In preparation for tonight’s Dancing with the Stars 5 semifinals, the couples have had to work around the stars’ hectic schedules. Maksim Chmerkovskiy joked about his partner, Melanie Brown: "She’s generously given me 45 minutes to come up with (this week’s) choreography."

Tomorrow night, Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas return to DwtS to dance, as Avril Lavigne performs her hit "Complicated" at the Results Show.

Ox reader Miriam commented last week that it looked as if Larry King blindsided Marie Osmond with a question about her son entering rehab during a recent interview. People confirms that Larry was miffed with Marie for agreeing to host the Osmond reunion show on Oprah instead of Larry King Live, and he spilled the family secret out of revenge.

Ahead of tonight’s new episode of Heroes, TV Guide published a funny interview with Kristen Bell and Hayden Panettiere. I only wish it had been caught on video.

The official cast list for Donald Trump’s celebrity edition of The Apprentice has been released. The remarkably lame cast is composed primarily of veterans of other celebrity reality TV shows (Stephen Baldwin, Gene Simmons) and people who became famous by appearing on a reality show (Omarosa, Piers Morgan). Donald, when the celebrities on your show include the life coach from The Swan, it’s time to jump ship.

Producers and writers intend to resume negotiations on November 26. The WGA strike has inspired Italian writers to consider their own strike. Meanwhile, a strike by transportation workers is taking a toll on the French entertainment industry.

With work on Saturday Night Live at a halt, NBC fired approximately 50 of SNL’s supporting staff members on Friday. Saturday night, as a rerun of SNL aired on NBC, the cast of the show put on a live performance hosted by Michael Cera as a fundraiser for the fired staff members. Photos of the performance at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City are available in the New York Times’ review.

Marianna & Julia found out the hard way that, on The Amazing Race, a good deed never goes unpunished.

Teams flew from The Netherlands to Burkina Faso, specifically the hard-to-pronounce city of Ouagadougou. As teams rode in cabs from the Ouagadougou airport to the local train station, blondes Shana & Jennifer speculated that they were really being taken "to be sold to people…for money."

Teams spent the night at the train station, and Julia & Marianna danced to the music of some local musicians. 68-year-old Don watched approvingly, saying of the sisters, "They’re feisty. They’re hot. A little bitchy, but not bad. A guy could learn to live with it."

In the morning, all the teams caught the same train to Bingo, located somewhere in the middle of nowhere. There, they faced a Roadblock in which one team member had to get a bowlful of milk from a camel, and then drink the milk.

The instructions warned: Be mindful that camels are sensitive to fast movements and loud noises. That didn’t stop Lorena from crying and screaming to Jason, "Baby, there’s no more MILK!" when her camel wasn’t productive enough.

Other contestants fared better, and TK was first to finish milking his camel. He gagged as he drank the milk, saying, "It was a little grainy, and a little sweet and warm." He and partner Rachel received a clue telling them to lead four camels across the savannah to a group of Tuareg nomads.

TK & Rachel were followed closely by Nick & Don, Ronald & Christina, Kynt & Vyxsin, and Jennifer & Nathan.

At that point, the remaining Roadblock teams’ camels were running dry. Azaria spoke up and requested a new camel, and he and Hendekea were able to catch up to the lead pack.

When the teams turned in their four camels, they got a clue that directed them to a nearby school. There, they had a choice of Detour tasks: Learn It or Teach It. In Learn It, they had to memorize ten words in the local language, More. In Teach It, teams had to teach a young student ten words in English.

To many teams, Teach It seemed the easier task. However, many of the multisyllabic words on the list — skyscraper, television, cowboy, and helicopter — were not only hard to pronounce, but also objects not commonly seen on the Burkina Faso savanna.

Azaria & Hendekea, on the other hand, figured out the easiest way to finish Learn It. They each learned five of the words, lightening the workload while ensuring greater accuracy. Despite arriving at the task in sixth place, the brother and sister team was the first team to finish.

They ran through a spooky savanna rainstorm to the Pit Stop on the outskirts of a tribal village. There, Phil informed the siblings that they’d won another romantic vacation for two, this time to Bermuda.

The next five teams finished at approximately the same time, and they all arrived at the Pit Stop within minutes of each other. Ronald & Christina’s speed was limited somewhat because of a Ronald had suffered a hernia at the end of the previous leg of the race.

Back at the camel-milking Roadblock, all of the remaining milkers had switched to more productive camels. Shana & Jennifer were the next pair finished, and they reached the Pit Stop in seventh place.

Julia was next to finish milking her camel, leaving Lorena in last place. Lorena’s camel kicked the bowl full of milk, spilling the contents for the umpteenth time, and Lorena fell to her knees and cried.

As Marianna & Julia led their camels toward the school, Julia advised Lorena to find a camel with a baby next to it, as that one would certainly have milk.

Julia’s suggestion was correct, and Lorena soon finished the task. After Lorena sobbed briefly in Jason’s arms, the pair grabbed their camels and ran toward the school. Marianna and Julia were adhering to the suggestion in the Roadblock clue that camels were "sensitive to fast movement." As they walked their charges to the Detour, Jason & Lorena soon caught up.

At the school, both teams chose Learn It, but Lorena & Jason finished first. Marianna & Julia arrived at the Pit Stop in last place, where they were eliminated.

Next time, the teams dance in front of the African versions of Carrie Ann, Len, and Bruno, and Shana & Jennifer do something that ticks off Lorena & Jason.

Marie Osmond wrote at her blog that her partner, Jonathan Roberts, had a root canal hours before Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars Performance Show.

In other DwtS health news, Wayne Newton told People that he won’t be dancing at the DwtS Finale due to a heart condition.

More news from Monday night’s Performance Show: Julianne Hough was wearing a diamond ring given to her by Entourage’s Kevin Connolly, although Julianne still insists that they’re "just friends." Assuming that’s true, I am establishing the Friends of Kevin Connolly organization for anyone else interested in scoring some nice jewelry.

TV Guide has an interview with Kate & Pat, the clergy couple recently eliminated from The Amazing Race. Kate’s least favorite moment on the race was falling into the water during the ditch vault: "I’m not sure there wasn’t poo in there."

CMT is looking for aspiring singers to appear on their new show, Can You Duet? Greg and I do a killer rendition of "You Don’t Bring Me Flowers," only I sing as Neil Diamond and Greg does his best Barbra Streisand impression.

With no scripts left to shoot, NBC has suspended contracts for actors on several series, including The Office and Bionic Woman. The other networks plan to decide what to do with their actors in the coming days.

Writer-producer Carlton Cuse crossed picket lines to resume his production duties on Lost, wrapping up the eight episodes that have already been shot.

Representatives for several late night talk shows are supposedly having secret discussions about returning to work. One rep told Variety, "Nobody wants to be the first to go back."

Finally, there are fears in Hollywood that awards shows like the Emmys and Oscars will have to make major adjustments without any writers to script awkward banter for the award presenters. Would that really be such a bad thing?

Peih-Gee’s elimination from Survivor China looked like a done deal, until she was saved by bovine intervention.

Feeling giddy after Jean-Robert was voted out, instead of her, Peih-Gee couldn’t keep her mouth in check at camp. Her micromanaging and chatter made Todd feel as though he’d merely exchanged one annoying player for another.

Then the Reward Challenge brought out the worst in Peih-Gee. Teams of four had to navigate an obstacle course, with each team member carrying a traditional Chinese drum. Teams had to use the drum heads to keep a ball bouncing at all times as they traversed the course — essentially playing hacky-sack with the drums.

If the ball hit the ground at any time, the team had to start over from the beginning. The first team to complete the course three times won a reward.

Peih-Gee’s team of James, Todd, and Denise could not master the ball-bouncing technique, holding their drums at angles which made the ball bounce out of reach. Peih-Gee, the only player on her team with any finesse, was wielding the smallest drum, giving her a much smaller margin for error. But the team never changed their strategy, and they bungled along, as the other team bounced to an easy victory.

When they returned to camp, Peih-Gee unloaded on James for what she considered his lack of hustle. "My ass wasn’t strollin’ back to the mat every time," said Peih-Gee. "I raced back to that damn mat."

She lost all connection with reality when she told James, "I can’t believe you ever accused me of giving up at challenges." She’s the one who, with the aid of Jaime, threw a challenge during Week 5 in order to get rid of Aaron — a fact to which Jaime had admitted at the subsequent Tribal Council.

James reclined in the shelter during Peih-Gee’s tirade, trying to convince her to shut up and go away: "Please stop messin’ with me, because any time you bring stuff up, I will quickly blast you back and make you look quite silly."

Meanwhile, Amanda, Courtney, Frosti, and Erik were enjoying their Reward: a river cruise and all the fried chicken they could eat. Frosti and Courtney flirted as Erik showed off his surprisingly realistic impression of a goat bleating.

When the well-fed foursome returned to camp, Todd filled them in on Peih-Gee’s meltdown. There was no doubt that she had to go next.

At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff Probst presented the Survivors with another chance to eat. Contestants who felt confident that they didn’t need Immunity to survive Tribal Council could gorge themselves on cheeseburgers and fries instead of participating in the challenge.

Those who wanted to compete for Immunity would play a memory game, in which Jeff called out a series of Chinese zodiac symbols. Contestants, standing at individual puzzle boards, used a knife to stab the corresponding painted tiles in the correct order.

The contestants who chose to eat could only do so as long as the challenge lasted.

When asked to reveal their choice, only Peih-Gee, Frosti, Erik, and Amanda were concerned enough to compete for Immunity. The rest tore into the food like a pack of hyenas. (Courtney, probably the skinniest Survivor contestant ever, feasted for the second time this episode. She has a serious metabolism.)

Erik screwed up on the very first sequence of symbols, giving him plenty of time to stand by and watch James, Todd, Denise, and Courtney chow down. Amanda lasted one more round before joining Erik on the "hungry loser" mat.

The final round was between Peih-Gee and Frosti, both of whom were twitchy, thanks to the pressure of the situation and the smell of delicious cheeseburgers. Peih-Gee got the sequence of tiles correct, but Frosti chose Rabbit when he should’ve chosen Rat. Thus, Peih-Gee foiled everyone’s game plan for this week’s elimination.

Jeff Probst told the Survivors who’d decided to eat to back away from the table. By the time the challenge ended, Todd, Courtney, and Denise had eaten a total of four cheeseburgers between them. James had eaten seven.

Back at camp, the former members of Fei Long debated what to do, now that Peih-Gee had been saved by the beef. The castaways discussed whether to vote for Erik or for Frosti. Both of the guys were well liked, but Frosti’s string of strong challenge performances made him the bigger threat.

James and Denise were worried that Courtney’s loyalties had shifted, and that they might not be able to rely on her vote. "She’s lovin’ the hell outta some Frosti," James told Todd.

Todd told Courtney about James’ and Denise’s concerns, and he asked her if she’d be able to vote against her "Survivor boyfriend," Frosti. She was noncommittal, but seemed to realize that the decision was as much a test of her loyalty as it was the elimination of a threat.

At Tribal Council, the decision was unanimous (except for Frosti, who’d voted for Erik). When Jeff Probst snuffed Frosti’s torch and said his traditional, "The tribe has spoken," Frosti replied, "With cheeseburgers still on their breath!"

In his exit interview, a disappointed Frosti said, "I got beat by the tiny flight attendant, the sassy New York waitress, and the lady with the mullet."

As Frosti walked alone into the night, Jeff said to the remaining Survivors, "Now, more than ever, the ability to adapt, moment to moment, is what’s going to keep you in this game. We’re gonna test that right now."

The Survivors and jury members looked about in confusion as Jeff continued, "Tonight, you will not be heading directly back to camp. We have more business to attend to here." Then, the credits rolled, forcing viewers to wait another week to learn about the twist that was teased at the end of last week’s show.

Next time, the contestants show off their gross scabs, and, from the looks of things, James and Todd get to shave. (Update: Looks like it’s a Thanksgiving recap episode, and the footage is from earlier in the season. So, if you skip next week’s episode, you won’t miss much, besides a handful of scenes that didn’t make the original cut. The next all-new episode is November 29.)

Marie Osmond’s 16-year-old son entered rehab last week. So Marie’s going through a divorce, she fainted on live television, her dad died, and now she has a teenage son in rehab. Isn’t it about time to stop voting to keep her on Dancing with the Stars so she can spend some time with her family?

TV Guide has an interview with Survivor’s Jean-Robert, who blindly defends his terrible game strategy. Survivor host Jeff Probst will spin the wheel for charity on tonight’s episode of Wheel of Fortune.

TLC is giving Trading Spaces a makeover courtesy of the producers behind Hell’s Kitchen. Part of that makeover is bringing Paige Davis back as host.

In other home makeover news, the casting director of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition says the show tries to cast families who can afford to keep their home once the show is over, rather than saddling a poor family with a mountain of debt.

Networks have been working to trim their budgets in case revenues decline due to a prolonged writers strike. Fortunately, they’re starting with cutting back on travel expenses and business lunches rather than laying off employees.

Part of the reason for the strike, one writer explains, is that the sale of a $19.99 DVD only earns the writer $.04.

For an inside view of the strike from a writer’s point of view, check out this blog by one of the writers of the series Moonlight (who also happens to be Greg’s friend, Kira). It sounds like food deliveries really are crucial to keeping the strikers’ spirits up, and they give fans a rare opportunity to interact with the people behind their favorite shows. This might be a good time to take a trip to L.A.

Writers Strike news leads off this edition of Ox Notes, thanks to a memorable quote from Seth MacFarlane. In response to Fox’s plan to air a new episode of Family Guy that was completed without his input, MacFarlane told Variety, "It would just be a colossal dick move if they did that."

Ellen DeGeneres canceled plans to film episodes of her talk show in New York next week, after striking writers vowed to disrupt filming.

And at a rally in L.A., Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jeff Garlin distributed porn DVDs to boost the morale of those on strike.

TV Guide updates its Strike Chart daily, and it looks as if The Office will be the first scripted show to bow out with only one new episode left to air. A number of other shows have four or fewer episodes to go.

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune’s The Watcher blog talked with some Chicago writers, including ex-Ghostbuster Harold Ramis, about striking without benefit of a picket line. The post addresses the myth of the wealthy Hollywood scribe and explains one of the WGA’s primary beefs: the writers’ need to be compensated for DVD and online episode sales.

One of the reasons Dancing with the Stars has been mostly unaffected by the strike is that they only have one writer. His job was to write Tom Bergeron’s intro material and descriptions of upcoming shows, a job now shared by Tom and the producers.

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough have already decided what they’ll dance for next week’s semi-finals: Tango and Rumba. And Mark Ballas’ dad, Corky, told TV Guide that his son’s DwtS tour preview dance with Sabrina Bryan at next week’s Results Show will be "a medley — a little bit of this, a little bit of that. And it’s going to be really edgy, because now, there are no rules."

There’s no end to the DwtS-related health scares. The day after he was eliminated from the show, Wayne Newton was diagnosed with pneumonia.

TV Guide has a preview of the new season of Project Runway, which begins tonight at 10 ET on Bravo.

Bravo is just one of the networks trotting out holiday specials this year. Contestants from past seasons of Top Chef — including Tre, reportedly — will compete in a charity cook-off.

Also in time for the holidays, if not actually Christmas-themed, ABC will debut a revamped version of the French game show, Duel. And NBC will premiere Clash of the Choirs, in which singers of varying fame and talent assemble choirs in their hometowns, and then bring them to New York to compete for charity. The celebrity choir directors are Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland, Michael Bolton and Blake Shelton. Oh, Patti, how did you get drawn into this?

This week, the Dancing with the Stars fans hit Superman with a dose of Kryptonite.

The Results Show began with its usual recap of the Performance Show, including interview footage of Helio surprising Julianne with a second kiss on the lips, which sent her into a fit of laughter. During the encore performance of their Quickstep, Helio skipped the kiss and dropped Julianne straight to the floor.

After missing her initial Results Show appearance, several weeks back, Gloria Estefan stopped by to perform one of her new songs, accompanied by her own backup dancers.

Then it was time for last night’s audience to give their opinions. Bruce Jenner felt that the judges had been a little hard on Jennie. Another man said, "Oh God, Helio got to kiss Julianne at the end. I wish it was me!" I’m not quite sure if he wanted to kiss Helio or Julianne.

The announcement of the evening’s first safe couple provided the night’s only real surprise. Despite landing at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, Marie & Jonathan were safe.

Jimmy Kimmel’s weekly attempt at humor explored how Tom tells the two shows he hosts — DwtS and America’s Funniest Videos — apart. There wasn’t much of a resolution, but the bit did allow the show to work in footage of a kid hitting a couple guys (one of whom was Helio) in the crotch with a bat.

Hip-Hop choreographer Fatima Robinson made her first televised performance in six years for a Macy’s Stars of Dance routine. It was a slow number that Marie & Jonathan should consider copying for the Freestyle round if they make it to the Finale.

An interesting pre-taped segment highlighted the career paths of the pros, with plenty of cute pics of the pros as kids. Len had seen Julianne dance when she was 8, and he said that even then "you knew this is someone special."

Following that, Gloria Estefan returned to sing her hit, "Conga," accompanied by DwtS pros Maks, Julianne, Mark, and Kym. Kym’s new short hairdo looked really cute.

A second, less interesting pre-taped segment featured self-help celebrities Anthony Robbins and Dr. Michael Beckwith discussing the stars’ chances for victory.

As Tom and Samantha prepared to announce the next safe couple, Tom asked rhetorically if Bruno’s comment that Jennie’s dancing was limp had "stiffened the voters resolve." He then reminded everyone that the writers were obviously on strike.

Helio & Julianne were announced as safe, followed by Mel & Maks. That left Jennie & Derek and Cameron & Edyta in the Bottom Two.

Cameron & Edyta were eliminated, and they danced their final dance to the sappy Air Supply hit, "All Out of Love."

Next week, the couples choreograph new routines in their favorite Ballroom and Latin dance styles, and Michael "Lord of the Dance" Flatley performs at the Results Show.

After taking a relative beating from the judges on last night’s Dancing with the Stars Performance Show, Marie Osmond told TV Guide she’s running out of gas: "My tank isn’t even empty. It’s fumes."

Jennie Garth, who also took some criticism from the judges, was upbeat in her latest blog post: "I can’t take that home with me, if you know what I mean."

Maksim Chmerkovskiy told People that his partner, Melanie Brown, is exhausted after trying to memorize 20 routines for the Spice Girls tour, in addition to the two new routines she has to learn each week for DwtS.

Don’t expect to see DwtS pro Karina Smirnoff dancing in tonight’s Results Show; she’s recovering from plastic surgery on her nose. And her boyfriend, former contestant Mario Lopez, doesn’t even watch DwtS anyway.

If you’re looking to wager on Dancing with the Stars, Helio Castroneves is the new favorite to win. Probably not a bad bet, considering the show’s history of male winners.

Some soap opera writers have crossed the picket line in order to save their jobs. Soap opera viewership is already so low that a prolonged delay could be the end of some daytime dramas.

CBS could be in for even more trouble if their news department decides to stage its own strike on Thursday. The threat of more empty time slots could be why the network is quickly trying to cast a new season of Big Brother.

Speaking of Big Brother, Reality Blurred has a somewhat graphic story about the newly crowned winner of Big Brother Africa 2. The married man who won had consensual sex with one female cast member and is accused of raping another. The show’s producers are denying that the rape occurred, even though the assault was caught on camera and broadcast live.

To fill its empty time slots, the CW is going to air a mother-daughter beauty pageant show, Crowned, three nights a week during December and January. DwtS 2 contestant Shanna Moakler is a judge on the show.

The only new shows of this season that I never miss are both on the CW. Since the season started, I’ve dropped — or at least skipped episodes of — Bionic Woman, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Kid Nation, Next Great American Band, and Moonlight.

Of this season’s new shows, Gossip Girl is easily my favorite. The writing is smart, the plot progresses each episode, and the acting is totally believable. Plus, it’s just fun.

I’m hanging on to Reaper as well, even though none of the subsequent episodes have lived up to the quality of the Kevin Smith-directed pilot. But the premise is clever, and Tyler Labine and Ray Wise still have moments of brilliance. Should the CW pick up the show for another season — or should the strike resolve itself soon enough for this season to be finished properly — the producers should consider Tim Goodman’s spot-on suggestions for how to improve Reaper.

As we inch closer to the Dancing with the Stars 5 finale, only two couples proved they belong there.

Round 1

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough — Jive
Richard Simmons came to cheer Jennie on, and he made her cry during his pep talk: "You’re a show girl, so shine." Why hasn’t Richard been cast for this show yet?

Jennie didn’t have complete control of her upper body, and she missed a hand hold with Derek early on. Derek kept the choreography challenging, and Jennie looked like she was giving it her all. In reference to Jennie’s green, beaded dress, Tom Bergeron said, "I’m craving frozen vegetables, for some reason."

Len said, "I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not sure if that Jive tonight is deserving of getting into the semi-finals." Bruno told Jennie, "You were limp. It wasn’t sharp, and it should’ve been, at this point in the competition." Carrie Ann agreed: "You’ve gotta watch your posture. This is the second week I’ve mentioned it. You crumble a little bit."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…8, Len…8, Bruno…8 = 24/30

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Sliwinska — Viennese Waltz
The ABC-sponsored Super Soap weekend at Disneyland gave Cameron a chance to rally the support of his fans. And even in this elegant dance, they managed to give Cameron’s fans what they want by keeping his shirt open. It was a very nice performance to the theme from Harry Potter.

Bruno gave Cameron the bizarre compliment that he looked "like a great big grey albatross." Carrie Ann said, "I really loved it. You’re really good in hold." Len protested Cameron’s outfit choice: "Why haven’t you got a bow (tie) on? Why’ve you got all your chest there in a ballroom dance?" But he said of the performance, "I grew to love it more and more."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…9, Len…9, Bruno…9 = 27/30

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts — Rumba
Marie felt uncomfortable dancing something so romantic without getting permission from Jonathan’s wife, Anna Trebunskaya, first. Anna arrived at the couple’s practice and told Marie, "Even if you accidentally kiss him during the dance, it’ll be okay."

Apart from a few bends that showcased Marie’s flexibility, the dance felt slow even for a Rumba. Worse, the couple danced at arms length, ruining any chance for romance.

Carrie Ann told Jonathan, "I think you could be a little more aggressive, throwing in more moves. I know this woman can handle it." Len quipped to Marie, "I know the writers have gone on strike, but I think your hips have come out in sympathy with them." Bruno called Marie "Mrs. Robinson."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…8, Len…8, Bruno…8 = 24/30

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough — Paso Doble
Julianne assembled a ballroom Pit Crew for Helio, comprising Tony Dovolani, Corky Ballas (Mark’s dad), and Heather Smith. In their dance, Helio & Julianne sported cool black and gold costumes complete with capes. The performance was close to great, but not quite, as it’s always hard to believe Helio in the more serious dances.

Len said, "Normally, I don’t like capes…but the cape worked tonight." Bruno told Helio, "Good Spanish line, incredible presence." Carrie Ann said, "What I really liked about this is your attention to detail…and that’s what’s going to take somebody to the top."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…9, Len…9, Bruno…9 = 27/30

Melanie Brown & Maksim Chmerkovskiy — Tango
Mel’s hubby, Stefan, stopped by practice to help make her angry and aggressive for the Tango. While they danced, he shouted out annoying things that he does around the house. The technique worked, as Mel & Maks used their sharp movements to give the first dynamic performance of the night. It was just too bad Mel was forced to Tango to Depeche Mode’s "Personal Jesus" — and in pants again, instead of a dress.

Bruno called it "a menacing Tango." Carrie Ann said, "I loved the stalking at the beginning," but noted, "It looked like you were concentrating on the steps." Len gave a detailed explanation of his experience going through puberty, finishing with, "I’ve become a foot man. Your feet were great this time!"

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…9, Len…9, Bruno…9 = 27/30

Round 2

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough — Fox Trot
This performance was dreadfully slow. Jennie’s arms were more graceful and controlled than during the Jive, but the Fox Trot lacked comparable enthusiasm.

Carrie Ann told Jennie, "You have a tendency to push it out a little and lead with your chin." Len said, "One of the secrets with this show is, if you get a criticism, not to let it get you down. Come back stronger." Bruno told Jennie, "You look like Veronica Lake. You have everything within you to unleash star power. For me, it still doesn’t happen."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…9, Len…9, Bruno…8 = 26/30

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Sliwinska — Cha Cha Cha
Like the super-slow version of The Rolling Stones’ "Brown Sugar" that they danced to, Cameron & Edyta’s performance lacked fire. Cameron’s arm movements look mechanical, and his tan pants were a bit too, um, form-fitting in the front.

Len said, "I didn’t find it terrible. It was a bit like painting by numbers." Bruno agreed: "It’s too hard and stiff for a Cha Cha Cha." Carrie Ann told Cameron, "What you need to work on…how you move from form to form, all the in between movements."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…8, Len…8, Bruno…8 = 24/30

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts — Jive
Dressed in cowboy outfits, Jonathan looked like the missing Village Person. Marie looked cute and moved well, and she sold the performance better than Jennie did during her Jive.

Bruno said the performance looked like "a rerun of Sara Evans. It was cute, it was fun, a lot of line dancing. But I didn’t think there was enough Jive step for me." Carrie Ann agreed: "What you did was wonderful, but there was not a lot of Jive." Len said, "You came out and gave us fun, and I think these two are being a bit harsh."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…8, Len…9, Bruno…8 = 25/30

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough — Quickstep
For some reason, Helio was dressed as The Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George. Their very bouncy Quickstep ended with Helio planting a kiss on Julianne’s lips and then dropping her to the ground for comedic effect.

Carrie Ann shouted, "Yea!" Len told Helio, "You look like a great, big dancing banana. That band is fantastic. The singers are fantastic. And that was fantastic." Bruno enthused, "That was an explosive lift off for Helio. You’ve got the finishing line in sight!"

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…10, Len…10, Bruno…10 = 30/30

Melanie Brown & Maksim Chmerkovskiy — Mambo
Mel & Maks’ Mambo was fun and energetic, and featured some cool drops.

Len said "That was so hot, I’m surprised you didn’t set the smoke alarms off. Your hips? I was hypnotized." Bruno said the routine was "full on, unashamed, flirtatious fun." Carrie Ann complimented Melanie: "Maks looks like he’s really having a great time, and that’s a testament to how well you’re doing."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…9, Len…10, Bruno…10 = 29/30

Leaderboard:
57 — Helio & Julianne
56 — Mel & Maks
51 — Cameron & Edyta
50 — Jennie & Derek
49 — Marie & Jonathan

My votes are going to Helio & Julianne and Mel & Maks, as they gave the only finale-worthy performances of the night. Marie is likely to receive some sympathy votes, so she should be safe, putting Cameron and Jennie in danger. Based on some recent interviews and blog posts, Jennie seems like she might be ready to go home.

Tomorrow night, Gloria Estefan gives the performance she was scheduled to give a few weeks ago. Couples who make it past the elimination will receive a private lesson with Len, whom Tom called "the Yoda of the Ballroom."

If you missed the feature on Dancing with the Stars’ Hough siblings on Friday night’s episode of 20/20, ABC News has an article about the segment. And E! News has an article with quotes from the Osmond family’s appearance on Friday’s Oprah.

Mark Ballas told TV Guide that he’s hoping to "avenge" his love Sabrina Bryan at the DwtS finale, where they may get to take a longer turn on the dance floor than the other ousted couples: "What I’m hearing is that they want us to do a whole dance, whether it be paso doble or cha cha."

Today’s your last chance to bid on a pink boxing glove autographed by Judd Nelson at the Clothes Off Our Backs celebrity auction site.

The New York Post features a piece about the daily grind of being a contestant on Project Runway. The show returns to Bravo for its fourth season on Wednesday night at 10 ET.

Reality Blurred has a post featuring a Real World: Sydney spoiler. Apparently, MTV’s website has altered the season’s cast photo — removing someone who was still living in the house as of the most recent episode.

In strike news, the networks have turned their attention to pilots for the 2008-09 season, just in case the 2007-08 season is a bust. And cable networks may get a boost at the Emmys if perennial favorites like 24 never make it to air.

If you’d like to lend your support to the striking writers, you can donate money for weekly picket line pizza deliveries. Adam Levermore-Rich, media liaison for Fans4Writers.com, told Variety, "We wanted to do something to show our support and delivering food seemed like a good way to start."