'DWTS' Backstage Q&A: Kym Johnson's 'Never Been So Scared'; Ralph Macchio Says No Finale, No 'Karate Kid' Tribute

This season of 'Dancing With the Stars' has proved that you don't need polarizing reality stars, manufactured romances between celebrities and dancers, or other contrived stuff to make a compelling two hours of television on Monday nights.

The heart-stopping neck injury suffered by fan favorite Kym Johnson during rehearsal last week, judge Bruno Tonioli's censored remark to Karina Smirnoff and host Tom Bergeron's lightning fast ad-libs are providing enough drama, gasps and laughs to keep the veteran series more popular than ever.

Alas, one couple will be going home tonight and, despite Ralph Macchio earning the lowest score, there's no guarantee it will be him. The actor's vocal fan base has already voted him through one likely elimination.

TV Squad talked to the semi-finalist pairs on the post-show press line last night to get their thoughts on Monday's performance show and taking part in arguably the most competitive season of 'DWTS' so far.

First, the good news. Johnson, while wearing an ice pack around her neck and still visibly shaken by the ordeal of injuring her neck on Friday, told reporters that she was doing better.

"I feel good," she said. "I went to the doctor [Monday] morning for the all clear. I've got a bit more movement [but] I've obviously modified the routines. There were a lot more tricks in them, but Hines [Ward] is such a good dancer we just relied on that. I should have done that all along because that got us '10's."

Johnson's injury was captured on tape, and host Bergeron warned viewers they might not want to view it given its nature. It was chilling to watch Johnson fall and viewers were anguished after they heard her say that she couldn't feel her arms.

Fortunately, the sensation in her limbs came back quickly. "I'm lucky," she said. "I took more of it on my shoulders as opposed to my neck. I was very lucky. I've never been so scared, I have to say."

"I was sick," Ward sighed over Johnson's injury."You start contemplating, 'What could I have done? Could I have prevented the fall?' To be honest, I didn't even think about dancing. I was more concerned with her safety."

Chelsea Kane said that she and Mark Ballas attempted a similar move to the one that injured Johnson -- only their attempt also resulted in an accident. "I [accidentally] kicked Mark in the 'family jewels,'" Kane reports. "He was like, 'That move is out! We're cutting it!'"

Smirnoff, who wore a Catwoman-type outfit, took a different kind of hit after Tonioli made an offensive remark to her that the censors bleeped out.

The best that can be said about it is that Bruno was trying to be funny.

"And maybe he shouldn't try," Smirnoff quipped to TV Squad. "I was shocked. This is a family show."

Macchio is facing elimination tonight since he has the lowest combined score of 48. Kane is in the lead with 73. Even though the ejected semi-finalist (whoever that turns out to be) will return for one final dance on the finale (as all previously axed dancers do) Macchio said that he'll only do a 'Karate Kid'-themed dance, including the famous crane kick, if he competes in the finals.

"I hold that movie very sacred," he says. "I've used that move in the movie and on my 'Funny or Die' video. Fans have been asking me to do that and it'll be a way to pay them back if we make it to the finals. But to be voted off and then come back and do it [on the results show] would be tough to do. That would be selling out the legacy."

Bergeron continued to prove he's the master of the game at live TV hosting by breaking the tension created by Tonioli's remark with a crack of his own, thanking "the Bert Lahr estate" for Smirnoff's wig.

The host maintained his composure after Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Kirstie Alley's partner, not only goosed him but also kissed him on the cheek while he was delivering lines.

"He's a pro," Chmerkovskiy says of Bergeron's talent. "That's why he should have won the Emmy [for hosting] a bunch of times. He needs to have won. I'm a testament to that."

'Dancing With the Stars' airs Mondays, 8PM ET and Tuesdays, 9PM ET on ABC.