I think the best thing they can do is get rid of the dance off. Apart from that, I think the show is fine as it is. People just need to stop taking it so seriously and remember that is just an entertainment show that is meant to be a bit of fun.
I didn't understand why the article said it was the most boring series- it was many things, but boring wasn't one of them. I do think it was the most controversial series though. And I also don't think trying to get younger celebs is a good idea. John Sargeant is old and provided most the entertainment this year.

Yes but at 64 he's too old to master the demanding dances required, particularly the Latin.

I wish they'd use all the scores. Like have 1 = heinous, 5 = average and 10 = perfect. If they (esp Len and Bruno) used this then it'd mean there isn't scores of 30+ by week 2 Although now an 8 seems to be a bad score.

And hopefully less couples, 16 is just too many and I hate the male/female weeks. Should go back down to 12 imo. And back to live results.

I hope they don't change it too much

Which was ever the best series is always a matter of individual opinion.

Newspapers need to exagerate, some more than others, even make things up, else they don't have an attention grabbing story. The Guardian article is worth a read and more balanced than the NOTW one.

Of course the producers will want to tinker with the show each season. It has all looked a bit jaded on set this season - more like a souped up Community Hall than a glamorous TV set. But don't expect to see many existing pros being actually sacked, if any, for 'no good reason'. They're each of them a rare commodity and worth their weight in gold, whilst the celebs are ten a penny. The producers should most definately stop selecting bottom of the heap celebs, too, some of whom display very clearly from show one zero ability or prospects of getting much better, and who should have been weeded out by a better selection process - it's unfair to the celebs to start a season on such an unlevel playing field... it's boring the first half of the season waiting to see which of them is booted out next so that the real competition can begin.

Personally I believe that your average viewer is completely oblivious to 'major controversy'... they simply sit down each weekend to enjoy the show, and if there's a bit of twist, even some controversy, all the better! They won't get stressed out, spit feathers, and heap insults on the heads of everyone they can think of they don't like, the way some forum members do... quite rightly - it's only a telly programme and no one gets killed in Strictly!

Totally agree.

Mel and Sue is a good idea!

I agree, scrap the male/female weeks. It felt like 2 seperate competitions for the first few weeks of this series.

Have the results show live on a Saturday.

Get rid of Arlene - what a thoroughly unpleasant woman she is.

Instead of the endlessly boring films of the celebs training and them banging on about their journey and how much it's a dream come true (complete with the usual tear-jerker music we've been hearing for years), how about they run a film before each dance showing us what to look out for, what the basic steps are, a slo-mo version of professionals doing it, and how it's done right and how it's done wrong.

The truth is people still don't know that much about dancing unless they go to classes. This would be an excellent opportunity for the BBC to fulfil its educational part of the bargain. I'm sick of seeing celebs in training falling over. Not funny anymore.

And get rid of It Takes Two and that stupid Masterclass with Len. It's hopeless.

Sure, I'm just using him to show that the public warm to celebs that have wit and personality rather than youth and beauty.

The pros demonstrate this also. Ola is the youngest and arguably the prettiest pro dancer out there. But she doesn't get much love. On the other hand, everyone seems to have soft spot for Lilia. Not that Lilia is a minger or anything, she's very attractive, but not as obviously so as Ola.

They actually used to do this, up until series five I think. I uploaded the latin ones to youtube a while ago (because D&L did them and I'm a big fan of theirs). There were ballroom ones as well.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0amHkgUJwxE

They cannot get rid of any of the pro's especially Darren and Lilia. The reason why were so-say 'overshadowed' this year is because they had complete duds as partners. Give them someone decent (like Camilia and Brendan have had for the last two series) and they would really start to shine again !

I can't disagree with the early sentiments... the constant crying, the trips and falls, same ol' 'dream come true' etc cliches get very very boring, especially when repeated over and over again...

But as to your suggestion about a 'dance training video' each programme, imho there are too many different dances each week for the sake of variety to accomodate that suggestion easily, and you might do a technically great dance steps wise according to the video instructions that simply fails to deliver on the entertainment or performance factor... you can't show how that should be done - that is the difference between a good and bad dancer, and it's not all down to doing the dance right technically. Add to which frankly I think we'd all just get confused... I'm happy to let the judges argue over what is and what isn't done properly!

Excellent post.

I hope they don't ditch a lot of the pro dancers and replace them with bland younger ones like Hayley - the pros are a big part of the show for me.

IMO the judges are what needs changing - not necessarily change them, but give them a talking to and sort out their ridiculous scoring and their insistence that it must be the BEST SERIES EVAH!!!!

its rubbish and they should axe it

It would be impossible to have every celeb 'equal' from the start, but imho the gulf between some of the celebs is just way way too wide to make it fair on the pros. If a real shake up is needed, it is with the celeb selection process... too many celebs really do look as if they're scrapings from the bottom of the barrel, and it reflects badly on the credibility of the show. The BBC publicity machinery was whooping about their selection of celebs for this season - I really do think the people responsible need to take a reality check. You could see too many celebs were rubbish from week one. I don't enjoy feeling embarrassed for them until they are released from their misery by the viewing public and the judges... You can see how happy some of them are to be leaving, and how devasted their pro partners look who never really stood any chance of turning their pigs ear into a silk purse!

I'd like them to replace the current judges with new ones, lower the number of couples taking part and drop the four weeks of girl-girl boy-boy dances but other than that, Strictly doesn't need to be torn to pieces.

I also agree that the media's obsession with youth is ridiculous and boring. I like seeing older dancers. If everyone was in a similar age range it would suck the heart and soul out of entertainment shows like this.

Shake up needed without doubt!

1. Poor and varied scheduling - not quite evening entertainment when you're getting tea ready!
2. Sunday show was a definite mistake - its not that all-consuming to hold my interest all weekend! X-factor is an instant one night buzz.
3. Voting mess was very unprofessional - poor production to blame. The scoring method seems overly complex, especially when Tess tried to explain it!
4. Bruce has got to go - now resorting to get the audience to chant his pathetic dothery-I'm-not catchphrase back to him, most likely to remind his befuddled brain that he was once upon a time much younger and popular. I hate how he talks over people all the time and the "its-now-the-moment-of-truth" is the most insincere line of the entire show!
5. I am unsure about Tess as well but cant explain why.
6. The boys / girls weeks at the start were a total flop.
7. The production bosses at the Beeb have a lot to answer for in this series! And please no more GMTV losers!

It's also been the first series to be entirely put on iPlayer, which will always take away a large number of viewers who get home from their Saturday at 6:20 or whatever. It's also the first season to be on BBC HD. I bet they haven't taken these figures into account when judging the 'popularity' of the show. I can't ever understand why they continue to judge ratings etc. on previous years, when every year the situation for the viewers is completely different. I for one have enjoyed this series as much as previous ones, and the diversity of the contestants' ages/talent/famousness (if that's a word) is a big part of the appeal of the show.

Keep up the number of couples but scrap the gender-based weeks and have a couple of double eliminations (make sure however that there are three couples in the final, by running rollover weeks if anyone leaves unexpectedly). This would result in a shorter but tighter series.

Let the judges choose a suitable number of safe couples each week and the public choose who is safe from the rest.

I think they need to do two things:

(1) think long and hard about whether they want another Jon Sergeant type celeb next year who will potentially be kept in for weeks by the public against the wishes of the judges (and mention of "younger" dancers may well be a coded way to say that)

(2) have a tie-breaker to ensure no ties on the judges scoreboard - say Len's casting vote for example.

bringing back the results show to Saturday is a no-brainer really.

It is too early a schedule but if you bring back the same night results show, it has to be early-ish as it's a family viewing show.

Agree - Sunday show was a definite mistake. I Sky+ it and then just watch the last 5 mins, maybe watch the pro's dance beforehand.

Voting system doesn't bother me, it should be in the main a viewers choice as it's an entertainment show foremost, with plenty of opportunity for celebs to impress us with their hard work/effort/innate abilty/etc. I would however like to see less sobbing going on (any contest on tv). Am done with the sobbing.

The judges scoring has gotten silly. So have some of the judges. I'd be happy to see Len move over to the US...permanently. And Bruno, as he's unoriginal in thought or what he says. Bye.

No, I think Bruce is good for the show in it's present format. Who would you have instead?.....who wouldn't be too cynical or try to own the show?

Agree -the boys / girls weeks at the start were a total flop. And irritating - get on with it, SCD!

The final trophy awarding minutes were chaos so yes, the producers were once again lacking.

Agree also re please no more GMTV losers. That could also go for the obligatory Eastenders actor :yawn:

Love the pro dancers we already have and also hope we get Christina and our American Boy back again.

Finally - also agree on the set/venue. Can't we have something a bit grander/more glamourous?

I think they just need to go back to their original format of a Saturday night half-hour results show, no dance-off so public really does have 50% of the vote, 12 couples maximum and no all boy-all girl weeks. That and just calm the judges down a bit. In other words simplify.

It's nice to have a mix of young and old contestants (this year they had no youngsters did they?) and of dancers and non-dancers. I would not like to see that change as it's all part of the fun and what has made SCD so popular I think. If there are that many purists who just want to see real dancing talent, then why not reintroduce Come Dancing alongside SCD?

I believe this year is the first time we have seen the result of the changes they made last year (dance-off and Sunday results show) because last year we had the extraordinary Alesha Dixon plus a slightly controversial but thrilling final. This year there was no so such luck to pull them through, and we see I think what happens when the judges have their way as to who gets through to the final stages. I agree with the producers, it was boring, saved only at the 11th hour by a stunning show dance from Tom and Camilla.

I'd like:

-12 couples of various ages.
-No male/female weeks.
-No elimination till week 2 so all can do a latin and ballroom.
-Live results show on Saturday.

Umm....can't think what else.

Agree about Len (Mr Miserable-am-head-judge-and-don't-ever-forget-it!). Also agree about Bruno (Mr omg-omg-am-just-so-excitable-but-very-predictable-Italian-puppy-dog-omg!). Am partially okay with Arlene (Ms MY-VOLUME-CONTROL-IS-BROKEN-MAYBE-I-SHOUT-LOUDER!!!). And Craig (Mr Bad-boy-act-will-pay-next-years-rent) is actually the only objective one there!

Cannot agree about Brucie-nice-to-hear-myself-to-hear-myself-nice though. Demob him to the Dad's Army crew. Attract a younger audience with a younger host. Perhaps John Barrowman or the like.

I think there's a lot of evidence that the public prefer young dancers. John Sergeant is an isolated outcrop in a sea of Heathers, Andrews, Phils, Gillians, Dons and Cheries none of whom captured the public's imagination, in favour of bright young things like Austin, Tom, Jodie, Christine and eventually Rachel, all of whom are 35 and under.

As a rule the public are not interested in middle-aged people being mediocre at dancing and will not vote to keep them in. The odd older celebrity will get support if they're very poor but for the most part, middle-aged celebrities serve as fodder for the early stages of the competition. There's only ever been one finallist over 40, and he was a comedy act.

Note, this is the public's opinion, not mine, and I think that both Don and Cherie were eliminated before their times, but to say that the public tune to see a wide variety of ages of people doesn't appear to be true, because they don't vote to keep them in.