While most television shows currently, broadcasted feature enormous prizes handed down to individuals who vie for a position on the show, Dancing with the Stars stands out above the crowd. By skipping over the thrill of prize money and even resurrecting someone’s career, it is clear that the show is pulling on a tradition of success and trying their absolute best to bring success to the show any way they possibly can. Trying to determine exactly what makes the show a hit or a miss is not always as easy as calling off a list of benefits or negatives, but it can certainly make for a rather entertaining list.
Your first consideration should always be looking at the fact that the stars who are selected for the show are typically those you have not seen or heard from in a while. In all reality since 2005 when Kristi Yamaguchi was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame, has anyone really seen her doing much? What about Jerry Springer? Perhaps Melanie Brown was your actual favorite, but in reality, most of the stars that are pulled out are at best B rated stars who have done very little in recent years. Occasionally someone comes along who is primarily famous due for whom they married, such as the case with Heather Mills and even Priscilla Presley but most contestants have had some sort of career for themselves at some point to fall back on.
Other reasons that the show seems to pull a lot of attention is when is the last time you saw guys such as Penn Jillette, Mario, Wayne Newton, and even Floyd Mayweather all ballroom dancing? These are guys who are known for music, magic and even boxing. Ballroom dancing certainly does not fit into the standard experience, but yet it is one of the main draws that helped each of these contestants do well on the show. With contestants on the female side also coming from some strange backgrounds, it creates a lot of interest and intrigue to see who will actually make it on the show and who is going to crash and burn quickly.
I would have to think that one of the biggest draws to the show is there is absolutely no prize. The best that the contestants who win receive is simply a statue or trophy, and a sweet little title that means absolutely nothing at all. In a growing group of celebrities who are used to being given anything they want they are increasingly finding themselves getting nothing at all but just a small trophy for all of their efforts. This is rather amusing to some viewers who normally expect to watch these shows and see large prizes handed over.
Another draw is the fact that the show brings together several different elements. There are the professionals who actually know what they are doing, the celebrities who act like they know what they are doing; the gorgeous costumes, fun music, incredible dances and the even intensive popularity contest. While many have tried to argue that the show is actually about talent, anyone who has watched much knows that it is much less about talent and much more about the popularity of the contestant. Those who are loved by a large number of fans and viewers tend to stay around much longer regardless of how well they can actually dance. This makes the show closely resemble the in clique of high school where only the most popular kids were allowed to hang out.
With the draws of the show pulling people from a large number of demographic ranges it is obvious that the show is doing something right. Whether they are pulling in the right celebrities to resurrect, or the format itself is just that good is yet to be seen, but people are loving the show. Discussions after the show trying to determine who is going home abound, and the wheel keeps ticking bringing new contestants and sending home more as the Dancing with the Stars empire continues to grow.
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