Season 19 - Finale

Okay, here's what we've got on tap for tonight.  The judges' re-do and the freestyles:


Bethany and Derek 
Jive (Song: “Shake It Off” )
Freestyle (Song: “Revolution” )
 
Sadie and Mark 
Samba (Song: “Hunter” )
Freestyle (Song: Theme from Super Mario Brothers )
 
Janel and  Val 
Samba (Song: “La Vida Es Un Carnaval”)
Freestyle (Song: “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” )
 
Alfonso and Witney 
Jive (Song: “3-6-9″)
Freestyle (Song: “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)” )

First thought - gross, I'm going to have watch that stupid duck samba again.    I know a lot of people liked it, but I just thought it was creepy.  Hated Mark's costume, especially the beard, wasn't crazy about Sadie's, and detested having the father and uncles up there with those damn duck calls.  Maybe they'll leave that part out this time?  I can hope, right?

I honestly don't remember Bethany's jive, but I do remember Alfonso's and am so looking forward to seeing him do it again now that he's got the season under his belt.  Haven't heard if his back is okay, but I sure hope so.  I think he'll absolutely kill the jive.  I don't remember Janel's samba that much either, but she is generally pretty good at the Latin stuff, so she's another one I expect to be really good the second time around.  Rumor has it that both of the jives have extra time added to them this time because they were both quite short the first time.  If memory serves, Alfonso did jive first or second week when there were a lot more dancers.  Same with Bethany, I think. 

The only hints I've seen on freestyle are that Alfonso will have some kind of "slow motion" tap sequence in his, and Janel said this about her freestyle:  "For our freestyle, we’re going to go with what we think our strengths are, which is our chemistry and what we bring to dancing when we’re dancing together. We’re going to keep it intimate, we’re going to keep it beautiful, we’re going to dance the hell out of it and go out with a bang."

I'm so looking forward to tonight.    Also tomorrow night - I really hope they go back to their roots and bring back all the dancers for an "encore."  (Okay, maybe not Michael, but I'll even sit through him to see Betsy and Jonathan and some of the others again.)

Here is the official ABC press release about the two-night event:

"Episode 1911 & 1911A" - After ten weeks of competitive dancing spanning a variety of styles from the Cha Cha to the Quickstep to the Viennese Waltz and more, Alfonso Ribeiro & Witney Carson, Bethany Mota & Derek Hough, Janel Parrish & Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Sadie Robertson & Mark Ballas remain in the competition, but only one couple will be crowned "Dancing with The Stars" Season 19 champion. Will the injured frontrunner Alfonso Ribeiro break the two-and-a-half-year reign of women winning the Mirrorball? Or will Bethany Mota and record five-time winner Derek Hough bring home the trophy? With the four couples all receiving perfect scores from the judges this season, it is anyone's game. In the two-part finale, all will have one last opportunity to impress the judges and viewers beginning on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) and concluding with the Season Finale, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

On MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), the four remaining couples will compete in two exciting rounds of dance. In the first round, each couple will take on the "Judges Pick" and perform a dance they previously performed this season that the judges have selected. In the second round, the couples take on the biggest competitive dance of the season, a Freestyle routine featuring special effects, additional dancers and unexpected surprises. The night continues by celebrating the new, contemporary spin on the classic show "Annie," coming to movie theaters December 19th. "Annie" stars Oscar®-winner Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne, and the youngest performer to ever be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award®, Quvenzhané Wallis, as Annie. Talented young dancers will join Wallis to perform a dance to "It's The Hard-Knock Life," choreographed by Mandy Moore. Then, at the end of night, one couple will be eliminated based on the previous weeks' viewer votes combined with the judges' scores from the previous Monday night.

The Season Finale on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 kicks off with "Dancing with the Stars: Road to the Finals" (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET). This one-hour special chronicles the journey of the three remaining couples revealing never-before-seen moments, director's cut-style commentary on their past dances and the judges give their expert opinions on what to expect in the two-hour grand finale. The night continues with the Season Finale on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET). The show is packed with exciting surprises and kicks off with a high-energy all cast performance featuring a reunion of all 13 of this season's couples, the judges and hosts. Then, as decided on by a Twitter vote, one of the four finalists will perform their Freestyle dance as an encore. Pop superstar MEGHAN TRAINOR will perform a medley of her catchy hit single "All About That Bass" and newest release "Lips Are Moving." Additionally, viewers will be treated to encore performances by Randy Couture and Karina Smirnoff to "The Way You Look Tonight," Betsey Johnson and Tony Dovolani to "Material Girl," Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker featuring tWitch to "Back In Time," Antonio Sabato Jr. and Cheryl Burke to "Tonight (I'm Loving You)," Michael Waltrip and Emma Slater to "Born to be Wild," Lea Thompson and Artem Chigvintsev to "Maneater," and Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd to "Drop It Like It's Hot." Additionally, the finale will feature musical performances by NICK JONAS, singing his hit single "Jealous," and Grammy®-winning artist JENNIFER HUDSON and GORGON CITY, performing "Go All Night." Then, with less than 24 hours to prepare, the three remaining couples will Fuse two contrasting dance styles that they've performed this season into a new routine they'll perform for judges' points. At the end of the night, the public vote from Monday night will be combined with the judges' scores from both nights to crown the Season 19 Champion.

Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday night during and up to 60 MINUTES after the end of the "Dancing with the Stars" broadcast in each time zone. Online voting at www.ABC.com and on Facebook at https://apps.facebook.com/votedwts/ is open for 15 hours, beginning from the start of the episode Monday, November 24 on the East Coast at 8:00 p.m., ET/5:00 p.m., PT and closing at 11:00 a.m., ET/8:00 a.m., PT the next day. A custom Facebook app lets fans vote, share whom they voted for and say why, as well as see whom friends voted for.

This year is unprecedented in terms of the level of interactivity. #DWTSAllAccess is available to watch every Monday on ABC.com/dancing and offers six live streams from key positions at the show venue, allowing fans to choose views of the Red Room, judges' table, Sky Box, make-up mirror, a wide angle of the dance floor and a feed hosted by Dominic Bowden and DWTS alum Lacey Schwimmer that highlights relevant social media conversations. Viewers on the West coast are able to live chat with Bowden and Schwimmer during the broadcast. Throughout the season, fans have opportunities to participate in the outcome of the show, using social media to weigh in on everything from songs, dance styles, and even partners.

Two-time Mirrorball champion and actress Julianne Hough joins Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba at the judges' desk. Hosted by Emmy® Award-winning host Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos") and Erin Andrews (sports host & "Dancing with the Stars" Season 10 finalist), "Dancing with the Stars" is the hit series in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines vying for a chance to win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

All I can say is "TWITCH!!"  Yay!

Reposting Singly's comments from the Week 10 thread - hope you don't mind!

Tonight was entertaining.

Bethany - Jive - a little lackluster for me.

Sadie - Samba - I somehow managed to ignore Fidel and focused on Sadie.  Thought she did great.

Janel - Samba - I didn't see the fumble but I did notice the grimace of pain.  She was also great.

Alfonso - Jive - He was as good as one of the pros.  Fantastic job.

FREESTYLES:

Bethany - I don't know about this one.  Unimpressive for me.  Too much of that damned "hand" dancing again.  Derek seems to be stuck on it this season.

Sadie - For me, it was all about Mark and one of his outlandish costumes.  I understand he was Mario, but...  I had no idea why the audience and judges' had such a huge reaction to it.  But the guy in green interested me.  lol.  Who was that?

Janel - Fluid and seamless.  Beautiful lines.  Insane lifts.  And that drop ending!  It's the only one I watched twice.

Alfonso - Loved the swing portions and tap.  The rest of it:  Meh.

I think it's anyone's game now.  Personally, I don't think Sadie is on a par with the others.  She's good, but Alfonso and Janel are better.

So... what are your thoughts, mustang?

I meant to add something.  I thought Derek's choreo for the whole season lacked his usual brilliance.  Even the costuming seemed off.

And with Mark.  OMG.  He's a cartoon on steroids.  There is just something so "in your face" about him that he completely puts me off.  He seems like the puppy you want to kick away (but don't - lol) because it won't leave you alone.  Like a hyper kid.

Witney has proven herself a solid pro.

And is Janel a stalker for Val?  Good lord, kissing his shoulder, etc.

Okay, that's weird.  I did post my thoughts . . . or at least I thought I had.  Another case of poof! 

Bethany - I thought her jive was much improved from the first time, even with the few mistakes.  Her freestyle was ok but it was missing that usual Derek spark.  I don't know if he needs a season off or if Bethany just isn't really teachable.  But we saw that same line up with hand dancing in the team dance, and we saw it in Amber's freestyle at least.  Maybe other places as well.  Maybe Derek is just really in love with that, but it feels been there done that.  And the lighting was horrific for that freestyle.  Way too much with the flashing lights.  Bethany also looked as though she was mistaking "fierce" for "mad" because that's what she looked like to me.  But I still thought it was good, if not great, and I think she should have stayed over Sadie.

Sadie - I didn't like her duck samba any better the second time and maybe even less so.  Did she make those over-the-top faces the first time?  I don't remember that, but maybe it's because I was too distracted by Castro dancing with her.  I did enjoy the freestyle and thought that was fun and appropriate for Sadie.  But I could not figure out what was so "never been done before" about it.  Other than the Mario theme, it seemed like typical freestyle fare.

Janel - I thought both of her dances were lovely and well done.  I'm not big on contemporary but I did like her freestyle, especially the bench-press by Val and the drop by Janel at the end.  I thought it was quite lovely and probably a good choice given that Janel missed 3 days of rehearsal.  That had to hurt.  Better to go with something somewhat familiar than try to come up with something completely new in just a couple of days.  I'm hoping for second for her, and I'll be happy if she wins because it means Val wins, but on the other hand, I'm not sure this has been his strongest season choreographically.  But I like him, and I like this partnership.

Alfonso - the jive was great the first time and even better the second time.  I loved his freestyle from beginning to end.  A nice mix of dance styles without the obvious song changes that people usually do.  And I loved both the apache dance and tap sections of it.  I also loved how Witney again let Alfonso have a short tap solo before she joined him.  Really nice.  I was not a big fan of Witney before, but this has been a wonderful partnership, and she has really grown on me.  Choreographically she's stronger than I expected as well, and who knew she was so funny?  Want a snack?

I'm really hoping for Sadie 3rd, Janel 2d and Alfonso for the win.  The big unknown is Sadie's - or rather her family's - fan base.  Is it big enough to get her past Alfonso?  I could see her getting past Janel, and I'll be okay if Sadie takes second, even though I think she was the weakest dancer of the bunch.  But I'd hate to see her win just because I think she's the weakest dancer left.  I guess we'll find out tonight!

I'm looking forward to seeing some of the other dancers come back again.  However it turns out, I think overall it's been a good, fun season.  And I was glad to see we'll have a Season 20!!  Much as I complain sometimes, I still love this show. 

Yay!  Alfonso won!!!  I'm so happy.  He deserved it.    Janel should have been second, but I can't have everything.  Good ending to the season.  It was nice to see some of the alumni back, but I still wish they could all do a short dance like they used to.  Michael is not any better, but wow - Jonathan did great in his dance with Allison and Twitch.  Always good to see Twitch! 

I was okay with Alfonso winning, despite his being a pro dancer.  I, too, think Janel should have been second.  As they showed flashbacks, I saw Sadie make mistakes I didn't catch the first time around (probably because I was so distracted by Fidel.)  Her performances were good, but not enough to warrant second place, IMO.

One would think, with three entire hours to kill, they could have allowed the past performers some dance time on the floor.  Jonathan was a surprise in that number he did.

I love Twitch!  That is one talented man.

I'd love to see them lose the hand-dancing and hip hop references in Season 20.  Not really my cup of tea, I suppose.

Check your email, mustang.

I agree with everything you said, singly.  I'm looking forward to season 20 and hoping they not only lose the hand dancing and hip hop but also the contemporary and jazz.  Probably too much to ask, but I can dream, right?

I did check my e-mail.

Hi, rkc.  You do have a point about Sadie being the only one without previous experience.  I used to root for the contestant who had the least experience but managed to move like a dancer anyway.  I think DWTS cured me of those thoughts.  lol.

I suppose it's difficult these days to find performers who haven't had any dance training.  It wasn't hard to get behind people like JR and Elio.

I don't know.  I simply didn't click with anyone this season.