Today's cuppa: Green Mountain breakfast blend from the Keurig (alas Tassimo, farewell)

In this social-media world, I'm wondering if tape-delay might have to go the way of eight-track tape and giant-tube TVs, especially for those of us in the Mountain and Pacific time zones (not to mention the folks in Alaska and Hawaii).

Take, for example, ABC's Monday-night competition show for "Dancing With the Stars." (That's Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Melissa Gilbert above.)

Unless I assiduously avert my eyes from Twitter and Facebook starting at 5 p.m. Pacific time, I will start seeing comments and links to stories about the night's dances and cannot avoid some level of spoilage.

Yes, I could log off social media entirely, but it's part of my job, and my workday is still going on at 5 p.m.. Yet, the ancient rules of TV dictate that I must wait until 8 p.m. rolls around in my time zone to watch the show (of course, there is Slingbox or one of the other ways to get around that, but that requires extra work and expense, and I resent both).

I also get the joy of being reminded throughout the Pacific time airing that the "live" show that I'm watching was live for those privileged folks in the Eastern and Central time zones -- when it was actually taking place just a few miles from where I live -- but is on tape delay for me.

Blessedly, that no longer happens for the Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards, which have finally leaped into the 21st Century and reality and air live both in the Eastern time zone and in the time zone where they're actually happening (imagine asking the denizens of Broadway to wait three hours to watch the Tonys).

As for the Tuesday-night "Dancing" results show, before I finish dinner, I can find out who was eliminated, thereby eliminating any need to actually watch the show. Granted, that saves me time on a Tuesday, but it doesn't do ABC's bottom line much good.

Whether it's "Dancing ..." or "American Idol" or any other reality-competition show featuring live elements, it may be time for the networks to bite the bullet and go live in all time zones.

Barring that, perhaps the shows could stream live over the network's Website -- which makes a kind of sense since it's Web-savvy folks that are most likely to suffer from social-media spoilage anyway. If you're not on the computer during the Eastern-time airing, you're not going to mind waiting until 8 or 9 p.m. Pacific to watch the show.

(By the way, it's great that the sharks go to the trouble to live-tweet ABC's "Shark Tank" on Friday nights. I just wish I knew what the hell they were talking about, but I don't, since they're only doing it for the Eastern/Central time airing. Stream it online, ABC!)

Then there's the question of the network morning shows, which are also tape-delayed. A former "Good Morning America" and "Today" devotee, I haven't watched any of them since I moved to the West Coast. They're three hours old by the time they air here, and if I'm going to watch news, I want fresh news, not stale news (OK, I also miss David Hartman, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel, but stale is still stale). I want to know what's going on right now, not what went on three or more hours ago.

I did give in to the temptation to check out Sarah Palin's appearance on the Tuesday, April 3, edition of NBC's "Today" show. But, I put it on the DVR and fast-forwarded only to her parts and skipped the rest. Oh, well, NBC.

When I get up in the morning, on goes a local morning show or cable news. Back in the '90s, it was all about CNN, but these days, I'm a Fox News viewer. But, I didn't start watching FNC until I moved to Los Angeles, so my experience of the channel is a little different than an East Coaster, and I suspect that's true of any Pacific-time cable-news watcher, no matter which channel you're on.

I never see FNC's morning show, because I'm still sleeping. "The Five," for me, is at 2 p.m. The 8 p.m. primetime lineup actually starts at 5 p.m.. I work at home if I'm not out on a set visit. By that time, if I've had news on as background all day, I'm tired of it after Bret Baier signs off at 4 p.m., so I put in screeners or catch up on the DVR until dinner.

Unless I make a point of putting "The O'Reilly Factor" or "Hannity" on the DVR -- usually because of a particular guest, or it's Wednesday and Dennis Miller is visiting with O'Reilly -- I usually don't tune in again until "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" at 7 p.m. (my favorite FNC news show, along with "Your World With Neil Cavuto"), after which I'm into entertainment programming.

From anecdotal evidence, it seems that FNC's pop-culture/news roundtable "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld" may be even more of a hit out here than it is back East, since we get it at midnight instead of 3 a.m., and some folks actually stay up for it (not me, it's my favorite breakfast viewing on the DVR).

Populations are shifting, and now with DVRs and lots of folks cutting the cable cord to stream TV over their computers and other devices, time slots are shifting as well. The toughest thing for any TV channel to do these days is to get someone to actually tune in for a show as it broadcasts the first time, whether it's a live event or the initial airing of new drama, comedy or unscripted reality episodes.

Social media -- whether through check-ins or live-tweeting -- can add to that, but the greatest value comes from the experience of bringing people together in one place, at one time. Just ask those advertisers about the eyeballs the Super Bowl delivered. Right now, for a lot of us on the Left Coast, that's often not an option.

On my cable system, some of the HD versions of cable channels are in Eastern time, so I get to see new episodes the same time as everybody back East does.

And I like it. More, please.

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea (have LOTS left over from the royal wedding)

Since 2008, Hot Cuppa TV has taken the lead in the push to get F/V Northwestern Capt. Sig Hansen of Discovery's crab-fishing mega-hit "Deadliest Catch" on ABC's ballroom-competition Monday/Tuesday powerhouse "Dancing With the Stars" (click here for a 2010 story that links back to earlier ones).

In the spring of 2010, Hansen took his quest to NBC's "The Tonight Show" -- click here for my story on that -- and even did a bit of a dance for host Jay Leno.

(Hansen also supplied these photos of himself in some wild dancing outfits)

Since then, the effort has taken a back seat to dealing with the death of Capt. Phil Harris and overcoming some legal and contractual difficulties involving Hansen and brothers Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand, co-captains of the F/V Time Bandit, on the way to filming the current season of "Deadliest Catch," airing now on Tuesdays.

"Sig's a great guy," says Andy Hillstrand. "We love that guy. We're happy. It was a frigging rough year last year. It's all over now. We were just at the New York upfront (for the Discovery Networks), talked to all the big muckety-mucks, so we're moving forward."

But Hansen has not given up on his "Dancing" dream, and he has the support of the Hillstrand brothers. The three have been touring the U.S. with a stage show -- click here for a review of a performance.

(Photo: Andy Hillstrand on left, Johnathan Hillstrand on right)

"No," says Andy Hillstrand, "Sig has not given up. He is going to get on 'Dancing With the Stars' at some point in time. I want to be in the front row to cheer him on. That would be a howl.

"He's not a bad little dancer, and he'd be in the best shape of his life after eight hours a day dancing!"

Asked if Hansen might finally have to give up smoking, Hillstrand says, "Yeah, it's either that or start using oxygen."

Hillstrand continues, "I'm hoping Sig gets on that show so bad. It would be cool. People would never respect him or talk to him again, but it'd be bada--. The reality is, we've been on a TV show for six years, and he has been on for seven. We are TV guys now.

"We fought it tooth and nail, but that's our reality. We're TV stars and crab fishermen. Those are our businesses. We don't ever forget that. We'll still be fishing when TV's done and running the business."

Hillstrand also wouldn't mind being on NBC's Sunday reality hit "The Celebrity Apprentice," overseen by possible presidential candidate Donald Trump (standing, yellow tie, just to the left of center), but he might want to take a firm hand with his fellow apprentices.

"I would kick their a--," Hillstrand says. "They give them these tasks on 'Celebrity Apprentice,' and they don't pull through, and you can't just physically beat them up? I would can their a--. I would go, 'You're fired.'

"If you're the team leader, and you can't fire that jacka-- for not doing his job, or beat him up, what the hell? Why even bother?"

As for Trump's flirtation with being president, Hillstrand says, "I would love to see him president, just to shake stuff up there."

Speaking of shaking things up, Hillstrand says he and his brother played an epic practical joke on Hansen, which will be seen in this season of "Deadliest Catch."

"The prank this year," he says, "is so amazing. It's unbelievable. This one tops it. It's a work of art."

Today's cuppa: PG Tips tea

Most often, when I don't watch a show, it's not because I hate the show or dislike anyone in it (OK, that doesn't count for Kathy Griffin, Bill Maher, Sandra Bernhard and Rosie O'Donnell -- life is too short for their version of "humor").

(UPDATE: BTW, you can toss George Lopez on the above list. Click here to see why.)

It's usually because I just don't care. The show doesn't interest me, excite me or make me feel compelled to watch it. Because of my job, I have to watch a LOT of TV, including shows that aren't my cuppa tea, so when I choose to watch something, there has to be a good reason.

It must delight me, move me, fascinate me or otherwise grab me by the scruff of my neck and snake me until I give in and must watch.

After hearing this year's lineup for "Dancing With the Stars," I just didn't care. I didn't object to any of the celebrities, they just didn't spark my interest. After the over-the-top fun and fireworks of last season, this was just "meh."

But, there I was, Monday night, 8 p.m., nothing better to do or watch (I savor "Chuck" on the DVR), and somehow my hand found the remote and switched over to ABC.

I thought, "Ah, what the heck, I'll just piddle around and listen to the songs, at least."

Before I knew it, I was sucked in, and by the end, Ralph Macchio and Kirstie Alley had me cheering. With horses in the race, I now care and am probably doomed to watch until the fugly mirror-ball trophy is handed out.

(Click here for clips of both performances.)

Tip of the hat to the producers -- I thought you picked "meh" people, but once again, the ballroom is rocking.

Now to "The Kennedys," the miniseries, produced by "24" co-creator Joel Surnow, that got booted off History Channel -- the "American Pickers" network suddenly got very picky about its history -- and wandered in the desert, rejected by network after network, until ReelzChannel gave it a home, where it premieres on April 3.

(Click here for Surnow's interview with Entertainment Weekly; and here for his chat with the Hollywood Reporter; and here for the ReelzChannel homepage.)

Unlike some folks, I'm not a Kennedy worshiper, despite having watched Oliver Stone's "JFK" about a bazillion times (it's one of the silliest and yet most entertaining movies I've ever seen). And heaven knows, the subject matter has been done and done, for decades and decades, in every possible medium.

I would have been happy to just ignore "The Kennedys," until History ditched it, that is.

The cablenet's explanation didn't hold a lot of water, and it started to smell like censorship. I even had a nice chat with Surnow's former "24" colleague, Howard Gordon, in which he said the same thing.

Yesterday, the pile of "Kennedys" DVDs arrived, and yes, I will be watching the whole thing.

So, at least for me, the attempt to bury "The Kennedys" has only served to pique my interest in something I would otherwise have just passed by without a second thought.

Censorship has a way of doing that. 

Today's cuppa: PG Tips tea

If you're a Roman Catholic, like me, you get used to thinking, "Well, it's a mystery."

All of the universe cannot be fully explained nor rationalized away -- as those poor, brave souls in Japan know with heartbreaking clarity -- and what is true of the universe as a whole is also true of that little corner of it called TV.

Screenwriter William Goldman, in talking about the movies, said, "Nobody knows nothing," and that goes for all of entertainment. Why some things succeed and others fail is as much about luck and happenstance and timing as it is about effort or talent.

Quality shows fail; cheesy shows are giant hits ("Jersey Shore" and all of the "Real Housewives" come to mind).

Why? Eh, it's a mystery.

I have loved plenty of shows that failed, from "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." and "EZ Streets" to "The Good Guys," and several shows that have hung on by the skin of their teeth but never became big hits, like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (before you yell, it was never The WB's highest-rated show, or usually even the second highest-rated show, but it did well enough by The WB's modest standards to survive) to "The Wire" and "Friday Night Lights."

(I shall always have a warm little spot in my heart for former NBC chief Ben Silverman and DirecTV for striking the deal that let under-appreciated "FNL" have a full five-season run -- the final season begins on NBC Friday, April 15.)

Now, you may say, well, you're a TV critic, you have elevated and refined tastes, and you don't like shows that normal people like.

Hold it right, there, buckaroo. I've been on the case of megahit "NCIS" since the beginning, long before the mainstream press was finally forced to take notice -- went off in a blog post a few years ago about that -- and as any regular reader of this blog knows, I love the intellect-free but fun-filled "Wipeout," reality-competition megahit "Dancing With the Stars" and reality hits "Deadliest Catch" and "Dirty Jobs."

OK, and "IRT: Deadliest Roads." Nothing like TV you have to watch through your fingers, curled in a fetal position.

For what it's worth, here are a few theories I've cooked up as to why shows succeed or fail (bearing in mind, "nobody knows nothing") ...

Timing is everything. When you've had a hard day at work, do you want to come home, help the kids with their homework, argue with your teenage daughter about boys or college admission, maybe look over the budget with your spouse and then sit down and watch people do the very same thing on "Friday Night Lights"? Maybe not. Shows have to hit people at the right place and the right moment in their lives. On the other hand, if the show is funny enough, like "Modern Family," you just might.

Stars don't matter. Maybe they do in movies -- but I'd only make an argument for a few people even there -- but big-name actors don't get people to watch scripted TV, at least not past the pilot. If the viewers still don't like the show, they're gone. But stars are something to promote, so I know why the networks try.

Stars do matter. But usually only in reality TV, because viewers hope they'll learn something new or the star will do something ridiculous or entertaining. You tune in because you know something about the person, and therefore you care more than with a total unknown. But if the star is boring  -- which means he or she is probably a sensible person and not an unbalanced exhibitionist -- the audience is gone. (Which may go a long way to explaining why sane, sensible stars don't often do reality shows.)

Big-name producers matter ... to a point. Again, it's a selling point to have a name producer, but very few of them are hit machines, and the recognition doesn't often penetrate beyond a small slice of the TV audience. But if you've got a Mark Burnett or a J.J. Abrams, you've got wider recognition and a good track record, and that's about as good as it gets.

Swing viewers matter. There will always be a loyal constituency for every show -- the size varies wildly, and often it's not enough -- and there will be a certain number of people who wouldn't watch the show if you paid them. It's those people in the middle, not necessarily inclined to love a show nor to hate it, that are the difference among utter failure, cult hit and "NCIS." I believe a lot of those swing viewers came to "NCIS" through its frequent airings on USA, and that the show was accessible enough and consistent enough to satisfy them when they tried out the new episodes.

A copy is never as good as the original. Never. Ever. Development execs should have this tattooed on their arms, so they have to see it every day. A COPY IS NEVER AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL. And cloning is only for sheep. Unless you get the same producer, same writers, same crew, same actors, same premiere date and same societal conditions at the time of the premiere date, you can't clone a hit.

Amuse yourself first. If you're a producer or a development exec or a network exec, and a show tickles you or moves you, go with it. Unless you're deeply weird or clinically insane (and sometimes even if you're one or both), someone else will feel the same. How many of those someones there are, well...

It's a mystery.

Today's cuppa: coffee-shop coffee (with good conversation!)

On the LAPD drama "Southland," airing Tuesdays on TNT, Michael Cudlitz (right) plays veteran Officer John Cooper, who's trying to prepare rookie Officer Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie, left) to survive as a cop on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

A while ago on Twitter, after doing a "Southland" set visit that resulted in this feature story, I tentatively suggested that Cudlitz -- who projects a tough, no-nonsense image on the show -- should be on ABC's ballroom-dancing competition show "Dancing With the Stars."

The new season -- cycle 12 -- of "DWTS" begins in March, and the new cast has yet to be announced. ABC is even soliciting viewer suggestions on the Website.

This was his reaction (he RTed -- retweeted -- my original tweet, adding a comment of his own on the front end) ...


But several tweeters seemed interested in the prospect -- so I next took the question to the man who spends his working days in a police car with Cudlitz.

"Oh, yeah," said McKenzie when asked if Cudlitz needs to trip the light fantastic. "I just want to say that I have personally seen Michael dance on numerous occasions, and he's really underselling himself. He's being modest, which is his way of being, but he is a phenomenal dancer. I wouldn't lead you astray. He's pretty great."

It was hard to tell if the deadpan McKenzie was being serious or had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, but I decided to play along.

Asked if Cudlitz might be better at the classic ballroom or Latin dances, McKenzie said, "Well,  ballroom is probably the way he first learned, because he's technically very precise, but he has that flava -- not flavor, flava -- that I think would really translate into a South American kind of looser vibe.

 "I think he's a double threat. He can go either way. He's going to surprise some people. I, for one, would like to second that emotion and get him on 'Dancing With the Stars.' That would be phenomenal."

But McKenzie had some conditions that would need to be fulfilled if he were ever to consider going on 'Dancing.'

"No," he said, "not unless Michael really mentored and tutored me. If you could promise me that Michael Cudlitz would teach me to dance in a pretty rigorous course of three or four months, maybe -- but only under those circumstances. Otherwise, I don't think I'd be good enough."

So there you have it. Either McKenzie was completely full of hot air or he sincerely wants his bestest buddy to lace up those dancing shoes.

Today's cuppa: Coffeeshop coffee

Before tomorrow's turkey stupor, I'll give thanks for things in my life and the world at large. Today, though, it's all about the TV.

Here's what I'm thankful for right now ...

* That Discovery and Science Channel are simulcasting "Punkin Chunkin 2010 " tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day. Ever since "Junkyard Wars" days, there's hardly been anything better than watching an unsuspecting gourd flung through the ether to its eventual splat-tastic demise -- except when you add in Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of "Mythbusters" as hosts. (BTW, it starts tonight on Science Channel with "The Road to Punkin Chunkin.")

* That no more Bristol Palin-hating wingnuts did anything abominably stupid during the "Dancing With the Stars" finale on Tuesday (at least as far as I know). Getting drunk and shooting your TV? Sending a threatening letter with white powder that just scared the heck out of a bunch of innocent people at CBS Television City, where ABC's "Dancing" is filmed (and "The Price Is Right," why the hate for Drew Carey)? And, death threats? DEATH THREATS? Someone needs a reality check. Reminds me of what I was taught as a kid, that how you treat others says nothing about them, but it says everything about you.

* That we didn't have any entertainment-industry strikes by any of the many alphabet-soup unions, whether it's the WGA, the DGA, SAG or AFTRA. Yes, there was a labor dispute at NBC's "The Biggest Loser," but that was settled in what seemed like a reasonable amount of time, and nobody got hurt. With any luck, none of the contestants gained any stress weight either.

* That Thom Beers keeps making TV shows. Yes, I do watch History's "IRT: Deadliest Roads" -- in which North American truckers navigate terrifying mountain byways in Northern India -- while curled in a fetal position and through my fingers, but It's the most fun you can have behind the wheel while not actually getting behind the wheel (or risking a hideous death plunging off a cliff, as often depicted in the Thom Beers Graphics of Doom).

* That, after a bruising fall season, midseason is charging in to save us, armed with such returning goodies as FX's "Justfied," Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares," NBC's "Parks and Recreation," and ABC's "Shark Tank," "Wipeout" (the winter edition) and "V."

There is also a bunch of promising new shows, such as NBC's "Love Bites," "Harry's Law" and "The Cape"; and Fox's "Bob's Burgers" and "The Chicago Code" (formerly known as "Ride-Along," from "The Shield" executive producer Shawn Ryan).

* That, on Dec. 1, "Celebrity Rehab" is coming back on VH1. 'Nuff said.

* Finally, and most importantly, that America's first responders and armed forces keep watch on the holiday, protecting our homes and lives, along with the liberty that allows me to not only watch good TV, but to complain when TV isn't so good. God bless and keep safe.   

Today's cuppa: coffee at Coogie's in Malibu (no star sightings, however)

Tomorrow night is the final performance show of this cycle of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," and the recipient of the mirror-ball trophy will be announced on Tuesday.

This season has got a lot of people hot and bothered -- sometimes to ridiculous extremes, including a cruel white-powder fan-mail prank -- but as anyone who's watched this show since season one knows, "DWTS" and controversy are old friends.

Be that as it may, as of Tuesday, there will be one winner, and I come here not to bury the finalists, but to praise them, because it's taken a lot of pain, sweat, tears and effort for them to get to this stage, and I respect anyone who's willing to work hard for what they want.

Jennifer Grey, a k a "The 'Dancing' Queen": As Baby in the iconic 1987 film "Dirty Dancing," Grey and her partner, the late Patrick Swayze, set a new standard for movie action on the dance floor. But it's been a long time since that flick, and Grey has suffered some physical ailments in the meantime (including a neck injury that finally received proper treatment after a physical for 'DWTS" -- thank goodness for that!).

Grey, 50, has also endured some knee problems during the competition, but for the most part, you couldn't tell by looking at her performances on the ballroom floor.

She's had her ups and downs, with a couple of shaky dances, but her "Instant Dance" rumba a couple of weeks ago (which I witnessed firsthand) wowed the judges and earned her perfect scores.

With young partner Derek Hough (who's had his share of neck injuries and other mishaps during his time on the show), Grey has been classy, diligent, resilient and gracious, a diva on the floor and a lady off. Somewhere Swayze is smiling.

Kyle Massey, a k a "Man in the House": At 19 years old, the youngest in the competition, Massey gained fame in the Disney Channel series "That's So Raven" and then in his own spin-off, "Cory in the House." Along with acting, he's a musician and rapper, but now he can legitimately add dancer to that repertoire.

With pro partner Lacey Schwimmer, Massey has evolved from a kid who loved hamburgers and goofing off to a young man of elegance and presence -- who can still cut loose when necessary, as in his perfectly-scored "Instant Dance" jive, which was good enough to earn a results-night encore.

He reminds me most of NFL star and former "Dancing With the Stars" winner Emmitt Smith, who was not the most technically perfect dancer, but who used his charm, charisma and natural performance style to win over fans and make a real impact in the ballroom (a technique also employed to good effect by race-car driver and "DWTS" champ Helio Castroneves).

Don't count Massey out -- this underdog could have some last-minute bite (and it looks like ousted competitor Brandy agrees).

Bristol Palin, a k a "The Zero-to-Sixty Kid": After a bad-boyfriend experience, an unplanned pregnancy, sudden worldwide fame, teen motherhood and a press barrage that at times resembled an F-5 tornado, this just-turned 20-year-old daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been a no-drama-mama during her time on "DWTS."

While controversy raged around her -- a lot of it centered on an apparently mistaken belief that massive voter cheating has been going on -- Palin has kept nose to grindstone, seemingly free of rehearsal-studio emotional meltdowns (knowing how "DWTS" edits for drama, if there had been any, I suspect we'd have seen them). She probably couldn't afford to take the time, since she came into the competition with zero dance experience.

Her technique has steadily improved -- earning her a personal-best three 9s for her recent paso doble with pro partner Mark Ballas, and some praise from "DWTS" executive producer Conrad Green

She hasn't quite let loose her inner dance diva on the ballroom floor, but she's seldom put a foot wrong, and she's proven that no matter how far behind you start, and no matter what the world throws at you along the way, hard work and effort (and little help from your voting friends) can take you pretty far.

As always, the ultimate winner of "Dancing" will get there through a combination of dance-floor prowess and popular support. Neither alone will take you all the way. If you have a favorite, remember to call, text or vote online at ABC.com.

(UPDATE: BTW, ABC is NOT changing its voting system, and Tom Bergeron has no patience for the voting conspiracy theorists)

And if the results don't go your way -- welcome to the club. I'm still not over Jason Taylor losing in Season 6. *sniff*

Tonight's cuppa: Irish breakfast tea (good anytime!)

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Sarah Palin for her TLC series "Sarah Palin's Alaska," and since then a lot of controversy and comment has swirled around that show, but certainly no more than has been swirling around the fact that her eldest daughter, Bristol, has made it to the final round of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" (the last performance show and the last results show air Monday and Tuesday, respectively).

As I talked about in a previous blog post, this isn't the show's first time dealing with a controversy -- far from it.

Also, in a story in the New York Daily News, "Dancing" executive producer Conrad Green explained some of how the voting, particularly the online voting, is managed.

According to Green, there are internal controls that prevent multiple voting from the same computer, no matter how many e-mail addresses the user registers at ABC.com.

Green told the Daily News: "It is possible to register lots of email addresses, but the IP address identifies which computer sent it. If that does happen, we wipe out [those votes]."

(UPDATE: In another interview, this time for EW.com, Green reiterates many of the same points about the voting, plus talking about Palin's dancing ability and possible fan base).

So, however many votes Bristol Palin is getting, "Dancing" believes she's coming by them the usual way.

Tonight, I got an email from Sarah Palin, stating: "Bristol's work ethic and dedication to improving, as led by the most patient and competent partner -- Mark Ballas -- have combined to illustrate a compelling and inspiring story. Viewers have voted to see that journey continue each week, and Bristol is humbled by the support."

Mrs. Palin also clued me in to a fascinating blog post by former "Dancing" competitor and retired Internet mogul Mark Cuban, called "How Dancing With the Stars Voting Works -- Why Bristol Pallin (sic) Could Win Easily."

Beginning with the statement, "First, let me say that the scoring process for Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) is fair. It is honest. It's just not obvious," the post goes on, with great mathematical precision, to detail how the judges' scores are combined with the viewer votes to determine who advances.

Using quotes from the "Dancing" website that outline the voting formulas, Cuban goes on to examine the process in depth.

I'm no math whiz (which is why I'm a writer), but Cuban seems to know what he's talking about.

I doubt that Cuban's post (or a mother's support) will change the minds of many who believe the voting has been unfairly influenced, but Cuban offers an illuminating glimpse into just how the numbers add up, from someone who's been on the ballroom floor.