'Dancing With the Stars' Finale: And the winner is...

This is it...the filler-filled finale of "Dancing With the Stars." Will Mya's consistent excellence prevail over Donny Osmond's showmanship or will Kelly sneak by and take the trophy?

Hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris open the show by introducing all the couples this season who do the Descent of Doom to "I Got A Feeling" a la the Black Eyed Peas. Our final three couples enter from the audience and high-five everyone who's formed a tunnel to welcome. Kelly Osbourne stopped a couple of times to hug some past celebtestants.

We're then treated to the customary recap...except the video stopped a third of the way through and there was a shot of the back of Miss Piggy's head all of a sudden. Cut to Tom: "Did I mention that we were live?" Emmy, he needs one.

Back from the break, it's Recap: Take Two. Even though some weren't wowed by Mya & Dmitry Chaplin's Freestyle, I hope people realize how hard it is to do a two-and-a-half minute routine full out like that.

Then Whitney Houston takes the stage to sing "Million Dollar Bill," the first single from her big return album. She has a good dozen male dancers backing her up including Ryan from Quest Crew ("America's Best Dance Crew," Season 1 of "So You Think You Can Dance"). A couple others look familiar but I'll have to watch it again later to see if I can name them. It's nice to see her back but I'm not really digging any of her new songs.

Filler #1 is a revisit to "The Losers Club" package which segues into Jeffrey Ross in person presenting a sparkly jacket to Ashley Hamilton (with a smidge of roasting). Ashley then dances to "Simply the Best" with his partner Edyta Swilinska...before taking a promenade around the floor with Jeffrey. They then rip their shirts open at the end, on either side of Edyta, and Ashley runs and pounces on the judges table and hugs Len and Bruno. Ashley's a great sport. And, as Tom points out, Jeff needs a spray tan.

After a commercial, we get a montage recap of the first three weeks of the season. Kathy Ireland & Tony Dovalani, Macy Gray & Jonathan Roberts, and Debi Mazar & Maksim Chmerikovsky then all dance to "Who's That Lady" one after another. Debi rocked her Tango.

Filler #2 was a brief segment dedicated to injury but focused on the flu. In the package, they showed Tom Delay's exit from the show and the promise to do the Texas Two-Step he missed out on tonight. Which he does with partner Cheryl Burke. It wasn't great but looked far more natural than any other dance he did the whole season. Though I could've done without the butt-shaking to the camera. My eyes!

Weeks 4 and 5 are covered in the next montage, including the horrible inclusion of the Lambada and the extremely awesome Group Hustle. Chuck Liddell & Anna Trebunskya and Mark Dacascos & Lacey Schwimmer dance next to "Cold As Ice" and "Hot Blooded." Both do their Paso Dobles and includes a fan-freaking-tastic fight sequence between Chuck and Mark at the end. That was the best finale night dance (from non-finalists) I've seen.

Filler #3 is another revisited bit - Coach Adam Corolla. He addresses last man standing Donny Osmond with Kelly and Mya popping in for a bit. Samantha found it much funnier than I did. Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo return to dance their Rumba. It's a dang shame that she got ousted early. When they finish Tom says, "Is it to late to vote her back in?" Exactly.

We get another Past Weeks Montage that included the tea-bag filled sham known as the Competition Mambo and the team dances. Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas perform the Mambo they would've done if they got to Dance-Off. It's to "Cuban Pete" and I like the choreography a lot. Oooo...impressive drop into the splits at the end, Melissa. Kudos!

Filler #4 is the judges examining the final contestants and talking about their strengths. Completely superfluous but served as the bridge into nearly the second hour and the official, over-the-top introduction of Kelly & Louis Van Amstel, Mya & Dmitry, and Donny & Kym Johnson.

1. Kelly & Louis
Dance/Song: Viennese Waltz/"Trouble" a la Ray LaMontangne
We get an expanded journey package and my favorite part was Kelly stating that now when she looks in the mirror, she sees everything that's right instead of what's wrong. I just want to squeeze her. They chose to redo their very first number for this round and you can definitely tell that's she's improved. Not just with the technique but there was an ease to it.
Judges: Len says of all the celebs on the show, he'll miss her the most. Bruno says she's earned her place as a "Ballroom Princess." Carrie Ann got a bit emotional and says every time she danced, she saw a real moment of Kelly growing.

2. Mya & Dmitry
Dance/Song: Jive/"Would You" a la Touch and Go
This was one of my favorite dances this season so I'm glad they chose it to redo (and not just because I get to see Dmitry in Clark Kent mode again).
Judges: Bruno said she didn't miss a beat and never lowered her standards from the beginning. Carrie Ann says that she's the person who's set the standard this season and that she's stopped being so shy and become a star. Len says that he's never doubted her talent despite the rocky start they'd had.

3. Donny & Kym
Dance/Song: Argentine Tango/
I can see why they chose this dance - it was definitely his big breakthrough number. It was danced very well, though sometimes I wonder if the impact lessons
Judges: Carrie Ann says she's glad they chose this dance because it was "artistry in motion." Len says he's never lost his performance level even with ups and downs and finished strong. Bruno said he's reached the Dark Side and he's used it now.

Like last night's Megamix dance, this final round will be ranked first to third place and that will determine how many points they get. The judges put Kelly & Louis in 3rd place with 26pts, Mya & Dmitry in 2nd with 28 pts, and Donny & Kym in 1st with 30pts. Eh.

Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower dance to "Puppy Love" sung by Mr. Osmond himself. It starts off slow and then goes faster so they can get their Jive on. Louie throws in an impressive flip sequence across the floor before Chelsie jumps into his arms at the end. Nice to see them perform again.

Michael Irvin had used Jerry Rice as a motivator this whole season, wanting to best him. So they've set up a dance-off Paso Doble for a Mirror Ball Ring. Michael & Anna Demidova alternate with Jerry & Anna T. before doing a little face-off and some side-by-side dancing. All the judges "discuss" it (it was a very quick discussion) and name Michael the winner...however Jerry wins the battle of the bodies so they both get a ring.

Tom throws it to Samantha backstage who sums up some of the stuff to expect but the highlight was Miss Piggy coming in and, after Sam tells her not to "hog the spotlight," delivering a karate chop to the mid-section. Great reaction from Samantha.

Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff hit the stage next to do their Quickstep to the theme from "The Muppet Show" with an assist from Animal on the drums. Also, Waldorf & Statler make a crack about Len from the balcony. Man, I love the Muppets. They make everything better.

Miss Piggy is now backstage interviewing Cloris Leachman, Jerry Springer, Steve Wozniak, and Joanna Krupa. Lots of pork jokes and Piggy threatening to put Cloris in the hospital. I need a new Muppet show, STAT!

It's our last season recap montage to bring us up to date which leads us to the Competition Mambo featuring Cloris & Corky Ballas, Jerry & Edyta, Steve & Karina, and Joanna & Derek Hough. Jerry actually looks pretty good while Cloris & Corky play it for jokes and are the first to get tapped out. Jerry & Edyta are the next to leave as Steve pulls out his infamous Worm maneuver. Steve & Karina get voted off next and Tom says, "The winners, in what appears to be a set-up, are Joanna & Derek." That's twice as funny because it was true the first time around.

Whitney Houston returns to sing "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," but is sadly not rocking the giant skirt she did in the video. Instead, all five female pros are rocking those skirts and rocking them hard. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun - I really liked the choreography.

Now we get our 3rd place results. Donny's mouth drops open in shock when Tom announces that it's Kelly & Louis. The crowd chants her name while Kelly thanks America for voting her in every week. Tom says he usually doesn't play favorites but, because she's grown so much, he's most looked forward to seeing her dance every week.

So, after weeks of dancing and an hour and fifty-eight minutes of generally enjoyable stalling, this year's champions are Donny & Kym. He immediately grabs his wife and carries her onto the floor from the front row. After Mya takes it well and Donny hugs Mya, he finally grabs the trophy from Tom.

Well, I can't say I'm surprised nor that it wasn't deserved. Donny worked hard and came in with a extreme fan advantage which always helps. I'm glad Kym finally won one. Admittedly I was pulling for Mya & Dmitry but I'm happy she put in weeks of stellar performances and lifted the bar so high.

Your thoughts on tonight and the season as a whole? Happy with the results? Did you enjoy the past contestants' performances and/or have a favorite? Thanks for watching with me, it's been fun!

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