‘Dancing With the Stars’: The female of the species

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Is a woman going to reclaim the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ mirror ball trophy this season? It sure seems that way at this stage in the competition: all the ladies were safe in last night’s results show, guaranteeing that a guy would go home. It was no surprise to see Wayne Newton go and not just because of his age and limited (but noble) ability. He suffered the Curse of the Accessories this week -- he was fine in the competition until he succumbed to what all the men of a certain age on the show do for the audience’s affection, that is, donning silly items to distract from his deficiencies on the floor. The fake ponytail and mustache might have worked well as a disguise, were Wayne to go on the lam, but they didn’t do much for him during the tango.

Many of the women on the show are unsurprising in their popularity, specifically Melanie Brown and Sabrina Bryan, with their spunky youth and dance experience. However, the other ladies on the competition are not going quietly. Jennie Garth seemed legitimately upset after her crash landing during last week’s performance, and her determination to recover showed during Monday night’s tango. Meanwhile, Jane Seymour and Marie Osmond are proving that the more experienced ladies can bring it to the floor too -- they’ve been executing their moves, including some spice and fun while keeping it age-appropriate. In fact, those two especially have cultivated a certain wholesome, perhaps bland celebrity persona that is being disproved on this show. They seem much more fun and fresh than had been previously exhibited.

You could argue that even the women who weren’t dancing were stealing the show last night. Seal’s prop guitar wasn’t nearly as eye-catching as his dancers in Annie Lennox-inspired tuxedos that proved being covered up can still be sexy. And Billy Ray Cyrus, the old self-promoting ham from last season, stepped aside and let his daughter Miley shine during a touching musical duet.

There were two guys though who deserved a special mention last night: the episode included an interesting little behind-the-scenes-look at the music of the show, revealing how much work Harold Wheeler and his band put into each episode. And, sadly, last night marked Drew Lachey’s final appearance as guest host; Samantha Harris will apparently be returning from maternity leave. Drew’s sense of humor and rapport with the dancers helped spruce up the backstage interviews and he will be missed.

-- Claire Zulkey