820 replies to this topic

[TWoP Lockley]

Here's the place to talk about anything that doesn't quite fit in the episode, media or specific dancer/star threads.

[Elsa]

In general, the biggest question I have about this season is why they cast Pamela Anderson (I'll just assume they bothered to find out that she was traveling 15 days out of 20 and they wouldn't be sending her partner along) when both Kristi Yamaguchi and Mya said they were never even approached? I get Sabrina. There's a storyline with her "shock" departure and her very high scores in her season, her recent Vegas appearance, and the 3-way contest for the last contestant. But Pamela makes no sense at all.

I also don't like the partner assignment for the three little guys. Drew is SO tiny, he needed Chelsie, while Helio has a good three inches of height on him, and I think Helio and Karina's personalities suit each other so well, with the giggly aspect. And I think Chelsie would have suited Drew better than droll Anna.

Oh and Derek and Shawn? The height is ridiculous when Mark was available. Derek should have been put with Bristol, height-wise and because of his sleight-of-hand pull a rabbit out of a hat choreography. If EVER a woman needed that, it was Bristol. Well the other one who needs it is Kirstie, but Maks is kinda shorta coming up with that, but she's hopeless no matter what. Which I suppose is the real reason Derek got neither Bristol nor Kirstie, and (fingers crossed) will end his season without ever getting a bum draw (other than Shannon Elizabeth, who still isn't in Bristol/Kirstie territory.)

This whole season is just so lackluster. I can't stand Sabrina but I guess she's the standout? And Apolo's doing well but he seems checked out to me. It's all just weird. Only Helio seems to shine even brighter than before, but they're giving him such early placements, and I'm worried about his staying power - especially with the mad (literally "crazy" type mad) props they're giving Emmitt, which I do not understand nor think he warrants. Except that I think they consider Cheryl in the same category as Derek (with Mark as a standby substitute) and they'll prop them to the finals no matter what. Ugh.

And I honestly do feel like they mistreated Tristan pretty badly by giving him the absolutely hopeless cause, coming right after Gladys who had 4 concerts a week all over the country most weeks of last season, seriously hampering him when she already had the major deficits of being 67 and quite overweight. And they cut into her and his popularity by using the marathon and the dance duel, in my opinion, cutting short her DWTS tenure by at least a week, maybe two.

Three partners in a row with no hopes whatsoever of making the finals? - it's unheard of with a new pro who's shown such popularity, even Jonathan had Rachel Hunter first time out. And this time, it seems like they searched hard to find a hopeless partner for him who doesn't FIT in an all-star season in any way, shape, or form.

Edited by Elsa, Oct 2, 2012 @ 12:16 PM.

[QueenL]

Thanks for opening this, TWoP Lockley!

In general, the biggest question I have about this season is why they cast Pamela Anderson (I'll just assume they bothered to find out that she was traveling 15 days out of 20 and they wouldn't be sending her partner along) when both Kristi Yamaguchi and Mya said they were never even approached?

I do find it so annoying and disappointing that they didn't go to Kristi or Mya. Clearly, they wanted to rely on Pam Anderson as sort of a big name and a draw for casual viewers. I sadly get why they didn't use Mya. I guess they feel they already have good dancers who aren't huge names outside of DWtS (though I still think they misfired. They didn't cast many of the best dancers...just adequate ones).

Shawn's a recent Olympian, and young and fresh (and I think they really care about the young demo). Palin & Kristi Alley are big names, I guess. Kelly, I think they wanted for the storyline of someone from the first season coming back. Can she do it again? Plus, from what I'm reading here, it seems like soap fans are very loyal, so maybe they wanted that cross promotion.

Pam, the name thing again. But why not Kristi instead of Melissa? Melissa's a really good dancer, but so is Kristi, and she probably would have raised the level of competition and competitiveness.

The only thing I can think of is they had pre-determined an Emmitt/Gilles showdown, and Kristi may get in the way of that.

I wonder if Donny Osmond was ever asked. You'd think the show would want someone like him over Drew. He's a much bigger name and has the entertainment factor.

I really don't get this show.

Again, though, he may get in the way of whatever storyline they had in mind. Everything is seeming a bit like a bust so far, though.

It's not pulling in as many viewers as I think they thought it would. I read a lot of people on other boards saying "I won't be watching" when they read the cast list, because they said it obviously doesn't include the best dancers.

Helio is really interesting to me. I feel like they're trying to kill him off. I wonder if he's pulling in a bigger vote than expected? He's exactly the type that typically does well here, and I feel like he's one of the ones who still possesses the same things he possessed before. So I feel like the people who liked him before probably still really like him now.

Any previous Helio voters here? Are you guys voting for him this time too?

I just have this gut feeling that he's pulling in more votes than they expected, and they don't want that to get in the way of things. I could be totally wrong, though.

I said before the season started that if he gets through Jive night, I think he could last for awhile. First he has to get past last night. He was early and may be in an "assumed safe" position, especially since Drew fans have a reason to vote hard, and Bristol & Kirstie Alley fans know they're in trouble.

[yarnover]

when both Kristi Yamaguchi and Mya said they were never even approached?

Yes, this I don't understand. When I tuned in to see the show last week, I was surprised to see Kristi...in the audience. The hell? She's one of my favorite contestants ever from this show and a terrific dance to boot. How could they not bring her back? Same with Mya.

As for the new pairings, while I'm enjoying seeing Gilles again, I am disappointed that he has not been paired with Cheryl a second time. Likewise, I wish Shawn had been paired with Mark again. They weren't my favorites in their winning season, but they just seemed to fit together well.

The one new partnership I do like is Apolo & Karina. I think she's a marvelous dancer, and they work really well together.

[Elsa]

Do you get the feeling the show doesn't value Chelsie and Anna very much? Not only do they usually get the stars you'd predict won't do as well, but they also don't get the amount of propping that Cheryl and now Peta, and Karina finally broke though.

Same with the guys - Tony and Tristan are treated like Chelsie and Anna.

I guess they want those same pros in the finals, season after season, and I'm sure they have their reasons (and they did let Peta in the door), but the ratings are slipping FAST, and the highest recent ratings came during a season that Derek was GONE, so maybe they should re-think their "pet" theory of pros.

At least Tony has a contender, but I'm not really feeling a "push." If they wanted this to be a good season for him, you'd think they'd play up the storyline of "14 seasons and never a win" with TONY. They often play up Maks' issues, so featuring the pro isn't that unusual, but they're just sort of going through the motions with him and Melissa, and saving their raving for Gilles, Emmitt, Shawn (and yeah, Sabrina, but she's a special case.) And who do those celebs have? The pets.

Here we go again - just when you figured in an All-Star season, they wouldn't be able to follow the same-old script.

All that is to say that they assigned Helio to Chelsie and have put him in forgettable spots for a reason - they consider him fodder. And Drew as well - thus Anna and the dampened down comments and the crap song (for Drew) last night.

Edited by Elsa, Oct 2, 2012 @ 1:02 PM.

[Woodrose]

I suspect that Pamela was cast specifically to be the first one out, to prevent that embarrassment for a former top-3 finisher. Not sending Tristan to practice with her as she traveled might have been a strategy to make sure she was the first one sent home.

Just my guess.

[QueenL]

I suspect that Pamela was cast specifically to be the first one out, to prevent that embarrassment for a former top-3 finisher. Not sending Tristan to practice with her as she traveled might have been a strategy to make sure she was the first one sent home.

Just my guess.

What I find strange about that is why give her to Tristan then? I figured the show would view him as one of their bright, up and coming stars.

Well, I guess if they HAD to put contestants with their former partners, that only leaves Derek, Val, and Tristan. Obviously they wouldn't want Derek gone early. Maybe they just feel that Val is a better fit with Kelly?

I still think that they could have shuffled things around more, though, if they wanted Tristan to stick around. It just seems odd to me that they'd want him to be a sacrificial lamb this season.

[TruBrit]

Let's not forget that some switcheroo happened at the last min. Gilles, Melissa and 1 or 2 others have hinted that.

Edited by TruBrit, Oct 2, 2012 @ 4:00 PM.

[QueenL]

Let's not forget that some switcheroo happened at the last min. Gilles, Melissa and 1 or 2 others have hinted that.

Yes, I think this is a MAJOR factor.

Didn't Conrad say initially they were gonna split everyone up? I swear I read that.

Anyway, if that's the case, Tristan isn't the only one who got screwed by this (Mark did too).

And I think then that it makes sense why Tristan got Pam. Like I said, they definitely weren't sacrificing Derek, and I think they think that Kelly & Val are a better match, physically and everything. I don't think it's necessarily anything personal against Tristan.

[PBGamer89]

I do think Pamela was cast as the first elimination. Think about it; big name, good dancer, funny, so they could cast her without getting too much of the WTF is she doing on the All Stars season but they knew it would be an easy first cut because of the 3 times she hit the bottom 3 in her season. None of the former winners and finalists wanted to be the first ones out so they did it with Pamela in order that none of them would be the first ones gone.

Now that she's gone, I don't think it bothers TPTB if a winner were to go now. I think Helio and Drew will be the first 2 winners gone.

[QueenL]

Why would it bother them if a winner went first? They'd LOVE that. Big headlines.

[PBGamer89]

Why would it bother them if a winner went first? They'd LOVE that. Big headlines.

I didn't mean TPTB per say, more so the winner themselves. The egos of all of them. Pamela was more so the sacrificial lamb for the first week so that a winner wouldn't embarrassingly be eliminated on Week 1. TPTB do have an agenda i'm sure and I think they wait until Week 1 to see the audience and fans' response to everyone and I think they might be OK with losing Drew early considering his early B2 trip. I think Helio's time is up soon too seeing as he's been getting middle of the road scores matched with early dance placements. He could be a surprise elimination tonight too.

I think Drew or Joey could go tonight also and before the season started I didn't think i;d be saying that on Week 2 but I don't think either are coming off as good as their original seasons.

[toonces464]

Let's not forget that some switcheroo happened at the last min. Gilles, Melissa and 1 or 2 others have hinted that.

I did not hear the interview personally but someone told me they saw an interview Maks did where he basically said that everyone was supposed to get new partners but Kirstie insisted on being paired with him. I've also heard that Bristol supposedly insisted on being paired again with Mark.

[Sunnyheart]

I really don't get this show.

This should be the subtitle to the show. I don't get it either. Nothing they do is logical. Tristan is the hottest pro and they give him Pam and no rehearsal time? There were far more popular and talented stars waiting in the wings and they cast Bristol and Melissa (no offense, she's a sweetie, but really?). They tell Joey he can't dance and they praise Bristol and Kirstie for their "efforts". Come on! And it's like this every season. They keep trying to manipulate the show to suit their script and every season it sucks just a little more.

Obviously they wouldn't want Derek gone early.

I guess they should have asked Derek what kind of effort he planned to put into the season. I've never seen him make a star look so terrible before. I guess he's decided that his last season is all about HIM and to hell with making Shawn look good. As long as he can show everyone how great he dances!

[ari333]

I see the point about early elimination and egos, but going out in week two (and especially going immediately after the likes of Pamela) will be pretty ego-bruising as well, imo. OK, not as bad as getting the boot week one, but still bad and better only by a smidge. yikes.

Edited by ari333, Oct 2, 2012 @ 5:28 PM.

[Woodrose]

Why would it bother them if a winner went first? They'd LOVE that. Big headlines.

Maybe TPTB had to assure the former winners and finalists that they wouldn't be sent home in week one, in order to get them to sign up in the first place? Perhaps one (or more) of the former top-3s were reluctant to sign up and take the chance of being sent home in week one because it would tarnish their former accomplishment, so they had to come up with a plan to make sure that wouldn't happen for any of them.

It would be pretty awful to be both a MBT winner and a member of the Losers Club, for sure.

[Fable]

They keep trying to manipulate the show to suit their script and every season it sucks just a little more.

No kidding. I quit watching midway through season 13, and this was part of the reason. It is so freaking obvious what they are up to most of the time. I decided to come back for the All Stars because I thought they might not be so manipulative since they had a cast of All Stars and that they might actually (for the most part anyhow) let the chips fall where they may. What was I thinking!? I would like to stick around for the duration of this season at least because many of the celebs that are on I really liked during their tenures, but last night, I was so bored all I did was keep looking at the clock to see if was 10 p.m. yet. I don't even know if I am going to try to sit through the results show tonight. It's sad really because this show used to be my guilty pleasure.

[aceplace57]

They seem determined to ruin this season. We get a week 1 elimination. Now, we get a double elimination week 3? Don't these idiots realize we want to see the All Star cast dance? Isn't that the point of All Stars? I've waited years to see Joey, Melissa, and Sabrina dance again.

I was really hoping they'd wait until week 2 for the first elimination. They've done that other seasons. The week 3 double elimination really ticks me off. This is just stupid.

I got a bad feeling we'll lose Drew and maybe Helio week 3. We've already seen their fan bases are weak. I'm not sure the judge's scores matter. So far everybody has been scored really close. There's only 2 points between the top and bottom. It's all about the fan vote this season.

Edited by aceplace57, Oct 2, 2012 @ 9:38 PM.

[ari333]

How do they compute the votes with judges' scores? Math-wise (not a word) how low of a score would be needed to overcome a rabid fanbase? I'm referring to Bristol. She was whining about the 6's, but frankly I thought 6s across the board was very generous and an over score.

[PBGamer89]

Next week's double elimination will be probably any combo of Bristol/Helio/Drew and maybe Melissa is she doesn't score high.

[QueenL]

I was really hoping they'd wait until week 2 for the first elimination. They've done that other seasons. The week 3 double elimination really ticks me off. This is just stupid.

They have to do it this way. The show is only 10 weeks, and they have 13 couples. On top of that, they're not gonna be able to have a results show on election night.

How do they compute the votes with judges' scores? Math-wise (not a word) how low of a score would be needed to overcome a rabid fanbase? I'm referring to Bristol.

Here.

Bristol needed 1.63% more of the fan vote than Joey.

Or simply, she needed 16,310 more than Joey per every million of votes cast.

[McManda]

Wow, by those numbers it looks like there aren't very many people voting for Helio. (If I understand that math correctly.)

[QueenL]

Oh, and to answer your question about how they compute it, ari333, they add up the total amounts of votes given that night, and then divide each couples scores by that total.

So:
23.5/276 x 100 = 8.51% Melissa
23/276 x 100 = 8.33% Helio
22.5/276 x 100 = 8.15% Emmitt; Drew; Joey
22/276 x 100 = 7.97% Kelly
21/276 x 100 = 7.61% - Kirstie
18/276 x 100 = 6.52% - Bristol

So if we're doing just Bristol & Joey:
8.15% - 6.52% = 1.63%

Which means Bristol has to get 1.63% more of the fan vote than Joey.

1.63% of one million is 16,300. So that's how many votes more than Joey she has to get per million of votes cast.

Would be curious to know how many millions of votes this show gets.

Edited by QueenL, Oct 2, 2012 @ 10:21 PM.

[ari333]

(Edit to add, I just now saw your explanation. We posted on top of each other. Thank you!!)

Edited by ari333, Oct 2, 2012 @ 10:22 PM.

[ari333]

What has been the lowest score ever on the show? And was that person's dancing (in your opinion) on the level with Bristol?

Edited by ari333, Oct 2, 2012 @ 10:28 PM.

[QueenL]

I don't feel the drive from her to want to do better, or to fix her scores. I just see someone that whines about how nothing is good enough, even though I haven't really seen her try to get better. That's not okay.

Bingo.

I was reading around, and a lot of Palin fans don't watch the show generally, so they had no idea about any rules, and kept asking what the "hold" rule was. They genuinely didn't seem to know, so I'm wondering if some of them really did just enjoy it as a piece, and felt like the judges were just picking on her.

I'm most annoyed by her laziness, and I feel like this will only contribute to it. I get the natural defensiveness that people might go into, but if she thinks she's really earning high scores with the performances she's putting out, she's delusional. I just don't feel like she's actually trying at all.

Although I do have to say that I thought her Cha-Cha was genuinely pretty good last week.

I don't know if I agree with the theory that Mark is throwing it, but I do have to say that I noticed that he didn't look too happy when she was announced safe. Usually he looks thrilled, but I think at this point he knows it's ridiculous.

Shame that Kirstie has the Cha-Cha next week. This chick is gonna just keep lasting too.

[WatchrTina]

I just found out that DWTS was doing an All-Star show so I started DVRing it. I'm so delighted to see some of my favorite dancers again. But I am absolutely shocked to see Bristol Palin on the show. I stopped watching DWTS when they put her on the first time. She not a "star" in any sense of the word and from what I have read on these boards, she can't dance either. WTF? Oh well, thank goodness for fast-forward. I can just skip her performances and go right to Apollo and Helio and Kirsty/Maks and the hunky French guy. But the person I think I have to root for the most is the former Cheeta Girl (I've forgotten her name.) I remember screaming at the TV when she was eliminated. So I hope she goes all the way this time.

[QueenL]

What has been the lowest score ever on the show? And was that person's dancing (in your opinion) on the level with Bristol?

This.

It earned a 4, 2, 2,. Yes, his dancing was much worse than Bristol. He wasn't even originally signed up for the show. He stepped in for his son (Romeo, who would compete on the show many seasons later) after his son was injured. I guess they didn't want to lose the contract.

He barely practiced.

Edited by QueenL, Oct 2, 2012 @ 10:50 PM.

[ari333]

Wow, so there ARE #2 paddles. Was that a one time thing or has it ever happened again? (And if so, who were they?) TIA. :)

[McManda]

There have been no other single digit scores, but Steve Wozniak did get a 10 on his samba (a 4, 3, 3).

Wikipedia has a list of the highest and lowest scores ordered by professional dancers. There have been low scores, but none beats Master P. ;)