Dancing with the Stars has reached its end, and the identity of the winning couple is as much of a surprise as the success of the show itself.
Kelly Monaco (General Hospital) and John O'Hurley (Seinfeld), each paired with a professional dance partner, faced off last night in the final episode of this summer's out-of-the-blue reality hit. O'Hurley's charm, good looks, and startlingly agile dance moves had made him a favorite with fans and judges (who shared in the voting process), but underdog Monaco and partner Alec Mazo overcame their early missteps to score a perfect 30 on their second routine last night--a samba snappy enough to propel them straight into first place.
Monaco and Mazo received a trophy topped with a sparkling disco ball, which they held high over their heads as they beamed in the winners' circle. An ebullient Monaco cried, "All my life I've been the underdog. I know it's such a sap story, but I have." Show emcee Tom Bergeron smiled and said, "Well, not tonight."
Dancing quickly became the leader of this summer's pack of reality shows, with an average of 14.9 million viewers a week. This unexpected achievement may convince ABC to bless fans with a second season, or even a long-term Dancing franchise.
Andrea Wong, ABC's executive VP of alternative programming, says that "One of the great things about it is that it appeals to everybody. There's something for young people, there's nostalgia and a love of dancing for older people. It is great to be able to do a show that is really inclusive."
Let's hope that Dancing gets a chance to strut its stuff with the regular-season competition this fall.
Comments (16)
I don't care much about "Dancing with the Stars," but watching Kelly Monaco dance is pure heaven. she's very sexy and her outfits aren't bad either.
it's not a show that i'm excited about to watch even though steven seagal is in it.
Absolutely unbelievable!! Something stinks, and I'm not just talking about Ms. Monaco's footwork.. There's no way this pair should have made it to the Final 4, so the fact that they were plodding around the dance floor for the Grand Finale just reeks of scripting.. I won't be watching this series again.. Only in Hollywood can a clumsy television actress, making enough money to afford one heck of a boob job, be considered an "underdog" that's never won anything in her life.. *snort*
I think this show was rigged by ABC to bring advertising to a show that is on the downslide.... Kelly Monaco should have been out the first week but because of all the GH fans calling in she made it..... Not only is Kelly a horrible dancer but she sounds cheap when she talks . Thank god for scripts. John O Hurley is a soap actor that CAN dance... It would be nice to see him back on daytime
I was baffled by those "10"s, too, because of the two very visible near-falls - though I did think that a soap star would have the edge because of the fan base; the others were very much "niche" personalities. Didn't know that she was on an ABC show - perhaps that ought to be a disqualifier next time around.
I can't believe Kelly managed to win. She was bad the entire time, and on the dance that got a perfect score, she screwed up at least 3 times. Either the judges are on something or it was rigged in her favor, because she certainly didn't deserve to win.
Definitely seemed more like a "scripted" series than a reality show! Scrappy little girl fights back and wins against all odds. Hmmm, pretty sure I've seen that plot somewhere before.
Kelly and Alec deserved to win......yes we all know that john and charlotte were great from the beginning, but it was kelly and alec that came from the bottom and PROVED that they had talent. SO I CONGRATULATE KELLY AND ALEC !!!!!Great job and well done!
One good dance does not a winner make. Who the heck voted for her?!?!? She should have been out the first week.. I won't watch this show again.
Just another situation in which appeal won over class and pure talent.
kelly monaco is soooo pretty and she danced like there was no tomorrow. THEY DESERVED IT!!!!! they had so much chemisrty together and were sooo cute. they danced with energy and brought some of their personal flavor to the dance. and the freestyle...that made them win was AWESOME!!!! ppl who think that they didn't deserve to win...have serious problems. they were great...way better then JOhn and Charlotta...i hated their dancing. srry. just speaking the truth
Ya know this win is really suspicious considering the 2 falls that she got perfect scores and that on top of the fact she's employed by network that airs this show. No impartiality here...nope
Please, Kelly and Alec's performance was not perfect and it is obvouis ABC rigged this thing from the start to make sure that the ONLY ABC actor remained in the running from beginning to end then made the judges give them a perfect score. Kelly could of walked out and fell on her behind and they would of gave her a 10.
I'm very happy that Kelly Monaco win. I can't believe that people are saying that they did't deserve to win. My grand-father and my grand-mother were great dancer when they were young, they win some competition here in the province of Quebec and later they become dance teacher and judge also. The two of them were affirmative that Kelly and Alec were the best. John was lucky because he had a very good partner, the best of all the partner in the show and that helped him a lot .
The judges gave Kelly and Alec a perfect score for a dance that, clearly, wasn't perfect. John and Charlotte deserved to win, they really were the best.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!!!!! She and her partner stunk! John and Charlotta should have won. Recount!