(S04E17) This week's elimination wasn't exactly shocking, but there was a lot of suspense leading up to the final announcement. There was also a ton of filler, and not the entertaining Kenny Mayne-style filler. In the recap of Monday's performances, we learned that Julianne snorts when she laughs, which only makes her more adorable.
The judges selected Joey and Kym's Jive for the encore performance, which was a great choice. Once again, the couple put on an energetic show for the audience. Say what you will about Joey's butt (Len), but he knows how to win over a crowd.
Tom finally mastered the pronunciation of Enrique Iglesias' name in time to introduce the singer. Iglesias sang "Hero," which I can remember being used in the commercials for several TV dramas during the 2001-2002 season. The entire time Enrique sang, I kept picturing slow-motion shots of ER and Third Watch. Pros Louis, Edyta, Alec, and Karina were on hand to perform as well. I had forgotten how incredibly flexible Edyta is! I imagine that the pros look forward to these performances, since they can bring out the more challenging moves.
The audience members got to weigh in on the performances, and there really wasn't a clear favorite. Jane Seymour was in Camp Fatone, and Len obviously flew in a British man to agree with his ruling on Apolo's "raunchy" Cha Cha Cha. In the first results announcement, Joey and Kym were declared to be safe. They will be one of the three couples in next week's finals, and they truly deserve it. The couple worked hard this week after being in last week's bottom two, and won back the fan votes.
There was a special performance by Joaquin Cortes, who is some kind of Flamenco-Ballet dynamo. After weeks of couples' dancing, it was exciting to see a solo performer. Anyone who dances alone in gold shoes must be awesome, right? Cortes' dance is difficult to describe. He seemed to be in his own world, and the dance itself was intense, odd, and hot at various moments. It was basically like watching any Gary Oldman performance.
Is Jimmy Kimmel even trying to be funny anymore? This latest segment was pure torture. Kimmel and Guillermo opted to show their co-workers dancing around the office. They even threw in an accountant joke. Oh, those nerdy accountants with their lack of rhythm! Comedy gold. I hope Kimmel is left out of the final results show. I can't take any more of this.
After Enrique Iglesias performed a single from his new album, there was a segment about the contestants' backgrounds. The judges broke down the advantages that athletes and entertainers bring to the competition. No major surprises here: athletes are more competitive and physical, while entertainers are more comfortable in front of audiences and in makeup. They were really reaching with some of these segments.
Paige and Michael from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition were in the audience. Why wasn't Ty Pennington there? Oh, right. The celebrity contestants got a chance to size up their opponents, and we learned that Ian is hardworking, Joey is a great performer, Laila is elegant, and Apolo is athletic. I'd like to see a segment on the hosts. They could show Tom Bergeron saying "Enrique Iglesias" repeatedly in front of a mirror, and Samantha Harris selecting maternity gowns. Anything to escape the recycled material ABC is putting out there now.
The next set of results put Laila and Maksim on the safe list. I'm glad that a woman made it to the finals; Laila and Maksim have become one of my favorite couples. There was no bottom two this week, so the judges' bottom two, Apolo and Ian, were left to sweat it out. Ultimately, Ian and Cheryl were sent home, which put Apolo and Julianne in the finals. Cheryl's winning streak had to end sometime. Ian's farewell speech was sincere and humble, and I felt a little bad that he had to wear the Elvis jumpsuit in his last appearance. At least he wasn't wearing the wig.
I'm giving this results show a 5 out of 7--this episode was a little slow for my taste. Brett will be back to recap the finals, which should be amazing. All three of the remaining couples deserve to be there. I predict that Apolo and Julianne will win, barring any major disasters in next week's performances.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
5-16-2007 @ 7:13AM
Jim McKay said...
I enjoyed all the dancers, but in my opinion, Ian was much better then Laila, but I guess they wanted to keep a woman in the finals. She doesn't have a chance now, Joey and Apollo are 100% better dancers then her and I think Joey will be the winner. Apollo proved what a sport he is at anything he does, he is marvelous. Ian's last couple dances exceeded Laila's by a mile and he should have been in the final 3. Oh well, as long as Joey wins, in my opinion he is the best by a longshot. If he does't win, I will then believe what I've heard about the show, and like others, will turn it off from now on.
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5-16-2007 @ 7:32AM
newton hawthorne said...
It is clear that the judges gave preferential support to Laila. Her dancing has never been up to the quality of the other dancers. Clearly Ian and Cheryl should have been retained while she should have gone. Is this because she is black, female or the daughter of Mohamad Alai? Was there a bribe for her retention? It certainly raises question to the fair judgement of, non bias and non partiality of the three judges.
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5-16-2007 @ 7:44AM
Brenda said...
Jey had so much energy withhis dancing 2 nights ago>>His Jive was fantastic..The rest were very good also,But Joey's shows he can also do Splits in the air which non have done yet..The Jive reminded me of the old Fashioned Jive that many did do when that dance was popular.And Len said it best>>>Joey Brought Personailty to his Dancing >>>>>Go Joey
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5-16-2007 @ 7:45AM
Grandma Sue said...
My disappointment was in giving her 60. Neither of her dances deserved 30. Beyond that, I like her. I am torn between Apolo and Joey. Apolo was excellent, but Joey was even better. I can't wait to see them dance again.
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5-16-2007 @ 7:46AM
Dina said...
I think that the best of the three should be in the finals. I think everyone thought Apolo was going to go and not Ian. I an tried his best but was not up to par with the other dancers. Laila is still the one to beat.
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5-16-2007 @ 7:48AM
Brenda said...
1 Thing i have noticed and cant undertsand is this>>It seems the Dancers alot of the time doesnt keep in step with the music >>Why is that >>>Judges Please tell us what happened to dancing with the song and keeping your dance steps with the music
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5-16-2007 @ 7:51AM
Caro said...
The dancing at this level is superb but Joey and Apollo have to get my vote. Is is just me or has anyone else noticed Tom Bergeron never, ever looks at Samantha Harris? She always defers and turns to him and he studiously ignores her....hmm? I agree that she was added as eye candy and he is far more glib with a clever quip than she is. Interesting when a host pair can't stand each other!
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5-16-2007 @ 8:00AM
Frank said...
Yes, Apolo brings atletic precision to his dancing, but Joey brings that same precision and adds entertainment value. I've always been most impressed by Joey's performances and am very glad to see him in the finals. Laila, though a good competitor, was not up to speed this week. Her quick step in the ballroom section was jumpy and flighty. She and Maks were completely out of sync in two of the turns and it seemed as if he were just pushing her around the floor. I was very surprised to see them get a perfect score on that one. Though I've not particularly liked Ian, I thought he did far better than Laila, and I'm shocked she's in the finals. Maybe it IS true...all the winning contestants are NOT chosen by judges or public vote, but rather by the producers choosing for sentiment and dramatic value.
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5-16-2007 @ 8:30AM
Diana said...
The dancers still left in the competition all deserve to be there, though I think the guys don't have to be as impressive and they definitely don't work as hard. Most people are watching the women, so part of Joey's and Apolo's point scores probably comes from "partner aura." I think it's harder for Laila, because she's being compared to the pro women, but she's turned into a fabulous dancer. That said, of the guys, Apolo is way better than Joey, who gives it his all but still dances like a mama bear. If folks are really going to rate the dancing and quit the aging boy-band flashbacks, he should be gone next week.
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5-16-2007 @ 8:11AM
Georgia said...
And......... who was doing the sound with Enrique was doing his new song? You could hardly hear him at all and the backups were drowning him out.
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5-16-2007 @ 8:43AM
Barbara Morton said...
I thought Apolo was fantastic. Joey was also great. If I had the final say Ian would still be there and Laila would be gone. Over all I feel that Ian's performance was much better than Laila's My pick for the winner is Apolo. Joey is very good and entertaining but Apolo is by far the better dancer.
Barb
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5-16-2007 @ 8:57AM
jake said...
It is so much fun to watch Joey and Kym and they should win. I was so surprised to find myself saying this but he has made the show a must see. I almost don't believe that apolo is in the bottom 2 because he clearly has the fan votes. But all should vote for the best dancer -- Joey Fatone.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:43AM
Jennie said...
You know it bothers me so much to see that we still have so many racist people out there. The comments about Laila Ali and her race are discriminatory and uneccessary. Fans vote for the people they want to see on the show for different reasons. It just disgusts me to see people write things like "the blacks" voted for her. It is 2007 and it is time that we look inside ourselves and stop judging people based on the color of thier skin.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:15AM
debbie said...
i have to agree with most of the posters- i felt ian was better and tried harder than laila. he should have stayed one more week.
she looks good dancing but it seems in slow motion compared to the men.
i really love apolo but i think joey will win!
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5-16-2007 @ 8:59AM
caroleliz said...
I would like to see Len Goodman dance on one of the shows. He was fantastic on the clips shown when he was helping the dancers.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:49AM
ran said...
Apolo and Julianne are great. Apolo not coming from the arts and entertainment world gives so much artistry and surely a great deal of entertainment in his performances.
Juliane surely is a great teacher and mentor for Apolo and considering her age, she is beyond awesome. Am hoping that this two will take it all to the top. Keep on dancing and thank you.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:10AM
fitnesinst said...
Oh come on. Cut the conspiracy theory junk. And please, come up with something better to say why you don't think Laila should be in the finals other than affirmative active. She is great. The three that should compete for the title are going to give fans an awesome show next week. Ian was not up to par with Laila, Apolo and Joey. It was painful to watch him dance. He started out the season good, but somewhere along the way, got "McStiffy". I would like to see all three of them win, but that just ain't going to happen.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:56AM
Pat Farrar said...
Since Laila is in and Ian is out, I gather I'm not the only one who thinks she is very much the superior dancer of the two. Ian was good, but his breakthrough came a little late and he never caught up to the other 3 contestants. He belonged in the top 4, but NOT the top 3. I started with Laila and Apolo as my favorites and they still are. Don't think I'll vote on the final. Any of the top 3 winning is fine with me.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:17AM
Ann said...
It is my understanding the contestants are judged by the improvement from week to week. I would hate to be a judge there. I believe they have all done well but I believe the graceful moves were best done by Apollo. He get my vote.
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5-16-2007 @ 9:25AM
Stormy said...
The top three dancers are in the finals. However, the judges have already decided that Joey is going to win.
They didn't even address the voting issues. Several people at work had the same problem as I did with getting the 503 server unavailable error with the online voting. They then tried the phone and received a busy signal continually until they finally got through and heard a recording saying that they had used all their votes. They never got through to vote. The only person who did not have a problem was one that voted for Joey. What does that tell you?
Last night, Len said that the entertainers bring entertainment but that the athletes bring stamina. Well, an entertainer like Joey has an unfair advantage because he is used to working with a live audience as opposed to an actor or even an athlete. His experiences give him the advantage over the others. I do not think Joey is better than Apolo, just different. Apolo does a ballroom dance and Joey entertains. That is comparing apples to oranges. This is a ballroom dance competition, not an entertainment competition.
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