An appearance by Senator John McCain on Thursday night boosted David Letterman to his best ratings in almost three years. Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, returned to Mr. Letterman’s CBS show after several weeks of battering from the host for his abrupt decision to cancel an earlier appearance. According to initial overnight ratings, the Letterman show attracted 6.53 million viewers, well above Mr. Letterman’s usual total of about 3.5 million viewers and the best he has scored since Dec. 1, 2005. (That night’s guest was another noteworthy figure with whom the host had had an on-and-off comic feud: Oprah Winfrey.) Mr. Letterman, who usually trails Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” by a significant margin, easily eclipsed that NBC star; Mr. Leno had 4.57 million viewers Thursday night for a show whose guests included Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Reality show and sex-tape star Kim Kardashian, caustic comic Jeffrey Ross and Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor are among the latest celebrities to try their feet at “Dancing With the Stars.”
ABC yesterday ended months of speculation and online chatter over who might get the call by revealing the 13 contestants. Also among those who will compete are Lance Bass, Toni Braxton, Brooke Burke, Rocco DiSpirito and Susan Lucci.
Kardashian, who has a reality show on E!, cut her foot Sunday on a glass table. She said yesterday on multiple TV appearances that she had the gash glued shut, rather than stitched, to cut healing time.
“The timing was just perfect now,” Kardashian told Kathie Lee Gifford on NBC’s “Today.”
Lucci, famous for playing Erica Kane on “All My Children” and for being nominated 19 times for an Emmy before finally winning, said, “I just feel blessed that they asked me to do this. When else in your life would you really take all of these amazing dance classes?”
Lucci said she’d been asked to be on the show before but turned it down. “I just wasn’t sure if I could fly back and forth across the country,” she said via phone on “Good Morning America.”
Lucci said she spoke to fellow “AMC” star Cameron Mathison after he did both shows last season. “I thought, I really want to do this,” she said. “I’m so excited to be part of this.”
The new season, which gets underway Sept. 22, will have its youngest contestant ever in 18-year-old Cody Linley from “Hannah Montana” and its oldest in TV and film veteran Cloris Leachman, who is 82.
Other “Dancing” stars this time around are Olympic gold medal sprinter Maurice Green, sitcom star Ted McGinley and former football-great-turned-NFL commentator Warren Sapp.
Last season, the show’s Monday segments were the highest-rated, averaging 21.15 million viewers to finish third behind two nights of “American Idol.” That’s up from the 20.4 million viewers posted on the Tuesday editions of the 2006-07 season, that season’s highest-rated shows.
Producers are also mixing up the format a little this season. For the first time, all 13 teams must prepare two dance routines for the first week of competition. The first routine will be performed on the premiere. But at the start of the second night, Sept. 23, one of the couples will be sent packing.
A second team will be dismissed on Sept. 24. Adding to the potential ratings draw for that first official results show will be performances by the Jonas brothers and Jesse McCartney.
From one bachelorette to another…
Trista turns to momlogic exclusively to pass on tips to the new lucky lady. Plus, Trista makes her pick for the best man for DeAnna.
1. Like any other relationship, it takes work. Regardless of whether you met on TV or in church, you need to be 100% committed to each other and create a life that you can both be invested in and proud of.
2. Move away from the craziness that will surely follow you! It’s one thing to attend fun events and enjoy a getaway to Hollywood every now and then. However…living away from the chaos allows you to truly focus on your relationship and not the spotlight that you will be in immediately following the show.
3. Appreciate that you’ve been given a gift…a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thank your lucky stars (and the producers!) for showing you the path to your someone special…someone you would most likely have never met before!
4. Be open about what happened on the show. Obviously, your guy will see everything eventually when it airs on ABC, so be sure to communicate with him about anything you may have said or done that could take him by surprise.
5. As you said on the first episode, DeAnna…it is your time. Enjoy it, embrace it, and don’t listen to any pessimists out there who want to bring you down. You have to live your life for yourself, so continue on the path you’ve gracefully chosen to find the man of your dreams, and hopefully you will find the fairy tale that I’ve found with Ryan!
And, my personal fave is Graham. He seems like an all-around good guy…motivated, real, didn’t try too hard the first night, easy on the eyes, and genuine. I’m all about genuine guys with beautiful blue eyes!!
All my best,
Trista
“Dancing With the Stars” will quick step its way to the end of another season - and as reality show cycles go, it’s been a pretty good one.
Almost alone among the most-watched network series, including “American Idol,” “Dancing” has actually seen its viewership go up year to year. Its audience of 20 million-plus will almost certainly make it the runner-up to “Idol” in this season’s Nielsen sweepstakes.
Admittedly, the kids dance competition got old real fast (although Brandon and Brittany, both 10, can sure do a mean pasodoble), and those appearances by pop music acts in search of a sales boost were awfully embarrassing. (What was Sheryl Crow thinking?)
But this season has also had some wonderfully goofy (and not-so-goofy) moments that kept things interesting. Let’s be honest, it was fun to watch Adam Carolla and Penn Jillette butcher the cha-cha and the tango for a couple of weeks.
We never thought we’d see Steve Guttenberg again, and his turn on “Dancing” gave us a nasty flashback to “Police Academy 4.”
But then there was the sheer persistence of Marlee Matlin, the determination and drive of Shannon Elizabeth (don’t ever get into a poker game with her) and the charm of “Hairspray” star Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won over enough fans that she stuck around until last week’s penultimate episode.
And, in the end, the last three couples standing were probably the best in
the field. Let’s take a look at why each couple might win - and why they might falter on the floor: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark BallasWhy we like ‘em: Well, Kristi is the hometown favorite. In fact, she’s been the clear favorite since Week 1 without taking into account her Bay Area connections. Her experience as a pairs figure skater and her competitiveness have worked well for her.
Why we don’t: In recent weeks, the couple seems to have been phoning it in - almost as if they feel they’ve already won. They cranked it up last week, but Ballas needs to avoid the over-choreographing that has damaged some of their routines.
The odds: Still the favorites.
Jason Taylor and Edyta SliwinskaWhy we like ‘em: For a big man, Taylor is mighty smooth. In fact, he ranks right up there with the best male dancers in the show’s history. Plus, he’s got a charming on-air presence that helps with the voters at home, if not the judges.
Why we don’t: They’re still not as good as Yamaguchi and Ballas. Sliwinska can sometimes come across (like she did last week) as something of a chilly sourpuss. That’s not the way to harvest the audience vote.
The odds: A strong couple on the floor but will probably come up short.
Cristían de la Fuente and Cheryl BurkeWhy we like ‘em: The guy is dancing with one arm, while most people have trouble doing the moves with two. Ever since de la Fuente injured his left arm, the couple has actually gotten stronger and looked particularly sharp last week - a sign of just how good a choreographer Burke, the Bay Area dance pro, can be.
Why we don’t: Sympathy - and Burke’s clever routines - may go only so far when it gets down to the finals.
The odds: The joker in the deck. If there’s going to be an upset, they may be the ones to pull it off.
‘Dancing With the Stars’
Airing: 8 tonight and Tuesday, Ch. 7
Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur won’t be adding a mirrorball trophy to her collection of prizes — the actress was eliminated Tuesday from “Dancing With the Stars.”
She and her professional partner, Tony Dovolani, came into the semifinal results show in last place, with 52 points out of 60. The couple divided the judges Monday with their quickstep and rumba, earning 26 points for each performance.
Judges’ scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which couple is eliminated each week.
Winokur, who has worn a glowing smile throughout the competition, kept grinning even after she learned her fate.
“I’ve never felt sexier in my life. Just going through this ride, I feel like I can pretty much do anything,” said the full-figured Winokur, adding that she “wanted to prove to people that you don’t have to be a size zero to dance.”
“I want everyone to go out and do something fun,” she said as the credits rolled on the ABC dance-off. “Do something that makes you feel sexy and shake what your mama gave you.”
Tuesday’s show also featured a tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” with Omarion singing a medley of hits from the 1980s album as dozens of dancers performed some of Jackson’s signature moves.
The show’s tiniest competitors, the ballroom kids, also returned to dance floor. One of three preteen couples will be crowned junior champions during next week’s season finale.
Usher is set to perform on the final show, as are the celebrity dancers who’ve been eliminated during this season’s competition: Mario, Marlee Matlin, Priscilla Presley, Adam Carolla, Steve Guttenberg, Monica Seles and Penn Jillette.
Finalists Jason Taylor, Kristi Yamaguchi and Cristian de la Fuente will do their last dances Monday, and one will be named season champ on Tuesday.
