Courteney Cox may have to step it up a notch.
Sure, David Arquette's estranged wife is in the audience at Dancing With the Stars every week, but she—and everyone else—is being overshadowed by Rob Kardashian's cheering section, which tonight was headed up by Khloé Kardashian Odom, Kim Kardashian and their respective hubbies.
"Give him a 9!" Khloé encouraged from the sidelines after Rob's Broadway week cha-cha to "Walk Like a Man" from Jersey Boys, as she and Kim took turns screaming their heads off for their little brother.
Did the judges take their advice?
"Dream on, sweetheart," retorted Len Goodman, who proceeded to give Rob a 7 for a dance that managed, according to the head judge, to have both good timing and no rhythm.
How does that happen?!
Instead, the first 9 of the night was saved for Nancy Grace, whose scores for a fox-trot to Spamalot's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" ran the gamut.
When asked afterward whether being on the show had proved more of a challenge than he thought, Nancy's partner Tristan MacManus agreed almost immediately. Quickly collecting himself, he added, "Everything's great...I'm really enjoying myself. And it's a challenge for everyone. Nancy's learning and I'm learning."
David Arquette got to exercise his inner geeky prom king with a quickstep to "We Go Together" from Grease, and he only got bullied a little bit for being slightly out of sync with partner Kym Johnson and letting his enthusiasm get the better of him.
Daughter Coco sweetly matched Khloé in the screaming department, though, so that was a definite highlight, along with David's John Travolta impression. "I just love to dance!" he riffed after the performance.
"Your interpretation of the music was just beyond belief," Bruno Tonioli praised Ricki Lake, who missed a beat last week, after her Guys & Dolls quickstep to "Luck Be a Lady."
"Can anyone say Tony Award"? raved Carrie Ann Inaba. For those keeping score, Ricki and Derek Hough were rewarded with two 10s and a 9 for their efforts. (And for those keeping a different kind of score, Ricki estimates that she's lost about 20 pounds since the competition began.)
We thought Chaz Bono easily earned himself another week with a dramatic tango to the title theme from Phantom of the Opera, but maybe we were mesmerized by Lacey Schwimmer's shimmery white dress, because the judges found it lacking across the board.
"Not much to say, is there?" Chaz said glumly after scoring a 19. "I understand, I've been there," replied DWTS cohost and season-seven champ Brooke Burke Charvet (who, for the record, has not been there because she never scored lower than a 21).
We also actually thought that Hope Solo's rumba to "Seasons of Love" from Rent was one of her better dances, but, once again...it must be because we're such big Rent fans.
Carrie Ann and Bruno just seem concerned, but Len called it Hope's "worst dance" and ended up in a war of words with the soccer star's partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. When Len noted that the audience applauds the show but he's been in the business for 50 years, Maks suggested that maybe it was "time to get out."
"With all due respect, this is my show, I help make it what it is, I love every aspect of it," Maks said backstage. "I love every professional that's ever been here and I love every celebrity who puts effort into it every week. Having said that, I'm a little tired that we're being judged, some on effort and some being picked on [for] heel leads."
Whomever ever could he be referring to?!
Anyway, a knife was needed to cut through all the tension and, happily, that pointy blade was provided by DWTS sweetheart J.R. Martinez, whose quickstep to the intro music from Chicago was like a breath of fresh, nonaccusatory air.
Extra props were also in order for the final routine of the night, a group dance to a Sweet Charity medley that was actually fun to watch for a change.
Here's how the leaderboard stacked up:
J.R. Martinez & Karina Smirnoff: 29
Ricki Lake & Derek Hough: 29
Nancy Grace & Tristan MacManus: 24
David Arquette & Kym Johnson: 23
Rob Kardashian & Cheryl Burke: 22
Hope Solo & Maks Chmerkovskiy: 20
Chaz Bono & Lacey Schwimmer: 19
Who do you think deserves the boot tomorrow night? Sound off in the comments section!
GALLERY: Didn't get enough judging on DWTS? Move on to Fashion Police!