Viewers aren’t warming to Tyra Banks as ‘DWTS’ host
Tyra Banks is still on the hot seat.
In a recent column I noted viewer complaints about Banks as the new host of “Dancing With the Stars,” and my own agreement. She is not a good fit, the show is too much about her (which it was not when Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews hosted) and oh, mercy, the costumes. And my mail since then has been filled with more letters. Such as:
Q: Tyra Banks is selfindulging and is not going to go well with myself. The outfits she wears clearly compete with the dancers and the judges. I now record the show and fast-forward to delete Tyra completely. I really do not care what she has to say.
And:
My sisters and I agree wholeheartedly with you about Tyra Banks. She is not right as the host at all. Very hard to watch. She is truly bringing the show down. They jumped the shark with this one!!!
And:
Her hair is totally disastrous. Either she stops doing her own hair or stops directing the hairstylists.
Her costumes, themes or not, are awful. Someone must help her pick out less outrageous outfits.
And she seems to buttinsky too much. Premise of show is the spotlight is on the dancers, not her.
And one more (from many others):
I like Tyra on other shows, but this is not for her. It seems she is trying to place more emphasis on herself more than the dancers. She is not right
Tyra Banks, new host of “Dancing With the Stars,” has been criticized for calling attention to herself.
for this hosting job. I know Disney/ABC are trying to get younger viewers, but they need to remember some of their loyal viewers are older (I’m in my early 70s). I’m just glad I DVR the show since I like to watch it when convenient for me, but now I can skip the parts where there is Tyra and any nonsense going on with her.
A: The ratings for “DWTS” are not what they once were (as is the case with most broadcast shows), but it has been competitive in the pandemic-fractured primetime landscape. Banks may be drawing in some viewers, at least for time-delayed viewing for incidents like the elimination foul-up on Oct. 5, or to see her occasional struggles with a live format.
And, as I’ve said, the idea of the show as a dance competition slips when you look at the glammedup routines, the pushing of personalities over dancing skill and other elements. (One reader’s long-standing complaint is about the use of non-Latin music with Latin dances when the type of music “is so
important to how the dance is executed.”) We’ll just have to see if ABC still thinks this change was necessary.
Q: I know there was a children’s show back in the late ’50s or possibly early ’60s that aired on Saturday mornings. The star was a little girl named Susan. She had a dog named Rusty. If I remember correctly, Susan and Rusty would sail off to another land and meet their friends. What was the name of that show and how long did it run?
A: That was “Susan’s Show,” a weekly half-hour starring Susan Heinkel, which aired in 1957-58. According to Total Television, Susan and her terrier Rusty would travel to a place called Wonderville with help from a magic chair in Susan’s kitchen.
Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfels@gmail.com. Letters may be edited. Individual replies not guaranteed.