Dancing With the Stars: Week 8

PERFORMANCE NIGHT:

Only four celebrities will advance to next week's semifinals! That means we're in the home stretch, folks. The five remaining couples performed two dances apiece, and that's too many dances to recap in detail. So here are some highlights:

There were two rounds. The first round was ballroom, and the second round, which featured latin dances, included a 15 second solo dance performance by each of the celebrities.

Cody was as funny and charming as I've ever seen him. Maybe being away from Julianne is doing him some good. During his latin routine, his solo ended with a spectacular flying leap that left him lying on the judge's scoring table. Len: "I'm glad it was you doing that instead of Warren!"

Head judge Len took the somewhat cantankerous position that, if everyone is going to start saying Brooke is as good as a professional, then he's going to score her as though she is a professional. On her first routine, Bruno and Carrie Ann gave her perfect 10s while Len gave her an 8.

Maurice's routines (a quickstep and a paso doble) included some of my favorite choreography of the season, courtesy of his partner Cheryl. She had a costume with an unwinding wrap, which she incorporated into the routine. I think she must have known she was on the bubble.

Warren pulled down his best score of the season by performing a secret agent-themed Tango to the theme from Peter Gunn. It got him a 10 and two nines.

Lance's Samba earned him the lowest score from any one judge-- Len gave him a 7, and added insult to injury by telling him that he was pigeon toed and had atrocious footwork. Ouch!

Here's what the leaderboard looked like after performance night:

Brooke: 28 +27 = 55
Warren: 28 +26 = 54
Lance: 26 +24 = 50
Maurice: 24 +24 = 48
Cody: 24 +24 = 48


Elimination Night

Dr. Drew performed some couples therapy for the remaining couples. I thought it was going to be a goof, but they actually are pushing the idea that this was a serious thing. They were unremarkable, although they did give people a rare opportunity to be less than positive about their partners for a change. Cody broke down and started crying about how much he cares for Julianne, and I don't think there's any question that he has developed an enormous crush on her, and that this love is of the unrequited variety. Sorry, Cody!

There was also some talk from Warren about how his schedule has intensified, which leaves him less time for dance practice. This doesn't speak very well of his chance to make the Finals-- he's amazingly good for his size, but he has to work harder than the other couples to make the cut.

Lacey performed a dance routine with her brother Benji, and then Derek and Julianne (who are also brother-sister) did a routine as well. Country singer Brad Paisley did a song.


They didn't reveal a bottom two, but announced that the person going home was Maurice. Maurice did a great job all season, but I think this was about the right time for him to go.

Next week: The semifinals, which will lead into the three-person finale the following week.

Stay tuned!

The Standings

Everyone who correctly predicted that Brooke would be the TS for the week picked up 10 points. Dawn, Kim and I got 16 bonus points for getting Maurice as BS.

Carl was the big winner of the week, after picking up 50 points for correctly predicting that Maurice would be eliminated this week. He catapulted into the pool lead from 4th place, a miracle that seems to come easily to him these days. Now we'll see if he can hold onto the lead for a change.

Mike, who led the pool by a country mile for much of the season, has slipped into an undistinguished 4th place. Things could be worse for him-- he could be Rick, who is sinking ever-deeper into the cellar.


1st: Carl 923 (+50 +10)
2nd: Experts 915 (-10 +0)
3rd: Matt 907 (-30 +24)
4th: Mike 890 (-40 +8)
5th: Kim 843 (-10 +16)
6th: Dawn 822 (-10 +0)
7th: Lisa 784 (-30 +8)
8th: Paul 766 (-10 +0)
9th: Rick 751 (-30 +8)

Good luck, everyone!