Toonces464

I think Derek would also fall into that category with Julianne. Otherwise I agree with this.

I always find Erin to be at her most annoying during Week 1 when she doesn't know the contestants at all.

Unfortunately I think Mark has moved into the territory where he's moved on from the show and will only come back here and there for a season when he can fit it into his schedule, much like Derek, Cheryl, Karina and most of the other original pros have done. It's really a shame because he's the last to do it and I hate only having one or two of them on each season.

Sorry, read it wrong.

Kirstie Alley was a ringer??

Yes, and when Erin said it to him again when they went upstairs to get their scores.

Sadly neither do I. I lost a ton of respect for him when he became the Bachelor just a few months after trashing Jake Pavelka and the whole Bachelor concept. Whatever shred of respect I had left went out the window when he went back to Peta, a woman he treated horribly and embarrassed on national TV when he broke up with her, because he was getting desperate to start a family and couldn't find anyone else willing to put up with him. Throw in the fact that everything that comes out of his mouth is a contradiction or a lie and the way he makes everything about himself, and it makes me appreciate pros like Derek, Mark, Cheryl and Karina a whole lot more.

I think for Maks to get that level of votes he's going to need for both Peta and Val to be eliminated and pick up their voters. Sharna's too. I found his little shout out to Peta after his scores incredibly self-serving, especially when she was standing a few feet away and he could have said what he did directly to her instead of making Heather's experience all about him. Unfortunately Maks seems to have realized and embraced that his relationship with Peta and the baby are the only things keeping him in the spotlight these days and without the ability to play a showmance with his partner, which is the only way he's ever been successful on the show, I anticipate him playing up the happy family thing to the point that it starts to overshadow his partner and the show and really pisses people off. On a different note, was I the only one taken back to Season 10 during their rehearsal package? From certain camera angles Heather could almost pass for Erin's twin.

IMO Maks won the mirrorball with Meryl off their showmance. He doesn't have that ace up his sleeve this time.

I had the same thought, I wonder if Maks or Erin will say anything about him having a professional dancer as a partner considering all the whining they both did (and still do!) about Nicole. But then I remembered neither of them said a word about Meryl Davis.

DWTS Gossip tweeted that Allison is out.

There's a reason you don't often hear people say their favorite partner of Maks' was Tia or Laila or Melissa. Most people seem to enjoy him best with Mel B, Erin, Kirstie or Meryl. No coincidence those are the partners he seemed to get along with and enjoyed dancing with the most. Even in interviews he always gives some combination of those four when asked his favorite partners. For years Maks always said the best part of doing the show for him was the friendships he developed and maintained with his partners. However I took a look at his social media accounts the other day and noticed the only partners he still follows are Erin and Meryl. I know there's bad blood between him and some of his past partners (Willa, Laila, Kirstie and Hope come to mind) but he doesn't seem to maintain too many of those relationships the way people like Val and Tony and Karina do. I found it interesting that Mel was no longer someone he followed since I thought they'd maintained a pretty close relationship over the years.

I didn't say they were more successful than Maks. I said they found success doing things outside of the show that were not affiliated with DWTS and had been successful at them. The same for Louis, Anna and Edyta. Maks has not found success with anything unrelated to DWTS. Maks and Val's tour was produced by the same people who produce the DWTS tour and the Move tour. Cheryl's show that she did in Japan last year was not affiliated with DWTS. Neither, obviously, were Mark or Karina's stints on Broadway or most of the things Derek has done outside of the Move tour.

The other big name dancers from Maks's original era on the show (Derek, Mark, Karina, Cheryl, Julianne) have all found success outside the show. It might not be mega star success but they've all gotten work and been successful with it away from the show. Even the dancers from that era who weren't as popular (Louis, Anna, Edyta) have been successful and moved on with things outside the show. The only work Maks has gotten since he declared he was moving on to bigger and better things after the All Star season has come from associations with DWTS - Karina, Faculty Tour Productions, former contestants, and mostly Val's partners. The only thing Maks tried on his own was Sway and it was a colossal failure, not even selling out half the seats the last two times they did it. Peta may be popular with the younger generation of fans but the only thing she's known for outside DWTS is her relationship with Maks. They both need the income and exposure the show gives them so it's no surprise they're coming back. Once DWTS goes off the air, their careers are pretty much over.

It did during the Season 10 semi finals. Tom said each of the four remaining couples had been in the lead at least once and Erin commented about it in one of her video packages.

I did not like the special at all. There was too much focus on a few people and not enough on everyone else. With such a short show and so much to put in it, they should've done some other group dances like the football players -- the Olympians, the 80s/90s sitcom stars, etc. I did not need to see Val and Kelly do that ridiculous dance again, I did not need to see Melissa Rycroft do anything again, and if I never see Meryl Davis on my TV ever again it'll be way too soon. Maks was such a central part of the show for so long and believe it or not, he had other great partnerships. Same with Tony. Yet there wasn't even an acknowledgement of any of their other partners. I realize in Maks's case it's likely because a good number of his partners no longer speak to him and he burned a lot of bridges with the crap he was spewing about them in an effort to win his mirrorball, but when one of his former partners who actually does still speak to him is your co-host and you don't even acknowledge that or have the two of them interact, that's a problem I have. It would've also been nice to see some of the more beloved pros who aren't on the show anymore like Karina, Anna and Louis get some time with their former partners rather than just being shoved into a group number or not used at all outside the opening. With the way this special was moved around so much it obviously wasn't very well thought out. Shame on ABC for that.

Mandy Moore. I think she's become the permanent opening number choreographer.

While this certainly isn't one of my favorite seasons, I'm enjoying it a lot more than the "let's get Maks his mirrorball" of last season. I miss the show how it used to be during seasons 8 and 10, my two favorite seasons. I like Tommy and Michael's okay but it's time for them both to go. Antonio shouldn't have gone before either of them and Randy certainly shouldn't have either. I'm also more than ready to say goodbye to Janel. Her and Val are right up there in with Meryl and Maks in please disappear from my TV screen forever territory. If there isn't time for all 4 judges to speak then why have 4 judges? Either time it so the judges each have a chance, even if they have to limit what they say, or get rid of the 4th judge and just bring someone in to sub when Len isn't there. Maybe it was having to put up with Leah and her obnoxious attention hogging last week but I thought Erin did a great job this week. I thought she'd be a hot mess between trying to do too much with the World Series and reacting to some of the really hateful crap she was getting about Leah's appearance but I thought this was her best show this season. I've grown to like her a lot in this role but just wish she'd stop trying so hard. When she's trying to be funny she often falls flat. When she's not trying is when she's best. The one thing I'd say she needs to work on is connecting better with the cast. At times she just seems to have a total lack of connection with anyone but Michael Waltrip (her co-worker at FOX) and Val (for obvious reasons). I'd be really surprised if Alfonso doesn't win this season (as he should). I also expect Sadie to be in the finals. I'm not sure if the third spot will go to Lea or Bethany. At this point I'm going to say Bethany because I think Lea's starting to lose the audience and Artem doesn't have the fan base that Derek has to help push them through.

The camera work has been horrible since last season.

I thought tonight was ironic considering Maks got yelled at and docked points for taking his shirt off in his Samba with Erin. But it seems taking their shirts off is almost a requirement for the guys these days.

Leah made me want to stab myself with an ice pick. What an annoying obnoxious tool she is. Erin can be annoying but she doesn't overpower every interview and make herself the center of everything like Leah did. She's as bad as the equally obnoxious Kirstie Alley.

I was totally mesmerized in a WTF way watching that dance with Val and his brother's two ex-girlfriends.

That's something so many of the celebrities don't get so I was glad to see him realize it as well. But then Erin, who herself was lectured by Len during her season about listening to her pro and should have focused on that, had to oddly turn the whole thing into a dig at her boyfriend watching at home. I like Erin well enough as co-host but she needs to stop making things about herself and she needs to stop taking shots at people. I know she thinks she's being funny but she's actually funniest when she's not trying to be. When she tries she comes across as bitchy. Even her remark tonight about Maks. Yes, the call me maybe reference was cute but for someone who she claims did so much for her and who she's so close to, it would be nice to hear her say something nice about him or praise him rather than always taking digs at him which make her look like a bitter ex. And she also needs to stop trying to use Val and Tony as her replacements for Maks because she doesn't have the same chemistry or rapport with them and it's just awkward and uncomfortable to watch.

It was definitely Alfonso and Sadie. The Red Room camera showed the two of them running over to her right after she cut back to Tom. Erin was catty about Nicole her entire season and continues to be to this day. The piece was taped Monday night. Obviously the show is as tired of them and their showmance as I am and didn't want to give it an audience so they had to go find one themselves. LOL

Did anyone notice the Season 18 champ wasn't included when they talked to celebrities in the ballroom? I guess she and her showmance partner were too busy chasing down reporters to take pictures of them so they could stir all that crap up again. But it sure was great to see Charlie and Ralph!