Who knew viewers were starved for dance shows? ABC's Dancing With The Stars has become the surprise hit of the summer, No. 1 last week Stateside pulling 15 million viewers (plus a million-and-a-half in Canada). Episode three of the six-part reality series airs tonight at 9 p.m. on CTV and ABC. (If you missed episode two it repeats tonight at 8 p.m. on the Buffalo ABC affiliate WKBW.)
The series features six so-called "stars" -- former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, Rachel Hunter, Kelly Monaco, former New Kid On The Block Joey McIntyre, Trisha from The Bachelorette and former Seinfeld player John O'Hurley (catalogue baron J. Peterman) -- paired with actual professional dancers. Each week, they rhumba, waltz and two step before three judges (American Idol clones, right down to the prickly Brit).
Viewers at home then vote for their favorite dance team (Canadians can vote, too; register first at abc.go.com and vote on-line). A combination of judges and viewer votes decides who dances through to the next round.
Imagine how a big a hit this would be if they had managed to talk real stars (think of ABC's Desperate Housewives) into taking a whirl. Don't think they didn't try.
Still, Dancing With The Stars pulls three times as many viewers as The Contender, the boxing reality series that stiffed this season. While Sugar Ray Leonard (The Contender) and Oscar De La Hoya (Fox's short-lived The Next Great Champ) both got KO'd, Holyfield dances off with the reality belt. Who would have guessed that viewers would rather see boxers dance than fight? Holyfield, who was pitched, and passed, on his own boxing reality series, suddenly looks like a genius.
Don't bet against him winning this thing, either. It won't be for his dancing. Holyfield (who is paired with petite professional Edyta Sliwinska) got into a disco groove in Week One, but looked stiff and flat-footed in last week's ballroom shuffle. Still, it is easy to cheer him on. As one judge remarked last week, he has the farthest to come in this contest.
The favourite has to be O'Hurley, a former soap star with plenty of musical stage experience who looks right at home in a tux.
Like American Idol, Dancing With The Stars was a hit in Britain, where it is called Strictly Come Dancing. (Two of the judges hail from the UK original.)
The show isn't perfect. It would be nice if the cameras panned down from the faces to the feet once in a while. Wise-cracking host Tom Bergeron looks as if he wandered in from Hollywood Squares. The babe who does the post-dance interviews is brutal.
Still, this is summer, and stupid rules. For example: NBC's Hit Me Baby One More Time (tomorrow night 8 p.m.) is a tacky hoot. Basically this show gives forgotten pop acts such as Tiffany and Flock Of Seagulls one more chance to slip into Spandex. Aging Cancon popsters Loverboy sweated through Working For The Weekend in the opener. Hey, work is work.
Less fun is The Cut (tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on CH), CBS's dreary attempt to turn Tommy Hilfiger into a Donald Trump-level reality star. Hilfiger, you're fired.
Several more reality shows are on their way, including Who Wants To Be A Hilton (Paris Hilton's mom helps pretenders become spoiled divas -- Global's got it starting Monday) and Tommy Lee Goes To College (on CTV in August).
At least with Dancing With The Stars, nobody gets hurt, everybody has fun and viewers don't have to run for the shower after each show.
