We'll Be The Judge of That! - Skating with Celebrities, January 30

Five celebrities remain paired with five professional skaters! Who did well, and who stumbled? And why did the stumblers not go home? There are definitely a wealth of opinions to be had, so let’s get to it! Read on for the judging of Brian Towers, C. Brian Devinney, Mary Hart, and Teeuwynn Woodruff!

Jillian Barberie & John Zimmerman:

Brian: It’s not her fault, but Jillian is obviously a “ringer” in this show, as she started out with a higher degree of skating skills than any of the other celebs. What compounds the advantage is the producer’s decision to give her an experienced pairs partner. So, each week the judges will respond with comparatively harsher criticism of this couple, in order to make this seem like a close competition. But, it’s not. Even with John’s spill, they were by far the class of the field as most of her stokes were clean and crisp. Artistic – 8.8; technical – 8.5. They can only get better and the rest are skating for second place.

C. Brian: It was fun. It was energetic.

It was sloppy.

The spins were off of their unison. Their hand holds were clearly grasps for each other. It did seem that they tried to pack way too much into their routine to make it more technically difficult but it did see to take away from their artistic merit. It looked more like what John Zimmerman did with his partner Kyoko Ina during the 2002 Olympics in adding in so much technical difficultly in the first minute of their program that it was all you focused on. Can they get thought that first minute?

Jillian, who had previously shown a lot of skill, seemed very shaky tonight. She pulled out of her spins before they were done and in the wrong direction at times. Her traveling lunge made me wonder if she was going to fall over as she slid over to John at the end of their performance. Overall, this did not wow me like their previous performances. It’s like they are still on the same level and trying to throw as much into their routines as possible to show they are the best rather than focusing on the core things that will show why they are they best. The performance was fun to watch, but I’m not seeing them as being invincible anymore. Remember John O’Hurley? We all thought he was a top contender and then lowly Kelly Monaco came through and won out. Could it happen here?

The fact that they only scored 0.1 more than Dave and Nancy, who had a fall in their routine, only tells me that they have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to retain their top dog status.

Mary: Jillian will cause John to be dissed when his pro pals tell him that a girl showed him up ‘cause he was the one to crash during the routine, not her. Glitch aside, their performance had lots of impressive tricks, but these two didn’t seem to have the connection this time. Interestingly, the pre-performance video showed John’s concern that there was too much emphasis in practice on moves and not enough on the simpatico between them. Jillian needs to lose a bit of her diva self, and be a better partner. Still she could have a shot as a show skater as she has the skill, looks, personality, and she sparkles on the ice.

Teeuwynn: First off, can I say that John manages to look adorable even when sweating in his warm ups. Yum! That said, the neck of his jacket this week looked uncomfortable. That didn't stop John and Jillian from having another great skate, though! Jillian's groin injury seems under control so far. The team performed a number of admirable tricks in this routine. There were a few moments where I could see Jillian wobble, but throughout the performance she maintained a nice degree of stretch and extension. John also made a silly (tired?) mistake at the end of the program... he was panting in the after-interview. It looks like he might not be in top skating form at the moment! I did love the combination sit-spins John and Jillian did and the look on Jillian's face at the end of the program was priceless. You could just see the thrill of competition shining through as she smiled at her partner. This is still the team to beat.

Bruce Jenner & Tai Babilonia:

Brian: Sentimental favourites Randy and Tai were much better this week. Bruce’s natural athletic ability and sense of balance is starting to kick in, and he is starting to get pretty comfortable on his blades. There were still some missteps, though. Primarily skating in ”safety-first” mode, we saw few hard edges on Bruce’s part. I loved the way they smoothly pulled off their over-hyped “Death Spiral!” Yes, I know these are skating rookies, but we know they’re going to get better, and that means they are not as good right now. Therefore, I score them 7.3 in both artistic and technical modes. Are the on-show judges are over-compensating, or just marking on some bizarre sliding scale? NO WAY was this better than the opening act!

C. Brian: DEATH SPIRAL! DEATH SPIRAL! DEATH SPIRAL!

Can I tell you how loud my roommate and I cheered when Bruce and Tai did the death spiral! Okay, so he did it with two hands. So didn’t have the best footwork to do it. But they did it!

This team, obviously, can’t do a high level physical performance like John and Jillian. Where they have the technical prowess, Bruce and Tai have to rely on artistry and they delivered in spades. The side by side spirals were incredibly nice to see even with a slight wobble from Bruce. Even the required element of the traveling lunge was incorporated into the song so it looked like it BELONGED, unlike how it just seemed thrown in at the end for John and Jillian.

Bruce’s skating has definitely improved since the first performance and he is showing a better finesse on his feet. What I’d like to see from Bruce is a little more attention to the smaller details such as his hand holds, his body positioning, and not looking so awkward. I agree with John Nicks. He looks awkward out there, but the improvements he has made are making up for it.

However, I’m thrilled that they scored higher than John and Jillian since I enjoyed their performance so much more.