April 30, 2007: Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun
Remember that episode of
90210 where Steve entered a dance competition and Brandon, Kelly and Donna cheered him on? No? OK, it never happened, but it sort of felt like such an episode last night when founding members of what
Tom dubbed the "
90210 Alumni Association" were in the audience supporting
Ian. I don't know if it was their cheers or
Billy Ray's tutoring, but whatever it was, it worked. Ian finally came alive on the dance floor! His first dance was good and showed marked improvement from last week; his second dance was even better. For weeks now, Ian's had the moves down but has been unable to sell his performances. Last night that all changed and the judges took notice, telling him he finally had fun out there and was authentic and "enjoyable to watch." Most importantly, they pointed out that he and Cheryl had some real chemistry for the first time.
Perhaps this means
Joey will no longer be able to say, "If you become too serious, you become Ian Ziering." Ouch! Yes, the competition is definitely on now, with the celebs going on the attack both on the dance floor and behind the scenes (all in good fun, of course). Formerly third-place Joey had his sights set on "taking the gold from
Apolo," and he did just that with a perfect 30 jive and a near-perfect 29 fox trot. Joey didn't just talk a good game, he upped his game by incorporating more tricks demonstrating surprising flexibility, as
Carrie Ann observed. Nevertheless,
Len had to complain about "too much razzle dazzle" in his performances. Personally, I liked the showmanship in both of his dances. Thankfully, Len reined in his crankiness for Joey's second dance and complimented that "it had freedom, but was not wild."
As good as Joey was, he did not sit at the top of the scoreboard alone. He tied with
Laila, who finally got the 10 from Carrie Ann that she was striving for. Carrie Ann was full of praise for her, pointing out that Laila showed more confidence with her dancing by no longer being so small with her movements. Indeed, Laila looked very comfortable on the ballroom floor with her big smile, fast feet, graceful hands and smooth hip action. She and Max seemed to have found a great rhythm together. She's tied for first place for two weeks in a row now, making her not only good, but consistent.
Speaking of consistency, Apolo said that he "wants to see more consistency from the judges." A valid point. I'm sure he was referring to the fact that his performances get scrutinized, while celebrities who lack technical ability (Billy Ray,
John) get heaps of praise such as "I love your determination" and "the fun you have out there is contagious." However, Apolo should realize that he's like the straight-A student who's now expected to bring home A's and nothing less. As Len said flat out, "You were good, but I expect great from you." His two dances were both good this week and a lot of fun to watch. But it's hard living up to that terrific samba he had two weeks ago, as well as another great performance last week - all of his work will be compared to those. An A- or B+ performance from him is now considered disappointing. Meanwhile, C students Billy Ray and John do one right thing and the judges are ready to celebrate. Is this fair? No. But it is what often happens in life. (And if we can't look to reality shows for life lessons, where can we look?)
So let's move on to the C students. John received heaps of praise last night, and deservedly so.
Bruno said it was like he had been to "dance rehab." I think this was especially true with his fox trot, which seemed to really showcase his personality and had a few fun, quirky moves that we hadn't seem before from him. Carrie Ann also crowned him "the best older gentleman dancer" (or as John translated, "geriatric") in all four seasons of this show. I agree with her on this - John doesn't overly rely on his charm and he does more actual dancing than past older performers. I would have liked to have seen more such movement from Billy Ray in his waltz. He claimed that he wanted to step aside and showcase Karina. I half believe that. Sure, he feels he takes her down and he wanted to give her an opportunity to shine. But I think doing two dances scared him a little, so he chose to rest up during dance No. 1 so he could focus solely on dance No. 2. And like Len said, his samba was better than his waltz. Of course, this was mostly because he actually moved during the samba while he just stayed still through most of the waltz. Bruno described Billy Ray's waltz best when he compared him to
Vanna White on
Wheel of Fortune. Also amusing was Bruno's bafflement at his own reaction to Billy Ray's samba: "Somehow, we watch it and enjoy it."
I think it's safe to say that either John or Billy Ray will be dancing his last dance on Tuesday night. Based on this week's performances, John is outshining Billy Ray. But when you factor in the voting from their fan bases, the results may be different. Yet John has narrowly escaped elimination before, so... it could go either way.
