D.C. Diary: Baby is Back

Last night marked the official beginning of the Fall, at least according to the TV networks. All the big U.S. season premieres are taking place this week and, apparently, this is a big deal. But before you begin to give me credit for finally assimilating completely into American life, I must confess that the only reason I know this is because I heard it on an NPR radio report. Anyway, I thought I should at least try and participate in the Season premiere excitement and, having had such a close (albeit virtual) relationship with Evan Lysacek last year, I was indeed mildly excited to see that Dancing With the Stars was back, particularly as this season apparently features 'the most 'A'-list cast list ever'. The line-up includes seven people I have never heard of (two reality TV stars, two ex-sportsmen and three actors), two singers I would not be able to identify in an identity parade (Brandy & Michael Bolton) and the three people I'll be tuning in for: Bristol Palin (whose Wikipedia entry inventively describes her as a 'Teen Activist'), Jennifer Gray (whose casting is a stroke of genius) and The Hoff (whose trademark brand of slightly creepy buffoonery I am sure will make for strangely compelling viewing). I sat down at 8pm to watch the season opener of DWTS only to find that I can't get ABC on our TV. I'm not sure quite what happened since we went digital and most of the channels disappeared but now I think about it I remember having the same problem trying to watch DWTS last season. So instead of tuning in to see Bristol strut her stuff, this was the enticing line-up awaiting me:

ION MOVIE: Back to the Future III
Qubo: Intermittent glimpses of a kids' cartoon about a precocious 8 year old called Miss BG.
NBC: Some absolutely TERRIBLE drama called Chuck. Have no idea what it is about but the 5 minutes I watched reminded me of all the good reasons why I watch so little TV. Unbearably bad. I could literally feel my life slipping away as I ingested the atrocious dialogue.
NBC PLUS: A static picture showing the weather forecast for the Washington region. For anyone that's interested, it will be 72'C and sunny in Manassas tomorrow, with humidity at 68%.
Universal Sports: A replay of the World Triathlon competition from June 6th 2010. The footage was somewhat murky, but I could make out two men's lycra-covered bouncing bottoms - I think the blue bottom was Atkinson from Australia and the black one was Brownlee from Britain. I tuned in just in time to see the sprint finish, won by the Brit in 1:52.41. A sensational sport. And this was followed by a replay of the Women's Beach Volleyball World Championships in Finland (yes, Finland) from August 21 2010. From what I could make out through the fuzz, the crowd all sported plastic green mackintoshes in the stands whilst two bikini-clad teams (Brazil versus Brazil) battled it out in the rain. Unsurprisingly, there seemed to be no sign of any men's event.

Fortunately, all the DWTS footage that I wanted is available on their website and, less legally, but more convenient for international readers, on YouTube. The short review is that Bristol Palin was fairly awful. Jennifer Grey was fabulous, although she actually looks like a completely different person - due not to her age but her disastrous nose job. I cannot believe she is FIFTY. But she was already 26 in 1987, even though she was playing a 17-year old. And I have to admit that the segment where she started crying about Johnny, sorry Patrick, had me weeping too. And The Hoff was just pure Hoff - tragically comic. Video below. But, beware, his hip-grinding and grimacing is not for the faint of heart:

Comments

I am sad to say I watched it Emma, but in between making the pack lunches, so not really watching! You'll be upset to know that you missed our Evan, he was in the audience!! Very dodgy hair do though! You'll be pleased to know that the Hoff is out!!!

Posted by: Sarah | September 21, 2010 at 10:14 PM