I think Tristan will definitely be back. Everyone is very clear what he’s dealing with, and he’s managed to get more than halfway through the season, which most people don’t their first season as a pro. He seems like a good guy, and I’d like to see what he could do if partnered with someone who wasn’t a complete uncooperative bitch.
Learning two dances was a problem this week, and it showed.
David was just off his game - maybe not finding his prop threw him. But it wasn’t there.
JR had horrible music for a tango. I think it hurt them.
Nancy, that was horrible. She lost time at the beginning and couldn’t get it back. It was unjivelike and the song is relentless and she just couldn’t keep up.
Rob- my favorite dance of the night. Their music was also horrible, but Cheryl is a good choreographer and it worked.
Derek had not awful music to choreograph to, and it helped. Ricki pulled it off.
Hope was slightly better this week, but not much and not better than the Toy Story dance. If I understand what they mean by “lines” hers aren’t good. It’s obvious she had more fun with the other dancer than with Maks, but I don’t know that it necessarily translated into better dancing so much as less stressed out dancing.
I liked the tango better than the paso, but not for any logical reason - it might be that I just really hate that Evanescence song. David & JR both did better in the team dance than they did in their individual dances. Nancy was way better than in her solo dance. The paso had the better choreographers. But they were a bit out of sync where they should have been in sync. And I really just don’t like that song.
Hope needs to go. It probably should be Nancy, but she’s at least enjoying it (even if she does have weird conspiracy theory ideas about everything). Hope is not.
Nancy’s dance was abysmal. I was embarrassed for her.
Maks was almost abusive to Hope during the group dance. The way he manhandled her was not cool. She is so immature and disrespectful but he needs to not let his temper get the best of him.
Derek is by far the best male pro. His choreography is outstanding.
The results surprised me but I can’t complain because I don’t vote.
The tango Derek did with whoeverthehellthatwas was fantastic.
Bummer about the results – I dared to let my hopes rise when Nancy was in the bottom two.
Nailed it in one. 
Must be psychic or something.
I figured CNN’s fan base would carry Nancy & Tristan for one bad dance. It was obvious to everyone the song wasn’t appropriate for a jive. They got shafted just like J.R. and Karina.
David’s dance was pretty forgettable too. Not bad, but not memorable either.
Sadly, I think we got a Kardashian in the finals and that sucks. I can’t see Nancy beating him. Hope certainly can’t either.
I feel so bad for Hope. She takes her only couple months off from Soccer to represent the sport on dwts. She gets an egotistical a-hole bullying her. Just not right. I admire her for sucking it up and staying silent. It’s not worth the bad press to say anything. She starts Olympics practice in the next few weeks anyhow. If she makes the dwts finals there will probably be a huge conflict with her training schedules.
Hope starts training even earlier than I first thought. I guess she’ll bring Maks to Phoenix and train for dwts while she gets ready for this Soccer Match.
I’m surprised she didn’t ask to leave this week instead of having David eliminated. She’s going to have an insanely difficult schedule. I seriously doubt she’ll get very good scores on her two dances next week. She’ll have to leave training camp to appear on dwts Mon & Tues.
http://www.soccernation.com/pia-sundhages-uswnt-training-camp-players-cms-1912
Just some thoughts on the results show because I’m already posting here way more than I thought I would:
Re. Justin Bieber: I think I get it now. He’s an act. A showman. A stage presence. He has about as much credence as a singer as Eddie Murphy. That’s why he pulls in huge bucks for concerts but has something like three original albums and couldn’t get on a radio station to save his life. He’s meant to be SEEN, with the bright lights and dancers and costumes and sparkly jewelry. The problem, quite simply, is that he simply does not have a strong singing voice. It’s unremarkable and tentative and hardly has any range. I barely heard him during the first song, and he looked like he was really struggling in the second (getting left completely in the dust by Boyz II Men couldn’t have helped his self-esteem any).
I’ve seen it happen lots of times. Martika, Tiffany, EMF, Sarina Paris, heck, even Sinead O’Connor, all done in simply because they couldn’t do enough. It is sometimes possible for a limited singer to have success, but only if they can do something else. Play the guitar, do comedy, do ventriloquism, act, something. A pure singer needs to be a great singer. Otherwise there’s no future.
Re. the ballerina: Okay, look, it’s fantastic that she’s alive; anyone with a shred of a soul should be happy for that. But she just didn’t look that good. Decent, passable, nothing special. She looked a shade awkward in some of her movements, and this is an art form where grace and fluidity are paramount. And do we really need more friggin’ glurge on this show? I mean, if you gotta do it, show me someone who overcame tremendous adversity to rise to greatness, like Lance Armstrong, J.K. Rowling, or Michael Moore. I’m not interested in an average dancer who survived brain cancer so she could continue being an average dancer.
Re. the elimination: Well, crap (and the audience sounded like they really did not like it at all), but this season has sunk so low that I was half expecting it. It’s like nobody even cares anymore. Why do the producers want to prop up Derek Hough? Shouldn’t a professional of his caliber be insulted at this? Why doesn’t Hope Solo gracefully withdraw, especially now that she has the perfect out? Why isn’t there a “save” here like in American Idol, especially since there’s so much less at stake? Who knows.
David Arquette is no fool. He knew that he’d be getting a few weeks in the spotlight, a whole lot of exercise, and not much else. This “shocking” elimination isn’t going to hurt him. He’ll be fine.
Man, if we’re still allowed to use the term “shark jump”, this season is it in spades. I can’t remember a time any reality show was so unhappy and angry and bitter and grim, so completely devoid of enjoyment, fun, or humor. I think we’re going to be looking at a MAJOR overhaul once it’s over. Otherwise finding more contestants willing to be a part of this is going to be a monumental challenge.
(Just as a reminder: Yes, I’m only watching this because the people I live with are watching it. Yes, I am very grateful to have DVR.)
I think most of these shows, including American Idol, DWTS, Survivor, would do themselves a big favor by taking sabbaticals. But I don’t think that this season has been particularly joyless. I actually much prefer watching someone like David grow as a dancer vs. watching a bunch of semi-pros blow everyone else out of the ballpark.
I do think that the dynamics between the students and teachers has changed for the worse. Nancy and Hope, especially, are insulting and dismissive of the professionals who are supposed to teach them. Whatever repair to her image that Nancy had accomplished by putting herself in a vulnerable position, has been diminished by her bitchiness to Tristan. I realize that on her show, she highlights murderers and kidnappers, but her dance coach doesn’t deserve her derision. This week, after a most innocuous comment, she accused him, “Are you trying to say I’m no fun?”
Huh? I so wish he would have said, “Exhibit A.”
Hope was riding high on the USA women’s World Cup run, and she’s a beautiful woman. But, gawd, her personality is grating. It’s weird to see such an elegant looking woman with the personality of a spoiled teenager. And I’m quite shocked that more people voted to save her than David.
And then we have David. Once again, I’m left wondering if he hasn’t gone back on drugs. He’s gone from being sober, both literally and figuratively, to hyper and over-the-top giggly. Quite a personality change. Oh, and the catty part of me wishes he’d have been paired with with Karina, who could out-smolder a bonfire, instead of Kym, who aside from having a killer body, is really not very attractive, IMO. I mean, if your ex-wife is going to show up for every dance…
Ricki had the best dance this week, and has consistently danced better than the vast majority every week. How are they propping him up? He’s far and away the best choreographer of inexperienced dancers that they have.
In essence, he did. After she lets him have the camera back, he looks stunned for a beat, and then says something like “how fun was that?”
It is a travesty that David went before Hope and Nancy, but (a) he wasn’t going to win, or probably make the finals, anyway. All these reality competition shows generate a lot of sound and fury over the difference between 5th and 8th place, but generally get #1 pretty right. and (b) just repeat to yourself “it’s just a show, and I should really just relax.” As Tom Bergeron (the only voice of sanity on this show) keeps reminding people, “have you seen our trophy?”
I think you overestimate the producers’ willingness to change a formula that has made them millions and millions of dollars. And it’s nothing new on this show for competent dancers to be sent home ahead of clearly inferior dancers.
I think you SEVERELY underestimate the desire of these C-list celebrities to grab a place in the spotlight, if only for a few weeks. I’ll bet they have a list a mile long of has-beens and never-quite-beens who are clamoring to be on the show, no matter what this season looks like.
We’re going from five to four this week.
Please, God, send Nancy Grace home.
kthxbai
I happened upon that woman’s show the other night and the way she’s promoting herself on it is ridiculous. She had Chaz and Lacy on for part of the show and before every commercial a clip was played of her dancing on the DWTS. There’s also a strip at the bottom of the screen all the time (except when she’s showing clips of herself dancing :rolleyes:) to alert viewers that her winnings go to a children’s charity and listing the number to call to vote for her. Essentially her show has become one big promotion to keep her on DWTS. People don’t like ringers but this is a lot more unfair than that. I wonder how many other contestants could have stayed on indefinitely if only they had their own TV show which they could use to promote themselves relentlessly for five hours a week.
Sorry, I’d still rather see her in the semi-finals than Hope.
Uggghhh…Nancy’s tango was tragic. That was week one material.
The judges made sure Nancy was in the bottom. She deserved the same 9’s Hope and Rob got.
The quickstep is flashier and more fun. Of course it’s going to score higher than a prune face tango. The whole attitude of tango is dour and stern.
Insta Dance !!! Coming up.
Wow, Nancy’s jive was a complete freaking mess. Len, honey, you sourpuss you – you’re right. It’s time for her to go home.
Those were mercy 7s.
Rob’s jive was way over scored. Those flicks were tenative and sloppy. You can’t blame the insta dance for that. That’s just piss poor technique. I thought even 7’s would be high. There was little energy in the dance.
Wow, Bruno and Carrie Ann gave Hope the same score as Rob for her jive? It was head and shoulders better than Rob’s. Len was right with the 9. That’s the most raw energy I’ve seen in a jive all season. Hope is a powerhouse. She had no problem keeping up with Maks tonight.
I guess 8’s are the baseline for the insta jive unless your name is Nancy.
Ricki was a little better than Rob. But, I still prefer Hope’s. I guess 8’s were ok if Rob had been given 7’s.
Nancy’s flicks were just as timid and weak as Rob’s. Except she got slammed by the judges. Rob should have gotten the same scores as Nancy.
J.R. Homerun!!! Holy crap. That was good. You’d swear they had prepared all week to that song.
Well, the judges made sure everyone knows exactly who to send home this week. Makes me more determined than ever to vote for Nancy.
J.R. was clearly on fire. Hope had her best week in this season. Ricki is still breathing on J.R.'s heels. I just don’t see that much difference in Rob and Nancy. They are both bottom of the pack this week.
Overall one of this seasons better episodes.
Seems like every season the dances get noticeably better in week 8. Everybody did a good job on the regular dances. Almost a shame that the insta jive is getting all the attention.
<shallow question> Does Hope have implants? There was no boob bounce at all in that quickstep. My first thought was silicon doesn’t bounce. But, I wouldn’t expect an athlete like Hope to care about fake boobs.
Ok, back to dancing. 
It’s going to be fun seeing who wins this thing. Ricki or J.R. I’m thinking the freestyle will be the decider. That worries me because Derek is the best choreographer on the show.
Unusual lack of commentary for a Tuesday morning…