Monday, March 28, 2011

Before the First Reveal Madness, Week Two of Dancing With The Stars

Opening question for this week: Did the Taliban get control of Brooke Burke's wardrobe. Usually she's in something that makes her look like what she is. This week, its either she's heading in from a funeral or they've decided that the "stars" are tired of being upstaged by her.

Going into tonight, the one who has to turn in a big performance has to be Wendy Williams. She had a terrible first week, which frankly did not look like there was going to be much in the way of redeeming qualities hidden in it. It was Master P bad, but with effort.

This week Anna and Sugar Ray drew the lead-off spot doing the Jive. Thee kicks and flicks are not as crisp as they need to be, but then this is the second week. His posture, which was the problem last week is not as big of a deal, but he has a hunch to the way he moves sometimes, which I think is a remnant of being a boxer. But when he gets into open, he looks like he is having fun and doing a good job at the same time. It was ok. I'd give it a six. Len comes out and calls him on all the technical things. I think I'm agreeing with Bruno this time, there was something there, but it needs to be refined and sharpened. Sixes and a five for seventeen.

Kendra Wilkinson and Louis were up next. This week they are doing the quickstep. Oh hell, Kendra has her first breakdown this week. Mrs. Angrybell says that a tomboy would not be out there crying. Louis starts her out in open, which might hae been a mistake  because she got off beat pretty fast and that does not look good. When they get into hold, she does better, but she keeps pulling away from him and not putting her hip on his. She is also having balance problems because I think she is missing steps. Her posture is mostly ok, but she could be locked in tighter with her arms. The problem I think was the choreography. Louis started her off in a hard thing for a novice, namely the open routine, and then she never really recovered her confidence. This is step back for her.  What dance was Carrie Ann watching? She saw something that neither Mrs. Angrybell nor myself saw. I think that Carrie Ann is starting to affect Len's judgment based on what he said. Fortunately, Len comes back with the right score of a 6. Coupled with Carrie Ann's 7 and Bruno 6 and its a respectable, for the 2nd week, 19.

Next up is Chelsea Kane with Mark. Mrs. Angrybell approves of this week's deviation from the Florence Henderson look. They are doing a jive. To a song that I cant even tell what the heck it is.  She is going for it. She is a little flat on her feet,but her kicks are good. Angrybabybelle is dancing along with them, so it must be entertaining her. The first problem was the song. Its would not be my first choice for a jive.  Mark went a little too far with it, but what choice did he have with this? So of course, Carrie Ann calls them on it. This dance was not Chelsea's fault. She did what Mark told her to do. The question is, how much do you penalize her for it. The 18 was correct score based on what happened (a bit of a penalty but not a crippler), even if it came about oddly.

Christ Jericho and Cheryl came up next for a quickstep. Mrs. Angrybell, during the Jericho solilquoy on strong wood, said "He needs to be Joby wood!" They drew a better song for the quicksept. He starts off with a good frame and his footwork is looking respectable. He even manages a smile. He does some nice kicks and flicks, much sharper than Sugar Ray in thejive. I actually really liked it. For a big guy who didn't seem to move well in his last dance. One other thing he did better than the others so far tonight Len hits it: bright, breezy, fun. 23

Petra and Dmitri, doing a jive. It gets better when the clothes came off because the start was not good.  Mrs. Angrybell thinks she is off. I think she starts slow, but she is getting better as things are going and then there is somethign that went horribly wrong right before the trick. I think she was thinking too much about the trick that it dominated her dance to the point where things went bad. Then Dmitri puts her up on the desk for a bit. This was nice to look at but not that good. Mrs. Angrybell felt like she was not sharp and very wooden. Compare her dance to Stacey Keibler a few seasons back and that is what a tall girl should look like doing the jive. Len is spot on when he said short skirt, bad technique. The 6s were overly generous. There should have been one or two fives in there.

Kirstie Alley and Maksim were called to the floor to perform a quick step. Black Horse and a Cherry Tree. Maksim starts her out in an open. She looks like she was hanging on to the routine for dear life and then looks better once they go into fhold. For big woman, she is moving well in hold. She has a good frame for the first half, it starts to weaken as the dance goes on, but she is right on his hip whens he is supposed to be and that makes the dance look better. For example, her left arms starts to drop and her bum starts to sneak out and that affected her balance. The problem is she starts to tire as the dance goes on and that hurts her posture starts to suffer. Len was too harsh with that 6. The score was a 20.

Psycho Mike and Lacey of the Tragic Hair are hoping to avoid elimination with their jive. Mrs. Angrybell thinks he looks scared. Lacey has been shopping in Edyta's closet and it doesn't look good on her. There are parts of this dance that are good. His kicks and flicks are very sharp and spot on. The problem is, he is not linking his moves together. Its like nice combination and then move to where the next move will be. At times, he had the footwork down, but he was more stomping than dancing. He made it look good though. It was a definite improvement. 17 was a fair scored for that.

Romeo and Chelsea are up to show if Romeo can improve on a good start. You're The One That I Want is the song. Mrs. Angrybell doesn't feel Chelsea's hair is right for the timeperiod for this song. He is a little too far away from her in the dance, but his arms are locked in. It feels loose, not sharp. Its not a bad quickstep, its just... lack in in polish I think. Mrs. Angrybell counters that the song may have driven the movements. All I can say, Jericho did better. I think Len may have had a stroke when he calls this dance the dance of the night. And yet, they earned a 23.

Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani are looking to redeem themselves. Let's see if this is another train wreck.  Its a quickstep that starts off with mucking about, yeah Tony, Len is going to love this. The kicks and flicks in the corner were ok, precise but not sharp. When they did the next set, they looked better, but not by much. And then there is mucking about at the end. It was better than last week, so its an improvement. Mrs. Angrybell felt she was trying to be small and not big. Of course, Carrie Ann views it entirely differently. And Len smacks Tony with the "economical" comment. That should read "Tony, you need to have your partner dance the dance more and not hide her with mucking about you twit." A 17 is spot on for this one.

The Karate Kid and Karina (I guess it would be bad to call them team KK and K).  Mrs. Angrybell believes that Ralph and Demi sold their souls to the devil to look this good. They start off the jive strong. He looks like he is having fun. Mrs. Angrybell is reminded of Drew Lachey when she watches him.. There are times when it seems loose or not fully in control on his part. Its a good routine, but he set a high bar for himself after last week. He has some stamina problems like Kirstie. Len says it better when he called it "frantic" at times. The 21 was fair.

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson got to follow up Ralph and Karina doing a quickstep.  Like all the other guys tonight, he has been dancing primarily on his toes and not doing the properly footwork. Its not a slap, its just something I haven't mentioned at all.  His posture seems to be hilding which is good for a guy with shoulder problems.  Mrs. Angrybell points out that he looks like he is in a little pain doing that. It was good. It was fun. I'm a little mystified at the love for this routine. It earns a 23, which is what Jericho got.

Alright, so we've seen them all twice. Who should go home? Its either Psycho Mike or Wendy Williams. The best of the men, surprisingly it could be Chris Jericho... if he keeps up the work. The more consistent top of the board for the men is Ralph Macchio. Sugar Ray looks out of his element. He'll hang around for a while because he has a fan base, but he does not look like a contender. Romeo is a bit of wild card here. If he continues to progress, he will become a real threat.

The women are a little more interesting. Wendy Williams is thanking her lucky stars that Psycho Mike is there, because it gives some people an excuse to keep her on the show. The best of the women right now is Kirstie Alley. She is having fun. She is able to keep up with choreography. Her downside is that she is out of shape and tires during her dances. Petra looks like she will hang around for a while, but she is not showing much. Kendra Wilkinson is kind of the wild card here. She has some athletic ability and she showed promise in the first week, but then took a step back this week. The biggest threat, or would be if she has a fan base from her Disney/Jonas fans, is Chelsea Kane. She moves well. She keeps up with the choreography. Her greatest liability right now, oddly enough, is Mark and his occasional flights of fancy.

Who should go home: Psycho Mike.

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