The show opens with a beautiful pro dance that kind of reminded me of the dance in Romeo and Juliet for some reason. It was really lovely, though, and I like nothing better than seeing all the pros dancing together. Also, Maks is a guest judge tonight.
Leah and Tony are up first tonight, hoping to make it into the finals week. This week, the couples are doing two dances to the same song; the first is regular and the second is acoustic. The first one for Leah and Tony is the paso doble to "Bad Romance." Leah's footwork is good and her face is good but she's not performing this routine as well as she has in the past. She seems less sure of the steps. On their final pass, her heel gets caught in her skirt and she nearly falls on a turn but manages to power through to the end.
Judges? Len thought it was a little bit careful and she didn't attack the routine. Bruno misses the aggression, and advises her to lift her chest and shoulders. Carrie Ann liked the drama, but the turns were wobbly and she needs to be error free. Maks can't believe he gets to be a judge. He liked that it had both rhythm and shape, and he doesn't care that she stepped on her skirt. He just wants to see Leah match Tony's emotion. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, Maks 8, and Bruno 8. Leah looks PISSED. She has the worst poker face, but I kind of love it.
Corbin and Karina got their first perfect score last week, although so did Elizabeth and she went home. Karina wants to put a jump into her routine, but Corbin thinks they'll get docked a point because it's considered a lift. Karina brings up that she and Maks were engaged, and now they're not together, but she think he'll be fair and recognize a jump isn't a lift. Their tango is up first. Well, I will say this for their tango; it's theatrical. There are cloaks and flames and glitter and more flames and leather vests. But how's the dancing? It's fine. It's a really fast tango so there's not as much footwork as I normally like, and Corbin is almost too muscular to have a good frame or something. It's good but it's a bit too frantic for me.
Judges? Bruno loved the passion and attack, but it made them lose the frame at times. Carrie Ann thought it was hot and she'd like to see it again. Maks thought it was amazing, and there was tons of content, so he doesn't worry about frame and posture since it's not ballroom competition. Len thought it was too full on for a tango, and there weren't any dynamics with calm and attack. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 8, Maks 9, and Bruno 9.
Jack and Cheryl decided to make their two dances this week into a story. When they start rehearsals for the week, Jack tells Cheryl that he's been having a flare in his MS symptoms, and she says that his health is more important than the show. They try to rehearse when they can but also take breaks when Jack needs them. Their first routine is jazz to "Roxanne." Hey, one of my cats is named after this song. Jack's jazz routine is better than I thought it would be, since he typically does better in frame than out of it. He is definitely committed to Sparkle Motion. The storyline seems to be a john that falls in love with a whore, I guess? The beginning is a bit muddled but from the halfway point to the end, I was impressed with Jack's moves.
Judges? Carrie Ann wants to give props to Cheryl for nailing the routine. She could tell that Jack was out of his comfort zone, but she liked that he went for it. Maks says that he finds it interesting how Jack seems like he's going to have trouble with some of the syncopation but then he just nails it. That's exactly how I felt. I was worried at the beginning of the routine but then he just got it, and it worked somehow. Len loves the commitment, but this routine lacked finesse. Bruno says it was a hard routine for someone who's not used to jazz, which is a totally different technique than ballroom. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, Maks 9, and Bruno 8.
Bill and Emma were at the bottom of the scoreboard last week and yet didn't go home. This week, they have the Argentine tango and cha cha. Emma works with Bill on the rhythm and the musicality, which is what the judges said he lacked. Bill says something I like to hear, which is that he wants to make it through because he's putting out good routines. And then he injures his groin and I don't really want to think about Bill's groin, so let's move on to their cha cha, shall we? Okay, I don't know what in the hell that was. The beginning wasn't bad, and Bill was actually hitting his moves on the beat for once. But then when they were actually supposed to be dancing in hold, he was just running to keep up and he seemed to miss a few moves. The end was just terrible. I don't know if it was the injury or nerves or what, but he seems so dispirited. Usually, even when the dancing is bad, Bill looks like he's having a great time out there, and he doesn't look like he's having fun anymore.
Judges? Maks thinks that Bill is a lot of people's inspiration, but he puts in the hard work and even though there were holes in the cha cha, he's making the attempt. Len congratulates him for always putting an interesting twist on things and calls him the people's champion. Bruno loves the pleasure, laughs, and enjoyment that Bill brings them. Carrie Ann says that she's trying to be nitpicky because it's the semifinals, but Bill's dances just make her smile. Scores: Carrie Ann 7, Len 7, Maks 7, and Bruno 7. Bill and Emma just laugh; they know it was deserved.
Amber and Derek got lower scores last week, and Derek blames it on Amber's knee injuries. She goes to the doctor, who tells her that she's not looking at permanent damage, which gives Amber the confidence to go full out. Derek is really happy with how things go in rehearsals, so let's check out their jazz routine. It's pretty amazing. I'll say this: in all of the seasons that Derek's been on the show, it's always been hard for me to watch his partner instead of him while they are dancing. Derek is so dynamic that he pulls focus, not like Mark does by overdancing, but just by his presence. That's not true with Amber. I have no trouble focusing on her. In fact, she makes it hard to watch Derek. And this routine was full of attitude and sharp movements, and Amber nailed them all.
Judges? Len just points at Amber and tells her to do it again. Bruno thinks Amber is incredible, fierce, and surprising, and they were totally in sync. Carrie Ann says Amber is in a class of her own and compares her dancing to mathematical equations. Maks agrees that it was amazing and intricate, and Amber made it look easy. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, Maks 9, and Bruno 10. Ooh, Maks is going to get shit for that one, but I don't know that it deserved a completely perfect score, so I'm fine with it. Amber sells it even when she makes small mistakes.
Leah and Tony are up first, and in their roll-in package, we learn about Leah's background. Leah's mother moved them to California, and they were very poor, but Leah wanted to be an actress. She had the typical acting ups and downs until she got King of Queens. On the show, she didn't set out to be an inspiration, but she's learned that people like watching someone get better when they sucked at the beginning. Anyway, here's their Argentine tango. This routine is a comeback for Leah. It's everything the judges asked for in terms of attack and commitment to the dance. Her footwork is great and her extension and lines are awesome. Great job.
Judges? Len liked it fine, technique-wise, but he didn't think she acted the character fully. Bruno liked the sensual and intimate mood they created with good lines, even with a few glitches. Carrie Ann notes how far has Leah has come in this competition, and she lacks confidence which makes her movements smaller. She wants Leah to go "balls to the wall" if she comes back. Leah agrees with that assessment. Maks thinks Leah is what this competition needs, but she needs to go into that gear. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, Maks 8, and Bruno 9. Leah has a fake smile glued to her face. You can tell she's not happy with those scores, but maybe she's more angry at herself, because they were deserved. Come on, Leah! In the words of Tyra Banks, we were all rooting for you!
Corbin grew up in Brooklyn, and was an entertainer from the day he was born. He got accepted into Stanford but also booked High School Musical at the same time, and we know which path he took. Now, Corbin and Karina have the rumba. It's pretty much perfect. I don't know why Corbin's dancing so often leaves me cold, though. I loved his jazz routine but everything else has been technically amazing, but doesn’t excite me. Maybe I have a problem, because there was not one flaw in that rumba that I could see.
Judges? Bruno couldn't believe the quality of movement and emotion. I love watching Maks listen to Bruno talking. Carrie Ann can't believe how well Corbin controls his body and she was transported to another world. Maks says that Corbin has a huge advantage in that he's dancing with one of the top five female dancers of all time. Karina has to give Maks a kiss for that. I seriously almost teared up when he said that, because I know they had a rough breakup and things were not good with them for a while. I might be overly invested in the lives of the pros. Anyway, Maks loved it, and so did Len. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, Maks 10, and Bruno 10. They are thrilled.
Jack grew up in England but moved to LA when he was twelve. Then his family did a reality show. And Jack started drinking and doing drugs to fit in and numb himself, but it got out of control and he overdosed. So he went to rehab and hasn't looked back. He started a television company, met and married his wife, and had a baby. And then he got diagnosed with MS. He had a pity party for a few days and then decided to just live with it and move on as best he could. He and Cheryl have the Argentine tango. Wow. Jack is really amazing. His musicality is astounding and he does not miss a step here. He almost looked like a different person during this routine.
Judges? Carrie Ann says that Jack is an inspiration but she's judging his dancing and not his story, but his dancing was great. Maks gives basically the same speech and Tom laughs that Maks and Carrie Ann are sharing a brain. Len thinks Jack is back, because this was so much better than his first routine. Bruno can only say that he wants to kiss Jack. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9, Maks 9, and Bruno 10.
Bill says that he had a normal childhood, and then went to college and discovered girls and beer. He started standup in 1978 and started drinking a lot. Too much, and he realized that he had to get it under control for his family. Then a bunch of his friends come on and talk about what a great guy Bill is. Bill and Emma also have the Argentine tango. It's an uncharacteristically serious routine for Bill, but he pulls it off. It's mostly Emma dancing around while Bill stands there and supports her, to be sure, but it was better than his first routine.
Judges? Maks loved both the musical interpretation and the physical interpretation, and he tells Bill he gave great emotion and character. Len doesn't know if Bill has the skill to win, but he has the will to win. Bruno thought it had tons of content. Carrie Ann loved that it was more serious, and he didn't miss a beat. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, Maks 8, and Bruno 8. I like that they didn't give Bill a pass for not really doing any dancing, even though what he did was good.
Amber grew up in LA, and chose singing over dancing. She started going on auditions at fifteen, where casting directors told her she was too dark-skinned and fat, and her hair was too kinky. She also got turned down by American Idol, but then she got Glee. And then a bunch of her friends talk about how awesome she is. Amber and Derek have the Viennese waltz. Her movements are beautiful and graceful, but I feel like Amber often gets a pass for her posture because she's so charismatic.
Judges? Len thought there was fire in the performance, and he liked all the technique. Bruno says she danced like an angel. Carrie Ann loves how she interprets both the music and the movement. Maks says that Amber has the best partner at getting the win, and all she has to do is dance like she just did, because it was amazing. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, Maks 10, and Bruno 10. Wow. I didn't think it was perfect, but what do I know?
So here are the scores after both dances:
Amber and Derek: 39 + 40 = 79
Corbin and Karina: 35 + 40 = 75
Jack and Cheryl: 33 + 38 = 71
Leah and Tony: 32 + 33 = 65
Bill and Emma: 28 + 32 = 60
Tom and Brooke announce that the three couples definitely going to the finals are Corbin and Karina, Amber and Derek, and Jack and Cheryl. Jack is adorably excited about this. So the last two to hear are Bill and Emma and Leah and Tony, who are not necessarily the bottom two. And which one is going home? Leah and Tony, of course. That means Bill make the finals. This shit has got to stop. The camera goes nuts for a minute and we see Bill sobbing in Emma's arms. Leah thanks Tony especially, and her family and fans for supporting her. Tony says he's never looked forward to practices as much as he did this season. Aw, Leah's daughter is crying. We get a sendoff clip package, which we haven't seen in a while. I will miss Leah's pokerface during judging. On to the finals!