So You Think You Can Dance If...

So You Think You Can Dance
If Lauren Sanchez says "dancing into America's hearts" one more time, may what's left of that nose dance right off her face! Anyway, so long, Sandra and Jonnis, two of the cutest dancers in the bunch, who nonetheless couldn't really stretch beyond their own styles. And OK, I apologize for dismissing the term "lyrical" last week maybe to avoid confusing the ticket-buying public, it's been called simply "modern" every time I've seen this ballet-jazz-modern fusion in concert. It is more pop than high art, but the genre is pretty easy to respect when it comes in the form of Mia's choreography for Blake, Destini, Artem and Ashlé. How lucky are Blake and Destini? Though something tells me those two would have been well-trained enough to tackle something other than their specialty two weeks in a row. And how unlucky are Jamile, Snow, Michelle and Nick? Quickstep looks like the worst possible dance to learn from scratch in a week the form is rigid, unforgiving and can't be covered by fancy turns or sexy moves, and it's no surprise all four of those dancers ended up in the bottom six. Ryan and Melissa were almost worse off for having Latin choreographer Alex two weeks in a row; he saw how well they did with the mambo, so he expected even more from their salsa. Melissa delivered, and though Ryan put more effort into his Pokemon hair than his footwork, he kept up with her. Love how the practice clips made it look like Allan and Kamilah would never get their hip-hop routine just right, and then they blew everyone away on stage. I blame Craig for his and Melody's spot at the bottom. He's got some weird way of moving his shoulders that just doesn't translate to the tough-guy act of hip-hop; on the other hand, she positively sizzled. Craig's shoulder thing was all the more obvious in his solo (and not just because he was showing off that hot torso), and it made Nick's solo, by contrast, look effortless and gorgeous. I sure hope America's hearts agree.  Sabrina Rojas Weiss

Rock Star: INXS
If any of the singers ever deserved an encore, it's Suzie, the self-proclaimed "Queen of the Bottom Three" (I once knew a dancer with a similar moniker, but that's for another column). Her version of "Start Me Up" was even better than the one she strutted her way through on Tuesday. And apparently it paid off, 'cause she finally escaped the bottom three. Ty, Deanna and Marty weren't so lucky, however, and all had to interpret INXS. Mr. Mohawk mugged his way through "What You Need," while Deanna did justice to "Elegantly Wasted," one of the coolest song titles of all time. If only I could spend my mornings and afternoons that way. But it was Marty who impressed the most with "Don't Change" and, earlier, with his honesty. Instead of sycophantically selling his soul for rock and roll by proclaiming INXS musical messiahs, Marty did something almost as risky as hooking up with Courtney Love: He flat-out told the band that he wouldn't change his style. And they respected him for it. I'm sure they respected Deanna, toobut she was ultimately sent packing, prompting Navarro to deem the day "Black Wednesday" and me to christen him "Dramatic Dave." I know it's tough to do underneath all that black, but try to lighten up, man. I'd start by wearing some white. It's not Labor Day yet.  Joseph Hudak

Over There
The platoon is involuntarily thrust into the spin zone when overeager journalist John Moffet (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) attempts to "report the truth" about the Iraq conflict. To Moffet's credit, he's ready to stick his neck out after a cable-news service cynically manipulates his footage to stir up a controversy. But that means zip to Smoke, who comes to bitterly regret pulling a Terrell Owens in front of Moffet's camera ("I got me a license to kill!") after he's implicated in the deaths of a civilian mother and son during a firefight. The self-loathing chink in Smoke's gangsta armor is finally exposed when he tearfully tells Angel to "shut up" with the prayers for him and his "Moms," who suffered a stroke after watching a TV report about the incident. Unknown to Angel, Smoke's mother made a habit out of praying for her troubled son, much to his guilt and chagrin. The bigger the front, the bigger the back. Sadly, Moffet's determination to make amends may have cost him his head. After realizing his insurgent contacts had set him up just like his UKN pals (wheres Jane Craig from Broadcast News when you need her?), he becomes their hostage. Since he's last seen surrounded by masked bandits in front of a video camera, it seems doubtful that Moffet will be saved by the bell (let alone Sipowicz) before the sword comes down. Back home, Vanessa Dunphy's sympathetic side briefly emerges when she cradles Eddy in her arms after his nightmare. Yet, like most active alcoholics, Vanessa is truth-challenged she can't own up to Dim that she lost the baby, let alone why. It's equally hard to understand why Sergio is flirting with that woman from his family support group and ignoring messages from Doublewide, who just had a quarter-size chunk of shrapnel removed from her eyelid. Yo, Sergio stay out of that red zone, mon ami. One cheating spouse on this series is plenty. In Germany, Bo practices walking on his new prosthetic leg. Special effects aside, Josh Henderson shows amazing skill in replicating the plight of an amputee so much so that I felt had to make sure he actually isn't one. He isn't. In fact, Henderson was a singing-and-dancing Justin Timberlake wannabe before landing this role. If you ask me, mate, swapping Pop Stars 2 for Over There was step in the right direction.   G.J. Donnelly