DWTS Media Thread

[karalott]

This doesn't have to do with this season, but tonight E! premiered a half hour bio special on Kelly Osbourne. In it, she talks about how important Louis and DWTS were in terms of helping her become a happier, healthier person. There's a short clip of Louis trying to choke back tears while talking about how proud he is of Kelly. It's really very sweet.

Aww...I missed Louis this season. I'd like to see more couples like him and Kelly. She is what this show is all about for me. Someone who comes in where people have one set of expectations of you but wind up totally changing their mind, having no obvious dance experience, learning and improving every week (and having it show), and totally being respectful and having a fun relationship with your partner. I never would have predicted her to make the finals. I'm glad she wound up with Louis and not Mark, as was originally rumored. I think they might have been toxic together.

As for tomorrow night-for the repeat dances, no real surprises: Ricki is doing her Psycho tango, Rob his foxtrot from story week, and J.R. his jive from week 2, that Len said was too lindy and CA docked them for a lift I hope out of spite Karina throws in extra lifts just to mess with CA. Obviously, we know who will come out on top of that round. We'll see if the judges contradict themselves and totally praise J.R.'s jive when they knocked him down a few pegs when he did it week 2, for the reasons stated above. Karina also said they're doing a latin style freestyle, which has me excited. I'd rather see a creative, original, fun themed freestyle (Drew/Cheryl), or one where there's actual ballroom and plenty of dancing (Joey/Kym), or something completely outside the box (Erin/Maks), over another horribly dance hip hop routine or one that's filled with more flips, tricks, gimmicks, dancing on the judges table, and messing about. I'm glad Karina's in the finals to give us something new and fresh.

I still think it's J.R.'s to lose. Not sure who will take the other spot. Right now I'm leaning towards Rob getting 2nd, with Ricki 3rd. We'll see if the judges totally kiss everyone's a** tomorrow or if they have to bring the hammer down on one of their personal favorites.

[MHcarrollton]

OK I have been quietly supporting Rob for second behind JR, but I heard a comment from Rob this weekend that changed it. I do not know what channel it was on but they were talking about what they do to recycle, and he stated that he leaves his empty water bottles out for the maid. I lost total respect for him at that moment as it was just totally disgusting. As much as Derek drives me nuts, and I am over him, I am now rooting for JR first, and Ricki a distant second.

[Tilden]

Aww...I missed Louis this season. I'd like to see more couples like him and Kelly. She is what this show is all about for me. Someone who comes in where people have one set of expectations of you but wind up totally changing their mind, having no obvious dance experience, learning and improving every week (and having it show), and totally being respectful and having a fun relationship with your partner. I never would have predicted her to make the finals. I'm glad she wound up with Louis and not Mark, as was originally rumored. I think they might have been toxic together.

As for tomorrow night-for the repeat dances, no real surprises: Ricki is doing her Psycho tango, Rob his foxtrot from story week, and J.R. his jive from week 2, that Len said was too lindy and CA docked them for a lift I hope out of spite Karina throws in extra lifts just to mess with CA. Obviously, we know who will come out on top of that round. We'll see if the judges contradict themselves and totally praise J.R.'s jive when they knocked him down a few pegs when he did it week 2, for the reasons stated above. Karina also said they're doing a latin style freestyle, which has me excited. I'd rather see a creative, original, fun themed freestyle (Drew/Cheryl), or one where there's actual ballroom and plenty of dancing (Joey/Kym), or something completely outside the box (Erin/Maks), over another horribly dance hip hop routine or one that's filled with more flips, tricks, gimmicks, dancing on the judges table, and messing about. I'm glad Karina's in the finals to give us something new and fresh.

I still think it's J.R.'s to lose. Not sure who will take the other spot. Right now I'm leaning towards Rob getting 2nd, with Ricki 3rd. We'll see if the judges totally kiss everyone's a** tomorrow or if they have to bring the hammer down on one of their personal favorites.

If I remember correctly, Karina did exactly the same thing when she made the finals with Mario Lopez. They'd been heavily criticized for the break in hold during their tango, which Mario had wanted for dramatic purposes, so they redid the tango--and got straight tens. I really think J.R. would be unbeatable in that round if they redid his story week song, but I can also understand why that's a moment that they prefer to leave as it was. I hope the fact that they chose a jive and a Latin free dance means his ankle is back to normal.

And ITA about the hip hop free styles. I swear, at this point, they all look the same--and Bruno and CA continue to squeal about them while Len looks less enthusiastic. If it's a show about ballroom dancing, I'd like to see some evidence of what they've learned in the freestyle, and there's no hip hop anywhere in the show. I don't think they have to do an exact dance--that is, that they don't have to do a VW for their freestyle--but whatever they do should show some elements of what they've learned over the course of the season. Shannon and Mark probably could have done their freestyle even if they hadn't done the rest of the show, and I really didn't think it was that good, though to be fair, I didn't really like the Flashdance freestyle Cheryl put together for Gilles that season either, because I didn't think it played to his strengths or featured him enough.

[mandmmom2]

Did I read it right....that Monday they peform two dances...they get scored and we vote. Then on Tuesday night all three perform one more dance and get scored. They add that to Monday's scores and van votes to determine final two. The final two do the instant samba to be scored. Then they determine the winner. If that is right then the judges have more pull than ever. They can determine who wins by how they score the samba.

[TIA__MA]

Dancing with the Stars Finale: Who Will Win? - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

[Tilden]

Did I read it right....that Monday they peform two dances...they get scored and we vote. Then on Tuesday night all three perform one more dance and get scored. They add that to Monday's scores and van votes to determine final two. The final two do the instant samba to be scored. Then they determine the winner. If that is right then the judges have more pull than ever. They can determine who wins by how they score the samba.

That's how I read it too--the judges have a ton of power here. Not to mention that they have an insta-samba, and the samba just happens to be one of Rob's better dances. Man, I hope J.R. can pull this off. It's time someone other than a select handful of pros wins this thing, and J.R., like Mario, is proof that Karina can do well with the right partner. And I don't care how much he's improved, Rob still isn't as good as J.R. For my money, neither is Ricki. But that's a lot of dancing in two days, so J.R.'s ankle injury worries me some. I'd hate to see that derail his progress when he's been consistently good so far, even if the judges have given more weeks at the top of the leader board and a higher overall average score to Ricki (though I think that was significantly affected by J.R.'s injury-hampered performances last week; I know Ricki hurt her ribs, but J.R. reinjured that ankle mid-dance, which had to be more of a distraction to his finishing the dance properly).

[Bronwyn]

Did I read it right....that Monday they peform two dances...they get scored and we vote. Then on Tuesday night all three perform one more dance and get scored. They add that to Monday's scores and van votes to determine final two. The final two do the instant samba to be scored. Then they determine the winner. If that is right then the judges have more pull than ever. They can determine who wins by how they score the samba.

This is what they did the year Nicole won, with all three performing a dance on Tuesday for judges scores alone. They all chose to do their Argentine Tango. I don't remember if the first place couple got 10 points, or 30, but of course it was Nicole that was placed first by the judges, and with that, it was all over but the crying. This was also the year I finally realized any voting I had done was a waste of time. The finale was structured in such a way, it gave the judges all the power, and that IMO, made viewers votes irrelevant.

It's a tossup as to which of these three will reap the benefits of this final judges score this year, although I'm inclined to think Ricki could be out at this point. Carrie Ann will lobby for Rob to win, but in the end, I think JR takes the trophy. Not only does he deserve it on his dancing ability, and even though I don't watch this show anymore, I have seen some of his dances, but he is such a huge fan favorite, and such an inspiration to people, a JR win gives them the feel good ending they want and need, at this point.

[mandmmom2]

JR deserves this trophy. He is the better dancer, has improved, and is a fan favorite. Rob has improved so I think he deserves 2nd. I think Dereck is a fabulous dancer, teacher, and choregrapher but his wins are getting old....and to me I don't think Ricki has improved. Oh...did I mention I hate cockiness? It is an ugly trait in someone....

[jadewarlock]

Did I read it right....that Monday they peform two dances...they get scored and we vote. Then on Tuesday night all three perform one more dance and get scored. They add that to Monday's scores and van votes to determine final two. The final two do the instant samba to be scored. Then they determine the winner. If that is right then the judges have more pull than ever. They can determine who wins by how they score the samba.

If this happens and JR is not the winner over Rob, I think the show will lose many voters.

I'm sorry, but while Rob is good, he is simply there because he's a Kardashian, and he's NOT better than JR or dare I say Ricki.

Ricki I feel is a bit entitled now, and same goes with Derek. He's a good choreographer, and I do respect his dancing (he also has charm unlike Mark) but still... he hasn't been seriously challenged, even with Ricki. If this duo wins, it will be because girls can't get enough of Derek IMHO. That is a shame not just for Ricki but also the show in itself.

(Please note, this is going to be a black and white assessment that might bother or unnerve some people at my bluntness. I apologize in advance.)

IMHO - if JR doesn't win this one we'll see huge flak brought to ABC and the like. He's a military vet, so there may be some who cry that this was an anti-military movement if the judges favor one of the other two dancers (who overall have been weaker than JR - I mean, honestly, I think had JR not been hurt he'd again had a 60, or pretty close). This is exactly what ABC does NOT need, because trust me people may not agree with our government but they support our troops, especially those who have been wounded such as JR.

Then you have the above of course - he's been good in just about every single dance. He's not felt entitled, he's only frowned because he's been in pain but danced anyway, and been respectful of all the dance groups - even if it meant not commenting or trying to stay away from the fray.

Then you have the fact that if either of the other two win, there will be the anger and outrage that a golden boy/girl got the trophy again over a seriously much better dancing pair throughout the season. If these judges don't want the flak for people saying this stuff, they need to look at the best dancers overall, not if their names are Mark, Derek or Cheryl. Karina has earned her dues and should win this with JR.

This would be the biggest travesty if JR doesn't win this season. The ONLY way I can see it as legitimate is if the team either knocks themselves out (literally) or cannot continue. They're still - even with JR's injury, the best of the three.

[karalott]

JR deserves this trophy. He is the better dancer, has improved, and is a fan favorite. Rob has improved so I think he deserves 2nd. I think Dereck is a fabulous dancer, teacher, and choregrapher but his wins are getting old....and to me I don't think Ricki has improved. Oh...did I mention I hate cockiness? It is an ugly trait in someone....

If Derek wasn't Ricki's partner, I doubt she would have made the finals. And I doubt she would have been getting the same scores and praise from the judges, even if she did the exact same routines with someone else. It's why I want Derek to get a partner with absolutely zero ability. If they can move even somewhat decently, it's good enough for the judges to overscore and fall over themselves. Her first jive that got 9s, when J.R. did a much cleaner job (and more fun-that first job seemed more about Derek), but CA found a lift so gave it an 8, and Len thought it was more lindy? That was a perfect 30 if I ever saw it. I've been bored by Ricki constantly being at the top of the leaderboard, sharing it with J.R., or in rare weeks being second (but just like any other season, she had one off week where she took a tumble and the usual 'our former front runner goofed, leaving us a new leader'...do they even need writers for this show?) I'm ready for a Hough/Ballas free finale again. Derek and Cheryl are nothing new and exciting. I'm not thinking their freestyles are going to be anything special. Cheryl bombed her last 2, though in her defense, both her partners were injured (though I felt Cheryl still could have done better). Kristin and Chynna in the weeks they were eliminated were still better dancers than Rob. Luckily, dancing doesn't matter much in the freestyle to CA and Bruno. Whoever can do the most tricks and gimmicks and the worst imitation of hip hop (because that's CA and Bruno's comfort zone), gets automatic praise. I bet if someone did an entirely ballroom centered freestyle, CA especially would mark it down and say she didn't get it.

I can't believe the show won't guarantee J.R. the winner, even if the fans don't come through. While I think the fan and judges vote are still split 50/50, I have to think the judges votes on the second night can still override the overall total and change the outcome. Like last season, they seem to make up the rules as they go along. Season 9, 10, and 11, they ranked the final dance of the final 3, last season they scored it. And, I don't see how an insta-samba will be a hardship to anyone, because while they don't have the music, they know the dance. The judges typically go easy on everyone in the finals, anyway.