Stars

Well, that was a treat, wasn't it? Because at first, when larger-than-life Len Goodman was projected onto the “Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars” big-screen, Big Brother like, to issue a challenge to the all-stars to redo an iconic dance and “show me something amazing,” all signs pointed to some gimmicky trick. It didn't help when we saw Maks in a pageboy haircut and guyliner, oversize chess pieces, livestock, and living statues pass by shortly thereafter. “No, it's not our Halloween edition,” host Tom Bergeron assured.

Charles McGraw The gravely voiced actor, who died in 1980 at age 66, played a hit man in the 1946 noir classic "The Killers" and went on to appear in such noir hits as 1950's "Armored Car Robbery, 1951's "Roadblock" and the 1952 classic "The Narrow Margin. " Audrey Totter Totter, now 92, made her film debut in 1945's "Main Street After Dark" and excelled in numerous film noirs, including Robert Montgomery's 1947 version of "Lady in the Lake" and "High Wall," which opens the "Noir City" festival.

Placido Domingo is taking time out of his operatic schedule this week to appear on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars. " But fans hoping to see the tenor demonstrate some fancy footwork will be disappointed. Domingo is only expected to sing on the live telecast Tuesday. The Spanish tenor will perform "Come What May" -- from the 2001 movie "Moulin Rouge" -- in a duet with Katherine Jenkins. The number is part of his new album, "Songs," in which Domingo performs a series of popular tunes.

Could “Dancing With the Stars” finally be losing its luster? Monday's premiere of the long-running ABC competition series was down 32% from last year - and all this despite months of heavy promotion and an “all star” cast including Bristol Palin and Pamela Anderson. It also finished well behind NBC's younger-skewing “The Voice” in key demographics, but the news for “Dancing” wasn't all bad: The show drew 14.6 million total viewers, versus 11.9 million for “The Voice,” easily making it Monday's top entertainment draw.

After weeks of competition, we are down to the finale of "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday night, when the final three competitors will learn who has won, and who goes home without the Mirrorball Trophy. Breaking down the three remaining competitors: William Levy: The world's perfect man, whom every woman loves. All he has to do is smile and hearts flutter around the world. And every time I see him, I think I'm looking in a mirror. On Monday night's show, Levy received two perfect scores for his two dances and ended the night in first place with 60 points.

The Times is pleased to have tennis legend Martina Navratilova guest-blogging for us while she competes on " Dancing With the Stars . " Today, Navratilova answers a few questions from Karen Chaderjian and gives some insight into the competition. Here are Navratilova's thoughts, which she offered via email. Q: You had a very indefatigable response immediately after the disappointment Monday night, saying, "You just pick yourself up and dust yourself off. " What would you compare this experience to?

Wow. That pretty much sums up our reaction to 100,000 Stars , the newest Chrome Experiment from Google . It's sure to amaze stargazers, art lovers, and anyone who is dazzled by the power of technology and the vastness of the universe. This latest addition to Google's collection of Chrome Experiments is essentially a 3-D map of the 100,000 stars closest to our sun. Using 100,000 Stars you can zoom in and out and around our galaxy, and even spin it around to enjoy it from different angles.

The Perseid meteor shower is expected to result in a dazzling display of shooting stars this weekend. And NASA would like your help counting them. The nation's space agency has developed an app for Android and iPhones to help amateur sky-watchers "count meteors in a scientific way and report the results to us," according to Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Tweet us your Perseid photos at #LATPerseid The Perseid meteor shower data collected by your smartphone can be used by Cooke's office to study and model the Perseid debris stream.

For one week at least, Donny Osmond was a big-time television star again. Osmond's victorious turn on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" was Thanksgiving week's most popular prime-time TV program, narrowly beating CBS' "NCIS." The "Dancing" results show came in third, the Nielsen Co. said Wednesday. Osmond is familiar with the prime-time television world, having hosted a variety show with his sister, Marie, three decades ago. Still, with an audience of 19.29 million viewers, it was the lowest fall finale for the dancing competition, down 7% from a year ago. The 2006 fall finale averaged 27.52 million viewers.

In motor-racing terms, IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves found himself dropping to the rear of the pack on "Dancing with the Stars," and now he'll need to charge back up through the field. But at least Castroneves survived to dance another week. The Brazilian driver, who won the fifth season of "Dancing," returned as part of this season's show featuring past winners and fan favorites. His partner is professional dancer Chelsie Hightower. Other contestants include former NFL running back Emmitt Smith and Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.