Dancing With The Stars - Season 15, Episode 1 Recap

Dancing with the stars is back in action, but this year something a bit different is happening. This season pits all-stars against one another; that is, people who have been on the show and who have been voted back by fans to compete again. This champion will be the all-star DTWS champion; the prize is the same mirrored-ball trophy, but double the bragging rights come with it. The cast is studied with fan favorites and former champions from seasons dating all the way back to the first one. The judging system has been altered, too, to make the competition just a hair tougher. Judges can now add half points to their scores; which Len took great pride in throughout the evening. He threw down a litany of “half scores” as the evening progressed.

So exactly who are the stars ready to dance their way into the hearts and homes of American’s again? The stars include former champions; . Runner-ups; Joey Fatone and Giles Marini are back for another attempted win at the trophy. Melissa Rycroft is also back to avenge her third place finish. The rest of the crew consists of favorites who got booted and controversial figures. Bristol Palin, Pamela Anderson and Sabrina Bryan are all back in an attempt to better their dancing skills and make it closer to the ball than their last go-arounds. Kirstie Allie is back to dance as the oldest competitor, but she isn’t looking to hot doing it. Bryan should be pretty fresh considering she was just on the show last season.

Another winner from back in the day is Drew Lachey. For all those not into DWTS history Lachey won season two of the show; beating out Jerry Rice. Lachey is a man with a dance background; after all, he was a boy band member in the last 1990s and early 2000s. Anna Trebunskaya is his partner this year and the seasoned vet seems a bit out of place against Lachey’s goofy and chaotic nature. The pair danced to Sarah Berellies’ “Love Song”. The musical choice was strange and the fox trot looked a bit painful. The judges weren’t particularly impressed with the way Lachey carried himself. It is possible that this paring just doesn’t mesh. Only time will tell.

Emmitt Smith has Cheryl Burke back in his arms for another season and he sure looks happy about that. For those who missed Emmitt’s season three performances Cheryl is the lady that helped him dance right into the winner’s circle. It has been a lot of years since then but Emmitt and Cheryl were back to their old tricks as they cha-cha’ed their way into rave reviews from the judges. Emmitt looks like he could quickly become a favorite if he keeps up this pace.

Apolo Ohno, several years after his win, looks like he hasn’t stopped dancing for a day since; although, Ohno had claimed he remembered nothing. He danced with Karina Smirnoff, a totally new pairing, to “Party Rock Anthem” to get his season off to a start. The Cha-cha was flawless, the stunning good looks of the pair were disarming, but the music, well, it left something to be desired. It was an odd choice for the 30-something Olympian and seemed a more befitting song for someone like Shawn, at the ripe age of 20, to have danced to. Either way the reviews were good; all the judges seem to like Ohno’s smooth, polished style.

Giles Marini made huge splash during season 8 of the show, but fell short of the big prize. He was a little known actor back then. His face, back then, was familiar to the audience as Dante; a small role he played in Sex and the City: The Movie. He charmed his way into the hearts and minds of the audience with his ability to two-step and smile brighter than the sun. This year he’s looking to bring his new found star power and combine it with an ability to dance to capture that ever elusive trophy. He stepped out for a fox trot and it all looked second nature to the Frenchman. His partner Peta, who is last year’s champ, seems to be playing well off of Giles European good looks and mysterious allure.

Shawn Johnson, a cast mate of Giles and the one who beat him to the mirrored ball, is back in action again, as well. The pint-sized Olympian planned to make another Olympic run in 2012, but dropped out shortly before the games. Apparently Johnson has something to prove because she’s made her way back to DWTS and is aiming for another win. We’ll see how it goes, but her fox trot looked a bit, eccentric. Perhaps Johnson is still nursing the injury that dropped her from the Olympics. We’ll have to wait and see how she does but her pairing with Derek Hough is an appealing one. The two complement one another extremely well by the looks of it.

The scores for the first night of Dancing with the Stars ranged from 24 (Emmit Smith) to 19 (Kirsti Allie). The general consensus remains that these stars, this year, have to be better than they were years before because they are competing against an elite breed. This level of competition is likely something the athletes in the grouping should do well with. Those who aren’t used to the pressure (Bristol Palin, I’m looking at you!) are likely going to have a difficult time handling the competitive nature of this season. Time will only tell.