PILOT REVIEW: Skating with the Stars

SKATING WITH THE STARS

Hosted by Vernon Kay and Tanith Belbin
Judges: Johnny Weir, Dick Button, and Laurie Ann Gibson

After a highly successful fall edition of Dancing with the Stars, ABC is helping to bridge the gap with Skating with the Stars. I will admit that I don't watch Dancing regularly and I only half watched the 1 hour, 47 minute premiere of Skating, but there's no guarantee the massive audience for Dancing will follow Skating for many reasons. First of all, skating is not quite as electric or dynamic when you are watching average skaters. Secondly, this format has already attempted and failed in FOX's 2006 Skating with Celebrities. Thirdly, the celebrities, host, and judges are all not household names. Granted Dancing with the Stars started out this way as well but are audiences going to want to watch Rebecca Budig and Vince Neil skate after watching the well-known Jennifer Grey and buzzworthy Bristol Palin dance?

The upside to this show is that it is visually appealing. The celebrities are actually fairly good and the format is familiar and tested as it closely follows the format of Dancing. The host is likable enough, but not as familiar as Tom Bergeron. The judges are ok but Laurie Ann Gibson is quite annoying. There is no dynamic judge though which won't help. Basically, it's an adequate fill-in for Dancing with the Stars but it will never live up to its quality or success.

Comments

DECADE IN REVIEW: The Best Comedies of the 2010s

During the month of December, I will be looking back at the decade that was the 2010s on TV. I will be sharing my favorite sitcoms, dramas, the best episodes, the best performances and the worst shows of the decade. To be eligible for this list, a show had to air the majority of its episodes in the 2010s. However, for the rankings and determination, all episodes were taken into account, including ones that may have aired before 2010. I will also preface that there are comedies that have aired this decade that I haven't watched yet so this is the best of what I have watched. To be fair, that preface is more true for dramas. There's not a ton of unwatched comedies sitting in my Netflix or Amazon watchlist. So here are my Top 10 comedies of the 2010s! Close Calls: Master of None (Netflix) - An inconsistent but occasionally fascinating commentary on many life issues done so with innovative storytelling. The Good Place (NBC) - A show that aims high with a fascinating premis...

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While Rhoda has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way. Rhoda could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...

Benjamonster's TV

Search This Blog