S18.E05: Dancing & Disney

[radishcake]

Dancing With the Stars will celebrate the magic of Disney on Week 5 (April 14) but that’s also when a couple will be eliminated, based on the past two weeks of dancing.

[nutty1]

Songs and dances for tomorrow….

Charlie and Sharna – Jazz (“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins)

1-800-868-3412

Danica and Val – Quickstep (“Be Our Guest” from Beauty & the Beast)

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James and Peta – Contemporary (“Let it Go” by Idina Menzel, from Frozen )

1-800-868-3402

Drew and Cheryl – Quickstep (“Friend Like Me” from Aladdin)

1-800-868-3409

Amy and Derek – Waltz (“So This is Love” from Cinderella)

1-800-868-3410

Candace and Mark – Samba (“Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid)

1-800-868-3407

Meryl and Maks – Samba (“I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” from The Jungle Book)

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Cody and Witney – Samba (“Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King)

1-800-868-3408

NeNe And Tony – Foxtrot (“Cruella De Vil” from 101 Dalmatians )

1-800-868-3401

Edited April 15, 2014 by radishcake
Removing spoiler tags

[TeeM]

And another guest judge this week...Donny Osmond.

[kitcloudkicker]

Can we reply to these now, or is it a wait for the show situation? If we can reply now I want to say: Interesting that Amy & Derek are the only ones to really get a love song, I would be the happiest person if the world would let go of "Let it Go" for a while, and I really hope Charlie does a little bit of the Dick Van Dyke Mary Poppins penguin dance.

[radishcake]

Can we reply to these now, or is it a wait for the show situation?

Indeed! The policy is not to lock the threads before airing since we know a lot of folks like to talk about what's coming up. 

[BoogieBurns]

Are the songs/dances considered spoilers? If not, I will do better to stay off this board on Monday afternoon.

[ramble]

James and Peta – Contemporary (“Let it Go” by Idina Menzel, from Frozen )

This scares me slightly. The idea of the flailing & melodramatic angsting makes me tired already. I expect a fully opened or no shirt for James, Peta to show us her crotch a few times, some bicycle legs & maybe a running catch. Oh the originality. Bah humbug. I'm over contemporary being on this show.

[pumpkinspice]

So Candace just tweeted a pic of her calf/ankle all wrapped up. I hope she is ok!

[radishcake]

Are the songs/dances considered spoilers? If not, I will do better to stay off this board on Monday afternoon.

Actually that's my fault. I didn't realize that information from another board was posted here. From now on I'll spoiler tag that kind of info until after the show airs. 

[nutty1]

I posted the dances/songs….I didn't realize those were spoilers….sorry!

[radishcake]

I posted the dances/songs….I didn't realize those were spoilers….sorry!

No worries! You can still post them just hide them like I did behind a spoiler tag. :D

[crowceilidh]

I know we're doing things differently here, but I'm pretty sure that almost nothing counted as a spoiler for DWTS on TWoP.  I liked it that way, myself.

[radishcake]

I know we're doing things differently here, but I'm pretty sure that almost nothing counted as a spoiler for DWTS on TWoP.  I liked it that way, myself.

OK, good to know. I don't think spoiler tags are odious and they'll be removed the day of the broadcast but I'll get a weigh in and come back with a final decision on this issue. 

[radishcake]

Here's the decision on the episodes that haven't aired. Episodes will remain open for speculating and talk about the upcoming show. Any information about the competition itself (dances, songs, etc...) should be spoiler tagged and the tags will be removed at air time. 

Thanks for letting me know your thoughts on the issue and I hope this clears up any confusion.

[Charlie Baker]

Well, they did pull out the stops with production values: animation, special effects, back up dancers, costumes.  And it was less of a Disney infomercial than I expected. Too bad the numbers were mostly lackluster.  Overscore much?  Charlie is one of my favorites, but he was overscored for that routine. Don't even ask me about Nene and James. Danica did seem to kick things up a notch back with Val.  And nice to see Candice actually loosen up a bit. Thought she might have the votes to hang on.

[msburg]

I'm not a gush-y fan girl-y type EVER, but can I say that Maks looked wicked hot tonight?  Holy cow -- I do not react this way ever to TV people....

 

Lots of fog in Derek-Amy's number.  Disappointed that we're grading on a curve.

 

Val's hair was funny tonight.  I liked the curl.

 

Did Tony have a told-you-so moment?

 

I think Cheryl was genuinely hurt by Drew's comments last week.

 

And with this cast, James Maslow gets the first perfect score of the season??  Seriously?

 

ETA: Would've paid good money to see Mark eliminated while wearing lobster claws....

Edited April 15, 2014 by msburg

[Princess Sparkle]

No way did James deserve the first perfect score of the season. That wasn't even the best dance of the night!

Carrie Ann can fuck right off with her "I saw lifts, but I can't take points off because you're different." No, what I'm sure Amy would prefer is for you to treat her like any other dancer on the show - her face said it all after Carrie Ann said that.

Donny was working my last nerve - the show isn't about you, so stop talking over everyone else and taking an eternity to show your score.

I will say, everyone at least looked like they were having fun tonight. Everyone's scores we're a bit too high, but I like to see everyone having fun.

I did feel bad for Whitney at the end; she actually looked crushed. Poor kid.

[Chit Chat]

I was glad to see Val & Maks joking about the "phoning it in" comment.  It was rather insulting to Maks, but it looks like he got the last laugh.

I really wish Sharna wouldn't have had Charlie and her tossing around the umbrella and cane.  It was too risky, and it was distracting to me. It took away from the routine.  The dance didn't need all of that, IMO.

[Ladyrain]

Everyone danced well BUT.....most were seriously over scored. In what world did Meryl not deserve 10s, based on the 10s given out to others? It makes no sense to me. Why even have a 5 or 6 or 7 if the judges are too afraid to use those scores? Maybe they should dispense with the judges' scores altogether and just have them comment, like American Idol. And has it ever been explained why there is a Guest Judge every single week now? It serves no purpose than to drag out the whole Commentary portion, when a couple of judges are chatty enough already.

[WhitneyWhit]

That has to be one of the most WTF episodes of this show I have ever seen, from the judges on down, everything was a total WTF.

In what world should Nene and Meryl be tied? In what world did James deserve a perfect score? And Len now gives out 10's when you have to stop your dance to walk across the floor to pick up a prop?

This show has made me dislike Amy and it's not at all her fault. There was no content in that dance and there were lifts, then Carrie Ann came right out and said she wasn't going to judge her the same way she does everyone else. I haven't voted for her all season and I won't be voting for her tonight

[TooMuchCoffee]

I thought Charlie's dance was terrific. The props were fine as used by each dancer - it was true to the movie -  but they didn't need to take the risk of tossing them around. It wasn't worth it and probably cost him points (in an overscored evening).  If you're going to ignore lifts then you should ignore dropped canes. 

And speaking of lifts, if Amy isn't going to be judged by the same rules, then just give her the trophy and let everyone else go home. 

With all the 10s being tossed around, would someone please tell me what was wrong with Maks and Meryl's dance that tgey didn't get a few?

I was surprised to see Cody go. I thought he had that massive fan base behind him. 

 

 

[shoregirl]

I don't understand with how much Meryl and Make were praised that they didn't get at least one 10. Tell me how Candace was only one point behind her. This week's judging made absolutely no sense. Donnie please stuff nobody care that you played Gaston (type casting much?). I love Charlie but how does he get a 10 when there was a obvious mistake.?

I get how impressive what Amy is doing. But I don't need to hear every week what a inspiration she is. We get it about she signed up knowing what the show was about she shouldn't get scored on a curve. The show is starting to make me root against her in no part because of anything she personally did.

[Ladyrain]

Shoregirl, I concur. Amy seems like a genuinely nice person and lord knows, if I were faced with her challenges, I would be curled up in a ball and never leave my room; I am that weak. However, if the judges are scoring her differently, what is the purpose of the other dancers even trying? I wasn't watching the year Heather Mills competed, but were there special provisions made for her? Okay, I'm sure I'll be burning in hell now.

[nutty1]

I am pretty baffled and annoyed at the scoring.
Did they all give Charlie 9's because he dropped the cane??? I don't take that as an error in the dance.
And then some of the other dancers who got 9's were not even close to him. Charlie's dance deserved a 40.
I think Cody was a better dancer than Candace, but it doesn't bother me he is gone. I am figuring the next 3 weeks it will be Nene, Candace & Drew gone.

Did Carrie Ann really say to Amy she wasn't go to take off points for a lift??? What happened to scoring her the same as everyone else??? I am 10000% impressed and in awe of her, but I think they do not treat her like the rest nor score her the same either.

The final 3 should be James, Charlie & Meryl. I am not sure who will win.
My husband, who is not overly impressed with any reality show, is totally wowed by Charlie every week.

I thought Meryl did well, but not as well as other weeks. But again, compared to  others who got 9's…..what the heck?!

James is so handsome….that was a beautiful dance. As much as I love contemporary, I don't think it belongs on this show. It is very subjective to score.
I don't get the relationship between Maks and Meryl…..they always have their hands all over each other. Do you think she has a crush on him? Or vice versa?

I don't even remember the other dances to critique them. I did enjoy the Disney theme.

[Cherry Cola]

I loved all the dances. How fun was that? Candace looked adorable as Ariel. My favorite was Charlie and my second favorite was Meryl. Everyone did excellent! I was shocked that Cody went home before Candace, but I am glad. I love Candace. She looked so shocked when they said Cody and not her. And yeah, Donny was annoying always mentioning himself and how he did. We get it!! That got old real quick.

[fembotz]

The scoring was weird tonight, and the judges commentary seemed even more glaringly useless than usual. But I actually enjoyed Disney week a lot. I think Danica's dance along with Charlie and Meryl's were my favorites. Also enjoyed Nene, Cody, and Candace. Too bad about Cody. He finally had a good dance and showed some personality IMO. 

[WhitneyWhit]

Did they all give Charlie 9's because he dropped the cane???

 

Charlie was overscored, IMO, It wasn't so much that he dropped the cane, it's that he stopped dancing to pick it up, yet still received a 10.

[TooMuchCoffee]

Charlie was overscored, IMO, It wasn't so much that he dropped the cane, it's that he stopped dancing to pick it up, yet still received a 10. 

Shouldn't his pro have anticipated that and coached him on what to do if he dropped the cane? The cane tossing was a stupid stunt that cost him points. Most other dancers aren't even attempting the level of what Charlie is doing. 

Last week we had the not-a-rhumba resulting in low scores for Charlie followed ironically by a 40 from the responsible  pro who we were reminded was still in second place because last week didn't affect her one bit. It only screwed Charlie. 

And this week a prop for an otherwise very entertaining well performed number.

Stupid show. 

[TeeM]

So Donny Osmond wins the award for "most obnoxious guest judge ever." You won on this show once. We get it. You won even though you were at the bottom of the leader board in week 5. We know. You won even though the judges hated your quickstep. Got it. You won. Good grief. I want a break from guest judges. What is the guy from LMFAO going to contribute to a ballroom dancing show next week? I bet he is an expert on holds and heel leads.

 

The scoring was bananas tonight. And do you think Derek has his own personal fog machine stowed away some where? That was a lot of fog.

 

I think my favorite dance of the night was actually Charlie's bit with the animated penguins!

[crowceilidh]

This is how I interpreted the Tony/NeNe sitch.  Edit Monkeys surprised them by manipulating comments meant to be funny and twisting everything to look much more ill-humoured than it was.  NeNe was blindsided because of how negative and unpleasant it appeared.  She had trouble being the authentic character in the dance as a result (I think she went from totally shocked by the knowledge that tptb were happy to sacrifice her) which added to the feeling of unpleasant doom permeating the studio. She eventually clicked into the dance as done in dress rehearsal.  Later, once she started crying. she was completely unable to stop due to the emotional shock of her package.

How did you all see it?

[heartsaperkin]

How did I see it? Free Tony from another complete B I T C H!  He's had more than his share of them, and doesn't deserve the shrews!! Just as Tristan didn't deserve his grandmas, Tony merits a brighter future. The sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow....

[heartsaperkin]

I was surprised to see Cody go. I thought he had that massive fan base behind him.

 

If he does have a massive fan base behind him, I'm sure it's not of the demographic that watches DWtS and votes. Because, according to what one reads, his fans and those a little older, are the ones the show is trying so desperately to attract. Not wanting its present audience, whose average age is approximately 58 or so.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Bar none, this was the best open this show has ever had.  The rest of the show is in the pantheon of best-ever.  Why?  SImple.  The music.  The music.  The music.  When you add all the standard ballroom?  The entirely appropriate "jazz?"  Unbeatable.  

I loved, loved, loved ALL the animation which was mixed in throughout.  It could have been cheesy.  YMMV.  I was thinking about Gene Kelly.  Thank you to whomever decided to incorporate this particular bit of corporate synergy.  King Louie and Baloo!!!!!!  

I was elated when the pros started out in classic foxtrot regalia to the alltime classic Disney music.  The transition to the working class male pros was so fun.  So spot on.  

I could not believe that Drew Carey could pull off the quick movements he did.  Charlie as Dick van Dyke?  Truly amazing.  Sharna as Mary Poppins?  Wow.

Even the one dancer I simply do not like, NeNe, made it work very well.  

I agreed with Donny on Cody's performance.  He was technically great.  He simply did not fully immerse himself as Simba.

Literal chills for Amy.  That never happens to me.  Wonderful!  I care not that the dance itself was underwhelming.  The grace and charm she displayed in character is as good as can be done anywhere.  My goodness, but Derek makes for a fantastic Prince.

Danica similarly brought out wondrous emotion in me.  She owned her role.   Good on her for being 10 again.  She lived the illusion of Disney.  Val's choreo was masterful in evoking this.  

No way would I have given James a 10 tonight.  It was the most outside presentation of the theme.  It was darn good.  He merits staying.  Just not the first perfect dance of the season.  Sorry. 

Jungle Book?   Original version/music?  Maks and Meryl?  A genuine samba?  Another, for me, all-time DWTS moment.  I wanna be just like that.  Where's my 15 paddle?  

Not sure I like them propping Candace with the pimp spot tonight.  She was the stiffest of all the stars.  This stuck out most particularly given the song.  It's fine with me that she wants to maintain a "mom" decorum.  The problem is that she self-inhibits when presented a dance like this one.  I shudder that I agree with CAI.  It's not nerves.  It's much. much, deeper than that.

I believe that this was the actual bottom three.  Shoulda been NeNe to leave.  

[kitcloudkicker]

I have mixed feelings on Amy's scores, though I'll totally cop to being completely inspired by her. On the one hand, I see where people are coming from in terms of not wanting her scored any differently, on the other, she's playing the game on several difficulty levels higher than the rest of the field. There was an interview where she compared her range of motion with her legs like dancing on stilts. Or, I'd imagine, as if Charlie and Meryl had to do the dances still wearing skating boots. 

That said, I do think she should be knocked for lifts if anyone else would be. (And Derek can choreograph them in strategically if he feels he can make up the points in votes.) I don't really mind if she has to keep a hand on Derek for balance, or if they have to use less of the floor. I do wish he'd knock off the move where he just picks her up and spins her around, that's getting old. 

I missed most of the rest, but Danica was delightful. 

[ramble]

I can't believe how much I loved the Disney'fying of it all. It was so much more enjoyable than I anticipated. I was hoping we'd get the real music & was relieved we did. I'm also ridiculously glad Cody & his droopy pants are gone. I know I've made some bad fashion choices in my life but I can't imagine wanting to wear pants that looked like I had on a full diaper.

The judging made me think everyone was sharing happy juice or some odd mushroom of madness. It made no sense, not that it always does, but it usually makes it's own typical sense. Maybe Tinkerbell mixed something special in the pixie dust she was freely throwing about.

[Tink]

Cody was back to the diaper pants. Surprised to see him go.

Maks was wearing diaper pants! Well, diaper shorts.

[sidwich]

Sharna's routine for Charlie was INSANE.  

And the thing is, it looks like it was actually toned down from what was originally intended.  In the B-roll, it looks like they're practicing an opening with a double pirouette which is absolutely crazy.  I can't remember a previous routine with any celeb attempting a double pirouette, let alone a male celeb.  (Most of the male celebs are struggling with ... well, everything).

In the routine they performed, it's just a baby single pirouette that's not nearly as fast as what they were rehearsing.  Still much more than is in most of the routines.

[OakGoblinFly]

Shoregirl, I concur. Amy seems like a genuinely nice person and lord knows, if I were faced with her challenges, I would be curled up in a ball and never leave my room; I am that weak. However, if the judges are scoring her differently, what is the purpose of the other dancers even trying? I wasn't watching the year Heather Mills competed, but were there special provisions made for her? Okay, I'm sure I'll be burning in hell now.

I took Carrie Anne's comments slightly different, I think she would have marked down for a blatant lift.  However, since Amy cannot point her toes or flex her ankles to ensure her foot is on the ground when they execute once of those spinning/dragging moves, Carrie Anne wasn't going to hold that against her (since Amy cannot perform the move nor can she feel the floor).  Other than the move when Derek carried Amy down the stairs (and that was before they started the actual dance) I didn't see any blatant lifts.

 

That being said, I thought Amy mimicked the rise and fall of the waltz as well as can be expected under the circumstances.  She did capture the dream-like, flowly, romantic vibe of the dance and I thought she  looked lovely. 

Did Bruno really refer to himself as “The Good Fairy?”

Anyone else feel a wee bit cheated that Meryl didn’t dress like Princess Jasmine?

What was with the scores?  They were completely out of control.

Ugh!  I can’t believe there was a time when I liked Donny Osmond.  Not anymore.  I thought he was self-important and smug and, at times, more than a bit patronizing.

I want whatever it is that the judges are smoking; Peta and James received a 40 for that drek?  I thought it was a mediocre dance at best.  To me it felt very “contemporary by numbers” and completely devoid of emotion.   How is it that they took an empowering song and filled it with angst?  Peta, darling, contemporary does not equal angst and clenched fists with tons of lifts; in some case it can be quite joyful, light, and airy.

I loved Val and Danica and I really liked how she embraced the whole Disney princess vibe.  Their dance my favorite of the night; so effortless, graceful, and light.  I am amazed at how well Danica can hold her form in hold.

Color me surprised but I actually enjoyed Mark tonight; he was appropriately toned down and really worked with Candace and it showed; her technique was much improved.  I thought Candace looked lovely (I really liked her eye makeup) and it seemed she was having a blast channeling her inner Ariel.

If Amy was dancing to “So This is Love” from Cinderella, shouldn’t she been in blue, not pink? 

I loved Sharma’s outfit – so very modern Mary Poppins.  I did like the fact that she used a lot of the same steps from the movie.  I know it’s a fast song, but at times the dance felt a bit too frantic and out of control and that deterred my enjoyment just a bit.

Something felt “off” about the Meryl-Maks dance; I can’t quite put my finger on it.  While I didn’t dislike the dance, I didn’t quite like it either.  I wonder if is because it didn’t quite feel like a Samba to me.

[Shades of Red]

Overall not a bad night but I agree it was grossly over scored. 

Poor Tony.  I think NeNe let him have it with no breathing room.  You can't include something in an edit that hasn't been said.  He looked like someone had sucker punched him when she walked out on him.  I think she forgot she was on camera and that the footage could/would be used of her nastiness.  She was just horrible to Tony and no amount of damage control from him will change my mind that she didn't mean what she said.

I think she started to cry as it became evident the producers had no qualms about using the footage and showing her as the only person who turned nasty on their original partner.  I read lots of comments before the partner change that said it would make the celebrity look really bad if they didn't want their original partner back or felt the partner switch suited them better.  Well it looked like the show got that with NeNe.  I didn't really have an opinion on her before this, just took her at face value, but this was inexcusable. 

I liked James and Peta's contemporary.  I still don't think it should be on the show, but I liked what they did.  It didn't deserve a 40 but we know the scoring is weird so I took it with a grain of salt.  Can I say how impressed I was that James flew in the young lady, her mother and sister.  I know it makes great publicity, but he could have milked it for more and he didn't.  On a shallow note, his eyebrows are a little too groomed for me and that's the first thing I see when I look at him.

On another shallow note I have to ask about Carrie-Ann's outfit.  I'm not sure if it was an optical illusion, but she looked pregnant to me.  Have I missed an announcement?

[RescueMom]

Bar none, this was the best open this show has ever had.  The rest of the show is in the pantheon of best-ever.  Why?  SImple.  The music.  The music.  The music.  When you add all the standard ballroom?  The entirely appropriate "jazz?"  Unbeatable. 

I agree completely – the music tonight was perfect!  I also love the costumes – count me as a fan of Disney week.

What I’m not a fan of?  Putting some stars in jeopardy and calling others safe before they dance – that feels so unfair.  I think I’d prefer them just calling out the three in jeopardy after everyone has danced and go from there.  I get that they want the suspense, but I don’t care for the way they are doing it.

Loved that at least three people (Donny, Maks, and Val) got in some great digs about Julianne’s “phoning it in” comment from last week without sounding bitter.

My thoughts on the individual stars/dances:

Drew: I like Drew, I’m just not feeling him on the show.  I don't think he and Cheryl are really clicking together.  I don’t remember seeing this other nights, but he had his mouth wide open for so much of the dance last night that it was really distracting. 

Charlie: I felt the same way about the canes as TooMuchCoffee – I kept thinking “this is an accident waiting to happen” and then it did.  I think they should have used them for the first little bit and then ditched them, or just held on to them without tossing them back and forth so much.  Loved the dance anyway, and I really loved his little bumper with the penguins.  Have any other stars done the bumpers before?  For some reason I think maybe Corbin did one, but can’t remember.

Danica: One of my two favorite dances of the night.  The costumes were absolutely perfect and the dance was lovely.

Amy: I thought this was a great dance.  I really felt sorry for her in the package, when she was so upset about the stuff she couldn’t do.  Until last night, I didn’t think about how doing the show would make her feel her loss so acutely at times.

Cody: I just wasn’t feeling this dance.  And if Witney took anything from Sharna, I wanted it to be to ban the diaper pants, but there they were.  I think Cody was a better dancer than some that were left, but am not surprised that he went.

Nene: I also wasn’t feeling this one, and was really surprised at the high scores she got. 

James: Ugh, contemporary.  Since I don’t care for contemporary I’ll talk about what I did like – how cute was he with the girl who asked him to prom?  My cold black heart stirred when he brought her and her family to the show and gave her such a special night.  Good for you, James!

Meryl: My other favorite dance of the night.  I really loved this samba, and especially loved the elements from the movie’s dance that they added in.  Oh and Mark?  Derek?  That’s how you do a jungle-themed dance without making people cringe at the cultural inappropriateness.

Candace: I want to like her, I really do.  But I think CAI is right (ugh, did I just type that?) – she has the ability, but she gets so nervous dancing live that you can see it in her dance.

[MortysCleaningLady]

If he does have a massive fan base behind him, I'm sure it's not of the demographic that watches DWtS and votes. Because, according to what one reads, his fans and those a little older, are the ones the show is trying so desperately to attract. Not wanting its present audience, whose average age is approximately 58 or so.

I think the Cody aged fans are actually split between a couple of contestants this year.  While Cody is the youngest, James's band appeals to the same age bracket.  I have to imagine Charlie White, who is close in age, also appeals to that group of fans.  Then, of course, that group is desperately in love with Derek as well.

 

Loved the Disney music and the opening number.  I was most impressed with Charlie, Meryl, Danica, and James this week. 

I didn't like Derek's fog machine or the lifts he did in his dance. 

Next week, we'll either lose Nene or Drew.  Drew didn't have a good time slot and his score was pretty low compared to the rest of the field.  I walked the dog during Nene's pre-dance schtick but from what I've heard, I would like her gone.  I'll go dance with Tony.

Finally, I felt the dancing cartoons detracted from the show.

[shok]

I know everybody loves Charlie because he has great hair and is always laughing and smiling and he won a gold medal for the U.S. but I just don't think he's deserving of 10's as he's not that great a dancer. Full of energy, sure, but it's his posture or something. He sags, or droops - I don't know what the technical term might be :) - and his movements aren't crisp. He dances on his heels and doesn't stand up straight. I'm surprised the judges don't mention it. They go nuts over him and it's not surprising people think he's underscored when their marks don't measure up to their level of hysteria. (It's not just Charlie - they should be giving all the dancers constructive criticism so that not only do they know what they have to improve, the audience better understands the marks too.)

[ramble]

If Amy was dancing to “So This is Love” from Cinderella, shouldn’t she been in blue, not pink?

This bothered my kids more than anything the entire night. They finally agreed that because the fairy godmother has to change the dress back & forth from pink to blue in one screen they would give it a pass. But the discussion did lead to an interesting debate on who is the most wimpy Disney princess.

[anniebell]

For me Disney week fell flat.  Samba to Disney songs is not enjoyable.  The silly animation was also just a bit too much. 

I feel the like the Nene/Tony package will seriously damage their voting situation.  It seemed like Tony was the instigator of the drama and Nene declined to participate further.  I do not blame her for walking out.  That said, it really was her best dance yet.

I also thought Candace was much improved and for the first time, I liked Danica.  She seemed to relax a little and enjoy.  And I am so OVER the not scoring Amy fairly.  That was barely a waltz.  Judge her fairly, she understood what she was getting into when she signed up for this show. Also Amy is an medal winning athlete, she can handle it.

Goodbye, Cody its a shame you left but the great mirror ball is fickle.

[Good Queen Jane]

Who would have thought that Maks would have body issues? He seemed quite shy in his bare chest and it didn't seem to be play acting. Actually, it was his bare face that kept distracting me. He did look quite boyish.

The practice clips of NeNe and Tony really made me uncomfortable.I was ready to join the Free Tony movement until after the dance when NeNe seemed to genuinely realize what a beyotch she was coming across as. Then I felt sorry for her.

The practice clips really made it difficult to judge Amy. She was so obviously upset by the limitations her prosthesis create, so it would be really cruel for the judges to point out the problems she had with the waltz. But she doesn't want nor should she get pity points.

[CED9]

I think the Cody aged fans are actually split between a couple of contestants this year. While Cody is the youngest, James's band appeals to the same age bracket. I have to imagine Charlie White, who is close in age, also appeals to that group of fans. Then, of course, that group is desperately in love with Derek as well.

Loved the Disney music and the opening number. I was most impressed with Charlie, Meryl, Danica, and James this week.

I didn't like Derek's fog machine or the lifts he did in his dance.

Next week, we'll either lose Nene or Drew. Drew didn't have a good time slot and his score was pretty low compared to the rest of the field. I walked the dog during Nene's pre-dance schtick but from what I've heard, I would like her gone. I'll go dance with Tony.

Finally, I felt the dancing cartoons detracted from the show.

Cody's other downfall, so to speak, was having a non-established pro. It's a shame because I thought Whitney shined with Drew last week, but probably brought out unfounded jealousy in Cody's fanbase, because young girls, you know?

As for tonight, it was a lot of fun, but yes, massively overscored. Everyone seemed like they were in Week One overdrive to me.

[msburg]

 

If Amy was dancing to “So This is Love” from Cinderella, shouldn’t she been in blue, not pink?

I'm thinking the stylists and Derek made an executive decision for a good reason -- with her warm skin tone and red hair, Cinderella pink would not have looked good on Amy.

Costuming in general was great last night.  I could not believe how much Sharna looked like Julie Andrews.  Cheryl and Meryl were both stunning and exotic looking.  I liked that when they introduced everyone at the start of the show, I could tell what movie they were representing.

I was on the phone for entire Nene package (can I tell you how much I hate it when Erin asks the celebs about their package, in those words?) -- what was Nene saying, exactly?

[CED9]

I'm thinking the stylists and Derek made an executive decision for a good reason -- with her warm skin tone and red hair, Cinderella pink would not have looked good on Amy.

Costuming in general was great last night. I could not believe how much Sharna looked like Julie Andrews. Cheryl and Meryl were both stunning and exotic looking. I liked that when they introduced everyone at the start of the show, I could tell what movie they were representing.

I was on the phone for entire Nene package (can I tell you how much I hate it when Erin asks the celebs about their package, in those words?) -- what was Nene saying, exactly?

I don't remember exactly what she said, but she sort of came to Tony like "Derek let me do this that and the other thing" then she basically said it was him as a teacher and not her as the student causing problems and she walked out of rehearsal.

[Bitsy]

I took Carrie Anne's comments slightly different, I think she would have marked down for a blatant lift.  However, since Amy cannot point her toes or flex her ankles to ensure her foot is on the ground when they execute once of those spinning/dragging moves, Carrie Anne wasn't going to hold that against her (since Amy cannot perform the move nor can she feel the floor).  Other than the move when Derek carried Amy down the stairs (and that was before they started the actual dance) I didn't see any blatant lifts.

There were three lifts in Amy's dance.  There was the lift down the stairs - ok, I suppose we can excuse that one because it was just a way of getting Amy elegantly down the stairs rather than a choreographic element that would get rewarded.  Then she did a little piggy-back hop on Derek - ok, that was brief, so we can just let that go as a "flourish".  But then she hung from his neck and he lifted & spun her around several times.  That was a blatant lift.  Her feet were nowhere near the floor and Derek could not have gotten that centripetal force going to do the move if they had been.  It was a "wow" move that formed the substance of the dance - replacing actual waltz steps that she couldn't do. 

Overall, I would have been happy with four 9's for that dance - although that still would have been mostly based on "You're so amazing to do this and I'm just happy for you that you pulled that off."  If she really, truly were being judged like everyone else, that dance would have been 7's and 8's.

[OakGoblinFly]

This bothered my kids more than anything the entire night. They finally agreed that because the fairy godmother has to change the dress back & forth from pink to blue in one screen they would give it a pass. But the discussion did lead to an interesting debate on who is the most wimpy Disney princess.

It was Princess Aurora's dress from Sleeping Beauty where the fairies changed the dress from pink to blue and back.

 

Regardless, I loved how Amy was dressed.  All in all, I thought the costuming was a huge hit last night and everyone looked fantastic.