I'm going to declare it right now: The best part of tonight's Dancing With the Stars was the Halloween refrigerator prank. I could watch Derek Hough's reaction over and over again and never get tired of it. But, alas, there were dances to get to and an elimination to be had, so who's headed to Gotham in the morning? Read on.
But first, let's back up. Something else happened that ties for the best part of tonight's show: Cheryl being scared half to death by a masked man and screaming sh-t on live TV (which wasn't muted for us backstage but apparently was on the East Coast).
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Now we can move on.
Len Goodman sure didn't miss a beat with his harsh critiques of Michael Waltrip,Val Chmerkovskiy, and__Derek Hough__ (though can a "9" really be declared harsh?). To be honest, I'm kind of ready to skip ahead to the final five contestants and trim the fat, so to speak, but that's not how it works in Mirrorball land now, is it? So who's going home?
Even though Michael and Emma got all 5's, they were declared safe after the group dance, which meant Tommy/Peta, Antonio/Cheryl, Sadie/Mark, and Alfonso/Witney were technically all in jeopardy. In the end, it was Antonio's time to hang up his dancing shoes. I'll have more with him and Cheryl after the show and later tonight.
Update: Unfortunately I didn't get time to chat with__Antonio and Cheryl__ since they had to catch their flight to New York, but Cheryl did tell ABCNewsRadio that this could be her last season. She also told Tom Bergeron at the end of the show that this has been the most memorable experience and she's sad to say goodbye. So is this the end? Sure sounded that way, but Cheryl has a lot of time between now and February to change her mind.
Update: Tommy and Peta joined Antonio and Cheryl as the other couple in jeopardy (but not necessarily the bottom two), but when I caught up with Tommy, he told me he was confident he was not going home. "They're not going to let me go that easy," he laughed. "I bring too much to their table! I'm an iconic actor, a comedy legend, and I'm the oldest guy they've ever had on the show to last this long. I'm bringing in fans that have never watched the show before, so they're not going to let me go until the very end. But in order for us to get there, I have to at least do the basic dance[s]." OK, so TC might be a little overly confident, but then again, stranger things have happened.
Update: Some of you expressed shock that__Michael__ (who had the lowest scores of the night) wasn't sent home, but I, for one, wasn't surprised. Michael has connected with the audience in ways that other contestants haven't. His self-deprecating humor and won't-give-up attitude have endeared him to viewers (myself included). "I have this opinion that every day is a blessing and we're just happy to be here and I get to dance with Emma," he told me backstage. "We're going to try our hardest. I lost a lot of races before I ever won one, and I just showed up and said, I'm good at this, I can do this' and I never gave up. And I can't give up. I can't have a crappy attitude while going through rough patches. I have to be positive and lift up my partner because she's all that I need. I knew tonight would be hard, and I thought I had it, but I didn't do it well. It's just going to inspire me to do better next week."
In other news, I'm hearing that Val and Janel's rumored romance may actually have some truth to it after all. Here I was so convinced it was just for show! You can better believe I'll be asking them about this backstage, even though I don't expect an answer (because really, did I learn anything from Maks and Meryl last season?).
Update: Before I get to those dating rumors, I talked to__Val__ about Len's less than stellar scoring of the couple, and Val had some very passionate words for the judge. "I don't mind Len's opinions. I don't do it for the 7's, 8's, 9's, 10's. I do it for Janel. But then to have Len give Alfonso a compliment about his rumba and saying, Now that's a rumba…' [but] mocking my partner and her efforts? Who are you to judge my partner's efforts in this manner? For me, that is disrespectful and not classy, and distracts me from actually listening to what he has to say, and I don't want to do that. I want to respect him, I want to love his comments, I want to take away something so we can get better, but to me personally, [that] was very hurtful. I keep certain things to myself, but that I had to say something about [that]." What do you guys think?
Update: OK, on to dating rumors.Val and Janel aren't an item, and here's what Val had to say: "We're not dating. Maybe the press reserves the right to ask these questions, but I'm a professional, and I'm on a dance show. I don't want to undermine my profession that I've devoted 20 years to…I don't want that to be overshadowed by dating rumors. We're not dating. I want Janel to be great. I want her to be protected. I want her to always look good, whether we are out and about. I care about her because she's my partner and my priority on and off the dance floor." Janel also added that "It's amazing that people love us and want to talk about us, but on the other hand we would love it if they just focus on what we're doing daily."
While I respect Val's and Janel's opinions, I do have a bone to pick here: That's fine to say you want people to focus on the dances instead of the rumors, but DWTS is a show that loves to create story lines. If you don't want that, don't go on the show. Also, wasn't it only a few weeks ago that Val and Janel were teasing a potential romance to the camera, saying things like their relationship can't be broken down into a simple soundbite? They also went on Access Hollywood Live to play a fun lie-detector test game about their potential romance. Then Janel and her boyfriend broke up, and her boyfriend posted a very public (but sweet) farewell. You can't make some things public, but then deflect attention later on...the public won't let you forget it.
Meanwhile, is Alfonso the one to beat? He's at the top of my list right now for talent, skill, and personality. And how about that announcement that Alfonso and his wife are expecting again? So sweet.
Update: Alfonso and Witney were one of the few couples thrilled with the judges critiques and commentary last night (as they should be...they were nearly flawless). However, their physical pain was a different story. Alfonso said on a scale of 1 to 10, his pain was at a 5 or 6, while Witney was doing a little better at a 3 (just minor foot pain). Always the jokester though, Alfonso said he sure didn't impregnate his wife this last week; he's been in too much pain to move!
Mark's makeup might have freaked me out, but I certainly thought he killed it in the choreography department tonight with__Sadie__. He did not deserve three 7's, and I don't blame him for looking like he wanted to tie up Len and Carrie Ann in some abandoned mansion.
Update: Mark and Sadie weren't in much of a chatting mood backstage, but did take time to capture a few Instagram photos urging fans to vote. Mark usually doesn't let harsh critiques get to him, but this time there was no mistaking his disappointment.
Update: I was able to nab__Derek__ (Bethany had already gone back to her dressing room to change), who performed a superb Paso Doble that earned him and Bethany three 10's and a 9. A few months ago when Derek was debating whether to return to DWTS, he said it would depend on whether he could be inspired. So what inspires him about Bethany? "There's been a lot of improvement with her, and a big change especially in the last week. The breakthrough happened and all the sudden her energy went down, and I was like, No, no, no, keep it up!' We just get along. She's just so funny and adorable. So I just want her to have a great experience. She has such a great fan base, and it's inspiring for me to try and do a good job for them. This is their girl. This is their role model, and I want her to do good things that inspire her fans."
Finally, if you haven't seen our behind-the-scenes photo diary with judge Carrie Ann Inaba from yesterday, click here for insider secrets!
*This post has been updated.
Are you sad to see Antonio and Cheryl go?
