to anyone who wants Brucie gone.

I have fond memories of watching from the balcony at the Tower Ballroom as Mum and Dad danced way down below. Loved it even more when I was down there with them and standing on Dad’s feet ‘dancing‘. They hardly ever missed Brucie’s cult classic The Generation Game so although Brucie’s not hosting for my own personal entertainment he is in a way because he always reminds me of them.

He is annoying most of the time but last night it was like he didn't know where he was.

He was rambling on and forgetting his words and cues.

I know he's been a big part of the show for a long time but last night was cringeworthy as you didn't know what he was going to say or do next.

Not being from the UK, I don't know Bruce except for this show and can't say I'm a fan. Having said that, I found I laughed at a lot more of his schtick last night than I usually do.

The lights bit - well, I don't quite know what was going on with that, but he had the where-with-all to joke about it a little later. (doing a "broad" - or "stage" - visual check to see if they were still there).

The bit about the strip-a-gram was thankfully short, but I was impressed with how WELL he did getting tangled in the hanging beads. That is a well worn slapstick piece and with how widely spaced the beads were I was amazed at how he managed to get tangled and make it look real. It is not (in my opinion) easy to get tangled in bead strings spaced that far apart. Anyway, Kimberly quite enjoyed it and the whole bit was short.

I also liked the part where he introduced the singers by name again. It became funny when he continued on introducing the whole band by name, but it was refreshing how much they all enjoyed their brief brush with individual acknowledgement.

I'm just not sure if it was a bit of a send up (in a negative way) of what Tess did. I'd actually appreciated when Tess did that a couple of weeks ago because what Bruce usually does is make it sound like the singers are Dave Arch and there is also a band. If he goes back to that then I'll know it was just a bad joke.

Those are the bits that I remember and the rest was mild enough that I can't remember it. (or maybe I reverted to FF his bits after that) So, he gets a B+ from me for last night. Usually I give him an F.

We already have "the stars of our show" - the celebrities and their pro partners - and we have enough egos on the judging panel.

All we need is a straightforward compere to introduce the dances and a warm, natural interviewer to chat with the couples after the dances.

We saw a fortnight ago that Tess and Claudia could do the job perfectly well, with no stupid script and no faffing about.

The show would be vastly improved, to my eyes, with that line-up.

Agreed!"


On the shelf next to the Dinosaurs. Long past their prime and no longer relevant to the world we live in.

May we respectfully ask for the name of your current medication? We could all do with some of that!!

QUOTE
I also liked the part where he introduced the singers by name again. It became funny when he continued on introducing the whole band by name, but it was refreshing how much they all enjoyed their brief brush with individual acknowledgement.

I'm just not sure if it was a bit of a send up (in a negative way) of what Tess did. I'd actually appreciated when Tess did that a couple of weeks ago because what Bruce usually does is make it sound like the singers are Dave Arch and there is also a band. If he goes back to that then I'll know it was just a bad joke. QUOTE.




I totally thought it was not only making fun of Tess, but the band as well, as I thought he was only saying a list of the first names that came into his head to make the "joke" and not REALLY naming them. Am I wrong? I found this even harder as I thought when he started that he WAS acknowledging Tess's good work.

Yes, I shared the panic. He sounded too much like my old mum (in her 90s) who sometimes goes into a similar loop asking "What's that red light on the TV. Can anybody else see it?" I give her a hug, explain again and we laugh it off together, but she's just watching the TV programmes, not presenting them.

Getting stuck was the funniest thing he did all night!

I dont want Irony and parody, I want him to do what he is paid for and present the show in the proper way, why would he pretend to be muddled and rambling? that is not his act, I think you are reading too much into what he is doing yourself, and maybe convincing yourself that he is not going Ga Ga, it is all just an act.

Is he pretending to be fumbling, or pretending to be pretending to be fumbling?

If, as rumour has it, he is being paid around 500k for his 'performance' over the series, then we, as licence payers, surely deserve some sort of value for our money.


If you were in a theatre and saw a poor performance you could walk out and even, perhaps, get some sort of refund, but as viewers we cannot express our concern in such a meaningful way.

The only way is to not watch it, but why should I deprive myself of a programme that I really enjoy, just because one or two (Bruce and Len) parts of it really grate.

I did try commenting in the BBC messageboards a couple of weeks or so ago, but unfortunately, my comment was removed (with no explanation).

As licence-payers, yes, we should have some value for money, and Bruce should not be back after this series. It is not just the dodderyness, but the out and out rudeness that we've seen from him this year, and his obvious belief that he is the star of the show.

Ah!

The BBC provide messageboards for "light and fluffy comments of effusive praise" about TV programes or "How cheap is really the licence fee."

Start making objective criticisms though couched within the rules of the board and you are likely to have them removed.

"They don't want any of that."

That's obviously where I went wrong then It's daft, isn't it? Surely it would be better for them to allow negative comments as well (within reason, I mean) so they can use the boards to get good feedback.

Unfortunately the boards POV board has changed beyond recognition to what it was many years ago, from what is affectionately referred to by past contributors, as "Old Blue" due to the fact that it appeared as white text on a blue background, to what remains today.
A great deal of common sense was applied by those running it at the time. For many years now, they won't allow posters to "gang up on them."

Now "it's "improved beyond recognition" (well that's what the BBC think).
However it is very much policed and adverse comments of any quantity can disappear at any moment.
The hosts did say after the changes that the comments that appeared on the board were not typical of those ("light and fluffy?") that are sent in by letter, e-mail and phone, many of these I believe appear on the POV programme.

Calm down folks, don't let Bruce detract from your enjoyment of the show.

Personally I can't stand him but years ago I decided to record the show and fast-forward through his "hilarious" routines. Easy-peasy.

My own opinion is that the lights were distracting him, he has a hard enough job reading the auto-cue without any flashing lights.

The only place Sir Bruce needs to go now Alan is for a well deserved holiday

... and not come back!