TeeMo

Since they love ABC tie ins, how about one of the older kids on the Middle? I do think it is time for an MLB player and I recall Erin Andrews said she'd love to have Kevin Millar on. If they wanted to do a husband/wife bit again they could try for Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm.

I am pretty sure that Gleb had a bit of a public cheating scandal a year or two ago and he and his wife broke up over it for a bit but have since reconciled. It all played out in a fairly ugly way on social media. My guess is that if Gleb implied he was single on the show it wasn't necessarily because of pressure from producers but his own strategy to come off as appealing and available.

The idea that Maks and Peta did not break up is laughable. They broke up in early 2013 when he put her butt on a plane back to LA just before Valentine's Day. She dyed her hair brown and sad sacked around town for a while. She hung out with Val a good bit during that time but Maks wasn't even in LA for most of that year. They were back in each other's orbits beginning in July 2014 when she did Sway for the first time and then they started dating again that fall.

If we are voting to boot someone, I vote we boot Carrie Anne and let Julianne slide over to her seat. They are both fairly insufferable but at least Julianne knows what she is talking about when she opts to provide real criticism. Plus I think sitting next to Len made her up her game and offer more constructive criticism rather than just screeching nonsense. I'd give her another shot and sent Carrie Ann away. Producers, are you listening? Let us vote Survivor style.

Sinkwriter, I completely agree with what you said about Derek's words about Bindi in their final package. The judges went crazy week after week trying to one up their previous over the top praise for her and when it was all said and done, I thought what Derek said summed Bindi up better than any of the hyperbole the judges threw her way. It seemed sincere and heartfelt and based on his very personal experience of working with her. I think part of the reason that the judges "thank god you were born" praise set me on edge was because the judges generally have very little interaction with the contestants beyond the show itself (until we get to the judges choice week) so their claims of their lives being changed from watching Bindi's dance for a few minutes every week seemed ridiculous. Could they have been inspired by her? Of course but life changing? But Derek worked with her day in and day out. I DO believe that his experience with Bindi may have changed his life and I thought he expressed what it was about her that touched him far more eloquently than the judges ever managed to with all of their season long hooting and hollering.

I enjoyed Nick more in these last two weeks than I did all all season and I was more bummed than I expected when he did not win. Though there was a moment when he was singing his new song and I thought for sure he was getting third. Rob Wade would have loved to have a "thanks for sharing your song with us, you lose, get off the stage" moment. At any rate I think maybe he relaxed more near the end and really gave in to the process rather than overthinking everything and it made for more entertaining performances for me at least. I think he had a very, very slim chance of beating Bindi at the end but Sharna blew it with that boring freestyle. I can't find much to argue with over Bindi's win. She was a very good and entertaining dancer in a lackluster season and her win was deserved. Like so many others have already noted, what irritated me was the over the top declarations of just how lucky we should all feel to even be able to cast our eyes on the wonder that is Bindi week after week. Someone else mentioned above that it felt like Nick and Alek were repeatedly given a "thanks for playing, now move along" pat on the back as the judges conserved their energy to stand up on the desk and cheer over whatever miraculous thing Bindi might do next. It was too much and so offputting. The absurdity hit an all time high for me when Carrie Ann wanted to thank Bindi's parents for creating her as if her Cha Chas and waltzes were saving lives. I often hate the pandering that comes with the "hero" contestants like Alek but in that moment I could not help but think that the only contestant who might be worthy of a "thank goodness you were born!" commentary was him and even then it would have been a bit much because this is a silly dancing show and not a competiton for who offers the most contributions to the human race. I know several folks have mentioned that Meryl and Rumer (and even Alfonso) were also overly praised and fawned over and while that may be true with regards to their dancing, I don't recall any of them ever being told that we were all lucky they were born or that they were beacons of hope in the world. That is where things got crazy this season when it came to Bindi and what made me repeatedly throw up my hands in exasperation.

Realdancemom, I could have written your post. I agree with all of it. I have been underwhelmed all season and was underwhelmed again last night.

All of the camera blocking yesterday was a holiday extravaganza at the Grove so I think that it is safe to say we are getting a Christmas themed finale.

They are definitely not in One Direction territory but their last tour (in 2014) made the list of top 50 worldwide tours coming in ahead of Keith Urban, Phish, Demi Lovato, Enrique Iglesias with Pitbull, Blake Shelton, John Legend, Lady Antebellum and a bunch of others. They are doing all right. I do think a large chunk of their fan base is in Europe and I have no idea if those folks are putting in the effort to vote for him though.

I think the difference with Joey McIntyre and Nick is that the New Kids had been broken up for nearly 10 years by the time he did the show and his only solo success had been about 4 or 5 years before DWTS. Plus the show was in its first season and a summer fill in show without the same kind of hype and promotion it has now. I was (and am again) a giant NKOTB fan but I only watched a couple of episodes when he was on and never voted. That would be totally different now as the New Kids have been back together for several years, touring, etc. BSB is still actively touring and making music so the fan base comparison doesn't really match up other than the basic premise that they both came from boy bands. If I were a betting woman, I'd bet that Nick has far more people voting for him than Joey did from a fanbase size perspective. Mods, this may be better suited for the Nick thread. Sorry!

Uke, I agree that of the four people left, Carlos is probably the producers least favored to win (if they even really care). I think they would love an Alek/Bindi/Nick final three and probably don't care how it falls after that. Of course there is still the issue of the tour and whether one of these remaining people is going to be the celebrity tag along which could mean the producers do have a stake in how it ultimately shakes out.

truthaboutluv, despite my last post, I am also still mostly in the camp of thinking Bindi will will. For 75% of the season, I have felt that it is a foregone conclusion for many of the same reasons you listed. The bottom two business this week was odd and a little unexpected and made me wonder if I was wrong.

Uke, I've been wondering the same thing about the bottom two issue this week. My first instinct was that Nick was the real person in the bottom but I am not so sure now. There wasn't much the judges could do to prop Nick's score for the Tango because he clearly messed up. But if he needed help they could have given it to him in the dance off. I thought Bindi and Nick were fairly equal in their dancing there and the points could have easily gone to either of them. The dance offs and immunity challenges are the places where we are more likely to see the judges tip their hands just a bit. All three voted for Bindi giving her their entire vote of confidence as the better dancer. I agree with you that Nick is possibly the biggest name left this season and they have been hoping for a Nick/Bindi showdown. They got the two anchor spots this week. Dancing first is usually a death knell until we get to the semifinals at which point the first and last spots become more valuable and the middle spots are less desirable. (Over the past couple of seasons the first/last contestants in the semis were: Rumer/Nastia, Sadie/Alfonso, Candace/Meryl, Leah/Amber, Kellie/Zendaya, Melissa/Kelly) Of those 12 contestants, only two didn't make it to the final three and the winner has always come from one of those slots. Carlos and Alek are clearly the expendable ones here being shoved in the middle. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

I think theit actual dancing was just about equal but for me it was the feel of Nick's dance that I preferred and I wonder if it might just be the age factor. His dance had a smoother, more sensual feel to it than Bindi's which I look for in a samba. I think he sold that dance better than any of his others last night...from the first look he gave Sharna on the first step, I was in. So, yeah, it is definitely a taste/preference issue and I can see an argument for Bindi but I would have chosen Nick. It wasn't a case where I was outraged by the decision, I just would have chosen differently. And honestly, that is how I feel about this season overall. Any of the final four could walk away the winner and I won't be too upset one way or the other. Bindi is not my cup of tea but I get why she is the favorite of a lot of people. A Bindi win would make sense to me even if she isn't my choice. I felt sort of the same way last season with Riker and Rumer. DWTS has been a couple seasons of "meh" for me with none of the contestants compelling me to vote. Last night was one of the first times since week 3 or 4 that I voted this season and it was to throw a couple of votes Nick's way after his rough night because I would prefer to see him over Alek or Carlos.

I wish they had skipped the dance offs and just filled the time with more pros dancing. Karina, Val, Peta and Mark could have pulled something together that would have been far more enjoyable. I thought Nick's best dance last night was in the dance off and disagreed with the points awarded to Bindi there. I hated his trio and wish Peta and Sharna would stop choosing each other for trio dances because I never like what they come up with together (Tommy Chong's trio was one of my least favorite dances on this show ever). I am starting to wonder if Sharna is just one of those pros better paired with a non contender. She did great work with Andy Dick and Noah, both of whom lasted longer than I would have expected (though Noah had help from the judges there). Her partnership with Charlie was disappointing and Nick is underwhelming. I will say that I like the Nick/Sharna partnership better than the Charlie/Sharna partnership even though individually I liked Charlie more than I like Nick. If that makes any sense.

Didn't Jill go for a pedicure or a hike after her water broke? Maybe Jessa felt like she needed a post water break outing to keep up.

Katha, "mismanaged catastrophe" is the most apt descripriton for this show this season.

I disagree that she screwed things up for Alexa. For one thing, I am sure she kept expecting her pneumonia to start getting better at some point so she was trying to power through this week in hopes she'd be in better shape for next week. She had no idea it was more serious at the time she returned to the show Monday night. For another thing, I think she was truly concerned about messing things up for Nick. Everything seemed to happen so quickly Monday night that she could not have known that they might have come up with an alternate plan for a troupe member or other pro to dance with Nick so he wouldn't be screwed. Yes, it sucks for Alexa but I don't think any of it is Tamar's fault.

If they get voted off before the finals, I'd love for that contemporary to be their finale night dance. It was really compelling even danced at a limited effort level.

I am similar though I didn't really become a Val fan until his partnership with Zendaya. He really won me over that season which was impressive considering how much I wanted to throw things at the TV anytime he and Kelly were on the screen in Season 15. Elizabeth Berkley left me cold but I didn't really like anyone that season so I was pulling for them because I like Val. Season 18 I had the opposite problem of liking too many couples so Danica never got my votes even though I liked her quite a bit. In Season 19 I actively rooted against him and Janel (see my feelings about Season 15 for reasoning, LOL) and I was pulling for him and Rumer last season.

When they did the duets or duels in Season 18 I think the pairings were random - the top scorer pulled a name out of a hat and it went down the line. I remember that the website that we will not mention here were ready to call shenanigans when Maks and Meryl were paired with Val and Danica but then they got word from their source that the whole thing was totally random names pulled out of a hat. I have no idea if they kept the same approach but thought it was worth mentioning.

Wasn't Anna a last minute addition when Peta had to pull out? I think Allison was slated to get Gary until that happened.

We could go around and around about Tamar all day and never come to an agreement. I will say again that my lack of interest in Tamar has nothing to do with the shitty edit she is getting or the judges' opinion of her. I have watched this show long enough to not be manipulated by the games played by the likes of Carrie Ann Inaba. I really wanted to like Tamar. I like Val and am predisposed to root for his partners as a result. I was excited for this pairing before the season started because I expected them to have a fun, back and forth dynamic with no showmancing possibilities. I loved Tamar's dance in week 1 and I was excited for what the season would hold with her but other than the Charleston, I've been underwhelmed the rest of the time. In lots of ways she reminds me of Elizabeth Berkley who was a pretty fabulous dancer that I couldn't seem to muster up any excitement for. Yes there is a whole lot of manipulation on this show and plenty of people buy into whatever narrative the judges throw out there but not liking Tamar doesn't automatically make someone a dope who can't see past the show's agenda. I see the narrative they are spinning for Tamar and I think it sucks. Truly. But I still don't really care about her dancing. I don't feel compelled to go back and rewatch her dances. I often don't remember her dances from week to week. To be fair, there really isn't anyone I DO care about this season. As a previous poster mentioned, this is a pretty mediocre season for me and I honestly don't care how it all shakes out in the end. No one is blowing me away and no one is really stinking out the joint either. I could see an argument for almost any one of the remaining contestants walking away with the mirror ball (except maybe Alek). But even if the judges were giving Tamar the Bindi treatment and jumping out of their seats in delight after every dance, I still would not be compelled to pick up my phone and vote for her. I don't dislike her at all but I don't like her enough to be bothered. And that has nothing to do with her terrible edit, her relationship with Val, the BS spun by the judges, whether or not she walks the press line or any of that stuff. I just don't care all that much about her dancing regardless of her very good technique. And that doesn't make me blind or stupid or easily manipulated by Rob Wade's shenanigans. This is a reality show couched in the premise of a dance competition, not an actual ballroom dancing competiton decided solely on skill and ability and everyone is allowed to have their own preferences about who strikes their fancy. It's not that serious.

Yes, please. NKOTB all the way. Though I will admit to a tiny dalliance with NSYNC during college but that mostly came about because Jordan from NKOTB opened for them on one of their summer tours. At any rate, I always equated Nick with Joe, Brian with Jordan, AJ with Donnie, Howie with Danny and Kevin with Jon if we are playing boy band equivalents. And I would love to see Donnie on this show.

I agree about Alexa's AT. I thought it was super sloppy and she was very timid in her steps.