Dancing with the Stars, Spring 2010

Cafe Society
181

Louis’s choreography can be amazing (though I don’t think he’s well paired with Niecy). The final 30 seconds of Team Madonna looked like him. I think that team also suffered from the song choice and the 25-year-old costuming. It made them feel more geriatric than the Gaga song.

Ochocinco’s costume was ridiculous, though he did a better dance than in previous weeks. Pam looked like she was being dragged around during her dance rather than led, and I didn’t think she got the character at all. Nicole & Derek don’t connect (and I didn’t like her use of her aunt). Also, I don’t want to see the stars fight with their dancers. I’d rather see them do ridiculous things like “to get into the mood for Quickstep, we went to Omaha, because Fred Astaire was born there. Petting the Mutual of Omaha lion really taught us about the strength & grace we’d need during tonight’s dance.” The fighting is just dull.

182

I agree amarinth - I’m so done with the fighting.

Oy!'s link to Maks’s quickstep reminded me of how nice the show packages used to be. I really don’t like the direction they have taken this time.

183

I agree about not liking the backstage melodrama but the “we needed a break so we…” routine is my least favorite part of the show. It always begins with a dance pro so obviously reading off a cue card that it stands out like a sore thumb.

184

Okay, with this:

you win the thread. The whole thread. For the whole season. Shit, for the entire history of the show.

185

I don’t need ridiculous. I just want to get the impression that they’re enjoying this. All this crying and grumbling and pouting over a meaningless competition is so…emo. (Whoo, there’s a word I don’t use too often!) Although saying stuff like they went to Paris or did an impromptu search for the Holy Grail or whatever would be nice, mainly to show that they’re not taking this at all seriously.

[spoiler]Aaaaand, Pamela Anderson is outta there.

I never thought she was that great, but she was easy on the eyes and looked like she was genuinely trying. Do not like the fact that Niecy and Chad are both still in this. I swear, if either of them wins, I am done with this show forever.[/spoiler]

186

[spoiler]Pamela Anderson is gone.

She never whined, and she conducted herself with dignity and grace throughout her time on the show. Never thought I’d say or think this about Pamela Lee Anderson, but she was about as classy as you get on this show: worked hard, never complained, never cried, never stooped to tacky emotional appeals to get votes.

She obviously had no dance experience, but a good amount of natural flexibility and athleticism. She was exactly what we claim we want to see on the show: someone who is physically capable of it learning to ballroom dance from scratch.

I wish her well.[/spoiler]

187

Hear, hear to Oy!'s comments.

188

I’m sad Pam is gone - I would rather have had Chad go - but I do appreciate that he has improved. I love Niecy outside of *DWTS *- but I don’t think she should be in the final 3. I’m starting to like Erin more and Maks less so that makes it a draw for me. I don’t want Nicole to win - maybe I just hate the pretty ones. Evan is someone I could support winning - he’s really starting to grow on me.

189

I think Pamela was the right person to go. Her “being in character” was getting really, really old.

190

I agree completely, Oy!

I’m really sad to see her go. She was easily my favorite celeb of the season, seemed the most in the spirit of things, and a much better dancer than Chad or Niecy.

191

I am 1000% in agreement with Oy!. I will miss her, and I would much rather have lost Chad or even Niecy.

192

Okay, you know what, the heck with it. I’m calling it for Evan right now. Heck, I probably could have two weeks ago.

For all the personalities and styles and contrasts, the truth is that there only a tiny percentage of entrants have any chance of winning this, and surprises are vanishingly rare. We can rule out Niecy right away; her physical limitations will be her undoing no matter how rabid the VFTW contingent gets. Sportscasters do not have a fan following on this show, even if they are doing very good, so Erin is out. Chad’s been astonishingly lucky getting this far, but he just doesn’t have the skills to get over the final hump (he does have an excellent chance of making the final).

Nicole, sad to say, is the type that garners all kinds of scorn for no good reason (I know from painful experience what that’s like), and with the three least important opinions overwhelmingly in her favor, the fan backlash will reach tidal wave proportions come the final. And of course, it’s just a lot harder for a woman to win than a man, for various reasons (not the least of which is the demographics for ballroom dancing).

Evan has had a great attitude all throughout, he hasn’t had a single lousy routine, and, most importantly, his extremely busy schedule isn’t wearing on him. He’s the only contestant this season with no weaknesses. Add the overall positive support figure skaters get, and we could be looking at a blowout.

193

I haven’t seen or heard anyone scorn Nicole. Yes, she was in a bubblegum pop band, but so were Drew Lachey, Mel “Scary Spice”, Joey Fattione (sp?) and that other dude from 'nSync with really blue eyes whose name escapes me – all were treated fairly on the show, IMO. And by that, I mean they were judged on their dancing ability.

If you’re talking about her being sexy, Pamela Anderson is much more overtly sexual than Nicole, but I honestly don’t think that being a “sexpot” helped or hurt her. IMO she, Chad, and Niecy were all on the same level in terms of dancing ability and any one of them could have been voted off with just cause. (On the other hand, being overtly sexy may be hurting Erin because Maks is forever taking off his shirt, and that clearly ticks off some people, like Len.)

IMO, the only criticism I have for Nicole is not even directed at her, but the producers. And that is that she’s obviously had dance training before. And when you have near professionals, like Evan and her, competing with true amateurs like Ochocinco and Pamela Anderson…well, it kind of makes the whole competition a tad silly. If they’re going to do that, they should give handicaps.

194

Boy, was that futuristic tango by the guest dancers cool or what?

Gave all my votes to Erin tonight – she needs 'em the most, we gotta get rid of Niecy or Chad, don’t much care which.

Why is the voting open till tomorrow morning this week?

195

I don’t care for the futuristic dances. The robot moves with silver costumes has been done to death. Combine that with several Pasodoble’s and this was an off week for me. The Pasodoble is my least favorite dance on DWTS. I just can’t get into it.

There were some nice moments. Evan and Anna’s first dance was a great effort. Evan sure struggles with intimacy. It might be easier if Anna wasn’t married. Erins leap was cool. Did she land crotch first in Maks face? Lucky guy.

Time for Niecy to go. She tries really hard. But finals are coming and she’s not a dancer.

196

I thought I heard Bergeron say that the exhibition futuristic tango got the dancers disqualified when they performed it in competition in 2006, but I don’t know enough about the rules to see why. Not enough tango-like steps maybe, but I don’t know. I did find it more than a bit cliche’d.

Meanwhile Chad and Niecy showed me nothing that would lead me to believe either of them deserve to be in the semis, much less the finals. OTOH, I thought Erin’s Argentine tango was her best dance yet, although the '80s rumba fell a little flat.

Didn’t care much for either of Evan’s dances tonight; the futuristic cha cha was interesting but didn’t suit the dance all that well, IMO. I’ll admit that I thought Anna was smokin’ hot in that 5th Element outfit.

And though having such a ringer for a partner doesn’t hurt at all, Derek’s a fricken’ genius for making anything remotely plausible out of something as off the wall as a '50s Paso. Jeez, make it harder, guys, next season give him an 18th-century quickstep or something.

197

For starters, the futuristic “tango” was in fact a futuristic quickstep. It took me most of the dance to figure that out. But as soon as I saw it, I knew where Derek had gotten the inspiration for his futuristic paso last season.

Chad and Niecy are both out of their league and don’t belong in the semi-finals, let alone the finals. I guess if I had to choose one worse than the other, it would be Niecy, but only by a hair’s breadth.

Erin’s tango was good, but there was at least one major mess up, and it certainly didn’t deserve the ten that Len gave it. Her rumba was very jerky, just alternating between poses, which, admittedly, are lovely. At least Max mostly kept his clothes on for both dances.

I found Len’s reaction to Evan’s cha-cha puzzling. Evan did exactly what he was choreographed to do, and did it perfectly. The choreograpy was a bit derivative, but what else are you going to do with something that’s supposed to be futuristic? I imagine the robot theme will continue so long as the show continues with the decades idea.

Nicole continues to be the most skilled, but the foxtrot was overly stage-y - not as bad as the quickstep earlier in the season, but too gimicky for my taste. The paso was an incredibly difficult routine, flawlessly executed, but, like so many of Nicole’s dances this season, I just plain didn’t like it. Apparently she contributes a lot to the choreography, and I guess I just don’t care for her style, because I’ve always liked Derek’s choreography in previous seasons.

Once again, this has just been an awful season. There are the two at the top who are so good, and then no one else who comes close, Erin’s ten last night notwithstanding. The judges obviously grade on a curve; they would have torn Nicole to pieces had she danced either of Erin’s dances the way Erin danced them.

Some seasons engage me emotionally. This hasn’t been one of them, except for negative emotions.

198

I hope Niecy and Louis don’t try Erins jump. :wink: Louis Van Amstel is so tiny next to Niecy. I’m not sure even Maks could catch her.

They really should have partnered Niecy with someone bigger. Chad’s the same way. Cheryl is too tiny to dance with him.

199

Indeed. And Bruno, that’s “Leeloo,” not “Barbarella.”

200

Yes! I was thinking this too. It makes the lines bad and makes him look like he’s stooping.