Jack Wagner and Anna Trebunskya are eliminated from Dancing with the Stars
To begin, here is one last look at the final judges leaderboard following last night’s routines:
Katherine & Mark- 29
William & Cheryl- 28
Maria & Derek- 27
Donald & Peta- 26
Jaleel & Kym- 25
Roshon & Chelsie- 25
Melissa & Maks- 24
Sherri & Val- 24
Jack & Anna- 24
Gladys & Tristan- 24
Gavin & Karina- 24
Last night continued in the tradition of making the “personal story/most memorable year” theme an evening of tears and heavy emotions. While I appreciate that the celebrities open up and we get to see some of them in a new light, I also cringe at how the judges respond to all of it. I can’t come down too hard on them for being nice but they truly do go out of their way to prop up the scores and the critiques. Len basically admitted that he is judging with a smile on his face despite seeing things he didn’t completely approve of. And Carrie Ann and Bruno, who are normally kind to begin with, give out those 9’s and 10’s without thinking twice.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the dances we saw were definitely deserving of decent scores but when you have the weakest performances of the night earning a pretty high 24/30, and that score being given out to a total of five couples, you know the judges went easy. My biggest fear when the scores are so close together is that the audience vote become really important. And when you leave it up to the audience, you have the potential of seeing a shocking result. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we had an unexpected bottom two or heck, someone leaving who doesn’t quite deserve to go.
Let’s take a closer look at the couples just from a dancing perspective. Katherine, William, Maria, Donald, Jaleel, and Roshon should be safe. They not only did well last night but had good to very good performances since week one. None of them should go or even be in danger. Melissa has improved but is still one of the weaker celebrities. Sherri has an amazing personality but her dancing isn’t on the same level as the others. Gladys is Gladys. She is a legend but I do wonder just how many people we may lose this season who are better than she is. Gavin and Jack are in a similar boat for me. Two celebs who are improving but just don’t make me go “wow” when they dance. It is all very average with the two of them.
So, because of the tight scoring, I can’t even come up with a prediction as to who will go home. But I will give my opinion on who should. I think the bottom two couples should be between Melissa/Maks, Jack/Anna, and Gavin/Karina. And if any of those three were eliminated, I would say it was a fair boot considering all three weeks of competition. Now, will any of those three actually go? Or even be in jeopardy? Beats me. But I am intrigued to see just how the voting played out this week.
I apologize if that was too much to read but I tried to cover as much as I could and you guys are welcome to agree, disagree, and discuss in the comments. In fact, please do. :D And now, here is the segment by segment rundown of tonight’s results…
Segment 1
Seal kicks off the show performing his own version of “Lean On Me” from his new album. Members of the DWTS troupe are out to dance. A quick look at the leaderboard now. Len Goodman takes a moment to compliment the entire show last night. He wishes that the producers would have no one exiting the show this week. But that’s not going to happen. Now, a look back at the performances of Roshon/Chelsie, Maria/Derek, Gavin/Karina, and Katherine/Mark. We see some additional footage. And now, some results…
Katherine/Mark are SAFE.
Maria/Derek are SAFE.
Gavin/Karina are in jeopardy.
Roshon/Chelsie are SAFE.
Segment 2
Brooke talks to three more couples backstage. William is worried about the jive next week. Jaleel has the tango next week and is going to bring out his black man’s Mick Jagger. Gladys mentions Tina Turner as an inspiration for next week. Anna and Jonathan (the pros) are going to perform a dance dedicated to a friend of theirs who has lung cancer. Anna and Jonathan come together for a very special and emotional waltz.
Segment 3
Now, a look back at the performances of Gladys/Tristan, Jaleel/Kym, and William/Cheryl with some additional footage. And now, some more results…
William/Cheryl are SAFE.
Gladys/Tristan are in jeopardy.
Jaleel/Kim are SAFE.
Segment 4
Brooke talks to the remaining four couples. Jack isn’t nervous but Anna is. Donald feels relief that he got through last night but he is nervous. Sherri is dehydrated and wants to rock next week. Melissa had a lot of fun last night. In a bit of a different format, Brooke reveals that the producers have given her an envelope and it has the name of one of these couples who are safe.
Sherri/Val are SAFE.
Alright, that was an odd reveal. Anyways, we have yet another change. Starting next week (and for the three weeks that follow), the bottom two couples will have a dance-off and the judges will decide who leaves the competition. I’m not sure how I feel about that. America still has a say in who ends up in the bottom (if the show does it legit) but with the judges having the ultimate say, it takes something away. I wonder if they are doing this because the votes are not coming in the way they want? Things that make you go hmmm. Now, a mix of some of the finest dancers going come out to perform. We have past dancers from So You Think You Can Dance as well as the lead actor from the movie Footloose. This is a very entertaining and high energy spectacle. Wow! That was fun. By the way, it was the Macy’s stars of dance performance of the week.
Segment 5
Rascal Flatts are out now to perform. Tony and a female member of the troupe are out to dance. This is one of those contemporary routines that mixes a few other styles. Perfect of course for the song that is being performed. The lead singer of the group gives some great compliments to Gavin, who he is good friends with. Now, a look back at the performances of Sherri/Val (who have already been declared safe), Donald/Peta, Jack/Anna, and Melissa/Maks with some additional footage. And now, let’s give out some more results…
Donald/Peta are SAFE.
Melissa/Maks are SAFE.
Jack/Anna are in jeopardy.
Segment 6
And now, the final results. I bet you these three couples hate that the dance-off doesn’t start until next week. The final couple safe is…
Gladys/Tristan are SAFE.
This is the ACTUAL bottom two (just like last week). Gavin doesn’t want to be in the bottom two ever again. Jack is very grateful and loves Anna and his daughter. And now, the second couple to be eliminated on season 14 of DWTS is…
Jack and Anna
Well, another very expected exit. The bottom two was expected as well (as was Gladys being in jeopardy though she was safe). Jack and Anna were one of the few couples I had no issue with going home. Jack was very nice and seemed to be enjoying himself and giving it his all but at the end of the day, he was just lacking in the dance department compared to the others.
Next week- rock week. KISS will perform. The remaining 10 celebs will dance routines to an unlearned dance backed by some very loud music I am sure. And don’t forget- the bottom two couples will dance-off and the judges will determine who is eliminated!
