One of the TV moments I look forward to the most (next to the season finale of “The Bachelor”) is the announcement of the new Dancing with the Stars cast.
I love seeing who has been chosen to show off their skills on the dance floor, pick out my favorites and wonder, “Why did the producers choose them?”
When this year’s cast was announced about two weeks ago, I spent far more time asking “Who?” and “Why?” than cheering and anxiously awaiting these stars’ first appearance. There are always a few choices every year that I’m not familiar with or that don’t seem to have ‘star’ status. This year, though, most of the celebrity guests seem to be lacking stardom in any sense of the word.
While in past seasons celebrities such as Nick Lachey and well–known sports stars such as Chad Ochocinco have graced the stage, this year we get Bristol Palin and Rick Fox.
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I have no idea who Rick Fox is (or a few other contestants, for that matter –– Margaret Cho? Kurt Warner?).
As for Bristol Palin, all I can say is “Really?” She is not what I would consider a star. While they try to have a political or more ‘serious’ star figure on each season, Bristol doesn’t fit the criteria of being a legitimate political star. Shouldn’t they have asked her mother?
If they wanted to embrace the demographic of pregnant or teenage mothers, they could have even asked one of the girls from Sixteen and Pregnant.
Not only would they have drawn a younger audience (I’m sure more young people know MTV stars than former vice–presidential candidates daughters), but they would have still gotten their ‘minority woman’ contender. In another attempt to draw a different audience, we’ve also got The Hills star Audrina Patridge as a contestant.
If you don’t watch The Hills her name is probably lost on you, but if you do, you have another reason to tune into DWTS Monday nights starting next week.
If you’re not a fan of either MTV or the Palins, you’ve still got some reasons to watch. There’s Florence Henderson, Mrs. Brady from The Brady Bunch, to provide some ‘older age bracket’ fun, as well as Michael Bolton and Brandy for those of you missing the nineties.
If you love the Disney Channel, never fear, because Kyle Massey from That’s So Raven and Corey in the House fame is the youngest contestant this season.
If your younger siblings need something to watch, their favorite kid will be burning up the dance floor.
There are a few people that I can’t wait to see, however. This season, we’re going to get to watch David Hasselhoff do a few twirls, as well as Jennifer Grey of the original Dirty Dancing.
My personal favorite? Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino! You can tell that the producers are trying to get different age groups to become interested in this long-running show when they pull Jersey Shore members to the floor.
One good thing I can say about this season is that there is an immense variety. On top of this, no one so far seems to have an unfair advantage. After all, last season’s winner was a Pussycat Doll, and the runner up was the Men’s Olympic gold medal winning figure skater –– can’t say it wasn’t to be expected.
It’s a different kind of cast, to say the least, filled with quite a few hard–to–place names and some very age-specific members.
It should be fun, though, and that has seemed to be DWTS’ goal lately –– to make their audience smile. And with The Hoff and The Situation dancing, who can keep a straight face?
