Here`s a link to the last 4 competitors on the US show.
One couple have since been eliminated.

http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/dwts/category/s3/

How do you think they compare to the UK couples?

I'm too tired to watch lots - but from what I saw and from the others I've watched on youtube... it seems like the marks are a lot more generous than you'd expect? They seem to be very fond of gimmicks, and not at all fond of sticking to the rules at all...

I haven't seen any of this series - but I watched all the clips from the last series and I agree with you sarah! They did seem to be more generous with the marks and had all sorts of theatrical routines - Craig would love them! Len seemed to mark on a higher scale out there too. And all of their Ballroom dances seemed to be 'American Smooth' style... cause it bugged me when I first started watching their Ballroom that they were hardly ever in Ballroom hold!!!! Until I realised they were dancing 'Smooths' for every dance!

Every dance???!

How weird. Seems a wee bit pointless.

The routines I've seen included a paso which started with the chap playing a guitar (I was SO confused) and a cha cha I just watched (to the ghostbusters theme...) where the first move was the chap ripping the woman's boiler suit off....

I was scared. LOL.

Glad ours is more about the dancing!

ps: glad it's not just me thinking the marks are "off" - must prove I've learned something from all the obsessive Strictly watching..........

Thanks to Raphael's wonderful blog I have watched loads of dances of DWTS. The first thing that struck me was the "sugary" type of judging. Perfect 10's are just handed out left right and centre for really unexceptional performances.

The "American Smooth" style of the Ballroom is quite annoying (and I like American Smooth but not in EVERY single Ballroom dance) and tends to make the dances gimmicky. I must say the pros in DWTS simply can't hold a candle to SCD pros when it comes to choreography either (Tony Dovolani simply lifted Saturday Night Fever in its entirety for last year's Freestyle with his celeb partner).

Music choices are pretty dire too, but I guess we can't be too superior as we seem to be following suit on SCD in that respect