Dancing With the Stars surprises with a double elimination

CHUCK: Then it came down to the final three and we knew one of them would go home. But who? They were all pretty decent in the first week, so none of them really deserved to be in the bottom.

• NeNe & Tony attempted a Jive, for NeNe’s husband, but I felt it was a little lacking in energy and sharpness. I think if she’d been wearing heels she would have done better (which makes me think back to the dark days of the Master P debacle and his refusal to wear proper ballroom shoes … and no one seems to be wearing them anymore!).
• Sean & Karina did the Salsa and I thought Sean improved his rhythm, footwork and personality. He actually smiled throughout the entire dance and scored a 21.
• Cody & Witney did a bit of a modified Tango, which included a Moonwalk, but apparently they didn’t break their hold (although I thought they had for one brief moment in the middle of the dance). Cody’s problem was a bit of slouching the judges attributed to his height difference with Witney. They scored a 22.

All of them decent dancers who deserve another week to grow. Of them, and as much as I like NeNe, I think Cody is the only one who has potential to make it at least to the semi-finals. Who do you like here?

KIM: I have to say I’m really impressed by Cody. He was enjoyable to watch both weeks – I especially loved their light-up costumes they came out in. The glitz and glamour were definitely back this week, Chuck, and I thoroughly appreciated it!

CHUCK: I did like the light-up costumes as well. But, when all was said and done, the second couple going home this week was Sean & Karina, which is a shame because he really did show some improvement this week and really could have gone farther. I’m sure it was his cold, aloof personality that we discussed last week that did him in.

KIM: I thought the right choice was made here, though Sean did seem more like a likable person this week. He had improved and was even smiling as he danced and was interviewed. If only we’d seen more of that last week!

CHUCK: Overall, the second week was a bit lackluster with a whole lot of 21s. Perhaps they shouldn’t have allowed the stars to pick their own dances for the second week, since most of them chose dances their partners thought were too difficult for a second dance. It seems more like the producers asked them if they had a choice of a Jive, Swing Dance, Tango, Salsa or Rumba, which would they choose instead of actually letting them pick from the whole list of styles. Hopefully everyone will be up on their game again next week, but please … and I’m sorry Kim … send Billy Dee Williams back to Cloud City where he can relax with an ice cold Colt 45.

KIM: I doubt any of them knew why they were being asked what dance they’d like to try. I say kudos to everyone for learning those difficult dances so early. And for once, we’re in total agreement about who should go home next week. I know I’ve voted for my share of underdogs in the past, but I’m not even voting for Billy Dee.

CHUCK: And voting has started for the Switch-Up. The only one who may benefit from this is Cody, if he gets a taller partner. I still do not approve of this new wrinkle.

KIM: Me either. I’m still a little confused about the Switch-Up. Is it just going to be 1-2 couples switching (based on the votes) or is everyone going to be switched up? Can a pro not on this season be brought in? That wouldn’t seem fair. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out. I guess this will keep everyone on their toes!

CHUCK: Yes, the concept is confusing. You have the list of stars and the list of pros and you have to vote with the star and pro name that you want to see matched up. I assume everyone will be swapped because they said you can’t vote for a current couple. If no one voted to switch Amy & Derek, the producers would probably still swap them with someone else. We’ll never really know how the voting works and how the producers make their decisions, but I think this is a bad idea all around. We’ll have to wait and see how it goes.

What do our readers think of the eliminations and the twist? Sound off in the comments section!