Back to the Country Stage for Chuck!

Despite his recent attitude adjustment and improved dancing, Chuck and Julianne were eliminated last night. He was improving on all fronts, but it was too little, too late and he can go back to singing to his country audiences. (By the way, on his "exit interview" on Jimmy Kimmel, he insisted he didn’t realize he had handfuls of Julianne’s boobs last week until they saw it on You Tube. Okay, whatever - do we need your Man Card too?)

The show begins with Team Tango getting to do the Encore Dance, again simply introduced by Tom and Samantha as opposed to Len. Gonna have to write the producers about that, it’s just not fun that way!

In some confessional interviews, Chuck says "it’s not my plan to wear less clothing as the season goes on - but it’s working." Ty offers "I know I’m not doing great in Len’s world but I’m doing better than he’d be doing in mine!" Tom’s comment was a hoot, too: "I’m sure Len’s never been on a bull but he’s been responsible for some." During Tony’s comments, I felt so bad for him, he looked so bummed out (and glad I’m not married to him - those puppy-dog eyes would turn me to mush every time!)

Samantha tried to seriously tell us that the stars have started getting endorsement deals because of their high profile on DWTS. Seeing that smirk, though, had me rolling my eyes wondering what goofball stuff they were going to dream up - then the "Ballroom Dancers of Genius" came on and really made me giggle. It was a take-off on the Bud Light ads but they sang "put my career aside and become a celebrity dancer," making mention that for Lil’ Kim "where did all my street cred go?" As Shawn stared at the Mirror Ball Trophy, they sang "I thought it would be nicer." Later the "commercial" was Melissa starting a service called Dance Match. Chuck & Julianne were "matched" by her service - cheesy, but cute. My favorite, though, was a black and white "commercial" with the disclaimer first: "some people may find this disturbing." Tony, Derek, Cheryl, Chelsie, and Edyta took part in this one (each taking turns with a line) and I managed to catch most of it:

"Every year pro dancers are hurt senselessly to make dance television."
"Why are celebrities so cruel? Stop the abuse."
"How many more mic packs to I have to land on?"
"How many more costumes need to be torn?"
Here’s where it gets really interesting:
Derek, standing naked with a big mirror ball in front of him: "I’d rather go naked than see another dancer hurt."
Cheryl, with two strategically-placed mirrorballs in front of her: "I’d rather go naked than see another rhinestone injury."
Tony with a mirrorball in front of him: "I’d rather go naked than wear another ice pack." (And that mirrorball wasn’t all that big, caught the sides of his naked person, and mmm them hips look nice!)
Edyta had only one mirrorball in front of her: "Dancers are people too."
[Sponsored by PETD - People for the Ethical Treatment of Dancers.]

Tom comes back from commercial saying that we’re "in for the most shocking elimination of the season." Leads me to believe that Melissa isn’t going anywhere ... but who? One of the front-runners like Gilles or Lil’ Kim?

Robin Thicke was introduced and I swear I heard something about hip hop in his introduction, but it sounded more like disco to me. I did notice that he’s much better looking than his father. It was nice to see Dmitri, Alec, Edyta and Kym out there again (along with Tony and Cheryl) and their bright yellow costumes were very spring-y.

Lil’ Kim & Derek are announced that they are safe.

There’s a clip with the judges telling us about what the stars are especially good at and they end up making a very scary, ugly composite of Chuck’s head (he has the right mental attitude), Gilles’ arms (he adds passion with his arms), Ty’s body (core strength, great posture), Melissa’s legs (she .uses her legs like a paintbrush on canvas, per Bruno), Shawn’s feet (for her precise footwork), and Kim’s face (she makes every person feel like she’s dancing specifically for them). Let’s not do that one again, okay?

Maybe this is part of the "most shocking" but Ty & Chelsie are told they are safe. After a bit, we get to see Gilles & Cheryl celebrate their safeness and are told that "everyone from Team Tango are safe."

The pro dancer competition is coming up, and Genya , Afton, Mayo & Anna made it through to dance this week. Genya now has to dance with Afton and they’ll be doing the Quickstep. Genya hasn’t danced ballroom in ages so Afton has to teach Genya. I thought they did great (but then it is one of my favorite dances, so I’m biased). Just to show how serious he is, Genya even shaved for the performance. The judges liked it and commented about the characterization of dance being done beautifully, that Afton is a good teacher and Genya looked like he danced ballroom.
Mayo & Anna are doing the Jive and they are going to prove that tall people can do Latin dances. I liked it (and the Jive is another favorite) but not as much as Genya & Afton. Len commented that "I said tall people would have problems with Latin dances, but I also said Ty should go - so I’ve been wrong twice." Bruno said "I feel cats everywhere!" I really think they need a translator or subtitles for him, either he said "cats" and we need to know what cats have to do with the Jive, or he said something else and we need the English version. Anyway, I saw Len move away closer to Carrie Ann - which I see a lot when Bruno speaks, I think Len may worry about getting his nose broken by Bruno’s demonstrative arms.

Shawn & Mark are safe, leaving Chuck & Julianne and Melissa & Tony to sweat out another commercial break. Carrie Ann is asked what we’ll miss if Chuck is eliminated, and she says Chuck is just "coming into his stride," and it will be a shame to see him go. Bruno offers that Melissa is one of the best dancers we’ve ever had with potential to be champion. Asked who should stay, Len said "based on last night, Chuck should stay, but based on the last 7 weeks, Melissa should stay."

Chuck & Julianne are eliminated and Melissa is crying - but is she genuinely upset that Chuck’s going or that relieved that it’s not her? Chuck tells Tom and Samantha that he had a great time, he loved the standing ovations from the crowd. He mentioned that "it goes to show how many fans Melissa has, for her to be five points down and still be here." (The comment itself sounds bitter, but his voice didn’t, so maybe it’s just me). He began to say "I think the team dance did us in" and Tom cut him off right there, saying "Let’s go out on a high note. This is what the show is all about, to come out of left field, out of your comfort zone and go so far. More important, the relationship is still intact, right?" (Chuck confirmed this). He’s very thankful to the fans and looking forward to going back on tour.

Tom tells us that celebrities from past seasons will dance with the two remaining pros next week as they audition for our votes to become a professional on next season’s show. Hmmm, who are they bringing back? Melanie? Sabrina? Lisa Rinna? Joey? Wayne Newton or Cloris Leachman? (Ha!)