melanie brown

(S05E12) And then there were seven. The competition continues to progress, but it feels just a little different this week. With the exit of Mark Cuban last week, the level of the competition ratcheted up another notch. We're not into the all out race to the finale just yet, but it's getting very close. Tom said in his opening that with one misstep, anyone could go home this week. I'm not sure about 'anyone', but I'll agree that the potential for a shocking result Tuesday night is out there.
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(S05E11) Tom opened the results show by noting that this week of Dancing With The Stars was meant to be sexy, but ended up being full of drama. I was disappointed that the footage of Marie fainting was shown again (and again and again). Nothing terrible happened to Marie, but does that justify playing the footage several times more? I thought it was insensitive. Tom added a teaser for the Jennifer Lopez performance (for which I was totally psyched), and warned viewers that "nothing can be taken for granted."

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(S05E10) Tom opened the show with the promise that this week's performances would be the sexiest of the season. In what had to have been a shout-out to Edyta, he said "Let's not waste time or fabric." He was certainly right about showing skin. Several of the celebrities and the pros were scantily clad--lots of open shirts from the men and gravity-defying cleavage from the ladies. I caught a glimpse of Tori Spelling in the audience. Those West Beverly alumni are a tight-knit group, aren't they? We're at a good point in the show--very little dead weight, and a lot of the celebrities are showing considerable progress.

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(S05E09)Tom opened the show talking about a night where controversy rocked the ballroom. I wouldn't call it so much rocking, as I would annoying, but that's just me. It does appear that some of that will be put to rest now. Len made a point of praising the pros for their excellent work, but warned them that he didn't want to see any more lifts. From here on out, they will incur a penalty from the judges.

They went right to the recap after that. Mark was really happy to be called the little engine that could. Floyd talked about his new experience, calling ballroom dancing better than hip-hop. Mel took the truck driver comment in good stride, asking for the truck driver vote. Jane was left trying to defend the lift again. Jenny ignored that lift nonsense and said she looks forward to continuing to improve. Cameron was excited about his three nines. As you would expect, Sabrina was thrilled to have the first perfect score of the competition.

(S05E08) I have to say, considering that we are only to week four, I'm really impressed with the level of the dancing this season. As the show kicked off, Tom announced that last week was the highest scored week three in the history of the show, and week four kept the ball rolling. We even saw our first perfect 30 of the season. If that wasn't enough, Samantha Harris is back from maternity leave, and didn't miss a beat.

Things weren't all rosy though. Carrie Ann made it her personal crusade to annoy the crap out of everyone in her new role as the lift police. If you have watched the show over the last couple seasons, it's something that has come up before. And every time, it leaves me wondering just why they have that rule. It's not a competition sanctioned by anyone other than ABC, so that can't be it. To protect the dancers? They let Monique jump 12 feet, backwards, off of the stage. It makes debating whether or not a heel was half an inch off of the stage seem a little silly. I'm actually all for doing away with the rule and getting on with the dancing. Anyway, a rundown of all the performances after the jump.

(S05E07) At the start of the show, Drew announced that tonight would be his last as co-host. Samantha Harris will be returning to work next week, which should make many people very happy. I still wish they had used a different former contestant each week, but Drew was a logical choice. They emphasized the men versus women angle again, and the women were declared the "winners" this week. The ladies dominated the leaderboard, leaving the men in the bottom half of the rankings.

In the post-performance confessional, Cameron was pumped about getting a higher score this time around. Mark said that he needed to truly believe he was a dancer before he could improve. Work isn't everything. Wayne had another humorous response to the judges' criticism. He thought that anyone who says you can lead a lady is out of their mind. I love that Wayne is always ready with a comeback for the judges and the hosts. Floyd felt like he let his partner down, but Karina assured him that this wasn't the case. Helio didn't let his middle-of-the-pack scores get him down.

(S05E06) This week's episode was quite the emotional roller coaster, wasn't it? Tears, comebacks, fake hair, a bare-chested Maks--all in 90 minutes! Tom opened the show by noting that this season's cast has logged more hours of training in the show's entire history, which is encouraging. Drew Lachey was back again for more awkward small talk and poorly articulated jokes. He did this really dorky dance next to Tom which proved that you can forget months of dance training like that.

A few things caught my eye during the introductions. Maksim brought back his trademark vest-only look; Jane Seymour was wearing a wig; Mark Cuban was, thankfully, wearing sleeves; and, Wayne had fake hair on both his head and face.

(S05E05) Tom opened the show by referring to performance night as the ultimate face off, as all eleven couples took the stage together for the first time. That's a bit of hyperbole, to be sure, but he moved on quickly to the more important point. That being the fact that two of the stars have separated themselves from the pack and taken the lead.

As we sit now, Helio and Sabrina are way out in front, but it's way too early to call the competition. That pesky little detail called the fan base has a way of wreaking havoc on the best laid plans. Would it rear it's head in week two? So early in the competition? Quite possibly, but we can't be spoiling all of that before the jump. Click the link for all the details from the week two results show.

(S05E04) The stars are back for week two, and it's what I usually find to be one of my favorite weeks. The nerves and the pressure of the unknown are so hard to overcome in that first appearance, that week two is where much ground can be gained based on nothing more than a little confidence. As we would see tonight, that, as much as anything, is what is still holding a few of our stars back. Tom opened the show with a quick recap of last week, reminding everyone that Josie is no longer in the competition. But with eleven couples to dance, there was no time to dawdle, so on with the show.

(S05E03) The three-part premiere week finally reached its conclusion, and one star was sent packing. Tom's introduction really played up the battle of the sexes angle, calling Week 1 a "dance duel." Drew returned as Tom's co-pilot, and I'm curious to see how long he'll stick around. As usual, there was a tidy summary of the previous night of performances. The men answered the call after Len's warning on Monday night. Like Jennie Garth, Cameron set the standard with his Foxtrot. In his post-performance interview, Cameron was very proud of all the work he did.

(S05E02) After sitting on the sidelines last night, the male contestants got a chance to showcase their talents. Host Tom Bergeron dubbed tonight's episode "Testosterone Tuesday, " and I bet he wishes he could use that line again. We've reached the second part of the three-night premiere extravaganza, and I'm already exhausted. Tonight the men attempted the Foxtrot and the Cha Cha Cha, after getting a look at their competition yesterday. Drew Lachey was back in the co-host position, which might not have pleased some of you (especially those who sounded off on yesterday's blog). There was no all-pro dance tonight; the show cut right to the standard celebrity introductions. Mark Cuban still looked awkward, Julianne looked sensational in her dress, and the crowd went crazy for Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton.

(S05E01) It's that time of year again, and fans always know what to expect from Dancing With The Stars: glamorous B-list celebrities, exciting performances, and frequent use of the phrase "than ever before." Host Tom Bergeron started things off by calling this season the "dawn of a new era," and claimed that they have the "most exciting cast ever assembled." Let's let the ratings decide that, shall we? For the first week of competition, the powers that be tried something new--a three-night premiere! Can you handle it?

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:

• Melanie Brown loves to talk about her recent ice-cube proposal.
  
• Drew Barrymore is dating the "I'm a Mac" guy?
  
• David Schwimmer won't be part of any Friends reunion. And I finally realized what he reminds me of.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

(S04E15) I thought that Mandee made a great comment on the post for last week's results show. She said, "You know, the Results show has been morphing into a terrific '60s style variety show, with comedy segments, guest musical performers, and, of course, lots of dancing. A slice of retro-cool, for the whole family, from grandma to pre-tweens." I completely agree with that.

The results show has always had to fight the problem that they only have about two minutes of actual results for their 60 minute show. Right now, it's as good as it has ever been. It's always going to be behind the performance show, because the star's performances are what it's all about, but the producers deserve credit for how much work is going into the results show. Enough about that though, we have results to get to.