Sure, I'd like to see him get paired with someone like a Jane Seymore or the like, but it doesn't seem like the Powers that Be like that plan.

Dancing with Wookie, Semifinals! 5/17/2010

I might like Cheryl's dress the best of the first round. LOL, Evan just totally patted Anna on the butt on live TV.

Erin has to open. That's unfortunate, since she has to be one of the ones at the most risk. Viennese waltz is a neutral draw. It's a dance that can look good, but it's not something that automatically will go well for her. This wasn't bad, but it was pretty forgettable, and that could be disastrous. Erin looked good with her flexibility and posing, but her footwork wasn't there. She stumbled, she didn't bring her feet together, and she wasn't mindful of her heels and toes. She did have great extension through her spine in the contra check and a lot of good lines. But she looked nervous throughout. I think that 27 was generous. This dance didn't really do it for me. I thought it would pick up an 8 or two.

I thought it aired live at 9 EST?

Nicole goes second, which pretty much doesn't matter. She's a mortal lock into the finals. The only question is if she'll flub the freestyle. If there was any doubt, they pull Argentine tango in the semifinals, so she's going to look great, no matter Derek's neck issues. AT is an easy dance that looks great. So, AT is an easy dance to make look good, but that routine was anything but easy. The choreography of every phrase was filled with invention and creativity that would fascinate even veterans of the dance. That opening bit coming down the stairs was amazing, and the pivoting gaucho pattern was similarly awesome. The lift on Derek's foot, all of it. Nicole's execution was impeccable, but it's almost hard to watch her when the dance seems to showcase how awesome Derek's choreography is. When the choreography is that good, it kinda reduces the VORD for the star doing it, as, like Evan and Anna could probably have done the same choreography nearly as well. There are a few nitpicky things I could point out that Nicole could do better, but that's all so minor. She deserves every point she got and then some. This is one of the best routines that's ever been danced on this show.

Started at 8, bro. Grab the remote quick!

Chad gets the 3rd spot, which is nice. He'd rather go last, but at least he's towards the end. Waltz is not the best dance to make a lasting impression with, but at least his later samba will likely be memorable. Wow. The stint in the bottom two must have focused Ochocinco, because he had a ton of his fundamentals in order. He had good posture, good character, excellent footwork (he had heels and toes!), good arm lines, good fluidity, good rise and fall. My only real criticism is that he still isn't mindful of his head position (he looks too much towards Cheryl instead of over her right shoulder), and that this wasn't the most difficult choreography. Still, simpler choreography showcased what Ochocinco does well instead of what Cheryl does well. This 27 was too low relative to Erin. I liked this a couple points better.

Starting at 9EST here for some reason, glad EA is going first, that's pretty much the only reason I watch it. Maybe I can bet someone that she gets 9, 9, 9...

Evan gets some smile work before his foxtrot, and that could be just what he needs. Foxtrot is also a dance that lets him go full gay without any real repercussions. Hah, yeah, this suited him. Evan's synchrony with Anna here was flawless. It was extremely impressive how tight they were. Evan's huge smile looked a little plastic at times, but this was a great routine. My main advice would be for Evan to close his fingers. When he's extending his arms in an arm line, he should default to having his fingers together in a paddle rather than spread wide. That's one of the things that impressed me about Ochocinco, actually. 85 always had his fingers closed in his arm extensions. This dance was better than 85, but relative to Erin, I'd be inclined to score Chad a 28, Evan 29.5, and Nicole a 33.

Looks like we've got solos in the Latin round. We also get tear jerker stories in advance. Erin opens the second round, and she dances paso. I'm curious to see if she can pull of the character in this one. Huh. I think they got punked on the song for this one. The song is more of a cha cha than a paso. As a consequence, the dance didn't look like a natural to the music. Her character was good, but her posture was only passable. And I agree with Len that her solo was not really becoming of a paso doble. Like, it looked good, but her solo belonged in a cha cha, not a paso doble, and I think that should hurt her. This was much too generous as a 29. I staunchly disagree. At least Hobby gets her eye candy.

Nicole gets punked by the costume department, but dances cha cha, which is another good draw. I mean, give the woman her 10s for her execution, but this time, I'm not a big fan of the choreography. Chairs almost never look all that great, and the lip syncing looked like a distraction. Again, the solo was more stripping than cha cha, and not a good fit. When it was actually cha cha, there was nothing to complain about. I'm actually glad this got a 29. I don't mind Len being a stickler for actually dancing something that resembles the dance that's proscribed, and this clearly wasn't as good as the early Argentine Tango.

Ochocinco has a tough act to follow after Erin threw down the gauntlet/got overscored. However, he's got a solid tear jerker segment before hand. At least he has samba. That bodes well for him. He can bring the party. If there's any dance from which he'd pull future touchdown celebrations, it'd be samba. Damn, this was disappointing. All the polish that 85's waltz had was thrown out the window. His balance was off, his knees were too flexed, he wasn't turning his toes out, and his posture wasn't as good. Unfortunately, his scores, if anything, are too high, too. This will almost certainly be the worst dance of the night. This dance didn't suit Chad nearly as well as I thought it would.

Evan closes out the night with a paso doble. This can let him be a little more stoic, which could be good, but he did well with the happy character. At least he doesn't have to be sexy. Gotta say, that's more manly than Evan has ever looked. He was rivetingly powerful. Unfortunately, his extreme attack did cause him to round his shoulders and lose his posture, but I don't think anyone will care. This, even over Nicole's AT, might have been the best dance of the night: because it was all Evan. While Nicole was an apt tool within Derek's choreography, Evan made this dance. It's not very often there's a dance where my attention isn't focused on Anna, but this was one. There aren't many male pros from any season who could have pulled off this routine. Gilles could have, likely. Drew? Emmitt? Apolo? Helio? I'm not sure any of them could have. This was a monster episode, featuring two routines that will go down in the history of this show.

On the one hand, it's going to be rough to lose either Erin or Ochocinco. On the other, they both let me down tonight. I'm pretty ambivalent about who should go. I like them both, but one of them has to go. I'd give a slight edge to Chad, though. Erin was good, but perhaps not good enough to beat out an NFL star, virtually all of whom have outstayed their dancing-skill welcome.

I liked Nicole's tango more than Evan's paso, but before the paso I had my votes at 5 for Nicole, after the paso it went 3-2. It will be interesting to see who survives between Chad and Erin.

bummed that Ochocinqo got the boot. oh well. probably the right choice. I just hate Erin Andrews.

Does anyone else think that Lysacek is held back by Anna's lack of creative choreography?

wat? you did see that Paso right? sure she may not be as good as derek but i think she's one of the better choreos on the show

real glad that Chad is gone, his relationship with Cheryl was kinda awkward imo... and Erin has so much more potential for a good finale

i'm starting to think the show is rigged towards Evan winning... i just think how Nicole got a 50s Paso and then Evan gets a Paso with that Evanescence song which is imo a top 5 if not top 3 DWTS Paso song

also LOLOL at the College Formation Dance Off thing tonight, poor Rutgers, they had no chance (that would make a good sports movie though)

I think Evan's paso was fantastic, although the next day it didn't come out as good. I think Nicole is better than Evan, but Evan is better than Erin.

It was always a -EV bet but def worth it as cheering on 85 has been fun. Pseudo-meltdown on twitter was fun too:

Bump.

1. I'm sorry to confess that, due to car trouble, I've been unable to get to the beer store. I will make good on my end of the bargain.

2. I'm sorry to confess that I'm going out dancing tonight, so my review of the finals will be delayed.

Delay is a much bigger loss for you than me

Srsly. To make matters worse, I forgot to verify what my DVR was doing tonight, and it recorded Chuck and 24 but not DWTS. Big frowny face . Guess I'll have to watch tomorrow.

wow, what a mistake. It was a good episode.

still think she's a good choreographer?

Last night was the most underwhelming finals in recent memory. All of the dances were meh IMO.

Dancing with Wookie, Final Edition, catching up with 5/24/2010.

Hopefully I can get through this before they crown a winner.

Damn, Erin comes out looking smokin'. Easy winner of the first round of the costume contest.

Huh, so they open with a redemption dance. I like this concept. New routine, a second chance. Also, consulting with the judges usually helps.

Erin opens. Look at the ass! Yes Bruno, we are. Erin was much improved here, but it wasn't a very exciting routine. They kinda got punked by the music, which was dull and wasn't doing them any favors. I also didn't care for the choreography. The bit with Maks keeping his shirt on took too long, and the bit where she was just pushing him around was also unnecessary. She did have good rhythm and good turn out on her feet. However, I think she bent her knees too much, and her frame was a little soft. She still looked a little reserved in her character compared to Nicole. Wow. I really don't understand the scores here. I thought this would be a 27, but if any higher, a 9 9 10. I thought Bruno would be a little more effusive rather than being the hard ass. This routine will probably get blown out of the water tonight, so scoring it so highly is just going to result in an inability to separate people.