Did anyone catch Joanna actually moving her hips during that Rumba?

I missed Michael's dance, thanks to a meeting. Was it a foxtrot?

I think Aaron needs to take PR lessons from Michael. Aaron is one of the best dancers left, but yuk.

I'm so aggrivated with this season I can't even put it into words.

I just hope Mya wins and this season and we move on with next season.

Threw all of my votes to Mark and Anna T. tonight, mainly for Anna's sake. I didn't think their samba was that bad for all the time they had to do it.

What were Dmitry and Mya thinking with their choreography? As soon as I saw Dmitry moving on his hands and knees, I knew Len was going to bitch about that. Have they just given up on any hope of pleasing our cranky British judge?

Joanna continues to get propped/overscored by the judges, because TPTB are determined to get Derek, aka the Blessed Blond One, into the finals. A 27 for that jerky rumba?

I laughed during Team Paso's rehearsal when Anna came in, everybody clapped, and Michael hastened to clarify: "We're not clapping because Lacey's sick!" because I have to admit that that was the first thought that crossed my mind.

Team Tango bested Team Paso. Didn't see that coming. Note the sarcasm. Yes, Team Tango had one less couple to contend with, but it seemed it like a no brainer that the choreographic team of Louis, Derek and Kym would produce something relatively decent and cohesive. Honestly the Team Paso wasn't horrible, but the choreography didn't seem at all cohesive to me.

I felt bad for Mark, but not enough to toss him any votes. I know it's not his fault, but there's nobody I really want to go home--except maybe Joanna, but she's once again at the top of the leaderboard. Though I honestly wouldn't care if Mya left. I don't get Len's hate for her, but she's just sort of there.

I'm off to the knoll because tonight's scoring has just shoved me firmly into the camp that Len has something personal against Dmitry or Mya or both. A seven for that gorgeous foxtrot was fucking uncalled for. No it wasn't a 10, but it sure as hell wasn't a 7.

ETA:


No, because she had little to no hip action. Every time she dances I want to get out an oil can and squirt her joints. She is so stiff legged it's ridiculous. Apparently Derek spends his free time fellating Len because the overscoring has become nonsensical.

Edited again because 9 and 7 ain't even the same numbers.

It was a Foxtrot, and a very good one at that. Anna D. is fire with the standards.

Boy am I sick of the overscoring of Joanna & Derek. And I think we can safely say Len just doesn't like Mya and/or Dmitry. he has gone past criticizing them for their own good.

The team dances were solid (though neither can hold a candle to last season's Team Tango).

Nice comment by Samantha at the end there: "Blowing Team Paso out of the water!" You do know they're right behind you, don't you, Harris? Somehow, every week, she finds a way to be a little more gauche.



Glad I'm not the only one who found that dance jerky. A couple of moves Joanna did make me think "full-body dry heave."

Nope. But that obviously doesn't stop the judges from kissing her and Derek's ass or scoring them appropriately. I didn't see any revenge scoring from Len for no hips in the freakin' Rumba.

I found tonight sickening on several levels.

1) Joanna/Derek with the special little vignette in their footage, really show? Really?
2) Team Paso was obviously the weaker team in terms of choreographers. Why not give Michael, the weakest dancer left, to Team Tango since they would have been able to handle him better. I mean did Team Paso really need the additional burden?
3) Not only was it obvious that Team Tango was going to get better scores no matter what, they even made Team Paso go first.

I feel as if DWTS is slowly turning into this beast of a show that I no longer find fun or amusing. It's losing it's appeal.

As far as Lacey/Mark, I love how Lacey's sickness wasn't treated anywhere near as importantly as Derek's sickness. Also funny, all the talk about how Mark would do better if he danced with someone else; didn't seem to be true since tonight was so not good. In comparison Joanna had the even less time to work with Maks and did a much better job. It's too bad because now he's going to be in the KO dance and possibly go home. Too bad since he and Lacey were definitely on the rise.

I can't stand Joanna, if she's in the finals it's really going to suck. It is however quite clear that TPTB are going to pull out all the stops in order to try to get her there.

I actually enjoyed both the winning dances of the past two seasons better than this winning tango, but I also think the talent level of the dancers is lower this season than last, so that might have something to do with it.

I don't get Len's issue with Mya this week, but at the same time I still don't care enough about her to get all that worked up about it.

I really have no idea who is going home. I assume Michael, but he's so darn likeable it's hard. Though I would imagine if he ends up in the dance off again the judges will send him home no matter who he is up against.

I do agree the show made a much bigger deal out of Derek's sickness than Lacey's. I don't even care for Lacey, but it did pretty much show that the show doesn't much care if Mark/Lacey leave. When Julianne was out sick a few seasons ago and when Derek was out sick a few weeks ago, the show acted as if they were on their deathbeds.

Nope. Nary a hip was swiveling from my vantage point.

Tonight's scoring was bogus, and Joanna was at the center of that. I don't think her rumba was any better than Shannon Elizabeth's, and all the judges hated that. Also, I am grouchy that Joanna got all kinds of sympathy points the week that Derek was out with the flu, but apparently the judges don't care that Mark was in the same situation.

I thought Kelly was overscored. She had this grim look on her face the whole time during the salsa, and I honestly didn't think it was that much better than the jitterbug last week.

Surprisingly, I think I liked Aaron and Karina's jive the best tonight. But I gave all my votes to Mark.

Well to be fair there were other factors at work there...Len did point out that the samba was the hardest dance to learn. Don't know how Joanna would've coped with that, although I'm sure the judges would have kissed her ass anyway. So I don't think it's necessarily untrue that Mark would do better with another pro.

And didn't Lacey get sick later in the week than Maks did? I thought that Mark and Anna had less time to prepare, because they also probably had to rehearse the KO dance (although Lacey will be able to do it tomorrow, I think) and the team dance. Plus there was all that traveling. Joanna and Maks had the group dance, but that was basically a freebie.

Same here



Indeed. I am beyond disgusted with his personal bias against her. Doesn't matter what she does, nothing ever pleases him. To give some of those over hot messes with "gimmicks" as he likes to call them, higher scores is just ridiculous.

Nope, Mark/Anna had two full days together. IIRC Maks/Joanna had a day and some hours. Not a huge deal but still. Honestly as much as I like Anna T. as a dancer, I don't think she's that great of a teacher. I think that she dances and demonstrates but doesn't really COMMUNICATE what needs to be done well. Personal opinion of course.

Because the world stops turning when Derek isn't on screen. Did we even get an update on how Lacey was doing?

Not looking forward to Ballas/Hough singing tomorrow. I'm going to keep the barf bags at the ready.

This show just ended my SYTYCD versus DWTS scheduling dilemma. Once Lacey/Mark and Dmitry/Mya are gone, so am I. I'm with everyone else who says this season blows. Joanna and Derek propping makes my head explode.

Mark's circumstances seemed worse than Joanna IMO. Mark was in New York and then did not have a female sub to teach him the dance. Then he had the cross country flying and I think Mark had less time than Joanna. Joanna just worked on the AT with Maks while Anna had to work on two dances with Mark. I think like Melissa last season, Mark is not going home. Even if he lands in the bottom 3, the dance off should save him.

Donny has the worst taste. Why do you get back on Kym who has been such a sweetheart with that horrible costume. Kelly is made of win for putting Louis in the fringe pants. Loved seeing her come back tonight dance wise. Team tango in general had a good vibe as it seems the pros and celebs get along fine. Maybe it is experience as Kym and Derek worked together before and Louis has done so much group choreography but by having the pros dance and show the celebs seemed like an organized and simple way to approach the team.

Ha, laughed at this too. No shocker team tango would win with Louis, Kym and Derek. Team paso had weaker choreography but no surprise, they had the drama. I could not help but wonder if Lacey was the source of some of the drama. Though if I were Lacey, I would trust Karina. That hot mess female pro group dance she did and cha cha team dance left much to be desired. Though Karina is a drama queen herself.

While Michael was weak, IMO, the weakest in team paso was Aaron. IMO, both Aaron (wtf, 10s for that jive) and Joanna (the rumba lacked hips) were overscored. More to prop the less popular, less liked personalities because they are better (whether I like them or not) than Mike.

I do not think Len hates Mya. When I saw that foxtrot, I kept thinking why are they barely dancing in hold.

Not saying that I exactly know how the "teams" were chosen, but if you are team "paso doble" and don't pick LvA (the guy who's won championships for this dance and choreographs it for pros) to be on your team, then you've got serious problems. That being said, he and the rest of "team tango" did an excellent job and brought out the best in their partners - they deserved their win.

Joanna’s rumba. Just…what? There were several moments where she looked as if she were having a spasm. And her posture. It was full of ugh.

I gave Mark sympathy votes. Aaron too, because I just kind of like him and his delicate sensibility earnestness now, and his jive was fun.

I agree totally with Len about Mya’s foxtrot. Too many tricks – a few are okay in my opinion, but that was too much. And it was also too hectic. Both I can lay blame for at Dmitry’s feet, and I love Dmitry. He’s just not a ballroom specialist. And I am so feeling the chill coming off of Maya, I really just can’t care for her personality at all.

Kelly needs to dance with more abandon. That’s the only word I can think of to describe what’s missing for me, watching her.

I agree with your whole post spanana. I can usually see what Len means, but then he always scores them especially harshly.

I have no idea who is going home tomorrow. It kinda bugs me that Aaron's dancing is getting so much better, as I his 'issues' have made me really want him to go home. But now that he's improving and working his butt off, and managing not to cry on camera... sigh.

And I'm liking Donny more and more. And while I like Joanna and Derek, I too think it was overscored. And yes, I think TPTB (and perhaps Len) want to see D&J get to the finals.

I thought previously that Michael was going to be the weak link on Team Paso,, but I think it was Mark, and I'm kind of worried that Mark and Lacey do not have enough fanbase between them to give them the sympathy vote. Poor Anna T might get eliminated twice in one season.

And I can't imagine anyone was surprised that Karina, Lacey and Dmitry had problems working together. My favourite team dance is still Season Seven's Paso. Neither team dance tonight really wowed me.

Michael wasn't even the weakest link on Team Paso IMO. I agree that it was Aaron. I thought Aaron did well with the jive, but not the Paso. Besides, I'm not sure if Team Paso wouldn't have even been in worse shape without Michael. At least he seemed to be somewhat of a unifying force backstage.

I'm still liking Donny too. Quickstep wasn't his best dance. Originally I thought perhaps the choreography might have been a bit too ambitious from Kym this week, but if he was also dealing with the flu that could have partly tripped him up. But he seemed like he was trying so damn hard to keep up with Derek and Louis in the Tango, which is an impossible feat for anyone. That and who actually corrects Len by telling him he made more mistakes than the ones Len actually noticed? He's definitely a perfectionist.

Felt sorry for Mark given his week, but that dance was pretty bad. On the other hand, I also thought Joanna's dance was pretty poor ... and she got judges' praise for it. Go figure.

Still not a big fan of Aaron but at least he's got the flailing under control. Wretched song for a jive, but he made the most of it.

I thought both Michael and Kelly were pretty solid tonight and would hate to see them be tomorrow night's dance off. I'd *LOVE* to see Derek/Joanna be in the dance-off ... but I know I'm dreaming there.

Did I hear Rod Stewart, Colbie Caillat and the Ballas/Hough "act" performing tomorrow? Will they even have a dance number with all that?

Aeron jive was awesome but he was the worst in the paso, he was really bad.

Donny was out of sync in the last part of team tango dance.



I agree, Dmitry is not very smart, that foxtrot was so hard and the jump was unnecessary.

The judges are trying to make Joanna in the new Brooke, but she is not that good, and her dress was just like Brooke and Jennie.

I have never been one to buy into any nonsense about ringers or conspiracies, but Len's fucking judging of Mya and Dmitry defies logic. I can see how well she and Dmitry dance, how technically superior they are, and what lovely chemistry they have with each other. And then here comes Len who never critiques them on any actual dancing they do but on something dubious like props or the fucking set. If he is supposed to be the "expert" why the fuck can't he critique the dancing?

But we get no hips, stiff rhumba from the Golden Child and his blow up doll of a partner and Len is fucking cooing and wiggling in his seat. WTF?!

The music for both team dances sucked ass. But that par for the course with most of the music on this show.

I've only watched clips online so haven't yet seen the team dances. Thoroughly charmed by Michael I and Anna's dance. As someone with no football interest/history, I have to say he has a sweet smile and the only one of the bunch to really seem a fish out water. Maybe Joanna, too, but I guess we all know she's doing fine out of water... way for me to push a metaphor. Or a simile. Can you push a simile? Whatever! I'll miss him/them when they're gone.

Ok, Aaron was very good, I thought. Still don't like him (it's personal, fella) and won't vote for him but he was good. I'll say the same about Mya.

Mark D! I thought he was as good as he's ever been and I think he's been horribly underrated if not underscored thus far. I just don't like Lacey's choreography, I guess. It left me a little "eh" and I'll say that also about Donny. He was consistent with his past performances (and DO's "average" performance seem to be 8's but I didn't like this dance this much. I won't say I didn't like the choreography bc I love Kym, but the whole package was just ok for me.

Joanna was beautiful but I always watch Derek when they dance.

Kelly? Love her but nothing to say about her dance. I probably miss her pre-performance reels the most as they weren't with the online clips I found.

Me too! She may not be the best dancer, but she and Louis make this season for me. I think I would have stopped caring a long time ago, if these two weren't on. And I thought she was excellent this week. Glad to see her redeem herself in the group dance as well.

That being said all my sympathy votes towards Mark. It wasn't the best samba, but it certainly wasn't the hot mess the judges were making it out to be. Although I do see him in the dance off, no matter what. His scores were just way too low for him not to be in one of the three jeopardy spots.

Also, Michael designed the best outfit tonight. Anna D. looked stunning! (and she's really growing on me. I guess she just had to get used to the way this crapshoot of a show works).

He's going home f Mya, Aaron, Donny or triple especially Joanna is against him. They've had way more time to prepare their dance off dances and have generally scored higher than he has.

I agree spanana. I figured Michael would be the peace maker and bring his leadership skills to that team. Glad Len commented on that. I agree Michael was not the Susan Lucci of team paso. Watching team paso tonight made me appreciate season seven's team paso more. Whoever is team captain next season, they should look at the pros. Seriously, how can you can pass on Louis Van Amstel?!

I agree and loved that his great eye got praise. Michael and Kelly are making this season now that Natalie is gone. Anna is growing on me too and loved that she was not part of the group paso rehearsal drama.

sab85, You said exactly what bothers me about Joanna's dancing. She lacks fluidity in her limbs and not very flexible. She hits a great line but lacks the fluidity in her movement to carry it through or transition.

I thought Aaron's jive was a bit hectic but mileage varies. But yes, please calm down!

Yes, Dmitry, remember it is DWTS. Both Lacey and Dmitry seem to choreograph more for SYTYCD ballroom than DWTS which is probably what bugs Len. You are an amazing choreographer and the freestyle with Mya will be fantastic but you have to get there first, Dmitry!

Honestly, the kid bugs but I thought Aaron should have gotten a 30 for that jive. That thing was awesome. But calm the f' down man. Also please shave, you are looking more and more like a serial killer.

Over-scored dance of the night: Joanna. I thought straight 8s would have been appropriate. I finally figured out what bugs me about her dancing, she has no fluidity in her limbs, though her core/torso is decent. In the recap I watched for it and though she was (sort-of) moving her hips, she was like flipping her wrist when she extended her arms.

Dmitri, I love you and I know you can choreographed some kick-ass dances. Please do so.

Thank god Micheal Irvin was on that paso team because that practice looked like a clusterfuck otherwise. And honestly, I felt that he did the best at "selling" the paso. Mya may have been technically good and did a good job keeping up with the female pros but I didn't feel that she sold the feeling of the paso at all.

Team Tango did well as expected.

I don't know how much the celebs actually designed the costumes but Micheal gets mad props for whatever he did because his and Anna's costumes were stunning. Even if he only picked the colors they were gorgeous. And snaps to Kelly for putting Louie in those pants.

I think Mya could land in the KO round, as her total combined score was only a 49. That's actually the third lowest score (Michael got a 47 and Mark got a 43), and I think the couples that got better scores than Mya are probably also outstripping her when it comes to fan support -- except for maybe Aaron -- so she's almost certain to land in the bottom three, IMO.

Mark will probably land there with her, if he doesn't get the lowest score outright and isn't kicked off immediately. Which means he's good as dead anyway. Len may not like Mya, but Bruno and Carrie Ann certainly do.

The Anna/Mark samba was crazy and seemed to go on forever but given their limited time, I wasn't surprised. I also knew that my being so happy to have her back might jinx her (yes, it's all about me!). I still voted for them, because they only had 48 hours.

Joanna is too dreary to hate, but I'm tired of the propping. She is a blow-up doll for Derek and I get nothing from her. What will their freestyle dance be? Derek drives her to her dream house? Derek snaps off her Barbie legs?

Michael has won me over with his endearing personality. I still don't have a great opinion of Anna but that was a nice foxtrot. Michael probably deserves to go but at least he has had a lot of good attitude.

Aaron's jive was good, but his face scares me, particularly when he has a beard. He and Karina remind me more and more of very demented Muppets. Maybe that's why they danced with them last month.

Kelly, I like you, but way to lose votes with tantrums! And if you don't want to be called beige, then don't go with a tapioca hair color! She seemed very hesitant, again, although she loosened up partway through.

She's built like a stick, she doesn't have any hips. so, um, no I didn't see her hips move.

I loved team Tango, they were just so fun, plus they had less drama then Team Paso.

I voted for Mark and Kelly, I love how they try so hard.

I didn't want to like Aaron's Jive, but it seemed like it could have been a pro Jive, it was that fast.

This? Is Hilarious. Aaron with a beard? He looked like he didn't wash his face. And it's hard for me to believe that Karina is 31. Girlfriend looks super rough this season, both with and without make up.

Thank you. I'm no ballroom expert, but I was under the assumption that foxtrot has a majority of it (like over half) in hold, with those side-by-side moves thrown in sporatically. Mya's seemed just the opposite. I don't understand Dmitry... he got slammed for doing that in week 1, and here we are in week 7 and the same story. Like others have said, I don't really care for Mya so I certainly am not going to get mad about it. But everyone with a brain knows that if Mya was paired with their Golden Boy Derek that she would get 30s every week, whether she deserved them or not.

I feel terrible for Mark. That man is a saint and he seriously got hosed moreso than I ever remember a celebrity getting hosed on this show, ever, with that situation. Poor thing. Three partners, three dances... must have been a nightmare for him. But he continued to be his gracious self. I sadly think it is the end of the road for him, which is a true shame.

That said, I don't blame Anna. She appeared on what, Saturday evening? I applaud her for trying and for doing everything she could for Mark in the short amount of time. The weekend they must have had, with group rehersals, blocking a new routine... wow. The whole situation just sucks. I really feel badly for everyone, Mark, Lacey, and Anna.

Donny is still my favorite this season (I'm still in shock myself), and I thought his quickstep was servicable... but could have been better. And WTF was up with Kym's costume? That was really weird, she didn't deserve that.

I enjoy Michael very much (and again with improvement, way to go!). It is really telling when it is a celebrity's job to calm everyone the hell down in a group rehersal when there are 4 pros in the room. That group rehersal footage was very uncomfortable, as I imagine it was for the 4 celebrities that had to take part in the bickering. Compared to the team tango footage, where everyone was relaxed, the pros were in control, and worked together peacefully.

I thought Team Tango was better than Team Paso, but I was expecting that, so no surprise. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Team Paso was not the trainwreck I was expecting. Maybe it's because I'm not really into this season, but the only thing the team dances did was make me miss Brooke, Warren, Ty, Lil' Kim and (especially) Gilles.

I agree that Joanna did not have any hip movement during the rumba, and the judge's bias for her was plain.

I liked Aaron's Jive, but wanted him to cut out the antics.

I thought Donny's posture was off in the Quickstep, but correct me if I'm wrong with that.

Poor Mark, the samba choreography didn't do him any favors, but good lord he tried.

I liked Kelly's salsa, but thought it needed more abandon in the dancing and she needed to have fun with it. I just loved her and Louis tonight though.

Mya's dancing still leaves me cold. I like her as a person, but I just cannot connect with her when she dances. Last season I had a problem connecting with Melissa's dancing, but Mya's leaves me even colder.

I liked Michael tonight. I'm pretty sure he's going home tomorrow, and if he does, I think he will have ended on a high note. He did great in the Team Paso and did a fine foxtrot.

ETA:

Word.

Every time I watch Mya and Dmitry, I'm so confused. I know I'm supposed to like what I see, but most of the time I don't. I find Mya to be cold and distant and disconnected from Dmitry, and their dances are boring as a result. I have no personal knowledge of either one of them (her music isn't my cup of tea, and I think SYTYCD is about as exciting as watching paint dry), so it can't be that I specifically loathe them, yet I find myself agreeing with Len week after week (on most couples, not just M/D)

Tonight in particular, I didn't think their dance resembled a foxtrot, which, given my limited knowledge I could be wrong but in all the Strictly Come Dancing/Ballroom Bootcamp/Ballroom Dance Championships I've ever watched I've never seen the guy crawl around on the floor with the girl on his back. I was waiting for her to holler out "GIDDYUP! YEEHAW HORSIE!"

Something else I don't understand, and this isn't just about Mya & Dmitry...ok, even the most casual observer of this show would be able to figure out after a little while that Len's not a fan of gimmicks/tricks/time-wasting "business". So WHY do the pros continue to choreograph it into their routines and then cry like little girls talking about "What can we do to get Len to LIKE US?!?!?"

I know many of the rehearsal packages are staged but was that Derek "dream" the first time they blatantly had a fake clip? It put me off. The clip was amusing, if too long; Derek was funny. I just feel like they're trying too hard in selling them.

I did enjoy Michael in the team dance rehearsal. Poor Anna, she looked so lost with these egos. And Karina's awful, fried Flashdance hair.

Old Len can sure be a grouchity grouch. Either he hates Mya and Dimitri, or it's a grassy knoll thing where it's his job to keep her fans jumping. They didn't have excessive gimmicks, and Mya was so lovely and gracious in her dancing. She truly looked like a dancer from the Golden Age of musicals. I finally really enjoyed her dance, but I still won't vote for her. Ringer/personality wise I can't on principle. Cloris Leachman coming by to give pointers. Really? Next they'll have Mr. P stop by and critique Michael.

Since Michael got to be in jeopardy, I have personally made it my mission to really vote for him. He's not the best dancer, but he's got such a great personality and genuinely seems to love performing ballroom. Before this show, I wouldn't have predicted that he'd be the team spirit and unifying force of the crew. I'm glad he's gotten such positive remarks from the judges the last two weeks. Now, he can go out on a high note. That's how I felt about Ty, although he got further and was more polished.

Kelly just needs to figure out away to channel her fear away. Donnie actually slipped and had a bad night. I wasn't expecting that. Joanna looked lovely, and her footwork is okay. ITA with comments about her seeming stiff and not flexible. She sure can keep up with Derek when in the uptempo parts.

Aaron bugs me so excessively and it doesn't help that Karina is his pro. Mark really tanked and I was sorry so see that.

I found "We're Not Gonna Take It" so distracting, I couldn't even see what Aaron was doing. I mean I saw him kicking around like mad, but a little voice kept telling me You can't dance to that song, let alone jive to it. It's against nature.

I couldn't believe when they did that, is only Dmitry second season but everybody knows that Len doens't like this kind of stuff.

Anna D. did a much better job than Dmitry in the foxtrot.

ITA with everything you said Binky29, but this especially. As soon as I saw Dmitry down on his knees I yelled out "messing about!" And I must be a 70-year-old British man because I agree with Len almost every time. I don't mind if it fits the dance (the AT noticeably) or if it's something quick at the beginning or the end (I thought Anna and Micheal's little picnic at the end of their Foxtrot was really cute) but when it takes up significant amount of time that they are suppose to be dancing, it bugs. And I know that if it bugs me that Len is going to be all over it and so should the pros.

I don't mind Len being nice to everyone and giving them great scores, but his bias against Mya is really bugging me and I can't stand it. It's unbelievable he gave her Foxtrot a 7 and he scored everyone higher than her except Mark - which he gave the same score to. I don't know what it is he has against her.

I also love Joanna and she's my 2nd favorite but her Rumba wasn't 27-worthy to me. I liked it but it was very jerky and stiff in parts.

I'm giving all my votes to Mya tomorrow. I expect her to be in the Bottom 3 but I really hope she doesn't have the lowest total of votes and nails it in the Knock Out dance.

Exchange of the night:

Carrie Ann: There's something weird in the middle. (re: one of the couples' dance routine)
Tom: That would be Len.

All I have to say about this episode is there are lies, there are damned lies, there are statistics, and then there's DwtS. For shame, for shame, for shame. The most rigged thing I've ever seen, whew lordy. Anyhow, I think the plan was to dump Mya and she's gotten better treatment than Natalie did, so I guess I need to just let it go. There's no hope anyway.

Joanna sucked and Kelly sucked and I'll never believe the producers don't have a hand in the choreo (thus the feather duster last week, knees this week, etc.) Donny was out of sync in the Tango and the training video was so over the top with the "troubles" of the Paso team and how much more terribly difficult it is to have 4 couples instead of 3 but the whole point is to micromanage our final weeks - even my unconcerned husband said it wasn't fair ....

At least Donny was endearing by pointing out his mistakes before anybody else did. And Kym's a dear. I think the votecount for Mark will be very high because of the illness/sub/meanie judges, so I really think he's safe. Maybe Aaron's going home with Mya - that very loud whooping when the judges liked him was waayyy OTT and I think them showing Michael as the "hero" of the Paso practice may save him. Eh - I'm getting really fed up.

I was almost sad Lacey wasn't at the second group rehearsal just because I wanted to see the drama fly between Karina and Lacey. I'm not saying they hate each other are anything, but they seem to both be rather bold personalities and I'm not sure either would have given up choreographic reins to the other.

I don't think it's the first time they have done that dream thing for a rehearsal package, though I don't remember exactly when it was used before. But if they are trying to get the public on Joanna's side, I thought it was a stupid move. Putting the swimsuit model on a beach in a skimpy swimsuit? I realize that the DWTS costumes are just as small if not smaller, but the voters are mostly women. Are they likely to vote for the woman set up as the obvious object of men's desires? You would think they would be trying to make Joanna relateable since they obviously went her (Derek) to stick around.

They did a telenovela dream sequence for Cheryl and Cristian back in season 6.

Of course the judges drooled over Team Tango, dur. It was such obvious and overrated bull -- okay, the dance itself wasn't bull, but considering how the judges went apeshit over it... At times the tango couples were out of sync with each other, but did the judges say anything? Of course not. Blech. At least both Len and Louis acknowledged that Team Tango had some obvious advantages. Still didn't take the bad taste out of my mouth though.

I thought the judges were generally much nicer than they could have been, maybe because of backlash votes. I couldn't tell.

I have wondered sometimes if Mya and Dmitry are encouraged to "faff about" in choreography for drama.


I thought Team Tango was dull! I did like seeing Derek dance, and Donny was also moving well, but the rest was zzzzzzzzzz.