HBO's "Cat Dancers" is a meow mess

 Often when I watch a reality show, I think "They must be faking, there can't really be people like this."

And then I see a documentary like "Cat Dancers," which airs tonight on HBO, and I know it could all be true because there are some freaky people out there.

"Cat Dancers" is the story of one of the world's first exotic-animal entertainment acts. It starts with Ron and Joy Holiday, a couple who met as kids in dancing school in Maine. They eventually married and become well-known as an adagio ballet team (it's a kind of acrobatic ballet typically performed by a man and a woman).

Later, after Ron has a dream about their stage act and sees his wife in a cage, changing into a cat, actor/animal lover William Holden gives the pair a leopard cub. That launches them into a wild animal act. They get so big they need a partner, and so in the late 80s, they add Chuck Lizza, turning the Cat Dancers into a trio.

And a menage a trois. Ron and Joy end up sharing Chuck as their lover. Ron's description of this evolution is shared in a manner that's both matter-of-fact and with old-fashioned discretion.

The act continues to thrive and they decide to get a white Bengal tiger. This turns out to be a bad idea.

There's no big message here, no greather truth. It's just a quirky peek into a subculture you just wouldn't discover any other way.

And showbiz folks are definitely different. For instance, when we first meet Ron he's brushing his teeth, then he does the same for his dogs and I'm pretty sure it's the same toothbrush. And wait till you see his wig collection. Also, if you're still unsure about what's up with Siegfried & Roy, Ron clears things up: apparently Seigfried tried to hit on Ron (who admittedly does have a pretty gorgeous body) but Ron says Seiggy was "Too fem for me."

Well, then.

Playdates:

Tonight at 8
Dec. 19 @ 3:20 am
Dec. 23 @ midnight
Dec. 29 @ 2 am
Jan. 2 @ 11:50 pm
Jan. 7 @ 3:05 am.

On HBO2:
Dec. 17 @ 11:15 pm
Dec. 20 @ noon
Dec. 22 @ 10 pm
Dec. 28 @ 5:30 pm
Dec. 30 at 2 pm
Jan. 4 a@ 12:15 pm
Jan. 12 @ 12:55 am
Dec. 22 @ 10:45 pm