BLACKPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!
Sorry, was pretending to be Tess then. Ladies and gents, welcome to the Blackpool episode of Strictly. For once, it's not all about Grimsby. This week we had better song choices (but most of them recycled, more on that in a mo), but odd themes, odd costumes and the dreaded return of the - unwanted and unloved - backing dancers.
Now last time, we saw Alison & Aljaz exit the competition as it turned out that we didn't want friends like them (see what I did there?) and they lost out to Caroline & Pasha in a shock bottom 2. Will Craig be proven right that Blackpool would be Judy's swansong? Or will we have outrage a la the Simon and Thom dance-off? (I vote for outrage).
In the battle of the Style Stakes, once again Zoe comes out on top (and it's the same in the results show too). It does look odd with her and Tess though, what with Zoe almost dwarfing Tess. Onto the main show, and we start with a pro dance. Not as good as last year's for me, everything seemed, well, 'cluttered'. In our house, we thought the young female singer was awful ('a song to sink' we thought we heard), and the dance that followed wasn't much better - some of the pros lifted Janette high into the air at one point, but it was a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment as it was towards the back of the floor and off to the side (to the right of where the staircase was). As for the results show pro/celeb dance, loved it!
Same as last week, I'll be covering all of the dances, the dance-off and the elimination. Suffice to say, I wasn't really impressed by anyone this week, and I wouldn't have said that anyone deserved a 10 (some of them didn't deserve 9s either, but that's another point) - none of them matched up to Susanna & Kevin's Paso last year, and that was probably the only dance this time last year that I thought deserved a 10.
Frankie & Kevin - Quickstep - "A Town Called Malice"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Tom & Camilla in series 6*
Apart from his Showdance, this is the one dance and song that people remember Tom Chambers for, so I was interested to see how Frankie & Kevin could do in comparison. I don't think people will remember this one sadly. They would have probably been better off just doing a straight Quickstep, no breaking hold to do some non-Quicksteppy moves. If they had done it just once, to start/end the routine, then fair enough, but not going into hold, then breaking, then back in, then breaking again. It made the dance feel a bit disjointed if I'm honest. The only times when they seemed to go quickly was when they were running back to the mic stand to break out of hold. I agree with some who say that after last week, Kevin probably simplified things a lot for Frankie, maybe too much. If you compare this to the Quickstep he did with Susanna last year, the routine he devised for Susanna was much more difficult. You could argue that Frankie and Susanna were about equal on that particular dance - Susanna's was more complicated but Frankie performed hers better. Anyway, yes, the 10 was a bit too high but she did pretty well with this. As for next week, she could be doing either dance style. If it's Latin then I hope it's the Jive for her, if it's Ballroom, then I'd like her to be the next to do the Argentine Tango.
Judges' scores: 8, 9, 10, 10 for a total of 37/40
My score: 8
Jake & Janette - American Smooth - "Feeling Good"
Damn, I was hoping for the Muse version, but they had to make it Mickey flipping Bubble. This dance basically showcases why I can't stand the backing dancers - too much of 'Janette and the Dreaded Backing Dancers' and not enough Jake. She needs to sort his posture out, he's always either too hunched or too upright. I was really looking forward to Jake being on this year, but he's with the wrong pro. This series should be proof to the producers to not give Janette contenders ever again, as she just isn't up to it. The fact that it took 30 seconds (about a third of the way through the dance) to even get into hold should tell you a lot about this routine. Without calculating it exactly, probably only about 35-40 seconds of that dance was actual American Smooth. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I'm starting to think that Mark will get to the final over Jake (and if Jake, or rather Janette, can't buck his ideas up and quick, then I'd say Mark deserves it). Jake has Samba this week, I'm hoping for good things but it depends on Janette's choreography, so it's safe to say that my expectations aren't that high.
Judges' scores: all 9s for a total of 36/40
My score: 6.5
Sunetra & Brendan - Samba - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Ray & Camilla in series 4*
Hen party themed Samba? Sounds like the song should have been 'Spice Up Your Life'. Sunetra has always struggled with the Latin dances, and sadly this was more of the same. I don't know whether her problem is with the faster rhythm, or if it's a case of changing rhythms that she has a hard time with. Either way, Latin is not for her. Again, it took around 25-30 seconds for the dance to properly start. Seriously, why all this faffing around? It might tell a story but really, you should be able to tell it without all that. For an actress, Sunetra doesn't seem to get into the performance much in the Latin, and you could tell when she went wrong in this dance, her face always showed it. She didn't show as much precision in her arm placement as she usually does in the Ballroom, and she doesn't seem able to really give it some welly, as Len would say; in the Latin you need to be able to give a good performance, and Sunetra hasn't really been able to do it so far. She seems to need dances where there's a character involved (like the Paso and the Rumba on the Latin side, and the Tango, American Smooth etc on the Ballroom side) - compare that to Jake, who's able to give a performance no matter what the dance. For next week, she's apparently doing a Waltz, which should be great for her; gives her more confidence as she can do the elegant and ethereal, and so she should be right back up there.
Judges' scores: 6, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 30/40
My score: 6
Simon & Kristina - Argentine Tango - "El Tango de Roxanne"
I love this song, shame that the singer ruined Ewan McGregor's part then. Onto the dance itself. I've criticised Simon before for being too fluid when he's meant to be masculine and staccato. There was lots of authentic Argentine Tango content in this routine, and I thought he executed it well (albeit there wasn't much for him to do really). Where he fails for me is the performance - the man in this dance is meant to lead, and look masculine; but it looked as though Kristina was leading and Simon is still too fluid for the performance to look genuine. As I've said in a previous blog, with the Tango/Paso Doble/Argentine Tango, the male celebs should really look at previous dances to see how they should act the performance. I've used him as an example before, but look at Mark Ramprakash's Argentine Tango - he just oozed masculinity and got it spot on as well as the technique. The 10s were for Kristina and Kristina alone (and that was the case with her AT with Jason Donovan too), and they were too high. Next week, Simon needs to have a fast dance where he can combine technique with performance. So a Salsa for him please.
Judges' scores: 8, 10, 10, 10 for a total of 38/40
My score: 7.5
Judy & Anton - Viennese Waltz - "Let's Go Fly a Kite"
Her best dance! I'm so glad that Judy can go out on a high, I'dve been gutted for her if she had to leave on last week's Paso Doble. I was quite critical of Anton last week, but he got it bang on with this Viennese Waltz, perfect mix of storytelling and routine. Judy was so much better, especially in hold. Her posture was much better, her footwork was much better, her arms were much better. And the ending was brilliant. She had a few stumbles, particularly when she first got into hold with Anton, but this was such an improvement. Judy's performance in the dance-off was definitely the best that she's done this series. She's the kind of person that you want on the show - like Alison, she knows she's not the best dancer, but she'll give you 100% each and every time. I'm going to miss her for sure.
Judges' scores: 4, 6, 7, 7 for a total of 24/40
My score: 6
Mark & Karen - Charleston - "We No Speak Americano"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Holly & Artem in series 9*
I thought with the success of Mark's Quickstep and Jive, that this would be the perfect dance for him. Unfortunately, it wasn't. He started off well, but seemed to lose energy quite quickly and he was very slow towards the end. However, I do think that it wasn't a dynamic routine, and the music was at fault for that. The tricks were good, and the technique was too (great swivel from him at the beginning), but it was the performance that was lacking for me. It wasn't as if Karen was overdancing it, the music was just a bit slow for a Charleston and so you kind of have to tone it all down a bit. With better music he could have gone for it a lot more, and I think he could have got to top of the leaderboard in that scenario. Mark has Tango next week - I've been wanting him to do this dance for a while, as I think this could be the one that tests him; he hasn't had to properly do a serious dance yet (Superman Paso doesn't count) and it's a different test in terms of technique. This could be the 'make or break' dance for him, but I sincerely reckon he'll do well with it.
Judges' scores: all 9s for a total of 36/40
My score: 7.75
Pixie & Trent - Paso Doble - "The Eve of War"
Gladiator themed Paso? Hmm. I did like the music for this one, very dramatic. The backing dancers did get in the way a bit though, you struggled to focus on Pixie & Trent at times. I thought the choreography was hit and miss, but hit more often. Like with a lot of the others tonight, Pixie was lacking in the performance, she was meant to be serious yet you could see her smiling on occasion. She was also lacking a little in technique, not enough shaping for me. Even the skirt-swishing wasn't as good as Frankie's, and you guys know I hate skirt-swishing. I didn't find the routine dramatic enough, it didn't feel to me like a Paso Doble. 10s were unwarranted I thought. Pixie is one who hasn't done a dance with lifts yet, so I want her to be challenged next week with either an American Smooth or a Charleston.
Judges' scores: 9, 9, 10, 10 for a total of 38/40
My score: 7.5
Steve & Ola - American Smooth - "Rolling in the Deep"
Odd song choice for an American Smooth. The first half of the dance was just weird, you couldn't see either of them properly due to that wafting blue cloth. I don't know what Ola was thinking with the choreography, not much of it was Foxtrot (if that was their base, I couldn't really tell); most of it was just spinning and pivots. The lifts were great, all credit to them for that, but there was just something missing for me - like Jake's, it wasn't what I would call an American Smooth. For next week, I'd like him to go back to a fast dance, so I would choose the Jive for him.
Judges' scores: 7, 8, 8, 8 for a total of 31/40
My score: 6.75
Caroline & Pasha - Jive - "Crocodile Rock"
*RECYCLED SONG ALERT - Lisa & Brendan in series 6*
For me, this was my dance of the night. Pasha gave Caroline a difficult routine, and she performed it with aplomb! Just the one real error from her - she missed a small part of the side-by-side kicks and flicks section. Apart from that though, absolutely brilliant. One thing though: did she have smaller heels on than usual? It looked like that, at times she seemed incredibly tiny. I know she's only 5ft 4 or something like that, but she looked really short. Caroline has been confirmed as doing the American Smooth - this will be her first dance with lifts, so I'm expecting the transitions to maybe be a bit sticky. Like Mark, this is probably Caroline's 'make or break' dance - her last (and only) slow Ballroom brought her to the bottom 2, so she needs to really make this one count. If she can't, then I think her chances of winning are gone as apart from the AT, she only has slow Ballrooms left.
Judges' scores: 9, 9, 9, 10 for a total of 37/40
My score: 9
Strictly Leaderboard:
=1. Simon & Kristina, Pixie & Trent - 38
=3. Frankie & Kevin, Caroline & Pasha - 37
=5. Jake & Janette, Mark & Karen - 36
7. Steve & Ola - 31
8. Sunetra & Brendan - 30
9. Judy & Anton - 24
My Leaderboard (marks multiplied by 4)
1. Caroline & Pasha - 36
2. Frankie & Kevin - 32
3. Mark & Karen - 31
=4. Simon & Kristina, Pixie & Trent - 30
6. Steve & Ola - 27
7. Jake & Janette - 26
=8. Sunetra & Brendan, Judy & Anton - 24
Dance-off: Sunetra & Brendan vs Judy & Anton. About time. All of the ties on the leaderboard were the problem - when you have 2 couples tied on a score above you, it's more difficult to save yourself as you now have to definitively beat 2 people on the public vote, rather than just 1. With how the leaderboard was, Steve had to have had more votes than Sunetra (otherwise he would have been in the DO instead); Judy could have beaten Steve by 1 voting position and still been in the DO. It's the right bottom 2, and hopefully this gave Sunetra the kick she needs.
Elimination: Judy & Anton. Based purely on the DO (which is what this bit is supposedly for but we all know different), I actually would have saved Judy - she danced her Viennese Waltz a lot better the second time around, whereas Sunetra seemed to make more mistakes. But as we all know the judges can use whatever criteria they like, it's right that Sunetra was saved, as we know that in Ballroom at least, she has the potential to give us a 'WOW' dance, which can't be said about Judy. I'm actually looking forward to Judy & Anton's exit interview on ITT, and I didn't think I'd be saying that.
Recycled song count now stands at 31.
Well that's another week over and done with. To be honest, I'm starting to get a bit disillusioned with the show this year - I don't really have a favourite to back, just partnerships where I'm struggling to like either the celeb (Pixie, Frankie, Mark and Sunetra to different extents), the pro (Janette/Ola/Pasha) or both (Simon & Kristina). There's too much producer influence now, when they actually sit in on training sessions so that the choreography might be changed, then something is definitely wrong. If you can't trust the pros to do anything, then what's the point of having them 'teaching' their celeb? The producers decide the music, the themes, the costumes, the choreography (occasionally) - it's getting like X Factor now and I'm seriously hoping it picks up soon. I'm still a fan of the show, but it does get annoying when at least once a week you think the following: 'what are the judges smoking?' 'are the music-pickers deaf? 'the singers/costumes are awful' etc etc. The show needs to be stripped back a bit - allow the pros to pick the music, let the couples have more of a say in their costumes/theme; still have a choreography team on hand, but reduce their influence, I could go on.
Reality TV nowadays is getting more scripted and manipulated than ever. Strictly, X Factor, The Apprentice, Big Brother, even I'm A Celeb has its moments. But here's the thing - people are now starting to wise up, yet they still watch these things each year. With X Factor, it's probably the case that you watch it hoping that it wouldn't be as manipulated as it was before, only to find that it's even worse. I'm starting to see Strictly in the same way. TV shows that involve voting - we should be able to vote for who we want, for whatever reason we want; not who the producers want us to vote for. We've survived this long, we're clearly not stupid. Yet people get put into boxes and are edited to fit those boxes - surely we should be able to judge for ourselves?
I endeth this little rant and this blog post with the following: we all have brains. We just need to be trusted to use them.
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