BIB I still remember that " domestic fight " as Karen called it .
And they produced a marvellous Ballroom tango after that which was/is VERY underrated imo.

No, sorry have to correct you.

It was the one in the Rumba week which was very violent involving a lot of bleeps and ending with Mark yanking the door of the room and storming out like he was going to kill something. Now, that is something you wouldn't be allowed to see now....everybody is always having a lovely time, all the time.

The Tango week which was the third, was Karen changing all the choreography halfway through, and them working on it all hours.

It's stuff like this, (and the fun and humour) that I am so missing now. I just can't get a handle or get interested in any of them because I don't see anything of the real personalities.

Ah thank you . For some reasons, I can remember most of their routines but NOT their rumba Strange.......

Now THAT Argentine Tango........I STILL GET GOOSEBUMPS WHEN I WATCH IT

BIB I agree; shame really...... The only VT I found mildly amusing last week was when Scott brought Joanne to meet his family That Adam's family VT was funny but I usually fast-forward through all of them

Thank you very much.

I'm not surprised, it wasn't very good. Due mainly to that row and Mark complaining about not liking Karen 'close in his personal space.' It just wasn't a dance he liked. But that's the sort of thing you want to see....it gets you understanding how they process through and progress, and Mark was THE classic journey I think. And as a couple they were magic.

I can see that AT if it was done now. Props taking up half the floor, and back projection all over the place. Instead of just that comedian guy, sorry, his name escapes me, sitting on the front row with his expression just like all ours at home.

She would I can assure you. The PR department of Strictly will keep a close watch on DS facebook and twitter and all the blogs.

Lousie Rainbow will have her name on a Google Alert message and be advised with a link every time it comes up on the internet.

I too am sick of the VTs. I agree that they should go back to showing the couples as they are rather than an amateurish pre-staged so called commedy...

I used to love the older series when you'd see people have arguments, hear about pros changing the whole routines or seeing a celeb struggle with a routine/injury.
It meant you would appreciate the dance even more especially if it was good! I had no idea Jake had been struggling with the paso all week until he said so after he'd danced it. 5 years ago we would have got that stright away from the VT.

I really miss the days of "...and here they are in training" being followed with actual training footage. Was always an eye-opener in terms of pro/sleb relationship.

It's all relative though. Here you are complaining that a rubbish format of people who can't dance is being ruined with comedy nonsense.
I thought it was ruined when it stopped being a show with expert dancers competing with each other and the zeleb 'strictly' bit happened. But there you go.

It's not just the childish VTs. The jokes Tess reads generally have the same style and generally bomb. What track record does this "comedy writer" have? Writes for Children's BBC, huh? It's an embarrassment for something that's going out on prime-time weekend national TV.

EVERYONE who hates the new style VTs MUST complain to the BBC then start a petition.

Great post! I'm another one that longs for the days of the training VTs - I watched the Karen and Ramps one again only the other week. It seems SCD has gone the way of many a show and been dumbed down for an average audience age of 12. Even ITT is has started showing inane clips of "dancing" toddlers. The one thing I miss about Brucie is him saying "Here they are in training..."

I HATE the comedy VTs! They are ruining Strictly for me, I'd much rather see some training. Endless dumbing down, its depressing.

Excellent post. Something that appears to be misunderstood on here that Strictly is a lighthearted entertainment show based 'around' dance not a formal dance competition. It needs a fun element to lift it away from anyone taking it too seriously (though it fails for some) unlike its failing competitor show on ITV. If I remember correctly when they showed VT's and there was a minor squabble during the week it was blown out of all proportion. You had squeals of how unfair it was. It was unfair as couples left due to these VT's which was wrong. Show them having a bit of fun and then let them dance. Job Done.

It doesn't really bother me, it is after all an entertainment programme which some seem to overlook.

I can't imagine a petition influencing the BBC, you could probably get a few thousand names on a petition for Tess to do the programme standing on one leg.

One thought occurs to me, could the celebrities and professionals not want cameras following them all the time and prefer to get it all over quickly with a 'comedy VT'? It could also be cheaper to do a 'comedy VT'.

The VT's are cringeworthy, I suspect it also takes time away from rehearsal which is badly badly needed in some cases. I also record so I can ff through them. I notes someone who likes them said "if the show ain't broke don't fix it" but SCD became popular yonks ago when they just showed the rehearsals during the week. This ridiculous, hammy, cheesy horror came later.

I'm sure there would be enough real training footage 'and genuine visits to dance clubs, etc. available that they wouldn't need to show any conflicts that would prejudice the audience against the contestant(s). As others have said, these "comic" scenarios must be taking up valuable rehearsal time.

They forgot to change the title when they changed the direction of the programme. As it stands it is mis-representation.

It should be renamed: "Strictly Faffin Abaht"

Can't quite believe I'm about to say this...

I hate the VTs. They're inane, they insult the viewers' intelligence, I'd much rather see see training and the pros and celebs wouldn't be missing time to go and film dross.

However...

I do remember just how awful the VTs have been, in particular the year Harry and Chelsee were in the final. Some of the things given to Chelsee specifically were dreadful - I'm thinking of the horrific one that was supposed to be like My Fair Lady but instead insulted her accent. I also remember Patrick being injured filming a VT last year. So when I remember these, the VTs this year suddenly don't seem quite so bad.

(Still wish they'd have at least some actual training though.)

I might have imagined this but I'm sure that last year the series started off with the first few weeks of the stupid VTs and then due to viewer complaints they started showing training VTs again - maybe the odd 'funny' VT here or there but mainly training. I was surprised that they had reverted to the funny VTs again this year. Was I dreaming or can anyone confirm?

What I really dont understand is WHY they waste so much money to do something so inane and manage to waste celebrities and pros rehearsals time in the process

They are A LOT of FUNNY footage available (that they sometimes show on ITT ) so WHY dont they show that

Yes, yes...I understand that this is an entertainment show but seriously some of these Vts are really stupid and like some people already say insult the viewer's intelligence......I really dont like to complain about this show but this is something I dont get.............

Hate the unfunny vt too. Especially on ITT as it is only a half hour show and they waste so much time on ridiculous nonsense instead of giving us what we want, rehearsals vt, interviews with the pro dancers and celebs and judges. I too now record SCD as it drives me crazy, especially the result show with the so called tension buiding moments before Tess tells us who is out and which ones are going thru to next week. Drives me up the wall so I just tape it now. Rarely am I interested in the guest singer Boy George was awful the other week and was not thrilled with Lady GaGa either!! Bruce's jokes were awful so why is Tess doing the same kind of thing? Cringe making!! Just not funny.

It would help tremendously if the vt were FUNNY rather than stupid childish skits!!

Please take care with your comparisons, you may upset innocent children!

The VT's are so bad even children would be ashamed to make them.

I know it's neither here nor there, but I used to enjoy hearing about how many hours the couples had spent training. I remember Gary Rhodes had spent very few hours training and it really showed!