You guys, what is Brooke wearing? It's a black sparkly gown with one sleeve but that sleeve is puffed and then there's a strap that goes around her neck and I am so confused. She looks like her head is under attack by a sequined black mushroom. Anyway, Seal's here to sing "Lean on Me" and is this song back again? Remember the electrified version that was a hit in like 1989? The troupe comes out and dances and whatever. There's also a gospel choir. Poor Seal. I really thought he and Heidi were going to make it. I shouldn't say poor Seal. Maybe he's a jerk. Maybe he cheated on her. I don't know what went down.
Tom and Brooke talk about how close the scores were last night (only four points separated top and bottom) and how the average score was 25.5 which is insanely high for week three. Len says that he wishes that the producers would come down and announce that no one is going home this week, because no one deserves to go home. Tom says that's not going to happen, so sit down, old man.
Results! Roshon was crazy wired after his performance, and if he were ten years older, I would think he was on something, but I think that's just youth. Ah, youth. Every day around 3:00 PM, after a day of chasing my two-year-old twins around, I remember youth and energy and when I had both. One of my kids spent a good fifteen minutes today sprinting back and forth between the living room and the kitchen for no reason. Just to do it! Because he had energy to burn! I don't understand that at all. Anyway, Maria jokes that she was going to give blindfolds to her family because her dance was so sexy, and after the routine, Jaleel commented up in the viewing box that he thought Maria and Derek would get tens. They didn't, so it's a good thing Jaleel is not a judge. Gavin got all emotional after his dance and couldn't talk to Brooke, which felt genuine and not creepy like Jaleel's weird breakdown. Katherine couldn't listen to the clip package that aired before her dance or she knew that she'd just lose it, listening to the story of her father's death. Mark helped her plug her ears and block it out. And she was thrilled to dance for her father, and she knew he'd be "chuffed" which I'm pretty sure means proud.
So are these four couples safe or in jeopardy? Roshon, Maria, and Katherine are all safe (along with their partners, obviously). Gavin and Karina are in jeopardy.
Brooke is backstage talking to folks. William was confident doing the salsa due to his ethnic background, but if he sticks around, he has the jive, and he's worried. Jaleel has the tango if he makes it to week, and he'll be dancing to the Rolling Stones. You don't want to know what he answered. It was dumb. He didn't mention Mickey Mouse though. Gladys Knight says that her rock inspiration is Tina Turner, and Tina definitely rocks. Love her.
Anna and her husband Jonathan are dancing tonight for a professional dancer named Julia, a friend of theirs, who has lung cancer. Stage Four. Eesh. She admits that she probably doesn't have long to live, due to her diagnosis, and she can't dance anymore. Jonathan says that Julia is inspiring in how she's living her life despite her illness, and Anna says that they'll be dancing a waltz tonight inspired by Julia's life. And here it is. Anna is such a beautiful dancer. Really, really lovely. And one thing I love about Jonathan's dancing, and something I think he shares with Louis and Tristan (and maybe Tony a bit), is that he showcases his female partner instead of drawing attention to himself. Maks, Val, Mark, and Derek are showy and flashy and tend to pull focus from the women they partner. Jonathan doesn't. He's strong and graceful, but he's the anchor.
round of results. Gladys wanted to show the judges that she knows how to hold a frame. And she did! Tristan is very sweet with her. Jaleel said he was feeling loose, and he seemed confident throughout. After the routine, Jaleel cried when talking about his old characters (you know, Urkel) and said he doesn't normally revisit them but this was a tribute. To Urkel. Let's be clear. He wasn't performing a tribute to, like, Sam Malone or some other great, layered past sitcom character. Anyway. William got Bruno's attention and was psyched about it, and Cheryl ripped open his shirt in the confessional which cracked me up.
Which of these three are safe and who's in jeopardy? The production screws up and plays the wrong music sting at first. Jaleel and William are safe, and Gladys and Tristan are in jeopardy.
Brooke is backstage with Jack, Donald, Sherri, and Melissa and their partners. Jack says he's not nervous tonight but Anna says that she is. Donald says he's relieved to be finished with his dance but he's nervous. Sherri says she's dehydrated from all the crying so she's ready to rock it out week. Melissa had a lot of fun. Brooke has something exciting! An envelope with the name of one couple who's safe for week! Why would they ever let Brooke do something that's not part of their usual routine? She can't handle it! She clumsily opens the envelope while trying to hold onto her mike (why not give her a lapel mike or something) and announces that Sherri and Val are safe. Sherri freaks out and Maks grabs Melissa to protect her from the flying weave. Sigh.
Wait, they're changing something else! Starting week and for the three weeks, the bottom two couples will dance simultaneously for the judges, who will decide who goes home. WHAT? That is so, so dumb and really goes against the idea that the public gets to vote. Why have the public vote at all? Also, dancing simultaneously never goes well. I am against this idea.
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A guest dance troupe performs. They're pretty awesome but it's filler. What I love is a guest horn section that really rocks. I wish they played with the band every week. Also, I'm pretty sure at one point they are playing the Love Boat theme. And there's lots of waka waka guitars, which I enjoy.
Rascal Flatts. I see this band once a year when they perform on this show and the singer looks a little bigger every year. But he always has the same hairstyle. And maybe the same shirt. Tony and some lady probably from the troupe are on hand to do (what else?) a rumba. There are a lot of lifts that they probably should have practiced a few more times because they look kind of awkward. They do a pretty great lift at the end where Tony holds the lady up with one hand and she has her leg extended upwards. That's kind of amazing. And Tony totally benchpresses her with one hand. And she's not a tiny lady either.
More results! Sherri did some bad facial acting for her son, but her kid looked happy, so I guess that's fine. Sherri totally broke down after their dance and couldn't even walk up to talk to Brooke. Everyone hugged Sherri afterwards. Donald got emotional while listening to the clip package before his routine, and I'm surprised he danced as well as he did. Jack was rehearsing backstage right before he went on and I find that so endearing somehow. He wants to do so well! And he's not great! But he's trying. Afterwards, Jack told Anna that she looked great. He's sweet. Melissa was totally relaxed before her routine and she had a ton of fun during her dance. She's got the right attitude. Just happy to be there, and she and Maks seem to actually get along.
So who's safe and who's in jeopardy from this group? Melissa and Donald are safe, but Jack and Anna are in jeopardy. Aw, just when I started rooting for him. Well, at least now I have a horse in this race.
So Jack and Anna, Gavin and Karina, and Gladys and Tristan are at the top of the stairs, waiting to hear which two couples have to descend to the bottom to find out who's going home. Tom says that the safe couple is Gladys and Tristan! Yay! For both Gladys and Tristan. Tom reveals that Jack and Anna and Gavin and Karina are the actual bottom two. I guess now that they'll be revealing this every week, they don't mind revealing that information. Gavin notes that this is his second week in a row on the bottom but he kind of expected it. Jack admits that he's nervous now, and he feels very grateful to work with Anna and be able to dance for his mystery daughter. So who's going home? Jack and Anna. Wow, I didn't really expect that.
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But he wasn't that good. He tried SO HARD, though. Maybe too hard, because his overdancing was part of the problem. Jack is obviously disappointed but gracious. Tom reminds them that this is a very talented season and let's face it, Jack was never going to win. Okay folks, I'm on vacation week but I'll be back in two weeks to tell you what I think of this whole dance duel between the bottom two.
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