Giving it a whirl

Back in the day, a star with a little time on his or her hands might show up on “The Love Boat” or “Fantasy Island.” Or “Password” or “Hollywood Squares.” Now the boom in reality TV and physical fitness has created the perfect nexus for those celebrities at a “what next?” time in their career: ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

The stars of Season 6 collectively possess the highest name recognition and the most disparate group of medals and awards in the history of the show. Monica Seles, Marlee Matlin, Penn Jillette, Kristi Yamaguchi, Priscilla Presley, Jason Taylor, Steve Guttenberg, for heaven’s sake.

But can they dance? We shall see. The wonder of “Dancing With the Stars” is not only its appreciation of a too-little-seen genre but also the starting-from-scratch competition of the thing. Unlike “American Idol,” where contestants have been preparing their voices for years, the celebrity half of each dance pair is never a professional dancer. And dancing, it turns out, is difficult, requiring a pound-melting, self-esteem pounding combination of grace, charisma and physical rigor. It helps if you look good in the outfits too.

“American Idol” crossed with “The Biggest Loser” crossed with “America’s Next Top Model.” All that and Steve Guttenberg too.

(ABC, Mon., 8 p.m.)

-- Mary McNamara