I call "bullsh@t".

Allowing the ACTUAL Muppets into someone's routine is unfairly guaranteeing them free votes.

What was the song that Natalie danced to?
Thanks!

Oh god, someone ANYONE, please make Samantha stop!

Loved Mya and Dmitri's jive. Thought Aaron & Karina were overscored. I want Donnie to go away, but he's actually good, so I'm afraid he won't :-(

Still finding Louie and Chelsie adorable.

I say Tom or Kathy goes tomorrow.

The range of scores tonight (at least in the beginning) was ridiculous. The majority fell between 19 and 21. So it all comes down to fanbase, meaning that IMO we'll be most likely saying goodbye to Chuck... and therefore Anna. Boo! :( Maybe Kathy and Tony will go instead. I have nothing against Kathy, I just want to keep Anna around.

Tom might have scored in the bottom with Kathy, but I think he probably does have a number of people who will be rooting for him, plus Cheryl is one of the more popular pros. IMO the bottom two (the show won't reveal it, though, I think) will be Chuck and Kathy.

Not to mention Aaron and Karina were ridiculously overscored. His posture was terrible. No way did he deserve straight 9s.

And the band. They slaughtered songs EVEN worse tonight than usual. It was almost physically painful at times listening to it.

I'm surprised Karina pulled a page from Julianne's book and it actually worked!

The range of scores tonight was kind of ridiculous, but I love how everyone basically decided to have a party in Len's absence.

She's got a real talent for actually making her routines NOT seem stody and old. Its hard to make this stuff young sometimes, but she does.

So Dmitry has become Mark?! That whole routine and especially that costume felt very Mark.

Pretty mediocre night all around, though I do appreciate that the judges scored accordingly instead of throwing out pity 7s and 8s. It did kind of feel like they were just lumping most of them in the middle. It's okay to use the 5 guys.

I can't remember who the couples were but the first 3 or 4 couples down the stairs tonight were total WTF on the costume front. I was very confused as to why Aaron Carter looked like a Muppet and then I saw his routine with the actual Muppets and it all made sense. (Is ABC doing some kind of cross-promotion here?)

Kathy and Tony had the slowest quickstep I've ever seen. For a minute, I thought it was a waltz, but the time signature was wrong.

Natalie and Louie once again were such a breath of fresh air. They are a joy to watch and really have serious potential. Aaronn and Karina still look way too wild and they just don't connect for me. MJH and Mark were snoreworthy. Kathy is a lost cause and I feel bad for her and Tony. Baz was nice but quite uneven in his comments. One second he would focus on backstory and fun then the next he's calling people out on their footwork.

Sorry, no way did Louie deserve a 19 and Debi mazar gets a 21.

You would think they would at least try and hide that Mya is a ringer.

Also call bullshit on the muppets.

It is starts and ends with the following: The Muppet Show is considered quickstep music? REALLY SHOW?! (Eh, I got to see Animal and Gonzo so I'm geeking out but COME ON.)

No major movement in most of the scores and those were scored really high didn't warrant them. But I did enjoy Bruno and Carrie Ann's "Grampy Len isn't here so free for all!" moments tonight.

I liked Aaron's routine well enough, but I agree allowing the actual Muppets into the number is a bit unfair.

I hate to say it, but I don't think Tom is all that bad. I don't think he'll last long and I think his foot was in far more pain than he was letting on, but I've seen way worse on that floor.

I need to get over last season, but I'm still a bit underwhelmed by these dancers. I didn't like the shorter numbers because just as they were getting going they were over.

Kelly, who is one of the personalities I like the best, choked. Most people were just meh. I'm not anti ringer and I'm glad Mya was there in terms of we need a good female dancer, but I can't bring myself to root for her at all.

Just too many dancers. I'm hoping Kathy goes. I'd rather keep Tom an extra week over her.

Who else thinks that Animal was singing "Roxanne" instead of the guy from the band? I couldn't stop laughing during that number.

Ha, I know, right? It was like they all said, "Okay, Len's not gonna be here this week -- quick, bust out the cheesy gimmicks and choreography while we still can!"

Poor Tony. He's so unlucky with this show. Other than the first season, he's drawn the "tall" end of the stick. It would be nice if Maks, Tony and Jonathan could get the cute, little ones for once. I'm so happy to see Louis back and I think he's doing terrifically with Kelly. She's so charming and real. My vote goes to them for the moment. None of the others have grabbed me enough to pick up the phone.

Aaron Carter: Magically Delicious! (now with more marshmallows) I'm sorry, but between his face and that green suit, all I could think was "Leprechaun".

I thought Karina was supposed to be one of Gonzo's chickens?!?



I thought it was Grover, actually. ;)

Dmitri's performance was very Mark. He's also following Mark's tendency to put his partner in something unflattering. I loved Mya's dress, but the wig and the updo from last week make Mya look so old. I loved her hair in the rehersal clips.

Oh, Mark, those Minnie Mouse costumes-why? I love that Mark can really get his partners to let go, but I don't think MJH has any natural talent at all ,sadly.

There was a lot of green tonight.

Aaron and Don continue to irk me by being good. Stop it!

Chelsie must be like 4 feet tall! Louie is short and she is still wearing like 5 inch heels. Tom has one error at the end and they ding him more then Kelly's multiple ones. They should have been equal. I liked Aaron's routine, but thought the Iron Chef guy was just as good, it not better.

To each their own, but Kathy at least has always seemed like a nice, warm admirable human being, whereas Tom is kind of a slimy worm.

Dancing-wise? Its hard to say. They're both kind of a wash. In the case of an approximate tie in (in)ability, I have to go with the other stuff.

And its not like Debi or Melissa are all that much better (despite what tonight's scoring would suggest).

I had no idea Baz Luhrmann was so hot!

I love Mark, but I tensed up when I saw that he'd decided to dress himself and MJH like Daisy Duke. I got Julianne flashbacks with that gimmick. This is so early and he's pulling this? I'm not connecting to Melissa at all, I feel a wall of ice around her and her dancing seems very stiff.

I wish Natalie had done a little better at the quickstep, but I did think she did well for the first time in that dance. She had some great moments at times. I liked the rehearsal footage where she and Alec kept laughing -- I can't remember the last time I remember Alec laughing.

I'm glad Anna decided to do what made Chuck feel comfortable. I thought their tango was inventive, not perfect but entertaining, and as Anna said, perfect for a week without Len!

I'm worried about Chuck/Anna and Natalie/Alec in votes.

Good God, what the hell was up with the costumes tonight?!

And, of course, Disney/ABC has to rub our faces in the fact that they now own The Muppets lock, stock and barrel. (Booooo!)

Kym's choreography was very clever.

Maybe I was seeing things, but at times it seemed as if Louie, Michael and Tom were actually leading at times instead of being back-led. (Yeah, I was probably seeing things.)

Kathy Ireland is a very large woman, isn't she?

Will someone please tell Samantha to look in the mirror before she takes the stage. That dress tonight was unbearable! She should take some lessons from the hostess on So You Think You can Dance.

Heh.

And another unfair advantage for Aaron. HIS song was pre-recorded (you could tell since the character voices were in the song). So fans at home suffered less than with the "live" band songs. That could lead to extra votes too!!!

I wasn't really basing it on personality or individual politics. Kathy is just sort of there as a personality, so it's no real incentive to keep her over Tom. But completely in regards to the dancing, I think Tom is the better dancer. That said, I'm not exactly going to be heartbroken if Tom goes.

I felt really bad for Tony tonight when they were getting on his case about their hold being SOOOOOO far apart, and he was all "I know... I tried..." I'm sensing she's more like Trista than I'd originally thought. Shoot, even Donny forces himself (as if it's that difficult) to be close to Kym.

And Maks... I tell ya... if anyone EVER yelled in my face the way he did with Debi, he'd get a lot more than a fake slap on the cheek.

Why didn't they show the fighters practice?

Right after someone makes Samantha take those "how to speak in full sentences" classes, right? She babbled inanely a record number of times tonight, I think.

I fell bad for Kelly tonight. She just got lost and I hope she relaxes next week and gets back into it. But jeepers the same score they gave Louie and Chelsea? C'mon!

And the muppets were freaking ridiculous and I can't believe Karina/Aaron got so ridiculously overscored.

Lots of meh tonight for me.

Is anyone else having trouble voting online in Canada? You have to enter your postal code now, but it just says "invalid".

Are Canadians not allowed to vote online anymore?

So am I. Anna hasn't made it past Week 2 since her first season, and it would awful to lose her right after Jonathan. I love Natalie so much and she's definitely got the goods to be amazing, but I worry about her being in the middle of the pack. I wish Alec would add some flash to future routines.

That's what I thought too. I don't think it was for Tony's lack of trying, so I'm not sure why he was being taken to task as if he didn't want to get too close to Kathy. I think it was all her.

I agree the costumes were awful tonight. Minnie Mouse, Mark? Really.

They did. Maybe that's when you took a potty break? lol

Louie and Chelsie were so underscored. What is going on? And Aaron with the muppets, and some of the costume choices were just bizarre. Donny needs to go away. He is annoying.

I do get that. But since I personally saw their dancing as about equally bad, that's when I fall back on that stuff. If he was truly dancing better, then yeah.

Then again, charm IS part of their performance. And Kathy has always had a kind of dorky/clumsy but beautiful charm. And Tom's charm? Kind of non-existent.

Was the fighters practice before the commercial break? I didn't see it after the commercial.

Missed a chunk of the show due to weather knocking the channel off the air, but of what I did see - ugh.

Hated the Mickey/Minnie outfits and the dance.

Aaron Carter really rubbed me the wrong way in his rehearsal clip - done with him.

Kelly, oh Kelly. I just love her so. Booboos, but she still looked so graceful. I really think the girl could be very good at ballroom. I hope she keeps taking lessons after the show.

Louie - Love the little cutie. That actually looked fun to me. He's this season's Ty.

Kathy Ireland has no natural rhythm at all. None.

Joanna Whatever seems like a B****. I don't care how she dances, I'd never give her a vote.

Delay - Click. I'll watch him as he gets hauled off to jail.

Mya - I've never been a fan of the ringers, so she's another one who wouldn't get a vote from me.

Everybody else - Meh. Not a great episode.

Anyone else think Louie has a slight crush on his partner?

Majorly. She did a wonderful job of choreography this week, and he executed it fairly well.

But apparently she hasn't paid her "dues" to the show yet, so she doesn't get scoring bonus points from Bruno and Carrie Ann, or free "Muppets" in the background to get jillions of free fan votes.

A lot of the costumes were bad tonight. Really though, does anyone ever expect Mark/Partner's costumes not to be WTF?

Natalie and Cheryl both had gorgeous dresses though imo.

I was thoroughly bored tonight. If not for Natalie/Alec, I wouldn't be watching. Speaking of them, I initially thought their score for their Quickstep was very fair. But, after seeing the other dances and the way they were scored, that 21 looked to be a slight underscoring.

Baz Luhrmann was a big disappointment. I thought he'd be more critical, but he loved everyone. The judging sucked tonight.

Len should just judge by himself.

I think Louie does seem to have a slight crush on his partner and his partner doesn't seem at all put off by it if so, she is a tomboy and their temperments are very in sync, so is their humor and taste. They may be the Romeo and Juliet of ballroom - unable to unite because she's a practicing Mormon and he's an adorable yet (reputedly) stoner snow boarder, but they sure click together.

Very sorry Kelly had an off night but she's still right in there with the entire other 12-14 lot of them except for Mya and Aaron and maybe one other (I sort of checked out before Donny danced). I feel as if the show hasn't even begun - it kind of reminds me of Emmitt's season when early eliminees such as Willa Ford or Viveca Fox had early turns at the top of the leaderboard while others toiled in the middle. Only right now the "middle" is the entire cast save for the early front runners. The "lower" paddles phase this season is so artificial - I won't be sucked in. I've seen enough seasons where we're all, oh thank God, realistic paddles! then at some point they get unbelieveably promiscuous with the 9's and 10's no matter what hot mess is on the dance floor because it's that time during the run where the scores are supposed to be high. Maybe throw in a crushing low score for somebody at random just for drama, but this is just a lot of 'for show' IMO.

As for tonight I really enjoyed Natalie and Louie although not so much with Louie's oversized jacket. He's got more rhythm in him than I thought - he needs to just link it all up, not do it in segments. She's lovely. I'm glad the sub judge pointed out she did loosen up during the dance and relax her shoulders and upper body.

How much did I enjoy that Aaron has more temperment and diva in him than Karina ever dreamed and she can't even get warmed up before he's all "Girl! Don't even GO there! You don't want to SEE me if you go there, okay?" The muppets were overkill and it was a bit wild, and the reliable boyband showmanship is paying off (Joey Mac, Drew Lachey, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass) however, unlike all except Drew, Aaron is actually buckling down and pretty much learning the technique. It was a bit wild but he's got a real frame and he's keeping his core up and his head up and he's not all tip toe-y let's do ballroom a la hip hop. I appreciate it. In some ways I think he's a more astute performer than Karina. She did some fun choreography - I liked how one sequence ended with double back arcs, and I also liked the part where they separated and stretched their arms out. The costumes were not as heinous as I'd expected.

I need Len back - the show just mystifies without him.

I watched online on a live feed, but yes, I do believe the practice was before the commercial break.

I hated Chuck, Melissa and Joanna. I can't figure why the judges were so excited over them. Michael, however, was much improved. I'm not an Anna D. fan though. Tom, get off my tv. There are too many dancers!!! They should eliminate 2 again tomorrow night.

Samantha? Your seamstress called. She's sorry she didn't get a chance to finish the dress. Maybe next week.

Loved me some Donny again this week!!!

I never thought I would say this, but Donny Osmond is a really fun dancer to watch.

I honestly never considered the fact that Debi Mazar might have tear ducts or could ever have her feelings hurt. I really didn't. She's fierce and I love her, though. I'll just keep reminding myself of Regina, the terrible St. Bernard breeder. That's the Debi I grew up loving.

In related news, I had no idea Maks was a such a douche until this season. This makes me sad. : (

Not until this season have I really noticed how f-ed up the judging is. As a pro I would be soooooo annoyed, it's like you work so hard and most of the time it barely matters.

I LOVED that Mya and Dmitry came out of their shell tonight! I really liked the humor Dmitry added, even if it was a little Mark-ish. They seem to be getting along really well too. It's a new side of him that I really like. But then again, I like all sides of him if you know what I mean, he he.

Aaron = yuck. And can I just say that, although yes it was a big flashy number and very fun, I'm sorry Karina, I don't think you're playing this right. Aaron's target voting block is probably under 20 (I can say as someone in my mid-20s who barely knows who he is and doesn't care), yet how popular were the muppets for that age group? I think it was just a little too old and not the best point of reference, for me at least.

I wish I had DVR to fast forward through Donny, but the mute button and looking away while vomiting in my mouth will just have to do.

Maks was a serious a-hole. Just yelling 'left' at her? How the hell is she supposed to know what that means? What a jerk.

I expected bad and it was. I got not only let's have fun because Len is gone this week but just survive from the pros. Some pros who do not tend to be tricks or gimmicky even went in that direction probably because Len was gone and it was easier for their celeb. The quality was mediocre and expected if you saddle two dances for the first week. Louie was cute but Chelsie really did not give Louie enough this week IMO and I never thought I would say that about her. He has talent and she could have given him more.

Mark, really? Minnie Mouse was your muse? MJH was a bit uncomfortable to watch. But didn't help that Mark yet again outdanced her. That and I feel like I have seen that jive like five times already from him. But MJH is popular and not going anywhere. Natalie better not fall to the bottom because Natalie and Kelly are my top 2 this season.

With the way the scoring was going, I figured they would get straight 8s. My husband and I were both floored by the 9s. No way did it deserve 9s and neither did Donny deserve one 9, let alone two 8s. DWTS-Austria did a quickstep to the Muppet show and I liked it and they did not need actual muppets either. Besides, Aaron reminded me too much of a leprechaun.

Joanna and Kym both had these awful hair extensions. Yuck! Worse than those hair extensions? The horrible rendition of Roxanne by the band and who knew White Stripes could write a tango song? [/sarcasm] Anna T., though looked fabulous.

Was it really pre-recorded? I don't think so. I was thinking that the Muppets sing that song much better than the band does. I didn't hear any characters' voices, and I'm a total Muppet geek. I did hear a couple of things that sounded like someone trying to sound like the Muppets and failing.

But as much as I love the Muppets, I still didn't vote for Aaron. I thought he did well, but it didn't blow me away. Definitely overscored.

I couldn't even concentrate on the dance during that hideous version of Roxanne. I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or throw up.

He's not a great dancer, but I think Chuck is adorable in a scary sort of way. I know he's not too long for the show, but I hope he sticks around a little longer.