanks!

Yes! I voted for everyone except Shanna and Jerry.
I usually don't watch this early in the competition. I like to wait until the really bad ones are eliminated.

I thought it was an Ok show. I think Tucker will be the first guy off. Jerry Springer will have to do better than he did last night to stay in. However, this is just my own humble opinion! I wish they could have put in some bigger stars than the ones that were chosen.

Hey everyone,

Just a quick FYI that we were contacted by ABC Dancing with the Stars to participate in their special Preview Launch Program.

If you tuned in, please also feel free to post your comments at http://forums.dancescape.com or through http://www.dancescape.TV -- as the producers and/or researchers are likely interested in any feedback about the show!

You were right, joyceizeme ... TUCKER was VOTED OFF!!!

Personally, we hope Jerry stays around a "little bit longer" ... although he said that he had his bags all packed and thought he was leaving!

Also, if there are any VIDEO GEEKS out there like us, please share any new technology or tools you may have discovered. We're continuing to add videos on our sites and hopefully the new groupee will be available soon that we can start blogging or altering maybe the Forums a bit so it's more a magazine-oriented feel.

GO EMMITT!!!!