Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
Time to resurrect a Strictly thread!
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
Is it one of his impressions, Saffy?
Morning
Saffy - I think it's because nobody really knows what he looks like normally because he's always slipping in and out of characters - I have always found it really odd to watch him whenever he was being himself as it never quite felt right!
I agree with Nessie about Artem, he is cute enough but not man enough for my taste...
I have found Robbie strangely endearing - 'strangely' because I am terribly prejudiced against anything to do with football!
Chelseeeeee's little girl act drives me mad, she will have to be a bliddy fantastic dancer to overcome that for me.
I like Rory, he is coming across as a decent guy and I always go for them more than the bad boys.
Russell is having great fun and I would like to see whether he can actually dance - I suspect the answer is 'yes'.
I do find the early rounds overlong though, especially with sir Not dead's inane burbling thrown in.
I'm out for dinner on saturday so will catch up on iplayer when I get chance.
Aaaah I'm not alone in liking Rory then
. I think he's lovely, and he replied to me on Twitter too! Bless him. He's got my vote.
I am swiftly coming to the conclusion that I need to record everything I want to watch. Then I can start watching Strictly half an hour after it starts, and skip through Brucie and Tess. You can get the X Factor into about 35 mins by skipping all the adverts and dross
. Results shows tend to bore me so I have them on in the background while I do something else.
Yep, the early shows are a bit of a marathon, couldn't do it without recording it so I can pause it occasionally.
There's more rugby on Saturday as well. So I'll either be ridiculously overexcited or v. depressed about the result and I may end up watching SCD drunk.
Was away at the weekend so only really just caught up.
I'm quite happy with Brucie and Tess' ramblings, fills in the time nicely!
It's a bit late to go into each dance and couple separately now. I really enjoyed Robbie & Ola (is he the Darren Gough of this series?) Liked that Alex didn't look as petrified.
Wish Lulu had gone instead of Edwina.
Was surprised to see Audley in the bottom two.
I would love Nancy to throw in a cracking routine just to shut people up, doubt it will happen though
The lovely Ian Waite on ITT tonight
I was on a course a few years ago and the tutor had booked Rory Bremner to do an after dinner speech for her charity, which she had set up in her husband's memory. She said he was absolutely brilliant and everyone had laughed and had a good time. Before he went on he was very nervous and afterwards asked her whether he was OK and whether he had done what she wanted. He was genuinely concerned about doing a good job for her.
When she was driving him to the train station he gave her the cheque back that she had given him for his fee. He said he didn't want to take the money from the charity that obviously meant so much to her and that he had enjoyed himself, so it hadn't felt like work. What a lovely chap.
Ditto.
Russell looked pretty good in training for this week's dance on ITT. I'd like him to stay in a long time.
So who is everyone most looking forward to seeing this weekend and why?
I can't wait for:
Rory (obviously!!)
Lulu (because the footage of her training looked dreadful
)
Russell (because he's just so darn enthusiastic)
aaaaand.....
Chelsee. I can't explain this one at all. I just think she's doing well!
Robbie - to see if last week was a one-off or not
Russell - to see if he really can dance too (I think so)
Lulu/Nancy - to see who is worst and to hopefully wave one of them bye-bye
Harry - eye-candy.
Robbie - Looking forward to the 'journey'!
Lulu/Nancy - as per Nessie & Len 2
Chelsee - looked very pretty last night on her ITT training without all the hair and slap
Russell is fun but I fear the joke will wear thin before too long.
Couldn't warm to Alex on The One Show but am liking her on this and would like to see her improve.
Anita, because she is enjoying it so much
Rory because he is our thread sweetie
Just watching ITT at the mo. James & Alex looking good? Still not warming to Lulu ...
Its no where near the JfW standard but I've found this recommended by the JfW appreciation gang.
Strictly Come Wedding DancingStrictly Come Dancing is proving itself to be very easily led by its flashier US cousin, Dancing With The Stars. Levels of prop involvement this series are at an all-time high, and it is only week two. And it seems we have already embraced theming. Next week, it's Broadway night. This week, judging by many of the couples' performances, it's Wedding-Reception night. (Unless you're Aliona and Harry, or Brendan and Lulu, for whom it's apparently soft-rock soft-focus music-video night. I think every night is probably soft-rock soft-focus music-video night for Aliona. Sorry, Aliona fans. I don't like her choreography at all and I don't really know what I can do about that.)
Wedding Reception night begins, of course, with embarrassing speeches from Bruce and Tess.
And then, in the manner of someone who has been drinking all day, Chelsee Healey cannot wait to start the dancing, leaping up on the judges' plinth and shaking everything the good lord (and her cosmetic surgeon) gave her. She is brilliant, but I am distracted during her judges'comments by a cutaway shot of Mel from out of Mel & Sue sitting in the audience with Paul Hollywood. Are they on a Great British Bake-Off date? Are they cheating on Sue and Mary Berry? Or is it just Sue and Mary's turn to stay in and babysit the dough in the airing cupboard?
Edwina and Vincent are dancing the foxtrot. Edwina is really throwing herself into the cougar narrative. She even does the 'grrr' tiger-claw hands. Did any good ever come out of anyone doing this? Apart from actual tigers. It's probably quite effective when they do it. For their performance, Edwina and Vincent have a big neon sign that says 'Vincenzo's Cafe', plus the red and white gingham tablecloths from Tony's Trattoria in Hi-de-Hi! – and sometimes it does feel a little like Vincent is shoving a particularly heavy sweet trolley around as he attempts to maneouvre Edwina into position. I'll have the fruit salad, thanks Vincent. I'd like to think I'm above the mass, indiscriminate slagging of Edwina, but MY GOD, she is an annoying woman. As the judges give their verdict, she will not SHUT UP, and apparently would like some kind of special treatment because this is the first time she has danced a foxtrot. Have you ever watched Strictly before, Edwina? Because that's PRETTY MUCH HOW IT WORKS.
Alex and James are dancing the foxtrot to Have You Met Miss Jones?, for which they had to ask my written permission, and I graciously assented. Alex, who has been constructed from leftover pieces of Christine Bleakley and Carol Smillie, does a nice job, although I don't know why she plumps for sitting on John Prescott's lap when Tom and Dougie from McFly are right there for the preying on. This is what the stress of competition does to a person.
I am a bit in love with Dan Lobb now, and feel furious that I have been so demographically manipulated. Their training video has a cute segment where he and Katya play tennis together. Does anyone else think that the two of them TOTALLY fancy each other? After his testing first week, things haven't got any easier for Dan as now he has to dance the salsa – the scourge of the slightly awkward and inflexible. This is his punishment for coming from the Daybreak sofa and not the BBC Breakfast equivalent. It's not good, but they do throw in a handspring and some good lifts. Unfortunately, I fear it says little about Katya's hopes for Strictly survival that she's pulled them out of the bag so early. Even Gavin Henson did not take his top off for at least five weeks or so.
Lulu and Brendan's foxtrot starts with a hideous mirror section - like a Bonnie Tyler video in ballgowns. Urgh. Brendan does seem enamoured of this kind of 'lyricism'. What happened to the old Brendan who was rude to everyone? He was great. Lulu does at least remember most of the moves this week, which is a relief for everyone.
Like Dan, Rory has taken the express train to Awkward Town by drawing the salsa. I don't think he makes a bad job of it really, but I seem to be in a minority on this. In training, Erin says with glazed eyes that are strangely symptomatic of Stockholm Syndrome that the great thing about training with Rory is that he can be a different person every day – as he runs through a grating series of impressions, culminating, back in the studio, with a Len Goodman that is less Len Goodman and more generic middle-aged cockney. Has BBC4 ever made one of their the-tragic-personal-lives-of-comedians dramas starring Ken Stott about the secret pain of the impressionist? The search for identity! The lonely entertainer with only his 'voices' for company! Maybe Jason Donovan could take on a rare serious role and perm up to play Rory.
It's Robbie and Ola! To show his respect for the decorum and sophistication of the foxtrot, Robbie has styled his hair like the Duchess Of Kent. I was just thinking about her hugging Jana Novotna at Wimbledon, and was reminded that Jana Novotna is also a bit Robbie-alike about the barnet. Robbie's foxtrot is great and full of – hold tight, I'm going to use the word 'pizzazz' – pizzazz, and Ola is a genius. Next!
Anita and Robin are doing the salsa. Anita goes a bit 'mad nan', but you can't fault her commitment. She makes very obvious mistakes, but the judges can't seem to get enough. (This will be further fuel for Anton's pyre of injustice.)
Hide your eyes, you infirm and squeamish, for Jason and Kristina are ROLE-PLAYING. No, they are not pretending to be strangers in the bar of a motorway-services branch of Travelodge. They are acting out some kind of 30s/40s (I am not very good at decades) jazz-club sleazathon, but they are doing it at the Rivoli Ballroom, which is one of the best places in the world, so that makes it kind of alright. Nothing could make Jason's bright red trilby alright though – not even Artem, who was probably the last person to wear it. Jase is brilliant, in a slightly blander way than last week. He talks about finding the character within the dance. If that's the way he tackles the foxtrot, his showdance is going to be like a two-minute King Lear.
Oh Aliona, you and your softly erotic dance narratives. They are lost on me – and also Len, apparently, who is angry at Aliona for claiming she never listens to the judges. She and Harry dance a competent foxtrot, but they seem to be getting lost in the field of contestants when, at the start of the series, it was all about Harry for me. So much so that when I heard about his rumoured participation, I went to the McFly website to check whether they had any autumn/winter touring commitments. My point is, POOR HARRY. WHO WILL CARE FOR HARRY? Who will correct his posture problems? Who will make sure he is eating properly? Will it be Aliona? Or will she be too lost in her reverie that she is a misunderstood artiste?
(Incidentally, in Aliona and Harry's training VT, it is totally brilliant when Dougie says he is supporting Jason Donovan.)
Now it's time for Russell and Flavia. Russell has Hugh Jelly sleeves (that's a little shout-out for fans of televised alternative comedy in the late 1980s) and he is the one left on the dancefloor at the end of the night, spinning round and round and having the best time ever. The judges seem to have disengaged from making any kind of dance-related criticism and seem hypnotised by his positive mental energy. 'Positive Mental Energy' is probably one of Russell's premium-rate motivational astro phoneline services. I'm a Capricorn, the most miserable of all the signs, and even I am feeling the effects.
Afterwards, Robbie Savage gives Russell a kiss on the cheek at the top of the stairs. They are, like, totally BFF, and now I can only think of them in terms of this sketch with David Beckham and James Corden.
Come results time, it's Edwina and Vincent who are taking Len's Coaches directly to Loserville. Will anyone miss them?