Well kids, this is it! It's been just over two months since this crazy season started and now it's all coming to an end. Who would be taking home the crown and who would go home in utter defeat? More importantly, who is being booted right away and settling for third place? I'm anticipating an interesting (yet long!) night ahead, so let's dive into it one last time!After a short interview with our finalists, Usher entered the ballroom and I shouted with glee. He's sexy and talented and he really hasn't had a song I haven't liked. Despite having a headset, I definitely think he wasn't singing his new hit song "Love in This Club" but that's really fine with me. It's a dancing show and if singing live would have made it hard for him to break it down at the end then he shouldn't have sang. I also think every performer on this show has lip-synched so this isn't abnormal. We've had some pretty great performances this year. Which was your favorite? Then the first big moment of the night arr...
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Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show's Kim Evey and Payman Benz by Michael Yarish/Sony
Sony Pictures' Crackle.com on Monday launched C-Spot, a new multiplatform comedy channel offering 52-weeks-a-year of Web-original programming. For its inaugural 13-week season, C-Spot will feature Hot, Hot Los Angeles, a take-off of frothy teen dramas (new every Monday); The Writers Room, a Kevin Pollack-fronted satire of late-night talk shows (Tuesdays); Gaytown, in which straight Owen Benjamin deals with a berg populated by alternative life-livers (Wednesdays); The Roadents, a 2D/3D hybrid described as The Odd Couple meets Easy Rider (Thursdays); 10 new episodes of the Web hit Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show (Fridays); and Best of Penn Says, offering the most popular entries of Penn Jillette's unscripted online series (weekends).
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Monica Seles and Jonathan Roberts by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
He predicted it even before the dancing started. Magician Penn Jillette said that if you looked at the big picture, booking him for the show — and then booting him out first — wouldn't be a bad move for the producers of Dancing with the Stars. "I like a little bit of game theory," Jillette said in his first interview about the show. "The producers could have me on and say: 'We're booking Sasquatch and isn't that funny? And then when he loses, it'll be funny, too.'" But once he signed on the dotted line, Jillette committed himself fully. He got a trainer in Las Vegas that he calls "the Nazi. He's a very, very bad man." He dropped an astonishing 48 pounds before the show went on the air. He got special orthopedic shoes for feet that have been battered by his more than three decades in show business, starting with circus training. "The producers made me promise that I would try as hard as I could," he says.And he did. "He did his best," said his wife, Emily, after Tuesday...
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All the magic in the world couldn't keep Penn Jillette and Monica Seles in the competition. Good job, America. I wonder how long Adam Carolla will hang on? Marissa and him may be hanging on by the skin of their teeth. In the midst of the hour-long fluff that is the results show, I started thinking about what a colossal waste of time it is. Do I need two performances by the Jonas Brothers? Do I need to see people flying in mid-air? No, I don't. With the sixth installment under way, I must say this show is in need of a makeover. So let's get a discussion started: What do you want to see changed for next season of Dancing with the Stars? Maybe if we make enough noise, ABC will listen. Mmmm…not bloody likely. But at least we can say we tried! Here are a few of my suggestions:• Enough with the fluffThose two hour shows could easily be 90 or 60 minutes if they cut out the intro pieces before the contestants dance. Another option would be to considerably shorten them (do I need...
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Phew! Tonight was a marathon, not a sprint. As much as I love this show, 2 hours and all 12 competitors was a bit much for me. Luckily, there was nothing a good mambo couldn't fix. Raise your hand if you totally fantasize about being a competitor on this show. I do, I do! I always have the coolest dress, the best technique and a song that doesn't stink! Oh, and Maksim is my partner every time. Yeah, you know it!But enough about my delusions of grandeur, it's D-List casserole time. So get yourself a plate and I'll serve up some recap for ya! Mahoney — Could he be any cuter? Despite some major stiffness (hehe), he seemed to be enjoying himself. I hope he sticks around long enough to revive his career. ABC — get this man a pilot! Mambo 16Cristián — The military bit was ridiculous but his dancing was not. Thankfully, Cheryl has someone who can keep up with her this year.Quickstep 20Monica — It wasn't as big of a disaster as I thought, but it wasn't pretty eith...
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Dancing With The Stars by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
With Dancing with the Stars' first elimination night scheduled for this coming Tuesday, gold-medalist Kristi Yamaguchi is looking utterly golden, at least judging by TVGuide.com's first Power Rankings reader poll of the new season. Kristi and pro partner Mark Ballas took an early lead and held onto it to come away with 31.2% of the votes. Placing a distant second were Cristián de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke.Facing an uphill dance going into Monday's performance show are Penn Jillette and Kym Johnson, who came in last with less than two percent of the vote. Can the illusionist work some magic and overcome that rough start?The complete rankings:31.2% Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas 11.5% Cristián de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke 10.0% Mario and Karina Smirnoff 9.7% Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska 8.5% Steve Guttenberg and Anna Trebunskaya 7.1% Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez6.2% Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough5.3% Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani 3.2% Monica Seles an...
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Leapin' lizards! It's time for another season of Dancing with the Stars. Welcome back, everyone! I've missed my weekly helping of D-list casserole — so let's get right to it, shall we?My first giggle of the season came in the middle of the opening dance by the pros. It wasn't my normal snicker about how the men's hips go all girlie, but a pure gleeful giggle at how cheesy this whole show is and what a dork I am for it. What's better? I get to goof on it all and then some of you write in and tell me what an idiot I am. This is the life!Penn Jillette — We've found this season's funny guy. He's not going to win but he'll last a few weeks because he's good for a chuckle. He should have Teller dress up like a girl and dance with him. Cha-cha 16 Jason Taylor — He's dancing with Edyta, so they have the hotness factor working for them. He was a bit stiff, but he definitely has potential. It's probably out of his comfort zone and he'll loosen up in no time.Fox-trot 22C...
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Penn Jillette and Shannon Elizabeth by Bob D' Amico/ABC
As Dancing with the Stars' newbies get ready to dazzle on the dance floor — the hit reality competition returns Monday, March 17 — we've got a week-long guide to who's hoofing for Season 7. Check back each day for our profiles of more pairings. — Deborah Starr SeibelShannon ElizabethAge 34 Best Known For 1999’s breakout comedy American Pie and a Playboy pictorial that same year Lives In Los AngelesPartner Derek HoughAdvantages Eight years of ballet, tap and jazz as a kid, from ages 2 to 10. "I think she and Derek might be the couple to watch," says DWTS executive producer Conrad Green, who also credits her "strong male following." Elizabeth, a masterful poker player, calls herself "super crazy competitive. I have to win all the time." Disadvantages A bad left ankle: "We haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong with it," she says. "I’ve got some tape on it now, but there are some mornings that I get up limping because it really hurts."Penn Jille...
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There's a Broadway star. An NFL bruiser. Elvis' ex. An Olympic gold medalist. And an Academy Award-winning actress who happens to be deaf. Oscar winner Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God) tops the list of names on the new dance card for ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and in doing so takes over from Heather Mills (an amputee) to become the most unlikely person ever to compete on the runaway hit series. Here is the rest of the lineup of hoofers. Season 6 kicks off March 17. — Deborah Starr Seibel Adam Carolla, 43, comedian/syndicated DJ | Pro partner: Julianne HoughCristian de la Fuente, 33, actor (Ugly Betty) | Pro partner: Cheryl BurkeShannon Elizabeth, 34, actress (American Pie) | Pro partner: Derek HoughSteve Guttenberg, 49, actor (Three Men and a Baby) | Pro partner: Anna TrebunskayaPenn Jillette, 52, illusionist | Pro partner: Kym JohnsonMario, 21, R&B singer | Pro partner: Karina SmirnoffMarlee Matlin, 42, actress | Pro partner: Newcomer Fabian SanchezPriscilla Pr...
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Sony Pictures Entertainment's Crackle.com on Wednesday unveiled Penn Says, an unscripted online series created by Penn Jillette, where the magic man and pundit will record daily rants on politics, celebrities and the hottest news events. "Big badass Crackle has given me the chance to talk directly to you about anything I want, anytime I want. I mean anything. I mean anytime," says Jillette. "When something gets my goat, or I want to get someone else's goat or other farm animal, I'll flip on my camera and rave about it, half-cocked, from inside my head... to inside your head in minutes."
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