DwtS 4, Week 4: Power Rankings

Now that the lesser female celebrities have been eliminated from Dancing with the Stars 4, it's time for the worst of the men to take a beating.

8. John Ratzenberger & Edyta Sliwinska
John's slip into the Bottom Two this week means that he's not connecting with the audience, and Edyta's lackluster choreography isn't helping their cause. I think when John was cast, most people (fairly or not) assumed he would be a funny guy, just because he acted as a comic character on Cheers. It turns out that, while he seems sincere and competitive, John hasn't really been all that entertaining. He may have exceeded expectations as a dancer, but he's fallen short as a comedian. Oddly enough, if the opposite were the case, I bet he'd be in less danger of elimination.

7. Clyde Drexler & Elena Grinenko
I'm still not sure how Clyde stayed out of the Bottom Two, after his wimpy Waltz and lousy attitude, but evidently some fans are still voting for him. I'm not sure how much longer that goodwill will last.

6. Billy Ray Cyrus & Karina Smirnoff
Billy Ray's commitment to the show is admirable, even if his footwork is not. But he's going to have less time to devote to dancing, now that Hannah Montana is filming again. If he lasts long enough to be required to learn two new dances each week, the show is going to become progressively more difficult for him.

5. Heather Mills & Jonathan Roberts
Like Billy Ray, Heather's going to have trouble fitting rehearsal time into her busy schedule; she'll be commuting from London every week for the remainder of the season. She was able to train for her Jive in only nine hours, but learning two dances each week might be too much even for Heather.

4. Laila Ali & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
After Maks's rule-breaking Tango -- and the resultant walloping from the judges -- Laila seems to have lost her confidence. She needs to get it back, before she loses her place as one of the favorites in the competition. Fortunately, I think she's safe for a few weeks, which should be time enough to get back on track.

3. Ian Ziering & Cheryl Burke
Ian's still giving strong performances, so he's moving up in the Power Rankings, if only because others are falling down. If he perfects his technique now, a couple of show-stopping routines in the final weeks could catapult him to the top.

2. Apolo Anton Ohno & Julianne Hough
Apolo & Julianne are sweethearts, and Apolo's a talented dancer. But they haven't been able to surpass Joey & Kym, because Julianne's been playing it safe with her choreography. At some point, they're going to have to go for broke.

1. Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson
Joey & Kym have been doing everything right: catering to both the audience and the judges. And when the judges speak, Joey's listening to them. That's the recipe that won the past two seasons for Cheryl and her partners, and it makes Joey & Kym the favorites for this season. By the end of his run, Joey's going to be one lean, mean, dancing machine.