Dancing With The Stars Season 5

[KMan101]

I still say Marie Osmond wins. I know, I know ...

Personally, I'd 100% prefer Mel and Maks.

And Jonathan was on Larry King last night with the rest of the finalists and brought up a good point that the winner has always been the person who's improved the most. That would be Marie, or Helio. And he's right. Kelly wasn't the best in S1 but improved tremendously. Drew might of been an exception but still fits. Emmitt wasn't my first pick in S3. Apolo reminded me of Drew. So ... we'll see.

And I bought tickets to the Dancing with the Stars tour again, only because Monique Coleman, Sabrina Bryan and Marie Osmond would be there. BUT each tour stop doesn't always feature every celebrity, which really bites. When they come to Florida, neither Marie or Sabrina will be there, apparently. So that pisses me off big time. Grrrrrr

[KMan101]

And honestly, I think Marie gets a bum rap, honestly. She's not that bad and I find her highly entertaining. I loved all four finalists and looked forward to each of them every week. Any of them winning would please me immensely. And lets face it, as much as we like all of the winners, if the BEST won, we'd have John O'Hurley and Mario Lopez instead of Kelly and Emmitt. It is a popularity contest as well as a dance competition. We have to remember that.

[anita30]

I really think Marie should have been gone a long time ago. The simple fact that Sabrina was voted off before was shocking to me. It should be Sabrina, Mel and Helio with Sabrina and Mel B going at it. I think if Marie does win then its sad because she is not that good compared to those.

I have feeling she will win because her fanbase is keeping her in. I wouldnt be surprise if what Donnie said Maire and Helio in the final voting off Mel b and Marie winning it which makes me wander why I watch this show.

Sabrina showed me Tuesday why she should have been in the final and what a mistake america did in not keeping her on. She killed it and it makes me wander if she had stayed what her free style would be.

[Cheyenne]

Yes Mario should have won, big time!! But not John O'Hurley. Can't believe all the madness when Kelly won. She was way better then him.

But you mention in your earlier post about Jonathan's comment. It's not always been the most improved who won. Apolo was awesome right from the beginning to the very end. Apolo won because he was the best dancer, not because he had a huge fan base before he entered the competition.

I so agree. Marie should have been gone way before Sabrina, Jane, or Cameron. They were all way better then her. I just can't get over the fact how clumsy she looks on the floor, especially when Jonathan tosses her around between his legs or something. It looks weird and sometimes she even bounce on the floor. Not that graceful imo.

[kentville]

Sorry, but I still think John O'Hurley was robbed. He was much better than KM. I wouldn't understimate Marie's huge fan base. She may not be the best dancer, but she has a huge following who will be out in force for her.

[PhoenixRising05]

I knew Marie would get in, especially with her father dying and her faining spells. Her fanbase has actually gotten bigger during her run here. I wanted Jenny too but Marie came on strong last week and added technique to her dances to add to her entertainment. She is alot of fun and I think Jenny came out of her shell to late. I felt bad for her but someone had to go and it was tough.

Mel and Max and Helio and Julianne are the best and it should come down to them but I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to Helio and Marie.

I also didn't like how Donny was on one of the entertainment shows nitpicking and critiquing every dance but Marie, who he waxed poetic about it since she's her sister. I love the Osmond's but hated that.

I also didn't like Sabrina and Mark coming back. That is something for the finale and I am sick of the mention of their elimination. They are good but it makes them seem like they are bigger then the others. I don't think it's fair and it could wait until the finale.

Can't wait for the finale. Oh, and I disagree about Mario and O Hurley. The point of the show is to watch as these people learn how to dance, not to see people who already know. Those two and Sabrina already had dance experience and could perform as pros. Watching people learn and get better helps the audience forge a connection with them. That is what Kelly, Emmitt, and Helio/Mel/Marie/Jenny did. It's what the show is about.

[Juliajms]

How does the final work? I thought they said last week that this week is the finale, so is it between the last three or are there actually two more shows?

I think Jennie was a good dancer, but she needed to act like she wanted to be there. She really didn't do that. Towards the end she was getting as bad as CM going on and on about how busy he is. When you say things like that you risk the audience agreeing and sending you packing.

[applcin]

Well, last season at this point it was down to Apolo, Joey Fatone and Laila Ali. Laila got eliminated somewhere in the middle of Tuesday's show, leaving the last two standing til the end of the show. I would imagine they will do the same thing this Tuesday, eliminate the 3rd place person in the middle of the show and leave the last two standing at the end.

BTW, I read that they already taped Celine Dion's appearance for the finale over a week ago, I think.

Since I'm favoring Helio, I will be very disappointed if he doesn't win. But I don't want him to lose to Marie. He didn't have any dance experience either so he improved just as much as she did, even more. Some people have said he didn't dance as much in one of last week's dances but if content was lacking that is more Julianne's responsibility. I hope this week she is making the most of the fact that she has not just a charming partner but a very athletic one. She did say something about them doing lifts.

I will be curious to see if the judges are going to tie all 3 of them tomorrow and literally leave it up to the viewers to break the tie...or if Bruno (or any of them, actually) will score any of the couples lower. Last week Bruno did give Marie a 9 when the others gave her 10. By the time the finale rolls around, I'm never sure if the judges are scoring strictly based on their opinions of the dances but also trying to align the placement of the teams.

[Juliajms]

Hmmm So if someone is eliminated in the middle of the show then it must be the judges decision alone that is counted for that elimination right? Does anyone remember? This is the first season I've watched. I think if it is up to the judges Helio will win, if it is up to the voters Marie will.

[applcin]

No, it's the same way as always. Don't forget, the performances are on Monday night. That's when people vote and it's all tabulated by Tuesday. If they do the same as last year, they are just going to reveal who the 3rd place is earlier in the show so as to leave 2 teams standing at the very end.

I still think it's a total guess at this point, for so many factors:

No idea yet if the judges are going to tie everybody scores and leave it totally to the viewers or if they are going to maneuver the placement of the teams. The total scores are based on a sort of dual point assigning system. Let's say you've got 3 teams, and the judges give them all different scores. That earns the top team 3 points, the 2nd team 2 points and the 3rd team 1 point. Let's say the audience votes exactly in the same order. That means the top team gets 3+ 3=6, the next team 2 + 2 = 4 and the last team 1+ 1 = 2. Obviously, the highest combined score gets the win. But let's say the audience votes in the reverse way the judges did. That creates: Team 1 (3+1=4); Team 2 (2+2=4); and Team 3 (1+3=4)...apparently a tie. In the event of such a tie, the viewer vote wins out, in this case, Team 3 would win because they got the highest viewer score.

This is why the way the judges score & align the teams is so huge. If they do put Marie lower that means her fans would have to work harder to get a good viewer point score. That's how she's been able to stay in the competition even though the judges have mostly had her at the lower end of the scores...and why someone like Sabrina, who got very high scores, got eliminated because she didn't get enough viewer votes.

Mel B was in the bottom two once during this season and has avoided elimination since then. Is that because she's got a huge voting public or because the folks before her just had less? She's a better dancer than Marie, for sure, but will that be enough?

Athletes usually have pretty huge fanbases, plus their colleagues, comrades, etc. The "Indy/racing" machine will likely throw their support to Helio...not to mention his charm and skill have no doubt won him some new fans (I'm one of them, lol)...and I imagine Julianne, like Cheryl Burke, has garnered a lot of fans herself for her talent and likeability.

There may even be the question of sex. Are the viewers wanting a female to win this year (hasn't been one since first year's Kelly Monaco)....or are a lot women getting turned on to Helio?

Needless to say, I'm really hoping Helio and Julianne knock a lot of socks off tomorrow night.

[EricaKane70]

Omg, I can't believe the judges are making marie do the dance that made her faint again!!! I think she fainted because that routine was too fast and she lost her breath. LMAO at marie's outfit, that routine was awful.lol

[anita30]

Wow that Marie dance was frightening. She really does not deserve to be in the final at all. Max and Mel disappointed me with thier free style, I expected more boy I really miss Sabrina right now. I hope Helio is better. This so far is the worse free style I have seen since it started.

[EricaKane70]

I loved bruno's comment about marie looking like Betty Davis from what ever happened to baby jane.

[applcin]

This was def the weirdest finale. I did like Helio and Julianne's freestyle. I also didn't think his jive (including the first time he did it) was as bad as the judges said. Marie's freestyle was creepy.

I was only able to get a couple of phone-in votes in for H & J before the lines got busy ever since (guess that's a good sign!) but I did vote online.

[PhoenixRising05]

This was the most atrocious finale of any reality show competition I have ever watched and it was indeed the worst episode of DWTS ever. How could such a spectacular season and one that was so full of talent and good competition end like this? Julianne and Helio saved this night big time. BIG TIME.

Let me start off with something that bothers me all the time since this is probably the only time I will remember to say it. Is it at all possible that Tom can introduce the band before the dances begin rather then before the first dancing couple gets judged? I feel it's distracting the way he does it and disrespectful to the dancers waiting to be judged and to the band, who deserve to be in the limelight on their own.

Now that I said that...I will start with the first round.

I did not like the beginning of Max and Mel's dance with her in her boyfriend/husband's arms. I was shocked because Max hates using stuff like that and often times calls out people who use props or gimmicks in routines other then the freestyle. However, the routine served two purposes. It showed how far Max has come in the personality department. He is very likeable this year (or was up until his comment later but I will mention that later). Their dance was good otherwise and showed why Mel is the best "pure" dancer in this competition. It deserved the scores it got.

Marie's first dance wasn't bad and I didn't think she was as sloppy as the judges said. I think she needed to do something like the theme of her first dance for her freestyle. It suits her well. I enjoyed the music and she entertained as usual. I thought the judges were far too harsh on her for her first dance.

Helio and Julianne's first dance deserved the same marks as Mel and Max's. It wasn't at all bad. Helio missed a few steps but to give him two 8's was ridiculous when he missed more steps last week and got higher scores..

Which leads me to a big beef I had with the show tonight. I know the judges came under heat last year because they inflated scores in the semis and finale last year (and did in this year's semis too) and I know they were trying to be harsh and that it is possible they are trying to position fans to vote a certain way. However, they came off horrible tonight because of their past leniency. Their judging on the freestyles was pretty accurate, except for Karrie Ann's on Helio's freestyle and Len and Bruno's blatant attempt at Mel-pushing on her freestyle critique. However, the judging on the first dance was atrocious and shameful. Marie and Helio were not that bad at all and it reeked of trying to make sure Marie stayed down, Helio got more votes, and that Mel was at the top of their leaderboard. I think that is why Karrie Anna gave a scathing (although right) review of Mel's freestyle while Bruno and Len loved it. It got her at the top and was able to succeed in convincing people she is vulnerable. I think they tried to do the same with Helio. They are trying to keep Marie out of the final two since the final two will be dancing tomorrow and they want it to be between the two remaining best,

Now, the freestyles. Clearly, the reigning champion is the only one that grasps the concept because her's was the only one that wowed me. Max and Mel pulled a Stacy Keibler and went the safe route in a routine that left me confused and sad for poor Mel, who has been the best dancer. If Max was injured, that is not an excuse because they could've made it more exciting by just making it faster and not so deliberate. They may have been going for sensual but you need to wow people with a freestyle and that missed that boat big time. Max's freestyle with Laila last year at least was fast and had excitement if not lifts and difficult maneuvers.

Marie's was just a bad acid trip. I get what she was doing and it was an original idea but it came off horrible, like Len said. She should've did what Joey did with Kym last year and started it slow like his puppet routine and made it faster. Marie is entirely too slow in all her dances of late and I wonder if it's because she is doing more technique now or maybe Jonathan was afraid she would pass out. Whatever the case, her stopping in the middle of dancing happens alot and that is a huge issue and it showed tonight. The freestyle wasn't even good entertainment. It was just plain weird. I appreciate the difficult lifts she did, especially given her age. Marie's performance tonight made me long for Jenny, who came into her own last week. I wouldn't want Sabrina here because she knew beforehand how to dance and that isn't the point of this show...

Now, Helio and Julianne...BRAVO!! THANK YOU FOR SAVING THE NIGHT!! That is a freestyle. This girl is Cheryl Burke's biggest competition and her fanbase is growing big time.. The choreography, music, creativity...perfect. A perfect dance. Karrie Ann pulled a Bruno and nitpicked about the lifts, just like what happened to Emmit. I think that was to push for more votes for them but whatever. The lifts were great and impressive for a man his size. They OWNED tonight and deserve this title. That way we can have Cheryl and Julianne with two titles battling each other next season. Helio seemed to have the biggest cheering section and ovations and Julianne has a big fanbase like Cheryl's now. I think they got it and rightfully so.

Overall, terrible night saved only by Helio's last dance of the night. I hope tomorrow will redeem this, which it should given all the stuff happening. The poor freestyles from Mel and Marie made me long for Jenny bad though. It also made me long for Cheryl, who excels at these. They need to give her a good partner next season to have her and Julianne battle it out in a finale. Now that would be a freestyle show.