Did the BBC pull the wool over our eyes? Is this why Alesha has walked out?

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apenny4them

05-01-2012

SCDchick - you quoted my entire initial post and then responded with -

(Quote) So basically what you are trying to say is Harry was overmarked and won because of another reason other than his dancing technique

Well everyone is entitled to their opinions, i guess (Unquote)

Given the trouble I took to set out my reasons for holding that opinion I'm a tad surprised that you bothered to respond at all if you weren't prepared to make a stab at explaining why you think my argument is flawed.

Would you at least share with us your opinion on why the judges did not deliver their analysis of Harry's performance in his Charleston?

Jim Kowalski

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by apenny4them:
“Would you at least share with us your opinion on why the judges did not deliver their analysis of Harry's performance in his Charleston?”

Perhaps they were afraid someone would mention the goldfish impression?

leftfeet2

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by apenny4them:
“I hope it's not a problem if I start a fresh thread on this topic. Having absorbed the feedback from my original post I wanted both to summarise, and to make readily-available links to the relevant videos (see below). For ease of reference here is a link to my original post -

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1608092

I'm a tad surprised that a number of users of this forum have opined that this topic is unworthy of discussion. For those here who are wondering about Alesha's departure - is it not feasible that, if I have this right, she left because she wanted no further involvement in such blatant dishonesty? Alesha does seem to be on very good terms with Chelsee, and could hardly fail to have been upset by the cynical manner in which Chelsee was handicapped during the final - both in the selection of her first dance and in the overmarking of Harry. That would certainly explain for me her apparently bizarre decision to desert SCD for one of Cowell's programs.

It does seem a safe assumption though that she knew beforehand that the offer was there.

The 2011 program is history. Harry was the celebrity who attracted the highest public vote. But SCD will continue - and if it's true that we can't trust the judges to offer objective criticism of the performances of the celebrities then in my opinion people have a right to know.

There seems little doubt that the judges and the program directors abused our trust here, in participating in an elaborate charade to dress mutton up as lamb. Why they would do that is anybody's guess. It may simply have been a case of validating the format, ensuring that the public crowned the celebrity who APPEARED to be the best dancer.

There seems little doubt that the public swallowed it hook, line and sinker. When Harry was crowned it appeared that he was a worthy winner. But if we put aside what we actually heard from the judges, and take an objective look at Harry's expertise at the end of the competition in comparison to that of Chelsee there seems little doubt as to the extent to which we were conned in this instance. And arguably the biggest victim was Harry himself, who I believe to have been completely unaware of what was going on.

One has only to look at Harry's personality to realise that he has as much potential as an all-round dancer as has a dwarf as a basketball player. There are far too many dances where an essential element for a high-quality performance is the characterisation unique to the particular dance. Harry's personality is such that he does not have the flair of natural performers like Jason and Chelsee for expressing emotion. Compare Jason's delivery of his AT and his Charleston to Harry's delivery of those two dances. Harry looks wooden by comparison - he simply does not have that weapon in his armoury.

And Harry's deficiencies as a dancer are not limited to his Latin dances. He also has a major flaw in his Ballroom technique which was very cleverly concealed from us. He never mastered the art of armography, using every part of his arm from shoulder to fingertip to create the beautiful lines and shapes which are an essential element for a high-quality performance in many of the Ballroom dances.

It's well worth noting that in the two dances where he did appear to be an outstanding dancer - his Quickstep and his Viennese Waltz - the flaw in his technique was hidden by virtue of the fact that his hands were firmly attached to Aliona throughout. To see what Harry was lacking there, take a look at any one of the male professional dancers in action.

I've included below links to the videos of the relevant dances. Look at Harry's hands in his American Smooth. It's not so much what he does with them, it's what he DOESN'T do with them - use the whole of his arms to create nice lines and shapes.

I've included comments from the judges which highlight specific skills acquired by Chelsee during the course of the competition. When one considers that there were over 60 individual reviews of Harry's performances it's surely worth noting that the only reference to his armography was Len's criticism of the way he used his hands both in his Waltz in Week 4 and in his Rumba in Week 10.

Armography is an essential element of a dancer's technique. Why did Len - having pulled Harry up twice on it, and having then listened to Craig pointing out in the final that Harry was still woefully deficient in that area - award a 10 to that American Smooth?

As for the Charleston - when Alex delivered a Charleston which included all of the right moves Craig awarded a 6, explaining that she didn't appear to have understood that the very essence of the dance is exaggeration to the extreme. Without that dominating theme a Charleston is as fundamentally flawed as would be a Paso Doble which doesn't hint at a confrontation between matador and bull. Jason's excellent Charleston earned him four 9s. I defy anybody to argue that Harry's delivery came anywhere close. What marks could the judges realistically have awarded to that performance had Craig proceeded to take it apart as he did Alex's?

There can be very little doubt that it was decided in advance to skip the judges' analysis of that Charleston. One imagines that they were alerted to a potential problem (directly or indirectly) by the dress rehearsal.

The judges would surely have called the couple back had it not been agreed that Len would wave them through, and the couple themselves didn't seem surprised in hearing only from Len. When they joined Tess she also acted as though nothing untoward had happened. It was the first dance of ten in that program, so it seems extremely unlikely that they were running late. Ten comparatively-meaningless interviews with Tess were to follow, from which a minute could surely have been found to hear the actual analysis of the four judges.

Surely the analysis itself is by far the most entertaining part? Waiting to hear what the judges are going to say? Watching the reactions of the celebrities? I don't ever recall such an omission in the history of SCD.

Sometimes, when there is a conspiracy theory it is because there WAS a conspiracy. I'm certain that the analysis part was skipped because it would have made it difficult for the judges to award 10s unless they lied about what they had seen.

One can only imagine what Alex and Jason were thinking, given that they must surely have been comparing Harry's performance and marks to their own.

A number of contributors to this forum appear to be anxious to muddy the waters on this issue. One individual in particular (Mystical123) went to considerable lengths to convey the impression that the gap in expertise between Chelsee and Harry is narrower than it appears, citing no less than seven alleged mistakes in Chelsee's Rumba. I believe this individual to be incorrect in each instance, and incorrect also in her claim that the judges were lying when they delivered their analysis of that Rumba.

I repeat my original observation that I saw no evidence of Chelsee under-performing on the night due to nerves. Nor should we expect to with people like Jason and Chelsee who have succeeded as professional actors, though to be fair it seemed to me that there was a hint of tension in her semi-final American Smooth.

This same individual alleged that the judges had singled out for praise throughout the series specific skills in Harry's performances to the same extent as they did with Chelsee. She quoted Harry's Rumba as an example. Having reviewed the judges' analysis of Harry's Rumba I believe this individual to be incorrect in that claim also. The only praise I can remember of Harry which focussed upon specific areas of expertise related to timing, musical phrasing, posture and footwork. There may be others I've failed to recall, but with regard to head positioning and use of his arms I could find only criticism.

The picture the judges managed so successfully to paint of Harry as an accomplished dancer is surely testament to their resourcefulness in creating the impression that his performances were top-drawer without actually lying about them.

I'd be interested to hear from others on whether or not they think it LIKELY that the missing analysis of Harry's Charleston was indicative of an elaborate charade, with the agenda of creating the impression that Harry is a far better dancer than he actually is.

I hope that those who disagree will have the courtesy to share their thoughts with us on precisely why the judges declined to offer their analysis of Harry's performance.

Links to the relevant videos -

1. Chelsee:

a) The Perfect Paso -

Craig - "You are the most incredible dancer - honestly! It's GOBSMACKINGLY good".
Alesha - "You are performing like a true dancer".
Bruno - "Your artistry is superb".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceIkin9QaVk

b) The Ravishing Rumba -

Craig - "You pulled that out of the bag darling - I thought it was absolutely magnificent".
Len - "Because it's so slow everything is magnified, every detail. And I watched that and there was nothing I could see I didn't like"
Bruno - "You NAILED that Rumba - expressive, fluid, musical ..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9axumOcKjU

c) The American Not So Smooth -

Craig - "Your arms are absolutely exquisite ..... Because you DO have short arm and legs, and you create beautiful long lines with them."
Bruno - "Your upper body fluidity is extraordinary. The way you phrase the music - you have an instinct to go from fast to slow, sustain the movement in a way that - you know - dancers, I mean it takes us years and years to master ..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-St3CIiJ8I

2. Harry:

a) The Lukewarm Argentine Tango -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8EMFC_qg7o

b) The Half-hearted Charleston -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X21Ug5YVWs

c) The Hands of the Ripper American Smooth -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba2Z5Faozqw

3. Jason, demonstrating the performance element the judges were hoping to see from Harry in those two Latin dances:

a) The Heat and Passion Argentine Tango -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxxokZ9oUT0

b) The Manic Charleston -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAP3I_7CQfU”

:yawn::yawn::yawn::yawn::yawn:

Long winded Map reading for the motorway?

most others use sat nav to shorten the route

most others can read you without the satalite

The navigation is best left unsaid bit of a dark place to go maybe

The Wulfrunian

05-01-2012

The original post here is one of the more mental things I've witnessed on here. This level of devotion to a SCD conspiracy theory is quite frankly terrifying!

leftfeet2

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by The Wulfrunian:
“The original post here is one of the more mental things I've witnessed on here. This level of devotion to a SCD conspiracy theory is quite frankly terrifying!”

perhaps this is terry's i mean penny4thems way of getting Chris Carter's (of the X files files fame) attention

apenny4them

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by leftfeet2:
“perhaps this is terry's i mean penny4thems way of getting Chris Carter's (of the X files files fame) attention ”

Please accept my apologies - from the number of times you've responded I can see that my theory is inconvenient to you. But I'm sure you must be aware that it's the nature of forums such as this that people will occasionally expound theories which you personally would prefer were not taken seriously.

penelopesimpson

05-01-2012

I wondered if the OP had thought of writing for Midsomer Murders?

MontyD

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by apenny4them:
“Would you at least share with us your opinion on why the judges did not deliver their analysis of Harry's performance in his Charleston?”

Well I always thought it was because the show was behind schedule or Bruce made a mistake.

But then I might wrong and it was all a BBC plot to get Harry to win.

But what has Harry winning got to do with Alesha leaving?

Doghouse Riley

05-01-2012

You know the bit on the Sunday show where the judges are in a room on their own discussing the performances?

Is that a sort of "Area 51?"

penelopesimpson

05-01-2012

My version of the Strictly Mystery is that Alesha and Harry were in a clandestine love affair. She was rigging the votes and when the other judges noticed she told the BBC that she would leave if Harry didn't win. Meanwhile, Harry was having to be deadpan because he'd sort of initmated to Aliona that they could become an item after the show. Then Chelsee started coming up on the outside so just before the final Alesha told Chelsee about the possible problem with breast implants which meant Chelsee couldn't concentrate on her dancing on the final show. Alesha had her bags packed to elope with Harry which was why she was so gung-ho on the show and then when Harry won he told her that it wasn't going to happen. Then the BBC said they would disclose Alesha's duplicity and told her she needed to resign. Meanwhile, Len had declared his love for Aliona who told him that much though she liked the idea of Christmas with him in his caravan at Skegness, she'd made a commitment to Harry.

Then Russell told Harry that his future lay with his original girlfriend and McFly rushed on to the stage to protect him from Aliona and Alesha. And Alesha left.

The end.

Muggsy

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by penelopesimpson:
“My version of the Strictly Mystery is that Alesha and Harry were in a clandestine love affair. She was rigging the votes and when the other judges noticed she told the BBC that she would leave if Harry didn't win. Meanwhile, Harry was having to be deadpan because he'd sort of initmated to Aliona that they could become an item after the show. Then Chelsee started coming up on the outside so just before the final Alesha told Chelsee about the possible problem with breast implants which meant Chelsee couldn't concentrate on her dancing on the final show. Alesha had her bags packed to elope with Harry which was why she was so gung-ho on the show and then when Harry won he told her that it wasn't going to happen. Then the BBC said they would disclose Alesha's duplicity and told her she needed to resign. Meanwhile, Len had declared his love for Aliona who told him that much though she liked the idea of Christmas with him in his caravan at Skegness, she'd made a commitment to Harry.

Then Russell told Harry that his future lay with his original girlfriend and McFly rushed on to the stage to protect him from Aliona and Alesha. And Alesha left.

The end.”

As conspiracy theories go, this is much more credible than the OP.

dancemadgirl

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by apenny4them:
“Please accept my apologies - from the number of times you've responded I can see that my theory is inconvenient to you. But I'm sure you must be aware that it's the nature of forums such as this that people will occasionally expound theories which you personally would prefer were not taken seriously.”

Hardly occasional expounding of a theory when you've posted the same theory thinly veiled in three seperate threads in 6 days.

sunshine6405

05-01-2012

This has made my day

SaraV1308

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by penelopesimpson:
“My version of the Strictly Mystery is that Alesha and Harry were in a clandestine love affair. She was rigging the votes and when the other judges noticed she told the BBC that she would leave if Harry didn't win. Meanwhile, Harry was having to be deadpan because he'd sort of initmated to Aliona that they could become an item after the show. Then Chelsee started coming up on the outside so just before the final Alesha told Chelsee about the possible problem with breast implants which meant Chelsee couldn't concentrate on her dancing on the final show. Alesha had her bags packed to elope with Harry which was why she was so gung-ho on the show and then when Harry won he told her that it wasn't going to happen. Then the BBC said they would disclose Alesha's duplicity and told her she needed to resign. Meanwhile, (back at the ranch) Len had declared his love for Aliona who told him that much though she liked the idea of Christmas with him in his caravan at Skegness, she'd made a commitment to Harry.

Then Russell told Harry that his future lay with his original girlfriend and McFly rushed on to the stage to protect him from Aliona and Alesha. And Alesha left.

The end.”

Originally Posted by Muggsy:
“As conspiracy theories go, this is much more credible than the OP.”

Originally Posted by sunshine6405:
“ This has made my day ”

I totally agree... this theory is much better.... (wonder if there are any lazy journos about)....

shrew

05-01-2012

INSANIA!

(oops. wrong UNreality TV show)

Doghouse Riley

05-01-2012

I was wondering of what the original post was reminding me.

I've got it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B-R8Y

apenny4them

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by SaraV1308:
“I totally agree... this theory is much better.... (wonder if there are any lazy journos about)....”

Hmm ...

You take the trouble to mock my initial argument, but decline the opportunity to share with us your thinking on why the judges didn't deliver their analysis of Harry's Charleston.

You also take the trouble to check my Twitter account?!

And I see from previous posts that you considered Harry the best dancer .....

Muggsy

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by apenny4them:
“Hmm ...

You take the trouble to mock my initial argument, but decline the opportunity to share with us your thinking on why the judges didn't deliver their analysis of Harry's Charleston.”

For my part, I guess the reason the judges didn't deliver a detailed critique of Harry's charleston was much the same reason why I haven't provided a detailed response to your OP, ie they couldn't be *rsed.

Frockstar

05-01-2012

Hi Im venturing into this thread with trepidation. OP you and Left feet seem to take a great deal of care with your topics but you both put too much explanation like you are both doing a thesis and to be honest Im finding it hard to follow your arguments for this thread. Am I the only one who thinks that you guys get waay bogged down with your posts. I know you like detailing things and your reasons for why u think the BBC pulled the wool over our eyes but maybe you are taking this too seriously. I watched SCD. I didnt really wonder why the judges overmarked Harry or anyone else or why they didnt comment on his dance. I just enjoyed the show. Did I want him to win? No but it isnt just down to the judges its down to the public. Its like the X Factor. I think some people shouldnt read too much into things but thats my opinion. Im not trying to be rude

diyqueen

05-01-2012

Chelsee danced badly on the night and lost IMO she should of been 3rd not second. Her show dance was terrible
No conspiracy

frally

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by Frockstar:
“Hi Im venturing into this thread with trepidation. OP you and Left feet seem to take a great deal of care with your topics but you both put too much explanation like you are both doing a thesis and to be honest Im finding it hard to follow your arguments for this thread. Am I the only one who thinks that you guys get waay bogged down with your posts. I know you like detailing things and your reasons for why u think the BBC pulled the wool over our eyes but maybe you are taking this too seriously. I watched SCD. I didnt really wonder why the judges overmarked Harry or anyone else or why they didnt comment on his dance. I just enjoyed the show. Did I want him to win? No but it isnt just down to the judges its down to the public. Its like the X Factor. I think some people shouldnt read too much into things but thats my opinion. Im not trying to be rude ”

It was quite an eye-opener for me to watch the first half of the SCD final with a casual viewer.
My casual viewer thought that Harry was a good dancer from his QS, enjoyed Jason's showdance especially when Kristina wore less clothes and actually said that Chelsee wasn't very good.
No mention of footwork, technique etc at all and this is how Joe Public watches SCD.

leftfeet2

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by apenny4them:
“Please accept my apologies - from the number of times you've responded I can see that my theory is inconvenient to you. But I'm sure you must be aware that it's the nature of forums such as this that people will occasionally expound theories which you personally would prefer were not taken seriously.”

I think perhaps I should apologise to you

My definition of occasional is it would seem a little different to yours

So I will on this occasion concede occasionally

janetcomelately

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by diyqueen:
“Chelsee danced badly on the night and lost IMO she should of been 3rd not second. Her show dance was terrible
No conspiracy”

Succinctly put.

Chelsee was all over the place. Jason's showdance was by far the best. Harry was just more popular. Alesha salivated over Harry nearly every week.

apenny4them

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by diyqueen:
“Chelsee danced badly on the night and lost IMO she should of been 3rd not second. Her show dance was terrible
No conspiracy”

On the contrary - I make that 2 conspiracies now. Apart from the one to which I referred in my original post we now seem to have a bit of a conspiracy by you and your chums from the Harry Is Wonderful club. Chelsee is a better dancer than Harry, and she did not underperform on the night.

Nor was her Paso Doble littered with errors, as you and your chums would prefer to believe. The judges were right, and you are wrong. Deal with it.

apenny4them

05-01-2012

Originally Posted by Muggsy:
“For my part, I guess the reason the judges didn't deliver a detailed critique of Harry's charleston was much the same reason why I haven't provided a detailed response to your OP, ie they couldn't be *rsed.”

Thanks for your valuable input.

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