In the less than 2 seconds of interacting with Tom, I can already tell Miss Piggy would be the perfect balance for him compared to the cue card reading, robotic Samantha.
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I think it would be fun to rotate the pros during a season. What if you get stuck with a clunker? I guess it would be hard to do due to the practice sessions. Do away with all those flashing lights and high contrast colors. Enough red and green already. Better camera work during the dances, it makes me a little queazy when they do the round and round camera.
1. Cut down the results show. Seriously, you don't need to have an hour-long results show. Or better yet, do it like how America's Best Dance Crew does it, where they announce safe dancers and then they have to dance, and then the bottom two dancers dance back-to-back.
2. Quit it with the novelty dances. Sure, I can understand bringing in "fresh" dances, but I want to see strictly ballroom and strictly Latin.
3. Vote for who you want to leave-that would have definitely skewed many a result in previous seasons, including this last one.
4. No more Ballas/Hough antics. Julianne, I can tolerate, but Mark and Derek need to take a season or 10 off.
5. Better music. Why not do some instrumentals? Some other traditional Latin pieces? Quit it with the recycling.
6. Better stars. And by better stars, I mean people who would be recognizeable. The thing about DWTS, to me, is that it seems to capture attention from a broad spectrum of age groups, so it would be nicer to see some names that both I and my mum would recognize.
7. No more team/relay/knockout/faceoff dances. Enough said.
8. Replace Samantha.
9. Rotate out the pros. Balance the dancers evenly, so that each pro has an equal chance of getting a star or clunker and that it's fair over the seasons. For example, Tony and Edyta have had the worst luck, but Tony at least had Melissa and Stacy (and to an extent, Marissa), and Edyta had Jason (plus she made it to F5 in season 2 with George Hamilton). I liked how this season, we had Louis, Kym, and Dmitry in the finals. It's time to shake it up. I do understand, though, that there are some cases in which some pros can't do a season. One season, Louis couldn't be a pro because he's under 5'8 and all the females were taller than that.
10. Replace CA and Bruno. Bring in people new to the show who can be as hard-hitting as Len can tend to be, and who have actual Latin or ballroom experience.
Ideally, this is the setup I would use if you had 12 couples:
Week 1: All the ladies dance a ballroom dance, all the men dance a Latin
Week 2: Same deal, but this time it's a Latin for the ladies and a ballroom for the men-one couple goes home
Week 3: Couple #2 goes home
Week 4: Couple #3 goes home
Week 5: Couple #4 goes home-the dances would be lift-legal dances like the LH and AT
Week 6: Couple #5 goes home, start with a dance that they have not done yet
Week 7: Couple #6 goes home, also start doing two dances-one dance being a group dance with no lifts and the other being a dance they have not done yet
Week 8: Couple #7 goes home, start doing two dances that they have not done yet, one Latin and one ballroom
Week 9: Couple #8 goes home, start doing two dances that are styles not yet done on the season
Week 10: Couple #9 goes home, again one dance they have not done yet and one "Second Chance" dance, in which they can do any dance from the season that they already have done and try for higher scores
Week 11 (Finale): Three dances: One dance that they feel is their best from the season, one dance where all three couples share the same music and style of costume, and the freestyle. Also, on the results show, have an "appeal dance" in which they can do a completely new dance or another favourite of theirs in order to get one last opinion from the judges.
Just my thoughts
I've been watching past season clips on Youtube and different websites, going back to season 1 and I wanted to touch on your point #4. In watching past performances from season 4, I realized a couple of things. When a couple got a high score, it was a subdued reaction. No screaming, no jumping around, no jumping on couches, no twirling your partner around and nearly crushing their ribs. And the judges, while still having the Brunoisms, the Lenisms, and I'm sure CA was just as annoying as this was pre-lift police, were more subdued. There wasn't any out of their seats, dancing on the tables, using the judges/judges table as a prop, calling the contestants up for smooches and high fives. Maybe on a rare occasion but now that seems like something standard. And the ratings were at their peak and doing just fine without all the OTT antics that came in the later seasons. I was also thinking about how they've begun repeating more and more songs, and how I think back to the first time that song wasOriginally Posted by Trista;3760701;
butcheredused for a performance. Comparing Lisa Rinna's Jailhouse Rock jive to Lil Kim's, Lisa's was more of an actual jive. It was a great, out of her shell performance, but there were no gimmicks or OTT nonsense that took up part of the dance. And at least CA didn't have to defend her score for Lisa's like she did for Lil Kim. So in saying all of that, go back to the actual dancing show, and leave all the glittery and flashy effects and OTT gimmicks (which include exploiting the muppets). They're trying to be a type of show that they aren't suited to be, and that's likely one factor why ratings took a dip this season.
I wouldn't mind the team style dances if they didn't have so many of them in one season. Not only does it not give the couples enough time to practice one dance on its own, but I think this season took the record in terms of couples forgetting parts of their routine. The megamix, the team dances, the marathon, the group dance, the relay dance (am I missing one?) I'd much rather see the couples perform their own individual routines so they're not unlucky to get paired up next to someone better/worse than them and have their score affected or using those as a way to prop up the judges favorites. Among anything else, quit the bias and favoritism. I read that this past week on our British counterpart, they had brand new dances (the Charleston and a Rock n Roll genre-whatever that was) and how it took its toll on the pros having to learn dances they weren't familar with and how the couples having to learn two dances this week (and they did a group VW for scores) took its toll on them. Just interesting because by the point they're at our couples were doing 2/3 dances. I also hope with both Louis and Anna T. gaining momentum this season and being such crowd pleasers, the show might give the other pros who haven't been as lucky a break next season. Talking about Edyta, Maks, Tony, and Jonathan here namely. No Derek, I didn't miss your "kick ass, fabulous freestyle" this season and am one of the ones glad the Ballas/Hough streak ended and hope it stays ended for awhile. It had to eventually. I would have liked to have seen one of the veteran pros in the finale over Dmitry, but was happy for him, and extremely happy for Kym and Louis.
With a downsized cast to previous seasons, having some pros MIA that have been with us since nearly the beginning, the absence of the red room and a new glass box for everyone to sit in, a new co-host, a band that has somehow managed to have gotten worse, gimmicks that include themes and judging, and a controversial cast, what does everyone think about the new season so far, and should anything be changed for the fall edition?
-I don't miss Samantha by any stretch. I'm slowly warming up to Brooke and think in time she'll fit right in and we'll never remember the show without her (give or take her awkward moments). I'm not crazy about her fashion choices and somehow feel like she just wants the focus on her, but improved from Samantha and hopefully Ms. Harris doesn't come back and fill in when Brooke goes on maternity leave. Hopefully she's not a 1 host wonder.
-Lacey is the only pro I don't miss and could care less if I ever see her again, but I'm really missing Kym, Karina (strangely enough), Jonathan, Alec, and wouldn't mind seeing Anna Demidova back. She seemed to be really nervous last season and trying to find her way. I don't know if she really is that boring and bland, but I'd be willing to give her another shot. Since she's been in 2 pro dances this season so far, I'm going to guess they haven't given up on her completely. I loved having Ashly Costa back and hope she becomes more of a regular again. It gives me hope that just maybe I'll get to see my all time favorite female pro, 1st season runner up Charlotte Jorgenson, return one day. With the exception of Derek and Tony, I'm somewhat happy the pros have all gotten somewhat of an equal shot this season. I think my interest on the cast is waning, and I'm not sure if there's the potential and entertainment as I felt week 1. But really glad someone like Anna T. has a decent shot this season to finally take home the mirrorball. Could the producers actually give her hubby someone next season that gets him past the first elimination?
-I don't expect any changes here, but I wish the show would try and focus less on the showmances, drama, illnesses, injuries, and infighting with the couples. I agree with whoever said it's becoming more of a reality show and less about a dance competition.
-I actually liked the double scoring, even if I think the judges need to find a better way to dish it out. I'm still undecided what I'm thinking about these themed nights. I don't mind the judges giving the contestants percise steps they want to see in the dances, but not if it's going to rattle the poor things. I'd much rather see them go out and dance and create their own story and get judged fairly on it. I think the judges either need to score everyone based on their own ability or score them in comparision to the other couples. I don't think they do that each time. And enough with whipping out the high scores so early, unless you're really going to make that person work for them down the road.
-Which brings me to Kate. What's been said about her 100 times over that hasn't already been said? Unfortuantely, she's $$$ to the show, which means we are likely to see more controversial, polarizing contestants in the future if the show has their way, as there's been no serious backlash against her yet. Even someone who isn't famous for putting her kids on TV can come on with the story of redemption and being misunderstood. I'd prefer them to steer away with casting people like her, especially if the judges aren't going to score her remotely fair or criticize her like they would anyone else. She's too polarizing, the show has become about her, it's all about an image makeover with both sides using each other, she can't dance but for whatever reason they won't critique her the way they should. She just doesn't care. I think she's only pretending to now because she's been called on it so much.
-I'm not Derek's biggest fan and think he lucks out way too much. He deserves a Kate Gosselin/Cloris Leachman type partner. But I wonder if behind the scenes they realize he's very popular with the viewers, so maybe they fear pairing him with someone like that would cause his fans to vote regardless and a person like Kate would end up in the finals without any producer manipulation.
-I hate the new glass-quarium thing
-I wish they'd hire better singers 10 seasons in (the band is fine) and not repeat songs already used on this show.
I was excited about season 10 but my excitement has dwindled down with each passing week. I'm watching the manipulation and editing with the judges to see if Erin's, my only favorite left that I'm worried about, number will be up soon on the show.
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my heart skipped a beat when I saw this posters avi
would love to know his views on this season.
1. They definitely need better singers
2. Less drama, more dancing
3. Fair scoring practices
4. Reveal of actual voting numbers/percentages.
I think the show is better with fewer couples. I do miss some of the pros and hope we will continue to see them in feature numbers. To be honest, many of them are better dancers than choreographers, and their skills are better showcased on the dance floor in the exhibition numbers.
I think Brooke is growing into the job. She is WAY better than Samantha, and I am relieved that she got the job over Mellisa. I have to admit that the co-host role is one of the more difficult on the show. You can't really crack jokes with some of the celebrities because they are so mind-numbingly clueless that they don't get the jokes. Even if you ask an intelligent question it will probably go right over their head and you will get a deer-in-the-headlights response. You are therefore reduced to small talk. You also get to deal with the bruising of overinflated egos as part of the gig. Brooke has my sympathies.
As for the band and the song selections - I agree with Karalott for the most part. The band is good. They need more singers that can handle the diverse material that the show needs. One or two singers can't possibly cut it and sound good on this variety of material. I disagree about recycling the songs. I would much prefer a recycled song that appropriately conveys the mood and rhythm of the dance than a song that has been poorly morphed into a ballroom piece. When that happens you stop focusing on the dance and start looking for someplace to hurl.
I do like that they have cut back on the number of contestants.That's a plus.
I don't like the addition of Brooke. But, as she is a non entity when it comes to co host job, TPTB have achieved what they obviously wanted - a co-host who does NOT detract from Tom. I think Brooke's beautiful, but mind numbingly boring and vapid. I thought the same of her dancing.
I don't like the addition of the celebuquarium. It just seems to emulate the "swaybot pit" on AI and I dislike that, as well. In the case of DWTS's aquarium, it just seems to dissociate the cast from the viewers.
There are way too many attempts at backstage theatrics these days. It's all staged and it's done way too cheesy. I thought the show sunk to new levels last season when they tried to pimp Joanna out as an animal lover and overall "warm" person. It didn't work then and it's not working now.
I do love that the show has such a variety of people on it. It ensures an appeal to every demographic, etc. and that's a very good thing.
I also like that the producers of the show do give us plenty of face time with Tom B. He's one of the best hosts on any TV show. Great acerbic wit. He's got just enough of the snark factor going to remind us that this is, first and foremost, a cheesy entertainment show!
I remember the year TB won the Daytime Emmy over Regis Philbin for Game Show Host. It was supposed to be a lock for RP for "Who wants to be a MIllionaire" and the reaction was apparent - TB deserved it - although I cant' remember what he won it for.
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