Russians thwart suburban sweep in reality TV
Personally, I blame the Russians.
Had they not sent us Anna Trebunskaya, she wouldn't have had that argument with Evan on how to approach the freestyle, and they wouldn't have brought in the choreographer who apparently made things worse, which drew the scorn of wisecracking Bruno, who said Evan looked like he'd been "bitten by a tarantula," condescending Carrie Ann, who called their dance "odd," and contentious Len Goodman, who said, "I don't think this is what you wanted to do, Evan. I don't think it was what you wanted to do, Anna. And it certainly wasn't what I wanted to see."
OK, that's a stretch. But Naperville Olympic ice skating hero Evan Lysacek's second-place finish this week to Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger in "Dancing With The Stars" Tuesday night was the only thing keeping us from a hometown heroes sweep of the reality TV sweepstakes.
Readers of this newspaper might possibly be aware a guy from Mount Prospect named Lee DeWyze won "American Idol" Wednesday night. And maybe you noticed our story about Bartlett's Michael Ventrella, who lost the equivalent weight of 140 heads of lettuce/75 large pan pizzas/three Olympic women gymnasts to capture the "Biggest Loser" title a day earlier.
As the official Daily Herald "DWTS" correspondent (with some big assists from co-workers Kathleen Danes and Jamie Sotonoff) and a 40-year resident of the greater Naperville area, I feel no small measure of guilt in not holding up my end of the bargain.
But, as "DWTS" judge Carrie Ann Inaba noted in her final critique for Lysacek, he might not have won the most judges' points, but "won the hearts ... of everyone here. I see a true champion in the way you approached the competition."
I'm not really blaming Anna, either. In fact, the obvious and sincere bond she and Lysacek formed during the competition was a highlight for this biased correspondent - a welcome relief from, say, the icky flirtations (and diamond ring and pendant buying) of Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco with partner Cheryl Burke.
Since the reality TV stars are unlikely to align with Herald City in such a manner again, I leave you with a few personal highlights:
Fun with adjectives: In the opening week of competition, I described judge Len Goodman as "curmudgeonly." After that, I made a personal vow to put a modifier beginning with the letter "c" before his name each week. So, depending on the week, Len was "sometimes crotchety," "occasionally crabby," "cranky," "contrarian," but one week he was "unusually cordial." Actually, I like Goodman; he calls it like he sees it, a sophisticated Simon Cowell.
A good host helps: Is Ryan Seacrest not the worst thing about "Idol?" On the other hand, "DWTS's" Tom Bergeron is genuinely funny, charming. He disarmed the tension one night right after the judges were harsh on Lysacek. "I enjoyed it," he said. "Whatever it was you did."
Favorite headline:
"Lysacek falls - on head and in 'DWTS' standings."Yep, I wrote that.Favorite Evan quote from flamboyant judge Bruno Tonioli:"I haven't seen anything like that since Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney."Favorite foreshadowing: In the season debut, Lysacek acknowledged his critics say he's "too technical of a skater, that I have no danceability whatsoever." He quickly added, "This is my chance to prove them wrong."Didn't he, though?