So Leah out and quite shocked as to Bill E surviving over her but I imagine it was close.

Corbin to win but I know Amber will win.

TBH if I would guess all eliminations this series have not be shocking or controvesial as many US forum members online seem to be making out it is. We always knew Cristina lacked a fanbase and was perhaps the least known. Elizabeth / Brant we found dull. Snooki got a bad reputation and also her audience least likely to watch the show.

If anything I would say Valerie Harper's elimination coming 3rd was for me the biggest shock this year. Providing someone like Bill E / Jack does not win. I think America should have given Valerie a longer run on the show and really disappointing she left early. That is the way it goes though

BIB^^^^ I agree with that.

No matter how good she was, I don't think Elizabeth connected with the viewers, and her partnership with Val didn't have much chemistry either, which didn't help matters.

Brant had better chemistry with Peta but, again, I don't think he connected with the viewers and I'm not sure how well Peta is liked. A few FMs here have said quite forcefully they don't like her but I'm not sure how representative of the general public that it, although I have to agree with them - she's definitely not my favourite pro. As I'd never heard of Brant before and therefore didn't know him to like him on his own merit prior to the show starting, he suffered by association with me.

Christina and Snooki, as you say, didn't have the right fan base for Strictly, although I do think Snooki turned out to be a pleasant surprise; I found myself liking her far more than I expected to.

Keyshawn made no impact on me whatsoever, atlhough I do like Sharna. Billy Nye was fun but injured so his elimination was right under the circumstances. Again, I like Tyne and I hope she and Sharna will get decent partners next season.

Valerie is an amazing woman but she really couldn't remember her routines and it wasn't wrong for her to go. I'd also like Tristan to get a decent partner next season but I think he's been pigeonholed in the "supportive" partner role, rather than the "we're going to win this thing" role.

I'm glad Leah's out. She did improve as a dancer but I didn't like her. I couldn't warm to her at all.

Bill and Jack are both really nice guys and I like them both. Bill's partnership with Emma has been fantastic and, having got him much further into the competition that anyone could have expected, I'm sure Emma will be back next season. Of the two of them, though, Jack is the one who improved most, so I hope he gets through the next round.

I used to like Derek but I've gone off him lately and I think Amber has been over-marked on more than one occasion. Nothing against her personally but I don't want Amber & Derek to win. I would also like to see Derek be paired with a Valerie Harper or a Fiona Fullerton just once, and see how well he brings them on.

Karina isn't my favourite pro, but while she irritates me a bit, I don't find her off-putting the way I do Peta. Corbin is good and I don't feel he's been over-marked. Unlike Elizabeth he has connected to the viewers, and he has good chemistry with Karina. I'd like to see him win and if they put together a fantastic showdance, they might just pull it off. Something with lots of drama, like their Games of Thrones routine, might possibly do it.

Unfortunately ABC is too ratings focused so would not risk giving Derek a poor partner as the complaints from the casual viewers would rush in.

Maks as much as I dislike him did look so sexy on the show
It adds to his appeal lol

Another thing. Notice how the judges where more harsh this week. Maybe worried about their jobs I would say. Len has nothing to worry about as he is the only judge these days that adds controvesy. I can see ABC replacing perhaps Carrie Ann like Strictly did with Arlene and maybe putting Julianne (Yuck) and Maks to make 4 judges. Personally would love to see Craig on the show. Would rip the contestants to shreds and we would see the American audience going beserk

I think Craig was offered a judging spot on DWTS back at the beginning and declined, so I doubt he'd be offered again. And, fortunately, Julianne's probably too busy with her film career for a spot as a full-time judge. I didn't like her as a judge earlier this season - while she may have been right that Mark has a tendency to out-dance his partners, there was no need for her to make it personal when she said it; she could have expressed it differently and still said the same thing.

Do you really think the audiences would object if Derek had a partner who is only an average dancer? If so, it's a shame that the viewers don't realise that DWTS isn't actually The Derek Hough Show. I can understand some of the other pros getting a bit frustrated with the preference shown to him, if that's the case.

It is a shame. Fortunately for us BBC have the pro novelty of Anton to give him the comic celebs which means he never gets a shot of winning. Derek is the pro for the "best" celebs which usually entitles him so many wins or finale placings.

Whenever I look online for the DWTS lineup the comments are always like "I wonder who Derek has got" etc or if we have say Beyonce sign up next series (Not gonna happen lol) everyone is like "I hope she gets Derek" The viewers just don't care and do seem to want to make Dancing with the Stars the Derek Hough show. Thats why I prefer the early seasons of Dancing with the Stars.

DWTS becoming the Derek Hough show has put me off the show so much. It has become so unfair, and I don't see any stop to it until he is off the show. He gets the best or most promising ladies, usually with biggest fanbases. He breaks the rules, because he knows his fanbase falls for it, and never votes him out. If other pros break the rules like he does, they don't have enough voters to keep them in. Derek and his celeb are usually over marked, and if he doesn't win the season, there is such a outcry for it being unfair etc, that reading Twitter or forums is just not possible.

Compared to Strictly, I don't see similar thing happening. Yes, some pros might be more liked than others, but it's not as obvious as on DWTS.

Strictly doesn't let it happen, I don't think. For one thing, Strictly tends to rotate which pros get contenders and which get duffers more than DWTS does. Strictly isn't infallible (or Katya might have been given a contender one year) but they do manage better than DWTS in that respect.

Also, I have no proof for this, but it does seem as though on Strictly, the pros who appear to be becoming too popular and/or who have large fanbases tend to be replaced more often than the popular pros on DWTS.

However it happens, whether it's down to the producers or for some other reason, even the most popular pros on Strictly (apart perhaps from Anton, of course, who tends to be partnered with duffers anyway) don't seem to have built up the kind of fanbase that Derek has.

I know some are rooting for Jack and Corbin so here are the OTRC interviews for you.

http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/video?id=9330664

Afterbuzz

Jack and Cheryl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRoUr...ature=youtu.be

Corbin and Karina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2lu...ature=youtu.be

Elizabeth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AFYS...ature=youtu.be

Thanks for those links, Lili.

I'm rooting for Jack & Corbin. I want Corbin to win, Jack to be second (he's the real 'journey' contestant this series), and Amber to be third. I'm expecting Amber to win, though.

This is a nice interview that I think highlights the partnership of Bill and Emma and how much he thinks of her. I know he won't win nor do I want him to but the way he Emma and work together has been incredibly satisfying and enjoyable (for me anyway) this season.

http://www.people.com/people/article...55,00.html#vid

I also like the partnership between Jack and Cheryl.

I thought Maks was pretty bad. Though a professional, he managed to offer as little insight as Cher. Clearly he wanted to play to the crowd/his buddies and be liked but lacked the intelligence to do it with any substance. Instead he said everything was "great" before talking up the pro. Unless it was Derek of course, where his bitterness and resentment slipped out. I did like Lens body language throughout, he looked very put out

For the dancing, I think the result was fair. Leah had a poor night, not helped by typically dismal choreography. However Emma should be applauded, she showed what you can create with a bit of effort.

I hope Amber wins. Her first dance was dance of the season for me. Corbin is the best male "celeb" I have seen but I wouldn't care to watch anything he's done again. How much that falls on him is debatable I guess.

Completely agree Fabulist. I love watching Amber dance, mostly because it's been such a huge surprise in contrast to the fact she usually "swayed at the back" during dance numbers on Glee as there were actors who were much better at it. She's been quite a revelation to me that she's picked up ballroom and Latin and while her weight obviously creates issues with gapping and lines, I think she's compensated for that successfully.
I'm not a particular fan of Derek Hough but I don't think his skills as a choreographer can be negated, he makes the best out of his partner's abilities.

Of all the DWTS couples I've actively followed over the years, my fave pair was Mel B and Max.

I'm glad Jack and Cheryl are in the final. Jack, together with Leah, embodies the spirit of the show so much more than all the ringahs that they had and still have on the show.
Although I must say I don't mind Corbin being a ringah. It's obvious he puts in a lot of work. And he's dancing with Karina.
My second favourite pro. She's a bit too skinny these days, but still a great ballroom/latin dancer. Out of her depth in the non-ten-dance styles, but always a delight to watch.

By the way, here's a link to their last ever performance together of Louis van Amstel with his former dance partner Julie Fryer. It was at the 2013 Assen Dance Festival on the 10th of november in my hometown. They dedicated the performance to the Professor of Dance Ruud Vermeij, who was mentor to a lot of dancers, including Ian Waite.

At this link you can see the whole performance.
Louis won the Assen Pro Latin 3 times with Karina.

Afterbuzz

http://redcarpetcloset.blogspot.com/...lz-tocker.html

This puts it better than I ever could I've always been one to root for 'Derek Hough plus <whoever>' because I have always liked his dancing and choreography. This season, though, it seems to have been so rigged to get him and Amber to win (like it seemed (to me anyway) last season with Zendaya) - that I just haven't connected with them anywhere near as much as I have with Corbin and Jack (if you see what I mean ).

I honestly don't know who's going to win - the voting public have been very fickle this season. Just have to wait and see!

Aside from all that, I really enjoyed Maks as a judge. Not sure how he'd be as a permanent fixture, but he came off as unexpectedly charming...

I thought Maks was drop dead gorgeous, sitting on the judge's panel, and I'm glad they kept the camera on him as much as they did (and I've never really thought he was all that good looking the past) -- but I didn't really like him as a judge. I don't think he's quick-witted enough, and if they scripted him some jokes, I don't think he's a good enough actor to make it look off-the-cuff.

Honestly, I think if DWTS screws around with the panel, they're gonna have similar results to American Idol, which basically destroyed itself doing that. Simon Cowells and Paula Abduls don't grow on trees, and DWTS needs somebody interesting - not Shirley Ballas, not either Hough, not Maks, not Louis, not Anna, but somebody either Craig/Simon like and deadpan deadly, or somebody wacko like Paula. I'm not sure who that is (other than Paula), but it's sure not Cher, who was just short of catatonic. Now Howard Stern was a genius choice for America's Got Talent.

I actually think Jimmy Kimmel would be good - but I guess he's got a better gig on late night. They need somebody funny, screw the dance knowledge - the scoring is a joke anyway. No matter how hard I think about it, I always come back to Paula - dance background PLUS headline making babbler. Speaking of babblespeak, maybe they need Sarah Palin? She's knows as much about dancing as she knows about anything else. And her daughter was on! Twice!! Cher's dau.. son was only on once! Now Sharon Osbourne's had two kids on, maybe she could do it, but she'd be dull unless she started feuding with somebody.

True that, he seemed to play it very safe compared to his dancing persona.

I do wonder if this was a trial run for getting Maks or some other pro in as a replacement for Len? Len looked as though he was giving Maks the stink-eye on several occasions, and you could hear him giving Maks instructions in a grumpy voice several times...

Here is Jack and Cheryl talking about the final. Corbin is also there underneath.

http://watch.accesshollywood.com/vid.../2864248100001

USA today breaks down the final four.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/t...on-17/3655161/

The finalists in rehearsals from ABC GMA

http://www.puredwts.com/2013/11/25/m...medium=twitter

To me it looks like Corbin's freestyle will be the dance of the night.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/corbi..._article_87133

It may be but I always expect magic from Derek

Yes, Derek knows how to do a freestyle.

Here are the finalists in OTRC interviews. 2 interviews each with one some practice video.

http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/video?id=9339017

I suspect that Bill and Emma will go home tonight based on everyone's prediction. He and Emma have one of the best partnerships I have seen and I love that Emma took him on and brought him so far.

thanks for all these links lili; I think this season of dwts has been really interesting and a good mix of celebs in the final.

i'm beyond thrilled that Jack is there

and Bill

I haven't watched last night's show yet but my thoughts on the four contestants going into the show are:

First of all DWTS (and Strictly) is about taking novice dancers (whether it be people who are novices to dancing altogether or people who are novices to the particular style of dancing) and teaching them to dance. So for me, regardless of whether a contestant starts off as a good dancer or a bit of a duffer, I want to see improvement over the course of the series. No dancer is so good that they can't keep improving, not even the pros.

So in the final, we had two dancers who started off as duffers - Bill and Jack - and two who started off as good dancers - Amber and Corbin.

Of the two duffers, Bill was all about his wonderful partnership with Emma, his connection with the viewers and his infectious joy and enthusiasm for what he was doing. What he wasn't about was the dancing, which didn't exactly improve, despite one or . I really enjoyed watching him over the course of the series but I'm pleased that he didn't get to the final three.

Jack on the other hand, started off as a duffer but has steadily improved; his dancing is now superb, compared to what it was at the start. I also admire him for not letting his MS limit him and for doing something so physical as DWTS. He has also charmed me in a way that I didn't expect, given how little I like the rest of his family.

Of the two who were good dancers from the start, I don't think the judges have done Amber any favours. They overmarked her a number of times and they barely offered any criticisms. Because they didn't send up any red flags and point out the areas where she needed to improve, Amber and Derek didn't see a need to work on those things and she carried on doing as she did before. She was extremely good but I felt that she plateaued rather than improving.

Corbin, on the other hand, did get the criticism and did work on the areas that were flagged. I felt he improved and developed more as a dancer over the course of the series than Amber did.

As I've said before:

I'd like to see Corbin win, with Jack in second place (he deserves it for his strong improvement) and Amber third.

I think Amber will win - she and Derek combined have too strong a fanbase for any other result - and I'm not sure about the placement of the other two.