What is it with the pros this season? First Maksim Chmerkovskiy has a muscle pull and drops Kirstie Alley, and now Karina Smirnoff trips over partner Ralph Macchio's coat tails. Mak's mishap didn't appear to cost Kirstie any points (perhaps because it was injury-related?), but Karina's spill probably dropped Ralph's score by a couple of points, at least. Let's get it together, pros!
On with this week's Power Ranking...
DWTS POWER RANKING - WEEK SIX#1 Hines Ward:Hines didn't get to shake it up as much as he has in earlier dances, but he still did a respectable job with his Viennese Waltz. Hines provided a very good example of what careful execution and a relaxed mindset can achieve. Celebrities should be
enjoying their dances, not rehearsing them in their heads as they're performing them (something that Chris Jericho seemed to be doing this week). That being said, I thought triple-9s for Hines was a bit of a reach considering the routine.
#2 Chelsea Kane:Chelsea and Mark's Quickstep was definitely their nerdiest performance together this season - complete with prep school costumes, dark-rimmed glasses and prudish facial expressions. They carried it off really well, too. Judge Bruno Tonioli said he noticed a bit of a wobble towards the end from Chelsea, but judge Carrie Anna Inaba disagreed and ended up scoring her a 10 accordingly. Chelsea continues to impress me with her dancing prowess. Mark mentioned
in his USA Today blog that he discovered early on how talented Chelsea was (after studying her jive performance in Week 2) and decided then and there "to drastically raise my expectations of her." The only reason this couple isn't in the #1 position at this point is because I think Hines's fan base is much higher than Chelsea's.
#3 Romeo:I said last week if Romeo continues to impress he'll eventually climb into a top-three position in the FADS Power Rankings. He managed to do just that this week, with an assist from Chris Jericho, who slipped in the rankings himself this week. I thought Romeo's 10 by judge Carrie Ann was a bit high - he still seemed to be getting led around by pro partner Chelsie Hightower - but even so, he did very well.
#4 Kirstie Alley:Kirstie climbs from #6 to #4 this week. She had a strong performance with no major slip-ups - though it looked as if she had to hustle to catch up to Maks at their rendezvous point at the top of the stage after she flirted with the audience a few seconds too long. I'm not sure the two 9s she received from Len and Bruno were deserved - was she
really one point away from a perfect dance in their eyes? (Come on, Len, be as demanding with Kirstie as you have been with Chris!)
#5 Ralph Macchio:This was a fast-paced and well executed dance for Ralph. Unfortunately for him, pro partner Karina Smirnoff tripped over his coattails about 30 seconds into the routine, basically crushing any hope of a high-end score. Karina seemed pretty shaken up emotionally after the fall, but Ralph was very quick to pick her up - I thought he performed excellent damage control. I'm not really comfortable with the three 8s that Ralph received from the judges, though. His dance, minus Karina's trip, was better than Hines's in my opinion. I thought his performance warranted at least one 9. (The judges should be judging
his dancing performance, not his pro partner's.)
#6 Kendra Wilkinson:Kendra looked sexy and exotic as she danced her Samba. She also looked genuinely happy to be on the dance floor - and emotion missing in many of her past performances. She also didn't have to worry about being "elegant" again for the second straight week, which surely must have relaxed her even more. Stepping onto the judges' table and shaking it up for Len Goodman on his birthday was an added plus.
#7 Chris Jericho:Alas, it's time to say goodbye to Chris Jericho. Chris appeared a bit rigid in his Tango (even for a Tango) this past week. He seemed to be concentrating too much on the moves of the dance rather than just performing it. The judges were mostly unforgiving (although, oddly enough, the usually frugal Len Goodman gave Chris an 8 for the second week in a row). Carrie Ann said she felt the pressure might have gotten to him this week, and she may have been right. Len said it "lacked a bit of intensity," and it certainly did. Chris was not the worst of the remaining dancers - he simply had a bad week. Unfortunately, though, that's all it's going to take as the field whittles down each week.
*So the field of competitors is now down to six. Of the six, the only weak dancer is Kendra Wilkinson, whose fans have managed to keep her on the show despite some pretty disappointing performances. Like pro dancer Natasha Oreshkina
mentioned in her commentary this week, Kendra is turning out to be this season's Bristol Palin - the poor dancer who keeps staying alive because of a loyal (and actively voting) fan base. We'll see if that will be enough to keep her in the competition in the following weeks, but don't be surprised if she makes it all the way to the Finals. (
There, I said it! )
Next week's predicted "in jeopardy" threesome: Kendra Wilkinson, Romeo, and Kirstie Alley.
- -
