Father and Daughter Ronald & Christina spent this week’s entire episode of The Amazing Race at odds with one another. But they performed just well enough to avoid elimination.

Married ministers Kate & Pat started the leg with one of my favorite quotes in Race history: "We are religious people, but we have no illusions that God cares whether or not we win The Amazing Race."

As teams left Ireland, en route to Amsterdam, there were a limited number of seats available on the first connecting flight out of Dublin. Nick & Don and Ronald & Christina vied for the final pair of standby tickets. When Nick was rude to the ticket agent, Ronald told him off, much to his daughter Christina’s embarrassment. She didn’t disagree with her dad’s sentiment, but she felt his delivery was as brusque as Nick’s had been with the airline worker.

The lecture didn’t seem to make a difference, as Nick & Don were able to board the plane, and Ronald & Christina were forced to wait 90 minutes with the other teams at the back of the pack: Kate & Pat and sisters Marianna & Julia.

When the teams arrived in Amsterdam, they had their choice of Detours: Hoist It or Hunt It. In Hoist It, one team member tied complicated knots around five pieces of furniture and used a rope and pulley system to lift the items several floors. The other team member waited upstairs in an apartment and hauled the furniture in through the window.

In Hunt It, teams searched thousands of bikes for the two marked with labels bearing a particular color pattern. While this was the less strenuous task, it was time consuming and located farther away than Hoist It.

Jason was adept at tying knots, and he and girlfriend Lorena were the only couple to blow through Hoist It. Hippie-guy TK was so bad at tying the knots that he and his wee partner, Rachel, had to swap positions before getting a single item lifted. Rachel had a much easier time with the knots, although she did have to jump off a set of stairs to get some of the furniture off the ground.

Hunting through the bikes was challenging for most teams, especially Ronald & Christina. As soon as they read the Detour clue, Ronald began finding reasons why they couldn’t complete either task.

He told Christina to choose a Detour, but when she picked Hoist It, he complained so much that she decided they should try Hunt It instead. Ronald continued complaining as they searched through the bikes, and when Christina suggested that he think positive, he mocked her.

Upon finishing the Detour, teams were instructed to head to the village of Ransdorp, also in the Netherlands. As they waited for a bus, Ronald lectured Christina that she needed to be more decisive (even though she was the one who had decided on the Detour, until he complained). He then said, "You basically disappointed me." Though these kinds of scenes often occur between dating/married couples on the show, it was much more uncomfortable watching a father berate his daughter unfairly.

Christina stood up for herself, telling Ronald that he was being hard on her. His defense was that "a 58-year-old man is not easy to change" — which missed the point that he’s had 26 years to learn how to be supportive of his daughter.

Christina countered, "In this race, you need to make improvements overnight." Ronald agreed that he would try.

In Ransdorp, teams encountered a Roadblock requiring one team member to pole vault over a ditch filled with water and, presumably, sheep poo. Lorena & Jason, Jennifer & Nathan, and Shana & Jennifer all arrived on the same bus, and Jason, Jennifer, and Shana undertook the tasks for their respective teams.

Just like in the Detour, Jason made the task look easy, landing the vault on his first try. Jason got their clue and vaulted back over the ditch, only muddying his foot a little. He and Lorena hopped on a bakfiets — bikes with wheelbarrows attached to the front — and rode to the Pit Stop, where Phil told them they’d each won a three-wheeled sport bike.

After watching Jason’s seemingly effortless vault, Jennifer encouraged Shana, "It’s easy! Just go!" Shana landed her initial vault, but she went sideways on her return journey and wound up covered head-to-toe in muck. As a helpful Dutchman pulled a mortified Shana from the ditch, she muttered, "I could die."

The next group of teams — Nick & Don, Kynt & Vyxsin, Rachel & TK, and Azaria & Hendekea — soon arrived. Grandpa Don was optimistic after watching Rachel land her first attempted vault. Even after he saw Kynt plummet straight into the drink, Don said, "I think I can do it."

Grandson Nick gave his consent, but he then said to himself, "I think that may be a costly decision." Nick was right, but it was the TV audience and the people of Ransdorp who paid the price. Don landed in the ditch on his first try, and decided that he simply wouldn’t be able to get the necessary amount of lift covered in mud. So he stripped off all of his clothes and continued vaulting in his black bikini briefs.

Don managed to finish before Ronald & Christina and Marianna & Julia arrived at the ditch. Marianna, a track and field athlete, made the vault in one shot. Meanwhile, Christina had a tough go of it. And her father wasn’t making things any easier. Despite Christina’s repeated requests for him to let her concentrate, Ronald harangued her after every failed attempt.

Kate & Pat, who’d been the last team to find their bikes during the Detour, were also the last to arrive in Ransdorp. They reached the Pit Stop after all the other teams and were sent home.

Next week, Ronald & Christina are still on rocky ground, and Lorena has a meltdown while trying to milk a camel.

Donny, Marie, and more than 100 other members of the Osmond family were on Oprah today. Marie’s friend Lisa Hatch updated Marie’s blog with behind the scenes pictures from Monday’s Dancing with the Stars Performance Show. Who knew that Jonathan Roberts had such big guns?

Fans of the movie Somewhere in Time, Jane Seymour has not forgotten you: "Tony and I have already discussed that we are going to come up with a dance to honor Christopher Reeve and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation to dance a special freestyle dance with lifts to Somewhere in Time."

Mother-of-two Melanie Brown says she’d like to have two more kids, at some point. And Jennie Garth says she’s looking forward to birthing a fourth child, once DwtS is over. Ladies, you’re going to have to aim higher than that if you want to have any hope of beating Marie and her brood of eight in a family softball game.

The first team eliminated from The Amazing Race 12, Ari & Staella, told TV Guide that they finished last after spending almost seven hours trying to get their donkey to walk down a hill. Apparently, the donkey wasn’t impressed by Ari’s singing.

As TV writers end their first week on strike, the networks are looking for the best ways to utilize their reruns, and are even considering importing writers from the U.K.

Finally, A&E has filmed a pilot for a new reality series called Celebrity Garage Sale, in which host Illeana Douglas helps her famous friends organize their junk for a garage sale. According to the Hollywood Reporter: "The pilot features Tom Arnold, whose garage sale is said to have raised $5,000 for Camp del Corazon, a summer camp for children with heart disease."

Celebrity Garage Sale sounds like a credit crisis era response to Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous. I’m only slightly ashamed to admit that I’m totally looking forward to it.

Jean-Robert has a surprisingly bad poker face for a professional gambler — which made it that much more satisfying to watch his expression change when he realized he’d been voted off of Survivor: China.

The entire episode was a tribute to Jean-Robert being woefully out of the loop. Until Jaime tried to play what she incorrectly thought was an Immunity Idol at the last Tribal Council, Jean-Robert was the only person who didn’t suspect the Idols even existed.

James’ opinion of Jean-Robert seemed to be shared by all of the original members of Fei Long: "We just need to keep his dumb ass in line, just because we stuck with him now."

At the Reward Challenge, Jean-Robert and Peih-Gee were randomly chosen as team captains in a two-round competition to swamp the rival team’s boat. Jean-Robert chose James, Todd, and Amanda for his team, while Peih-Gee picked Frosti, Erik, and Courtney. That left Denise sitting on the sidelines, ineligible for the reward.

One team member sat in a tub floating in the water bailing water out of the tub as three members of the opposite team used buckets to toss water into the little boat. Courtney couldn’t out-bail Todd, and then Frosti lost to Amanda. That earned John-Robert’s team the reward.

The reward was a huge lunch in a Chinese village that has been inhabited for 1000 years. The winning team was also given the final clue to the location of the hidden Immunity Idol. They read as a team.

Of course, James, Amanda, and Todd knew the clues were useless at this point — since James already had both Idols — but Jean-Robert read the clues aloud with wonder. He speculated about the possible locations of the Idol, while the other three smiled and nodded at his brilliance.

Back at camp, Jean-Robert couldn’t sleep for excitement over his newly-acquired knowledge. He searched everywhere, eventually ripping off the three plaques that remained on the archways at camp. He figured that one of them had to be the hidden Immunity Idol. For some reason, he didn’t figure that the one space where a plaque was missing was a sign that the real Idol had already been claimed.

After the rest of the Survivors woke up, Todd started talking over a new plan with Amanda: get rid of James before he’s suspicious enough to use one of his two Immunity Idols. But Amanda thought it was too soon to deviate from their plan to get rid of the former members of Zhan Hu.

Todd’s plan also depended on James not winning the Immunity Challenge. And this week’s challenge was definitely not designed for a big, strong guy like James to win. Survivors had to balance while seated on a suspended, water-filled barrel. As water drained from the barrel, it became increasingly unstable.

The barrels were set up over a shallow, muddy swamp, and as the barrels became wobbly, they pitched their riders into the mud, often in a particularly humiliating fashion. Jean-Robert, Denise, and James — the three largest contestants — were the first three to take a dive into the sludge.

The contest came down to nimble Frosti and rail-thin Courtney. For more than 30 minutes, Courtney never wobbled once, and she was able to win her first Individual Immunity Challenge. The Immunity Necklace looked enormous on her small shoulders.

Back at camp, Jean-Robert felt so confident that Fei Long would stick with their plan to vote out Peih-Gee that he bragged to Erik about the Immunity Idol he thought he’d found: "Now that I have it, I look like I’m pretty much guaranteed Top Five for sure."

Erik: "What would you say if I told you that I was pretty sure that you didn’t have the right Immunity Idol?"

Jean-Robert: "I’d say that you probably don’t have as many clues as I do."

Erik explained that he and Jaime had found two plaques in James’ bag: "’There’s two Immunity Idols."

"There’s two Immunity Idols?" asked Jean-Robert.

Jean-Robert then decided to play hardball with his buddy, James. After taking him on a private fishing trip, Jean-Robert told James, "You’ve been holding out on me." James played dumb, but Jean-Robert wasn’t convinced by the act.

Following the fishing trip, Jean-Robert found Todd and said, "Big news, bro. I know where the Idol is. And there’s not just one Idol, there’s two Idols."

Todd: "Are you talking about James?"

Jean-Robert: "How’d you know about that?"

Jean-Robert suggested taking out James, which slightly irked Todd, since he’d come up with that idea the day before. Todd didn’t like the thought of another schemer still in the game. He told Jean-Robert that he’d wait and see how things played out.

Todd told James, Amanda, and Courtney about what Jean-Robert had told him, and warned James that J-R might have Erik, Peih-Gee, and Frosti on his side. Todd suggested taking out Jean-Robert, and James reluctantly agreed.

Amanda was nervous about Todd’s change of strategy: "He’s second guessing himself, and in this game you have to be confident in your choices." But Courtney was pleased for the chance to take out her nemesis, even if she didn’t want to get her hopes up that Jean-Robert might finally be out of her life for good.

They all agreed not to tell Denise, making Frosti the swing voter.

At Tribal Council, the votes were read in the following order:

Jean-Robert
Jean-Robert
Peih-Gee
James
James
James

At this point, James looked absolutely stunned, while Jean-Robert grinned at the major coup he’d staged. His smile faded when Jeff Probst read the next three votes:

Jean-Robert
Jean-Robert
Jean-Robert

Jean-Robert left the game thinking he’d been voted off because "they realized that I was the best player in the game." Watching the season on television should’ve convinced him that his teammates just didn’t like him and were happy to be rid of him.

Next week, the Survivors become increasingly annoyed with each other, and they are presented with another twist at Tribal Council.

Ahead of tonight’s new episode of Survivor: China, here’s an interview with Jaime, who insists that she knew that the "Immunity Idol" she presented at Tribal Council was fake.

Marie Osmond will definitely be returning to Dancing with the Stars after her father’s death. Jennie Garth is looking forward to dancing the Fox Trot and Jive next week, while Helio Castroneves tells TV Guide that he’s having trouble being so far away from his fiancee.

If you’ve ever wondered why country music stars do so well on DwtS, the audience of nearly 16 million for last night’s Country Music Awards should answer that question.

Laila Ali keeps wracking up the hosting gigs. She will co-host American Gladiators with Hulk Hogan when it returns in mid-season.

ABC has yet another dance show in the works. Dance Machine, a competition show for non-celebrity amateurs, starts production in January.

Yahoo! TV has a list of celebrities making guest appearances on your favorite TV shows during November sweeps.

And if you’d like to keep up with news of the WGA strike, Variety has a strike blog. Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane joined the writers on the picket lines, and said of the possibility of Fox bringing in replacement workers to wrap up episodes near completion: "They could, but it would be unwise. Because I would be angry."

Wispy Jane Seymour explained in TV Guide’s Backstage Report from last night’s Dancing with the Stars Results Show that the reason she always wore voluminous skirts on Dr. Quinn was because she thought she had chunky thighs and a big butt.

Jane writes in her blog that, thanks to DwtS, "I’m in better physical shape now than when I was sixteen." And even though she’s been eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, Jane isn’t through with ballroom yet. Tony Dovolani told People that he’s promised to continue giving Jane lessons when he’s in California.

Julianne Hough is denying rumors that she’s dating Entourage’s Kevin Connolly.

Cheryl Burke told People that her "brother-sister" relationship with Drew Lachey is presenting problems during rehearsal for the upcoming DwtS tour: "He tries to give his input but I remind him that I’m the ballroom dancer and he’s the boybander."

Production on several TV shows was brought to a halt when their actors and showrunners joined striking writers on the picket lines. But don’t get the wrong idea from these photos of Eva Longoria buying pizzas for the strikers. She went to work on Desperate Housewives and then bought the pizzas out of guilt. The pies were greeted with chants of "No justice, no pizza!"

In preparation for a prolonged strike, CBS is looking to bring Big Brother back in the spring instead of waiting until the summer.

And Dog the Bounty Hunter isn’t doing himself any favors by trying to explain his recorded racist rant. In an interview on Fox News, Dog said, "I have used the word for a long time not to mean what it does to a lot of black people that are offended." Sorry, blanco niño. You don’t get to decide when the N-word is offensive and when it’s not.

Jane & Tony were at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard on Monday night, and the fans agreed with the judges. Dr. Quinn was the latest celebrity eliminated from Dancing with the Stars.

At the top of the show, Tom Bergeron explained that Marie Osmond’s father died this morning, and she was spending the evening with her family. To avoid dragging out the suspense, Samantha Harris announced that Marie & Jonathan were safe and would return to dance again next week.

Then it was time for the judges’ encore. Len Goodman said they wanted to see a repeat of "the dance of the season so far:" Mel & Maks’ Paso Doble.

The dance was followed by a performance by country star LeAnn Rimes. She sang her hit song, "How Do I Live," accompanied by Julianne & Tony, who included some nice tricks in their Rumba.

Then it was time for last night’s studio audience to comment on the performances. One slightly singed woman said of Helio: "I could feel the Brazilian fire coming out of him." Another woman said, "Jane should go home. It’s not about looking good. This is a dance competition."

After the commentary, Tom & Samantha announced that Cameron & Edyta wouldn’t be suffering a repeat trip to the Bottom Two this week; they were safe.

Kenny Mayne’s DanceCenter made its long overdue return next. With the help of Jerry Rice and Len Goodman, Kenny analyzed the prospects of Helio, Jane, and Jennie. Kenny’s blue eye shadow matched his iridescent blue shirt nicely.

The Macy’s Stars of Dance performance of the night was by a bunch of breakers known as the Rock Steady Crew. It was good if you’re into breakdancing, and I enjoyed the guy with the afro doing a solid impression of Rerun from What’s Happening.

Then LeAnn Rimes returned with a performance of her new song, "Nothing Better to Do." DwtS pros Cheryl, Kym, Anna, and Elena danced alongside some other female dancer — perhaps one of the pros from the tour.

DanceCenter followed that performance with their analysis of Mel, Cameron, and Marie, who Kenny said was the mother of 75 children.

A package of clips focused on the celebrities’ reactions to Sabrina’s elimination last week. Marie noted that, unlike previous seasons, the Bottom Two has been different each week: "I don’t see a pattern this year."

At long last, it was time to reveal the fates of the last four couples. Tom told Mel & Maks that they were safe, but Samantha told Jane & Tony they’d have to wait until after the commercial break to find out if they were as well.

When the show resumed, Tom said that they weren’t going to reveal a Bottom Two tonight. He had the judges offer advice to the remaining three celebrities, should they be saved by the fans’ votes.

Len told Helio: "You’re the driver. Julianne is the mechanic. Don’t get the two muddled up."

Bruno told Jane: "In the Latin section, she has to let go of this kind of ‘look and don’t touch.’ Become earthy and fiery — available. Let us have it!"

Carrie Ann told Jennie: "You’re blossoming into quite a beautiful dancer."

Then Samantha announced that Helio & Julianne were safe. Tom reminded the audience, "The two couples before you [Jane & Tony and Jennie & Derek] were not necessarily in the Bottom Two, but one of them did have the lowest total when we combined the judges’ score with your votes this week."

I suspect that Marie & Jonathan were the other couple in the Bottom Two, but the producers decided not add any tension to Marie’s already difficult evening.

Finally, Jane & Tony were told they’d been eliminated. Tom quickly ushered them onto the dance floor, where they danced to "Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone."

At last night’s taping of Dancing with the Stars, Cheryl Burke offered the remaining celebrities (and future contestants) some sage advice: "Give up your day job!" Jennie Garth might have a real advantage by not having to schedule dance rehearsal around professional obligations: "I’m a soccer mom and housewife and proud of it."

Cameron Mathison’s busy, bi-coastal schedule hasn’t left his partner, Edyta Sliwinska, with any time to enjoy the first few months of her marriage to fellow DwtS pro Alec Mazo. Edyta told BuddyTV: "I don’t know how is married life. No idea."

Sabrina Bryan may be off of the show, but her castmates have certainly not forgotten her. Melanie Brown has been giving Sabrina pep talks, and the cast went to a club after last night’s show to watch Mark Ballas and Derek Hough perform with their band, Almost Amy.

There’s a good chance that Marie Osmond won’t be in the studio for tonight’s Results Show. Her father died this morning.

Speaking of Marie, she’s scheduled to be one of the performers on the Dancing with the Stars tour, which kicks off in December. This list of tour dates includes the names of the stars scheduled to perform at each show, with Monique Coleman and Joey Lawrence being the only celebs booked for every tour date.

The writers strike has had an impact on Dancing with the Stars after all. ABC had planned on premiering Cashmere Mafia after the two-hour DwtS finale on November 27, but decided to hold the scripted series for a later date. The finale will move its start time back to 9 ET, and will be preceded by holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas.

People can’t get enough of DwtS, and the magazine’s website has a pictorial of The Sexy Men of Dancing with the Stars.

Former DwtS contestant Laila Ali will host a teen makeover show on cable net The N called The N’s Student Body. The show will be taped in the central Illinois town of Decatur.

In other reality TV news, the New York Times has an article about the money people will spend to be on TV.

Finally, I’ve been putting off buying a Playstation 3 because there haven’t been any games released for it that have interested me. But Veronica Mars’s Kristen Bell voices a character in the wicked-looking Crusader epic Assassin’s Creed, so I guess I can’t put it off any longer.

The judges played it safe and kept all of the couples within four points of each other. But the cream has started to rise to the top on Dancing with the Stars, and its becoming easier to tell which couples deserve to stay, and which should go.

Ballroom Round

Helio & Julianne — Tango
Regarding their two dances, Helio said, "The Samba is the home dance of my country, Brazil… The Samba I love. The Tango — that’s a different story." To help motivate her partner, Julianne showed Helio a video of his parents cheering him on from Brazil. They’re as adorable as he is.

Dressed in black velvet, Helio & Julianne danced a Tango to David Bowie’s "Jean Genie." Helio’s at his best when he gets to smile and let loose, and the Tango didn’t seem to be the dance best suited for his personality. It had swagger, and it was fun, but it wasn’t quite on par with some of his previous dances.

Len liked Helio’s passion: "You had drive and you had attack." But he chastised Helio for his arms and footwork. Bruno told the pair, "You two are like thunder and lightning… But, technically, it required more polish." Carrie Ann said, "I liked it. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit younger!"

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

Marie & Jonathan — Quickstep
To keep her in the competition, Jonathan wanted Marie to "sell her character, her personality." Marie brought her kids to practice, and they climbed all over Jonathan.

Dancing to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," Marie was dressed and made up to look like a missing Andrews Sister. She and Jonathan performed their most energetic routine of the season. It ended with Marie slobbering a wet kiss on Len. Len quickly wiped the lipstick off his face, saying he was worried it might upset his wife. "Which one?" Tom asked.

Bruno effused, "When you get it right, you do get it right!" Carrie Ann, who was expecting a more gimmicky performance, said, "Nothing campy about that… I thought it was wonderful!" And Len told Marie, "Entertainment runs through your veins like Chianti does through Bruno."
Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…10, Len…9, Bruno…9 = 28/30

Mel & Maks — Fox Trot
Mel’s Spice Girls responsibilities are starting to dominate her schedule, and she’s been forced to squeeze late night practices in wherever she can find the time. Maks said he was worried that he and Mel may be sent home this week.

The couple danced an elegant Fox Trot that didn’t stand out, but it wasn’t bad, either. They spent more time out of hold than I would’ve expected.

Carrie Ann said, "It felt just a hair out of sync." Len agreed: "You have lovely arms during that solo… but every time I was expecting a heel, I was getting a toe." Bruno said much the same as his cohorts: "You performed it very well, but the footwork needed a little bit of finesse."

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

Jane & Tony — Quickstep
Jane was excited to Quickstep to a song by Johnny Cash, with whom she was friends. She wore a pendant that belonged to June Cash, and Tony wore Johnny Cash’s watch.

In slightly countrified outfits, Jane & Tony danced to "Walk the Line." The floats that hung from Jane’s arms made her look as if she’d been TP-ed by a bunch of cheerleaders before the big game. The performance didn’t look any better than anything Jane had done in the first couple weeks of the competition.

Len said, "As always, you’ve got that lovely grace," but he noted two problems: "total lack of body contact…and occasionally poor footwork." Bruno had problems with Jane’s outfit: "Shame about being run through a shredder tonight." Carrie Ann told Jane, "At this point, you have to excite us. You can’t just be good. You have to be outstanding."

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

Jennie & Derek — Viennese Waltz
Jennie said she "can’t help but laugh" when Derek explains the romantic nature of some of their dances. "Dancing the Rumba with Derek is a little weird, but he told me he can dance the Rumba with his sister — which is even weirder.

Jennie’s silvery-blue dress was fab. Jennie and Derek danced a beautiful waltz and executed some lovely spins — except for the one where Derek spun into a cameraman.

Bruno told Jennie, "Sometimes you are so fluid, you are like a water nymph in a magic lake." Carrie Ann said, "You’ve been growing, and it’s really exciting to watch you." Len told Derek, "There was not enough Viennese Waltz in hold." Derek replied, "I understand," and headed backstage, where the other contestants were booing the judges.

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

Cameron & Edyta — Quickstep
Cameron said this is his most important week ever, after being in the bottom two.

The most memorable part of this performance was the singer’s shrill impression of The Cure’s Robert Smith. Cameron worked hard to sell the dance, but he seemed a bit heavy-footed and imprecise. The couple lost their steps near the end. It was still fun — it’s Edyta — but it was not their best.

Carrie Ann said, "I love the exuberance. It was a little wild." Len channeled Bruno with this bizarre comment: "Superman, you’ve gotta calm down. I’d put a bit of Kryptonite down your trousers. That might calm it down a bit." Bruno agreed, "It was Mr. Flash in a mad dash. It was such a dash, you forgot the steps."

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

Latin Round

Helio & Julianne — Samba
The Samba definitely suited Helio more than the Tango. He smiled and writhed his way through a performance that was a big improvement on his first dance of the night. Julianne’s outfit looked like someone had shot a pheasant, tie-dyed it, and taped it to her chest.

Bruno shouted, "That’s what I like to see!" and said of Julianne’s outfit, "Thank God you’re not allergic to feathers." Carrie Ann said, "Way to go!" Len started with a joke, "Just because you come from Brazil doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to be good at the Samba, in the same way [that] just because you come from Texas doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good president." As the crowd laughed, Bruno interrupted, "Len! They’re going to throw us out of the country!" Len continued, "It was fantastic."

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

Marie & Jonathan — Cha Cha Cha
Dancing to "Venus," Marie tried to channel the character of a seductress. She didn’t really pull it off, but then again, she’s been seductive enough to spawn eight kids, so who am I to judge? Even though the routine wasn’t as speedy as their Quickstep, Marie sounded very out of breath, afterward.

Carrie Ann said, "You always tone the performances perfectly. But I do have to say that there wasn’t quite enough content." Len agreed: "There was a little bit too much messin’ about going on." Bruno said, "I liked the character: the flamboyant harlot working the Latin Quarter. But you peaked earlier on."

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

Mel & Maks — Paso Doble
Wearing something from Lover’s Lane, Mel & Maks did a Paso that was the complete antithesis of their cute, sparkly Fox Trot. As is always important in the Paso, they really sold the performance. It looked like the first time in bullfighting history that the matador had more to fear from his own cape than he did from the bull.

Len stuttered through some positive comments before ultimately just pointing at Mel & Maks.
Bruno gushed, "That was an adrenaline charged dominatrix. My jaw was on the desk. Top that!" Carrie Ann shouted, "I think you just kicked some serious booty!"

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

Jane & Tony — Cha Cha Cha
If it weren’t for Jane’s skimpy outfit, I would’ve had a hard time telling this from her first dance. It was another middle-of-the-road performance from Jane. Not bad. Not spectacular.

Bruno said, "That was a very well executed Cha Cha." Carrie Ann told Jane, "You’re such a dainty and delicate dancer." Len made mention of Guy Fawkes Day in his advice to fellow Brit Jane, "You’ve got to come out and give us a few fireworks, and that’s what’s lacking for me." Tom said, "Coming up, Len will go through more English holidays that mean nothing to us."

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

Jennie & Derek — Rumba
Despite her tendency to giggle through their rehearsals, Jennie was able to pull off a romantic Rumba with Derek. The routine was full of content, and they executed it very well. And it was the first time in a few weeks that she didn’t look nervous while dancing.

Carrie Ann said, "You had beautiful lines, Jennie. Way to come back." Len told Jennie, "The only person who’s not convinced you’re a really good dancer is you." Bruno gushed, "Housewives are sexy! It was the best dance you’ve done."

Judges’ Scores: Carrie Ann…9, Len…9, Bruno…10 = 28/30

Cameron & Edyta — Jive
Cameron & Edyta executed a good Jive with a few nice leaps. It was Cameron’s most polished performance yet. But can somebody explain to me what look they were going for with those outfits?

Len told Cameron, "You did that fantastic!" Bruno said the routine had "more kicks than a rodeo!" Carrie Ann told Cameron, "You started out [the season] as the good looking guy who kinda could move, but you’ve become a really fine dancer."

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

Leaderboard (out of 60 possible points):
54 — Mel & Maks
53 — Jennie & Derek
52 — Helio & Julianne, Marie & Jonathan
51— Cameron & Edyta
50 — Jane & Tony

This leaderboard could be the template for the rest of the eliminations this season. Barring some radical improvement by one of the middle couples, Mel & Maks should win. Jane & Tony are lagging behind the pack and haven’t shown the kind of improvement that the others have, so it’s time for them to go.

Regardless of who’s eliminated Tuesday night, the Results Show should be a good one; DanceCenter with Kenny Mayne and Jerry Rice is back!

The writers strike is officially on, and Zap2It has a handy chart detailing how your favorite shows will be affected. Variety notes that most soap operas have enough material to last until 2008, but sitcoms and other shows with staff who have dual roles that include writer could be affected sooner.

Just in case the strike drags on for a while, Variety has details on each network’s contingency plan.

Last night’s debut of The Amazing Race 12 was delayed by a football game that ran late, much to the chagrin of Reality Blurred’s Andy Denhart and countless other DVR users.

In Dancing with the Stars news, Sabrina Bryan officially confirmed her romance with her pro partner, Mark Ballas. And Tom Bergeron gave the scoop on what it was like to work with Drew Lachey as a temporary co-host.

A&E has stopped production on Dog the Bounty Hunter and pulled reruns of the show off the air after a recording of Dog’s racist tirade against his son’s girlfriend made it into the hands of the National Enquirer.

And next week, I’m going to have to watch NBA week on Family Feud in the hopes of seeing the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard bust out some of his dance moves (Howard shows up about halfway through this clip):

In honor of this week’s premiere episode of The Amazing Race 12, I’m thinking about starting a sister website: MyDonkeyIsBroken.com.

This season’s starting point was the Playboy Mansion, or more accurately the Playboy Mansion’s front lawn. Hef and his girlfriends must have been watching from inside, as teams grabbed their clues and ran to their vehicles, only to wait as grandpa Donald counted his money before allowing his grandson, Nick, to pilot the lead car out of Hef’s driveway.

Teams flew from Los Angeles to Shannon, Ireland. Though the teams were split across two flights, they all arrived within minutes of each other, as the lead flight was delayed for a while at Heathrow.

Brother-sister team Azaria & Hendekea borrowed a cell phone to call ahead for two taxis for themselves and father-daughter duo Ronald & Christina. But after their plane landed, non-dating buddies Ari & Staella stole one of the two cabs. Ari bragged, "Karma’s a bitch, but I’m a bigger bitch."

The first task for the teams was to take a ferry to the island of Inishmore, and then run through the rain to the ruins of what host Phil Keoghan said was "the smallest church in the world." As the teams made their way to the church, Jennifer refused to run, protesting to boyfriend Nathan, "you know I’m not good at long distance sprinting!" The protest sounded hollow from a woman whose intro segment showed her lifting weights and running through the surf.

Jennifer’s complaints sounded even more foolish when grandpa Donald started running up the hill to the church. But then he snagged his shoe on a bush and disappeared almost entirely into a hole along the side of the path.

The teams returned to the mainland the next morning on three ferries, which left at 8:00, 8:30, and 9:30, giving the six teams on the first two ferries a significant lead over the five at the back of the pack.

Dating couple Lorena & Jason, who arrived on the first ferry, lost all of their lead when Jason insisted on driving in the wrong direction, despite Lorena’s objections. Then she started whining that they were having trouble communicating. So, along with Jennifer & Nathan, this season has two dysfunctional dating couples who’ve already had minor meltdowns. Score! (And Jennifer and Nathan weren’t done, yet.)

Teams drove to a farm where they found their first Roadblock. One team member had to pedal a bicycle on a high wire over the North Atlantic. Meanwhile, their partner was suspended on a contraption below (which helped balance the bike above). The challenge was unnerving, but not especially difficult.

In fact, 60-year-old dad Ronald had enough energy to sing atonally as he pedaled over the sea:
Oh, Danny Boy,
I’m in Ireland.
I didn’t expect Danny Boy to be in this shape.
Oh, Danny Boy,
I did it for you!

However, several teams ran into serious problems once they got to the other side. For the final task before this leg’s Pit Stop, teams had to choose a donkey to carry 30 bricks of peat (15 per competitor) back to the main part of the farm. Some donkeys were more helpful than others.

While most of the teams had willing animals, second place team Nathan & Jennifer got their donkey halfway down the hill before it began braying and came to a halt. It stood there for over an hour, as eight other teams passed them.

The donkeys’ fickleness paid off for blonde duo Shana & Jennifer, who’d started the task in last place. Their donkey took off at a run, and they wound up passing five teams and finishing the leg in 6th place.

Though Nathan & Jennifer’s donkey drove them to screaming, swearing, tugging, crying, pushing, and sighing, one other team had an even worse donkey. Whether it was karmic payback for stealing someone else’s cab the previous day, a general lack of beastly persuasion skills, or merely a donkey attitude problem, Ari & Staella wound up with the slowest donkey off the bunch.

They had loaded their peat bricks into his baskets in fifth place, but they finished the leg in last place, eliminating them from the Race.

Finish order:
1 — Azaria & Hendkea
2 — Kynt & Vyxsin
3 — TK & Rachel
4 — Lorena & Jason
5 — Nicholas & Donald
6 — Shana & Jennifer
7 — Ronald & Christina
8 — Kate & Pat
9 — Marianna & Julia
10 — Nathan & Jennifer
11 — Ari & Staella

Next week, family issues arise for Ronald & Christina. And grandpa Donald tries to pole vault across a muddy creek in his underpants — and fails.