Reuters Blogs

Fan Fare

Entertainment behind the scenes

November 25th, 2009

Donny is dandy on “Dancing” — duh!

Posted by: Bob Tourtellotte

donnyDonny Osmond waltzed off with the mirror ball trophy on Tuesday’s finale of “Dancing with the Stars,” and while the veteran entertainer is certainly worthy, was he really the best dancer? The judges said it when they told Mya she’d been consistently the best dancer week after week on the highly-rated ballroom contest. Donny, no doubt, was the best showman and performer. And from our couch, Kelly Osbourne was loved by fans. “Kelly” “Kelly” “Kelly” came the audience chants on Tuesday’s finale. But it wasn’t to be.

We’re not taking anything away from Donny, but we note that he’s been singing and dancing since he was a kid with the Osmond Brothers. He’s had hit records, hit TV shows, hit Broadway shows and hit Las Vegas shows. How hard could “Dancing” have been?

Well, a lot harder than, we admit, we thought. Turns out Donny was dancing on a broken toe! (Read about that here).

We also feel somewhat sorry for sister Marie. It seems she was always second fiddle to her older brother, even when they shared the stage on their old “Donny and Marie” show in the 1970s. She also competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in a previous season, and she finished third. Last night, after Donny held his trophy over his head, hugged his partner Kym Johnson and brought his wife on the ballroom floor, Donny rushed into the audience and dragged Marie out there, too. Donny was No. 1 again. Did he have to rub Marie’s face in it?

Maybe we’re being a little too hard on the teen heartthrob and “Puppy Love” singer. After all, we do like the fact that he transcended childhood stardom and became a real professional as an adult. Danny Bonaduce, (The Partridge Family) he is definitely not. And Michael Jackson?

Still, he entered the show with a leg up on all the competition, which only makes us wonder, did he deserve it over the others?

(Photo Credit: Adam Larkey; American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.)

September 22nd, 2008

The Emmys: Hosts, hosts everywhere

Posted by: Nichola Groom

klumpants.jpgFor the 60th Emmy Awards , the show’s organizers made a bold decision to scrap the one-host format typical of awards shows.

Instead, they opted for not one, but five hosts — the five being Ryan Seacrest of “American Idol,” Heidi Klum of “Project Runway,” Tom Bergeron of “Dancing with the Stars,” Howie Mandel of “Deal or No Deal,” and Jeff Probst of “Survivor.” All were nominated for the newly-created category award for the best host of a reality or competition series.

As the show opened, the five-host strategy appeared to be a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup. After entering together in matching suits (including supermodel Klum, who towered over her co-hosts), the five Emmy hosts admitted that they had nothing prepared and were therefore winging it.

“We are like Sarah Palin’s bridge to nowhere,” Mandel joked.

klumbergeron.jpgIt was the only joke.

To close out their opening bit, the hosts resorted to a cheap gag — ripping Klum’s pants off. The “monologue” ended with Klum standing on stage in a skimpy black lace outfit with Bergeron and “Boston Legal” star William Shatner.

Yes, William Shatner. We’re still trying to figure out what he was doing up there.

At the end of the show, Probst took home the “Host of all Hosts” Emmy for “Survivor,” which he has hosted since 2000.

“The Amazing Race,” however, took home the award for best reality series for the sixth straight year, leaving top-rated “American Idol” in the dust once again. “The Amazing Race” has won the best reality show Emmy for as long as that category has existed. In a world where there are so many reality shows, what gives?