Thanks Faskia and I agree with you mostly.

I am a bit disappointed in the Robin Deborah pairing as I don't think she is on
Y capable of comedy routines and Robin seems to have already decided on this route for her.

Interesting - I didn't get that vibe so far.

Deborah and Robin would seem to be a pairing that is diverse, but sometimes that is for the better. Mark and Iveta I would put in that category and they are starting to impress.

I haven't figured out exactly what way Deborah and Robin are going to work, but so far I didn't think Robin was mis-matching Deborah's character other than in the first dance which smelt heavily of interference from above, so I don't blame Robin.

I don't think it's going to be a "duff" year no. It would be too soon to say for certain anyway, but I think if anything it will be more enjoyable than last series. I loved Louis, so that provided the excitement for me, but outside of that there isn't much I can recall in the way of highlights. Michael provided a few memorable moments from the ridiculous to the sublime but taking my Louis-tinted Specs off it was all a bit meh really.

This year, it's far too early to feel excited, it doesn't get exciting until we are down to just "contenders" but I'm enjoying it. Natalie and Artem have the potential to be exquisite, and trying to suss out where their main competition comes from is fun. There are a fair few contestants I find dull and can't summon up any real interest in, but then there always are. My main criticism so far is the weakness of the male cast.

If the level we're setting for a good dancer is Ashley Taylor Dawson's first two dances then I'd say Series 7 had at least five of his standard, if not better. Ricky W, Ali, Zoe, Jade and Laila (when she could be bothered, and when she wasn't dancing Anton Latin).

Too early to say.

If we get rid of the horrors soon, it will pick up again.

So far I am finding this year better than last.

There are a number of contestants with the potential to win and the standard of dancing is overall pretty good for the first weeks.

I found last year dull as Louis bored me to tears and it was a forgone conclusion he was going to win from the start.

An all girl final would be fine with me.

Every year I think this year is not going be as good as last but am still hooked. Yes Natalie is good but not sure that she'll get the public vote all the time just has too much of an experienced dancer to me. Public love a journey and a tryer , look at Chris Hollins, might be an all girl final but think Ashley could be in the mix at the end. Jury still out as to whether this will be a year to remember.

Darren didn't go on an effing, b*st*rd journey - that's a bloody illusion!

*stomps round thread cursing and breaking things before being brought down by two big lads and a taser*

ROFL, I'm right there with you. See also Chris Hollins!

Louis was a bit of a forgone conclusion.

I just found Hollins dull, dull, dull, dah-ling.:yawn:

I think quite a few people did.

Count me in as a Chris lover

This year is actually keeping me interested in a way I haven't been since Kara in 2010. So far we have three very good dancers (Natalie, Sophie and Abbey) and a couple of could-be-goods (Ashley and Rachel). That's a huge improvement on the last two years, where dancing talent and personality were thin on the ground. So what if there aren't any male greats? This isn't about which hot guy should win, it's about dancing.

Same here. 2010 was last year I found enjoyable/interesting.

Agree, there is proper competition this year. Last year Louis had won from about week 3. Previous year Harry had won from week 1.

The years Kara and Alesha won it they had competition from two male contenders and it made those series all the more exciting for it.

I'm not saying this series is going to be drab but it would have been better IMO if there were at least two likely male contenders included.

The only times I find it boring are when either the best in any given year isn't actually all that great, or there's only one or two that can dance well. The year Kara won, there were three great dancers (Pamela, Scott and Kara) which made it involving for those of us interested only in the dancing. This year there are also three great dancers (Sophie, Natalie and Abbey), so I'm pretty ecstatic. I don't really care that one of the three isn't male, I'm just pleased there are at least three of that high standard.

Totally agree, I Haven't been this interested in the opening weeks since that series either.


+1

St Jill had Series 2 won from the second she was immaculately conceived from a lollipop and a sunbeam (the bitch) and it was still the best one.


Who said they had to be hot? Tom Chambers had a face like a disgruntled Muppet and Austin looked like roided-up Brian Glover. They were still stars.

I did.

,,,no

Kara's biggest competition was from Matt Baker - he was a good all rounder and hugely popular and up to the finals it wasn't obvious who was going to be the winner - I just think a series where there's an even balance of male/female contenders are more interesting.

I never rated Matt Baker. I thought he was well outside of the standard the top three of Scott, Pamela and Kara had that year.

To be clear, I'm not calling you a sexist because you prefer parity between the sexes. Everyone has their optimum series checklist and there's nothing wrong with that

I'm enjoying this series greatly so far! To be honest I will admit that I don't always like the best dances, they leave me feeling cold and even though I love Natalie I haven't liked either of her dances (though I admit they were really top quality!) On the other hand I love Marks attempt to dance, really like watching Deborah and Fiona and really hoping Ashley and Rachel improve!

My favorite series so far has been series 3 which was just full of really nice people who wanted to learn how to dance (or at least that is how it came across at the time) and I feel that is what is making me excited about this year. I know its a dance competition and come the final I'll vote for the best dancer, but I also just like to see people learn and enjoy it. I won't vote for Dave but I have to admit I enjoy watching him more then I enjoy watching Abbey . If Abbey was in the final though and was the best there I'd want her to win but I enjoy having a mix of talents and when the ones that aren't so good are humble about it and don't think they are better then they are like we can't all see the dance or something then it makes the whole thing more enjoyable for me personally.