'Dancing with the Stars': Sparkles and rhinestones and capes, oh my!
Two near perfect scores, a unicycle, and a comeback from injury highlight tonight's Dancing with the Stars. Also, someone makes Carrie Ann cry in a good way. The low-light? Co-host and English language butcher Samantha Harris had to stretch her interview segments a bit longer to help the show reach the full 90 or so minutes. And lo, it was painful.
Spoilers!
1. Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark
Dance/Song: Paso Doble - "Blue Monday" by New Order - really?
The aggression of the dance is a big step outside of the norm for Kristi but she was digging it in rehearsal. They start out with a great "entry sequence" before the music starts which somehow never stopped - the music started right at the end and they just kept moving. The whole dance had an intensity that I haven't seen from her before. Her technique has improved, amazingly but that could just be because she had an amped up level of intensity
Judges: Len said that he sees a bit of sameness from her every week (but not because of the choreography) but Carrie Ann and Bruno both agree that she's amped up the emotion this week.
Score: 29 (10-9-10)
2. Priscilla Presley & Louie
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz - "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" by Aretha Franklin
Priscilla's having some issues with the fluidity of the dance so Louie took her roller skating to get used to it. It did help because she didn't have the problems she had in practice though there was something a little off. Carrie Ann said that she seemed a bit off-balance, which I agree with.
Judges: Len says she had a great interpretation but to watch the lines of her neck and shoulders, Carrie Ann compliments her on her great facial expressions but the bit at the end made Carrie Ann of the Lift Police pop up, and Len basically agreed with the both of them.
Score: 22 (7-7-8)
3. Adam Corolla & Julianne
Dance/Song: Paso Doble - Music from The Mask of Zorro
Julianne assures us that Adam is taking this seriously and he confirms that he's been bitten by the dancing bug. For some strange reason, Adam comes out riding a unicycle while in his Zorro cape, mask, hat and drawn on mustache. He takes off the hat for the dance, which was pretty entertaining. His technique has improved which does show me that he's putting a lot more effort into it and they did do this nifty lift/drag thing. Again, Julianne proves herself to be a choreography genius.
But I still want him out.
Judges: Carrie Ann gives him an "A for creativity," Len calls him "a lovable character" who's improved but still not up to everyone else's level, and Bruno states that Adam is proof that "genius and insanity go hand and hand. Unfortunately when you start dancing, the genius goes out the window and all that's left is the insanity."
Score: 19 (6-7-6)
4. Marlee Matlin & Fabian
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz - "She's Always A Woman"
Marlee's biggest challenge this week is that she has balance issues and there's a lot of turning in this dance. Any issues she had didn't show up in the dance. It had a great story to it and Marlee and Fabian did a fantastic job of emoting. Definitely the prettiest dance of the season so far (despite any technical issues).
Judges: Len was pleased and gave her a tip to watch her head positions and posture, Bruno complimented her on musical interpretation and also offered posture advice, and Carrie Ann was so touched by the emotion that the dance conveyed, she was tearing up.
Score: 24 (all 8's)
5. Mario & Karina
Dance/Song: Paso Doble - "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder (weird song choice, especially the Stevie Wonder version versus the Red Hot Chili Peppers)
After last week's poor showing, Mario's really looking to step it up this week and Karina's driving him to make sure he's properly focused. It was definitely a harder routine and you could tell he was a lot more together than last week. Being as he's an untrained dancer, a ballet class or two would do wonders and help him get more consistency in his arm movements and posture.
Judges: They all appreciated the step up in focus this week with Carrie Ann giving him a tip on bridging the big and small movements better and Len saying that, like Kristi, he needs to work on his "versatility." Also, Len says that, at 21-years-old, he has underwear older Mario. Wow.
Score: 24 (8-7-9)
6. Jason Taylor & Edyta
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz - "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown
To help Jason get his chivalry on and really get in touch with the gentlemanly nature of the dance, Edyta takes him to Medieval Times to meet one of the knights (who later dubs him "Sir Dance-a-lot"). He had consistently solid lines and
a good air about him.
Judges: Carrie Ann says that he has an understated elegance and grace that's perfect for the dance, Len was wowed by it, and Bruno said it was elegant and sexy like swans mating. Dude, what is up with the uncomfortable references tonight?
Score: 29 (10-9-10)
7. Cristian de la Fuente & Cheryl
Dance/Song: Paso Doble - A very familiar instrumental that I don't know the name of
Cheryl's losing some patience with him because he has such potential. Their costumes kind of made it look like two vampires dancing it out (and hers looked a lot like one of Mel B's last year - when they did "Free Your Mind"). But, he was shirtless so bonus points. Cristian definitely had the character down and had good vocalization. He, too, needs a ballet class or three because his shoulders tend to creep up on him.
Judges: Positive remarks all around, though Len says he didn't think he quite lived up to the powerful nature of the music (Carrie Ann disagrees).
Score: 26 (9-8-9)
8. Shannon Elizabeth & Derek
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz - "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne
During a practice for the Kylie Minogue performance, Derek heard a snap in his neck and had to be rushed to the hospital. He's supposed to lay off it for at least a week so he had official DWTS life-saver Jonathan Roberts come in to dance in his place. Derek was really frustrated at not being able to be in there and Shannon was just really concerned about his well-being. All that raw emotion really helped their performance. It was the most focused and in character she's been in I think and it was just nice to see that Derek is okay.
Judges: They all loved it with Carrie Ann complimenting her on her organic movements and Len stating that it was the best dance of the night.
Score: 28 (9-10-9 - Len's first 10)
9. Marissa Jaret Winokur & Tony
Dance/Song: Paso Doble - A lovely instrumental that was actually appropriate for the dance
Since Carrie Ann called her boring last week, Tony's really kicking up the difficulty of the routine ("I'm giving her moves I'd give to professionals."). It was definitely better this week. She held the character of the dance well and really went after the steps, something that was missing last week.
Judges: All of the judges said that this was what they were waiting for - the intensity and choreography, etc.
Score: 24 (all 8's)
The Bottom Two: This is the first week to reveal the identity of The Bottom Two. It's hard to say but I'm thinking Mario, Shannon, Adam and Marissa are the likely candidates. Shannon most likely won't be in the bottom what with Derek being injured and Mario...it could go either way with him. I'm going to say Adam and Marissa. Sure, Priscilla didn't score fantastically but she has the die-hard Elvis fan base behind her.
Who's Out: Even though everyone's voting for Julianne, the point descrepency may be too much to overcome to save Adam.
Once again, I think they ladies are showing that they've brought their A-games. The men struggled a bit, I thought, including Jason whom the judges loved (I don't get it). After the fiasco last season of Helio winning over Mel B., any bets a woman goes home tomorrow?
This is the first season ever my favorite celebs are women!Kristi and Shannon were great! Kristi's would have been even more well-received if she hadn't gone first, but its only fair that she did this week. I do really like Jason, but I saw two stumbles and that shouldnt equal 10s. Bottom 2 is hard to say- most likely Adam and who knows....I think everyone but Kristi and Jason are vulnerable.
The fix is in.
Jason stinks. He's like Lurch trudging around out there, but the judges ignore that and rave about his performances. I'd like Edyta to have a victory, since she's had some lousy partners, but the overscoring for Jason is just ridiculous.
Once again, Shannon remains my favorite. She and Derek are fun to watch and look great together. By the same token, I completely disagree with the judges' constant bashing of Adam. His performances might make for poor dancing, but they are good entertainment, and that's worth keeping (this is a tv show, after all, not the U.S. National Dancing Championships).
I agree that Jason was overscored considering his mistakes but they've done that with other couples already this season (and I'm sure it will continue).
As for being harsh on Adam, they are no harder on him than on any other celebrity that was as...challenged. Whatever initial animosity that might have been there would have been fueled by Adam admittedly not taking this seriously.
I was totally shocked to hear Tom say that Derek had suffered an injury last week. I found it even more surprising that he said I might have seen it reported on the news, because while I'm no news junkie, I do visit Zap2it every day for the latest in entertainment happenings. So after the show, I got online and you know what? According to E-Online, The insider.com, ET online, TVGuide.com and about a thousand other entertainment news sights, he suffered the injury while rehearsing the Kylie Minogue number last week.
Add this to the fact that the new Tracy Ullman show is being egregiously ignored and I think it might be time to get my entertainment news from somewhere else.
And just to keep things semi-on-topic, I thought Jason Taylor was BORING as hell this week. (Even though I otherwise generally like him)
Tamara,
I think Adam is taking it very seriously. However, his self-deprecative nature won't allow him to take off the mask of his 'goofball' persona.
But, the point I wanted to make is that Adam knows he isn't going to be able make m***ive strides in technical proficiency to reach the level of the other competitors. So he's using the tools that he possesses to make up the difference. Call it the 'Kelly Monaco Gambit' if you want. She wasn't one of the top three dancers, but she offered something else to the spectators that is just as visually appealing. Maybe she didn't have to try hard in doing so, but bringing sex appeal to the dance floor certainly gave her performances a 'watchability' that others lacked. I consider Adam to be doing the same thing. He's trying to add an amusement factor to the best dancing he can manage. That makes him watchable and entertaining. Certainly more so than the zombie-like Priscilla. For my money, that's worth a vote (and a better score).
I know this is entertainment for the m***es, but the music selections are finally getting to me. Kristi's music was absolutely horrible (choice and band performance) and should have never been chosen by the producers. I truely believe that most of these dances would look 1000 times better if they used the traditional music. To me, the fix is in when they give Kristi that crap and Cristian the proper music. To me, I liked his dance so much better, and a lot of that was based on the music.
I agree with Bruno's Shirt (great name, btw! lol). The music sometimes is downright apalling.. I don't know if they even have a system for choosing them...!
bruno's shirt
thank u for pointing out the music choice. kristi's song was the worst ever . u could not harmonize it with the dance. they might as well cut the sound!!!
on the other hand Christian's shouts were tiring one or two
was ok . all over the place you could here Aha!! Aha!!and i don't know what was the deal with cheryl bringing him to the opening linking that to not listening...please mario don't let me down ur mistakes break my heart and put down that smile...
It's kind of disgusting how there's always someone that the judges give ridiculously low scores to when they don't deserve it. So far, it's usually been Marlee Matlin or Shannon Elizabeth. This week it was Priscilla Presley who deserved much higher than sevens.
I don't know who I want to get the boot tonight. I can't stand Adam Corolla so I wish he'd leave (and take the laughing like an idiot Julianne with him) or Christian de la Fuente just so I don't have to watch Cheryl Burke shaking her hair constantly like a dog that's just been washed. Oh and I must say that them showing Drew Lachey at the opening of Cheryl's studio was questionable considering Matthew Lawrence has been telling everyone that the reason he and Cheryl broke up is because he walked in on Cheryl giving Drew a ******* while they were on the Dancing With the Stars tour. Mario could leave too because I can't stand how he gets overly high scores and Karina bugs me.