That was one of the major reasons why I didn't think he deserved the 40. The performance wasn't really there because he was obviously concentrating on the routine. I found Craig's explanation as to why he gave his 10 rather disappointing to be honest. 38/40 would have been a fairer score imo.

I never really have been one for the 'journey' factor though - if you're good from the start you should be rewarded for it imo and not placed below those who got better. Probably why I think Darren winning was so disappointing - sorry fans!

for me tonight was excellent, ive got exactly who i wanted in the final,
im not botherd who wins now because ive wanted alesha or matt to win from the beginning!

It's about time we had new judges on this show, the present ones are well past the "sell by date" they change their mind about the comments they make from one week to the next, and although I am pleased Matt held it together he didn't perform as well as Gethin who gave the more polished professional performance and should have gone through to the final.
Last edited by piper4 : 16-12-2007 at 20:06

Matt is better at the Latin dances as he can express himself better he looked very nervous in the dance-off no emotion once again for this waltz (although Len would have probably got to his feet to applaud it before he finished...so silly!!), were as Gethin took on-board the judges comments before the dance-off and improved his AT.

Now here is the crux and like you claire I am not one for the 'journey' it is about the best dancer which they have got right in series 1,2 and 4 but were WAY off the mark with Darren Gough who should have been voted off in week one or two and it should have been Zoe Ball....I think it is time another female won SCD but I fear that the 'J' word will have an influence again this year.. Come on Alesha

What journey? What viewers?

Matt couldn't even cope with two dances last week - why should he cope with five next week?

It is a pathetic result. As for people talking about Matt having 'one bad week' - could I remind everyone of the week he stopped doing the Salsa and skipped round the floor clapping inanely?

One very disappointed and disgusted ex-viewer.

And Gethin was rewarded for being relatively bad at the start. If improving from something bad isn't a good thing, Gethin should've gone out a long time ago too.

Matt certainly coped with two dance in the semis. I think the sport psychologist really did help him. I am sure Karen Hardy will give her low down tomorrow morning and Philip Jackson will also say what he would say on Tuesday about Matt's Waltz. I trust the experts more.

It is not possible to bribe Craig. Arlene was swooning over Matt but she saved Gethin in the end. So there.

definitely!

a) I think you're talking about his Paso

b) That was part of the dance.

It seemed clear enough to me that Matt's problem last weeks wasn't just generic 'nerves', though he clearly does get nervous. He went into that show thinking he hadn't properly got the dances fixed in his head - that was pretty obvious from ITT. It was also clear why that was the case: he was simultaneously learning dialogue and performance details and then recording his final EE storyline in the normal fraught conditions of a soap: getting dialogue the day before filming, no rehearsal, cramming a lot of scenes into the time available. Presumably this is why, for example, he and Flavia had to pull out of a scheduled ITT appearance at short notice. It shows why actors on SCD are virtually never working at the same time - it's asking too much (have any of them ever been in this position? Stephanie and Letitia this year, Louisa, Georgina and Claire King last year, Will Thorp the season before - none of them were actually filming in a major way during Strictly, were they?) Indeed, it's interesting that, mostly, the only SCD contestants who can work pretty normally are presenters, who appear on camera in their own personas and read from autocues. I'm not knocking their skill-set, which is clearly a major one, but it isn't the same as acting (or, indeed, competing at sport at a professional level). Matt's EE work is now over, so I don't see why the problem should arise again.

i think they were praising the fact that he came back and did well and not let last week get to him. which i imagine would have been quite difficult although i do think len doing a standing ovation( is that how you spell it?? ) was abit over the top and cringing for me personally.

i though his waltz was good but IMO not worth a 10 but then the judges must have sen something in it i guess, his AT was ok not near as good as gethin or aleesha though according to me that is

I'm a Matt fan and I have some mixed feelings about this.

I think the judges went OTT with the waltz. I thought it was brilliant, but then I would be biased (!) and a lot of it was down to the fact that I was so proud of him getting over his nerves, more so than the actual dance (which was still lovely). Presumably, the judges thought along the same lines - probably a waltz worth about 38-39, but was so overjoyed to see him conquer his worst enemy that they simply wanted to give him recognition for that. They went about it in the wrong way by overmarking him, but I can still understand why. I know Matt isn't well liked on this forum and elsewhere (and I can sometimes understand why), but even objectively speaking, I think that the fact that he has managed to get himself out of the vicious cycle against all the odds, and has proved to everyone that he can dance when almost everybody had written him off, is commendable.

I'm not saying that the judges were right, but equally I don't think they went "right, Matt had a shocking week last week so we automatically have to reward him if he gets the steps right". I think it was more of a proud-parent feeling that the boy had proven himself against the odds and got lost in the moment, rather than the malicious intentions people are suggesting.

My 2p!

I also really really enjoyed Matt's waltz too. But as most people seem to think, i think it was slightly over-marked (probably only by one or two points). Which is so annoying, because - as has happened in previous weeks with other good, but over-marked dances - it takes away from the enjoyment of the dance, because you end up thinking 'why did he get that, when it was no better than x dance'. The judges overmarking does end up backfiring on the celebrity, as it takes away from the joy of them doing a good dance and being marked properly for it. It just seems to have happened in most weeks this series, and I don't remember feeling like that in previous series (don't think I'm saying that as a biased person, because I genuinely think that most of the 'top' couples have been over-marked at least once this series).
Last edited by annie75 : 17-12-2007 at 00:25

I actually thought M & F AT was good - alot more techincal than Alesha's and Gethins but am I moaning that Alesha was overmarked? I actually thought she was but I'm not going to start moaning as there is far too much of it on here.

Night

So it should have been, it`s her speciality

I thought Matt did really well to come back after a nightmare last week and dance so well. I hope that the votes of confidence from both the public and the judges, along with the knowledge that he survived this week, and the help from the sports psychologist, will be enough to ensure he dances really well - as he is absolutely capable of doing - and give us a really fabulous final on Saturday.

My problem with Matt's 40 last night is more to do with criticisms that they levelled at Gethin (not connecting properly in the PD) and Alesha (footwork generally according to Arlene).

Even I could tell his footwork in the waltz wasn't perfect and he spent the whole time with a grimace on his face showing that he wasn't really connecting with the dance as he was too busy making sure he remembered the steps (which was also a problem with his AT which should have been a lot better than it was given who he was dancing with).

I thought that the first 40 dance would make me jump for joy whether it was Alesha, Matt or Gethin (or possibly one of the others earlier on in the series) but in the end I felt cheated since the first 40 dance wasn't really worth it. I also think it devalues the 40s that Ramps and Jill got since those dances were as close to perfection as celebs can get, last night's wasn't.

It's also a lot of pressure for Matt since apparently he is now a perfect ballroom dancer. Next week if he doesn't get a forty then it is a step back, if he does then it's only to be expected since he has already had one. Alesha on the other hand has that room for improvement and the chance to wow the judges. I actually hope Matt doesn't do the walts but does his QS or his AS but still think he has quite a weight around his neck now.

Yes, totally agree. You could see from Matt's face how hard he was concentrating, and even if the rest of the dance had been technically perfect his expression alone meant he shouldn't have gotten 40. One of the comments to Aleisha is that a great dancer makes a hard dance look easy - well Matt made a relatively easy dance (the waltz) look difficult.

Yes, I kind of agree. He relaxed as he got into the dance but at the beginning he looked quite tense, while Alesha always has a smile (or any other appropriate emotion) on her face. Still, I think the fact the judges went overboard (see previous post) doesn't negate from his dancing. It's a shame that the judges' marking means that it would now be remembered as the 'overmarked' dance rather than what it actually was - a good dance.

Sadly I think you are right. Same goes for some other dances which were marked highly (whether too highly or not depending on who you ask!!) earlier in the competition, and I don't think the judges have done the series or the contestants any favours at all by being so free with the 9s and 10s, and even with the 8s

It was much better when the higher scores were aspired to for weeks and 10s were the holy grail of SCD!

Yeah, absolutely - it means that people now have slightly negative attitudes towards Matt, which really isn't fair as it's not his fault the judges went overboard. A 38 or 39 would have been a more accurate score, and wouldn't have gotten people's backs up. I think it also means Aleisha winning next week is pretty much inevitable, since there'll be a bit of a backlash against Matt's perceived easy route to the final. Which again, isn't really fair on him, as the focus should be on the way they dance in the final - Aleisha quite possibly winning anyway, but for the right reasons.

Matt produces one good dance in three weeks and goes through. The better dancer overall is eliminated, in order to guarrantee a female winner, (Which I think she deserves BTW) but the BBC are paranoid about controlling the result.

On here yes but next week there will be a huge amount of gushing on ITT about the 40/40 and I am quite tempted not to watch since it will wrankle every time I see it mentioned.

It was a good dance, don't get me wrong, and I was relieved to see him make a good go of it but 38/39 would have been fair. Also Len's standing ovation made me want to hurl. I know a lot of people said that the judges have been favouring Alesha with their scores but such a blatant show of favouritism is disgraceful (and I thought the same last year when he did it for Ramps - how awful Matt Dawson must have felt seeing that).

The judges really shouldn't have had any say in who was eliminated this week. It was silly with there only being 3 people in the semis, and pretty well ensured whoever finished last would be in the dance-off, and that anyone dancing against Aleisha would go out. A public vote might've risked Aleisha going out (though probably not, as she was in the dance-off last week), but at least it would've meant votes were actually meaningful and would've avoided the contrived feeling of this week. If only, as you say, they weren't so paranoid about controlling the result.

Alesha to win, please, people.

Actually on the night, I thought Matt was better than Gethin.