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I have resented the judges' attempt to ram certain "stars", one of whom is Nicole, down our throats from the first show. While Nicole is, indeed, a wonderful dancer, I never felt an emotional connection with her and, frankly, her strange facial expressions put me off. I have had my eyes opened to dwts this season, and not in a good way. I have enjoyed every season, but this is definitely my last.
Not really! She deserves to win. She has been continually good week after week. Erin and Max are too Hokey for me. Evan seems a big stiff at times so Nicole and Eric deserve to be the big winners.
Nanu, part of the problem is that Nicole has been continually good. The show is about someone that learns and granted Nicole would have had to learn a proper ballroom waltz, most of the other dances would come much easier as she uses some of the moves when she performs.
Evan, one could argue he dances on ice but many of the moves are gliding and not dancing. Erin, as a youngster took some ballet but dance does not apply to her life now.
My hope, Evan or Erin will win because they did show improvement, exactly what this show is suppose to be about.
I think it's unfair to criticize Nicole BECAUSE she's so good. She isn't a ballroom dancer and had to learn just like the other celebs. But, the difference is she and the other 2 in the finals have continually put their hearts and minds into WANTING to improve week after week. Other celebs (Kate) continually whined every single week...she obviously didn't want to improve.
I will not watch the show after this season. I really like to see how the dancers improve over the course of the season. This season, it was obviously that Nicole was the "ringer" from the first show and that took alot away from the whole season. Then the judges made me nauseaus with all their antics about Nicole and basically just "couldn't be bothered" with the other pairs. That was really sad because all of the other pairs had to work alot harder than Nicole to get as far as they did. I am sad that they were not encouraged with their improvement instead of being "dismissed" so that the judges could rave about Nicole.
Linda Holmes, you proved your own point to be wrong. You admitted Nicole is lightyears ahead of Erin, yet you also point out the judges gave Erin the exact same score as Nicole. That proves they are dissing Nicole. BTW Erin is not all that great... dances by the numbers and is kinda stiff. To open by giving Erin 10's is totally unfair to a dancer that follows with a better performance...hint ...pssst.. Nicole. The judges nit pick Nicole to death rationalizing bringing her score down. They up talk Erin as if she's competent. Much more to it... not enough space to explain.
Verdict... Judges are are solidly behind Erin and not Nicole. Best easily Nicole, followered by skater and far behind Erin.
I say you are ABSOUTELY correcct. Derek ALWAYS has great coregraphy and Nicole almost flows with him. She's fab and Erin is not. The judges have given her way to high scores.. I've never seen them do this before so I say ABC wants Erin to win. Not Me!
Chuck, I disagree. You say the judges gave Erin the same score as Nicole but it was actually that they gave Nicole the same scores as Erin as she danced first. The judges know what kind of fan votes the dancers get. They know Erin won't get the votes to beat her and they scored Evan so low in hopes that he won't get enough to catch her. The judges are firm in their desire to have Nicole win.
I agree. I do believe Nicole is good but she has always been good from the beginning. I know there is a certain amount of "predetermined roles" in these kind of shows but this season has been so obvious I have lost the desire to watch. I don't know if I will continue if the judges do the same as last night they should give credit where credit it due. Good luck to Evan and Erin...My fave is Evan to win...............
I think the judges did give credit where credit is due - it just happens to be where you don't like it to be. I find it interesting that you wish both Evan and Erin luck although you know there will be only one winner. And why would you watch a show that you have lost the desire to watch? I think you really do desire to watch it, but just don't like what you see. It's ok - life goes on! Thank God!
Every so often, one of these experienced show biz performers, like this pussy cat doll, Nicole, has enough talent and experience on stage doing dance routines and choreography for same.... and they come on DWTS with a distinct advantage. In Nicole's case, she clearly has the most talent for dancing from the get go: week one. But she is nothing to get attached to, or root for. Personality on this woman is flat. All three contenders for the trophy are "take em or leave em"....don't particularly care about ANY of them. I don't like Erin at all. Evan seems like a nice guy... but isn't appealing in personality, and all performances are very good... so... If I HAD to choose...I would choose Evan to win.
The best should be judged to the exact same standards as others. This is not about who improves the most. This is not about giving less skilled dancers handicaps. The show starts every season with a wide spectrum of talent, from no talent to a ton of talent. This year Nicole is the one with a ton. She is not only skilled, but a NATURAL dancer. Why penalize her for that. She deserves to win regardless if she was best at the start or not.
Have liked watching DWTS from the beginning. Don't like when they have ringer's like Nicole who are in competition with people that have never danced before. Of course Nicole would be expected to win. I also don't agree with the theory that even though Nicole is a professional dancer that it's different than ballroom. When you have a natural dancing ability & background it does come easier to that person.
I haven't figured out how Erin made it to the finals, she is consistently overrated. Pam Andersen was a much better dancer and acted the roles too.
Nicole should have never been on the show; the DWTS brass should have made up an injury story early on in order to rectify their mistake. There has been no suspense this season.
I thought Erin was over-scored yet again tonight, while Evan got robbed. Perhaps the judges/DWTS brass don't want another olympic gold champ to take home the trophy.
Yes, Pam Anderson may have "acted" the dances better, but she couldn't remember the steps! She kept flubbing, then try to gloss it over with attempted "sex appeal"! When she was "dancing" anything with more than a few steps, she looked lost and bewildered. She was NOT better than Erin, who, even when she missed steps, just kept up the facade until caught up with Maks. Granted, Erin is a little goofy and a little insecure and rough, but at least she can remember the steps, is real about herself. Pam needs to remember that she is 42, and stop trying to act like she is forever 25!
@ Sherry Lane - As I understand it, there are no auditions for the contestants to be on the show as they may not get many of the stars to agree to do it. So the "brass" couldn't have known the skill level of Nicole before hand. I disagree with you about the suspense - each week I look forward to watching Nicole and Derek dance - they are impeccable and entertaining! No doubt about that! Now what DWTS can do is learn from this season and do things differently in attaining their talent. One surely could not have looked at Nicole's performance in her musical group and know that she would have been sooo good with ballroom dancing. Many of the contestants, this season and previous seasons have had some type of dancing - usually you do if you are in the entertainment business - that's why you see a lot of singers, acting and a lot of actors, singing and so forth. The goal for many in entertainment is to be a triple threat - one who can sing, dance and act - making themselves more valuable in the business.
Chuck - But it's more than just skill that determines a winner.... It's more than just talent they use in their profession all the time anyway..... It's about charisma, endearment, talent to learn, performance that totally satisfies the audience...... etc...
Yes, Nicole is the most talented.... , but if Evan wins, there won't be many unhappy viewers out here. That counts for something, doesn't it? (To me, Erin isn't in equasion here. She's totally unlikeable. .. A frugazzi (sp)
I don't think Nicole interacts with the audience very well.
patA - When do the contestants interact with the audience? Interacting would require both sides to have input and act upon one another - and that doesn't happen on the show for any of the contestants - the show isn't designed that way. Someone wrote they don't like Nicole's facial expressions or personality. Can those be reasons why she shouldn't win a dance contest when she's clearly the best dancer? What in the world...
petty, petty, petty. I for one have really enjoyed this show (and that is what it is a show to be enjoyed). The women are beautiful and the talent is outstanding. the only thing that I don't enjoy is those they keep that have no talent or personality. I will be waiting for the next season.
Exactly! The show is entertainment and meant to be enjoyed! Some of us need to lighten up, seriously.
I will not watch DWTS after this I think the judges are not fair and its definatly fixed. Nicole is a good dancer but that's exactly what she does on stage Erin is not at all a dancer she deserves more credit. This is supposed to be stars who have never danced but that's a joke.
Lori, who hasn't ever danced? Especially those in the entertainment arena?
Prior ballroom dancing experience on the part of the STARS is banned from the show. Prior dancing experience in other forms of dance are, however, allowed. So Nicole is definitely a legitimate candidate to be on the show as well as all of the other contestants that have some kind of dance experience. What I'd find interesting if say someone like Pam Anderson would have started out on fire and continued that way each week. She didn't improve, but maintained, and remained at the top of the leader board each week. Would it be fair that she wins? Just wondering.
I do not understand why ABC has moved away from the original intent of the show. At least last year Ty Murray held on because he did improve so much. Nicole S. is a professional and should not be on the show!!! Bah, humbug!
Two seasons ago, Shawn took it away from Giles (#1, I think) and Melissa (#2). I was happy though, because she was clearly the underdog, mainly trying to compete in the "sexy" dances at her age. (Don't know how she did it, but she came out with a killer Pasa. I think she score a perfect 30.)
Last season, I was rooting for Kelly Osbourne for the same reason, and because she overcame so much (no dance skill and crippling shyness) to get near to the finals. But of course, Donny Osmond was on the show, one of the biggest names they'd ever snagged. It became obvious that if they didn't give it to him, he'd be the LAST big name they might ever snag. So the David slays Goliath scenario of the previous season was simply not going to happen.
So who were the big names this season? Kate Gosselin, she absolutely could not dance, but she brought an audience. Too bad for her, it was mostly comprised of the ones who wanted her to fail embarrassingly, so she did. Pamela Anderson brought the little sex-starved boys. Guess they realized the show would never keep the little boys anyway, so she left. She always had a "Why did my agent put me in this gig? When I get home, he's fired!" look on her face, anyway. Buzz Aldrin? Obviously for us old geezers, but I would have been afraid if they'd left him on to do any Latin dances or dances with lifts. Besides, they know us old geezers are already hooked. Shannon Dougherty? <sp> Still unforgiven for quitting 90210 by studio execs and fans. Branded as difficult. First to go. A football player to bring onboard football fans. He got surprisingly good and was entertaining, got to semis, but I think football fans will still tune in to one more week to see who they give it to.
We're left with a professional dancer, a professional ice dancer Olympian, and Erin Andrews who brought massive publicity and interest from winning her lawsuit. Who knew she'd end up tied for first place in the judges' scores with the 'unbeatable' professional dancer? Looks like this season COULD be a repeat of Shawn Johnson's upset. I don't think Nicole or Evan are too big to fall. To disagree with chuck-1837113 above, the whole premise of the show is exactly that, who improves the most, they keep saying that week after week. That doesn't handicap the LESS skilled dancers, it handicaps the dancers who are already the best and have nowhere to go but a level line.
I don't know about anyone else, but I always liked the story of David slaying Goliath.
Um FYI, Evan is not an ice dancer, he is a figure skater. Totally different sport. If you haven't watched, try.
That's what I THOUGHT I was referring to. I don't follow any of that during the Olympics, although my wife loves it. She knew who Evan was when DWTS began, but I didn't.
In arguing semantics, you missed my point. What does he do? He choreographs movement to music. What do dancers do? Choreograph movement to music. And he trains at it every day of his life. Granted, he had to go from movement on skates on ice to movement on a wooden dance floor, and if that was as hard for him as skates were for me, then he had a lot of hard work when he started the show. But he was already lightyears ahead of Erin, let's say, in training disipline and learning choreography, as was Nicole over both of them, since she was already a professional on a dance floor.
Sorry about the wrong terminology. To tell the truth, if there really is two different sports, then I have never even seen ice dancing, unless the difference is actually a single skater as opposed to pairs, and we're just splitting hairs here. I honestly don't know.
I just realized something. In my big post above, I disagreed with chuck-1837113 when I said that the whole premise of the show is exactly that, who improves the most, they keep saying that week after week. When you think about it, it can't be. They eliminate at least one person every week. So I got to thinking about Shannen Doherty (looked up the spelling this time;)) She went first. How did she get any chance at all to improve? If someone suggests that anyone could tell she was never going to get better, then how do you explain Kate Gosselin hanging on so long? Even I, in my living room, was embarrassed for her! So Shannen never had a chance! Given as many weeks as the finalists have had, she wouldn't have become a Nicole, but she might easily have improved as much as Erin. The only fair and honest way to live up to the show's stated premise is for all of the contestants to compete for all of the X weeks, then lining them up and revealing the winner. The one who improved the most. So, what it actually is is a popularity contest, plain and simple. The judges' vote is nothing but entertainment, and the winner is decided by the audience vote which hinges on who brings the biggest fan base willing to actually vote. And since we never get to 'see' the audience vote, it COULD EASILY be rigged, as I hinted at with Donny Osmond's win.
And here I've been sitting in my chair on Tuesdays wondering if the contestants already know who's going before we do, and they're just told to act surprised/disappointed. Why, they may already know the order before the season even starts.
This writer has been doing a hatchet job on Nicole since the first day of the season. If you are so outraged by ringers, where were you last season when Mya was on? She has way more dance training than Nicole. What about the others with dancing backgrounds like Stacy, Drew, Sabrina, Melissa, Joey, Mario . . . . You are aware that Erin and Evan both have dance training, right? Erin admits she has been dancing her whole life. Let's not even start on Evan's advantages, including his Olympic sized fan base. You conveniently ignore those, and many other, facts because it doesn't support the story you are selling. Did you actually watch the show? Based on some of your comments it doesn't seem like it.
The judges shouldn't "favor" anyone, they should give their scores based on how the dancers were, not who the dancers were, and that should apply to each performance. Thank goodness the audience can also vote, and if they choose someone other than who the judges rated the highest, then so be it. Otherwise, why even have the audience vote? And of course popularity of the "stars" enters into it, that's always been the case with this show.
Boy! I so agree with you. The judges clearly came out from the very beginning of last night's show,and showed favortism towards Erin...which by the way has also danced professionally. Most of the stars today have had lots of dancing experience, so it' would be very hard to get any star on this show without experience. I think the judges should be on there the show to score each dancer and shut up on the rest. Personally, I am sick of the judging by these so call judges.
Nicole is absolutely the hottest and most talented dancer to ever appear on the show. She clearly deserves to win. That being said, Erin has been a pleasant surprise and is making it close at the end. This season has been more interesting to watch because of the level of competition of the top 4-5 dancers, including but not limited to Pamela Anderson, who was far more talented than anyone expected.
I will not watch another season of DWTS as this has been 'The Nichole Show' from the beginning and has gotten progressively worse each week. I haven't been able to watch the complete show the last couple of weeks. It is so nauseating to see the judges almost wet themselves over Nichole. She should never have been on the show. I now believe the show is fixed like so many others. Actually, I should have stopped watching after Donnie Osmond won last time as he did not deserve to win. So, goodbye to what could have been a good show. Also, love Tom but why did they have to stick that Burke person in as well..........Oh wait, I know, because she barely (pun intended) has enough boob coverage to get past the censors! She is empty in the personality department. One other thing, Nichole could not be identified if she were placed next to a wax figure of herself. She has no expression or personality but plenty of love for herself.
Wow - tell us how you really feel? Why so critical? It is entertainment, nothing to get that upset over! I do agree with you about Ms. Burke, but she did come a long way from the first show. When you think about it, she did have to find her rhythm in that role in front of the camera. No different from what anyone else would've had to do. As far as her wardrobe, she probably doesn't have a total say in what she wears, she just has to keep herself in shape to wear them. After having several children, you have to give her credit! At some point all of the costumes and outfits have been revealing in some way or another, not just hers.
The judges' favoritism is obvious in their fawning over Nicole despite a terrible error at the end of her routine. Erin and Maks' routine was simply stupid, crawling and rollling all over the bed -- that's dancing?? Meanwhile, the high energy of Evan and Anna got slammed. Give me a break, judges -- if you just want the professional dancer to win, why do this show?
If the judges favor Nicole too much, this writer seems to have an irrational hatred towards Nicole. Let's face it, she was the best last night by miles and yet she's tied. So how in the world do you conclude that she's favored? Erin is the one whose score seems to always be super inflated. Maks fell in the AT and she got 10s. I must have missed the 10s Nicole got despite the missed lift yesterday.
Some claim that the show is about improvement and seeing people who've never danced become competent dancers. Really? According to whom? That may be the reason some watch the show but there are a myriad of other reasons for other people. On top of that, none of the finalists would have qualified if that were the case. Erin has dance experience and so does Evan and Nicole. The difference is her natural ability. Mya of last season had more experience than Nicole by far and yet I've enjoyed Nicole's dancing much more. WTG Nicole!!
Dolcevita - yes! Totally agree with you!
I agree with a lot of these posts; Nicole is a professional dancer, regardless of what type of dance. She has the balance and form; with that, she is a much quicker learner; therefore, she has always had the edge, from the first show. I have watched every season, this one not so much. Have the fun of watching is seeing the improvements; with Nicole, there has really been no improvement, she was good from the start.
As far as the Judges....it was obvious from the start that they favored Nicole.
I don't take away the grace and natural ability that Nicole has, I just think it was unfair to all the other contestants who were/are not dancers. They never stood a chance. I hope either Evan or Erin wins!
This contest is based on talent, Nicole clearly is the most talented, if you watched the show last night, Nicole dance the best period, did you see that free style, Derek (without a chorograhper) had her dance every dance she dance all season in one fast routine. Erin is very stiff, and her face does not reflect that she enjoys dancing, she seem to like flirting with Max more. Evan is talented but i think he shot his self in the foot her should have let his partner do her job instead of injecting his opinion into the dance.
Sherry. when I started your comment it sounds like something I wrote.It is not my favorite season either. Relly ,I don't even watch it like have done before , just skipped to the end to see who is leaving.
Nicole has been amazing to watch BECAUSE of her experience. I think a cast full of Buzz Aldrins and Kate Gosselins would have been such a bore. However, the premise of the show was to see who improved the most from the first episode. I can't see that there was any room for Nicole to improve, and the criticisms she received were strictly to justify keeping her scores below a 10 from the beginning. Erin is lovely and has improved so much from the beginning, but I am TOTALLY pulling for Evan to win this. I am shocked at how critical they were of his freestyle dance. It had me smiling and be-bopping throughout the whole performance.
I hoping that Erin and Max take the mirrored ball trophy. They deserve it. Erin has put in a tremendous effort and put her self out there. She has less exprience than the others and therefore has shown the greatest improvement. They have made the best looking couple and are well suited for each other.
It is really too bad that Erin and Maks had to use not one, but two, props for their freestyle. It was way too distracting. They may have had a chance to capture the trophy. Derek and Nicole's last dance was great - to capture so many of the dance styles in a couple minutes cannot be beat. They are just the two better showmen and deserve to win. (To make the future seasons a little more challenging and less of a lock for Derek, they should match him with someone who has less stage experience. (It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he had chreographed and danced with Shannon Doherty. )