Ballroom Blitz: 'Stars' Finalists Set for 'Dance-Off'
(Thursday, August 18 01:24 PM)
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)
When he was asked about the controversy over Kelly Monaco's "Dancing with the Stars" victory in July, ABC chief Stephen McPherson replied with a query of his own: "Should there be a rematch between the two, would that satisfy people?"
It seemed like a rhetorical question at the time, but no more. Monaco and "Dancing" runner-up John O'Hurley will return for one more night of ballroom brawling in the special "Dancing with the Stars: Dance-Off." The 90-minute special is scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 20, with the results revealed in a half-hour show Thursday, Sept. 22.
The "Dance-Off" springs from the swirl of controversy around the finale of the surprise summer hit and the generally confusing voting procedures that combined judges' scores with audience picks. In the finale, Monaco -- a "General Hospital" star and ex-Playboy model -- received a perfect score from the three judges to seal the victory with her partner, pro dancer Alec Mazo.
The win came as a surprise to fans of O'Hurley, the former "Seinfeld" co-star who had scored consistently high marks in preceding weeks and won fans for his affable personality as well as his dancing. ABC insists the results were all above-board.
The winner of the "Dance-Off" will be determined entirely by viewer voting, either by phone or online. Monaco and O'Hurley will each perform several dances during the Tuesday special, with judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman offering their critiques -- but not scoring the routines.
The special could serve as something of a trial run for season two of "Dancing with the Stars," which is scheduled for midseason and will incorporate a weekly results show in addition to the performance episodes. And, airing as it does during the first week of the 2005-06 season, "Dance-Off" will give ABC a nice promotional push for its fall lineup, nearly all of which debuts after Sept. 20.
