Dancing with the Stars: (Episode 611)

Jason Taylor's cha cha challenge this week was to participate more. Jason tends to do well highlighting Edyta but falters when the opportunity to showcase himself arises. While hip hop classes helped him overcome his freestyle fears, Jason's cha cha timing and footwork fell short. Len even noticed he was doing the ol' "2-3-cha cha cha" chant, but Carrie Ann came to the rescue saying Jason's saving grace is his strong lines. A score of 24 tied them for fifth place.

Looking to rebound from last week, Shannon Elizabeth and Derek turned up the heat with their rumba. Clearly, these two are practicing their moves outside of the ballroom ... Bouquets of flowers, sunset trips to the beach, guitar serenades. Aside from their chemistry, the judges fear that Shannon and Derek may not live up to the potential they showed in the season's earlier episodes. Carrie Ann warned that Shannon has the ability to make great shapes, now she must learn to sustain them in order to escape elimination. A score of 24 tied them with Jason and Edyta, and Shannon, as usual, looked sourly disappointed.

With her spirit a bit bruised from last week's stumbles, Marlee Matlin called in her good friend Henry Winkler for a much-needed motivational kick in the butt before the mambo. Sadly, it didn't seem to do the trick. As the dances, rhythms and choreography continue to advance at a rapid pace, Marlee has become overwhelmed. Try as she might, Fabien appears to push Marlee from movement to movement as she misses her beat. Moreover, since the mambo is primarily about the dancer's connection to the music rather than it is about the performance (where Marlee truly succeeds), her handicap has proven itself a difficult obstacle. A score of 21 placed her at the bottom of the leaderboard for the night.

Cristian de la Fuenta's rumba lacked polish last week and he found himself in the bottom two. So naturally, this week's foxtrot had to impress. Decked out in full-blown old Hollywood glamour, Cristian and Cheryl finally got it right. Len loved it, saying "If you're in the bottom two tomorrow, I'll show my bum in the supermarket!" Carrie Ann and Bruno echoed Len's sentiment, saying Cristian was dashing and refined. A 27 put them in third place for the night. (Sidenote: When did Cheryl get so incredibly into herself?! Between playing with her hair and gazing at herself in the monitor, it's enough to drive me craaazy!)

Marissa Jaret Winokur's Viennese waltz lived up to her well-received jive last week. Carrie Ann declared she was definitely on the "Winokur wave" after that dance, and the other judges thought it was light, frothy and technically-challenging. It's also nice to see Tony finally have a partner who can handle some tougher choreography; he seems to be enjoying this season more than any others. Marissa was beyond thrilled with her score of 26; can't wait to see what she'll do when she gets her first 10.

Season six darling, Kristi Yamaguchi, and partner Mark took a sock hop approach to their jive. This dance and look perfectly suited petite and cute Kristi, and the judges agreed it was their favorite dance of season six thus far. Their flawless score of 30 is as much a testament to Kristi's talent as it is to Mark's. Easily the most skilled and charismatic pro male, Mark seems to be relishing he and Kristi's success—and still managed to look cute in his dorky glasses!

Dedicating this week's rumba to his little brother, Mario warned he should look away if things got too steamy. Which, of course, they did. "Poopy" and Karina's characterization of the rumba was too raunchy for Len, but he surprisingly still gave them a 9. Saying it was better than good sex, Carrie Ann also gave Mario and Karina a 9, and of course, Bruno was loving the full-tilt sex appeal and dished out a 10. A 28 placed Mario and Karina in second place going into tonight's elimination.

Rounding out the night was the group country routine. Nothing significant to really comment on--lots of simple moves and line dances. Each couple took a stab at a lift, with Jason and Mario impressing Len. Carrie Ann said the girls were the standouts. Tonight, the last round of kids compete for the junior ballroom champion title, Ashlee Simpson performs and another celeb will be shipped home. I'm thinking Marlee's time may be up; otherwise my vote is for Shannon. Nothing's going to make her stiffness melt away in the next week, she and Derek might as well face the reality of love after the show now!