No DVR. Gah! I want to watch that opening Broadway number again and again and again. Die, Tasty Broadway, die! That's how you do it.

Rudy and Tanisha - Hot. I loved it. Loved loved it. I will have to say more later.

No DVR. Bah!

Oh, and Misty is so so great as a judge. Think of yourself as a tree trunk. Yes. That's perfect.

Ricky and Valerie - Ricky is everything. Everything. He is just so frikkin' gorgeous. Exquisite legs and feet. Such a strong partner. He's not a big man, but he is just so solid on every lift. He brought the best out of Valerie. I thought she was quite good in the piece, but she really just kind of disappeared next to him. I can't foresee a style where that doesn't happen. Hip hop, maybe? I am thinking Ricky might be a little bit of a Billy Bell style train wreck at hip hop. I like, but am not in love with, this partnership. The choreo from Peanut was much better this week, but I still felt it was a little bit too on the nose. He's kind of in a slump, no?

Ricky was born to do Travis Wall's choreography!

Ricky was born to do choreography!

Bridget and Emilio - Luther tried. Emilio tried. Bridget is...not a hip hop dancer. She's adorable and she really tried. When she was hitting her hip three times, it looked like she was trying to crack a walnut or something. The little hip didn't even move. That was, hmmmmmm. Ummm. Yeah, I wanted Twitch and Whitney and I got that. She better hope someone else is much much worse tonight or else she's going home next week. Emilio was holding back a lot and still hitting it a million times harder than her. Love the track. Luther should've put her in heels and let her Beyonce it rather than trying to have her do something harder.

Jessica and Nick - Awwww, Benji! Such a noodle. That seemed like a very tough routine and it was fun to watch but I'm not sure that will get fingers dialing, which is tough for Nick. Jessica was a trouper. That shoulder thing looked like it hurt. Nick still needs to give more to his partner. He still played a lot to the camera. As far as Jessica, just listen to Misty. She is wise in all things dance. Can we have her here every week? Also, these two are not a great partnership. No chemistry. I kinda blame Nick more for that than Jessica because he's so busy playing to the cameras that he isn't really involved with his partner.

Serge and Carly - Nice work again from Sonya. She is really bringing it this season. And these two have chemistry like "Whoa". Serge was really strong in this routine. Is he Ricky? Well, no. But he is extending and stretching through his feet and hands. He is a rock as a partner. Solid lifts. And he really was in this dance so deep. I believed he loved her. Carly...well, I wrote down that Serge's partner was Emily at first, so there you go. She's a perfectly pleasant dancer and some of the lines she hit were really lovely, but there's no there there. She's kind of a non-entity.

Teddy and Emily - Teddy is so cheesy all the time. He makes me tired. Before I can even get to the choreo, we must deal with the wardrobe. High waisted, skinny leg, leopard print capri pants and saddle shoes with a light blue bra and denim half shirt? Dammit. The wardrobe hos are back on that crack. I did like Dave Scott's choreo. It was clever. I think the judges maybe didn't give Emily enough credit. Yes, the ticking was not what it should've been, but for the vast majority of the dance, she was really down and grooving with the movement despite the fact that she was dressed like a crazy person and those pants made her look hippy as hell. As far as Teddy, y'all, I just don't like him. I don't buy him as a hip hop kid. Everything feels like a put on. It's like he learned hip hop from buying lessons off the back of a cereal box. It's like dance by rote memorization. There's no real feel to it. He never seems to be quite in the pocket. Just, nope. I won't remember this dance after the next commercial break.

Stanley and Malene - I just love Broadway when it's not Tasty. That was a fun number from Spencer. Misty nailed it again. Each of these two, on their own, were giving me beautiful lines and angles and painted some pretty pictures, but there was no chemistry or connection between these two. I don't think these two will ever work as a pair. She looks way too mature for him and this is the second week where his face pulling has gotten in the way of his connection with his partner. I don't know why he'd ever be calling her unless it were to ask if her son could come out and play with him. I got what Nigel was saying about the style not sitting quite right on either one of them, although I do think Malene inhabited it more than Stanley did. But I could've overlooked that if they had worked more as a partnership. I still adore Stanley, so I hope he hangs on next week and gets a better partner (should Malene go home tonight). If they both stay, I think they are sunk next week no matter what because it's a terrible pairing. Good routine, though.

I really was meh on the Benji dance. It just looked unfocused to me.

Serge is making my list of faves with Ricky and Marcqet.

They should have Misty on every week. She is so constructive, without acting like an expert in every style.

Jourdin and Marcquet - That Sean Cheesman routine looked sloppy. They looked like they were chasing this choreo a little bit. Jourdin has great extension, great lines, but she was still a bit pulled up for me for jazz. I would like to see her dance more down into the floor. Marcquet. Well, I think he coped well for a ballroom kid, but he didn't make much of an impression. His side by side work in the choreo was super sloppy and he fell behind the counts. I see what Misty was saying about the face pulling, but I think that's a ballroom kid danger zone. They all seem to do it (even worse than the competition kids). Hopefully, he'll break out of that if he sticks around long enough. They're another pair that I don't think has a ton of chemistry yet. They may also grow into that, but right off the back, it seemed a lot like they were dancing next to each other rather than with each other. Sean Cheesman is very hit or miss for me as a choreographer on this show and this one was a little frantic for my taste. I won't be re-watching when I finally make it home to my beloved DVR.

They should have Misty on every week. She is so constructive, without acting like an expert in every style.

Amen. Give me a panel of Misty, Miss Debbie Allen and...maybe Christina Applegate any day!

Brooklyn and Casey - It was like watching two automatons dance Tango. Technically, it seemed very, very good...especially from Casey. He seemed quite strong in his partnering and the ganchos were nice. Brooklyn was much steadier on her feet this week which was a lovely surprise. I wasn't holding my breath thinking that she was going to fall at any moment although I still felt like she had moments of unsteadiness that were surprising to see for a supposed ballroom "expert" (and Misty agreed with me on her inability to distribute her weight correctly and so now I feel all validated and shit). But unlike Mary, I did not find much maturity in their dancing. They looked like extremely skilled juniors. I certainly didn't believe that they had ever had sex...with each other or anyone else.

Give me a panel of Misty, Miss Debbie Allen and...maybe Christina Applegate any day!

This!

Jacqui and Zack - These two doing any kind of West African dance movement is a non-starter. It was painful. Zack was better than Jacqui. He was giving me more dancing down into the floor, getting down in plie, giving me more contraction through the back and chest. Jacqui really did not let go like she should have. Misty mentioned a lot of face dancing and I agree. She was pulling face to distract from the fact that her body was still very pulled up and not aligned with what she should've been giving. They were helped out a ton by stellar costuming and make up. Well done, crack hos one and all. That was out of this world. But I didn't care for it. I think Nigel and Mary were just trying to make it be something phenomenal because it was the show closer. So to sum up, African Jazz? Still not a thing. Go away now. I do think these two are one of the better matched new pairs.

Crew competition? I still refuse.

Ugh. Poor Nick. He looked so devastated. Awww. That was a tough one. These kids are so young. That said, not sad to see him go. He just played too much to the camera. I actually think he's a more talented dancer than Casey but he was off putting to watch. Malene, well, it was no surprise that she went. She just did not match this year's cast. I'd have rather lost Brooklyn, but she'll be gone soon enough, I expect.

Wow, watching the recap, I think only Tanisha stood out of the girls. The boys are making more of an impression on me this time.

Tops this week

Ricky and Valerie - I suspect that Ricky will always be here.

Rudy and Tanisha – I still really loved this routine and these two went first so that’s some staying power. Rudy was aggressive. Tanisha was lithe. Both were sexy and had great chemistry with each other. I’m all good with this pair.

Serge and Carly - Well, mainly Serge. Carly didn't detract from the wonderousness that was Serge.

Lost their partners – New Pair next week

Jessica and Stanley – I do not see good things for this partnership next week. I think Stanley could easily be B3. Jessica probably not. She’ll still have leftover goodwill from her first week pairing with Ricky, plus she dislocated her shoulder, so she may garner some sympathy votes. Neither one was very good with their ousted partners this week, though, so they may both hit B3 next week.

On the bottom

Bridget and Emilio – He was good she was not. Both were forgettable.

Teddy and Emily – The whole was by far less than the sum of its parts. Also, forgettable and no chemistry.

Zack and Jacqui – I don’t actually think they’ll be B3, but they should be. Look up awkward in the dictionary and you’ll find their pictures.

Messy Middle

Brooklyn and Casey – Should be B3 but they got inexplicable love from the judges and they were technically proficient.

Marcquet and Jourdin – Will probably be B3 instead of Zack and Jacqui but shouldn’t be. The routine was not great and neither one of them wowed in it, but neither did they suck. They were just kind of there, lost in the white noise.

I’m missing someone but it’s also hella late for my still on West Coast time body, so that’s the best I can do with no rewind!