Toonces464

Did you really expect anything different? LOL There was no chance Maks was going for anything but a contemporary style full of showmancy moves that would send the shippers over the edge. I expect he'll work a kiss in there somewhere to really seal the deal.

Once again, if you're going to accuse these pros of buying followers then you have to accuse Maks of it too, rather than justifying why his spikes in numbers are okay but other pros aren't. Maybe Lizzie didn't lay out as much money for as many followers so it wouldn't be as obvious when she took to Twitter with her veiled accusations.

This accusation drives me crazy. Cheryl has always had more Twitter followers than any pro except Derek. And if you're going to accuse these people of buying followers then let's accuse Maks too, who had the same kind of spike as they did a few years ago.

Cheryl isn't my favorite pro but she's done fabulous work with Rob Kardashian and Jack Osbourne. I think either one of them would have gotten Charlie to the finals because they know how to play the DWTS game better than Sharna. And they have huge fan bases of their own that rival Maks's. Which is another reason I think Charlie was given to Sharna. It tipped the scales in Maks's favor as far as the fan votes. I've really grown to like Sharna and don't want to see her go anywhere. Peta can go at any time. I'll be surprised if either of them is back next season. I saw Derek and Amy on Access Hollywood last week and Derek said he wasn't supposed to be on this season until he found out about Amy. That matches up with the initial pro list DWTSGossip had posted on Twitter which had Tristan on instead of Derek.

Plus he would have had a much bigger pro fan base if he had been paired with Karina or Cheryl. That's one huge advantage Meryl had from the start over him - Maks's fan base is much bigger (and much more devoted) than Sharna's.

Tony, Henry, Karina, Cheryl. I have no doubt Maks has called in everyone he can possibly think of to help. No way on this earth is he going to risk blowing this freestyle.

I don't think it's been much different. It's just been danced better by the biggest ringer the show's ever had I was delighted to hear the AfterBuzz crew talk about how simplistic their jive was. I thought it was the kind of choreography he would have given to Melissa Gilbert. Meryl's abilities, both as a dancer and a performer, make it look like more than it is..

Maks was never coming back after this season. He said when he returned that part of the reason was so his mother and grandmother could see him dance on TV "one last time." Of course, this is Maks, the king of contradicting himself, so there is that. I'm sure if the show manages to snag JLo or Beyonce, he'll make time in his busy schedule to return. LOL

Didn't Erin and Kirstie publicly defend/support him after Hope's comments were made public?

But they are dancers. They know how to be coached and how to train, They know how to learn, master and execute choreography, Just because I use Chrome over Internet Explorer doesn't mean I'm not an IE expert compared to someone who's never turned on a computer.

Brought over from the Maks folder. They're still professionally trained dancers. There may be some variations between the ice and the floor but in the end they're still trained dancers. I find it amusing how Maks (and Erin) have stopped whining about Nicole now that he has the trained dancer.

Moving this to General Gabbery.

Again, this is where people see things differently. I've seen no struggles and no improvement from Meryl at all this season. She came in at the top of the game and stayed there all season. Whereas Charlie struggled. But then again, as much as I've grown to really like Charlie, I don't think either of them should have been on the show. This is a show about teaching celebrities with no dance experience to dance. I know a lot of celebs have some level of dance experience but these two are ICE DANCERS. Not ice skaters, but trained ice DANCERS. As far as I'm concerned, they might as well have brought back Anna and Louis and let them dance with Maks and Sharna. And before I get jumped on I've been saying this for years. But this season just took it to a whole new level with two ice DANCERS.

I don't think GMA would have that info. I don't think they give it out, especially to media outlets. I can only remember the voting numbers being mentioned twice - In the Season 8 finale when they said less than 1% of the votes separated Shawn and Gilles and in the Season 10 semi finals when they said Nicole, Evan, Erin and Chad had all led the voting at some point during the season.

Or the rehearsal footage was scripted to go along with the choreography. Maks has done that close up on the hand holding to start the dance choreography before - see Erin's V Waltz. As Maks himself said this week, he's always been passionate about storytelling.

Thank you for making my point for me. Figure skating fans came into this season with opinions and preconceived notions about Meryl and Charlie. I didn't. I enjoy Charlie and Sharna's interviews much more than Maks and Meryl's because to me they come across as real, not something staged and scripted. And after knowing nothing about either of them, I walk away from DWTS being a fan of Charlie's and being totally turned off by Meryl. I'm sure others feel the opposite.

I think that's very true. I watched the Olympics but knew relatively nothing about Charlie and Meryl before DWTS. To me, I've seen a journey for Charlie - his struggles, his difficulties, his improvement. He and Sharna have talked about how difficult it's been at times to transfer from the ice to the floor. All I've seen on the other side is Maks talking about how easy everything is with Meryl while HE struggles with this and that.

Another place we differ. I've seen no journey at all for Meryl. This entire season has been about Maks.

No, everyone in the theater thought they were back together, including me. And I knew better. LOL That's how good and convincing they were. They totally sold it. But that's what good performers do. Especially two good performers together. Toss in great chemistry and there you have it. FWIW Dots, I agree with you they're better off apart. And I knew they weren't back together. They were just that captivating up on that stage.

Actually Bella, I'm not even sure that will tell anything. Remember Kirstie pretty much moved to NYC for several months after her first season and spent all her time with Maks and his family. While Erin wasn't seen with him much at all unless they were attending an event together.

Did you see Maks and Karina in Forever Tango last summer? I did. And not one person walked out of that theater not thinking they were back together and madly in love - including me and everyone I was with. Karina knew exactly what she was doing by breaking down the barriers and asking Maks to do the show with her. In addition to a professional dancer, Maks got a professional performer in Meryl. I believe Charlie talked about that recently in some interview, that if people are believing they're in love then they're doing it right and selling their performance. None of his previous partners has had that quality except maybe Kirstie. In fact I think Maks mentioned something about it in an interview earlier in the season where he said that other than their freestyle, Erin wouldn't let him get that close to her in their dances. By your own admission you're a shipper so nothing I say is going to change your mind. That's fine. I'm just explaining some of the many reasons why I'm not buying into what Maks is trying to sell this time.

The track record outside the show doesn't seem very good. Derek & Shannon, Karina & Mario, Maks & Erin. Val & Kelly. And didn't one of them (Mark or Derek) also have a thing with Katherine Jenkins for awhile? I think it's harder for the pros. The show is a huge part of their lives and in most cases, they come back to it every few months. Meanwhile the celebrities go back to their real lives and DWTS and the bubble they lived in for three months becomes a distant memory.

I'm not insisting it's platonic. I have no idea if it is or not. What I'm saying is I've seen Maks do this before, and my feeling is that Maks will say or do anything to win the trophy. Just like it's my opinion that Maks gets much more invested in certain partnerships than the other pros and seems to have trouble letting go when the season is over. You see his vibe with Meryl as much more affectionate and caring. I see it as a guy who likes and respects his partner and everything she stands for and has accomplished, but is playing a showmance much more subtly in an attempt to win the trophy. The open coyness with Erin didn't work. The over the top ridiculousness with Kirstie didn't work. So he's trying another tack. I also see Maks trying to sell it much more than Meryl. To me, Meryl has seemed uncomfortable with it much of the time.. And finally, I see Maks desperate to find someone. He said after Peta he probably needed to stop looking on the show, but when he is on the show, it takes up six months out of his year and I return to what I said above - he gets much more invested in his partners than the other pros. Meryl seems to have a pretty full life and, as of the end of February, she had a boyfriend. I have no idea if she's still with him but if she isn't that means she just got out of a relationship. And to me that's another huge red flag. Contrary to how it may seem, I don't hate Maks. I enjoy happy carefree Maks, though I haven't seen him in a long time. What I don't like is the games I feel Maks plays with the audience and how it always ends up revolving around him rather than his partner.

Awww, that's sweet. Just as sweet as when we heard the same exact stuff about him and Erin, including them supposedly being caught kissing backstage. And while this stuff is surfacing, so are comments from Cheryl and Sharna and Tom that there's nothing going on. People believe what they want to believe.

It's not that he's effusively praising Meryl, it's the fact he's outright insulting all his other partners by saying he's had to drag them around the dance floor and it was a burden to go to work and teach them. And of course he's not naming names so it's not like he's singling out a particular partner or two - he's lumping everyone before Meryl in together and saying some really crappy things.