Ricki Lake and Derek Hough in Dancing with the Stars (2005)

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Hope Solo in Dancing with the Stars (2005)

Cheryl Burke and Rob Kardashian in Dancing with the Stars (2005)

Karina Smirnoff and J.R. Martinez in Dancing with the Stars (2005)

Tom Bergeron

Sharna Burgess

Brooke Burke

Dave Boone

Chandra Leigh

It&apos;s down to the top four on &quot;Dancing with the Stars,&quot; and the remaining contestants will have to perform three dances, including two individual rounds. They will all dance an Argentine tango and be allowed to do lifts, and take p...

Alex Rudzinski

Round Nine

It's down to the top four on "Dancing with the Stars," and the remaining contestants will have to perform three dances, including two individual rounds. They will all dance an Argentine tango and be allowed to do lifts, and take part in a cha cha relay. 

Hope & Maks: After racking up her biggest scores of the season, Hope is looking to wow the judges in the Argentine tango. She has serious shoulder issues that are making the dance very painful and her doctors comes to give her what's apparently a cortizone injection. Head judge Len Goodman starts by noting it's amazing to do three dances in one week. He liked her attitude and aggression, but that cost some precision. Bruno Tonioli agrees, saying it lacked artistry and reminds her that "control is as important as energy." Carrie Ann Inaba says she nailed the character, but the grace was missing from the holds. Scores: 7, 7, 7. Total: 21

J.R. & Karina: A week after achieving "DWTS" perfection with two 30-point performances, J.R. can only hope to maintain that level. He knows the bar is that much higher. J.R. says he has no prior dance experience, contrary to what some people seem to think, then promptly rolls his ankle in rehearsal. He dances the paso doble. Tom Bergeron confirms with J.R. that he twisted his ankle again during the performance. Bruno says the role play was great, but the posture was not quite there. Carrie Ann credits J.R. for attacking the performance with his hurt ankle, but his posture really suffered and she says there were some "unsure pauses." Len says "this dance didn't suit you at all." He says "it was more zero than Zorro," referring to the costumes and theme. Scores: 8, 7, 8. Total: 23

Rob & Cheryl: Rob is making his move at the right time, and Cheryl wants him to do particularly well in the Argentine tango, because she says it is her dance. First up, though, the samba. Carrie Ann's reaction: "Who are you?" She says "it was amazing," and he didn't miss anything. Len says he thought it would be a nightmare when it started, and he was "saying, 'Oh, yes!'" Bruno tells Rob "that's how you turn a handicap into an asset," in praising Rob's hip action on the samba. Scores: 10, 9, 9. Total: 28

Ricki & Derek: Ricki won't get a 10 from Len until she nails her footwork, and she'll have three chances tonight. Ricki is anxious about being lifted in the Argentine tango, feeling like she's too heavy and will crush Derek. First, though, she tries her feet at the samba. Len appreciates that there were no props and says it was "fabulous, fabulous, fabulous," and adds that Ricki just took a giant step into the finals. Bruno says it was brilliant from the beginning to the end. Carrie Ann praises Ricki's posture, even poking some fun about how hard she was working to keep her shoulders down and head up. Scores: 10, 10, 10. Total: 30

Hope & Maks: Before her second dance, Hope shares a bit about her childhood and a traumatic experience growing up when her father -- after a divorce -- effectively kidnapped her and her brother. He was arrested and imprisoned for a while, and when he got out, he started attending Hope's college soccer games. He died just before the 2007 Women's World Cup and Hope was benched in favor of another goalie -- and kicked off the team for a while after speaking out about the benching to the press. Len thought it was "far, far better than the paso doble." Bruno says it was a full-on display of athleticism. Carrie Ann says there was more fluidity to the movement, but that the movements into and out of the lifts needed to be cleaner. Scores: 8, 8, 8. Total 24

J.R. & Karina: J.R. recalls his childhood with a single mother in Louisiana and he enlisted in the Army on Sept. 12, 2002, in an effort to serve the country and get money for college. "I didn't process, exactly, that I could actually be at war at 19 years old," he says. J.R. looks pretty angry after the Argentine tango. Bruno says it was "absolutely beautiful to watch." Carrie Ann says there was a true fire burning between them, and she notes the very difficult lifts he was able to accomplishes. Len says he was "transported to the dark streets of Buenos Aires." Scores: 9, 9, 9. Total: 27

Rob & Cheryl: Rob's childhood story was about having his dad as a best pal, and he passed away when Rob was 16. His goal in life was to graduate form USC like his dad did. Once he did that, he was still a bit lost as to where to go next. His mother says that Rob entered this competition as a boy and is now a man. After the Argentine tango, Carrie says "there's no way to fake good dancing," and she says "that was good, strong dancing." Len tells Rob it's not where you start, it's where you finish "and you're finishing strong." Bruno says Rob now looks like a leading man and he's doing great. Scores: 9, 9, 9. Total: 27

Ricki & Derek: Ricki shares her story of being molested in her own home and says she turned to food. She landed a dream role in the movie "Hairspray," and hit rock bottom afterward. She was reinvented with her TV talk show and set herself on a new path. And now she's dancing the Argentine tango with Derek. Len calls it a lovely contrast of movement and tells Ricki, "I don't think you know how good that was." Bruno says the mood was spot on and the dancing was "peerless." Carrie Ann says Ricki now has the "pop." Scores: 9, 10, 10. Total: 29

Cha cha relay: All four couples are going to dance a relay format of the cha cha, giving the judges and viewers a chance to see them all side by side on the same dance. The couples will be ranked, from best to last, and points will be distributed, 10 for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third and 4 for last. 

In fourth place are Hope & Maks, getting 4 points.

In third place are J.R. & Karina, getting 6 points.

The winners are Rob & Cheryl, getting 10 points, meaning Ricki & Derek came in second and got 8 points.

LEADER BOARD: 

Ricki & Derek: 30 + 29 + 8 = 67

Rob & Cheryl: 28 + 27 + 10 = 65

J.R. & Karina: 23 + 27 + 6 = 56

Hope & Maks: 21 + 24 + 4 = 49

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Round Nine

🎭 Top Cast

🎬 Technical Specs

🎯 Categories

📖 Synopsis