The Judges 2018

Time to wipe the 2017 slate clean, and I look forward to seeing the fearsome foursome in action again soon.
I think it's still Cr aig, Shirley, Darcey & Br uno for 2018?

B4p wrote: Time to wipe the 2017 slate clean, and I look forward to seeing the fearsome foursome in action again soon.
I think it's still Cr aig, Shirley, Darcey & Br uno for 2018?

Yes certainly all the same judges.

Hi CC. Let's hope they've got some different soundbites

I'm hoping for a 0.5 paddle to be introduced and the public vote used if a deadlock. ..

Shirley Ballas has been on Ken Bru ce's Radio 2 show every day this week choosing tracks of her years.

I thought Shirley’s parting remark to Sean ‘I liked your hair’ was brilliant after her comments last week. She brought an end to the ‘dance di-saaaster’ criticism beautifully.

Br uno is having a week off Saturday 20 October. Will there be a guest judge, or just the other 3 I wonder?

Br uno's replacement for next week. From The Fresh Prince of Bel air TV show - Alfonso Ribeiro

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7481459/Silver tongued Italian Stallion-tonioli-strictly-come-dancing-replaced-alfonso-ribeiro/

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Br uno Tonioli will be replaced on the judging panel for one weekend by Fresh Prince star Alfonso Ribeiro, Sun Online understands.

The Carlton Banks actor, 47, is no stranger to the ballroom having won the American equivalent of the BBC show, Dancing with The Stars, in 2014 with professional dancer Witney Carson.

B4p wrote:Br uno's replacement for next week. From The Fresh Prince of Bel air TV show - Alfonso Ribeiro

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7481459/Silver tongued Italian Stallion-tonioli-strictly-come-dancing-replaced-alfonso-ribeiro/

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Br uno Tonioli will be replaced on the judging panel for one weekend by Fresh Prince star Alfonso Ribeiro, Sun Online understands.

The Carlton Banks actor, 47, is no stranger to the ballroom having won the American equivalent of the BBC show, Dancing with The Stars, in 2014 with professional dancer Witney Carson.

Seems like a daft choice. He is not a professional and is there merely because he won Dancing with the Stars. I shudder to think why they didn't just ask An.ton to fill in.

Entirely agree CC. There's so many perfectly good candidates to choose from, with better dance credentials...Natalie Lowe, Erin, A.nton, Ian Waite etc etc.

Well, I hope at least that the guest judge isn't given a 10 paddle like Donny Osmond.

Well on ITT tonight Alfonso announced he was going to be 'the nice' judge. Also mentioned that he'd noticed the British show was more concerned with footwork and actual dance, rather than the USA theatrical/entertainment angle. Clever boy - now hide his 9 and 10 paddles please.

CaledonianCraig wrote:
Seems like a daft choice. He is not a professional and is there merely because he won Dancing with the Stars. I shudder to think why they didn't just ask An.ton to fill in.

Given the amount of actual experience the producers could easily command (as you say, C.C, A nton, plus Erin, Ian, Camilla etc, even maybe ask L en back for a one off cameo) it does make one wonder where all the daft decisions originate. It's a T.V show and ratings are the altar of supreme worship, so maybe it isn't too hard to figure, but to fly an amateur in to do a professional job seems utterly bonkers when the show is knee deep in experienced toe-twinklers. All that said, having had a wee bit of behind-the-scenes exposure personally, I shouldn't be at all surprised. Hey, it's 2018 after all...Anybody be watching the T.T from the Isle of Persons?

Well how do you think the guest judge Alfonso did this week?

I thought he made some relevant comments. He wasn't afraid to differ from the other judges in viewpoint, but his scores remained similar to theirs. I liked his banter with Cr aig and his opening Br uno impression. Mostly upbeat. I think he did ok. T ess seemed to be listening to him, rather than interupting which is always a bonus.

B4p wrote:Well how do you think the guest judge Alfonso did this week?

I thought he made some relevant comments. He wasn't afraid to differ from the other judges in viewpoint, but his scores remained similar to theirs. I liked his banter with Cr aig and his opening Br uno impression. Mostly upbeat. I think he did ok. T ess seemed to be listening to him, rather than interupting which is always a bonus.

He did better than I thought as far as stand-ins go but long-term it does need a true dance expert.

I thought he did well, mostly upbeat but some sensitive critique when needed. He actually made some quite pertinent comments. I found myself not missing B.runo in the short term.

I thought he did ok - it was obvious that he had done a bit of homework on the performances to date, he was taking it seriously and I thought he gave some sensible critiques and held his own with the other judges.  I also saw him make the comments about Strictly being more 'stricter' than the US version, he gave the impression that the US show is a bit of a 'free for all'.  It was almost like they had advised him to mirror Shirley with his scores and I was mightily relieved that he didn't start throwing the '10's around - it was bad enough that D arcey succumbed tonight.   All in all, I felt Alfonso was the best guest judge that we have had.

I don't know if you noticed, but on Friday's ITT when Gethin was giving a preview of some of the dance practices on the show room floor, Alfonso was sitting at the judges desk watching the dancers and making notes. He also said he'd watched the VT's for all the shows this series. He did his homework and managed not to upset folks which is half the battle! I liked his horseplay with Cr aig on the Result Section, (on the judges viewpoint) when they were demonstrating 'reacting to another person's move, when Cr aig pretended to punch him. Very funny.

I must say that I think the 4 judges are working well together this season. Darcey has stepped up her input, and Shirley has relaxed down. They all look like they're getting on and having a ball. Sometimes the comments don't match the scores but hey-ho.

If you think back to last weekend it shows up the judge's for over-marking and over-gushing. After Dr Ranj danced on Saturday night he got gushing marks and remarks across the board ending up with 31. Charles scored 27 and remarks were far less gushing. That being the case you felt after the dance-off it would be Dr Ranj they saved. They all said both had upped their performance levels yet Charles was saved. That tells me they were bigging up Dr Ranj after his dance too much.