Marie faints, Mel wows the judges on ‘Dancing’

Not the best from the best of the men
So far, Helio Castroneves has been the one hope for a gent to make it to the finale, but even he was unable to deliver on Monday night. In their worst dance to date, the racing champ and Julianne Hough crashed and burned with what is usually their strong suit, chemistry.

Apparently, Helio felt the rumba required acting to convey seduction. Well, he’s not an actor. Not even close. His usual smiles and sweet glances toward Julianne were replaced with creepy glares.

Whether he’ll be able to bounce back and lead the men next week remains to be seen, but after only meriting a 23 for the routine that Bruno Tonioli called painful, maybe he’ll at least try harder and act less.

One last woman had a chance to show the men how it’s done, and despite a bad cold and recuperating partner, Mel B did it. Still smarting from their moment in the red light last week, Mel and Maksim Chmerkovskiy performed, according to Carrie Ann, their best dance of the competition. And all of the judges agreed, it was the finest samba of the night.

Just one point shy of a perfect 30, Mel gave all the props to Maks, for being a great teacher. Even Samantha chimed it to congratulate the duo on a great performance, “for two sick people.” (Once again, welcome back, Sam!)

At least the men finished off on a slightly better than expected note from Cameron Mathison. He’s still not on par with the ladies, and he relies on cheesy shtick like bringing in daytime legend Susan Lucci to seal the soap fan base, but at least he shows improvement.

In a rumba that sailed past seductive and right into a little pornographic, Cam and Edyta Sliwinska did bring the chemistry. Sure, it looked like they might just stop dancing and get down to business, but, hey, that’s something.

Scoring a 26, and a not-so-shabby-for-a-dude third place, Cam accepted some rare praise from the judges. He also made sure to give his wife a shout-out for allowing him to do what he just did. “My wife’s watching and I love you for being so supportive about… this.” Ahem.

Given the men’s lackluster Latin night performances, Tuesday’s results show should see the male exile trend continue. But the fans, or whomever it is voting for Mark, could throw a wrench in that. Mark’s inexplicable staying power brought him this far, and after last week’s surprise bottom two featuring the competent Mel and Maks, anything could happen. One thing is for certain: Marie has the sympathy vote all locked up.

Don't miss this on MSNBC.com Pass it on: Sons of infertile men may be next The eight biggest Olympic marketing debacles Reality show judges range from wise to wacko Cosmic Log: Is this your jetpack? Forget your inhibitions: World's sexiest islands

MORE FROM DANCING WITH THE STARS

Donny claims ‘Dancing’ crown

Donny claims ‘Dancing’ crown Mya, Donny reach perfection in ‘Dancing’ final One couple out, three head to ‘Dancing’ finals Whitney to sing on ‘DWTS’ finale Mya scores another perfect 10 ‘Dancing’ ‘Dancing’ bids farewell to another star ‘Dancing’ does time warp with themed dances Two more couples get the boot on ‘Dancing’ Aaron Carter shines on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Two couples leave on ‘Dancing With the Stars’   Add Dancing with the Stars headlines to your news reader: