Someone posted in another thread that virtually all of what happens seems to be pre-programmed somewhere - suggesting that there is little genuine spontaneity.


Last night the repeated standing ovations demonstrated that rather well.

If you look closely at the various wide and medium shots of the 'excited, enthusiastic and appreciative' audience you can't help but see that most of them, the majority of them, are standing, clapping mechanically rather than enthusiastically, and their faces lack any emotion other than boredom. :yawn::yawn::yawn:

Don't believe me? If you, wisely, recorded the programme so that you can skip over any 'bad bits', (VT rubbish, anyone ), then try a few replays and you'll see what I mean.


Rather than letting some, (possibly work experience) floor manager tell them what to do, (boo Craig, clap, stand and so on), why not let the audience act naturally.

Yes so many orchestrated standing ovations.

I noticed that last night too.

When I stand to applaud something it's because I was excited by the performance. Most of the ones standing up didn't look like they'd enjoyed it at all.

Maybe the producers put pins in their seats to try and get a bit of a reaction! Seriously though, the audience do seem to be up and down, cheering and booing like they're at a panto this year.

The other thing, is the 'look, look so-and-so, they're standing up and it's all for you' even Tess fell into that trap last night and it drives me crazy.

Over fifty years ago, the comedian Jerry Lewis said,

"You can't beat carefully rehearsed spontaneity."

This is modern television where ratings are "everything" so they cram as much "orchestrated hyperactivity" into this show, in a desperate attempt to beat the X-Factor in their ratings war.
As if the viewers actually cared.

These dumbing down practices ruin so much of the show that we record it and miss out the dross on play-back.

Yes indeed. Strangely just had a call from a family Member who watched the tape too, (they taped it because they were late home after visiting friends), and they agreed with the point but they also made a rather perceptive remark.


"The standing ovations looked just like a North Korean political rally"


Stand up and clap or else ...


Upon reflection, I have to agree.

I was there last night & can assure you there were no orchestrated standing ovations.

The audience are told they can clap, cheer, whoop, stand up if they see something they like so it's entirely up to the audience to stand if they want to or remain seated if they don't.

Those seated upstairs have to remain seated for 'elf n safety reasons.

Ha I actually noticed a so called standing ovation pointed out by Tess and I didn't see it in fact the people behind her were sat down!!

It was like Brucie in a dress.

But I bet there was a "warm up" act to "get them in the mood."

I've no idea of course how people get their tickets, but Kara Tointon said she went many times in the previous series to the one in which she appeared. I'd suggest that much of the audience is composed of BBC insiders, or as used to be said; "friends of the band."
I'd suggest such people "enter into the spirit of the thing" in the hopes of getting more tickets.

I noticed that too! and shouted at the telly!

Standing ovation boredom

Fancy that, and Brucie wasn't even there last night to demand they got up and applauded...

Just like the ‘orchestrated voting’. The fakest reality show on TV, where failure is rewarded and success is punished.

I've been to several BBC shows. There's a warm-up guy. The deal is that tickets are free but the audience is expected to perform. The audience is part of the cast as extras. It is show-business not The Olympics, Premier League or Wimbledon. There's a script to "Reality TV" and an auto-cue. I don't care if it is all fixed. I go to the cinema, theatre and opera. It is all fixed there. I can handle it.

My point is the script is poor and too much orchestrated ovations make them look false - even if they mostly are false. The ovations shouldn't be much more than for a West End show.

Well Cheryl certainly looked very lukewarm when clapping, so you could have a point

[quote=MontyCarlos;62266520]I was there last night & can assure you there were no orchestrated standing ovations.

The audience are told they can clap, cheer, whoop, stand up if they see something they like so it's entirely up to the audience to stand if they want to or remain seated if they don't.

Those seated upstairs have to remain seated for 'elf n safety reasons.[/QUOTE]

How does health and safely apply upstairs and not down?

Must get the H&S bods to apply their rules for downstairs also if only to stop Bruce from that annying '' look, look they're all standing etc''

At least we did not have Bruce going "look, look" whist gesturing at the front row to stand up.

Ramps looked quite bored as well. I suspect that he was a guest of the show rather than of Vaughn who said that Gough had spoken to him with advice but not Ramps.

I didn't think Ramps looked bored at all. In fact he and his wife initiated their own standing ovation for Michael after he danced.

Having attended two live shows I was never told to give a standing ovation.

Pre-show, the warm-up guy advised us to exaggerate our reactions and the floor managers sometimes said, "we want you clapping along to this one" etc. but no specific dancers were ever singled out to get a massive reaction from the audience.

Perhaps when the guest performers were on we were told to give a standing ovation, but that was sort of a given.

Never were we told to give a standing ovation. When they happened, they felt quite spontaneous. I can only speak from my two experiences this year.

From the hundreds queued outside the BBC (behind us i was pleased to.see ) on 3rd of Nov @ 12 noon the,audience is definitely not made up of BBC staff ! Not standing up on a balconey for h & s reasons is a bit extreme but on live TV, they're not going to.take chances. Yep.there's a warm up guy, I thought he wad pretty good, everyone is there to have a good time & the noise & atmosphere reflects that

Exactly right about them standing for Michael.

Also, it's amusing to read people still trying to justify their theory when they have been proven wrong about floor manager egging audience to stand after a performance.

I admit that is annoying. "Look! Look! They're on their feet! Look!"

Tess did do that on a few occasions last Saturday. Not as blatant as Bruce, but she did it too.

Gosh, it sounds like I am defending Brucie. Which is patently not the case. I hope Brucie takes a LONGER holiday. No luck, for I am sure he's planning his solo spasmesque tap dance routine at Wembley already.