Mambo Italiano

S09E12

Carrie Ann says that it was engaging, but they had some stumbles and got out of sync. Len thought it was entertaining and a great performance, despite the stumbles. Bruno knows that Donny can work a room, but he could tell Donny was having trouble keeping up at times. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8.

So the dance marathon is happening now, and it's the mambo. This whole thing just reminds me of that episode of Happy Days where Fonzie promised Joanie that he would be her partner in a dance marathon, but then his motorcycle broke down and he had to walk like a hundred miles home, but he didn't want to let Shortcake down, so he did the marathon anyway. And they were up against this really obnoxious short blonde girl (played by Charlene Tilton!) and her tall partner, and Fonzie was practically dead on the dance floor, and then the blonde girl decided to do a challenge dance and Fonzie collapsed. Joanie was totally a bitch about it so they finally told her why Fonzie was so tired, and she went and told the Fonz that they could throw in the towel. But then Fonzie remembers that he said he would get a crewcut if Blondie won the marathon and as they are taking him out the door on a stretcher, he grabs the doorjamb and pulls himself back in. He issues his own dance challenge, some crazy Russian dance that my cousin Steve could totally do like a pro, where you squat down and kick your legs out to the side. And Blondie and her partner couldn't do it, so Joanie and Fonzie won! And then Fonzie practically did die, and Richie kept saying "Yowza yowza yowza." Man, I love that show. And I realize the whole thing was a ripoff of They Shoot Horses, Don't They? but it was way better.

So anyway, that's not what this is at all. In this competition, all of the dancers will be doing the mambo at the same time, and the judges will tap them on the shoulder to tell them that they're out one at a time. The longer you stay, the more points you get. Some of the couples are worried about technique, and some are worried about stamina. They can also try to dominate the dance floor through movement, too. Some of the couples, like Donny and Kym, are planning a routine, while others, like Kelly and Louis, are planning on doing freestyle. This should be interesting.

After Tom and Samantha explain the scoring again, the couples take the floor. It looks like the couples are required to stay in one spot at first, as no one is moving all that much. Michael and Anna are the first couple to be told to leave the floor. Louie and Chelsie are . There are so many couples that the cameras keep switching views. They should just do a wide shot so we can compare the couples. Melissa and Mark are told to leave , followed by Kelly and Louis. Aaron's desperation has returned, big time. It would have been nice to get a sense, before this started, of what the judges would be looking at to determine the order, because right now it just seems arbitrary. Mark and Lacey leave . Now that there are only four couples left, the couples are allowed to move around on the floor. Derek and Joanna are doing some crazy tricks, and Donny and Kym have to leave. Donny doesn't seem to want to go, but finally does, and then Aaron and Karina are eliminated.