3 Reasons Why I'm Shutting Down DWTS Ringer Talk

We are less than a week away from the Season 18 premiere of Dancing With the Stars and the ringer talk has begun. My Twitter feed exploded with questions after PureDWTS wrote an insightful article about Danica McKellar's past ballroom experience. They took the time to dig up extensive evidence of her training where she looks good out on that dance floor. Danica is also seen in her latest ABC video acting a little naive when it comes to being led around the ballroom.

Remember, we are in Season 18 of the show and even Conrad Green, producer of DWTS, has admitted it's harder to cast the show at this point. So fair or not regarding Danica's very specific ballroom training, I go back to these three reasons why I'm just shutting down the ringer talk.

1. It's Exhausting: We've discussed it ad nauseum some seasons on AfterBuzz TV.  I think we wind up talking circles around the topic and we get nowhere. If you look back at Season 16 and the whole Zendaya debate, the argument reached a fever pitch with everyone taking sides. In the end, Zendaya didn't win.

2. It's a TV show: ABC is trying to deliver an entertaining show each week. They bring on celebrities with many different levels of dance training to draw an audience. Last season, we had a mix of trained dancers like Corbin Bleu, natural movers like Jack Osbourne and Amber Riley and lovable personalities like Bill Engvall in the Final Four. Again, the best-trained dancer did not win.

3. It Comes Down to that Freestyle Dance: When it comes to final votes for the average audience member, they vote on the Freestyle Dance. The best dancer may have worked hard all season and been at the top of the leaderboard most weeks, but if that Freestyle Dance doesn't deliver…they don't go home with the Mirror Ball Trophy.

I know you won't all agree with me on this, so help me see the flip side of the coin. Feel free to comment below. I will respond to all comments here, but I won't be able to respond to comments on Twitter. There are so many of you on Twitter and it's impossible to do without annoying my other followers who aren't DWTS fans. As always, please be respectful of others and their opinions. Thanks!

DWTS Season 16: The Rumors So Far...

See my January 30, 2013 updated article here.


The rumors have officially begun for Season 16 of Dancing With the Stars after the NY Post wrote an article that dished about some of the possibilities for the next season.  (If you haven't seen the article, click here.)  It talks about ABC cutting the show back to only one season per year and shaking up the judging panel.

On our last DWTS show on AfterBuzz TV and on the Spreecast fan chat, we talked a lot about changing the judges around.  It seems like Len's name came up the most to be removed from the panel and nobody wanted Paula Abdul to replace him.  It seems like the pros really want Abdul to step in, but I think it's been done....American Idol, The X Factor, and her own dance show, Live to Dance.     There are plenty of other dancers and choreographers out there that would make it interesting and bring new life and energy to the show.  

As for going down to one season, it's inevitable that it would happen.  Ratings are down for dance shows, including So You Think You Can Dance, which just means that the peak of the dance craze has already happened and some viewers are fatigued by the format. I think also having other talent shows on the air all year long, from X Factor to The Voice to America's Got Talent, makes us all tired of these types of shows, no matter how entertaining they are. There is just so many of them.

The other interesting tidbit that was thrown out was the name Emily Maynard as a possible contestant.  The former Bachelorette has enjoyed her time in the spotlight and the tabloids have been covering her possible move to LA, so I think we will see her on the next season.  Other names that have been bandied about include:  Christie Brinkley, Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years), Dominique Moceanu, Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, and several cast members from General Hospital.  

So, here are two questions for you, my friends:

1. Who do you want to see on Season 16 of DWTS?

2.  Do you want to see them change the judges' panel?  Who would you replace?

Let me know in the comments below, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

I will also be doing a Spreecast with one of the names I mentioned in this article in the next few weeks, so follow me on Twitter or Facebook for the big announcement.  

Finally, here's wishing good health on the road to recovery for Brooke Burke-Charvet who underwent thyroid surgery earlier this week.  

Many thanks to Kristin Hope for sending me the NY Post article yesterday.