Or more accurately, I half-watched about a half-hour while my wife had it on.
I continue to be puzzled at how America still enjoys this show despite its contrived nature. Come to think of it, maybe that's WHY "Dancing" is so popular--it's utter predictability.
Everything about what I saw seemed phony. Host Tom Bergeron is a decent hand to have around and all, but he unsuccessfully straddles the line between genuine enthusiasm and "I know this is sort of crap."
The judges, sticking to that "American Idol" format that grew old 4 years ago, deliver superfluous commentary built around pre-scripted "quips" and "zingers."
Worst of all, the Stars themselves settle instantly into their roles--The Comedian, The Sex Symbol, The Underdog, etc.--and concentrate more on playing the characters than on being themselves. I thought the whole point of a show like this was to see the stars "being themselves," or at least faking that. Not so here.
So what this all adds up to is a bunch of phonies performing a phony spectacle in a phony setting. Sorry if I sound like Holden Caulfield, but the fakeness of it all riles me. It leads to scenarios like the one I saw Monday night, when Cloris Leachman, determined to play the Sassy Old Broad Who'll Do Anything 'Cause, Well, She's Old, acted so "outrageously" that she stepped on all the judges' bon mots, culminating in Bergeron telling us with a smirk, "And they wonder why I love live television." Everyone involved did their job of pretending this was oh, so wonderful, but it was less spontaneous and wild than sad and annoying. Leachman looked pitiful, the judges looked irrelevant, and Bergeron looked disingenuous.
"Dancing" does have several redeeming qualities. The dancing is sometimes fun to watch, though it seems to me the routines should probably be a little longer to have full impact. One thing that is fun to watch is the women in their skimpy costumes. On this episode I saw, Toni Braxton and Kim Kardishian provided some sex appeal among the Stars, but the real beauty was provided by the pro dancers, who looked great and showed the talent they have at their vocation.
That's not enough for me, though, and while I won't try to convince the rest of America to skip this show, I'm gonna do my best to avoid getting trapped on the couch in the middle of another episode.
The judges, sticking to that "American Idol" format that grew old 4 years ago, deliver superfluous commentary built around pre-scripted "quips" and "zingers."
Worst of all, the Stars themselves settle instantly into their roles--The Comedian, The Sex Symbol, The Underdog, etc.--and concentrate more on playing the characters than on being themselves. I thought the whole point of a show like this was to see the stars "being themselves," or at least faking that. Not so here.
So what this all adds up to is a bunch of phonies performing a phony spectacle in a phony setting. Sorry if I sound like Holden Caulfield, but the fakeness of it all riles me. It leads to scenarios like the one I saw Monday night, when Cloris Leachman, determined to play the Sassy Old Broad Who'll Do Anything 'Cause, Well, She's Old, acted so "outrageously" that she stepped on all the judges' bon mots, culminating in Bergeron telling us with a smirk, "And they wonder why I love live television." Everyone involved did their job of pretending this was oh, so wonderful, but it was less spontaneous and wild than sad and annoying. Leachman looked pitiful, the judges looked irrelevant, and Bergeron looked disingenuous.
"Dancing" does have several redeeming qualities. The dancing is sometimes fun to watch, though it seems to me the routines should probably be a little longer to have full impact. One thing that is fun to watch is the women in their skimpy costumes. On this episode I saw, Toni Braxton and Kim Kardishian provided some sex appeal among the Stars, but the real beauty was provided by the pro dancers, who looked great and showed the talent they have at their vocation.
That's not enough for me, though, and while I won't try to convince the rest of America to skip this show, I'm gonna do my best to avoid getting trapped on the couch in the middle of another episode.
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