Dancing with the Stars, The Finale: The Night of Nights

Carrie says that the routine was fantastic and fun, while Bruno exclaims that John has hips. Len says that the performance was fantastic and entertaining. This translates into all nines for the couple. Their score is 27 points, which gives them 54 points total.

Kelly and Alec are ready with their final performance. Kelly says that when she started with the program, it had nothing to do with dancing, but everything to do with leaving her comfort zone. Alec says that he was given the person with the biggest heart. Again, I choke up and I need a moment.

The couple dances their freestyle routine to “Let’s Get Loud.” Again, Kelly and Alec have a lot of hip action in their performance. Kelly also does a back walkover down the steps and a daring jump into a spin. It is a fun, lively routine. My only problem with it is at times, Kelly pauses as if she is waiting for Alec to catch up or can’t remember what to do next. Other than that, I enjoy the performance tremendously.

Len begins the judges’ critiques by saying the dance was the performance of the series. Bruno says that it was hot, hot, hot, hot. Carrie says that it was amazing and fantastic, and that she can’t believe Kelly is the same person she referred to as an awkward mover. Again, I start to worry that we’re going to go soft on the final routine instead of judging it the way all the performances were judged throughout the competition; however, maybe the scores will prove me wrong. Carrie gives the couple a 10. What? Len and Bruno follow suit. Kelly and Alec’s score for the freestyle performance is a perfect 30. Sigh. It was great, but it wasn’t perfect. Where’s my dog? She’s been safe the entire program, but now I need to calm myself. Tom says that if Rocky Balboa were really sexy, he’d be Kelly. I’m sure that’s what she wanted to hear.

At this point, the scoreboard is as follows:

Kelly and Alec – 55

Charlotte and John – 54

After looking back at each week’s highlights and eliminations, it’s time for our eliminated couples to dance part of their favorite routine. Right away I’m annoyed because Trista Sutter and Louis van Amstel perform the rumba, and she said that she was uncomfortable with it when they performed it originally because of the intimacy that’s involved. Come here, puppy. Next, Edyta Sliwinska and Evander Holyfield dance the jive. Hey, what happened to Evander’s moustache? Either way, the man looks good.

Rachel Hunter and Jonathan Roberts perform the tango, and Ashly and Joey finish the performance by doing the cha cha cha.

Tantalizing Tidbits:

According to the show’s website, Rachel always wanted to be a ballerina, but gave up that dream when she began modeling internationally at 17. Also, Jonathan was an athlete in high school, but didn’t become interested in ballroom dancing until he saw the movie Scent of a Woman. The free ballroom dance lesson that he received courtesy of his movie ticket was all it took for him to become captivated with dancing.

It’s now time to name one of our stars as champion. Tom and Lisa do a recap of what just happened this evening. At this point, the dog does not want to be petted any more, people, so let’s get on with the results. The winner of Dancing with the Stars and the trophy that has a disco ball on top of it is… Kelly Monaco and her partner Alec Mazo! Some type of pyrotechnics goes off on stage as Kelly celebrates the win and swears on live television. That’s interesting because there is supposed to be some type of delay in order to catch these things. Oh, well. Kelly says she is thrilled because all of her life, she’s been the underdog. Tom talks to Charlotte and John, who asks if they get to keep their toll-free number. John also thanks his wife for letting him dance with another woman. He is simply adorable. As we end the show, sparkly confetti begins to fall on the couple. (Mental note… pick up sparkly confetti.) Kelly and Alec bask in their win as they dance one last dance to “Simply the Best.”

That’s all, folks! As I said before, at the start of Dancing with the Stars, I was expecting a nightmare; however, I ended up being pleasantly pleased and entertained by the program. I feel that if and when it returns, a lot of fine-tuning won’t be required. The only change that I personally would like to see is in the co-hosts. To me, Tom and Lisa were dreadful and added nothing to an otherwise enjoyable series; however, if they do return, I’ll just make the most of it and focus on what really matters… the stars and the dancing!

Thank you, faithful readers, for your feedback and for the opportunity to recap this show for you. Until we meet again, keep on dancing!

Jill is an east coast mama who loves sharks, zombie movies, and reality television. She welcomes your comments about these and other subjects, and can be reached at jilljones@verizon.net.

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