Last Night On DWTS

written by: Ira Robbins

A challenging doubleheader of dances -- ballroom and Latin -- made for a long roller-coaster of a show last night, as the six remaining couples on Dancing With the Stars tried various ways to please, charm and impress the judges. Marie Osmond went the furthest, planting a smeary red lipstick kiss on Len Goodman's cheek at the end of the quickstep she performed in a World War Two uniform to the tune of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."

Despite the conflicting demands of her Spice Girls reunion rehearsals, Mel B racked up a perfect score for a paso doble and a 24 for her foxtrot with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Jennie Garth also had a night of ups and downs, fighting off tears as the judges criticized her Viennese waltz (and awarded her a 25 for it) but exulting when a delicate rhumba earned her and Derek Hough a 29. Soap star Cameron Mathison fared similarly, with a disappointing 24 for doing the quickstep to a bizarre rendition of The Cure's "Why Can't I Be You" and a surprising 27 for a performance -- during the Latin segment -- of the jive set to "The Boy From New York City."

Only one of the couples actually did a Latin dance to Latin music -- Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves, a native of Brazil, showed how his nation's samba is done and earned a 27 score. Marie Osmond did the cha cha to a disco version of "Venus," while Jane Seymour cha cha'd to "Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)."

The evening's strangest musical pairings, however, were Helio's tangoing to David Bowie's glam-era "Jean Genie" and Seymour's quickstep to "I Walk the Line," done as a personal tribute to her late friends Johnny and June Carter Cash. Still, the show's biggest uproar was in response to a dig at President Bush made by judge Len Goodman.