S20.E04: Most Memorable Week

[sinkwriter]

One thing that cracked me up: Patti teasing/chastising the dancers because none of them were alive at the time she was living her most memorable year. LOL. I do love her sense of humor.

[saber5055]

To hear Suzanne's version you would think it was the Chrissy and Jack show.

 

 

Everyone remembers things differently, regardless of what really happened. Suzanne just put her own spin on things. I remember when she "left" the show and there definitely was no love lost. But whatever. It was a cute segment, even if it was sort of made up. 

 

One thing that cracked me up: Patti teasing/chastising the dancers because none of them were alive at the time she was living her most memorable year.

 

 

Wasn't Three's Company from the same time as Patti's most memorable year? So not many people on the show were there for either era!

[vibeology]

Losing a parent is always difficult so the human part of me feels for Robert (my dad died last year so I get it). But then I got annoyed with his arrogance thinking that being rich meant he assumed he could save her. Yes, only poor people die from cancer and other diseases. I won't deny that having truckloads of money definitely gives you more treatment options than if you are flat broke but it sounded like he thought he could just throw piles of money at cancer and it would go away.

 

For some reason, I really noticed Robet's feet this week (maybe it was the white shoes?). A lot of times it looked like he was shuffling his feet along the floor instead of picking them up and stepping. I also noticed that when he was supposed to go up on the balls of his feet, it looked like he was barely lifting his heels off the ground. I agree that I like seeing fresh takes but I also appreciate a waltz like this.

 

Like I said earlier, I don't know a lot about rumba but it looked like Michael's routine had a lot more content. Chris mostly stood there while Witney danced around him. I realize that is more a criticism of Witney's choreograhy but what little dancing he did was not great (which is not surprising because he has not been a good dancer from the beginning). Totally awkward that Erin kept asking Chris about his chemistry with Witney while the cameras cut to Whitney the fiancée.

 

It totally cracks me up that Patti continues to wear these silk going to a church fundraiser buffet dinner outfits to rehearsal. It drives me crazy that the judges can't even be bothered to give actual critiques to her though. I couldn't even tell what style of dance that was supposed to be, despite the full on production with all the backup dancers.

 

Oh, Willow, please lose that lame hipster hat! I love that she has nice thick eyebrows that haven't been plucked into pencil thin lines. I feel like having a Hunger Games theme for a contemporary was kind of a waste, like they could have used the Hunger Games theme for a different dance style. I know that's not her or Mark's fault since they were assigned contemporary during most memorable year week. I loved the shot of Mark's "WTF?" face during Carrie Ann's critique. I can't stand Mark but I am with you there, Mark.

 

So many thoughts! I disagree with your view about Robert and fixing his mother's cancer. I thought that was probably one of the most honest things we heard last night and I'm glad he shared it. He's not someone who was born into money and I don't think he takes it for granted, but I think its a very real shock to anyone with a relative dying of cancer that there is nothing you can do. Him acknowleding that he thought he could fix things and seeing that he can't probably was a huge growth moment for him and probably changed him on a really deep level.

 

The white shoes! Last week on the Afterbuzz Show Anna and Mark talked about Michael's white pants and shoes (and Mark owned up to his spatz love!) and about how that's a dangerous move because it really highlights a contestants feet. When I saw Robert's costume it was all I could think about. His footwook looked good, not great, to my eyes. They pick their costumes on Tuesday and at that point its hard to know if you want to draw attention to the feet or not. If I was a pro, it'd be black all the time just to be safe.

 

Witney's treating Chris like something to be danced around rather than a partner to dance with, but I can't really blame he. Its very clear he's way out of his depth and she doesn't want to go home. If the dance is entertaining maybe they pick up some votes.

 

Patti's jazz was a big ol' mess to my eyes. I love that she goes as hard as she can, but age is what it is.

 

Willow is young enough that she can have a few hipster years without me judging. If she's still rocking the trend in a couple years time, I'll side eye her hard. As for Mark, this is the year I love Mark. A few seasons ago I'd have hated hard on just the look he gave Carrie Ann, but now I'm on team Mark. I used to hate him with a passion but he's winning me over with interesting ideas that don't break the rules and his appearance on Afterbuzz. I do hate his hair however and would love to see a change there.

 

 

On a wholly unrelated note, I see this is the episode I get to break out my "smooth is a thing" rant in response to Len's critique of one of Val's dances. Seriously, there was plenty of waltz content in his and Rumer's dance. No whisks, sure. *Because it was American Smooth.*

 

Very true. I said upthread that Rumer hadn't spent so much time laying down and I do stand by that, but Len was wrong to call the waltz a contemporary number. It was in line with the style of an American Smooth.

[spanana]

I like Tony as a person, but I hate his huge chip on his shoulder when it comes to DWTS.  To echo another recent comment, I feel for him in terms of a lot of the partners he's gotten over the years, but I don't think he's doing Suzanne any favors here.  I know his history with Carrie Anne, but I totally understood what she was saying last week about wanting more depth.  I know Tony is at the mercy of his song assignments, but I also feel like he has it in his head that Suzanne is some great comic talent and therefore they must play that up week to week.  Thing is, she's really not.  She got lucky.  She was quite awful when she first started and is now a mediocre comic talent at best.  Or maybe I'm still a little flabbergasted by her trying to make it sound like Three's Company was the Chrissy Snow show and talentwise she was on par with John Ritter.  I wonder how John's family feels about Suzanne using John's name like that last night.

 

Not that it matters, but I do think it's likely Rumer had some work done.  I know she denies it, which is fine.  It's not my business.  But the whole shape of her face used to be different when she was younger.  I also remember the years when the tabloid media was pretty hard on her calling her all sorts of names over her looks, so she wasn't making it up.

 

Artem seems so much happier this season with Patti than he did last season with Lea.  I know there were rumors Lea was a bit of a headcase though.  I think in some ways it is easier for the pros to come in and relax when they know a win is off the table.

 

Well, Rumer is doing tango next week to Poor Unfortunate Souls so there will be more darkness and intenseness for she and Val.  Riker has Paso, so he is back to frame and a partner who probably has no idea what she is doing.

Edited April 7, 2015 by spanana

[iMonrey]

I was also struck by Suzanne's "spin" on Three's Company and cringed at her attempt to play "Chrissy" again at her age. Whoever compared it to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane was spot-on. 

 

 

Riker's frame was a hot mess.

 

Yes. I admit to being surprised by how impressive he's been so far but this was his weakest dance thus far. 

 

 

But it's really hard to get emotional listening to a Toby Keith song.  I REALLY wish it was a different song

 

Ugh. I don't want to go on a rant but I felt the whole number was overly manipulative, with not only the song but the flag. It went from being an inspiring story about Noah himself to a "rah rah military" number. 

 

 

his sister nominated him to be The Bachelor.

 

Someone might go back and prove me wrong, but I swear when they showed the letter his sister wrote, she was trying to get him on The Bachelorette - not The Bachelor. That's the word I saw in the letter. And that's . . . kind of different. Apparently the sister thought he'd be good enough to be one of 40 contestants vying for a single woman, not the star of his own series.

[saber5055]

Someone might go back and prove me wrong, but I swear when they showed the letter his sister wrote, she was trying to get him on The Bachelorette - not The Bachelor.

 

 

Yeah, that was a major deviation from the truth. His sister sent his name in to be one of the 25-30 bachelors vying for The Bachelorette Andi's hand. Chris made it to final three, if I remember correctly. It was Fleiss, TPTB, that chose him to be the next Bachelor. The "star" of each season is always a retread from the group of people who appeared on the previous season. Chris being a farmer was a hook the show hadn't seen (or used/exploited) before. 

[truthaboutluv]

Someone might go back and prove me wrong, but I swear when they showed the letter his sister wrote, she was trying to get him on The Bachelorette - not The Bachelor.

 

 

You're right. She submitted him for The Bachelorette which he appeared on and then he was made The Bachelor after Andi, the Bachelorette picked someone else. 

[HoodlumSheep]

Dropping in here to say I wanted to high five Len for his comments to Derek and Nastia. They have wonderful technique, but they lack chemistry.

Team Sharkaroo continue to be adorable.

I don't know how the bachelor is making it through each week. Patti's just having the time of her life. That's why I tend to enjoy the older contestants; they have fun.

Not surprised the football player went home, although I thought he would have lasted longer than the bachelor. week after week you could see him thinking throughout his dances. You could literally see the cogs turning in his head. And he was a bit stiff.

Riker was good, not great. His frame was a little wonky.

Mark seems to do really good with younger contestants. I've enjoyed his choreography for Willow (and Sadie last year).

Glad next week is disney week!

[majormama]

I always watch the dance clips as I read the recap, and I figured out why Rumer's dance seemed so not-waltzy to me. It's not just American Smooth vs Standard, or too much intensity. The song wasn't a three-count song! How the heck are you supposed to do a waltz to a song that's not three-count? It bothered me last night but I couldn't figure out why because I was too focused on the dancing to notice the count.

 

I feel like all I've seen from Rumer is intensity. Her technique is great, her emoting is great, but it's all very one note. I need more variety from her.

[saber5055]

Ugh. I don't want to go on a rant but I felt the whole number was overly manipulative, with not only the song but the flag. It went from being an inspiring story about Noah himself to a "rah rah military" number.

 

 

This bothered me, too, but I don't have a clue what I wish it had been instead. I'm stumped! I'm sort of thinking it was what it had to be. At least it was what I expected, if that makes sense, since Noah's story IS all military.

[essinad]

Add me to the chorus of haters of Noah's song selection. Was there no Toby Keith "Proud 'Murican" song available? Ugh.

[Serendi]

The letter says "Bachelor/ette", meaning either show.

 

ETA: I keep thinking, "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)"

Edited April 7, 2015 by Serendi

[Andiethewestie]

 

On a wholly unrelated note, I see this is the episode I get to break out my "smooth is a thing" rant in response to Len's critique of one of Val's dances. Seriously, there was plenty of waltz content in his and Rumer's dance. No whisks, sure. *Because it was American Smooth.*

 

I appreciate this comment, I think of slow waltz like Len, the international style closed position, but you are quite right, I watched some professional American Smooth and this dance is in keeping with the style. Its just that Turning Tables is a tough song to dance to, it certainly isnt strict slow waltz tempo.  Also, I get where she was a little off balance,  or not quite getting the developee right because she has no formal training, but what has come through is a natural ability to emote and create lovely shapes with her arms. I am excited for her because even though she does not have the technical prowess of Nastia, she has chemistry with her partner and the audience.  On second watch this was a very solid 9.  

Edited April 7, 2015 by Andiethewestie

[Missy Vixen]

OK - I'm old for busting out with this, so get off my lawn.

 

I call so much unbelievable bullshit on Suzanne's 'tribute':  Bitch...your costars, including your 'beloved' John, hated you so much for your salary and 'diva' demands to continue the show that they wouldn't even share a set with you!!!!!  Are you kidding me?!?!?  That's why her final few episodes on the show were done with her on a phone from another part of the studio:  It was mutual dislike on all parts. 

 

 

OK - I'm old for busting out with this, so get off my lawn.

 

I call so much unbelievable bullshit on Suzanne's 'tribute':  Bitch...your costars, including your 'beloved' John, hated you so much for your salary and 'diva' demands to continue the show that they wouldn't even share a set with you!!!!!  Are you kidding me?!?!?  That's why her final few episodes on the show were done with her on a phone from another part of the studio:  It was mutual dislike on all parts. 

 

I thought I'd entered the Twilight Zone for a few minutes last night myself. One has to wonder if Suzanne Somers has any idea of the demographic that watches DWTS and the fact they may remember her antics on Three's Company's set as much less than loving...

[limecoke]

This lack of connection between Derek and Nastia is one of two things, or maybe both.  Could be the crazy schedule of trying to create a dance with two different partners or her gymnastic training.  The first is out of her control and the second is what it is.  Maybe she's just a buttoned-up person and (as one myself), it's hard to overcome.  Hopefully, they can connect in some way before she gets voted off or the end of the season.  Her dancing is gorgeous.

 

I remember very well the backstage goings-on with the "Three's Company" cast so my mouth was gaping as Suzanne spun her revisionist history.  The slam to Joyce DeWitt was probably the most jarring.  I thought the dance was awful.

 

Rumer suffered from not looking like her mother and that's completely unfair to any child or young adult, especially in a public forum.  Fortunately she had the means to work on her face, which is totally fine with me. 

 

I'm enjoying watching Noah's journey on this show and Patti is her awesome self but at some point they will have to be judged on what they do on the dance floor.  Right now that's not happening and it's disconcerting after much better dancers are being nit-picked.

 

I'm also still put off that Riker is even on the show with his Hough connections.  Doesn't seem right somehow.

 

My tears dried up as soon as I heard Toby Keith's voice. ugh!!

Only Toby Keith wasn't singing and it might have been better if he was.  I'm not a TK fan by any means but don't hate the song and as it was appropriate for Noah didn't bother me a bit.  Which probably makes me the only person on the planet who didn't mind.

 

Someone might go back and prove me wrong, but I swear when they showed the letter his sister wrote, she was trying to get him on The Bachelorette - not The Bachelor.

You are totally right.

 

Who peed in Len's Cheerios?

Edited April 7, 2015 by limecoke

[MsPH]

Maybe I'm cold but what kind of cracked me up about Chris' tears was he said something like, "That was the toughest month" (when his girlfriend broke up with him).  I guess because I've had tough break-ups that I didn't get over in a month.  

 

I didn't watch The Bachelor but I read an article in People about him.  Didn't he get to the end 'in love' with 2 or 3 of them, and Whitney wasn't his first choice, just the first one who agreed to him?  I know that's often how it works in real life but it's kind of silly to refer to 2014 as "when I found my true love", under those circumstances.  The Bach thing is almost like an arranged marriage.  

 

Not to mention that according to my calculations it's been 5 or 6 years since the breakup with his former fiancee. Why is he still "crying" about it while supposedly engaged to the love of his life? Are they all forced to play the sympathy card this week, even when it makes no sense? Because I don't understand why he couldn't just focus on the positive and his new found "love". It just left me confused. As did his dancing. He really needs to learn to finish his movements, because it looks like he's still learning the choreo while on stage.

 

I thought Nastia and Derek were amazing. Might be because I love Dark Eyes and it really fit the dance. I think they're doing a huge disservice to the dancing with all those pop songs that don't really fit the style at all. Not to mention it makes it a lot harder for an amateur to get the timing right.

 

Rumer danced beautifully again. It's sad how much she's had to hear about her looks growing up, but plastic surgery or not, she looks great now.

 

I also think Willow was really in jeopardy since they went crazy with the scores. It's like they wanted to make sure that she stays around next week. I did enjoy the dance, but I also lost her in the crowd a few times. Way too much going on.

 

I love watching Robert and Kym. He really loves being on the show and learning all these dances and it shows. I watched both of their rehearsals last week and he's getting really good. They spent more time refining his movements than learning steps and that's a good sign. He nailed it.

[RedheadZombie]

 And Michael leaving before Chris is a travesty.

 

You know, I'm not a football fan, but I know that three NFL guys have won this show.  When Michael was cast, I thought his success/failure would be very telling of NFL fans in general.  As expected, their blind support stopped short of the gay guy.

 

Suzanne kind of acted like the show was about a legendary tv couple-- Chrissy and Jack, like they were a 'Sam and Diane' or something.  I suppose she was just honoring her lost colleague and friend but it was odd to me, like Joyce Dewitt wasn't as integral to the cast as those two were.  

 

I agree with your opinion.  I was very young, but I remember how all of this went down.  The show was a true ensemble, and Suzanne's main contribution was her nipples, and a lot of bouncing while braless.  She demanded (only for herself) an income increase of 5 X's her salary, plus ten percent of the show's profits.  It was an insane demand, and they turned it down.  She then caused a lot of upheaval with taping, which resulted in her tiny segments being taped separate from John and Joyce.  Opinion has always been that it was Suzanne's controlling husband who made these demands.  After last night, I'm not so sure.  And I was disgusted by her attempt to score points off of a fondly remembered John Ritter.

 

And by the way, the show lasted several years after Sommers left.  And it was very telling that John and Joyce went years without forgiving Suzanne.  Farrah Fawcett attempted a similar pay increase on Charlie's Angels, and although she was fired, her co-stars Jacklyn Smith and Kate Jackson were fiercely loyal to her until her death.

[gohawks]

"You know, I'm not a football fan, but I know that three NFL guys have won this show. When Michael was cast, I thought his success/failure would be very telling of NFL fans in general. As expected, their blind support stopped short of the gay guy."

I support the LGBT community 100%, however, I think not having a team was the problem for Michael. Football players who are part of a team or were part of a team, bring their fanatics with them and as we all know sports fanatics are rabid about their teams.

Edited April 7, 2015 by gohawks

[kitcloudkicker]

This lack of connection between Derek and Nastia is one of two things, or maybe both.  Could be the crazy schedule of trying to create a dance with two different partners or her gymnastic training.  The first is out of her control and the second is what it is.  Maybe she's just a buttoned-up person and (as one myself), it's hard to overcome.  Hopefully, they can connect in some way before she gets voted off or the end of the season.  Her dancing is gorgeous.

 

They have "Love is an Open Door" for next week, which I'm hoping is going to force her to open up more, I would think you've got to be cartoonishly animated to pull that one off. However, Derek's schedule this week is insanity, he's got two shows a day every day, (including today which he usually gets off,) and three shows on Saturday. After this week it looks like it drops to several days a week with only one show, which may end up feeling like a break for him? 

[fishcakes]

Has Erin always had little nicknames for people? I don't pay too much attention to her so I'm going to get the details on this wrong, but last night she called Nastia something like "Miss Legs Down to There" and Kym "Miss Pink Disney Princess." Those aren't exactly right, but you get the gist. I used to not mind Erin too much, but starting last season, it seems like her comments are getting more noxiously cutesy and overly personal, with tons of remarks about how great someone's body is. Even if it's complimentary, it still seems rude to me to be so personal.

[truthaboutluv]

However, Derek's schedule this week is insanity, he's got two shows a day every day, (including today which he usually gets off,)

 

 

He apparently missed the 2 pm show today. Some fans were tweeting about it. According to them they didn't say why he missed it, if it was due to illness or something else but the understudy did the show. As for the song, while it will be animated yes, like most Disney songs, they also have a Jazz to it so that may not lend itself to much emotional connection. 

[kitcloudkicker]

He apparently missed the 2 pm show today. Some fans were tweeting about it. According to them they didn't say why he missed it, if it was due to illness or something else but the understudy did the show. As for the song, while it will be animated yes, like most Disney songs, they also have a Jazz to it so that may not lend itself to much emotional connection. 

 

Yeah, it lends itself to emoting to the crowd more than emoting to each other, but I think Nastia struggles a little with both, so while I doubt this will be their "breakthrough emotional week" it might help on the first. And while most Disney songs are "animated" this one is definitely on the extreme end of musical theater bounciness, which is a different thing than we've seen her do. (Contrasting with, say, "You'll Be in My Heart" which is a Disney song but really a Phil Collins softrock song). 

 

Interesting he missed the show, my guess would be that missing the buffer day of having Tuesday off lead to a "Oh damn, misjudged how tired and jetlagged I'd actually be."

[Andiethewestie]

It may sound mean to harp on Nastia's lack of connection with Derek, but for the Argentine Tango it's just absolutely essential to have sexual tension, that conversation without words, or it just becomes a very nice dance with lifts.  I think Len is correct. 

[smiley13]

You know, I'm not a football fan, but I know that three NFL guys have won this show.  When Michael was cast, I thought his success/failure would be very telling of NFL fans in general.  As expected, their blind support stopped short of the gay guy.

But Michael Sam is not really a NFL guy.  He is not currently on a team at all.  He was drafted and cut, then did, I think, two practice squads.  That can not be compared to Emmitt Smith, Heinz Ward or Donald Driver who had lengthy NFL careers.  Michael Sam is not a NFL star in any way when compared to those three.

 

The only football fans Michael Sam would have are from his college days, not the NFL.  

[RemoteControl88]

"You know, I'm not a football fan, but I know that three NFL guys have won this show. When Michael was cast, I thought his success/failure would be very telling of NFL fans in general. As expected, their blind support stopped short of the gay guy."

I support the LGBT community 100%, however, I think not having a team was the problem for Michael. Football players who are part of a team or were part of a team, bring their fanatics with them and as we all know sports fanatics are rabid about their teams.

 

I might be the only one but I'm not too shocked that Michael didn't have the fanatical fan support of the 3 previous winners.  I think they were Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward & Donald Driver.  I think they all had fairly long careers in the NFL so were well known and had a built in fan base.  I remember during Hine's Ward's season it felt like he had the support of his entire home state (Steelers?) because they were waving those yellow towels ever episode.

 

Not to mention all 3 were natural performers and looked like they were having fun while dancing.  Michael did not truly look comfortable in any of his dances until his final dance either.  I don't doubt that some football fans never got behind Michael simply because he's gay.  But I think another piece to that puzzle was that IMO he was not always that enjoyable to watch compared to others.

Edited April 7, 2015 by RemoteControl88

[majormama]

You know, I'm not a football fan, but I know that three NFL guys have won this show.  When Michael was cast, I thought his success/failure would be very telling of NFL fans in general.  As expected, their blind support stopped short of the gay guy.

 

 

He did better than Keyshawn Johnson, who was eliminated first. Kurt Warner was a Super Bowl hero in his day and very religious to boot, and he finished fifth. On the other hand, Donald Driver won because he had reasonably good technique, fantastic performances, and a likable personality. Sure, his Packer Nation fanbase helped, but I don't think it's fair to say football players always and only do well because NFL fans are crazy supportive unless you're gay. 

[DancingD]

I did a lot of sniping at the tv last night, hate to admit. Suzanne mostly. First, the little girl hairdo, then the revisionist relationship with John Ritter, and then the "it's a Chrissy thing" about her posture. Yeah, the show ended about 40 years ago, time to stand up straight. Oh, and I hated the dance. Actually never minded Suzanne Sommers until she came on this show.

 

Ok, I will go now. I was a little bored last night.

Edited April 7, 2015 by DancingD

[Andiethewestie]

But Michael Sam is not really a NFL guy.  He is not currently on a team at all.  He was drafted and cut, then did, I think, two practice squads.  That can not be compared to Emmitt Smith, Heinz Ward or Donald Driver who had lengthy NFL careers.  Michael Sam is not a NFL star in any way when compared to those three.

 

The only football fans Michael Sam would have are from his college days, not the NFL.  

This is so true. Michael not having a fanbase was his achilles' heel. If he had one, there's no doubt he would have went deeper into the competition.He is every bit as likable as any footballer before him. Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice are legends of the game, Hines Ward for example turned the ballroom into Steeler Nation placing legends in the audience with him, and as a result some of the highest ratings in the show's history were recorded the season he was competing. I really don't think fans of football will care about his sexual orientation, they just are real loyal to their teams. 

Edited April 7, 2015 by Andiethewestie

[Kromm]

"Most Memorable Year" Week.  Aka "Emotionally manipulate me the best" week.

 

BTW: fuck Suzanne Sommers.  Lying doesn't suit you.  Also, that dance and it's accompanying skit sucked too.

[Andiethewestie]

"Most Memorable Year" Week.  Aka "Emotionally manipulate me the best" week.

 

BTW: fuck Suzanne Sommers.  Lying doesn't suit you.  Also, that dance and it's accompanying skit sucked too.

Well I think Suzanne maybe next and then possibly Miss Patti as they set up for Team Dances in week 7.  I think they wanted to push the fanbases  to voting for Riker and Willow - they may not be getting the vote. 

[crowceilidh]

 

Donald Driver won because he had reasonably good technique, fantastic performances, and a likable personality.

 

What I loved about Donald Driver (and it made me vote for him) was that he had clearly watched the show a lot AND he clearly understood it quite well.  I have never watched an NFL football game in my life.  Michael looked lost.

[Donny Ketchum]

Rumer's performance. I was moved by her story and her message, just as I was moved by Bethany's dance in the previous season, because self-esteem and body image issues is a personal topic to me. But I didn't think the dance honored that message as well as it could. The choreography didn't seem to fully fit and the music was too fast for their waltz, so the movements were too sharp, with too much staccato and snapping in place. I can see why Len wasn't happy with it in terms of waltz quality. It was a good performance, well done by both Val and Rumer, but it wasn't in keeping with what a waltz should be, even if one is trying to modernize it.

My thing about Rumer's dance is that a waltz should be set to a song with a triple meter (3/4, 3/8, 6/4, 6/8, 9/4, 9/8, 12/4, 12/8, etc.).  That was a song with a duple or quadruple meter.  Not what one waltzes to.

[Zuleikha]

My thing about Rumer's dance is that a waltz should be set to a song with a triple meter (3/4, 3/8, 6/4, 6/8, 9/4, 9/8, 12/4, 12/8, etc.).  That was a song with a duple or quadruple meter.  Not what one waltzes to.

I'm glad to have others confirm this because I thought I must be going crazy when I couldn't count waltz time to it. I had thought the show rearranged the songs to be in proper time when required but I guess not.

[bennyblue]

Did he say something?

[bennyblue]

No, after Suzanne's dance, the camera cut to her husband mid extreme ugly cry...

[RemoteControl88]

I'm glad to have others confirm this because I thought I must be going crazy when I couldn't count waltz time to it. I had thought the show rearranged the songs to be in proper time when required but I guess not.

Anna talks about this in this weeks Afterbuzz also.  She basically confirms that the music doesn't fit the timing for a waltz.

[Dewey Decimate]

This bothered me, too, but I don't have a clue what I wish it had been instead. I'm stumped! I'm sort of thinking it was what it had to be. At least it was what I expected, if that makes sense, since Noah's story IS all military.

 

Please, baby Jesus, forgive me for finding this funny.

 

And Bachelor boy can take his sad song and cry my a river. #1) Finding your alleged soulmate is just as goddamned hard in a big, medium, or small city. (Assuming you want to find a superbly compatible match and not just a sperm donor or socially-mandated wife/mom to your offspring.) #2) Your heart was once broken? Get in line. Put on your big boy boots and put down the unnecessary tissue. #3) So he wants just a nice girl who'll help him plow the fields and live in the country? Yes, I'm quite sure that they'll actually get hitched (don't even watch that show but know the marriage record is shit) and she'll be happily shoveling manure in non-t.v. obscurity. Because neither one of them would ever pursue more Hollywood exposure after being on not one but now two reality shows. </jaded spinster>

[judemorrigan]

My thing about Rumer's dance is that a waltz should be set to a song with a triple meter (3/4, 3/8, 6/4, 6/8, 9/4, 9/8, 12/4, 12/8, etc.).  That was a song with a duple or quadruple meter.  Not what one waltzes to.

Yeah.  It was definitely a DTWS-special "waltz" musically.  Personally, I'm not inclined to fault the dancers for the show's music.  I have to think that they would rather prefer to choreograph their waltzes to music that's at least in the right freaking time signature.  But I'm not about to fault anyone who has serious issues with musicality impact of a dance being a faux-waltz to non-waltz music.  My own grumbling are definitely intended to be specific to Len's specific critiques of the dance.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Suzanne still acting like the wronged party in the Three's Company mess.

When you final scenes are tight close ups having one way phone conversations, you fucked

up Chrissy Snow.

Girl, BYE!

[smiley13]

I did think it was tacky of Suzanne to use John Ritter's memory for her own devices.  I wonder what his family thought about it?  And to claim that she was "the star" is wrong.  Of the three, Ritter was the star IMO.  And Joyce DeWitt was as much of a star as Suzanne.  

 

I like Tony, but this manipulation by Suzanne makes me want her gone.

[iMonrey]

 

Patti's just having the time of her life. That's why I tend to enjoy the older contestants; they have fun.

 

I generally do not enjoy the older contestants, especially when they have to resort to wacky antics like Cloris Leachman. However, there is something so infectious about Patti's enthusiasm that I can't help smiling whenever she's dancing. I think it probably comes from her many years as a performer. Even if she never technically "danced" during her shows, the girl knows how to get down. She's just a born musical entertainer.

[LadyMustang65]

I thought Willow's contemporary looked more like a choreographed fight scene from a movie or play than an actual dance.  The other problem for me was that she kept disappearing into the crowd.  I'd be watching and then I'd realize I didn't know which one was her, and I'd have to go looking for her.  At one point I thought I was watching her and then realized she was on the other side of the group.  That's not a good thing.  I enjoyed it very much, but I was surprised at the three 10s.  That seemed a bit over-the-top to me.  But then again, since most of the time I could really only see pros, maybe it should have gotten four 10s?  They were all excellent.  ;0

 

I correctly pegged the first 10 for Nastia.  I don't know - I'm still not feeling her.  It was a beautiful dance, she did great with the lifts (no surprise at all there), and she makes beautiful lines, but I had to agree with Len - I just wasn't feeling the emotion of the dance at all.  It was like it was an exercise in technique rather than a dance.  I may be in the minority on this one, but I also could have done with a couple less lifts.  It seemed like Nastia rarely had her feet on the ground.  She'd touch down for a second or a step or two and then right back up again.  I wanted to ask them when she was actually going to dance.  I hope I'm not letting my extreme annoyance with Derek popping back up again to color my feelings about Nastia, but I can't discount that either.

 

Robert's waltz was lovely, and I still really enjoy him.  He's getting better every week.  I don't think he can win, but so far I'd be fine with him in the final 4.  I agree that something was off with Riker's tango.  I told my family it felt too 'frantic' to me or something.  He's certainly not the worst dancer, but that may have been his worst dance so far.  I think Allison bears a lot of the blame for that - that was not well choreographed, I don't think.

 

Noah is very strong on his good side, and Sharna must have a core of steel.  I liked this the best of his dances but probably because it was contemporary (which I usually am not fond of) and so it's perfectly acceptable for him to not dance much.  I am not a huge fan of Toby Keith, although I do like some of his music, but that rendition of American Soldier was awful.  They would have been much better off using the original music.  It's hard for me to imagine TK saying no.  But the singer was butchering that so badly.

 

Suzanne's foxtrot was very nice, I thought, although I could have done without her making it a tribute to John Ritter, since probably most of DWTS's audience remembers the real story.  I still love Patti LaBelle, and I thought she did more dancing this time than usual.  I still find her Patti "shuffle" or whatever she calls it to be a bit weird, but I love that she's giving this her all and really enjoying herself out there.

 

I still want Chris gone. He does nothing for me - I mean even way less than Nastia.  I liked Michael Sam and wish he had stayed longer than Chris.  But at least he went out on a high note. I thought his rumba was lovely, and he is such a sweet man.  My heart went out to him over his father's rejection.  Unfortunately, that's a story that is way too common among gay and transgender people, and it's heartbreaking that someone could reject their own child over something like that.  I wish Michael the best of luck, and I really hope he gets picked up by a team this year.

 

I left Rumer for last because she was and still is my favorite this season.  I'm still splitting votes, and I probably will for a while still, but I just like her as a person and I like her as a dancer.  That waltz seemed a bit too 'sharp' - I would have liked to see something really smooth and fluid - but I did like the choreography, and I thought she danced it well.  To be honest, I could do without the nose piercing, but that's a small thing and doesn't really bother me.  At this point Nastia is probably the better technical dancer, but Rumer is no slouch either, and I just enjoy watching her more.

 

I'm not a fan of "most memorable year" because it always seems to degenerate into 'saddest sob story' and skews in favor of older folks who have actually lived long enough to have a sob story.  I was glad that at least some of them opted for uplifting stories instead of manufacturing something bad.  And I've kind of lost the point of them - at one time I thought the idea was to use a song from the most memorable year but now it seems like they use any song, so it does seem a bit weird to say - my mom died of cancer; I'm going to rumba or waltz or whatever.  So now I just see it as more of an excuse to learn a bit more about the backgrounds of the contestants rather than anything especially meaningful.  I was also kind of disappointed to find out that we're not done with contemporary and jazz on the show.  :(  I don't like them here.  I get enough of that on SYTYCD where they generally do contemporary well and ballroom badly. 

[Andiethewestie]

Yeah.  It was definitely a DTWS-special "waltz" musically.  Personally, I'm not inclined to fault the dancers for the show's music.  I have to think that they would rather prefer to choreograph their waltzes to music that's at least in the right freaking time signature.  But I'm not about to fault anyone who has serious issues with musicality impact of a dance being a faux-waltz to non-waltz music.  My own grumbling are definitely intended to be specific to Len's specific critiques of the dance.

Yeah, as soon as I heard it was Turning Tables there's no way they could waltz to it in a true ballroom sense, so I think Len's critique of it being more "contemporary" has as much to do with time signature as it does his non appreciation of American Smooth.  

Edited April 8, 2015 by Andiethewestie

[spanana]

While I don't fault the dancers/pros for the music, I'm pretty sure Rumer chose the Adele song.  So if it they chose the song and it wasn't the right timing for a waltz, shouldn't they have either changed their dance style or chosen a different song?  I know most of the time pros don't have control over their songs, but Rumer has done a cover of this song before.  I'm pretty sure it was something she wanted to dance to for story week.  Though for all I know Rumer chose the song and then the producers told them they had to do a waltz, so they couldn't negotiate the dance style. 

[mtlchick]

 

I may be in the minority on this one, but I also could have done with a couple less lifts.

 

I had mentioned it earlier and said it while watching: "She got a 10 for being lifted off the ground that much?"

[dirtydi]

With Rumer's dance, I think the problem, for me, was the ending.  It felt abrupt. I felt that I was shortchanged.  I wish they would have had more turns toward the end.

[Uke]

Reading through the comments on this and the AfterBuzz threads, I was inspired to rewatch Willow's contemporary to refresh my memory. I didn't recall her being obscured for half the dance.  It begins with the camera scanning past the troupe in the initial poses. Once the dancers begin to move, from :05-:08 the viewer might not know that the girl in the center with the 2 long braids was Willow. At :08-:09 the camera zooms in just on Willow.  At :30-:35 as all the dancers run in a circle then close in tight, it is hard to see Willow but then at :35-:36 Willow pops out and only she and Mark are on the floor dancing.  At 1:01-1:03 as Mark "stabs" Henry, Willow gets behind Mark and then we see her clutching Mark from behind.   I thought it was a beautiful piece of choreography and beautifully performed.  Willow looked fully engaged and I was impressed with how grounded she was in the performance.

[truthaboutluv]

I had mentioned it earlier and said it while watching: "She got a 10 for being lifted off the ground that much?"

 

 

While Derek is obviously necessary to the lifts, Nastia was doing her part in every single one of them. So it wasn't like he was just lifting her with no assist or effort from her. Her core, leg strength and flexibility were all important to every single one of those lifts looking as beautiful as they did.

 

I didn't recall her being obscured for half the dance.

 

 

YMMV, it wasn't so much that she was obscured for half the dance, it's that she got completely lost at one point (when they all move forward in a big fight scene, I thought one person was her until she popped up on a whole other side) and two, the dance was so busy, I didn't really see much dancing from her. At least not much that wasn't overshadowed by the six or seven other people on the dance floor. 

 

Again, as a performance piece, I don't disagree at all that it was beautiful. And as someone who has read all The Hunger Games books, multiple times and seen the movies multiple times, I thought Mark's choreography brilliantly matched the story. I totally got what was happening and everything about it, including the image on the screen at the end, etc. So I don't disagree that it was beautiful but I just think it didn't showcase in my opinion, Willow, who is the one who is competing. 

 

It's like the comments many made about Bethany's freestyle last season. The choreography as a whole was wonderful, the troupe members and Pros all looked good and Bethany looked gorgeous too and danced well enough but many complained that she got lost in the number. And that's what happened with this contemporary in my opinion. So I can't agree with them getting three 10's if  they're being scored on Willow's performance in the number versus just being scored on the production and performance in general.

Edited April 8, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[vavera4ka]

Rumer's performance. I was moved by her story and her message, just as I was moved by Bethany's dance in the previous season, because self-esteem and body image issues is a personal topic to me. But I didn't think the dance honored that message as well as it could. The choreography didn't seem to fully fit and the music was too fast for their waltz, so the movements were too sharp, with too much staccato and snapping in place. I can see why Len wasn't happy with it in terms of waltz quality. It was a good performance, well done by both Val and Rumer, but it wasn't in keeping with what a waltz should be, even if one is trying to modernize it.

Idk, to me it perfectly symbolized what she went through. The outfit was kinda dirty raggy color/shape but gorgeous when she moved in it. An ugly duckling becoming a swan and flying gracefully away from those who bullied her.

Choreography was too full of high, lows, pulls and pushes and an extremely strong and powerful pose to finish it: I am who I am and I love it, deal with it!

Kym and Robert are so perfectly paired up. They are both such rays of sunshine. I always loved Kym for that quality: she is just always positive, caring, smiling and looks like a person who can turn the worst day around by just being there. Robert is just like that. It's such a pleasure to watch them dance and communicate. And if there is something more there: good for them. Good people should be with good people :)

And it should be illegal how gorgeous Nastia looks when she is dancing.

Noah is a superhero. Things he can do with "just a half set of limbs" just baffle me. Yes his dancing is very limited and not too advanced, but at this point I don't really care. He still has few more weeks where he wouldn't be really taking a spot away from a much more deserving contestant. Chris, Suzanne, Patty and him are not really contestants for the trophy. At least he brings an inspiring story of survival and overcoming some of the worst things that can happen to a human being. Patty brings entertainment, and fun factor.

My perfect elimination order would be

Chris

Suzanne

Noah/Patty

Patty/Noah

[jennifer6973]

"You know, I'm not a football fan, but I know that three NFL guys have won this show. When Michael was cast, I thought his success/failure would be very telling of NFL fans in general. As expected, their blind support stopped short of the gay guy."

I support the LGBT community 100%, however, I think not having a team was the problem for Michael. Football players who are part of a team or were part of a team, bring their fanatics with them and as we all know sports fanatics are rabid about their teams.

 

 

Well at least unlike Keyshawn Johnson he wasn't first out.