ralph macchio

Latin ballroom dancer Donnie Burns joined the judging panel of 'Dancing With the Stars' (Mon., 8PM ET on ABC). Unlike many guest judges on reality competitions, he wasn't just heaping on the praise. In fact, he only gave one perfect score on the night.

It was a performance of redemption for Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff in the Quickstep. The dance that has doomed many couples in the past proved to be fun, playful and seductive.

Bruno Tonioli nailed it by describing the performance as "how to grab a quick one at the speakeasy."

It was a week of "Guilty Pleasures" on 'Dancing with the Stars' (Tue., 8PM ET on ABC). The lowest marks from last night's competition episode came from Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke, with a combined total of 22 points.

This was two points higher than Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff, who suffered a fall during their Paso Doble. With everyone else scoring combinations of 8s, 9s and 10s, it was a pretty close night from the judges, which put even more responsibility in the hands of America and the vote.

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

Tom Bergeron narrowed it down to the aforementioned Jericho and Macchio, indicating that the voters at home had sided with the judges. But had they agreed completely on who had the weakest performance and deserved to go home?

Kendra Wilkinson's spectacular comeback with her sexy samba may save her for another week on 'Dancing With the Stars.' Fan favorite (and AOL TV blogger) Chris Jericho's tango scored lowest for the night, however, which potentially places the former pro wrestler in jeopardy on tonight's results program.

Monday's performance show contained many surprises, including the first two 10s of the season for Romeo and his pro partner Chelsie Hightower. The competition's other Chelsea -- Chelsea Kane -- earned a 10 with her pro partner Mark Ballas.

There were a pair of mishaps, too, but neither belong to Kirstie Alley. Karina Smirnoff took a brief fall while doing the paso doble with her partner, Ralph Macchio, and Ballas twisted his ankle during dress rehearsal, but he soldiered through with his and Kane's quick step.

AOL TV was on the post-show press line to talk to the remaining contestants, during which time Maksim Chmerkovskiy cleared up those rumors that he's secretly married.

Get 'em while they're hot ... and cheesy.

Yes, it was Guilty Pleasures Night on 'Dancing With the Stars,' featuring house band Hanson and each of the seven remaining contestants grooving to songs people are embarrassed to sing along to in public. (Well, some of us, anyway.)

With the leaderboard topper changing from week to week, Monday night's show proved it's time to separate the wheat from the chaff. And, indeed, the judges gave out their first perfect 10s of the season. But for one couple, the night was marred by catastrophe ... and it wasn't Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

A new week means a new fall on 'Dancing with the Stars' (Mon., 8PM ET on ABC). But this time Kirstie Alley was nowhere near the incident. In fact, it was front-runner Ralph Macchio's professional partner Karina Smirnoff who fell and fell hard, but it looked more like a wardrobe incident than a dancing error.

Macchio was sporting a long jacket with a flared bottom that cascaded across the floor when he got low, and it was this excess portion of his jacket that knocked Smirnoff off her feet.

To their credit, Macchio quickly helped her back to her feet and they regained their composure and continued the performance.

Despite an improved performance and not being the lowest scoring couple, Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya were sent packing last night on 'Dancing With the Stars.'

The couple had scored 21 points on Monday's performance show and earned high praise from taskmaster judge Len Goodman, who said he was "thoroughly entertained" by the duo's Viennese Waltz.

Producers kept everyone guessing by having host Tom Bergeron announce that top-scoring duo Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas were in jeopardy and could be sent home. In the end, however, it was the revered fighter who went down for the count.

Leonard and Trebunskaya spoke to TV Squad on the post-show press line immediately after the live results show.

On 'The Wendy Williams Show' (weekdays, syndicated), Wendy Williams dished on pro dancer Karina Smirnoff's upcoming pictorial in the May issue of Playboy, and wondered if the spread will hurt partner Ralph Macchio's chances to win 'Dancing With the Stars.'

After citing rumors that Smirnoff's role on 'DWTS' could be in jeopardy as the result of the photos, Williams seemed to think this would, in fact, make it more difficult for Macchio to emerge as winner.

In order to improve their scores next week on 'Dancing With the Stars,' Ralph Macchio and dance pro Karina Smirnoff promised a stellar performance. But, if that doesn't work, Smirnoff seems prepared to literally knock Macchio off his feet in an attention-grabbing bid, she said on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' (weekdays, syndicated).

Ellen DeGeneres pointed out that, unlike Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kirstie Alley, the pair didn't stumble during their performance earlier in the week. And yet, both couples earned the same score. This seemed to give Smirnoff an idea. "We decided next week we're really going to work hard on doing a great job and maybe I'll just push him down the stairs or something," she joked, gesturing to Macchio.

Karina Smirnoff's future on 'Dancing With the Stars' could be uncertain after Hugh Hefner announced on Wednesday that she had posed nude for the May issue of 'Playboy' magazine.

"If Karina posed naked, she can kiss her dancing days goodbye," a 'DWTS' insider told Popeater immediately after hearing of Hef's announcement on Twitter. "I hope for Karina's sake that this isn't true."

Oh, but it looks to be true as Us Weekly says they've confirmed, though Karina's rep has yet to respond and ABC told me they weren't commenting. In the meantime, the sexy dancer will continue to wow audiences each week with surprise favorite 'Karate Kid' Ralph Macchio. However, the biggest surprise is going to come later this month when the May issue of Playboy hits newsstands.

It wasn't too shocking that 'Psycho' Mike Catherwood, a Los Angeles–based disc jockey, was the first celebrity sent packing last night on season 12 of 'Dancing With the Stars.' After all, he earned the lowest combined score after two dances.

His pro partner, Lacey Schwimmer, who went all the way to the finals last season, now finds herself as the first dancer to exit the show. On the plus side, the dancer/singer got to meet Britney Spears last night since she was a guest on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.' (Ejected stars and dancers are invited to appear on the late-night talk show the night that they're voted off the program.)

Before the couple headed to Hollywood to appear on Kimmel's show, they chatted with TV Squad on the post-show press line to talk about their 'DWTS' experience and plans for the future -- specifically, would Catherwood be the new 'Bachelor' on ABC?

He may have the best smile, but Mike Catherwood is also the least-known star on season 12 of 'Dancing With the Stars', and his combined score of 30 after two weeks of dancing is the lowest. Can the Los Angeles disc jockey and his partner Lacey Schwimmer evade tonight's elimination on 'DWTS'?

"I have the lowest fan base and lowest score," Catherwood told TV Squad on the post-show press line last night. "If anything keeps us on the show beyond this week we'll have to do things differently. It can't be just, 'Oh, I'll try harder.' We'll have to go back to the drawing board and break it down."

If Catherwood manages to avoid being sent home during tonight's elimination show he'll have Schwimmer to thank. She brings her own fan following, not just from 'DWTS,' but also from 'So You Think You Can Dance' on which she appeared from 2007–08.

Ralph Macchio, 49, and Kirstie Alley, 60, are two of the older contestants on season 12 of 'Dancing With the Stars,' but after the first night of dancing they took early leads with top scores of, respectively, 24 and 23.

The star of 'The Karate Kid' and his pro partner, Karina Smirnoff, performed a Foxtrot that judge Len Goodman called the best one of the night.

Macchio's an actor; did that play a role in how successfully he embraced his part on the dance floor?

"Yes. Dancing is like acting only you use your body," said Smirnoff. "It allows him tap into the character so much better."

"[Acting] is less painful," joked Macchio. "Less painful."

'Karate Kid' Ralph Macchio was expected to do well, and he didn't disappoint in the premiere of 'Dancing with the Stars' (Mon., 8PM ET on ABC). All that waxing on and off must have helped the youthful-looking star as he was graceful and commanding in the foxtrot.

Paired with professional dancer Karina Smirnoff, the couple earned the highest marks of the week with 24 points.

"That was just an amazing surprise," Carrie Ann Inaba said of the couple's performance.

Forget about having to master the Argentine Tango and the Paso Doble. 'Dancing With the Stars' contestants have to also learn how to handle the media since doing press is a big part of the show.

The season 12 contestants (minus model Petra Nemcova, who wasn't at the cast announcement) got their feet wet immediately after they were announced during Monday night's 'The Bachelor' by doing a round of start-up interviews with members of the media. TV Squad was on the scene to quiz the stars with a variety of questions.

'The Karate Kid' may have been made 26 years ago, but star Ralph Macchio has somehow managed to maintain his youthful good looks. On the fourth hour of 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC), Hoda Kotb asked baby-faced Macchio how he's avoided the effects of aging.

"It was my intention. I figured aging was unpopular. So, I decided not to do it," Machio joked.

Watch the video after the jump.