Fancast: Inside TV

Last night's Dancing With The Stars finale highlighted the hazards of letting voters put personality ahead of talent. We wanted perfection, and instead we got celebrity-powered TV that found most observers around the blogosphere feeling ho-hum if not admittedly disappointed at the lack of heat. Marie Osmond, looking as if she'd remade brother Donnie's old stage outfit from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (btw, that was the second musical from hitmakers Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice), just wasn't up to snuff, scoring a 46 out of 60 from the judge after a decidedly lackluster turn. The wattage was supplied by Mel. B and her partner, Mr. Hot Stuff Maksim Chmerkovskiy, whose cha-cha earned them a high score of 55 out of 60, continuing her steady one-two toward the championship. Competition from Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough, who freestyled to a 54 out of 60, seemed almost obligatory. But who knows. Two things to note: the real stars on this dazzling show are Hough and Chmerkovskiy, and tonight's episode brings back the entire cast of stars for one more turn on the dance floor.