PureDWTS Season 25, Week 5 – Power Rankings
I’ve said it before, but here it goes again: I actually usually hate Disney night, and it’s not because I “hate Disney” or “had an upsetting childhood” (Twitter sure is full of recreational psychologists these days) – it’s because, like many a theme week, it tends to force the pros to shoehorn their choreo to fit songs that aren’t all appropriate for the dance they’ve been assigned, and the end result is usually…painful to behold, and a detriment to the celeb partner’s scores. However, I will say this: maybe my personal bar was set pretty low, but I actually found myself enjoying last night’s show, on the whole. Most of the pros (with the exception of maybe three) seemed to bring their A-game and actually churn out some respectable and entertaining dances, that still managed to stay true to the Disney movie they were assigned; granted, there were still some eyebrow-raising scoring issues and the general ick of Chmerlachey in its death throes, trying wayyyy too hard to stay on our radar, but all in all, I found the show enjoyable…even with having to watch it on a dodgy live stream on my iPad due to Monday Night Football. For the first time in PureDWTS history, Heidi’s Titans were playing my Colts on MNF – so we both were on the live stream struggle bus, but thankfully, our server issues here at Pure seem to have been fixed by our latest update, so we hope more of you will stick around to chat with us now 🙂
Another issue I’ve found myself having with Disney night in more recent seasons? Just how commercial it has become – I know that Disney night on DWTS has always served as a bit of free promo for its latest ventures, but it seems like they’re being less and less subtle about it; it also seems like there’s always one couple that gets saddled with the “new movie promo dance” and has to contend with a film that isn’t popular yet, and they are probably contractually obligated to portray certain aspects of the movie within the routine, which only serves to limit them further. It was Jodie & Keo with Zootopia in season 22; it was David & Lindsay and Cars 3 last season; and this season, it was Nikki & Artem that had to do the promo dance this time, with Coco. Gotta plug those new films, Disney – it’s all about those Benjamins. Anymore, Disney seems to embody a sort of greed that just makes my blood boil – look deep enough and you’ll find many a story of how they’ve screwed people over for the sake of the almighty dollar. If you want an eye-opener, Google Adriana Caselotti – she was the voice of Snow White, and an opera singer that probably could have been the next Maria Callas…if Disney hadn’t contractually screwed her out of a career doing anything other than voicing Snow White. Or don’t, if you want to retain the “magic” of Disney – it’s just hard for me to feel childlike wonder when I see such a big corporate entity shitting on the lil guy, again and again.
Can’t say that too many of us (save for the legions of PLL fans that like to brag about how big they are, and the ones who like to creep my Twitter and pounce whenever I say anything remotely not glowing about Sasha) were all that shocked to see Sasha go – and I think we’re in fairly uniform agreement that most of the fault for her elim lies with Gleb and his absurdly bland choreography, rather than anything Sasha herself did wrong. Really and truly, Gleb had multiple advantages coming into the competition with Sasha – she came from a fanbase that typically serves its stars well on DWTS, she had a backstory that viewers could connect to (her weight struggles), and she actually had at least some dance background. There is NO REASON why she shouldn’t have made it to at least week 6 based on that alone, especially given that there are still some duds left (Nick in terms of skill, and Vanessa in terms of partnerships that are uncomfortable to watch) that should have been gone before she was; all Gleb really had to do was give her decent and memorable choreography – and he failed her, in that respect. Part of me thinks Sasha saw it coming, to a certain degree, judging from her facial expressions as they stood on the stage. I applaud her for accepting her elimination with poise – she may have been upset, but she remained gracious and calm. But this is becoming a bit of a disturbing pattern for Gleb, who for the 3rd season in a row has served some very mediocre choreography – I know Strictly fans keep telling me how “awesome” his choreo was on that show, but at this point, something’s gotta give; he either needs to adapt to this show or get out. With Mark & Artem being the only male pros that I think are really putting in the work with their choreo (and the bulk of the female pros being very smart about their choreo), we need more male pros serving their partners well…it’s shit or get off the pot time, Gleb.
So with half the season now over, where do things stand, in terms of the narrative? I still think Lindsey & Jordan will end up being the last two standing – I go back and forth on who I think will actually win, but I’m fairly confident it’s one of those two. So assuming it’s going to be a 4-person finale again, that leaves 2 other spots to be filled – and if it were up to me, those two other spots would be filled by Frankie & Witney and Drew and Emma; both couples seem to be improving week to week, on top of being very likeable. I worry, though, that TPTB are going to do everything they can to squeeze at least one Chmerkovskiy into that finale (my money’s on Victoria & Val), at the expense of one of those two couples…and I worry that it might be Frankie & Witney. Then again, part of me wonders if Frankie might actually be the prime candidate for the winter tour celeb – he’s a good dancer, he’s likeable, he’s enthusiastic, and from what I can tell, his schedule is open. I don’t think Lindsey is going to be available, due to her own tour schedule; Jordan seems like he’s blowing up big right now and probably has projects lined up as soon as DWTS is over; and Drew, while WILDLY popular and probably would be a huge draw with the main demo, seems like he’s all tied up with Property Brothers stuff, his book, and his upcoming nuptials. So Frankie’s a bit of a wild card for me right now, despite ending up in jeopardy last night – he could be there because he isn’t getting the votes, or he could be there to start generating buzz because he may be going on tour. I think Nikki is unfortunately expendable in the eyes of TPTB, so she and Artem are likely on their own in terms of fighting to stick around; I think we may have witnessed the swan song of Chmerlachey, and TPTB may let that gambit finally drop (and not a moment too soon) once one of them gets eliminated – hopefully next week. The one couple I don’t really have a solid feel for? Terrell & Cheryl – I think they may have started out as an “expendable” pairing in the eyes of TPTB, but given Terrell’s breakthrough these past few weeks and the fact he’s actually turning out halfway decent (and isn’t being a complete bonehead), they may be starting to see him as an asset.
1.) Frankie & Witney – I will say it heartened me quite a bit to see how many fans on Twitter were upset at Frankie being in jeopardy, and were throwing votes his way as a result 🙂 For that reason (and by virtue of having a near-perfect score), I think he may actually be the safest of all this week – where Jordan seems to be having connection issues with some of the audience, and Lindsey seems to be getting shoved into the background in terms of running order and scores, Frankie seems like he’s front-and-center, and connecting with the audience in a major way. And once again, I go back to Hinch’s success on season 23 and David/Rashad’s on season 24 as evidence that we may be witnessing a bit of a shift viewer attitude – it seems like many of them are appreciating contestants with zero dance experience that are unexpectedly good, as opposed to ringers that everyone expects to be good. It’s more of an interesting story, I think. And really, Frankie is killing it right now – I was impressed to hell with his Argentine tango and how he sold it. He was confident, he stayed on-time, and he played the character well – and I was actually pleased with how Witney (or Witney’s ghost choreographer, that some of you want to harp on) didn’t go the super-lifty route, and focused more on good, clean footwork and turns as opposed to a ton of high-octane lifts, drops, and tricks. It reminded me a lot of Jennifer’s Argentine tango in season 11 – no real lifts, but a ton of content and still entertaining to watch. Really excited to see more from these two, who seem to be forging a very productive relationship on the floor 🙂
2.) Jordan & Lindsay – I’m going to compliment whoever did the choreography for this one – and it annoys me to no end that I have to even qualify that anymore, because some of you get your undies in such a bunch if I daresay “[insert pro here] did a great job on the choreo!” only to have five or six people jump on me and go “We don’t know that it was theirs!!! They could have used a ghost!!!” I’ve covered it pretty well in this post, but I daresay that even if a pro is using a ghost, they are still very much involved in fine-tuning the choreo and making sure it suits their celeb – so they don’t get to just rest on their laurels, contrary to what some of you might believe. Rant over. But yeah – the choreo here was pretty awesome, and it was just a TON of content – both foxtrot and that fun section during Lin Manuel’s rap that was a sort of stepping choreo. And as always – Jordan slayed it, without breaking a sweat, and it was just a visual treat to behold. And once again, I saw complaints from some that it looked “too easy” for Jordan – so I guess pretend to struggle a bit more, brah? 😛 Sometimes, I think this kid just can’t win. Also saw a few well-intentioned-but-somewhat-off-the-mark accusations of cultural appropriation lobbed in Jordan & Lindsay’s direction – first off, did anyone really think they were NOT going to give Jordan the song he sang on from a recent Disney movie? I daresay it was far more appropriate for him to dance to it, than, say, Nick, Frankie, or Drew; and did you really think Disney was going to pass up the opportunity to basically get free press for Moana by telling wardrobe “Hey, don’t make the costumes look like those in the movie”? If you want to complain about cultural appropriation, I say take it directly to the source – Disney, whose been doing it for YEARS. As far as I’m concerned, Jordan & Lindsay were just doing what they were contractually obligated to do – and did a damn good dance while they were at it. Well-deserving of a 30, and probably my favorite of the night.
3.) Lindsey & Mark – I’m not quite sure why they keep shoving Lindsey in head-scratching running order positions, and really low-balling her in score – part of me wonders if she’s just absolutely running away with the votes, and it’s all just an attempt to keep up the illusion that this season is a horse race and “anyone’s game”. Because what she and Mark have done so far this season has been nothing short of brilliant – I believe we’re witnessing the golden age of Mark Ballas, where he’s fully-realized in his choreography and just checking all the boxes in terms of creativity, content, theme, and execution. He’s always been creative, but in past seasons, I think he’s often struggled with balancing creativity with content and execution – season 12 Mark is a good example; I think season 25 Mark understands that you don’t always have to go way far out of the box to make an impact – this was just a no-frills foxtrot in its purest form, with a few fun little flourishes thrown in to make it Disney; and it was PERFECT. And not to give all the credit to Mark – Lindsey has been an absolute gem so far, just embracing the experience fully and handling everything Mark has thrown at her with aplomb. How this dance only ended up with a 28 and not a perfect 30, I’ll never know – again, I go back to “Is Lindsey just killing it in the votes? Or are other couples in need of some help?” But really – if Jordan got a 30, I feel this should have, too. Hoping we see these two starting to get the scores they deserve soon, although I don’t think the scores are really what matter to them – and I think that might ultimately be the attitude that helps them win this.
4.) Victoria & Val – Hmmmm…not quite sure what to make of their performance last night, and the subsequent scores it got. First of all, I was confused by why Val had asked for their assigned dance to be changed from a Charleston to a jazz – I thought this song was far more Charleston appropriate than the one Jordan & Lindsay got handed a few weeks back, and I saw them doing Charleston steps…and so did Len. And the Charleston steps Victoria was doing seemed to be fine, sooo…why ask for the switch? Was he afraid of getting called out for lack of content? Or was he just really having a hard time with the choreo and wanted more flexibility? I’m not sure. The dance was cute, and wasn’t bad – but it really felt like Victoria was remaining pretty stationary for most of it, and I thought her footwork was pretty noticeably shoddy. Definitely not what I would consider worthy of three 9’s, especially when you take into account that Lindsey’s near-perfect foxtrot got only 1 point higher. My guess is that TPTB has laid their cards out and decided that Victoria is their best bet for getting a Chmerkovskiy into the finale, and so they’re putting all of their eggs in one basket with her – hence, the boost. Or who knows, she could be struggling with votes, and this an attempt to keep her afloat in the competition a bit longer. I’m just not quite sure what to make of these two at this point – and I think Val may have actually screwed himself a bit in the long run, because he burned through probably the most open-ended dance Victoria could have done; I probably would have kept jazz in my back pocket until further along in the competition, when the risk of elimination for Victoria was higher and a sure-thing dance was needed to keep her in.
5.) Drew & Emma – Along with Terrell, I really think Drew is representing the “tall guys” of the world well this season – he’s managing to correct a lot of the pitfalls some of the taller men usually fall into (dropping frame/getting squatty to make it easier for their female partner to reach them; generally not being in good control of their limbs) and seems to be improving each week. I actually really loved this Viennese waltz – I love the Muppets, I love “Rainbow Connection”, and I loved the costumes and choreography. Not only is Drew becoming more and more polished each week, but we’re seeing an extension of the “Emmasaince” of last season – Emma’s really shining in her choreography again this season, and proving herself to be one to watch. I think Drew and Frankie are currently dueling for the title of “dark horse” – but really, I think they both might end up taking it, because both are just doing really well and embracing the experience.
6.) Nikki & Artem – For being dealt a crap hand (the obligatory “promo dance” I mentioned above), I think these two did a very respectable job – I had to roll my eyes a bit at some I saw on Twitter scolding Nikki & Artem for “cultural appropriation”, only to have Nikki point out that she is, indeed, Mexican, and her father even had a mariachi band when she was growing up; and for what it’s worth, I feel like Artem was trying his best to have the dance pay respect to traditional mariachi-style dancing, despite not being terribly familiar with mariachi himself. I found this to be more cultural appreciation, as opposed to appropriation – and really, Nikki did seem like she was at least trying to have a good time out there. I actually really loved the stunt at the end where the men picked up all the women and spun them around in a circle – I see that in a lot of salsa group routines. I’ve seen complaints that they were overscored, but at the same time, I have to say “But they also kinda got screwed by getting the ‘promo ad dance’…”, so I’m not all that bent out of shape about it – I figure it was the least they could do to make up for screwing them over, yet again. As much as I like Nikki, I don’t think she’s posing any real threat to anyone by being overscored – I mentioned it above, but I get the feeling Nikki & Artem are unfortunately not a priority pairing for TPTB this season, so I don’t see any real pimping happening on their behalf; I think they’re letting the chips fall where they may with regards to Nikki & Artem. Which sucks, because I actually think both are really working hard – I’m hoping their efforts can keep them in awhile longer.
7.) Terrell & Cheryl – Terrell has another pretty good week, and is proving himself to be surprisingly proficient at the ballroom dances – which is usually something the taller guys struggle with. Terrell’s quickstep was quite a bit better than Nick’s, and overall it was a pleasant dance – maybe didn’t carry as much gravity as last week’s dance, but he still had fun and played it off well. I couldn’t help but think of Cody & Witney’s samba to the same song back in season 18, and I think the song would have been better suited to samba than quickstep; but given that Terrell has already done samba, I can accept quickstep. I’m starting to love the banter between he & Cheryl – I think he’s gotten to the point where he respects her as an authority, and she feels comfortable playfully calling him out on stuff. Normally, I would say his time is probably limited on the show – but I actually think at this point, based on how he seems to be gaining voters and is getting a decent buoy from Cheryl’s fans, he could last awhile – I think he outlasts both Vanessa & Nick, easy, and could possibly outlast Nikki as well. Will be interesting to see how the chips fall once we enter double-elim territory, though.
8.) Vanessa & Maks – Thank god they went with the seven dwarfs drivel for their rehearsal package, but it’s absolutely squirm-worthy to see how awkwardly these two interact on the regular now – wish I knew exactly what was said that ignited their big blow-up, because it seems to have caused some permanent damage to their partnership. Vanessa reminds me a lot of those friends we all have on Facebook that are one overly-enthusiastic status update away from having a complete meltdown – you can tell they’re simultaneously trying to convince both you AND themselves that everything is great, but neither party is really buying it. That was her babbling after they got their critiques – the effusive praise for the routine and Maks and Disney and basically anything else Vanessa could think of to try and distract us from the fact that she’s having a terrible time. Their dance was neither terrible nor good, and was generally pretty tepid and unremarkable – if it were one of the seven dwarfs, it would be Sleepy…because that’s how I felt watching it. Choreo was boring and garden-variety, Vanessa didn’t seem exceedingly comfortable doing it, nor did Maks seem very invested in the routine. And dancing in the running order position of doom? Ooh wee – I think she earned herself a spot in jeopardy next week, alongside hubby. I don’t think any number of staged kisses for the camera is going to prevent that.
9.) Nick & Peta – I don’t know that I’ve seen a contestant look so disappointed at not getting eliminated since Chris Soules in season 20 😛 I already said it last week, but I just get the impression that Nick is totally over this show at this point, and is not really going out of his way to try hard and stick around. Or, he is, but he’s just that bad of a dancer that it looks like he’s not trying. I’ll give him credit this week – he did improve SLIGHTLY, and seemed to be having fun – but there were issues with going off-time, and his bounce being about one beat off of Peta’s, so their quickstep looked uneven; the judges seemed so lukewarm in their comments about the technique that they didn’t even bother mentioning the broken hold…probably would have seemed like overkill. Not much else to add here – I just think TPTB have given up on this pairing in particular, and the other half of Chmerlachey seems like they aren’t far behind. Nick won’t have jeopardy this week to protect him next week, and given that both he and Vanessa ended up with relatively ho-hum dances in less-than-desirable running order positions, I think next week is the week we have the *shocker!* Chmerlachey double jeopardy…with Nick headed home. Let me practice my faux scandalized face… 😛
So how are you left feeling after Disney night? Who do you think are the ones to watch for the remainder of the season?
I might be way off base here, but I think if Vanessa is the person on the bottom and Nick is the one 8th on the combined leaderboard once voting is done, I could see them pulling out the double elimination for next week to send them both packing. I think TPTB might do it because it’d probably lead to a bit more media buzz and a distraction from the potentially awkward exit interview questions Vanessa and Maks would have to face if they were eliminated on their own. Letting both Chmerlachey duos exit together would put the focus on Vanessa and Nick instead of Vanessa and Maks.
I had Frankie first
Jordan
Lindsay
Drew
Victoria
Nikki
Terrell
Then bleh really
Loved Frankie and Witneys staging, really added to the atmosphere. Not loving the comments that Witney is rude to her celebrity, just a bit of fun. I seem to remember she told Alfonso to shift his lazy butt. Just how Witney is – not being rude. Loving Emma’s choreography and teaching, Drew is really good for such a tall guy.
For me Frankie and Witney were the dance of the night! Wow, and I thought Frankie might struggle with the AT but he crushed it. I want him in the finals so bad.
White Mark and Lindsey may be brilliant on the dance floor. I’m just not on board the Lindsey train. Sorry guys! Not exactly sure why.
Drew is getting better and better each week.
Can we please get rid of Nick L and Vanessa please? I’m over them.
For me Frankie and Witney were the dance of the night! Wow, and I thought Frankie might struggle with the AT but he crushed it. I want him in the finals so bad.
White Mark and Lindsey may be brilliant on the dance floor. I’m just not on board the Lindsey train. Sorry guys! Not exactly sure why.
Drew is getting better and better each week. I love Emma.
Can we please get rid of Nick L and Vanessa please? I’m so over them.
I love Lindsey and Jordan. Victoria was overscored and Lindsey underscored. I could see Victoria getting maybe 8’s, but not 9’s. I think Lindsey was adorable as Tinkerbell, and should have gotten 10’s like Jordan.
I am ready for Nick to be gone along with Vanessa. Also Victoria.
My opinion is the final four will be Jordan, Lindsey, Frankie, and still to be determined fourth. Maybe Nikki or Drew.
One of the things I noticed about the order last night was that they went from oldest disney film to newest. Just an interesting little tidbit.
I basically agree with your rankings. I loved Jordan, Lindsey, Frankie, and Drew. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Nikki’s dance (on another note, Artem says he isn’t trained in contemporary and jazz, but when he’s done them on the show those numbers have been really good).
I’m SOOO over the Chmerlachey bit. PLEASE can they leave next week?
My thoughts on theme week are the same as the original post says and Disney is by far the worst of the theme week because things just have to happen a certain way with specific songs and Disney interests and this week in particular had the “decades” thing which I can’t remember if it’s happened before but made the thing even more specific in regards to song, order of the dances and so on.
I’m not into a night too filled with ballroom dances, so I would’ve liked a bit more fun here and there with latin dances (specially for Lion King, even it’s cliche) and a Rumba to an upbeat song from The Little Mermaid is definitely not it.
I don’t think anybody knows what the hell that Pirates song was or from which movie (we know it’s not from the 2017 one) but whatever, Witney killed it. I wasn’t too into Frankie, but she looked insanely gorgeous and sexy and perfect and did an amazing job for herself.
Lindsey and Mark’s dance was pretty amazing as was Jordan and Lindsay’s. I think Artem and Nikki’s dance was extremely fun and worthy of being the final song. I understand the annoying push of the token new film, but if it’s going to end up like this, do it. It was fun.
I saw nice things in other dances but can’t say I remember them that much. I mean I was more into the troupe in the Terrell dance than I was into him and Cheryl.
I have become annoyed by Maks and even Val as dancers, but at least I do love them physically….until they shaved. These guys need their beards. As much as Artem goes up many points for a hairy chest. But enough of that.
Sasha deserved to go. I don’t even understand those scores. I didn’t think it was an appropiate Rumba at all, starting with the song and her super fun excited happy expressions.
1.Lindsey/Mark- I wrote in the live blog the exact same thing as you, Court- I’m really wondering if Lindsey is running away with this, because there is no other explanation for how they are scoring her, especially given their glowing comments. For me, this topped Jordan’s dance only because it had that unique Disney feel to it. It felt magical and special in a way none of the other dances did. These two exceed my high expectations every week. The show should be thanking God every day that Mark came back.
2.Jordan/Lindsay- I was not aware that was Jordan singing on that track until today. I might have to look into his music because he sounded fantastic. The breakdown was perfectly choreographed to enhance the dance without overshadowing it. He’s slowly becoming my favorite male celeb to ever do the show.
3.Frankie/Witney- I was honestly blown away by this dance. Witney actually had him doing some interesting footwork and I was captivated the entire time. While I agree Lindsey and Jordan are the likely final two, I’m starting to think Frankie has a real shot at this.
4.Drew/Emma- Watching this dance, and then going back and watching his Foxtrot is shocking. He has improved so much it’s incredible. His frame and control are so much better, and I think they could slide into the finale if they keep this up
5.Nikki/Artem- I really like what Artem did with this dance. He put in the work to try and make it authentic and interesting, and I agree with Courtney that he is one of the few male pros really trying this season. Nikki is improving every week, but she still seems a little closed off. Hopefully they can push past that because I want them around for awhile.
6.TO/Cheryl- He struck gold with Cheryl. Cheryl was able to keep him in the competition while he struggled the first few weeks, and we are seeing the fruits of her labor. He seems much more committed and passionate about the show, and it shows in his dancing and interviews.
7.Nick/Peta- Again, I don’t get the vibe that others do when they say Nick wants to go home. I feel like he’s putting in the effort and work, he’s just not a good dancer. I do see improvement, but he’s clearly the weakest person left. His connection with Peta is good, though, and I’d rather keep him over Vanessa at this point.
8.Victoria/Val- I think a large part of me hated this because of the music. It just felt boring and flat. Victoria didn’t do anything wrong, she was adorable, I just didn’t connect to this. I don’t think it helps that she was overscored for the second week in a row. I’m thinking she isn’t getting the votes TPTB want her to at this point.
9.Vanessa/Maks- I liked the choreo, this dance was just awkward from beginning to end. Vanessa seemed completely out of it and off-balance the entire dance, which was a change from her usual fun vibrancy. Neither of them wanted to be there at all IMO.
Not at all shocked to see Sasha go- having Gleb as a partner really screwed her.
Overall, I actually enjoyed this Disney night. I think it’s just because the cast this season is so likeable and friendly.
Jordan and Lindsay were the best of the night for me. Not going to lie, I thought the judges were going to dislike the routine since usually one of the judges doesn’t see enough traditional foxtrot in it they call it out. Seems like even Len was able to push that aside because Jordan was that good.
Lindsey and Mark were my next favorite and sadly didn’t get the perfect score they deserved. All my votes went to them, I truly believe they can win this. I thought this dance was beautiful and you can tell how much they put into it.
Frankie and Witney were also incredible. He is definitely proving he is capabale to make the finals. Not sure his scoring was completely fair considering I still believe Lindsey was technically better, but if they would have scored her correctly (should have been 30) I would say that Frankie’s score was correct. He most definitely was not the bottom 2 so I’m sure that was for drama of the show.
Victoria and Val were way over scored, but I have to admit I enjoyed their routine and it put a smile on my face the whole time. I think that’s a good sign when someone goes up first and I still remember them by the end of the night.
Nikki and Artem were actually one of my favorite routines. For having a movie no one has seen before, I enjoyed the choreography and I think it was most definitely her best dance.
Drew and Emma were a joy to watch. I think he’s technically not the best dancer, but he improves each week and he has so much fun out there. With his fan base I think he’s in the competition for a while.
TO and Cheryl actually keep surprising me. This wasn’t that bad of a quickstep. I think his time left on the show is limited but I don’t think he deserves to go home next week, he did enough in my opinion to stay another week.
The Lacheys are in some serious trouble next week! I think the married storyline is coming to an end and may even see them both in the bottom. To be honest, I think Nick had a more memorable dance than Vanessa. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vanessa go next week even before Nick who is still getting 7s!
Also want to point out how awesome all the bumpers were last night. Shout out to the troup and pros whose celebs were eliminated already (Sharna, Keo, Alan) I absolutely loved the Mickey Mouse club bumper more than a handful of the actual celebs routines lol
My thoughts on Disney night: This disney night was probably the most technical of all previous disney nights. The opening number wasn’t a showstopper with a lot of production and the dances themselves seemed to not have as much production/props/troupe as previous seasons. Most of the dances looked like what they were supposed to be and it was pretty good night for most of the couples aside for Nick and Vanessa. The judges were pretty generous and in a good mood and didn’t really point out or nitpick the things they usually do.
Thoughts on Sasha: I saw it coming, but at the same time in the beginning of the season I was really excited to see her on the show because she was one of the only celebs I actually recognized. Gleb couldn’t adjust to a different type of partner and couldn’t go the usually route he did with Jana and Erika and was probably lost as to what to do. Had Gleb gotten Nikki he probably would’ve done the same type of stuff. It’s hard to know if it was solely Gleb or she really wasn’t cable of more dynamic routines. She is young, has a fan base, and seemed like she had some natural rhythm and she did an overall good dance last night despite the wig getting into Gleb’s face.
Favorites:
1) Lindsey&Mark: Mark has always had relatively big productions for disney night (the alice in wonderland dance with Willow and to some extent Paige’s quickstep to toy story). But I think with this song and dance style he went in the right direction with just sticking to the dance. It felt like this dance was really a waltz and just was done to a disney song. I agree, Lindsey should’ve gotten a 30 if Jordan did. Her dances tend to stick with me more than Jordan’s and she just seems more lighthearted and just having fun. Mark has been doing a great job this season showing how versatile Lindsey is. She definitely shines in more upbeat energetic dances, but this one was still elegant and danced well.
2) Frankie&Witney: Witney did a good job incorporating the theme while actually dancing an argentine tango. I didn’t think this was overscored considering he had to start from zero experience. Witney did a simple and effective routine without lifts, tricks, and troupe. I was a little worried for this one because the argentine tango is very technical but he delivered a great dance.
3) Jordan&Lindsay: It was a very fast paced foxtrot and he seemed at ease for the whole routine. Now that he got a 30 in week 5, where does he go now? He now has the added pressure of having to do perfect routines every week. Lindsay did a good job with actual foxtrot content, playing homage to the movie, and putting the focus on Jordan with no fluff.
Likes:
4) Nikki&Artem: They were stuck with a new film but at least they got to go last which helped them. I thought she did a great job and deserved those 9’s. They have been giving Nikki a touch time for whatever reason this season, but at least she did well on this challenge of doing a memorable and well scored dance to a new movie. I’d like to see her out last Nick, Vanessa and Terrell but I know it’s unlikely considering she and Artem are fending for themselves. It seems like she is putting in the effort after a few rocky weeks.
5) Drew&Emma: It was well danced but I’m not sure if it stood out as much as other dances or his jive last week. I think he’ll stay for awhile and has actually been improving each week. Again, this dance looked like it was a regular V. Waltz just danced to a muppets song.
6) Vanessa&Maks: I don’t know if it was just the song or the choreography but it was a pretty bland dance. This couple started off nicely in week 1 but it’s been deteriorating each week. I think the judges kind of sugar-coated their critique on this dance as it seemed like there was some fuzzy footwork. There wasn’t really any excitement to this dance for being performed on disney night. It actually seemed like Nick had a better week than Vanessa.
7) Victoria&Val: It was a cute dance, but I would’ve preferred to see a charleston to this song. I agree, They pretty much just stayed in one little area of that little stage and not really use the floor. Scored generously again, but I was expecting that to happen. It was one of the more simpler routines of the night. I expect that Victoria will be around for awhile and may even make to the top 4.
Meh:
8) Terrell&Cheryl: There was a lot going on the stage with all the trees and stuff moving around, it was sort of distracting and made it hard to focus on the dance. He did better than I expected but it didn’t seem like it was a full speed quickstep, maybe it was just the song. He has improved and I see him sticking around for another week or 2.
9) Nick&Peta: He did an ok job at this quickstep, this also seemed like a full speed quickstep but could be the song as well. I think he tries but wouldn’t mind leaving either, he knows he will leave any week now that he has been in jeopardy twice and it is just a matter of time.
It’s quite possible the Lacheys will both be in jeopardy, whether it’s for dramatic effect or for waning voter support.
Just like Heather last season, Vanessa would’ve been better off with Alan as her partner instead of having this uncomfortable dynamic with Maksim.
If Nick and Vanessa happen to survive next week’s elimination, then I am most worried for Drew. I really hope’s getting enough votes to survive longer than the Lacheys, TO, and possibly Victoria.
Some general take-aways from last night (with dances in running not ranked order):
Gnug with Disney week already (but due props to the spectacular opening number, hair, makeup and costuming);
Kermit should be permanent replacement for one of the regular muppet judges;
Lindsey is likely killing it in votes.
Victoria – I liked the beginning and the end, but found the middle too light in content. Judging from the rehearsal footage, it did look as if Val may’ve tried to put more/other in it. Anyway, I like her but she has been begin coddled in scoring and judging.
Vanessa – My beef with her dancing is the incongruity: there’s some really nice things interspersed with some not so nice (at least the balance issue was finally called out). More disturbing though is that these two are terribly awkward and uncomfortable to watch together.
Lindsey – Magical. I too am appreciating Mark’s understated choreo this season and that his staging/production is enhancing yet not overtaking the dances (so far). Hats off to him too if he had a hand in the Foxtrotinized arrangement of the tune.
Nick – Gnug with the kids already. As a QS, no. As a fun dance, yes. And I just can’t anymore with the Chmerlachey crossover appearances in EVERY freakin rehearsal, post-dance interview, and nauseous-making spitswapping bumpers.
Drew – He looked to lower his frame in places (height difference) but what a marked improvement. The rainbowed bottom of Emma’s dress was lovely in motion.
Sasha – She was one of the best movers this year. A bit staccato for Rumba due to the song. Choreo was okay by Gleb-standards but he’s not really impressed me either on the US DWTS.
Terrell – Not bad but, on the whole, a bit bouncy, busy and blendy for me. He’s my reserve guess of who gets sent home next week.
Frankie – Love his commitment and characterization. He partnered well on some fine choreo but I thought his technical execution from waist-down was a bit lacking (plus the pants and shoes weren’t conducive to the best lines).
Jordan – Not a conducive song to style, but this is what happens when you the choreographic talent of Ms. Arnold (or BOOever) partnered with someone who can aptly execute it.
Nikki – I’ve been eagerly awaiting her Paso, so it was somewhat pacifying to see a bit of Latin flair incorporated. The colorful, fun atmosphere and pimp spot will likely give her another week.
Oops, almost forgot the whole dang point: Pre-#s post, Nick is my guess for next to leave: Both he and Vanessa had meh dances the ‘high drama’ of them in double-jeopardy something straight out of the producers’ playbook.
My favorites for Disney Night:
Lindsey and Mark just truly magical. A pure Disney fantasy foxtrot! Loved the fact that there was no huge production, just great dancing. Should have received a perfect score.
Drew and Emma, again a perfect dance. The choreography was perfect. Emma is truly turning into my favorite female pro, and I am surprised at how much I enjoy watching Drew improve every week.
Sorry to say I’m really not connecting with Jordan and Lindsay. Their dance was good but I’m not sure if that was all Lindsay’s choreography?? Plus after Len made a comment about the middle of the dance I didn’t expect him to give them a 10.
As for Frankie and Witney, I doubt very much that Witney choreographed that AT. Frankie is definitely working very hard but I’m not a fan of Witney. Also surprised at the scores after Witney’s malfunction and I didn’t like Frankie’s frame throughout the dance. No Riker!!!
Every other dance was just okay. Please, please send the Lacheys home next week!!! Can’t take the drama with them, especially Vanessa and Ma’s.
Sorry I meant Maks.
My faves for Disney night are Lindsey, Frankie and Drew. I have nothing against Jordan, he is clearly a very talented young man and has a lovely personality, but for some reason I can’t seem to connect to him. I have no doubt he’ll make it to the finals, but it wouldn’t be my preference.
I wish the judging was more consistent. I know, I know… as my mother used to say “people in hell want ice water”. It just drives me nuts that they will call one couple out for a break in hold and not another. I’ve said it before, I think Victoria is amazing for what she has accomplished and I wish her the very best in life, but let’s be honest here. The judges never cut that much slack for other stars with handicaps, i.e., Heather Mills, Amy Purdy, etc., who were pretty darned good as well. I’m not saying that going easier on them is totally wrong, but I think the rules need to be evenly applied to all the stars in the same situation.
As for the pros getting outside help in the choreography, heck, even Derek got outside help when he and Shawn were given the Indian Bangra (sp?). And on other occasions early in his career with DWTS, he openly admitted when we was not familiar with a particular form of dance. So I don’t see all the hub about who choreographed a dance as being of particular importance. For me, its content, execution and spirit. But that is just my opinion.
A bit off topic, but…
I haven’t had a chance to double-check, but the music used for Frankie/Witney’s A Tango sounded familiar to me because I believe it is the same music used when Mark Ballas was a guest star on “Melissa and Joey” and he did an A Tango with Joey Lawrence (Mark was the “girl”).
Well, even if I’m wrong, that scene is still a fun watch! LOL
Last night was the first time I enjoyed watching Jordan’s dancing but with that said I find him boring/fake and I only want to see him make it to top 5.
And like always I thoroughly enjoyed watching the dancing personalities and improvement from Nikki,Frankie,Lindsay and Drew these guys are definitely in my top 4 to win!
Next week I can’t wait for Shania Twain!
I accidentally hit submit before adding that I have more respect for a pro who gets outside help for a dance they’re unfamiliar with instead of coming out with a sloppy boring routine!
I agree with Julia #1. I’m thinking next week there is no way around it one of the Lachey’s will be sent packing and if it’s Vanessa that means a lot of awkward questions and interviews for her and Maks. It would draw more media buzz to announce at the beginning of the show Monday they are doing a double elimination and send them both packing. That way the show gets the media buzz and then the double elimination is out of the way.
As for the scoring.. last night I was doing a lot of head scratching. I’ve noticed a pattern Lindsey has now danced in the first hr 3 times and twice she’s danced third. Every time she’s danced in hr 1 she’s been scored lower. I think they have done that on purpose because she’s running away with the votes. If I were to guess right now I think Lindsey and Frankie are the biggest vote getters with Drew and Jordan pretty closely behind. I love Jordan I honestly do but I’m starting to get a sinking feeling he’s not getting the votes that Lindsey is getting.. Especially since he’s consistently danced in the second hour (has only danced 5th in the first hour once and that was his Samba if I remember correctly) and the last two weeks he’s been the top of the leaderboard. If he dances in the second hour again next week then I think it might add more plausibility to this being true.
No way Frankie was actually a low vote getter, Mark kinda explained in that DWTS on the red carpet thing how jeopardy pretty much is the person with the lowest combined and then usually someone else thrown in for drama and that when Tom says bottom 2 that means both have the lowest combined scores. I’m honestly confused as to why they put Frankie in jeopardy. I don’t think he’s struggling with votes so it’s making me think they are trying to make sure he keeps the momentum because he’s probably the celeb for the tour. I’ve been thinking for several weeks he’s probably the done doing tour since Lindsey will have just finished her Christmas tour and Jordan will probably focus pretty heavily on his music once the show wraps. I know something I have been seeing across twitter especially is people don’t think Lindsey will win because she’s not probably going to be able to do the tour. I don’t get people’s obsession with tour celeb correlating with who wins. Alek toured and came in 3rd, Heather covered a month of the tour that Rashad couldn’t do. I remember Willow came to a few tour dates during the tour that Rumer headlined.
I think TPTB have given up on the Lachey’s and are putting their sole focus on Victoria. Hence her being overscorred two weeks in a row now. I didn’t hate Victoria’s dance, it was good but I saw some charleston in it so I’m still super confused why Val had the style changed. I didn’t think it was worthy of straight 9’s and only being one point less than Lindsey’s pretty much near flawless Foxtrot. Had several people rip me apart for saying that to start the show but I like Victoria but her dancing isn’t completely straight 9 worthy. If what she did the last two weeks is straight 9 worthy then the dances Lindsey has done and gotten straight 9’s on should have gotten 10’s. At this point I think one of two things happens with Victoria, they keep scoring her like this to get her to 5th place (because I don’t feel like she’s got a lot of support from the demo at this point compared to others)and then let the final 4 form organically of Lindsey, Jordan, Frankie, and Drew.. OR they push her into the finals ah la Ginger and in the process screw over most likely Drew. I’m hoping it’s the former but not going to get my hopes up too much.
As for dances Lindsey and Frankie were the two stand outs for me. Frankie just continues to impress me every week. Drew just keeps on improving. Nikki her’s was her best performance I think really enjoyed it and loved how Artem wanted it to be an accurate representation. Vanessa bored me and she just seemed super shaky and nervous. Nick.. his quickstep was not as tragic as I thought it would be. The choreography Peta did was cute but he was off time most of the dance. TO, Cheryl did an amazing job with choreography I am not afraid to admit I stan that quickstep. As for elimination definitely between Nick and Vanessa and I’m definitely betting on the double elimination of the two of them. Then probably the following week TO will bid us adieu. Then after that it’ll get really hard.
Wasn’t my favorite Disney night ever but since my Top 4 (Jordan, Lindsey, Frankie and Drew) did so well, I still enjoyed the episode!
I do think Lindsey deserved a 29 or 30, especially when looking at the routines who got 27s. Not sure why they are tending to underscore her a bit but I hope it works to her advantage in the long run with votes.
I’ve been voting for Jordan because of so many comments about people not-relating to him (I don’t have than problem and admire his talent and work ethic and his partnership with Lindsay, who is obviously loving every minute of this season). I have a feeling they won’t win because of this, and I’m more sad for Lindsay than Jordan, since I think she’s more than earned a win, she’s my pick for MVP pro partner over the last several seasons. But, I at least want to see them make the finals to see their wonderful partnership and dances each week of the season. I’m not certain it’s in the bag for Lindsey to win either with dark-horses Frankie and Drew being so likeable and the types of celebs people root for. I would love to see my favorite 4 at least in the finale at least and then the chips fall where they may. But, producer agenda will probably push Victoria & Val to the finale and push one of these 4 out. As far as pros go, besides wanting Lindsay to win her first the most, I would love to see Mark get a 3rd, or Emma or Witney get a 2nd before Val getting a 3rd….ugh.
Agree with Courtney, tired of the choreography do-they-or-do-they-not-use-a-ghost debate. Bottom line is, if the final product is excellent on Monday night, the pro did their job to make their celeb partner look great, whatever it took. It is not easy to wow the fans after 25 seasons and if you can, you deserve kudos, because it’s all up to the pro to make that happen. Mark, Lindsay, Emma and Witney have all been doing a fantastic job this season.
Also think next week will be the Lacheys in jeopardy with one of them leaving. Almost want it to be Vanessa more only because she looks pretty miserable.
Frankie made a very sexy pirate!
I really loved how that Argentine Tango really moved and used the floor. It wasn’t stagnant or super posey. They were having a conversation with dance steps, while keeping their connection really tight.
Emma and Drew’s costumes were really lovely and fun. I loved the hombre effect of the rainbow toward the bottom of her gown. I also loved the solo piano at the beginning of the dance. Reminded me of Classical Week back in the old days.
I like the song used for Jordan&Lindsay’s Foxtrot and I liked the dance, just not together if that makes sense. He has such a present and suave stage presence.
Lindsay is
Hit too soon…..
Lindsay is so adorable that she can even make that faux fur hat thingy on her head look cute. Another really well danced and heartfelt performance. Mark seems more zen and calm since his last time on the show. It suits him and Lindsay. They’re the couple I want to go out for drinks with and shoot the shit.
Disney Night for me has lost it’s luster a bit. It’s become reductive and ho hum. If the show absolutely INSISTS on theme nights, then at least give us some new and different ones.
Totally agree about Lindsey and Mark They have gotten screwed in the running order and in scores all season And I am certain TPTB want her in the finals So Why??? Agree gotta be running away with votes I am so hoping for a Mark win I can really see how much he wants it as he did with Paige and got robbed With his other projects his time on the show is probably limited So last chance??? Maybe
I legitimately went “Yeessss!” when seeing Robert Roldan in the High School Musical number.
I’ve watched the group SYTYCD routine to RuPaul’s Call Me Mother so many freaking times. He’s so amazing and charismatic in that number.
Susan2 – Call Me Mother is one of my favorite routines from the whole SYTYCD season 14. Yes, Robert was great in it!
:::sigh::: Cari, it is incredibly rude to post comments on a site when it’s very clear that you haven’t read the site a lot. There were only ten THOUSAND comments yesterday informing us that the dances were going in order from oldest to newest. So it is FAR from being interesting any more.
I just want to clear up something I posted above. It’s not that I disagree with a pro getting outside help when unfamiliar with a type of dance. Many have done it before, including Derek, Mark asking his Mom for help, Peta for contemporary with Nyles. Even Artem admitted to bringing in professional Mexican dancers for help with Nikki’s dance.
However they have always admitted and recognized the outside help. I don’t think that is the case with Lindsay and definitely not with Witney. There was some controversy when she received an Emmy nomination a few seasons back about getting help with some dances she did with Alfonso but did not admit to the outside help. IMO I do think they received some help but won’t admit to it.
The ‘hub bub’ CherylW is because people have become spoiled and think that all pros should be as good of choreographers as Mark and Derek when, in reality, that’s not just realistic. The pros job is to teach a celeb how to ballroom dance – if they can’t choreograph yet try to do it anyway, they are HURTING their celeb when they’re supposed to be helping.
That said, the difference between Derek and his Bhangra (one of my all time favorite dances) and what Witney/Lindsey/Sharna/Val have done in the past is that Derek’s assistance was in the open and credited. Those previously mentioned folks use ghosts – meaning that it’s not credited on the show. Early in Derek’s career he didn’t know how to do Lindy Hop – that’s likely what you’re thinking of. He got directions off the internet and learned it that way. He also apparently taught himself Argentine Tango the same way.
LeannC, I think it really depends on how much help. I know that Mark has given Derek help on a couple steps – should Mark get credited to the Emmys for that? No. Two steps don’t a dance make. It has to be “significant” help for someone to get credit.
But really, people sticking their noses in the air about a pro getting help are just being snobbish, IMO.
Is there going to be another double elimination this season? I thought I heard somewhere there was
If there is I hope both married couples go or Val and Victoria if they really wanted to stir things up
I’d love a finale with no C bros or Peta
The way eliminations should go, in my opinion:
Nick/Peta
Vanessa/Maks
Victoria/Val
Terrell/Cheryl
Nikki/Artem
Frankie/Witney
Drew/Emma
Jordan/Lindsay
Lindsey/Mark
Do you think Mark is coming into his own because Derek is not there? Derek was such a talent, that Mark perhaps felt he needed some flash to stand out?
I don’t get why people try and use Gleb’s Strictly choreography as a way to defend him. The Strictly pros get more help than anyone with choreo since the new exec producer came in and anyone who watched Gleb’s season will know he got his partner eliminated by creating a “salsa” which was basically a glorified hip hop dance that got panned by Len. Leading him to lose the dance off and get eliminated through Len’s casting vote despite his partner being far better than who they were against.
There has to be a double at some point and I think it’ll be Week 7 Halloween week going from 8 to 6. They need 8 for the team dance so next week is another single.
I would love it if they did a double next week and we lost both Lacheys. I don’t think it’ll happen though, because if the mathematics work out correctly the double elim will be saved for week 8. That’ll give them an even number of couples for Halloween night (traditionally team dance night) then an odd number the week after when they have that awful night where someone gets immunity and the remaining 6 dance off for points a.k.a the night of manipulation.
That double elim will probably be the night we lose whoever is still in the competition at that point out of Nikki, T.O and the Lacheys. Unless Vanessa is still there and gets (wrongly) given the immunity. That leaves five couples for the semi finals and the trio mess they seem to have planned.
Sorry for the triple post but I forgot to add…alternately if Vanessa comes back and gets really high scores next week as well as a guaranteed jeopardy appearance if Nick goes home, they could do the double elim on Halloween night instead and attempt to take T.O and Nikki out at the same time. Then maybe get rid of the dance off week and do the trios week 8 so Vanessa can have her precious dance with Drew before she gets eliminated. Either way the producers certainly have their options.
When it comes to Ballroom technique on the Foxtrot, for me objectively Jordan was better, in terms of standard movement whereas Lindsey’s movement was a little hoppy,she tended to pop up and standard movement has to flow. Len gave them both ten, so I see how he rewarded the classic choreography of Mark, but since Jordan had the superior technique he can’t not give Jordan a deserving mark just because of a polynisian stepping style break down sequence of 10 sec. that went well with Lin Manuel’s rapping, it would be a lost opportunity if the dance kept doing feather steps.
Anyway I believe that Jordan and Lindsay and Lindsey and Mark are the best dancers with the most interesting choreography.
Personally, I didn’t particularly like Frankie and Witney, I felt his technique was flimsy while she did most of the heavy lifting of the piece. I thought there was very little dynamics that we see in Argentine Tango on this show,especially male contestants have to look like they are leading on this dance (See Rashad) but it wasn’t the case. He got into character,so what? We have seen character dances before and the closest one to this was was the famous Paso by Riker Lynch, and it was far better both in dance and characterization. Even James Hinchcliffe not an actor was so much better at characterization. So in that regard I again agree with Len. I’d give him a 9 on a night of generous scoring. It was no where near the appeal for me of either Jordan or Lindsay to warrant a 10.
As for Victoria, I loved the Steamboat Willie piece. I thought it set just the right tone, it was beloved Disney characters back in an age of innocence.
I see why the change from Charleston to Jazz, it gave more of an opportunity for Val to use various props for her to hang on to her for balance, the line for the whistle, the life buoy, and mainly Val. They did a little Charleston step sequence which can also be done in hold, but she doesn’t have the bounce required for an entire dance, I don’t see how she could, If she can’t feel her feet, and she doesn’t wear prosthetics that could possibly help with the spring needed so they have to work around it and I thought it was pretty well done. Scores were high but on a night over scores I enjoyed it more than Snow White.
PHeidi, I hadn’t had a chance to go through all of the comments yet when I posted that. I did go back and felt like a bit of an idiot afterwords. Sorry about that!
I don’t understand those saying that the probability of a double elimination next week is zero for the sake of evenness with team dances. There has been uneven numbers for team dance in the past so that would be nothing new. One of my favorite team dances, team tango the year Donny Osmond won was a 3 person team dance and the other team Mya’s had 4 people. If the Lachey’s truly are the two with the least combined totals I see them randomly announcing at the beginning of the show they are doing it so they can create media buzz. I mean they could technically do it anytime between next week and the semi finals (like they did s22) but I don’t see them passing up the opportunity to get one last thing about the married shtick in there. Because it’s pretty much a guarantee one of them goes next week if it’s a single elimination. And it seems as if they’ve given up on Vanessa being their shot at a C Bro in the finals and are now turning their attention to Victoria.
And I feel like immunity only ever gets brought out when they are desperate to save someone and they don’t do it the same time every season. Just looking back last fall they did it during that face off challenge thing to where whoever won got immunity and that was week 3 I think, so whoever won between two people got immunity so half the cast had it. And I think if they do bring it out to save someone it’ll be Victoria.
As for the reason Mark’s choreography is hitting it’s mark (no pun intended) now I think it’s a combination of him having a year to be away and let his mind think of these creative scenarios and also growing up. He’s not in his early 20’s anymore trying to prove anything, I think he’s realized there is a balance between being creative but also following the basic guidelines of a dance style. It seems to me Paige’s season was a glimpse at this (and to me was some of his greatest choreography to date until Lindsey’s stuff) and now he’s showing his full transformation so to speak with Lindsey. I mean every week I have walked away from their dances thinking holy crap Mark knocked another one out of the park. That’s what I’m thinking happened in terms of his choreography but I may be totally off base.
Well, it seems to me if you’re going to cut Victoria a (huge) break because of her limitations, then you also have to cut Frankie one as well for his limitations. It’s a slippery slope, ain’t it?
Yeah, they so do NOT need an even number of couples for the team dances. They also don’t need 8 couples for the team dances. It’s been done with four couples on each team, it’s been done with three couples on each team. It’s been done with four couples on one team and three couples on the other team.
Come on, folks. You gotta know by now that there is no such thing as “always” or “have to” on this show.
I think Mark is doing well this season because he took a year off. You get burned out being on this show for many seasons in a row – especially if you’re very creative to begin with.
Agree with you 100% PH in terms of limitations being a pass for people. It seems as though they pick and chose who they give that pass too. I don’t ever remember them being easy on Noah or JR, or even Nyle. They all got critiques at some point and weren’t coddled. Frankie so far has not been coddled but it looks like we are heading in the direction of coddling for Victoria. It should be a thing that they treat everyone the same but they won’t because that’s how this show is unfortunately.
There has never been a consistent pattern to a lot of things on this show. Team dances and immunity being the two biggest things. I honestly like the smaller team dances when it’s been 3. It’s easier to be in sync the less people you have in the mix. Especially in the early days of team dance when they got assigned a dance style and it wasn’t just freestyle. I miss those days. Sigh.
The odds of either Victoria or Vanessa getting the immunity are high. It helps keep one of the Cbros in the competition for at least another week. In my opinion, neither should get it, but TPTB will make sure one of them does. If I had to decide which one, I would go with Vanessa getting it. I wouldn’t like it, but Val always seems to get it. I could be wrong, but I can remember a few and then he stands in the skybox with a smirk on his face. Give it to Frankie or Nikki. Do something different and not the obvious, but that’s probably asking too much.
And hopefully, the side by side dances will be gone this year.
It’s times like these I wish I could “like” comments on here, because I would like Heidi’s – I feel like I have to repeat myself each season: there is no “always” when it comes to the team dances anymore. It’s whatever works best for TPTB at a given time during a given season – if that’s even numbers, cool; if it’s uneven numbers, it’s not the end of the world.
C’mon guys, this is stuff that gets easily debunked if you look at Wikipedia…
I like Cindy’s line up for eliminations #32 and, while I like Jordan a lot, I like Lindsey even more.
I definitely saw a significant increase in promotion for Victoria this past week. I assumed it was because she wasn’t getting the votes they presumed she would and I hadn’t thought that it might also be because the other C fam people aren’t doing as well as they hoped, but now that I see people’s comments, it does make sense.
I liked Frankie’s dance, but was surprised by the tens. I wonder if he really was in jeopardy. If he’s the one doing the tour, they will want him to stay. And..as he should because he is such a bright spot in that cast right now.
Can we just send Nick, Peta, and Maks home!? Vanessa is more entertaining and at ease with Alan anyway, so drop the hammer tptb and send Maks off on the high horse he rode in on. I’d much rather see that than a stupid double elim to boost buzz! Jeez, I feel like with all the b.s. with the Chmerlachey’s Victoria and Val are gonna have to pull out something crazy to be noticed in this media wet dream. Really hoping for all Chmerkovskiys to be eliminated in this order: Peta, Maks, and Val. Let the other six duke it out for the mirrorball, not this dumpster fire (Chmerlachey), or even the underwhelming wet noodle that is Val’s choreography.
Guys, just want to ask, do we know that there will be an “immunity challenge” this season? That’s one of those hinky tools that doesn’t always get used. Also, any hints about “switch up week?” I know that it’s hell but that’s never stopped TPTB in the past!
Am I right in that the only things we know about going forward are “Movie Night”, next week, “Halloween”, the week after and that they’ll need at least one more double elimination? We don’t know when the DE will be, how many couples will be in the finals or about any other theme or challenge other than Trios, do we? Have Team Dances even been confirmed?
#Nick #49, Agree. I like Vanessa. She seems to be a fan that loves the show & genuinely wanted a chance to learn and compete fairly. Maks doesn’t deal well with opinionated women. Too bad. This experience is about the Star, not the pro. Give her another partner and let her shine.
Nick is overdue for elimination, but Vanessa can dance.
We don’t know if there will be an immunity challenge we I think are all just talking about possibilities at this point. They do tend to use it when someone they want is in trouble vote wise so I won’t be surprised to see it pulled out this season for Victoria. As for switch up I think it’s been knixed for good. Too much stress on everyone involved.
As for themes I think Halloween and movie night are the only ones we know about for sure. Iconic dances and trios are other things that have been mentioned by producers but not when. Fall finale is most of the time a 4 person finale: 4 people make it out of semi finals, one person voted off on night one and then the final 3 do fusion. I don’t expect that to be any different even with one less week than normal. As for the double elimination no one knows when it will be just that there will be one since they skipped it on guilty pleasures night because of what happened in Vegas. I think the likelihood of it happening next week and it being the lacheys is pretty high, but if not next week then definitely Halloween week.
Colleen, I don’t know beans about how TPTB will structure the next few weeks, but an immunity challenge would not help the currently pimped crew. None of them could beat Lindsey, Jordan and possibly Frankie so why bother?
A switch up might, tho.
@Colleen (#50)
Tom did say that team dances would be during Halloween week (Week 7).
I really doubt they will have switch-up week. The earliest they could have it is Week 8 (since they’ve already announced Movie night and Halloween night) and there wouldn’t be enough couples left to make it that interesting. In the past, the latest they ever did switch-up week was Week 5,and they promoted it quite a bit beforehand.
I’m relieved about the lack of Switch Up. But since we’re speculating about a possible “immunity challenge”, you just brought up Frankie. We just saw him outscore Lindsey and Mark! And what if he is actually struggling and TPTB want him to stick around for reasons of their own. Like maybe the tour. I can see ways of getting Frankie and Witney to the high score. Screw Jordan and Lindsay with music/dance selection. I know that they will handle anything but it would be easy to have Len dock them for not being “standard” enough. Same could easily happen to Lindsey/Mark. Put a bug in Carrie Ann’s ear about a “lift” or non-standard chores too. And I could see this favoring Frankie/Witney or even Vanessa/Maks.
And just last season, they sprung the INCREDIBLY HINKY “Immunity Challenge” and Dance Off on Movie Night with no warning in advance and only Eastern Time votes counting. So I wouldn’t put ANYTHING outside of possible with these producers.
The show could also easily manipulate someone to get immunity by giving that person contemporary/jazz while everyone else has a dance with rules. Or, from the way scores have been going, simply put Lindsey and/or Jordan (moreso Lindsey) in the first half and the chosen one in the later half.
Lindsey’s Tour dates are in Nov-Dec 23rd. The DWTS tour starts Dec 30- Mar 18th. She possibly could tour some of it if she chooses to. Mark is not shown on the poster but willing to bet they would add him if Lindsey won.
Does anyone know Jordan’s schedule/availability?
Not so sure TPTB would pimp Frankie to win just for the Tour. And a little hard to believe he could beat Jordan & Lindsey in the finale.
The he would have a slight edge if they are ghosting his choreo each week & Lindsey has less time due to her travels.
@Carol – Well Witney isn’t the only pro that may use ghost choreography. I’m not sure why everyone is so fixated on pinpointing just Witney.
Is Frankie becoming that BIG of a threat?
Ah but Carol, no one has suggested that TPTB would manipulate from now until the finals to make Frankie and Witney win the season. There’s only been a wee speculation that he might have been invited to tour or that they are thinking on it. So TPTB would probably want him to last a while, maybe into the Finals.
I think it’s because not only here, but virtually everywhere, writers/fans are already saying, “What the hell is up?” Adorkable Frankie Muniz in jeopardy?!? No one seems to believe that he actually has that few votes but, the Stooges have seemed a bit generous with his scores even while they’ve been stingy with phenomenal Lindsey and Mark. So are they pulling strings? OR, are our assumptions, that Frankie is popular and Lindsey probably killing it in votes wrong?
My favorites were (in order): Jordan, Lindsey, Drew, and Frankie.
As to ATs, I agree that it shouldn’t be a lift-a-palooza, but I kinda wish that there had been just a little bit more “pyrotechnics,” the same way that I wish that James & Sharna had had some ganchos in theirs.
Colleen, oh. I thought you were suggesting Frankie may get future pimping FTW. Sorry if I misread.
Can’t say about Lindsey’s total votes, but I’ve been throwing it her way since week one. Hope she takes it!
Sandy, because the conversation was focused on Frankie and ways to prolong his stay. Peta is the only other pro that has gotten a mention for choreo assistance this season that I know of.
I do think Frankie is getting the votes. Frankie has been killing it and everything about him plays exactly into the hands of the key demo that vote on this show.
Len even stated last night that he thinks Frankie will be around for quite some time.
The memo is out…
They can’t just “add” Mark to the tour willy nilly. He has his own touring to be doing and I’m fairly sure he’s a free agent in the off season, unlike some dancers.
Eh, I feel like Frankie is doing well with the general audience. The judges like to be right, so if they know Frankie is doing well, they will be inclined to give him an “arc” and then at the end go “see, we told you so.”
Fixated is the perfect word, Sandy. Some seem downright obsessed these days.
Er, Peta and Witney are FAR from the only pros who have gotten choreographic assistance in the past. And I’m getting fucking tired of saying this and this topic in general. Can we move the hell ON already??
Add me to list of people who think Frankie is killing it in the votes. I would be truly stunned if he was actually in the bottom two. Personally I see him as a nailed on finalist and if given the arc by the judges and the green light by TPTB, could win. He’s the only threat to a Jordan Lindsey final two and personally I think he’s a big one, especially as he’s getting tens.
I don’t see the appeal of Franky at all. Comparing him to non dancers who did well, He’s no where near Rashad in terms of fluidity or James Hinchcliff in terms of creative ways to work around a limitation, given that this Franky guy was also a race car driver and was injured just not as severely as James. He’s small like James, but James was at least creative doing a handstand at the end of the piece, while Franky sticks up an arm? It looked like an ending gone wrong, because if that was the ending, it was a letdown. I’m used to great end poses for Argentine Tango, this one was totally disconnected from his partner. Over scoring this puts the scoring out of whack. It should have been Jordan Lindsey and Frankie a distant third for the pirate costume.
I so agree with this list. Chmerlachey is definitely at the bottom, but I honestly think Vanessa is going home. Many view her as arrogant and annoying, and most people aren’t really connecting to her character. I think Nick will be here for another week or two.
Some points I saw:
For team dances, as PH said, it doesn’t matter if it’s an odd amount, we’ve seen it in the past before. It won’t be the end of the world. Plus, sometimes, less is better.
I think Frankie is getting the votes as well, but I don’t think he got enough last week. He was tied with 24 with like 6 other couples, and going first with a “lesser-memorable story” won’t gather you all the votes you need. I strongly believe he narrowly beat out Sasha last week (surprised the PLL fans didn’t vote her through). Having being put in jeopardy, is enough to bring to the audience’s attention to vote for him (it also helps that most people think this is actually the bottom two, even though Tom/Erin never said so).
And breaking into the following weeks, there def won’t be switch-up; and there will be a surprise double elim coming soon bc of the non-elim due to the Vegas massacre…:
Oct. 23: Movie Night (9 dancing)
Oct. 30: Halloween Night (8 dancing; even though the teams can be odd/even, it’s probably gonna be even)
Nov. 6: Quarterfinals (6-7 dancing)
Nov. 13: Semi-finals (5-6 dancing)
Nov. 20: Finals (4 dancing)
and finally; I really want them to come up with new theme nights (I’d DIE for a video games night; there are so many music pieces that just suit some of dances; and we know this can work *Sadie and Mark’s freestyle)
I agree with Michael in that I do think Frankie needed a boost this week in spite of the fact that he is popular. I thought nines for his dance were good, tens too much. I rewatched it thinking maybe I missed how good it was the first time, but I came away with the same impression the second time I watched it. I do like him a lot though and hope he beats out Victoria for the finals. As of now, I think Jordan is running away with the competition.
They seem to be putting Lindsey on the back burner all of a sudden so I wonder if perhaps she turned down an offer to do the tour. If they could get her and Mark they would probably sell out quick because her own tour tickets went fast.
Lindsey & Mark were underscored for their FOXTROT, they totally deserved a perfect just like Jordan & Lindsey, and Victoria & Val’s Jazz it was good but I would not say worth three 9s. Nick & Peta and Vanessa & Maks does not have long to go, I do hope both these couples are both in Jeopardy and sent home!
When it comes to Frankie’s appeal it isn’t just based on his dancing. He’s not the best dancer this show has ever had but he has a great personality and is really enjoying the experience and that resonates with people. I know it has with me and my mother (who is within the demo). Frankie’s injury wasn’t life or death like James but he did break his back.. that’s still a pretty major injury. And if anything we should all know by now that dancing along is not what gets people to the finals. David was not the best dancer but embraced the experience and had a great personality, got second place. Calvin got third, was not the best dancer but great personality. Tommy Chong great personality, not a bad dancer but not fantastic made it to 5th. So it comes as no surprise to me that Frankie is resonating so well. And I honestly think he was fine this week, as I stated in an above post Mark explained jeopardy and bottom 2. They threw in Frankie for drama. They put David in jeopardy at least twice last season and it was obvious by the end he was probably the second biggest vote getter behind Rashad. Even Rashad was in jeopardy once.
Even though he is not the best dancer, I just love Frankie. Part of it is because he seems to be having so much fun; similar to Rashad last season. I get that same sense about Jordan, who I do believe is the best dancer and will likely win. I’m just not on the Lindsey team and thought their dance was not perfect – he was a bit too bouncy instead of a smooth rise and fall. I like Drew a lot and TO is getting better This show loves to think they “save” someone every season and that would be TO. So, I think he might bump Drew. Nick will go and he sort of telegraphed that in People by stating his son wants him to stop. I don’t even want to think about the CBro’s. What do the producers see in them? Neither will take Derek’s crown.
Good job Courtney. I would have ranked the couples just like you have this week. And Frankie just blew me away!
Lindsey is my favorite, but I actually had no problem with two nines and a ten except for the fact that Victoria got all nines for her dance and Frankie got two tens. Something was definitely off there.
The show posted a picture of all the couples on Facebook last night, well, all except Lindsey and Mark. I saw quite a few people who noticed and were not happy.
Well, that would be YOUR opinion, Casanova. And really, you should know by now that dance ability isn’t everything.
We didn’t need Mark to explain bottom two or jeopardy to us, Brittany. We’ve been explaining that to people for YEARS and still some don’t get it.
@Casanova – How long have you been watching the show? Your rating of how great a dance was is how they ended the dance?
And to say that Frankie looked totally disconnected from his partner is your opinion. But I think someone may be grabbing at straws and hoping it sticks with the rest of us.
Frankie killed it with his AT. It was perfect from the beginning to the end. I wouldn’t have changed a thing. jmo, of course.
#Sandy we’re obviously watching a different show. I thought the pirate costume was quaint, but Riker was so much better, both at acting and dancing, so as far a killing it, he might be killing that facial hair, but as a dancer not so much. I’m just being honest, he’s very stiff and plodding. And I want drama at the end of Argentine Tango, not a fist pump that has little to do with dancing with his partner.
I think the key to pulling off the Pirates vibe well is channeling Johnny Depp in Hunter S Thompson mode vs Johnny Depp in Disney Pirate mode. I feel like Riker might’ve channeled Johnny as Hunter and Frankie used Disney Pirate Johnny as his inspiration. Both were great at playing the same character, but you can see the nuanced differences in their dances. But that’s just my two cents.
I don’t have much new to add, everyone’s Power Rankings align with mine. It’s pretty amazing that Disney Night put DWTS in the top ratings spots for that night, and family of mine that haven’t watched DWTS in years were excited for Disney Night.
Nukegrrrl, where did you see that DWTS ranked first Monday night? Zap it showed it ranked third at under 10M and I think a 1.4 or so rating. I don’t know if theirs is the best metric, but the one I usually look at out of curiosity.
Not “first,” but “top ratings spots for that night:”
“ABC Tops Monday with Disney Night on DWTS and Healthy Results for The Good Doctor” at thefutoncritic,
“In Monday ratings this week, […] “Dancing With the Stars” with 9.6 million for Disney Night, according to updated Nielsen ratings,” and ratings for other Monday night shows, is at the Orlando Sentinel.
Looks like Zap2it’s numbers align with the info above.
But my own best gauge for DWTS ratings or relevancy is: “how many random relatives were watching tonight,” and that number was off the charts for me on Disney Night!
Absolutely agree with your rankings @Courtney! On point! I, too, am keeping my fingers crossed that it comes down to Lindsey and Jordan as the last 2 standing and if it is a 4 person finale, with Frankie and Drew following. I, also, agree that unfortunately the producers manipulation is building towards pushing Victoria and Val in the finale. What else is new? God forbid one of the brothers don’t try to make it to the end? ???????????????? In my opinion, if they do make it all the way to week 10, they won’t win. This ain’t Val’s season ????????????????
Er, the Frankie/Riker comparison is ridiculous. Riker was a TRAINED BALLROOM DANCER. Frankie is not. Let’s get real now.
@Anonymous – I love your last sentence. “This ain’t Val’s season”. 🙂
@Heidi – Thank you for that. The Frankie/Riker comparison was getting so ridiculous and quite laughable.
@Anonymous – This may become my favorite line of the season. “This ain’t Val’s season.”…..
LOL to the Frankie/Riker comparison!!!!
In terms of this week, I agree with the rankings. I didn’t mind Lindsey’s score by itself but compared to some of the other scores it seemed low for how well it was? Mark and Lindsey seem to get hosed with running order as mentioned as well, I’m not super sure of what TPTB want for them anymore. I’m really pleased with Frankie really standing out too these the last few weeks (granted there are only 5 so far). This Disney night wasn’t as bad as some others we’ve seen but here’s to hoping for a better next week.
Yep, Riker had did Ballroom dancing when he was younger. But as far as comparisons go, I wasn’t even thinking dance, imho Riker was a better actor, and when this show thinks of Pirates, my bet is Riker’s Capt Jack Sparrow will be far more memorable for the spot on impression of Johnny Depp as Keith Richards doing Capt Jack.
As far as scoring comparisons, Carrie Ann Len and Bruno gave Riker and Frankie the same score, so they must have thought they were similar performers, as long as we don’t look at the dancing.
I think Riker and Frankie are equally as memorable for different reasons. This whole talk of Riker and Frankie and which one was better is beginning to get a bit silly.
I only remember how boring Frankie was, so for me that’s a memory erased. Riker on the other hand did a performance that many thought should have won him the mirrorball. And I wasn’t even a Riker fan.
Gee, Casanova – I hadn’t figured out by now that you prefer Riker over Frankie.
And this doesn’t actually make the comparison less ridiculous. I mean really. That was seasons ago. Riker is half Frankie’s age and a trained dancer. Apples and oranges. As for you disdain for Frankie – WE GET IT. Move on already.
I didn’t get the hype over Frankie’s dance either, didn’t think it was worthy of 10s, maybe just 9s.
My rankings!
Jordan (deserved his scores)
Lindsey (deserved two 10s and one 9)
Nikki (thought this was super memorable! plus she had a great score, so that’s why she’s high on the list this week)
Drew (serious dark horse, improving so much!! this dance was beautiful)
Frankie
TO
Victoria (omg so bloody overscored, can they stop propping Val for once)
Vanessa
Nick
It’s gotten to a point where i seriously cringe whenever it’s Nick’s turn to dance. I seriously hope he gets eliminated come Monday night. It’s really really painful to watch his awkward movements. His wife and Maks are also getting pretty awkward to watch. Think they should just both be eliminated together on Monday.