The obvious choice for this season's second elimination was Ted McGinley. The "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Married with Children" star was rigid and less than entertaining on the floor.  No harm, no foul with his departure--he was destined to go within the first couple 'weed out' weeks anyways.

Comedian Jeffrey Ross was the first celeb to get the boot this season, but at least he has an excuse to fall back on. Dancing out of one eye (partner Edyta scratched his cornea during dress rehearsals) can't be an easy feat for anyone, let alone a schlumpy funny guy with two left feet.

The first couple safe from elimination numero uno was, no surprise, Lance Bass and his partner Lacey. Quick stepping on Tuesday night, Lance maintained the same level of promise he previously showed in the cha cha. Some fancy footwork upped the ante, ensuring that Lance and Lacey will safely be stickin' around for awhile.

Dancing with the Stars season seven got underway Monday night, with thirteen 'celebrity' contestants performing the first of two routines in a three-part premiere. For one contestant, this will be their only turn in the ballroom, as one couple will be voted off Tuesday and well as one on Wednesday's "Results" show.

Staking claim on the mirrorball trophy, Olympic gold-medalist Kristi Yamaguchi beat out fellow finalists Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente for the Dancing with the Stars title last night.  With a natural gift for the technical side of dancing, Kristi struggled throughout season six to develop her emotional skills.  But with the help of partner Mark Ballas (quite possible the most animated pro of 'em all), Kristi broke out her shell and wowed the judges with a reprisal of her previously perfect jive in order to cinch the championship.

As season six winds down, our last-standing celebs Cristian de la Fuente, Jason Taylor and Kristi Yamaguchi tackled two performances for the first half of a finals showdown.  Throwing in a new twist, all three performed in a cha cha face-off, giving us the opportunity to judge them back-to-back.  This translated to good news for Kristi, bad news for Cristian and Jason.

Up first, Cristian showcased just how far he's come, torn ligament and all.  Our Latin friend could barely move those hips of his nine short weeks ago, but look at him now!  Though his personal triumphs have been huge and he's a hit with the audience, Cristian still doesn't match up to Kristi's technical mastery.  The performance was a little bit off for Bruno, but all the judges agreed that he has some great rhythm.  Following suit, Jason received warm--but not rave--reviews from the judges.  A Latin dance wasn't be the best way to highlight Jason's evolution as a dancer (his strength lies in ballroom), but nevertheless, his elegant style and strong lines were on full display.  And when all else fails, Jason and Edyta are pretty easy on the eyes.

Marissa Jaret Winokur's bubbly Broadway personality wasn't enough to carry her into the finals. Just one week shy of the final three, Marissa took her final bow last night but did so with a smile on her face. Telling viewers to do something fun and "shake what your momma gave ya!" she held true to her original message: You don't have to be a size two to be sexy.

After an off week, Kristi Yamaguchi reclaimed her spot at the top of the leaderboard and reprised her tango at the judges' request. Following Kristi and Mark's performance, it was on to the final round of the Junior Ballroom Championship competition. My favorite little ankle-biter was back--Aaron! He and his partner Rashelle kicked off the dancing with a sharp, crisp routine, and Aaron was loving his time in the limelight. "No matter what happens," he cheerfully said, "We were still on TV!"

Last week we saw the lenient lift rule in effect, while this week had a brand new twist: random dance assignments.  Each of the four remaining couples selected a mini mirrorball (oh, the foreshadowing!) that split open to reveal their next two dances.  Everyone seemed fairly happy with their picks and set about perfecting their performances in order to secure a place in the final three.

Kicking off the semifinals with a foxtrot were Jason Taylor and Edyta.  Despite looking a touch nervous out of the gate, Jason came into his own with a graceful and smooth performance.  Len cheesily likened Jason to a dolphin gliding through the water and the other judges agreed that this was a solid showing with lots of showmanship—something they’ve been trying to coax out of him for the past eight weeks!  Content and charisma earned Jason a 28, including his first-ever 10 from Len.   

Last night Mario became the youngest contestant to enter and exit the ballroom.  The 21-year-old singer gracefully said goodbye to his partner Karina Smirnoff and gave special thanks to his toughest critic, Len, for making him a better dancer.

In a surprise twist, Mario was joined in the bottom two by last week's number-one dancer Jason Taylor and a petrified Edyta (nice to see she genuinely cares about the competition, unlike Karina who repeatedly rolled her eyes).  Most would have put Marissa Jaret Winokur in the red light, but she and partner Tony were the first couple to be annouced safe from elimination.  Also moving on to next week's semifinals are Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl along with Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark.

As they did last week, the remaining five contestants took on both a ballroom and a Latin routine Monday night. This time, however, they were allowed to spice things up a bit with lifts--thanks to Len's temporary leniency on the usual rules (ol' eagle eye Carrie Ann will have a much harder time scoring now!).

Starting things off, Kristi Yamaguchi and her partner Mark quickstepped their way back into the judges' hearts. Upon their finish Len declared Kristi to be back on top of her game after a week's hiatus. The varied tempo, great details and subtle characters made this dance a hit, although Carrie Ann channeled her lift nagging onto Kristi's timing. Claiming Kristi was slightly out of sync at the beginning of the dance, Carrie Anne's comments drew looks of confusion from the other judges as did her 9 among two 10s.

Brown nosing the judges and padding her butt wasn't enough for Shannon Elizabeth to secure her spot in the ballroom another week.  She bid farewell to the rest of the cast last night, but notingly didn't say goodbye to her partner Derek Hough, who's shoulder she cried on and called a "friend for life."  I give them two weeks tops to come out as a couple in a splashy tabloid spread (speaking of, what's the status on Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas?!).