Skating with Celebrities Well,...
Skating with Celebrities Well, as soon as
Jillian Barberie fell during her free-skate routine with
John Zimmerman, I knew it was over. That was really too bad, because I was rooting for them. But let's back this thang up to the beginning. The hour (again, this could have all been decided in 15 minutes, but that's a pointless argument) started off with the two final pairs dancing their favorite routines. Jillian and John performed to that
Pink song, which was a good choice for them;
Kristy and
Lloyd skated to
Edwin McCain's "I'll Be." I don't know — this time around their performance had that extra something, that extra je ne sais quoi. Just an observation.
Then we were treated to ice capades-lite when the eliminated "stars" and their professional partners took the ice. More filler. More commercials. Another segment about what led Kristy and Lloyd to find themselves smack dab in the middle of the finals. The voice-over guy says stuff that totally takes on a new meaning now, before the two free-skate an energetic routine to Rick James' "Superfreak." Awkward dancing aside, Swanson and Eisler go for broke with a multitude of lifts including some one-armed thingy that I don't know the name of.
Up next: Jillian and John, who slowed things down to skate to Faith Hill's "Breathe." They were more in sync than they've been in a while. Then, Barberie wiped out trying a difficult jump — one that hadn't been attempted during the entire season. So while I applaud the risk, unfortunately, it wasn't going to pay off. The judges were very nice about the mistake as well as very generous with their scores. Even Sir CrankyPants was being cool, so I'll be cool and actually use his real name: Sir John Nicks. The moment of truth came and it was really no surprise when Kristy Swanson and Lloyd Eisler earned celeb-skating bragging rights. And just like Dancing with the Stars, they get a trophy, which was less disco ball and more glassy slope.
