TVSquad

(S09E07) With the return of Len Goodman, a thirteen-point difference separated all the contestants on Dancing with the Stars. Even with two bum feet, Tom DeLay managed to beat Michael Irwin's score. As the credits roll, I think the opening sequence needs to take a hint from Survivor and make edited versions where eliminated contestants are removed from the opening every week.

The big drama tonight was whether or not there would be a single elimination or a double. We get a recap of last night: kissing, Paula Abdul, and dancing. The judges made a very interesting choice for an encore.

Encore Performance - Chuck & Anna - Samba - The best part about the two re-dancing the routine was that Chuck was having so much fun doing the performance the second time around. You know that the show would be rigged if Mya had two encores back to back, so they gave it to one of the more entertaining routines last night.

Musical Guest - Queen Latifah - "Fast Car" - I was expecting the jazzy Queen Latifah from a few years back, and I was happy to see her return to her hip-hop roots, even though her live performance was lackluster. Cheryl is really good when she doesn't have lemons to deal with, and Maks' bad boy attitude fits well with the song.

After the score rundown, the eliminations begin with the lowest scoring men. Tom & Cheryl, and Chuck & Anna were deemed safe, but Michael & Anna are in jeopardy. Again, Tom & Cheryl were still out scoring Michael & Anna.

First Impressions - The contestants thought that dancing would be easier than they expected, but all of them were not prepared for the difficulty ahead. The contestants called Chuck a teddy bear. Melissa and Kelly had the nerves kick in during the first dance. Mya wants to make sure that it's all about the lasting impression.

It's time for the dreaded moment. Tom DeLay mentioned that the adrenaline helped him during last night's performance but with both stress fractures he couldn't continue. Tom officially announced that he was quitting. He didn't want to make Cheryl look like a fool. It's a shame because he would have gotten the Texas Two-Step next week. Tom will be given the opportunity to perform the two-step in the finals if he recovers. Hopefully he does and Cheryl pulls all the stops in the choreography. Even with the departure, the eliminations continue.

The top scoring women are up next on the chopping block. Mya & Dmitry and Natalie & Alec are safe, but Joanna & Derek are in jeopardy. After the commercial, the four remaining men are up, and Donny & Kym, Louie & Chelsie, and Mark & Lacey are safe. Aaron & Karina are in jeopardy.

Before the Macy's Stars of Dance begins, we find out the choice celebrity of the Design a Dance competition was Sabrina Bryan. America can vote for any of the professional male dancers this year. While I'd love to see Jonathan get a second chance, Mark Ballas, Sabrina's original partner, will probably win.

Macy's Stars of Dance - JabbaWokeeZ - The performance remixes "Singing in the Rain" and they use the set creatively. Who needs 70+ performers when the crew fills the whole stage with talent? I was happy to see that the JabbaWokeeZ thought of the target audience that watches DWTS and created a mature hip-hop routine. The big unveil was that Lacey and Mark got to dance with the crew. Unnecessary gimmick added on, but cute nonetheless.

Musical Guest - Queen Latifah - "Ease on Down the Road" - She was more comfortable performing this song than her actual hit. I had a problem with her choice of costume, but the performance was uplifting. The dancers felt like a rejected Fame routine.

Predicting the winners - This season the show is attempting "statistical" predictions. We have Mathew Berry, an ESPN fantasy sports analyst; Steve Wozniak; and a toddler. Steve Wozniak used a weird numerology that had nothing to do with dancing; it was like using destiny. Matthew made smarter points: age factor, athletes, and child stars all have made an impact in the past. Matt picked Aaron and Natalie for the win. Steve picked Mya as one of his choices, but if it's all about the highest number in a name, why pick the one that had three letters? Donny Osmond was his other choice. I guess the "Y" is the big factor. The toddler picked Melissa Joan Hart.

The final three couples are up: Kelly & Louis and Melissa & Mark are safe, but Debi & Maks are in jeopardy.

Our four couples in jeopardy line up. The two safe are Joanna & Derek and Aaron & Karina. The bottom two are Michael & Anna and Debi & Maks. Len thought that the two both had the difficult samba, he's seen the week before and sees potential. The couple with the lowest score was Debi & Maks. Debi loved the time she had. She quickly answers a question by Tom Bergeron and pronounces her last name as "May-zar."

Next week has the new dances this season. As the couples dance off, Tom DeLay looked really light on his feet as he danced with Cheryl. Miss any moment? Catch full episodes on SlashControl.