TV Talk Week: Monday Night Shows! Recaps and Reviews, Part I.

Hello, and welcome back to another edition of The CW Torch! Today we will be reviewing and recapping, what's been going on over the last couple of weeks, with my Monday night shows. Last week, I intended to post a blog per day, of recapping and reviewing all of the current shows I am watching. But, I had a 40hr work week, so I didn't have any time to write. Since, I won't be working as many hours this week, I thought this would be the perfect time to catch-up on all of the shows I am currently watching. Especially, since most shows will be going on their Winter Hiatuses, I thought you could use this blog as a refresher for these shows.

This Fall, the shows that I have been watching on Mondays are; Dancing with the Stars, The Gifted, and The Good Doctor. All three shows have really impressed me this season, especially The Gifted and The Good Doctor, both being new shows. If you are interested in hearing my thoughts on these three shows, feel free to read this blog. If you are not caught up with these shows, I will warn you that there will be spoilers. So, without further ado, let's get into the review!

Dancing With The Stars, Season 25

Cast:

Barbara Corcoran- Shark Tank Panelist and Businesswoman, partnered with Keo Motsepe. Eliminated First.

Debbie Gibson- Singer-Songwriter and Actress, partnered with first-time professional dancer, Alan Bersten. Eliminated Second.

Derek Fisher- Former NBA Point Guard, partnered with Sharna Burgess. Eliminated Third.

Sasha Pieterse- Pretty Little Liars actress, partnered with Gleb Savchenko. Eliminated Fourth.

Nick Lachey- 98 Degrees Singer, partnered with Peta Murgatroyd. Eliminated Fifth.

Nikki Bella- WWE Superstar, reality star & model, partnered with Artem Chigvintsev. Eliminated Sixth.

Vanessa Lachey- Actress and television host, partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Eliminated Sixth.

Terrell Owens- Former NFL Wide Receiver, partnered with Cheryl Burke. Eliminated Eighth.

Victoria Arlen- ESPN host and former Paralympic swimmer, partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy. Eliminated Ninth.

Drew Scott- Property Brothers co-host, partnered with Emma Slater. Eliminated Tenth.

Frankie Muniz- Childstar Actor and race car driver, partnered with Witney Carson. Third Place.

Lindsay Stirling- Violinist and composer, partnered with returning pro Mark Ballas. Second Place.

Jordan Fisher- Singer and Actor (Most known for his role in Hamilton), partnered with Lindsay Arnold. Winners.

My favorite couples and my favorite dances of Dancing with the Stars, Season 25:

• Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson

• Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold

• Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas

• Sasha Pieterse and Gleb Savchenko

• Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev

Couples who I thought were eliminated too early:

• Sasha Pieterse and Gleb Savchenko- I thought Sasha had really good rhythm and a winning personality, it was sad to see her go, before she could even really work on her technique.

• Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev- I thought Nikki was a very powerful dancer, and had great technique. She really surprised me with most of her dances.

• Derek Fisher and Sharna Burgess- Derek didn't really impress me too much, week one. But, he really showed up during the Most Memorable Year Night, which was unfortunately the night he went home.

• Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke- I saw such improvement from Terrell, over the weeks and thought he should've been in the semifinals over Drew. But, that's just my opinion.

Most Improved Dancers:

• Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke

• Drew Scott and Emma Slater

• Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson

Who I thought Should've Won:

• Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson

Dances and Themes:

Week One (First Dances): couples danced either a cha cha cha, foxtrot, salsa, or tango.

My Top Dances of Week One (From Least Scoring to Highest Scoring):

Sasha and Gleb, Cha Cha Cha "Like That-Fleur East"

18/30: Wasn't a perfect dance by all means, with a few mistakes here and there. But, I loved her personality and thought she had pretty good rhythm with it being the first dance of the season.

Frankie and Witney, Foxtrot, "Sign of the Times- Harry Styles"

19/30: Already was impressed by Frankie and Witney, from week one. Thought this was a beautiful foxtrot, with not a lot to critique. I thought Frankie had good hold, except for in the very beginning I thought he was a bit unbalanced. He had really good timing and framing as well.

Vanessa and Maks, Cha Cha "Mother- Kesha"

21/30: I thought this was a really good performance from Vanessa, from personality to technique. She certainly had rhythm, and seemed to take Maks' strict teachings really well. Definitely showed signs of being a frontrunner, from the get-go.

Jordan and Lindsay, Tango "There's Nothing Holding Me Back-Shawn Mendes"

22/30: This was one of the best dances of the first week, by far. Jordan had control, leading Lindsay really well, personality perfectly matching Lindsay's amazing choreography. If there was anything to critique, I thought his shoulders scrunched up a bit in places, and there were a few foot stumbles.

Lindsey and Mark, Cha Cha "Don't Worry-Madcon"

22/30: My favorite dance of week one, Lindsey showed up looking like a professional dancer. I thought Mark and Lindsey were a match made in dancing heaven. Another female, who made an early start as a front-runner.

*From here on out, I will just be recapping my favorite weeks and dances, instead of doing a week-by-week review.

Week Four (Most Memorable Year Night): Stars performed dance routines, revealing the most memorable year of their lives.

Since, this was a very emotional week, it was difficult to pick favorites, because almost everybody showed their vulnerable sides. A lot of the dances received very high scores, and they were all much deserved. I loved pretty much all of the dances during this week, and felt like there were a lot of improvements made to each of the couples. But if I had to pick a few favorites, I would pick these performances.

• Frankie and Witney, Quickstep "Adventure of a Lifetime-Coldplay" 24/30

• Terrell and Cheryl, Viennese Waltz "I have Nothing-Whitney Houston" 24/30

• Lindsey and Mark, Viennese Waltz "Anchor-Mindy Gledhill" 26/30

• Victoria and Val, Foxtrot, "I Lived-OneRepublic" 27/30

• Jordan and Lindsay, Contemporary "Take Me Home-Us The Duo" 29/30

Week Five (Disney Night): Stars perform dance routines to Disney songs.

• Victoria and Val, Jazz "Steamboat Willy," 27/30

• Nikki and Artem, Jazz "Remember Me" 27/30

• Lindsey and Mark, Foxtrot "When You Wish Upon A Star" 28/30

• Frankie and Witney, Argentine Tango "Angelica" 29/30

• Jordan and Lindsay, Foxtrot "You're Welcome" 30/30

Week Seven (Halloween Night): Stars perform dance routines to Halloween songs.

• Victoria and Val, Viennese Waltz "The Night We Met-Lord Huron" 27/30

• Lindsey and Mark, Paso Doble "Roundtable Rival-Lindsey Stirling" 27/30

• Frankie and Witney, "Every Breath You Take-Chase Holfelder" 30/30

• Jordan and Lindsay, Paso Doble "Animals-Martin Garrix" 30/30

Week Eight (Celebrity Trio Dances-Quarterfinals): A part from performing one unlearned dance, the couples also had to dance a routine with a former contestant from past seasons.

• Terrell and Cheryl, Rumba with Kelly Monaco, "Slow Hands-Niall Horan" 24/230

• Frankie and Witney, Jive with Alfonso Ribeiro, "Good Place" 27/30

• Lindsey and Mark, Jazz with Kristi Yamaguchi, "Let's Face the Music and Dance- Seth MacFarlane" 28/30

• Jordan and Lindsay, Salsa with Corbin Bleu, "Que Viva La Vida- Wisin" 30/30

Week Nine (Semifinals): The couples perform a dance with a song chosen by the pros, as well a dance that reinterpreted an iconic routine from a previous season.

• Frankie and Witney, Salsa, "Shake-Yin Yang Twins" 25/30

• Victoria and Val, reinterpreting Derek Hough and Amber Riley's Charleston, "Bang Bang-Will.I.Am" 29/30

• Lindsey and Mark, Contemporary, "Head High-Alexander Jean" 29/30

• Jordan and Lindsay, reinterpreting Mark Ballas and Page Vanzant's Jive, "Proud Mary-Tina Turner" 30/30

*You can probably already tell why the final three, deserved to be in the finals. Just from looking at my favorite dances of the season!

Week Ten (Finals-Night One): Couples perform a redemption dance picked by the judges, and a freestyle.

• Basically loved all of their freestyles, especially Frankie and Witney's. I thought it was good of Witney to go with her creative gut, and sticking with her instincts for choosing a powerful song for Frankie. I was also very surprised by Drew and Emma's freestyle, because they have never really been my favorites, but I thought that was the perfect dance for them.

Week Ten (Finals-Night Two): Couples perform a 24-hour fusion dance, and their favorite dance of the season.

• Witney and Frankie, Foxtrot and Tango, "Without You-Avicii feat. Sandro Cavazza" 28/30

• Jordan and Lindsay, Salsa and Paso Doble, "Kill The Lights- Alex Newell and more" 30/30

• Lindsey and Mark, Cha-Cha-Cha and Tango, "Hot2Touch-Felix Jalen and more" 30/30

I am happy for Jordan and Lindsay's win, especially since it's Lindsay Arnold's first mirror ball trophy as a pro dancer. But, low-key upset that Frankie and Witney didn’t win, loved their partnership from the beginning, and thought that Frankie showed so much improvement from his first Latin ballroom routine.

Since, this review and recap of Dancing With The Stars is a bit longer than I was planning on it being. I am going to split my Monday Night review into two separate blog posts, but they will be posted on the same day. So, if you are interested in checking out my reviews and recaps for The Gifted and The Good Doctor, make sure to check out Part II of this post! Thanks for reading!

TTFN,

Chynna Williams @TheCWTorch