Having had a chance to rewatch with the help of maltipom and katie's clips on youtube, and compare these 2 performances and listen to the expert commentary on the red button - very illuminating - I think that Gethin was harshly dealt with. He seemed to do about double the amount of steps and footwork that John did, he may've been a little stiff in the hips, but overall he was not as awful as 3 of the Judges claimed or deserving of such harsh comments, particularly by Craig, saying that he had better hope that admirers of his looks were voting, you could see Gethin just feel contempt for that remark!
Poor Camilla took it all with her usual dignity, but she never seems to have any luck with the Judges, whoever is her partner. James was often slated unfairly aswell IMO.

Personally I didn't see John as being the best at all. He clearly has rhythm, but overall as a dance I don't think either his performance or the dance was as entertaining as others last night, or contained as much in technical difficulty.

But in particular Gethin's performance was praised totally on the red button, yet inexplicably pulled apart by 3 of the Judges. Ofcourse it wasn't perfect, but for week 1 was pretty good.

I sincerely hope this is not a portent of things to come with the Judges. Even experienced people in TV need to have a word of encouragement and praise for their efforts as Len so rightly gave. I know the Dance Teachers on here don't like Len, but for me, he remains the best Judge.

I don't think John B was any better than Gethin either. I thought Gethin & Dominic were the best 2 guys on the night.

I thought that John was the best on the night, but completely disagreed with the judges slating Gethin! He did quite a good job in my opinion.

I must admit that on first watch Gethin didn't impress, but having watched a few times now, he was definitely better than I first gave him credit for.

But John Barnes did make me smile, and I think he could be pretty good if he stays long enough to lose some weight.

I think the judges are influenced too much by their pre-show expectations...particularly in the first show or two.

If they expect a celeb to be dire but they do an OK job, they over-rate.

Conversely, if they expect a lot of a celeb who doesn't quite deliver, they are too harsh.

It's not an excuse...the reverse in fact. It's what viewers tend to do...but the judges should be above all that.

John made me smile the most and Gethin seemed a little bit reserved but I thought that the three of them deserved about the same- the judges just don't like to be consistent do they!!

The format may have changed but the judges haven't!!

I thought the judges were overly harsh on Gethin, but even if he had been as rubbish as they seemed to think, I thought they could have been more encouraging and constructive. In particular, Craig seemed to be attacking him for being good looking. Maybe he thought women would save him unfairly, but that's not his fault.

I thought Gethin's main limitation, which he shared with a few of the men, was feeling a bit anxious about how sexy they should be, or intimate they could get with their partners.

I completely agree and have expressed the same sentiments elsewhere. Before SCD I hadn't even heard of Gethin; having been 'introduced' I think he's absolutely gorgeous (I'm not made of wood!), but that doesn't make me see something that wasn't there and I thought he danced quite well for a first go - certainly no worse than Matt or John; his hands were nice, he was smiling and making eye contact with Flavia, he obviously has a sense of rhythm - yet for some reason 3 of the judges just had it in for him. Poor Gethin, he looked really upset, and rightly so.

I do think John was better than Gethin but Gethin was not as bad as the judges made out. Yes, he was stiff but he put some expression into it which is more than some others did.

Gethin really sparkled for me, am I right in thinking the judges thought Dominic was better ????

Even on repeat viewings Gethin looked like he could give more, I kept thinking and move a bit faster, hit it a bit harder. I thought John put more effort into especially as he has to carry around his big tum.

Gethin was cute when he danced but I enjoyed John's much more

Admittedly I was a Gethin fan before the show started, having not seen him dance, but when he finished I breathed a sigh of relief - he was great!! I don't understand the judges at all - I quite agree with the comment about the judges having expectations, its just not fair.

I tohught Gehtisns performance was really good. I can't remeber who but one of the judges said Gethin had no hip movement there were loads I don't know waht htey were watching.

Gethin also did a lot of Solo work and wasn't attatched to hos partner the wohle time.

The arm work wasn;t great but the foot owrk was. I tohught John was worse than Gehtin, OTH they might have tohught Childrens presenter lets make him look stupid infron of all the children.

I'm totally with you, La Rhumba. I was completely mystified as to the judges comments to Gethin and Camilla. Bruno especially went completely off on a rant. My only theory was that the judges had had really high expectations for Gethin and were annoyed when, although he was good, he wasn't outstanding.

I certainly thought that Gethin was the best of the night and I didn't think John Barnes was great. His rhythm was quite good but I just could not get past his posture. His shoulder line and head position are so hunched looking that I couldn't watch anything else. Nicole really has her work cut out for her to fix that or he'll be crucified by the judges for his top line when it comes to the ballroom dances.

I was watching veeerrrry closely

I do think that he could have put a bit more into it - but he is a Blue Peter presenter and maybe doens't think he should be out doing a bump and grind.

I couldn't agree more, technically it was the hardest cha cha of the night, and he executed it all very well. I was particularly impressed with his solo work. I think he just needs to learn to perform a bit more, but that should come with confidence (which sadly I think may have taken a battering thanks to the judges).

I would have put it about equal with John's, as John did a great performance.

The judges need to mark whats in front of them rather than on expectation imo.

There seemed to have been a head of steam building up for Gethin before he had even stepped on to the dance floor, based purely on alleged good looks. It has also manifested itself strongly on this site, with some posters seemingly thinking he can do no wrong. Perhaps the judges are trying to add a touch of reality. His performance neither stood out for right or wrong reasons last night, in a particularly lacklustre night of dancing. He, like all the other men, will probably have to go some to beat off the girls' challenge this time around.
Last edited by kitten12 : 07-10-2007 at 22:09

Cunning maneuvering? If they are hard on Gethin, who has popularity, good looks and talent, they'll get more votes in when people think he's being hard-done-by.

Paranoid, me?

I too thought that John deserved the marks he got, but I also agree that Gethin was much better than he was given credit for. I thought the judges were pretty hard on all of them considering it was their first week and they would obviously feel a bit self conscious.

Hopefully as the weeks go on they will all gain a bit more confidence and put in good performances.

I too was quite distracted by John's hunched upper shoulders when he danced and that kinda spoilt it for me. But still I don't think he did that bad, maybe just a tad over-praised and slightly overmarked.

As for Gethin, it's all about expectations...

I agree! I think they all expected a lot more from Gethin - but I think he's the Matt Dawson of this series! He was definitely like a rabbit stuck in headlights for the first half of the dance, but he definitely loosened up towards the end. His was definitely not the worst cha cha of the night!

You want to watch the american version nobody is slated on there, they all get 21points are all marvellous even those that shuffle round the floor, must be different rules for the judges over there watched the first couple of shows but it seems that the judges are afraid of upsetting anyone different story here

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...d.php?t=664862

I liked Gethin too and think his slating was unfair. However, John was not only good but his personality shined out which gave him the edge. You do have to give John credit for that.

Gethin definitely did better than the judges said. I felt they were very harsh on him for the first week. He came out on the floor with confidence and he looked like he was enjoying himself. I think he deserves a bit more credit that what the judges said.