[quote=Ashrell;20131854]Both were technically great, but the judges obviously thought that Matt's waltz was either technically better, or thought it had the wow factor - which is a very subjective thing and affects each person differently.

I'll need more convincing than that

I thought the leaderboard was exactly as it should be tonight. Matt was better than Gethin and Alesha was better than the pair of them. the actual points scored is irrelevant.

As some people may know, I'm an avid fan of Alesha and Matthew and I thought both their dances tonight outclassed all in their wake. In particular I think their quickstep was as professional as it gets, not only in the dance itself but in that wonderful performance.

HOWEVER, when Gethin came out in the black jacket with the silver trim. I thought, 'hey up! Alesha's has stiff competition there' and I was looking for 10s from the judges but the opposite occurred. Yet Matt comes out does a mediocre dance and gets 4 10s. Am I not human in wondering what the hell is going on?!!

Yes I smell a giant sized rat

I think you're right. It was fixed and Matt was in on it. How else can you explain him dancing such a good waltz?

T be really honest no dance has wowed me.

But at least Gethin ans Alesha have energy.

Gethin was disconnected tonight and there was no chemistry between him and Camilla - and I have to say Camilla's AT was pretty poor for a professional imo.

Matt didn't deserve 40 points, but he did deserve to be second on the leaderboard.

Errrrm, I'll break this as tactfully as I can. It's Strictly Come Dancing, not The Clothes Show.

Did you really think Matt's waltz was mediocre, or is that just a reaction to your disagreement towards the judges? People are taking out their outrage on the dances on Matt which is unfair. He danced a great dance, and was possibly overmarked for it, but that doesn't detract from his dance. And I can't really see how that dance would class as 'mediocre' when technically it was perfect (presumably, seeing as CRH gave it a ten and he never would unless it was. Someone can confirm if they had watched the RBC).

When Matt did his salsa did you not think he was a contender for Alesha?

I'm a Alesha fan too but I think Matt danced a lot better than Gethin tonight, Gethin is over-rated imo, there was lots of acrobatics and not much dancing.

Silly, I couldnt remember the dance that's why I described what he was wearing so people would know what I was talking about. Ouch, touchy

Yes, I did. I'm a fan of dancing and I know what I like when I see it so my opinion is as valid as the next person. Even the professional judges differ in their opinions.

Something is very wrong. They all said Matt should not have been there on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross then all go out and give him a ten!!!

I think they have been told what to do.

yes, but that's one dance out of 14!!!

I am absolutley seething about this because the Beeb have boobed big time saying last night before Casualty that the lines would be kept open till 9.30pm

I have filed an official complaint as have other forum members and one member has filed one saying she will call in OFCOM unless Gethin is reinstated in a 3 person final

Oh for goodness sake. I didn't think Matt's waltz was worth 4 10s - but then I don'k think Gethin & Alesha have deserved all their 10s.

Gethin went because, on the night he was the weakest dancer.
That's life, show-biz & dance competitions.

I'm sorry but there was clearly something very odd about it. I didn't watch either show live but as soon as I saw the VTs in the Sat show with Gethin and Camilla talking nostaligically (sic) about how they have had the time of their lives in the past tense - I knew that they knew they were out.

Gethin's Paso was pretty good although let down by some very strange music - which is what I think Craig meant by being baffled about why he didn't like it - the music didn't gel with the dance.

I was worried as soon as I knew Matt was doing a waltz because let's face it - over five series of SCD, there have been more 10s for the waltz than any other dance. I am not suggesting that element was a fix but it is damn sight easier to get 4x10 for a waltz than for a paso

However, I think that
a) there should be no dance off in the semi ( and for preference, not in the series at all)
a+) if they persist with a semi dance-off, then both partnerships should have do their AT again so like can be compared with like
b) there should be about five set dances for the first five weeks and everyone who stays in does them
c) then there is a 'second' phase comp where the much harder dances like Rhumba, AT, quickstep are danced by all remaining competitors over a couple of weeks
d) the final format should be simpler - five dances is way too many (even if some are repeated from earlier rounds) - you end up with five roughish dances rather than three excellent ones.

Well - goodbye for this series - see you next year if the Beeb see sense.

Lets be honest, Gethin was incredibly over rated.

His sausage salsa was an insult to dance. The Coal Miner Paso was a mess. AT was ok, but music could have been better. Best dance was obviously his waltz.

I suspect because he couldn't see anything wrong with it nd the interpretation worked for him. What else can you give then?

The problem isn't Craig's its Craig being asked to compare Alesha doing something more complicated with more of a theme and Matt being told to do the dance he did. She will make a few mistakes or someone will quarrel with the interpretation and she will get a 9 , Matt will get something easier right.

I can't believe my eyes when I read this thread. I actually think Matt's Waltz was worth perfect 40. There was PERFECT (yes, perfect!) footwork. Heel and Toe leads in all the right places (well, those that were shown on TV at least), and their feet were so in syn even the angle of lifts were the same. Perfect body contact. His hands were placed and even his fingers were dancing right to the end (where he held Flavia with one hand, the other hand was still a 'dancing' hand).

The only 'complaint' I had was he stuck out his tongue and wet his lips in one instance, that, for a split second, broke the 'romance' he's trying to portray.

Gethin, on the other hand, when he began his waltz was a little hunched towards Camilla (because I believe he wanted to show intimacy). Otherwise, Gethin's Waltz was near perfect as well.

I think both did very well in their Waltz (Alesha did well too!). Matt definitely deserved his 10 from Craig, and I think it's NOT overmarked.

Someone wise on the spoiler thread made the point that part of the problem is that the voters do not appreciate that the show requires the worst dancer each week to go to get the best to the end. Thats why its set up the way it is. I would modify that by adding unless there is good clear evidence on past history to go against performance on the night.

The problem the Gethin fans face is not with the judges who marked on what they saw on Saturday. it doesn't matter if Matt had 40 or not - he just had to be better than Gethin . Even if you consider the other factors each has a case to stay which is pretty equal so the performance on the night ends up counting most - which is what 3 judges said. .

The real issue is that Matt is still there which he shouldn't be because he should and would have gone out against Letitia the week before because he was by far the worst dancer and his history wasn't clearly better than anyone else who might have ended in teh bottom 2 with him. Thats not the judges fault - they clearly indicated who should go. Its the fault of the voters who kept him in.

The bad news for Gethin fans is that Gethin has ben done in by the same voting that also removed many of the people who would have stayed on merit and might otherwise have out performed Gethin. If you have random voting unrelated to dance performance (or even any calculation of potential) you end up with random results - Matt in the final and Gethin out is just the latest.

I've had a second watch of it (as I was advised to by others), and I still don't see it, I'm afraid. It was a very good Waltz, and I wouldn't have been surprised at a score of maybe 38 or there abouts. The footwork was there, there was nothing tangible to fault, per se, but I thought it was somewhat lacking in the chemistry or spark that would make it perfect in my eyes - It didn't pull me in, as Alesha and Gethin had previously and make me watch, it just left me thinking "that was a very nice dance".

However: (i) I don't think the overmarking takes anything away from what was a very, very good dance, and (ii) I don't buy the "it was fixed" thing, I just think the judges saw something in it that I didn't.

I would agree with this almost word-for-word! Alesha's waltz touched me so much.. I don't think I breathed throughout it in case I'd somehow disrupt something so delicate. Gethin's flowed, so so beautifully. Matt's... it was all there from the neck down. But from the neck up, with the licking of lips, and the look of concentration in patches, it meant it couldn't be 40 for me. 38 yes, 39 even. But there wasn't the feeling of sheer beauty for me. But yes, there have been dances whose high marks have been reasoned as "you had to be there".

I
Absolutely, when it comes down to it are any of us on here experts, do we know what the correct footwork should look like, have we had years of experience, I apologise if any of you have but I for one haven't, I just know what I like but wouldn't and couldn't say that anything was fixed because I am not a trained ballroom dancer

I dont think they did
They said they wished he could have been in the dance off to prove himself - and that was Craig that said that.
You must get you facts right