2021 Weekly High 5s & Lows

The good, the bad, and the what...............was that!

Lots to like:

I like the personalities this year. Lots of egos and actors.
An ton wasn't beige
The judges were more specific in the areas where improvements could be made
I liked the variety of outfits from Wardrobe
Not too many props or CGI yet


Not so good:

Shirley talking quickly, and covering her mouth when reviewing Rose.
Shirley starting 'the fundamentals war' embarrassing Greg but especially Karen (who to her credit didn't respond but looked hurt).
T ess & Claudia contributing to said war by adding their '5 penn'orth' about fundamentals (you are not judges, or experts, so shut up and spare us your opinion on dance technicalities).
Shirley knock-out blow by taking a public swipe at Claudia's comments.
Judges salivating over the male contestant's hips yet again. Hello - its 2021. The males should complain, I'm sure the females would.


I could add that we've already had endless VTs of contestants families, babies, nanns, and it's only week 1.

Lots to like:

Some good partnerships including Giovanni and Rose, Johannes and John, and Graziano and Judi
New pros, especially Kai
AJ's jive  (though can't understand why the producers didn't use it as the show finale)
A lot of the middlers could have potential


Not so good:
Shirley - clapping herself, being snipey, odd scores, early favouritisms
Robert taking on comedy mantle, please no

jingle wrote:
Shirley - clapping herself

I just took another look at this, and I think she was trying to clap Greg and Karen to soften the blow of her harshness about fundementals, rather than herself. It was all rather awkward, that's for sure. I missed Tess talking about fundementals, but very much enjoyed Greg's quip that they were in a truss...

Here we go...

HIGHS

The general excitement and bonhomie that Strictly always engenders and didn't disappoint with in this show
Tess's dress
The adorableness of at least four of the couples - lovely chemistry
Daniel Walker becoming Daniel and not a Dad Dancer (well, until he gets a latin...)
A nton being actually not as grating or 'ha ha marvellous' as a judge as I imagined. A better judge than pro teacher, for sure
Giovanni taking on the role of pupil and learning some sign language
Gorka in a tango suit
John and Johannes showing that us that it is always about the dancing and that same sex couples dancing is just as brilliant as opposite sex couples

LOWS

Discovering that Willoughby is actually a rather dull and pedestrian middle-aged lovey with none of the energy and pzazz of the similarly-aged Bill Bailey
The general level of glamour and sparkle in the dresses - very poor and not up to usual standards
Tom being on first and being severely undermarked
Tom and Amy testing positive and having to isolate
Katies' hairline which reached mad-professorial heights
Adam's Pecs (put them away man!)
Nikita's floppy fringe and cheeky act
the Rasputin Cha cha cha

[quote="diamondsandpearls" I missed Tess talking about fundementals, but very much enjoyed Greg's quip that they were in a truss...[/quote]I thought his quip was brilliant. So fast and dry

Hello gang.  I’m buckled in and ready for another roller coaster.  Here are my highs and lows from Saturday:-

HIGHS

Some of the pros are really impressing me with the way they are caring for their partners, especially Giovanni and Graziano.

I am loving the AJ (who???) and Kai (who???) partnership.  Hope they go far.

Nina and Dan were both a pleasant surprise for me.

LOWS

Rhys and Nancy MUST tone it down a notch (or two).

Robert MUST ditch the comedy angle.

Second biggest disappointment for me is that Greg isn’t much of a dancer (and he’s drawn the short straw with Karen).  I have a girlie crush on Emma Thompson so really wanted him to go far but I fear he won’t.

Main complaint though was Shirley.  Inconsistent, clearly favouring some and letting her personal feelings for others influence her comments and marks.  Not what I want to see in a head judge

High's.

Standard of progress for so early. No Tugboat Annies. As stated, pros are doing a good job. Karen's C.C out of the way, we might get some decent dance now, although we can more or less guarantee a negligee and bare feet rumba..

Lows..

Shirley's exposure, nuff said.
the fabu-u-lus darling one's 3's. Give em a chance man. None were that bad or worth less than 5.
G.B.P at work already.
Dreading J &J'S rumba. I'm old-fashioned like that..

That's about it.

Highs

We are all here again on our fabulous Forun
SCD back
Dan being quite good


Lows

The ghastly Frocks from the abandoned AmDram dress up box
Losing Neil
Greg not being Bill
Losing Neil
Musical Choices
Couples Choice omg week 2!
Losing Nina and Neil

Movie Week

Highs
I liked some of the CGI.
Dave Arch and The Singers did some great work
Make-up.  I liked some of the costumes especially Rose's white beaded dress, AJ dressed as Whitney, the pirate outfits, and the fact that Tom was dressed conservatively and not as the usual US High School kid. I liked Nadiya's Princess Auora's dress.
Claudia mentioning Dave Arch and The Singers.
I thought An ton had a good mix of humour and technical comments.
I liked Shirley in her Tuxedo suit in the Results Show.
Liked Cr aig's sparkly black jacket.
Johannes getting emotional about getting his first 9 then a 10.

Lows
I can't tell the difference between Movie and Musicals night. Combine them or lose one. It's getting too repetitive and predictable.
Poor Diane buried under her piggy proboscis all night.
Claud dressed in her black pyjamas.
None of the judges mentioning 'spade' hands or 'in-toeing' this year.
Couples Choice shouldn't be used on a theme night. It's like a 'get out of jail free' card. Better still get rid of CCs unless it's either a tighter choice, or everyone doing a CC on the same night. I look forward to seeing Rhys in a sedate ballroom.
Bizarre marking by the judges. Several over-marked imo.
Shirley bigging up the ridiculous in an effort to give some positive feedback. Last weeks comment about getting the right arm/left leg action correct as that was so hard???????? and this week about the difficulties of doing a kick-ball change - puh-lease!
Tess chipping in when the judges are speaking yet again, and telling one of the males how 'sweet his little face looked'.

Highs

Agree its great to be back on the forum.
In theory great to see SCD back too.
I enjoyed John & Johannes dance loved the energy
A.nton again good comments & feels right at home as a judge


Lows

10's! for me not yet in week 3
over marking & tactical marking I felt for some couples
Costumes! please let us have some old fashioned glorious dresses from the past series.
Shirley, obvious her favourites & who is not
Music choices again some ok and some MISS!

Posted my likes and dislikes in the wrong thread, but I'll say again here what a dazzling display of period sequence style dancing by the pros to open the show. . Music, costumes and dance...superb.

Highs

The wonderful Dave Arch and his band and singers. Loved their rendition of The Muppet Show - the voice characterisations were spot on.

C.raig's gag about having Gorka before him on all fours was a real laugh out loud moment.

Rose's beautiful foxtrot. Really gorgeous.


Lows

Continued preferential treatment to Greg.

Johannes weeping (AGAIN). It is getting tiresome now.

Dan's dance disaaaster darling.

Working out what to make of Couples' Choices and how to mark it.

Week 5


Highs
I thought whoever sang for Rose's dance did a fine job. I do wish the individual singers were mentioned. Claud has done it once or twice. It really doesn't take that long.
I like that the CGI and props are being kept low key, (mind you that will change with Halloween next week)
An ton has been precise in what pleased him, and what the contestants should work on for next week (as all the judges should be doing imo).
I like how Claud keeps things moving in the Clauditorium
Motsi has been more constructive over the past few weeks.
Sara being dressed younger than a shampoo and set pensioner

Lows
Looks like Vicki Gill has raided Camden Market for skinny jeans this week.
Rhys not listening to the judges feedback but relying on his previous hip-hop style.
Rhys being given lots of negative feedback followed by high marks.
T ess continually saying 'Shirley's on her feet' (and butting in on Cr aig).
The camera angle not showing enough of the contestant's feet as they dance.
Judy and Ugo not feeling 100%

HIGHS

Loved the sunset yellow colour and silhouetted figures at the start of Sara's dance.

Dan getting on an even keel of sorts with a solid dance.

A week of no weeping from Johannes.

First dance from John and Johannes I really enjoyed.

C.raig's retort to T.ess claiming Ugo is a rugby player with no dance experience.


LOWS

Shir.ley going OTT with remarks claiming celebs are at World Championship level.

Shi.rley claiming Rhys has best hold of any Ce.leb she has seen but didn't she tell Dan the exact same earlier in the series?

Over the top praise and scoring even in dances with errors.

The poor outfits John and Johannes had to deal with.

Lows. Sorry if this is harsh

Not so many I'd call dreadful lows as it can't be too easy for the producers given Covid, illnesses and injuries but I am thinking more and more that a change of format is needed as it' all a bit predictable and jaded. L en and B runo are sadly missed for entertainment and Shirley and Motsi are not the best judges ever....

Family stuff and videos are over-the-top boring (hey we all have them and pets too, and I'm not meaning they aren't great, but it's a dance show...isn't it, not "This is your Wife!"? )

Dances are becoming almost unrecognisable due to complex routines and silly music. How many of the contestants can do a waltz at a wedding a month after ,leaving Strictly? I'm betting not many. Left, Right, Together and Slow, slow, quick-quick slow from a dance school will stay in memory far longer than Shirley's A to Z of tongue-twisting tango terms.


Highs..

Not so many highs for the same reasons. Really pleased Housewives choice has settled in and is doing well and Tom and Rose are still my choices, but a few are shading them. Hope no more accidents or incidents happen.

The dance standard is very decent for Week 5.

The techno lighting effects are amazing on T.V. Not sure what they are like in the studio?

That's it. Amen.

Halloween Week


Highs

I thought whoever sang Highway to Hell did a great job.
I liked AJ's Medusa outfit
Liked John's werewolf Quickstep
Loved Rose's dress and Tango
I liked the judges outfits, although An ton's looked a bit strange.
I think Claud is really good in the Clauditorium
Tilly's dreadful outfit.


Lows

Dan in that silly embarrassing lobster outfit. Totally unnecessary choice of costume and song. Stitched up like a - lobster!
Katya acting like a banshee to such a beautiful track.
Alijaz's CC - more like a Paso inspired show dance and a poor one at that.
Tilly did really well despite said dreadful costume.
Judy/Audi/Ludo. Her make-up made her look like she was crying. I thought for a minute she was 'wonder woman' with that headband on. Shame they didn't have time for rehearsal. I think they could have vamped up the costume a bit for Halloween, even if they had to change it for Zombie tracksuits.
T ess telling the judges, 'they want more than a 7', or 'they don't want to be in the dance-off again.' Really - who knew!

Highs

Always enjoy C.laudia with the couples.
Judges costumes I did like.
Loved Rose's Dance

Lows
Halloween Week, never liked it.
Lobster, Lobster, why oh Mother of God Why?
I know Dan as Christian not a fan of Halloween . Im sure thou could have been a better outfit than a hideous Lobster.
Costume Dept on a whole not a good Halloween selection.
Tess needs a reset button for her favourite phrases thou ar least the hand holding has stopped.
The Dances seem to have changed over the years and The Waltz, Charleston, Rhumba, etc being tweaked and losing their original moves, tempos.

Halloween Week not a fan

A real mixed bag....


HIGHS

Rose's Tango - really great and liked Giovanni's reaction to four tens.

Dan using adversity of silly outfits to characterize the dance to good effect.

An.ton and C.raig daring to offer criticism or tips.

The band and singers.....as always.

LOWS

Shirley's hissy fit when she turned to An.ton sushing him when he dared to criticize her darling Rhys.

Apparent massaging of egos bigging up and overly praising Tilly's dance because of the attack on her 'chubbiness' in the press.

Motsi and Shirley (in particular) offering 9s for dances they had offered criticism on.

Dan and Judi's crazy outfits - talk about a handicapping system.

Highs.

Not a lot, but good to hear a bit of classical music in there.
Toss-up between A.J, Rose and the Tearful Brothers for Dance of the night..
A nton's refreshing good sense in honest judging.


Lows.


Halloween night. Pugh, Pugh, Barney Magrew, Cuthbert Dibble and Grub are more sensible.
Pro's opener very fitting for the pantomime that is Halloween night. Bin time.
Shirley, lighten up. It isn't Cell Block H.
Motsi, just being Motsi..Nice but baffling.

Thats it.

I was too late to write my thoughts in the Honesty thread, so will reprise a few here

HIGHS

Opening pro dance in the results show - there's something very balletic about Nadiya, and I loved the storyline

AJ's medusa outfit, and her lovely viennese waltz. There's something about Kai's ballroom choreography which reminds me of Artem

Rose's outfit and make-up, plus a brilliant tango

I enjoyed J&Js quickstep - surprised when CRH said it was repetitive, I thought it was pretty full-on

Wasn't expecting Katya to emerge from the piano - great use of a prop.

Sorry to see Judi Audi Judo Ludo leave, although it was time to go. But I was touched by both her and Graziano's exit speeches, and hope he gets a contender next year.




LOWS

Opening pro dance in the main show - cartoon-ish music and bright lighting... just didn't set up a halloween atmosphere at all

Baffled by the lobster. Fair enough if Dan doesn't go with halloween, but.... a crustacean?

Rhys, Dan and Adam had aeroplane arms at times. Plus Adam and John both had sticky-out bottoms, although John was lucky that his long tailcoat covered it up.

Sara's Couples Choice was just dreadful, just a lot of stomping around, she was lucky to avoid the dance-off

My favourite, Adam, in the dance-off. He's not great, but personally I'm hoping he can at least outlast Dan, Sara and Tilly

jingle wrote:I was too late to write my thoughts in the Honesty thread, so will reprise a few here


AJ's medusa outfit, and her lovely viennese waltz. There's something about Kai's ballroom choreography which reminds me of Artem

I enjoyed J&Js quickstep - surprised when CRH said it was repetitive, I thought it was pretty full-on

That's very interesting about Kai being a bit like Artem in terms of the choreography - thinking about it I can see where you are coming from.

Agree with you Jingle about J+Js Quickstep - I didn't really understand CRH's comments at all in respect of repetition.

jingle wrote:
I enjoyed J&Js quickstep - surprised when CRH said it was repetitive, I thought it was pretty full-on

the fabu-u-lus darling one wants entertainment as opposed to dance skills. I agree with some of his points but his "bottom sticking out" and constant hip comment complaints are a bit boring and silly describing technique and have sexy undertones. He tends to give better marks and comments on Latin over ballroom. .

Week 7


Highs
I loved John's Rumba.
I enjoyed AJ's Charleston and thought she looked the part.
I thought Rose did a good clean Samba.
Some of the costumes were striking, like Tom's Paso outfit, Tilly's Tango dress, and AJ's Charleston outfit.
There's a new male singer singing the rockier songs. Don't know who he is but he's sounding good.
I liked the chess board CGI once it had filled the dance floor. Wasn't keen on the vertiginous start.


Lows
Some of the outfits were bizarre. What was Katya wearing? I can't remember seeing anyone down a pool hall dressed like that. Adam in his prison issue pjs. It would have looked better if they'd have been dressed like James Dean/Olivia Newton John style.
Why did Sara end up with an 1980s poodle perm?
Why was Gio in a Tuxedo as a photographer?
The blatant favouritism being shown to Rhys.
The outrageous scoring to fix favourites position on the scoreboard.

Just quickly I was angry when scores were being read out for Rhys. When C.raig's score of 7 was announced a female could be heard sneering: 'What?' Perhaps Motsi or Shirley. Damned unprofessional. The seven was a perfectly fair score in my opinion besides they should keep their opinion to their own marking.