Dancing with the Stars 5, November 26: Save the Last Dance

Hello dance fans! Welcome to what should be the most exciting week of the season! Jill is once again unable to watch this week’s performance show due to football in Steel City, so it is my pleasure to take a break from my usual judging to bring you this week’s action. As always, my faithful canine companion, Ally, is here to assist me. She just celebrated her 10th birthday on Saturday so she’s ready to go!

Last week Jennie & Derek said goodbye and Helio & Julianne, Mel & Maks, and Marie & Jonathan advanced to the finals.

Tom and Samantha welcome us. I fear Samantha’s dress may fall off. Let’s hope not! Our stars are introduced and they all look appropriately excited. 778 hours of training, 36 competitive routines, 995 judges’ points, and audience votes have brought them to this night, Tom tells us. Each of them will dance two individual routines tonight—one Judges’ Choice and one freestyle dance.

Mel & Maks are our first performers tonight and the judges have chosen the cha cha cha for them. Mel jumps on her husband’s lap and pretends to refuse to rejoin Maks on the dance floor, so he dances over and retrieves her. It’s cute.

The rest of their dance is quite hot, there’s a lot of shakin’ goin’ on. And Maks is showing a good bit of chest too. Sorry, what was I saying? They end with Mel sitting on Maks’s leg (lucky her!) and the audience gives them a standing ovation.

Tom gives it up for Harold Wheeler and the band. Yay band!

Len congratulates them on making the finals and says their cha cha cha was crisp, clean, and precise. Bruno says Mel has become an accomplished dancer and she has stunning visual impact. Carrie Ann says Mel looks great and her footwork is crisp. She was expecting some more excitement but the dance was fun.

Tom gives us the first pitch for tomorrow’s results show, when the third place couple will be eliminated right away, and the remaining two couples will dance one more dance for a final judges’ score.

Samantha says something but it’s inconsequential so we’ll skip to the scores. Carrie Ann and Len give Mel & Maks a 9 and Bruno gives them a 10, for a total of 28.

Up next are Marie & Jonathan, and the judges have chosen the samba for them, which is the dance after which Marie passed out earlier in the season. Uh oh. In an interesting bit of irony, Marie begins the dance sitting on the floor. I’m just saying.

Their performance is quite good, and I’m really taken with what a great performer Marie really is. Her brothers clap in the audience as she smiles on the dance floor, and Jonathan appears to be having just as much fun. Another standing ovation from the audience. It wasn’t the most technically correct samba, even to my untrained eye.

Bruno says Marie always comes out and gives her heart and soul and never fails to entertain. But technically the samba is very difficult and it wasn’t her best dance in that respect.

Carrie Ann agrees that it was very entertaining but also agrees that it was lacking in the technical department. Len basically says the same thing.

Samantha says next will be their freestyle dance so they will have another chance. Thanks, Queen of the Obvious! All three judges give Marie & Jonathan’s samba an 8, for a total of 24.

Helio & Julianne’s Judges’ Choice dance is the jive. I’m SO loving the pink that they are wearing tonight! In fact, they are wearing the same color scheme that I wore today, right down to the pink socks. Their jive is fast, fun, and flirty. There’s not much else I can say about it. Awesome job! The audience gives another standing ovation.

Carrie Ann has to wait for the audience to quiet down before she can say she agrees with them. It was exciting, fun, and entertaining. She then comments on some technical issues Helio had, mainly with his footwork.

Len says Helio had so many technical problems it was a disappointment. Bruno says the footwork wasn’t good enough but the performance was great. Ally growls at all of the judges.

Carrie Ann gives Helio & Julianne an 8, Len gives them an 8, and Bruno gives them a 9 for a total of 25.

At the end of the Judge’s Choice round, the standings are as follows:

And it’s time for the freestyle round! Mel & Maks’s freestyle routine involves chairs. They twirl them, straddle them, and jump over them. It’s quite hot. Maks rips Mel’s jacket off and thankfully she has something under it.

There are several lifts and spins in the routine but I don’t find it as exciting as I was hoping to see from Mel & Maks. It’s fun and entertaining, don’t get me wrong, but to me it seemed a bit flat.

Carrie Ann says the freestyle round is her favorite round. She says although she enjoyed the routine, she thinks Mel is better than that. I agree. Len loved the lifts and thought it was a great performance, though disjointed. Bruno says the lifts were spectacular, and the dance was cool and hip.

Carrie Ann gives Mel & Maks a 9, Len does the same, as does Bruno. They have a total of 27 for the freestyle, and an overall total of 55 for the night.

Marie & Jonathan’s freestyle routine has her dressed like a doll, complete with pigtails.. And acting like one. Marie & Jonathan are also rocking the pink and black. There are a lot of lifts and spins as Jonathan basically maneuvers ragdoll Marie around the stage, until she “comes to life” and begins dancing on her own.

It’s fun, cute, and entertaining, but again I’m not wowed by it. Marie ends by jumping into Jonathan’s arms as her brothers applaud.

Len says they had a good idea but when they put it on the dance floor it just didn’t work. Bruno says it was the loopiest thing he’s ever seen, and it defies criticism. He ends by saying it was unique. Carrie Ann says Marie is a risk-taker and a great performer, but other than that she agrees with the guys.

Tom plugs Carrie Ann and Bruno’s new show, Dance War, which will premier Monday, January 7. Hey, at least it’s not the results show, right?

Carrie Ann gives Marie & Jonathan an 8, while Len and Bruno each give them a 7. Their freestyle has earned them 22 points, for a total of 46 for the night.

It’s time for Helio & Julianne’s freestyle dance! They’re both wearing racing jumpsuits and sunglasses, well at the start anyway. Helio handles the lifts and spins like a pro and finally a couple has come out and shown their strengths in the freestyle! It’s fun, exciting, entertaining, and it gave me chills! Helio can’t contain his excitement when they finish and await the judges’ comments.

Bruno calls Helio “Mr. Irresistible” and I can’t say I disagree! Carrie Ann says she is worn out and says Helio is the perfect blend of Mel and Marie, he brings technique and entertainment to the floor, but some of the lifts were a little rough. Len says it was the best freestyle of the night by miles.

Tom once again plugs the finale, which will feature Celine Dion and all of this season’s stars.

Carrie Ann gives Helio & Julianne a 9, Len gives them a 10, and Bruno also gives them a 10, for a freestyle total of 29, and a grand total of 54 for the night.

Vote for Helio! Oops, did I say that out loud?

At the end of our final performances, the standings are as follows:

After watching this week’s performances, I’m going to once again go against my better judgment and say that Marie will take third place in this competition, leaving Helio & Julianne and Mel & Maks to dance one final dance for the fabulous disco ball trophy. I know Marie’s fans are a proven voting force, but I think her time has come.

Jill will be back tomorrow to bring you the winner of the disco ball trophy. It’s been my pleasure to bring you this season of Dancing with the Start, either as a judge or guest recapper. Stay tuned for the next season, and be sure to stick with Reality News Online for all things Reality TV!

Sandy Lamparello is an Associate Editor for Reality News Online and a Legal Editor/Correspondent for a publishing company in Crystal City, VA. She is currently training with Team In Training for the National Marathon. Read more about that here. Sandy welcomes your comments at realitytvjunkie@gmail.com. Ciao!