DWTS 7

[LurkerB5]

I have to agree with pretty much everything y'all have said -

Warren is the biggest, and happiest, surprise for me - I really expected nothing from the big guy, but he is so Emmitt-like in his joy, I had a smile on my face the whole time he was dancing.

ROFL at Cloris on opening night, pretty much over it by Tuesday...

Afraid to say I can't get over my Lacey-loathing to give Lance a fair shake. When the pro can't hold her frame during a quickstep, how is the newbie supposed to?

Enjoyed Rocco's second dance *much* more than the first, and I'm glad he'll be around for next week, even though I'm unhappy Ted won't be, 'cause I was enjoying his just-a-guy dances...

La Lucci has the soapfan base behind her - she'll be around a looooong time, no matter how she dances. so I'm thinking we should all just get used to it...

Very, VERY happy Alec has a partner with a clue this year! YEA!!! He gets to stick around more than one dance! LOL!! While on the family, sorry to see Edyta go so quickly, but not so sorry to see her partner go...

Julianne continues to be one of the most beautiful women twirling on the dance floor, and one of the best pros they've ever had. Too bad I can't get into her twitty puppy of a partner. Maybe he'll stop trying to be so cute and take a more mature approach to this? Maybe? Too much to ask? I know he's only 18, but so was Jullianne when we first met her... But I'm thinking that's an unfair comparison...

Maks is pretty. Has that been mentioned before? And Misty is TALL!!! I know, she's a vollyball player, what did I expect, but still! I'm looking forward to seeing how she loosens up and lets some flow happen along with the attack...

My anyway...

[lilyover76]

Well... here goes my recap of Tuesday night's DWTS show!
At 5pm, we started inside the studio... and I saw that many seats were taken by VIP name placards! But we were told to start filling in the section behind the VIP seats, in the first section next to the stage... on the opposite side from the judges. This was the very same section of our VIP seats on April 15th! I sat in the next row behind the VIP row, at an isle seat, looking straight across where Tom Bergeron would have the dancing couples stand with him, after they complete their dances. Across the isle from me, one row down was Samantha's husband... and at one point, during a commercial break, Sam came up and gave him a hug and kiss. She was chatting with him and then the director called out, "Sam!"... really loud on the loud-speaker, and she went running back to the stage, right besides and behind us!

The commercial breaks are filled with activities, as I wrote in my recap of last April's show. All the 'stars and pros' are checked over by the make-up artists; then some of the couples would just stand there and chat, others would do some stretching, some would go speak to their family members down in the front rows. It was all so very casul for the few minutes of commercials... the performers act and look like normal people, just that they're all dressed to-the-nines! Then the director would start the count-down for the 'live' segment to start again... at this point, we see a total transformation of the performers... they become their 'stage-persona'... it's really fun to watch all this!

During the commercial break, if all the couples are back-stage, they start to file out... and Derek Hough was such a clown! He would come out... struttin' or dancing, or head-poppin', or muggin' the camera... or just plain acting goofy... all in fun, and the audience loved him! Mark, on the other hand, was much more reserved, tho always smiling... a perfect gentleman! His dad, Corky would clown around more than Mark! Cloris was... just being Cloris... running around or acting goofy! This happens during all the commercial breaks (which were many, as you know!), depending on the length of the 'break'. Everyone was quite jovial, some more than others! These antics would go on during the time that you (the TV audience) were seeing 'the couples interviews and the dance studio practice scenes'. The performers would stand around on the stage or on the dance-floor, watching their 'taped' interviews during this time; they would look at the audience and wave, or just pass the time. To us, the in-studio audience, these 'breaks' are so interesting b/c we're seeing how a show is put together, while you TV viewers are seeing this really professional presentation of a 'live show'!

Number 1 --- I'm glad you posted Tuesday night's scores b/c we certainly didn't have time to do that! Oh, I forgot to say... before the show starts, the studio 'pages' come by with paper cups and tells everyone to put their chewing gum in these cups... no gum-chewing allowed on this up-scale show... no jeans allowed either! I don't think we'd be allowed to writing down scores either... the camera might pick that up!
Looking at the photo of Toni Braxton and Alec (provided by Number 1), we were seated in that group behind them, but were slightly further back. The 'floor' has seats and tables for the family... then I was seated four rows up from the 'floor'... but there is so little lighting up there so it's hard to pick a person out during the broadcast. Of course, during the commercial breaks, I stood and walked forward a little, looking at whomever would be seated below and to the left of us. Jeffrey's family were seated across the isle from me, 2 rows down, and they all wore eye-patches in support of Jeffrey. He came up to chat with them during a 'break'. When Rocco performed, the director brought his mother to sit in the front seat, straight down from where I was seated and Rocco came right up to her, during 'break', to chat! Boy, I had a nice close-up view of Rocco... wished I could've had my camera! Rocco seems to have lost weight from the year that he was on that TV reality show about his restaurant... he was relaxed and very personable! Max seemed more subdued this season, and he wasn't as tall as I had expected. Of course, I like Misty and she was fabulous and lovely! Toni seemed nervous (or sedate) most of the time.

There was so much applause and commotion going on during the time that Cloris was saying 'stuff' to the judges, that we (on our side) didn't even know she said the "B" word to Carrie Ann. I only found out when I read your comments here at GA! I've got it taped so I'll have to watch all that on the replay.

My favorite 'insider' part of the show was watching Derek ham it up... he was having such a good time... and he waved to our section when he came out first! Kristy and Helio were on 'my side' of the studio, further to my left, away from the stage, so I couldn't get a view of them. But, after the show, I did get a glimpse of them, and others, while we waited for our section to start evacuating the studio. It was mayhem down on the dance-floor, with all the 'press' filing in, barricades being set up, and family members trying to get to their *STARS*! Since we were standing four tiers up from the floor, we had a good view of the after-show goings-on. I'll post this now and I'll edit it later ... if I can think of something else!

Oh... I haven't posted about the pre-show line-sitting... I'll do that after dinner, hopefully!!!

[mellie]

Thanks Lily for the "insider" info about the show. It must be a lot of fun to be there live.

[butterfly]

Overall, I'm enjoying this season's cast a lot better than last season's. I'm glad Jeff was the first to go, but sad that Ted was next. In all fairness, I think Cloris should've been the next to go. I thought she was funny at first, but not so much anymore.

Brooke is my favorite so far. And I also really like Toni and Misty. Warren has been a very pleasant surprise for me. I love his energy....he's a lot of fun to watch. Lance is a good dancer but Lacey's style is so much different than the other pro dancers, and I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I was a little disappointed with Rocco, Susan, and Cody the first night, but was happy to see that they all greatly improved the second night.

I didn't like the format of Tuesday's show at all. It was way too long and drawn out the way they did it. They should've announced right away the couple that was leaving and then let everyone else go dance. No need to build suspense, just get on with it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to next week's show.

[lilyover76]

Prelude to the DWTS show on Tuesday, Sept 23rd:
We got to CBS Television City, where ABC uses their studio, at noon. There were four (small) groups of people already lined up, sitting in folding chairs. We had our folding chairs too, so we plunked them down, right on the (shady) sidewalk on busy Beverly Blvd. Everyone is courteous and will watch your chair and spot in line. So the 3 of us went to this large health-food/deli store on the corner and purchased lunch stuff. Back to our seat... we finished our lunch and chatted with people around us and then... Len Goodman walked right by us! He was walking briskly so we didn't have a chance to say anything. He went across the street and down a block... he might've been going for lunch somewhere, maybe the same deli! About 45 miniutes he came walking back... this time we all yelled, "Hi Len", to him. He flashed a big smile and waved at us, saying, "Hello!" Len was only about 25 feet from where I was sitting. About the same time, Corky Ballas drove into the studio driveway in his convertible! He was about 50 feet away but we didn't have a chance to say anything, as he was making a turn from Beverly Blvd into the Studio lot.

By the way, one more thing... the first group of three ladies, waiting in line, got there at 10am... and surprise of all surprises, they're from Escondido, our home town, and one of the ladies had worked with my husband, Sam!

We sat there until 3pm and then the studio attendants came out and gave us 'entry' numbers. We were #s 14-15-16... so that was pretty good! They told us that so many seats have gone to family, their friends and VIP, so 'general' seats were not as plentiful... but we knew we were in good shape. We took our folding chairs back to our car, which was parked across the street - half a block away (we got lucky with that spot...no parking meters)! I changed into my dress-heels and Sam put on his sport-jacket. We went into another staging area inside (with seats for everyone) the studio property and then waited until 5pm, when we were finally taken inside the studio. (I have to add that last April, VIPs were allowed in from another gate, near the American Idols studio. Back then, we had to line up, standing, and wait for 1 hour before going inside the VIP gate. After being checked in per a guest-list, we had to stand again and wait for about 1/2 to be shown to our seats. At least, we didn't have to stand this past Tuesday!)

This shot was taken at the 'head-of-the-line', at the corner of Beverly Blvd and the CBS driveway. That's me in the center of the pic, waving... in the beige top. The line went back about a block or more... I couldn't see the end!


CBS Television City, where many TV shows are broadcast. We passed through the security gate and the DWTS/American Idol studios are to the left... I didn't have my camera at the time we were let in! Cameras and cell phones were left in the car.



I still haven't had time to watch the replay of Cloris, regarding her "B" word! I must say, I enjoy watching Corky dance so it's with bitter/sweet feeling, in hoping that Cloris won't last much longer. (I wonder how large her 'voting-fanbase' is?)

But... Tom B doesn't seem to be in any hurry to step in and cut Cloris' time off, during her antics.

Max: I was surprised that he seemed 'low-keyed' during the commercial breaks. Even Misty was more animated than Max was!

Misty: Her Beach Volleyball partner Kerri Walsh was there... Misty isn't tall when you have her next to Kerri! I hope that Misty will continue to improve week-after-week... she certainly has the determination!

Rocco: He was definitely enjoying the moment, but not in an obnoxious way...he just came across as very friendly during the 'breaks'.

Ted: I was sorry to see him go... we thought it might be that Inna didn't have a large enough fan base to help garner the votes.

Toni: During the breaks, she seemed very stoic... I don't know if that's her normal demeanor.

Even though the live show (for East coasters) was 2 hours long, the time went pretty fast, b/c of all that we in-studio audience sees during the 'breaks'... we didn't have time to get bored! I'm glad we were able to go during 'Premier week', to see ALL the pairs dance, except for Jeffrey.

Edyta: She looked rather sad during all the 'breaks'... I'm sure she knew that Jeff would be the first elimination. I don't know if DWTS did the right thing, making them stand there 'til the end... maybe it was the right thing to do for Jeff's entourage, to be able to see him on-stage as long as possible.

Jeff: One of the attendees (who also went Monday night) sitting next to me in line, said that Jeff told too many 'off-color' jokes during the 'breaks' on Monday night.

I haven't commented on the others, b/c some of you have already. They were all a great bunch and fun to watch during all the commercial breaks, as well as their dances!

ETA:
I need to clarify that the 'breaks' were not only commercial-breaks. When each of the couples discuss their practices, performances, etc.,... that is not done in 'real-time'. It is taped much earlier and then broadcast to the TV audience and it is also shown on the two screens adjacent to the stage. During this time, all the couples are on the stage and dance-floor, watching themselves on the screens. Some of their reactions are quite amusing, with much gesturing and animation! It is for these 'insider' moments that make the time fly by! I hope y'all are able to attend a show someday! It's well worth the time and effort... and the experience!

[aaosmts19]

It is such a different culture to be on the east coast and seeing life shows well after suppertime...8:00, 9:00, when its dark out...and realize that on the west coast the events are really happening in the late afternoon, in the sunshine!
Thanks Lily for the pics...they are loads of fun!

[A.O.Freak]

love your pics lily I remember passing by there when i was on vacation last july..

[number1fan]

lily...great great report from our own 'insider'!!!

very coinky-dink about the group in front of you...you guys could have car-pooled together

i too enjoy watching corky perform for the first time but not at the expense of another celeb with far more potential getting the axe.

toni does seem very tense and worried most of the time...it looks like that's her true disposition...she'll have to loosen up quite a bit to get more fan support.

karma to you for sharing another one of your exciting adventures

[lilyover76]

Thanks aaosmts19 and aofreak!

I added an 'edit' paragraph to my last post.

Yes, it's a little disconcerting... to think about the time-difference!

Also... I wish I could've taken 'inside' photos for you all, but you have to be able to stay for the after-party to do that... as VIP. At least we got to stay for about 15 minutes and just watch everyone. I miss Jonathan... he's a real charmer!
On the other hand... there were sooo many people on the dance-floor... it was quite chaotic... and all the stars have to meet with the 'press' first. I'm just pleased that I was able to get all those photos last April!

[lilyover76]

Sept 26, 2008 17:45:02 GMT -5 number1fan said:

lily...great great report from our own 'insider'!!!

very coinky-dink about the group in front of you...you guys could have car-pooled together

i too enjoy watching corky perform for the first time but not at the expense of another celeb with far more potential getting the axe.

toni does seem very tense and worried most of the time...it looks like that's her true disposition...she'll have to loosen up quite a bit to get more fan support.

karma to you for sharing another one of your exciting adventures

Number 1------ thanks very much!

Sam and his former co-worker (I had met her many years ago) were too funny! After we set up our chairs (from grandkids sporting events), we were suprised to hear... "Sam, is that you???" (Sam retired back in 1993) Then there was much hugging and back-slapping, and another co-worker joined in! The reaction of the others in line was like.... 'what a small world'!!!

[LurkerB5]

Lily - thanks for sharing! Almost like being there...

Indeed! Karma to you!

[A.O.Freak]

another great week of DWTS!! ;D

[aaosmts19]

Wow....did you see Cody and Julianne? It was so remiscent of Apolo's rumba with her to "Midnight Train to Georgia"...about 3/4 of the way thru you could almost match the moves from one to the next. It was like deja vu all over again. I thought "are these judges going to pick up on that?"

Check it out.

[A.O.Freak]

I was thinking the same AAO. I thought Julianne and Cody looked so cute together tonight,they got my vote ;D

[mellie]

Sept 29, 2008 20:52:48 GMT -5 aaosmts19 said:

Wow....did you see Cody and Julianne? It was so remiscent of Apolo's rumba with her to "Midnight Train to Georgia"...about 3/4 of the way thru you could almost match the moves from one to the next. It was like deja vu all over again. I thought "are these judges going to pick up on that?"

Check it out.

I noticed the similarities between the two dances as well. I made a comment to my friend about how similar it was to Apolo and Julianne's rumba, and she agreed that the two dances were similar.