It Takes Two 2014

Blimey - the Thom Doll doing the Charleston - why is it making me laugh?

Enjoyed the show tonight - CRH really good as usual and a lot more down to earth and constructive than when he is on the show.

The more I think about it the more I am sorry that G regg and A liona have gone out - they were fun and watching the dance again, it was actually a good routine and he was very light footed, pity that he had a problem remembering the sequences - I thought he was refreshingly honest about that. I thought that he would at least be able to poll as many votes as some of the other celebs - Masterchef being such a popular programme- but I was wrong, as I was wrong about Judy Murray being a dead cert for the dance off!! (oh well). Jennifer didn't deserve to go out either so I'm glad she will be staying.

I didn't realise Thom scored some 7s for his Salsa until tonight's ITT - rather generous considering! Poor Thomdoll, I don't think he's quite the life and soul of the party that he thinks he is...

Gregg was very sweet. He's had people (elsewhere) calling him pervy and annoying but during the short space of time he was there, I grew rather fond of him (but not his dancing, so I'm fine with him leaving!).

I suffer the same inability to tell my left from right as Sunetra (who I'm warming to more and more). I have to think really hard about which is which, and even then I sometimes get it wrong, it's ridiculous. Nice tip from Brendan to make an L shape with your left hand. I worry about how little time Sunetra has to rehearse though - one day and 2 hours isn't much at all. That said, I think an American Smooth will suit her and is probably the dance most befitting of movie week.

Just caught up with last night's ITT- I thought C-raig was very good in his critique he comes across much more constructively on ITT
I really don't get the hype around Thom- he just doesn't do it for me, there's no connection at all. But I loved Iveta's antics with Tess on Saturday night.
I can only assume that Judy was safe on the back of A.nton's popularity-I don't see any rhythm there at all and think she should have been in the dance off. That said, there are a few that I think will be going in the next few weeks and I'm not that bothered about the order. I love Strictly as you know but I think there are too many celebs- I am only just remembering who's who with some of them ( must be getting old) and it all,seems a bit rushed- we hardly saw Gregg at all last night and there's too many to talk about.
That said, autumn weekdays aren't complete without ITT and I really enjoyed the Friday panel last week.
looking forward to training Clips and wardrobe previews for Film Week

Sorry but I intensly dislike New York New York! One awful night a micklemas do and THAT song played 8 times enough said.
Praying Mantis can sharpen up her moves in the training room maybe that's why Thomdoll looks so sterile? Keeping his head.
So far felt Sat one too long a show please keep it between A Friday and Saturday evening and two dances only.

Re we talking the Frank Sinatra New York New York then? "These little town blues etc etc"?

If so, as someone a lot further up said (think it might have been B4P) - how is that going to work? For a Charleston? Either they are going to something with the version from "On the Town", as I suggested earlier - and even that would be pushing it a fair bit - or else dearest Thom has got it all wrong....

Sid wrote:I didn't realise Thom scored some 7s for his Salsa until tonight's ITT - rather generous considering!

James was livid with the 7 scores. Something on the lines of - he fluffs his steps, does a messy lift, nearly drops her on her head and they both end up on the floor and they give him 7?. He'd score him 4 at most and that's being generous.

He was also scathing that Pixie had got 1 point less than Jake who he thought was f@£$ing brilliant!

Scott, Steve & Jake on Weds ITT

Am officially an Alison fan. Feel she's refreshingly honest and is bringing out a rather playful side to Aljaz (who, I must admit, I found a bit forgettable last year even though everyone was lusting over him at the time and he won)

B4p wrote:
James was livid with the 7 scores. Something on the lines of - he fluffs his steps, does a messy lift, nearly drops her on her head and they both end up on the floor and they give him 7?. He'd score him 4 at most and that's being generous.

He was also scathing that Pixie had got 1 point less than Jake who he thought was f@£$ing brilliant!

Well whaddaya know, I'm agreeing with James Jordan

It all feels rush rush still on ITT.Scott when he said Oceon theme I thought Titanic?Ghost Ship? Posidon Adventure? But no little Mermaid!!! Ooh Donny Osmond guest judge this weekend! Oh dear another Lion theme for Steve that mwans a Raquel Welch style outfit for O.la.

saxonsiren wrote:It all feels rush rush still on ITT.

I thought exactly the same last year and the year before in the first few weeks. They really need to make it at least 45mins for the first 3 weeks or so until some of contestants have been whittled away. 3 couples a night is just too much to cram in in half an hour whilst still maintaining features like choreography corner and Wednesday warm up (all of which I love and which are equally rushed in the first weeks as there are so many to get through and comment on).

Basically we want longer ITT!

AND and ITT after the final to interview the runners up and salute the glitter ball holders. These people, though in the final, never get that nice bit of refelection on their J word and the footage of their best moments - I always feel they are robbed.

Do you think we could petition the Beeb? (prob not, but I thought I'd ask.... )

The BBC never listened last year or the year before! We ccan only hppenext year they start ITT a week BEFORE the show and a week AFTER!
ITT I love choreography corner,Ian's wednesday warm up and the FNP! Squeezing three couples in plus extras just makes a rushed show! The BBC haa a jewel in SCD and ITT so lool after it,nuture it and LISTEN to your fee paying fans!

Thursday ITT is really enjoyable all round!

Now they said the costumes spent SEVEN weeks sticking those sparkling beads and bits on O.la's lepord printed dress. Now does that mean music/song was already chosen for them seven weeks in advance? Or the pros were told of the songs REGARDLESS of who their celebs were assigned with weeks in advance? Bear in mind they are now getting to the third week, and that plus three weeks before the first live show only covers five-six weeks, so how would the seven weeks of sticking beads/bits on O.la's already decided lepord dress come about?!

Also, during Frankie and Kevin's interview, Zoe seemed to imply very strongly the songs were foisted upon them. She asked Kevin how hard it was to be given the song (in their case, Rock n Roll) and then having to fit the style (in their case Charleston), and Kevin tried to make light of it by saying it's a good challenge to do so.

Oh, now the celebs on Thursday. I am beginning to get Simon's character. He's quite in your face and appeared overly confident and seemed to like to muck about in front of the camera at Claud's backstage. But having heard him self-deprecating while mentioning his 'hard to please' mother during his Tango, I have to admit it made me smile. But then again he went to spoil it by saying 'If I am rubbish in rumba, maybe people would think I am bad in bed?!" which really made K.ristina looked uncomfortable!

Tim and Natalie, Tim is really touchy-feely isn't he? But they seemed to enjoy their training of their Charleston, so it's nice to see Natalie really encouraging to her celeb partner.

Now I did say I was worred about the Paso music of Frankie and Kevin, being compound-duple and then simple-triple and changing to something even more complex throughout the song 'America', but judging from their training footage it now fills me with hope that they will do a decent job (at least!) with the Paso! Frankie seemed really good at remembering the choreography and I supposed my initial worry about the unusual timing of the song to Paso was misplaced! Good for them!

CD Im sure on one of the past series of ITT they advised at the start they have all the celebs in and make a series of rough designs for various dances!As one celeb who i forget didn't get to wear their dress as got voted out! They used the top and added new bottom for another celeb!
If they stopped faffing about sticking crystals,beads and sequinns on dresses we might get some gorgeous Chiffon,voille,lace,silk,velvet etc actual material coverage

I've just been reminding myself of America, courtesy of Youtube.... And I think the music-only sections which intersperse the verses will work quite well for the Paso - even some of the choreography in the first music section with the men has some typical macho paso posturing... I'm guessing they will take that section for their minute and a half rather than the verse section. It has some underlying anger and emotion which I think will be great for the paso. I'm actually looking forward to it!

diamondsandpearls wrote:I've just been reminding myself of America, courtesy of Youtube....  And I think the music-only sections which intersperse the verses will work quite well for the Paso - even some of the choreography in the first music section with the men has some typical macho paso posturing...  I'm guessing they will take that section for their minute and a half rather than the verse section.  It has some underlying anger and emotion which I think will be great for the paso.  I'm actually looking forward to it!

Certainly you can do flamenco in that song, on with foot 'stomping' on the slow three beats...

Just to add, I must say Jake's waltz training is looking good too, and ThomDoll's charleston didn't look half bad.

Also, Zoe and Ian used America for their Showdance and it very much had a Paso feel to it. And I thought they pulled it off (despite Ian taking a tumble!).

Must say, tonight's ITT was probably the best so far this series. Not only didn't it feel as rushed as usual but I felt very positively about all three couples.

Like you CD, I'm finally getting Simon. He's not boring that's for sure!

Tim's a hoot.

And then we had Frankie and Kevin, a partnership I've been slightly unsure about. I wondered if Frankie was maybe bit too young, shy and reserved for Kevin but after watching tonight's ITT I think they're gelling very nicely. Frankie seems lovely - not loud but still able to have a laugh and ever so elegant on the dancefloor. I'm pleased I've warmed to them as up til this point I was finding the young pretty ones all a bit on the bland side.

Vicky Gill's section's great.

Sid wrote:And then we had Frankie and Kevin, a partnership I've been slightly unsure about. I wondered if Frankie was maybe bit too young, shy and reserved for Kevin but after watching tonight's ITT I think they're gelling very nicely. Frankie seems lovely - not loud but still able to have a laugh and ever so elegant on the dancefloor. I'm pleased I've warmed to them as up til this point I was finding the young pretty ones all a bit on the bland side.

I still don't get Pixie. She's professional and friendly. That's the best I can say about her. She has that raspy inflection in her speech, which I find slightly annoying (irrational, I know), seeing she's supposed to be a singer, she should know by allowing her voice to gravel like this it's not doing wonders to her vocal chords, her means of livelihood. But more importantly I still feel she's doing this just as a gig, as means to raise her profile for a new album and nothing more.

I am not saying others are doing the show just for the 'love of dancing' (like Natalie Gumede would have us believe last year), but the rest of the celebs seem to be a little more invested in the show, and seem to connect with their pro partners beyond a mere 'professional' level (going into a more friendly level, some into the 'bonking' level like ThomDoll but that's an entirely different subject matter)...

cellar-door wrote:Now they said the costumes spent SEVEN weeks sticking those sparkling beads and bits on O.la's lepord printed dress. Now does that mean music/song was already chosen for them seven weeks in advance? Or the pros were told of the songs REGARDLESS of who their celebs were assigned with weeks in advance? Bear in mind they are now getting to the third week, and that plus three weeks before the first live show only covers five-six weeks, so how would the seven weeks of sticking beads/bits on O.la's already decided lepord dress come about?! Also, during Frankie and Kevin's interview, Zoe seemed to imply very strongly the songs were foisted upon them.

I think I read in a couple of places that the Producers choose the themes, music and I also suspect, the dances.

It reminds me of the films where you see the Gods on Mount Olympus playing with the lives of the mere mortals which in Strictly land will be the Pros, celebs and viewers. Over the past 2 weeks, if 2 pairs have the same dance it's interesting that it's a weaker vs a stronger pair. I imagine the Production  team sitting round a table, earlier in the year saying 'right well we'll have a rugby player, wildlife expert, a singer, an oldie',  etc to set up the themes, costumes and music. Then the tactics start with the extra twists like Kevin had this week, a Charleston done to Jive music - 'lets see how they deal with THAT one shall we?' or 'lets use this particular music again and see if they're as good as XYZ in previous shows'. I can't see the Pros being given the power of music or dances back again anytime soon with the current set up, but come the revolution.... (Wolfie)

With the costumes, the Pros go for measurements early in the summer, so the wardrobe team could be sworn to secrecy and told of the themes months in advance (and really the themes haven't changed much over the past few years - it's just which Pros get which theme this particular year). Even if the Pros don't know who they're partnered with until the reveal show, the Pro outfits could still be assembled before the series start, then have the finishing touches done nearer the week the costume is due to be used. I can't see wardrobe making 15x2 outfits from scratch within a few days in the early weeks.

Just my thoughts - nothing more

Know what you mean CD, so far Pixie's appeared a little blasé about it all.

ITT rush rush again barely one minute with Karen minus aka poorly Mark. Why why have half a couple on? And why then give her a minute? KH had too long a spot when we have so many contestants left
Simon same old attitude Im so good at everything I do! Kristina doing some serious PR for them both.

I didn't enjoy last night's Sax, I found it too hyper with Zoe and Joanne trying to out-enthuse each other. It was exhausting to watch! And I'm getting a little tired of the same questions being asked of the couples (e.g. "How proud / nervous / excited / happy / relieved were you?"). Would welcome a bit more spontaneity.

That said, I felt tonight was better.

I like it when Karen's not afraid to be critical about choreography. Shame she didn't cover Sunetra & Brendan's dance though, as there was a lot of praise for the choreography there and Karen could have pointed out how / why it was good.

I don't mind Simon at all. But Kristina has to stop complaining about their scores (she did it after the Tango as well, and I remember her doing the same thing last series when she was partnered with Ben).

Dare I say I'm almost starting to warm to ThomDoll?! And I think Iveta does a good job of defending her partner without it coming across as defensive.

Makes me howl with laughter whenever Iveta says 'congratulations'. I always think of Mark Benton last year who kept taking her off saying 'congratulations - now I will kill you' or 'keep out of my dance space - or I will kill you'. I love her humour. I'm glad she came back to Strictly

Zoe made me laugh when she said about the judges - 'Girls, boys and Br uno"

I loved Mark's humour last year and his Mr Bond's arch enemey voice re Iveta! Thou sorry but those openong scenes still makes me think Praying Mantis when Iveta pops on with Thomdoll and the tune "Maneater" playing in my head!

Sid wrote:I didn't enjoy last night's Sax, I found it too hyper with Zoe and Joanne trying to out-enthuse each other. It was exhausting to watch! And I'm getting a little tired of the same questions being asked of the couples (e.g. "How proud / nervous / excited / happy / relieved were you?"). Would welcome a bit more spontaneity.

That said, I felt tonight was better.

I like it when Karen's not afraid to be critical about choreography. Shame she didn't cover Sunetra & Brendan's dance though, as there was a lot of praise for the choreography there and Karen could have pointed out how / why it was good.

I don't mind Simon at all. But Kristina has to stop complaining about their scores (she did it after the Tango as well, and I remember her doing the same thing last series when she was partnered with Ben).

Dare I say I'm almost starting to warm to ThomDoll?! And I think Iveta does a good job of defending her partner without it coming across as defensive.

Gosh, are you a mind reader, Sid?!

Yes, I think Zoe becomes 'excited' when situation is awkward. Joanne was the same, and I think the problem is that behind the scene Scott was NOT happy where he was being pushed into and the two girls KNEW it.

I was a little disappointed that Karen didn't have the time to discuss Brendan's Smooth choreography too. There were so many things that reminds me of the classic SCD routine and I find not including it meant that the producers were NOT interested in 'proper' ballroom dancing.

After watching Kristina for three weeks now and I agree that she should stop complaining about low points. I think Simon was marked fairly. It's more that some other celebs were slightly overmarked, not because Simon was given too low the marks, so her 'complaints' might actually work AGAINST them not for them.

Lastly, I wasn't expecting ThomDoll to do well, but obviously the latest firmware update worked. He seemed to have broken through from that blank glassy-eyed monotone to something resembling a normal human being. His Charleston, though with timing issues, were actually enjoyble (even a little endearingly so) because you could tell he was trying to channel Gene Kelly in the routine, albeit not very successfully. And his mannerism on ITT today was that his smile was less model-y and more 'human'. Well done, the ThomDoll software designer!