[MrWookie]

Dancing with Wookie, penultimate edition 11/19/2007

Semifinals tonight. In all probability, we know how things are likely to shake out here. Jennie is probably going home. Marie's fanbase is probably too big for her to go home. However, if either Mel or Helio slip even the tiniest bit, Jennie could pass them up.

No clear winner in the first round's costumes. Julianne has a slight edge, but her hair is ridiculous.

Marie kicks things off. She picked quickstep and mambo, which are good picks for her. They were definitely her best in the earlier rounds. Man, what a cheesy intro. This was a pretty good dance for her, though. The footwork was very good, although her frame wasn't quite as good as it should be. The character of this dance was mostly just a plastic smile compared to her last quickstep. I liked her other quickstep better, actually, although the judges seem more enthusiastic about this one. Oh, thank you Bruno. That wasn't a perfect dance. I was thinking 27 or 28. Marie's thrown down the gauntlet here, though. With her 29, she has a chance of not finishing last.

Mel got the second spot. She picked paso and VW. Paso is obviously a good pick for her. Viennese waltz is a tough dance that isn't as showy. I would have thought she'd go with tango, although that doesn't show as much breadth of character when paso is her other dance. Man, this must be cheesy intro night. After that, though, they got onto the floor and did all four steps that constitute VW, and they were precise and beautiful. One thing of special note for their VW was the body contact between her and Max. Most couples drift apart, but they were right together. Then it was that really awesome split step that was one of the best single steps I've seen on this show. That dance was an easy 30, esp. after Marie got a 29 for her effort.

Jennie is up third, and, oh look, ANOTHER star goes to Disneyland. Huh. I wonder why so many stars end up going there [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]? Tango was a great pick for Jennie, since it lets her be serious. Cha cha will be tougher for her. Hmmm. I was a little disappointed here. Jennie's head position wasn't all that great. Her facial expression was so focused that she lacked passion. She stretched some of her extensions nicely, but others seemed quick and rushed. I don't think she was as good as Marie here. Given Marie's 29, her 28 was fair, but I would have gone 27.

Helio once again dances last. He dances last way more than he should. Helio could pick pretty much any ballroom dance other than tango. His ballroom has been great, and his smile is perfect for any dance but tango. I'm really surprised he picked cha cha over samba, though. Samba is a great dance to perform, he was great with it earlier in the season, and it's well-received by audiences. Helio's foxtrot was great. I was very impressed with the precision and synchrony with Julianne. Getting the synchrony that tight is TOUGH. I saw a few toe leads where he needed heels, but if they give him less than a 30 for that dance, it'd be time to regulate. Good for him.

Latin time, but first we watch Len. He's giving the dancers great advice, actually. Marie could use some hips, Helio some precision in his footwork, Jennie some passion and frame, and Mel, well, just needs nitpicking. Helio improving his footwork will also improve his hip action, too.

Jonny and Marie Osmond restart things. I loved that they sat Jonny in the Osmond section. He blended right in, other than his big, bright, gay, poofy shirt. Marie was great at her character, and good when she was standing around being sexy with her hips. Her footwork was awkward in places, though, and most of the actual meat of the dance didn't measure up to the precision from all of the dancers in the ballroom round. I think her 27 was fair.

Mel's paso is next. Mel seems to get the costumes that aren't all that sexy at first glance, but then you get another look and go, "oh!" I'm sure Katy enjoyed Max's visible skin, even though the velvet look was on the "fabulouth!" side. I think her whip at the beginning was unnecessary, but her dance was outstanding, probably even an improvement over her previous paso. Her sharpness, posture, and footwork were all great. She even had the paso posture, which we never really see on this show. Another well-earned 30 for Mel.

Jennie came back well in her cha cha. She had some of the best character she's had in any dance so far. She was chicken-winging her frame too frequently for me to want to give her a 30 for this, but this was still her best. I would have given her a 29.

Dang, Julianne got stuck with the same sucky hairdo for the latin round. But we get another great routine from Helio. It was sexy and fun. I still wish Helio would close his fingers, and I caught a couple of break steps that looked a little wooden. Still, it wasn't enough to push him off a 30 in the context of the rest of his dancing.