I think its due to the :

Props - the pros are so determined to get them in that the dance usually suffers... so much time is wasted trying to fit them in and usually makes me feel like I can't get into the dance

Lifts - didn't Len say they weren't allowing them apart from in the usual dances (like American Smooth) but for some reason they keep cropping up again, and now the whole dance is often based around them thus making me feel like I can't get into the dance

Ann - nuff said

I feel that all these factors are ruining the choreography and therefore the entertainment factor for me. The pros know that the only way to stay in when you're up against someone as ridiculous as Ann that you have to be as outrageous as possible, and in my opinion the dancing often suffers.

Plus I really miss Ian, Matthew and co.

Gutted

I actually love this one... though ANYTHING is better than last years!

God really? I'd do anything to have last series back. I miss the dance off, I hate the results show, I hate how its 'the Ann show' etc etc...

I really love this series, think it's great.

This year is so much better than last years complete disaster.

Meh


with an extra dip of *shrug* on the side

Most unlikeable slebs ev-ah

Not grabbed in the same way as in previous years, mainly due to the lack of professional dances.
Would love more

This year is my favourite series so far.

This year has been one of my favourites. Haven't got into the show this much since series 5 and I'm really enjoying the partnerships.

This year is MUCH better than the last 2 series.

If Ann wasnt still in, it would be my clear favourite.

This has been my least favourite year of Strictly. Ann spoils it greatly for me.

For me, this year's show will always be less than it might have been.

^^ This

The last couple of years I haven't really had a clear favourite - well, not enough to pick up the phone anyway. But this year I'm loving all the top couples, plus I have a favourite in Kara and Artem and am picking up the phone to vote for them. But I really wouldn't be gutted if any of the Fab Four were to win - so long as the Widdy One does not.

I am actually really enjoying this series. Yes there have been changes to the show that I'm not liking and hope will not be brought back next year (props, theme nights, constant standing ovations, no dance-off) but we have a good crop of dancers this year, especially Kara. She is IMO on her way to being the best contestant ever and no amount of props or upping of the cheese factor can detract from her wonderful dancing ability. Plus the fact that I have a favourite couple this year in a way I haven't had since Alesha & Matthew makes it so much more enjoyable than the last two series.

I am really enjoying Strictly this year but have mixed emotions. I'm loving it for the quality of the top four dancers, my favourites being Kara and Artem who are fantastic and fast becoming my all time favourites, however, I find the Widdy factor just irritating I don't find her funny at all now. I'm also not a big fan of all the format changes, I liked it when it wasn't so much like DWTS, I don't like too many props, themes etc. Now just crossing fingers that Kartem make it to the final on the public vote or I think I'll

I think this is a fine series with more good couples than ever, but I do agree it's a great shame that Matthew and Ian are gone!

I have mixed emotions about this series. For me, I feel the show has lost some of it's sparkle.

That is, in part, due to the introduction of props and theme nights, which detract from the actual dancing.

The Ann debacle hasn't actually bothered me too much so far, however I am concerned we could start to lose one or more of the "Fab Four" by keeping her in.

I know I should be over it by now, but I am still mourning the loss of Darren, Lilia, Matthew, Ian, and Brian. This is worsened by the complete non-event that was the Dance troupe, what a waste of time!

I really feel that each of these dancers brought something special to the show, and I think that the series would have been better with them in it.

That said, we have seen some amazing dances and couples this year. Pamela and James have been a revelation in showing that an older lady can succeed in the competition, whilst Kara just gets better and better each week. Scott and Matt have both been brilliant from the very beginning, and I'm looking forward to a spectacular (hopefully Widdy free!) final.

Yes, I know that things need updating every once in a while... but I find it odd that they have tried to detract from the dancing with props etc when the whole reason people watch is for the dancing. Surely the ratings were good in earlier series? I feel like they are losing their identity all because of trying to compete with X Factor. I don't know what it is but this series most of my friends who are my age (22) haven't watched it but they did in other years. Which seems odd since they've tried to make it "cooler".

Maybe I'm being biased because I did used to dance, but I don't know anything about ballroom (nor did I have any interest in it) before this show. I just did ballet.

The amazing thing with the show is that it made people want to go ballroom dancing again, and this was surely brought on by watching a load of novices improve into quite good dancers. NOT watching Ann Widdicombe walk around an iceberg.

Yes I agree about the dancers! I really miss the old pros. And what is up with the new pro troupe?! The dances aren't half as good and I find I don't care when I don't know who they are. As well as this, I'm sure they said in the press that the whole point of the showdancers was that they'd be doing something "amazing that we've never seen on strictly before" but no.

I think the standard of dancing is so much higher this year apart from the single joke contestant, who should never have been invited in the first place.

But Kara is better than Rachel Stevens and perhaps better than Alesha.

Pamela is far better than Natasha Kaplinsky, who won the first series.

OK, nobody has ever matched Jill Halfpenny's jive, but I don't remember a single one of her other dances.

With respect to props, am I noticing them less or are they just being used less? I feel like the pros saw the props as being like a big box of new toys, and maybe now they've calmed down a bit (Anton excepted, but we all know why).

But this is a great series of Strictly IMO. Good likeable celebrities, 2 good additions to the pros (jury's still out on Jared) and some fantasic dances. I don't really have a strong opinion about Ann.

I have enjoyed the show this year, I stated by knowing who most of the celebrities were and now I love the fact there are 4 good dancers and any of them could lift the glitter ball.

It's been a very good series and worth watching.

I agree with OP's reasons for this series being the worst one since I started watching 2-3 years ago. It feels as though the BBC cynically introduced the trash knowing that there was nowhere else to go for existing SCD fans, so they could draw in X-Factor and soap fans without risking a dip in audience numbers.

I think this series is one of the better series we have had in a long time. Last year was so so. :yawn:

I agree, that certainly appears to be the case.
In defence of the BBC (for once) it has always been a form of celebrity reality show, and I think there has been a kind of middle class "snobbery" about SCD in thinking it's any different. A snobbery I've been guilty of myself, I hasten to add.
Nobody minded admitting they watched SCD on a regular basis, but shows like X-Factor, I'm a Celebrity etc were for the plebs. It remains to be seen whether the BBC gamble will pay off in the long term. I have a feeling the "red tops" are not so interested in Strictly, so the BBC will have to dumb-down still further to keep that audience share.