The endless parade of Dancing with the Stars guest judges continues in week 6 with LMFAO member Redfoo. Tonight is “Party Anthem Night” on DWTS, which means lots of heavy beats and swagger.
Last week the judges were nicer than ever, handing out nine 10s to the contestants, including a perfect score for James Maslow (making him only the fifth star ever to get a perfect score in the first five weeks of the competition). Will that goodwill continue tonight? And can Drew Carey avoid almost-certain elimination?
LIVE…from Hollywood…this is Dancing with the Stars!
The opening has a carnival theme set to Miley Cyrus‘ “Party in the U.S.A.,” perhaps my favorite guilty pleasure song ever.
Guest judge Redfoo comes out with a sparkly red jacket (with no shirt underneath) and shiny black leather shorts. That’s a 1-8-7 according to the fashion police. Unlike past guest judges he’s seated i the second position between Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman.
THE RESULTS, PART 1
Tom Bergeron announces that NeNe Leakes is…SAFE! That’s bad news for Cameron and Drew. But who will be the third couple in the bottom?
NeNe Leakes and Tony Dovolani: Salsa
After last week’s emotional turmoil, they’re back to having fun. The routine has some attitude thanks to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” but the steps feel very stilted and the transitions are off. Luckily it gets so hot in there that Tony takes off his clothes again. The judges call her out for not having enough technique, but things take a detour when Bruno Tonioli takes off his jacket and Tom comments on his nipples. Redfoo, like Donny Osmond, says he knows nothing about technical skills. Ugh, I really hate these novelty guest judges with no actual knowledge about dance. Bring back Julianne or other former pros (like Kym Johnson, Louis van Amstel).
Judges’ Scores: 8+9+8+8=33
Thank you, Redfoo, for proving your incompetence in judging right away.
THE RESULTS, PART 2
James Maslow is…SAFE!
Candace Cameron Bure is…IN JEOPARDY!
No duh.
Candace Cameron Bure and Mark Ballas: Cha-Cha-Cha
Having to dance immediately after being announced in jeopardy is mean. She needs sexy hip movement for this dance, which is hard for her until she thinks of it as an acting role. I think she’s improved quite a bit with her technique and I like her dancing a lot in this routine. However, it doesn’t feel all that party or rocking and it gets kind of mechanical. Bruno hits the nail on the head by saying that sometimes it looks like she stops or holds back at certain parts.
Judges’ Scores: 8+8+8+8=32
We’re only two performances in and I already want Redfoo to disappear. His voice is like nails on a chalkboard.
James Maslow and Peta Murgatroyd: Quickstep
After their perfect Frozen Contemporary dance, now they’re doing a Grease-inspired Quickstep. It’s a radical change from free-form to precision during rehearsals. It’s another winner, though the opening and closing where he gets to show off his charisma are a lot better than the actual Quickstep portion in the middle. Carrie asks him to improve a tiny bit with his footwork and gets a loud “Boo” from the audience. I love him too, but she’s right. Len is much more critical about multiple technical problems.
Judges’ Scores: 9+9+8+9=35
Not bad. After Len’s commentary, I almost thought he’d go down to a 7.
Macy’s Stars of Dance
It’s time for Derek Hough to get another chance to spread his creative choreography wings after having to be so limited and confined with Amy as a partner. He teamed up with SYTYCD‘s Allison Holker and it’s an awesome dance crew hip-hop routine with neon lasers and giant robots that shoot smoke. It’s basically one big rave and is much more enjoyable than the last Macy’s dance.
THE RESULTS, PART 3
Meryl Davis is…SAFE!
Danica McKellar is…IN JEOPARDY!
WTF? Danica got a 39 last week! And now she has to dance.
Danica McKellar and Val Chmerkovskiy: Cha-Cha-Cha
The dance is fun and sexy, but it’s hard not to feel like there’s a grey, gloomy cloud hanging over the whole thing. This is why the format is terrible because how is she supposed to focus after the total shock of being in jeopardy? They really need to wait until the end to announce all of the results. The judges absolutely loved it, but I feel like they may be slightly overpraising them because they’re confused and counteracting them being in jeopardy.
Judges’ Scores: 9+9+9+9=36
Tom expected some 10s, so the judges’ comments don’t really reflect the scores.
Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Tango
They have a joint meltdown over getting four 9s last week. They are so entitled, because they didn’t deserve any 10s for that Samba. Maks bitches about how he’s never won and he seems to be blaming the judges. Ignoring their general awfulness as people this week, the routine itself is insane. It’s intense and a brilliant party anthem Tango. The judges give them all the praise they deserve for the perfect technique and choreography. The story is the same: Meryl’s skills are bringing out Maks’ best choreography. But they need to get over themselves, because I think they will throw a massive hissyfit if they don’t win.
Judges’ Scores: 10+10+10+10=40
I’m sure they will still complain that James got a perfect score first.
THE RESULTS, PART 4
The final three couples will all perform, and then Tom will announce which of them is in jeopardy. This makes the whole thing even worse, because the first two couples in danger had to dance immediately after it was announced.
Drew Carey and Cheryl Burke: Tango
Drew is totally resigned to the fact that this is his last week. He’s playing a pimp and Cheryl brings in Lindsay Arnold and Witney Carson to help. Making them go after Meryl and Maks’ Tango is cruel. It’s clearly inferior and even Drew knows he messed up. Aww, I feel like he just wants to be put out of his misery already. The judges are nice, for the most part.
Judges’ Scores: 8+9+7+8=32
At least Len balanced out Redfoo’s ridiculous score. But it’s still too generous.
Charlie White and Sharna Burgess: Cha-Cha-Cha
It’s a rough week because he’s also doing Stars on Ice. It’s a great routine that ends with some cool glow-in-the-dark stuff. I feel like, after the ice dancers were beat by James, Danica and Amy last week, they are coming back with a fire because they don’t like not being first.
Judges’ Scores: 9+9+9+9=36
WTF? The judges didn’t say a single negative comment, so how are there no 10s? Last week the judges were way too generous with 10s, but they’ve over-corrected and now are being too stingy. Danica and Charlie each deserved at least one.
Amy Purdy and Derek Hough: Jive
Derek puts together a massive routine in which he plays a man who steals her away at her wedding. By the end, it looks more like a group routine than an individual one. It’s fine and she actually does a lot more individual stuff than she ever has before. But there’s an obvious stumble at one point halfway through when he leans her back. Once again, the judges talk more about how inspiring and amazing she is in general. We get it, she has no legs, but lets move on and focus more on the dance. Carrie Ann says she had the best kicks and flips in a Jive she’s ever seen. Really? At least the judges do mention the obvious stumble, but they seem to gloss over it.
Judges’ Scores: 9+10+9+10=38
Hells no. I get Redfoo, but a 10 from Bruno? There was a very, VERY obvious mistake! Charlie and Danica didn’t get any 10s, but Amy gets two? Even if you LOVE her, you can’t possibly think this is acceptable.
THE FINAL RESULTS
It’s no surprise that Drew Carey is…IN JEOPARDY, joining Candace ND dANICA.
Danica McKellar and Val Chmerkovskiy are…SAFE!
Whew.
Drew Carey and Cheryl Burke ARE ELIMINATED!
Even Drew knew this was going to happen, so it’s hard to feel too badly.
Next week on DWTS: It’s Latin Night with guest judge Ricky Martin and the return of the Team Dances. Also, it was announced that Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller will be a guest judge in the future. While I’m horrified by that prospect, she might be the only person mean enough to actually give Amy the scores she deserves. So maybe it won’t be so bad.
THE LEADERBOARD
40 (16 percent): Meryl Davis
38 (15.2 percent): Amy Purdy
36 (14.4 percent): Danica McKellar, Charlie White
35 (14 percent): James Maslow
33 (13.2 percent): NeNe Leakes
32 (12.8 percent): Candace Cameron Bure
(Image courtesy of ABC)
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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.
