OK, quick overview:

Love that the Modern Family guy said to give Cat an Emmy for reality show hosting! Right on! And while I'm not really loving what most of these celebrity guest judges have to say judging-wise, I do think it's kind of cool and adorable when they're big fans of the show and have clearly been watching this and past seasons.

So of the dancers and dances:

Sasha and Alexander: Watching the paso doble I mostly thought "SHE IS SO FIERCE I LOVE HER", and "he can barely keep up but I like him much better here than i often do". Didn't love the second piece at all.

Jordan and Tadd: Well, they called her out of the HMV poses in the DoD last week, but ya gotta admit, she does them very well. And again, liked the first dance, didn't love the second one (even though I'd forgotten that song, and now remember I like it)

Ryan and Ricky: Hate. Just hate. I thought their latin was a mess, and awkward looking all over the place. And they seemed subsumed by the makeup and costume in their first number.

Caitlynn and Mitchell: Wihtout the Uganda thing, that dance might've been better? Did he dance it better than her or do I just like guys doing hiphop better? I liked the choreography of the Janis number, but don't really want to see people dancing to Janis. At all.

Melanie and Marko: I just love them both lots. And the tango had some pretty fierce poses in it (though the judges being all "Better than the rehearsal!" seemed unfair to the viewing audience somehow...). And of course, loved the lightbulb dance (though if I hadn't heard the explanation, I might've thought she was going into the light and he was trying to stop her...er, in a death metaphor sort of way)

Clarice and Jess: Well, I liked her a lot better than him in this hip hop, so maybe it's not my preference for guys. I thought she seemed into it while he was dancing steps. And jive, just not my thing, so.

B3? Who the heck knows. I only wish they'd kick off Ryan, and I know it just won't happen.

Okay, I just watched the Melanie/Marko tango, and that first lift over the edge of the stage was amazing - so strong they must be! - but that thing at the end where she turns into a ribbon and goes under him - how was that even POSSIBLE? Damn.

Watching Sasha, she is really incredible. I can't see any of the boys this season being able to match her intensity. What could she do with Mark, though? Or even Travis himself? Who else could keep up with her?

I just love them both lots. And the tango had some pretty fierce poses in it (though the judges being all "Better than the rehearsal!" seemed unfair to the viewing audience somehow...)

So much agreement with this.

Ryan & Ricky were terrible. Seriously. Ryan's upper body movement in the first dance was STIFF. Why don't the judges point this out? Seriously.

I thought Nigel was interesting in saying "both of them have difficulty connecting with the audience" - oh fucking really Nigel? You actually acknowledge that some of us fucking hate Ryan and her weirdass constant smiling and comparatively low skill? Really?

flea,

during the Paso, I was thinking: God. I would actually pay folding money to see Sasha with Mark. They would tear each other UP. In a good way.

Hey, Cat was nominated for Best Host! Nice.

Excellent!

Loved Sasha and Alexander's paso doble, loved Melanie and Marko's tango (and really - do we care what their final rehearsal looked like?), enjoyed Clarice and Jess's jive. Most of the rest ranged from good to meh. I disliked the hip-hop with a message - but that was more the choreography than the dancers.

I'm hoping that Ryan will go home after tonight - can't see her standing up to the All Star segment. (Am I the only one who's imagined Nigel after the show frantically phoning/texting in his votes for Ryan?)

Hey, Cat was nominated for Best Host! Nice.

Finally!

She deserves it! And really - she's FUN! she's nice to the dancers (and it's amusing to see her looming over most of them) and she's always entertaining.