Dancing Elimination: A More Interesting Situation Than Usual

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino scored an encore, but did he have to go home afterward?

By Natalie Finn Oct 06, 2010 2:10 AMTags

Talk about your alternate universe.

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff's futuristic foxtrot scored the judges' encore request on Dancing With the Stars tonight, giving the Jersey Shore star an actual reason to pump his fist for a change.

Or was it just a really nice way of keeping the door from hitting Mike in his increasingly humbled butt on the way out? (That is, if Rick Fox wasn't eliminated first just for being a bad listener.)

MORE: Who did Maks call "absurdly disrespectful"?

Yo, guess what?! The Situation's abs still have a chance to get the full reveal, as he was declared safe for at least another week. He didn't even have to sweat it out until the last minute.

But it was the end of the road for Margaret Cho, who was easily one of the better dancers out there, even if her rainbow-bright message of gay pride and acceptance didn't translate into votes last night.

"I thought the judges were really hard on me, but I think you were hard on my because you could see that I am a dancer, for real, and I thank you for that," Cho said, as her parents—targets of her ethnically fueled stand-up since her career took off—proudly applauded in the audience. "I will take that with me forever."

Alas, her burgeoning second career as "Margaret Cho, Dancer" was nipped in the bud.

Safe as expected was Audrina Patridge, who vaulted over fan/judges'/the-world's favorite Jennifer Grey by two points last night to land in first place.

Grey was easily safe, as well, and the disco ball contenders join the Sitch, Fox (that would have been really embarrassing if he and Cheryl had been eliminated after mishearing their initial ), Bristol Palin (who just squeaked by), Kyle Massey, Kurt Warner, Brandy and Florence Henderson in the safe circle.

Who knows, maybe Mrs. Brady will win the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Michael Bolton made a "triumphant return" to the ballroom, or so Tom Bergeron exaggerated, to sing "Hallelujah" in place of an ailing Susan Boyle. Ne-Yo also performed, and next week the nine remaining celebs will be dancing in the round for the show's first-ever "acoustic night."

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