I can barely watch “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” any more. The Bristol Palin problem has the ABC executives happy, with high ratings, but what about the tried-and-true fans who love to watch good dancing? Joey Fatone was eliminated last week; this week it was Hélio Castroneves (with Chelsie Hightower) and Drew Lachey (with Anna Trebunskaya).

Fatone brought the entertainment factor and danced with Kym Johnson in a memorable “Star Wars” tango. Castroneves with Julianne Hough performed that sparkling foxtrot to “Hey Pachuco.” Drew Lachey with Cheryl Burke danced the “Thriller” paso doble.

Both Castroneves and Lachey performed better than Bristol Palin. Mark Ballas is working overtime to make Palin memorable.

I don’t hate Palin. I don’t like her dancing and I don’t like how she skews the usual formula of “Dancing with the Stars.” Palin has the benefit of being a pseudo-political figure compliments of her mother, Sarah Palin, and has become a reality show circuit star.

At 21, she has no marketable skills, not having graduated from college, but she has written a best-selling memoir, “Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far.” By written, we really mean she was assigned a writer (Nancy French) to help her produce an autobiography. She starred in a Lifetime show called “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp” which is a play on her son’s name: Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston. Johnston has gone on to do other things, not notably finding a career although he attempted to become a model and actor. Johnston also wrote a book about his  life as Palin’s boyfriend and the father of her child: “Deer in the Headlights.”

As a follow up to Tripp, he now has a daughter, Breeze Beretta Johnston, who was born this year to girlfriend Sunny Oglesby. He was taken to court recently regarding back child support so supporting two children won’t be easy.

Bristol Palin’s first stint on DWTS had death threats, a suspicious delivery of white powder that proved to be non-toxic and a third place finish. She followed that Fall 2010 reality show, with an appearance on her mother’s TLC documentary, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.”

This summer, she was the star of “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp.” which saw her using her wealth to try out different cities. She moved to Los Angeles in the first episode. Then she has to promote her new book as well as deal with Johnston. She joins her mother inn Washington, D.C. She visits Willow, her sister, at the hair school in Arizona. Palin eventually moves back to Alaska.

The book was a New York Times best seller, but the documentary series didn’t attract enough viewers. Unfortunately for fans of dance, Palin has brings in voting viewers to “Dancing with the Stars.”

1. Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: 27.0 (9.0,9.0,9.0)
2. Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy: 27.0 (9.0,9.0,9.0)
3. Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 26.5 (9.0,8.0,9.5)
4. Sabrina Bryan & Louis Van Amstel: 25.5 (8.5,8.5,8.5)
5. Gilles Marini & Peta Murgatroyd: 25.5 (8.5,8.5,8.5)
6. Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 25.5 (9.0,8.0,8.5)
7. Helio Castroneves & Chelsie Hightower: 25.5 (8.5,8.5,8.5)
8. Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 25.0 (8.5,8.0,8.5)
9. Drew Lachey & Anna Trebunskaya: 24.0 (8.0,8.0,8.0)
10. Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 24.0 (8.0,8.0,8.0)
11. Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas: 22.5 (7.5,7.5,7.5)

The current field is:

1. Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani/Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy: 27.0 (9.0,9.0,9.0)
2. Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough: 26.5 (9.0,8.0,9.5)
3. Sabrina Bryan & Louis Van Amstel/Gilles Marini & Peta Murgatroyd/Apolo Anton Ohno & Karina Smirnoff: 25.5 (9.0,8.0,8.5)
4. Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke: 25.0 (8.5,8.0,8.5)
5. Kirstie Alley & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 24.0 (8.0,8.0,8.0)
6. Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas: 22.5 (7.5,7.5,7.5)

Of course, Palin hasn’t had it easy. She received death threats. And then she had a meltdown, arguing with Mark Ballas and that made good TV for Anderson Cooper and co-host Deborah Norville. Norville commented on Palin’s gum chewing problem. Ballas obviously has a problem on his hands in terms of attempting to get Palin motivated.

Compare that to the dedication and good sportsmanship that we see from Hélio Castroneves or the focus and relative humility of Drew Lachey. What about the humorous sound bytes that Joey Fatone provided?

Compare Palin’s pouting to the dedication and good sportsmanship that we see from Hélio Castroneves or the focus and relative humility of Drew Lachey. What about the humorous sound bytes that Joey Fatone provided? With these three gone and the voting pattern clearly indicated, get ready for more fan favorites of dedicaed DWTS viewers to fall. My friends and I are barely watching We’re going out dancing instead, making DWTS no longer must-see TV for us.

Can Palin again make it to the semi-finals with her questionable dance skills as other more engaging celebrities with better work ethics and dance skills are eliminated? Is this short-term gain of viewers worth alienating die-hard DWTS fans? Or are the executives at ABC no longer thinking long-term for DWTS? Has this series “jumped the shark” and signaled desperation with this “All Stars” edition

Can Palin again make it to the semi-finals with her questionable dance skills as other more engaging celebrities with better work ethics and dance skills are eliminated? Is this the death knell of “Dancing with the Stars”?