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Some guys have all the Lutz

Take a bunch of former NHL stars, add some brave female figure skaters, toss in a handful of judges and a whole lot of sequins -- CBC shoots... scores!

By: Brad Oswald

10/10/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 3

Take a bunch of former NHL stars, add some brave female figure skaters, toss in a handful of judges and a whole lot of sequins — CBC shoots... scores!

Could there possibly be a more red-and-white-blooded-Canadian unscripted-TV show than this?

CBC's Battle of the Blades takes the reality/competition blueprint employed by ABC's hugely successful Dancing With the Stars and completely Canuck-ifies it by outfitting its contestants with figure skates rather than ballroom shoes and relocating its quick-footed showdown to a sheet of ice located in, of all places, Maple Leaf Gardens.

TVPreview

Battle of the Blades

Featuring Tie Domi, Glenn Anderson, Jamie Salé, Barbara Underhill, Ron Duguay, Claude Lemieux, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Isabelle Brasseur

Sundays/Mondays at 8 p.m.

CBC

Oh, and the contestants? Former NHL stars, teamed with some of the nation's most beloved female figure skaters in a pairs competition whose winner will be decided by viewer votes.

I must admit I was skeptical when I read the press release announcing Battle of the Blades. It seemed like it might turn out to be a show in search of an audience -- too artsy for the jock-TV crowd, but not quite refined enough for serious fans of figure skating.

But the ratings for the short-run series' first week suggest otherwise. Nearly two million viewers watched Sunday's premiere in its entirety; curiosity-seeking drop-ins pushed its total audience to almost 2.5 million.

And that's probably because, on the strength of its performers' charisma, good humour and paired-up chemistry, Battle of the Blades is a pretty darned entertaining show.

As it enters its second week of competition -- minus Kristina Lenko and partner Bob Probert (as a figure skater, the former Red Wings enforcer was sort of like one of those bicycle-riding bears in the Moscow Circus -- a lumbering mass of muscle doing something that was oddly compelling but clearly not what nature intended) -- the hockey stars and their toe-pick mentors will be expected to step up their games.

This week's musical theme is Frank Sinatra. The guest judge, alongside regular panelists Dick Button and Sandra Bezic, is a "good Canadian kid" named Don Cherry.

Let the toe loops begin!

Just for fun, here's one couch spud's attempt at handicapping the rest of the Battle of the Blades field:

Claude Lemieux and Shae-Lynn Bourne

Week 1 judges' scores (out of 6.0): 5.7, 5.7, 5.6

One of the NHL's greatest-ever irritants demonstrated lot of rhythm, a bucket of fun and enough hip-shimmying to make everyone watching feel slightly uncomfortable. And he never cross-checked Bourne from behind even once. Maybe the best of the first-week bunch.

ODDS OF WINNING: 2-1

Craig Simpson and Jamie Salé

Week 1 scores: 5.6, 5.6, 5.6

The erstwhile Oiler has the benefit of being paired with the most famous (thanks to that judging-scandal gold-medal swipe) female skater of all, but their routine was slow-ish and Simpson narrowly avoided the dreaded toe-pick nosedive.

ODDS OF WINNING: 8-1

Ken Daneyko and Jodeyne Higgins

Week 1 scores: 5.7, 5.4, 5.4

Daneyko, who spent his entire career patrolling the Devils' blueline is still as strong as an ox -- and kinda skates like one, too. Except for Probert, he's the guy who most looks like a hockey player trying to figure skate.

ODDS OF WINNING: 50-1

Stéphane Richer and

Marie-France Dubreuil

Week 1 scores: 5.5, 5.4, 5.3

The former Hab looked very tentative during his first skate, and rightfully so -- it was revealed during post-performance judging that he'd dropped Dubreuil earlier in the week, knocking her unconscious. Did much better in Monday's elimination skate-off, and seems to be regaining his confidence.

ODDS OF WINNING: 7-1

Glenn Anderson and Isabelle Brasseur

Week 1 scores: 5.7, 5.6, 5.6

Mark Messier's longtime Oiler linemate showed the same reckless abandon he employed while cutting to the crease and steamrolling all those goalies -- his performance was fast, perilously on the edge, and contained difficult lifts and spins. And he clearly got a big kick out of the experience, as evidenced by the ear-to-ear grin he wore throughout.

ODDS OF WINNING: 3-1

Ron Duguay and Barbara Underhill

Week 1 scores: 5.8, 5.7, 5.8

As was the case during his entire helmet-less NHL career, Duguay still has the best hair and pretty-boy looks in the arena. He and partner Underhill both wore hockey skates, but were fast, flashy and fearless.

ODDS OF WINNING: 2-1

Tie Domi and Christine Hough-Sweeney

Week 1 scores: 5.7, 5.6, 5.7

The former Jets/Rangers/Leafs tough guy showed a lot of pizzazz in his opening-night skate, employing an impressive combination of skill and showmanship. Clearly, he's the favourite of the Gardens crowd... but will viewers/voters across the country agree?

ODDS OF WINNING: 4-1

OSWALD'S (TOE) PICK TO WIN IT ALL: Duguay and Underhill, by a hair.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 10, 2009 C1

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3 Comments

Posted by:

October 10, 2009 at 7:30 PM

Great premise, and very well executed! One would think after spending a lifetime on skates, these NHL'ers would have no problem with figure skates, but not so... the outtakes at the start are worth the effort of watching!!!

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Posted by:

October 10, 2009 at 12:07 PM

Much to my surprise I really enjoyed it; came across it looking for another show last Sunday night and then when my husband joined me and was very interested because of the past NHL players, we are now hooked! Went out of my way to watch the Monday night "skate off" and will make a point of watching every week. CBC finally has us watching their channel.

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Posted by: LWoodie

October 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM

Planning to watch it again this week. Light hearted and good fun. Not much of interest to me on TV right now so this provides a few hours of entertainment. Might just be a suprise ending as well as all these athletes are in good shape and capable of learning new skating techniques.