Episode Report Card Kim: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT It's a Thriller
By Kim | Season 9 | Episode 11 | Aired on 10.20.2009
Norah Jones is back to sing her hit "Come Away With Me." I dig that she's playing guitar and she has another chick playing guitar next to her. It's kind of hot. And then Jonathan and Anna come out to dance, and they always look so lovely together. I'm sad that Anna's not in the competition anymore, but if it means that they might do more pro dances, I'm all for it. Aw, and then Tom says afterwards that this was Jonathan and Anna's wedding song. So sweet.
The bumper this time is various pro dancers talking about how much influence Michael Jackson had on their careers and movements and choreography, as well as some words from Latoya and Jermaine Jackson.
So let's find out who else is in jeopardy, shall we? Louie and Chelsie are safe. Melissa and Mark are in jeopardy. Tom points out that the four couples in jeopardy have all been at or near the top of the leaderboard in the past.
It's finally time for the Michael Jackson tribute they've been teasing all night. But first, another clip package! He was a great dancer! He had huge influence on all types of entertainers. Some of the pros reflect on how he changed the face of dancing, and then those that knew him personally talk about what a gentle soul he was. Okay, we get it... how about some dancing now?
Latoya comes out (and she just grosses me out because I feel like she couldn't be happier for the attention she's been getting because of her brother's untimely death) and poorly reads from a teleprompter until finally the dance starts. The first segment is Mark, Derek, and Karina dancing to "I Want You Back." They even incorporate a little bit of "The Wiz," in there. This leaders to Tony, Chelsie, Dmitri, Maks, Edyta, and Lacey doing a segment to "Man in the Mirror," in which they try to incorporate some of Michael's signature moves like the leg kick. The third segment is "Thriller" with Cheryl and Louis. As they dance, the rest of the pros (including Jonathan, Alec, and both Annas) come out of the audience like zombies and join in. They end up doing the famous "Thriller" dance in a pyramid formation and the audience goes nuts. It's probably not right that I got a big kick out of the fact that Derek is up front in the formation instead of Mark Ballas. But I did. The only thing I didn't like about that routine was that it was so short. I wish they had cut out some of the bullshit filler clip packages to make it longer. I realize that the pros have a ton of choreography to learn every week, but I would have loved to have seen even more of that, if possible. There's something really fun about seeing all of the pros perform together for once, in their element, without having to carry the celebrities. And I have to mention, and I don't mean to take anything away from Michael's considerable talent, but Michael Peters actually choreographed "Thriller," and I feel like he never gets the recognition he deserves for that.