ABC’s reality TV track record has been mostly hit-or-miss; shows like “The Bachelor” and “Dancing With the Stars” have become hugely popular, while others, like “The Mole” and “The One,” failed to break into the mainstream.
Despite its bland premiere and laughable title, “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann” has enough potential to improve and become relevant in today’s crippled TV landscape.
“Dance War” takes “Dancing With the Stars” judges Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba and pits them against each other as they create singing and dancing supergroups. Viewers will vote each week, and the judge whose team gets the lowest score must eliminate one performer.

The six-week show combines aspects of Fox’s most popular reality competitions, “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” and this, believe it or not, is both a strength and a weakness for the show. On the one hand, people may not want to watch a program that feels like something they’ve already seen, but at the same time there’s no denying that the program is simply following a tried-and-true formula.
Thus, the first half of the premiere felt like an “American Idol” wannabe as Tonioli and Inaba looked for their 14 finalists in various cities across the country. There were terrible auditions and amazing auditions, just like on “American Idol,” and there was plenty of emphasis on dancing, just like on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
But what sets “Dance War” apart from other reality competitions is a heavy emphasis on true talent and the idea that these performers are hand-picked for superstar training by Tonioli and Inaba. Sure, the judges on “American Idol” choose the finalists, but their opinions don’t matter in the end. On “Dance War,” it’s the lowest-scored “captain” who chooses who goes home. In fact, recent voting scandals with “American Idol” have proven that the show’s procedure really doesn’t work as well as it should; “Dance War” shouldn’t have that problem because viewers don’t vote for just one contestant.
Furthermore, Tonioli and Inaba want performers who can both sing AND dance, and do them both well. The judges’ extensive backgrounds in dance means that they’ll expect just as much – if not more – from their dancers than viewers will, and there are plenty of vocal coaches and dance trainers on hand to make sure the performers are being all they can be. What other reality show can say it holds its performers to such high standards? “American Idol” certainly can’t (Sanjaya, anyone?).
And, really, what else do you have to watch during the writers’ strike? “American Gladiator”? You might as well tune in to “Dance War” until “Dancing With the Stars” returns.
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