Dancing With The Stars- Week 3

Despite the departure of PENN JILLETTE and MONICA SELES last week, host TOM BERGERON never announced which of the other "Dancing with the Stars" couples had been low scorers and who might be in jeopardy. So the nervous energy was high when the competitors took to the ballroom floor for Monday night's competition, dancing either the jive or the tango, and the battle for the disco-ball trophy is on!

Getting the joint jumping with the jive were MARLEE MATLIN and FABIAN SANCHEZ. Head judge LEN GOODMAN praised, "You never cease to amaze me. The jive is a difficult dance. To dance it without hearing, I think [you] did a great job." BRUNO TONIOLI agreed, saying, "You are an incredible performer. You connect with the audience. You lost the timing a few times, but a good job." CARRIE ANN INABA stated, "You have good chemistry. What I noticed this time is your hands. Watch your hands. They are a little pancake-y." The couple scored 21 out of 30 points.

STEVE GUTTENBERG and ANNA TREBUNSKAYA, who had been sick with a virus all week, took to the floor to tango. For Carrie Ann, it was their best dance so far: "You were completely determined. It was sharp and snappy, but it could use more dynamics," she opined. Len felt, "You captured the flavor of the dance. A much improved performance." Bruno cryptically commented, "Manly and madly did the trick for you." Steve and Anna were awarded 21 points.

Next to jive were CRISTIAN DE LA FUENTE and two-time "DWTS" champ CHERYL BURKE. Bruno exclaimed, "Are you on rocket fuel tonight? You are definitely having a good time. That is what this show is all about. Deliver you did. Your best yet." Len agreed it was their best dance so far, and Carrie Ann commented, "I really think you have a great shot at this. You improve every week by miles -- but watch your arm." Cristian and Cheryl earned 25 out of 30 points.

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Dancing With The Stars: Week 2

It’s the first chance for all 12 contestants to dance together tonight, on Mambo and Quickstep Night!

First up are Steve & Ann, dancing the mambo. During rehearsal, Anna, who worries that she’s too hard on Steve, brings in her mother — Irina Trebunskaya — for help. Steve works up “a little bit of rhythm and a little bit of love,” calling it a “Macho Mambo Combo.” But the judges aren’t feeling the love. Len compares Steve’s dancing to his own cooking skills (can you say “spotted dick” on TV?!), and says Steve’s dance “just didn’t really work.” Bruno complains that Steve put all of his energy into facial expressions and forgot his body. Carrie Ann says, “It wasn’t your best, but you guys look cute.” They score a 16, bringing their overall score to a 34 out of 60.

Next up are Cristian & Cheryl, dancing a quickstep. In rehearsal, Cheryl brings in a military uniform to help Cristian concentrate on posture. Carrie Ann calls Cristian “a whole new person.” Len says the dance “had a little bit of wildness about it.” Bruno says he liked the gangster persona and calls the performance “good.” Cristian & Cheryl score a 20, giving them a combined score of 41 out of 60.

Next to take the stage is Monica, with her partner, Jonathan. The couple is planning to dance a mambo, and Monica worries about her lack of ability to put on a sexy facial expression. Monica has to travel to Japan for a prior engagement, and drags Jonathan along with her, so they can practice long into the night. Bruno criticizes that Monica “didn’t connect with the music.” Len says, “You tried your hardest but there are so many technical problems at the moment.” Carrie Ann, Monica’s sole trumpeter, says, “You came out and you attacked it!” Monica & Jonathan score a 15, bringing their total to 30 out of 60.

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Dancing With The Stars- The Women

You choose which awe-inspiring line to sum up the women's fairly solid week 1 performances on tonight's Dancing With the Stars. In the immortal teleprompted words of Samantha Harris, ''It's ladies' night and the feeling's right!'' Ugh. In the single word that Priscilla Presley mouthed during the group pan for the second night running, ''Woo.'' Eh. I'm going with ''Woo.'' It says everything and yet nothing at all. Let's make it our new DWTS mantra. Note: ''Woo'' is best imagined if Priscilla is wearing Sabrina Bryan's hideous purple paso doble frock, as she was in Tuesday night's intro package. (Really? Out of all the costumes? That one?)

Tuesday night offered us some hints of potential season 6 male-female doppelgängers. There are the front-runners with lots of choreographic experience (Kristi Yamaguchi and Mario). The ones who still can't believe they're on their all-time favorite show! (Marissa Jaret Winokur and the Gute). The ones who didn't live up to expectations but are pretty and show promise (Shannon and Cristián). Nobody wants a complete sentence comparing Adam Carolla to Monica Seles, so enough of that nonsense, and let's get to the ladies…

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