Week 8 of this season’s “Dancing With The Stars” sees Kirstie Alley “out of love” with professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy? Looks like it. After a run of weeks of Kirstie “loving” the guy, “hugging” the guy and “kissing” the guy, we suddenly find her no longer in a “lovey-dovey” situation with her dancing mate. It all started last week but by this week, the relationship has succumbed to that of a “freeze zone”. If you look closely at the two of them, they’re hardly on “eye contact” even.

During the rehearsal, Kirstie looked a little dejected with scenes of her falling down not once but twice and on performance night, although she emerged stunning in “red” and took on the “Argentine Tango” (song “Cite Tango”) with ample sexiness, sensuality and passion, it makes me wonder if this is the same Kirstie Alley I used to love and admire. Gone is the “silliness” and “playfulness” that’s her trademark. Although this dance genre should demonstrate a passion-of-sorts, the chemistry between Kirstie and Maks tonight was almost a total “zero”. She’s lost that certain something she used to have for him. After completing the dance, she looked completely out of breath as the judges passed out their compliments and even when she obtained a total score of “28” (including a perfect score of “10” from one of the judges), she still did not look genuinely happy with the results.

And in the next round during the “instant Latin dance”, Kirstie again looked beautiful, this time in turquoise blue with a matching flower in her hair. She managed to execute the “Salsa” (song “Cobrastyle”) in style but lacking the usual spark she normally exudes. After completing the dance, she was still “cold” towards Maks. Very obvious was the lack of “eye contact” and “playful flirting” she normally directs at her partner. Even during the interview before the results were announced, the jokes and the laughter seemed “forced”. What’s going on, Kirstie? The “instant” dance earned them a score of “25” and the 2 routines together gave them a grand total of “53”.

Ralph Macchio on the other hand was a picture of great courage as he braved a leg injury to go on even though he was obviously in great pain. It is quite evident that the “Karate Kid” spirit is still embedded within the soul of this fine actor. And yes, “Mr Miyagi” would have been so proud of his ex-pupil. It’s a pity that Pat Morita who played his karate “master” back then is no longer alive to witness this proud moment. I’ve always felt that Ralph who always plays the “good” guy or “underdog” in most of his movies is actually a nice guy in real life as well and his appearance in “Dancing With The Stars” this season has confirmed this. But people do say that “good guys finish last”, don’t they? Even
more so the pity.

When the videoclip of his rehearsal indicated that he had injured the spot behind his knee, he decided to have it checked out and the result was a reduction of rehearsal hours to a mere 9 (from the usual 40) due to a ruptured cyst and tendonitis being diagnosed. In spite of the shortage of practice hours and the pain he’s obviously going through, he managed to complete both his dance routines.

When he made his entrance with his lovely partner Karina Smirnoff, all eyes were on them. This beautiful partnership took the “Viennese Waltz” (to the tune of “Maybe I Maybe You”) to a different level altogether. They injected it with an air of mystery from the moment they made an entrance in equally-stunning black outfits, eye makeup and all. The whole interpretation was dark, dramatic, passionate, feisty and ominous but it spelt “bravado” as Ralph painstakingly went through the dance motion to complete it to the delight of the judges and audience alike. At that moment, it was like the ending of the “Karate Kid” movie once again when the “underdog” triumphed. Long live Daniel LaRusso! Sigh!! Those were the days… Anyhow, although he did look a little “stiff” in tonight’s performance (probably due to his pain), the both of them managed to pull in a score of “25”.

For the “instant Latin dance”, they cleverly devised the beginning of the choreography to reflect Ralph’s old movie “Karate Kid”. The scene started with Karina prompting Ralph to dance but he declined because of the injury to his leg. So what happened next was just so “brilliant”. She puts her hands together in a clasp, rubbed them and then placed them on his knee. And of course, the pain miraculously disappeared. He jumps to his feet and they were on their way with their “Cha-cha-cha” (song “Stuck In The Middle”). For some reason, with the easy-going look portrayed for this dance, Ralph actually seemed more natural thus making the entire dance pretty entertaining to watch. Although the overall performance was below par, the judges showered him with compliments of “perseverance” and “dedication” to his craft and gave him a “standing ovation” in spite of awarding him a low score of only “21”. The 2 routines earned them a grand total of “46”.

This week we are down to the final 5 and although Ralph Macchio was in danger of being eliminated because of his low scores, he was saved when the announcement came stating that the ones leaving were Romeo (the rapper formerly known as Lil' Romeo) and his professional partner Chelsie Hightower. Thank God we get to see another week of my “Karate Kid” Ralph Macchio.

The following are 4 videoclips from my 2 “favorities” Kirstie Alley and Ralph Macchio to entertain you: