Dancing with the Stars

Last night was the season's ultimate showdown, or so says Tom Bergeron.  The judges were pleased with some of the performances, even awarding the first perfect score of the season.  But other teams didn't show enough passion, enough skill or technique.

Which one of the top 7 will have to say good-bye tonight?  Tonight might be the night when we at last get a surprising elimination.  Stay tuned throughout this whole hour as I provide live thoughts of this Dancing with the Stars results show.

We start with a recap of what happened last night.  And then Len requests to see the big country group dance again.  Ugh, please.  This was the sloppiest dance.  I'd rather have seen almost anything else.

Ooh!  Tom Bergeron says that Dancing with the Stars will be celebrating their 100th episode soon, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Melanie Brown will be back, among others.  I actually can't wait for that.

Ashlee Simpson performs.  Would it be lame if I made a joke about lip-syncing?  Or maybe I can just ask about it rhetorically and not actually make the joke.

A review of last night's leaderboard:
Kristi and Mark - 30
Mario and Karina - 28
Cristian and Cheryl - 27
Marissa and Tony - 26
Jason and Edyta, and Shannon and Derek - 24
Marlee and Fabian - 21

After tabulating millions of audience votes last night and combining them with the judges' score, Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough are the first couple (in no particular order) to be announced safe.  Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez are in the bottom two, and thus, are bathed in the scary red spotlight.

Backstage, Samantha interviews Shannon and Derek (whose face is now adorned with lipstick kisses - they like kissing now, don'cha know?).  They apologize for saying such strong words after their dance last night.  Samantha also interviews Marlee, who promises that she will keep working hard.

Yay!  And now it's time for Riverdance.  I unironically heart Riverdance so much.  I might even pay to watch them perform live, but thankfully tonight, all I have to do is watch Dancing with the Stars.  They just fling their legs around, all without moving their arms!  I'm in awe.


Ballroom Kids Competition

Now, it's the third round of the Ballroom Kids competition.  Tonight features the 13 and under category.  First up are Brandon and Brittany, both age 13.  Brandon wants to show America that they can dance "just as good as old people."  Brittany is deaf in her right ear - wow, amazing.  They dance the cha cha cha  to Steppenwolf tonight.  Wow, they are really good!  So sharp and crisp and with hip action to spare.  Hey, Len says they were sharp and crisp too!  That's what I said!

The next couple are 12-year-olds Austin and Liza.  Austin revels in his outsider status in school, being a ballroom dancer instead of a jock.  Liza is much taller than Austin, so it'll be interesting to see how they dance.  They've got the samba tonight.  They do look a bit oddly matched due to their height difference, but their showmanship is amazing.  Their footwork is insanely fast and accurate.  I think these two are better than the first pair.

And the judges' decision: Carrie Ann and Bruno go for Brandon and Brittany, and Len goes for Austin and Liza.  Doh!  I was wrong, but both young pairs were really good.  At least Len has my back.


And now, back to the regular show.  Two more couples who are safe: Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani, and Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke.  Phew!  This means that Len won't show his bum in a supermarket like he promised he would.

There are only a few minutes left in the show.  The next couples who are safe are Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas, and Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska.  This means that Mario and Karina Smirnoff are joining Marlee and Fabian in the bottom two.

And the couple with the lowest combined total, and therefore leaving right now, are Marlee and Fabian.  That's too bad.  She was truly an inspiration and a pleasure to watch.  She's also kind of hilarious.  I'll miss her.

Next week on Dancing with the Stars, the six remaining couples will be performing and scoring two routines each.  Don't miss it!



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