Reality TV shows run in cycles, but are referred to as "seasons", which kind of makes the traditional TV season seem irrelevant today.
Dancing With the Stars marks its 10th anniversary year this year, and is on its 21st "season", with 2 "seasons" per year (fall & spring). It allows celebrities and athletes to demonstrate other talents. In the case of recent winner Alfonso Ribiero (ex-Catch 21, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), it was a case of his career coming full circle. Ribiero first came to media attention in the early 80's on Broadway in "The Tap Dance Kid", which led to his TV acting debut on Silver Spoons. So it came as no surprise, then, that Ribiero and his partner, Witney Carson, ran away with the competition one year ago.
Tom Bergeron (ex-Hollywood Squares) was tapped as host. I believe it was either around this time or after that he'd taken over another ABC series, America's Funniest Home Videos, but he's passed the baton of that series to Ribiero this season to focus on Dancing, and when his father took ill and passed away recently, Bergeron took a brief leave of absence, and Ribiero stepped in to sub.
The field has included football icons including Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, wrestlers Chris Jericho and Stacy Keibler, and "tabloid bait", if you will, such as Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Ribiero, however, has been the unquestioned king of the ballroom, as this video would suggest.....
One poster on YouTube, after posting the above video of "The Carlton Dance" from last year, referred to it as Ribiero whipping out an ace card, which would eventually wrap up the mirror ball trophy. Ribiero's no stranger to reality competition. He'd also won the lone season of Fox's ill-fated Celebrity Duets in 2006.
I'm not much for reality shows, and only really got interested during the spring '06 season (Kiebler, Rice), but not as a full time viewer.
Rating: B.
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