'Dancing With the Stars' recap: The Switching Hour

“Dancing With the Stars” sure likes to keep us on our twinkle toes. In this sixth week of competition, the producers decided to throw a couple of bedazzled wrenches into the usually well-oiled ballroom glitterverse.

Finally, because of a phone voting error, the producers decided that no couples would be eliminated this week! It was almost like an Oprah Winfrey show of ruby riches: You’re safe! And you’re safe! And you’re safe! What’s next? Dances in water? With lightsabers, like in the stellar swing and jive opening number choreographed by Lacey and Benji Schwimmer? Or set to reconfigured Broadway musical songs, like Mika and Ariana Grande’s take on “Popular” from “Wicked”? Does this mean two couples will be eliminated next week?

At the top of the leader board and life itself were Elizabeth Berkley Lauren and Valentin Chmerkovskiy. Not only did they score the season’s first perfect 30 score, but Elizabeth used her sexy wiles and newfound dance confidence to cast the stink and specter of “Showgirls” away. And with the sexy cha-cha, Elizabeth felt “like some sort of sentence was lifted” after the creative stumble that came with playing Nomi Malone. And she owned the strong, sensual figure in her “Showgirls”-themed cha-cha, set to Joss Stone’s infectious “Put Your Hands on Me.” Jennifer Beals loved it. The judges thought it was perfectly played. “Give me ice right now – it was so clean, so sharp, well placed,” Bruno crowed. “It was brilliant.” “Tonight you were like a white panther – you have so much confidence,” Carrie Ann said. “The more I see, the more I liked,” Len concurred. Elizabeth and Val were the second couple eliminated in their stacked group’s switch-up challenge, earning them two extra points. Total: 32 out of 35.

Len’s seriously got a snake in his English riding boot, and it seems he’s really taking Amber Riley and Derek Hough to task for it. After the head judge punished them with a season-low 7 last week, Derek resolved to make his and Amber’s samba technically correct. Samba rolls. Samba walks. Voltas. Everything was textbook, and was done at a breakneck pace with flair. Amber nearly shook her gold fringe skirt right off. Bruno gasped that Amber’s magic was “unleashed to devastating effect … you did everything!” Carrie Ann said the word that came to mind was “fierce.” “You nailed every move,” she said gleefully. “It’s like a turn-on!” But self-proclaimed “party pooper” and professional poo-pooher Len found the whole thing “a tad repetitive” and then slapped them with a criminally low 8 paddle. One can only think Len is playing the bad cop card to mobilize her fan base and get Amber to the finals. She and Derek were clearly on top of the choreography and transitions in the switch-up challenge and handily won their group’s round. Amber and Derek received a 28 for their samba, and four extra points for acing the challenge. Total: 32.

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Sasha Farber were having a hard time seeing eye to eye this week. Sasha wanted Nicole to get into character for their fox trot by thinking classy goddess, like Ginger Rogers (or Nicole Kidman in “Stepford Wives”?), but Nicole could only speak in Beverly Hills Housewife or Marilyn Monroe. But whatever Sasha was trying to convey came through, as their Monday in the Park with Yellow Buttercups routine was a light, sweet, crowd-pleasing romp. “My little buttercup,” Len said. “What’s not to like?” “My sweet baby, you’ve graduated from charm school,” Bruno said. “You’ve never been so sweet and never been so elegant.” Nicole “really truly improved the most,” Carrie Ann affirmed. “Everything is so graceful” – though the judge cautioned her to “watch the claw on the shoulder.” Nicole and Sasha scored three 9s for the dance, which brought the Snooki back out as she pumped her fake flower up and down with unpolished glee. They also earned an extra three points and second place in the switch-up challenge. Total: 30.

Leah Remini has had a tough go of it, suffering at the judges’ less-than-exuberant comments after last week’s high-concept, not-so-highly executed contemporary routine. “Don’t you dare cry,” Tony Dovolani fiercely cautioned his partner after they received their scores. “I was hoping I’d be better than I actually am,” Leah said sadly. And it took a visit from pal Jennifer Lopez (and boyfriend Casper Smart) to get Leah back to her old self and to remind her that dancing was supposed to be fun. And the fun showed in their dapper quickstep. “That might be the biggest turnaround I’ve ever seen,” Carrie Ann said. Len cautioned future couples to keep their quicksteps in hold, but called Leah’s journey from last week to this week like “Chutes and Ladders. Last week you shot down, this week, way up!” he said. “Your best dance!” Bruno called Leah “Ms. Goody Two Shoes. … Turning into a little Ginger Rogers out here.” Leah and Tony received three 9s for their routine, but were the first couple eliminated in their challenge round, adding just one point to their night’s tally. Total: 28.

Loved Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke’s rapport this week. They’ve been tasked with the paso doble, and Jack has never been very good with Latin dances. So the younger Osbourne sat across from his partner, determination on his face. “This is it,” he said. “This is where I’m taking Latin back.” “Pound it,” Cheryl responded, fist out. Jack tried his darndest to channel “angry Robert De Niro” in his performance — even enlisting the help of snarl captain Val via a “Talking Val Poster” for pointers. Though not even the pyrotechnics on stage could help Jack’s lukewarm performance. “You had the intensity but it felt one-dimensional to me,” Carrie Ann said. Bruno also thought “you were chasing the music … you have to watch your Spanish line: Crotch forward.” Len, however, thought it was “top-notch … full of intent and purpose,” and awarded it a 9, for a paso total of 25. Jack tried to break out the splits for his switch-up challenge, but it only got him and Cheryl two extra points. Total: 27.