by David McAlpine

11 new celebrities and 1 new co-host are just the beginning of the highlights of this spring's blockbuster 10th season of Dancing With the Stars, which kicked off tonight. From an Olympic champion to a Pussycat Doll, two reality stars to the most downloaded woman on the internet, this season's competitors are arguably the most talked about cast since the beginning of the show. Tonight, they put their dancing skills to the test with either the Viennese Waltz or the Cha Cha.

First off, I must say that I am a huge fan of this new intro. It looks ten times sexier and makes me that much more excited to watch this show.

Celebrity: Chad Ochocinco (NFL Player)
Professional Partner: Cheryl Burke
Dance: Cha Cha
Breakdown: Usually, the football players are either really good or really bad. It seems like Ochocinco has promise, and he really went after it. He started to get a little tired at the end, but after attacking it like he did, I really can't blame him. Len said he needed a lot of polishing, Bruno thought he had the raw talent, and Carrie Ann knows that he has the dance ability. The judges know that he can do a lot better and so do we, but it was great for the first dance. Unnecessarily low scores, though, I think.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6  Len: 6  Bruno: 6
Total: 18/30

Celebrity: Shannen Doherty ("Beverly Hills, 90210" Star)
Professional Partner: Mark Ballas
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: Shannen is terrified of audiences, apparently. So what she's doing on this show other than trying to jumpstart her career is beyond me. She shows a lot of promise in rehearsal, but it all unravels when she hits the dance floor. She falls out of sync with Mark several times, trips over herself and makes the camera operator sorry he zoomed in on her feet. Bruno compares Shannen to a primate (thanks to her armwork), Carrie thought she progressed throughout the routine and tried to stay optimistic and Len was unusually nice about being critical.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6  Len: 6  Bruno: 6
Total: 18/30

Celebrity: Erin Andrews (ESPN Sportscaster)
Professional Partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Cha Cha
Breakdown: Erin seems to be letting her perfection get in the way, but she's still determined. She comes out in a hot yellow dress, Ke$ha turns on and she kicks up her long legs--it seems like this is going to be a great performance. But as the song goes on, it's clear that Erin lacks rhythm. Her sex appeal disappears in an instant and she just looks flat out clunky. Maksim is a sexy guy, and she seems completely unmatched with him. The judges agree that she looked clunky, but they thought she did a really good job keeping up with the rhythm. Are they being overly nice tonight? Not too sure that she did better than Chad, but I guess they're the experts.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 7  Bruno: 7
Total: 21/30

Celebrity: Jake Pavelka ("Bachelor" Star)
Professional Partner: Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: When I see Jake with a rose, my first instinct is to throw up. My second instinct is to really, really hope that he's the first one gone. In rehearsal, he looks really rough, and of course he complains about how bad he looks. Is ABC really going to give him the sympathetic edit? On the dance floor, he actually looks ok, nothing is glaringly wrong with his performance. He looks a little awkward, but nothing that can be more than first-time jitters. Len thought it was "good," Bruno thought Jake was a little rough with his leading (isn't that why Vienna liked him? Zing!), and Carrie Ann was pleasantly surprised.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 6  Bruno: 7
Total: 20/30

Celebrity: Niecy Nash ("Reno 911!" Star and "The Insider" Host)
Professional Partner: Louis Van Amstel
Dance: Cha Cha
Breakdown: Niecy's aim is to be the thick girl who can show everyone that she can dance. And boy does she ever when she takes the floor. I'm blown away by simply her stage presence, but her dancing is also very on point, too. She outperforms everyone who's danced so far and, even though, she had a couple stumbles, it was definitely energetic. Bruno thought it could have been sassier, Carrie Ann disagreed, saying it was fantastic, while Len thought it was uneventful. Sure, it was a little underchoreographed, but she still rocked it! I have no idea what the hell Len found wrong with this performance compared with the rest, but Niecy still managed to stay in the game.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7  Len: 5  Bruno: 6
Total: 18/30

Celebrity: Evan Lysacek (Olympic Figure Skating Champion)
Professional Partner: Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: Not going to lie, I'm concerned because it seems like he's tripping all over himself in practice. But I refuse to believe that he's going to suck until I see him on the dance floor--and what a 180 that was. It's clear that his figure skating training is coming in handy, because he's working all of the lines and he looks more polished than anyone else. The one problem I have with the routine is that it doesn't look like he's actually leading Anna. The judges made it clear that his lines were great, but his chemistry and connection were not up to par.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 7  Bruno: 8
Total: 23/30

Celebrity: Buzz Aldrin (Astronaut)
Professional Partner: Ashly Costa
Dance: Cha Cha
Breakdown: This man is 80 years old, and they're having him do the cha cha? Clearly Ashly is not buying it, either, because her face the entire time is full of, "I came back for this?" Ashly was always my favorite professional dancer, so to see her get stuck with Buzz is really disappointing. You have to give the guy points for trying, though, because you can see he really wants it. But his age is clearly a hindrance, because he looks just like an old man would on the dance floor. The judges all thought he was inspiring, but clearly there wasn't much dancing talent there.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 5  Len: 4  Bruno: 5
Total: 14/30

Celebrity: Nicole Scherzinger (Lead Singer, Pussycat Dolls)
Professional Partner: Derek Hough
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: It's no secret that Nicole is coming into this competition with high expectations being the most experienced dancer of the bunch. But when she starts to perform, it's clear she's going to be the one to beat. Bruno can't help but stand up after her performance and he's left speechless, Carrie Ann thought she set the bar for season 10 and thought it was the best week one routine ever, and Len explodes on Nicole and Derek for the smallest of things that he overlooked for everyone else. Grouchy much?
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9  Len: 7  Bruno: 9
Total: 25/30

Celebrity: Aiden Turner ("All My Children" Star)
Professional Partner: Edyta Sliwinska
Dance: Cha Cha
Breakdown: From the looks of the rehearsal, Aiden is willing to do anything. And he's super goofy, so you can't help but love him. Their routine was really racy and it didn't seem to showcase anything beyond that. Plus Edyta had a stupid coat on and we all know how much Len hates gimmicks like that. But at least he tried really hard and he looked good doing it. The judges really nailed him for having no musicality and not doing anything that remotely resembled the cha cha.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 5  Len: 5  Bruno: 5
Total: 15/30

Celebrity: Kate Gosselin (Reality Star)
Professional Partner: Tony Dovolani
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Breakdown: Kate is clearly scared about what people are going to think of her, because her insecurities are coming through in all of her rehearsals. In the actual dance, I think she looks fine. Sure, she's not the best, but for never have been on stage before, I think she did a decent job. Len thought it was bad, as did Bruno, but Carrie Ann complimented her on a good job, especially for how little performance and stage training she's had.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 6  Len: 5  Bruno: 5
Total: 16/30

Celebrity: Pamela Anderson ("Baywatch" Star)
Professional Partner: Damian Whitewood
Dance: Cha Cha
Breakdown: Going into this, I'm not sure if Pam is even taking this seriously, it seems like she's just doing it to to try it out. The new professional seems dynamic, and I think he knows how to use her to her advantage. Out on the floor, Pam is totally confident in herself, despite her way-too-short dress and her mess of hair. She's not too good in the footwork department, and she looks slightly drunk (which is amplified after, when she's talking to Brooke). Len wasn't such a fan, but Carrie Ann and Bruno definitely bought it.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8  Len: 6  Bruno: 7
Total: 21/30

Tune in next week on Monday at 8/7c to see the celebrities dance one more time before the first elimination show next Tuesday--only on ABC!

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

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