From Adam and Even to Batman and Robin, there are many iconic dynamic duos throughout the years. Tonight on Dancing with the Stars, the seven remaining couples take on those personas for their individual dances, with the highest score receiving immunity. The six others will then compete in a series of dance-offs for extra judges’ points.
We’re just three weeks away from the season 19 finale, so every dance is crucial. I predict Michael Waltrip will finally be eliminated tonight, but I’m not sure if that’s wishful thinking or genuinely realistic.
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Thank God, Michael as Tarzan is wearing his loincloth over his pants. Meanwhile, Val’s Romeo is showing more skin than Sadie and Mark’s Adam and Eve.
The immunity is for tonight, so I’m still not sure how this is working. Are the dance-off scores being added to last week’s total, not this week’s?
Lea Thompson and Artem Chigvintsev: Bonnie and Clyde Jazz
Lea brings an acting coach into rehearsals to get into character. The set and costumes are amazing. This Dynamic Duo theme is going to be great for creating entertaining routines. It was fun and sexy, and I love when they make it rain. Len Goodman thinks she dances too safely, which is right. She’s a tad tentative in her movements. Julianne Hough criticizes the “dated” choreography. The judges just didn’t think it lived up to what it could’ve been, though Carrie Ann Inaba loves Lea’s confidence.
Judges’ Scores: 8+8+8+8=32
That’s not going to get them immunity for the night.
Michael Waltrip and Emma Slater: Tarzan and Jane Foxtrot
Sadly, Michael vows to fight back even after last week’s horrible scores. Dude, it’s OK to give up. Sometimes instead of getting back up, you should just stay down after you get knocked out. They go back to more classic ballroom where Michael just walks around, limiting the degree to which he can screw this up. He’s still clumsy and lacks any real Tarzan flavor. The judges try to find positive things to say, mostly that it was better than last week. But it was still bad and well below what stars should be doing in week 8.
Judges’ Scores: 6+7+6+6=25
Len was feeling generous.
Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy: Romeo and Juliet Contemporary
The routine focuses on the romantic and sensual side of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, and they nail it. It’s magically beautiful and full of passion. Bruno Tonioli calls it juicy and glorious. The judges absolutely loved the choreography, the execution, and everything about it. Julianne calls it “breathtaking.” I think the race for immunity is over.
Judges’ Scores: 10+10+10+10=40
A perfect score! Bethany, Sadie, and Alfonso are shaking in their boots because getting that immunity just became almost impossible. I believe if there’s a tie the immunity goes to the best average score for the whole season, and both Bethany and Alfonso have better averages than Janel, so either could steal it if they also get a perfect score tonight.
Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd: June and Johnny Cash Paso Doble
I’m not sure Johnny Cash and his wife qualify as one of the most famous Dynamic Duos ever. Heck, Cheech and Chong are more famous in my opinion. It’s definitely not the cleanest or the best, but I kind of like it. Tommy does a decent enough job of performing, even though the judges point out that he was off the whole time. Len compares him to a hot dog: “You’re tasty, but you’re never sure about the content.” He’s as bad as Michael, but Tommy is just a lot more likeable. He’s such a sweet man.
Judges’ Scores: 6+7+7+6=26
At least he’s ahead of Michael.
Sadie Robertson and Mark Ballas: Adam and Eve Contemporary
Mark acts like a total baby about the low scores for last week’s zombie Paso, bitching about Len. Sadie doesn’t like the idea of Mark not wearing a shirt. She wants to make sure this Bible lesson is accurate and that Mark doesn’t touch her butt. The dance is crazy and intense, though I’m not sure how Biblical it is. I like the raw, primitive movements. Julianne kind of calls out Mark for being immature about last week, but laughs it off.
Judges’ Scores: 9+9+10+10=38
That seems about right, though it continues to prove that Contemporary probably shouldn’t be a style on this show since it’s easier to get huge scores.
Alfonso Ribeiro and Witney Carson: Batman and Robin Cha-Cha-Cha
There are capes and zip lines. In rehearsals, Alfonso got stuck on the zip line and they needed to get a ladder to save him. It’s weird to see a girl Robin, but the dance is awesome like everything they do. I give them a lot of credit because they could’ve let the theme overtake the technique, but they made it all about the content and not the costumes. It’s just a whole lot of fun and very “super.”
Judges’ Scores: 10+9+9+10=38
Good, Janel keeps that lead.
Bethany Mota and Derek Hough: Lucy and Ricky Ricardo Salsa
In eight weeks, Alfonso has performed last three times and now Sadie and Bethany have both performed last twice. The only week the final performance wasn’t one of those three was during the Switch-Up. And on top of that, Derek has also performed second-to-last three times.
Bethany actually knows who Lucille Ball is. She acts indignant about it, but she had no idea who Gene Kelly was. They do a weird I Love Lucy parody with Derek putting on a fake accent. The dance is a big production that quickly turns into I Love Lucy: After Dark. It’s really good, but there are one or two moments where I see Bethany stopping for a second to think about the next move. Carrie saw a mistake, and Bethany actually confirms it even though the audience boos.
Judges’ Scores: 9+9+9+10=37
That’s a reasonable score for that dance.
The Dance-Offs
The individual performances are over, and now it’s time for dance-offs.
Janel and Val win Immunity!
They are safe this week and will get 3 extra points on their score this week, which is also what the winners in each dance-off will get. Ah, so THAT’S how they’re dealing with the elimination and scores.
The dance-offs will be Jive, Cha-Cha-Cha, or Rumba. One team picks their opponents, and the opponents pick the style. Peta knows she can only beat Michael, but Artem doesn’t think picking a worse team is a good idea because it’s a lame move.
Alfonso and Witney vs. Lea and Artem: Jive
As always, Alfonso does a great job. Lea does well too but seems a bit uneasy sometimes. It could go either way, but Alfonso gets the benefit of the doubt in my mind. Twitter says that Alfonso wins with 85 percent.
Carrie Ann Inaba picks…Alfonso and Witney!
Len Goodman picks…Alfonso and Witney!
Julianne Hough picks…Alfonso and Witney!
Bruno Tonioli picks…Alfonso and Witney!
Alfonso and Witney win the dance-off!
That was inevitable.
Sadie and Mark vs. Bethany and Derek: Cha-Cha-Cha
Now, this is an awesome battle. Two teen girls battling and two BFF pros going head-to-head. I think Sadie does a better job than Bethany, but Derek does go with the open shirt, which definitely wins over my Twitter vote. The judges point out a few issues with both and talk about how hard the decision is. Twitter says that Bethany wins with 52 percent. Wow, I thought Derek would take that one in a landslide. That’s very revealing.
Carrie Ann Inaba picks…Sadie and Mark!
Len Goodman picks…Bethany and Derek!
Julianne Hough picks…Bethany and Derek!
Bruno Tonioli picks…Sadie and Mark!
It’s a tie and the rules state that the head judge is the tie-breaker, and Len chose Bethany and Derek.
Bethany and Derek win the dance-off!
That’s lame, especially since Derek’s sister voted for him.
Tommy and Peta vs. Michael and Emma: Rumba
This is definitely a fair fight as they’re both terrible dancers. It’s just like Alien vs Predator. No matter who wins, we lose. They’re both dull. One was sweeter (Tommy) but the other had more steps (Michael), though Julianne says they were sloppy steps. Twitter says Tommy wins with 73 percent.
Carrie Ann Inaba picks…Tommy and Peta!
Len Goodman picks…Tommy and Peta!
Julianne Hough picks…Tommy and Peta!
Bruno Tonioli picks…Tommy and Peta!
Tommy and Peta win the dance-off!
So there were two obvious unanimous votes and one close call.
THE RESULTS
Janel’s immunity is for this week so she’s safe, but all of those dance-off results are for next week. Now it’s time to get to the results for this week.
The first couple SAFE is…Alfonso and Witney!
The second couple SAFE is…Bethany and Derek!
The third couple SAFE is…Sadie and Mark!
The fourth couple SAFE is…Lea and Artem!
That makes sense, and it’s down to Tommy and Michael.
Michael Waltrip and Emma Slater ARE ELIMINATED!
Hallelujah! My prediction was spot-on and the worst dancer is finally gone. He lasted a lot longer than anyone thought, especially since his average judges’ score is actually lower than everyone except Lolo Jones.
Next week is America’s Choice, meaning people on Twitter chose the styles and songs. So really it’s whatever the producers or pros want because I’m sure they can find someone who tweeted any possible style or song.
Also next week, based on the leaderboard, it seems Tommy and Lea are both in danger. That’s a pretty big gap between those two and the other four.
THE LEADERBOARD
43: Janel Parrish
41: Alfonso Ribeiro
40: Bethany Mota
38: Sadie Robertson
32: Lea Thompson
29: Tommy Chong
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
