I must say, I love how much dancing they’re putting into the results shows these days – keep up the good work!!
Len’s Dancing recap – who danced what and how well. Love the confessionals. Read more..
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
…with Dancing with the Stars in the lead once again. š From the Washington Post:
Once again, ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” has pasodobled past Fox’s “American Idol” in the ratings.
Monday’s 90-minute “Dancing” episode, featuring America’s Most Put Upon Mother Kate Gosselin performing her final walk — this time an alleged foxtrot, to “The Breakfast Club” tune “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” while dressed as Princess Aurora from “Sleeping Beauty” — averaged 21.1 million viewers.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s one-hour performance episode of “Idol,” in which show host Ryan Seacrest’s ego took the night off, freeing up more time for the Idolettes to take turns singing inspirational songs, attracted 19.7 million people to their screens, according to Nielsen.
This week marks the third time in five weeks the performance night of “Dancing” has attracted a larger crowd than the performance night on “Idol.”
It may also be the last because, sadly, “Dancing” ratings magnet Gosselin was finally felled this week by the professional judges’ low, low scores for her performances (“Dancing” eliminates a celebrity per week based on a combination of the judges’ scores and viewer voting).
I guess that remains to be seen. I don’t think it was Kate drawing viewers, so much as Idol really sucks this season. Seriously.
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
After watching “Movie Night” on Dancing with the Stars, I realized that there were several songs used this season that were recycled from previous seasons.
Since this past week Kate Gosselin was eliminated, I decided to post up her “recycled” dances first. Not only Kate & Tony’s dances, but the previous celeb and pro to have danced them…
Below are two dances done to the song She’s Always a Woman 
by Billy Joel… both done as a Viennese Waltz
Season 6: Marlee Matlin & Fabian Sanchez
Season 10: Kate Gosselin & Tony Dovolani Read more..
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
It was a Cheesy, sometimes annoying week, this week. š But there is one huge bright spot – no more Kate. But there’s also a dim spot – no more Kate. š Beware, Courtney and I weren’t in the best of moods when we wrote these. š
Most Interesting Movie Theme Selection: Armageddon for Evan and Anna
Heidi: So, producers. Armageddon, eh? What exactly are you trying to say? š Evan the asteroid?
Courtney: *pouting* I would have enjoyed it so much more if it was an overwrought, tacky homage to Top Gun. I had such high hopes! Haha. But yes, this was a bit peculiar – and kind of a hard movie to convey in that rumba. What where they supposed to do, have Anna hurling herself across the stage at Evan like some sort of asteroid about to hit the dance floor? And in the same token – how were Niecy & Louis supposed to convey “La Bamba” in their dance? Dress Louis up like Lou Diamond Phillips?
Best āHeidi was rightā moment ā Armageddon!!
Heidi: My brain finally came through on one. š
Courtney: Props, m’dear…but I swear, someone is going to use “Take My Breath Away” one of these seasons, count on it!!
Best Len/Tom Interaction – Re: Chad. Len: āThis is a dance competitionā. Tom: āNot for him it isnāt.ā
Heidi: Tom Bergeron, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Way too many one-liners tonight.
Courtney: Tom, you are oh-so-wise. But if it’s not a dance competition for Chad…what exactly is it? A “get in Cheryl’s pants the fastest” contest? A “see how much sports-related trash talking you can do in the off-season” competition? Please…put him on blast, Mr. Bergeron š
Most Delightful Temper Tantrum ā Maks jumping up and down during his pre-jive package with Erin
Heidi: Dude, way to channel your inner two year old ā WAY more fun than the meanie weenie. š I giggle the whole time – and I was rooting for HIM, which is a change.
Courtney: I think Maks may have met his match in Erin…the girl gets under his skin in the best way. She’s reduced him from a man of such arrogance & bravado to a pouting toddler. LOVE IT.
Most Nonsensical Prop ā Maksā menu.
Heidi: Why? That had nothing to do with the movie dance ā and you slowed down the tempo which is cheating on the Jive, in addition to using a prop for just as many bars as Damian did.
Courtney: Somewhere, Quentin Tarantino is having a seizure…not only did they foul up with the color of Erin’s hair (and the lack of a ponytail on Maks, AHEM), but they used a very, very minor part of the original movie scene to skirt around doing a full-speed jive for the whole routine. I would have been more impressed if he was dancing around drinking a “$5 milkshake” š
Most Distracting Accessory ā Jake’s Bandaids
Heidi: For the love of God, Jake, if youāre going to dance in your underwear, man up and lose the bandaids. I think they might even have had dinosaurs on them. Or little planes.
Courtney: Or Hello Kitty. Or maybe even custom ones with Vienna’s face on them. Wait…maybe that’s a little too weird…Vienna on his knees…gah. At least he managed to get those pants on quickly to cover them up.
Heidi: I feel dirty now. Thanks.
Most Horrifying Dress ā Kate.
Heidi: Sweet jesus, can you get any more colors on that dress? And what was it supposed to mean??? If youāre taking the time to write on a chalkboard for your movie theme, at least dress the woman like Molly Ringwald circa 1980ās.
Courtney: I’m just pissed that it was more akin to the dreadful pink number that Molly wore to the prom at the end of Pretty in Pink, and the song was from the Breakfast Club. But yes, it was an eyesore – kinda like a watercolor palette exploded in the wardrobe room – but so was her dancing. So I guess it kind of fit.
Tom Bergeron LOL Line O’ the Night – Regarding Kate Gosselin: ā8 little friends just stripped Brunoās carā
Heidi: Bwahahahaā¦OMG. The man can think on his feet like no one else ā and the imagery of those little kids all over Brunoās car, tearing parts off, all the while snarling like little animals. LOL
Courtney: Dunno what’s scarier: the thought of those 8 little rugrats wreaking havoc on Bruno’s stylish little European 2-seater like some thugs out of Grand Theft Auto, or the thought of Mama Gosselin goading them on: “C’mon, babies! Show Bruno what happens when he talks bad about mama’s dancing!”
Best Prat Fall ā Derek Hough, “Whoo Hoo…” CRASH!!!!!!!!!
Heidi: I swear, he does that on purpose but he makes it look real. Itās oddly funny every time. The dork. š
Courtney: Still trying to figure out if he meant to do it or not…it looks like he may have planned to do something crazy, but maybe went at it with too much force and ended up sprawled on the floor laughing instead. Either way, I got a chuckle out of it.
Heidi: I think Tom gets a kick out of it too: “Derek Hough: The Buster Keaton of DWTS” LOL
Most On-Show Pimpage ā TIE: Evan (skating, traveling) & Kate (using her kids for votes)
Heidi: Evanās really wasnāt up to him, or his fault per se, although it makes me wonder why they are making a fuss about him traveling while performing. It certainly isnāt the first time, and for someone as experienced as he is, no hardship either. He signed up knowing that was going to be the case. So whatās the deal?? Soap Stars did it. Niecy does it. Donny Osmond did it. As did countless others ā at least one every season, as I recall. But what I donāt recall is them making a big deal out of Donny doing it (of course, he had ET to do it FOR him) or hardly anyone else, either. In any case, Kateās was much more egregious ā can you use children for votes any more blatantly than she did?That was horrible. (Note: It might also have been what got her kicked off, that and her witchier than normal behavior – she finally went too far.)
Courtney: The “I love you!” to her kids was getting more & more forceful each week – kinda getting scary, actually. Like she was subliminally saying “Listen up, America! I LOVE MY KIDS! I DESERVE VOTES!!!” Yikes. Not faulting the woman for loving her kids – but she doesn’t need to exploit it for votes. Evan…*sigh* I’m done even trying to talk about his ringership. But apparently the show isn’t…although I must point out Adam’s comment about Evan’s spins: “Gee, wonder where he learned how to do that? HE’S A PROFESSIONAL ICE DANCER, PEOPLE!” Hmmm, that doesn’t sound like Adam pointing out a correlation between dancing and skating now, does it? š
Most Improvement by a Non-Contestant: Brooke Burke
Heidi: I gotta give it up to Brooke; I noticed she was much better Monday night. More at ease, more prepared or something. I heard no loud gonging sounds or groans after she spoke. I think sheās starting to get into the job.
Courtney: That, or they have someone in her ear telling her exactly what to say verbatim. But yes, I agree – she’s improved. No more awkward comments about cheesecake. š
The Human Thesaurus Award – Niecy Nash, for rattling off as many synonyms for “horseplay” as she could think of
Courtney: Shenanigans…antics…tom foolery…carrying on…funny business…hijinx…
Heidi: …foolishness….crap, I got nuthin’ else. š
The “Adam Corrolla Should be on Every Week!” Award: Julianne stuck this thing under my butt and told me to āpedal, monkey!!ā Or how about his razzing of Evan for of course knowing how to spin. Like, DUH!!
Heidi: I think Adam is a riot and he, along with those Dance Center guys, should be on more often. And the Evan thing was a nice counterpoint to the previous nightās pimpage. Not sure I want to know about Julianne sticking things under his butt, though. Plus, I also thought he was Jewish. Go figure. š
Courtney: AMEN ON ALL COUNTS. Between Tom & Adam, we have a voice of reason on this show.
Most Incoherent Critique of a Contestant’s Dancing: Carrie Ann comparing Kate’s foxtrot to the teacher from Charlie Brown
Courtney: I KIND OF understood what she was saying, but she choose a really awkward metaphor for it. Couldn’t she have said “Nothing about your dance was really defined”, instead of spouting off a chorus of “Wuh wuh wuh WUHH”? And then the whole “SUPERSTAR!!!” thing with Derek & Nicole – did she throw back a couple of cosmopolitans before the show?
Heidi: Ummmm…..Cosmos. You know, there are times that I think you and I are the only ones old enough to drink around here. š I think she meant that when she watches Kate dance, she sort of drifts off into La La land and doesn’t really see the dance anymore. She’s, like, seeing Tony naked or something. Or am I the only one with that problem?
Most Interesting Freudian Slip: Cheryl Burke – “Chad isn’t happy unless I’m always coddling/cuddling him”
Courtney: Hehe…she may have aimed for “coddling”, but it sure sounded an awful lot like “cuddling”…
Heidi: I heard fondling. Must have been the beer.
Best Wardrobe Malfunction: Chelsie popping out of her dress during the encore performance of Jake’s cha-cha
Courtney: Maybe mine eyes were deceiving me – but didn’t it seem like Jake was trying to use his head to cover up Chelsie’s boobs? What a helper. LOL
Heidi: Pretty sure Vienna is packing heat. If he’s not careful, he’ll get his “helper” shot off. Risky Business indeed.
And thus another week of Cheesecake Awards are concluded. Please, DWTS, try to give us more exciting material next time, would ya? We KNOW you’ve got it in you. š
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Entertainment Tonight – most of the gang. Read more..
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
And Courtney is currently waltzing around her living room in joy. š That’s right, Kate had to hit the trail tonight.
Well, I would say that I was freaking ECSTATIC to be wrong – and part of me is – but part of me is also incredibly bummed that Pam was in an actual “bottom two” again. That’s just so wrong! That said, looking back at my numbers post, it’s not really that hard for Niecy to get more votes that her. Remember, Niecy only had to get about 17,400 more votes per 1 million votes cast. Sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. I also realize that I unintentionally left Pam out of my votes discussion.
One thing about the results show, other than my love for Adam Corrolla – Next time you’re going to have four hot male pros dancing get rid of that chick in the middle. She was just in the way. š
The Scorecard:
Heidi – called it Niecy solid with no backup plan. Therefore, I fail. But I’m so not upset about that. š
Courtney – Also called it Niecy solid and Kate safe. I can’t imagine she’s upset to be wrong either. She’ll let us know when she stops waltzing.
Summary:
Heidi: I think what I forgot to take into account was Niecy’s previous status as a bottom two person – it caused every other fan group to rally, why not Niecy’s? As a result of that rally, it came back round to Pamela. But now, Kate is gone – so who’s it going to be?? I think this week the dance really will be critical, more than ever. It sounds like we have either Samba (Nicole, Erin) or Argentine Tango (Niecy?) in addition to a Swing Marathon. Swing? Why swing? Which pro excels in that? None that I know of, that are currently on the show.
Courtney, what say you??
Courtney: I have never been so happy to be so wrong about who was going home š No more crying, needy lead-ins…no more low-energy performances…and no more frustrations taken out on Tony! Watching DWTS will be a much happier experience for me now š I have to wonder if George Lopez’s stupid “Keep Kate” campaign actually did more harm than good – voting for Kate was the cool, nonconformist thing to do, until he took it to the mainstream. Either that, or Kate went from being the “trainwreck that was fun to watch” to just being whiny & boring, and people stopped voting. Or maybe it was the fact that she was actually improving a tiny bit. Whatever it is, I’m glad Tony is free, and we can hopefully avoid the “Kate-saturation” of the media week after week.
But echoing Heidi’s sentiments – it seriously scared the crap outta me that Pam was in the bottom 2 again. I’m hoping it was just the fact that people just assumed she was safe and didn’t vote, rather than forgetting about her altogether or deliberately not voting for her. I’m crossing my fingers that she & Damian’s Argentine tango next week is dynamite, and that her fans rally to pull her outta the bottom 2. Hopefully they can break out of that dreaded “middle of the pack” position they fell into this week, and overtake Jake & Erin.
I happily admit that I underestimated Niecy’s appeal…guess her jiggly parts are paying the dividends, after all š
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
The judges are giving me whiplash. Itās like they canāt make up their minds if they want to be hard asses or if they just want to try for rational. Itās truly bizarre. You want examples? Iāll give you examples; Len gives Erin and Maks a verbal pass for not only using a prop, but Maks slowing the tempo of a JIVE for the first however many bars AND using that menu to an extreme. Len then proceeds to rip Damian a new one for having Pam sit at the table for too long. Hey, I agree Len ā Damian shouldnāt have done that. But how about, instead of seeming to give Maks a pass then dinging them with a low score so theyāre confused, you tell them that they, like Damian (and Derek) broke the rules. Derek broke hold in a Quickstep and got hosed for it, Maks slows the tempo and used a menu and still gets a 7 but with no useful critique, and Damian gets a tongue lashing for using a table and chairs. Dude, your enforcement of your rules and ācommandmentsā seems pretty freakinā random to me. At the end of the day, any pro who says, āya know what? We knew we would get dinged, but we went for the audienceā has my complete sympathy this season. But no faux confusion (Dmitry), own it.
Dang, sometimes I can nail it. I so totally called āI Donāt Want to Miss a Thingā for Evan and Annaās Rumba. It took me a bit to remember what the movie was that immediately sprang to mind when I heard āromantic song in an action movieā ā but that is like the ultimate in bizarre theme song for a movie. Anywayā¦
The MATH.
Here are the Judges Scores:
Dancer/Score
Nicole/29
Evan/27
Jake/23
Erin/22
Pam/21
Chad/18
Niecy/18
Kate/15
Total Judges Points Awarded = 173
Three point spread between Niecy and Kate? I donāt think thatās enough to save Niecy. I hope and pray Iām wrong, because Kate? Was a total beyotch last night and shamelessly brought her kids into it (moreso than before). Poor Tony. Kate was winning me over, slowly, but that was too much last night. And do I have my numbers right? Jake is now in third place? How the hell did that happen?
Dividing the individual scores by the total points awarded gives you the following percentages:
Dancer/Percentage of Total
Nicole/16.76
Evan/15.61
Jake/13.29
Erin/12.72
Pam/12.14
Chad/10.4
Niecy/10.4
Kate/8.67
Nicole and Evan score higher, and Kate and a couple other stay the same, plus there are fewer dancers ā the end result is larger percentage spreads between the top and bottom and even between the bottom and the middle. Will it be enough? I hope so, but Iām not confident.
Dancer/Votes
Evanā Still the ringer of the season based on fanbase and ability, although I think Nicole might start catching him in votes. Very good Rumba, although his hips werenāt all that. Evan is a dichotomy ā very bland seeming during the show, but so cute during the rehearsal packages, and then not that exciting during his dances. Heās a good dancer, for sure, but heās not excited me thus far. Nice chest, though, when he was with Anna in the red room pre-dance. And his twitter activity is annoying the living shit out of me.
Nicole ā vastly improved from last week, for sure, although I thought that move at the end was kinda strange. Props to Derek for coming up with an actual, flashy Tango to Pretty Woman. I had my doubts. Iām so ashamed. š I am crazy, but the thing that I still find fascinating about these two is how in sync they are, even when not dancing. That bit when Carrie Ann said they were āSuperstaaaaarsā and they both immediately mimic her, in sync? Very telling, IMO. These two are pretty tight ā although I donāt think she needs to hit him quite so hard. š As tempting as that may be at times. Even I am tempted to give him a good smack at times – but don’t bruise the merchandise.
I have no clue how the votes are stacking up for the remaining contestants. I donāt even know if I can make a good guess. I think that Evan and Nicole are up there, possibly followed closely by Chad due to his football player status. Below is my pseudo attempt to put them in order.
Chad ā Backsliding this week, I think. Iām not sure what the problem is here. I donāt even know what to say about this dance. I think I was distracted by the whole āJungle Bookā deal. And I had a headache, so I didnāt take notes. Calling him safe, either way.
Erin ā Iām with Courtney 100 percent on Erin. What started off as charming and fun, is now becoming quite tiresome. Iām justā¦over it. Just dance, would ya? That said, I personally loved Maksā temper tantrum, including the jumping. I wonāt say more and save it for the āCheesiestā awards. I have a huge soft spot for Maks, I must confess.
Jake ā Dude, why did you have to go the tighty whities route? Why? And if youāre going to do that, lose the freaking band aid on the knee. Other than groaning loudly at the white shirt and lack of pants, I got nothing. He did a passable ChaCha, but he looked better in rehearsal footage Iāve seen.
Kate ā I think she also backslid like Chad, but I have to agree with John (via Twitter) that I have seen improvement. That said, sheās still awful and far too awful to stay in the competition. But she will. :::sigh:::
Niecy ā I think Niecy is on her way out, unfortunately. While I really like her personality, and sheās no where near as bad a dancer as Kate, sheās also not up to par with the rest of the pack. Not only that, but they gave her a crap dancing spot and sheās surrounded by bigger things ā no pun intended. Youāve got Jake in his underwear, Erin fake fighting with Maks, Nicole and Evan killing their dancesā¦and Kate. I don’t think The Insider and Entertainment Tonight pimpage is going to help.
A note about voting ā online voting was seriously screwed up on the east coast last night. Most every Derek fan I see on Twitter was complaining about not being able to on-line vote. Since the issues occurred BEFORE you even got to the page to vote (i.e. it wouldnāt let you log in or took forever and got hung up), Iām sure it wasnāt just aimed at Derek fans. They just happen to be the ones who I see most on twitter after the show. I believe the reason for this was seriously heavy traffic ā lots and lots of people voting. I believe it was traffic because about an hour after the show was over, it started to improve. This is my caveat ā when you have LOTS of people voting, and lots of trouble voting, the results could be…interesting.
Okay, revisting the bottom four dancers in terms of judges scores, we have:
Pam/12.14
Chad/10.4
Niecy/10.4
Kate/8.67
I think this is actually pretty easy. Niecy and Chad are tied and I would bet that Chad is getting way more votes than anyone in the bottom four. So, call him safe. Kate is at the bottom and is 1.73% behind Niecy, which means that she has to get about 17,400 more votes than Niecy per 1 million votes cast to stay. Can she do it? I say yes, she can.
Are Kate and Niecy both getting more votes than Pam? Kate would have to get about 34,700 more votes per 1 million and Niecy would have to get about 17,400 per 1 million for them BOTH to pass Pam and have her be eliminated. Are both those things (and Chad getting a ton of votes) happening? This I find doubtful. Kate and Chad might get more, but not Niecy. I think Pam has won herself a bunch of new fans (like myself and Courtney) and along with that, a bunch of votes. I think sheās safe.
Keeping in my mind the voting caveat aboveā¦I think Niecy is going home and Iām not happy about that. Now, off to watch Bergeronās twitter for clues.
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
WOOHOO!!! I finally feel woken up from last weekās snoozefest.Ā Now had a lot of the couples channeled the many innuendos & saucy one-liners from this week into their dances last week, we might have actually had some passion.Ā But this week was fun, and finally weāre separating then men from the boys (and the women from the girls š )ā¦although I must say itās actually getting harder to rank some of the couples because theyāre so tightly packed in terms of progress…
1.)Ā Ā Ā Nicole & Derek ā Nice to see these two bounce back after such a ho-hum performance last week.Ā I cringed inwardly when Heidi told me that they had gotten āPretty Womanā as their tango ā that song is not a tango.Ā But man, did they make it work ā aside from Nicole having fantastic technique and a good connection with both Derek & the audience, I think they also did a really good job of striking a balance between portraying the movie & doing the dance (which, unfortunately, is a balance some of the other couples did not achieve).Ā And compared to Evan & Anna, I feel like this performance had more of a āpulseā ā Evan, while quite good technically, is still feeling a little disconnected to me.Ā I think people will rally around them this week, and going in the second half of the show did seem to help with being memorable.Ā And they were a mere point away from a perfect score – *sigh* oh Len.Ā Iām fairly certain these two will get the encore this week (if there is one ā it sounds like a pretty packed results show) and will sail easily into next week šĀ
2.)Ā Ā Ā Evan & Anna ā First off, I gotta give Heidi props for calling this song choice ā she had it pegged, while I was still holding out for Berlinās āTake My Breath Awayā.Ā Oh well ā maybe next season.Ā Ok, now admittedly, I missed about the first 20 seconds of this rumba because my DVR froze (conveniently, on Evanās hindquartersā¦hehe), so yes, I realize I didnāt see the whole thing.Ā What I saw though was pretty good ā Evan definitely seems to nail the sweeping arm motions of the man, while still being there to support Anna.Ā But Iām still feeling like heās not 100% āinā the dance ā like thereās a small part of him thatās so focused on what heās doing that he loses some of the emotion of it.Ā I also think he plays better to an audience (probably due to his skating background) than he does to his partner ā but Anna, while I adore her, is admittedly a bit cold.Ā So I guess weāll see as the weeks play out ā at least they got the two most passionate dances (rumba & tango) out of the way early.Ā These two arenāt going anywhere (and I wonāt even say the āRā word this time ā but Iāll give you a hint: it rhymes with zinger), but I think Derek & Nicole might get a bit more press than Evan & Anna this week.
Ā 3.)Ā Ā Ā Pam & Damian ā I agonized over whether or not these two deserved 3rd or 4th place, but I ultimately chose them over Erin & Maks because I think the latter are starting to overdose the media with their āshowmanceā and interest in that will likely wane a bit.Ā But anyway ā VIVA LA PAM!!! Sheās surprisingly light on her feet. I thought this was an adorable dance, and it seemed oddly apropos to have Pam channeling Dolly Parton š Iām really starting to appreciate Damianās choreography too ā itās simple & āmeatyā enough to satisfy Len, but also lends itself nicely to some fun, memorable moments. I also snickered a bit when they did Jake & Chelsieās āup the stairs & down the stairsā move from last week on the table & chairs ā and they did it better š Iām hoping that more people are starting to hop onto the Viva La Pam bandwagon, especially those who are starting to tire of Krabby Kate and want to throw their votes behind another mommy.Ā I know that all the votes in my house went to them! Iāve got a feeling that Pam is getting safer & safer with each passing week, as the ādark horseā in her starts to emerge ā she could be this yearās Kelly.
Ā 4.)Ā Ā Ā Erin & Maks ā Ok, really? An entire package of these two fake screaming at each other in a sort of warped flirtation? I just donāt find it cute anymore ā I find it kind of annoying, actually.Ā Iād rather see Erin just LISTEN to Maks (gahhh, canāt believe Iām saying that) and hopefully strengthen her skills.Ā This jiveā¦was alright.Ā Erin is still doing something wonky with her arms, and I just couldnāt help thinking about Apolo & Julianneās jive to this same song in season 4 and how much better I liked it.Ā Kinda surprised that the āpowers that beā decided to reuse this song, really.Ā And maybe this is a petty gripe on my part ā but why the hell did they have Erin in a blonde wig??? MIA WALLACE HAD BLACK HAIR!!! And I like my Vincent Vegaās to have ponytails! The Tarantino fan in me is just crying inwardly right now.Ā These two ought to be ok, based on their coy banter during their interview with Brooke ā but I recommend they find a new gimmick, and FAST, because this whole āare we or arenāt we?ā act is wearing thin, and Iām not sure that Erin can measure up to Evan, Nicole, and maybe even Pam.
Ā 5.)Ā Ā Ā Jake & Chelsie ā Ok, another movie-related gripe: where were Jakeās sunglasses? Tom Cruise wore sunglasses when he was strutting around in his skivvies.Ā I know some of you will argue āWell he couldnāt dance with them on!ā ā so take them off and toss them in the audience, dude! Now while I didnāt want to like this ā I did.Ā Iām not sure whether itās Chelsieās skill or Jakeās enthusiasm thatās making them so fun to watch, but whatever theyāre doing seems to be working.Ā But Jake does have a problem: he gets so excited and into the dance that he fouls up.Ā Heās kinda like a puppy that isnāt quite housebroken yet: really energetic & trying his best, but gets excited and pees on the rug.Ā And as we weed out some of the weaker dancers, it just makes Jakeās voting fanbase seem that much smaller ā heās gonna have to bust out a great routine next week, or he may run the risk of falling into the dreaded āmiddle of the packā ā not getting sympathy votes like the low-scorers, and not getting the volume of votes like the high-scorers.
Ā 6.)Ā Ā Ā Chad & Cheryl ā Another showmance Iām just getting sick of hearing about.Ā Seriously, at this point, I do not care whether theyāre doing the horizontal mambo or not.Ā Itās just getting old.Ā And with as weak a dancer as Chad is ā they, like Erin & Maks, need to find a new strength to aid them in this competition.Ā Now while his quickstep was miles better than his foxtrot, he just holds his body so awkwardly, especially his head (I still blame the height difference between these two).Ā Going 2nd didnāt seem to help their cause much, either.Ā Oyā¦still such a disappointment, these two.Ā Iām actually gonna say that either Chad or Kate could end up in the danger zone this week ā itās kinda hard to tell. Either way, I donāt see him sticking around for more than 2 weeks.
Ā 7.)Ā Ā Ā Kate & Tony ā Ok, Iām actually going to give Kate ONE compliment this week: she managed to throw in the occasional (weak) smile while dancing.Ā But I about put my foot through my flat screen when she was questioning Tonyās choreo at the beginning of the package ā never, EVER question a proās choreography. PERIOD.Ā No matter how dorky or silly it may seem (unless youāre Mya and Dmitry is choreographing a crap freestyle for you) ā you do it and you trust your pro.Ā Now from some of the chatter on Twitter and the DWTS message boards, it seems like the āKeep Kateā campaign that idiot George Lopez is spearheading might not be so successful this week ā sounds like a lot of ātrainwreckā fans are now abandoning ship because theyāre sick of her.Ā Iām hoping they gravitate towards Pam š , but as long as theyāre NOT throwing extra votes Kateās way (and are instead throwing those votes to another couple), Iām ok with it.Ā I daresay that infernal Lopez and his campaigning will prolly have enough juice to keep her around this week, but next week ā sheās kaput.
Ā 8.)Ā Ā Ā Niecy & Louis ā Iām afraid these two just fell victim to bad running order and bad song choice this week.Ā Granted, Niecyās jive wasnāt particularly energetic or hard-hitting, but it was fun, and those two are fun to watch together.Ā Iām just afraid itās not going to be enough to carry them through.Ā In their defense though ā La Bamba? Cāmon now ā the movie wasnāt all that memorable.Ā Lou Diamond Phillips channeling Richie Valens? It was an ok (but forgettable) flick ā which is why I donāt think this song did them any favors.Ā Itās been a nice run, Niecy, but Iām afraid your jiggly parts just arenāt enough to keep you around any longer.
Ā And so begins the debating! Who do you guys see coming out on top and who do you see getting kicked to the curb? Still got votes left? Throw them to ANYONE but Kate š And you guys better brace yourself for this weekās Cheesecake Awards ā I have a feeling theyāre gonna be a doozy! š Iām off to pick up the bf at the airportā¦he better have brought me back something fun from Vegas!
Ultrasound sales specialist by day, semi-knowledgeable DWTS fan by night...with a smattering of hair & makeup enthusiast, occasional model, baker, and crazy cat lady peppered in to make things REALLY interesting ;-) I might pee my pants in happiness if Donnie Wahlberg ever does DWTS - or if they ever use "Sunglasses at Night" as a paso doble.
Hola! Konnichiwa! Bonjour! Alo! I’m Marianya the newest blogger on the site. I’ve been a fan and following DWTS since Season 2. I have done some ballroom dancing myself and totally recommend it as a recreational activity for those that are fans of DWTS and would like to know how to dance… even just for fun!
In any case, Princess Heidi did an awesome write up that includes which dance each celeb/pro is doing, possible song choices, commentary, etc. What I’m attempting to do is take past scores and experiences of the pros (and in some cases past celebs that relate to a current celeb) and will attempt to predict what their scores are going to be tonight. I did not use scores from relays, or team dances. I also did not use scores of the Argentine Tango since it is a different dance from the Tango.
And now, in no particular order…
Evan Lysacek/Anna Trebunskya – Rumba
– Season 2 (w/ Jerry Rice, Week 7): 21/30
Since there is not enough information, I’m going to add include the scores of previous figure skaters:
– Season 6 (Kristi Yamaguchi/Mark Ballas, Week 5): 29/30
Prediction: 26/30
Jake Pavelka/Chelsie Hightower – ChaCha
– Season 8 (w/ Ty Murray, Week 1): 14/30
Since Chelsie has only done the ChaCha with Ty Murray, I’m going to pull data from previous reality stars.
– Season 8 (Holly Madison/Dmitry Chaplin, Week 1): 18/30
– Season 8 (Melissa Rycroft/Tony Dovolani, Week 10): 27/30
Prediction: 21/30
Chad Ochocinco/Cheryl Burke – Quickstep
– Season 2 (w/ Drew Lachey, Week 2): 27/30
– Season 3 (w/ Emmitt Smith, Week 2): 24/30
– Season 4 (w/ Ian Ziering, Week 2): 22/30
– Season 5 (w/ Wayne Newton, Week 2): 15/30
– Season 6 (w/ Cristian de la Fuente, Week 2): 20/30
– Season 7 (w/ Maurice Greene, Week 8): 24/30
– Season 8 (w/ Gilles Marini, Week 2): 27/30
Prediction: 22/30
Niecy Nash/Louis Van Amstel – Jive
– Season 2 (w/ Lisa Rinna, Week 3): 25/30
– Season 3 (w/ Monique Coleman, Week 3): 27/30
– Season 9 (w/ Kelly Osbourne, Week 8): 26/30
Prediction: 24/30
Kate Gosselin/Tony Dovolani – Foxtrot
– Season 2 (w/ Stacy Keibler, Week 4): 26/30
– Season 3 (w/ Sara Evans, Week 1): 15/30
– Season 4 (w/ Leeza Gibbons, Week 1): 15/30
– Season 5 (w/ Jane Seymour, Week 1): 24/30
– Season 6 (w/ Marissa Jaret Winokur, Week 8): 25/30
– Season 8 (w/ Melissa Rycroft, Week 3): 27/30
Prediction: 17/30
Nicole Sherzinger/Derek Hough – Tango
– Season 5 (w/ Jennie Garth, Week 3): 26/30
– Season 6 (w/ Shannon Elizabeth, Week 7): 27/30
– Season 7 (w/ Brooke Burke, Week 8): 28/30
Prediction: 26/30
Erin Andrews/Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Jive
– Season 3 (w/ Willa Ford, Week 3): 22/30
– Season 4 (w/ Laila Ali, Week 8): 26/30
– Season 5 (w/ Mel B, Week 3): 27/30
Prediction: 22/30
Pamela Anderson/Damian Whitewood – Quickstep
– Season 1 (Kelly Monaco/Alec Mazo, Dance Off): 24/30
– Season 8 (Holly Madison/Dmitry Chaplin, Week 2): 18/30
I’m comparing with the only data that would be relevant, which is via the celeb… Since this is later in the season, and Pamela is slowly doing better… and can act…
Prediction: 22/30
So those are my predictions for the night… What are your predictions? š
Data Disclaimer: This was the best data I could find. Feel free to correct anything I might have gotten wrong so I can update the post.
My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)
Still in the relatively Kate-free zone.
This video from Entertainment Tonight (4-16-10) is where I got much of my song information. You can tell that The Insider and ET are owned by the same people, what with all the Niecy pimping. At least she’s entertaining. š
Extra from 4-13; Pam, Chad/Cheryl, Nicole, Jake/Chelsie, Bruno – Quiz time for Nicole and Cheryl
Extra from 4-14; stuff from the results show and post-results show. Vienna, Jake’s fiance, is a correspondent – and she doesn’t do too bad, compared to some who’ve tried in the past. Plus a little bit from the after party – my biggest question is; what is Cheryl Burke doing with Adam Shankman?? Inquiring minds…
Extra from 4-17; Jake and Chelsie and Risky Business. Jake is actually looking pretty decent in his rehearsal. There is some Kate in the middle of this one. George Lopez on Keep Kate. ::groan::
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
