DWTS/Heroes Update

(I have finally figured out how to have my VCR record and watch TV at the same time! No more flipping back and forth--I can watch entire shows without missing anything! Yay!!!)

Last night featured the dances the Waltz and the Paso Doble and the return of Samantha Harris as co-host on Dancing with the Stars. You would think asking banal questions and providing between dance banter would be an easy task, but substitute host Drew Lachey proved that wrong. Who knew? It's good to have the bubbly Samantha back...

Only one perfect score last night--and that was for Cheetah Girl Sabrina who thrilled the judges with her Paso Doble. Jennie Garth, however, thrilled curmudgeonly judge Len Goodman enough to win a score of 10 from him for her Paso Doble. There was all sorts of controversy from judge Carrie Ann last night regarding lifts. She only gave Jennie and Derek an 8 and hyperbolic Bruno scored them a 9 for a total of 27. The lift controversy and the on-going bickering between Len and Bruno (Len claims Bruno has punctured one of his eardrums with his enthusiastic remarks...) are the rare moments of drama in a fairly lackluster DWTS season...

26s and 27s were the median scores last night--Helio C., Marie Osmond, Mel B. and Jane Seymour earned a 26 for their graceful waltzes, but Cameron Mathison--doing a tongue-in-cheek Superman impression with costume and choreography--joined Jennie Garth in impressing the judges with a passionate Paso Doble and earning a 27. Helio and Cameron look to be the only men capable of hanging with the ladies this season--a complete reverse from last season. Mark Cuban's Waltz and Floyd Mayweather's Paso got kind remarks from the judges, but the lowest scores of the night with a 22 and 23 respectively.

Doubtless Floyd and Mark--who have both had encounters with the red light of death--will be in the bottom two tonight. It's hard to say which one will exit the show--Cuban had the lower score, but he's been escaped being in the bottom two the last two weeks. Mayweather danced an athletic but awkward Paso, but as an actual sports figure rather than billionaire sports team owner, one would have to think he has a better fan base.

We'll find out soon enough...

On Heroes there was a notable absence of both Peter Petrelli and Hiro Nakamura in last night's episode. Count me in with a sigh of relief as both of their recent storylines have had me in snooze-mode. Peter made a brief appearance via the teary-eared photo reminiscence of Nathan--who has finally shaved the unabomber beard--but sees a disfigured face again in the mirror... (Wasn't Nathan elected to the Senate in a landslide created by voting machine altered by Micah last season? Whatever happened to that?)

Unfortunately, the Maya and Alejandro plot drags on. But perhaps not much longer as the symbiotic twins have encountered Sylar in their journey to America. The less than angelic Gabriel has indulged his passion for bashing in brains to get rid of driver Derek and take off with his car along with the empowered twins--no doubt with the hope of acquiring their unique gifts someday soon. Maybe Maya's plague will off him before that happens...

Mr. Bennet is still worried about the prophetic Mendez painting that Mohinder saw showing him dead and Claire kissing some unknown boy--one that looks sort of like flyboy West. There was no appearance of Niki last night, but her son Micah is living with relatives (featuring an as of yet uncredited Nichelle Nicole continuing the Heroes/Star Trek connection started with George Takei)--and his cousin Monica looks like she has powers of her own. At first it seemed like hers was the ability to channel Martha Stewart, but now it appears that she has the power of subconscious muscle memory. Whatever she sees on TV, she can do as necessary later. It proved to come in handy when she performed a WWE martial arts move on an unsuspecting robber. Now that's a nifty superpower!

In keeping with the genetic heritage theme, Matt Parkman may have a superpower lineage of his own. He picks his father out of a photo that includes Nathan and Peter's mother Angela, Linderman, Hiro's father, Bob the Midas guy and Charles Deveaux--all who have known powers and all who have died of almost died. When he asks Molly (who along with Mohinder forms what I have termed the "3 M's" in a tidy little living situation...), she freaks out. Turns out that Matt's missing daddy may in fact be the boogeyman giving Molly nightmares.