S18.E05: Dancing & Disney

[spanana]

Danica is a far better dancer in hold than out of hold, which is why I think she did so well here.  I did call a good deal of bull on the judges yammering on about how much she's improved.  I don't think that is true at all.  I think she's always been good in hold.  It's out of hold when she is forced to dance on her own that she tends to fall flat, and lucky for her here she didn't really have to worry about any of that.  If you notice at the very end of the dance when she did have to do a few moves on her own alongside Val, she lost whatever magic she had going through most of the dance.  Plus I think she's naturally very Belle-like in personality, so Danica was never going to get a dance that was more naturally suited to her.  Her natural energy is very over the top and Disney-like.

[ari333]

Holy crap, WTF with Donny Osmond? Didn't he used to be a charming older gentleman? He looks good, but wow he started in last night as resident pain in the ass from the entrance and it only got worse. He has a show in Vegas, so I don't think he needs the attention. So, Just.  WTF? He had plenty to say without making every critique about him. I was half expecting, "Well, once when I was playing a modern little place in Irbid, I rubbed a lamp and a Jinn came out and .... that's why I look so freakin young."

I would have given Charlie extra points for dropping the cane, retrieving it, then getting exactly back in step. I'm with Len on that one.

The judging was straight from the Twilight Zone, imo, as mentioned.

Maks is one hot hunk of man. That is all.

[MMLEsq]

I love Disney (LOVE Disney), but I would have preferred if they just had the songs and the costumes.  The animation, special effects, props and other dancers were just too distracting.

NeNe needs to get over herself.  Poor Tony....he was the one saddled with Kate Gosselin too, right?

I agree with everyone else that's said that most dancers were overscored last night.  After all the praise they heaped on Maks and Meryl, I couldn't believe they didn't get all 10s.  James seems nice enough, but I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out why his dance, of all of them, deserved the perfect score of the season.

I thought it was cute that Candace agreed to relax her wardrobe restrictions because she was Ariel.

ETA:  Loved Maks clean shaven......swoon.

Edited April 15, 2014 by MMLEsq

[TooMuchCoffee]

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.

They must be watching The Voice instead.  Funny, but my 85 year old mom used to watch DWTS but switched to The Voice because DWTS became less ballroom. 

I DVR both and jump back and forth to watch the performances on both shows almost real time. I rewatch much of the judging later. 

[ari333]

Amy is so very awesome. and gorgeous. Wow. And I agree that if she were in  blue, her dress would have mixed with the fog color which came across as bluish at times on tv. She's athletic and graceful. I hope CAI was not insulting her, but her words could have been chosen differently.  Actually the "next Disney princess should be like you" comment was kind of sweet and I hear myself taking up for CAI which never happens heh. I mean, had CAI called any other female on the show a, "Disney princess," or any kind of princess it, would have likely been taken as a compliment  - especially in this context of the show (with the gowns and crowns and music and staging and whatnots.)

I still have a soft spot for Drew. Nene can go next for me.

Glad Diaper Pants is gone, but I, too, felt bad for Whitney. I think Cody's singing and pushing his songs, self promoting, hair adjusting, and IDK what was kind of a turnoff en masse. [/shallow, but I think maybe true] (?) I also think that the sign tweens were plants. Just me? Alrighty then. Also, Cody and Whitney's costumes and the floor were all the same color, sort of, on our tv. Everything looked sort of blonde-ish.

I think Bruno was literally fixing his teeth that maybe fell out while speaking, when he leaned into Donny.

[crowceilidh]

Drew: I like Drew, I’m just not feeling him on the show.

 

I used to love Drew - Two things are turning me off. 1) Not his fault I suspect, but the judges doing the "most entertaining" showmanship line on him sounds like how he was pegged when cast -- he hasn't given them anything else to hang a hat on, so they stick with this line despite the fact that the only dance he's really shown any of that in was his dance with Witney and 2) his obliviousness to Cheryl's feelings is ridiculously tone deaf  What is he thinking?

[ari333]

I kind of loved that Donny (and Val and Maks) had the nads to take a shot at JH's, "phoning it in." Good one. 

Nene came across as an entitled bitch, imo. I really thought she was kidding when she left rehearsal and would turn around and come back laughing. Didn't happen. Free Tony. 

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

The animation was really distracting for me. Yes, we get it, ABC is owned by Disney. 

With all due respect and not meaning to sound like a beeoytch, Amy needs to be judged the same as everybody else. I don't remember Heather One-Leg being given such a break. And I did notice all the fog on her lower legs during the routine. It would have been hard to tell if Derek was dragging her, lifting her or if her legs had popped off. 

And Cody went back to his diaper pants and got kicked off. I thought he danced well but there was something really annoying about him (like Aaron Carter a couple of years ago, yes we know you can do the Michael Jackson crotch move and sing a little ditty)

While I was listening to the Lion King song, I swear the voice of the bird was being voiced by Bruno. I kept looking to see if he'd left his seat. 

As an old school Donny fan, he was a pain last night. It's not all about you if you are a judge. LOL at the comments "well, when I was on the show. . .. (fill in the blank). . . "

[OakGoblinFly]

I too felt sorry for Whitney,you can see she really wants to do well - it's just a shame she's lacking in choreography experience.

 

I don't know what it says, but every time the troup trotted out, my eyes were instantly drawn to Jenna - that girl has charisma in spades.  Since it seems like we may never get Lacey back, I would like to see Jenna given a shot.

[Sugarbaker]

How did you all see it?

I saw it as instead of Nene being happy to get back to work with Tony, she came in ready to revamp and critique his teaching style, and talk about all the smoke Derek blew up her rear. Derek gave her free range to with that "Jazz" dance and now she didn't want to learn the technicals of the foxtrot. Just give her one or two basics, and she'll freestyle the rest because it's more important for her personality to shine!!!!

Then when he didn't find any of this cute, and detracting from her learning the dance/him teaching, she got mad, said he caught an attitude and left the rehearsal entirely, telling Tony that he better be the one with the better attitude. I mean "If you want Candace back, then go back to her" (paraphrasing), Really Nene?? Tony might have had a sour taste in his mouth after all the Derek gushing, but your attitude is what the apology is needed for.

I'll eat crow if Nene does apologize to Tony, (she owes him that) but she always sees herself as the victim, so Tony will do it while she stands there looking all hurt, and blame the editing on her coming across like that, and frankly I would starve to death. I think she was crying because she wasn't expecting a network show to show her in her real light, rather than the 'larger the life" personality, she's trying to rebrand herself into.

[ari333]

I can't decide how I feel about CCB's. "I'm not a professional dancer. so...."

Also, CCB seems to have peaked Week One. I give her credit for doing that knee bounce thing. OUCH-cha  mah-GOUCH-cha.

I agree that it's unfair for some to dance knowing that they're safe and others... not. Come on, Show. At least try to make it look fair.

Agree too, in that how is CCB's score in the same ballpark (or hemisphere) as Meryl's? No, really. Seriously.

[fishcakes]

I feel bad for Drew because I think he was scored fairly with all 7s, but then everyone else was so overscored (Candace, Nene, and James in particular) that it made his scores unfair when compared to theirs.

I think Bruno was literally fixing his teeth that maybe fell out while speaking, when he leaned into Donny.

Ha. Yeah, that's what I thought too. I heard him say something about his tooth and then he kept putting his hand over his mouth. I thought maybe one of his veneers fell off, but he looked fine after that, so who knows.

I didn't mind Donny that much. Since he's lived in a showbiz bubble his entire life, I'm not surprised that he relates a lot of things to himself. He seems like a genuinely decent person, as does Marie, despite how cornball and earnest they always come across. Also, I loved it so much when Bruno stood up to gush about someone and Donny said, "hey," and pointed down to the table where we could see that Bruno was tightly holding Donny's hand. I would like for there to be a sitcom starring Donny and Bruno as roommates. I would only watch it once, but I just want to know it exists.

I rarely vote, but if when Amy as Cinderella ran away, I would have given all my votes to her and Derek if, instead of a glass slipper, she had left behind one of her legs.

[OakGoblinFly]

I rarely vote, but if when Amy as Cinderella ran away, I would have given all my votes to her and Derek if, instead of a glass slipper, she had left behind one of her legs.

Wouldn't that be "hopped away"? ---- I'm so going to hell. 

Edited April 15, 2014 by OakGoblinFly

[camom]

I wish they couldn't have additional dancers in the numbers.  It's distracting (which may be the point).  I felt the same way with the animation last night.

CAI is getting on my last nerve.  Her laugh makes me want to throw things at my TV.

James was a sweetheart for bringing Hannah and her family to LA since he couldn't go to prom with her.  What they didn't show was that he and Peta also spent a day with them at Disneyland over the weekend.  

[ari333]

James was a sweety. It would have been better, imo, if Peta didn't go to Disneyland and let Hannah have her James Day.

I felt bad for Drew getting scored normally while everyone else got uber scores.

[Bitsy]

You could see Hannah in the background while Meryl was dancing and she was so into it.  It was nice to see her enjoying herself so much.

[OakGoblinFly]

Candace's double take in reaction to be called save was pretty fantastic and for that reason alone, I am glad she got another week.

[Amelia]

I loved the pro dance in the beginning and the little clip to Circle of Life, when all the stars were returning to their pros. I thought it was cute! I don't like, however, telling people they are in danger before they dance. It's not like it's a two night thing anymore; tonight's dance doesn't impact anything as far as the current elimination. Cody was already going home before he set foot on the floor. Just let the celebs enjoy their dances as much as they can. Also, when I heard them use a recording for Drew and Cheryl dancing first I was hopeful that it would be par for the course tonight, but alas. I was wrong.

"Welcome back to Disney night, like Disney on ice but with no ice."

Drew's dance was cute, but whoever said he and Cheryl aren't clicking just nailed it. They don't connect like some of the other pros and celebs. I loved the shots to his son (I assume his son?) with the monopoly money in his jacket pocket. Adorable. 

Danica and Val in their rehearsal footage were adorable and I liked their dance. Everyone was really funny making the most out of the phoning it in comment.

Nene reminded me of someone who talks politics by just parroting everything someone else says. In the beginning of her clips package when she was talking about how Derek was able to create a character it's like she was just repeating something he said to her. She was just so rude. "Dancing with NeNe"?!? Shut the front door and get out of town.

I loved James and Peta. Max was making me laugh during his entire bit. When Meryl walked out at the beginning of her dance I thought for a second she was making a surprised face at the bird noises, like she didn't expect them.

Mark throwing his hat at Candace really made me laugh out loud. AND THEN MARK AS A CRAB. I really liked his choreography this week. Candace looked a little uncomfortable but I really thought she danced pretty well. The audience seemed to go nuts at one point and she really started to get into it and if the whole thing had been like that, it would have been killer.

I really grew to like Witney, I hope she comes back again. She's such a fun dancer to watch and I really liked her choreography this week. I won't miss Cody though, he always seemed bland to me.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Amelia

[fembotz]

If the judges are going to insist on scoring everything on a four point scale, they need to bust out the .5 paddles. 

[Dots And Stripes]

I wish they couldn't have additional dancers in the numbers.  It's distracting (which may be the point).  I felt the same way with the animation last night.

I agree about the extra dancers and the animation. I also think it introduces yet another variable which makes the competition aspect of the show a farce. The extra dancers are such a distraction and add to the performance value without the couple having to do extra work. 

The animation didn't work well for Drew. On the one hand, his dance wasn't going well before that. On the other hand, Cheryl was severely limited in what she could do during a portion of the dance. Trying to sync with the genie was probably a mistake, but no matter what Cheryl choreographed, she would have to keep herself and Drew in one spot. That's an odd requirement for the Quickstep. If you're going to force some competitors to deal with that challenge, force all of them to deal with it. 

Amy should get docked for lifts. As it is, she can't get marked down for bad footwork, like using the wrong part of the foot, etc. She can't get marked down for bad leg lines. I see no reason to forgo the requirement that she has to stay on the ground. Also I don't recall injured stars getting the same pass on lifts and dance requirements. With Ralph he still had to do the assigned dances even when he had additional physical limitations, albeit temporarily.

Part of the reason I have little to no problem marking Amy down to 7's or even 6's event though she's an incredible person is that the points are currently not much of an impediment to anything. Adding a fourth judge and using only the highest paddles creates a situation where all of the percentages are close. Even with lower scores, I don't doubt that the audience would keep Amy in for several more weeks. It's awesome that she's challenging herself and that she wants to dance, but those attributes aren't enough to warrant her scores. If the audience wants to see her dance, they'll keep her around anyway.

[DanDanNoodles]

 

[Drew] had his mouth wide open for so much of the dance last night that it was really distracting.

My God, that was bugging me.  What were you doing, Drew?  Close your mouth!  He also looked like he was staring into space the whole time.

Danica as Belle made me all fluttery, again.  (Beauty and the Beast is still the best "modern" Disney movie; it has been a long slide into obnoxiousness since.)  I can't believe Len didn't give her a 10, and then DID give one to James?  What the hey, Len, you used to be the reliable judge.

"Disney week" in general, meh.  Adding in the animations was eye-rollingly dumb.  And Disney music in general is pretty terrible.  No, it's worse than terrible, it's average, bland mush music designed to offend as few people as possible.  About as far from art as you can be.  At least no one danced to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" or "A Whole New World", two of the most aggressively mediocre songs ever.

Of the final three, I would have kept Cody over either of the other two.  Who the frack is voting for NeNe?!?  And why are the judges propping her up?

It was even more noticeable this week:  Sharna is so much more beautiful without makeup.

Glad to hear my "skip the judges' commentary" policy let me miss irritating behavior from a guest judge for the second week in a row.

[StayClassySD]

James was a sweety. It would have been better, imo, if Peta didn't go to Disneyland and let Hannah have her James Day.

I felt bad for Drew getting scored normally while everyone else got uber scores.

Perhaps James invited her with his fans blessing.

[MMLEsq]

One thing I forgot to mention:  during one of the brief musical interludes either going to a commercial or coming back from a commercial (I think it was the latter), the singer really botched her song....it was clear she couldn't hit whatever notes she was supposed to sing.  It was painful (but humorous) to hear.

And, others have mentioned it, but I also felt bad for Cheryl, especially when Drew was pulling on Witney (ugh...the spelling) to not have to go with Cheryl. 

[darbar]

Here are my feelings about this whole Amy situation, as a disabled person. Being disabled from polio since the age of two, there is no way in hell that I would permit anyone to condescend to me based on my disability. You will never, ever judge me on anything I do based on my deformed legs. You will judge me on how I do whatever it is I am charged with doing, and you will not say that what I do is great, despite the fact that you'll judge another person differently because they have two strong legs. You will judge me on an equal basis with everyone else. And I am disappointed that Amy hasn't confronted the judges by telling them to stop with the blubbering and judge her on her dancing and not her disability.

Donny Osmond is the biggest jackhole and will do anything to remain relevant. Please, stop bringing on these idiotic guest judges.

Nene is nothing short of a b itch. She's a horrible person.

I saw nothing special about Candace's routine. Actually, I thought nearly every routine this week were nothing more than production numbers rather than dancing.

Edited April 15, 2014 by darbar

[Alapaki]

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.

 

I think NeNe's bitchface and attitude in the Celebriquarium was because she assumed that once Drew was announced safe she was the one being sent home.  

I also think the reason we saw her bitchiness to Tony in the pre-dance package was because TPTB want her sent home next.  

I'm a bit surprised by Cody going so soon.  I agree that his fan-base probably doesn't overlap with the viewership of this show very much, but between the Social Media vote-begging, and the multiples ways (and extended time-window) for voting, his fans don't have to watch the show. 

I agree his elimination may be more a function of his pro not having her own established vote-base yet.

I also agree with the wonky scoring this week.  But, with the field this large, I don't think the Judges' scores really make much of a difference in the eliminations yet.

[MarySNJ]

I’ve never really been a dedicated fan of DWTS before, just watching dances on YouTube or an episode here and there.  I tuned in this season because I’m a fan of Meryl Davis and Charlie White as an ice dancing pair and wanted to see how they would fare dancing ballroom with other partners. So far they have both done incredibly well dancing and beacons of positivity and happiness which is quite delightful. I grew up on Disney movies, as did my children and it was sweet and fluffy and fun if a little corny.

I’m not quite sure I understand what the judges were judging last night. I guess I’m struggling with Amy, because I like her personally, but it does seem she’s having trouble keeping up with whatever the basics for the dance are, and Derek is compensating for that. Her story is inspiring, no doubt, but will she win for that reason even if she can’t do all the dances without assistance?

I thought Danica and Val were delightful and I liked Peta and James, although I confess that I was distracted by the animation – which was cool but really overshadowed the dance. Was it worth a perfect score?

I wouldn’t be upset about Meryl’s 9s if she hadn’t been tied NeNe who wasn’t in her league, and if a couple of others were not over-scored as they were. I suppose as compared to Meryl’s sensual Foxtrot and powerful AT, the Samba was not as impressive, but then the song she and Maks had to dance to wasn’t exactly suited to the Samba, with or without animated dancing apes. 

I also loved Charlie’s performance – both actually, but if he were competing in ice dancing and made a mistake like that, I doubt even the most partisan judge would give him a perfect 10.

Nutty1: 

“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?”

 

It looks mutual to me. I had heard that Maks is a “love him or hate him” kind of guy who had some drama/controversy in earlier seasons and was romantically involved with at least one of his previous partners. I have to say that whatever happened in the past with Maks, I’m kind of blown away by the chemistry between Meryl and Maks and how incredibly comfortable she seems with him.

Was Maks like this with his previous partners? I He’s obviously very physically affectionate, but I’ve also noticed that Meryl doesn’t seem to mind. She’s not pushing him away, in fact seems to be just as wrapped up (literally) in him as he is in her. If it’s an act doing it for the show, they’re both good actors because I’m feeling it.

I think Charlie and Sharna have great dance chemistry too but it feels more like friends and partners, appropriate considering Charlie’s relationship with Tanith. The same with Danica and Val. 

Meryl had chemistry and an incredible dance with Val last week too, but Meryl and Maks just seem to be mutually smitten with each other.  I think she’s a very private person and if she and Maks are more than just friends and dance partners they’d keep it very quiet. I think their body language speaks volumes though.

ETA:

Donny Osmond is the biggest jackhole and will do anything to remain relevant. Please, stop bringing on these idiotic guest judges.

 

I agree but...true confession: I was a Donny Osmond fangirl when I was 10. Back in 1972.  I remember hearing back in the 90s that Donny was trying to resurrect his career as a pop singer and he asked Michael Jackson for advice. MJ advised him to change his name. I don't know if that's true but I wouldn't surprise me because Donny seems incredibly desperate to be relevant in show business somehow. It seems like he just recited his entire resume on the show. Very irritating and unnecessary.   

 

Edited April 15, 2014 by MarySNJ

[whatsatool]

Charlie and Sharna – Jazz (“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins)
Absolutely gobsmacked.   Charlie you are channeling the great Bill Robinson
Danica and Val – Quickstep (“Be Our Guest” from Beauty & the Beast)
Amy and Derek – Waltz (“So This is Love” from Cinderella)

Meryl and Maks – Samba (“I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” from The Jungle Book)
THese three were dreamy dances set to elevator music.   I think they all had vasoline on the camera lens.

James and Peta – Contemporary (“Let it Go” by Idina Menzel, from Frozen )
 I have no way to judge these - but if we're thinking outside the box how about Chicago Steppers, DC Hand Dance or Carolina Shag?

Drew and Cheryl – Quickstep (“Friend Like Me” from Aladdin)
Drew that facial expression looked like you were doing calculus problems.

Candace and Mark – Samba (“Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid)
This was totally charming.

Cody and Witney – Samba (“Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King)
Cody I thought you were the best last week.  Sorry you had to go home.

NeNe And Tony – Foxtrot (“Cruella De Vil” from 101 Dalmatians )
Well it was a change.   I didn't see it as a fox trot.  I'm not sure if Tony is missing out on great skills NeNe might have - improvisation, syncopation, rhythm, or if she is simply lazy.

 

Charlie you came through.  So fabulous fabulous fabulous footwork.

[ari333]

Drew had his mouth wide open for so much of the dance last night that it was really distracting.

My God, that was bugging me.  What were you doing, Drew?  Close your mouth!  He also looked like he was staring into space the whole time.

I thought Drew was taking a page from Kat McPhee's "How to Look Excited" tactic. You open your mouth as if you're biting an apple, and it's supposed to make you look "fun" and "engaged" in photos and on tv. Hee.

The Jinn/genie pushed Drew out of the frame for a bit of the dance. I hope he's not toast yet.

Adele Dazeem ("Let It Go;") Had to say it as a nod to Travolta. heh and *snort*

[Victura]

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.

Ralph Macchio actually had a double pirouette in his first dance with Karina, and another in their quickstep -- not to say his posture was great, but a double it was. I want to say Evan Lysacek may have done one at some point too, but not sure about that one.

I loved Charlie and Sharna's routine though! I don't think the cane dropping really detracted from it, but do think it was a bit too difficult and thought they would do away with the cane/umbrella at some point. I hope they'll have a chance to do it again. I'm surprised not much has been mentioned in the packages about Charlie and Meryl's schedule touring with Stars on Ice. They must be completely exhausted.

Regarding Amy, I think having a new judge every week is not allowing the panel to give her more constructive criticism. It just looks bad when the new judge has to get the inspiring comments out and for the rest of the panel to then start criticizing her.

I'm surprised that I grew to like Witney this season - there's a very endearing quality in her rehearsal footage with her partners. Before all we'd seen of her was her camera mugging in the troupe bumpers, which came off as rather obnoxious. I really didn't mind Cody going, but was sad for her. And quite frankly, Nene should've gone, if only to save Tony from another week with her drama.

Danica and Val were wonderful. Candace seems like she really enjoys being there, so I hope she'll loosen up and improve. Peta and James were just completely overscored.

Charlie dancing with penguins was beyond adorable. Is he the first non-pro/troupe to have a dancing bumper? I don't remember any others.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Victura

[gik910]

Witney was channeling Julianne hard in that samba outfit.  

I really wish we could eliminate contemporary (and to a lesser degree Jazz) from this competition.  I also wish that since they insist on doing these gimmicky type of shows, they would use the original freaking recordings for all of the dancers.  Get it together ABC.  

It is weird because I think the only dance where the animation really worked was for James/Peta- and while he gets points for showing that he is actually a nice guy with Hannah- it still was not a perfect score dance.

I really love Maks & Meryl.  I think they are adorable together and she certainly brings the best out in him.  Plus, samba rolls!!!!!

 

I thought Drew was taking a page from Kat McPhee's "How to Look Excited" tactic. You open your mouth as if you're biting an apple, and it's supposed to make you look "fun" and "engaged" in photos and on tv. Hee.

Bwahahahah!  

Oh, my poor Tony.  I never really had any opinion on NeNe before this- but wow, that was super bitchy.  I get everyone has a bad day, but that is not the way to handle frustration.  Free Tony indeed. 

STFU Donny Osmond.

And no CAI- the switch-up was a ridiculous stunt that caused far more trouble than it was worth because it genuinely hurt people's feelings for no fucking reason.  Switching partners on SYTYCD works because all of the contestants are essentially pro dancers- it is a giant audition so they need to test versatility. The best partnerships on THIS show are built on mutual trust and respect because someone is way out of their element (to a degree- not getting into the "ringer" stuff).  Intentionally trying to screw up that balance was a terrible miscalculation by TPTB.

Edited April 15, 2014 by gik910

[DkNNy79]

I thought James and Peta were awesome.  That one lift looked extremely difficult.

I thought Meryl and Max were scored appropriately.  Their Samba was good, but I don't think the choreography was all that difficult.  Glad to see that Candace lived to dance another day.  Her routine was okay, but I was not a fan of the choreography.

I don't mind Cody leaving before Nene, because I don't see her lasting that long.  I was afraid he was going to stay longer because of his tween following, so I'm glad he's gone.  He just didn't seem to care and didn't seem like he was progressing.

[Woodrose]

I flinched at this moment last night:

“Maks has rubbed off a little bit on Danica,” said Maks’ brother Val. “I think she’s turned into a self-centered, egotistical, completely irrational, emotional bitch. Thanks, Maks.”

Whoa. I know it was supposed to be a joke, but it was too damn mean for what I used to think was a light-hearted, good natured reality show about ballroom dancing.

And I'm tired of seeing Danica be a punching bag in the Chmer Bros Special.  She's a woman of accomplishment, both as an actor and mathematician and author.  She deserves better.

[TeeM]

If the judges are going to insist on scoring everything on a four point scale, they need to bust out the .5 paddles. 

Agreed! The one thing I liked from the All Star Season was the use of the .5 paddles. I thought it was a great way to give slightly more accurate scores and offer some differentiation between the contestants. I am disappointed they got rid of them, especially on a night like last night.

[spanana]

I flinched at this moment last night:

“Maks has rubbed off a little bit on Danica,” said Maks’ brother Val. “I think she’s turned into a self-centered, egotistical, completely irrational, emotional bitch. Thanks, Maks.”

Whoa. I know it was supposed to be a joke, but it was too damn mean for what I used to think was a light-hearted, good natured reality show about ballroom dancing.

And I'm tired of seeing Danica be a punching bag in the Chmer Bros Special.  She's a woman of accomplishment, both as an actor and mathematician and author.  She deserves better.

It was a joke and not meant to be taken seriously.  Danica is far from a punching bag.  If anything that joke was more a dig at Maks than Danica.

[WhitneyWhit]

How did you all see it?

 

I think she finally showed herself to be the ass that she is. I don't know what she thought she was doing by strutting around like a peacock in  heat. Maybe since she worked with Derek she now thinks she's something special? I don't know, but it was bizarre. Tony was trying to tell her that the dance Derek choreographed for her and the dance he had to choreograph for her were very different, one has no rules, the other has very strict rules, but that fell on deaf ears.

I can't believe she received the same score as Meryl! And Carrie Ann actually had the balls to say that was Tony's best choreography ever? Melissa Rycroft needs to have a word with her.

[COESpiral]

Nene can be gone yesterday as far as I'm concerned.  She doesn't dance, she poses.  And the first time she tried that attitude with me I'd be telling her to find another partner because my time is far too valuable to listen to you complain and snipe at me all day.  She can teach herself the bleeping dance.

I think Amy is great and she's one of my favorites this season but I'm finding it difficult to see her get a pass for things that others don't.  I know she's got limitations to her movements and I totally sympathize with that, but I don't think it's fair to see her get top scores when she can't fulfill the total requirements for the dance.  It isn't her fault she can't do them but she shouldn't be scored like she can or like she did do them.

James getting a perfect score for that dance is ludicrous especially when Meryl and Val couldn't get one last week for their Argentine Tango and that was one of the most impressive dances ever done on this show.

Charlie and Sharna's dance was fantastic (I hate that he dropped the cane!) and I loved his little dance with the penguins.  Dick Van Dyke would be proud.  Meryl and Maks's samba was good but not great.  I blame the producer's crappy choice of music for them.  I mean really; a Disney themed show and you don't have Meryl Davis, who is as close to the living embodiment of a Disney princess as there is, dancing as a princess?? 

[UsernameFatigue]

I am so disappointed that NastyNeNe didn't get sent packing. What a witch. It is too bad that she can't be send home and Tony stay. I'd love to see some "Free Tony" signs in the audience next week but know it won't happen.

I don't know enough about Disney movies to know what colour dresses should or should not be, but absolutely loved Amy's dress with the heart shaped bodice. And I am not a girly-girl, so was surprised as how much I loved it.

So is Maks single? Love the chemistry between him and Meryl. I never got a sense of Meryl's personality in her ice dancing (and as a Canadian was always cheering for Moir and Virtue over Charlie and Meryl anyway) but I have to say I loved her. And Charlie was robbed of 10s I thought. I actually watched his dance twice, I loved it so much. I think he should have gotten bonus points for recovering from the cane drop and getting right back on track. And BS on the cane drop being a big deal - it is a prop. I was acutally impressed at how much the cane and parolsel were used in an already difficult routine.

Didn't get the love for James's routine. At all. It bored me so hubby and I were chatting through it. When he got 4 10s I rewound to see what we missed. Mr User and I just looked at each other and shrugged.

[ali59]

I think part of the problem with Nene and Tony is that while Nene was talking about Derek the wonderful, Tony had to be politically correct regarding Derek.  I felt like he wanted to tell Nene that what Derek did with her was lame and stupid, but his hands were tied.  Nene probably has no such restraints and so she took everything personally.

[Renee in CA]

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.

Loved, loved, loved this routine - I didn't catch the change-up on the pirouette, it was fine any way. I thought the cane and umbrella were great, but we wouldn't have missed them if they'd tossed them aside after making the point that they could use them. I think they might have missed a switch because Charlie ended up with the umbrella and Sharna the cane, but Sharna said later he only missed two beats of music, so I don't know where it was.

I love seeing Meryl's personality come out - her Max was born sparkly comment was hilarious!

[crowceilidh]

I think he should have gotten bonus points for recovering from the cane drop and getting right back on track.

 

I totally agree - I'm betting they'd planned to give him 10s after the dress rehearsal.  Is that why they marked Meryl down?  Seems like feeling they had to mark Charlie down might have blown their script..

[Dots And Stripes]

 

 

I think he should have gotten bonus points for recovering from the cane drop and getting right back on track.

 

I totally agree - I'm betting they'd planned to give him 10s after the dress rehearsal.  Is that why they marked Meryl down?  Seems like feeling they had to mark Charlie down might have blown their script..

Crowceilidh, I'm confused do you think Charlie should or shouldn't have been marked down? I think the other poster didn't want Charlie Marked down.

I think Charlie's mistake was enough to make the 10 unreasonable. I understand Len doesn't ask for literal perfection for a 10, but that was more than a bobble. Props carry a risk and a reward. The reward is they can add something special to the routine, the risk is the props present something else that can go wrong. That's what happened here. It was the risk they took.

I overall found the cane and umbrella distracting. IMO, throwing props back and forth isn't really dancing. That routine did have a lot of energy, but it also seemed frantic. Throwing things probably added to the frantic feel. I hated the song arrangement, the staging, and all of the extra people. There was a lot going on there that had nothing to do with dancing. I hate the inclusion of jazz in general. I'm not sure if that was a good representation of jazz or not. I really don't know what a fair score would have been for Charlie since most of my issues with that routine came from production rather than quality of the actual dance, but I do think a 10 was silly. It wasn't a bad routine, but I think I was mostly disappointed that production mangled it.

As for Tony/NeNe, I think they both should take a little of the blame. NeNe was very rude and disrespectful. I was surprised the audience laughed along like it was playful. Tony though seemed overly sensitive about Derek. Something tells me if it were any other pro NeNe wanted to talk about Tony would have reacted differently, probably because of the constant over praising Derek gets. It can't be fun to listen to how amazing Derek is all of the time, especially since the rules don't apply to Derek. Still, I don't see anything wrong with NeNe wanting to bring something she learned from Derek into her training moving forward. All of the stars probably should do that after the switch. A version of that played out with Danica and Val, although that didn't turn into a fight. I can't say I liked how Val dealt with it much better as I found his 'joke' tasteless and unfunny.

I'm noticing a theme. Production made me like Charlie's dance less. Production's stupid switch up twist caused a lot of the tension this week. 

[Bitsy]

The pros on Afterbuzz explained why Tony was probably sensitive to hearing "Derek did this" and "Derek did that".  Pro dancers generally train with 5 or 6 coaches at a time on different things, and they would never, ever bring one coach's name up with another the way Nene did.  No, "My other coach told me that's wrong" or "My other coach said to do it this way."  It would be considered a huge slap in the face.  Very disrespectful.  They think that's probably how Tony felt and Nene probably didn't realize that.

[crowceilidh]

Dots and Stripes,

After they saw dress rehearsal, I think that the judges intended to give Charlie 10s and Meryl 2 tens and 2 nines (in respect of moving along this season's story and because they thought it would be possible).  When Charlie made the error (which I think probably had a lot more emotional impact in live studio than it did on tv), the judges made the choices they did leaving them to try to recapture the original plot line by marking Meryl down WAY more than she deserved.  However, because of their inconsistency in their reaction to the error, the error itself has become more of a source of conversation than the intended Charlie/Meryl standings flip.  Len is the canny one, publicity-wise.

They were trying to go for this headline: "Meryl Davis slips to fifth; Charlie White earns a perfect 10" but with different numbers - Charlie was supposed to get the 40 they ended up giving James.

No, I don't have any proof -- it's just the story I made up to fit the facts as they presented themselves to me.

[sidwich]

 

I thought the cane and umbrella were great, but we wouldn't have missed them if they'd tossed them aside after making the point that they could use them. I think they might have missed a switch because Charlie ended up with the umbrella and Sharna the cane, but Sharna said later he only missed two beats of music, so I don't know where it was.

After the missed pass, you can see Sharna is ready to throw the umbrella back to Charlie but he's not in position to catch it so she keeps it.  That's the part she's probably referring to when she says they missed two beats because it looks like it's supposed to be a pass over then pass back combination.

You can see Charlie give a slight shake of the head on the next pass when he realizes he's holding the wrong prop, ... and then he keeps going.

(Sharna also slips a bit backing up from stage left during the second chorus, and loses her balance for a split second, but that's a minor glitch that didn't seem to cause any other problems).

[Joystickenvy]

My favorites were Meryl, Danica & James in that order. I really like Charlie as an Ice Dancer, but I thought he looked pretty awkward and slightly out of sync this week.

Candace definitely peaked week 1. My mom and I laughed and laughed at the crab shuffle though. Drew tries hard, but he is just not graceful.....at all.

The whole NeNe thing was just cringeworthy. Glad diaper pants is gone, though I was hoping Ballas would get eliminated.

I think Amy's scores don't bother me because no one on this show really gets an accurate score. If they did they'd have to quit inviting fatties and old people who can barely walk, because they'd all get -5s the first couple weeks.

When they are giving Meryl, Danica, Drew and NeNe 9s for dances of wildly varying quality, I just can't see quibbling over Amy's scores. CAI's condescending remarks are another matter.

[Uke]

So this was Disney night. I must be the only person on the planet who hasn't seen all these animated films. I've only seen Lion King, and the original Mary Poppins w/Julie Andrews.  I do have a general idea what the films are about, though someone on twitter corrected me-Mark's Little Mermaid character was a crab not a lobster. Oh well - gotta laugh!

Mandy Moore - just stop. No more opening numbers from you. Step in Time, Zip a Dee Doo Dah, etc. This could have been soooo good...but it merely ok.

Judges - what a load of blather! At least Donny was consistent - consistently annoying and self-promoting. Scoring made no sense whatsoever.

Drew -  Why was his mouth wide open the entire dance? Was he gasping for breath? The Genie animation was distracting and detracting. It looked like Cheryl was told to leave a gap between her and Drew (in a dance that doesn't allow breaks in hold) and they just plunked in some animation. I read somewhere that Cheryl didn't even get to see ahead of time what they were going to do and so couldn't really plan around it.  Couples are going to dread going first if the scoring is going to be 7-7-7-7.

Charlie - I wasn't all that impressed. I appreciate what they were trying to do, but Charlie looked a little lost at times as if he momentarily was forgetting his choreo - that's aside from dropping the cane. Didn't care for all the troupe on the floor with them.

Danica - The beginning looked a little rough but after Jenna/Lindsay came out with the bowl of green jello (?), the dance was quite good. Danica seemed less frantic this week.

Amy - The rehearsal package was heartbreaking. Last week Mark seemed to instill some confidence in Amy and this week Derek has her timid again. The dance was pretty but not waltzy. Derek sure likes the fog machine. Still no critique. I took CAI's comment as Amy won't get docked for lifts from here on out. Blatantly unfair and disrespectful to Amy. I'm all for giving her a pass on things she cannot do such as pointing her toes or heel/toes leads and such. If she needs to keep a hand on Derek for balance, that's fine. Step if she can't pivot, okay!  But lifts are Derek's choice - they have nothing to do with Amy's abilities.  He chose to start at the top of the stairs so he could then carry her down. He spins her around and while she can't feel if she's on the floor, Derek certainly knows how high to hold her to keep her in contact or to lift her.  She is a competitor and she knows what she signed up for. She doesn't need to be babied or handled with kid gloves.

Victura makes a good point about each new judge setting the tone by having to give their "inspiring" comments. And like darbar, I have to wonder why Amy hasn't told tptb to stop with the blubbering and respect her with constructive criticism.

Cody - Maybe it was the costume but his posture seemed less "C" shaped. The one time Donny nailed it was with "Did you enjoy the dance?" In the screencaps, not 1 picture showed Cody smiling during the dance. I'm actually not surprised he didn't get the votes. I saw a lot of tweets from his young fans asking how to vote on twitter.  Props to Witney though. I think she did well for her first time as partnering pro. Oh well, he and his droopy drawers are now off to other adventures.

Just an aside about Witney and Lindsay - they're really going to have to start marketing themselves if they want to go far on this show. Since they are both students of Mark, there's a lot of crossover in the fan bases.  When they were on SYTYCD, Mark was actively cheering for them and asking his fans to vote for them.  Now that they're on DWTS, those fans will likely maintain allegiance to Mark and whoever his partner is first and then maybe switch to supporting Witney or Lindsay if they outlast Mark. Same goes for Jenna if she becomes a partnering pro - I'm pretty sure she's also one of Mark's Vibe students.

Nene - A bump & grind foxtrot? For a moment I worried she'd start stripping off her clothes. The 9s were ridiculous. Two thoughts about their argument.

   1. The general assumption seems to be that the insecure/jealous remark referred to the Tony/Derek relationship.  It doesn't seem likely that Tony would say that about himself. This leads me to think he was referring to Nene/Candace to which Nene responded with if Tony wants Candace back, call the producers.  I think they sliced and diced the video to where the conversation didn't make sense jumping from Nene telling Tony what Derek supposedly taught her, Tony telling Nene that dance had no rules and the new dance has lots of rules, then insecure/jealous, then call the producers.

   2. On The Wendy Show today, Wendy talked about how the producer scripts the conversations right down to "say this" "say that" (I'm paraphrasing Wendy) and how you have to really dig in your heels to resist some things they tell the stars to say. Once it's on tape, they can do anything with it. It seems reasonable that they told Nene to say certain things and her not knowing how her comments would be used. That would account for her appearing ashamed in the skybox talking with Erin.

James - I liked the performance, James did a nice job, but I don't think it deserved a perfect score. The lifts were basically James holding a strong stance and Peta climbing around on him. Not a fan of her choreo.  Also, since when does a guy hike his pants during a dance? That just looked so odd.

Meryl - Tough song for a samba, but they made it work. It was a cute dance. Evidently the animated characters were so important to stick in there, that at 2 points they had Maks cut half off the screen and once Maks had to pull Meryl into the screen frame. Again a distracting and detracting gimmick.

Candace - Much better this week but I agree, her nerves really show. If Mark could teach her techniques or something to get her to focus on the dance instead of the audience, I think she'd pop right out of the bottom 3. I loved how she pleaded her case saying how much she loves being on the show and is trying her very best. I think both she and Mark were sweating it out the whole show expecting to be eliminated.

 

[Kromm]

Poor Candace.  She's doomed herself to hell for showing her stomach! (at least I bet Kirk informed her of this after the show)

[ToniW]

ETA:

I agree but...true confession: I was a Donny Osmond fangirl when I was 10. Back in 1972.  I remember hearing back in the 90s that Donny was trying to resurrect his career as a pop singer and he asked Michael Jackson for advice. MJ advised him to change his name. I don't know if that's true but I wouldn't surprise me because Donny seems incredibly desperate to be relevant in show business somehow.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. The song that restarted Donny's career, Soldier of Love, was originally being played on radio stations without announcing the artist's name at Donny's request. I've seen interviews where he said that he didn't think that audiences would give the song a chance if they knew it was him, but I don't know if the advice came from Michael Jackson.

I wish that Charlie hadn't dropped his cane. That should have been the first 40 point dance of the season, in my opinion, not the James and Peta dance. I thought that they were over scored.

I'm surprised that Cody was the one who went home. What happened to his millions of Twitter followers? Even if they only watched to see him dance, and then turned the channel, I expected him to be at least in the top 4.

Nene is being paid to show up for rehearsals and dance. That session that she walked out on should be deducted from her salary. Tony is a professional, and she wasted his time.

[CED9]

I think Cody got lost in the shuffle between Charlie and James and even Drew who has an established pro who has a fan base which Witney doesn't. Also maybe a lot of Cody's votes were not counted because of having an international IP address?

[ctoan]

I agree that Nene seemed to be throwing a tantrum in rehearsals and Tony didn't seem to have done anything too egregious (and seemed confused when she really left).

But what was up with his mood at the show? I know he and Carrie Anne don't get along, but I thought she was praising him and he still talked back to her and seemed quite cranky. Even once they were upstairs waiting for their scores, he seemed really pissy about something. 

And speaking of the after-dance interviews--can Erin Andrews make those interviews any more uncomfortable than they already are? She asks the most awful questions, aimed at making the dancers and stars embarrassed. It's like she's doing gotcha interviews with them, instead of making them feel relaxed and welcomed. I thought Brooke was bad and anyone else would be an improvement, but I was wrong.