"Dancing with the Stars" Season 4 starts tonight!

Now, during the first half of the first season, i.e. Kelly Monaco and that awesome guy from Seinfeld whose name I can't remember right now battle of the television actors, I was hooked.

I watched those first three or four episodes religiously with my mother, and then completely lost interested.

I figured I'd give it another try this season, mainly because I can have another show to write about in my blog as I anxiously await the return of "So You Think You Can Dance" (sans me as a contestant).

The contestants on "Dancing with the Stars" which airs tonight at 8 pm on ABC are
Laila Ali, Billy Ray Cyrus, Clyde Drexler, Joey Fatone, Shandi Finnessey, Leeza Gibbons, Heather Mills, Apolo Anton Ohno, Paulina Porizkova, John Ratzenberger and Ian Ziering. You may recognize a former "90210" star, an 'NSYNC member and a beautiful model among others.

This show's premise is as comical as it is endearing to the American reality television-addicted public. B-list stars (who are usually very well known and very wealthy) get paired with professional ballroom dancers and learn all these intricate and dazzling steps from the Fox Trot to the Samba to Tango.

The costumes are flashy, the women are thing, and the hosts are perfectly tanned. It's just what America wants.

What I love about it is the exposure that the stylish, sophisticated and almost antiquated art of ballroom dancing gets. It's almost as if ABC is making America more cultured.

The awesome "Dancing with the Stars" site provides tons of facts about dancing, bios and photos of the contestants and the professional ballroom dancers, and an episode guide that will be updated after each show.

Tonight's two-hour premiere is sure to please audience members. Unfortunately, I will be at Loews Boston Common enjoying a free premiere showing of "Reign Over Me" hopefully seated next to Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle who are both said to be appearing for the premiere. Meanwhile, I won't be saying much as I nurse a sore throat and massively swollen gland back to the health.

To learn more about the show's history and this upcoming season read this.

I can't wait to get home after the movie to watch the dancing begin on-line.