The new fall TV season is upon us once again, and USTownhall RoundTable podcasters Scott, Kerry, and Brenda are back with another season of their pop culture podcast with pitiless and in-depth analysis of the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars, among other happenings.
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(1) Aug 31, 2016: DWTS23 cast revealed. Our reactions.
(6) Oct 20, 2016: DWTS23 Week 6 - Latin night plus 5th elimination: Amber Rose
(2) Sep 14, 2016: DWTS23 Week 1 - Good premiere, reactions to Ryan Lochte protestors
(7) Oct 27, 2016: DWTS23 Week 7 - Eras night plus 6th elimination: Maureen McCormick
(3) Sep 21, 2016: DWTS23 Week 2 - TV night plus 1st elimination: Jake T. Austin
(8) Nov 1, 2016: DWTS23 Week 8 - Halloween night plus 7th elimination: Ryan Lochte
(4) Oct 6, 2016: DWTS23 Week 3 - Face-Off night plus 2nd elimination: Governor Rick Perry.
Week 4 - Cirque du Soleil night plus 3rd, 4th eliminations: Babyface & Vanilla Ice
(9) Nov 10, 2016: DWTS23 Week 9 - Showstoppers night plus 8th elimination: Marilu Henner
(5) Oct 12, 2016: DWTS23 Week 5 - Most Memorable Year night: no elimination
(10) Nov 15, 2016: DWTS23 Week 10 - Semifinals plus 9th elimination: Terra Jolé
(11) Nov 23, 2016: DWTS Week 11 - Finals! Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy win
USTownhall RoundTable podcast series
Written by Scott Katz
Fall is upon us once again, and so we begin our Autumn sessions of the fabled USTownhall RoundTable podcast. For this season, we'll be concentrating on painstakingly dissecting each episode of that fan-favorite reality series, Dancing with the Stars (Season 19!). Join us each week to listen to the deathless meanderings of our legendary podcast crew: Scott, Brenda, and Kerry.
Click on the triangular "Play" button to listen to the podcast. After a few minutes, the file should be fully scannable backwards & forwards. You can pause and resume at any time as long as this page is not refreshed.
Dancing with the Starspreview of Season 19:
Dancing with the Stars week 6, "Pitbull Night": Jonathan Bennett eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 1: Lolo Jones eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 7, "Halloween Night": Antonio Sabato, Jr. eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 2, "My Jam Monday": Tavis Smiley eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 8, "Dynamic Duos Night": Michael Waltrip eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 3, "Movie Night": Randy Couture eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 9, "America's Choice Night": Lea Thompson eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 4, "Most Memorable Year Night": Betsey Johnson eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 10, "Plugged/Unplugged Night": Tommy Chong eliminated
Dancing with the Starsweek 5, "Switch-Up Night": no elimination
Dancing with the Starsweek 11, "Finalst": Alfonso Ribeiro wins
USTownhall RoundTable: The Winter-Spring 2014 Sessions
Written by Scott Katz
Sunday, 26 January 2014 13:42
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May 25, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL FINALE: Caleb Johnson & Jena Irene perform; Caleb Johnson wins American Idol 13.
May 25, 2014:
DANCING WITH THE STARS FINALE: Candace Cameron-Bure, Amy Purdy, & Meryl Davis perform; Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy win Dancing with the Stars 18.
May 17, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 3: Alex Preston eliminated
DANCING WITH THE STARS Top 5 perform: Charlie White eliminated
May 11, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 4: Jessica Meuse eliminated
DANCING WITH THE STARS Top 6 perform: Danica McKellar eliminated
March 9, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 12: Emily Piriz eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS Cast Reveal & format changes:
POP CULTURE NEWS: Queen summer tour with Adam Lambert
May 4, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 5: Sam Woolf eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS Top 7 perform: NeNe Leakes eliminated.
March 2, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 13: Kristin O'Connor eliminated.
April 27, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 6: CJ Harris eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS Top 8 perform: Drew Carey eliminated.
February 23, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL Season 13 Rush Week / Top 13 selected
April 20, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 7: Dexter Roberts eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS Top 9 perform again: Cody Simpson eliminated.
February 16, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL Season 13 Hollywood Week / Top 30
April 13, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 8 week 2: Malaya Watson eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS Top 9 perform: No one eliminated, but scores with last week will be combined with this week's to determine the next celebrity to go home.
February 9, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL Season 13 Hollywood Week
April 6, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 8: Sam Woolf gets the Judges' Save!
DANCING WITH THE STARS TOP 9 perform: Billie Dee Williams drops out leaving only 9 celebrities remaining.
February 2, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL Season 13 Auditions week 3
March 30, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 9: Majesty Rose eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS TOP 10 perform: 2 stars from the top 12 go home on the first elimination episode.
January 26, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL Season 13 Auditions week 2
March 23, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 10: MK Nobilette eliminated.
DANCING WITH THE STARS TOP 12 perform: Season Premiere!
January 19, 2014:American Idol had its two-night 13th season premiere just days ago, and the panel weighs in on the revitalized series. What did the panel think of the new judging lineup? Were there any early favorites from the many contestants who auditioned? Take a listen, and follow us every week for our take on the latest from American Idol!
March 16, 2014:
AMERICAN IDOL TOP 11: Ben Briley eliminated.
January 12, 2014: Our first podcast of the Winter 2014 sessions kicks off with a wrap-up of 2013 pop culture events including the Duck Dynasty controversy. We also look ahead to the upcoming season of American Idol that we hope will be radically different from the slow motion trainwreck that was Season 12.
USTownhall RoundTable: The Fall 2013 Sessions
Written by Scott Katz
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December 18, 2013: On this episode, we have a pop culture podcast where we discuss the latest rumors concerning singer Adam Lambert and the legendary band Queen. What new developments have there been? Will Lambert and Queen continue to work together? Will they take the next step and record new material together? How does the panel think Queen fans would react? It's all here in our final podcast for 2013!
November 28, 2013: For week 11, Dancing with the Stars gives us a two-night finale as the four remaining celebrities – Bill Engval, Jack Osbourne, Corbin Bleu, and Amber Reilly – try to dance their way to mirrorball glory. What did the panel think of these final dances, and how did they react to Amber Reily's win over odds-on favorite Corbin Bleu? Not to mention pro Derek Hough's scoring an unprecedented fifth victory.
October 23, 2013:Dancing with the Stars week 6 brings us a new gimmick –The Switch-Up Challenge. How well did it go over with our panelists? Also, we try to figure out what was behind some of the bizarre scoring on this episode. Who did the panel think was overscored or underscored? Listen in, and find out.
November 20, 2013: Maksim Chmerkovskiy joins the panel on week 10 of Dancing with the Stars as a celebrity guest judge. How well did the panel think he did? Also, this semifinals episode brings us the not-so-unexpected departure of Leah Remini.
October 16, 2013: The first shocker of this cycle of Dancing with the Stars was on Episode 5 discussed in this podcast. Mark Ballas and Christina Millian, after receiving the first 10 of the season and being tied for highest judges' score of the night, were voted off as a result of low fan turnout for them. Is this season's new voting procedure needlessly confusing people and resulting in lower than expected fan voting? Also, who does the panel predict will go home in the next episode?
November 13, 2013: Week 9 on Dancing with the Stars brings us the Trio Challenge where each couple gets to invite another pro to dance with them. This quarter-finals episode brings another surprise elimination as early favorite Elizabeth Berkely Lauren is sent packing.
October 9, 2013: Episode 4 of Dancing with the Stars sees the departure of fan favorite Valerie Harper. Should she have gone this soon? Was the presense of Julianne Hough on the judges' panel a good thing for the show? Also, the panel gives their ideas on things that could be done to improve the show.
November 6, 2013: It's Cher Week on Dancing with the Stars week 8! Did the panel think she made a good judge or would they have preferred to turn back time to when Len was on the panel? What about the results? Was this one shocking elimination too many or did the right contestant get sent home? Which celebrity contest has the most pizzaz? Who on the panel lost their happy place? The answers await you in this riveting podcast!
October 2, 2013: Episode 3 of Dancing with the Stars and the elimination of Bill Nye the Science Guy. More about the I Heart Radio Concert.
October 30, 2013: Week 7 of Dancing with the Stars has one of the more surprising eliminations of the season. How did the panel react to Snooki being sent home? Did the panel agree with the judges' scoring? What does the Fox say? Find out in this podcast! Also, a preview of Adam Lambert's upcoming stint on the hit series Glee.
September 25, 2013: The Panel discusses Episodes 1 & 2 of Dancing with the Stars including the new format and their picks for their favorite celebrity dancers. Also, Adam Lambert and Queen perform on the I Heart Radio Concert.
USTownhall RoundTable: The Summer 2013 Sessions
Written by Scott Katz
Wednesday, 10 July 2013 21:01
Now that the traditional broadcast television season is over, the USTownhall RoundTable podcast series will delve into topics of a more general nature from the worlds of pop culture and current events.
Click on the triangular "Play" button to listen to the podcast. After a few minutes, the file should be fully scannable backwards & forwards. You can pause and resume at any time as long as this page is not refreshed.
Sun, September 8, 2013: Pop Culture podcast topics - In what we hope is our final discussion on the American Idol judges, the panel discusses the addition of Harry Connick, Jr. to the show after talks with Dr. Luke fell through at the last minute. Also, more of Adam Lambert and Avicii, and we reveal the celebrities and professionals due to perform on this cycle of Dancing with the Stars. Then, we finish things off by giving our take on the MTV VMA Awards and Miley Cyrus's twerk heard 'round the world. Was she unfairly slammed by the media or did she take her image makeover too far?
Sun, August 25, 2013: Pop Culture podcast topics - American Idol selects Dr. Luke as final judge? Randy Jackson returns in Jimmy Iovine's mentor role? Also, more about Adam Lambert and Avicii, and the panel discusses Justin Guarini and his recent blog post about his hard times since his Idol days. Plus, the panel tries to figure out – with little success – exactly how Dancing with the Stars' once-a-week format will work in terms of the voting.
Current Events podcast topic - The panel pays tribute and discusses the recent death of Gale Chester Whittington, one of the flashpoints of the gay civil rights movement in the late 1960s and author of the memoir Beyond Normal: The Birth of Gay Pride.
You can learn more about Mr. Whittington at the following websites:
Sun, August 4, 2013: Pop Culture podcast topics - Adam Lambert joins forces with legendary music producer Nile Rodgers and Swedish producer and DJ, Avicii. Latest Hollywood casting news: Ellen DeGeneres hosts the Oscars; Derek Hough returns to Dancing with the Stars (along with Maxim Chmerkovskiy?); Keith Urban returns to American Idol (along with Jennifer Lopez and will.i.am?) — and much, much more!
Sun, July 14, 2013: Pop Culture podcast topics - Actor Cory Monteith of Glee dies, Adam Lambert joins cast and departs from record label.
Current Events podcast topic - George Zimmerman acquitted in Trayvon Martin case. Full analysis of events, evidence, verdict, and the handling of the case by the prosecution and defense. (Note that the date of the shooting incident is incorrectly stated during the podcast. It actually occurred on February 26, 2012).
Sun, July 7, 2013: Topics - Adam Lambert concerts in California and Florida / US Supreme Court decisions regarding California's Prop 8 and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Sun, June 23, 2013: Topics - Summer Movies / Exodus International closes its doors / Mormon mom Prop 8 supporter discovers her son is gay
Wednesday, June 12, 2013: Topics - Adam Lambert receives "Hope of Los Angeles" award / Update on American Idol behind-the-scenes turnoil / Mariah Carey's #Beautiful song and video / changes in the music industry in the IPod age / Our suggestions as to how American Idol can be fixed re: theme nights, judges, mentors
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