(S09E16) Dancing with the Stars is only two weeks away from the finals. With only five contestants left, each have to perform two dances to ensure that we fit the two hour block.

The two dances consist of one ballroom and one Latin routine. The biggest flaw with having two dances was that everyone spent all their time making sure that the Latin dance was amazing, and their ballroom dances felt lazy.

I'm shocked to see the seven paddle still around with only five contestants left. This season's quality level was nowhere near Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini, and Melissa Rycroft last season.

(S09E14) It's week seven of Dancing with the Stars, and the pressure is on. Lacey Schwimmer was the victim of a cold; Anna Trebunskya has stepped in to help Mark Dacascos. The other victims tonight were the professionals who were forced to wear costumes designed by the celebrities. While it worked for Kelly, it backfired on Joanna.

You know that there will be longer commercials between performances when you get a professional opening sequence. Five professionals and one woman who wasn't named performed a tango and paso doble. The dance was supposed to be an example of teamwork, but the paso and tango was also not as synchronized as I expected.

(S09E10) After reading news about Derek Hough getting sick, we start Dancing with the Stars with Joanna walking down the stairs with Maksim Chmerkovskiy in hand. Turns out that flu-like symptoms hit Mark, as well, but he recovered quickly enough.

It's a night of passion and hi-jinks with the Argentine Tango, Paso Doble, and the Hustle. I was disappointed with the order. The last five solos consisted of four Argentine Tangos and one Paso Doble.

I don't often like complaining about Samantha Harris but I really have to suggest that she goes back to classic straight hair and tasteful dress. She's no Cat Deeley.

(S09E09) I didn't notice until the first recap of many that the women outscored most of the men on Dancing with the Stars last night. Apparently, the four new dances provided a bigger challenge for all the people who had to lead the dance.

With the musical guest being Shakira, I was hoping that I could see a live performance of "She Wolf." Alas, she didn't perform the song, so I'm stuck hearing it for every commercial for Desperate Housewives. There was no Macy's Stars of Dance performance, so there was a lot more unnecessary filler than in previous weeks.

(S09E01) We begin the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars with a men's professional routine. As good as all the men are, it's just not as compelling as women's flowing (or non-existent) dresses. Tom and Samantha welcome us to the show and reminds us that there are minor twists, including extra double eliminations. Our first twist is the Relay: basically a rehashed group dance.

We welcome our dancers for the first time down the stairs. While the women aren't performing tonight, they descend and sit in the audience. Macy Gray wanders down the stairs totally confused to as where she is.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• The great yule log debate - original or high-definition?
  
• Aaron Carter is another year older and apparently less wise than ever.
  
• Congratulations to the latest Survivor winner, Yul Kwon, though Ozzy was an amazing player too.
  

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