'Dancing with the Stars' 19 Premiere Recap: Carlton Steals the Show

Dancing with the Stars 19 recap for Monday, September 15, 2014. The season premiere starts off with the Cha Cha Cha, Foxtrot and Jive from our fresh batch of 13 stars, with one star leaving on Tuesday night.

This season is notable as it is once again a season without Maksim Chmerkovskiy. We of course miss him. It is also the first season with a permanent fourth judge -- and not a guest judge in seasons past. The fourth judge is two-time DWTS champion and Emmy nominee Julianne Hough.

The new professional dancers this season are: Allison Holker from So You Think You Can Dance (and one of my favorite dancers as everyone knows here on the blog), Artem Chigvintsev from Strictly Come Dancing (also one of my favorites) and Keoikantse Motsepe from South Africa, the first black professional dancer on this show ever.

Like every year, fans complained about the lack of star power on this show this season. I'm used to that and I kinda agree -- yes it's dancing but the stars part is questionable. However, after watching the premiere, the cast is solid and should be a great season all around for as long as these "stars" are able to keep up with the choreography they are given.

The show started off with a Mandy Moore choreographed opening number.

Then the dances started with Antonio Sabato Jr. and Cheryl Burke dancing a Cha Cha Cha. The judges agreed that they were a sexy couple, but wanted a bit more technique. This is Cheryl's last season on the show and I do hope that Antonio can bring her at least to the finals. This first dance however indicates to me that they are not winning and Cheryl won't win her third mirror ball trophy.

Second to dance are Lea Thompson and Artem with a Foxtrot. I know Lea for Switched at Birth, but apparently she is most known for being on Back To The Future. Her drama of course is that she's a cougar dancing with a younger man. Considering the demographic of DWTS, I don't think she should be worried about image. DWTS and the ballroom for that matter is cougar heaven. This dance was A+ for me. For as long as Lea can keep up with Artem, she will go far.

Next was Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy with a Jive. Way to come back from the dead Mona! Janel played Mona on Pretty Little Liars who was killed in last season's finale. Though she said would return in flashbacks on PLL, this stint on DWTS is a good one for her. She brought her feisty attitude on PLL to the dance floor for sure. Val -- who I consider the hotter Chmerkovskiy brother, because you know, I think he's more accessible (ha!) -- is a great partner for her. This was a good dance though technique can be improved.

Then we get to Lolo Jones and Keo Motsepe with a Cha Cha Cha. Keo's debut on the show was marred by this non-winning Olympic athlete and Carrie Ann Inaba who called him by some other name during the judging. So bad. For the record, I hate Lolo Jones, but I am glad that she's on the show as we were able to get a glimpse of why she is such a loser in the sports she participates in. She had nothing but excuses -- and she interrupted the judges everytime during their critique. She actually blamed texting for her poor performance which was such a cringe-worthy moment. She is a true trainwreck. She cannot escape it. Looks like a personality thing. I wouldn't be surprised if she's eliminated on Tuesday. She brings so much bad vibes, I could feel it on my TV screen. Poor Keo. Better luck next season buddy.

Next was 72-year-old fashion designer Betsey Johnson and Tony Dovolani with another Cha Cha Cha. First of all, I was shocked that she was 72 -- she had so much energy. "I'm 72, what can you do?" Betsey said before the dance. I think the judges were ready to give her a higher score, but there was a wardrobe malfunction with a feather boa that stopped the dance in the end. The best part: Betsey saved it by doing a cartwheel and a split. So gutsy and awesome. She's in danger of going home on Tuesday, but I would rather Lolo go home than her. Hopefully she gets some sympathy votes.

Next was talk show host Tavis Smiley and Sharna Burgess with a Foxtrot. Tavis revealed that this show is an excuse for doing something silly before he turned 50. I consider silly a really light word leaning toward a negative, but I think he meant something not so serious -- as he is in fact in the talk show business and has interviewed presidents of the United States. The best part this segment was what Tavis said in the end during his interview with Erin Andrews: "People know the some of us, but not the sum of us. We all have more sum to show." That just reminded me of why I love this show so much. Tavis is yet another person who has come on this show -- and there are many -- who are doing it because it means something. Whether you are doing it for your mother, father, children, etc. it doesn't really matter because dance is such an unnatural part to many of us that all we are left with is our hearts on the dance floor no matter how good or bad we do. Some of these contestants consider this so personal, it normally brings me to tears when things just fall into place.

Next was Sadie Robertson and Mark Ballas with a Cha Cha Cha. Sadie is part of the Duck Dynasty having appeared on the show with her family. She was quite a revelation: very pretty and she can dance. I think she will get far, and she just might get votes knowing how popular Duck Dynasty is. I just hope not that far since I'm an anti-fan of Mark Ballas. But Sadie is definitely a contender and should be in the finals.

Michael Waltrip and Emma Slater are next with a Cha Cha Cha. I've just realized that Emma may have a bit of a cult following with DWTS fans considering how she brought Bill Engval to the finals with her. In fact, this is exactly the reason Waltrip was happy to have her as a partner. He is following the same blueprint: nice funny guy, forget about the dancing really. I thought this was a bit too cheesy, but he is indeed very funny. He complained about his onesie giving him a wedgie during the dance. He's in danger considering his score, but I don't think he is going anywhere.

Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker are next with a Jive. Jonathan revealed that he is on the show for his dad who died recently. DWTS was his favorite show. A bit of a heartbreaking thing, and I kinda just blocked it off since I don't want to invest my own emotions in something that's personal. I guess everyone deals with grief in their own way -- and like many who have appeared on the show, one of those ways is to appear on the favorite show of their loved one. So good on Jonathan. In other news, I love Allison Holker and am so happy she's on DWTS!

Next is the original stoner Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd with a Cha Cha Cha. Tommy's partner in crime Cheech Marin gave an assist by "driving" him to the dance floor. The marijuana theme of course was stretched from beginning to end -- but I didn't mind since it was funny. Tommy Chong also plays the dirty old man role quite well (or maybe that's him in real life) -- and it was hilarious. Looking forward to more themed performances from him and glad to see that Peta was really enjoying it.

Randy Couture and Karina Smirnoff come next with a Foxtrot. Randy is an Ultimate Fighting champion and surprisingly gave an amazing tender performance which wowed the judges. I liked him too. I've never heard of him before, but this made me a fan. He had really good scores and Karina was very happy.

Next was YouTube superstar Bethany Mota and Derek Hough with a Jive. Bethany is supposedly the biggest star this season as she has millions of subscribers on YouTube. Chances are though, the typical DWTS viewer has never heard of her as she is an 18-year-old video blogger giving fashion tips from her bedroom on the Internet. She did well and with the support of Derek Hough, I think we might see a finals appearance from her. All she needs is to keep up. So far so good.

Finally closing out the show is Carlton Banks himself, Alfonso Ribeiro with his partner Witney Carson with a Jive. What can I say: This was the best dance of the night and clearly for this season, Alfonso has no equal. It was flawless and his musicality was on point. Alfonso Ribeiro should and will win Dancing with the Stars Season 19. I can't for what he does next.

On Tuesday, one couple gets eliminated. Who will it be?

Scores for Week 1:

Couple	Score
Alfonso & Witney	36
Sadie & Mark	34
Bethany & Derek	32
Lea & Artem	32
Randy & Karina	31
Jonathan & Allison	30
Janel & Val	29
Tavis & Sharna	29
Tommy & Peta	27
Antonio & Cheryl	25
Michael & Emma	25
Lolo & Keo	22
Betsey & Tony	20