Im getting more and more annoyed with the judges. Is it just me or are they over marking Gareth and undermarking Zarrah. I find Zarrah is much better than Suzanne and to be honest Gareth bores the pants off me.

I just think that the judges have thier favorites namely Gareth and they cant see past that.

The big surprise for me has been Chris I hated him before he did this show and now I think he's bloody great and he really does deserve to win this. I dont care if he's had Ice Hockey training (surely Greg the Canadian would also have grown up skating and playing Ice Hockey) Suzanne/Gareth have most likely had dance training does that not give them an unfair advantage too.

Also can we please stop with the sob stories oh my ankle, oh my head, oh my eye and now oh my migrane!! For gods sake deal with it!! Ive suffered from terrible migranes since I was a child and I have never taken a day off because of it nor would I so enough of the sob stories!!

Okay rant over!

Crazy .. that is only your openion, I think Zarrah gets over marked for her routeins, she rarely lets go of Fred and skates alone and fumbles when coming out of lifts althought the lifts themselves are lovely. I am sorry but Suzanne is a far superior skater with or without holding on to her partner

As for Gareth I think he is often undermarked. He does techinecally great stuff but because its not big lifts like the girls he does not get the big marks. Chris is brilliant weither he has previous skating experience or not cannot take that away from him

Ok my rant over, lol

I know the girls do the lifts but I tend not to take much notice of them as I believe its harder for the guys as they have to do the lifting so I never rate the lifts what I like to see is the dancing and rythem of it. My fav routine so far has been Chris and Frankies Justin Timberlake routine I was sitting watching it and my jaw hit the floor. They just completely captured the rythem of the music so that is more the type of thing I like watching it dosnt have to be flash or showy.

I think we have to remember that Zarahh started late and she is so graceful much more so than Suzanne IMO. I just cant warm to Suzanne and I used to like her in Popstars she was one of the ones I wanted to make the group (its funny how opinions can change).

Its the lifts though where Zaraah shows her grace. On the Ice shes nervous and unsteady

I'd agree with that. Even Greg did more difficult skating alone then she's ever done.

I think Suxanne is far more confident and steady on her feet . She looks completely confident skating on her own.
I find Zaraah a bit fearful and I don't find her routines as entertaining, no matter how graceful she is in the lifts.

I think Suzanne was undermarked llast night and Gareth and Zaraah were overmarked. Gareth still looks stiff when he skates IMO and it is called dancing on ice. However, I fully expect Gareth to make the final over Suzanne.

Yup I agree, Gareth was so overmarked last night!

Gareth was overmaked last night, he nearly dropped that hat at one point! I think the leaderboard last night should have been-

Chris
Zaraah
Suzanne
Gareth
Greg

But I'm not a judge- so what do I know.

So you like Chris and that make you dislike Gareth? right? for me its the other way round - each to their own. I don't think Gareth was at all overmarked. There have been many a week when he has actually been undermarked. Get over it.

Isn't it funny how we can all watch the same routines and all get different opinions and perspectives from them.

Personally I thought last night that the judges were fair with their marking.

Its not just the Judges who have based results. IMO Many people only vote for a act coz they like that person from a show etc and nothing to do with the skating.

You are so right. When I saw Zaarah, even though I watch 'corrie', for the life of me I couldn't remember her. I like her grace and elegance, but I can see she is unsteady, when skating solo and is nervous. It must be hard to come in late, she is never going to catch up. Still, she is a better skater than me. All I can say is well done Zaarah!!

I thought judges marks were fairly ok, I wasn't keen on gareth at first but have warmed to him lately I think he was far better than Zaarah last night and frankly I feel she wobbly when not in hold with fred I also think there is no connection with the two of them and hence not connecting with the views and thus her being in the skate offs of late

Can't say the lifts have been very good either. She has done the same simple ones in multiple weeks, she hesitates going into and out of them, she doesn't sustain them for very long and she hasn't done any with much wow factor. She hasn't had Lynda's pauses mid lift but she's not really doing much thats more difficult despite looking a bit lighter than Suzanne. .I would have thought she looked more gracefuil moving on the ice as long as she doesn't have to do any steps or jump.

If anything they are now overmarking Gareth and Zaraah in relation to Chris who is much better. Look at Duncan's perfromances last year or Claire's and they both got less for much more. Lisa too was probably better than Zaraah. They are probably overmarking Chris too as I don't think he is better than Kyran on most counts which is what his marks would imply. Zaraah just isn't in Suzanne's league if Suzanne doesn't damage herself more.

Suzanne is getting more or less what she would have last year but her marks are often more relative to her own performances than anyone elses or any absolute scale.

The marks probably do reflect some agenda and the way they were on Sunday supports the obvious one - Zaraah and Gareth were overmarked and put near to Chris to create the impression of a close competition. Suzanne was undermarked relatively to them to make it further look as if it wasn't a two horse race and to provide some drama. They may also be positioning themslves so that the marks fit the public vote.The last thing they want is Gareth winning or coming second to Suzanne or Chris when they have been giving him low twenties.

If people are injured as some clearly have been I would think they would have to tell us.It looks like an excuse if someone mentions it later so it belongs in the VT beforehand.

I wouldn't be surprised if they'd want Gareth in the final due to wanting to relive that nail-biting final of Pop Idol where it was between Gareth and Will and there was a shock result.
So I wouldn't be surprised at all if they wanted Gareth there just to try to recapture that tension with added knowledge of hindsight.

Slightly off topic, but I can't believe that you have ever had serious migraines if you've never had to be off work with them. The first time I had a migraine I was at work and ended up sat on the floor in the toilets sobbing because the pain was so unbearable I couldn't even move never mind sit at my desk and carry on working.

Back to the Skating tho... I am sick of the bias from the Judges but in a different way from you. I think Chris is now being given too much credit because of his earlier performances being so high above the others but he hasn't shown any development. In my opinion Suzanne and Gareth are the most improved skaters and in terms of the performance and skating skill's with their partner are head and shoulders above Chris

This has been discussed time and again but you clearly haven't read it. Greg played ice hockey as a child but was not any good and turned to tennis. He was a very promising junior player in the 80's and turned pro in 1991. Do you really think someone making a career in tennis would risk injury ice skating? No doubt you did PE at school - if you were competing in a gymnastics competition would you consider yourself an experienced gymnast?

As GerriP said if you've had real migraine you could never continue to work. I suffer with them and the pain, flashing lights and nausea is unbearable. At their worst I am actually physically sick - and all I can do is lie in a darkened room until it subsides. I've had migraines that have lasted up to 3 days, fortunately those days seem to be behind me now. Only those who have suffered the real thing know the discomfort and pain Gareth was in.

Just on the sob stories - I'm glad I'm not the only one getting tired of them.
The producers seem to think we love the drama of all the injuries etc, but we're not daft - we know in a show like this people are going to pick up knocks - we don't need to see them every week.
Similarly, I'll bet there are loads of shows that go out where someone involved has been ill and had to struggle through, but they don't need to tell the world about it - people go to work feeling unwell all the time.
There was no real need to dramatise Suzanne's injury the way they did, UNLESS she had been unable to take part.
Same with Gareth - if you get a full on migraine, the last thing you need is someone filming you - if he had pulled out, a simple announcement that he was ill and couldn't take part would have done, or, as he did compete, Phil could have just mentioned after his performance, that he'd been ill.
Come on guys, just get on with the skating and drop all the tragedy and drama!

They almost certainly overdramatise the so-called illness and injuries for effect - but it's been done so many times before, not just on DOI but SCD as well - that I think people are becoming wise to it.

I'm not saying the injuries aren't genuine, but the truth is somewhat embellished.

It's all part of the pantomime, I suppose. :sleep:

Are you watching the same Zaraah and Suzanne?

Suzanne and Chris were head and shoulders above the others from the start. Add to that the fact that Suzanne is willing to try anything and Zaraah wouldn't even try an unassisted jump properly. The only other less willing and daring celebrity was Samantha Mumba.

Zaraah had a very good first week but after that her performances have been soporific. Apart from Nicky, what were the other judges thinking voting her routine last week over Greg's?

Gareth started off well but lacking in confidence and that confidence has grown and it shows so why shouldn't he be marked high? I actually think he has deserved higher than he has got from the judges for some of his routines.

As for Greg, he had something else to occupy his time from an early age. Skating is not a rite of passage in Canada, you know.

It's funny how subjective one can get over a 'favourite'. I came into DOI this year with absolutely no preconceptions about anyone and have ended up cheering on Suzanne and Gareth (and to a lesser extent, Zaraah and Chris) simply on the basis of their skating; not their personalities (which we can't possibly judge from 1 minute VTs shot over a period of 7 days, nor the stress-inducing moments when they're stood waiting for their scores or to hear whether they're going to remain in the competition).

In fact, it's the same way I judge skaters when I'm watching the real thing - because in that instance, it's ALL we have to go on. Their skating abilities and the way they are able to translate the music to their steps and their facial expressions.

I suppose the word I'm looking for is 'dispassionate' or perhaps just 'objective'!

The four best skaters have remained , in my humble opinion (although just to be a little controversial, I would have kept Greg over Zaraah on the skate off performance on Saturday. He nailed it. She didn't. He also seemed more assured on the ice than she did, which absolutely amazed me!). In this respect, I have to agree with others - not because they've said it first but because it's something I have witnessed myself independently of anyone else. Zaraah doesn't seem to spend a lot of time away from Fred and when she does, she does seem to be very shaky.

It's a shame because she showed so much promise and coming in in the 3rd week, to replace someone else (a popular 'someone else', too!) was never going to be easy. I suspect that the skate-offs have had an effect on her confidence, but as an actress I would have thought she could at least look like she's having a ball. Unfortunately, her facial expressions tend to say the opposite.

I really do liike her skating. But I prefer Suzanne (performance wise) and her seamless flow over the ice; her grace and elegance, the skilled steps away from her partner, the amazing lifts and the beaming smile which says 'I'm having a great time' (even if this may not be entirely true! Not with those injuries!). Her lifts are always complicated and dangerous (and anyone who doesn't think the female skaters have to put much effort into lifts should try one sometime. They require a lot of strength in muscles people like us armchair critics probably don't even know exist and a lot of nerve!!!!).

Gareth, too, always looks like he's having a great time (although he did look 'washed out' on Saturday - not surprised, though. Being a lifelong migraine sufferer I know what they can be like. And - regarding those migraines. Yes, it is entirely possible to go to work with a migraine. I have done it. But mine have different levels. From the 'I can continue working as long as it's not looking at a computer screen' attacks (computer and TV screens merely exacerbate them) through and up other levels right onto the 'migraine from hell' which has me taking Immigran (expensive but the only drug which works for me. Migraleve are about as much use as a chocolate teapot!) and lying down in a darkened room with a cold, wet cloth across my forehead (and sometimes over the nape of my neck), in order to ease the inflamed blood vessels.

And yes, I have had to take some days off due to migraine over my long working life. So if you've never taken days off due to a migraine, then all I can say is that yours aren't as severe as they can get - and I sincerely hope you never suffer from one that bad, either. I wouldn't wish them on anyone. However, those of us who have been forced to take time off because of them aren't going to appreciate basically being told we're whingers and wimps! Especially when nothing could be further from the truth).

I like Chris - but I do wish he and Frankie would dance together more! This week's routine was particularly noticeable for that. But he doesn't choreograph them - so the blame lies with others! But, my god, the boy can skate!!!!

I think the judges may actually be marking strategically, but as we saw on SCD last year and even with DOI now, that doesn't always matter! The GBP will always end up reversing results and so the winner is usually the one the majority want, not the one the judges were so keen on! (Unless, of course, the desires happen to coincide!)

And as I pointed out on another thread - the 'sob' stories are always initiated by the show, NOT the celebs themselves (which is not to say they aren't genuine, but mostly they are slightly exaggerated. Of course, Suzanne's was a little more serious this time as she did actually end up in hospital!).

If you note, it's always Philip who refers to the injury and the relevant celeb usually tries to play it down. It's a ploy for ratings, and it's a well recognised one, too. It happens with DOI, it happened with SCD (only on there we also had the skewed VT's looking at any sign of conflict within the partnerships as well! Anything that will generate publicity for the show!). The celebs have little or no say in what is to be shown on their VT or whether Philip is going to bring up whatever injury they've sustained this week! So let's lay the blame for that particular aspect at the right door - the DOI producers!

Well lucky for me I dont watch soaps and was not a fan of Suzanne/Gareth music so I can judge on the skating. But like you I cant skate that well so they are all great skaters in my books.

Exactly. That's why she was sacked. She failed to make an impression with the viewers.

Weired thing is that first week she danced I thought she might be good as her lifts looked so elegant and I thought she just has to master landing smoothly but weeks later there is no improvement