Dancing With the Stars 17: The road to semi-finals

CD: So let’s talk about last week’s elimination. I don’t think anyone saw Christina Milian being eliminated so soon. And she was at the top of the leaderboard with the first 10 that week! This is the second time Mark Ballas has had a terrific partner and got the boot way too soon. Do you think the viewers assume she was safe so they all voted for someone else?

KT: To be honest, I wasn’t as completely shocked as I would have been had they not been in the “bottom two” (I say that with quotes because you can’t tell if they really had the lowest combined scores or not) the week before. When I saw them “almost” go home that week I was shocked, but I think what you said about the fans assuming they were safe and therefore not voting for them is probably exactly what happened. They consistently killed all of their routines and I was rooting for them. Actually, if I’m being honest, I think they might have been my favorites to watch this season … I loved their outlandishly, colorful costumes week-to-week, but I never voted for them once because I assumed they were safe and it felt like my votes would be put to better use voting for the “underdogs.”

CD: See, like they always say, your votes can affect the outcome! All the other eliminees, however, left when it was appropriate … no matter how badly I wanted Valerie Harper to stay a bit longer. And then this week, it looked like it was down to Jack and Bill, and surprise, no one was eliminated because of a glitch in the graphics system on the last show that resulted in all of the viewer votes being discarded. I thought for sure Leah Remini would have been the one to go this week. I wonder if this means we’ll have a double elimination next week.

KT: I am assuming a double elimination is in store – and I predict it will probably be Leah and Bill as well, although I’d like to see Bill stick it out one more week just because he’s having such an obvious good time and you can tell he’s really working hard on his routines.

CD: Well, with the semi-finals on the horizon, let’s give our predictions for our top two women and top two men. I had Christina in my top three on our original post about the season, so now that she’s out I’m going to stick with my other two choices: Amber Riley and Elizabeth Berkley. I have to pick Snooki as a wild card. You picked Elizabeth but decided to reserve judgment until you saw them all dance. My top two men … I don’t think there’s any question that Corbin Bleu will make it to the semis. He’s really going to have to screw up to not make it (and please Len in the process). I had Keshawn Johnson as a potential in the semis, but he proved to be a not very graceful footballer on the dance floor. I like Jack, but I think Corbin’s toughest competition is going to be Brant Daughtery.

KT: I agree with you 100% about your choices for the two women making the semi-finals – I think either Amber or Elizabeth has what it takes to bring home the coveted mirror ball trophy this season. Can I just take a moment to say that when Elizabeth reenacted her “I’m So Excited” routine from Saved by the Bell last week, it made my week! I also agree with you about Corbin – his Game of Thrones inspired dance last night gave me chills, and he has definitely been on my radar since week one of the competition. However, I’m going to disagree with you about Brant. Brant doesn’t ever really “wow” me with anything other than his rugged good looks, but those can only get a person so far, right? I’m team Jack Osborne all the way! I think he’s improved tremendously week-to-week and I’d like to see him go all the way in this competition.

CD: For me, Jack has the charm but not the skill that Brant has, but I would make him a wild card. Okay, we’ve locked in our choices for the semi-finals. What do you think of the season thus far? We’d love to hear your thoughts.