...meh this year?

Is that maybe because we haven't had anyone touching the divine, people dismembering babies, showmances, real shagging going on and people denying it, pros fighting backstage, eliminationgate (yet), mega hated reality tv individuals, celebs having a nervous breakdown, shirtless Glebs, etc? It seems all we have to discuss is Danny being a ringer, Ed Balls and endless Clifton hate.

Praise the Lord - thought it was just me!

Unlike ever before, I find myself flicking through threads, not being at all bothered to read through the longer ones and generally getting a very "whatever" feeling when on them this year.

This is opposed to being glued last year, spending several hours on the boards and taking part in many-an-argument over Jay et al last year.

Don't know what's happened this year? The boards are just not grabbing me...

Rather vanilla line up methinks.
There was a week or two of people getting their knickers in a knot about Anastacia but thank goodness that has stopped.
I think even the clifton hate is half hearted and only cos there's naff all else to discuss

Even the usual suspects talking rubbish isn't moving me to post much, mainly cos they're saying the same thing this year as the past 4 years!
The lack of activity on Post of the Day and IKEA reflect the dullness of this series.

We need a few more fun threads.
The one about Most Inappropriate "training video" visit was good

It's because the overwhelming board favourite (Danny) is mostly perceived to have no real opposition. Which is odd, because his win is far more in question than that of last year's overwhelming board favourite and yet there were Fan Warz all over the shop there. Maybe Louise and Ed are just too cuddly and benign to be seen as The Enemy? I suspect if Ore hadn't fallen into the Bottom 2 at just the right time, thereby put himself on the back burner, it'd be worse.

There's also transparently fewer trolls operating deliberately baiting people this year. There were several posters last year who transparently got off on starting fights with the Jaypet Army. Maybe they got bored.

The comedy contestants can actually dance (a bit, in Ed's case), have plenty of dance content in their routines, and are transparently people with nice parts of their personalities. Production swung and missed if they thought they had found another Ann Widdecombe or Nancy Del'Ollio.

It certainly lost its appeal for me eventually

Now I'm just generic poster who sporadically ruffles some feathers. Boo.

Also does not help that the pool of more interesting posters seems to be diminishing.

I woudld agree with that. It's not necessarily out and out trolls that seem blissfully thin on the ground but also the sort of poster who seems to be a more a fan of celebrity than of dance and/or the show. In the past there are posters who rock up never having posted on the SCD forum before or maybe never even on DS before and doggedly support their idol no matter what their dancing is like. I haven't seen much of that this year.

They weren't at first but we've lost the couples who looked like they weren't getting on and the one that seemed to some at leaat to be getting on a bit too well. There are no confirmed showmances and all the Danny is a ringer and Ed is crap and should go gets a lot boring after a while especially since no one on the show is up in arms about it. There's only the elephant in the room of bad music choices and bad costuming left. The worst thing about the judges pet is that she's dull and the one people find annoying has be whoosed by bad music elephant this week. So nothing for people to really get annoyed about that hasn't beensaid before. Also there's enough shit things happening in the world for anyone to really want to get too cross about.

Little intrigue.

Boring ringer winner who has a pleasant enough personality.

Rest of the dancers are nice enough.

The comedy contestants are actually trying and doing pretty well.

The board can't cope with a bit of argy bargy and goes all pearl clutchy (Anastacia).

And she's been out for ages.


Also the interest in ballroom dance for ITSELF has waned. I used to spend hours arguing over tickle points of niceness. CBA this year, it's like it doesn't really matter.

BIB: That's the nub of it for me. Along with the crap music choices. lousy themes and props and ghastly costumes, it feels as if the show has just jumped the shark. The Beeb needs to remember the roots of the show and pare it back a bit, otherwise it'll be gone sooner rather than later.

Ain't that the truth

I agree.
To me, it's always been an entertainment show, based around celebs learning to dance (with varying degrees of success!)
It could never be a "dance competition" because of the disparity of the contestants' experience, ability, age and fitness.
But the dancing was always central to the show.

But the manipulation by the Production Team with unsuitable music, inappropriate themeing, and extremely selective editing is now Bigger than The Show.
I like to make my own mind up, not have the Producers tell me "this is what you should be thinking", "This bloke is funny, this woman isn't " etc

Yea, the show is getting good ratings based on the current format. Doesn't mean that it couldn't get equally good ratings with a different format

Agree, there are one or two very negative posters who keep posting misinformation, and they are leading to an exodus of good interesting posters.

It's a pity, but I have noticed many nice posters have gone.

Have you seen it when it isn't 'meh' it's a blood bath, yes I agree things have been a little tame, mostly, but I think people have learnt it's best not to start 36 different threads on the same subject, just to try to convince people that so and so is obviously the greatest dancer that has ever lived and everyone is just being beastly and cruel not voting for them.

Or that it is blatently obvious even to a blind deaf mute that the judges want whatsherface to win,mbut people are still letting them get away with it, they all should be sent to the Tower and publicly hung for being so obvious in favouring the talentless cow.

We've had a few, if thingy gets thrown off the show I'm never watching Strictly ever again, in fact I'm never watching the BBC ever again, actually I'm going to give my telly away and go and live in a cave if they even think of getting rid of Thingy.

So yeah it is a bit meh.

THINGY FOR THE WIN!!

It was the fact that the viewer was learning something - as well as the celebs - that differentiated Strictly from any other reality show. Even I managed to acquire some rudimentary knowledge about the 10 dances.

It's been so long since production has focused on that angle that I've forgotten what it was I thought I knew. Pisses me off.

Could be that people simply aren't biting as much either. This year's line up hasn't really had any controversies either, even Ed Balls still being in the competition at this stage is nothing new.



Also massively agree with these two.


Also true, this board is dancing on glittery rainbows in comparison to other years and in comparison to the old BBC Message Boards, it's a fluffy scarf and gloves accompanied by a warm cup of cocoa laced with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.

Seeming reduction in posters.

Some of the posters left are not up for discussions just imposing their views as fact.

Really nothing very contentious going on in the show.

I like Louise and Ore - fight me!

It's a combination of things.

Maybe some posters are like me, I watch the show a bit and I liked several last year but this year nobody has really grabbed my total attention and support- I couldn't care less who wins. TBH I find the whole show a bit meh this year, never mind the forum.

All over DS the active posting is declining which is I think due to the rise of twitter and Facebook. Shame really as I think that there's still a place for more in depth and precise discussion of TV and other subjects.

Also, to be a bit controversial <looks around furtively> I think that some may have played a part in the forums demise by encouraging over moderation. I'm not arguing for a free for all but when every post is to be scrutinized and disagreement and discussion is over policed it creates cliques and frankly spoils some of the fun of reading and posting spontaneously.

Last year, for example a thread discussing the 'baby kicking' incident started by an OP who was ridiculously offended by what Jay had said was then countered by many of us defending and explaining his actions. Anyway it evolved into one of the funniest, most lighthearted and genuinely fun threads for ages with all posters genuinely being respectful, one I looked forward to reading. A day later it was dead- a victim of the 'report - then moderation hasn't got time to deal with every petty whine so deletes everything' system.

That thread was the most alive bit of DS I can remember. Maybe the riotousness was helped by knowing a few benighted souls would get it closed. It was like a flash flood you could play in without the responsibilty of cleaning up.

As far as I'm concerned it was the best thing Jay did

On the wider issue, I think the board is dead because the pigeon holes contestants get shoved in year after year are so full of accumulated crap that no one can use them. The smug. The ringer. The this. The that. The bland. Zzzzz.

Maybe next year we won't have pigeon holes!

It would be better with some whiskey in it.
A lot of whiskey

Deal, you and Sofa can fight over the Bushmills or Tullamore and I'll go grab myself a bottle of fine single malt whisky, probably Talisker or an Islay one like Lagavulin!

This.....on all parts of DS. Most threads regulate themselves with a nudge or suggestion something is inappropriate to the person posting but you get the one or two 'jobsworths' who take offence and report the slightest thing. Puts me off posting and the other thing that puts me off is when some (not all ) members with dance knowledge tell me who I should be voting for, a real put off being talked down at whenever you post something and are jumped on.

Just going to get tin hat and go back into my corner and look forward to tomorrow night and Eds tango.