Dancing With The Stars Season 7

I have been watching this show since it's premiere and have really enjoyed it, but lately I find myself getting more and more disillusioned.

The show has turned into more of a popularity contest over the years than a "who dances the best" contest. Voters are calling in votes for the star or personality that they like the most instead of how well they have danced. Or at least that's the only reason I can see why Jerry Springer stayed on so long in Season 4 or why Cloris Leachman is still hanging around this season.

Sure, I think Cloris is funny. Who wouldn't love her trying to bribe the judges and telling them that they are mean (which they can be)? Or throwing her assets around in front of Len Goodman's face until he blushes? Very entertaining, but it's not what the show is about.

I'm sure a lot of Cloris' votes come from older people as well who admire her spunk. After all, the woman is 82 years old. I can't move like that now and I'm only 48. But while I enjoy her antics and love her spunk, I can't compel myself to vote for her. She is not a better dancer than Kim Khardashian (almost but not quite) or Ted McGinley, both who have been voted off in the past 2 weeks. Cloris should have gone home the first week and instead, she is still around for week 4 while better dancers have been sent home.

Come on people! Vote for the best dancers! Sure, there are times I want to vote for my favorite celebrity just because I want to keep them around but I end up feeling guilty and voting for someone else who is better. Why? Because that's what the show is supposed to be about. Voting for the best dancer. Not your favorite celebrity or your favorite professional dancer.

I was upset in Season 4 I believe it was when Mario Lopez was beaten by Emmitt Smith. Even though Emmitt was very entertaining and likable, he was not the better dancer of the two. Mario's popularity went down when rumors started circulating on the internet that he had taken professional dance lessons and had an advantage. So what if he had? You don't think boy banders Joey McIntyre, Joey Fatone, Drew Lachey or Lance Bass have an advantage, having danced choreographed dances on stage during their concerts? And what about Joey Lawrence? They showed a clip of him tap dancing at a very young age on the Johnny Carson show. Kristi Yamaguchi, being a skater, must have taken some type of ballet or something. But I digress.

After Mario's loss, I swore I would never watch the show again. Then I thought, "Well, Emmitt was entertaining and he did have some good moves so I'll try to forget and go on. But Cloris Leachman? As my husband said, you have to put a mirror under her nose to see if she's still breathing, much less moving. I love Cloris as an actress, I admire her for her spunk, but a dancer she isn't. If this continues, Dancing With The Stars is going to lose a viewer.

Now I know that me not viewing is really going to get the show cancelled. A show that garners more votes than a Presidential Election. Still, I believe if all of us out there who really want the best dancers to win, who truly vote for the ones that dance best even though we have other personal favorites decide to stop watching, the ratings may fall quite a bit.