This show is sliding!
hownwbrowncow
Posts: 6,188 Forum Member
✭
Grrr I'm not happy.
First of all, we're about to be landed with two poor line ups on the trot... Last year was the worst, bar series 7, and this year looks dreadful!
Also, we're losing all the familiar faces, like James and Robin and Artem, and they're being replaced by Burn the Floor people from around the world, when we have brilliant talent here in the UK.
Also, the series is too long, and there are too many celebs! I got so bored in the middle of last year! Having a larger cast means (generally) less famous celebs!!
Not to mention the female bias last year
It's all become too tacky and mainstream, with all the theme nights bad music, props etc.
Its lost the charming, low key, novel feel it used to have, back in the pre-revamp days! Ugh, I think SCD's gonna lose a lot of viewers this year, I can feel it.
First of all, we're about to be landed with two poor line ups on the trot... Last year was the worst, bar series 7, and this year looks dreadful!
Also, we're losing all the familiar faces, like James and Robin and Artem, and they're being replaced by Burn the Floor people from around the world, when we have brilliant talent here in the UK.
Also, the series is too long, and there are too many celebs! I got so bored in the middle of last year! Having a larger cast means (generally) less famous celebs!!
Not to mention the female bias last year
It's all become too tacky and mainstream, with all the theme nights bad music, props etc.
Its lost the charming, low key, novel feel it used to have, back in the pre-revamp days! Ugh, I think SCD's gonna lose a lot of viewers this year, I can feel it.
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Comments
Huh? You haven't seen the newbies yet. It's impossible to judge until we've seen them.
The three you mentioned are the only familiar faces leaving - two of them were unavoidable (Artem's visa issues and Robin's back injury) and the other was because they're a massive prick.
Again, we can't judge yet. The series only has one more contestant and one more week than the three series previous to last year.
I'll give you that, maybe, but you can't use that as a criticism against this year's show.
Theme nights, props etc have been part of the show for four years now, and they've produced some of the most memorable routines we've seen as part of the show. Shows like this have to evolve in order to stay fresh - series 7 was an example of what'll happen if you stick to the same formula for too long. And are you really complaining about a BBC One Saturday night celebrity-based reality TV being 'too mainstream'?
The revamp was the best possible thing that could have happened to Strictly. Series' 6 and 7 fell as flat as a pancake, and series 8 to 10 not only had the best line-ups in the show's history, but were also very well received on the whole.
Stop moaning and give the show a chance. Or if not, stop watching, it won't make a difference.
I expected this kind of response from you. I'm not going to stop watching .
Firstly, I'm talking about the rumoured line up. Series 8-10 were so good. So why are 11 and 12 so trashy?
It doesn't matter if it was unavoidable.
Still too long.
And I'm not sure, I don't think props add much, they're just a distraction.
Series 6 and 7 didn't 'fall flat'. They received just as much media coverage, and almost as high viewing figures as Series 4 and 5. The only problem was there was too many celebs, and therefore a lower celebrity calibre, a problem that is developing again now.
So I guess you prefer Series 8-11 SCD, than Series 1-7?
I don't think just two extra celebrities would take up that much money, so the poorness of series 7's line-up was likely just a fluke. Series 6 isn't often held in high regard, mostly because it was marred by controversy (it got media coverage, but the wrong kind) and as you pointed out, the viewing figures had taken a drop by that point. I don't think I even need to start where series soap... sorry, 7 went wrong. It can't be denied that series 8 breathed life back into the show, and yes, I think that some of the series since have been better than 1, 3, 6, 7 and possibly 4. Yes, the celebrity pool is inevitably drying out, but the series 11 cast was bound to appear poor in comparison to series before.
There's really no need to start moaning before the series has even begun - I don't see how you can call something which won't be airing for another month 'trashy'. I don't really see what was so 'trashy' about last year, either. All series have their fair share of ridiculous rumours. There was one year that we had the Chuckle Brothers, Simon Cowell's brother and Sharon Osbourne. Give it a chance.
Though perhaps if dislike the series this much already that all you'll be doing is complaining, perhaps watching it in its current form isn't for you.
People MASSIVELY over-exaggerate how bad last year's lineup was. It really wasn't. It was varied and a bit quirky, but it wasn't of a low standard. This year we know, maybe, a quarter of the cast already... WAY too early to be saying it's "the worst line-up evah!1"
If you think that the series is too long, then skip the first three or four programmes, and start watching from programme four or five (depending upon your idea of "too long").
That way, the series does not last as long, you have less celebs when you start watching, and you will have been spared the rubbish celebs who were first to go.
Meanwhile, the rest of us who want to watch the series as envisaged will be able to do so.
Both sides are happy as pigs in muck.
Robin and Artem both did Burn The Floor - would you prefer that they had not taken part in Strictly?
Wish we were losing more of the familiar faces - would be quite happy to see the back of Anton!
Gosh, what a load of moaning! I'm all for different opinions, it keeps things interesting but you seem to moan about these same things on a daily basis, and some of them don't really make any sense!
If I felt this strongly about it I simply wouldn't watch!
I don't think it is over-exaggerated! That's my main gripe here. Strictly was renowned for it's brilliant line-Ups, and last year fell flat.
We had a retired golfer who nobody over fifty had heard of..
We had a loudmouthed radio presenter.
We had a fashion designer who in my opinion, was NOT a celeb.
We had a Dragon, whcih I admit was a good signing.
We had a Countdown numbers lady, who is very obscure, because she'd only been doing it for about a year, and not many people watch countdown!
We had a Hairy Biker, who was a good signing.
We had Fiona Fullerton, who was a civilian, not a celbrity since the 80s, when she had her five minutes of fame.
Ben Cohen was a good signing.
We had FOUR soapstars,which was well over the two they had become accustomed to having between Series 8 and 10. And at least Sid Owen for example was a well-known soap star- RICKAAAAAY! Apart from Natalie, they were really quite obscure - Hollyoaks, Casualty, and Waterloo Roas all have limited viewers these days.
Then we have S E-B, who although I liked as a signing, was a bit disappointing, considering the musicians the show had managed from Series 8 to 10 (Michelle Williams, Lulu, Kimberley).
Then there's Susanna, who was a good signing, one of the most well-known presenters on British TV I guess.
But to top it all of, there was Abbey, whose claims to fame, were being on Britains Next Top Model,marrying Crouchy, and having a tiny segment on This Morning.
Series 11 had one of the worst line-ups and in my opinion, the most disappointing. At least for Series 7, the line up standard was only a bit worse than 6, whereas for Series 11, we had to come down from three of the greatest line Ups, back to the depths of DOI, and SCD7, a place I thought we'd never have to go again.
Emm.. I don't even visit the SCD forum on a daily basis so that's incorrect. I will only stop watching s show I have previously loved if it repeatedly produced series which I didn't like. I still love the format itself, but it's just the over - embellishments prop wise which I'm nor liking, and the lineups.
It's just unfortunate producers never get rid of the ones I would like to see the back of, that's my only complaint there!
In fact they were higher - Series 6 was the highest rated series ever at that point, and Series 7 was only slightly behind. The problem with Series 7 I think was partly the relentless nasty controversy (Arlene's public firing, Anton saying a rude word to Laila, Alesha yelling at Craig that she had to endure him, Ricky getting arrested), partly the fact that the results show was tacked on to the end of the main show making every episode far too long, and partly that the series ran too long - actually IIRC the ratings at the start of the series were stronger than Series 6, it was towards the end that things majorly dropped off. I don't think the lack of starriness was or is necessarily a problem - the public have shown willing to take to their hearts people whose claim to 5 Star Fame is shaky (Chris Hollins, Abbey Clancy, Chelsee Healey, the one from Mis-Teeq who used to do the rubbish rapping bits). The important thing is to have an endearing personality once you get on there, and most of the people from Series 7 didn't. The show which had started off in the early series as a charming low-key competiton had become a miserable bicker-fest that took itself far too seriously, and whilst some of the more trite gimmicks (comedy VTs, Wet Yourself It's Wembley, Giant Props Eating The Dancefloor) might get on my wick, it all desperately needed a dose of frothy frivolity shooting up its fundament before it got too grim to watch. (And Widdy, apparently) (Don't ask me why)
(I also don't really agree that the problem with Series 7 was an unwillingness to shake the format up or staleness - they added two new dances, introduced Blackpool Week, added a battling Viennese Waltz, reintroduced two dances being done before the first elimination, muddied the final up until it was unrecognisble... There were quite a few format changes - arguably more than between Series 7 and 8 in terms of how the competition actually worked - the major shift was in terms of tone.)
Ratings wise the show has been on a (very slow) slide since Series 8, although nothing to worry about. I do think losing Bruce and three of the more recognisble hunky male dancers might hurt them, as might introducing TOWIE/MIC/GS/DS/IWMH contestants if they're doing that, just in terms of what a lot of people view as being the qualities of the "Strictly Brand" (ie that it is somehow "better than" other reality shows). But I don't think it'll be too serious - the show's still well above the viewership it had pre Series 8 and isn't going back there any time soon.
(Re : the female bias - I may be the only one who thinks the male cast of Series 11 were stronger, in terms of talent and likability, than the male cast of Series 10. Less famous for sure, but I've never really cared about how famous the contestants are, or for why).
And the voting public have no say at all?
I got the impression that it was the voting public that, in their infinite wisdom, voted to keep people in, sometimes way beyond their ability or entertainment value.
Going by your first post I think it's abit more than just those two things! ;-)
I think the poster was referring to the pro dancers, not the celebs - though I could be wrong!
Thanks for the info.
I liked series 6 - and series 7 was OK for me until Jade got injured.
The forum was even less in favour of those two series than usual, so the perception of 6 and 7 may be partly due to that.
I agree with the OP about the hiring of Burn The Floor dancers instead of ex-Ballroom/Latin dancers. In that respect, I think the program is moving away from its basic format.
I also don't need them to be celebrities because they appeared on TV a few times. I'd prefer a lot more sports people.
If you don't like it don't watch - it is not obligatory
But what some don't seem to realise is that the pros can have been part of Burn the Floor and be ex-Ballroom/Latin dancers, it isn't either-or. Trent's a Junior and Youth British Championship finalist and Australian professional 10 dance champion, Tristan won numerous Juvenile, Junior, and Amateur competitions around Europe and Joanne's a 5-time British champion, 3-time Italian champion, Professional Ballroom European champion and Professional World Dancesport Games champion. All three have been part of Burn the Floor.
If anything, hiring former champions like this is a step-up from recent years, so I don't see why people are complaining unless they're unable to look past the words 'Burn the Floor'. In which case, they're probably James Jordan.
Fair enough, got my facts wrong there
I agree, I liked Series 6 and 7, just as much as Series 5. I never saw Series 8, got back into it throughout Series 9, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Series 10 - my favourite series ever. Brilliant cast, not a lot of props, scores kept low, quite a high standard.
But then Series 11 I just found a bit of a wet blanket
Seriously. This huff people get in when they see BTF mentioned on a dancers resume is ridiculous. It's one if the biggest dance shows in the world - ofc it will have good dancers in it. The snobbery about it is ridiculous.
Idk if the show is on a slide or not - I know I love it and despite the numerous flaws it has year on year, I always look forward to it starting. Could it be better? Of course but the show has been on 10 years - it has to adapt or die, and it keeps on adapting and I'm glad about that. Not all the changes work, but nothing has been terminal either from what I've seen. People bemoan the changes every year (usually when the series gas actually started) and every year the show still rakes up viewers and flourishes. That wouldn't be the case if they were still following the same format from 5, 6 or 7 years ago.
Most dancers give up a competitive career to take part, and once the show they are part of is finished, they will return to teaching and coaching - unless they get a part in one of the worldwide strictly shows.
That wasn't the case with Janette Manrara though, was it? Another poster linked to a Youtube video last season with her rehearsing for BTF and she expressed doubts about her Ballroom abilities.