Dancing with the Stars: Wrapping Up Season 4

What could be better than watching celebrities make grand fools out of themselves on television? Not much, unless it's watching them make fools of themselves on Dancing With The Stars. Yes, that's right, you too could have watched eleven beloved television, movies, sports and music celebrities show us how much or how little they can dance. This season's cast of celebrities was more diverse than in past seasons, but it didn't lack in entertainment value.

When the season started, we had some fairly well known celebrities on the dance floor and a few that were lesser known. Over the course of the season, they were picked off one by one until there were three. Two athletes and a singer. Who could have expected that? Oh wait, anyone who watched the show from the beginning. An athlete is far more disciplined than actors, singers and other celebrities.

We started off with Laila Ali. Daughter of Muhammad Ali and a boxer in her own right. She is undefeated in the ring and came pretty close to being undefeated on the dance floor. Laila and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy made it to the final three with sassy Latin and sensual ballroom dances. Their funky freestyle kept them close to the top right until the end.

Then we have someone who falls on the other end of the spectrum with Billy Ray Cyrus. Cyrus and his partner Karina Smirnoff were not always the most talented on the floor, but they never failed to entertain the crowd. Cyrus was called everything from a raging bear to a left footed hillbilly throughout the season, but managed to make the final five just the same. Just when you thought they were going home, Cyrus and Smirnoff pulled a rabbit out of their hat and stayed another week.

Moving onward, we have Clyde "The Glide" Drexler and his partner Elena Grinenko. Now, if you go based on past experience, you would think that an NBA legend would have more ability on the dance floor. This is definitely not the case with Drexler. Week after week, his performances were lackluster and reaching close to abysmal levels when he was finally voted off in the fifth week. He obviously didn't get nicknamed "The Glide" for his rhythm or dance abilities.

Then we had Joey Fatone, the self proclaimed "Fat One" of the competition. He admitted to losing over 25 pounds during the course of the show and regaining some of the shape that he had when he was part of *Nsync. His partner, Kym Johnson, guided him all the way to the final two, coming in a very close second. He showed us, once again, that boy band members can do something once their career has fizzled down.

Now we come to former Miss USA, 2004, Shandi Finnessey and her partner Brian Fortuna. Beauty and elegance did not do a lot of good for the former pageant star. Seems that hosting game shows on GSN has weakened her ability to dance and dazzle a crowd. She was the second to be eliminated, which was a bit of a surprise, considering she wasn't as bad as some of the others that remained on the floor. I guess being Miss USA doesn't help you much if no one remembers who you are.

Next to leave the dance floor was Leeza Gibbons. Partnered off with Tony Dovolani, Leeza showed us that fifty can still be fabulous. She may not have gotten far in the competition, but she did prove that talk show hosts can dance, unlike the ones who competed in previous seasons. Leeza also showed us that you can do whatever you set your mind to no matter how old you are.

Another shocking celebrity that competed this year was none other than Heather Mills. Mills, partnered with Jonathan Roberts survived six eliminations and one pretty nasty fall during her last week on the show. In the face of adversity, Heather shined through and proved to viewers that having an artificial leg doesn't stop you from leading life. She never tried to show off her leg or mention it, really, unless asked in interviews. She showed a measure of grace and tried to do her best without using her disability as an excuse for her lackluster performances.

Now we come to speed skating champion Apolo Anton Ohno. Partnered perfectly with Julianne Hough, Apolo danced his way to the top of the leader board week after week. They shocked, amazed and impressed the judges, the viewers and their fellow competitors. Week after week, they performed solidly, they worked up to the highest level in the competition and in the end took home the mirror ball trophy, winning Dancing With The Stars: Season 4. Some say that Ohno had an advantage over the others because of his athletic ability, but Apolo proved that he wasn't always perfect either, getting his share of criticism from the judging table. But when all was said and done, he took that and proved that listening to the judges will pay off.

If you think I'm done, let us not forget about Paulina Porizkova. The former super model was paired off with Alec Mazo, but we didn't get to see much of this couple. The first two weeks saw them fall to the bottom of the leader board and thusly, they were the first to leave the dance floor. Sadly, well never find out if she could dance or not.

Oh the other hand, we got to see first hand that the beloved Cliff Clavin could indeed dance. John Ratzenberger, paired with Edyta Sliwinska, managed to shock the judges, the crowd and the viewers week after week. After surviving several close eliminations, Ratzenberger finally left us on the sixth elimination. He, much like Gibbons, proved that age ain't nothing but a number when it comes to heart.

Last, but not certainly not least, we have Ian Ziering. Partnered off with two time winner Cheryl Burke, Ziering was said to be the shoe-in winner. This, however, was not the case. Ziering was sent back to 90210 land just short of the finale with his less than impressive Elvis Presley impression. They did, however, make a great comeback from the bottom of the leader board on more than one occasion. It did look like, for a while, Cheryl was going to three-peat her Dancing with the Stars wins.

Overall, it was a season full of entertaining moments, fighting judges, near brawls and some really bad dancing. But, in the end, the best dancing won out and Apolo Anton Ohno has a mirror ball to add to his collection of medals. I look forward to Season Five to see who else they can pull out of the woodwork to dance for our entertainment.