Here we go again, ALW showing favourtism towards XXXXXX and XXXXX at the expense of XXXXX, who must be the dark horse of the race. ALW is hoping the public sees things his way and he is desperate not to repeat the Jodie fiasco of the Nancy show.

What offends me is the BBC is paying him and giving him free publicity for his show, but ALW wants more. He wants to influence the way we vote and guide us as if we can't recognise talent when we see it.

delete (edit) your post immediately - it's a spoiler

As if!

if i was putting that much money and my reputation on a show then i'd do all i could to engineer the show so that my favourites were left at the point where there's just the viewers voting on it. of course it's not fair - it's meant to make decent telly and make ALW a pretty penny when the winner is eventually announced. plus, the lauren/jenny sing off tonight is the only time he hasn't got rid of the girl who got the lowest public votes. essentially, the public have decided it all until he saved lauren tonight.

I always find it stupid, but then I think I'm a better judge than Andrew Lloyd Webber - my favourites always end up in the west end.

Along the spectrum between binding contractual vow and marketing schtick, it's naive to think that the "You choose Dorothy" line is religiously pinned at the former end.

I really dont see what the problem is. Its not like ALW gets total control in who stays and who goes. If a girl was that popular in the first place, then she wouldnt have ended up in the bottom two.

If it were a case of the same girl being saved week-in week-out despite clearly having no public support then fair enough, but as it stands, no girl has been in the bottom 2 three times, and only Lauren and Steph have been twice. (Both in a situation where only a handful of girls are left) Its actually quite a testament to the girls this year that the competition is so open.

Unfortunately we don't have his clout or his money or his looks (thank God) but I am sure Jenny has a brilliant career ahead of her as do all the aspiring Dorothy's who don't win the ruby slippers. Who will be the chosen one? As long as the viewers chose and it is not a set up and if it is - Lloyd Webber should play the Scarecrow.

Haha.

I actually think that ALW is lucky to have these shows on the BBC because:[LIST][*] The BBC One channel is hugely popular and watched by millions of viewers.[*] As someone said earlier, he's getting free publicity for Oz.[*] People who watch the show and vote for their favourite, who ultimately wins will be more likely to pay to see the show.

And perhaps the most important...
[*] He gets to see which girl is popular with the general public before casting her for his show.[/LIST]
So I don't see why he tries to manipulate the show so a specific person has a better chance of winning.

Someone mentioned earlier that if they were in ALW's position they would be doing everything possible to engineer the results suited them, but surely what the public wants would suit him. The more popular the girl, the more popular Oz?

That's just what I think.

Well except, much as I disagree with his tactics, ALW does care about putting on a good show, and has done before he's been involved with reality TV. He doesnt want someone who is going to put on a worse performance, because though they may attract the seats, they wont bring good reviews for them.

Having said that, Jenny was, imo, not the worst, and especially not this week. I love Danielle but this week was pretty weak, and I vote for her because of her track record and what I believe is superior acting. I also should have voted for Jess. She's always been a frontrunner for me.

But for the audience it wouldn't be a worse show because they effecitvely selected the leading lady.

But some people might go and see it having never watched the programme - they might just want to see the show and they won't be happy if they don't like the Dorothy.

But that's always going to be the case, reality show or not.

It never bothers me that ALW has favorites. Of course he has favorites. He's a human being. Sometimes I agree with his favorites (Connie and Lee) and sometimes I don't (Jessie and Sam), but it doesn't influence my vote either way. I will support my favorite whether or not ALW agrees with me. In this case, my favorite and ALW's favorite seem to be the same again, but the fact that Danielle is a favorite of ALW's has no bearing on why she's my favorite. I picked her out in the audition episode as the best possible Dorothy and she has done nothing but re-inforce that opinion since then.

What I find ridiculous is people who deliberately don't vote for someone because they are a favorite. Why should this matter? I think people should vote for who they think is the best for the role, regardless of whether the judges like or dislike her. I also don't understand when people vote for someone out of sympathy just because they got bad comments. Are the judges just supposed to tell everyone they're great without any constructive criticism? If so, why even have judges?

He blew that girl out of the water by saying she couldn't act with the dog, putting her in the bottom 2, he then had casting vote.

Given that the public gave Emilie a wildcard and voted on SCD for Jon Sargeant, I'd say he has the right to be cautious.

From some of the comments I've read on this forum and elsewhere I think it's the public who are being patronising to ALW! He has every right to express his views on the contestants when one of them will be a lead in one of his shows. I'd go so far as to say he has far more knowledge and experience in appraising performing ability than anyone on here, so I don't see what's so wrong with him expressing that informed opinion.

If you disagree then I'm sure you'll vote for your preferred choice, so why the fuss?!

While I totally agree with the "it's his show and he can express what he likes" argument - his experience on these shows has not necessarily born out your other point which is that he can spot talent better than any of the rest of us.

Dodgy sing off decisions include saving:

Siobhan over Aoife (he later admitted that was a mistake - Aoife's gone on to have one hell of a career on the West End)

Lewis over Daniel - Andrew said Daniel couldn't hold an audience. Which proved to be complete bollocks as Daniel was a huge hit in Avenue Q. Lewis continues his career as Lee Mead's understudy

Lewis over Ben - Again Ben had huge success after the show in Hairspray, far more than Lewis has enjoyed

She never ended up in a singoff, but his underestimation of Jodie has to feature here too. She was a wonderful Nancy, but if Andrew had had his way, she wouldn't have been let near the part.

Yes, yes quite a patronising exercise, all in all. I am thoroughly sick of having "favourites" rammed down my throat. And for how long can one go on defending the indefensible? The public has voted. Yet he keeps throwing them back hoping one sticks.

Huh? They've all been in the bottom two now, so obviously the public can't make up their minds and there is no clear favourite. As far as I can recall, all of the girls have received mixed comments at some point so I have no idea what you mean by "defending the indefensible". The judges are only doing their job when they give their opinions on who they think is the best, and if people disagree then they are free to vote however they choose.

Exactly! I don't feel patronised: I feel better informed. Having said that, it's wise for ALW to remind viewers what they're voting for. And I have a sneaking suspicion that some people positively need to be patronised. I heard on the radio yesterday that a Man U supporter voted for the Labour party in the general election because they like the colour red.

^Yes. ALW is right to remind people what they are voting for. This is not X-Factor. It is not a contest to find the best singer. The aim is to cast a specific role, and voting should be based on who best fits that role. It is about the total package--acting, singing, dancing, look, and the youth and innocence to convincingly play a young farm girl. People should be voting based on those qualities. I have no problems with ALW telling people to consider the whole package and not just one or two aspects, and not just one night's performance.

my grandma voted for Gordon Brown because she thought he was the most handsome!

Giving contestants second and third chances when they very clearly either give poor performances or are not what the public wants (for one reason or another) is ludicrous.