I'm going to get to the "other guilty pleasures" before Dancing with the Stars because I'm going to talk awhile about DWTS.
**Wait, commerical break over. Be back after the dances.**
Damn, that girl is good. More on that later.
Gossip Girl - Ok. I know. I know..... I know. But really, this show is pretty fab. Granted, it's a lot like The O.C.meets Sex and the City, but it's really fun and has a lot of heart. I love, love, love this show. I tried to watch the first ep, and didn't really dig it. At some point (out of sheer boredom during the writers' strike), I watched an episode or two online and totally fell in love. Hot boys. Killer clothes. Kristen Bell's voice. What more do you want? Watch. It.
"Apologize", by Timbaland/One Republic - There is something about this song that makes my heart melt. It magically transforms me into a 14 yr old girl singing into a hairbrush at the mirror (fantasizing about dancing to this song with her high school crush at the Homecoming dance).
Chocolate Underground yogurt by Stoneyfield Farms - (*pause, DWTS back on*) Technically this isn't so much a guilty pleasure as just a pleasure. This shit is GOOD, ya'll. It's regular ole' yogurt...with chocoalte syrup hidden in the bottom. Sort of a guilt-free chocolate sundaie. MMM.
The Bachelor - Ok, not really. I loathe everything this tv show stands for. Except that this year there is a British bachelor. And, well, there's not really anything else on, so I am leaving it on in the background as i type this because his accent is DELICIOUS. Hard evidence that I'm a sucker for all things Brit.
*POTENTIAL SPOILERS* (And, make that 3 glasses of wine)
Dancing with the Stars - Let me confess: When I first heard about this show, I rolled my eyes. I thought, "LAME." I poo-pooed it. Even after it got great ratings, I just ignored it.
Then, I moved to Smalltown, America. I am too poor to get cable. I am too brain-fried most nights to read. Therefore, I'm stuck with choosing between like, CSI (worst. show. ever. I hate hate hate it), Pussycat Dolls, and Dateline: To Catch a Predator. DWTS it is.
It started off innocently enough. I wouldn't plan to watch the show - just, you know, if it was on, I'd watch it. Slowly, it lured me in. Was that performance really up to par? Did I want Julio or Scary Spice to win?
Even last week, I didn't pre-plan to watch. It just came on. And I watched. Both nights. Now. . .I'm a full-fledged convert. I *may* even do a weekly re-cap here ont he blog.
You must know, though, that this show, well, it's just not me. I never really got into American Idol. This show, with it's "send in your votes" - it feels very much AI. Yet, here I am. Loving it. Not just loving it, but composing a fucking blog about it.
I think I've sort of put my finger on the thing about DWTS - it's the reality of the human struggle - it's compelling, heartfelt drama from the people you least expect it - celebrities. We think of them as larger-than-life, as entities all their own. Really, though, they're just people. And this show explores that, it reveals that. We watch them struggle and worry and feel badly about themselves and then triumph. It's beautiful, really.
I'm not going to painstakingly go over each contestanta, but off the top of my head, some thoughts:
- Marissa: Love her. How can you not? So spunky, so cute, so darn endearing.
- Jason: HOT.
- Marlee: Wow. She's actually really good. Way better than Monica.
- Monica: Poor, poor dear. She's trying so hard, but it's just not her. It's painful really.
- Steve: I am no ballroom dancer, but normally I can tell when a dance truly sucks. I can't see it with him. Something I like about him, but I don't expect him to be around too long.
- Penn: Big, dumb, oaf. But still something about him I don't hate. He makes his dancing work - he works with what he's got.
- Priscilla: Oh, darling. Kids, this is why we don't do Botox. Last week the other girls were flirting with the camera, and she just looked lost. Her dancing though...not half bad. I'm definitely impressed.
- Adam: Eh. Please go away.
- Shannon: Missed your dance this week due to Gossip Girl channel flipping. Last week you weren't bad. However, read on TMZ.com that you are the "diva" of the bunch, so I'm sort of holding it against you. Sorry.
- Cristian: Well, I totally forgot about you and had to look you up on abc.com, so that says something. Of course, you are really gorgeous and that helps. Howeve,r last week they were panning to the guys during the girls' performances and just before break all the boys were clapping except you. Then you noticed the cameras were on you and you started clapping, too. I didn't like that so much.
- Mario: Is there a girl in America who doesn't want to jump his bones? Fucking hell he's a charmer. And his partner...she totally wants to do him. last week they were very "hand-holdy" during the post-dance judging/interviewing. This week she was trying to steal glances, and he wasn't necessrily stealing back, but he wasn't totally ignoring either.
- Kristi: My girl. I want to want to cheer for someone else. I just can't help myself. There is something so all-American and wonderful and relatable about you. In the pre-dance video you seemed so shy and reserved and I was seriously concerned about your sensual mambo. Then you came back and kicked the shit out of that dance. Great music choice. You are definitely remarkable. My only reservation about you is that, well, you were an ice skater. Sort of like how Scary Spice made her living doing dances, you kind of did the same. Makes total since that you are the front-runner. Can't hold it against you, though. I've loved you for so long (hey, I am an Olympics freak, shut up), I can't turn on you unless you start jumping on couches and professing love for Katie Holmes.
Want to go home: Adam, Penn
Picks go home: Adam, Monica
Want to be top 4: Kristi, Marissa, Mario, Marlee
Picks to be top 4: Kristi, Jason, Mario, ??? (Shannon? Marissa if she keeps improving every week? Priscilla except the crowd doesn't seem to like her? I have no idea.)
If you love this show, or hell, even if you just like it, PLEASE join me in the comments and lets talk through it. Let's just throw ourselves full-force into it and go balls-to-the-wall all-out pure joy into it. Why not? Who cares if it's cheesy. I'm having fun watching it, and I totally want to do a dance class now.
This is Marissa last week - she got dogged from the judges for not being "ballroom-y" enough, but I love it. And...that f-ing song has been stuck in my head all damn week. Argh.
**Alright, so I sort of didn't leave the typos like I said I would. Wasn't intentional - it's just second nature to correct myself, and it's done before I've even had a chance to think about it.
9 comments:
Ok I just have to say that you rolled your eyes at me when I watched DWTS last year. I told you--it's addicting. My Grandma would heart you forever. She nevers misses an episode. Want her to number?
I thought about watching Gossip Girl since I can watch online and I'm desperate for TV over here. But I didn't like the OC, so . . .
I love Gossip Girl, too. I wasn't convinced by the title, but once I heard the premise, I was more intrigued. I have been watching since the beginning and I was soo excited when I realized Kristen Bell was the narrator - again, just like she narrated in Veronica Mars, as well as starring. It was comforting when I was loosing her otherwise.
I haven't gotten into DWTS. I do watch "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" so I won't harass you too much here. And I recently got suckered into Project Runway, when I was skeptical about that show as well. . so, I bet it has some merit, just haven't ever watched it.
I love "Apologize." It's one of those songs that I'm really excited when it comes on the radio in the car. It's so...singable. May I confess that I also really love Rhianna's "Please Don't Stop the Music"? And that I watched Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream with Anna this weekend? And that when Justin asked us if we wanted to delete it from the TiVo, we both said, "NO!!"
I also really like "Apologize" (though it's definitely starting to reach the point of radio overplay).
As for DWTS, I've never seen it, but I hear about it a lot. My mom totally loves it. I'm going to stick with only two vote-for-your-favorite shows this year ("Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance"), but I may be tempted to check out DWTS in future. Perhaps you can intrigue me with blog commentary and I will be unable to resist. :)
hey ashley/other wilmingtonians - is it true that the cutting edge's moira kelly lives here?
Hey Jeff--I don't know if she lives there, but she is also One Tree Hill's Moira Kelly. Yes, I admit, that's my ridiculous guilty pleasure.
oh ok, she prolly does then. GUILTY!
Affirmative, Jeff. If you want to spot her, I suggest the corner of Front & Grace outside of "Karen's Cafe".
I love "Apologize."
And, Nik, if you're a fan of Gossip Girl, I guess I'm going to have to try it out...I need some new shows on my tivo...
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