TVSquad

Readers, our long national nightmare is over.

Can the nation please now get back to talking about something else? This was a show where celebrities danced (not even for charity or money) and it consumed the media for weeks. Who would have thought that the most important celebrity on ABC in 2007 would be Marie Osmond? (I can't wait until Bobby Sherman captures the nation's heart on next season's House Painting with the Stars.)

(S05E20) After ten weeks, and 19 drama filled episodes, tonight it was finally time to crown a winner. The last few weeks of the competition have been rather dramatic with camps forming on both sides of the "Marie" question. Is this a dance competition? Or is it a popularity contest? Probably a little of both, but the possibility that Marie could win the whole thing made for a lot of possibilities heading into the final show. The TV Squad readers picked the Helio vs Mel matchup by an overwhelming 76%. Were they right? That, and the final results, after the jump.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: The Finals

(S05E18) The roster for the Dancing With The Stars finale is set! I think that very few people would have expected the Final Three to include these particular couples, but the unpredictable nature of the show is part of what makes it entertaining. At the very least, we know that the finals won't be boring! Still, I was glad that Sabrina turned up to show the remaining competitors a thing or two.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 9

(S05E17) In just one more week, the Dancing With The Stars finale will be here, and it was time to thin the herd. I would never have guessed that Jennie, Marie, Mel, and Helio would be the final four dancers, but they each brought something special to the semifinal. I still believe that Mel and Helio will reach the final phase of the competition; they didn't falter even a little this week. As far as I'm concerned, the third spot is up for grabs. Who will the fans choose?

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 9

(S05E14) This week's Dancing With The Stars results show was, thankfully, what most viewers expected it to be. Compared to last week's surprising elimination, this week's show was fairly run-of-the-mill. The passing of George Osmond resulted in Marie's absence from the episode, but fortunately not from the show itself. The hosts wasted no time in letting Marie and Jonathan off the hook; she was declared safe even before the standard recap of Monday's dances.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 7

(S05E14) The hosts of Dancing With The Stars were doing some major damage control in the wake of Sabrina's elimination. Viewers were warned at least a dozen times to remember to vote for their favorite celebrities. Personally, I think it's sad that people need to be reminded of the basic principles of this show, but oh well. The competition has changed now that Sabrina is gone--it's a battle of the fan bases! This week, the remaining dancers performed two dances, one in the Ballroom style and one in the Latin style. I'm always excited when we reach this point. You get a much better idea of who can handle the pressure and difficulty of learning two routines. As always there were some fun surprises and a few flubs.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 7

(S05E13) Holy crap! Halfway through the fifth season of Dancing With The Stars, I really shouldn't be surprised by things like this. It's something that we have seen before. Still, the results show tonight caught me totally off guard. In my post yesterday about the performance show I said that I didn't agree with Tom's opening line that anyone could go home. I'll take it back now. Anyone can go home, any week. And apparently, anyone left in the competition could win the whole damn thing.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 6

(S05E11) Tom opened the results show by noting that this week of Dancing With The Stars was meant to be sexy, but ended up being full of drama. I was disappointed that the footage of Marie fainting was shown again (and again and again). Nothing terrible happened to Marie, but does that justify playing the footage several times more? I thought it was insensitive. Tom added a teaser for the Jennifer Lopez performance (for which I was totally psyched), and warned viewers that "nothing can be taken for granted."

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 5

(S05E10) Tom opened the show with the promise that this week's performances would be the sexiest of the season. In what had to have been a shout-out to Edyta, he said "Let's not waste time or fabric." He was certainly right about showing skin. Several of the celebrities and the pros were scantily clad--lots of open shirts from the men and gravity-defying cleavage from the ladies. I caught a glimpse of Tori Spelling in the audience. Those West Beverly alumni are a tight-knit group, aren't they? We're at a good point in the show--very little dead weight, and a lot of the celebrities are showing considerable progress.

Gallery: Dancing With The Stars: Week 5