I'm a new poster so forgive me if this sort of thread has come up before. But I just HAVE to say how impressed I am by the judging of CRH. I know he takes the role of resident "Queen Bitch". But if one really listens carefully to his comments he often gives constructive criticism and WILL praise genuine effort. It was because of his comments that I voted for James and Camilla's tango a while back. And altho he gushes over Zoe and Ian like the rest of the judges he was the only one to pick up on her Charleston step being ahead of Ian's and on their training he picked up on the gap they had in the Quickstep.

He stands up to Len who in my mind coddles some (or perhaps a lot) of the less talented dancers in the show and consequently a high mark coming from CRH actually means something. Unlike Len Goodman who I noticed gave a 9 to Will and Hanna's competent Tango last week where CRH gave a 7. And then this week Len Goodman also gives a 9 to Zoe and Ian's sizzling Tango which was, quite frankly, head and shoulders above Will and Hanna's last week (and I am not criticising Will....I voted for him last week).
I understand that he may be the "Simon Cowell" of SCD but for me right now he's about the only judge I rate. Keep up the good work CRH!

I have to agree, he has been the most consistant this year, whereas len and especially Bruno seem to vote high for their personal favourites and not the dance!

I agree about CRH - he seem to tell it how it is without favour.I like Len a lot but he seem to coddle the underdogs a little. Arlene on the otherhand is too outspoken on occasions. They all gush about Zoe and Ian - but thats ok -
imo they have been the best from the start.

While Craig has had his image as the bad guy - I find myself giving his opinions a lot more respect than Len, Bruno or Arlene's. I feel bad that the audience boo automatically for Craig and Arlene - but they all realise it's a bit of pantomime.

I appreciate the judge's opinions as a whole and the trends of their scores as a small guide to myself but do acknowledge that, they are people, and as such are fallible, prone to favourites, missing things, not being always consistent.

Back on the CRH point, I think his weekly segments on ITT have opened a lot of people's eyes as to how knowledgeable and considered his opinion can be. He is free to talk about technical things for an extended period of time withouth being interrupted or having to shout over boos.

I never quite understoood why CRH was tagged with the bad guy of the judges, yes he is brutally honest and sometimes harsh with his score, but Arlene can be far harsher, and has been from the very first series!

Len supports the underdog, Bruno has personal faves.

I don't always agree with CRH, but I do respect and enjoy his views, both on SCD and on his regular ITT segment. I would imagine, if lucky enough to be one of the dancers, that a 9 from CRH would mean a lot more to me then a 9 from Len or Bruno, lovely as they are - they do tend to sugarcoat and mollycuddle the dancers.

Didn't CRH give Will & Hanna a 6 for their tango (I like the guy [only judge that matters etc.], but I thought that was bit harsh)?

I may be wrong CapSensible (as I didn't record the show)....but I seem to recall that Will got three 7's from the judges with Len going completely overboard and awarding Will a 9. CRH on that occasion was largely complimentary to Will on his Tango. Faulting him only for having his knees too bent. This week CRH awarded a 9 to Zoe and Ian's spectacular Tango, whereas Len awards yet another 9. :yawn:

I agree about CRH's marking being relatively consistent, but Will & Hanna got 6,6,9,7 for their Tango.

I think Craig has really shown his calibre as a good judge this series. The majority of his comments have been helpful and/or constructive, although it sometimes seems that he can't help the odd barbed remark from popping out occasionally. I don't think that he is the 'Mr Nasty' figure that he has been made out to be, I enjoy listening to what he has to say. His refusal to coddle the couples as Len is indeed prone to do, makes for some very insightful judging.

I thought he was good last night although he does always seem to be fawning over Zoe and Ian and makee it blatantly obvious that they're his favs

Sorry Cap....my bad

Strangely, I have found myself admiring Craig's opinions more and more as the series has progressed.

Fine, he may pick out small details, but someone has to do this, & whilst he the maks he awards may, at times, seem to be inconsistent with his comments, I put this down more to his only wnating to award higher marks for something that he holds to be really spectacular than nastiness. He certainly has never done what Arlene appeared to do with Patsy & Anton, last night, & award a lower score in response to a disagreement with the other judges.

The Mr. Nasty persona seems to be one that the series producers have foisted upon him, whereas he comes across as being reasonable, if brutally honest, on ITT.

Glen

Yep, Craig's 48 hours segment on ITT (every Thursday) is essential viewing. I think his nastier comments should be taken with a pinch (or possibly a bucket) of salt; I think they have to more do with a flamboyant, combative temperament than a malicious one.

I rather like CRH. Yes, he may be a tad harsh at times but you certainly see another side to him on ITT. It makes you appreciate him an awful lot more.

OK this is spooky - I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago with exactly the same title

Here you go... In praise of Craig Revel Horwood (mk 1)

Great minds think alike, Diamondlife!

I may not agree with Craig's opinions every time, but he is a skilled and honest judge who doesn't patronise or allow favouritism to skew his scores. I've learned a lot about dancing from his comments, and the Thursday night segment on ITT where he assesses the training vids is my favourite bit of the week.

I do wish he'd stop going on about how attractive Zoe and Ian are, though. It didn't come up last night, but sometimes it makes you wonder whether they're giving extra points for "looking like a dancer" as well as dancing like a dancer.

Love CRH to bits, it's good to have a judge to give constructive criticism rather than just gush about how wonderful everything is. Unfortunately he doesn't always get much of a chance what with the audience booing....

[quote=lady-muck]OK this is spooky - I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago with exactly the same title

Here you go... In praise of Craig Revel Horwood (mk 1)

Great minds think alike, Diamondlife!

I may not agree with Craig's opinions every time, but he is a skilled and honest judge who doesn't patronise or allow favouritism to skew his scores. I've learned a lot about dancing from his comments, and the Thursday night segment on ITT where he assesses the training vids is my favourite bit of the week.

WOW! That is spooky LadyM. Having reviewed your thread I found myself in agreement with much of what was said. I sincerely hope he keeps up his high standard of judging and informative comments even though he is a touch brusque he is usually right on the money. I used to view Arlene in the same way until she undermarked Colin. And Len Goodman (gosh...where to start). Not only does he coddle underachievers (I'm glad that was noted in your thread as well LadyM...I thought it was just me), he had the nerve to accuse CRH of nitpicking then comes on ITT and says the reason he didn't award Colin a 10 was because he was bobbing up and down on the pivot.

Yes, and I HATE that. It risks turning the whole thing into The X F*ctor.

I like ITT because it allows the judges to explain and expand on their comments - without any childish booing.

But the Saturday night show can be very irritating, thanks to the audience's dim-witted reaction to Craig and Arlene. It doesn't help that Bruce Forsyth (sell-by date: 1978) whips them into a booing frenzy as soon as the show begins. If I wanted to watch a cr@p panto I'd switch over to ITV.

I so agree with this, watching the tape of last nights show we were both yelling 'shut up Bruce' during his constant interuptions during the judges comments, and his encouraging of the booing On more then one occasion last night Craig didn't get to finish his point because of Bruce's mindless interuptions.

Good point. Len seems like a lovely bloke but he is inconsistent. You can't be an objective judge if you just want to be liked. It certainly works with Patsy - she adores him because he's the only one who doesn't tell her like it is.

I'm not sure Len does it because he wants to be liked. I'm sure he is objective in professional contests (we should ask our more knowledgeable FMs about this), but he has said before a few times that he looks for and awards points with the fact that they are novices in the field, in mind. He seems to compensate for what he thinks Arlene and Craig may do, to even it up I think to an overall score that he deems fair. I'm not sure I agree with this, but I think his motivations are pure.

The other thing, like many have pointed out, in the first series as Head Judge, it may only have taken a few weeks for them all to be typecast as a 'certain type of judge' and when enough people tell you to behave a certain way,you actually start to.

Hope that makes sense

I absolutely love all of the judges, each for different reasons. I know that Craig's opinion can usually be relied upon to be harsh but fair, and at least in pointing out mistakes, he helps the contestants to improve. He seems to be a really good sport and a nice man when he's not judging, and I love seeing him 'off-duty' when he's just chatting on ITT or whatever. It's one of the things that annoys me most about missing the Thursday show every week because of the BBC's anti-Scotland discrimination - I miss Craig's interpretation of what happened on Saturday night! At least this week he's going to be on tomorrow, so I can get some idea of what I'm missing.

Do forgive me for sounding mean Happyfeet. But Len should let those who are no good literally "face the music" as it were if he is to retain any credibility as a judge in my opinion. I totally understand it may not be in his nature to be as acid tongued as CRH but his marking must reflect what was in the performance and not merely to balance out Craig and Arlene.

I've noticed that CRH has torn into James Martin on many occasions but did laud him for his inventive Tango and indeed defended him when Len Goodman said his Paso Doble "petered out". I guess what I am trying to get at is at the end of the day CRH will base his marks squarely on the performance...and not on who he feels sorry for

He is the only one who is consistent in his judging.

I'd rather hear more constructive criticism than the negative. But I suppose negative brings in viewers and votes.