Exactly. People get rather bored if not given any new material. If we stay out, the threads tend to peter out.

I've actually just seen that somebody's noticed we're staying out, and it's gone down rather well! Keep it up, folks!

There is now a post which is clearly baiting. This is against the DS Terms and Conditions. I shall alert.

Go go go.. there's constructive criticism then there's pure hate these people actually sleep well at night.. by the way a quick congrats to Aliona for speaking up she isn't on strictly I guess she has nothing to lose she's got her goods and now she's free lol she's given me so much pleasure with her effortless dancing she is missed by me and I'm sure a lot of people minus a few odd detractors

The whole thread is baiting. They're just hoping we'll all pile in.
Determinedly sitting on my hands.

Your doing a grand job of typing and sitting on your hands there Toad.
But I know what you mean.

It is working though cos it appears to be driving them Loopy that we haven't gone down there en masse😊

Am using pencil held in my mouth to tap keys one by one!

Wonderful, isn't it? They're just yipping into a void.

Off to read Monkseal's results show blog in bed.

https://monkseal.wordpress.com/2016/...eek-4-results/

Some support turning up for Ali's comments though in amongst the usual flotsam and jetsam of comments.

Oh dear Toad, the picture of you with the pencil has put me in mind of the Vicar of Dibley and Alice and the joke about an accountant and a pencil. I don't know why but.....

@Gill36

Thanks Gill
I have just followed you.
Hope that is ok.

Morning all.

Hope we do get a photo of Jay's shorn locks today.

Strayed onto the thread about Aliona's tweets. Interesting to read the comment that the producers sit with the judges in the rehearsals to help shape their critiques. I suspect some ( yes Len, I am thinking of you) need more help than others. Presumably Len was told to make reference to Jay to generate the social media storm it has.

Someone also suggested/ joked that Danny will get 4 tens for his rumba this week. Based on the fact that he didn't get 10s last week, the need to generate a competition with Ore who did get 3 tens, the need to show that the show is better than last year, the potential to have another little dig at Jay to stir things up on social media again, plus the fact that he probably will be able to do a very good rumba with Oti, I think it very likely. I wonder if I can get a bet on it anywhere?

Have a good day all.

Yes, it's Aliona.

I get her point about the comparisons of the Jives.
I'd have preferred it if Ore and Joanne were allowed to have their great performance recognised without it being dragged into a comparison.

It wasn't Aliona that dragged it into a comparison.
A combination of the Judges giving a new record score for week 4, and a higher score than for Jay's Jive, Len saying that Jay has to move over, all suggests that they are saying it's better. The Radio Times picks that up and asks Kevin. What's he going to say? He praised both, but in a way that the RT takes it that he is agreeing with the judges.

Instead of saying 'silly kicks', a better way for Aliona to put it would have been to make the point that, arguing that doing more kicks incorrectly in a dance compared to someone doing a lot of kicks correctly makes the dance better - is silly.

I don't think you can really go into detail on Twitter because of the text limitation, but its important to say what you mean in the right way.

Aah yes. Rumbagate

As we all know, Twitter doesn't give you a lot of scope to finesse your arguments unfortunately. It is hard enough here to write something that doesn't inadvertently say something you didn't intend. One of the reasons I mainly just like people's posts on Twitter.

I see we were on the same mind path! - as you can see from what I added as you were quoting.

I have a vague recollection about reading something along the lines of the producing team and the judges having a meeting prior to the show, which is understandable and reasonable. They are all trying to make the show better - in the way the producer wants it to be better.
It depends on what the producer wants.

This is all down to a sour and vindictive old man who will be leaving the show soon. Someone who once commanded respect as a ballroom dancer and judge, but whose ego has grown exponentially until he now lacks any credibility whatsoever.

He's done his favourites no good at all, and has only succeeded in alienating them to the voting public, who in general prefer to see fair play, not clumsy manipulation, win the day.

It's awful to see Aliona so hurt, and I can understand why she wanted to lash out. It's the curse of social media that we're seeing these threads spring up, but they'll die off just as quickly if they don't get the attention they crave.

Morning all!

Just catching up with yesterday's events, and trying to sit on my hands like everyone else.

Nearly jumped in after it was suggested that Aliona was "suspiciously ill" to avoid dancing with Johnny Ball, and that Brendan and Anton have voiced their dislike of her during their stage shows.

Johnny actually fractured her foot during training.

Brendan, yes and we can guess why.

But Anton? After the support he showed last year? I think someone is mistaking him for Ian - I seem to remember someone on here or the MF reporting back from one of his shows.

Totally accept this. Far too risky on a top rated live show to rely on the judges to make it up there and then ( especially having seen Tom and Camilla as judges on the SCD tour a couple of years ago!) The producers will steer them to fit in with their storylines and to make the show entertaining. As Jay said, it is like panto. He also said it is an entertainment show not just a dance competition. The problem, if it is a problem, is that the success of the show depends to a large extent on viewers becoming invested to some extent in the couples. Once invested, viewers expect those couples to be treated fairly by the judges and TPTB. When that doesn't appear to be happening, viewers get upset, which from a producer's perspective is not necessarily a bad thing because it generates publicity and controversy and makes the more invested viewers even more invested in response to the perceived injustice. (That was us lot last year.)
But over time, if viewers think they are being manipulated, it will erode their trust in the show and their willingness to invest. If people don't invest, the show will start to fail, so it is a fine line for TPTB to tread.

I still agree with you and Toad that it is best to sit upon ones hand. (I am losing feeling in them at the moment though....)

Anton, Tristan and Giovanni certainly supported J&A last year.

So we have what the producers want and what the public want.
The problem is that the vast majority of the 10 million viewers do just that. VIew.
They either don't vote at all or don't vote until the latter stages and are guided by the so called expert judges commentary.
A shame but we even commented on it last year during the KK push to victory by the judges. Which of course failed miserably.

Just as an aside I do wonder how many votes are being cast this year compared to last??

I'm not sure how the fractured bone story originated. Aliona did originally go to A&E and the idea that a bone was broken surfaced about then.
The tabloids ran with the story that Johnny broke her leg.

Her injury turned out to be damaged ligaments - as diagnosed by the consultant the BBC hired. Aliona did tweet details of exactly what the damaged ligaments were, when rumours started to circulate backstage that she was faking injury.
She returned to Strictly and started dancing before the recommended rest period was up, though it was painful to do so.

There are some pros that don't like Aliona, but plenty of people who work with her just fine.
eg.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0387k0b

@5:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnNjhDFNlds

BIB
There was something going on that can be interpreted that way.

The way I see it - the producers know the voting, and maybe knew Jay would win, but it's in their interests for it to look like a close race. Jay was leading on points total - which was fine and fair, but that was close, which is also fine with me.

I think they were happy enough to have a male winner - eg. why was Peter saved over Jamelia? - the dancing in the D O? - I don't think so.
In past years finalists would have been encouraged and praised for a Showdance that brought together all the techniques the celeb had learned. Now there are no rules about how the Flash, Bang Wallop - What A Showdance!, should be.

Thanks for that fatskia - I knew there was a genuine injury, and I thought I remembered a hairline fracture showing up in X-ray and sympathising, because I've had one myself! Damaged ligaments are also really nasty, though, especially having to put pressure on just to walk.

Maybe a bit OT but this dance is exquisite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOiD--UWW-g

Just popping in and slightly off kilter given current discussions, but I just wanted to share my exciting news. I have somehow managed to convince the OH to let me go to Dublin on the 7th Jan to see Jay in Big! I used the Xmas present card and it worked beautifully.

It's all thanks to KLTKD really for telling me she was going. It sparked a very large pang of jealousy that made me start looking realistically about the possibility of going. I had convinced myself until then that it was impossible.

I can't wait to go and report back on everything that happens. 😊