Welcome to week 5 of Dancing with the Stars.  The eight remaining teams performed the samba or the rumba last night, but it ended up being a pretty dull performance show, despite the potential for sexiness in these two Latin styles.  Hopefully, tonight's Dancing with the Stars results show will up the entertainment quotient from last night.

Currently Priscilla is in the bottom with only 21 points, but she's not that far behind Marlee, who has 22, and Cristian and Shannon, who each have 23.  By my calculations, Priscilla only needs 0.5 percent more votes than Marlee, or 1 percent more votes than either Cristian or Shannon to stay in the game.  She certainly has a lot of fans, but did they vote for her last night?  Stick around to find out; I'll be here writing my live thoughts during the whole hour.

Live!  From Hollywood!  This is Dancing with the Stars!

As usual, we start with a recap of what happened last night, but I won't describe what happens.  You can just read my recap of the top 8 performance show.

After the recap, Len Goodman selects Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas to encore their sexy rumba.  God, I loved this dance last night - it was really the only one I liked, and I'm so glad I get to see it again.

After the break, Samantha Harris interviews Shannon Elizabeth and Marlee Matlin backstage on their disappointing performances last night.  Shannon says that she had a really difficult routine last night, but she did it better than in rehearsal.  Marlee threatens to strangle Samantha and/or Tom if she gets eliminated.

Ozomatli performs a Latin number with most of the professional dancing cast accompanying.

Now, for the first saves.  The first couple definitely continuing on to the next round are Kristi and Mark.  Not that anyone was surprised.  Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke are revealed to be in the bottom two.  Ruh roh!

Next is my favorite segment on the Dancing with the Stars results show that they've introduced this season: the ballroom kids competition.  In the 10 and under division, the first young couple performing tonight are Dimitriy and Michelle, both 10 years old.  They do a jive tonight, and they are so cute.  They are so much better than the celebrities, I think.  These kids are preternaturally precocious, which I usually find creepy, but I like Dimitriy and Michelle.  The judges compliment them in that condescending way in which adults talk to children.

The next young couple are Jaryd and Cara.  Jaryd also likes hip hop dancing and Cara is hilarious practicing her facial expressions in the mirror.  They do the cha cha cha tonight, and man, they've got some hip action.  Shannon Elizabeth should take notes.  They are really snappy in their turns and extensions.  Cute!  Cara is only eight years old - woah!  Geez, what was I doing when I was eight?  Um, playing with Star Wars action figures and holed up in the library reading books, I think.  It's hard to remember.

Carrie Ann votes for Michelle and Dimitriy but the other judges vote for Jaryd and Cara, so the latter will be returning again.

Oops!  Tom Bergeron has a teleprompter snafu.  Awkward!  Hee!  He screws up an intro to some footage of how the stars cope with the stresses of the competition.  While the ladies are in makeup, Jason teaches Cristian how to throw a football.  Marissa tries to relax in her trailer, but Tony keeps banging on the wall.  Wow, Mario is in great shape - he lifts weights to ease his stress.  Derek, that young cutie, sings and plays the guitar for Shannon.

Okay, another couple who is safe, in no particular order: Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska.  They are my picks to win it all, so they better be safe, yo!

There are only 15 minutes left in the episode, which is like an eternity on a results show.  So instead of getting to business with who is eliminated, we instead of a performance of "Carry You Home" by James Blunt.  For an Englishman, he has pretty nice teeth.

Two more couples who are safe: Mario and Karina Smirnoff, and Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani.

Finally, with only three minutes remaining, we get down to business.  The next couples to be safe are Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough, and Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez.  This means that Priscilla Presley and Louis van Amstel must join Cristian and Cheryl in the bottom two.  Cue bad joke from Tom Bergeron, and then the scary music.  The couple who must leave the stage in shame are Priscilla and Louis.  Priscilla must now go back into the cocoon of privacy that she is accustomed to.



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)