DialIdol & Fan Poll Discussion for DWTS **POSSIBLE SPOILERS**

[jadewarlock]

Of course, it'd be my luck that Chelsea/Mark would actually be eliminated this week, but Ralph would end up dropping out due to his injury. And the producers would make a point of telling the viewers Chelsea/Mark would have left just to get a tongue bath from the judges and rile the voting bloc. I don't want Ralph to be in agony, but I'd love nothing more than to see Mark get booted. It's why I wonder if Ralph will get pushed out if that happens.

Given they have difficulty getting any movie actors - A or B list (though I do consider Ralph and Marlee B listers right now), I don't think they'd want to force Ralph out in favor of Mark/Chelsea if they were voted out. There are enough people who know him that he could spread that around and DWTS would have trouble finding people to be a part of it.

I think Ralph is sweet, but I think too he's someone who would do this out of fairness to the other contestants because if that happened would they do it to others to keep the "annointed ones" in the show?

[Bronwyn]

Not to belabor the point, but the reason it was only addressed last year is that it was rumored that those people "cheat voting" for Bristol were not even watching the show, but just using/abusing the "flaw in the system" as a way to show support for her mother's politics. That's the first time something like that has happened, and was enough to force the ABC muckity-mucks get off their duffs and make what I assume was a simple adjustment to the online voting process.

But the "voting even though they're not watching" wasn't and isn't exclusive to Bristol. There's a post just a couple of posts up about Hines fans voting for him, even though they wouldn't be caught dead watching this show. That has also been going on for years. The more obsessive fans getting their friends and family to vote, even though they don't watch the show. The stars campaigning on their twitter and facebook for their fans and followers to vote, even though I would venture to guess that not all of them watch the show. It's not just Bristol that brought this on. It's been going on for years. But it was okay, and it was ignored until Bristol came along. That's all I'm saying.

[ironcat]

But the "voting even though they're not watching" wasn't and isn't exclusive to Bristol. There's a post just a couple of posts up about Hines fans voting for him, even though they wouldn't be caught dead watching this show. That has also been going on for years. The more obsessive fans getting their friends and family to vote, even though they don't watch the show. The stars campaigning on their twitter and facebook for their fans and followers to vote, even though I would venture to guess that not all of them watch the show. It's not just Bristol that brought this on. It's been going on for years. But it was okay, and it was ignored until Bristol came along. That's all I'm saying.

I'm sure all of what you're saying is true. However, any of those attempts were never broadly publicized and attributed to a political movement that had nothing to do with the show before, and threatened to tarnish the show's "legitimacy" . That's why it got the producers' attention.

[anders332]

So were the Keep Kate campaigns - they were hugely publicized and it kept her in the race far longer than she should've been. Ty Murray made it to F4 on the Texan vote - they all have their fans, or don't have their fans and are going to vote whether or not they watch the show. There's just no way around it.

[ironcat]

So were the Keep Kate campaigns - they were hugely publicized and it kept her in the race far longer than she should've been. Ty Murray made it to F4 on the Texan vote - they all have their fans, or don't have their fans and are going to vote whether or not they watch the show. There's just no way around it.

Had Kate made it all the way to the finals, amidst speculation of this mass voting (as in "vote for the worst" campaigns), it might have been addressed then. It didn't happen. Ty Murray was far too broadly liked, and received little backlash for lasting until the F4. Had he gotten further, who knows? And again, in both these cases, there was no political component, and there was no speculation that the votes had more to do with the celeb's relative than with them.

I said I wouldn't belabor the point and now I am, so I'm out.

[northernviewer]

I think on a show like this, that is all about "Stars" and the publicity their names bring to the table for ratings....... "fan" voting is expected and encouraged. Bristol getting votes that were solicited by her mother's political party, is a whole other matter IMO as it took it beyond the realm of the show, which is largely based on fanism, and turned it into a matter of allegiance to a political party.

[KatesMom]

I'm sure all of what you're saying is true. However, any of those attempts were never broadly publicized and attributed to a political movement that had nothing to do with the show before, and threatened to tarnish the show's "legitimacy" . That's why it got the producers' attention.

I actually thought this issue first "publicly" came up with Steve Wozniak? Am I remembering incorrectly?

[KatesMom]

Had Kate made it all the way to the finals, amidst speculation of this mass voting (as in "vote for the worst" campaigns), it might have been addressed then. It didn't happen. Ty Murray was far too broadly liked, and received little backlash for lasting until the F4. Had he gotten further, who knows? And again, in both these cases, there was no political component, and there was no speculation that the votes had more to do with the celeb's relative than with them.

I said I wouldn't belabor the point and now I am, so I'm out.

Never mind my previous post. Didn't see this one and now I understand what you are saying - that while the issue may have been around for a while, it is the fact that Bristol made it as far as she did and that many were voting for her because she was Sarah Palin's daughter that made it an issue the producers finally decided to address. Got it.

[ironcat]

I actually thought this issue first "publicly" came up with Steve Wozniak? Am I remembering incorrectly?

From what I can recall, the Woz challenged the lack of transparency in the voting system, since the numbers were never revealed. (I think he was led to believe that techno-geeks were voting en masse for him, and was surprised to be eliminated. ) Apparently, he was provided with certain information that "assured" him that the votes were being tallied legitimately, and the case was dropped.

[jucamer]

In looking at DI, currently they have Chelsea and Hines as the bottom 2 predicted to go home (Chelsea being last but according to their graph it's too close to call between them). Everyone else is predicted as being safe. DI may not be the best indicator, but looking at it for the season, they've been surprisingly accurate, or close to it with the couple going home coming in within the bottom 3. The only week they were way off was with Petra, and I'm not sure how much accuracy there is when it comes to the 'too close to call' readings.

Of course, it'd be my luck that Chelsea/Mark would actually be eliminated this week, but Ralph would end up dropping out due to his injury. And the producers would make a point of telling the viewers Chelsea/Mark would have left just to get a tongue bath from the judges and rile the voting bloc. I don't want Ralph to be in agony, but I'd love nothing more than to see Mark get booted. It's why I wonder if Ralph will get pushed out if that happens.

Hooray - I hope this is true!! I don't see the attraction to Hines really and you know how I feel about Mark ! I thought Ralph said he should be better in a day or two - did anyone hear anything different?