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Strictly Come Dancing
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The John thing is a bit like the Julian Clary thing a few years back. Get the public vote by making us laugh. Though I seem to remember Julian was very good at the quickstep?
That mambo was brilliant. The best part of the show for me. How do you get your feet to move that fast and with such precision?!
Ooh how lovely to see the greyhound FS - although I quite agree with the off lead thing! Mine goes off on the beach and nowhere else even if she is getting on a bit now and is marginally less inclined to chase.......
I thought the look on the celebs face after the mambo was priceless - talk about blanching! I didn't really take to Hayley but I don't know why...on the other hand Christina is growing on me and she has been really good at choreographing to John's "strengths"
I really thought Christina was going to annoy the hell out of me but I have warmed to her. I've warmed to Brian as well. He was very protective of Heather on ITT.
I like both him & Kristina, welcome additions. I guess the thing with Hayley is she had a quiet partner too so we never really got to see her personality.
Interesting comment from Craig this morning on Breakfast that Rachel needs to show more personality, no chance Craig, that's what there is!
Yes I like Brian too - I'd definitely like to have him back again next year. Hadn't realised they were much gentler in the US. I know sometimes our judges are really harsh sometimes but it seems to me that if you listen to what they're saying and take it on board as constructive rather than destructive criticism it's worth listening too
On ITT the judge I enjoy listening to is Craig as I find him by far and away the most insightful into the dancing and I feel he really cares about the dance
We like our pantomime villains over here - they wouldn't understand in the States!
Craig does know what he's talking about and does genuinely try and find things where they can improve and generally notices when they do. And he doesn't shout like Bruno and Arlene tend to!
Sad to see Mark go but it was definitely his time. Not sure he could have taken much more battering from the Judges either. If I was him I'd want to take them out and drown them! Hayley seemed genuinely upset which might be the first bit of emotion I've seen from her. Hope she comes back next year with someone with some talent so we can see what she can do. Quite enjoyed the shirt coming off - must be getting shallow in my old age
Couldn't believe some of the marks on Saturday. How could CRH only give 3 to Christine, her dance really wasn't that bad. And how could Cherie get such a high mark after completely stuffing up the opening? Some of the criticism is getting too personal as well and it's not constructive.
Glad to see Heather&Brian go through first and how sweet Brian was to twirl her round. Hope this gives them extra confidence for the next dance. I found his mambo quite scary, it was too slinky and fast. Surely legs aren't meant to be that bendy
Favourite dances were Lisa&Brendan's paso which had lots of drama and good spins (even though I agreed about the comments re. her neck); and Austin&Erin's waltz which was quite beautiful and moving. Even though I found him intensely annoying as a rugby player he really is a good dancer and a nice bloke.
Have a nice week everyone
I abslolutely agree about the new professionals - I didn't think I would like either Kristina or Brian - but I think they are both lovely, really caring for their partners and getting the best out of them, not out to win for themselves (like for example Brendan!!)
I also really like Kristina. She seems a genuinely nice person and she dances beautifully. I suspect she is only dancing 10% with John - really holding back as she would dance him off the dance floor and all the way to Westminister!! Loved their mambo and am seeing Brian in a different light after seeing him saunter across the floor at the end of the mambo! Hayley seems a little cold.
I was surprised at Hayley's tears when they got chucked out "last night" as up until then I'd thought her rather cold and she didn't really seem to have any passion for the dance, the competition or her partner...
Oh well - just shows what a carp judge of character I am
Saturday 25th October
"Shush, it's on." Clearly, my discourse on guttering will have to wait.
I sit down on the comfy chair with a nod to fliss and the Champagne set but there's something missing: the 'Stars of our Show' are all lined up and Lilia's not there. It's like looking through the window of Ben and Jerry's and finding there's no Chunky Monkey.
We begin with Lisa and Brendan. Last week's surprise package, they scorn tradition and perform a Paso to 'Eye of the Tiger'. It's punchy and dramatic and, with the benefit of hindsight, the best Paso of the night. Seemingly blessed with no sight at all, the judges deliver a middling 29. Arlene wants to see Lisa 'work through her chest'. I'm with Arlene on that one.
Andrew and Ola take to the floor like lambs to the slaughter. You have to warm to this guy, he's a tryer, and spending 5 hours a day strapped to Ola can't be easy for a chap. Aided by low expectations their Viennese Waltz passes muster. 'Bumgate is history' cry the judges as Andrew stands upright and presses his groin into Ola's face (an added bonus, one might think). Craig says he's 'faking sway' - at least that's what I think he said. "24 points, that's fair." I said. "Yep." says Mrs JfW.
Christine (don't mention Alesha) and Matthew arrive. At this point I have to declare that, should Mrs JfW decide enough is enough, I have Christine pencilled in as a replacement. Subsequent observations are, therefore, less than impartial. Nevertheless, what follows is a dreadful calumny perpetrated by fiendish imposters who have no right to pass themselves off as afficianados of the dance form. Despite a beautiful frock (graded from silver to black with a mauve lining) and a polished performance, a well choreographed Paso is met with derision, culminating in the word 'plankish' from Craig, who contributes just 3 points to a brutally unfair 22.
Still reeling from the shock of arbitrational incompetence I spot Austin and Erin out of the corner of my eye. They start by turning a lot to the left and then they turn a lot to the right. A proper Viennese Waltz, then. Overcome with excitement Arlene is up to her old tricks again; starting sentences without having planned an ending: "Austin, you are a...that was the most..." - desperate to buy some time while she plots a path through to a full stop she starts throwing in adverbs, but to no avail, so she throws up her hands, folds her arms and sits back in her chair. I think she liked it. 34 points suggests I'm right.
Heather and Brian are waiting in the wings and I can see her lips shaking. Regaining her calm, she steps out in the pinkest dress I've ever seen. A colour unknown to nature, it's the ballroom equivalent of an e-number but the one thing that outshines the dress is Heather herself; she performs a beautiful VW and Craig is oddly out of step with the others, limiting the score to 27. It's a step in the right direction though, for the diminutive diva.
Mark and Hayley have a tough act to follow and Mark's exposed torso and Hayley's scarlet dress combine to distract us from their Paso. A woman of some class and keen to avoid their suffering, Mrs JfW leaves the room. Her chassay to the kitchen earns her an 8 (it would have been a 9 but she nudged the table on the way back). Left alone with Mark and Hayley I ponder the wisdom of trying to gain points with what amounts to a pole dance. Perhaps they should have adopted Ola's tactic of adding experimental moves, possibly the 'headbanging' that I am currently trying out on the doorframe. It's a shame really, Mark knows it's not gone well and he stands next to Brucie like a fallen horse at The National - the kindest thing to do now would be to put up a screen and wait for the gunshot. "You're no good at dancing" is the best of the comments; Craig and Arlene deliver 5 points between them but Len and Bruno believe that this was just 1 point worse than Christine and Matthew's. That sound you can hear is the grinding of my teeth.
We return to a proper dance competition with the arrival of Tom and Camilla. At least, I think it's Camilla, it could just be Tom in a bootlace tie. They do a dance. T&C fans will be disappointed to know that it left no impression on me, however I find myself once more at odds with the dancing cognoscenti and it appears their VW merited 32 points. What do I know? "You messed up the fleckerl" said Len. Yeah, I spotted that too. It was the first time this year I'd seen a dancer's feet.
It's apparent from the outset that John and Kristina have put their heads together and worked on some Paso fundamentals - bang on some classic Spanish music and teach him one step: the stamp. Now, call me old-fashioned but the sight of a small blonde woman dragging a corpse around a dance floor is not my idea of Saturday night entertainment. At the end, the crowd goes wild but, wisely, Craig keeps his counsel. The look on his face suggests that most of the adjectives he really wants to use are prohibited by the watershed. 3 points looks positively gushing - he believes this to be the same standard as Matt and Miss B. What happens next is a touch disconcerting; either that or it sends you into a spiralling vortex of anger and pain: they amass a total of 21 points. In short, the difference between John's and Christine's Paso is 1 point. Right now you get the feeling that John could punch Kristina in the face and club a seal to death on the floor and he'd still get a 6 from Len.
As if that wasn't enough we round off the evening with Jodie (I'm not a horse) and Ian. Jodie is very tall (about 18 hands) and Ian is well practised with the challenges this presents. Elegant, graceful, stylish. I won't be using any of those words in the next few minutes. 'Architectural' maybe, or 'statuesque'. It's a Paso, my friends, but not as we know it. In a running theme, Arlene puts it level with Christine and John, Bruno thinks it's one point better. Not for the first time tonight, I find myself at a loss for words...
Sunday 26th October
I'll cut to the chase here. I've just watched the results show. The moment of truth (which, thanks to the dramatic pausing, is really the 4 minutes of truth) has revealed Mark and Hayley as the recipients of the bad news. 24 hours on, however, I have yet to come to terms with the erratic scoring of our renowned arbiters. My anxiety over Miss B, my concern for the integrity of the competition and, indeed, for my own sanity, are all perfectly normal. My therapist said so.
Very well summed up, Mr JfW. Thanks again TopSec.
I think the judges are starting to lose it somewhat. Len is getting on my nerves too, TS. I thought Bruno laughing was terrible and Arlene, as JfW inferred in his dialogue, can't seem to put a sentence together. It's as if she knows whatever is said will be repeated lots on ITT and is trying desperately to do a couple of good soundbites but can't quite pull it off!! Bet she regrets saying whatever it was she said in the first week about finally having a GMTV presenter who can dance!!
Looking forward to watching DWTS taped from Friday as the standard is so high, the dresses gorgeous and the dancers fabulous. It may start to take over from SCD in my eyes if this week's is anything to go by.
Also, got to comment on the singers - can't remember whether this has been touched upon? Somebody please sack the one woman singer - think it's the middle one between the men. The end lady sings most of the jazzy ones but the other one, jeez! She absolutely ruined Vision of Love and there was a Christine Agru-thingy one last week she also murdered. All of them made a complete hash of Spice Up Your Life last week. It's totally laughable at times.
Sorry to be so negative about my absolute fav programme but - it is what it is.
Yes the singers can be prettty poor, always have been. Murdered a couple of songs this year.
I reckon the Sergeant will get through next week as well and then probably will be let go.
Agree on Christine - Ok so the judges didn't like the cheoreography - well that is done to Matt to be honest - but it wasn't that bad by a long way !! I don't usually vote in the early rounds but was compelled to vote for Christine to hopefully helop avoid a travesty of justice.
Wouldn't say she should win at this point but would be in my top 5.
most likely a minority view, but I do have to say, I'm starting to get a bit irritated by the pro dancers' jerky poses in the faster dances, especially in that mambo. Yes, it has to be that way in the paso and the tango, but they all seem to fling their arms and legs out with almost military, staccato precision in nearly every dance. Clever and all that but just a bit OTT.
Oh Top Sec - I love this resumé of the weekend you copy over - it's the highlight of the whole week!
Please please keep it up until Christmas (so to speak!)
Hi Strictlies, not seen the w/end shows yet as been getting soaked in Portsmouth at Gt.South Run, heard on way back today that Mark has gone though. Had to go sooner or later.
Like a few others on here Len is irritating me more & more
.
Keep Dancing
Ironwolf, I do agree with what your saying, some are a bit 'jerky', I have to say I prefer ballroom to latin generally. I adore watching Anton and Erin, so elegant.
I think Len's the sanest of the four judges - not that that's saying much.
Loved the bit when Arlene raised her paddle and announced the score in a Len stylee - rather stealing his thunder!
How did the GSR go, B.B.Dog and TopSec? I was marshalling a race in London and got absolutely soaked and was glad not to be running in such awful weather. Hope you had a good run.
I think Len needs to take something for his jet-lag, he's like an over-tired toddler getting tetchy
I'm going to miss Mark and not just for his torso, he's got such a nice smile
I agree Nemo - I did like Mark's smile......
I always think of Len commenting to redress the balance rather than what he feels absolutely.
For example if the others have said really horrible stuff he'll nearly always find a way to say something nice but equally so when others are raving (positively) over something perhaps a little too much (thinking Rachel and Vincent last weekend?) then he'll be more negative....
Morning strictlies, finally caught up with w/end shows & it takes two. Mark def had to go, Andrew i thought did well this week, my fave John looks good for a few more weeks pure entertainment,then be time for him to be gone & the real dancing competition takes over, no real clear fave for me at mo.
I thought Brian & Christinas dance was, in Craigs words FAB-U-LOUS
No competition really .
What's x-Factor?
Hope you don't mind a "butter-in" on this post, but what has Arlene done to her face/hair? Facelift and botox together? That probably explains why she can't string a sentence together, too many words and her face will seize up.........................