PILOT REVIEW: Live to Dance

LIVE TO DANCE

Hosted by Andrew Gunsberg
Judges: Paula Abdul, Travis Payne, Kimberly Wyatt

Paula Abdul is back on TV in the new reality competition Live to Dance. The longtime American Idol judge and former choreographer is the lead judge in this competition, based on a British series. If you liked Paula on Idol, you'll probably enjoy her here. If you couldn't stand her then, you won't enjoy her now either as its the same as usual with overly emotional and occasionally incoherent statements. The other two judges are likable enough and have the occasional insight while the host is nondescript but not annoying. The contestants were good but they had their seemingly scripted moments in their banter with the host or judges. There was certainly some talent there, though there is on any dancing show. An interesting element is that there's such a range of group numbers, age, etc that we saw a wide variety of performances.

The first episode ran like an American Idol auditions episode with a montage of performances, some more interesting contestants given more airtime than others as the judges narrowed down the initial group, though they stayed away from the humorously bad ones. The problem was that the style felt more like an actual performance show (with a live audience). Because of that, the episode felt unfocused and too jumpy. Not to mention, the cuts and reactions seemed contrived at times (the judges' larger-than-life reactions and the host dancing backstage as he watches the contestants). All in all, it could have been better if it had tried less hard and just focused on the competition. It will be interesting to see where this show goes as it gets past the initial auditions. Overall, it was enjoyable at times but nothing special. It needs to stay away from being too scripted and let the talent carry the show.