2021 Weekly High 5s & Lows

I agree CC. I really didn't think it was worth an 8 yet alone a 9. If you watch it back towards the end and they separate, it all gets very scrappy.

I think too many couples are spending too much time at the beginning just wasting time and faffing about. One of the judges ought to comment on it. Yes, I realise it's tactical, but not fair on those who get judged and scored for the full 1.5 minute.

Couples are also spending more time out of hold than I can remember from previous series. Before, it was mainly on the American Smooth, now it seems that the ballroom hold is constantly being broken. Again, Shirley should remark on that as L en used to do and give the couples a verbal warning.

I totally agree about the scoring for Rhys - it just didn't match the comments from any of the judges or the standard of the dance. I felt the 7 was about right. I honestly would have scored it higher if they had done more of the moves in hold. Quick step is a ballroom n umber that should be done nearly all in hold - just like a Fox Trot or Waltz - end of story. I agree that some couples push the envelope with doing too much out of hold when it is not appropriate and they are not getting penalised let alone having it commented upon. However, I don't think we can rely on this to come from Shirley - she makes up the rules as she goes along and has clear (not subtle) favourites which to me isn't on for a head judge.

Highs[b]
Amy and Tom's Paso
Johannes and John's Rumba
Glad that Rose got through
I enjoyed the Irish n umber - particularly the two Irish dancers

[b]Lows
Shirley saying she would have saved Adam - why?
Scores for Rhys not matching comments
Getting fed up with some of the themes - pool hall? garage? - Its getting to that part of the contest where I want to see couples just come out and dance - time to ditch the props or ship out for me
Some of the costumes a bit weird.

Highs

Pro's Irish number. Really well done especially the two Irish male dancers. Great.

Tom's Paso, because it's getting harder weekly and he did well, despite the pants and clogs (matadors wear almost ballet slippers)

A.J's Charlston. Very authentic.

Lows..

Adam's pyjamas and a jive (which has to be Jill Halfpenny standard) against a tango, another unlike comparison. He's still a better dancer then Dan.

Ankle articulation....yeah, right Shirley..

Another random thing from the results show. CRH said prior to dance-off he would have had neither in the dance-off. Odd thing to say when the lowest marks he gave were to Dan and Adam (both sixes). You little fibber C.raig.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Another random thing from the results show. CRH said prior to dance-off he would have had neither in the dance-off. Odd thing to say when the lowest marks he gave were to Dan and Adam (both sixes). You little fibber C.raig.

Quite so, and if that were the case, just who would he have put in the dance-off? Impartial, never..!

TANGOLERO wrote:

Quite so, and if that were the case, just who would he have put in the dance-off? Impartial, never..!

The gist I got from his judging remarks it would have been Dan and Rhys as he was critical of Rhys but did mark him a seven.

How I saw Saturday's show:-

HIGHS

Rose and Giovanni's innovative and inspiring Couples' Choice dance.

An.ton maintaining a bit of sanity whilst the more experienced judges lost theirs.

A dance from Tilly and Nikita that I actually enjoyed.

An overall high standard of dances.

LOWS

C.raig's totally unwarranted slating of Dan and a score of 4.

Motsi and Shirley's unprofessional up on their feet cheerleading for Rhys and John's dances.

The overmarking of some with unwarranted 10s and undermarking of others.

C.raig's clear agenda to mark down a couple purely because he wants them out and not on the merit of the dance.

Week 8

Highs
Rose and Gio's Couple's Choice
Housewives choice finding the right blend of constructive criticism and encouragement.
Dan having his best dance week
A Charleston to the most traditional of Charleston music
A lovely Remembrance Sunday Pro dance (did I spot a new male dancer in there?)

Lows
Tactical scoring by the judges
AJ being at the bottom of the leader board (to avoid the danger of the middle table scores, or was her dance really the worst of the evening?)
Tom & John stalling this week
Not a big James Blunt fan
T ess and her endless twittering.

Highs.

Just sat back and enjoyed the show, because enjoyable it was.
Generally improved standards of dance and everyone trying hard.
A.J and Rhys dancing to the music and not the terms manual.
A nton's common sense judging.
The G,B,P voting magnifying general consensus for a change.


Lows

To quote B4p.."Tess's endless twittering"...Rinse and repeat....Old chesnuts and I'm really going to get a session in the stocks here, I know, but the thread is about honesty and I could never be a Trappist Monk after I swore at the chip monk) In fairness, I do feel sorry for Tess, but ( my opinion, not a rule) she's out of her depth and just isn't the person to be in charge of comparing Strictly, she doesn't have the personality and at times her nervousness and inexperience show. Claudia's great as a foil number two and all about personality, Tess is all about appearance. In short, the show needs a strong front man/person in the Brucie mould. It isn't Tess. She doesn't dance, sing or isn't a comedian and showing you legs isn't a redeeming feature. . Tomatoes at the ready....

Time ticking away for someone every show,

No Blackpool week.

Family videos,Pros leaving and I really feel the show is slowly going to the dogs. A new format is needed for next year if Strictly is going to continue as B.B.C's weekend flagship

Exits rapidly stage left...

Highs
Dan & Nadiya's Charleston.
Some of the CGI and props
Dave Arch, the band and marvellous singers
Oti in the Caberet Pro dance
AJ getting the bounce back votes.
I liked the Chim-Chiminee song, even though the dance was a bit meh - been there - seen it before.

Lows
A bit of a flat show for me: maybe it was because there was no Blackpool.
Narrow range of Musicals used every year. Time to ditch Musicals week.
T ess highlighting the contestants mistakes as they arrived at the judges station.
Motsi saying she didn't care about technique just the feeling of the dance. Time for Motsi to go.
An ton trying to cover for Motsi in the Results show by saying the technique is the support for expressing the dance (you can stop digging now An ton).
Shirley suddenly becoming Tilly's best friend after 10 weeks of crappy comments.
Tilly being over scored to try to keep her out of another dance off.
Tom going out on such a dismal song.
Outfits - just weird again. Has Vicky and Co. been on the cooking sherry?

Highs..

A decent show, but highs, few more than normal. All very predictable ' I suppose a laugh at Motsi's nonsensical hairstyle was a mild high. Dan's performance another.


Lows.

Tom's horrible music and sad performance to Couple's Choice. What did they actually choose?

Tilly's 40 marks to a childish classroom scene. Not her fault, but a lot over the top. Four 8's at most. I didn't understand the dance, sort of bookies tic-tac gone mad.

Deputy judge. Nice lady but obviously clueless on dance..

Tess. Irritating.

HIghs
Dan's Charleston - a very pleasant surprise in a good way
AJ's Waltz - Lovely arrangement of Edelweiss and we haven't seen many Waltzes this year
I liked most of the music choices for the show
The band and singers did a great job (as always) but especially with the Show n umbers this week
Opening routine from 'Cabaret' on Saturday night

Lows
The favouritism, the inconsistency in pointing out faults or not pointing out faults, and the tactical scoring of the judges - particularly overt this week I felt. It is getting too much.
Tilly's 40 - no way was that a '40' routine! I'm still surprised she escaped the DO given the outcry on Social Media about the overmarking.
Judges being overly mean to Tom and Amy and not giving them any credit for anything in their routine.
Tom and Amy getting the short straw on Musicals Week
Why are the producers obsessed with including Les Mis on these theme nights? It's been done a few times before. Whilst I'm not dissing Les Mis there are far better dance Musical choices that could be included for this theme night.
Motsi must go - the hair must have affected her brain because she seemed particularly incoherent this week.

Highs. Let me think about it.

Lows.
(Totally personal irritants, not general opinions) Weird music choices and Cynthia's nose ring. May just be me and not my business...not politically correct.

C laudia's over size white diving boots. White heels always remind me of Minnie Mouse. Claudia's look about three sizes too big. Like I say,may just be me. ( I like Claudia a great deal)

C raig's silly marking.

Retires to bed gibbering...

Highs.

Decent show and good work by all the five couple (now four) left.
Rhys right back on form.


Lows.

Baffled at the pros choreography at the start of both shows. Who's doing it , Mister Motivator?
Tess's thoughtless comments.(sorry, very un-Christian like of me, but she gets on my nerves calling everybody "darling") " I'm so sorry you're in the dance off" Ahh, I'm nit-picking again..

Beeb..spend a few bob and get a decent act on the results show.

Only two Strictly shows left.

As pointed out by others, too many lifts taking from the dances.

That's about it.

Highs
the band and singers
Not too many props this year
Cr aig & An ton are keeping their critiques mostly realistic and constructive.
Rhys has managed to step up to the next level and is now focussing on the intricasies of the dance.
Johannes's facial expression on 'landing' John's final lift. That look needs re-playing on a loop!

Lows
Crazy marking continues
Hopelessly general critiques with Shirley now joining Motsi in her 'feelings'. I would like more detail from a head judge.
Too much time spent off the ground instead of dancing.
AJ looking exhausted and burnt out.
Tess and her inane comments and interrupting of the judges. Maybe she was trying to lighten the mood by laughing when Cr aig commented 'dance disaster darling' on AJ's lift failure? Poor AJ was already mortified and upset.
Pro dance choreography has been a bit bizarre this year but most would have been pre-recorded in the summer.
If Alijaz and Oti are leaving this year, then why not just say so!

Highs
The joy of John and Johannes performance
A textbook American Smooth from Rose and Gio - I so enjoy it when they do the American Smooth at this later stage when the couples are more skilled.
Dan going out on a good performance and I did like the 'styling' of the routine
A nton and CRH (ditto B4Ps comments)
Rose, John and AJ all through to the semi final with two dances to look forward to.

Lows
Not too many ' Lows' but the show seemed so short and for me really needed something else to pad it out a bit. (not a danceathon!) Particularly as we are one couple down. Pre 2020 this was Musicals Week for a few years - didn't notice it so much last year when the series was shorter but in the absence of Blackpool again this year they needed something - maybe another theme night or starting to do 2 dances this week? This series seems to be fizzling out a bit for me, so hope the last two weeks are good.
They've all peaked now (except Rhys) and I think they should just work on keeping up the good -mistake free - dancing and entertaining us next week, instead of pushing the envelope too much with another lift fest - save it for the Final now.
Finally, Couples Choice in the Semi Final??? Grrrr....... (J +J)

My highs and lows from this week:-

HIGHS

Dan exiting on a high with a dignified and pleasing speech.

A great dance from Rose (my dance of the week).

In a perverse way the thrills of the spills to mix things up.

Sorry for pinching one of B4p's but I agree with regards to the grounded marking and critique from An.ton and C.raig.

LOWS

The embarrassing gaffe by Sh.irley regarding Rose 'hearing' the noise and cheers from the audience from Rhys' dance.

The embarrassing Rhys letting her guard slip wetting her pants over Rhys saying she wanted to hug him. Impartiality should be the No 1 priority of the Head Judge.

The seemingly clear signs in the opening pro dance on Saturday that Oti is exiting the show.

Spoilers leaking the result before it is aired. Fine the leak did not come from the BBC but we would need not worry if it was filmed and screened live on Saturday night.

The continued fanboyism of Motsi and Shirley to their favourites and their on their feet waving and cheering those dancers on mid-dance. Most unbecoming.

Quite happy to have no real Lows this week,(well no one is perfect I suppose..)

Just joking, it was a great Semi-Final week and all the performers excelled themselves. Shame one couple only will depart tomorrow and miss a place in the final after all their efforts. It will surely be John or Rhys and that's a shame, but Rose and A.J. were so very good tonight and sudden-death is the name of the game. The G.B.P are good at upsetting apple-carts, but it looks pretty clear cut. Time will, as ever, tell. Good luck to them all. .

Just popped back to say everybody excelled themselves fit for a final. Great shame, tragic really for A.J. (hope she soon gets over her injury)  and Kai who would have been in with a real shout. Take nothing away from Rose and Gio and the two J's; both 79 out of 80 from the judges tells the quality of dance and the whole show was great entertainment. Roll on next year, ( I never was too hot on roller skates; more Charlie Chaplin than Chris Dean.. ). I loved a chance to don evening dress if I hadn't kept getting mistaken for a doorman..I'll be somewhere around till then.

As Tiny Tim said.."God Bless us one and all.!"