Dancing Shocker -- Cheetah Girl Sabrina Eliminated!

Even though I sorta predicted it in my Rankings and Elimination Prediction yesterday, my jaw still dropped when it was announced that Sabrina Bryan has been eliminated from Dancing with the Stars. What went wrong?

Unfortunately for the sassy Cheetah Girl, what went wrong is that she was just too good. She started the competition too strong, making many of the at-home viewers feel confident that she would be in it until the end, leaving them free to vote for their other favorites. And since Sabrina and her partner Mark's scores were not as impressive Monday night as they have been earlier in the competition, without call-in support, Sabrina fell into the danger zone.

The other problem facing Sabrina is that some viewers thought she had an unfair advantage in the competition, and I can't say I blame them. How is it fair to judge Sabrina, whose job it is to dance, and Jane Seymour, who is not only 30 years her senior but is also not a professional dancer. Essentially, the team of Mark and Sabrina was made up of two professionals, and that rubbed some viewers the wrong way.

True, Mel B. is also a professional dancer, as were Joey Fatone and Drew Lachey in previous seasons. But Mel B (as well as Joey and Drew) had charm by the bucket, while Sabrina never really ingratiated herself to the audience.

It's a bummer, 'cause she was good.

As for the rest of the show, it was a typical drawn out affair, notable only for a few different reasons:

-The absence of Jane Seymour, who came mysteriously down with a case of "food poisoning" on the very same day she had been predicted to be eliminated. Real convenient, Jane.

-The preview of Carrie Ann and Bruno's new show, which looks like a cross between So You Think You Can Dance and, um, every other dance and singing show on TV? I'm already hooked.

-Barry Manilow. Oh Barry. Oh Mandy. Oh Barry.

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