Mark Gantt Photography Exhibit Opens in Beverly Hills

You know him, of course, as the multi-award-winning (Streamys) co-screenwriter and lead actor from Crackle’s “The Bannen Way,” (and seriously, if you haven’t seen it yet, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WATCH IT NOW!!!).

Watch “The Bannen Way”!

On his upcoming slate for the next year, he’s acting, he’s directing, he’s writing... just when you think, “Man! Is there anything Mark Gantt can’t do?” he shows you. (No, no, there isn’t.)

Photography. Sheesh.

Mind you, everyone and their brother these days fancies themselves a photographer. Photos litter the Internet.

But there is a difference, my friends, with the type of photography that deserves to hang in galleries. Photography that you want to take home and hang on your wall, because it so poetically speaks to your soul. And yes, THAT is the kind of photo that this man takes.

At his recent photo exhibit opening (where the packed crowd ranged from Beverly Hills glitterati to hot Internet web video sensations to up-and-coming actors), it was one superb photograph after another hanging on display.

I couldn’t even pick a favorite if you forced me to. There were stunning photos of Dennis Hopper (taken behind the scenes at a Vanity Fair cover shoot), joyous pastiches of life in Europe (the Barcelona train station image truly haunts me), or the breathtaking portrait of his acting mentor, breathing in the fragrance of a rose.

Moments captured that somehow also encompass the pure magic of those moments. That is what a real photographer does.

He is still selling limited edition prints on his website:  Purchase Gantt Photography
If you ask me, the prices are an absolute steal for the quality of this work. So do yourself a favor. Once you return that plaid shirt that Grandma so kindly meant for you at Christmas, and are pondering what you really want to get instead, that would make YOU happy, consider one (or several) of these photos.

Your soul will thank you.

A joyous photography exhibit opening in Beverly Hills, CA.

************************************

Please Send The Sound of Music Live Show Away

The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood. Courtesy of NBC.

Maybe this sounded like a good idea to someone. After all, The Sound of Music (with Julie Andrews) is a beloved film. And to many people, Carrie Underwood is a beloved singer. What could go wrong?

It would be bad enough to redo a movie of The Sound of Music, but wait! Let’s do it LIVE! on TV! With someone in the lead who has little or no stage experience, to say nothing of dramatic experience. What could go wrong?

Well, $9 MILLION later, we have this mess. Dreadful doesn’t even begin to describe it.

First most glaring were the garish sets. One cannot replicate the wonder of the Alps with cardboard and paint. The Alpine vistas were laughable. I’ve seen better, more magical views in community theatre productions. Also, the main piazza set was more suitable to Italy than Austria, where this is supposedly set.

Sure, every Alpine home has great open plazas to walk around in. (Not a drop of snow on them, either.) *eyeroll*

Second, and I admit I have a bias about this. I LOVE theatre actors. I am a firm believer that whoever originates the role on Broadway should have it in the movie. And I pretty much wish a pox on all the famous people who think they can walk the Broadway boards and it’ll be fine. Even worse, those who then scoop up Tonys for their celebrity more than their work COUGHScarlettJohannssonCOUGH.

So the idea of “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood acting in a big, splashy theatre work on TV doesn’t exactly fill me with excitement. But I gave it the old college try. I went to this show with as much of an open mind as possible.

Which was pretty much slammed shut once Ms. Underwood attempted to act. Well, I wouldn’t call it “acting,” exactly. More like rushing through a bunch of lines to get to the song parts. The dreadfulness of Ms. Underwood’s acting actually made Lindsay Lohan’s Liz Taylor look like a Tony winner.

Zero chemistry between Underwood and the poor miscast Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”). At least Moyer could sing decently. He does have some stage background, but all his TV work must’ve made that a dim memory, cause he was pretty terrible in this. His singing ok, but he should stick to TV.

It’s supremely hard to care when the lead role (Underwood) is sinking like a lead weight, right there in the middle.

Thankfully, we had glorious stage performers, who do actually know how to do this, with Tony winner Laura Benanti (who was way better than she needed to be in a small thankless role) and Tony winner Christian Borle (also late of “Smash”), both acting up a storm around the lead weights of Underwood and Moyer. And the kids were good.

Glorious (five-time) Tony winner Audra McDonald (sharing the record for most Tonys won by an actor) belted out a superb “Climb Every Mountain.” So, it wasn’t all madness and bad acting. There were real glimmers of glory here.

But the bad stuff. Wow, so bad.

The final climactic scene, when the von Trapp family is hiding in the garden, they are pretty much, sitting there as plain as day, all someone has to do is shine a light on them. Of course, stupid Nazis, only search the convent building, and don’t go in the garden. Riiiiight. Ridiculous is a good word for that scene, as portrayed.

Oh God, Carrie Underwood was so bad that in many scenes, I could barely stand to look at her. Really leaden. Really dreadful.

And there seemed to be songs added. There was one, REALLY tasteless, about happy millionaires being trapped in their capital gains, that I really don’t remember from the Julie Andrews version. Although at least Benanti and Borle were singing it, so it was OK from that aspect.

So whoever squandered $9 Million on this monstrosity instead of putting good, talented hard-working actors to work in something decent, I hope you got your money’s worth. Please, though, don’t do this again.

#NBCFail

************************

DWTS Season 17 Finals: The Case for Amber Riley

*DWTS has still not posted pics from the finals. So... we do the best we can...

Amber Riley and Derek Hough, Season 17 champions. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor

When I first heard the announcement about the cast for Season 17 of Dancing with the Stars, the one I most wanted to win was Amber Riley (and Derek Hough). And now, I am most glad that indeed Amber Riley (and Derek Hough) have won the Season 17 Mirror Ball.

But I have such reservations, and I relate to them very personally. That’s what I feel compelled to talk about. Cause this season turned out VERY different than I thought it would.

I don’t know eiher Amber or Derek personally, but I would like to comment on their personalities that they revealed on the show, or at least my interpretation of what I saw.

Here is where I most relate to Amber Riley. I'm a big girl (what Hollywood would call a big girl, anyway). Massive breasts and boobs. I could never dance on DWTS. And maybe some part of her was thinking that too, had severe doubts about herself.

But here’s what I witnessed from the clips. Mostly that she’s a diva in training, who wants the glory and the fame, but not the work so much. And maybe deep down, doesn’t believe that she deserves it all. (I know this because I am like this too.)

Because here’s what I saw over the course of the season.

Someone who, right from the beginning, came out, all decked in crystals, stepping through a crystal curtain, and doing a dance which CLEARLY said, “Amber Riley HAS ARRIVED!” and then, for most of the season after that, stepping back, and going, “Um, no, no she hasn’t.” The judges even commented on it, Carrie Ann at one point saying, “I know there’s more there.” She was right.

The greatest thing holding Amber Riley back in this whole competition was herself. Sure, there were the persistent knee problems (but aren’t physical ailments often a manifestation of our spiritual selves? Interesting too, that Derek had mentioned his back hurting... probably from carrying Amber so much... emotionally, not physically).

What we didn’t see, which we normally do see, is a whole lot of crying and carrying on, that I know happened with this particular girl. It was clear that this whole process was not easy for her emotionally. And it was also clear that when she first walked on that stage, she was the star of this season, all she had to do was own it, and she spent all season shrinking from it.

Instead, we had the People’s Champion (Bill Engvall) sharing his pain up there, and nearly making it to the end, certainly making it MUCH further than he would have in any other season, because the people LOVED him, loved his struggle, loved that he was “old” and “not a dancer.” Just wanted to buoy him up.

And Amber? When she put her mind to it, she blew us away. When it looked, for a hot minute, like Bill Engvall was going to walk away with the championship that was so clearly hers, Amber stepped up (literally) and started doing the dancing she should have been doing all along.

And dudes, let me tell you. When Amber TRIES, get out of the damn way. There is no other. That step dancing freestyle she did with Derek and Mark Ballas and some other guys just completely knocked it out of the park. People will be talking about that one for decades. WOW! Unbelievable stuff.

What then, was all this other angst?

Let’s compare, for example, Miss Amber to last season’s winner (also with Derek), Kellie Pickler. Now I love Miss Amber Riley. She is awesome. Mostly I couldn’t stand looking at Kellie Pickler. But because I love seeing Derek dance, and seeing his choreography, I was glad they won.

But their partnership (Kellie and Derek) was really a partnership. Dancers (as I understand it, anyway) are supposed to be like couples. Two parts of one whole. Derek, after doing this so many seasons, and winning so many Mirror Balls, knows what's going to work. He saw very quickly that the way to the top with this one was to let Miss Amber shine. You could see it even in their early (Week 9) trio with Mark Ballas, where Derek said at one point in rehearsal, “It’s like we are her backup dancers.” Indeed so.

As a strictly literal ballroom show, I don’t think I like that. But Miss Amber Riley is a force of nature. Watch out for her star power. If only she can get out of her own way along the way, she’ll be fine.

And mostly, I am supremely glad that Corbin and Karina didn’t win. If you read the fan comments all around the web, it’s clear. Many felt like I did about Bill Engvall. Many people wanted the guy who couldn’t dance to win MUCH more than the guy who’s been dancing on Broadway already.

Cause this is supposed to be DRAMATIC. There has to be a hurdle to climb. Getting a dancer to win a dance show? Not so much drama there, folks.

A few more notes about Season 17.

I REALLY love the concept of the opening dance with all the pro dancers. It’s been consistently spectacular, and I look forward to it every time.

I also love the segues with the troupe and pros dancing. Fabulous stuff.

I also really love Maksim C. as a judge, and hope he becomes a permanent fixture at that table, if he isn’t one of the regular dancers.

I really love that it’s one night instead of two, and there isn’t so much filler and folderol. No extraneous singers clogging up the place, no running up a flight of stairs. No stupid extra-drawn-out nonsense about who’s going home.

And I really really loved the finale, with the whole red carpet thing. It just seemed like there was a real producer orchestrating this season, with an emphasis on dance, and whoever you are, I thank you for it. Please give us more.

Now if we could just get those costumers to keep those dresses just a BIT shorter (only one noted “tripping over a dress” moment this season, so that is an improvement over last season).

All in all, I liked Season 17, even if it was very different than any season previous.

Pros from Season 17. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor

****************************************

DWTS Semi-Finals: Will the People’s Champion Prevail?

The amazing dancers of DWTS. Note Mark Ballas, Tony Dovolani, Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Tristan McManus.

We are down to five contestants. The final five absolutely amaze me. I would not have picked these five in any scenario.

It strikes me that perhaps there was some fraud happening with the phone method of voting, cause taking that out of the mix this season REALLY seems to leave the winners that the voters want, judges be damned. (Just a theory.)

For this semi-finals, they have an interesting concept. The dancers do two dances, both different varieties of dance, but to the same song. One version electric, one acoustic. There were some very wonderful pairings to this concept. Going from my least favorite to my favorite...

First up, in the electric format, we had:

Tony Dovolani and Leah Remini. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

And the “People’s Champion,” (as Bruno called him, and it’s true):

Bill Engvall and Emma Slater.

The absolutely on fire (in both of their dances), Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke, dancing to The Police’s “Roxanne.”

Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke, dancing to the electric “Roxanne.” Courtesy of ABC.

My favorite of all the electric dances, my only remaining couple from my picks at the beginning, are Amber Riley and Derek Hough. Now, she's had a lot of problems with her knee, and she does go out there like a trouper, however, one must also judge those choices accordingly.

The dance subtitled, “The best we could do, under the circumstances.” Amber Riley and Derek Hough.

Now, I know you’re saying, “Michelle, these are only FOUR couples. Where is the fifth?”

Let me say this about that. I have had trouble all along with Corbin Bleu. He’s a professional DANCER. There’s no getting around that. The only way to get around it, in fact, is to not vote for him. So, in the same degree that my passion for Bill Engvall winning this thing has gone up, my passion for Corbin Bleu NOT winning this thing has also gone up.

Yes, his dances with Karina are fine. Sure. But I'm not participating in one moment of hype for him. Other than this.

Karina Smirnoff and Corbin Bleu.

You may remember, when Corbin did his legendary Game of Thrones dance (really quite wonderful), Karina, in the package, made some comment about “is this too revealing?” (And it wasn’t.) This, however... well, look at it.... Let’s just say it was WAY more revealing, and not a peep about it in this package.

Cause there was also this:

Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Bruno Tonioli

Yes, that’s right. Maksim Chmerkovskiy is back. Well, at least for the semi-finals, anyway. And that would be Karina Smirnoff’s former fiance, Maks. So I’m sure that she was wearing next to nothing in her dance had NOTHING to do at all with the fact that Maks was judging. Ahem... And the fact that she, in her next-to-nothingness insisted upon going up to Maks, and giving him a kiss on the cheek. *sigh*

What Maks said that warranted the kiss was that Karina is “among the top five female dancers.” (I think he said in the world, but he might’ve said on DWTS—kinda the same thing anyway). Personally, I think she is easily the BEST female dancer on DWTS. Although, as Maksim showed us when he danced, that does seem to come concurrent with a hefty dose of ego.

Ugh. The less said about those two (Karina and Corbin), the better.

I would like to see a future where we have Maksim, Carrie Ann and Bruno judging (please, God, put Carrie Ann in the middle for that. Bruno’s inappropriate homoeroticness really bugs me during the show.) I hope they don’t bring back Julianne Hough regularly (she was mean). And DEFINITELY NO CHER.

But let’s get back to the acoustic versions of the dances.

Also in order of how I liked them, from least favorite to most favorite, we had:

Leah Remini and Tony Dovolani. (Leah, sadly, ended up being the one sent home on this night.)

Derek Hough and Amber Riley do a stunning Viennese waltz.

And the acoustic version of “Roxanne” this time:

Cheryl Burke and Jack Osbourne do an incredible Argentine tango to “Roxanne.”

And, no joke, my absolute favorite dance of ALL OF THEM of the night, was this one.

Bill Engvall and Emma Slater do an Argentine tango. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Bill Engvall proved in this dance that old guys are actually pretty darn sexy, and could teach the kids a thing or two. Emma proved in this dance, that for a pro who came from nowhere, she’s really holding her own with the choreography of those who’ve been around the block here before. She is the only one left standing who has not yet won a Mirror Ball. My fingers are crossed that that changes next week.

I have to say, going into the Finals, I am really kinda rooting for Bill and Emma to win it all, but, if not them, my only hope is that it’s not Karina and Corbin. In fact, I really hope that Corbin and Karina get bumped on Monday, and it’s the other three left standing. THAT would be an amazing finals.

The People’s Champion, indeed.

Derek Hough (in back), Val Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani and Tristan McManus. Courtesy of ABC.

************************************

DWTS Week Nine: The Candy Man Can... Stay

Gleb, Elizabeth Berkley and Val Chmerkovskiy sadly get voted out this week. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Finally it’s starting to resonate with me, this whole voting thing. How who we voted for last week gets bounced this week.

Let’s recap, shall we?

Last week, one of my favorite couples to win (Val Chmerkovskiy and Elizabeth Berkley) did this really kinda terrible dance. It was noted that midweek, Elizabeth decided to change the dance, which meant changing the choreography midstream. What appeared was a harsh mess of something that left Cher (the guest judge) saying, “I don’t know what all that was behind there.”

What the whole dance was, and what appeared after the dance, was all a sickening ploy to kiss up to Cher. Various people did it in various ways during the show, but Elizabeth’s ego-driven nonsense was the worst.

She did a jarring dance, and then, in the point when you are supposed to hear the judges commenting about the dance, you hear Elizabeth burst in... you know, in that pent-up ego thing that friends have, when they’ve “just gotta” talk to some celebrity and say what they’ve always wanted to say? And you’re left shaking your head, and finally dragging them away? It was like that. Painful like that.

I’ve long believed (since I saw Bristol Palin on this show) that DWTS should have a “no-way-in-hell this person” button. If they had, Elizabeth would’ve gotten a lot of that for all this. She did, I suppose, in effect get that, when she was voted out in Week Nine, after getting 10s from all the judges for her trio dance.

This "on top of the wedding cake" thing was inspired. Elizabeth and Val.

People really don’t like rampant displays of ego, like they saw this week (or the previous week, as the case may be).

How could you not love this dance? Peta Murgatroyd, Bill Engvall and Emma Slater. Courtesy of ABC.

Conversely, warm and wonderful and kind, just-trying-his-hardest Bill Engvall got to stay, with all the judges wondering what the frack happened here. What they seem to be missing, and what in these moments I am SO grateful for, is that the show is purposely built not just on judging. There is a component (I believe they’ve always said it was 50% of the scores) that is WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT. And the people, as this season has really shown, want vastly different things than the judges do. And that’s the beauty of this show.

We are voting on who we want to continue to see on our screens week after week. And DWTS, like life, isn’t just about scoring perfect scores. It isn’t just about doing a dance perfectly. It’s much more about how you treat others, how you interact with the teams, and what your story is.

I was shocked, like many, when Christina Milian got voted out, but I can see now why. She and Mark had been doing perfect dances, but she had no personality, no spark, no reason to vote for her.

Emma, Peta and Bill Engvall do their trio dance.

Contrast that with Bill Engvall, who looks so gosh-darn-happy every time he gets to stay. Who do you think America is going to vote for? (Personally, I hope he wins it. I hope Mr. Broadway veteran Corbin Blue goes down in flames and has to watch the trophy being handed to Bill Engvall. That would be true justice.)

This all is also why Leah Remini is still there, too. She is so very likeable, she has a story, and she’s doing better and better every week. I mean, look at this.

Tony Dovolani and Leah Remini do their tango.

And even better, her trio dance this week was absolutely inspired. They did a parody of the three judges to the song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Really brilliant.

Tony Dovolani as Bruno, Leah Remini as Carrie Ann Inaba and Henry Byalikov as Len.

And, in addition to a brilliant concept, some great dancing. Great fun.

Even Jack Osbourne, who, early on was one of the ones I really couldn’t wait to have voted off, is becoming more and more fun to watch every week. His trio (with Sharna Burgess) was a fun dance, even if the concept was a bit shaky. But Jack and Cheryl’s waltz was beautiful.

Jack Osbourne does a lovely waltz with Cheryl Burke.

As you may or may not have noticed, there is now only one couple left from my original group of people that I’ve been following and rooting for. That would be this one:

Amber Riley and Derek Hough, doing their quickstep.

Amber Riley and Derek Hough, doing a fine quickstep. They also did this amazing trio with Mark Ballas. What is not to love about that?

Mark Ballas, Amber Riley and Derek Hough. Superb trio.

Here’s the thing, though. I don’t think Amber is going to win. Coming out of the gate, it sure seemed like she had all the star power she needed to win this thing. But I’m calling it right now. She’s not going to win. She has a bad knee, and has been really only giving about 85% of what she could give to this competition.

Plus, if audiences didn’t like Elizabeth’s divaesque behavior, I gotta believe they are not down with Amber’s either. And Derek JUST won.

So who does that leave?

Well, I have neglected to mention the ringer in this mix, who so far is keeping his pro dance skills almost under wraps, even though in his trio this week, he dazzled the judges so much (all 10s) that one of them said, “I didn’t even see the other two people onstage.” I am talking, of course, about professional dancer Corbin Blue.

Witney, Corbin, Karina do a jazz number.

I am hoping against hope, praying every prayer that he does not win. I am gonna believe that (judging by this season so far), America is gonna do the right thing.

Who does that leave?

Jack and Cheryl? Maybe.  Leah and Tony? Also maybe. I would be happy with either of those.

But seriously and honest to God, here’s who I am rooting for, at this point, to win this thing.

Emma Slater and Bill Engvall. My picks to win.

Make it happen, America. We can do this!

**********************************

DWTS Week Eight: It's All About Cher

Mark Ballas dancing to a Cher number. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor

Let me say this about that. Cher is a terrible judge for Dancing with the Stars. Perhaps the worst judge they've ever had. I truly hope they never have her return in that capacity.

That said, it was cool to hear so many songs of hers and the dancers all dancing to her songs.

The worst offenders of the “trying too hard to please Cher” syndrome, were, sadly, one of my favorite couples, who gave us this:

Elizabeth Berkley and Val Chmerkovskiy. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

It was, sad to say, my least favorite of their dances. (The sexy half-naked Val notwithstanding.)

This, on the other hand, was one of my favorite dances of the night:

Bill Engvall and Emma Slater

Where Bill actually did sexy moves like this:

Bill and Emma

Wonderful stuff!

Leah Remini also did some stuff, but since it was mostly sucking up to Cher, and Cher sucked as a judge, I’m just going to leave it all out here.

And in the category of “Couple You Don’t Expect, Doing Great Things,” we had this.

Cheryl Burke and Jack Osbourne

Jack and Cheryl, oh my God! Jack and Cheryl! This dance of theirs was mind-blowing. My favorite of theirs so far.

Cheryl reminding us, of course, that she was actually named cause her mom liked Cher.

But my favorite dance of the night, saved for last, was the stunning dance Derek Hough and Amber Riley put together.

Let me set the scene a bit. It starts with some sailors in uniform.

Derek Hough, Amber Riley and the troupe

She picks one out, and starts to disrobe him.

Is it getting a little steamy in here yet? Oh yes, it is...

The hottest of a hot dance with Amber Riley and Derek Hough.

Did you notice she’s wearing leather? And afterwards, Bruno noted that she took the normal “guy’s part” (she took the lead). Oh yes, she certainly did. And it was wonderful.... AHEM. Glad they saved it for last. 

Sadly, our hot little twosome (that would be Brant and Peta, not Derek and Amber) got sent packing tonight. :-(

Peta Murgatroyd and Brant D. get sent home.

And I'll leave you with, no not another shot of Val and/or Derek shirtless, as nice as they may be... no, my favorite part of this season: Bill Engvall, in his signature move. Enjoy!

Bill Engvall and Emma Slater, one of my favorite couples this season.

And here, Bill Engvall discovers that he and Emma are safe for another week. I was just about as glad as he is, believe me. Keep voting for Bill!

Bill, Emma, Cheryl Burke, Tom Bergeron, Jack Osbourne

Oh, and lastly, if you think Dancing with the Stars is all about hunky man meat (well, it is)... there is also this. (Note the creepy Wizard of Oz-y Cher hangings. Yikes.)

Sharna (dark hair) and other troupe dancers do a break.

******************************

DWTS Week Seven: Just Foxing Awesome

This is the story of Season 17 on Dancing with the Stars to me:

Bill Engvall wows the judges. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor. 

See, what Dancing with the Stars is supposed to be about is some poor schlub who can’t dance being coached by a pro, and going through these dances each week. Instead, we’ve gotten these folks with tons of dance training who coast to winning the mirror balls. COUGHNicoleScherzingerCOUGH or, this season, COUGHCorbinCOUGH.

And truly, those folks honestly hold the least appeal to me. There is no drama, there is no suspense, there is no there there.

But witness instead, someone who is doing exactly that: Bill Engvall. You almost can’t get a better definition of “average schlub” than Bill Engvall. But he’s going out there, week after week, with his Australian pro who needs to learn how to pronounce Jimmy Buffet right, and he’s doing the best he can. And he's wowing us.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am throwing LOTS of votes his way (and none Corbin’s way, for the record). Cause I just love Bill Engvall going through this journey, and I’m going to be very bummed when he’s voted out finally. (Jack Osbourne is starting to do that, too, but I’ll put that into Week Eight’s story.)

So, keep an eye on Bill Engvall, and if you wonder why he’s there week after week, that is why.

To the other contestants:

My favorite lovey-dovey couple, Brant and Peta, actually ended their number with a great smackeroo. Quite wonderful.

Brant and Peta do the jive (no hands). Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Oh yeah, and they did a nice jive too.

Cheryl and Jack did a fun little dance. Jack seems to be getting into the whole thing more.

Cheryl Burke and Jack Osbourne.

There was also this.

Corbin and Karina. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor

But that brings me back to my favorites to watch, week after week. They did not disappoint this week, either.

The lovely Elizabeth and Val Chmerkovskiy. Still can’t get over Val smiling in his dances. And they are wonderful to watch together.

Val Chmerkovskiy and Elizabeth Berkley. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

But by far my favorite couple this week, was the always wondrous Derek Hough and Amber Riley, who got their magic back with a fierce paso doble. Stunning to watch.

Derek Hough and Amber Riley do a mean paso doble. Courtesy of ABC.

Loved it so much. Fabulous to watch, my favorite dance of the night.

Then, we also had the “Team” dances. For those who are only occasional watchers of DWTS, it goes like this. Derek’s team always wins. And whoever is on the losing team also has someone on their team who goes home. That was true again this year.

Since it was close to Halloween, the losing team took on the moniker, “Team Scary Bon Bon.”

They competed against Derek’s team, which had the added bonus (as they did last year) of dancing to a song you just can't get out of your head, that crazy “What Did the Fox Say?” song.

For that reason, and no doubt others, they called themselves, “Team Foxing Awesome.” Tom Bergeron’s running gag was how hard it was to not slip and... er, say something else. (That’s why they pay you the big bucks, Tom.)

Team Foxing Awesome, and they were.

But as good as all that was, the best dance of the night was still this.

Derek Hough and Amber Riley do a paso doble.

Don’t know about you, but this is why I watch.

***************************************

DWTS Week Six: No One Goes Home

Here are some good things about Season 17 so far. The opening numbers, usually stunning pieces, with both pros and troupe members dancing, are just incredible. This week’s was from Lacey Schwimmer and her brother. Mesmerizing, and a great use of these fabulous dancers.

Pros and the troupe dance the opening number. Choreographed by Lacey Schwimmer and her brother this week.

Just stunning stuff. Don’t miss the opening of the show anymore. (Early on, they had the “celebs” trying to keep up.) So glad they’ve disposed of all that nonsense. Celebs just stand there and wave as they are introduced, while the dancers get a vigorous workout.

Also, during the show, there are dance segues in between ads and the show. Wonderful bits of dance magic, and no labored “here is the troupe” introductions attached to them. Just dancing. Great stuff.

The fact that the show is only one day now means lots of belabored hooha gets disposed of. The singers (blissfully) are kept to a bare minimum (I think they should be dispensed of entirely). The other labored dances seem to have gone away. It’s just this magical stuff at the beginning, and the dancers who are competing.

Well, most weeks. This week, we also had some craziness where four couples danced (and competed against each other). Their scores would be added to their total. Blah blah. Hated all that nonsense.

We also had the, “Oh, let’s pretend to be sending someone home, but really we won’t cause there was a computer glitch," cruelty, that actually caused Emma (the last person standing) to cry. Can we please avoid such brutality in the future? Oh my, was it mean.

But let's just skip all that and get to the actual dancing, shall we?

Now, I probably shouldn’t admit this to the reading public, but every week (since I’ve been watching DWTS), I have kept a log, separated out into four quadrants, I rate the dances. The top is FABULOUS! Second is Great. Third is OK. Last is Sucked. Many teams fall into the “Sucked” category every week (sad to say). Or many get into “OK.” Few land in the “Fabulous” category. This week, no joke, I had no one in either “OK” or “Sucked.” For the first time ever. The dances were all that good.

Look at this, for example.

Corbin and Karina. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

The dance above was to the theme song of Game of Thrones. I get the feeling that Corbin has watched every episode. Let’s just say he’s WAY into it. Karina said she had never watched an episode.

The judges (especially Len) were less than wowed. Personally, I think it’s their best dance all season.

Karina, in their package says, “Is what I’m wearing too revealing?” She has so obviously never seen Game of Thrones. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Nice costume, Karina. No, really.

While I am still reeling (seriously) from Mark Ballas and partner no longer being part of the competition, I really like all of the remaining dancers. Cheryl (“oh so beautiful”) Burke and Jack Osbourne are even fun. They accused him of not being able to get into character. So we had this.

Cheryl Burke and Jack Osbourne.

I even really enjoy Bill Engvall. He and Emma Slater are really fun to watch. She comes out and says that this week they are dancing to “Beef Burger in Paradise” by Jimmy BuffAY. He rolls his eyes (in a nice way) and says, “No, that's ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ by Jimmy BuffET.” It was cute.

“That’s Jimmy Buffet, Emma.”

Seen a lot of dances in these 17 seasons. Sure have never seen anyone fighting over a cheeseburger. And so, you’ve gotta love it. I know I do.

Brant and Peta tango. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

Brant and Peta, our resident Will-They or Won’t They? couple of this season served up a steamy tango.

But I wanna talk for a bit about my favorite two couples (that are remaining).

Derek Hough and Amber Riley samba. Courtesy of ABC/Adam Taylor.

My friends, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Derek Hough samba with Amber Riley. Complete with more than one samba roll! It was unbelievable. Derek through in all sorts of great samba moves, and Len shot him down by calling said moves “repetitive.”

Whatever, it was a great dance. Truly wonderful to watch. Seriously. Samba rolls. Wow.

But my favorite couple, still, is Val and Elizabeth. Let me say this about that.

I was one of those audience members who just rolled my eyes upon hearing that Elizabeth “Showgirls” Berkley was doing this show this season. I hereby take every bit of that back.

She came on this show, at least partly, to redeem her battered image. And while DWTS has the hokey “My Most Awesome Year” contrived segment (which this year fell mostly flat), Ms. Berkley has been doing her own waltz down memory lane for us. It’s almost like she’s dancing with a ghost, or chasing ghosts out of her past.

We had the “Saved By the Bell” flashback, complete with Mario Lopez in the audience last week. This week, although she didn’t dance on any poles, it was pretty much in-your-face to “Showgirls.”

Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Elizabeth Berkley. Courtesy of ABC/Alan Taylor.

She is subtly, but effectively, saying: “Here’s what you thought I was. But here’s what I am.” Week after glorious week, she’s showing us that she’s a dancer to be reckoned with.

Hollywood loves a sob story, but even more than that, it loves someone who bounces back. Who won’t take no for an answer. I really really hope she wins this thing.

Her fierceness and her drive are inescapable. Mixed with Val’s brilliant choreography, it’s a very heady combination. And Val winning a mirror ball trophy is long overdue.

Val and Elizabeth.

*************************************