5/23 Finals Discussion Thread **Spoilers**

[Kip]

[snipped].... I know that there's no limit in freestyles, and while I found Nicole/Derek's on the boring side, the judges didn't give it a perfect score because Nicole messed up one lift. So it pretty much sticks with my theory the judges either really do play favorites, or are told by producers how to score.

I agree with you on that. Even my husband (who doesn't read these boards) noticed Mark and Chelsea were out of sync and that she was up in the air being twirled a lot and not dancing.

With so many noticeable flaws, that routine was not deserving of 10s, especially as the first couple up (because if a subsequent team does do a perfect routine, there's no room to score them higher).

I didn't really love any of these freestyles, but enjoyed Hines and Kym's the the most. I thought Maks' and Kirstie's routine was a bit disjointed, but props to Kirstie for how well she's done. I just loved watching Maks and Kirstie's interactions this season - they worked so well together and Maks seemed to be enjoying himself more than in other seasons.

I don't have anything against Chelsea. I had never heard of her before. She seems like a lovely young woman. and has worked hard. But it definitely seems like the producers have prompted the judges to score them well enough to keep them in the competition. And that whole "winner take all" dance last week seemed a set-up tailored for them (otherwise, why not score the dance-off as in previous seasons where the top scorer gets 8 points, and the others 6, 4, and 2 according to their placement?).

[jucamer]

Since it was all lighted, I was half expecting Chelsea's to start flashing 'watch Mark' with an arrow pointing in his direction. Mark did that freestyle no favors. He forgot it was about a dance, not gimmicks, and the bike and lights pretty much had me knowing it was going to be a mess (of course I got to cheat and read what everyone said ahead of time). I know that there's no limit in freestyles, and while I found Nicole/Derek's on the boring side, the judges didn't give it a perfect score because Nicole messed up one lift. So it pretty much sticks with my theory the judges either really do play favorites, or are told by producers how to score.

There is no way in hell that dance deserved 3 10's - no way! They were so out of synch - Chelsea almost stood there a few times until she could get her timing back. First they give them the 15 points to get them in the final - then they give them extra points in the final. I really hope Kirstie or Hines win this thing - because there is also no way that M&C have more fans then either one of them. If they do win then I truly believe it was fixed.

[anders332]

watch it with the sound off - the out-of-syncness was even more glaring, along with Mark having to outshine his partner.

I agree, if M&C win, the fix was in.

[jucamer]

watch it with the sound off - the out-of-syncness was even more glaring, along with Mark having to outshine his partner. I agree, if M&C win, the fix was in.

You can watch it blindfolded and still know that

[AZChristian]

I didn't get to watch the M/C freestyle until just now. What a hot mess. I'm pretty sure they will win anyway - that seems to have been decided before the season started, and none of the judges' scores or the WTA decision on the part of the producers has changed my mind about that.



If they win, I think I'm done with DWTS. I at least like to PRETEND that there's a real competition going on when I watch shows where there's a winner.

[jadewarlock]

And that whole "winner take all" dance last week seemed a set-up tailored for them (otherwise, why not score the dance-off as in previous seasons where the top scorer gets 8 points, and the others 6, 4, and 2 according to their placement?).

According to the producers, this was planned all season to avoid a Bristol Palin being in the final three over a better dancer like Brandi.

That said:

1. All four teams could dance and dance quite well and

2. Just because it's "Planned" does NOT mean it has to stay in there when you see that there are four good dancers.

It was a fix IMHO to guarantee Chelsea and Mark, who even with the 15 points most of us speculate was third out of four, were in the final three. I think Ralph's fan base was high enough to keep him in over the team known as Mark. (apologies to Prince.)

[LuvThisStuf!]

snipped......The team known as Mark. (apologies to Prince.)

Brilliant!!!!

[Endit]

I have an idea: perhaps the judges don't really want to vote for Chelsea/Mark but are being forced to. They showed them voting for C/M in the Winner Take All Cha Cha again and if you look at their faces, NONE of them look like that's who they wanted to vote for! Definitely suspicious. Look below:

[MHcarrollton]

If this was planned from the beginning to avoid a Bristol than that is fixing the show. The premise is vote for your favorite dancer. If enough people voted for Bristol, than she deserved her spot. You cannot put multiple stars from multiple levels of physicality and experience against each other, and have millions of people vote with no dancing background and expect it to be fair on dancing ability. I did not vote for Bristol, but it is the right of people to vote for her for whatever reason they feel. We cannot be mad that she makes it to the finals, but than be mad that Ralph did not. It either is our choice or the judges period, and we have to respect the outcome.

Now the WTA was a clear and utter joke. If Chelsea is not getting the votes tough. If she is the better dancer so what. If peole like Ralph and Bristol better tough. Either make the show all about the judges scores and see how the viewship fades, or allow us the fans to make the choice and deal with it. Why would the producers care who wins if the fans who is their cash cow votes for them? So they do not want us to choose??? Why????

[Maybaybie]

Did I miss the group number this year? I didn't miss any regular episodes this season, but I don't remember a big group number like in season's past where they all dance together. I kind-of liked that because it was fun and they all got to work together with no scoring involved. I turned 40 a few weeks back so maybe my memory has already gone to mush.


I was talking to a coworker today who watches DWTS (but doesn't read these boards) and we were discussing the freestyles and without me giving my opinion she said how disjointed and sloppy C/M were and how Mark outdances Chelsea at every turn- the same opinion most of us have on this board. If this is the case then where are their votes coming from and how come it appears that Mark doesn't even notice this or care? He seems to crave the attention so you would think he would do everything he could to make the viewers happy and not irritated.