'Dancing with the Stars' recap: Triple dance, double elimination

As "Dancing with the Stars" fans know, Tuesday night  is double elimination, and the way the numbers are shaking down now, that could mean . . . well, who knows what it could mean?

Going into the finals rounds next week, this surviving group is better and more skilled or at least more tightly bunched in terms of scoring at this stage of the competition (week 8) than any "DWTS" competitors since season 9 nearly three years ago.

Yeah, that's a mouthful but it does appear that "DWTS" strategy this season is paying off -- better dancers, better competition. Monday  night, each of the surviving six scored above a total of  50, with the top four in the range of 55 to 57. Melissa Gilbert (51 points) would appear to be an obvious eviction tonight, but she is probably not statistically eliminated by this score either.

 In other words, it's actually up to viewers, which is reasonably rare at this point in any season. I still suspect Donald and Peta, William and Cheryl, and Katherine and Mark will be your final three going into the May 22 finale, and that it'll all come down to Donald vs. William.

If that happens, edge probably to Levy because the judges clearly aren't awarding athleticism as much as precision, or something (and don't ask me what the "something" is. Driver is far and away the better dancer.)  

In fact, they've been hard on Donald Driver, or -- to be blunt -- they've been ripping him off. He's the best  this season -- period --  and last night was unfairly awarded a trio of nines  for his tango when it should've been a perfect ten.

The judges refuse (and usually do, I imagine) to give out three tens for the first dance of the night, and so Donald had to make it up in the Trio Challenge with his extremely athletic -- and again, in my opinion, far superior -- Jive, to Levy's far more placid Paso Doble. (Levy got his perfect 10  for the fox-trot; he probably deserved too.)

SEE PHOTOSDancing badly with the stars

 So, my predictions for Tuesday night: Roshon goes; Melissa goes.

Meanwhile, to the clips! Levy's "perfect" fox-trot," and Driver's wild-'n-wooly jive: