Dancing with the Stars Week 3 Results: Margaret Cho Sambas into the Sunset

The Dancing with the Stars 2010 week 3 results show aired Tuesday night on ABC, on the heels of a smattering of forgettable and unforgettable Story Night routines. The night's action featured performances by musical guests Ne-Yo and Michael Bolton and a battle royale between pro dancers Mark Ballas and Val Chmerkovskiy, and ended with the elimination of comedienne Margaret Cho. Here's the play by play.

The Dancing with the Stars week 3 results show began with a surprising pick from the judges for the encore dance of the night: The Jersey Shore's Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff's bizarre, time-travel inspired Foxtrot. And yes, the repeat edition was just as strange and awkward as the original. If I were leaderboard topper slash reality star Audrina Patridge, I'd be annoyed that my season-high scoring dance wasn't chosen as the encore. But that's just me. Lenny and the crew do what they wanna do.

Once the oddity ended, co-hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke got to work with the dirty business of elimination as they addressed three of the week's highest scoring couples en masse. First to be declared safe to dance again were high-scorers Audrina and partner Tony Dovolani, followed directly by NFL star Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya. Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer, however, found themselves under the glare of the 'in jeopardy' red lights. Ooooh. So far, I'm cool with the results. Kyle is awesome for entertainment, but as more than one judge noted on Monday night, his footwork is not good. And in a dance competition, the feet are, er, kinda important.

The Dancing with the Stars week 3 results show moved onward with a buttery smooth performance of One in a Million by R&B's Ne-Yo. And he didn't just stand there and sing: He was all over the ballroom floor, telling his own story as he pursued a lovely lady and did some serious strutting of his own stuff. It was slick! I may have to pick me up some Ne-Yo tunes!

Up next, a taped segment featuring DWTS season 9 champ Donny Osmond interviewing folks in Las Vegas about the current cast aired. It consisted of the usual vapid commentary from random people, so I'll just skip 'er.

And then it was all about the elimination action once again. (And it became obvious that the director inadvertently played the wrong taped highlights clip earlier. Oopsie.) First to be cleared to dance again were actress Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough, followed by R&B singer Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovsky. In an odd moment in between the two 'safe' proclamations, NBA star Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke were deemed in jeopardy, but the duo mis-heard Tom and Brooke and engaged in an embarrassing celebratory hug and high five. Oopsie. (Again.) I'm cool with these proclamations, too. Mostly. Jennifer definitely deserved to move on; Brandy I don't adore, but she's better than others, I suppose. And Rick has been overscored at least two weeks in a row.

Moving on, Brooke interviewed Kyle and Rick backstage in the Red Room, where she asked the 19-year old if he thought he and Lacey could pull off a sexy number next week. He said sure, citing their "unique" chemistry. Riiiight.

Male egos were put on display on the Dancing with the Stars week 3 results show next as rivals Mark Ballas and Val Chmerkovsky engaged in a musical battle: Mark's guitar versus Val's violin. But it wasn't all about the stringed instruments: No, partway through, they abandoned the music and hit the floor with some fancy-footed ladies. On a night filled with bizarre action, it was appropriately bizarre. Yup.

Post commercial break, dissed and dismissed Dancing with the Stars season 11 celeb Michael Bolton (accompanied by a white-robe clad children's choir) returned with a rendition of Hallelujah. Real-life DWTS pro dancer couple Anna Trebunskaya and Jonathan Roberts provided an ethereal interpretation via movement. After the performance ended, Tom joined Michael on stage and welcomed him back; the director made a point of cutting to shots of Michael's biggest critic, judge Bruno Tonioli, who smiled and offered up applause. Oh, the drama!

The final four couples awaiting news of their fates for the week took to the stage next for more elimination action. While The Situation and Karina were declared safe (whaaa?!), teen activist Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas were deemed in jeopardy. Actress Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas were proclaimed safe, but comedienne Margaret Cho and Louis van Amstel saw the red lights. For the first time during this Dancing with the Stars week 3 results show, I'm a bit surprised. The Situation is an awful dancer. I don't know why he's still alive in the competition. America is weird.

Another taped segment featuring the celebs' thoughts on the emotion of competing aired. Total time-filler. Blah blah blah. But fortunately, more elimination action followed in short order as Kyle and Lacey were proclaimed safe. Then there was yet another commercial break that featured an ad for Dance Star Mickey Mouse. How many little kids are actually up at nearly 10 PM? Not gettin' the logic there.

But all bellyachin' aside, the Dancing with the Stars week 3 results show eventually returned from its break with the saving of Rick and Cheryl, leaving Bristol and Margaret left fighting for that last spot in next week's Acoustic Night. After the requisite dramatic pause, Margaret Cho became the third contestant to be eliminated from Dancing with the Stars season 11.

So who gets the boot next week? Beats me! Tune in next Monday to check out the all-new offerings from the nine remaining contenders. Or you can just check in with me. You know I'll be watching.

Sources

Dancing with the Stars 2010 week 3 results show, October 5, 2010, ABC