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Season Seven Review — Top 12 Couples
By Dr Matt
Here are the weekly Recaps from the Top Thirteen Couples to the Final Three:
Intro 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Final 3
Konnichi wa DWTS Fans!
It wasn't hard to "call" the elimination of Jeffrey Ross—and I did! The first night is IN THE BOOKS. We'll see in the second night of DWTS can create more interest-energy for me.
The Format is curious: Announcing a Saved Couple, then having them dance. At least it keeps the pace going, as the elimination drama is evenly intermixed with performances. If DWTS are following the lead of American Idol and SYTYCD, they are TIPPING the audience (to some extent) as to the actual voting order. This is a good idea, because the audience wants to have a clear sense that they are choosing the eventual winner.
I feel for Jeffrey and Edyta, because they didn't get to DANCE the dance they practiced for many weeks. SUGGESTION TO PRODUCERS: Follow the format of American Idol, where they have the bottom two perform, THEN toss one of them in the trash—this is a more humane way of rejection.
Notice who was SAVED right from the get go: Lance and Lacey—My Top Duo for Couple Chemistry, . . . just look at their body language:
Here's my Less to Best Ranking for Night Number Two:
** Click the Dancing Pro's Name to see a Video of each couples Intro & Performance
12 - CLORIS LEACHMAN — Corky Ballas ( Judges Score: 16, Judges Rank #12 )
Mambo —
Cloris says she's "older than the Mambo." In the minds of many, Cloris is stealing the show with her witty comments. In my mind, I'm just waiting for the audience to vote Cloris out of her misery. If the show were "Joking with the Stars," Cloris would be leading the competition. BUT the show is titled "Dancing with The Stars," so "dancing" is the focal point. Let's not patronize Cloris with sympathy votes because of her age: She's a step slower, and step behind everyone else.
My biggest fear is that she hangs around like Jerry Springer did in Season Three—making it all way to 5th place. I realize I'm being politically incorrect for dissing the elderly, but I really want to see the BEST dancing, and not just hear the BEST jokes.
Based upon her dancing, she should be gone, but Fan Base will likely save her.
11 - KIM KARDASHIAN — Mark Ballas ( J-Score: 18, J-Rank #11 )
Mambo —
Kim tries to convince us that that she's finally "got it" and predicts a "booty-licious" performance. But Kim's self-defeating attitude sabatoged her positive prospects: "Everyone expects me to be this sexy thing, but I really not." With that kind of malignant mental mindset, what else could come out but a Milk-Toast Mambo—and so it was. pretty forgettable!
Bruno comments that Kim has plenty of "wasted assets." He was right. This couple is going nowhere in a hurry, unless Mark can light a fire under Kim's booty AND purge the self-sabatoging attitude out of her head. Chances are slim . . . early exit on the horizon.
10 - TED MCGINLEY — Inna Brayer ( J-Score: 19, J-Rank #10 )
Mambo —
Will Mambo McGinley be . . . Mambo-Licious? Naaaah! But Inna was workin' it BIG TIME. The Choreography was effective: Ted stands like a manequin most of the time, while Inna does Mambo laps around him. She was kind of like a Mambo-Moon in orbit around planet McGinley.
Again, Ted's Star Power is not be a BIG as others, and Inna is the new Pro. Together, they don'e have much F.B. which spells trouble when elimination time comes.
9 - MAURICE GREENE — Cheryl Burke ( J-Score: 21, J-Rank #8 )
Mambo —
This dance did NOT look much like a Mambo. It had more of a Swing flavor—but the music bears some of the blame. The music did NOT have that Latin feel; excellent dancing centers upon interpreting the music.
While he didn't do much Mambo, he did do the Worm with his undulating belly flat on the floor—much to the consternation of Judge Len: He called it the "free Willey." I think the Judge were too generous with their scoring.
8 - ROCCO DISPIRITO — Karina Smirnoff ( J-Score: 21, J-Rank #9 )
Mambo —
Since Rocco did a bouncing Foxtrot, maybe he can put his bouncing ability to use in the Mambo? It was slightly better than McGinley's Mannequin Mambo. Rocco was able to NOT be stiff, at least. But Karina was doing the Mambo Moon imitation around planet Rocco, nevertheless.
The judges liked it OK, and I do like his happy presentation in the performance.
7 - WARREN SAPP — Kym Johnson ( J-Score: 22, J-Rank #4 )
Quickstep —
The Big Boy can dance! The Kim and Warren Quickstep was a lot of fun! Warren actually bodied-up to Kim a lot better than Lance did with Lacey. Dancing close is the way International Style Ballroom Dance is done! But, with Warren's size, Kim could NOT avoid being close.
Even though technique was lacking (something the Judges pointed out), I I enjoyed the performance!
6 - SUSAN LUCCI — Tony Dovolani ( J-Score: 22, J-Rank #5 )
Quickstep —
While careful and tidy didn't work with her Cha Cha last night, those attributes fit just fine with the Quickstep! It was a very clean routine—so appropriate for a "Soap" Star.
5 - LANCE BASS — Lacey Schwimmer ( J-Score: 21, J-Rank #6 )
Quickstep —
Lance and Lacey do a Quickstep that has furiously fast footwork. It was impressive to see Lance keeping up with the quicker than quick pace. BUT the Top Line and Body Alignment was way too loose. Still enough pizzazz to earn my number #5 rating.
4 - MISTY MAY-TREANOR — Maksim Chmerkovskiy ( J-Score: 21, J-Rank #7 )
Mambo —
Misty May was mambo-amazing! Her Latin Hip Action was . . . booty-licious! The tempo of a Mambo is very fast, and Misty was dead-on the right rhythm from start to finish!
3 - CODY LINLEY — Julianne Hough ( J-Score: 23, J-Rank #3 )
Quickstep —
Lance and Lacey need to take notes on how Cody and Julianne maintain a tight, close dance postion throughout. Nicely done! Cody tightened up his loosey goosey tendencies and delivered! Julianne is starting to work her magic. She has coached two previous Stars to the top (Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves).
While Apolo had some skill going in, from speed skating, Helio was a blank slate, and Cody is about the same. Will Julieanne work her mirror-ball magic again?
2 - TONI BRAXTON — Alec Mazo ( J-Score: 23, J-Rank #2 )
Quickstep —
Very nice Quickstep! While trained dancers on SYTYCD consistently struggle with this dance style, this novice dancer delivers big time! To be fair to the SYTYCD dancers, it makes a HUGE difference when 1/2 of the partnership is a world-class professional. It is especially advantageous when the Man, the Leader, is the proficient one!
1 - BROOKE BURKE — Derek Hough ( J-Score: 26, J-Rank #1 )
Quickstep —
Wow! Great Quickstep! Brooke Burke totally nailed this routine! Derek "Ken Doll" Hough did a fantastic job of training his partner to execute all sorts of advanced subtleties! The Judges saw the same great technique I did, and scored it the highest performance of the evening.
Elimination Prediction:
Hey, did you notice that the Judges rated the Quickstep-ers higher than the Mambo-ers? I differed from the judges, moving up Misty May & Maksim in the rankings. Technically, Misty May, Lance Bass, Maurice Green, and Rocco Despirito all tied with scores of "21." But I broke all the ties, based upon yesterday's scores. That way you can better see the Judges evaluation compared to mine.
If dance performance is the standard, the Star to Fall would be . . . Cloris Leachman. She deserves the BOOT based upon her below-average dancing—but what to you expect from an 82 year old? Again, let's not patronize the Elderly; measure them against a single standard, like everyone else.
Elimination? It should be Kim "what is she famous for" Kardashian or Mister Ted "I don't have a big Fan Base" McGinley. Flip a coin, one goes this week, and the other goes the next. But whoever survives this week, I hope they prove me wrong next week. Beating the odds and bucking the expectations, . . . that's the fun of it!
Ted McGinley & Inna Brayer:
Gone with the Wind
Results Show Recap:
The Results Show starts off with Bang! Here's the Pros dancing a Paso Doble/Rumba wearing their Spanish-Flaminco-Dominatrix outfits. Kinky! Dancing starts at 1:25
Remember how I was feeling bad for Jeffrey and Edyta, because they didn't get a chance to dance their weeks-in-preparation Quickstep? After seeing it, now I'm feeling bad for the audience who had to endure watching it. The good news: America (and the Judges) got the first elimination totally RIGHT. Did you you want to see Jeffrey and Edyta's Quickstep? (view at 1:35). Also see first hand, Derek "Ken Doll" Hough man-handling Brooke "Brunette Barbi" Burke at at 3:33
Notice that former So You Think You Can Dance Star, Lacey Schwimmer is getting plenty of "front and center" camera time in the Pro Routines. Combine that with the appearance of musical performers, Jonas Brothers and Jesse McCartney, and it's clear that Dancing with the Stars is making a major play for the SYTYCD audience—evidently that audience is young.
Here's the other Dance Routine that emphasizes Lacey Schwimmer as part of the Pro Cast. It's a Jive-Tap-Foxtrot Potpourri. You can zoom in on Lacey at 2:07 Lacey has been designated to bring EDGE to DWTS. That fits, . . . who else but a Mormon could bring EDGE to a Family Show?
"We will now reveal in no particular order," that's how the MC's presented the SAVED competitors, one couple at at time. First to be SAVED: The couple who has received the highest scores two nights in a row: Brooke and Derek. Speaking of which, have you noticed how Derek drapes his grubby little paws all over Bodacious Brooke? What's up with that? Is that Derek's personal idea, or has he been directed by the SHOW to man-handle Brooke Burke every chance he gets?
After Adam Corolla's on-the-street update, I didn't see the rest of the DWTS Results Show. President Bush's speech on the economy crisis pushed the final minutes out of my DVR recording. So, I will rely upon YouTube to show me the rest. (Have you heard that everything is on YouTube?)
It's interesting how they put some obvious favorites in the "perceived" (NOT real) Bottom Four: Julianne & Cody, Lance & Lacey, and Toni & Alec. The only couple who is NOT an obvious favorite was Inna and Ted — and that's exactly the couple kicked to the curb on night number two. Ba Bye!
With DWTS making a big deal about Toni Braxton's heart condition, they didn't do her any favors by putting her in the "perceived" Bottom Two. Maybe they were purposely raising her blood pressure so they could create another Marie-Osmond-Like fainting incident?
In the end, Toni B. survived elimination AND a heart attack!
:o)
Dr. Matt
Check out the Recap for Week #2
* * * * * * *
Dancing with the Stars Season Six
Order of Finish:
Penn Jillette, Magician & Kym Johnson — 12th
Monica Seles, retired Tennis Player & Jonathan Roberts — 11th
Steve Guttenberg, Actor & Anna Trebunskaya — 10th
Adam Carolla, Comedian & Julianne Hough — 9th
Priscilla Presley, Actress & Louis van Amstel — 8th
Marlee Matlin, Actress & Fabian Sanchez — 7th
Shannon Elizabeth, Actress & Derek Hough — 6th
Mario, Singer & Karina Smirnoff — 5th
Marissa Jaret Winokur, Broadway Actress & Tony Dovolani — 4th
Cristian de la Fuente, Actor & Cheryl Burke — Third Place
Jason Taylor, NFL Football player & Edyta Sliwinska — Second Place
Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic Figure Skater & Mark Ballas — DWTS Season 6 Winners
* * * * * * *
Dancing with the Stars Season Five
Order of Finish:
Josie Maran, Model & Alec Mazo — 12th
Albert Reed, Model & Anna Trebunskaya — 11th
Wayne Newton, Entertainer & Cheryl Burke — 10th
Floyd Mayweather, Boxing Champion & Karina Smirnoff — 9th
Mark Cuban, Billionaire Entrepreneur & Kym Johnson — 8th
Sabrina Bryan, Cheetah Girls member & Mark Ballas — 7th
Jane Seymour, Actress & Tony Dovolani — 6th
Cameron Mathison, Soap Actor & Edyta Sliwinska — 5th
Jennie Garth, Actress & Derek Hough — 4th
Marie Osmond, Entertainer & Jonathan Roberts — Third Place
Mel B, Spice Girls member & Maksim Chmerkovskiy — Second Place
Helio Castroneves, Indy 500 Champion & Julianne Hough — DWTS Season 5 Winners
* * * * * * *
Dancing with the Stars — Season Four
Order of Finish:
Paulina Porizkova, Supermodel Alec Mazo — 11th
Shandi Finnessey, former Miss USA & Brian Fortuna — 10nd
Leeza Gibbons, Talk show host & Tony Dovolani — 9rd
Clyde Drexler, Retired NBA player & Elena Grinenko — 8th
Heather Mills, Charity Campaigner & Jonathan Roberts — 7th
John Ratzenberger, Actor & Edyta Sliwinska — 6th
Billy Ray Cyrus Country Singer and Actor Karina Smirnoff — 5th
Ian Ziering, Actor & Cheryl Burke — 4th
Laila Ali, Boxing World Champion & Maksim Chmerkovskiy — Third Place
Joey Fatone, 'N Sync Member & Kym Johnson — Second Place
Apolo Anton Ohno, Olympic Gold Medalist & Julianne Hough — DWTS Season 4 Winners
* * * * * * *
Dancing with the Stars — Season Three
Order of Finish:
Tucker Carlson, Political Pundit & Elena Grinenko — 10th
Shanna Moakler, Former Miss USA & Jesse DeSoto — 9th
Harry Hamlin, Actor & Ashly DelGrosso — 8th
Vivica A. Fox, Actress & Nick Kosovich — 7th
Willa Ford, Pop Singer & Maksim Chmerkovskiy — 6th
Sara Evans, Country Singer & Tony Dovolani Withdrew (withdrew due to family matters)
Jerry Springer, Talk Show Host & Kym Johnson — 5th
Monique Coleman, Actress & Louis van Amstel — 4th
Joey Lawrence, Actor & Edyta Sliwinska — 3rd
Mario Lopez, TV Host & Karina Smirnoff — Second Place
Emmitt Smith, retired NFL Running Back & Cheryl Burke — DWTS Season 3 Winners
* * * * * * *
Dancing with the Stars — Season Two
Order of Finish:
Kenny Mayne, ESPN Sports Anchor & Andrea Hale — 10th
Tatum O'Neal, Actress & Nick Kosovich — 9th
Giselle Fernandez, TV journalist & Jonathan Roberts — 8th
Master P, Rapper & Ashly DelGrosso — 7th
Tia Carrere, Actress & Maksim Chmerkovskiy — 6th
George Hamilton, Actor & Edyta Sliwinska — 5th
Lisa Rinna, Actress and TV host Louis van Amstel — 4th
Stacy Keibler, former WWE Diva and Actress Tony Dovolani — Third Place
Jerry Rice, retired NFL Wide Receiver & Anna Trebunskaya — Second Place
Drew Lachey, 98 Degrees member & Cheryl Burke — DWTS Season 2 Winners
* * * * * * *
Dancing with the Stars — Season One
Order of Finish:
Trista Rehn, The Bachelorette & Louis van Amstel — 6th
Evander Holyfield, Heavyweight Boxing Champ & Edyta Sliwinska — 5th
Rachel Hunter, Supermodel & Jonathan Roberts — 4th
Joey McIntyre, New Kids on the Block member & Ashly DelGrosso — 3rd
John O'Hurley, Actor & Charlotte Jørgensen — Second Place
Kelly Monaco, Actress & Alec Mazo — DWTS Season 1 Winners
The Greatest Prize
for Life's labors isn't
in material possessions
or impressive accomplishments,
but in the progress of personal character.
You labor for your own becoming, this is your richest reward.
Who You Become is your greatest possession,
make it your Masterpiece!
(Changing Your Stripes, 2nd Edition, page 274).
"Changing Your Stripes" presents principles for getting out of
the ditch in which you've been dumped (the difficulties of which you are a victim),
and the ditch in which you've jumped (the difficulties for which you volunteer).
"Mastering a challenging situation
is ultimately a matter of
mastering yourself!"
- Matt Moody
"Changing Your Stripes," teaches you the principles that lead to lasting change,
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If these ideas resonate and ring true,
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Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor