Will "Dancing with the Stars" Season 11 Be a Shocker Each Week?

The surprises just keep coming during "Dancing with the Stars" Season Eleven! First, the mild shock of the elimination of our beloved Mrs. Brady, Florence Henderson, on week five. Then the jaw-dropping results of week six that eliminated Audrina Patridge, star of MTV's The Hills. And on week seven, DWTS fans were slapped a third smack when retired NBA player, Rick Fox, and his partner, Cheryl Burke, got the boot.

Three bootie-shaking stars, all holding their own on the dance floor, are sent packing while an Alaska-bred, passionless, just-okay dancer was given an undeserved bump up the dance ladder? Whatzup with that?

"Dancing with the Stars" Week Five, Six and Seven Elimation Shockers

Sure, someone has to go home every week on "Dancing with the Stars." However, it is usually somewhat predictable during the first half of the competition which star might be next and at this stage in the competition, the surviving contenders are usually fairly evenly-matched. Every season, about this time, usually the less nimble stars are watching from the sidelines! But this season, "Dancing with the Stars" fans have been thrown a few unexpected curves.

DWTS Week Five Tremor: Most fans probably didn't expect Florence Henderson to make it to the finals, but Florence received her personal highest scores for her performance of the tango on week five, and she clearly outshined Bristol Palin's flubbed attempt at the jive in a Gorilla suit. Amazingly, in spite of landing at the bottom of the leader board, Bristol and Mark went on to perform in week six.

An Earthquake on DWTS Week Six: Audrina and Tony Dovolani's Paso Doble performance was spot-on, but Audrina still had problems getting into character. Judge Len was particularly harsh on Audrina, telling her she was "getting on his nerves" and scolding her for not living up to her potential. Despite Len's brow beating, Audrina and Tony landed second place on the leader board for the night.

However, a seismic shock hit DWTS fans during week six elimination night. Audrina and Jennifer Grey were the final two dancers standing in the dimly lit loser spot, as an audience in disbelief realized that one of these talented dancers would not get a shot at the coveted mirrorball trophy. In spite of his critical assessment of Audrina's dancing, Len was visibly upset, describing the situation as "absolute nonsense". Did Len's criticism hurt Audrina's chances? See the Week Six Results here.

Still in the Aftershock Of Week Seven? The mystery of how Bristol Palin beat out Florence on week five and Audrina on week six faded, however, with the elimination of Rick Fox on week seven! Fans and media alike were aghast at the realization that Bristol, after another lackluster performance that earned the lowest score of the night, would be back to dance in week eight. But more shocking was the fact that the sexy (even looking like the Jolly Green Giant in his green suit) and lovable Rick Fox, was eliminated after his best scores of the season during the show's 200^th episode!

Jimmy Kimmel asked Rick Fox on his Tuesday night "Dancing with the Stars" after-the-elimination segment something to this effect, "Do you think you might have survived the elimination if your mother was the former governor of Alaska? Rick dodged the tongue-in-cheek question with his usual tactful grace. Check out week seven of "Dancing with the Stars" Week in Review.

After the last three shockers, "Dancing with the Stars" fans are undoubtedly braced for just about anything in the weeks ahead. Maybe by now, however, they realize how important it is to actually vote for their favorite dancing star, and they'll do it!

Resources:

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" website