Strictly Come Dancing

[Madeleine]

Yes it wasn't much of a tango was it!  Still, so far none of them were truly terrible, not yet anyway!

[shirley]

It was funny watching it over two nights I thought some of them faired better than others and the judges seemed to be very critical in some cases, come on it was the first week for goodness sake.

 

What was up with Craig his scoring was a bit strange. (wont say too much in case some have not caught up with it yet)

[chesilbeach]

I think it was a reasonable start to a series, although I think the judges marked more harshly on Friday and were more generous on Saturday, and also marked much higher than the first week of any previous series I think.  No real duffers, but no-one being particularly outstanding for me.  Surprised by some who I thought would be better, and surprised by some who I though would be worse!

 

It Takes Two starts tonight, so that'll be Strictly every day from now until December 17th!  Happy Christmas, everyone.

[Madeleine]

Yes Craig did seem more erratic than usual.  Must admit Danny had me swooning a bit, like Darcey

[Kell]

I a TOTALLY crushing on Danny Mac - OMGs! And Judge Rinder can fairly move too - wooh! Have to say, I thought that even the weaker contestants weren't all that bad - there were no total duffers like there have been in previous years - not a single person scored under 21, which is a stark contrast to last year when I think I remember someone getting as low as 13 on week 1!

[poppyshake]

Well, they're all pretty good aren't they? This is going to be a bun fight?  

I felt too that the Friday lot were hard done by. It was hard watching them slide further and further down the leaderboard .. for no justifiable reason that I could see. Judges marking was a bit all over the place .. Craig's 8 for Anastacia seemed generous! (though I like her.)  

I love Greg. He's obviously not a dancer (and I'm slightly worried about their tango   .. Nat seemed a bit worried so I definitely am!) but he came out (I've gone all Len ) and gave it some welly and it was good .. not brilliant but good and better than I expected.

 

Melvin is probably the weakest link bless him, and the only one I needed to watch from behind a cushion. But still, early days .. he might improve but we're going to lose some good dancers early on, that's apparent. 

Love Will and love his mad dress sense .. I love it when people don't conform to Strictly standards (Jay last year .. probably the first time we've ever seen anyone get away with actually wearing a version of their own street clothes) and Will's going to bring his own particularly bonkers style to the proceedings. I love sequins and glitter but it's nice to be individual also.

I watched Judge Rinder with my mouth open .. something so fascinating about him and I love his sense of humour. Not sure I'll love it if he continues to dance like that .. might wear thin. His facial expressions I mean .. the gurn is pretty OTT. Not sure why Karen picked him up on it in Choreography Corner though .. pot kettle Karen!   It was the Cha Cha after all.

 

Daisy and Aljaz look beautiful together, Danny is fab and Oti amazing, Naga looks terrified bless her, Claudia was a bit too tricksy which was to be expected, Jo let Ore down with her choreography, Laura has promise, Louise looks great, Ed was better than I thought he'd be, ditto Lesley, Melvin is O-Doomed, Tameka is fun but it could be the sort of fun which wears you down, the Judge is going to give it everything, Greg and Nat are adorable, Will is great and will get better and Anastacia is fierce and full of sass. It really is (almost) anyone's game! The fan warz will be epic. It's already getting a bit pushy/shovey in the BBC Strictly forum.     

[Madeleine]

Just done our office sweepstake and I've got Judge Rinder (desperately wanted Danny, he was fab wasn't he and a great partnership with Oti), oh dear, I also watched him open-mouthed; he could have potential but needs to be seriously reined in and be a bit more controlled, so let's hope his partner works on that. 

 

Looking forward to Anastasia's salsa tomorrow.

[poppyshake]

I think Judge Rinder is a pretty good pick though Madeleine. He could well win, the Facebook views for that dance are phenomenal! Good luck!

[Autumn]

Craig's 8 for Anastacia seemed generous!

 

I haven't seen it so far this year (not sure if I'm going to play catch up or not yet) but I can't believe someone has already been given an 8, and by Craig as well.  I really hate it when the judging/scoring is all over the place, not to mention the favouritism which has been an issue in previous years.  By the sounds of it this year is going the same way.  Not good, not good at all.

[Madeleine]

Yes apparently it's the most watched clip ever!

[chesilbeach]

I was away last weekend, so I only saw the dances in standard def on a small screen, so I'm sitting here rewatching the shows from last weekend again now, so I can properly see the footwork and details of the dances which I couldn't see first time around.  Finished Friday, and think the judges scores were about right for the dances so far.  Just started the Saturday show, and wasn't that opening group dance fantastic!  A proper dance that I could distinguish as a waltz, which hasn't happened for a few years now.

[shirley]

Is what happened on Sunday going to cause an upset.  Will have to wait and see. 

I don't know why they don't do the scoring that way every week.

 

I know I am talking in riddles but have to be careful for those who have not watched it.  Awaiting response from others to see how you felt about it.

[poppyshake]

Awkward situation but difficult to know how to handle it .. awful for everyone concerned

 

Liked the second show. Greg wasn't so good but then I thought it was going to be even more car crash and anyway, I'd forgive him anything  

Really liked Danny, Claudia, Laura, Daisy, Will and Louise. Ed and Tameka gave it a good go and were entertaining. Lesley was brill all things considered. If I ever get to her age (next year ) and can move and look like that then I'll be v happy! I'd be happy if I could do it now actually! Naga looked amazing but was a bit too tentative. Anastasia understandably wasn't able to give it her all and Melvin, bless him, was a bit stompy .. but very good natured and endearing. I still think Joanne isn't making the most of Ore .. bit too gimmicky and I wasn't that keen on Judge Rinder's routine .. or his faces Is that everyone? Not sure. Hope so.

Favourite dances were Laura & Giovanni (she looked like a movie star and it was all so dreamy) and Danny & Oti (I love that INXS song and I thought Oti's routine was wow.) Craig was Mr Mean this week .. thought he was astonishingly rude to some people .. not that that's unusual.

 

Quite excited for movie week .. don't necessarily like themed weeks but movie week brought us 'that jive' last year and there are quite a few celebs this year that could amaze us with a spectacular routine. Plus it's bound to be a laugh costume and wig wise etc.

[shirley]

I loved Claudia and Louise's dances they were dreamy

[Madeleine]

I loved Danny's waltz even though it was faster than a usual waltz!  And the routine was great, they look like they've been dancing together for years.  What's the betting he'll be James Bond in movie week?

 

Liked most of the others too, agree it was very unfortunate about Anastacia, especially as she showed how good she could have been, she looked like she was in agony though poor thing. 

 

I thought that Greg's bottom stuck out a bit too!  Most of the others weren't bad either.

 

Not sure if I can bear to watch the Judge - he was on This Morning yesterday and said he's doing a Charleston.....as Fred Flintstone!  

[Autumn]

Is what happened on Sunday going to cause an upset.

 

 

Awkward situation but difficult to know how to handle it .. awful for everyone concerned

 

Okay, you both have me intrigued.  What happened?

[More reading time required]

Okay, you both have me intrigued.  What happened?

 

I will put it in spoiler tags as I only watched it yesterday myself.

 

 

Anastacia and Melvin were in the bottom two. In the talk with Tess, she got upset that she had to do the routine again as she didn't want to hurt herself - she'd been injured in training and they had to re-choreograph the routine on the day of the live show. Just before they were due to do the dance off, it was announced that Anastacia couldn't do her dance again due to the risk of further injury so the dance off was cancelled and they went to the public vote. This led to Melvin leaving the show.

 

There seems to be some uproar about this, but I'm not sure why. It's not like the Beeb could force her to dance and it was still a fair way of deciding who left..

 

[shirley]

I must admit when I saw Greg with his bum sticking out, I said to hubby that it would be mentioned.  Hubby has to listen to me blabbing on about the routines when the show is on but luckily he just says yes and no in the right places.  I don't need an answer I am just saying.

[Madeleine]

 I think there was an inevitability that Anastacia would be in the dance off, I thought it was very unfair given the circumstances (trust the public to vote against her), I think they should have done what they did on the Bake Off when a competitor cut themselves and couldn't take part in the last round - they didn't have anyone booted off, but got rid of 2 people the following week.  I wonder if she'll pull out, it sounds really nasty and perhaps she shouldn't have taken part?  Feel really sorry for her though, I think she could be good if she was at full fitness.

[Autumn]

I will put it in spoiler tags as I only watched it yesterday myself.

 

Thank you!

 

I think they should have done what they did on the Bake Off when a competitor cut themselves and couldn't take part in the last round - they didn't have anyone booted off, but got rid of 2 people the following week.

 

That might have been a better way of doing it actually, although no doubt you would still get people complaining.

[Kell]

I did a running commentary on Facebook last week and this week, so I thought I'd just do one post here to show what I thought of it all.

 

Week 2.

That was some "hot stuff" from Ore, but not as much cha cha content as I would have liked. I would actually have preferred to see them do a tango to that number! 7 from me.

The waltz was OK, but Fragapani looked like she was being dragged around the floor a fair bit, and a bit of ungainliness coming out of spins. She's not as good as I expected she'd be, but Darcy is busy raving about her! 6 from me.

Will's jive wasn't bad (he's no Jay though!). I think Karen made a boo boo half way through though - Will turned and she didn't, and it seemed more natural to have the two turns rather than the one she did. 6 from me.

That was a lot of energy in Lesley's cha cha. A little clumsy at times, but overall, it was not bad. 6 from me.

Jump is NOT a good choice of music for a tango! Greg is holding his posture, but perhaps a bit too stiffly. Some of it was pretty nifty though. Another 6 from me.

Tameka's charleston is full of character - as expected! A bit of a fumble in the drag through but got it back quickly. A lot of fun - I really liked it. A 7 from me.

Laura really suits that yellow dress - not many could pull off that shade! Very elegant waltz. Needs to lean back further though. A solid 7 from me.

 

Melvin's turn for a tango now. He's a bit clompy and stiff. Not impressed. Barely scrapes a 5 from me.

 

Louise - Viennese waltz. Hideous, unflattering dress. Much better this week - lovely extensions and very elegant. I'd go so far as giving her an 8.

 

Anatasia's salsa had to be rechoreographed due to injury. Such a shame, because that was pretty awful in places (presumable as a result of said injury). A 5 from me. The five from me was barely scraped. If we hadn't been told of the injuries and last minute choreography changes, I would have only given a 4.

 

Ed's Charleston next. What a hideous costume they have him in. Needs more speed and energy. Overall though, I think he acquitted himself fairly well. A solid 6 from me.

 

Naga with long hair!!! She doesn't seem to be doing much though. Found that rather boring to be honest. 4 from me.

 

Judge Rinder American Smooth. Some very nice lifts. Not bad at all! I didn't enjoy it as much as last week, but still very good. 7 from me.

Daisy's cha cha. Those legs!!! She could shake her booty a little more... but very good. I might even go so far as an 8.

 

Danny's Viennese Waltz. I LOVE THIS SONG!! He was my fave last week. My favourite again this week too. 9!!!

 

I voted for Danny, Xander chose Ore, and we decided we anted to try and keep Ed in. I thought it would be between Ed and Melvin in the dance off, but it was Anastasia and Melvin. When she came out and said Anastasia couldn't do the dance off, I honestly thought she was going to say that it automatically disqualifies her and she'd be leaving, and I was gutted, till the viewer scores were announced and Anastasia was staying after all. I thought it would be the case that she'd be automatically disqualified, and with her injury, perhaps it would have been for the best. However, of the two of them, she is the far better dancer, so I'm glad she stayed in. I hope she recovers quickly or she'll find herself in the dance off again, and I don't know if the public would save her twice.

Week 3 - MOVIE WEEK!!!

 

Daisy - Mary Poppins - quickstep.
Too much messing about at the start. Couple of messy and incorrect steps, and the inexplicable inclusion of a bit of Charleston, but overall pretty decent. Xan thinks Daisy looks like a doll. 7 from me.

Anastasia - Twilight - Viennese Waltz.
I hate Twilight. Just had to get that out the way. She seems very unsteady on her feet, especially in the spins/turns. A bit disappointing. 5 from me.

Danny - The Mask of Zorro - Paso Doble.
10. Just 10! That is all! I love watching that man dance!!!

Lesley - Easter Parade - Quick Step.
Not bad at all. Her shoulders are up a fair bit, but there was quite a bit of energy in there. 6 from me.

Will - Slumdog Millionaire - Salsa.
Will needs to work his hips a little more in places. Didn't like the bit where he dragged her and there wasn't much salsa content. I did like it though - I might push as high as an 8, but I wish there was more salsa in it.

Naga - Mission Impossible - Tango.
Unsteady on her feet, and it looked like they had trouble getting the harness off her. Very little passion or drive. Very disappointing. 5 from me.

Judge Rinder - The Flintstones - Charleston.
A lot of fun, but not as good as I expected or hoped. A few very obvious mistakes, but I enjoyed watching it. 6 from me.

Ore - Singing in the Rain - American Smooth.
That was excellent! Wonderful footwork and movement - great deportment. A good solid 9 from me!

Laura - Moulin Rouge - Salsa.
That lift took a little while to get her up there, but some good hip movement. With a little work on getting the lifts smooth, she could be really good. 7 from me.

Greg - Robin Hood Prince of Thieves - American Smooth.
Those lifts and spins looked effortless! That was very good!!! He's really coming along nicely. Can we all say "journey" !!! 8 from me.

Claudia - Bugsy Malone - Charleston.
That was excellent - energetic and acrobatic. I would have given a 9 if it hadn't gone out of time near the end. A good solid 8 from me.

Tameka - Beverly Hills Cop - Tango.
That was pretty impressive. The bits at the start and end she held her shoulders very strangely - high and stiff - but that was fairly decent. A solid 7 from me.

Ed - The Mask - Samba.
Not such great dancing from Ed this week, but what a character! I still enjoyed watching him, even if I wasn't so keen on the dance itself. Just a 5 from me based on the dance, but I want him to stay in! It's worth mentioning I'm not keen on the samba anyway. He gives his all every time though.

Louise - Flashdance - Cha cha.
Seemed a bit stilted in places, and strangely lacking in content. I wanted to like that a whole lot more than I actually did. She moved well, though, overall, so I'll scrape a 7 for that.

Have voted for Danny and Ore, and Xan chose Claudia this week. I think Naga and Anastasia will be in the dance off tonight. Not sure which of them I would choose to go, to be honest. I actually enjoy Anastasia's dancing more than Naga's, but with her injury, it might be better if she said goodbye.

 

[Janet]

I missed last week's dance-off show due to being away, but I think Anastasia should have done the decent thing and bowed out.  I know her circumstances, but I felt it was wrong.  I hope that if the same thing happens again she will realise it's not fair and decide to go. 

 

Edit - I hadn't seen your post when I was typing this, Kell!

Edited October 9, 2016 by Janet

[Madeleine]

I thought Louise's dress last week was gorgeous, and I enjoyed her routine this week.

 

Judge Rinder made quite  a lot of mistakes, he could be in the dance off I think.

 

I agree about Naga's long hair last week, it looked awful.  And I thought they would never get that harness undone this week, which made for a very bad start to the routine.

 

Will is good but it wasn't much of a salsa was it, he could do well as long as he continues to improve.

 

I love Danny, he is so good - the minute he starts I just think "yes", the waltz was fabulous and it's one of my favourite songs too.  And this week - how does he do that shaping?  He could be one of the professionals.  Keep it up!

 

Ed - ah bless, you can't blame him for trying and good for him for having a go, he looks like he's enjoying himself.

 

Lesley is better than I expected too, although she does seem to struggle as bit with Anton being a lot taller than her.

 

Claudia was much better this week, although they both look so young!

 

Tameka is great fun and a real character.

 

I enjoyed Greg's routine, much better than last week and very emotional, love that song as well.

 

Laura was also good and looked stunning.

 

Anastasia was OK but a bit heavy, loved her dress though.

 

Can't remember much about Daisy's routine though!

 

Edited to say what did people think of the dance off?  There was no way either of them should have been there, and everyone on the show thought do too, judging by their expressions.  Think the judges made the right decision though, albeit a very difficult one.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Madeleine

[shirley]

I was very surprised as to who went home this week, didn't like her dance at all but was still surprised.

[Janet]

Of the two in the bottom I thought the right one was eliminated, but I didn't think either of them should have been there.