I know. It seems like looking moody earns you a 9, even if the dancing is shoddy. Madness.

Just watched them again and Matts music was just AWFUL!! who the hell chose that song, i can't believe it was Aliona, more like a clueless producer

[quote] The dances and the dancers have become merely incidental this year.
The show, particularly last night's debacle, is a vehicle for costume, make-up and lighting to exhibit their skills.
Even the judges performances seem scripted and rehearsed and we, the audience, have to be 'entertained' whether we like it or not.
Enjoying the standard to which each couple perform has, for some reason, been deemed by somebody as unworthy.
It became necessary to remove some of the professional dancers who we had learned to respect and admire and replace them with unknowns, lest the spotlight was focussed on them and the music selected to make it practically impossible to determine which dance is being performed at any given time, in order that the judges scripts can be followed without criticism from us.
Finally a compliant audience recruited from the X-Factor queue who will whoop and cheer on command tell us which dances are regarded as 'the most entertaining' so the names of the dances become irrelavent
[\QUOTE]

Post of the day. In fact, of the year.

I fast forwarded most of the show, only the pro paso, Kara and Scott worth watching.

The show has almost completely caved in to the "it's not a dance contest" wave of resentment that came in with John Sergeant.

* No dance off.
* Relaxed rules on lifts.
* Even Len tolerating much "faffing".
* Props galore.
* Circus act Charlestons.
* Ann's wire lift.

In a way I don't blame them, though. With the Tories gleefully cutting, and the Tory anti-BBC press ready to pounce, the BBC must be worried. Now they have the Prime Minister talking about Ann in Strictly -- a good result from that POV.

The mistake was trying to force the wrong dances to the music. If they must have a theme surely it would be better to give the music out then allow the professionals to choreograph the dance to suit within the basic B&L styles.

One Paso & a couple of Jives (one fast one slow) were the only ones that came close to matching the music.

Just about to quote this post, then noticed Northern had beaten me to it Must concur tho' - Post of the Series!! Think I'll learn it off by heart and quote it whenever anyone asks what I think of this year's SCD.