PureDWTS Season 23, Week 7 – Power Rankings
Whenever I fill in on the live blog for Heidi, and also simultaneously tweet and take notes for the power rankings, I always worry that I’m gonna just end up repeating the same stuff over and over, and run out of things to say – but oddly enough, live blogging AND tweeting AND taking notes actually helped me work through week 2 of the Topamax brain fog this week, so I feel a lot more lucid now and I’m finding it a lot easier to form coherent thoughts. Silver linings 🙂
There seemed to be a rather interesting line drawn between some of the pros tonight – that line separating the pros who tend to do a lot of “messing about” and time-wasting, and pros who are savvy enough to stay true a theme while still managing to waste very little time getting down to business and making sure their celeb is dancing for the bulk of their time on-stage. And that line did not go unnoticed by the judges – particularly Len, who seemed to be trying to get the train back on the tracks after they went a bit off the rails with some funky scoring in his absence. He not-so-subtly shaded more than one pro for “messin’ about” while praising others for getting down to business. What I found a tad unnerving, though, was the way some of the pros seemed to get mouthy back at him, and dismissed some pretty valid points he was making with the usual “Len, you’re old and tired” cliches that have been done to death, but still get a chuckle out of the audience. Actually found myself really bothered by the jet lag comment from Val, and the fact that Julianne backed it up – Len definitely wasn’t talking out of his ass, and they just kind of poo-poohed it away. Not cool, and I would love to see someone call Julianne out for being a drama queen and hyperbolizer and have Len back them up on the air, and see how she likes it.
On the whole, I think those who ended up with “novelty” or “extra” dances (i.e. Charleston, jitterbug) probably were scored relatively a bit easier than those who got stuck with one of the core ballroom or Latin dances this week, as it seemed like it was easier to parlay the novelty dances to fit the eras theme than it was to make the stricter Latin & ballroom ones without sacrificing content. And I think that’s something that probably needs to be spelled out for the pros as they begin choreographing the dances, and the judges probably need to spell it out at the beginning of shows like this – maybe explain what they’re looking for in terms of attention paid to the theme vs. amount of syllabus steps, explain whether lifts are allowed, etc. – because there did seem to be some confusion, not only among the pros, but the judges themselves. Or that could just be them making things up as they go along, who knows 😛 Mo going home = seemed like the right time. Like Amber, I just did not get the impression that it was fun for her anymore, and her relationship with Artem seemed pretty…strained. But next week’s elim will likely hurt, because if it is who I think it is – this person is still having a lot of fun and will not want to leave 🙁
1.) Calvin & Lindsay – Once again, these two won the evening for me – I think Lindsay was the pro that did the best job this week of meshing the era they were assigned with the dance style they were given without wasting a bunch of time or sacrificing content. And while I’m seeing a lot of noses in the air about Calvin “not having enough jive content” (sometimes I wonder how my eyes haven’t gotten stuck from rolling them so hard), there was plenty from what I could see, and I was actually quite impressed with how Calvin handled it, even with his bum ankle – his feet looked better than most able-footed men we’ve seen attempt the jive, and I loved how level he kept his top line – something even Laurie struggled with last night. Scores seemed about right – had he ended up with a novelty dance like the jitterbug, there probably would have been some tens thrown in there, but I think the fact that he ended up with one of the core Latin dances meant the judges probably judged him a bit more strictly. But still – strongest dance of the night for me, and I was thoroughly entertained. He deserves a spot in the finale, regardless of what some armchair dance critics seem to think.
2.) James & Sharna – Just a quick aside, based on some of what I’m seeing said here at Pure and elsewhere online: is there a reason why a sizeable chunk of Calvin fans seem to want to pin the blame for Calvin’s underscoring on James??? It was as if all of a sudden, 24 hours after last week’s show, some of you had suddenly decided it was all James’ fault that Calvin hadn’t been getting the scores he deserves…which makes zero sense. Would just LOVE to hear the logic on this one 🙂 Because for the record – I think James & Calvin deserve to be the last two standing, and judging by the bromancing I saw from them last night, I doubt there’s any bad blood between the two. But I digress. Adorable dance, and done very well despite Sharna’s late-breaking injury that likely required some very last-minute changes in the choreography. Got a bit of a bone to pick with Len here – he complained about “lack of jitterbug” steps, but in my experience, jitterbug is a dance that’s actually pretty open-ended, and tends to borrow a lot from jive, Lindy, and other types of swing…there’s not exactly a strict jitterbug syllabus to pick steps from. There’s some definite overlap, so I’m a tad annoyed at the implication that it wasn’t a jitterbug – but then again, like Carrie Ann’s wishy-washy complaint about the lifts, I think they were looking for something to nitpick about, so I’m just gonna shake my head and move on. Hope Sharna’s knee heals up quick – would hate for it to hold them back in the coming weeks.
3.) Laurie & Val – Here’s a little bit of a PSA for the Laurie fans out there that seem to get very, very butthurt whenever I compare her unfavorably to another contestant: when you’re a front-runner, YOU’RE GONNA GET COMPARED TO OTHER FRONT-RUNNERS. Sometimes in a positive light, sometimes in a not-so-positive light – and you don’t get to claim immunity from the bad simply because Laurie’s a 16-year-old girl. Case in point? Laurie got called out last night for having a very bouncy frame in her quickstep (and yes, it was pretty damn bouncy). In dances like quickstep and jive, the idea is have what I like to call “controlled chaos”: your legs are doing these explosive movements, but your upper body is to remain fairly still, and you should not see much vertical movement through your torso. You should be absorbing the shock of your leg movements through your core, so that the top of your head & shoulders aren’t moving vertically more than an inch or two. Laurie didn’t do this. Know who did? Calvin. Thus, it’s not exactly out-of-line to point out that one front-runner managed to accomplish this and another didn’t. It’s called compare and contrast – not “being a big ol’ meanie”. Ok then? 🙂 I will commend Laurie for selling the entertainment value of the routine, because it was fun to watch, but there were definite technique issues here, and aside from the bouncy frame, I still feel like her dancing is very “pose-y”. Val also wasted a colossal amount of time at the beginning with the whole putting on the corsage nonsense, and thought the dance would have been fine without two lifts in it. Also thought they put wayyyy too much emphasis on Laurie not knowing anything about the 60’s or prom, and seemed to harp on that too much – I think it kinda made her look ignorant, even if she was just playing along and feigning cluelessness about it. Just…why? Do we just have to drive the point home that Laurie is this young, naive, innocent thing with eyes completely new to the world? Guess I’m just not really understanding the need to paint her in this light – she seems like an intelligent young lady that is far more worldly than they’re giving her credit for.
4.) Jana & Gleb – The ONLY reason I have these two this high up is that I’m pretty sure TPTB have decided they want her in the finale with Laurie, James, & Calvin. Why? Some of you on Twitter asked for my opinion, and I think the answer is threefold: one, of the remaining contestants once you take out the top 3, she’s probably the best one left that doesn’t have some sort of unique circumstance holding her back (I actually think Terra’s a better dancer, but is likely a lot more limited in the grand scheme of things) – granted, in terms of actual skill, it’s like Laurie, James, Calvin all in close succession, and then a looooooong pause…and then Jana, but she’s definitely better than Ryan, maybe slightly better than Marilu, and doesn’t have the limitations that Terra does. Two – her name has been splashed all over the tabloids recently, and I think TPTB are hoping to draw some viewers in that way. Three – with Derek likely saying a permanent “saynonara” to the show after this season, and Val just not really living up to the hype they’ve been hoping, methinks TPB might be trying to make Gleb “happen” as the new “top male pro”. And what better way to try and make him “happen” then to ensure he makes the finale his first season back as a pro? As for their actual performance last night – again, I find myself just kinda shaking my head and going “Not really sure what the big deal is with Jana…” because I actually found what little actual samba she did to be pretty stiff. Thought Gleb went the Val route and decided to pay more attention to the theme than the dance style, and threw in more disco and general raunch instead of samba – wish she would have closed her thighs more on some of the passes, and if it were me, I would have omitted the samba roll, as Jana barely seemed to move through her torso. Just a very, very mediocre outing, in the grand scheme of last night, but as I think I mentioned during the show last night – I would not be at all shocked if she was the one that ended up with immunity next Monday night, so I’m thinking she ends up safe when all’s said and done.
5.) Terra & Sasha – I think last night really kind of cracked the code on Terra for me: if she has a character she can play, particularly a very feminine one, she’s golden. And so last night, we fortunately got to see the return of Terra the competitor again, because I think she felt comfortable letting loose with a sophisticated character to play in her foxtrot. Loved the fluffy, feathery pick dress (though I kinda wished the hem were a bit shorter, or maybe the dress had a slit, so we could see her leg extensions a bit better), and I thought she looked like she was having fun again. Lightweight pissed at Sasha, though, for the way he was treating her during the team dance – really, dude? Talking in Russian with Val? I don’t like it when my manicurist talks to her coworker in Vietnamese when I’m sitting right there, and we’re not even close. How the hell do you think Terra felt? You may have done it with good intentions, but here’s an idea: maybe just ASK Terra what steps she feels comfortable doing. That way, she doesn’t feel like an outsider, on top of being the one that holds the team back. Not quite sure where Terra stands in the grand scheme of things right now, though – I think there are others in more danger than her, but I think she may have a hard time beating Jana to get that last spot in the finale. I do think she deserves it more than Jana, as she’s been more consistent, but I worry that they think there’s more money to be made in putting Jana through…
6.) Ryan & Cheryl – I don’t think this rumba was meant to be as comical as I found it to be 😛 Something about Ryan’s facial hair and the way the stage was lit was making it look like he had drawn on a beard with a Magic Marker, and I could not stop giggling like an idiot. And then there was the whole cheesy graphic of the asteroid in the background, and Ryan’s feeble attempt at sexy faces…I just couldn’t take it seriously. Lots of snickering. Not a whole lot in the way of actual content or technique here, and I think Cheryl even kinda admitted it herself in the package when she said she was going to focus on the acting this week. Just seemed more like a freestyle contemporary routine that was maybe a bit more sexual than usual, and while it wasn’t really all that rumba-y, I did find myself amused by it…like I do most of Ryan’s dances. He tries, they aren’t great, but I leave feeling mildly entertained 🙂 Thing is, now that we’re headed into week 8, I don’t think “mildly entertained” is gonna cut it much longer, especially when you’ve got 3 powerhouses with finale spots pretty much on lock, and the rest of the couples clawing pretty hard for that 4th spot. Ryan…is coasting. And it’s probably gonna be time for him to say bye-bye soon.
7.) Marilu & Derek – Just a bad day at the office for Marilu, I’m afraid. Not a great Charleston, but not a terrible one, either, and unfortunately, it got disproportionately nitpicked and underscored relative to other dances we saw last night. Other than maybe going off-time once or twice, I actually enjoyed it – was fun to watch and a good representation of Charleston. But between that score and then the fall in the team dance and a relatively crappy score for that as well – damn, I just don’t know if Marilu’s gonna be able to pull off sticking around next week. It’s doubly crappy when you look at Ryan’s rumba, which I would argue had quite a bit less content but got the same score, and he also benefited from being on the winning team for the team dance. Just not a whole lot to say, unfortunately – hope Derek’s fans pulled out all the stops, and some of Mo’s fans defected to Marilu’s camp enough to keep her around, but my gut’s telling me she’s got a tough row to hoe to stick around.
Thoughts on the team dances:
I feel like the knee-jerk reaction to the team dances last night has been “Team Future got totally screwed over with the music!!!” and very few people seem to want to talk about much beyond that – I’m guessing because many of them were so sure that Team Future was going to win, with the combined dance talents of Laurie, Marilu, Jana, & Terra, and the choreographic talents of Derek, that it’s hard to reconcile that they didn’t. While I agree that they were indeed royally screwed by the music (possibly more than any other team in team dance history), I feel the need to point out that Team Past actually did a very respectable dance that holds up well on its own – independent with how well or not-well Team Future did. I actually found Team Past’s dance to be rather refreshing – simpler and more pared-down than some of the flashier and more in-your-face team dances we’ve seen in recent years, since everything has become a freestyle; and they took Team Beyonce’s idea from last season of having everyone stay out on the floor together for the majority of the dance, rather than doing a bunch of solos, and they actually made it work for them. I’ve rather missed seeing ballroom used in team dances, too – the last one that really sticks out in my head was team tango in season 14, which was gorgeous and dramatic. Of course I’m also an Outlander fan, so I loved the little homages to the plot – if you watch the opening title sequence of the show, you can see the lantern inspiration at the beginning of the dance, and it looks like the ladies’ dresses were inspired by Claire’s dress from the party at Versailles in season 2. I give my co-MVP award to James & Calvin, for both just looking amazing out on the floor – both had that amazing posture, and I watched the dance again to see the moving in “perfect synchronization” that Julianne talked about. It was definitely there, and I loved how at-ease and into the dance both of them seemed to be. I may have seen Ryan go slightly off-time at a few moments, although I’m not sure if one of them was due to the problem Cheryl was talking about with her skirt. As for Team Future – they did the best they could with what they had. The song seemed very, very postmodern, so it dictated a dance that was very, very postmodern – and part of me wonders if they gave it to the team with Derek and some strong dancers on it with the hopes that he would be able to churn out something very avant-garde and Emmy-worthy, but even Derek has his limitations. As Heidi has said – if he’s not feeling the music, it’s an uphill battle for him to really churn out something great. This seemed to have some very awkward rhythm changes, too, which left the dance feeling kind of…whiplash-y. I couldn’t even really tell you what anyone did, because I just could not get past thinking “Wow, this is reeeeeally weird.” Seemed like there might have been some synchronization issues – admittedly, I’m still getting over the brain fog phase of this topiramate, but Mama Spence swears she saw Terra and possibly Marilu go off-time. Meh, ok. Overall, not the strongest season for team dances (and I feel like I’ve said this for several seasons now), but I appreciate Team Past daring to do something a bit different.
Hey did you just call marilu a hoe, how dare you saying such a horrid and disrespectful thing, I just let you know I have a friend who is married to this girl who used to be a roommate to one of the producers of the show, I send him a screenshot and he will shut down this website, enjoy your last moments and don’t forget to vote for Donald trump.
Totes. 🙂
Kirami, we’re you trying to be funny, cause if you were, it was quite humorous.
Unfortunately, I agree with your power rankings Court; unfortunately because I’m very much afraid Marilu is going home next week and I’d much rather it be Ryan or Jana! She’s got a lot to overcome to stay in it. I did feel she was underscored in relation to Ryan, who IMO, just cannot dance worth beans. I’m not sure what it is with Marilu; other than her waltz, she always comes across as nervous which given her background is odd!
I loved Calvins dance last night; he always leaves me with a smile on my face. James was good, but it wasn’t my favorite dance of his. Sure hope Sharna is okay. Jana is always forgettable to me; I wish she’d be a shock elimination! I’m liking Terra and I’d rather she make finals than Jana. And it’s the same story, different week with Laurie! She should be knocking it out of the ballpark every week; instead she too is not memorable to me and I blame her pro for that.
Team Past won for sure; I would have liked to see a more level playing field so we could have really seen who brought it. I’m really over the team dances; the last one I really liked was Team Call Me Maybe. And if they’re going to go them, bring back assigned dances and eliminate freestyles!
Overall I agree with these rankings. The team dances were both lacking for me. I like jana/gleb but u were right…she is a bit stiff for those sambal rolls,but she tried. Ready for Ryan to go….but unfortunately I don’t see it happening….so elimination will come down to…terra or marilu? Whom I wonder
That music flat out sucked for Team Future. Plus, their costumes were just as bad. I felt so sad for Terra…but, she’s not a whiner and came off as a fighter/strong woman. As for Team Past, it was ok, but their costumes were gorgeous.
I liked and disliked Marilu’s Charleston. The content was great, but the execution was not there.
Calvin’s was my favorite out of all of them. He’s really fun to watch.
Thanks for your rankings. I always enjoy reading them very much. I agree with your rankings this week 100%, except for the last two. I would rank Marilu’s Charleston way above Ryan’s rumba. Yes, she was slightly slower than Derek at times, which creates some synchronization issues, but she had fun and was perfectly in character. I also loved the whole concept of the dance. Ryan’s rumba was very uninspired for me. It was the least thematic decade dance (I guess, in all fairness, they probably had the least characteristic decade to deal with, but still…). He had no hip action and basically walked around Cheryl in a semi-awkward way. I think rumbas are hard to pull off for most male non-pros. Nonetheless, other than Maureen’s horrible tango, Ryan was at the bottom of the pack for me this week.
As a side note, I really did not care for Len’s not-so-subtle hint that he will be very surprised if Jana and Glen are not in the finals. That sounds very much like manipulation, and I don’t like it.
It is too bad about Marilu’s Charleston because that had the potential to be a really great dance. I hope she can make it past elimination because everything she has done, problems and all, has been leaps and bounds above Ryan’s dancing this season. I really would prefer to have Ryan go, then Jana, then Marilu but if Marilu can at least get to W9 I will be happy. She has Argentine Tango next week so I am glad she can get to dance something she really wanted to do in her time on the show either way.
I too wish they would either go back to structured dance team dances or if they are going to let them freestyle, let them pick their own music within a certain theme. Producers will never allow that, but I wish they would.
Val is definitely doing a disservice to Laurie. Someone of her caliber not standing out more and also not having really great technique is all on him. We should be seeing memorable dances like Derek & Shawn All Star season…..or if that’s not ‘fair’ since it was Shawn’s second season, at minimum, like the great ones we did from Shawn & Mark and Nastia & Derek.
There will be 11 weeks this season. That would mean 4 person finale unless they feel like pulling one more double elim to make it 3 person. My finalists are James and Calvin and Laurie….4th spot to either Terra or even Marilu if she lasts and ups the game the last few weeks. If it is a 3 person finale with James and Calvin and Laurie, kind of love that it will be Val vs. two other pros that have never won. At least he can’t even think about playing that card. Kind of annoyed Sharna already talked in length about it in this week’s video package though.
Agreed, especially on the team dances. I think one major factor here is also that it seemed that more of the folks on Team Future had other stuff going on — Laurie is touring, Derek started Hairspray etc., plus the unique challenges that choreographing for Terra would also add to the mix. As a result, they went for a more solo-oriented dance, and the group parts just didn’t jell the way they had in the past. Getting a late start dude to music issues didn’t help either.
I’d point to two things happening that I might not have predicted at the start of the season. First, I think that the travel/touring is getting to Laurie and her performance is suffering for it. The quickstep is hard, but it’s in her wheelhouse in terms of both control and explosiveness. But the body contact and coordination between her and Val seemed off — how much of that is her, and how much is Val (it’s not like he was a quickstep guy as a competitive dancer, right?). I’ll be curious to see how this shapes up.
I am admittedly a Derek fan, and I’ve enjoyed all of his seasons…until now. I don’t know, something about his partnership with Marilu just isn’t working for me — I like her a lot, and I like him a lot, but I can’t seem to enjoy their performances as much as I thought I would. I mean, I really loved his Joanna Krupa season, so it’s not that I’m looking for a Nicole every season, but the routines have felt a bit flat at times. The Charleston was better than some of the others, but I don’t know whether it’s that his repertoire is more limited with Marilu, or that he’s trying to counterbalance the increasingly elaborate dances that are being done, or just something off in this partnership, but if they go next week, I can’t say I’ll be all that sad.
@Beth Hope – Glad you enjoy them, but just keep in mind that the rankings aren’t “who danced the best”, but “who do I think is more likely to go home” – and in this case, it’s Marilu. Did she have a better dance than Ryan? Absolutely. But I still think she’s at a greater risk of elimination.
I just want to understand why, WHY GOD WHY, Val can’t just make Laurie dance. She’s good and can dance. Need no gimmicks.
(He does this same thing with every his partners. Just a waste of time)
@EPMusic – Just food for thought: the pros are often told what to say in those master interviews. Sharna may very well have a storyboard editor feeding her the line “Now say ‘I haven’t won yet, and I’m feeling the pressure’, okay?” as she’s in front of the camera. For that reason alone, I don’t begrudge her too much.
Ok, so I totally giggled when you mentioned the “hoe” :). I definitely enjoyed the Team Past dance the best last night. Being an Outlander fan at first I had hoped for kilts on the gentlemen, but thinking about it, the men may have been too challenged by kilts 🙂 – all that breeze might have resulted in a wardrobe malfunction :).
And did they perhaps put Jana in jeopardy to incite voting for her rather than for Marilu or for Terra? Hopefully it was such a rushed ‘jeopardy’ event that it won’t have caused too much sympathy voting!
I agree with the Rankings…#Rosha I also noticed Jana’s Samba Rolls were really off and right after her dance one judge pointed out how perfect they were and I couldn’t believe it! The way she did it was Similar to Tamar’s Samba Rolls with Louis which they nitpicked them on…..I don’t know about this move but they say its harder than it looks so maybe she did okay but it wasn’t PERFECT…
@carlos…i kinda agree…to me she just bounces around,and like Laurie. Tbh her and Val don’t have chemistry as partners,sorry to say that,they are”cute” and that’s about it. Poor marilu,she had a tough night…..
Worried about Marilou as well, I really enjoy her and Derek’s partnership this season.
And totally agree on inappropriateness of speaking Russian – I was disappointed.
@rosa..lol..her rolls were off,but I just think Jana needs to loosen up tho,she is hella stiff,but I know she trying,but like I said she is capable of better,if gleb puts more into there routine “dance” wise and I he is to be the next pro,I expect him to bring it and not go easy on Jana….
I want to start on a high note, and that is to tell you how incredible I think you are for providing such a terrific platform and ” over all ” site, for we rabid DWTS fans!!!! And as an admirer of Derek Hough, I love the Pure Derek Hough site regularly!! As the daughter of ballroom dance teachers, I was in heaven when I found this wonderful show, as it took me back to my younger years when I’d attend the competitions. I’m a bit upset by a couple of things that have happened this season, and hate to gripe, preferring to compliment, so this is difficult for me. As a Canadian viewer and avid Indy race fan, I was so excited to see ” Hinchy ” join this season. So very happy the audience would get to enjoy spending time with one of the greatest drivers, and amazing ” good guys ” we’re proud to have out there on the world stage representing the best of our citizenry. But this year, I can’t vote, which has made me feel so ” removed ” and not part of the ” DWTS ” experience. I wouldn’t have voted for just James or Derek and would have loved to contribute to many of the dancer’s scores. And as for the ” music ” Derek’s team was given, as both a singer and dancer, I too had a lot of trouble trying to actually ” feel ” connected in some way. Again, a lot of people know about Derek’s ” team ” wins in the past and I hate to think that TPTB would deliberately give his team a difficult and confusing piece of music. But from what I’ve read on this site, I have to say, it could be a possible explanation. Sorry this was so long, and I am sincerely grateful to have had a place to have my say. Thank you so much for all you do!! Jacqui
I agree with these rankings too. It was so obvious TPTB, via Len’s comment, are trying to get Jana/Gleb into the finals. I’m all for pushing Gleb so I won’t be upset if he gets in there. I know Gleb is capable of more innovative choreography but after watching Jana’s rant at him in rehearsals, I can see he can only get her to do so much. I don’t care for Jana either way. She’s just kind of there. Hopefully next season Gleb gets someone who isn’t so, stressed & seemingly unable or unwilling to go the extra mile.
Having said all that, I would love to see Terra and Sasha in a freestyle finale. That lady is game for anything and she sells it the best of all the women celebs. Sasha has been so creative. I would love to see what they would come up with.
I feel like Ryan has been getting the votes to stay all this time so I’m wondering, will he be a surprise that stays past Marilu, Terra and Jana? The fact he’s stuck around until now with the scores he gets makes me wonder if he’s killing in votes.
All I know is I can’t wait to see freestyles from Calvin/Lindsay and James/Sharna! I think 4th place may be a toss up between Terra and Jana. Ill take either.
Did anyone else have trouble with calling Marilu/Derek’s phone # last night? I called up until the time limit & only got busy signals…
I hope this just means that many others were on the phone calling for them.
This week was something. I can literally classify the dances in two catagotories: will watch (my top three)and probably never will. 1) Calvin and Lindsay 2)James and sharna 3)Terra and Sasha 4)Laurie and Val 5)Marilu and Derek 6)Ryan and Cheryl 7)Jana and gleb. I know Jana and gleb got a better score than Marilu and Ryan but my problem and it seems like people have the same one is this: that had very little samba and what was there was very meh.
@nancy: I had the same issue with Calvin. Very weird
I hated Team Future’s costumes. I mean I get that they were going for a sort of dystopian uniformity, but they just ended up looking like a crew of depressed, futuristic dental assistants.
And it took me forever to figure out the concept, that they were moving from a cold, dismal beginning to a hopeful, Garden Of Eden like ending. It didn’t help that the set for the ending looked like a Hobby Lobby exploded.
They did the best they could, but that kooky song was a major handicap.
1.Calvin/Lindsay- One of my favorite jives on the show- ever. And, once again they get screwed on scores- I don’t even know what to say at this point. He could win this, but he could also end up as this season’s Wanya/Charlie. He’s in my dream final 2.
2.Laurie/Val- It wasn’t perfect, but it was fun and I really enjoyed the choreo (outside of the beginning). It was the most connected I have seen them as a couple.
3.James/Sharna- It was a great dance and worthy of the scores it received, I just didn’t love it personally. I kept comparing it to Calvin’s jive (I know it wasn’t a jive) and it fell a little flat.
4.Terra/Sasha- This was a great dance for them, but it was a little forgettable. I’m glad Sasha is getting credit for his awesome teaching and choreo. She could be in the final 4.
5.Marilu/Derek- I don’t think it was nearly as bad as it was scored or critiqued, but it was a little off. I think more production in this case could have helped, because it felt slow and low energy at times. I don’t know if it’s because of her physical fitness or because of Derek, but I feel like people forget she is 30-50 years older than everyone else left. What’s she’s doing is incredible, and I am very worried they’re going home.
6.Ryan/Cheryl- The dance was a mess to me but the rehearsal package was freaking hilarious. I have no idea how he’s doing in votes, but I will say he looked hot.
7.Jana/Gleb- Ugh. I don’t enjoy them at all. Gleb’s comments honestly pissed me off. It was like watching Maks all over again. It’s fine to go outside the box if you are going to create amazing routines, but his routines IMO aren’t amazing or even very good. I’m crossing my fingers that they leave next week, but I think this immunity challenge is perfectly structured to keep them around.
Team Dance- I loved that Team Past brought it back to old-school DWTS when you actually had to do a specific style. It was gorgeous. I did see both Ryan and Maureen go off time, though. Team Future is probably love it or hate it but I freaking loved it. Probably because it was different and interesting. I thought CAI’s 8 was too low, and I enjoyed Future more overall.
OMG thank u Susan2, having just come from the dentist, you made me roll thinking of depressed futuristic dental assistants. I haven’t been able to watch the dances live this season, but from everyone’s comments it seems TPTB manipulation is once again rearing it’s ugly head.
I too am worried for Marilu. She seems to be her on worst enemy on show night. Hopefully she can survive this elim.
The only dance I cared to rewatch was Marilu and Derek and I’m shaking my head because I still don’t think it is as bad as the reviews suggest. I do think there is something missing between her and Derek and that is affecting the way they are coming across. I’ve never seen Derek so subdued. I wouldn’t have been completely surprised if she was eliminated last week tbh, and even less this week. I just hope Ryan doesn’t make it to the end on popularity alone. I like him a lot, but when it’s time, it’s time. As for Tera, I could be wrong, but I feel like I’ve seen everything I’m going to see. I feel like I’m seeing a lot of reruns.
…So Marilu has the “garden tool” spot today. 🙂 I’m saddened by that, but maybe the fans will give her the extra < 3% more votes that she needs to eject Ryan before her.
But even next week's dances are going to be hard for her.
I know she has blamed foot problems for her difficulties dancing full out this week, but I still get funky feelings about the dynamics in that relationship, that have nothing to do with how well they like each other. They DO like each other, they do care, but that has not been enough to get Marilu to let go.
If she could just stay vulnerable, I think Derek could help her more. But the age difference, I think, is really getting in the way, in a subtle but pervasive way. She keeps wanting that control position and he has bent over backwards to accommodate that need, but this is like her trying to control the flow of the Disney Magic Tea Cup ride — while in the twirling Cup — sometimes you just have to relax and enjoy the thrill of being out of control, trusting that the operator will keep you safe. Her inability to do that probably contributed to her life of success, but it isn't working for her now.
And no star has ever done well when their pro ceded control to them.
I was just wondering if it might help to have Shirley Ballas added as consultant this week. I think Shirley might be able to address Marilu's control problems in a way that Derek, by virtue of his age and gender and role as caregiver, cannot. It would completely change Derek's role vis a vis Marilu for a week, and might work to free her up.
Just an idea. I don't doubt that it is already something he has thought about.
LMAO @susan2….that was hilArious
Yep something is off with Derek and marilu,but anywho….im ready for next week
Agree for the most part with these rankings. It’s a different season for me. Calvin and James are certainly the deserving ones. Though Calvin doesn’t get the scores they deserve. Wonder how Lindsay feels. And maybe I missed it, but did Len call out James and Sharna for the 30-plus seconds of “mucking about” at the beginning? Once they got going,it was stellar.
I also really love Terra and that partnership. She’s a really good dancer despite her limitations and has such a great spirit and heart.
In the enjoyable, but . . . category are Marilu/Derek and Laurie/Val. Somewhat surprised by these two. Loved the tapping sequence in Marilu and Derek’s Charleston though.
I prefer Ryan/Cheryl’s rumba to Jana/Gleb’s not-so-samba. Yet, neither seems to be progressing or impressing. Your analysis about Gleb being the up and coming male pro sounds right.
Honorable mention to Maureen/Artem. I enjoyed their tango. Thought the idea, music, costuming worked. Not bothered by her tripping – she recovered well. She had a good run.
This list is based off of my personal enjoyment and has absolutely nothing to do with their odds of being eliminated.
1) Calvin and Lindsay – 100% biased on this one, but we seem to be in almost unanimous agreement that their dance was excellent. The jive was high energy with tons of content and great technique. What more can I say? They’re my couple all the way. Lindsay’s choreography is on pointe and the amount that Calvin has improved this season is astounding. I could not ask for any more from them.
2) James and Sharna – Firstly, love Sharna’s choreography, that was fun and upbeat. I loved that so much. I sure do hope that Sharna’s going to feel better soon. I don’t want to see Jenna as the stand-in for her. Emma would probably do a better job, but got to keep it in the ‘Fam’ right? Anyways, James did a great job. I had a smile on my face the whole time during that routine.
3) Terra and Sasha – Court’s right, Terra does very well when she needs to sell a character, and she did that this week. I absolutely adored her and Sasha’s dance. Once again, Sasha really deserves all the credit he gets for choreographing and teaching to Terra’s needs. This dance was lovely and adorable, while the song was a bit odd for them because they’d be dancing cheek to chest, I still think it fit well for the foxtrot. I loved them and I hope they are in the fourth couple in the finale instead of Jana and Gleb, I threw in a few votes for them this weeks instead of throwing all of my votes to Calvin like I usually do.
4) Laurie and Val – I liked the concept, I liked the costuming, I did not like Laurie’s upper body. Her upper body was bouncing like there was no tomorrow, and I’m not a fan of that. However, the dance was still enjoyable, more because of Laurie than Val. I liked this routine more than I liked Val’s other routines. Although, I will have to say, TPTB seem to have fallen out of love with Laurie and in love with Jana. This new change might make Laurie’s spot in the finals less guaranteed.
5) Marilu and Derek – The dance was nice and fun, but also kind of meh. I liked the song, and I liked Derek’s choreography to it. However, in some places, Marilu didn’t look as sharp as she could have been, her shoulders also seemed to be up in a few sections. Marilu also didn’t look at ease in several parts of the dance, which I don’t like.
6) Ryan and Cheryl – Ryan’s now the weakest dancer left in the competition, and TPTB decide to give him a crummy running order in a week where running order still sort of matters, as well as the hardest dance for a male celeb. That was the recipe for disaster, I don’t think the song did them any help either. I wasn’t impressed, and I wouldn’t care if Ryan and Cheryl are the ones to leave next week.
7) Jana and Gleb – Okay, the first half of the routine had literally no samba content, and I wasn’t impressed by the little samba they did do together. I just had memories of the same steps that Wanya and Lindsay did in their Lion King samba and was only left dissatisfied by Jana and Gleb’s execution compared to Wanya and Lindsay. The costuming was too flashy for my taste, and I didn’t love the song either. Sorry, but these two deserve to go after Marilu and Ryan.
Calvin had the best routine last night. He and Lindsay were on Access Hollywood Live today and Calvin was saying that Lindsay’s friend, Alan has been helping him out with the lifts.
I am very concerned about Marilu. Good thing most of my votes went to them. I honestly wouldn’t mind if Terra left before Marilu. Although Ryan is the worst dancer left, I do adore Cheryl and their relationship makes me smile. I don’t have the same attachment with Sasha and Terra.
Any update on Sharna’s knee? It sounds bad. She’s using Jenna as a standin. Which I thought that it was nice that last night, I didn’t notice Jenna at all, trying to hog the camera.
UH-oh. We’re back to hoeing those rows. 🙂
I loved loved loved Sharna’s choreography this week. They were my favorite dance, even though some of the lifts seemed overly cautious. I hope she’s ok. I really hope Derek and Marilu are safe this week. His little booty shaking during his tap section made my whole life worth living. 🙂 Such good choreography from Derek this week too. I wish it worked out better on the dance floor, but 7’s were not fair, IMO.
#1 James and Sharna by a mile. Janes is a consummate performer yet he never danced before- how does he do that? That InThe Mood Jitterbug is the kind of chioreography I always hope for and it delivered big time
#2 Calvin and Laurie yes he’s fun but I hate all the overcompensation for not doing Jive 32 bars of basically standing still. The guy was over scored
If Marilu indeed, does go home next week, I want to congratulate her on being the first 64 year old (I think) to get this far in the competition with a partner half her age that gave her CONTENT and taught TECHNIQUE. There wasn’t a lot of fussing about to kill time in their routines and in spite of some challenging music, she danced well and he choreographed beautifully. Neither of them have done much complaining. I won’t get into what I think of their scoring. My hat is off to her…much respect! Other (Senior) celebs haven’t danced as well, or at such a high level, as she has. They couldn’t have kept up with Derek!
This week was a bit of a mess. Lindsay keeps killing it, I’m thinking she needs to go to the Pro’s A list and not be hanging around on the B list anymore.
Sharna is doing great with James (who is not the best dancer ever Julianne!), but he’s pretty damn good. This week was a bit of a letdown for me though, I think they went too cute and got too into the acting and wasted a bit of time that should’ve been dedicated to the dance and the steps they were asked to do. But overall it was a good week for James too thanks to the performance value.
I’m tired of waiting for Val to do something good with Laurie, at this point I don’t think it’s going to happen and that obvious win seems less likely because he’s just not doing anything special with her. And the “messing around” was extra annoying this week as so many couples included those wasted seconds into their dance.
I think this is the first time that I’ve seen Derek really screw up a partner and a dance. I think he went too hard and difficult with that choreography and Marilu understandably got lost. First time I’ve seen her be geniunely lost, that her age affected her and yes Carrie Ann, so so tense.
No need for me to list my rankings because they are the same as Courtney’s (except Ryan and Marilu and Calvin and James are flipped, but yes, I want them to be the final two).
The three things I want to mention. 1. I don’t know who is to blame, but Marilu’s Charleston was a mess. I am not a fan of hers, but I always look forward to Charlestons just because they are funky (See Amber Riley’s or Sadie Robertson’s for good examples that Derek Choreographed). The issue was in the side by side work. The lack of synchronicity was apparent, and Marilu could not keep up with them. That in mind, I think she is in Danger, but that is all. Ryan Lochte should be going home next week, and that is the only thing saving her.
2. I personally don’t understand the dislike for Jana. Yes, the Samba was rough, but that should have been evident instantly from the Disco Costumes for a Samba. I instantly knew Len was not going to be happy. But that still doesn’t really explain the dislike. I personally have no issues with her attitude or anything like that. If anything, Gleb is the one I have issues with, not Jana. The choreography is his fault, not hers. My personal finale (3 couples) would be James, Calvin, and Terra, with Jana as 4th… And that lead’s me into point 3.
3. I am so done with Laurie, and I am glad that it seems do many of you guys are too. I have a thing against Golden Children, and I hate when the show is so blatantly predictable. Thats why, going into this season, I was team Anyone-But-Laurie, which has proven to primarily be James, though Calvin shouldn’t be as underscored as he is. If TPTB will give us a Not Laurie Win, I am pretty sure it is James (Sorry Calvin, I like him, and Lindsay is doing excellent with him, but I don’t think TPTB agree with me…)
VERY well said, @Joanne B!
And I’ll be happy to share my thoughts on the scoring: IMO Marilu & Derek have been underscored and/or nitpicked for most of the season, especially in relation to some of the other couples’ scores given for less content and technique. Heck, I remember Patti LaBelle & Artem getting 7’s & 8’s for basically just walking around in season 20!
And you are right, much respect goes to both for keeping the standard high in spite of the challenges they have faced (music, less air time with Erin, running order, etc.) and Derek has certainly schooled the other pros in how he adapted his teaching style to better help an older celeb with a learning challenge.
In a perfect DWTS world, I’d love to see them both dance a couple more weeks.
My biggest hope for Marilu are Maureen’s fans switching their votes to her. I think Marilu is the only one who could possibly profit from Maureen’s fanbase that, as we’ve seen, has kept her on for quite some time with mediocre scores.
#Mafer — Although I think Derek would be the first person to blame himself for things going wrong, I don’t think we can blame Derek for “screwing up” Marilu’s dance through too-difficult choreography, given that many of the steps in that dance were suggested by her from her old “Chicago” days. These should have been steps that she had once done on stage eight times a week for months. And Derek is known for changing choreography at the first suspicion that something is too difficult for his celeb… a couple of them have even complained about that!
So, no, I don’t think “difficulty” was the problem. I think the problem is more that she did not, and has almost never, danced “full out” during performances but she apparently DOES dance full out in practice, according to what they have told us. He dances full out all the time, so when she fails to do what he has come to expect of her, they get out of sync and then she wonders how they got there.
Now she said that this week she has struggled with painful feet, specifically heel pain, so I suppose her steps might have looked more self-protective from that, but I think the bigger underlying problem must have more to do with performance anxiety and control issues than anything else. Have we seen her break a sweat yet? Ever? Is that because she’s in better shape than Derek or is it because she’s just not exerting the energy on that dance floor that he is? I’m suspecting the latter, and further believing that anxious inhibitions are causing that.
Just my opinion, of course!
I will be ecstatic if James and Calvin are the last two standing. In the final hour/minutes I might lean toward one or the other, but I can honestly say that I will be thrilled with either winning. I am certain I have NEVER felt like that before.
Beyond that I think I’m most interested in what Terra and Sasha would continue to bring. I was very doubtful at first, but she’s been terrific. I am so happy that Sasha is having such a successful season and is getting some recognition.
I’m glad that Marilu has her VW because that’s an exquisite dance and she is so joyful in it. It’s a shame that something prevents her from bringing that more readily to all her dances. I hope she has a great Argentine Tango because I know she’s been waiting especially for that dance.
Laurie and Val’s package made me think of the “prom” that Mark threw for Shawn because they had to do the rumba! I think Val has been horrible with her, aside from not being able to choreograph for her. As difficult as traveling has been, I think it’s probably a very good thing that she’s gotten to spend time with Shawn and Nastia.
Sorry I’m late!!
These two were perfection:
1. James And Sharna
2. Lindsay and Calvin
The rest had issues in different ways…
3. Gleb and Jana – I wish there was more Samaba, but, I loved the song and the entertainment factor. Gleb’s hair just cracked me up too.
4. Derek and Marilu – She had mistakes, but, I sure didn’t think this dance deserved 7’s. They were so underscored.
5. Terra and Sasha – They were so adorable again.
6. Laurie And Val – I can’t believe I’m putting them so low, but, they were really messy …again.
7. Ryan and Cheryl – If only he could really get into his characters more. It’s like he’s stuck in his head with it all. I think he might be going home next.
Random thoughts:
– Calvin is crazy amazing. Loved his jive!
– Wish Lindsay had a bouncy skirt. Love to see that in a jive
– Poor Sharna
– James sold that character loved it
– My favourite Laurie dance. Could have done without the lifts and bouncy frame
– Terra did well although I don’t remember much of it. She may have reached her peak for me
– Ryan’s dance was pretty weird but I enjoyed watching it
– Marilu clearly couldn’t handle that choreography. Too many mistakes. I had never before seen this from Derek but he totally outdanced her.
-Loved the choreography when I was just watching Derek
– Jana is my favourite star but I hated that dance. She was so stiff
– Gleb should have taken out the lift, bachacata and samba roll. So awkward for her. Even the 70s moves were awkward. Sucks cause I was looking forward to her doing an actual Latin dance. Still gave her all my votes cause I’d hate for her to leave
– Team past was gorgeous
– Team future had potential but looked terribly underrehearsed.
– Overall better team dances than last season but not as good as previous seasons.
I love this blog, but the bias makes me sick sometimes. why is it that you call val out for “mucking about” at the beginning of routines, but never sharna? her quickstep, tango and jitterbug with james all had a fair amount of mucking about to them as well. I also find it quite unfair that a few seasons ago you would complain and moan everytime val brought up never winning before, but now that sharna does it she’s probably being “told” to say that (which is pretty unlikely considering she openly talks about how hungry she is for her first win outside of the show all the time). I understand that this is your blog and you’re more than entitled to say what you want, but it’s difficult for me as a reader to want to continue to read when you’re painfully biased towards james/sharna and derek. this is supposed to be puredwts isn’t it? save the bias for your derek blog, you’re making this site look like a bad joke.
Well, high-and-mighty mandy, here’s some food-for-thought for your distressed brain: did you actually listen to the piece of music Sharna had to use? I’d love to hear your thoughts as a professional dancer as to how she was supposed to have James do the jitterbug through that intro before the main jitterbug intro started. I’m sure you’re just BURSTING with great ideas that Sharna would love to hear! 😀
And while you’re at it, go start your own blog – because nobody’s got a gun to your head, making you read ours. Ours “makes you sick”? Awesome, good for you, must make you feel really special to be such a highly evolved social justice warrior with a passion for fairness. I can assure you your comment is TOTES gonna make us change how we’ve run things here for 7 years…NOT.
Mandy, a blog is opinion. If it doesn’t jibe with your opinion, then why are you reading it?
Val has a long history of time wasting in his routines. It’s a pattern by now. What makes it especially annoying this season is that he has a very capable, young dancer who doesn’t need messing about in her dances.
I disagree about Sharna doing the same thing in her routines. She sets the mood at the beginning of a dance that helps James to get into the character while progressively amping up the dance steps. He’s not sitting on a bench, smelling flowers or folding clothes for 10 or more bars of music. He’s not wasting time doing very little, like most of Val’s partners do. There’s no fluff or unnecessary nonsense in her routines for her partners.
The difference between Sharna and Val is that she makes a routine that’s seamless and organic and inspired by her partner, while Val makes a by the numbers routine with short bursts of actual dancing surrounded by a lot of fluff and froufrou.
I am not a huge Val fan. But with that being said, I half not wonder if Laurie’s constant traveling with the gymnastics show is wearing on the both of them. Maybe there is not enough time to rehearse and/or choreograph which is causing all the fluff? I don’t know. Laurie can be great. She is great! I’m just ready to see a bit more from her.
As for the rest of the night…I was not a fan of the decades theme. I thought I would like it, but it just came off as a little lackluster. Once again, Calvin and James stood out to me. I also enjoyed Terra’s routine. She is growing on me each week.
1. James and Sharna – As of this week they are officially the frontrunners in terms of points and are who I see winning at this point.
2. Laurie & Val – They’re doing well and I don’t think they are having any lack of votes.
3. Calvin & Lindsay – Glad to see them getting the praise they deserve imo and I believe we’ll be seeing them in the finals.
4. Jana & Gleb – Idk where she falls in the results but if she’s at the bottom I’m sure she’ll get immunity next week.
5. Terra & Sasha – Still not sure how many votes she’s getting but I’m inclined to believe she’s staying ahead of at least one of the two below her and maybe even beating Jana this week.
6/7. Ryan & Cheryl and Marilu & Derek – I’m waiting for the numbers post to make my final prediction between these two. (I’d prefer for Ryan to leave.)
Very true Courtney. I like Sharna the majority of the time and really love James & Sharna together. Would love to see her win her first one this season, esp after how hosed she was by the show way back with Charlie White. Really hope Lindsay is in the finals with Calvin too, they deserve it and she deserves it after last season and her stellar work for the last several seasons.
Even if it is a 4 couple finale, it is likely it will be 3 pros who have never won before and Val…which is different and I like that
Mandy, just leave already if you don’t like us. Geezzz!! Soooo rude!
+1 Court. Please never change!! hugssss
Logan, if you don’t understand the dislike for Jana, perhaps your reading comprehension skills need work because people have been explaining it pretty clearly from where I sit.
As for Marilu’s Charleston – mess is your description, but it’s certainly not mine. And those of you commenting that Derek is checked out, or is not doing right by Marilu need to remember who it is you’re talking about. Derek is not perfect – but he’s closer than any other pro on this show. He’s earned more than the crap he’s getting from a few johnny come lately’s to this blog.
Psychee22, there is no need to place “blame” on either Derek or Marilu for the issues that seem to plague their performance – that seems pretty simple minded, actually. Sometimes it’s just a live performance issue – that certainly seems to be the case in Marilu’s case, although I think fans tend to overdramatize the so called problems. If it was a control issue, it would be showing up in rehearsal – not just in the live performance. And it’s clearly not, since, as you correctly pointed out, Derek would change the choreo if he thought she couldn’t handle it.
I can’t believe that no one deleted Mandy for being a complete asshole. Mandy be lucky I wasn’t around. So, STFU Mandy.
Mandy, do you think that because you’re obviously a Val/Maks fan that because they aren’t all that…and Derek and Mark Ballas are, that this blog is biased? Is that it? If Val and Maks WERE all that they’d have far more mirrorballs than Mark combined and neither of them will EVER touch Derek’s record of 6 MBT’s and 2 Emmy’s for his work on this show. Derek has the oldest person cast this season.
Val has never truly been tested as a pro on this show. He gets ringer after ringer after ringer and STILL can’t pull off a win that isn’t highly manipulated by the Producers(in no way was Rumer a better dancer than Nastia) but we could’nt have wittle Val without a trophy..ya know, kinda like pee-wee baseball?! This season SHOULD”VE been a SLAM-DUNK for him to win a 2nd MBT but he’s failed his partner miserably! She is the ringiest ringer since Meryl Davis(who was paired with Maks–go figure). And she’s barely getting by. Yet if she’d have been paired with Derek…everyone (inlcuding you) would be crying foul even though DWTS would likely be getting Emmy noms because we KNOW Derek is very capable of producing such routines as proven with Shawn Johnson and Bindi Irwin.
There’s a reason Val and Maks haven’t even been nominated for an Emmy…BOOM!
Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve just gotten to the point where I interpret anyone starting with the “I just don’t understand all the hate/dislike of [insert contestant here]!” as concern trolling and them deliberately ignoring people’s legitimate complaints about someone and trying to guilt them into liking said celebrity.
So Logan, let me spell it out for you: I FIND JANA WHINY, DISINGENUOUS, AND HAS A TENDENCY TO PLAY THE VICTIM TO GAIN SYMPATHY. Do you understand now???
I still love Laurie, even with Val dragging her back. I just wish that she had a better pro, because I know then she could really shine. Almost anyone could have done a better job. That being said, TPTB have totally fallen out of love with her, and in love with Jana. Laurie will probably still make the finale, but because of how she’s failed to meet expectations, she’s starting to fall out of the top two. Without TPTB’s help, she’s really not in the top two. That’s unfortunate, because with any other pro she probably could have won.
After a very long, extended hour day at work–I hopped on to read as I was exiting out of multiple computers/platforms. I am ROTF LMAO. Thanks to all of you starting with Kirami, then Mandy, then the mods follow ups especially Heidi’s STFU and everyone elses follow up comments. Locking up and laughing all the way to some restaurant, somewhere. Hell, if Marilu goes before Ryan, I’ll be pissed. I would rather watch her than him.
And Court thanks for that on-point clarification on Jana-who-does-the-same-dance-every-week-to-a-different-rhythm. Hells bells.
Kelly K you’re killing me. Gawd–need to leave, need to leave…..
@Alison….i agree. I felt the momentum get away from Laurie. And tbh…i like her,I just don’t think that trophy should be in their hands. Sorrynotsorry ?
#55 Kelly- Thank you, because I SO agree with your comments. What the heck will this show do without a Derek or a Mark to earn an Emmy nom.? I don’t see anyone capable of doing that. Also, sheer waste upsets me and pairing a capable individual like Laurie with a teacher (?)like Val IS sheer waste.
My favorites were James/Sharna & Calvin/Lindsay ~ they always make me smile and I hope to see them in the finals and I would be happy with either of them winning with maybe a tad more hope for J/S just because I’d like to see Sharna win one. I’m not a dancer so I can’t really comment on technique but just what I see that I like. I loved Derek/Marilu’s dance ~ so clever as Derek so often is and as happens in life, this just wasn’t Marilu’s week. Hopefully she’ll get enough votes to stay in for another week or two. I’m rather bored with Laurie/Val and I will wonder forever how much better she may have done with Mark as her partner. Terra/Sasha had a great Foxtrot and as much as I like Sasha, I was disappointed and heartbroken for Terra when he and Val spoke in Russian to get around her knowing what they were saying ~ just RUDE, gentlemen!! Not crazy about Gleb (and did anyone else think he looked like Jim Morrison in that wig?) I may be dating myself there…anyways, I think Jana is pretty good but am tired of hearing her whine in the packages that she can’t do it and then she does. Of course I realize TPTB manipulate the heck out of the packages. That leaves me with Ryan…I love Cheryl ~ she is my favorite pro, always has been, always will be but it’s time for Ryan to go I think. I think she’s gotten everything out of him that she can. I loved Past team dance ~ the beauty of ballroom which is what made me start watching the show to begin with and I wish they would have more of that with just the pros. Team Future was interesting and I sort of liked it and that 8 was way, way too low. Looking forward to the Halloween show ~ wonder if Sasha will have time to pull pranks?!
Okay let me say this…The last few seasons In her packages before the dance Sharna keeps mentioning how she hasn’t won a MBT yet to the viewers…THAT IS SO ANNOYING! If the top 3 is who I figure it will be James,Calvin,Laurie then LINDSAY HASN’T EITHER! She has been a pro for 7 seasons and it took Maks and Tony,Karina longer than that and even took Val that many seasons until Rumer came along and then some WORLD CLASS DANCERS NEVER EVEN WON Louis,Anna…I don’t get why she has to keep rubbing that in…I understand Lindsay went back to Troupe because she wanted to but her and Sharna became Pro the SAME SEASON AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD LINDSAY MENTION NEVER WINNING a MBT…I honestly think Lindsay is better than Sharna anyway.Every season she mentions it,it just turns me off from her smh.I don’t get why she thinks the trophy just needs to be handed to her every season.Maybe it’s because Peta,Kym and Witney got them so quickly and she thinks that’s how it goes…This season James/Sharna AND Calvin/Lindsay both equally deserve it.Sharna joining the show a year before Lindsay doesn’t mean she deserves it more.I’m okay with either winning as long as it’s not Laurie but neither deserves it more than the other…
Rosa, TRANQUILIZERS.
Oh the shade of it all Miss Courtney!
?
Hahahaahh Courtney!
@Rosa, never has she said that she deserves it more because she hasn’t won. In fact, the last two times shes mentioned it, it has been in the context of ‘I haven’t won and I feel the pressure to do well for my partner’
You sound like a broken record. We get it. You dont like Sharna. Let it goooooo.
Omg Court! So funny. Rosa bla3 a chapter and u just wrote one word. I really like u showing sense of humor&personalities through writing.
This Monday elimination will be so suspenseful. I like it coz it’s not predictable and u can bet i’m watching the episode.
LOL to “tranquilizers”! Hilarious and so perfect!!
It actually won’t be that predictable, we will know more when Heidi posts the numbers. However, I will tell you right now it’s between Ryan and Marilu and if Marilu can get the votes to close the gap between her and Ryan. Laurie, James, and Calvin are pretty much as safe as it gets when it comes to judge’s scores and viewer votes. Jana has been pimped to perfection and probably the one to win immunity. Terra is more doubtful, but she had a wonderful dance, and people probably like how even though she’s so challenged, she’s never given up.
I’m leaning towards terra &sasha eliminated. If my prediction came true, next week jana in danger . Marilu&derek and ryan&cheryl got really big support and can overcome this. So excited for this elimination
Jana is in danger this week. They all are, except maybe James and Calvin.
Yes. I ran the numbers. I will try to write it up tomorrow.
Same here, Metrojj. I think it might be Terra and Ryan going home. Preferably….Ryan. Man, I can’t wait to read Miss Heidi’s new Numbers post!
Cant wait to read it too Vogue
Can’t wait for Heidi post…☺
I’m a bit of a newbie here so please be patient with me. If this were a normal week, I would assume everyone except James and Calvin are in danger of going home. But won’t the immunity protect whoever it is given to? Or is the immunity for next weeks elimination? If the immunity is for next week, I could see Ryan and Merilu’s fans rallying to save them and Jana(or another) being a “surprise” elimination. Does the immunity protect a star from this mondays elimination or next mondays? thanks.
Jen, we’re fairly sure the immunity is for this week. I think if they give it to Jana it will be VERY telling – she’s not the best, nor most entertaining dancer left on the show.
This is Nick redux…or the winner take all Cha Cha that Chelsea Kane won – simply delaying the inevitable, trying to get Gleb to happen.