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'Dancing with the Stars': An early farewell and our first 10
Tonight's Dancing with the Stars managed to air something that made me cringe more than when Samantha Harris does backstage interviews. And this was after someone scored a season high twenty-nine points. It totally brought the room down.
Spoilers!
1. Susan Lucci & Tony
Dance/Song: Jive/"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" by Frankie Lyman & The Teenagers
Susan's still having issues over-thinking things in rehearsal. To help her with master the sharp kicks and flicks, Tony takes her to visit The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in New York. I liked the character La Lucci brought to the dance and her outfit is great. It was a little timid or unsure at times, which could be attributed to the bandage on the ankle (she rolled it during today's practice). Mistakes aside, she is improving in general.
Judges: They thought that, overall, she did a good job but Bruno and Carrie Ann noted her unsteadiness and timidity respectively.
Score: 21 (all 7's) 
2. Lance Bass & Lacey
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz/"Let Me Leave" by Marc Broussard - the original is fantastic and I highly suggest you check it out since they messed up the words...
Based on Len being so cranky every week, they have decided to go one-hundred-percent traditional with the dance. To test it out Lance & Lacey went and danced at a retirement home to get some feedback. As Lance says, "9 out of 10 senior citizens approve of this Waltz and so should you, Len." Comedy. It was very pretty. Big ups to Lacey on the choreography. One thing Lance needs to work on is his arms to make sure he's always carrying the motion through to his fingers and to keep his posture/frame up.
Judges: It was a little flat for Bruno, there wasn't enough of their personalities into it. Carrie Ann thought it was fantastic, a "perfect blend of traditional and contemporary" and further complimented that he was dancing as much as she was. Len didn't like his technique but thought it was their best dance content-wise.
Score: 22 (8-7-7)
3. Maurice Greene & Cheryl
Dance/Song: Jive/"Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley & The Comets
Maurice is having a lot, a lot of trouble this week so Cheryl takes him out to the park to jump rope and run through tires to get used to moving his feet quickly while keeping his balance. It was solid overall and there were some really good moments but something seemed off to me. I think it was because the song was being played about 10 clicks slower than usual. Not super slow, but slow enough that it almost felt like they were working super hard at keeping the energy up.
Judges: Happy thoughts from all the judges with Len saying it's their best dance so far and Bruno complimenting him on concentrating on the precision of the routine.
Score: 24 (all 8's) 
4. Rocco DiSpirito & Karina
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz/"What's New Pussycat?" by Tom Jones
After a rough week and the judges' advice to work on his musicality, Karina blindfolded Rocco and had him move to different types of music so he could really feel them. Rocco felt liberated by the blindfold and felt it really helped him. It's a shame that they got a turkey of a song to dance too. Hey Producers, just because it's the right time signature doesn't make it an appropriate Waltz song. Anyway, Rocco starts the number with the blindfold on as they dance on top of the stage. The technique isn't great but his musicality has certainly improved from last week. I can't even really evaluate at it correctly since they had to dance to this cheesy yet totally enjoyable song.
Judges: Len said that it had lovely moments but sometimes he gets over-excited and loses his time. Bruno agrees, but phrases it in a less friendly way. Carrie Ann says he's the most improved of all the dancers.
Score: 20 (7-7-6)
5. Warren Sapp & Kym
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz/"Lovin' You" by Alicia Keys
Warren has to go from being aggressive to being all smooth and romantical and whatnot. I'm always impressed by how well they travel the floor. It was cute, I enjoyed it. Kym did great with the choreography.
Judges: Bruno called it "big, smooth and beautiful" and complimented how he always gets the character of the dance right; Carrie Ann was blown away agreed with Bruno; and Len said that he's "giving those skinny people a real run for their money."
Score: 25 (9-8-8)
6. Cody Linley & Julianne
Dance/Song: Jive/"Call Me The Breeze" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Cody's looking to channel his energy into the quick, craziness into the Jive. But he's having a little trouble controlling it in rehearsal. Some of those problems continue in the performance but the overall energy was good. He got ahead or behind of the beats at times and it wasn't the best choreography I've ever seen from Julianne.
Judges: Carrie Ann said it had great energy but she could tell he was counting through the whole thing. Len thought the first half was great but the second part was repetitive. Bruno agreed with Len.
Score: 21 (all 7's) 
7. Toni Braxton & Alec
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz/
Toni wants to take a risk this week, which Alex found odd since it's the week they have the most traditional of dances. I like her costume - it's a poofy Marie Antoinette-type dress complete with a wig. I appreciate that they put a very solid character to the dance but I find the music to be...grating. Her technique looked good overall but Toni needs to make sure she's keeping her arm extended long enough.
Judges: Len, as expected, didn't like it - though more so because he thinks gimmicks are the last resort of a bad dancer, which she is not. Bruno pretty much agrees. Carrie Ann, however, liked it and got what they were trying to do as the Viennese Waltz was originally a scandalous dance.
Score: 22 (8-7-7)
8. Cloris Leachman & Corky
Dance/Song: Jive/"The Girl Can't Help It" by Little Richard
Corky is worried because not only are there thirty more seconds to the routine, they're also doing the most energetic of dances. Because Cloris is not as capable physically as the others, Corky is making sure to ramp up the entertainment factor. One thing's for sure, he's pretty much dancing for the both of them. He put a lot of funny things in the number to make up for the fact that she can barely do the dance including ripping off her wig and throwing it.
Judges: Bruno says, "to call this wacky would be the understatement of the year...it was beyond comprehension." Carrie Ann agrees adding that what she lacks in technique she made up with in the entertainment factor. Len didn't get to say much.
Score: 16 (6-5-5)
9. Brooke Burke & Derek
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz/"Daughters" by John Mayer
They finally had a fight based on mutual frustration and partially because Derek put his big foot in his mouth. She actually walked out on him at one point. This is the most personality I've ever seen from Brooke. Ever. You can put together the overall wattage from all of her hosting gigs from the past 7 years and it probably wouldn't match that display. The number itself sis very pretty. She's got the technique down very well and seemed more connected to the emotion of the dance than any of the previous. Perhaps it's because she ends the number with giving her daughter (I'm assuming the eldest) a kiss at her seat in the audience - dancing for someone specific always helps with the emoting. She is definitely the best so far but, as the other celebs improve, if she can't project her personality through the TV she'll be in big trouble.
Judges: Nothing but happy thoughts by the judges with Len calling it the best dance of the season so far.
Score: 28 (9-10-9) 
As you may have heard by now, Misty May-Treanor suffered a severe injury this past Friday. She comes out of the audience on crutches, a cast on her leg, and takes a seat next to Tom in the middle of the floor to discuss what happened. Her ankle literally popped during practice. Everyone is horrified, especially given the how loud it was when they played the tape of what happened. Um...her Achilles tendon ruptured. Oh, the cringing and the pain, that poor, poor thing. Awful, awful, awful. Carrie Ann was covering her face with both hands, she was so horrified. All the credit in the world to Misty who was taking it as well as she could. But on the bright side, this doesn't affect Misty's Volleyball career as she is between tournaments and was planning to take time off anyway. She'll get surgery tomorrow
She said very nice things about Maks, saying "the world needs more Maksim" and he called her angelic, among other things. They vow to remain friends and, when Misty recovers, she wants to come back and do the Jive. They assembled a goodbye package for them which is cool. Argh! Poor thing! She was one of the people I was looking forward to seeing develop.
Who's Out: Assuming they actually vote someone off, I'm thinking it's Cloris. I can't see how it wouldn't be.
What are your thoughts on tonight? Did Brooke deserve her 10? Did you recoil as much as I did when they were talking about Misty's injury? If I were a turtle, I'd have been all up in my shell. Who do you think is going to be out?
I'd guess they won't vote anyone out, since with Misty unfortunately gone that would shorten the season by one show (although I guess they could do one of those horrid review of the season episodes; the producers are nothing if not good at filling time). If anyone does go it would be travesty if anyone but Cloris gets the boot. Cody's was pretty bad as well, that "leg guitar" move was creepy and overlong, then they kept repeating it. Julianne is usually so smart about making the choreography fit her partner's skill, and that seemed to be an odd choice.
I didn't think Brooke's was nearly as good as the judge's scores, but hard to argue that it wasn't the best of the night.
Jessie | Oct 6, 2008 11:12:17 PM | #I love Cloris...I hope she stays another week...Say goodbye to Rocco...he's pretty bland...
MsHam | Oct 7, 2008 12:19:31 AM | #la-lucci was weak. warren as always was great fun to watch. and gosh, so sorry for misty-may (yes it made me recoil).
the big surprise-->CLORIS who i usually find VERY grating but tonight i found myself actually lmao, omg that was CRAZY...yeah speechless. WHAT. WAS. THAT? at least it was worth the price of admission.
i do think brooke was overrated/scored. it was a good emotional performance, but her actually waltzing wasn't that great. i think len was taken with the grace of it all, esp directly following cloris audacious number.
voting for my faves cody/julianne and throwing some underdog votes to rocco.
and btw, anyone finding the way derek paws and kisses his partner to be disconcerting?? i noticed it when he was with jennie garth and now with brooke it's even worse. it seemed gross, especially with her hubby and kids sitting there in the audience. i noticed her hubby looking awfully closely. i've been trying to overlook it (give him a break about it), but just can't anymore. :(
I think they are being a little to hard and Lance & Lacy. Is it because she came from another dance show? Lance is much better then Brook. And yes, her 10 was high!
Baby B | Oct 7, 2008 5:40:08 AM | #They probably won't vote anyone off- and will combine the votes from this and next week to boot someone off next week, like they did with the Sara Evans issue.
Underwhelming season so far, most lack of high quality dancers since season one. But they have time to get better! I'm just used to seeing someone wow me already and they really haven't.
-Lance and Warren did well but not anything amazing
-Susan is improving but is still way to dainty and small in her movements to get me excited.
-Nice guys but I'm not feeling Rocco or Maurice dancing-wise.
-Missteps by usually good Toni and Cody. Actually think the choreographers (Alec and Julianne) were surprisingly the ones to blame.
-I have never seen anything like what Cloris did. I was laughing out loud. She really shouldn't be here but she was actually funny and not obnoxious to me this week. She should definitely go, if not this week then next week.
-Brooke was definitely the best, maybe not a 10 but good. But Unless Derek can open her up performance-wise, I think her lack of passion and personality will show in many of her dances to come (jive, mambo, samba) and that could hurt.
-I knew they wouldn't tell us exactly what Misty's injury meant for the competition yet- or no one would watch the show tonight- and we know it's all about ratings and $$ :P
Erin | Oct 7, 2008 5:56:05 AM | #There's just something about DWTS this year that's a real turn off.
I have NEVER purposely missed anyone's dances, but I didn't watch Cloris (why bother) didn't watch most of Toni (I thought it was just DUMB - the music, the costume) and I TRIED not to watch Cody and Julianne. After they've spent so much time talking about him ONLY BEING 17, I find it really creepy that he's there at all - the guitar leg stuff just seemed - well, nasty, and that's not a word I use.
There's nobody I really look forward to except maybe Warren and Kym, and the music has been SO TERRIBLE this year that it takes all the fun out of it.
Ugh - what a disappointment.
Jan | Oct 7, 2008 7:08:00 AM | #Agreed, they won't vote off anyone tonight. To keep from having fewer episodes, they'll combine the votes for this week and next. So we'll see everyone dance yet again. (Seems strange that a professional athlete damaged her leg but 61-year-old Susan Lucci and 82-year-old Chloris Leachman are both going strong. Kinda.)
Tonight's result show should be 100% filler rather than the usual 95%.
Maureen | Oct 7, 2008 10:57:22 AM | #so when did the show actually air?? i missed it lsat night because of monday night football. then my tv guide said it would be on at 1:35 am and i went to the channel and jimmy kimmel was on, i fell asleep at 1:50 so i know he was stil on til then. err makes me mad.
Aubrey | Oct 7, 2008 12:01:06 PM | #True, she's no dancer, but I laughed so hard WITH Cloris, last night! Anyone who can get me to LOL like that gets bonus points from me. They won't eliminate anyone this week, but Cloris will probably go next.
Have to admit to being impressed by Warren, even though I sort of detested him as a football player.
Cody's routine? EWWWW!
I really liked Brooke's performance. I was shocked by the 10 and thought it was deserved.
If "Dancing with the Stars" are not going to eliminate anyone, because they are considering Misty as this week's elimination this means another week with Cloris!
Toni was very creative on the concept, but it was too much. She should remain in her pattern. Then again, if she did not do something like that, Len would have complained that she needs to be creative.
I was impressed with Maurice. Very cute.
Poor Misty! I actually thought that she would be in the final three. When she said Maks turned pale, it was obvious that it was bad.
Carly | Oct 7, 2008 12:42:35 PM | #gosh, no one else finding the way derek keeps kissing and pawing his partner brooke to be disconcerting??
I also thought the music selections last night were bland. No one really stood out for me, but I liked Brooke & Derek and Warren & Kym. I think Cloris & Corky are on the way out. Oh, the show didn't have to show Misty May's injury with the sound on. It was awful just watching it.
VIR | Oct 7, 2008 2:10:49 PM | #Cody Linley & Julianne did a good job but the judges were too hard on them. As far as Cloris goes...it's uncomfortable watching young Corky man-handle her around the dance floor. She is really not capable of dancing these difficult dances so I don't understand why she's on the show.
sam | Oct 7, 2008 11:06:46 PM | #I think Susan Lucci is as weak as Kardasian. Both can't dance and seem to think they can float on looks alone.
Neither are outstanding in any way - both in looks & TALENT.
I think Cody needs to take a lesson in maturity from the professional little kids that came to dance as guests on last seasons show.
I don't care how good he thinks he is, he is too immature to pay attention. '
Also, I thought Julianne hung up her dancing shoes to do music? Well, she should have kept them in the closet - she is Cody's perfect match.
The thing I don't like (and I love the show) is when the judges criticize the choreography to the celebrity. The professional is the one who does the choreographing -- why do they say that the celebrity should have done something different? They are just learning from the professional dancers and doing what they are taught.
Lois | Oct 13, 2008 4:52:53 PM | #
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