October 31, 2006: The Monster Mash
This show really knows how to take a theme and run with it.... And we're talking marathon lengths. This Halloween checklist had it all: smoke on the floor, black lipstick, songs about witchcraft, and fangs. I thought for sure someone was going to dance to "The Monster Mash," but they proved me wrong. (However, they weren't about having someone dance to
Ghostbusters.) I guess you could say the show was a little excessive with its Halloween enthusiasm, sort of like a coworker who decorates his or her cubicle for every holiday imaginable... oh wait, I do that. OK, so I liked the Halloween cheesefest of an episode. It was different, and it made last night's show stand out. And at this late stage in the season, when the shows can start blending together, that's a good thing.
One contestant who really got into the theme was
Joey Lawrence. From his playful opening tango to
The Addams Family theme song to his confident, heck-of-a-costume paso doble, Joey was on his game last night. He was having fun and dancing strong. There's such an earnestness about him that it's hard not to root for him. One notable criticism
Carrie Ann Inaba gave was that he sometimes leads with his chest too much. There were a few times during his tango where Joey reminded me more of stiff Lurch than suave Gomez; he just doesn't have the same ability to glide across the dance floor as
Emmitt Smith and
Mario Lopez do. Nonetheless, his dancing is still enjoyable to watch, and I don't think he'll be going home this week.
As for Emmitt and Mario, what can I say other than thst these two continue to impress every week. Emmitt consistently improves last night the judges couldn't say enough good things about his rumba, and his hip movements throughout that dance were simply great. And though he scored lower on his fox-trot, I actually like that performance better, because it was highly entertaining with lots of soft-shoe and in-sync moves. But the judges really picked on him for that dance, with
Len Goodman complaining that it was not a proper fox-trot. Len was also a bit cranky regarding Mario's samba, saying it was choppy and didn't flow. Apparently he was watching a different dance than what I was watching, because all I saw was near-perfection. Mario has a way of moving his hips and then his chest without a hint of stiffness. And while sexiness is never a problem for Mario, he stepped out of that comfort zone with his first dance, a soft waltz, and that 180-degree turn impressed the judges. His "death waltz" had some ballet-like touches and the story it conveyed was reminiscent of
Romeo and Juliet. I was glad he took a risk and stretched like that (no doubt digging deep into some of the acting lessons he learned when vying with Zack for Kelly's attention on his
Saved by the Bell days).
Meanwhile, vying with the guys for the judges' attention was
Monique Coleman, and she succeeded with her cha-cha-cha, earning her first 10s in the competition. (Louis noted that these were his first 10s in three seasons on this show.... Hmm, does that maybe tell you something Louis?) What impressed me most about this dance was that Monique was really keeping up with Louis throughout it, and that's not an easy thing to do, with the way he dances. The same could not be said about her first dance, the tango, in which she noticeably struggled to keep up with her partner. Louis continually bragged that Monique's dances are more challenging than the other contestants' dances (because of the way he choreographs them), and the judges countered this point with the wise advice that "sometimes less is more." I know Monique says she appreciates the high bar Louis sets for her, but I think ultimately his overly difficult choreography will be her downfall.
And I think that downfall will come tonight, with Monique being sent home. As for other random highlights from last night: the shout-out to the TV Guide photo shoot and the fact that Cheryl has
her very own ballroom in her house! And though he's no longer on the show, I have to mention that
Jerry Springer appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman Monday night to present the Top 10 Things He Learned from
Dancing with the Stars. No. 5: "The definition of 'star' has really loosened up"; No. 1: "I need a new agent." That Jerry - still poking fun and cracking us up.
