Era's Night on Dancing with the Stars was full of fun! Each couple was assigned a different "era", the 20's through the 90's, as a theme for their dance. Most performances were entertaining and up to par while a few fell short.
Laurie Hernandez is such a ray of sunshine. I will miss seeing her every week when this season is over. She did a 60's prom-themed Quickstep with Valentin Chmerkovskiy and she killed it, of course. Her personality is electrifying. 34.
Cheryl Burke said that Ryan Lochte needed to up his game for their 90's Rumba. She said his technique isn't going to get him through, they need to have chemistry. They did not. The performance illicited no response from me. His overwhelming reaction from the judges was: make it your own. Len said he was going to give Ryan an extra point for not having a huge production surrounding his performance, then he gave him the exact same score as all the other judges. Insert laughing emoji here: ___ 28.
I am such a fan of Marilu Henner. I love watching her grow a little every week. I don't know if it was the complicated choreography of Derek Hough or nerves, but she just didn't live up to expectations with her 20's era Charleston. Derek is obviously a better dancer but it was so glaring during this performance that it seemed like we were back in the early weeks. I know Marilu can do better. 29.
Calvin Johnson Jr. finished up his 50's Jive and looked like he was a little disappointed. I watched it again thinking I missed something. Nope, he crushed it! Lindsay Arnold knows how to choreograph for her partner. Their Jive was a blast and Calvin kept up even with having an extra 4 professionals on the floor with him. So winning. 4 9's are great, but the judges need to tell him what he needs to do to get 10s, because I don't know what else this dude has to give. He was perfection to me.
I have no love for Maureen McCormick. Not a bit. I'm so done with her. Artem Chigvintsev is a saint for putting up with her this long. Her 80's Tango was not great. There was a misstep in addition to her just not improving from last week, so she ended up with a 28.
After all the high-energy, high-impact performance, Terra Jole’s 30's Foxtrot with Sasha Farber was a refreshing change of pace. It was smooth and fluid and a joy to watch. Terra's likability is through the roof. She's a delight. 34
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko's 70's Samba was a party. I loved every second of it, from the awful 70's costumes to the fabulous disco moves sprinkled in with Samba. Love love love. Not a fan of Carrie Ann Inaba being the lift police, because no doubt their 34 would have been a 35 if she wasn't such a stickler.
James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess might be my favorite DWTS couple of all time. I love everything they do on that dance floor and their 40's Jitterbug was no different. Sharna suffered a knee injury in dress rehearsal and it impacted the performance a little bit or else I think they would have gotten 10's. 36.
And then the team dances happened. This is the first time that I did not care for either of the team dances. EVER. There is always one that knocks my socks off and one that is less than perfect. This season, the dances were just so-so for me. The judges seem to think they were great, but I had no real reaction to either except that I wanted something more. And different. Team Past consisted of captain James with Calvin, Maureen, and Ryan. They scored a 38. Team Future was captain Laurie with Jana, Marilu, and Terra. They scored a 35. Those scores were added to their solo scores.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Maureen got the boot. I know that’s terrible to say, but she's not great and she's beyond annoying. I will not miss her. Lochte has got to be going soon. Halloween show on deck! It is always a show stopper.
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