‘Dancing’ finds perfection, and plenty of filler

Just as people have gathered throughout history to celebrate great cultural happenings, fans of "Dancing With The Stars" (ABC, Thursdays, 8 p.m. ET) sat by the glow of their plasma screens to mark the first post-Master P episode of the season.

What would it be like to watch only celebrities who are actually trying? Where would the judges be without their designated punching bag? Would P's departure make George Hamilton the fall guy, even if he managed not to literally fall?

And, of course, what would ABC do about pacing, since there are six teams left and the show continues to be 90 minutes long? That amounts to only one dance every 15 minutes, creating a lot of temptation to switch over to "Survivor." ABC threw in a "group salsa" to fill time, but it just wasn't enough. When the number of couples has been cut almost in half and the show doesn't get any shorter, the dragging is bound to show, even when a fast dance like the samba is featured.

Still, the end of P marks an end to the chaff-separating segment of the season, and now, the last six couples are getting down to business. Some started stronger than others, but every team left has something going for it.

First up and in the lead with the judges was Stacy Keibler, who has been a consistent favorite, but primarily for her work in slower dances. She's all languid legs and swaying hips, and murmurs were beginning to circulate among fans that it wasn't clear how much intricate footwork she could complete.

Ants in your samba pants
But as Stacy said early on, the samba is all about the booty, and Stacy can do ants-in-the-pants like nobody's business. She was less interesting in the samba than she's been in more elegant circumstances, but she still earned the first trio of straight 10s in the competition. It calls to mind what judge Len Goodman said last week — that it's difficult to teach talent, and Stacy seems to have it. Viewers could live without judge Bruno Tonioli's salacious "weapon of mass seduction" nonsense, but the high scores were on track, if a little overly enthused.

Consistent with the judging over the last few weeks, the second-highest scores went to Drew Lachey and his partner Cheryl. Perhaps the most consistently endearing couple in the competition, they're good without being so good that they seem like ringers, the way Jillian Barberie does on "Skating With Celebrities." They work together marvelously, and the chemistry they've had since the first week has never let up, all the way through last week's paso doble.

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Their samba was another fine performance. The competition is shaping up as a showdown between Drew and Stacy at this point, and while he isn't quite as natural a dancer as she is, he concentrates hard on technique and doesn't have the advantage of a body that earns leering compliments from the judging panel. (This is not to say Stacy doesn't deserve her scores; only that prattling on about her legs every single week makes Bruno's motives, in particular, difficult to parse.) Predictably, Drew and Cheryl didn't duplicate Stacy and Tony's perfect scores, but they did move easily into second place.

Third place went to Lisa Rinna, the competition's neurotic, needy little sister. Aside from looking sort of brittle and pointy at times, she can be appealing to watch. If nothing else, it's hard not to root for someone to whom being good at this obviously means so much.

Lisa and Louis's samba didn't have quite as much going on as it could have, but she moves with enormous energy. This is particularly impressive considering that, as she pointed out, she's substantially older than Stacy, who frankly should hope to look like Lisa at the same stage in life.

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