Review of Dancing with the Stars

Dancing is definitely a talent not everyone has. Nothing proves this more than the ABC hit reality show, "Dancing With the Stars," hosted by Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris.

The concept of this show is that non-dancing celebrities be teamed up with professional dancers, with whom they rehearse and get whatever training they are capable of mastering.

Afterwards, each team performs before three judges, a live audience and, of course, us lucky television viewers. The customary accolades or insults are provided by the judges- Len Goodman, ballroom dancing expert;Carrie Ann Inaba (she was one of the original "fly-girls on "In Living Color); and the brutally honest Bruno Tonioli. Then we, the viewers, get to vote.

The night following the performances, the scores of the judges and viewers are combined and whichever team has the lowest score is outa there.

it's really not fair to call year 2006's group B-listers, since they all have active careers. They include Tucker Carlson, conservative MSNBC talk show host; Monique Coleman, Disney channel teen star; Sara Evans, country music vocalist; Willa Ford, pop singer; Viveca A. Fox, television and film actress, most recently known for her role in "Kill Bill, Vol. 1"; Harry Hamlin, actor and hubby of Lisa Rinna, a celeb participant in an earlier season of "Dancing With the Stars"; Ioey Lawrence, the former child actor, obviously looking to get some life revved back in his adult acting career; Mario Lopez, the "cutie" famous for his dimples and starring role in "Saved By the Bell";beauty queen/model/actress Shanna Moakler; NFL great Emmitt Smith and, last, but not least, Jerry Springer, who needs no description.

As of this writing, the eliminations have already started and first celeb to go was- not surprisingly- Tucker Carlson, who pretty much spent half of.his dance time in a chair, while his partner, Elena Grinenko shimmied around him. Once Carlson finally stood to his feet, it was a ghastly turn of events., as his efforts at nimble-footedness failed miserably. Still, he looked as though he was having fun and when his banishment was announced the next night, he was a pretty good sport about it all.

Among the remaining contenders, I would say that the strongest competitors are Emmitt Smith, Joey Lawrence, Monique Coleman and Viveca A. Fox. Hamlin was far too serious and dull and the others lacked excitement. Viewers might keep Springer on, as a sentimental favorite, only because of his dry wit and amusing personality.

Hey, folks, you have to give these celebrities a big "head's up!" for their willingness to participate in a show like this. It's apparent that dancing is way out of most of their comfort zones and it's much more difficult than just having to singing, like with "Celebrity Duets".

Having to stretch and bend your body in ways unfamiliar to you, to have to learn and memorize steps, then perform them in front of millions of critical people is not an easy thing to do.

I enjoy watching shows like this when the people in it come across as though they are enjoying themselves. A healthy spirit of competitiveness is great, but not so much that they forget to have fun.

"Dancing With the Stars" is a show that I hope will continue for seasons to co me.