Ideas to improve the show:

[Miss Scarlet]

I say have them bring back the requirement that the couples do the specific moves of the dance. I seem to require that they did this in the beginning, although it may just be wishful thinking on my part.
Kind of like in the Olympics, most of the judged events have specific required moves that the contestant needs to do, with points docked automatically if they aren't done.
This would keep the Pros on the straight & narrow with their choreography & give some basis for the judges' scores.

This would also probably require some new judges, ones that actually know the dances.

[DancingDad]

During the Olympics ice dancing, all of the couples have to do the exact same dance in the exact same pattern to the exact same music. That does get a little boring after awhile, BUT I'd love to see all of the dancers on DWTS having to do the exact same dance against each other every week . . . one week, all Rumba; another week, all Viennese Waltz. They should have one of the pro dancers demonstrate the main points of each dance first, so we can all judge for ourselves how well the contestants are doing.

I agree with the concept. Unfortunately in ice dance the powers that be have done away with that aspect of the competition. Instead the couples now are required to integrate sections of the required dance patterns into their short program. It is now called a short dance.

I would support a similar structure to the short dance on this show wholeheartedly. They could get a renowned pro who is not competing this season to choreograph a section of the dance that contains the elements of the dance that define its character. Each couple would then need to integrate that section into their choreography. In this manner you could make valid comparisons without the pros being able to hide their dancer's faults behind clever choreography. It also might satisfy Len's frustrations and make him more cheerful. CA and Bruno would be baffled, but who cares.

[ilja]

Would it make for a boring evening to have all the dancers do the same dance, thus allowing a fair comparison to how the dancers truly perform against each other?
For example, I think it's easier to judge a fast number where we can see all the movements but a little harder to fairly judge a number when the dancers have on long dressees and smoke covering their feet. Just a thought.

They did that once on SYTYCD and I hated it. Not only was it boring but I personally found the particular dance offensive. Needless to say, I did not watch a large portion of that episode.

[Fanny Mare]

They did that once on SYTYCD and I hated it. Not only was it boring but I personally found the particular dance offensive. Needless to say, I did not watch a large portion of that episode.

I don't recall that at all. I don't think I would have liked it either.DWTS is not ever going to be any different than it is now Its not a serious dance show, its reality show with D list celebs, and pros we like and dislike - but who all do their best to entertain.

I am quite happy with it as it is. I guess if I wasn't I wouldn't watch it .I have taken time away from it, but I have enjoyed this season .The judges - they have annoyed me But its the same with the Voice or AI. The judges are all stooges imnsho no matter what the show. They can score too high or too low, in the end the fans have the final say.

[echo226]

I like the idea of required elements ... a demonstration of the dances of the week. And how about a new group of singers!!!

As for judges, I think Len knows his stuff, Bruno does provide some fun, so for now, I would dump Carrie Ann and fill her spot with rotating guest judges. They could mix it with pros, renowned choreographers and put some previous winners/celebrity contestants in the mix. I wouldn't put in a guest winner/contestant judge who was partnered with any of the pros still competing in the season.

[ness]

Random thoughts . . .

1. Get rid of the entire judging panel. CA is totally worthless as a ballroom judge (which is why I think she's designated herself "Lift Policewoman in Residence"). That --- and drooling over every hunk or near-hunk that shows up and breathes, pretty much --- is all she's good for. And SHE knows it, and WE know it, too! Bruno's better acquainted with ballroom than CA, but it seems he's designated himself as "WAYYY Over-the-Top Drama-Queen-in-Residence". We can do without it, thank you very much. After a time, because his critiques are so ridiculous in nature, nobody takes his ass seriously. Len is the only one who REALLY knows his ballroom stuff. However, Len is just as bad as the other two, in his way. He seems to have styled himself as "Ballroom Curmudgeon-in-Residence". And he's just as full of it as CA and Bruno are, because he'll say one thing ONE season or SHOW in a particular season, then TURN AROUND AND SAY/DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE'D SAID BEFORE. Examples: Praise a dancer (not just Donald), then turn around and lowball that person. Or tear a couple up for: "What was on the LABEL of the tin wasn't what was IN it!", when he feels a samba or jive that was SUPPOSED to be a samba or jive was NOT what was put on the floor. Then turn around and let that slide later on with a couple that he likes. Either he's gonna ride the horse, or walk, but being "Mr. Ballroom" doesn't give him license to irk and insult us --- not to MENTION the celebs/pros --- by talking out of both sides of his mouth, when it suits his mood to do so on a particular day. And at the end of the day, ALL of 'em play favorites and underscore or overscore, whenever it suits them to do so, clear across the board. GET RID OF ALL OF 'EM!

2. Do not EVER AGAIN, in this lifetime or any other, allow a Judges' Choice dance-save round. This AIN'T AI! If the "judges" are stupid enough to paint themselves into a scoring corner on the very first show, why do they panic because it then becomes obvious that their favorites are going to be voted off because of that, so they have to do SOMETHING to try to recover? Well, far as I"M concerned, that was THEIR baby, THEY rocked it, that was THEIR horse, THEY rode it. To pull a stunt like this to try to save their (and their favorites') behinds is insulting to all of us as viewers across the board. If TPTB weren't going to allow voters to call/e-mail in for the people they liked, then that shouldn't've been allowed FROM SEASON 1. It should've just been created as a show wherein "celebrities" came on to dance ballroom, with the final decisions each week being made SOLELY BY THE JUDGES.

Idiots.

JMHO.

[ilja]

Ness, don't hold back next time.

[Fanny Mare]

Ness, don't hold back next time.

LOL

ness is way too timed.Right ness?

[jadewarlock]

An idea to improve the show - IMHO - is whenever a pro wins a season, they take a break and become a sideliner/fill-in for a full season. Not only does this allow for another pro to win with their dancer, it also rests up the pro so they do not risk burning out.

Also - they need to make sure all the pros get their fair share of challenge dancers. While I know we'd love to see our favorite dancer be in the final three year after year after year, it does get boring and irritating if we feel and think they're always getting ringers. Now if say Derek got a ringer one year, then say a Cloris Leachman the next year, but STILL gets her to the final three? - yeah I'd be all for it. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be in the final three year after year; however, I think we should see people get a mixed bag on tough celebrity dancers and then those who have at least had some dancing so we keep guessing instead of playing "Well it's obvious they're trying to make sure so and so at least has a good shot at being in the final three... again."

Oh and yes I'm on the same boat as Ness in that they need to change out the judges (at least Carrie Ann and to a lesser extent Bruno or Len) and throw out Judge saves - period.

[karalott]

I completely agree with the posts in this thread. To touch on a few of them:

1) as long as they don't have 12 rumbas in one night, I'd be okay with them having the same dance in one night. Back in seasons 1 and 2 (with much smaller casts), the 4th and 5th week respectively, everyone performed a samba. I think they should just go back to doing the format from the early seasons: the same 2 dance styles every week until week 6, when the couples start doing dances they have yet to do or repeat 2 styles at the end for a re-do. And, if they're going to have multiple dance styles in the same night, don't make it so lopsided; 6 rumbas, 1 jive, 1 VW, 2 quicksteps, and a foxtrot. Especially for hardcore theme weeks like rock week, having a VW doesn't exactly fit in the same group as that.

2) Along with getting rid of the judges, Brooke (who I do have to admit has gotten better, but she can still go), and the singers, fire those in charge of wardrobe. Given some of the outfits these people come out wearing, I'm convinced the wardrobe people live in their parent's basement and have no friends because their idea of a joke is disasterously dressing the celebs in outfits that don't flatter their figure, age, or the dance. I know that the pros are supposed to have completel control over the outfits and design, but I really can't buy that anymore. I'd also tell the hair and make up people to stop plugging the female celebs and pros fingers in light sockets to create big hair.

3) A big YES to dance demonstrations and the dances actually mirroring the dance and being required to have technical elements to it. Back in the day, they used to do pro numbers for the following weeks dance styles, and Tom even used to ask Len at the beginning of each show what they were looking for and what the dance needed to have to make it whatever it was. Now? Some couples get away with doing a jive when it was supposed to be a rumba, others get dinged for going shirtless and swinging from the stage while another gets 10s for shaking their fanny in front of the judges and doing nothing else. We have time to kill, especially as the week's dwindle down and we're left with fewer couples. I'd rather see pro numbers and dance demos over the troupe and band murdering whatever the upcoming theme week is going to be.

4) Maks suggested in his blog a bye week where the celebs get to rest and relax, and mentioned that maybe the show that week could just be a recap and the pros could come out and do some fancy numbers. I know they're going ahead with the AS edition, but rather than do an entire season of AS (because I think it'll be a disaster), maybe they could bring past celebs back instead for something like that and they, along with their former partner (if that pro is still on the show), could re-create a favorite dance. I'd love to see Mel/Maks's paso again, even though it's probably my most frequented Youtube look up.

5) Did anyone mention getting rid of the judges? TPTB need to really look at what might be making their show lose ratings. It could just be age, and that's a losing battle. But I know the decision for an AS edition is to probably hope former viewers tune back in for their favorites and the controversy, and that it'll compel them to tune in in the future because they've been away from the show for so long. But I think the show needs to re-tool what's not working. It's the exact same, stale format we've been getting for several seasons now. And the same old predictable voting blocks and judges remarks and antics and scores. I think the AS season might give the show a ratings boost at first, but people will likely tune out as their favorites get voted off. The show needs to overhaul itself. I'm even in favor of them adding new dance styles and just having them have 2 different styles each week up until the finale.