When they first announced that they were going to do a show called Dancing With The Stars I admit that while I rolled my eyes, I was also intrigued. The basic premise of the show is interesting - put well-known (stars) entertainers together with trained ballroom dancers.
It's the definition of terms like *stars* where things get a little fuzzy.Star = a massive, luminous ball of plasma held together by gravity?
No, of course not. We're talking about the earthly stars.
So lets stick with: "Outstandingly talented performer" shall we??
This definition may be true of many of the sports *stars* who have been brought on the show, however I suppose it is easy to assume that it is difficult to get many "outstandingly talented" actors and actresses to take time out of their busy schedules to come and dance. Those who do, are most often retired and now looking back on a highly regarded career, and a stint of DWTS seems like a nice rounding out of their resume.
So, lets scratch "outstandingly."
Leaving it with "talented performer" opens the door wide. I know many talented people; a family friend who sings beautifully, and a cousin who plays piano. However, no chance of them being on DWTS.
"Talented" must be modified by something like "well known" . . . therefore:
Star = Well known talented performer
Still, "well known talented performers" - particularly young ones - are hard to come by -- what with the scheduling conflict and the fact that a lot of them wouldn't be caught dead on a program such as DWTS.
"Talented performer" can then be replaced by *entertainer*
Star = Well known entertainer
Now, lets define entertainer shall we? Apparently an entertainer is anyone who has amused us in some way. Talent has nothing to do with this now. By lowering the common denominator, the cast of retired sports stars and sit-com has-beens has been taken over by reality-show famous-for-no-reasons.
The gauge of *Well known* is also poorly defined. Producers obviously want to capture a broad range of demographics, right down to the teenybopper set who seem to be well represented. If you don't have kids, just tune into the Disney Channel (yes, an ABC/Disney affiliate company) to figure out who some of these faces are.
So, it is most unfortunate when they lose true stars too soon, or when one fails to live up to expectations. Such is the case this season with Michael Bolton and David Hasselhoff.
Arguments can be made about the talents of The Hoff and even Michael Bolton, but both of them are definitely *Stars.*
As Jimmy Kimmel said to America a week ago after The Hoff was bounced from the show:
"How do you eliminate David Hasselhoff in the first week? Have you no sense of comedy?"
Now that Bolton is gone too the situation is looking very grim, (yes, even for The Sitch, what with his scores near the bottom again). I can only say that this looks like a sad season.
Help me Obi Wan Cho, you're my only hope!
