Was ‘Dancing’ just a summer fling?

And the judges' scoring on "Dancing" was a persistent first-season problem. Rather than just letting the judges pick a favorite and a goat as they do on "America's Next Top Model" or "Project Runway," "Dancing" has its judges give each individual dance numerical scores, which tempts fans to expect coherent explanations for those scores — explanations that the show has never been willing or able to provide.

As hard as it is to believe that integrity could be an issue for a show that features George Hamilton twirling, last season's finale set off a surprisingly vigorous debate after "General Hospital" hottie Kelly Monaco took the title over an evidently miffed John O'Hurley. For some viewers, it was an amusing example of an upstart working hard all season and upsetting the favorite, but for others, it was a scandal on par with the use of performance-enhancing drugs during the Olympics.

This may not be a fatal flaw for the show, and it certainly isn't a first — "Idol" is the subject of frequent conspiracy debates ranging from unlikely to hilariously convoluted. And while the righteous indignation seems capable of fueling endless Clay Aiken Christmas albums, it doesn't seem to put much of a dent in the show itself.

Still, if "Dancing" is going to succeed for a second season, it's going to have to tighten up the judging so that viewers have some justification for all those scores. It will also need to use decent music, rather than convincing itself that "Endless Love" is a rumba or that anyone could ever feel remotely sexy while dancing to "Eye Of The Tiger," both mistakes that were made last season. With popularity comes the kind of nitpicking attention that big-time shows like "Idol" and "Survivor" have dealt with for years, so it's time to step up the attention to detail.

As "Dancing with the Stars" tries to make the shift from gimmick to institution, it will have to cope with tougher competition, cranked-up expectations, and the underlying question of whether seeing someone slightly obscure doing the paso doble with a professional dancer is something anyone needs to see more than once. Master P is desperately hoping the answer to this last question is, "Yes."

Linda Holmes is a writer in Bloomington, Minn.

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