TV Tuesday: Season Premiere of Dancing with the Stars

(Well, it's Tuesday on the east coast, anyway.)

It's fall TV premiere week! Tons of my fave shows are back and Monday night was packed with them.

Tonight I gave priority to the season 11 debut of Dancing with the Stars. Here are my quick thoughts:

• Audrina Partridge (w/ Tony Dovolani): I have to say, she wasn't bad! I thought she would be like Kim Kardashian and just sort of stand there, but she shook her stuff in the cha cha cha pretty decently especially for being the first one out in the first episode of the season.  She kind of kept staring at Tony like he was her lifeline but I think once she chillaxes and enjoys herself, she'll improve a lot. Another thing going for her? Her amazingly hawt body that is perfect for the ballroom!
• Kurt Warner (w/ Anna Trebunskya): I think he's the only contestant that I didn't already know (hello - sports star, of course). He wasn't bad in the Viennese Waltz - pleasant enough to watch.
• Kyle Massey (w/ Lacey Schwimmer): Good ole Kyle from That's So Raven (I used to be addicted to the Disney Channel - not as a kid, as in a few years ago.) OK, I'll be honest - I totally had a smile on my face while watching him do the cha cha cha. I mean, you've got this slightly huggable kid with a babyface that's gonna do a sultry dance with sexpot Lacey??? It could have easily been laughable, but he totally rocked it! Definitely one to watch.
• Rick Fox (w/ Cheryl Burke): Man - he's tall!!! He's also a very elegant and handsome man - did a really nice waltz. I wonder if Eliza Dushku will be in the audience every week. BTW - when I first heard about them, I thought - what a weird combination! But you know, they obviously make each other happy so good for them!
• Margaret Cho (w/ Louis Van Amstel): I think we can count on her for some funny interviews - especially if she keeps up the mom imitations, I always love those. I agreed with the judges and thought the comedic portion of their waltz should have been left out, she was doing so well on her own. But with the gold fabric and her angry facial expressions, I kept thinking they were going to leap into the paso doble or something. And how cute were her parents in the audience??? 
• Brandy (w/ Maksim Chmerkovskiy - wow that is a crazy last name to spell): Just like the other pop stars that have come before her, she is a natural and very polished on the dance floor.
• Bristol Palin (w/ Mark Ballas): My initial response to her casting? WTF. But alright, let's go with it. Her cha cha cha was just OK but not horrible by any means, just a little stiff. I was so worried she would be another Kate Gosselin and I just couldn't handle that. And in a weird way, doesn't she kind of look like a less fit, less tanned Audrina?
• Florence Henderson (w/ Corky Ballas): After getting over the inital shock of Flo flashing us on national TV, I have to say - she is looking pretty good for her age! And she is a sassy one, that's for sure! Her cha cha cha was a little goofy (she kinda looked a lil drunk, haha) but she was having fun.
• Michael Bolton (w/ Chelsie Hightower): Nice job with the Viennese waltz. Although to be honest, it's hard to differentiate the performances between him, Kurt, and Rick - they all seemed to do the waltz pretty much the same to me.
• "The Situation" (w/ Karina Smirnoff): Oh this guy cracks me up. Already making inappropriate comments in his first interview ("I learned to dance in the clubs... with your girlfriend.") I feel bad for Karina - she only had five days to train him while everyone else had three weeks. It showed but it wasn't horrible... definitely better than say, Master P. Mike definitely has a big cheesy factor going on so props to Carrie Ann for calling him out on it by telling him to shake off the 80s. Haha.
• Jennifer Grey (w/ Derek Hough): Baby did not disappoint. So sad to see her breakdown after first hearing her song, one from Dirty Dancing. [On a related note: I once wrote a fan letter to Patrick Swayze and got a very nice response from his fan club him.] Her Viennese waltz was quite lovely. She definitely has the talent and a little bit of the sympathy factor but I'm not sure she has the personality to win the fan vote week after week.
• David Hasselhoff (w/ Kym Johnson): OK, this guy is clearly a kook. And his cha cha cha was a hot mess in my book. Were he and Florence doing keg stands backstage or something? Len had the best comment, "It's never too early to panic." I'm sure he'll get the audience vote.

Overall, my ones to watch for actual skills are Kyle, Jennifer, Brandy. But for pure entertainment, I also like Margaret and Situation.