• reality shows
  • reality TV reviews
  • about
  • contact
  • reality TV schedule
  • best reality TV
  • send tips or feedback
  • support
  • subscribe
Dancing with the Stars 17

Bill Nye’s DWTS injury lingers, but he’d go back

Bill Nye and Tyne Stecklein on Dancing with the Stars
Bill Nye and Tyne Stecklein. (Photo illustration by ABC)

by Andy Dehnart 16 Jan. 2015 | 9:24 am

Dancing with the Stars season 17 contestant Bill Nye was eliminated during the third week because of an injury that still bothers him now, a year and a half later, but he definitely would return to the ABC show.

The day he was promoting his appearance on National Geographic Channel’s American Genius, on which he’s a talking head discussing famous rivalries, he told me that he was having dinner with his partner from the show, Tyne Stecklein, that night. “You just become friends; you spend so much freakin’ time,” he said. (The season 17 cast was one of DWTS’ best.)

“The injury is still not all the way done. If I go up steps two at a time, after a few, like the subway in New York, if I go up those steep steps, I can still feel it,” he said. Nye underwent “all kinds of rehab. Did not need surgery. The guy said it was 80, maybe 90 percent tear.”

Despite that, Dancing with the Stars’ Bill Nye told me, “I’d go back in a second. I’d get up from this table and go back. It’s the coolest thing.” But: “I would not do those deep knee things. We would just dance around that, if you will. Too many deep knee rehearsals caught up with me. It was cool, though.”

Nye has recently written a book on evolution and has talks openly about climate change. He also told me that he hopes Disney will eventually release The Soundtrack of Science from Bill Nye The Science Guy.

discuss this story

more great reality blurred stories

  • The 20 Survivor winners who will compete on Survivor season 40
  • How Antiques Roadshow works
  • Scare Tactics: The surprising way the show was cast
  • Behind the scenes of the Guy’s Grocery Games grocery store
  • The Survivor rule book and Survivor cast contract
  • How Big Brother’s house is designed

Reality TV in your inbox

Hand-crafted reality TV news and recommendations sent most Fridays. Unsubscribe any time!

most-popular stories on reality blurred

The central cast of MTV's Ex On the Beach: Peak of Love

Ex on the Beach: Peak of Love cast includes Adore Delano and Temptation Island singles

MTV announced the cast and air date for Ex On the Beach season 4, which has relocated to the mountains of New Zealand and now has the nonsensical name of Ex On the Beach: Peak of Love.

Whale Wars

Whale Wars: Watson's Last Stand is not new. It's from 2012.

Animal Planet has bizarrely repackaged old episodes as a new "season" of Whale Wars. But there is a new Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd-focused documentary coming soon.

Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine on Survivor: Island of the Idols

Survivor 40's cast of 20 Survivor winners

Survivor season 40's all-winner cast has been revealed. Original winner Richard Hatch is not competing, but nearly every winner from seasons 22 to 37 is returning.

Spy Games host Mia Kang and assessors Douglas Laux, Evy Poumpuras, and Erool Southers

Spy Games: the cast, premiere date, and trailer for the new Bravo competition

Bravo has announced details about Spy Games, its reality competition whose producers include Survivor's former showrunner and a former ABC exec who developed The Mole.

Jeff Probst on the premiere of Survivor Island of the Idols, standing next to a sign that reminds everyone what Survivor used to focus on.

Survivor season 40 will start earlier than usual

Survivor: Winners at War will premiere in February, and have a two-hour premiere.

Gabrielle Union during the America's Got Talent season 14 semifinals 2 episode

Gabrielle Union was fired from America's Got Talent. What we've learned since then about AGT's "toxic culture"

Reports have detailed a "toxic culture" at AGT that Gabrielle Union tried to address but was labeled as "difficult."

The best reality TV shows 2019

The best reality TV of 2019

Andy Dehnart’s selection of outstanding reality TV and documentary reality shows from 2019.

Wrap Battle guest judge Shiho Masuda and judges Wanda Wen, Carson Kressley, and Sheryl Underwood watch contestant Eddie Ross

Wrap Battle is an imperfect but welcome Christmas gift

The gift wrapping competition Wrap Battle is a lot of holiday fun despite some baffling judging and discordant choices.

A New Hampshire bridge in winter, which will take us from fall to spring reality TV shows

Winter 2020 reality TV schedule and guide

This winter reality show 2019 and 2020 schedule is a frequently updated list of premieres for broadcast, cable, and streaming reality TV shows, documentary series, game shows, and other prime-time nonfiction TV.

A Man vs. Bear contestant, Brad, is pulled off a platform by Bart, a bear

Man vs. Bear: a review, plus interviews with the producers of this insane competition

A new competition has people facing off against bears in five challenges. I talked to producers about how exactly it came together.

behind the scenes of reality TV

Whale Wars season 8

Whale Wars spin-off Viking Shores: behind the scenes

I spent time aboard the Steve Irwin with the Sea Shepherd crew during filming of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars: Viking Shores. Here’s what I found.

RuPaul's Drag Race, Michelle Visage, RuPaul, Carson Kressley

The RuPaul’s Drag Race contract

Drag queens give up everything from rights to revenue in order to appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and everything from per-episode compensation to Drag Race’s rules are covered in this 51-page participant agreement that contestants sign during the casting process.

Mythbusters, Jon Lung, Brian Louden

Behind the scenes with the new Mythbusters

I went behind the scenes with new Mythbusters Jon Lung and Brian Louden during filming of part of their “Rock ‘n’ Roll Road Rage” episode.

older

Why Dancing with the Stars is so much better now

more stories about Dancing with the Stars 17

discuss this story

about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

stay connected with reality TV

Get advice about what to watch and keep up with the latest in reality television with reality blurred's e-mail newsletter. Just enter your e-mail address:

about reality blurred

reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

explore

  • recent news
  • reviews of reality TV shows
  • behind the scenes reports
  • interviews with producers and reality stars
  • archives
  • send tips
  • search
  • advertise on reality blurred
  • about reality blurred
  • newsletter
  • RSS and social media
  • contact reality blurred
  • send tips & contribute
  • privacy policy
  • terms of service
Copyright © 2000 to 2019 Andy Dehnart and individual contributors.