What a career Mario Lopez has had. Really. He's gone from teen sensation to bike cop to gay diver to talk show host to sports host to renowned dancer and, finally, pageant MC. The man is doing something right. Appearing on Dancing with the Stars was the wisest move he's ever made. The Miss America Pageant, whose popularity has waned in previous years, will air on CMT (that's the Country Music Television channel, for you laymen) January 29 at 8PM ET/PT. Thanks to Reality TV Magazine for the info. The pageant will venture outside Atlantic City this year, instead going to Las Vegas and, more specifically, The Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino for the proceedings. And, to answer your question, no, the producers will not need a time machine; apparently, Planet Hollywood still exists.
The question that comes to my mind is this: Will Lopez sing the Miss America song at the end of the show, when the champion is crowned? I hope so. Mario is a jack of all trades, and I have no doubt that the man has some pipes. The Miss America Pageant is still beloved by a vast cultural subset who are very loyal to the show and pageants in general. I normally don't agree with these people (not that I see them often), but for pageant lovers, Miss America is your Super Bowl. Who better to host than AC Slater? (Although, to be fair, Jesse Spano would certainly have moral objections to the concept of beauty pageants.) -Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer