Monday night's episode of "Dancing With The Stars" was a fun one as the 10 remaining couples performed dances to popular TV show theme songs, with characters from "The Muppets" as the extra special guest hosts. All the contestants did an amazing job getting into character and each dance was more creative than the last. From "Breaking Bad" to "Gilligan's Island" to "Mad Men" to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," a variety of dances were done and the stars played their parts well.
Season 19's winner and fan favorite Alfonso Ribeiro joined as a guest judge, so the performances were scored out of 40 instead of 30 this week. With scores ranging from 20 out of 40 to 36 out of 40, there were major improvements all around and still a few stars who fell a little short. Contestant Kim Zolciak suffered a mini stroke last week and unfortunately had to withdraw from the competition, so even though Andy Grammer and Paula Deen were in jeopardy, they lucked out and were told they could continue competing because of Zolciak's forced elimination.
There seems to be a pattern in the best performances as Alexa PenaVega, Nick Carter, Tamar Braxton, Alek Skarlatos and Bindi Irwin all continued to stand out from the rest of the group and had the top three highest scores. In the bottom, we saw Deen with 20 out of 40, Gary Busey with 25 out of 40 and Grammer with 29 out of 40. Hayes Grier and PenaVega weren't far behind the top scores, still earning more than 30 points, but the judges still want to see some major improvements from them next week because of the potential they have to do great in this competition if they can just clean their dances up a bit. There have been a decent amount of 9's from the judges, but we have yet to see a 10. Next week may be the week as these stars are really shining and improving.
Here were the top 5 dances of the night...
Alexa PenaVega and Mark Ballas (36 out of 40)
This pair performed a creative jazz routine to the theme song from "Breaking Bad," which just so happens to be Ballas' favorite show, so he was totally geeking out over their performance. The two nailed it as they danced in the iconic yellow hazmat suits and gas masks from the popular show. They kept the emotions and theme of the show going the entire time, and the judges ate it right up. Carrine Ann Inaba thought it was "genius," and the rest of the judges couldn't believe how in sync the two were. Ribeiro reminded Alexa to keep this state of mind, explaining to her that if she can focus on her partner instead of her husband, she has a good shot at winning it all. Bruno Tonioli told them they "looked like two professionals."
Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess (36 out of 40)
Carter and Burgess tied for the highest score with Alexa and Ballas, and the judges couldn't believe what an amazing job he had finally done. While he had shown he could dance in the previous nights, he really took their criticism to heart from last week and came out this week ready to win. They performed a Vietnamese waltz to the theme song from "Downton Abbey" and also played the parts perfectly. Judge Julianne Hough thought it was beautiful and the best dance of the night while Tonioli told them it was "one minute of masterpiece." Ribeiro was also in awe over their performance, telling them it was "near perfect."
Tamar Braxton and Val Chmerkovskiy (33 out of 40)
These two continue to bicker throughout practice but come to the dance floor focused and ready to give it their all. After receiving the highest scores in the second night last week, they knew they had to keep that energy going. They danced a tango to the theme song from "Mad Men" and their passion showed. Tonioli told them that they "mean business" while Inaba described their performance as "must-see TV." Ribeiro revealed he's a fan of Braxton in this competition and told her she's definitely a "frontrunner" while Julianne Hough praised her for being such a fierce, beautiful and strong woman.
Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold (33 out of 40)
Skarlatos continues to surprise the judges as he's the only one on the show without any previous dancing or performing experience. This was his highest score to date, and Arnold did a phenomenal job at getting him to show his sexy side for their tango to the theme song from "True Blood." The vampire theme was serious but fun, and the judges thought it was his best dance so far. Tonioli praised him for already dancing at such a high level, considering he's never done this before, while Ribeiro brought tears to everyone's eyes as he told him he "danced like a hero tonight." Hough may have been the most stunned by his performance as she literally lost her train of thought. She told him it was perfection, and that it was the best technique of anyone in the competition so far.
Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough (32 out of 40)
Surprisingly, this is their lowest score yet, but these two continue to remain in the top spot. Irwin was in pain as she hurt her foot, so this had something to do with her not excelling as much as she had in her past dances, but she's still considered major competition to the rest of the contestants. They also only had two days to learn their quickstep to the theme of "The Jeffersons," as their original plan was shut down by the producers on very short notice. The dance was fun and Irwin didn't let a slight injury affect her positive energy in any way. Julianne told them it wasn't their best dance but still really enjoyed watching it while Tonioli praised her for her high energy but told Irwin she needs to learn to control it a little more while she's dancing. "Few tiny mistakes," Inaba told them. "But you're a solid competitor and I love watching you."
Tune in to "Dancing With The Stars" next Monday Oct. 5 on ABC to see who goes home based on these dances.
