S20.E09: Week 8: America's Choice

[Forrealforreal]

I voted for the first time tonight. I'm worried about Riker and especially Nastia after that package. I feel like Noah, Chris, and Robert do so well viewer votes, the others have to be close to perfection to escape elimination. Rumer was largely improved tonight from the past few weeks on her Rumba. Found myself bored and distracted during her Paso though and wouldnt know if was worth another 40 cause it didn't captivate me enough to really watch it.

[PBGamer89]

Where are these people finding the "rules of the Trio dance"? Like is there a handbook or something? lol

 

There is no rule about the trios. There used to be trios where the third person would leave and then the couple would do their own part.

 

As long as a third person is there and the star dances with both, I believe that's all that's required. Everybody acting like Nastia's trio was the first one where it wasn't all 3 people dancing at the same exact time.

[RedheadZombie]

He also said something along the lines of, "You are really something else when you're tired." The irony: he's sitting on his ass all the while, scrolling through his phone.

 

Derek also called Nastia brain dead a week or two ago.

[Ann Mack]

I like Riker and Allison. I don't know what she has done to upset some viewers watching the show but I don't have any problems with her. From what I've seen she hasn't tried to upstage her partner, she hasn't been rude to her partner, they seem to have good chemistry, and they perform the hell out of their routines each and every week for me! I didn't see anything too frantic about their waltz it was graceful and they have to adjust their movements to the tempo of the song being performed. I actually prefer their upbeat stance on approaching their dances. Each "professional" has their strengths and weaknesses none of them are PERFECT. So I'm sure if you cast aside the favoritism for the pair you are rooting for I'm sure you would find something to dislike there as well.

 

I'm going to enjoy watching the video clips of the remaining performances. I'm not watching the 2 hour show or result show this season. This anniversary season seems a bit to predictable and staged. I'm sure each season has had TPTB hands dabbling in them behind the scenes but this year it seems just too obvious IMO. Its a lackluster anniversary season for me and my top 3 performers are/were Riker and Allison, Willow and Mark, Rumer and Val once that sham of an elimination last week I just can't watch this show and believe that INTEGRITY vice RATINGS is driving who makes it to the finale and ultimately who will walk away with the Gold Mirrorball this season.

[Lnmop]

WTF re: Noah's tango scores.  Judges:  "It lacked all the elements of the tango, but since you're not physically capable of performing those elements, I'm not going to penalize you for that and am instead going to make up some score based on some other factor not really related to your ability to do the dance."

 

Props to Noah for being out there at all.  For real.  But there are lots of people who can't perform the elements of the tango for all sorts of not-really-their-fault kind of reasons.  Like age.  Or just, you know, no sense of timing, grace and/or coordination.  Not being a good dancer is not a character flaw.  If this show is really about capturing the mood of the dance and not about executing the elements, why don't we bring out Jasper Johns and have him paint us a portrait of the tango live on air?

So much this! After so many years of hearing them they need to hold all stars to the same criteria and judge based on technique, Len pretty much says he has to base Noah on his performance because he couldn't bend his knee? I call bullshit.

River and Rumer were both over scored.

Chris continues to bore me.

Derek needs to stop inserting himself into Nastia's dances.

I love Robert and his enthusiasm! I want him to stay after the double elimination.

[Mollymolz]

This might be an unpopular opinion but I felt really bad for Nastia tonight. I feel like there are a lot of high expectations placed on her and she has the least experience with being an entertainer as anyone on the show. Nastia spent most of her life practically in a vacum perfecting her craft. Which in her case was very technical. She is bound to be somewhat out of her league when it comes to reality tv. Of course Rumer is going to excel at PR responses and interviews under stress because she's been learning and practicing how to cultivate her image for years. Not to say that Nastia's disadvantages compare to the ones say Noah's had, but I feel like she has her own set of challenges that aren't always recognized.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Mollymolz

[Neerbeena]

I think the ones deserving to be in the final three are Rumer, Nastia and Riker.  The other three are nice guys, but not at the same level.  The fact that Erin and Tom keep reminding the viewers to vote means that the better dancers are not getting as many votes as either Noah (military hero), Robert (SharkTank) or Chris (bachelor fans).  It'll be a shame if one of those guys gets into the finals.

 

I've got to admit that little shit Derek really knows how to choreograph; that trio dance was very inventive and high energy.  Both of Rumer's dances were beautiful without all the gimmicks.  I see Derek as the Gene Kelly to Val's Fred Astaire.  Riker's trio dance was great as well.

 

Am I mistaken or is that two weeks now that fiancee Whitney wasn't in the audience to root for bachelor Chris?  

[shok]

 

Derek needs to stop inserting himself into Nastia's dances.

 

This! And he needs to stop pawing at Nastia after the dances are over. We get it Derek. You're inserting yourself into the dances and making sure that everyone knows you're the big cheese and Sasha is just a warm body filling in for you but if I was Nastia and a guy was all over me like Derek, he'd get a subtle knee where it hurts.

 

Really enjoyed Rumer and Val tonight and their pure dancing, and they executed so beautifully. Their two perfect scores were well deserved.

[sinkwriter]

 

Am I mistaken or is that two weeks now that fiancee Whitney wasn't in the audience to root for bachelor Chris?

Does she live and work in Iowa where Chris lives? If that's the case, I could see how she might not be able to take off of work every week to come all the way to L.A. for a two-hour show.

[Kerri Johnson]

I found Sharna's reaction after Noah blurted out "Emma!" hilarious because it's obvious she would've chosen Peta. I find Noah creepy and controlling, just like in their little fight when he kept saying Sharna looked bad. I don't think he knows what a jerk he is.

 

I appreciate Julianne speaking out gimmicks, my jaw actually dropped at that and Len continues with hating on the troupe.

 

I'm happy Len called out Allison on having more Waltz, he didn't really get into her the way he should've last week when she broke hold a million times in their quickstep.

 

I'm not sure what's up with Erin, but I'm finding her so annoying and easily flustered this season. Stop begging Rob and Kim to kiss. She was such a breath of fresh air after dummy Brooke and finally we found a host who was quick enough to keep up with Tom, but I don't think she can keep up anymore. 

 

I like Brittany Cherry, I think she's adorable and after watching her in Ed Sheeran's video, I had no idea she's been on DWTS for 6 years!!! She deserves a pro spot unlike Allison. Brittany actually has professional ballroom experience.

Edited May 5, 2015 by 1hotsumm

[Padma]

Does she live and work in Iowa where Chris lives? If that's the case, I could see how she might not be able to take off of work every week to come all the way to L.A. for a two-hour show.

Her job arranged it so she could work for them online indefinitely, but apparently she went back to Chicago last week. Celebuzz said they broke up which, having seen The Bachelor season with Chris, wouldn't surprise me at all. I noticed tonight he gave "all" credit for Witney for getting him through the weeks of dancing (not exactly how you'd word it if you still had a fiancée) and didn't even mention Whitney.

He never seemed in love to me, and I thought he'd completely "go Hollywood" as soon as he got the chance (i.e. dump her and hang out with tv people--and all the gorgeous women now throwing themselves at him in L.A.). Not surprising since I never bought that "nice, sincere (rich) farmer from small town Iowa schtick".

 

Oh, and while he's improved, he still can't dance. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble remembering the steps tonight and his posture was worse than ever.  I thought he was seriously overscored (as was Noah, again) while Robert may not be on the beat all the time, but at least he looks better with more fluidity and musicality in his routines than they do.  But I suspect he'll be going home tomorrow, not Chris or Noah, who should be.

 

(Riker, Rumer, and Nastia should definitely be F3, but I guess after last week's elimination of Mark and Willow there are absolutely no guarantees that the better dancers will stay while the worse ones are eliminated. Then again, an F3 of Chris, Noah and Robert would be kind of a funny "backfire" on the whole concept of voting.)

Edited May 5, 2015 by Padma

[Victura]

I'm not sure what's up with Erin, but I'm finding her so annoying and easily flustered this season. Stop begging Rob and Kim to kiss. She was such a breath of fresh air after dummy Brooke and finally we found a host who was quick enough to keep up with Tom, but I don't think she can keep up anymore.

I like Brittany Cherry, I think she's adorable and after watching her in Ed Sheeran's video, I had no idea she's been on DWTS for 6 years!!! She deserves a pro spot unlike Allison. Brittany actually has professional ballroom experience.

Brittany I think only recently joined the troupe. She was, however, part of the ballroom kids competition they had on the results show way back when when she was still very young. It's great to see that they invited her back! I hope she gets a chance as a pro too.

I feel bad for Erin. I think that job is a thankless one as I'm sure she's got producers rambling in her ear telling her to squeeze in certain things (like that Minnie Mouse appearance during Disney week), no matter how awkward it might be. If they had a bit more time in the skybox, it might be doable with smoother segues, but given that time is so limited, I'm not sure anyone could pull it off all that well. Erin is at least a lot more lively than Brooke, and I generally like her presence.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Victura

[katha]

Meh. Not objective, because I'm still a bit salty about Willow last week, but still. Nastia's jive was nice. Don't know if it was a 40, but since the scores are one major WTH this season anyway (more so than usual IMO), who cares. Paso didn't work for me. I did get a kick out of Derek's ridiculous get-up, though. But as an hommage to Mark it wasn't committed enough to crazy IMO lol. There should have been face paint, wigs, masks. And he was able to breathe through his nose. He could have applied himself more there. (-;

 

I thought both Riker and Rumer were overscored. Riker's jazz could have been a 40, but they were way too nice about that VW. Rumer was good in both dances, not sure they were perfect score worthy. Still not feeling Val's choreography (though better than the last two weeks), I don't know what it is with him this season. And the scoring here does make me go hmm about how many votes Riker and Rumer are getting. Is it just a smokescreen by the show, or are there problems with turning out votes?

 

Chris, Noah and Robert all weren't very good and it really showed that they are out of their depth dancing-wise at this point. Since it's not a dance comp, though, what can you do? They aren't very entertaining at this point either, at least not for me. With Tommy last season and Patti this season, you had at least performers who could do something on that dancefloor that sparked, even though it wasn't the dancing. Don't get that from these three.

[anonymiss]

Noah is definitely not one of those people who is hit by tragedy and thinks, "I don't want your pity."

 

LOL at Derek in the dance again--on a throne, no less. Maybe he should take his injury as a sign he should stop overextending himself and let someone else have a shot for once. It should have been Sasha from the start. How does Derek (I'm assuming) find a way to style Nastia in the most matronly way possible, despite how youthful and pretty she actually is?

 

Rumor and Val with Artem did the only real Paso of the night and did it beautifully. Her "rumba," however, was devoid of hip movement, just like her samba and stiff Bootylicious dance.

 

I didn't care for Riker's overwrought "emotion," especially at the end of his dance. Stick to comedy, kid. (And covering up your competitive dance experience.)

Edited May 5, 2015 by anonymiss

[Lonesome Rhodes]

1)  What an absolute hoot to see Derek perform as the "Star" and Nastia as the "Pro."

 

2)  Music makes ALL the friggin difference in the world.  Rumer got two classically appropriate tunes for her classic dances.  I dearly loved the "Rumba" as it was clean, elegant, and beautiful.  THIS is what the show should be!  Her paso was definitely lacking ferocity and emphasis.  However, it was great to watch.  My goodness but Artem and Val presented gorgeous and strong matadors!  Arguably the sexiest male dancing I have seen in 10 seasons.  

 

None of the magic in the above dances would have been possible with some modern mishmash music mix.

[Wings]

Dance Center is why I will watch tonight, love it.  Not saying I won't FF through everything else though!  Elimination nights bore me. 

 

Robert is my favorite Shark but I find myself feeling embarrassed for him.  His facial expressions and drooling over Kym make me cringe sometimes.  I love the guy though and would like to see him survive tonight.  He is having a good time and that is fun to watch.  I like that he and Kym are in a real and not manufactured romance and I will follow that when this ends. 

 

I loved Derek's trio, very clever and entertaining.  He is one of my favorite male dance pros and I fail to understand why so many don't like him.  He is a brilliant choreographer.  The humor in this number is a welcome respite in the midst of others trying to dance. 

 

Julianne, go away. 

 

 

I found Sharna's reaction after Noah blurted out "Emma!" hilarious because it's obvious she would've chosen Peta. I find Noah creepy and controlling, just like in their little fight when he kept saying Sharna looked bad. I don't think he knows what a jerk he is.

 

So that is what happened!  I had no clue why that was so awkward.  He is a tough one.  

[vibeology]

He also said something along the lines of, "You are really something else when you're tired." The irony: he's sitting on his ass all the while, scrolling through his phone.

 

This is also the man who told Brooke Burke that she had a lazy mind

 

Derek also called Nastia brain dead a week or two ago.

 

Derek is an ass. He's been an ass since early in his run when he whined about judges scores with Shannon Elizabeth and took shots at the competition and he's especially assy with his partners. There's was also a fight with Maria where he told her he hadn't seen her be a female yet. I have no idea why people request him as a partner. About halfway through every year he gets tired and assy and always puts it on his partner. With the injury there was no way Nastia was going to avoid the worst of Derek.

 

I found Sharna's reaction after Noah blurted out "Emma!" hilarious because it's obvious she would've chosen Peta. I find Noah creepy and controlling, just like in their little fight when he kept saying Sharna looked bad. I don't think he knows what a jerk he is.

 

I was so confused when I realized that Peta wasn't going to be part of their trio and was worried that she and Sharna had had a falling out so I was relieved to see that it was just a matter of Noah trying to be the boss again. Man, he bugs me on a personal level more than any other contestant this season. 

 

Mostly what I got out of this night is that it needed more Willow. When half the dancers are useless the way Chris, Robert and Noah are, its just not good entertainment.

[calipiano81]

Two, from what I remember. Apolo/Karina/Sasha and Sadie/Mark/Emma.

I remember four trios with the same gender pro as the celebrity...

William/Cheryl/Tony (S14 Paso)

Roshon/Chelsie/Sasha (S14 Paso)

Apolo/Karina/Sasha (S15 Jive)

Sadie/Mark/Emma (S19 Foxtrot)

[poopchute]

Her job arranged it so she could work for them online indefinitely

 

 

Wait...isn't she a fertility nurse or something like that? How does she do that online?!

[Wings]

 

I was so confused when I realized that Peta wasn't going to be part of their trio and was worried that she and Sharna had had a falling out so I was relieved to see that it was just a matter of Noah trying to be the boss again. Man, he bugs me on a personal level more than any other contestant this season.

 

 

I agree.  

 

 

Wait...isn't she a fertility nurse or something like that? How does she do that online?!

 

They moved her to an administrative position at the fertility clinic. 

[Quickbeam]

I really enjoy watching Riker the most. I had never heard of him before the show and have no interest in the Hough family genetics. I do like that he makes the most of his body type and seems to be able to lead in hold. Somehow, I feel badly for Nastia. Her dances seem mechanical to me. If she could turn the warmth up a notch I think she could win this thing. I get more heat from her parents in the audience clapping than I do from her performances. 

[nutty1]

Why Whitney wasn't there cheering Chris on....

 

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/05/05/bachelor-chris-soules-reveals-why-whitney-didnt-show-at-dwts/

[ChrisMcGraan]

I honestly have no idea who is going home tonight. I'm actually a little worried about Noah has he had an only okay night. I also wonder if the audience might be growing tired of him. I would prefer Chris going home over Robert but I need at least one of them to go home.

 

I think both Riker and Rumer were overscored. I'm a huge Riker fan but not sure his VW deserved a 39, that being said, I thought he did deserve a 40 on his Jazz so I guess it evens out. I just can't get excited about Rumer (shrugs). I recognize she's a great dancer but it just doens't feel genuine to me. I also think Val is overdoing it and it all just feels forced. She had a good Rumba (though I didn't see much Rumba) but thought she wasn't nearly as fierce as she had to be in the Paso. She seemed tense throughout it.

[skittl3862]

This might be an unpopular opinion but I felt really bad for Nastia tonight. I feel like there are a lot of high expectations placed on her and she has the least experience with being an entertainer as anyone on the show. Nastia spent most of her life practically in a vacum perfecting her craft. Which in her case was very technical. She is bound to be somewhat out of her league when it comes to reality tv. Of course Rumer is going to excel at PR responses and interviews under stress because she's been learning and practicing how to cultivate her image for years. Not to say that Nastia's disadvantages compare to the ones say Noah's had, but I feel like she has her own set of challenges that aren't always recognized.

 

Nastia has been doing PR and live interviews since she won the National Championships at 16. She has commercial sponsorships and does public speaking for fees. She's also had about a dozen acting gigs, all which I think counts as being more of an entertainer than Noah.

 

I don't think Nastia is at a disadvantage in that regard and to bring it up as an excuse now, this far into the season, just because she had negative package this week is a little silly. Every single contestant has had a negative package where they get short-tempered. This week was Nastia. Last week was Rumer. The week before was Noah. Chris has reality show experience and still managed to have a few negative packages where he bitched at Witney. Nastia isn't anymore challenged than the rest of them.

Edited May 5, 2015 by skittl3862

[kayma]

I actually enjoyed Chris again. Not so much his dancing; although, he really has come a long way. He seems to be enjoying this now and seems to be having fun with Witney. I wouldn't mind if he stuck around for next week.

 

Robert and Noah can go. I think we've seen all we're going to see there.

 

I like Riker. At this point, I'm hoping he ends up second even though I'm worried that will justify Allison's frenetic choreography. I think he comes off mostly likeable and up for the challenge. I do wish the show would stop telling me how great he is. He's really good and looks even better compared to the other men, but I can see that sometimes it's kind of a fast, sloppy mess. I do think that falls more on Allison, but it's never mentioned. I think Len's cooking analogy was perfect for Riker, and most of the time it works for him. But, I feel like they're pushing him on me, and it's making me like him less each week.

 

I thought Brittany stole the show in the trio. I don't even think she has the presence of Peta or Witney, but she stood out to me over Allison. I get why they're pushing for Allison, and I will probably like her more when she figures out how to do nuance and slow, but I was surprised just how much I focused on Brittany over her.

 

I like Nastia. I don't mind that she's not bubbly and actually really appreciate that she told the producer she wasn't going to talk about things. I think the show and Derek have done her a huge disservice this year. Derek said in the package that they only practice 2-3 hours normally. Doesn't everyone else practice 5-6 hours? Imagine what she could have been doing if Derek had been able to fully commit.

 

I thought Nastia's scores for the paso were fair. I thought her scores for the jive were too high. The jive portions seemed slow and safe to me, which is exactly what Rumer got called out on last week. It was a cute dance and she performed better than she has been, but it wasn't better than Riker's and it wasn't as good as Rumer's. I think that's part of the problem when Chris starts getting 9s. How do you score the ones who can actually dance when there's only one number left?

 

I thought it was Rumer's night. Both her dances were far better than the rest for me. With the crazy scoring, 40s were the only option in my opinion. I thought the simplistic rumba was captivating. It's my favorite dance of the season so far. I really, really liked their paso. I think she has the right attitude for the show, and I hope they can continue to have fun over the last weeks.

 

Oh, I forgot. I have a whole new respect for Sasha. He must be incredibly patient. I hope he can get a pro spot next season.

Edited May 5, 2015 by kayma

[Pj3422]

Did Val & Rumer watch "Strictly Ballroom" this week? I thought it was interesting that both of their numbers came from the soundtrack.

 

[Mollymolz]

Nastia has been doing PR and live interviews since she won the National Championships at 16. She has commercial sponsorships and does public speaking for fees. She's also had about a dozen acting gigs, all which I think counts as being more of an entertainer than Noah.

I don't think Nastia is at a disadvantage in that regard and to bring it up as an excuse now, this far into the season, just because she had negative package this week is a little silly. Every single contestant has had a negative package where they get short-tempered. This week was Nastia. Last week was Rumer. The week before was Noah. Chris has reality show experience and still managed to have a few negative packages where he bitched at Witney. Nastia isn't anymore challenged than the rest of them.

[Mollymolz]

As I knew it would be unpopular, I don't feel my opinion is silly. To me those types of interviews are an entirely different ball game than entertainment than media. You don't have to agree with me but please don't call me silly.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Mollymolz

[sarahlee]

" Can't ruin the "Val's season" storyline."

I'm actually a little nervous about this one because I find that I like Rumor. What has me nervous is that I live in Indianapolis and yesterday they announced the grand marshall for the Indy 500 Parade: Nastia Lukin. I told my husband that I felt the fix was in. Why would there be an also-ran from a reality show - Olympic champion, granted but from 2 Olympics ago - with zero connection to Indiana or Indianapolis named as Grand Marshall? Oh I know - the Indy 500 is broadcast on ABC. If she wins, I swear it was fixed.

Edited May 7, 2015 by OnceSane
fixed quote tags

[Steph619]

As much as I like Robert, I think that he, Noah, and/or Chris should be the ones getting eliminated tonight. They're not on the same level of dancing as Rumer, Riker, and Nastia and it would be a shame to see any of these three leave like Willow last week.

My favorite of the night was Rumer. I thought both of her dances were great especially the rumba because of its simplicity.

Nastia's attitude in the package last night was probably unpleasant to some, but I commend her for not giving into providing the drama that the producers obviously wanted from her.

In terms of her dances, her paso was good, but it had synchronization issues and once again, I don't understand why Derek can't step aside for a moment and let Nastia be the star. Don't get me wrong, I like Derek, but just like last week, his presence during Sasha and Nastia's dance was unnecessary and distracting. He should've just waited for the trio dance.

[smiley13]

That Brittany chick was very annoying when she was on camera, both during the rehearsal footage and the actual dance.  I hope she does not end up as a pro some day.

 

I am hoping that we get rid of Riker tonight.  As a liar and a Hough cousin, to me, he has no business being on the show at all.  Plus he is paired with the very annoying Allison.  Does she have any dancing speed other than frantic?  She just looks harsh when she dances.

[katha]

As I knew it would be unpopular, I don't feel my opinion is silly. To me those types of interviews are an entirely different ball game than entertainment than media.

I agree with that. We saw these same problems with Meryl and Charlie. They had their media scripts and trotted them out in every interview. Charlie also didn't provide any kind of "drama". Meryl  had Maks, a seasoned reality tv performer, drag her off-script in interviews and provide the entertainment in her packages. I know many think it was too much about him and I agree up to a point, but one reason for that was that Meryl wasn't all that different from Nastia as a persona. She was more vibrant as a dance performer, though. Willow perhaps ran into the same problem: She was dancing well, she was having fun with Mark and there were zero conflicts, she was genuinely enthusiastic and happy all the time. There's not much soap opera potential in that and the show thrives on soap opera.

[fishcakes]

Despite half of the remaining cast being good dancers and half being not, I don't have a favorite and I'm not rooting for anyone this season. Whoever goes home tonight is fine with me; I'm just watching for Dance Center. Even so, if it were Riker to go based solely on the portion of his Jazz trio dance where he executed the most pathetic crotch grab in the history of genitals, that would be entirely justified.

[LadyMustang65]

Kind of a mixed bag last night, I thought.

 

Chris - did okay in the contemporary, but it was obvious in some of the lifts that Witney was doing all the work.  Chris does seem more relaxed now and appears to be enjoying himself more, but he's still not good.  Of the three second-tier men left, he probably should be the one in the semi-final, but it was clear to me last night that the 4th should have been Willow.

 

Robert - did better than I expected, but he is still struggling and unlike Chris does not appear to be improving at all.  I like him and his enthusiasm and pure joy at being on the show, but at this point, I think it's time for him to say goodbye.

 

Noah - I never know quite what to think.  He dances very blocky, but there's no way around that with not being able to bend that left knee 'on command' so to speak.  If you watch just his right side, it appears that he might well have been a contender absent his injury.  He seems to have some sense of rhythm and some fluidity of movement on that side, but the overall picture is just not nice because of the injury.  I think he has made it further than he should have, but it's time for him to go as well.

 

Riker - I don't know what the judges were watching, but I did not care for that VW at all.  Way too frantic and frenetic and I didn't really see any 'vulnerability' from Riker.  I was gobsmacked at the 10s.  Seriously show?  Ugh.

 

Nastia - Derek was superfluous in the paso, but at least he pretty much stayed out of the way.  But he got it wrong at the end - thumbs down meant put your blade in the ground next to the guy and let him live; thumbs up meant 'send him to heaven.'  Oh well.  Blame Hollywood for that.  Anyway, I thought the paso was okay, but I didn't think Nastia quite got the 'mood' right.  Sometimes her serious face looked more like a pissed face, and I wanted more 'power' from her movements.  They seemed too soft at times.  But overall I thought it was good if not great, and I did like the move where she flipped Sasha over her shoulder.  That was different.

 

Rumer - absolutely loved the rumba, and that's coming from someone who usually despises it.  It was clean, elegant, classy, sensual but not raunchy.  I wouldn't have given it a 40 except that Riker got a 39 for that awful VW, so Rumer definitely deserved the 40 for the much better Rumba.  I loved that Len grumbled about the production numbers and 'hordes' of people dancing.  I agree.  I had been letting myself fall into the thought that the big productions were needed to keep people interested, but after watching that rumba, I am firmly back in the belief that beautiful, classic dancing with the occasional production or an extra dancer or two would be highly entertaining.  Then the freestyles would still seem special.  The last few seasons it's been hard to tell the freestyles from the rest of the dances.

 

Trio dances:

 

Chris - not good.  He tends to be kind of 'stompy' anyway, and the paso brought that out in him.  Did not care for this at all.

 

Noah - I give props to Sharna for figuring out some creative ways to use the arms they had, but overall again not that good.

 

Robert - again not good.

 

Riker - I enjoyed this one a lot.  It was much better than his VW.

 

Nastia - I loved the choreography in this one, and I thoroughly enjoyed the dance itself.  But it wasn't Nastia's best dance.  She was noticeably lagging when dancing with Sasha, and next to him she appeared to have little crispness in her kicks.  She fared better when dancing with Derek because of his limitations.  I thought this was a creative way to put him in there, and it made perfect sense to me to use that trio.  It was a fun number.

 

Rumer - I really liked this paso and thought it was light years ahead of Chris's paso trio.  I also thought Rumer danced the paso better than Nastia did earlier in the evening.  I love that Val and Artem kept their shirts on (even though I think they're both gorgeous) because it was kind of expected, I think, that they would take them off.  It was a nice touch that they went with the open vests instead.  In terms of enjoyment, this was on a par with Nastia's jive trio, but I think Rumer danced it better so was okay with her getting a better score.

 

For Week 8 overall I was kind of underwhelmed with much of the dancing, and I thought Willow's early departure was sorely felt.  At times I felt she danced a bit immature, but she was so far ahead of the three second-tier men left in terms of technique and fluidity that it really is a shame she left before them.  I feel she was definitely 4th place in the group, but her freestyle with Mark was bound to have been so much better than anything Chris, Robert or Noah could do.  It's too bad we won't have the chance to see it and unfortunately will have to see one of them.  Or maybe all of them.  Tonight's double elimination could conceivably see one or more of Rumer, Riker and Nastia go.  That would be a complete and utter travesty.  Hopefully the show has stacked the deck enough that we don't end up with the lamest final 3 ever.

 

One more thought on Nastia - it appears some people are worried that she got a bad edit last night, but I actually found myself liking her immensely for not being willing to fall into lockstep with the producers and their manufactured drama.  If anyone got a 'bad edit,' I think it was Derek.  As with the Noah/Sharna thing a couple of weeks ago, Derek was the one who did not come off that well in the package.

[Thadeeeyus]

My takeaways from last night.  Loved everything about Rumer's "rumba"!  Wonderful dancing in a ballroom style.  If TPTB didn't manipulate, that's how I would see all the numbers.  Good music and ballroom.  White was NOT the best color for Noah.  Robert is beginning to annoy.  Surprisingly, Chris didn't annoy.  Erin IS SO annoying!  I feel asleep after the first two trios so I can't comment on them.  

Edited May 5, 2015 by Thadeeeyus

[Danseur]

FWIW: Here's an excerpt from a Glamour article:

Expect Tonight: To be honest, the only couple I'm most certain will head to the semifinals is Rumer and Val. When I met with the executive producers last week (for a DWTS secrets piece coming soon!) they admitted that voting this season has been awfully close, with various couples in the lead at different weeks this season. In other words, there's no clear front runner. Robert and Kym were at the bottom of the leader board, but I don't think they'll be heading home tonight. Fans love their romance so much that I expect them to stay another week. Noah and Sharna were in second-to-last place, and though Noah has been remarkable to watch this season, I think he stands the biggest chance of leaving tonight. With that said, I think Chris Soules might actually make it to the semifinals. Which means Riker or Nastia could be a surprise elimination. If either of them go home, I'll be livid, but I won't be shocked. I adore them both, but I don't know if they've registered with viewers the same way Robert, Chris, or Noah has (and if voting is as close as the producers say it is). Still, I'd like to think the DWTS voting audience is smarter than that and keeps the best dancers around at this late in the game. But hey, we've been through this before.

It's just one more opinion, although the author did say she is writing a piece on DWTS "secrets". I'm not sure they would tell their secrets to her. The accumulated scores from the last two weeks:

Rumer 117

Nastia 117

Riker 115

Noah 101

Chris 95

Robert 93

These scores require the bottom three to get thousands of votes more per million votes cast to beat the top three. [Can't do the math]. There's always the possibility that one of the top three isn't pulling in the necessary votes. We just don't know which one. Rumer who doesn't have a huge fan base? Riker who does have but his fans aren't voting? Nastia who isn't cheerful enough and has an "ass" for a partner?

[Primetimer]

America gets to choose the dances, the songs, and the costumes. America makes terrible choices.

Read the story

[kayma]

One more thought on Nastia - it appears some people are worried that she got a bad edit last night, but I actually found myself liking her immensely for not being willing to fall into lockstep with the producers and their manufactured drama.  If anyone got a 'bad edit,' I think it was Derek.  As with the Noah/Sharna thing a couple of weeks ago, Derek was the one who did not come off that well in the package.

 

I agree. I thought Derek came off poorly. I came into this season pretty neutral on Derek. He's not one of my favorite pros, but I find him likeable enough and usually enjoy quite a few of his dances each season. After the last few weeks, though, I completely understand why some people dislike him so much. I'm trying to write it off to the injury and losing out on his big opportunity and parts of this one. Maybe when he recovers in time for the finale, he'll lighten up again.

[jennifer6973]

 

" Can't ruin the "Val's season" storyline."

 

I'm actually a little nervous about this one because I find that I like Rumor. What has me nervous is that I live in Indianapolis and yesterday they announced the grand marshall for the Indy 500 Parade: Nastia Lukin. I told my husband that I felt the fix was in. Why would there be an also-ran from a reality show - Olympic champion, granted but from 2 Olympics ago - with zero connection to Indiana or Indianapolis named as Grand Marshall? Oh I know - the Indy 500 is broadcast on ABC. If she wins, I swear it was fixed.

 

 

 

Actually the year Kristi won she was also at the Indy 500, so I don't think it really means anything.

[Alapaki]

They should've just titled last night's episode "Sorry about last week, Rumer".  Obviously, with two 40's she is the only one who moved improved her position relative to the bottom two.  Noah and Nastia took big hits, moving 2.31 and 1.2 points closer to the bottom two, respectively.  Riker basically stayed the same, losing just 0.11 points relative to the bottom two.

In terms of adjusted-for-percentage-of-votes-case (cumulative including last week) the standings from last night are:

Pre-Trio

Nastia 17.99
Rumer 17.99
Riker: 17.76
Noah: 16.12
Chris: 15.19
Robert: 14.95

 

Post-Trio

Nastia: 18.34
Rumer: 18.03
Riker: 18.03
Noah: 15.83
Chris: 14.89
Robert: 14.58

 

Ultimately the scoring tightened things up quite a bit at the bottom between Noah, Chris and Robert.  Scoring Chris highly in his first dance may lull his fans into complacency.  And the praise for Noah, while scoring him relatively low, may do likewise.  I think last night was all about protecting Rumer and Riker, and possibly Nastia.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Alapaki

[tearbender]

This might be an unpopular opinion but I felt really bad for Nastia tonight. I feel like there are a lot of high expectations placed on her and she has the least experience with being an entertainer as anyone on the show. Nastia spent most of her life practically in a vacum perfecting her craft. Which in her case was very technical. She is bound to be somewhat out of her league when it comes to reality tv. Of course Rumer is going to excel at PR responses and interviews under stress because she's been learning and practicing how to cultivate her image for years. Not to say that Nastia's disadvantages compare to the ones say Noah's had, but I feel like she has her own set of challenges that aren't always recognized.

It's not like Nastia has spent her entire life in the gym with no contact with the media and entertainment world besides competitions. She's had her share of PR training, just watch any of her interviews or fluff pieces with NBC. She definitely has an image for the cameras. She does have performance experience from gymnastic tours and her floor routines ,even if it doesn't translate as neatly  to DWTS as say the experience figure skaters had. I just find the "sheltered, inexperienced, stoic gymnast" storyline quite unbelievable and unsatisfactory as an explanation for Nastia's lack of expression and effect. She's just not a natural performer, or even still a convincing or engaging one in my opinion. Nothing wrong with that. I actually wouldn't compare her to Meryl Davis either as Meryl, while quiet had a warmth about her, and could turn on the charisma when it came time to perform. Plus I've never heard anything negative about her behind the scenes. Can't say the same for Nastia.

[crowceilidh]

But as an hommage to Mark it wasn't committed enough to crazy IMO lol. There should have been face paint, wigs, masks. And he was able to breathe through his nose. He could have applied himself more there. (-;

 

Many laughs!

 

I was very interested in the Val story.  I like Val best of all the pros, but haven't we seen a few variations on this story before?  If that whole I was too serious thing is a sham, Val is an astonishing actor.  His face looked like he had relaxed completely.  I went to bed last night utterly sure it was a sham and woke up thinking, nah - he can't be that good an actor.

Also, I really don't think there's anything going on between Robert and Kym.  They play along because it's their job to.

[tearbender]

Rumor and Val were awesome though. I love the paso doble when its done right and it was done right. I'm clearly only watching so they win, I think Val has earned his win.

Ha. Of course he's earned it when this entire season has been set up for him to win. Everything has been designed to paved his way to the mirrorball trophy. It's been apparent from day one. Can't provide any proof or actual convincing arguments for this theory, but it's totally obvious.

[Uke]

Where are these people finding the "rules of the Trio dance"? Like is there a handbook or something? lol

 

There is no rule about the trios. There used to be trios where the third person would leave and then the couple would do their own part.

 

As long as a third person is there and the star dances with both, I believe that's all that's required. Everybody acting like Nastia's trio was the first one where it wasn't all 3 people dancing at the same exact time.

 

This came up on All-Access.  As I'm on the East Coast, I watch the show 8-10 and then at 11 I watch the All-Access west coast replay as I'm doing my voting.  Anyways, Tony said they've been given a rule that for the trio, the 3 are supposed to dance together.  While watching Nastia's Jive, he thought they'd get criticized for dancing separately for all but the last couple seconds but was surprised it wasn't mentioned.

[ari333]

I hate everything Bachelor/ette; I cant change now. So there's that. OTOH, Witney is just gorgeous,  - body, face, beautiful dancer, and cute personality ("need a snack?") heh. [/jealous] Her skirt over Chris' face made me howl laugh out loud. I had to rewind it cuz I'm going to hell anyway. I hate angsty  and especially that lean forward then jerk your shoulders back move. I hate it almost as much I loathe the flex foot bicycle move.

 

I've tried to like Allison and I just can't. And the reasoning about why they chose the female dancer for the trio was just .... pass the Pepto. Way to insult every other dancer there including the ousted pros as well as the troupe. Sheesh. .  I want to snatch Riker's hair and yank it off his head. I do wonder if Allison has ever tried decaff.

 

Some witty poster had previously mentioned that judge JH should put her tiny boobs away and she did! Good. She makes me nervous that one is going to do a Janet Jackson and pop out ....on the desk, and scare the childrenS. (which brings my cold black heart and mind to, "What about the children?" ..."Oh, fuck the children" [/tm George Carlin, RIP] ) :)

 

Bruno, sit the eff down already.

 

Noah looked very handsome in the all white. Good call.... whoever.

 

On a random note, I miss Maks, Cheryl, Karina., and even Lacey. I just started liking Lacy on her Chaz season then poof she was gone. Lindsay  turns me off and IDK why. SO glad Kym is back.

 

Super kudos to Robert for being 50 sah-um and wearing an open shirt. Ballsy; and he pulled it off nicely imo so good for him. HIs dancing is not great imo but he's fun.

Edited May 5, 2015 by ari333

[Stitsch]

Can't provide any proof or actual convincing arguments for this theory, but it's totally obvious.

 

If you can't provide any proof or a convincing argument, then isn't it the opposite of totally obvious? YMMV, but I really do not buy the whole "this is Val's season!!!!" hooplah. Len might have stated something of the sort in the premiere, but since then, the storyline TPTB have produced for Val and Rumer doesn't fall into line. The judges gave her perfect 40s tonight because everyone else's scores were inflated -- how are they not going to give her 40s when Noah gets a 9 for dancing like a box? When Chris gets equally good scores for being a veritable forklift? Other than their ridiculous packages, Rumer and Val haven't been given any overt special treatment. Seeing as Mark and Willow also had the most ridiculous packages, it can be argued that they haven't been given any special treatment at all.

 

Rumer is a great dancer. She embodies the spirit of every dance and is more than technically proficient. If she wins, it's because she deserved it. Rumer/Val are not Meryl/Maks, period.

[saber5055]

All I could think of during Noah's "dance" and the way his pro partners were (not) dressed plus Noah's just standing there, basically, was that he was a stripper pole for two exotic dancers. Tom's comments after the dance seemed to echo my thoughts.

 

Chris also was sort of stripper-polish in his trio, although the overhead lift he did in his first dance was impressive for a farm boy.

 

Robert seems to lose steps and musicality, but if one is distracted by his gaping mouth grin, one is inclined to not notice.

 

I did like Nastia's trio, it was my favorite. I wish Derek would go home and Sasha stay, she appears so much happier with him.

 

Otherwise, it's so really hard for me to tell who is dancing contemporary, jazz or a ballroom style. Everything pretty much is all over the place any more.

[truthaboutluv]

Derek said in the package that they only practice 2-3 hours normally. Doesn't everyone else practice 5-6 hours?

 

 

He said she usually gets it down in 2-3 hours, which I took to mean that she usually nails the technique and most of the choreography, that quickly but this time, for whatever reason, the Jive was kicking her butt. Personally, I didn't think anyone looked bad in Nastia's package. She was exhausted, likely frustrated because she wasn't nailing the dance as quickly as she usually does which wouldn't be surprising for a competitor like herself and it all boiled over in a brief moment where she still didn't even really give the producers any major fodder. She refused to give them the soundbites they clearly wanted.  And yes, Derek made the comment that when she got tired she got useless but he was saying that while looking very calm I thought and even smiling a little, so I don't think he meant it to be harsh or hurtful.

 

I'm the first person to say that Derek can and has been passive aggressive many times in the past with his celebrities. My guess he is not a confrontational person and so he won't yell, throw things, have a huge temper tantrum unlike some others, but he'll get irritable and become passive aggressive. That being said, none of these people are perfect and I don't doubt for a second frustrations and irritations rear its head for almost everyone at some point in the season, however small and brief it may be.

 

But of course, as they have no control over the story edit of the package, the producers can take any part of their rehearsals and make that the package of the week. Derek, Nastia and Sasha had a rehearsal stream this week and I didn't watch it but saw some comments that all talked about how great they got along, how fun the stream was, how funny and happy Nastia came across the entire time. But of course the producers will go with what they believe is the more dramatic story for that week and some will eat it up, especially if it fits the narrative you already have in your head about the Pro or celebrity. 

 

I have no idea why people request him as a partner.

 

 

Because he's gotten 5 different celebrities to the mirror ball and always guarantees that his celebrities at least make it to semi-finals/finals?

[smiley13]

So it looks like Derek is being a big ole whiner on his Instagram, at least this is what I have read.  I certainly do not follow Golden Boy myself.

 

And him sitting up on that throne was gag worthy.  And what was up with his hair and facial hair?  Has he been hanging out with Cousin Riker too much?

[Fliz]

More Artem in the trio next time! Val & Artem together are great! (I kinda forgot to watch Rumer the first time - oops!)

I hope Sasha gets a partner of his very own next season.