Me too, in fact I felt a bit shortchanged
I'm sure the fiance wouldn't mind a lowly peck, after all, he's already had his hands on her a**e .
Even Bruno kissed him

Well done to Apolo and Julianne. I thought they were worthy winners from their excellent performances week after week. The other two couples were very good also.

My only disappointment was with Len and Bruno. They seemed to lose all perspective in America with all the 9's and 10's. In the British version Len very seldom gives a 9 and I would guess you could count on one hand the number of times he has given a 10.

Everyone on here talks sense! We should all be judges in the next series!!

I'm really pleased Apolo and Julianne won as they were my favourites throughout. They were such a good match and worked so well together. I still struggle to fathom how Julianne can only be 18?! All that make-up I suppose. I must just say though, Joey and Kym's showdance was the best and I would have been happy if they'd won. I also thought Laila did so well to come from being a boxer to end up looking like a dancer (apart from the odd dodgy feet moment). The only thing I didn't like about her was how, at times, she came across as a bit too confident. Definitely a worthy finalist though.

I have really enjoyed seeing the American version, despite the annoying female host. I think it's a real shame UKTV Gold has nabbed it now. On the whole the show had great choreography, great dancers, great music and great costumes*. Let's face it, that's why we love SCD so much! The perfect show to prepare for the real deal!

Let's hope Len and Bruno are a bit less willing with those 10s for this series of Strictly.

*apart from Julianne's paso dress which I didn't like that much. Shame she had to wear it for the final.
Last edited by rjones1234 : 23-09-2007 at 23:49

I'm agreeing with pretty much everything on here so far. It's really disappointing to hear that we probably won't get to see DWtS on telly over here unless we get UKTVGold (yet another shove to everyone to get cable - have you noticed how many times you have to switch to a digital channel now to get follow-ups or repeats of progs you've missed etc?). That really hacks me off.

My money was on Apolo to win but I don't think he or any of them warranted all the 10s the judges were giving willy-nilly - hear, hear to the poster who said let's get Arlene and Craig to give a bit of perspective. I also feel that Len and Bruno have become caricatures of themselves! Calm down, chaps - have a bit of decorum.

Oh yes, and the F word.....yes we know you are having FUN, contestants! Gawd..... Joey and Ian in particular were like overexcited puppies.

To be honest I didn't think Laila was as good as the judges seemed to think, and it was just spin to keep a female in. Having said that, I'm not sorry in the slightest because we got to watch Maks all the way through. And Amen to that, I say

So maybe we have to face the fact they really weren't interested in each other. Awww.

I agree with you, it can get annoying, but I'd rather see the contestants having fun () and saying so than the melodrama we (sometimes) get. It's way more entertaining to watch.

Wasn't too keen on Appolo & Julianne's freestyle- and amazed Len went with it.
Much preferred Joey & Kym's-that's how I define freestyle/showdance

I was just about to say the exact same thing. Too many tears in the UK one. Yes, I appreciate it can be hard work but it is supposed to be fun at the same time - it's almost as if the programme makers of the UK one think we've got to see angst to appreciate the effort that goes into it.

Also, I think Arlene takes the whole thing far too seriously - you'd think the celebs were actually trying to pursue a career in dance with some of the comments she makes. I'd rather she showed a bit of perspective.

Yeah...I don't mind seeing them working hard and finding it difficult, it shows how hard they're working (obviously) which can be easy to forget. But when it's all tears and tantrums, it (for me) makes for more awkward viewing than entertainment.

I'd rather watch the likes of Apolo, Joey or even Jerry Springer having a good time in rehearsal and performing a fun but maybe not technically perfect routine (though that is, of course, always a bonus) than someone weeping and wailing and arguing with their professional and then performing a routine that isn't technically great or even entertaining (not that that's primarily what we get, but you know what I mean).

I agree about Arlene.

I agree with the bit about Arlene too, and I know what you mean about the tears and tantrums....with the Americans the overused word is 'fun' and over here the overused word is 'hard'! Somewhere in the middle would be nice - for example watching the people like Matt Dawson and Peter Schmiechel (sp?) - not that I liked Peter's dancing much, but they both had a quite positive attitude to training and not so much weeping and wailing. I liked watching Apolo in training but not so keen on Joey's tongue right to camera - that sort of 'fun' is just irritating to an old stick in the mud like moi!

As regards the dances in the final, personally I hated the silly Star Wars thing and wasn't that keen on any of the others Miserable old mc. I usually record the programme so I can watch it again but this one I just dumped as soon as I'd watched it. For me, it was disappointing there was no pros' dance to fill up the show like there usually is, just a load of sentimental stuff. I didn't mind the costumes that others weren't keen on - actually the only costumes I didn't like in the series were Joey's long hoody a la Obi-wan Kenobi, Ian's Elvis wig (why??) and Cheryl's dire blue thing she wore for I think the tango. It's weird, the way they were hailing Cheryl as the most fantastic choreographer and teacher (sort of the US version of our Lilia) - I didn't like most of her choreography, I have to say, though obviously she is a very good teacher.

Thought I was going mad yesterday - I put 'Dancing with the Stars' in Google and got this whole other site with a whole load of people I hadn't heard of. I thought, is there more than one of this in the US? The only name I had heard of was Kym Johnson, a previous competitor. Should've been a clue - of course - it was the Australian version! Has anyone been able to watch any of the other countries' versions of DWtS?

Cheryl's choreography this past season wasn't as good as her stuff from season 2 or 3, when I would say she was one of the best choreographers.

And yes, I liked watching Matt and Peter's rehearsal VT's because they worked hard but they had fun as well (although Peter wasn't a very good dancer, he did try).

Quote: moorchild - It's really disappointing to hear that we probably won't get to see DWtS on telly over here unless we get UKTVGold (yet another shove to everyone to get cable - have you noticed how many times you have to switch to a digital channel now to get follow-ups or repeats of progs you've missed etc?). That really hacks me off.

Well, if you intend to continue watching television at all you'll have to upgrade over the next couple of years anyway. Once the Digital TV switch over starts you'll be stuck as you won't have any other option!
Last edited by Gillypoots : 25-09-2007 at 11:23

[quote=quackaquacka;18289569]Cheryl's choreography this past season wasn't as good as her stuff from season 2 or 3, when I would say she was one of the best choreographers.

QUOTE]

Before Season 4 the dancers didn't always do their own choreography - for example I read the Thriller routine with Drew was actually choreographed by Nick, who went on to win an Emmy for the dance. I find that really strange and I think it's good that they just do their own now.

I'm not saying this to put down Cheryl by the way - she obviously did the majority of her dances and I agree she always did them really well. She's a great pro on the show!

<Deleted>
Last edited by rjones1234 : 25-09-2007 at 12:45

btw, there is a separate thread for dwts5

I knew the result back in July and it was a blow for me but thought, well it must have been a spectacular freestyle but it wasn't in fact. Joey and Kym's was the essence of entertainment and he pulled off the fastest lifts we're ever likely to see from a celeb.

I have rated Joey and Kym first from the start as he was pretty much doing step for step along with her and I thought they were a proper couple whereas I felt that Apolo was being covered on occasions. I also found some of Apolo's routines far too frenetic although some were brilliant as the Samba and the Paso, and the Quickstep in the semi was really special. I would dare to suggest that Julianne gained as much as a following as he did. I never found his personality dancing very exciting. I could watch Joey playing cards and find it exciting.

And yes I adored the Star Wars tango.

As a production it was fantastic, and oh that band!! Just LISTENING to them playing the best ever Paso tune to Laila's at the start made the hair raise on the neck. (Note to production here, Paso's are so much better with the RIGHT music.) What a difference a proper band makes as opposed to a session band here last year. If nothing else, surely we should be able to afford a top band for the main show of the year.

Anyway, I've loved the whole thing...despite the 10's niggles and sundry moans about the squeaky audiences, it's been a pleasure.

Short note to production here: Get your finger out.

And please, it's as much an entertainment show as a dance comp.

Thought the semi final last week was the high point of the series.
The freestyles from A/J and M/L were disappointing. Didn't want to see hip hop on DWTS and I hope the Michael Jackson impression Max did is the last I see for a long time, just find it so cheesy. Surprised Len said A/J's was up to date? Looked very dated to me, maybe to Len the 80's is up to date lol.
I guess Joey and Kym had the advantage to add in some lifts that the other two couples couldn't, but I liked their freestyle.
I knew Apolo had won but would have liked Laila to be the first runner up. Her final mambo performance was much better and showed she had improved from week 2/3.

Something I found refreshing about DWTS (and something I think ~ sweeping generalisation, I'm afraid ~ says something about the attitude of America compared to us Brits) is that wanting to win is not seen as a character flaw that must be punished! None of this "oh, they want it too much so we'll vote for the underdog instead...."

It was great to see Leila, Apolo, Joey and Ian showing an "I came here to win and I'm working hard to make sure that happens" mentality about it all. No tantrums, just lots of hard training and positive attitude.

I saw a New Zealand episode a couple of years ago. There were a couple of Olympians I vaguely recognized, and someone from Shortland Street. I think a Shortland Street contestant over there is as inevitable as Eastenders ober here.
The most interesting thing was seeing Brendan as a judge. He was very complimentary, even to the bad ones, and even mentioned the time he dropped Rachel Hunter.

Have to agree, I thought Joey and Kims freestyle was the best. A/J's was a disappointment. I liked that sort of thing in the '80's. What grated was the boppers screaming for Apolo all the time. Cheer and clap by all means, but the high pitched shrieking was just very very annoying. Why didn't security shut them up?
I agree that Apolo's personality was a bit lacking, the continual 'soundbite speak' was irritating. Really it was them together that was appealing. He doesn't really pack a punch without her. Not enough oomph!!
I think Joey could be hard to live with, but never a dull moment .

Yes, thanks for that. Actually it's 2008 for me as I'm in Devon which is one of the first areas to be forced to change. I've timed it with my contracts so I can look at the best deals around the middle of 08 but cannot really justify the extra expense at the moment.