I finally started voting this week, so I could save Jerry and George and hopefully keep Master Pathetic off my screen next week.

I don't like Lisa but she danced great tonight.

Stacey, not so much. Judges please stop drooling over her and just score woodja?

Jerry didn't look that great but I want to keep around, so I voted mostly for Jerry and George, and a few for Tia and Drew.

I don't like Giselle for some reason. I think it's because she reminds me of Rita Moreno and I get really tired of the I'M A LATINA shouting. Jeez, no shit, we get it already okay.

Loving Tom Bergeron. Don't much care for Samantha but she doesn't bug like Lisa did.

I'm pretty sure that for a minute, they thought she was Tatum...lol

Wow--just, WOW.

Was it just me, or did anyone else get transported back in time to a Buenos Aires dance hall circa 1920 with each Tango? BIG props to whoever picked the music for finally getting it right after a season and a half of mostly dreck! Just please, someone--tell me that Tom was only joking about the pros doing a Paso Doble dance-off to the theme from "Rocky." It was bad enough being subjected to that horror last season; do we REALLY have to go there again? Please, for the love of humanity--if you're going to have the pros do a Paso Doble dance-off, either have them do it to the traditional music of "España Caní," or don't have them do it at all!

Drew and Lisa--best Jives, hands down. In listening to Lisa and watching her tonight, I finally put my finger on what her real problem has heretofore been: She's simply been trying too hard. I knew that the Jive would be a natural fit for her with her bubbly and energetic personality. I also knew that once she learned to relax and just have fun, she'd rock--and she did! As for Drew, what can I say? The man is a dancer's dancer, period.

Jerry, unfortunately, really was lacking. The judges were right; there was not a lot of the energy that the Jive requires, and his footwork was really very sloppy. I think that being in the bottom two may actually be a blessing in disguise, since Master P's fan base--all twenty of them--may not be as ready to vote for one "brutha" at the expense of the other one.

Best Tango: Tia, George, and Giselle, in that order. Carrie Ann was right about Stacy--zero expression up until the last 20 seconds of the dance. Tia and Max really brought the Suxy! this time, and it's the first time I've actually seen it this season. Well done, Tia and Max!

As for George, I know he doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning this thing--the Samba and Viennese Waltz will unfortunately destroy him--but I am totally in love with him. I had no idea that he's actually half-Hispanic; that finally explains the industrial-strength tan on him! By the way, I agree with what the judges were saying about his Tango; there was too much open footwork, which is strictly forbidden in the International version of the Tango that everyone was supposed to be doing. If not for that, I think George and Edyta probably would have scored some 9s.

Now, then, Master P (I really can't bring myself to call him Pathetic any more after his evident attitude adjustment.) My biggest shock was not that he played the Johnny Fairplay "sick/dead grandmother" card; rather, it was the way that Len and Bruno-- and particulary Len--made it clear just how much they hate him. I'm not disagreeing with Len in the slightest, and I fully realize that his patience with Master P ran out long before anyone else's did, but I really didn't expect him to channel Simon Cowell to quite that degree in his critique. I fear that that may backfire, and people may vote for Master P to stay simply because they feel that Len has gone too far.

All in all, however, a great night!

Drew and Stacy 27 each
Tia - 26
Giselle; George; Lisa - 22 each
Jerry - 19
P - 14

I think the judges are infatuated with Stacy. Her dance didn't deserve more points than Tia's. Although I will admit, she actually danced this week, as opposed to spending most of the time posing.

I'm so sick of hearing that song for every Paso for every dance competition on the planet. There actually are other Pasos out there, it used to be a popular social dance in Spain in the 1920's. For the love of Terpsichore, could someone please find and start using some of them? I know they're out there, I've seen CDs full of them.

It would have been interesting for them to have made the Paso the group dance, rather than the Viennese Waltz. That way they could play "Espana Cani" once, for everyone, so everyone would get the same song and so we wouldn't have to hear it over and Over and OVER again.

I'm amazed that Master P actually tried this time. I can't imagine him doing any of the remaining dances, though, so he'd better go to put us out of his misery.

Len was that brutal to Evander too. "It's time for you to go" or something like that.

I think it's rather amusing that a dance that is supposed to be between a "gaucho" and a lady of the night gets rapped for being too Argentinian.

I must have missed it, but does anyone know why "no lifts" were (supposedly) not allowed tonight?

Also, did the stars have a choice of what dance to do tonight? I thought on the last two shows the guys did one type of dance and the girls did another.

They have always had the "no lifts" rule during the regular competition. They mentioned it on the first show last year.

They do allow lifts during the "freestyle" dance in the finals.

I don't think the stars had the choice of dance. I think the producers did the choosing. Hence, Stacy doing the tango where she could pose a little more. They did the exact same thing last year. Rachel and John did Tango while Kelly, Evander, and Joey did the Jive.

I disagree. I did enjoy last season's 'Eye of the Tiger' Paso (not only because I love the hell out of that cheesy-ass song). It was nice to hear something different, and the timing is right. Ashly choreographed the hell out of that one. I'm looking forward to the 'Rocky' theme Paso.

As far as I understand barkley, the international standard Tango is more closed hold than Argentine, which is a social ballroom dance. Honestly, none of the dances look the same as they do socially.

The ABC boards are all 'outraged' *eyeroll* about Len's comments to P, but quite frankly, bitch had it coming. Len's never minced words, and he was tired of P 20 seconds into his Cha Cha two weeks ago. He doesn't seem to be swayed by celebrity like Carrie Ann or leggy blondeness like Bruno...he cares about the dancing. If it sucks, it sucks, and he's going to say it sucks. Makes him my favourite judge. Besides, if anyone thinks Len is harsh they'd better come and meet my Grade 4 ballet teacher, Mrs. Decle. That woman would make you cry daily, but you'd better believe she turned you into a hell of a dancer. Len is cute and cuddly compared to her.

*Sigh* I wish I got PBS so I could see the pros do this stuff for real. This show only satisfies in the way that rice and beans satisfies hunger when I was jonesing for steak.

I wish they had told them in ADVANCE there was no lifts... stupid.

ETA1: Well if the rule was there, why did they allow it for the past two weeks?

And I, too, loved Joey and Ashly's Paso... that was the best dance ever that night!

~~~~~
Well, I LOVED tonight's show! I have always loved watching the Tango, so to see the great performances made me happy!

THE JIVE: (ranking)

1) Drew and Cheryl were a JOY to watch. Loved the choreography and DAMN if Cheryl isn't a good teacher and dancer. I especially loved their connection. They are my favorites.

2) Lisa and Louis were awesome as well. So glad to see Lisa do well! Great relation to one another and just fun to watch. HATED the hair this week though.

3) Jerry and Anna- I have a crush on Jerry, he is SUCH a nice guy. But he didn't do as good a job I had hoped he would, but they will continue. Anna is too cute! Love their playfulness with each other.

THE TANGO: (ranking)

1) Tia and Maksim... WHOA! THAT was SEXY! And I think they are the "romance" couple for me like Alec and Kelly (Max CLEARLY has a crush). I loved the nod in the music to her "True Lies" tango- perfect. Len is really getting on my nerves with his nit-picking because if it was to be standard, then make it a rule. Enough of this "too Latin/Argentinian (sp) shit. I just loved this dance and THIS is the dance that Stacey and Tony claimed to have, the "should we be watching this?" intimacy. I would vote for her just to make sure she stays!

2) Giselle and Jonathan were also fantastic. I loved their moves and felt, like Tia and Max, that this was like watching ballroom exhibition dancing. Enjoyed it a lot (and I am thinking Jonathan has a piece too! That hair is awful).

3)Stacey and Tony- I think they were harsh on her because I appreciated she actually DANCED! I also think she thought she was showing intense emotion, but I can see where the judges would think otherwise because she REALLY kicked it up near the end. Loved the choking; they worked well together and deserved their score.

4) Geroge and Edyta- I just love George! I loved him going to BH and rallying his "peeps"! Loved him in rehearsal and on the floor. Great showmanship, even if his was the weaker dance. Edyta is too damn HOT! How she held her leg up like that? Much respect!

BOTTOM OVERALL:

Master P and Ashly- I liked that they got along this week and he danced for her. I appreciated the effort, but like Len and Bruno (who FINALLY kept it reall), it is time for him to go home. Seriously.

Tonight was a great show and I felt like I was watching a special on PBS... great job by the pros!

ETA2: Love Tom but Samantha and her voice...? Liked the dress this week.

I also liked that Tia downplayed the mother card by saying others have it hard than she does. I REALLY want her to stay.

ETA3: FINALLY appropriate music! ICAM.

I feel as if you scratch 'Bruno Tonioli' you'll get Brian Gessler from Buttfuck, Idaho. I dunno why, I've just always gotten that 'fake!' vibe from him. He's just way way over the top.

I missed Jerry & Anna; my favorites of the remaining seven [from the top]:

Tops

Tia & Maksim: I'm so happy for Tia. She's gone from underdog to damn!

Lisa & Louis: Hella fun to watch.

Drew & Cheryl: I just realized it's Drew La- shay. And all along I've been thinking it's Drew Latch-ee. He was cute to watch, but the dance looked a little lax to me. Cheryl was so sharp and crisp that I was very aware the whole time that Drew was an amateur.

The Middle

Giselle & Jonathon: Giselle has always seemed like she's trying too hard to me. The Type-A behavior probably helps backstage and in practice, but it should be invisible on stage. Tonight she seemed more relaxed than the other weeks.

Stacy & Tony: I thought her posing was graceful in the rhumba, and that she earned her tens. Tonight it bugged. The posing seemed to interupt the flow, and the dance only came alive at the end.

The Bottom

George & Edyta: The mugging isn't working for me. I don't feel it.

P & Ashly: Last week was easy. He didn't try, and my hate flowed. Tonight was just sad and kind of painful to watch. Please America, send him home. It will only get worse.

We'll have to agree to disagree here. The reason that I am a stickler for traditional Paso Doble music is that the Paso Doble has its roots in the BULLfight, not the PRIZEfight--the man is the matador and the lady is his cape; they are not supposed to be Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed duking it out. Joey and Ashly's Paso to "Eye of the Tiger" completely destroyed the romance, passion and spirit of the dance and its imagery of the matador and his cape by turning it into a grotesque parody of a boxing match instead.

On the other hand, even that song (as cringeworthy a choice as I find it to be) was better than one that the Dutch version of the show, in one of its rare misfires, used for one of the Paso Dobles: Ravel's Bolero. Now, THAT was a real disaster!

legaleagle44- I understand and can see your point. I just enjoyed what Ashly did with the limitations of the song.

I get it now. You associate the song with the movie. I don't. I've never even watched the movie. I like the song. Therefore, the song exists in a vacuum for me that has nothing to do with boxing, bullfighting...anything. It can be used for whatever, and I'm cool.

Ballroom tango is a different dance than Argentinean tango. That's why Tia and Maksim got rapped for it. Argentinian is closed hold, but it's a different closed hold than Ballroom. The contestants do know what type they're dancing. Maksim and Tia didn't do an Argentinian tango, but they incorporated elements from Argentinian and it REALLY jumped out.

I thought Stacy was great tonight in a very ballroom tango. I know a lot more about Argentine than ballroom, but it looked like they were doing a lot of difficult moves. They weren't simply stalking--they used different (and to my eye difficult) moves when they crossed. I also thought Stacy did a good job with expression. She took a character and maintained it, and I thought the disdainful expression was appropriate for the story of their tango.

Drew continues to rock. I loved his jive, and I'm not a jive fan. I don't know enough about the dance to critique his technique, but he's got great charisma. Definitely a performer!

The Australian version has had several 'unconventional' Paso Doble songs - we had 'Eye of the Tiger' too, we also had 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Phantom of the Opera'. We had three people dancing to what I assume was 'Espana Cani' (although one had the beginning of the '2001: A Space Odyssey' at the beginning), one to 'Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood', and one to 'Malaguena'. The ones done to 'Espana Cani', 'Malaguena' and 'Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' all looked right (although some of the dancing left a lot to be desired), the others really didn't.

Lisa had a score of 25.

How on Earth did you remember all that, FireMayBurn? Im impressed.

As someone who has actually seen the measuring take place (seared into my memory), I'll tell you. Outer leg, hip to heel.

I think I might've made up for 'em. After George snapped his hat at the camera to finish the dance, I couldn't NOT vote for him!!!

I checked out the website. And I have them all on tape.

For me, it was the way his eyes lingered up and down her face when she was speaking that clued me in. Definitely hot.

Loved Stacy and Tony's tango. The vibe I got from Stacy's expression was "man is she pissed" which was just right for the song.

Drew is amazing!!! I never thought I'd ever ever say that. It was a bit uncomfortable when they cut from him snuggling up to Cheryl to pregnant Lea looking on.

Harry Hamlin looked like he was going to shed a tear during the judges' comments. I thought that was sweet, but could Louis look any more like him. Last week I think I was in denial, but today no way. He was so excited after they did so well in the Jive though. I hated him last season, but I think I may have misjudged him based on Trista (a cold fish--indeed).

Drew really is amazing! To me (someone outside the dance world) the most impressive and difficult-looking dances are the ones with a lot of fast footwork and he never misses a beat!

Can someone with a little ballroom expertise explain to me the difference between the 'proper' tango that Len commended Jonathan and Giselle on (who may be my favorites) and the Argentinian tango he was accusing everyone else of? I thought the tango was an Argentinian dance.

Jerry- was good but not good enough. That said, I will be crushed if he goes.

Giselle-I forgot that she was even on it when discussing last night with co-worker this morning. I like her ok, but she was so stiff.

Stacy- I don't see all the hoo-ha over her. She has good carriage, but so what? She completely messed up her steps. I can't believe no one noticed it. Go back and watch when they do the little step over each other's feet thing from the corner of the floor out to the middle. Completely messed up.

Drew-Awesome. He nails it every week. But really uncomfortable with his hugging all over Cheryl.

George- He is funny. But he still creeps me out. Did you see him rubbing his hand up and down Edyta's cut-out in her dress? Ew.

Lisa- best dance she has had. Really awesome. But do something about that lip, girl.

Tia- best dance of that night, IMO. She rocked. But did anyone else think something was wrong with her? They didn't show her backstage at all and then she was really winded and didn't look all together there after her dance.

P- Go home. Glad you tried for Ashly. But you suck.

That was endearing. Glad to see his sweetie get props.


Judges: These judges piss me off more than Master P ever has. Their voting sucks. The vote range per performance is usually 2 voting 'ties' and 1 judge scoring 1 point higher or lower. They hated on Master P for 3 weeks but until this week there was virtually no difference between his scores and the next 2 or 3 lowest. And has been mentioned several times, there's no relation between the judges' comments and their votes. I fairly despise them all.

For the judges votes, I propose that they give their comments at the end of the dance, but cannot cast their votes until all competitors have danced the same dance (in early stages) or all dances are completed in later stages, and then they must cast them in order: if Carrie Ann thinks the Tango was in this order: Tia, George, Stacy; then she must score Tia at least one point higher than George, and George at least one higher than Stacy. Likewise, of course, for Len and Bruno. Before the show's end, the cumulative scores would be shown for each performer.

Lastly:
Fine to critique dancing, effort and even attitude. Heck, I don't care if they give the dancers a 1 or 2 score if they sucked. But comments like "it's TIME for you to GO" are wrong, expecially when you hold a VOTE PADDLE to make your feelings clear. Master P took that with grace, bless him.

My votes went to Jerry (protection votes, not a good performance); Lisa (rocked that jive); Drew (speed, looseness, fun, feels the music); and Tia (grace, sexy, feels the music).

They kept commenting on Tia being a new mother last night, and they never have before. Did she just have her baby, like, this week?

I was very pleased when Len said what he did. It is past time for P to go. It was nice that he tried this week, but it was a little too late for me. It wasn't really his dancing that bugged me the first two weeks (though his dancing was awful), it was his attitude. Lack of practice time or not, he didn't seem to give it any effort until last night.

I wished Jerry had done better last night and I hope he doesn't get kicked off yet. My internet vote went to Tia and her partner.

He really is quite charming, and witty. My favorite comment of the entire night was when, after P and Ashly danced, the first words out of his mouth were "HOLY CRAP!!" Funny.
Cute!!!! Took me awhile to get that.
I know! I was steeling myself to hear and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" for the jive and "Margaritaville" for the tango
Her and Angelina Jolie are mine and many of my friends picks for "the ones who could turn us gay."

Is Cheryl Asian? When she is in practice with no makeup she looks about 2/3 Asian. Anyone know??

Watched it over and over 5 times, a record that until now was held by Bo Bice's "Vehicle." Parsleysagemini and I like to call Maksim "Delightfully Cheesy." Reminds me of the piece on Dr Robert Rey on "Dr. 90201." Anyone?
Tia's tango song also appeared in "Scent of a Woman" with Al Pacino, who tangoed with Gabrielle Anwar.

Aw. I cannot stand Lisa, seriously, but I thought she was AWESOME in the Jive last night - really really wished the scores matched the complimentary comments made by the judges. She got robbed. I think her grating personality is costing her. Loved her dance.

Tia blew Stacy AWAY - go TIA! And she was so nice and down to earth in her comments. I really want her to stay. Stacy and Giselle put me to sleep.

I am so sad to not see cute and fiery little Ashly anymore if P goes home. I just sit and stare at her ripping up the floor when they go on.

Thank you so much for clearing this up. The sound on my tv is terrible, and I swore that the judges were saying "No LIPS!" and I'm thinking, really, I hate Lisa's ridiculous lips as much as the next person, but can you really make a rule about banning them?

If you go back and look again, I think you'll see she stayed in character through the bow and that what may have thrown you off. I thought the same thing you did until I looked at the tape and got what was going on.

This? Made my morning. Thank God I wasn't drinking anything or the screen would be covered.

I think the song they were talking about was "Eye of the Tiger" from one of the hundred Rocky's....lol.

A few? If she has lost 20 plus already it was more than a few.


I thought that was pretty cool and it showed she was really into the dance.

Agreed, on all counts.
I'm SO glad to get my fix of Drew each week. I've been a fan of his for quite some time. I even watched "Newlyweds" hoping to catch a glimpse of him now and them. He continues to impress, and I completely agree that he has the "gentle-sexy" vibe down.



He's certainly no John O'Hurley, but that WAS kinda funny.



Yeah I didn't quite understand the "No Lifts" debacle.
Wouldn't you think the rules would be, y'know, explained to them before the competition?

I think the judging is defintiely not what it was last year. IMO, they seem to clearly "have it in" for certain couples, and really want to keep others around (Master P, anyone?)

And, because it bears repeating:

I think Louis looks like that Kid from the Hall, Bruce McCulloch!

Is Lea Lachey preggers? Couldn't tell, but thought she looked it.

Stacy's partner is scary.

Cheryl's mom's family is from the Phillippines. I'm not sure where her mom was born, though. And I have no idea about her dad. They're a good-looking family though, that's for sure.

I read something intresting this morning on the ABC boards (spoilers!!!) Tia to appear on Regis and Kelly this coming Monday. There have been more than just one person who have posted this and have wondered what is going on. I don't know if maybe they just like her and are having her on or if she is the one that get's the boot! Normally the person voted out goes on their show the next day.

Tia pointedly stated that other mothers have much tougher lives [paraphrasing] so her being on the show was no big deal. I thought that was very down-to-earth and cool of her to say. Tia even acknowledged that there were other mothers on the show's crew.

I'll give Lisa and P a pass on their comments. I don't think that either of them mentioned tragic events in their lives to illicit votes. IMO, Lisa was embarrassed by the meltdown in rehearsal and wanted to explain why she was feeling so verklempt. Lisa Rinna appears to be a woman who likes to be in control and maybe having the world see her out of control (if only for a moment) bothered her. SHe and Louis did very well. If she had done poorly and trotted out the dog story she would be suspect.

P just doesn't give a damn enough to trot out his dead auntie for votes.

Of course, OMMV.

Woohoo! I am so happy for a thread about this show. Just got hooked last week. This is SO snarkable, I really wish there were recaps...anyways...

I agree about Master P, I think if he really cared he would suck it up and try a lot harder. I *heart* Ashly (the "A" hat was adorable!) and wish she could stay and P could go.

I am sad about Jerry...he is really cute and good-spirited and I hope he doesn't get voted off tonight.

And a question....was discussing show with my parents and they are of the opinion that Drew has an "edge" over everyone since he had to dance when he was with 98 Degrees (a bit of an assumption since I have never heard one of their songs or even, like, seen them all together...I am from the NKOTB era so boy bands are not really my thing anymore)....yes, I know it's not even remotely similar in style, but still...is it "fair"? Do any of the other contestants have dance experience...?

About that spoiler above... Joey and Ashly appeared on Regis and Kelly while they were still in the competition - when he took her back to Boston. I wouldn't read that much into it.

Jonathan knows the "no lift" rule since he was on the show last year. He probably didn't think what he did was really a "lift". I never think of them that way unless they are lifting above the waist.

They are kind of funny with the whole lifting rule anyway. Most of the couples did lifts of some sort during the VWaltz (JOH hoisted Charlotte to chest height, Alec lifted Kelly at about the waist, and Jonathan had Rachel off her feet).

I just think they don't want anyone getting hurt and the stars trying to outdo each other on the lifts.



Well, I'm from just before the NKOTB era, but from what I gathered, 98 Degrees was not a dancing boy band. Stacy has the most dance experience, with 14 years of training and being a professional cheerleader. George used to dance with the "blue haired ladies" at the Arthur Miller studios in his youth and he once disco danced with Susan St. James in "Love at First Bite". Actors in his age range usually had some kind of dance experience.

The only problem Barkley is why would they have 2 couples from the show on? Also their tv listings say the next voted off from "Dancing with the Stars" Did Tatum show up on the show when she was voted off?

I'm starting to feel the George-love, though he will never replace John O'Hurley's place in my affections. That bit with him trolling for votes was funny. I liked his dancing, too, for the first time.

Tia's tango made me actually pick up the phone to vote
for the first time ever. She and Max were wonderful.

I *third* the request for someone out there to please
tell us the specific differences between a ballroom tango
and an Argentinian tango. One of you brilliant folks
has to know. Anyone? Bueller?

Regis and Kelly are a "Disney" show, so they shill for ABC whenever they can. The contestant in question probably had some kind of previous engagement scheduled so they worked them into the show for publicity.

I'm sticking to the wishful thinking. The internet voting hasn't even closed yet. (noon today).

Was she wearing panties? I was so fixated on catching glimpses of her poonanny that I couldn't tell you whether Jerry Rice was even on the floor.

I noticed that Edyta is growing out the boot black haircolor. She's got that "reverse roots" thing going on.

Yes, Tatum was there, and so was Kenny. They were both on the Monday after being voted off.

They did announce on the show this morning who would be on Monday, but didn't stress why they were on. Joey and Ashley were on while still on the show, but so far this season, its only been contestants who have been voted off. I guess we'll find out tonight....

Okay, I can't believe I just watched Jerry's dance in slow motion staring at Anna's ass to see if she had underwear on.

The answer as far as I can see is... yes. They were flesh colored and riding up a bit, but they were there.