I came back from last night’s romantic Indian dinner and decadent hot fudge sundae (thanks Ilan) to a show I was half dreading. My own sixth sense is akin to the one that Haley Joel Osment channeled in that blockbuster M. Night Shymalan film. RE: We both live in a perpetual state of fear of some tortured event that will likely leave us devastated. In other words, we’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop and last night, as my shoelace kept untying on my walk home from dinner, I knew something was askew.
And it wasn’t just Indian heartburn…
The following is my rebuttal to an initially emotional and irrational reaction to the news that TEAM RINNA was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars.
Dear ABC,
I’ve been a loyal fan of your broadcasting network for years. Even when I was little, I secretly fancied Peter Jennings over Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw. Sure, he wasn’t as smart a newscaster as Brokaw or as self-righteously indignant as Rather, but Jennings had an air about him. This epiphany clouded my opinion of the three major networks and definitely cast a shadow over NBC and CBS. Having felt this strong alliance and illustrated such an intense loyalty at such an impressionable age, you will be disheartened to know that I’ve now banned your programming for a week.
In response to last night’s results on Dancing with the Stars, I have waged my own variation of a non-violent protest. As a sacrifice, I will not swoon over Dr. McDreamy over at Grey’s Anatomy nor will I ask myself for the umpteenth time what Meredith Grey sees in him while screaming at the TV. Nor will I demand to know the true identity of “the others” over on that Lost island. Such things are trivial now. The minutia that transcends our daily lives and filters into our subconscious and conscious existences seems so trite. I’ve been a fool for you ABC and a tool I will be no longer.
Shame on you ABC for treating us, your loyal viewers, in such a lascivious manner, completely discarding our votes, giving us busy signals when we dialed in for Lisa & Louis. You not only denied them our love, but you neglected your biggest fans.
Moreover, you’ve insulted our collective intelligence week after week by refusing to publicly reveal the number of votes each team received from on-line polls and call-ins. If our vote counts so much (or as least as much as Bruno Tonioli’s and Len Goodman’s) why not show us the figures, the percentages. Speak to us in numbers that mean something.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Betty Read
Lisa was robbed, her dancing has improved 100% and she deserved to be in the finals. Jerry should be ashamed of himself he must know deep down he is the worst dancer on the show, he should have withdrawn in the name of fairness. He can't really believe he can compete. He just doesn't have it. ABC you better wake up and play fair with the voters. This is suppose to be a dance contest. Please set some rules. I am totally disgusted.
2 - Claudia Schafer
Dancing with the Stars should be renamed---"See Who's Our Most Popular Star". Because OBVIOUSLY Dancing Talent really had very little to do with this program. I have to agree Jerry should feel bad; to advance once again and Know you didn't deserve it!!;
3 - Lourdes Bomeisl
This is a TV show, Lisa has come a long way as well as Jerry, Lets take a moment and forget about Jerry being the best (WR) in history and 3 Super Bowl Rings. Someone had to go and it was Lisa yeah its sad, however JRice has excel in his art of dancing this is all new to him this is not about catching a ball.He is very smart and humble. I applaud Jerry and I stand behind him 150% he is a winner already with all the energy he puts in. This what TV is about the way they climb the ladder to be the best. Bravo Jerry
4 - Smitty187
Actually Tom had 3 weeks of training on one dance and he was not better than Jerry. Lisa did not get voted off, we voted to keep Jerry on for the ridiculous low scores he received in prior performances and the inflated scores others such as Lisa and George received for technically poorer performances.
Since Jerry is still on even more viewers are tuning in. Who would have though that my husband AND his fantasy football league (32 adult MEN) would tune in and vote? Well, they did. And it wasn't against Lisa, it was FOR Jerry.
Jerry and his family clearly feel they deserve it and so do his fans. I enjoy the show. I too loved Lisa and wish she got enough viewer votes, but that didn't happen. The ratings go up each week consistantly and Lisa now has more visablity than ever. Prior to DWTS I never heard of her. Now I hope she can get a better gig on something she is deserving of, like Desperate Housewives or something she could shine in for more than 8 weeks. Every star that made it past the 1st 2 or 3 weeks had their market value increase exponentially.
Do you think ABC cares that you boycott for a week when there are 32 men to take your place because someone they can relate to is in it? I know I wouldn't watch if I couldn't vote for my favorite dancer. Incidentally, we Jerry fans had a helluva hard time voting via phone too. Not all of us got our votes in either.
5 - Linda Lee
I feel that they're trying to fix it for Stacey to win. How could she have such a fan base any way. I never heard of her before this show. So how could she have such have high numbers, of which we have no knowledge of, and yes she does have talent except with the boggled second dance that showed her to be so stiff. Jerry had more hip action than she did and look what kind of score he received. Bruno should try to keep his professionalism in mind instead of leading with what is in his pants. It's so apparent that he has the hots for someone he's supposed to be objective about. Judging is supposed to be impartial and guided by technical merit, not sex.
6 - Lenore
As a faithful watcher, I couldn't help but notice Harry Hamlin's constant cheering, support and praise for his wife. When she pulled him out of the audience to publicly express her appreciation to him, I also couldn't help but notice that Lisa Rinna is a class act.
7 - Jeanne, also a Ballroom Dancer
The contest is about dancing...not popularity. One would have to be blind not to see that Lisa clearly executes the figures and has the rhythm of these dances. Jerry, sweet and popular as he is? My ironing board has better moves than he!
8 - Natalie Davis
Jerry Rice was a great wide receiver and he seems like a great guy, but he can't dance. He has no technique, no flow, no style. He has heart; I'll give him that. Lisa Rinna is a much better dancer, but she is not as popular as Jerry. So the better dancer gets axed. This should not be surprising: This has always been a popularity contest, not a dancing competition. How long did the voters allow P. Miller to stay? And look who is doing the voting? How can anyone be surprised that the voters would choose popularity over dancing? If there is any justice, Drew will take the prize, but I expect the mainstream will give it to long-legged ice cube with the pictorial in Stuff. Perhaps the masses will prove me wrong, but I fully believe they will disappoint me. As usual.
9 - Josephine
"The contest is about dancing...not popularity."
If that were true, there wouldn't be an audience participation aspect to the show. If it were truly just about dancing, only the judges' vote would count.
10 - Realgirl
Yes, of course Lisa Rinna was/is a better dance than Jerry Rice, but that wasn't the point. Jerry pouted and whined and disagreed with the judges just enough to spur his considerable fan base to action. (That fan base is apparently also unclear on the concept.) However, my real reason for commenting now is to offer a valid explanation for P. Miller's lengthy stay on the show. THAT wasn't a case of confused popularity. Rather, I think people felt sorry for Ashly, his partner, so she received a sympathy vote week after painful week and that kept P on the show.
11 - Launa K.
The first season of Dancing with the Stars was
fantastic; I enjoyed watching celebrities dance
and learn from their professional partners. I
eagerly awaited the second season.
I have a master's degree in communication and I
rarely watch television; however, I was mesmerized
with the dancing and took time from my busy schedule to tune into a great show.
I cannot tell you how disappointed I was to see
Jerry Rice win and Lisa Rinna not make it to the
finals. Jerry was a great football player. His
dancing did not exhibit that same flair.
The two male judges keep interrupting the female judge and are quite biased toward to female that
wrestles. I will not be taking time out of my
busy schedule again to watch the reamining weeks
of the show in protest. This was intented and
televised that this was a competion of dance and
not that of popularity contest.
12 - Jody
I'm so disappointed in the show. I love Jerry Rice and think he's worked hard, been a good sport and a class act, but he's not on par with Drew, Stacy or Lisa in the dancing department. The show is about dancing. On Thursday night, he didn't execute 20 "dance" steps the whole show. If he makes it into the final two, ABC and DWTS will lose all credibility!
13 - Colleen
To Dancing with the Stars:
I'm very upset with the outcome of Friday's nights vote. I know that Jerry Rice is a very nice person, you can tell by the show. But he cannot dance to save his life. This is one show that my husband and I watch together. That will not happen anymore. I will never watch the show again due to the outcome of the results.
Lisa was robbed.
14 - Sarah
I am an ex dancer and teacher. I have loved watching this show. But picking Jerry is a travesty of justice. Lisa is a winner - a class act and she deserved the place in the finals. I am not a football fan, so I have no idea how good a player Jerry is. But he is not a great dancer. He tries hard, he is a gentleman and he has a great attitude. But he does not have the fluid movement and grace that Lisa has.
15 - Schoolmarm
I feel I should let ABC know that I question if my calls for Lisa were counted. Usually, when one calls to vote, the message "Thank you for voting for so and so" is received. However, for the past two weeks, I have tried to vote for Lisa and only received a pause...a blank message..without any voice message...before the phone disconnected. I wonder, did my call go through? Why did this happen? And, if it happened to others trying to vote for Lisa, is the voting honest? Is ABC not receiving calls for Lisa because they want to keep Jerry on the show...even though the judges did call him "the worst." I think this calls for some investigation.
16 - Lucille White
Please have the orchestra leader listen to the Big Bands. How can they dance a rumba, sumba,or any the dances when the music is so far off. Please Please do something to help him with his beats.
17 - Lisa Mcentire
I have read all the comments that other people have written. We are not dance professional nor do i try to be. the fans had their say and they chose Jerry Rice. Let's not all have a fit and have to have another dance off. I think that last season taught us that no matter who we want to win we don't all get our way. jerry rice worked very hard to get where he is and he should be congratdulated not condemed. i watch lisa on soap talk and i really like her too, but the fans voted so we should just leave it be.
18 - lennacc
it is not fair that a couple that is so obviosly better dancers get the boot....i enjoy the show but if it can be corrupted so easily i am going to view something else.
19 - Eden R
First of all, yes, Lisa is a better dancer than Jerry and should be in the top three, of that I can't disagree.
But second of all... get over it. It's a show. I can't understand why everyone is so amazed and shocked and horrified, especially after Master P stayed in for way too long. This is a popularity contest, plain and simple. Just like American Idol and any other show that you have callers helping decide.
I really don't think Lisa is half as devastated as her fan base.
20 - alincoln
I enjoy watching this show, but it angers me when someone like Lisa Rinna who has improved so much
gets dismissed before Jerry Rice. I will have to live with this, but it's going to infuriate me to no end if Stacey wins and I have to hear from the male judges ooze on about how "hhhhhot" and "luscious" she is. Is this a beauty pageant or a dance contest? At this point I really am rooting for Drew and Cheryl.
21 - Granmbubbles
Lisa is a winner in her own right, she and Louis were so gracious thanking each other during their last dance, Lisa acknowledging the new heights she has reached in her life by joining this show, and if I were her, deep down, she gained a lot from this show, and gave so much to viewers who admire her, albeit exposing herself to all the intrigues of mean viewers. The flawed scores of the judges show through their comments when she deserved a perfect score: "She nailed it" by Carrie Ann in the Pasadoble, and "She can really do ballroom" with the quickstep, but did not give her a 10; Len Goodman and Bruno had their own comments that she got dances perfect but did not give her a 10. Her first dance was awfully underscored as it was a very beautiful waltz, and she made all the efforts to improve for each succeeding dance. Her partnership with Louis is as much good rapport or even better than Drew and Sheryl, and she takes risk not like Stacy. Such flaws in the scoring, uncounted votes on busy signals, and Jerry's super-monstrous fan base who admit that he is not the best dancer makes me cherish Lisa as the winner in her fans' hearts, who now love her more, as Harry is adoringly proud of her and surely loving her more!
22 - Jean Michael
This show is truly a popularity contest. The American public is not familiar enough with the dance steps required for each type of dance. Thus their votes are for their favorites. I hope that Jerry Rice wins the whole show and exposes the show for what it truly is.....pure entertainment......NOT a dance contest.
23 - James
"The first season of Dancing with the Stars was
fantastic;"
The first season had even worse problems than this season with the fan vote. Kelly Monaco won because of the fan vote and inflated scores. Then they had that bitter, miserable dance-off solely to "even the score" by having O'Hurley win.
I wish Lisa had stayed, but she lasted well into the competition and in some ways she benefited more from leaving when she did, because so many fans feel sorry for her. Jerry tries, and I don't think he will win in this three-person final (I hope Drew wins), but even if he does, there have been worse endings.
As for the author's comment about judges she can understand - Paula Abdul is American. Does that mean you want 3 Paula Abduls on this show? I can understand Len perfectly fine, and Bruno most of the time. If people can't, then just use closed captionining.
24 - Alice
So sad I will not watch any more . I think Jerry is a sweetheart. How on earth could any one think he danced better than Lisa. again he is so nice but, he just stands there does a few moves Lisa works her heart and her feet off. you just lost a lot of fans.. WAKE UP!!! abc
25 - JudyK
I love the music and dancing this show offers. I'd however, like to see men competing against men and women against women. And yes, Lisa is MUCH better than Jerry.