There seems to be a fairly widespread agreement on this forum (with some notable exceptions, of course) that DWTS is rubbish and pantomime and that everything bad about Strictly comes from DWTS. I have occasionally watched DWTS and though I prefer some things on the SCD format, I don't really understand why there seems to be so much negativity about it.

Tom Bergeron is much more professional and low key than Brucie (so much for our OTT American cousins), Brooke Burke may not be a candidate for Mensa but she appears to have far better interviewing skills than our Tessie (so much for our inarticulate and uneducated American cousins) and the production values appear (at least to me on admittedly limited exposure) much less flashy and showbiz than some of what we see over here.

Not intending to say one show is better than the other. They are different, which is fair enough....but I don't understand why so many people seem to think that all the bad things originate on the other side of the pond.

Interesting post Crystal. I so agree with you about Tom in comparison to Sir (should be retired by now ) Brucie but actually prefer Tess to wooden Brooke, she's dire. I enjoy the USA version, however I do think it's way more showbizzy(no bad thing) but on a negative note, one of the more irritating aspects of the show, which I think orignated from the states is the way the audience boo each time the judges give their marks, it drives me insane and seems to have made its way accross to British version. Just plain rude in my opinion.

I much prefer DWTS to SCD,no its not perfect and is more showbizzy and sometimes requires a degree of guess the dance but they do it so much better than we do.There seems to me to be a degree of snobbishness when people refer to it as panto etc. Tom is a much better host,Brooke is hopeless much preferred Samanatha Harris.The only thing I really dislike about it are the judges,Carrie-Ann in particular is appalling.

Because most of the DWTS bashers havent really watched it and just trot out anti American twaddle frankly. DWTS is a great show in its own right.....like Strictly it has its good and bad elements but they are pretty much the same. DWTS has bigger and brighter production because it has more money.....if we could merge the good bits of both shows we would have a perfect concoction for me.

DWTS shows that it can work with a 'host' thats not a faded comedien with a huge ego but with a straight forward presenter with wit. I could do without Brooke to be honest she isnt as good as Claudia or Zoe would be in the job...but on a par with Tess.

DWTS has a huge advantage for me with Derek Hough, he takes my breath away week after week, and is showing this series that he can really work with anyone, and turn them into a good dancer even if he does usually get the pick of the crop. Pantomime ? definately not....hugely entertaining show with some fantastic dancing which for me is what its all about.

I love DWTS.
When it is good - Tom Bergeron and Tristan MacMannas - it is far superior to Strictly. When it isn't it can be far worse, but them's the breaks.
At least they still have 'here they are in training' actually training VT's.
The DWTS Halloween special was much better, and actually quite restrained ... execpt for Karnia's outfit. Poor Karina.

Maybe it has improved, but I had to give up on it partly because I like to know what dancing i'm watching.

I love DWTS! I prefer Strictly, but that's just because I'm patriotic. I don't think it's neccessarily the better show.

The main difference is the American style of ballroom dancing. They break hold, and inconsistent Len will often criticise a dance for breaking hold when it is perfectly acceptable there. I think he sometimes forgets what show he is on. Now this is allowed on Strictly (I imagine thanks to us importing a handful of US based pros) he's now less likely to use this to mark a couple down, although he occasionally slips.

There is no "American Smooth" there, for obvious reasons!

(> = better than)

Craig and Alesha >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Carrie-Ann.
Len and Bruno are exactly the same on both shows.
Tom >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bruce
Tess and Brooke are much of a muchness. I think Brooke is slightly worse than Tess, but that may be because I didn't like her as a contestant. Samantha was terrible though.
Harold Wheeler, orchestra & singers >>>>>>>>>> Dave Arch, orchestra & singers
Even their version of the Strictly theme tune >>> the original



I thought our Halloween special was better, but that could be because I watch DWTS as live on Watch i.e. 6/7 days later, which meant I watched their Halloween special a week after Halloween/the Strictly version, so it felt a bit old hat. The delay doesn't matter the rest of the time as I've managed to avoid spoilers (DS forumites have been very good!) so it does feel like I'm watching the show in real time.

I read somewhere that Tristan McManus auditioned for Strictly but wasn't selected. I have to supress a huge urge to throw things at the telly whenever I see him (and his flicking tongue ) on DWTS as I'd LOVE him on our show. However having just read that Janet Devlin is allegedly topping the phone vote every week on TXF, I now understand why he wasn't selected - the strong Irish vote may work too much to his advantage. Probably not the reason, but it is a possibility...

Oh, no it's not!

Oh yes, it is!

oops.
Wrong thread...

Can't vote from RoI for SCD. X Factor is shown on one of the Irish channels, so maybe it is possible to vote from here - I don't watch it so I don't know!

Bruno is much the same on both shows.
Len is the nice, but hard to please judge on DWTS - a combination of Craig & Len in a weird way.
Craig and Alesha beat the socks off Carrie-Ann.
As a collective, the DWTS judges overmark even more than here.

Tom is miles better than Bruce - slick, professional but with wit and interest in what is going on. I actually slightly prefer Tess as Brooke is devoid of any emotion.

The music choices can sometimes be appalling on DWTS as the producers assign music to each pair. However, because there is more hispanic influence on pop music in America, their Latin choices are sometimes better. Usually, even the fantastic celebs will be scuppered by a music choice at least once a series, to the chagrin of their fans who claim it is an attempt to throw the celeb under the bus/not run away with the show.

There are only a few pros on DWTS who seem to be guaranteed a space every year. Others are rotated to fit the height/personality of the celebs. When Marlee Matlin did it, they brought in a pro who was used to teaching people with disabilities who was better able to think around how to best teach her. I much prefer this to here, where there are a few pros whose choreography is tired and uninspired.

I don't always know who the celebs are, but they are picked to have the broadest appeal possible. This helps the shows ratings. There's no former soap star, GMTV-equivalent presenter, retired sports player etc. that crop up every year here without fail. I do know the celebs on our show better, but then again that means that some are pre-judged on prior reputation.

Hallowe'en was much better on DWTS - the theme didn't take over from the dancing as much as it did here. Broadway was fairly similar.

I prefer ballroom done here - there's an awful lot of faffery and floatery on DWTS in an effort to glam up the dances, but sometimes it's hard to tell what they are. Latin is fairly similar, but I think most of the US celebs are more prepared to let go, so they often perform better. Anyone who is interested should have a look at some of JR's dances this year to see just how good the show can be - pure dancing beginning to end, very little props and some great choreography. (Don't bother with the tango though, as that is an example of dreadful music choice.)

So, our judges better, their presenters better. Everything else is less defined.

I don't think DWtS is rubbish just because it's more pantomime but it definitely has a different style which I would prefer to not see in SCD. They've always been much freer in the US version about not rigidly sticking to the steps of the dance and that has now crept into SCD which I think is a detriment to the show.

The two shows are very different, but I love DWTS. Brooke is possibly the worst presenter I have ever seen though, but that's a small thing.

Since it started SCD has been one of my favourite shows and I'd do anything not to miss it. This year though watching both shows every week, for the first time I prefer watching DWTS to SCD. Before I have always thought of SDC as superior and DWTS as different, not quite as good, but still worth watching. Not any more though, because for me SCD has moved too far away from the original show. Even taking into account the differences between International or American dance styles, the quality of the dancing is now much higher on DWTS - unbelievable as that sounds.

The worst thing about DWTS is that the judges rarely use a score paddle below a 5. You do need to get used to couples getting much higher scores than on SCD.

DWTS is no pantomime - it's a great show.