And before anyone shouts at me, yes I'll allow for the fact that you may believe niether are!
So are the judges simply the producers stoodges or have they seriously gone off the rails? Or are they the best thing since sliced bread?

Im convinced the producers ultimately control the show at the end of the day...

One thing I discovered last week is that the producers choose the music, which in my opinion goes a long way towards giving a dance that little something extra.

I saw one person complaining tonight about Austin's body revealing tops. I'd say don't blame him, blame the producers because they're giving the public what they want to see.

So, yes, I believe the producers do play a prominent and slightly manipulative role.

Sidenote: do the producers really choose the music? Because I could have sworn I saw Louisa and Vincent a few years back, in training, selecting their samba music... has it changed since then?

I think, re the music, the pros (and celebrities maybe?) put forward songs they'd like to dance to and the producers will okay them/select one from a list. The pros have mentioned, countless times, why they chose a particular piece of music: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6mPtQ7zZtwM

Also, am I the only one who doesn't think we're being manipulated by anyone?

I vaguely recollect on SCDITT last week, that the competitors were given, on the Sunday, an envelope which gave them their dance for the following Saturday, and three musical options to choose from.

I thought it was suggested that the pros give the producers three options, and the producers then pick/approve which one.

I can't beleive people blame the judges for Austin's exit. They are too blame for many things but this is not one of them. They voted for the best dance in teh dance off. Craig was a BIG Austin fan and looked gutted that he was going home.

Its the producers fault for keeping the Dance off when you have 4 good dancers - two are popular two are not and a popular one has gone.