Dancing with the Stars: Week 3

(S03E05) Now that two teams have been cut, we're moving to a 90 minute show. It makes for a jam packed evening of dancing. Not much time left to dawdle. Of course, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to get the dawdling in on the results show. Anyway, this week we have the tango and the jive. I was under the impression that the male stars were doing the tango, and the females the jive. But that all went out the window at the end of the show and I'm still not quite sure why. Did I miss some announcement? Set me straight in the comments if I did. For now, on with the show.

Emmit and Cheryl - Coming off a second straight week with good scores, Emmit looks to be a contender, but his travel might be causing a problem for practice. I thought it showed. Emmit seems to struggle with the rigid requirements of something like the tango. He's much better when he is free to go with his natural style. The judges aren't impressed. Len is very disappointed and criticizes the lift, which isn't part of the traditional tango, and is a rule violation. The scores, 7 - 6 - 6. That is a shade lower than what I expected.

Monique and Louis - Monique's mother is coming to watch. Is it just me or does she look like Aretha Franklin? Wow, big start. That jump from the stage was crazy. Their jive seemed a little hectic at times, like Monique might not know exactly where she was, but pretty impressive overall. The judges love it with Len calling it Monique's best. Carrie Ann loved the big jump. The scores, 9 - 9 - 9. A little higher than me, but it was a good performance.

Harry and Ashly - I think the tango should actually work for Harry. A stiff dance for a stiff guy. I didn't really see all the passion Harry was talking about, but he seemed to hit his marks in the dance. Harry is something of the opposite of Emmit. While Harry lacks the natural grace and style, he does have a great work ethic. That lets him excel at the more rigid requirements of something like the tango. The judges disagree somewhat. Bruno criticize his footwork, but likes his performance. Carrie points out the mechanical nature of his dancing. And Len thinks it was great. The scores, 7 - 8 - 7. That works for me.

Willa and Maksim - I think Willa is fighting an uphill battle. She's danced well, but for whatever reason, she just is not getting the fan vote. She's going to really need to knock one out of the park to get out of the bottom three. Her diner girl outfit is really cute. They are really good together tonight. Really nice timing. The judges disagree again. Carrie calls Willa the best dancer in the group, but criticizes the lift. It's against the rules. Here is our theme for tonight. Len isn't impressed. Bruno loves it. The scores, 7 - 7 - 8. I thought that was low. It doesn't bode well for Willa's chances.

Jerry and Kym - And here is Willa's opposite. While Jerry has struggled with the dancing, the fan vote has been carrying him. I think the tango helps Jerry, but it is still pretty clear that he is the weakest dancer. Those fan chants of "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry" at the end do count for something though. Bruno thinks it's more Pink Panther than James Bond, but entertaining. Carrie agrees. Len also praises the entertainment value, and compliments Jerry's footwork. The scores, 7 - 7 - 7. I think that's high.

Sara and Tony - After two weeks, I'm still not sure what to make of Sara. I expected more of her coming into the show, given her background. This was the performance Sara needed. Very fun and it showed off her personality. But man, I wasn't expecting that shirt. While that was shockingly low, she looks very cute in her hat and boots. The judges love it. Len calls her a diamond that is being polished. The scores, 8 - 9 - 8. That's the right ballpark.

Mario and Karina - Coming off of last weeks performance, I think we can count on a traditional tango here. Yeah, wrote that line before I watched it. Once again Mario and Karina decide to ignore the rules, breaking the hold in the middle of the dance. I don't get it. They are fantastic together. Mario shows again why he is the front runner in the competition. But wait... Len is pissed. He doesn't like that they are not following the rules for the dances. Bruno and Carrie agree with him. Carrie goes so far as to send the veiled threat that if they would respect the rules they might go further in the competition. The scores, 8 - 6 - 8. Carrie and Bruno both say it could have been a 10. And the audience boos. I think it should have been lower.

Vivica and Nick - And this is where I got confused. Not because I was wondering why they did Vivica's hair like that again. I was wondering why she was doing the tango. It was a really good tango, but I thought all of the girls were doing the jive. It's so confusing. The judges love it. All of them heap praise on Vivica comparing her to Dorothy Dandridge. The scores, 9 - 9 - 9. I think that was a little high.

Joey and Edyta - And now Joey is doing the jive. What the heck is going on? While that confuses me, I think it works for Joey and Edyta. They work really well together so the fast footwork makes them look good. I thought they fell apart a little bit at the end, but really good overall. But wait, except for that lift. The judges are having none of that. It's a rule! I'm surprised to see teams ignoring the rules when they have seen what happens to scores. The scores, 8 - 6 - 8. Len is a hardass. Fair enough considering the violation.

And so another week is in the books. All of the crazy rule shenanigans make it tough to handicap things this week. I suspect we'll see cleaner dances next week, but then again, I kind of thought that coming into this week. So who knows?

Best of the night - Sara and Tony. It could have been Mario and Karina or Joey and Edyta, if not for the violations.

Going home - Unfortunately, I think it is Willa's time to go. Too bad. I'd like to see more of her.