Official Dancing With the Stars: Season 18

[lisaviolet]

BTW, just curious what everyone thinks of Erin as a host? I was sooo glad to see Brooke go, but I'm not loving Erin either.

I think Erin is doing a great job. I'm used to her, it's a NFL house here. But I was also watching with a sly smile in the beginning. Utter curiosity.The girls on TMZ are out for Ms. Andrews, they can't stand her on a visceral level - it's ugly , but I still don't get their issue.

I really don't think that the fix is in. We have seen multiple couples overscored this season. We have seen couples clearly mess up and receive perfect scores (Charlie and the cane incident comes to mind). My theory is that the judges are trying to keep it as close as possible because they really are wanting to just leave it up to the viewers to decide who stays and who goes. Happy viewers equals return viewers which leads to higher ratings. I think that there's a reason that we have seen different stars at the top of the leader board and why there really isn't a big gap between any of them. They don't want the judges scores determining who wins - they want it all on the viewers.


I really didn't care for Maks and Meryl's first dance. The domestic violence at the beginning really rubbed me the wrong way. I could definitely tell what the theme of the dance was, which was good, but I hated seeing her hit Maks. They never would have done a dance where he smacked her, so I was bothered by her hitting him. I don't know.


I liked Danica and was sad to see her go. I was hoping it was James and Peta. I like James. He seems like a genuine guy who is very down-to-earth. I just can't stand Peta. She seems so full of herself. What James is doing with her I'll never know.

Well if I had that body, I would be full of myself all day long. I just looked her up. I thought she was in her early thirties. Nope, 27. Pretty girl.




_________________________________________________________

I thought that Danica deserved to go much further. Excellent dancer. Maks/Meryl should win in my opinion. I would be very happy for Maks.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I agree completely. I thought Charlie was really good, not perfect. Amy was also really good (considering the stool thing) but also not perfect.

Never watched Dance Moms, nor will I but really couldn't stand Abby at all.

I was sad to see Danica go. I much preferred her over Candace or James. James seems very nice, but I agree with Jenna, can't stand Peta. She ranks close to Anna in my book.

Speaking of... was I the only one who noticed that she was in the audience last night? She was behind Bruno and a little to the left and the camera was never solely on her. In fact, I didn't even notice her until towards the very end of the program. But, I ran back the DVR and yes, it was definitely her. I saw her when Bruno was review the dance duel of Amy and Charlie.



On a side note, can I tell you how irritated I get when they have a dance duel or a team dance or something similar where there are groups of people dancing and a judge comments on how the star was able to match the pro perfectly? Ugh. Abby said that about James matching Derek last night. Carrie Ann said it about Rob Kardashian when they did the group Paso regarding him matching his cape work with Derek and Maks. No, Abby, James didn't match Derek. Derek matched James. And no, Carrie Ann, Rob didn't match Derek and Maks. Derek and Maks are good enough pros that they were able to watch Rob out of the corner of their eyes and match his movement. I'm all about praising the stars for the good work that they do. No need to not give the pros the credit when that is clearly what is going on, though. Just a pet peeve.

 

[AustinTink]

Guess I'm the only one who still dislikes Erin. I don't find any of her banter fun or engaging, just annoying.

 

[yoopermom]

Derek and Maks are good enough pros that they were able to watch Rob out of the corner of their eyes and match his movement. I'm all about praising the stars for the good work that they do. No need to not give the pros the credit when that is clearly what is going on, though. Just a pet peeve.

AMEN!!!! DS and I were watching this week, and I said to him, "Derek could make ME look good as a dancer" (and I'm totally wretched, believe me). They are "professionals" for a reason!

I don't know if I was imagining this, but in the "duel/duet", I thought that Meryl dancing alone with Danica really showed that she is an unbelievably talented pairs skater/dancer, but I don't think that she stands out alone/solo at all. She has that unbelievable ability to completely connect with her partner, one of the best I've ever seen, though. When he knelt before her, and she hugged him to his chest, I wanted to cry, it felt so intimate and tender.

Terri

 

[KBoopaloo]

Speaking of... was I the only one who noticed that she was in the audience last night? She was behind Bruno and a little to the left and the camera was never solely on her. In fact, I didn't even notice her until towards the very end of the program. But, I ran back the DVR and yes, it was definitely her. I saw her when Bruno was review the dance duel of Amy and Charlie.



On a side note, can I tell you how irritated I get when they have a dance duel or a team dance or something similar where there are groups of people dancing and a judge comments on how the star was able to match the pro perfectly? Ugh. Abby said that about James matching Derek last night. Carrie Ann said it about Rob Kardashian when they did the group Paso regarding him matching his cape work with Derek and Maks. No, Abby, James didn't match Derek. Derek matched James. And no, Carrie Ann, Rob didn't match Derek and Maks. Derek and Maks are good enough pros that they were able to watch Rob out of the corner of their eyes and match his movement. I'm all about praising the stars for the good work that they do. No need to not give the pros the credit when that is clearly what is going on, though. Just a pet peeve.

I thought I saw Anna too. She is part of an aftershow that airs as a podcast on Itunes every week and I saw one of the other commentators from that show in the crowd too. I don't know if she actually goes to the show every week but she definitely watches it live and is on the aftershow right afterwards.

The show is a bit long but I find the aftershow interesting because it is other pro dancers weighing in. Anna is always on as far as I can tell and they have also had Chelsie, Henry and two of the troupe members this season. They all provide a really interesting perspective, especially having been in the pros' shoes.

 

[MomofKatie]

Ugh, that Abby Lee Miller person (I have never watched her show, so never heard of her before this week) is just AWFUL! I was watching Entertainment Tonight just now, and they are covering the Maks/Abby Lee drama. At the aftershow press area, Abby "jokingly" bent over and WIPED HER NOSE ON THE BACK OF MAKS' SHIRT!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeww! Maks turned around with a "What the --" Look on his face and told her there was no call for doing that, and she just laughed at him.

She is horrible.

 

[lisaviolet]

Ugh, that Abby Lee Miller person (I have never watched her show, so never heard of her before this week) is just AWFUL! I was watching Entertainment Tonight just now, and they are covering the Maks/Abby Lee drama. At the aftershow press area, Abby "jokingly" bent over and WIPED HER NOSE ON THE BACK OF MAKS' SHIRT!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeww! Maks turned around with a "What the --" Look on his face and told her there was no call for doing that, and she just laughed at him.

She is horrible.

That's really gross.

I'm going to watch the west coast feed of our entertainment show, etalk. The correspondent that they send down to talk to the DWTS dancers/contestants is hysterical. I'm sure she'll have fun with Abby's nonsense.

 

[kimmar067]

Guess I'm the only one who still dislikes Erin. I don't find any of her banter fun or engaging, just annoying.

...I'm with you....I find her voice irritating....

 

[kimmar067]

No, I should have been clearer, I told them I'd like new judges for next season. I used to think that Len was the impartial judge but he is falling all over Amy too. I think the main reason James is still there is so that Carrie Ann will have someone to ogle. I yell at the TV everytime she calls a toe coming off the floor a lift.

....I am getting sick of the lovefest over Amy....now, I know some of you might get mad at me for what I'm about to say, but I just want to make clear it is an observation, and nothing more. Notice how some of the judges were commenting and deducting points for "toes not pointed", "bent legs", or "bent arms", etc. regarding the other stars. It seems to me that Amy wouldn't get those deductions, for obvious reasons, but no one (the judges) seems to comment about that... I mean, in all fairness, she isn't getting deductions for things that she physically cannot do - shouldn't it work both ways? Again, just an observation....

 

[Chuckers]

...It seems to me that Amy wouldn't get those deductions, for obvious reasons, but no one (the judges) seems to comment about that... I mean, in all fairness, she isn't getting deductions for things that she physically cannot do - shouldn't it work both ways? Again, just an observation....

I've also realized that she'll never get point deductions for foot placement or pointed toes and thought it wasn't fair.

 

[tajz90]

She can't point her toes so she shouldn't lose points. Just think if the other dancers lost points because the couldn't jive on their prosthesis.

DWTS isn't truly a competition, it's a show for entertainment. It's entertaining and not the Olympics.

 

[M&N]

When stars have been hurt, they were told they had to be judged on how they danced. Their injury was not taken into consideration.

 

[Lreip]

I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion. Amy is an inspiration, she came back from an injury last week, and blah, blah, blah... but I'm sorry, she got a perfect score for sitting on a stool and getting swung around by Derek. Really? She is an elite Paralympic athlete. I am willing to bet she wishes she would get real, honest critique based on her dance technique vs tongue baths based on how "brave, inspirational, and amazing" she is. The overscoring by the judges is getting really tiresome.

I agree!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[robinb]

....I am getting sick of the lovefest over Amy....now, I know some of you might get mad at me for what I'm about to say, but I just want to make clear it is an observation, and nothing more. Notice how some of the judges were commenting and deducting points for "toes not pointed", "bent legs", or "bent arms", etc. regarding the other stars. It seems to me that Amy wouldn't get those deductions, for obvious reasons, but no one (the judges) seems to comment about that... I mean, in all fairness, she isn't getting deductions for things that she physically cannot do - shouldn't it work both ways? Again, just an observation....

I don't mind her not being judged on pointed toes or even her bent legs she needs to steady herself and I really don't care if it's "fair" to the other dancers. I do care about her being judged the same for the rest of her dancing and that doesn't seem to be happening. It's like she is given a pass for things that are physically out of her control and it keeps on snowballs all the way to a perfect score for a dance where she sits on her butt for 25% of it. It also seems to me that she gets "bonus inspiration" points for doing it all on prosthetics which is, in fact, inspiring and amazing but shouldn't be judged higher.

Then again, there always seems to be a star that is kept around by the judges by being overscored (Bristol Palin, anyone? Twice!) because of their strong fan base. Amy may be another one of them. Just as many of us may stop watching entirely if Amy wins, there are many, many, many others who will stop watching once Amy is gone. It's a balancing act for the producers.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

I don't mind her not being judged on pointed toes or even her bent legs she needs to steady herself and I really don't care if it's "fair" to the other dancers. I do care about her being judged the same for the rest of her dancing and that doesn't seem to be happening. It's like she is given a pass for things that are physically out of her control and it keeps on snowballs all the way to a perfect score for a dance where she sits on her butt for 25% of it. It also seems to me that she gets "bonus inspiration" points for doing it all on prosthetics which is, in fact, inspiring and amazing but shouldn't be judged higher.

Then again, there always seems to be a star that is kept around by the judges by being overscored (Bristol Palin, anyone? Twice!) because of their strong fan base. Amy may be another one of them. Just as many of us may stop watching entirely if Amy wins, there are many, many, many others who will stop watching once Amy is gone. It's a balancing act for the producers.

Well said! ITA!

 

[kimmar067]

Well said! ITA!

....I agree also....this entire show shouldn't really be called a 'competition' because of the judging flaws...

 

[kimmar067]

...a perfect score for a dance where she sits on her butt for 25% of it. It also seems to me that she gets "bonus inspiration" points for doing it all on prosthetics which is, in fact, inspiring and amazing but shouldn't be judged higher....

....kind of ironic that typically, Len never cared for the 'fluff' or 'story line' of any particular dance. He always seemed to want to just see the 'meat-and-potatoes' of the dance, yet, here is a blatantly obvious case of Amy sitting during a good portion of her dance, yet it [her dance] warranted a perfect score of 10. I can't help but wonder if Max had been her coach, whether the outcome would have been the same perfect score or not...

 

[AustinTink]

I can't help but wonder if Max had been her coach, whether the outcome would have been the same perfect score or not...

Right on. If she were Maks partner, they would have been eliminated by now. They would have consistently scored 7s and 8s for the exact same content. The Amy/Derek combo is the perfect storm of "inspiration" votes from viewers and the usual Derek love fest.

Sadly, I think Maks will be denied the mirror ball once again.

 

[kimmar067]

Sadly, I think Maks will be denied the mirror ball once again.

....oh, I sure hope not....if ever he truly deserves to win, it's THIS time out!

 

[Dancind]

A little backlash going on! I think Amy is a good dancer. Her lines are great, she has really good frame and movement through her core, her musicality is there, and for an athlete she's amazing at capturing the emotions of the dances. Her balance is phenomenal, what she is doing is equivalent to dancing on a high wire.

It's kind of an exciting season, no clue who will make it to the finals. It's a possibility that Meryl won't, and that would be a shame. I see lots of fans for Candace and Charlie around the web. Will be interesting!