Dancing with the Stars Recap: Week 5

This week, there was a HUGE surprise in the elimination. Natalie Coughlin, the gold medal swimmer, was voted off despite being a high scorer only a couple of weeks ago. Sharing the bottom two with Coughlin was Aaron Carter, who was in the bottom two for the second week in a row. The judges haven't been impressed with his uptight demeanor, and it seems to be wearing thin on the voters as well. With a huge fan following, Michael Irvin continues to be safe week after week. His dancing is improving, but not enough to save him without vast fan support. It'll be interesting to see how long he can keep it up. So what's up with the remaining couples? Glad you asked:

Mya and Dmitry Chaplin - The Argentine Tango was kind to them. With three 9s, another solid 27 puts them about where we expect them to be. Yeah, it's kind of harsh to hold them to such a high standard this early in the competition, but with the way they've been dancing, we have no choice. And by "we," I clearly mean everyone in America since I'm the official Skip To My Lank spokesperson for all DWTS fans. Thanks, it's a great honor.

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff - Solid, but nothing crazy. Aaron seems to be better with the faster-paced dances, and the Argentine Tango is a very discipline routine. He held his own and seemed to enjoy himself more, so I fully expect for him to be back with us next week and the week after. Unless the damage has already been done with the fan base (Baseball Mom is a decent bellwether, and she can't stand him, so there you go).

Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer - Mark did his thing this week. Dancing the paso doble with a partner that was dressed up like a bull, he showed a lot of personality and performance. The dance was energetic and he really impressed both the judges and crowd with his routine. I wouldn't be surprised if that performance saves him for the next couple weeks. It was that good.

Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas - Everybody knows I love Melissa, but I'm still not sold on her slow dance routines. As an actress, she likes to get into the performance aspect of the dances, which suits her better for faster-paced routines. However, Argentine Tango was good and showed her improvement in the slow dance area. If she continues her progress and becomes a more complete dancer, I think her relationship with the crowd will take her further than we expect. Maybe.

Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova - By far Mike's best performance of the season. He rocked the paso doble with a very authoritative performance that showed off some nifty footwork and gobs of personality. You can still see the rigidity in a lot of his movements, but he has improved quite a bit and will be an interesting contestant for the remainder of the season. His fan support is clearly there, but can he keep progressing enough to have the judge support that will ultimately keep him on the show?

Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough - Let's give her a mulligan this week. Derek had the flu, so she actually danced with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and the lack of practice caught up to her. Her misstep almost caused Maks to fall, and there were big point demerits because of it. However, the rest of her Argentine Tango was nearly flawless, and she should be around for a while, despite the mistake. Hopefully, the voters feel the same way as yours truly. If not, we're headed for a Michael/Kelly final, and I'm not cool with that. Sorry, just venting after Natalie got voted off for no reason. Speaking of Kelly...

Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel - Probably one of the more fun moments of the season this week. Kelly danced to her dad's song "Crazy Train" and gave an energetic paso doble. The song fit the routine very well, and it was cool to see Kelly dancing to her dad's song while he was in the audience rooting her on. She apparently injured her foot during the dance, but nobody noticed; a testament to her determination. She'll be fine, and should be dancing next week.

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson - Well, that just wasn't fair. Donny drew the Argentine Tango this week, a dance tailor made to his talents. Showmanship, pace, attitude, confidence, class; they were all on display as Donny danced circles around his competition. Basically, millions of American women (and maybe some dudes, no homo) fell in love with him as he danced flawlessly around the floor in a very strong, deliberate performance. I'm telling you, the way this guy goes out there and works the crowd every week, it's going to take a huge swing in votes for someone to dethrone him. He has a huge fan base and can actually dance...a good combination for this show.

Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower - My favorite couple was better this week, but they're still lagging behind the others. The Argentine Tango is a very disciplined routine, and Louie had a few missteps that showed. He doesn't dance a whole lot, he just sort of stands around while Chelsie looks really, really, really good and moves equally as well. If he wants to survive another week, he'll need to diversify his routines and put a little action in his game. Maybe next week is the start of a new era for him.

~~ Lank