Well, I was just outside of Paris, but I’m back in the Yew Ess Aay now.
Honey - Yes, that’s it, thank you. (I don’t even remember what he did…)
Heather Mills is out. Not too much of a surprise, since she was in the weakest position of the remaining contestants. At least she was able to have a not-terrible number as her parting dance. And I’ll say it again, some of the things she was able to do with an artificial leg were incredible. Great run, insipiration to the handicapped everywhere, now known as something other than a golddigger. Can’t be too disappointed in that.
First, spot the celebrity: Mario, Cheech Marin, Alfonso Ribiera, and the entire cast of 90210 (except Gabrielle Carteris, who was on last week. Don’t they like her?)
Second, questionable song choices: Fox trotting to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” was going to win until the opening notes of John and Edyta’s rumba and I thought “They have to dance to Ice Ice Baby?” not that “Under Pressure” was that much better.
Leila & Maks: Their quickstep was great. I liked it better than their samba (which was also good, but not as much fun as the quickstep).
John & Edyta: She danced around him again. And in the rumba, he looked like Cliff Claven trying to seduce someone… it didn’t work.
Apolo & Julianne: Have I mentioned that they’re cute? I liked their mambo a lot, but I agreed with Len that the Fox Trot was merely good - not great.
Ian & Cheryl: He’s just really, really, really, really stiff. It kind of worked in the tango. And when he got a little looser it didn’t look good.
Billy Ray & Karina: wow. They’re horrible. Either he has no strengths or she can’t find the one that might be there, somewhere.
Joey & Kym: They looked great. They overcame the horrible song choice in the first dance. Their jive was happy and fun and looked like a jive. And just great.
I love this show.
Laila looked lovely last night. I don’t know if she’s lost weight, but she didn’t seem nearly as, um, thick as she has in the past. She moved so lightly on her feet that it looked like she was gliding. Loved her hair, loved her makeup. And I like how she can put Maks in his place during rehearsals. (“Don’t start with the bad analogies.”)
John really feels the music, but his weight and age really work against him, especially juxtaposed against Edyta’s choreography, which glaringly highlights the difference in their abilities.
Ian - Joey: “I try not to take it too seriously, because if I did, I’d be…Ian.” Yup, he nailed it on the head. He’s too earnest. He needs to let go and feel the music and try to connect with his partner and the audience. I agree that his second dance was better than the first.
Apolo - I love watching him and Julianne dance. They are just so young and fresh.
Joey looked less like a lumbering bear last night with his tails. I enjoy watching him dance.
Billy Ray - He has so much less natural ability than the remaining competitors, including John, yet…I do look forward to seeing him. It’s kind of like watching the first few seconds of a skit on Saturday Night Live: You don’t know whether it’s going to be good or bad, but you just hope nobody humiliates himself.
Oh, and who peed in Len’s dixie cup?
Rating from best to worst:
- Leila Ali - She owned this night. Still think the only-one-woman-left thing has been grossly overplayed, but she definitely showed why you want at least one around. Everything clicked for her tonight.
- Joey Fatone - Every week, he seems to pull something different out of the hat. He was fantastic and remains one of the few consistently entertaining contestnts this show has had. Still consider him the odds-on favorite.
- Apolo Ohno - Remaining solidly in the Show position.
- Ian Zeiring - Still cruising along. The second dance was definitely better than the first. At this stage he may be hampered by physical ability more than anything.
- John Ratzenberger - The slow burn continues. Show clear difficulty just keeping up.
- Billy Ray Cyrus - Completely mailed in the waltz, and, with his DWTS life on the line, followed with mediocrity. Actually, my opinion of him has changed. It’s not that he doesn’t want to do this anymore, it’s just that he’s unwilling to make the effort to look good. He’s constantly frustrated and angry, but he doesn’t want to be seen as a quitter either. So he’s in there grinding it out. Given how unimportant this contest in, I really have to wonder whether that’s more inspiring or pathetic.
I have a feeling this could be Cyrus’ week. Propping him up when he has the second-worst score and with 8 votes per phone is one thing; keeping him going with the worst score and only 5 votes could be a hopeless cause. I hope he does, because I want him to go when he’s just starting to break down, rather than when he’s become a full-blown mess (8 for Master P, anyone?).
I think she has lost weight. I think Joey has, too and it’s served them both well; they are both moving better. I think they’ll end up the final two and I’ll have a lot of trouble deciding between them, though Joey’s enjoyment of the dances might bump him to the top in the end - you can’t help but have fun watching him have fun.
Right now, I’m seeing them in order of skill as Joey - Leila - Apolo - Ian - John - Billy Ray, which I guess is not exactly an unconventional assessment. Joey’s absolutely fantastic. Maybe he’s so compelling because although he’s clearly in great shape, he doesn’t have a classical dancer’s body and looks deceptively like some beer-drinking mook (which he may in fact be, for all I know. One thing, though, put me off him a bit last night: the flashes of ego he displayed in dissing some the other dancers. Yeah, I know he said it was all in good fun, but it still fell a bit flat. Thing is, he IS way better than most of them.
And I’ll immediately confess to being a complete hypocrite by mentioning how amused I was watching Len and Bruno practically go tumbling over the judges’ podium with their hands around each others necks at a couple of points. If this keeps up, the producers may have to put Carrie-Ann between them.
I have a feeling you’re underestimating the tweener “Hannah Montana” vote. Plus the bizarre fact that there’s at least one woman on the planet who finds him “sexy with a capital s.” shudder
No surprise there, though honestly it makes next week’s show pretty much of a snoozer. I guess the biggest question is who will stand under the red light of doom with B.R.: My guess is Ian.
I think you’re right PunditLisa.
Pretty decent show last night, though I was glad we watched it on DVR Delay so we could skip the recaps, Jimmy Kimmel, and Meatload’s performances.
“Dancecenter” was actually kind of funny, though I was distracted by Kenny Mayne’s dead face.
And commenting on the performance show because I just watched it last night too - Bruno is the man. When Ian did that “mouthwash” move my wife and I looked at each other to see if we both saw that WTF moment. We howled when Bruno pointed it out and described it so perfectly. He nailed Billy Ray’s first performance too (here’s Karina doing this move, here’s Karina doing that move). Genius.
You missed the great jive and sorta-Viennese that the dancers did during his perfomances, though! I think he was a bit ticked that the audience was applauding the dancers during his second song but tough - they were better by far.
I thought it was very funny, and his deadpan schtick really enhances it for me.
5/7 show
I thought Ian’s first dance was better than the second one. I agree with Len that the second one lacked a naturalness about it. Ian is hanging by a thread. If BRC wasn’t so painfully out of his league, he’d go this week.
Wasn’t wowed by Joey this week. His first dance was nice and thought the second was manic. The judges obviously don’t agree with me.
Loved, loved **Apolo and Julianne’s ** first dance. Len has lost his mind. The second one reminded me of Morticia and Gomez dancing.
Billy Ray - he is so earnest, but he just doesn’t feel the rhythm, and he was doomed from Day 1. The second dance was great, for a drunk, bumbling amateur. The first was a trainwreck. It’s definitely his time to go as the criticism is really getting to him.
**Laila ** didn’t wow me on the first dance. I thought it lacked passion. Liked their second dance but thought that Maksim outdanced Laila. As the judges said, why? She’s a great dancer!
Personally, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that BRC will get voted off next, then Ian. What will happen after that will be very interesting because I think they are all fabulous.
From your mouth to God’s ear. Me, I’m not as sure it’s a given – Ian lacks charisma, and he doesn’t have the fan base that BRC does. I’m pretty sure, though, that those two will be the next two to go, in some order – there is just no way in hell BRC can make the finals. Right? Right?
I liked both of Joey’s dances tonight – I thought the waltz was fine. Agree that their Latin dance was a tad frenetic, but his moves were amazingly intricate and precise – I was really impressed.
Didn’t care for Laila’s waltz, but their jive was pretty damn good.
And I’m hoping Apolo sealed a place in the finals tonight – they’ve really done the most consistent dancing of any couple over the course of the season, and they deserve it.
Some goofy-ass music tonight – a tango to Jesse’s Girl? And – serious question – was that really My Darling Clementine there at the end?
I really don’t care much for Apollo, but I knew as he danced it that that was a triple-10 Paso. Like PunditLisa, I thought BRC’s Mambo was much better than his foxtrot (which was cringingly awful), which I guess goes to show that I don’t really understand the Mambo.
Well, we knew all the time it was going to come down to Joey, Leila, and Apollo. At this point it’s a complete toss-up in terms of dancing, although I suspect Joey has the biggest fan base of the three.
What a thrill to see The Champ, and how sad he looked - like Kirk Douglas at the Oscars that one year when he came out in a wheel chair! It’s such a tragedy when illness brings down a previous giant.
And Twicky, it’s so unfair the music they hand out for a lot of these, but most especially for Tangos - way too fast and not at all dramatic.
Right. He’s already been in the bottom 2. And I think his true fans realize that he’s gone as far as he can go in this competition. Bruno can’t sing; Billy Ray can’t dance. There’s no shame for either of them. As Nelly Furtado says, “You either got it, or you don’t.”
Pretty much says it all, I think. Please, audience, show some sense and stop voting for BRC. I too thought his second dance was better than his first, but they simply weren’t good. He’s never been good. Ian’s dead meat as well; he’s just never been able to open up, or get loose, or something.
This whole group,except for Joey, started out at a lower level than the ones I’ve seen previously on the US version of the show, and I’ve been a bit bored with some of the competition, but at this point we have three worthy contenders for the finals, and an entertaining-like-a-car-crash thing going on with the ever-increasing antagonism between judges Len and Bruno.
Out on the dance floor, I’ve generally been leaning towards Joey, but I now think I’ll wait until the final week to make a pick. This particular ep I think Apolo definitely had the best dances of the night, and I haven’t a clue what was different that caused Len to hate the first but love the second. Made no sense that I could see.
In the judge’s competition, I’ve got to hand it the gong to Bruno, who by now seems to be able to effortlessly send Len into a fit of apoplexy, just by showing up.
I loved both of Apolo’s dances, and I don’t understand how, when they don’t choose their music, he’s supposed to dance a slow tango to Jesse’s Girl. Ian still doesn’t have what it takes to draw my eye. I liked Leila’s Jive better than her waltz, and it finally feels like Maks isn’t trying to sabotage her. Joey was good, not stunning. Poor Billy Ray. I can’t say the judges were wrong, but he just is outclassed and shouldn’t be there. He really hasn’t danced yet. He just walks to the music. Somehow I don’t think he gets the concept of dancing. I wonder if a few tap classes would help him. It’s so obviously dancing, instead of ballroom. He needs to come back to Nashville and forget about ballroom.
StG
Billy Ray - Dude, let it go. He called your dance crap. You know you dance like crap. His unending bitching about it was tiresome and embarrassing. He simply has to go, and now. His second dance was worse than the first - he was all over the place, he even screwed up the dress ruffling move that they all do.
I love Julianne and Apolo, but I don’t see how the judges faulted Laila and Max for taking too much time with theatrics at the beginning and failed to do the same for Apolo and Julianne. Both of Apolo’s dances were awesome, but I thought they stumbled a little with Julianne’s slide, and I was surprised that they didn’t get marked down for that.
I’m still not clear who chooses the music, but the very worst selection I’ve seen since I’ve been watching is choosing “Imagine” for the rhumba. No wonder it looked stiff, artificial and awkward - they were doing the rhumba to “Imagine.”
I think so. And Julianne nailed both dances. (You cannot be deep and slow and passionate to Jessie’s girl. You can’t. Just not possible. And it looked good. And I’m singing ‘you are lost and gone forever.’ while they were fighting bulls.) Love them. Their Paso was excellent…
Along the same lines, did the song chooser have a really, really bad breakup this year? So far, for rumba music we’ve had “Put Your Records On,” “What’s Going On,” “Cool,” “Under Pressure,” “Imagine,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and “Besame Mucho.” The last one is romantic, but it’s in Spanish - so maybe they didn’t understand the words. The rest do not make me think flirtatious or seductive or romantic or any of the words I’d normally associate with rumba. I’m sure there’s a love song out there that might work - why can’t it be found?
I think Ian might be gone. I don’t think he’ll make the final 3 (Leila/Joey/Apolo - had better be it) - so he might not make the final 4, either. Which is sad, because Billy Ray is so very bad. He was much less bad for his first dance this week - but it all came back for the second.
I think Joey does better with flash - but I didn’t really like his mambo. Maks didn’t choreograph to Leila, but she did pretty well - except her toes were never pointed.