"Dancing With the Stars," though still one of TV's top shows, is stumbling in the ratings. The competition episodes are averaging 17.1 million viewers, down 11 percent from last fall's first four episodes, and 15 percent lower than the 2007 fall shows. Last week's results episode pulled in just 12.4 million.

And last night, desperation was in the air.

No less than three dance teams incorporated the judges' table into the choreography, with Lacey Schwimmer actually running sideways alongside it.

And then there were the props. On a night that introduced four new dances - the Charleston, the Bolero, the Lambada and the Country Two Step - the dancers relied on canes, lassos, drink trays, hay, and toxic levels of glitter to distract from any missteps.

Derek Hough went so far as to dance shirtless, and darned if it didn't work. His partner, model Joanna Krupa, kicked off her lambada by molesting judge Len Goodman before grinding her way into Hough's crotch. Bruno Tonioli praised their sexual energy, saying, "I have enough now for the next six months." Total score: 26 out of 30.

Aaron Carter disappointed with a cartoonish lambada that was "not raunchy enough," according to Goodman. Adding to the pressure, Gilles Marini - who pretty much embodies the lambada - was watching from the audience.

But Melissa Joan Hart improved her chances with a Betty Boopish Charleston that the judges raved over, awarding her her first 10, for a total of 28. They're the experts, of course. But from here, it looked as though Hart was nearly grunting with the effort.

Front-runner Mya proved that hips don't lie, with a lambada that Tonioli called "an exotic, erotic roller coaster you would want to ride over and over and over again until you are left exhausted and exhilarated." Then he collapsed with ecstasy. Mya earned two 10s, with just an 8 from tough-love Goodman to bring her down.

The redundant quote of the night came from Bruno Tonioli: "I love Liza Minnelli," he gushed.