So due to some technical difficulties, I missed parts of the show tonight, but I did get to see all of the dances and all of the judging. If I missed anything, it might be some of the transitional parts with Tom and Samantha, and while I love Tom, I don't think missing them will be a big deal. Unfortunately, I missed the cold open, so I didn't get to hear Tom tell us that tonight's show is LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
The show must be running short tonight, because we get the extended version of the theme music before the couples make their way down the stairs and onto the dance floor. Man, LT wasn't kidding when he said he was going to cover Edyta up this week when he had the chance to design her costume -- she's wearing something that would look appropriate during a Russian winter, fur collar and all. It's like Harriet Olson's funeral dress. After everyone is introduced, Tom reminds us that the celebrities got to design the costumes this week, when usually the pros do so. Samantha adds that this week will feature a group dance. The group dance won't be scored by the judges, which makes sense. How would they?
Last week, Bruno told Melissa that she needed to be a maneater. In rehearsal, Tony thinks they can follow Bruno's advice because they have the Argentine tango. And then there's a commercial for Desperate Housewives. Oh! Melissa's going to be on an episode! Oh, wait. I misunderstood. Actually, she's getting advice from Teri Hatcher on how to dance. Because Teri has all that ballroom dancing experience from that time she played a dancing mermaid on Love Boat or whatever. Bleh. I really despise these fakey, set-up pieces. If they have to do a clip package, they could at least pretend to do something realistic that shows a genuine piece of the celeb's personality. So anyway, the tango. The footwork is very complicated and extremely well-done. There's not a misstep to be seen. The thing that confuses me is that there are three or four major lifts. Are they allowed to do those now? I know there are exceptions some weeks, but usually they make a bigger deal out of it. And if not, that was a pretty flagrant violation. And they weren't necessary; the routine was really great without them, I thought. The crowd absolutely loved it, although the crowd has been pretty rowdy since the show started.
Len thought it was fantastic with the intricate steps, and he explains that the lifts are allowed in the Argentine tango. Why not tell me that ahead of time? I can't be the only one that was confused. Len thought he saw a tiny blunder, though. Bruno thinks this was "the revenge of the Maneater" and then says something about how she drew pictures with her legs? I don't even know. Carrie Ann thought it was the best Argentine tango they've seen. Better than Gilles? I don't know about that. I think maybe she's getting caught up in the moment. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9 and Bruno 10. After the scores, Tony reveals that Melissa was dancing with bruised ribs.
Last week, the judges loved LT, even though I wasn't that impressed. LT was happy to dance to music that had words, since that's his criteria. This week, LT had a charity golf tournament, so he brought Edyta along. He made her try to hit a golf ball, and it gave her empathy for how difficult it is for him to dance. They begin rehearsing their waltz, and LT has trouble understanding the gracefulness necessary for this dance. So I don't have high hopes, and... it's actually pretty awesome! The beginning is not my favorite -- Edyta is lying on the steps, and I thought she was dead or something, but I guess she was supposed to be sleeping, and then LT goes over and "wakes" her up. But LT is very graceful and smooth throughout, with good extension on his arms and legs, and good footwork. At one point, he goes down to one knee and sort of slips, but he recovers nicely. That horrible coat that Edyta is wearing gets removed about halfway through, and her dress is just beautiful, very flowy in shades of blue. Except that there is an attached scarf that goes from her back to her wrist and during her turns it gets caught on her head. I think the audience giggled about that. But overall, great job and probably my favorite routine for these two so far. It's a good week for them to have a breakthrough because I've been pushing for LT to go for a while now.
Bruno enjoyed the Dr. Zhivago romance of it all, but he points out LT's bad turns and slip. Carrie Ann saw more openness and freedom in his movements, and she also compliments his work on Edyta's dress. Len liked the elegance, although he also saw a few glitches. He was shocked at how well the dance went, though. Me too, Len. Backstage, LT says that he's having fun and Edyta jokes that the reason she usually doesn't wear such heavy clothes is to avoid getting tangled up in them. Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 7 and Bruno 7. Hmm. I thought it was a little better than that, although LT points out that they did make some mistakes.
Last week, Lil' Kim got perfect marks from the audience, Carrie Ann and Bruno, but now she wants to impress Len as well. Their first challenge in the rumba is to tone down Kim's sexiness a little bit. Derek is also struggling, because he wants the routine to be entertaining, but also meet Len's technical requirements. So their rumba starts out strong, although I don't see Kim's sexiness being toned down at all. I think it works, though. I find that the middle loses a little something, and I think it's because Kim seems more focused on the audience instead of her partner, so the intimacy isn't quite there. The footwork is great, and I almost always like Derek's choreography. They pull off one amazing move where Kim has one foot wedged against Derek's and then she leans to the side and does an arabesque where the only thing keeping her from crashing on her face is Derek's hand holding hers. She gets a little wobbly, but it's impressive nonetheless.
Carrie Ann thought it was understated, but also underwhelming. She doesn't want Kim to tone herself down. Len loved it, but he wants Kim to go with what she knows, and do what she does best. Bruno thought it was a good rumba, but "taking the raunch out of Lil' Kim is like having a margarita without the tequila." I agree on all counts. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 8 and Bruno 9. Kim is thrilled, since the comments made it seem like the scores would be lower. She says that week, she'll just be herself.
Last week, Chuck and Julianne were told to tone down the raunch. So Chuck went to a fan convention and signed autographs? I'm not quite sure what the connection was there. In rehearsal, Julianne focused with the technique on the samba. Chuck hoped for a perfect score, or maybe just a nine. And he didn't want to let down his fans. Hmm. Maybe I should stop hoping for fewer fake setups, because that package didn't have one, and it was pretty disjointed. So their samba begins, and I swear to God, in the opening move Chuck is behind Julianne,and he totally grabs her boobs, and not just for a second. Am I wrong on that one? The rest of the dance is an adequate samba. On Chuck's part, it's pretty good. His footwork is decent, and he doesn't looks as stiff as he used to. He's actually dancing! I'm just surprised that Julianne didn't make it flashier.
Len liked it a lot! He thinks it was by far Chuck's best dance to date. Bruno thought Chuck worked his hips like never before. Carrie Ann gives Chuck a hug and kiss instead of criticism. Well! The judges didn't say much, but they clearly liked it a lot. Backstage, Chuck says that it was so much fun, he wants to do it again right now. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 9. So Chuck got his nines. This is the first week I actually liked Chuck. So there's that.
Ty's downward spiral with the judges continued last week with his jive, but he vows to stay positive and keep trying. He enjoys the ballroom-style dancing because he gets to hold on to Chelsie, so he doesn't get lost in the steps. Ty has trouble coming up with the romantic attitude for the waltz, his dance this week, and Jewel comes in to advise them. She says they should use their personal connection, even if it's not a romantic one. Ty dedicates his waltz to his wife. Ty and Chelsie start their waltz to a countrified tune -- oh, it's "Strawberry Wine." It's pretty good. Ty's stiffness works well for him in ballroom. He still needs to figure out how to have a genuine smile instead of one that looks like he's gritting his teeth. But his body movements and footwork are far better than they have been in the last few weeks.
Bruno says Ty is having a "bigger comeback than Mickey Rourke." Carrie Ann thinks his posture and hold were beautiful, but he needs to work on not looking terrified at times. Len thinks his waltz had "more rise and fall than a bride's nightie," which gets a big chuckle from Tom. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8 and Bruno 8. I can barely hear Ty when Samantha interviews him backstage. She asks about Ty's costume design, and she admits that he wanted her to wear denim shorts at first, but she pushed for a dress. It's a pretty dress, too.
Shawn's rumba hit the right line between adult and teen, and the judges were pleased. This week, Shawn went to New York to accept the Sullivan Award, and then she had to go to Des Moines to accept another award, so Mark met up with her to practice in Iowa. He kind of rushed her through the rehearsal, and she got stressed out because she wasn't picking things up as quickly as she usually does. Plus, she has to learn the group dance on her own. Yikes. So her individual dance is the cha cha cha. It's to "PYT," and Mark is dressed up like Michael Jackson with the floods and the sparkly white socks. This is my favorite song off "Thriller," but I'm not feeling this routine. Shawn's got great hip action, and she actually looks like she's dancing instead of just doing steps, which is good. But there's not enough cha cha cha for me. I'm turning into Len, aren't I? You can tell me. Anyway, it's cute, but it's not championship level for me, dawg. It's too modern.
Carrie Ann loved it! She thought it had both good technique and performance. Len thinks the cha cha is a tough dance, but they did it well. I guess I'm totally wrong. Bruno says that Shawn's technique has always been great, but now she's starting to be more flamboyant out there, and he loves it. Backstage, Samantha asks them if they think they might get a 10 this week. Mark expertly dodges the question. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 10. The crowd goes nuts.
Gilles and Cheryl have the waltz this week, and Cheryl hopes to show the soft, romantic side of her partner. Gilles has trouble getting the softness of it, since he's used to doing Latin arms. So Cheryl takes him to a synchronized swimming coach? Okay, of all the effed up weirdo things the producers have made the contestants do, this might take the cake. Why not just have Gilles strip down to his underwear and stand there? Because that's really why they're doing this. The routine begins, and Cheryl looks very pretty in a flowy yellow dress. But it seems like if Gilles isn't doing smoldering, he doesn't know what to do, because he looks very aloof and kind of weird. Later in the routine, they sex it up a little bit and he does better, but it's not his best performance. I guess they did need that bit in the bathing suit to remind people why they like Gilles. Um, I meant because he got goofy at the end and did a cannonball. What did you think I was talking about?
Len thought it was beautiful, although they need to work on the footwork. Bruno thought it was flowing and gorgeous as well. Carrie Ann thinks Gilles is extremely graceful, but he needs to watch his posture just a tiny bit. Gilles promises to work on it. Backstage, Samantha asks Cheryl about Gilles designing her outfit. She says she was nervous at first, but it turned out great. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 9. Samantha asks how Gilles hopes to stand out in the group dance, and Gilles says that he just wants to have fun.
The dancers and their celebrity partners gather for rehearsal for the group dance, which will have a '60s theme. Shawn can't be there, as previously mentioned, so Mark brings a life-sized cutout of her to rehearsal. Ty takes the theme very seriously, and walks in dressed like a cross between Sonny and Cher, with long hair, a headband, and a vest. The choreographer has everyone quickly run through some '60s faves like the monkey, the gator and the mashed potato. Then he announces that they won't be dancing with their partners because these dances are done alone. The women are each put up on a pedestal go-go style, as if they're filming an episode of Hullabulloo. They all laugh at LT because he's totally not having it. Then they each get a solo where they need to come up with their own '60s move with their partner. I'm a little annoyed with LT for being such a sourpuss. Maybe they need to add in music with words to the rehearsal to get him in the mood or something. Everyone else totally gets into it, and I think this might actually be a decent group routine for once.
Tom and Samantha introduce the group dance, and Samantha reminds us that the judges will not be scoring this routine; this is just for the home viewers. The routine starts in black and white, with each of the ladies getting a little solo spot. Between the black and white and all the wigs, I had a hard time telling who each person was. Then the guys come out in a pack, as the screen goes to color, and do a short segment in sync. Well, almost in sync. Ty and LT are on the end and they're a little behind some of the others. Then the ladies get on their male partners' shoulders and do some more moves. I'm not sure what the point of that part was. , each couple gets a solo spotlight, with most of them doing stunts that look awkward at best. Ty and Chelsie get a big cheer -- he pretends to mount her like a horse and she bucks like a bronco. It's a lot less sexual than I just made it sound. For all his bad attitude, LT actually smiles while doing his brief solo, so that's something. After a break where they dance as a group again, the solo spotlights continue. Shawn does three back walkovers in a row while Mark does back somersaults. I have to say, watching the whole group, this is definitely the best group dance we've seen since they started doing group dances. It's about a thousand times better than last season's lame hip hop routine.
The judges get a chance to comment. Bruno tells the boys that they were sublimely silly and it was fantastic fun. Carrie Ann thought the girls nailed it, and compliments the choreography. Len doesn't want to pick out one person, because the whole group was fun. Tom and Samantha review the routines and reminds us to tune in tomorrow night to find out who's going home. Here are the scores:
Melissa and Tony: 29
Shawn and Mark: 28
Chuck and Julianne: 27
Kim and Derek: 26
Ty and Chelsie: 24
LT and Edyta: 21
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