Dancing With The Stars - Who Takes The Bullet

It's elimination night and tonight someone will no longer be in contention for winner of the coveted Disco Ball Trophy. Ashley Simpson is our musical guest as well as Riverdance and the kids take to the floor again.


Up first is a recap of last nights performances. We see the group dance in review first and it was as manic as before. We see Marissa getting really good comments and good scores and her going berserk, as usual. Len threatens to show his rear in the supermarket if Christian is in the bottom two. I for one am hoping that doesn't happen. As for Mario and Karina, get a room already. I will say it again, it was totally inappropriate for him to dedicate that dance to that song to his little brother. The mambo proved to be too fast for Marlee and her comments and scores reflect that. Shannon was looking for perfection but did not happen. She was criticized for her lack of hip action, which she looked completely shocked about. She broke down big time in her confessional. Derek got defensive pointing out the others mistakes (no one by name). Jason and Edyta tackle the cha cha but alas the choreography is too much for him to keep up with. Kristi and Mark aka. Beauty and The Geek, own the night and get the first perfect score. Both confess that they had their most fun doing that dance.

It's time for the encore dance, and I am thoroughly disappointed that they choose the group dance. It should have been Kristi and Mark. Guess I will go rewind my DVR and watch it again. Still a manic mess to me. Cute but way too busy. Looked to be a slight snafu at the tail end of Jason and Edyta's lift, but it was still a great lift.

Next up.....we get a reminder that the 100th show celebration is coming up with the return of over 30 stars, including Mario Lopez, Apollo and Mel B.....two weeks. Don't miss it.

It's time for Ashlee Simpson with a cut off her new album. My question....will she lip sync or sing for real. As soon as she starts singing, I instantly know why I don't listen to her music. Instead I think I will watch the dancers. Not sure who they are, but they are good as always. I will say the hair color change for Ashlee is a plus. Now she doesn't look like the bimbo I thought/think she is. It's a good color for her.

We are shown the leader board again:
Kristi and Mark (6th week in a row)
Mario and Karina
Christian and Cheryl
Marissa and Tony
Jason and Edyta
Shannon and Derek
Marlee and Fabian

We start with the elimination process....one couple is safe and one is in bottom two:
First couple safe: Shannon and Derek
First bottom two: Marlee and Fabian

Up next in the Stars of the Dance, is Riverdance. Good ole fashioned tap dancing at it's best. What's amazing is how they can move their feet so fast all the while keeping their upper body so still. The synchronicity of this group of dancers is OUTSTANDING. I don't think I have ever seen a group of dancers dance such a hard routine and all be in perfect unison.

We are back from commercial and it's time for the ballroom kids competition. This is the 13 and under group. Brandon and Brittany have been dancing together for 3.5 years. They are doing the cha cha cha. She reminds me of Edyta with her leg extensions...WOW. And she is deaf in one ear. Could have fooled me. And he aint bad either, reminds me of a mini Louis. WOW, that ending with her leg over his head was awesome. Len praises them for their sharpness and crispness. Bruno says it was dancing of the highest standards. Carrie Ann said the execution was perfect and sees future Dancing With the Stars professionals. I was impressed especially since Brittnay got her skirt caught in her shoe and jsut kept dancing until she was able to take it out. And all the while she made it look like she meant to do it. Impressive.

Our next kid's couple is Austin and Liza, both 12. Liza has been dancing half her life. Tonight they dance the Samba. Wow he has great footwork. The height difference does not seem to be causing them a problem. (she is 5.2, he is 4.11). I liked him better. He reminded me of Maks. She did not do anything to impress me. Not saying she was not good, but Brittnay was better than Liza. Bruno says they are two rising stars. He tells Austin his talent his huge even if he is small. Carrie Ann tells the ladies to watch out because Austin was working the audience. Len says that American has a great future in dancing with these two pairs.

After the commercial we find out the judges have voted for Brittnay and Brandon to move on to the finals with a vote of 2 to 1, with Len voting for Austin and Liza.

We get a filler piece on the judges and what a hard job they have. Carrie Ann gets nervous right before the stars perform. Len says as soon as the music starts that is when you go into judging mode. They are not scripted. They take notes as they can but sometimes when writing their notes they may miss something. Bruno says sometimes he can't remember what he says right after he says it. Len says they have to judge from their brain and he feels terrible when he critizes them. Carrie Ann is usually prepared to say one thing and then when she opens her mouth something else may come out (remember when she wobbled like a bird to Jason and Edyta). Sometimes they feel like they may have scored too high or too low, but it is only their opinion.

It's time to get back to elimination. Two more that are safe are Marissa and Tony and Christian and Cheryl, who genuinely look surprised. Backstage Christian and Marissa are jumping up and down. Christian still can't believe they are safe. Samantha reminds them that moving forward they will have to learn two dances a week. Christian says, "bring it on" and asks again if they are really safe.

We are back from what I hope is our last commercial break. Time to find out the fate of the rest of the couples. Kristi and Mark are safe as is Jason and Edyta. Edyta looked prepared for the worst and her surprise was very geniune. That means Karina and Mario and Marlee and Fabian are in the bottom two. I will be honest I think the reason Mario is there is because of the lift and the dedication to his young brother. A lot of America was turned off by that.

So tonight Marlee and Fabian is leaving and Marlee did not really look surprised. She gets a standing ovation and gives a wonderful speech, thanking the judges, Fabian, her family, friends and the fans. And a special thanks to Henry Winkler for all his support. Tom breaks as host to tell his long time friend how proud he is of her. Final dance is done to Dust in the Wind.

All in all a good show and a predictable outcome.

Until next week.............when our stars will learn two dances and hopefully the professionals will do a group number.

bbfanatik