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« Dancing with the Stars
Episode Recap: Showdown at the Ballroom Corral
The stakes increased this week as each contestant was trying to make it to the second part of the season and the "double dance shows." Much like this season has hit the halfway point — my enthusiasm has hit a plateau. Fear not, this usually happens every year because I've come off the high of a new season and have settled in with the celebs. However, as we start picking off the decent dancers and get down to the end I know I'll get excited. Did that sound convincing? I think part of the problem is that no one seems to be improving that much and I feel we see the same dances every week. I'm looking for someone to turn it on and start making Kristi quake in her boots. Luckily, I have the real life drama of Shannon and Derek totally caught being all smoochy-smoochy on the beach to keep me invested. More on that later. It's time to add a twist of lemon to this D-List martini we call Dancing with the Stars.
Jason — I still think he has a lot of loosening up to do, but I'd say his cha-cha was pretty good. My husband (who I promised to credit and not pass off his thought as my own, like usual) made a great point about my girl Edyta — every week she manages to wear next to nothing yet never looks trampy. She's freakin' magic.
Cha-Cha 24
Shannon — Just when I thought her biggest concern must be the anxiety of everyone in the world having seen her lady bits, she goes and makes out with her 22 year old dance partner. He's hot, I'll give her that, but it's a bit weird. Click here for that story! Samantha definitely put them on the spot, but they did a great job of dodging any question about their off-screen shenanigans. But on to the dancing! Her rumba was beautiful and a big improvement over samba last week.
Rumba 24
Marlee — I like the Fonz just as much as the next guy, but I don't know what he has to do with dancing. Sometimes I wonder if these "visits" from "friends" are some sort of bit. Anywho, while I enjoyed her mambo, I can't say it was much better than last week. I'm a bit worried she's on a downhill spiral and this is not the time in the competition for it.
Mambo 21
Cristián — If he ends up in the bottom two again, I'll be upset. His fox trot was very smooth and boy does he look good in a suit. He switches well between a ballroom and a Latin dance. It's almost like he has two separate personalities!
Fox Trot 27
Marissa — Could it be? Could Marissa be the contestant who is actually getting better? Dare I say this was a decent waltz! I can't say I'm on the Winokur Wave yet (gag!), but I'm actually looking forward to seeing if she can keep it up.
Viennese Waltz 26
Kristi — This was a very entertaining jive, despite Mark operating at a few levels over Kristi on the energy scale. If he's going to distract me, I want it to be because of his good looks. It's not a bad quality; I just think he might want to be a bit mindful of her level so they can blend better.
Jive 30 First of the season!
Paula Abdul was in the ballroom tonight. I've heard rumors that she may be a contestant or thinking about it, but that can't be true. She's a definite ringer! Although she is pure comedy which will give me some great material, so maybe I can get on board. And I'm sure they'd get Simon to come on and rip her to shreds. That would be fun! Would you root for her or want to see her voted off first?
Mario — By far that was the sexiest rumba of the season! Usually this dance is all about the woman, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. He is my favorite to root for, but I'm starting to feel like I'm on my own island! Len definitely lost his head on that one. It was not raunchy at all! Grrrr!
Rumba 28
Cowboy dance — It was a bit fast and chaotic for me to pick an absolute favorite, but I thought Jason and Edyta had the best lift. I definitely think it ended the show on a high note. It's good to see the celebs goofing around and enjoying themselves, especially with the competition getting tougher. The song "Cotton Eye Joe" was a perfect fit. I almost got up and did the line dance for old time's sake. Almost.
Although Kristi is still on top, Mario and Cristián are only slightly behind. Marissa is turning it on, so who is going home this week? It may be Marlee. She's just not getting it done lately. For the first time this season, I don't have a clue as to who is really in danger! What are your thoughts? Who has the most to worry about going into tomorrow night's eviction? And why? What about Shannon and Derek — sweet or strange? Let's chat below and be sure to check back here for the scoop on the next celeb to get the bad news.
For more Dancing with the Stars, check out our Online Video Guide.
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Apr 21, 2008 9:50 PM
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I think Marlee's gonna be the one to get the boot this week. I think she's done an amazing job, and looks incredible out there every week, but at this point, she's just clearly the lowest scoring dancer. Since this is a dance competition, I think it's time for her to go.
As for Shannon & Derek, I think it's sweet. I mean, age is just a number, right? I think he portrays himself as older than 22, and she seems younger than 34 anyway. My grandparents had a 13 year age difference, and they were married for over 40 years, so really, I don't think age matters.
Derek & Shannon certainly had the chemistry for the rumba, although I was sad to see the judges criticize them so harshly on technique. But what do I know, I'm just a fan...
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Apr 21, 2008 11:09 PM
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Great recap. The best showdown of the night though has to be between Karina and Edyta's costumes. They seem to keep one upping each other
And, was it just me or did Shannon seem to give Derek the cold shoulder after their grilling by Samantha? I don't think she liked his response to the chemistry question.
And, fingers crossed for a glimpse of Lens' bum at Ralphs!
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Apr 21, 2008 11:11 PM
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Of course, Henry Winkler's appearance is "a bit" (though he is Marlee's close friend). Let's face it, -everything in this show is "a bit".
Mark may be operating at a higher level than Kristi, but, really, don't they all do that for the most part. I mean, Jason is just a prop for Edyta. My only complaint with Kristi is the camera-work. Often bits and pieces of their routines are lost while the camera swoops behind them or is in the wrong place. She's good enough that I'd like to see the dances framed in a more standard manner so we can get the whole picture.
The show has been teasing the Shannon/Derek show-mance for a coule of weeks, possibly to generate interest with its female audience (I mean, that bit with Derek playing guitar for her, or the slow-mo when she kissed his cheel when he went to the hospital seemed awfully manipulative). The "make-out session resulted in one photo of a kiss taken from the beach shoot in the film package. I'm wondering if there's more smoke than fire here. They don't seem to be interested in playing along.
I will say that its always fun to try to figure out what's going on in Tony Davolani's head. He seems to be having fun with Marissa (he didn't at first), but then there's that whole passive/aggressive thing he has going on with the judges. This was the first night when I didn't want to club Marissa like a baby seal.
I feel bad for Marlee since it really seems like the air's gone out this thing for her (she looked terrific tonight, though), and I wouldn't be surprised to see her leave. I wonder how she really feels when she gets those well-meaning "You're doing great for a deaf woman" comments.
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Apr 21, 2008 11:43 PM
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This week was better than the mess last week. This whole season has been a roller coaster. I find myself rooting for couples I did not think I would.
I thought the judges got Jason's score right. It was good, but not great. And Edyta's costumes have actually become more modest than in years past. (It's Karina who makes me uncomfortable now).
Even though there were some technical issues with Shannon's rumba, I felt the judges were overly harsh and that Shannon and Derek's chemistry made up for some of the technical flubs.
Henry Winkler is a personal friend of Marlee's and whether it was staged or not, he was very sweet with her. That being said, she has hit a wall. She has done so well and been so courageous, but I think this is as far as she can go.
I really liked Christian's foxtrot. He still looked uncomfortable at points and lost some fluidity, but Cheryl did a good job with the choreography and it was quite entertaining.
Marissa actually danced a nice dance. I just don't know that I want to continue seeing her much longer. If she keeps improving, though, Mario, Jason, or Shannon will be going home before her.
Kristi did a great job on the jive. I agree that Mark's level of energy was much more than Kristi's. I hope she continues to the final. I am not necessarily hoping for a win, but I would like to see a good dancer and Mark's choreography in the final.
I actually agree with Len's comments about Mario's rumba. Mario moves his body really well. But he has the same problem that Sabrina Bryan had last year. Too much hip-hop influence. His movements are so free that he comes off as unpolished and unrefined. Yet Len gave him a 9. Hmm. Mario also has a cocky attitude which could turn off viewers. And who dedicates a dance to "Let's Get It On" to their 6 year old brother???
The group dance was entertaining. I really enjoyed seeing Jason and Edyta's lift.
Is it possible the judges scored some of the couples higher to ensure they would stay and that any fan base advantage for Marlee would not overcome them?
The two closest scores to Marlee are Jason and Shannon who I think have decent enough fan bases to stay ahead of Marlee. Of course, this could be the week we have a surprise elimination.
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Apr 22, 2008 12:05 AM
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I have total respect and fondness for Marlee, and I think she has grown into a more beautiful woman every year since her Oscar win, but it is time for her to go; accept the well-earned plaudits for what she's accomplished but leave before it becomes an exercise in pity and patronization.
As good as Jason's lines are, as much as he's improved and as much as I love Edyta, Krista's right, he's not making as much progress in losing his Lurch-like stiffness to stay high on the leader board very long.
Is it just me, or does Mario look like he could be Chris Rock's younger brother. I've read most of the previous weeks' posts, but I've never seen anyone comment on what, to me, is a strong resemblance. I have to disagree with Len on Mario's performance tonight. The dance he and Karina did was very sexual, but it's not near as 'raunchy' as some of the routines where the woman grinds her buttocks into the man's crotch.
I really enjoyed Marissa's waltz tonight and although she wasn't as lithe in some of the lines and leg lifts as some, and she couldn't totally keep her tenseness about them off her face, she's improved to a level quite near Jason IMHO.
I think Shannon is close to taking Marissa's previous role of pouty little girl, or maybe the vibe is more like Linus from Peanuts who has the sincerest pumpkin patch. She's got great legs and great looks, but she just seems to be very shy and inhibited. Her Latin dances are quite stiff and boring to me and if she doesn't find a way to unlock that restricting, virtual chastity belt around her hips, she could be gone before the semi-finals.
Cristian is gorgeous and charming and tonight's fox trot really showed that off to advantage. His footwork really was incredibly improved, he was smooth, held good arm postures but I think they would have scored higher if he'd smiled more and looked less like the was thinking about so many of the steps.
Finally, I am very happy that Kristi finally got her first perfect score. Her routine with Mark totally deserved it and I predict it will be the one the judges choose tomorrow night for the encore. It was lively, high-precision choreography, fun to watch and, with the costumes, really captured a sense of the 50's without mocking them. The inspired idea of Mark to wear those glasses that gave him an eerie resemblance to Buddy Holly was a hoot. To find out that Kristi is dancing like this and earned her ice skating gold medal after having been born with two club feet and spending her toddler years in leg casts blew me away. I have to say that that comes pretty close to the level of overcoming physical challenges that Marlee has been so praised for, and the low-key way Kristi revealed and discussed it was classy.
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Apr 22, 2008 3:37 AM
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I agree Marlee has been good but it is her turn to go. Marissa & Cristian ahve really stepped it up putting pressure on Mario,Jason & Shannon. Kristi is in a league by herself still.
I'll take Edyta of Sour Puss Karina anyday. The main reason I watch this show is to see Edyta and what she will barely be wearing I guess that doesn't speak well for me oh well.
Not looking forward ro Ashley Simpson I will be fast forwarding righgt through that. And anyone who has been watching this show for a while nows almost all the clips are staged. It is for sympathy, publicity, to create illusions, thats TV.
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Apr 22, 2008 7:20 AM
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I am going out on a limb and say Kristi will not win this. She is good but the fans don't vote that way. And her head has been growing and growing each week and it is getting annoying. But what did it for me with her is when she was afraid to be sexy with her partner in a routine because she was married with children. Give me a break.
My money is on Jason and Edyta. She's awesome.
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Apr 22, 2008 8:10 AM
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Shannon — Just when I thought her biggest concern must be the anxiety of everyone in the world having seen her lady bits.....
Um, did I miss something last night?
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Apr 22, 2008 8:12 AM
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nyjoey77 ~ the only reason I watch most of those singing segments is to see the pro dancers, so I'll be suffering through the Simpson "singing".
kelel21220 ~ You're right about Edyta being awesome, but Jason isn't. He'll probably get votes because of his fan base, but I'd be shocked if he won.
ctheslayer ~ I think it's because Shannon has been in some movies (I've never seen them) where she is NOT inhibited and has nude scenes. If I'm wrong about that, I'm sure I'll be set straight.
Now, I hope I can say this without it being taken wrong....as it usually is....I thought Marissa danced pretty well tonight. But I just have to think those wardrobe people are either stupid or are out to get her. That dress, in my opinion, was hideous.....on her or anyone!
I'm not voting for Christian, but he was darned spiffy in that suit and the pink was really his color. Yum.
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Apr 22, 2008 8:24 AM
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I just have to say this or I'll explode! (and that wouldn't be pretty).
Can Samantha get any more moronic? Does she not get it? Let's see, she told Shannonpand Derek they had chemistry...twice. Kept egging and pushing for either of them to admit there was a romance going. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you just ask them, because lord knows, you wouldn't know tact if it bit you in the...She could've brought up the pictures in People magazine, but whatever. I really don't care either way if they are dating or not. That's not why I watch this show.
Jason: He has some good moves, but for the most part, he just stands there and Edyta dances around him. The raising and flowing of arms can only go so far.
Shannon: What was that? No hip action whatsoever. Yeah, the twirls were nice, but again...no hip action. My preference is for HER to go. And there it was again, that heavy breathing, although this time, she wasn't leaning over Tom while she was doing it.
Marlee: Okay, it wasn't as fast as Mambos are supposed to be, but I enjoyed it. And I also agree, that she may be leaving tonight. And I'm also getting sick and tired of the judges bringing up her deafness. If they're going to give her that as a handicap, then judge based on that handicap and not on par with the others. But since they're not, then stop mentioning it!!!!! I think Marlee's performance was equal to Shannon's--but why didn't they get the same score? BAH!
Cristián: WOW!!! LOVED IT!!!!! Vast improvement. I think the practice in the swimming pool helped.
Marissa: She surprised me. I really enjoyed it. Looks like she'll last another week. She may have trouble when she has to do the Tango, though.
Kristi: YAY! A perfect score! FINALLY! And I sooo loved their routine, and had to LOL when I saw Mark wearing those Buddy Holly glasses.
Mario: Better than last week, but I agree, he includes his hip-hop in his routines, or some pieces of it, anyway.
Paula Abdul? As a future contestant? Please NO! Woman can't move to save her life! Not anymore, anyway, if the video of her song Dance Like There's No Tomorrow is any indication. Blech.
Ashley Simpson? Are you kidding me? They couldn't find someone else????
And I'm probably in the minority here, but I didn't like the group dance, or the practice session of the same. But that's just me.
~Sangeeta
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Apr 22, 2008 8:26 AM
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I agree with an earlier post. I, too, think Mario could pass as Chris Rock's younger brother.
Jason's cha-cha was good but I think he still has some dancing skills that he has yet to discover.
Marlee's costume revealed some nicely toned abs. I so wanted her to do well with the mambo, especially b/c her partner is the "Mambo King". Sadly, she didn't nail it. It looked too stiff. I'm afraid she'll be eliminated tonight.
I so wanted Samantha to shup up as she kept grilling Shannon about her relationship with Derek. Man, I can't stand that woman. Shannon has got to learn how to rotate her hips.
Although I thought Cristian did a good job, I didn't think it was as good as the judges thought.
Marissa had her best dance last night.
As soon as Kristi finished her dance, I knew she'd get the first perfect score.
Mario's rumba was OK.
I really enjoyed the group dance. Very fun and entertaining.
Regarding Ashlee Simpson tonight - spare me. Thank goodness for the mute button.
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Apr 22, 2008 8:34 AM
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Pinkie, thanks - I was wondering if maybe there had been a "wardrobe malfunction." I think Marlee had a near miss last night - I noticed her doing some rather quick adjusting after their dance.
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Apr 22, 2008 8:46 AM
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Every week after Shannon dances, I'm anticipating another medical emergency. How come someone so young pants so much harder than the older contestants? Hope its not a hidden health problem for her sake. She's way too stiff on the Latin dances. She reminds me of how Kelly Monaco was back when she just started out on the show but then she steadily improved. I see no progress in Shannon on the Latin dances & by this time she should acknowledge to herself that yes she has hips and its time to learn to shake them. She's so pretty, romantic looking & graceful for the Ballroom dances but she needs to let go & have at it on those hot numbers. Why can't Derek see this & help her?
Marissa was awesome. Regardless of when she'll get out they're having so much fun & its fun to watch them having fun. Its great to see Tony grinning as he's usually so reserved. Some people can't stand too much enthusiasm but I am not one to begrudge any sort of a smiley happy soul.
I'm sad to think that it may be Marlee's turn to leave but she's obviously having difficulty. She is so courageous and inspiring!
I'm not a big Paula fan but shredding her is so old now. <sigh> Can we move on?
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Apr 22, 2008 8:50 AM
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I agree - and hope - Marlee goes tonight. She is a tremendous inspiration and has certainly proved that she can be a ballroom dancer. However, I can't even imagine the stress that goes into putting together a routine every week as the bar gets higher. The stress is showing on Marlee's and Fabian's faces. Please let's put them out of their misery.
Kristi and Mark so deserved the first 30 of the season. During their number I realized that Mark, unlike the other professional dancers, seems to be able to put together a professional-caliber routine and be confident that Kristi will rise to the challenge. She does not have a weakness that Mark needs to cheoreograph around. I thought they were adorable.
Cristian and Cheryl, on the other hand - it was no accident that Cheryl was wearing that pink poufy feathery creation so she could hide Cristian's moves as much as possible. Maybe his footwork was excellent - the camera will only allow us to judge the upper body most of the time. Yes, they looked yummy, but I wasn't blown away by the dance.
Karina and Mario - ITA with the poster who questioned Mario's taste level in dedicating a Let's Get It On number to his 6-year-old bro. However, he did say "Hide your eyes." And the telephone conversation itself was too cute. Karina, what were you wearing? A red bikini wrapped up in a bedsheet? Too distracting. I barely remember the number. But it was Mario, so I'm sure it was fine.
Marissa and Tony - it was OK. She has way too much hair.
Jason and Edyta - wow, he has some biceps. You were on the money, Krista: I still think he has a lot of loosening up to do, but I'd say his cha-cha was pretty good.
Shannon and Derek - still not convinced they are romantically involved. However, they are good TV. She seemed stunned when Len called her on her dearth of hip movement, but he was absolutely right. Good to see Derek healthy again and swaying those hips of his.
My husband pointed out that the group dance is kind of like a reward to those who have made it this far in the competition. They did seem to be having great fun. It was too chaotic to judge the dancing, but Jason and Edyta's lift was the most impressive.
If Marlee does go tonight, I hope it will be treated as a victory. She should be so proud of what she has accomplished, and Fabian is a tremendous partner.
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Apr 22, 2008 9:02 AM
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