DANCING WITH THE STARS - The Semi-Finals

The semi-finals for this season's Dancing with the Stars competition is upon us this week.  The four remaining couples struggled to remain in the game as they performed two randomly selected dances Monday night.  On Tuesday's results show one of the four couples will be eliminated and the rest will advance to the ultimate and final challenge.

The Guchi regained the top spot on the judges' leader board with 57 out of 60 points, vindicating herself after some relatively low scores in Week Eight.  She and her partner Mark Ballas raked in a near perfect 29 for their dramatic and precise tango, but only got a 28 for their technically demanding jive. 

I thought Kristi deserved a higher score because for half the dance she had a big strand of hair stuck to her mouth, which must have been distracting.  Check it out (below).  Her lip gloss has incredible adhesive properties!

Cristian de la Fuente and his partner Cheryl Burke are in second place, with 56 points.  After tearing a tendon in his bicep during the samba in week seven, the couple have been choreographing around Cristian's injury, and pulling in high scores, too.  They were in first place last week and are only a point behind Kristi and Mark, so they're definitely making it to the finals.  They should, anyway.

The couple scored a 29 out of 30 for their samba and Cristian made it through without suffering a flashback.  The judges thought Cristian and Cheryl's Viennese waltz was pretty good, giving them 27 points.  I just have to say that the dress Cheryl Burke wore for the waltz was crazy.  Tom Bergeron made fun of it, comparing it to a weather balloon.  Don't take my word for it, judge for yourself:

Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska dropped to third place this week with a total score of 55 out of 60 possible points. 

They danced a brilliant foxtrot that earned them 28 points, but their paso doble only got them 27 points.  I thought their paso doble was excellent, but what do I know?  I'm no Bruno.  But then, who is?

Finally, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani are in last place with 52 points.  Both their foxtrot and their rumba scored 26 points.  I thought their foxtrot was great, the choreography seemed much more ambitious than any dance thye've done before.

In the live television gaffs department, Marissa and Tony experienced a little wardrobe malfunction as her skirt got caught on the sequined trim of Tony's pants.  Chivalrous Tom Bergeron shielded Marissa from embarassment while they resolved the crisis.  Fashion has its risks.

So who is going home this week? 

Marissa seems to be the most likely candidate, as she has the lowest score.  But the elimination is based upon the combined judges' score and fan votes, and I've predicted Marissa's ouster before and been wrong every time, so maybe she'll surprise us. 

Like life, Dancing with the Stars doesn't always happen the way you expect it to.

--Dave Campbell

Comments

[amoamas]

That Mario was eliminated while Marissa stayed is a travesty. Who really needs to go is Len who is downright cruel & rude. Constructive criticism is the job of the judges, but personal attacks demonstrate his/their lack of class & intelligence. To make an uncalled for & ugly remark about the size of Mario's feet (which he has no control of - what? is he supposed to bind them in the Asian tradition), while pandering to Marissa, who now is really delusional & actually believes she should be in the Finals, while they never say a word about her weight (a sensitive subject, I know) which she is in control of just shows how they manipulate the results. We may never know why Marissa is getting such a huge pass. She has not kept up with the level of competition. She is not fun to watch, & is in no way aesthetically pleasing, & after all dance is an art form & the aesthetics are a significant part of why we watch.

Mario showed himself to be the incredible person he is from beginning to end. Gracious & elegant to his unfair & premature leaving. He never showed one bit of attitude, or anger; never stooped to Len's low levels; Len isn't good enough to shine Mario's shoes. In someone so young, his poise & grace are remarkable, I'd like to meet his Mom. What a son she's raised.

Marissa has to go, or we'll know, as we've suspected that the results are fixed.

[lulaor]

the best is........CRISTIAN DE LA FUEEENTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!