Dancing with the Stars: Helio Carreys On

How much do I enjoy Mel and Maks? I actually considered voting last night. And I never vote, partly because I want to maintain the integrity of this column, and partly because I'm too lazy. Ok, so only the latter is true.

In fact, the only person who seems to enjoy Mel and Maks more than I do is Maks, who, for the first time in his many season on the show, appears to have having a blast when he dances. Ok, maybe you can add host Tom Bergeron to that list, who is now getting a customary ass grab from Mel and Maks after their judges' comments.

Anyway, Maksim's choreography is showing how much he's enjoying himself this year. Just look at their playful mambo (which Carrie Ann prevented from getting a perfect 30 for no good reason — just 'cause) where he did several steps the follow usually does, and was an improvement over his fun tango, which was mostly overshadowed by the weirdness of doing a tango to Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."

As good as Maks has become, the Houghs are still my favorite choreographer. Julianne got the upper hand last night, first whipping up some cape-y fun during their paso doble (though not the same magic as her dance with Apolo last year) and later putting together an exciting and intricate quickstep inspired by the "Hey Pachuco" sequence in "The Mask." Though Mel's mamba may have been a better executed dance, Helio and Julianne (pictured, right) get the edge by putting really putting an exclamation point in the evening with the kiss at the end, which I'm sure was planned, so Julianne's "surprised reaction" was part of the plan). If only they could've gotten her shoes to pop off the way Cameron Diaz's did.

In fact, the judges kept reminding us that, at this stage in the competition, they expect the competitors to step up and wow them. I expect the same thing. Helio did that last night. Jennie Garth seems incapable of doing that. I mean, if a visit from Richard Simmons can't pump you up, I don't know what can. Seriously though, her jive WAS a little slouchy, and there were a couple of mistakes, while their fox trot was an improvement, but not "wow" worthy, according to Bruno, who's pretty easy to wow. In fact, I expect Jennie to be going home Tuesday night.

That means, that, yes, I expect Marie Osmond with her fainting and her death in the family to be able to garner enough viewer votes to stick around a bit longer, even though she's not physically capable of keeping up with the rest of the competition. With Jane gone, that fact became more glaring last during a sluggish rumba and a country-themed jive that had the judges comparing her to Sara Evans — which is not a compliment for this show.

I also think that Cameron Mathison and the millions (or thousands or dozens) of women who want to see him waltz to "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter or "cha cha" in tight beige pants will get their wish. His waltz was very solid, though Len wasn't so impressed by his tielessness and waxed chest, but his cha cha WAS considerably robotic. Also, I've learned beige looks good on no one.

So what'd you think of this week's episode? Why haven't we seen more of Mel B's husband Stephen (who's lots of fun) while we've been getting WAY too much Donny Osmond? What would it take for the judges to give someone anything lower than 8 in the last few weeks (do they even have 6s or 7s back in that table)? Finally, let's be honest: how awesome was it that the show whipped out "Hedwig's Theme"?! Favorite. Musical Choice. Ever.