S28.E10: Semi-Finals

[Lady Calypso]

6 hours ago, howmanywords said:

I don't believe at all James wanted out. What makes me angry is these judges knew what he was dealing with this week and they didn't cut him any slack, but others continue to get handled with kid gloves. If it was a mercy elimination they could have been a little nicer.  

Yeah, that's what made it worse for me. James was understandably having a difficult week. I think there are a few times where the judges should be less critical and be softer, and that's a heartbreaking death in the family. Obviously, this one hit harder for James because Kimberley was quite far along (I think four months if I do the math right?) and her life seemed to be at risk in the process. 

And all the judges did was tear James apart for his first dance, low balled him for his second dance, and then picked Ally over him in a unanimous vote. Yes, it's life and life sucks, but they were so incredibly harsh on him and a lot of his mood was obviously due to the miscarriage, but the judges did him no favours and James looked defeated when he was eliminated. 

7 hours ago, Sarah Heart said:

I didn't see that, I saw CA show/ tell her how to become a better dancer. If she thinks they were harsh now, she'd of left the show a few years back, when they handed out 5's with their remarks. She always has something  to say back to them. 

I'm talking more about previous weeks, although the rehearsal package wasn't great either. Carrie Ann looked as excited to be there as if she was meeting with Sean Spicer. We've SEEN Carrie Ann get excited over contestants before. She didn't look excited to see Hannah, imo. 

But it's more about how harsh they've been with judging in weeks past. Small mistakes that they tear her apart for....compare that with Ally, who can be out of sync with Sasha and be praised for it. I think it's fair to say that they have been harsh with a lot of the celebs this season, but then not harsh enough with others. It's the unfair balance that is the worst part. They basically gave Sean the "good job, you tried" critiques and then tore Hannah apart for "loose hold". They also give Ally the "you're so great!" and very little critiques. I was stunned when Len gave her a critique and gave her a 9 on her first dance.

And that's what probably bothers me the most. Hannah is better than Ally but is scoring consistently lower than her. Similarly to Lauren; Hannah is also way better than Lauren and has also scored lower than her some weeks.

[penbrat]

DWTS once was can’t miss tv for me.   Since Season Two  I maybe have missed a season.   They almost did me in with the 4 week athlete fiasco and after BB winning last season.  But I a Dawson’s Creek geek and when I saw that JVB was a contestant, I decided to give this show one more go, despite the casting of Spicey and the stupid new Judge’s save thing.

Well, after last night they have lost a viewer.  If James had been scored fairly by the Judges OR if he was voted off by the public, that would have been one thing.   But for the Judges to be so callous to him after his first dance, knowing what he had just been through and then keeping Ally over him?  (No offense to Ally but the Judges have propped her up all season and have not been consistent in scoring JVB).  I’m officially done.

Don’t care who wins.   I don’t mind Kel but I think it will be one of the three remaining females and I am not feeling any of them.   I find both Lauren whiney and fake and I find Hannah fake and entitled.    Ally is okay but the Judges have turned me off of her with the overscoring.  No way that Charleston was worth a perfect score last night.  Hannah probably the best of the remaining dancers but I just have no regard for her.

This show has way beyond jumped the shark.   I know it is just a tv show and that in the long run it is probably best for JVB to be with his family right now (but I don’t believe he asked to be released.  His and Emma’s reactions were too raw).   But the way the show (whether it was the producers or the judges or both) treated him last night was it for me.  Like I said, had he asked to go, or had he been voted off fairly, I would get it.  But I am over the show and the judges manipulating the votes for their agenda.

I would not mind seeing Tom on another show. I adore him.   But bye Felicia to DWTS.

Edited November 19, 2019 by penbrat

[ams1001]

Now that James is out, I'm rooting for Kel. I like him, he has a good attitude, he's learned over the season...and he's the only one left who I had ever even heard of before this season started.

I don't really feel one way or the other about Hannah (never watched the Bachelor or any of its relatives) though I agree with the people who've commented on her perpetual pageant-smile. Lauren kinda bugs me (we get it, you're not used to wearing revealing clothing) and I don't like Gleb. I don't think Ally deserved 10s for the Charleston and I don't like that the judges have overlooked mistakes that were obvious even to me, when I am only half-watching my TV screen half the time, but she wasn't terrible and I love Sasha, so I won't be mad if they win. (Though to be honest, I don't get invested enough to actually get mad about this show, for the most part, Sean Spicer not withstanding.)

I really hate the judges' save. If they come back next year, I hope they do away with it.

[bealled]

I'm really annoyed they saved Ally over James... He had one off week and they cut him?? Ally has been consistently in the bottom 2. America is not a fan of her. It seems clear the judges view her as the best dancer this season and would save her over anyone else there. I really don't see it and think she has been vastly overscored. I remember people complaining about Normani receiving favoritism, but the favoritism towards Ally is some of the worst I've seen. Plus Normani was at least much better than Ally.

I think the scores last night were a joke once again. Lauren was definitely overscored on her first dance. I also just feel like the choreography she has to do is always simple and easy. She should have been the one to go. Now I worry she may win since Bobby Bones is rallying votes for her. Other big country artists like Carrie Underwood were telling people to vote for her too.

James was way underscored. At the least if he got 8s on the first dance, so should Lauren and probably Kel too. I think Hannah's contemporary was better than Kel's, so not sure why it got 9s. I think Ally was once again way overscored. Has she even received any criticism in weeks? I guess she is just a perfect dancer at this point...

I will be voting for Hannah and Kel and hope one of them wins. I would love Kel to win at this point, but happy with either. I think Kel has the potential for the best freestyle.

Also I don't buy into the conspiracy that James asked to leave, as they would not have needed to do a bottom 2 then. Tom could have just said at the end of the night James opted to leave the competition. If James actually did ask to leave, then I suspect the show still did the bottom 2 to encourage Ally fans to really vote in the finals since she was once again in jeopardy.

[Was-MArsenault]

https://www.etonline.com/ne-yo-and-pitbull-to-perform-during-dancing-with-the-stars-finale-exclusive-136568

[Jsage]

Quote

The amount of hate Hannah receives is baffling. She's been critiqued more than any celeb this season and she's right - it's been more about her personality than her dancing.

I think for the first few weeks Carrie Ann really did have good intentions with Hannah. Hannah's pageant smile with every dance and lack of connection with the audience was palpable. Unfortunately Hannah didn't improve in that area for a long time and Carrie Ann continued to harp on it so much that it did start to feel like a personal attack. The funny thing is, Hannah did finally improve her face. I haven't noticed the pageant girl look in the last few dances she's done. So Carrie Ann really did help, but in an unnecessarily harsh way.

[alexa]

14 minutes ago, bealled said:

I'm really annoyed they saved Ally over James... He had one off week and they cut him?? Ally has been consistently in the bottom 2. America is not a fan of her. It seems clear the judges view her as the best dancer this season and would save her over anyone else there. I really don't see it and think she has been vastly overscored. I remember people complaining about Normani receiving favoritism, but the favoritism towards Ally is some of the worst I've seen. Plus Normani was at least much better than Ally.

I totally agree.  I was watching the end on mute, and actually thought James had gone through from what I could see.  So when I quickly watched the end, I was in shock they chose Ally.  I mean James has been the show's main "star" all of the way through, I figured their is no question he would go through based on his dancing, great attitude, and what he brings to the show.  Their loss for sure now.

[MooCat Pretzel]

You guys!  After James received his first set of scores and Tom hinted about James having a rough week, my first thought went to the pregnancy.  (Unfortunately I have a history with miscarriages, so that’s where my mind goes.) I also noticed his wife not in the audience, so I went to her Instagram.  She had a video posted and the text that went along with it was like a farewell speech to the show.  She thanked Emma and she talked about the celebs’ family and friends bonding.  She told Ally that Ally’s parents were “her kind of people”.  Anyhoo, the post was timed around 1pm PT.  It sure sounded final.  I was like “Dang.  James is leaving tonight.”  Sure enough...  The weird thing is that I went back to the post after the show and all that I read was GONE! Now, excuse me while I get my tinfoil hat adjusted to size.  😀

Edited November 19, 2019 by MooCat Pretzel

[JenLily]

1 hour ago, DietCokeJunkie said:

The juxtaposition between The package for James final dance talking about his loss and Hannah’s talking about The Bachelorette was jarring. It just made her look whiny and insipid. 

That's on production. They could have rearranged things so that his package was a bit more isolated from any of the others'. Different people go through different things. It's not our place to judge who has it harder than someone else and production forced the audience to make that comparison by placing her package (likely long filmed before what happened to James and his wife) straight after his. I felt sorry for her actually because I knew there would be people out there thinking she's an asshole because what she went through is not on the same level as what he's going through.

I watch the Bachelor franchise and I came out of her season actively disliking Hannah. But if I'm going to bray about people ignoring Spicer's dance (in)ability and continuing to vote for him, I'm certainly not going to withhold my vote for Hannah and her *actual* dance ability just because I might find her personally not to my liking.

[alexa]

10 minutes ago, Sarah Heart said:

I doubt , even if it wasn't planned he would leave, he could concentrate on anything  but his wife,  and their family. It was a miscarriage , with complications, no way would any cha cha, VW or freestyle,  be on his mind, while all the time, grieving a loss. Anyone that has miscarried, knows the loss and the hollow feeling take time to overcome 

He won DWTS in my world , he always put in extra hours, and it showed. I'm hoping he's able to grieve now, privately. 

I agree with you, but was just agreeing with a previous poster that given how they handled everything that I was surprised that Ally was chosen over James, his situation excluded.  

[boyznkatz]

Aw man...that sucks. I really wanted James to be in the final. I don't think he asked to go. If he wanted out, all he had to do was withdraw, and everyone would have understood. Unless of course, his contract got in the way and the show did him a favor by voting him out.

I feel sorry for Ally. She's going to get a lot of backlash from crazy fans who blame her for James leaving. She looked like she wanted the judges to choose him over her.

What was with Kel's flowered pants and Gleb's awful paint suit? They would have looked far more elegant wearing a plain black and white suit. Lauren's awful bathrobe dress didn't help either.

[howmanywords]

I think Im having a delayed reaction, but man I'm pissed. It took me a year to forget about the Juan Pablo getting screwed out of the finale fuckery. I can't believe this is happening again. What's really bad is the judges could have saved James. They threw him under the bus though for someone who has no shot of winning.

The backlash is really, really ugly, and well deserved I say.

[Was-MArsenault]

James should've just withdrew.

[boyznkatz]

13 hours ago, UGAmp said:

Good for Hannah rejecting CA’s hug. And that was gross for CA to then get upset for making her upset. It seemed manipulative and I didn’t like it. 

I like her. She was rude to Carrie Ann, but she apologized. She also nixed the showmance early on. I guess that's why they don't like her, because she won't be their tool. I don't really see her as fake.

I think Ally and Hannah are the best dancers left now that James is gone. Kel is sort of sloppy (albeit entertaining), and although Lauren isn't bad, she is just sort of there.

That said, I would be okay with any of them winning. All of them are far better than Bobby Bones.

They really need to lose the judges' save. Go back to the way it used to be. Just because Bobby won last time doesn't mean someone who suck will win every time.

Edited November 19, 2019 by boyznkatz

[yourdreamer]

I am at least as upset with the judges’ selection as many of you. I am not going to watch next week except for Kel, who I will be voting for. Even if you don’t watch, vote next week for who you want to win! 

On topic, I do not think that James asked to go. And I do agree that judges’ save should have stopped pre-semifinals. This basically saying that the audience is clueless and the judges are the only ones who know what should happen is baffling. I think that they are taking away the popularity part of the show, and I believe that this is the death knell for the show. 

[JKL845]

Ugh. Ally is the new Sean. No way she deserved to stay over James! Hands down he should have won this year. The judges ruined the show.

[thesupremediva1]

58 minutes ago, howmanywords said:

I think Im having a delayed reaction, but man I'm pissed. It took me a year to forget about the Juan Pablo getting screwed out of the finale fuckery. I can't believe this is happening again. What's really bad is the judges could have saved James. They threw him under the bus though for someone who has no shot of winning.

The backlash is really, really ugly, and well deserved I say.

James joins Juan Pablo before him, and Simone Biles, and Nastia Liukin, and Charlie White as massively talented frontrunners who were eliminated before the finale. It's not a new trend, but it doesn't suck any less.

I said weeks ago I'd only get angry at Spicer if he outlasted someone who could win. How ironic that I am SO MAD this week and can't blame Spicy. This is squarely on those three morons sitting behind the table. Carrie Ann and Bruno are buffoons, but I expected better from Len. 

Sometimes, the best dancer never sees the finals. BUT, in all previous situations, that was on viewer votes. I just can't wrap my head around what was done to James last night for a girl who really isn't that great. The ire is understandable and I hope the producers and judges are called on the carpet for it. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by thesupremediva1

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Sometimes, the best dancer never sees the finals. BUT, in all previous situations, that was on viewer votes. I just can't wrap my head around what was done to James last night for a girl who really isn't that great. The ire is understandable and I hope the producers and judges are called on the carpet for it. 

Again, especially since James was already having a horrible week. The judges were really harsh on him last night as well, which made his elimination 10x worse. When the person who was saved is trying to beg, on live tv, to be eliminated instead, you know the judges screwed up. This is ALL on them.

Ally's a sweetheart for trying to beg for her own elimination. And I truly think she meant it. You could see her mouthing to the judges to save James and Emma (the moment right before Carrie Ann said she'd be saving Ally/Sasha, you can see Ally mouthing James' name). 

You could tell that not a single person in that room was happy with the judges. They had the power and they blew it. And I think what they did just proved why even a judges' save didn't work. They tried correcting last season's mistake but also proved why this new system is a mistake. There HAS to be a better way to decide eliminations.

In hindsight, I think that they should have just called off the elimination entirely if they really didn't want to get rid of Ally, and had all of them advance to the finale. That way, they can cut out a couple of the bullshit performances that they'll clearly show, and James' horrible week didn't need to get worse. 

Because, really, do we REALLY need to see Pitbull performing next week? 

[ams1001]

I gotta be honest...I had no idea people were so outraged by Bobby's win until I started reading comments for this season...

3 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Because, really, do we REALLY need to see Pitbull performing next week? 

No, we do not.

[iMonrey]

Quote

So, let me see if I get this straight. You have  a star who has been excellent all season and he has a bad night because his wife had a freakin miscarriage 48 hours ago, and you BOOT HIM OFF!!! 

Ridiculous. We had Spicey clumping around how many weeks, and James gets kicked off the one night he has the slightest bit of bad posture.

Honestly, it's like they're trying to get cancelled. Now they've got four nobodies going into the finale nobody has ever heard of before. I can't even remember half their names. It's country western girl and bachelorette girl and pop star girl and Kel. That's who they've been to me all this season. Like I give a shit which one of them wins, I couldn't even be bothered to learn their names.

And I can't believe James asked to be let go either. There's no way the show would have staged it as an ordinary elimination because it just makes them look like monsters after what James went through. If he'd asked to leave but wanted to do his final 2 dances they would have presented it as such and saved themselves a lot of backlash.

One final note, that bachelorette girl who started crying because Carrie Ann was criticizing her? OMG, isn't she a special little snowflake. Clearly nobody has ever told her she's done anything wrong, ever. 

[cali1981]

20 hours ago, Ladyrain said:

I would have bet money that James would have won the mirror ball.  This was a shocker, especially given his personal situation.  Wow.

When I posted last week, I said that James would likely not win. I don't want to say that his elimination was pre-ordained but as soon as the judges low balled him with eights on his first dance, his fate was sealed.  Does anyone think that the judges, on this show and SYTYCD, don't shape results with scores or critiques?  To my old eyes, it's not exactly opaque.  I suppose that the final result is up in the air but my suspicion is that Kel is going to win.  His dancing, in the minds of the judges (and by extension, the voters) has been on an upward curve for a number of weeks now. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by cali1981

[thesupremediva1]

4 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I gotta be honest...I had no idea people were so outraged by Bobby's win until I started reading comments for this season...

I wasn't that outraged. And I don't get the level of anger about him either. I never expected him to win but he seemed likable enough and I adore Sharna. I was rooting for Milo, but Bobby was miles better than Grocer Joe or the likes of Spicer, Engvall, or Bristol Palin. He was about on the same dance level as Candace Cameron Bure, and she placed third in her season.  

I'm FAR more outraged about what went on last night than I could ever be about Bobby's win. 

[lavenderblue]

Something else that occurred to me re: low votes for James, in addition to what @absnow54 noted about his news coming late in the show (thus cutting down on sympathy vote) -- I wonder how many viewers just assumed he was safe, like tends to happen every year? This was the first ep of the season where I voted, and I went in planning to give all ten to Kel, assuming he was most at risk. It wasn't until James received his second set of low scores that I began to worry, and shifted to half and half for each -- still figuring, well, who's to say which one's in worse shape?

All that said, when Ally was yet again the top scorer and bottom two, you know he's not the one who would've been eliminated by viewer vote here.

[boyznkatz]

I don't think that many people vote anymore. They cut off half the country from voting, and they limit voting to a two hour window. Anyone can be on the bottom two.

Instead of jacking around with the voting, they should have concentrated on getting better contestants for the show. Surely they could have found someone more appealing than Sean Spicer. 

[Jax7917]

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Now that James is out, I'm rooting for Kel. I like him, he has a good attitude, he's learned over the season...and he's the only one left who I had ever even heard of before this season started.

I don't really feel one way or the other about Hannah (never watched the Bachelor or any of its relatives) though I agree with the people who've commented on her perpetual pageant-smile. Lauren kinda bugs me (we get it, you're not used to wearing revealing clothing) and I don't like Gleb. I don't think Ally deserved 10s for the Charleston and I don't like that the judges have overlooked mistakes that were obvious even to me, when I am only half-watching my TV screen half the time, but she wasn't terrible and I love Sasha, so I won't be mad if they win. (Though to be honest, I don't get invested enough to actually get mad about this show, for the most part, Sean Spicer not withstanding.)

I really hate the judges' save. If they come back next year, I hope they do away with it.

I think the judges save works in terms of getting people like Spicer out and others who were like him in the past . I get why they added that this season.. because realistically someone can get really far even if they're terrible just based on votes.. but I think once the show reaches the semi finals, they should stop being able to save anyone. Especially given the fact that she was in the bottom 2 three times.  I did find it bizarre how all 3 of the judges chose Ally. She is very good, but so was James so I thought at least one would have picked him. Does this mean that once there are only two people left, the judges will still be able to save which one they like best and have them win the mirrorball ? or will that just be viewer votes?

Edited November 19, 2019 by Jaclyn88

[truthaboutluv]

5 hours ago, DietCokeJunkie said:

It just made her look whiny and insipid. 

That's because she is whiny and insipid. But sadly, she likely will win. Because her stans in Bachelor Nation go HARD for her. She's their Queen because she's like so real, and like so vulnerable and awkward you guys.

And considering how far Bachelor Nation fans got Joe and his can't dance for shit ass, last year...yeah people may need to prepare themselves. Because we know that no matter how high her scores are, ain't nobody voting for Ally. 

Kel and Lauren have both seen the Bottom 2, so hard to say what their fanbase is. So yeah, it's good 'ol Hannah likely for the win. Awesome. 

eta: Admittedly I've paid mostly a modicum of attention to this season so it's entirely possible I've missed the worse of Carrie Ann's comments to Hannah.

But from what I have seen, I don't think she was unfairly harsh or making it personal. Yes, she talked about Hannah not connecting and still being disconnnected at times and frankly, I agree with her. 

The majority of Hannah's dances, good as her technique may have been, she seemingly can't get out of pageant mode and it's a lot of grinning and pretty poses at times. You don't feel like you're seeing someone connect with the music and the dance. And I think that's what Carrie Ann's been trying to get across to her. 

But Hannah on her season of The Bachelorette was a drama queen, which in fairness is part of what made it an entertaining trainwreck for some and she's still a drama queen now. She just seems emotionally immature. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[FilmTVGeek80]

2 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

I said weeks ago I'd only get angry at Spicer if he outlasted someone who could win. How ironic that I am SO MAD this week and can't blame Spicy. This is squarely on those three morons sitting behind the table. Carrie Ann and Bruno are buffoons, but I expected better from Len. 

Sometimes, the best dancer never sees the finals. BUT, in all previous situations, that was on viewer votes. I just can't wrap my head around what was done to James last night for a girl who really isn't that great. The ire is understandable and I hope the producers and judges are called on the carpet for it. 

I, honestly, didn't expect better from Len. In fact, my biggest shock of the night other than James's appalling elimination was that Len was the only one to give Ally any criticism and give her a 9. Len has had a serious boner for Ally, I think since at least Disney week. As soon as Carrie Ann stupidly picked Ally, I knew James was toast because I knew there was no way Len wouldn't pick Ally, especially since he's seemed particularly hard on James as well.

2 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

I wasn't that outraged. And I don't get the level of anger about him either. I never expected him to win but he seemed likable enough and I adore Sharna. I was rooting for Milo, but Bobby was miles better than Grocer Joe or the likes of Spicer, Engvall, or Bristol Palin. He was about on the same dance level as Candace Cameron Bure, and she placed third in her season.  

James's elimination angers me more but I still had plenty of anger of Bones's win. I don't think Bones was miles better than Joe, only slightly. I think he was better than Spicer and Palin. I don't think he was dramatically better than Engvall, at least from what I remember of him. I definitely don't think he was better than Bure. I was actually a fan of hers that season and she wasn't the best but she wasn't as bad as Bones. I LOVED Sharna with James and I've appreciated her with others as well and would have been fine with her getting a win if it was with someone better than Bones. I think Bones was FAAAR worse than the other finalists his season and that's one of the reasons his win sucks so hardcore. Also, I didn't think he was particularly likeable. That also didn't help along with his crappy dancing. He was a whiny jerk on his radio show and Twitter (which made him seem two-faced with his behavior on the show) and he's continued being a jerk this season in his comments about some of the contestants.

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

That's because she is whiny and insipid. But sadly, she likely will win. Because her stans in Bachelor Nation go HARD for her. She's their Queen because she's like so real, and like so vulnerable and awkward you guys.

And considering how far Bachelor Nation fans got Joe and his can't dance for shit ass, last year...yeah people may need to prepare themselves. Because we know that no matter how high her scores are, ain't nobody voting for Ally. 

Kel and Lauren have both seen the Bottom 2, so hard to say what their fanbase is. So yeah, it's good 'ol Hannah likely for the win. Awesome. 

eta: Admittedly I've paid mostly a modicum of attention to this season so it's entirely possible I've missed the worse of Carrie Ann's comments to Hannah.

But from what I have seen, I don't think she was unfairly harsh or making it personal. Yes, she talked about Hannah not connecting and still being disconnnected at times and frankly, I agree with her. 

The majority of Hannah's dances, good as her technique may have been, she seemingly can't get out of pageant mode and it's a lot of grinning and pretty poses at times. You don't feel like you're seeing someone connect with the music and the dance. And I think that's what Carrie Ann's been trying to get across to her. 

But Hannah on her season of The Bachelorette was a drama queen, which in fairness is part of what made it an entertaining trainwreck for some and she's still a drama queen now. She just seems emotionally immature. 

I agree with you about most of this, especially about not seeing Carrie-Ann's comments as personal attacks. I guess it's a fine line, but Carrie-Ann made comments about Hannah's personality but they weren't mean-spirited and I actually believe she means it when she says she was trying to be helpful. I agree with her about her comments about Hannah's pageant smile and her disconnection in her dances. None of Hannah's dances have ever moved me. I think the pageant smile thing has slightly improved but even last night in her rumba, I thought she was smiling in weird places and where it wasn't appropriate. I thought her breakdown last night was overly dramatic and she claimed she's had a bad week, but she's seemed whiny to me every week and is always crying. Again, this is why I don't watch shows like <i>The Bachelorette</i>.

[Bliss]

It's been 18 hours and I'm still mad as a hornet. I'm finding it really difficult to believe that the judgiots eliminated James. REALLY? And those 8's they gave him... I mean, come on... that's one point more than what they kept giving SSpicer. Ridiculous!

If he'd been voted off, that would have been easier to accept. To have the judges eliminate him is just so wrong in my opinion. To add insult to his grief is shameful. (Perhaps he wanted to leave to be with his wife... if so, I wish TPTB had been up front about it.)

I must be OTL because from the very first episode I thought he was going to be the MirrorBall winner. I wasn't a Dawson's Creek fan and didn't really know James beforehand. As the season progressed, I enjoyed his "packages" - there was none of the drama that was in almost everyone else's. His family is adorable!

I can remember many dances he's done this season with Emma - he's so smooth! His contemporary brought tears to my eyes (rare for contemporary - I'm more of a latin/ballroom gal).

Part of me wants to not watch EVER again - I abhor being duped. The other part of me will return to taping the show and fast-forwarding through the judgiots so all I watch is the dancing. And Tom.

[LuvScottishAccents]

I watched the recording this morning. I came here first, and I realized I didn’t want to see any of the dances. It seemed like a travesty. I ffw’d to the end, to James’ segment, and the results. It was worse than I imagined. I wept for him and his family for their loss, plus I wept for what happened with the voting. I don’t have any ill feelings towards Ally, and her begging for them to replace her with him was a very heartfelt action on her part. I don’t know how any of this debacle, or similar ones in past seasons, can be justified, by the judges or by the producers.

I have not enjoyed this season much, except forJames and Ally. I expected James to win fair and square because he was doing so wonderfully well. I refused to watch Spicer, because of how I feel about him, and because I thought the producers willfully cast him, knowing that he would be controversial. That’s their job, to get those ratings, but this seemed a bit too much. But now, after this, I think I am done. This was always a favorite show, but there was no joy in watching, so I really see no reason to continue this season. I will keep up through this board, and if any of the dances sound like they are worth a watch, I will find them online. 

This didn’t have to play out the way it did. It seems to be that so many of these shows take that one step too far, just to get eyeballs and ratings. A simple dance show should provide entertainment and enjoyment, at least one would think so. The current season of this one didn’t.

[Bliss]

DWTS - SHAME ON YOU.

I remember the first time I watched your show and thought what a fantastic 'idea' - that of mixing celebrities (loosely worded) with professional dancers (who doesn't enjoy a fit body performing physical art?) - plus you have the best host (big Tom B fan here).

Your crew are astonishing, apparently, and I agree that you've improved dramatically in the costuming over the years. (There's the odd Fail in your music department.)

How can you mess this up soooooo badly?

I'm just one of many fans who've been watching for many seasons and I can assure you: we are  sad... sadder-even-than-Hannah's-story. We are also PISSED OFF.

p.s. You might want to consider a new table of judges. The current ones have lost their friggin' minds. Their schtick is getting old, and obviously every single one of them needs glasses.

[boyznkatz]

In brighter news, I heard ratings were up this week. I guess that means that no one wanted to watch that flat-footed moron dance!

[853fisher]

There is no love lost between me and what used to be one of my favorite shows.  But aside from the result, I find the way the way James’ tragedy was handled so cynical and manipulative, the worst of reality TV.  They tease “a complicating factor,” after the judges have torn his first dance to pieces, and still don’t allow James to address Kimberly’s miscarriage for nearly another hour?  Thanks, I hate it.  It’s hard to describe exactly what bugged me about it all so much, except that after he stood up to do it for her, the least they could’ve done was avoided using him for cheap drama like “to be revealed later.”  I'm devastated for them.

This show is so joyless and terrible.  I miss what it was. 

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

They tease “a complicating factor,” after the judges have torn his first dance to pieces, and still don’t allow James to address Kimberly’s miscarriage for nearly another hour?  Thanks, I hate it.  It’s hard to describe exactly what bugged me about it all so much, except that after he stood up to do it for her, the least they could’ve done was avoided using him for cheap drama like “to be revealed later.”

Yeeeeeeeah,  I thought that was a really odd way to handle all of that, too. 

[boyznkatz]

Haven't they always exploited people for ratings, though? I don't think that's anything new. I don't know why James didn't just withdraw. I guess he wanted to dance for his wife, but I sure wouldn't want to be used for drama like that.

James and his wife had only kind things to say about Ally after the show. I don't know why fans are hating on her. They aren't doing him or his family any favors by picking on their good friend.

[FilmTVGeek80]

Just now, boyznkatz said:

James and his wife had only kind things to say about Ally after the show. I don't know why fans are hating on her. They aren't doing him or his family any favors by picking on their good friend.

I'm pissed off on James's behalf, but I don't think fans need to take into consideration whether James and his family are friends with Ally to express their frustration that she's still on the show. Like I said in an earlier post, attacking her personally is uncalled for - especially to her face basically - but if people have a frustration with her dancing and/or with the judges's ridiculous unexplainable fascination with her and being pissed she got saved for a THIRD time they have every right to discuss that whether or not James and his family do't blame her.

[Lady Calypso]

19 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

There is no love lost between me and what used to be one of my favorite shows.  But aside from the result, I find the way the way James’ tragedy was handled so cynical and manipulative, the worst of reality TV.  They tease “a complicating factor,” after the judges have torn his first dance to pieces, and still don’t allow James to address Kimberly’s miscarriage for nearly another hour?  Thanks, I hate it.  It’s hard to describe exactly what bugged me about it all so much, except that after he stood up to do it for her, the least they could’ve done was avoided using him for cheap drama like “to be revealed later.”  I'm devastated for them.

This show is so joyless and terrible.  I miss what it was. 

I get why it bugged ME. The whole thing they did with James during the show was really sad for him. I know they had to address the miscarriage, but waiting until his second dance to reveal it was really a cheap way to tease drama. And yes, I also understand that the first dance had to have the redemption dance segment. But they could have let James talk about it a little with Tom during the judging and then had the segment explain it fully later.

What bothered me was how harsh the judging was toward James when the judges KNEW what was going on. They should have critiqued Emma on the choreography more than James on his actual dancing. They knew exactly why this was a weak dance for him. They knew that his mind was nowhere near the show. It bugged me that Carrie Ann felt the need to bitch to James about his posture in BOTH dances. I guess they had no clue that James would be in the bottom 2, but they really went all in on the criticisms. They didn't even bother to ease up and the poor guy looked miserable. 

And yes, you know what? I'd RATHER they would have went really easy on him. I'd rather they would have dropped the criticisms for the dances. Because what happened is that it didn't become fun to listen to them pounding into James over and over. It wasn't fun to hear the judges tear into every little part of his dance while they knew that he just lost his baby. He wasn't going to be in the right mindset to hear all of this and they didn't seem to care. 

Once we did find out about what happened, you'd think that the judges would have been softer on his second dance. And sure, they stopped with the heavy critiques. Len and Bruno gave him more praise....but then Carrie Ann just HAD to bitch about his posture for 10 seconds. And then, after his heartbreaking segment and his heartbreaking dance, they gave him....all 9s? Again, if there was any time to actually overscore someone, this dance was it. At least one simple 10 would have sufficed. But no, they scored him all 9s so it was awkward to see the image of James holding his sobbing daughter while having to see himself not even get a perfect score after having to follow up the miscarriage news with that Foxtrot. 

And then....after that's all said and done, James gets in the bottom 2. Ok, he didn't get the scores and that sucks. But then he has to listen to the judges unanimously choose Ally, someone who's been in the bottom 2 THREE TIMES at this point, while also having to listen to Ally beg the judges to choose him instead. Even though they know he's the better dancer, even though they know the audience favours him, even though they know Ally has a zero shot in winning while James had a high shot in winning, and they still decide to shit on his crappy week with an elimination, all because they want Ally in the finale.

It was all so very joyless and there's a few rare times when I'm ok if they're overly nice and easy. A heartbreaking loss like a miscarriage, where James still powered through his grief and attended the show, is one of those rare times when I wanted things to go easy for him. 

It's like they served him a shit pie and forced him to eat it onscreen. It definitely felt like they capitalized on his grief and that's totally unfair.

[boyznkatz]

2 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I'm pissed off on James's behalf, but I don't think fans need to take into consideration whether James and his family are friends with Ally to express their frustration that she's still on the show. Like I said in an earlier post, attacking her personally is uncalled for - especially to her face basically - but if people have a frustration with her dancing and/or with the judges's ridiculous unexplainable fascination with her and being pissed she got saved for a THIRD time they have every right to discuss that whether or not James and his family do't blame her.

Oh I know, and I wasn't talking about you or anyone else on this board. Some people on twitter were saying pretty mean stuff about her. It's like they took it personally, sheesh.

[FilmTVGeek80]

7 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I get why it bugged ME. The whole thing they did with James during the show was really sad for him. I know they had to address the miscarriage, but waiting until his second dance to reveal it was really a cheap way to tease drama. And yes, I also understand that the first dance had to have the redemption dance segment. But they could have let James talk about it a little with Tom during the judging and then had the segment explain it fully later.

What bothered me was how harsh the judging was toward James when the judges KNEW what was going on. They should have critiqued Emma on the choreography more than James on his actual dancing. They knew exactly why this was a weak dance for him. They knew that his mind was nowhere near the show. It bugged me that Carrie Ann felt the need to bitch to James about his posture in BOTH dances. I guess they had no clue that James would be in the bottom 2, but they really went all in on the criticisms. They didn't even bother to ease up and the poor guy looked miserable. 

And yes, you know what? I'd RATHER they would have went really easy on him. I'd rather they would have dropped the criticisms for the dances. Because what happened is that it didn't become fun to listen to them pounding into James over and over. It wasn't fun to hear the judges tear into every little part of his dance while they knew that he just lost his baby. He wasn't going to be in the right mindset to hear all of this and they didn't seem to care. 

Once we did find out about what happened, you'd think that the judges would have been softer on his second dance. And sure, they stopped with the heavy critiques. Len and Bruno gave him more praise....but then Carrie Ann just HAD to bitch about his posture for 10 seconds. And then, after his heartbreaking segment and his heartbreaking dance, they gave him....all 9s? Again, if there was any time to actually overscore someone, this dance was it. At least one simple 10 would have sufficed. But no, they scored him all 9s so it was awkward to see the image of James holding his sobbing daughter while having to see himself not even get a perfect score after having to follow up the miscarriage news with that Foxtrot. 

And then....after that's all said and done, James gets in the bottom 2. Ok, he didn't get the scores and that sucks. But then he has to listen to the judges unanimously choose Ally, someone who's been in the bottom 2 THREE TIMES at this point, while also having to listen to Ally beg the judges to choose him instead. Even though they know he's the better dancer, even though they know the audience favours him, even though they know Ally has a zero shot in winning while James had a high shot in winning, and they still decide to shit on his crappy week with an elimination, all because they want Ally in the finale.

It was all so very joyless because there's a few rare times when I'm ok if they're overly nice and easy. A heartbreaking loss like a miscarriage, where James still powered through his grief and attended the show, is one of those rare times when I wanted things to go easy for him. 

It's like they served him a shit pie and forced him to eat it onscreen. It definitely felt like they capitalized on his grief and that's totally unfair.

I agree with you, but I will defend Carrie Ann a little bit. In his second dance while she did comment on her issues with his posture in the first dance she did praise him for improving in her eyes. She said she took his note (like Kel did last week) and had improved on what she was asking for. That alone was one of the reasons why I was pissed that at least she didn't give him a 10. 

And, I definitely agree that they didn't need to pile on the way they did. I don't usually endorse that a sad story should equal an automatic 10 but given the ridiculous first set of scores for him, I thought he deserved it for that second dance given what he was going through. It sort of reminded me of Alfonso Ribeiro's semi-finals performance. He didn't have a family tragedy but he was hampered by an injury and wasn't at his absolute best. For the first dance, they were kind in the comments but didn't give him all 10s, but then did with the second dance (it helped that the second dance was a contemporary but still.) They didn't sandbag because he was having one off night.

[853fisher]

25 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Haven't they always exploited people for ratings, though? I don't think that's anything new. I don't know why James didn't just withdraw. I guess he wanted to dance for his wife, but I sure wouldn't want to be used for drama like that.

Oh, definitely.  While I've thought in the past that some of the "Kym's partner dropped her right on her neck, and wouldn't you like to see it in slomo 17 times while we discuss the impact this injury could have on her career, just kidding she's fine" was pretty tacky, I understood it comes with the territory a bit.  Maybe it's just an intangible, or maybe I'm sensitive for personal reasons.  But I think there's a difference between milking the hell out of a sprained ankle, say, or showing an argument between a couple, and "there's a real tragedy coming up, stay with us!"  And, as I'm sure is apparent, I'm not neutral on the show overall, so that could affect my perception too.

Edited November 19, 2019 by 853fisher

[Was-MArsenault]

7 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Again, especially since James was already having a horrible week. The judges were really harsh on him last night as well, which made his elimination 10x worse. When the person who was saved is trying to beg, on live tv, to be eliminated instead, you know the judges screwed up. This is ALL on them.

Ally's a sweetheart for trying to beg for her own elimination. And I truly think she meant it. You could see her mouthing to the judges to save James and Emma (the moment right before Carrie Ann said she'd be saving Ally/Sasha, you can see Ally mouthing James' name). 

You could tell that not a single person in that room was happy with the judges. They had the power and they blew it. And I think what they did just proved why even a judges' save didn't work. They tried correcting last season's mistake but also proved why this new system is a mistake. There HAS to be a better way to decide eliminations.

In hindsight, I think that they should have just called off the elimination entirely if they really didn't want to get rid of Ally, and had all of them advance to the finale. That way, they can cut out a couple of the bullshit performances that they'll clearly show, and James' horrible week didn't need to get worse. 

Because, really, do we REALLY need to see Pitbull performing next week? 

7 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I gotta be honest...I had no idea people were so outraged by Bobby's win until I started reading comments for this season...

No, we do not.

And Ne-Yo along with Cher?

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

It sort of reminded me of Alfonso Ribeiro's semi-finals performance. He didn't have a family tragedy but he was hampered by an injury and wasn't at his absolute best. For the first dance, they were kind in the comments but didn't give him all 10s, but then did with the second dance (it helped that the second dance was a contemporary but still.) They didn't sandbag because he was having one off night.

But ABC had big plans for Alfonso!

This is probably really out there, but they announced that Bahamas weekend this week. Rashad, Ginger and Joey Fatone are joining it, and they said to check back for stars from this season who would be joining. We know how much the show loves having the winner on tour, so I wonder if they sandbagged James knowing if he made it to the final he'd win, but he wouldn't be going on their silly little weekend getaway (which can be yours for over $1000, but that doesn't include airfare or meals!).

[breezy424]

Ally has been over scored all season and last night was no different.  She isn't all that and the judges have over looked mistakes.  James has been under scored all season.  IMO, James has been better than Ally overall. 

Bruno was on The Talk today.  Carrie Ann defended her decision to pick Ally over James.  Bruno came on and defended his decision to pick Ally.  I think they are both wrong.  I don't understand the all the judges' persistence in favoring Ally.

[Riplet68]

In case you didn’t know; texting and on ABC site, you can give 10 votes to as many people as you want.  Until last week, I was dividing my text vote, last week and this week I gave 10 votes each to James, Kel and Hannah

[marykat71702]

Oh, man, I am so sad for James and his family!

I don't understand the judges saving someone who has been in the bottom two three times, who obviously doesn't have fan support, against someone who has been mostly impressive all season. 

Since James is no longer in the running, I am now rooting for Kel to win, even though he annoyed me a little tonight with the whole gun violence thing. Let's call it what it was-gang violence...

[marykat71702]

On 11/18/2019 at 9:25 PM, Sarah Heart said:

On 11/18/2019 at 9:22 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Kel represents the show the best: someone with no dance experience who got better and is now one of the best. 

100% behind you 

Me too

[marykat71702]

On 11/18/2019 at 9:56 PM, nickp1991 said:

ally should’ve had three strikes without the judges she would’ve been done

Ooh, there's an idea for next season(if there is one)--end up in the bottom two three times and you're automatically out! Take the judges out of it at that point.

[marykat71702]

On 11/18/2019 at 10:21 PM, suebee12 said:

I've read all the posts tonight and I am sorta' surprised that no one mentioned the judges were as "cruel" to James after his first dance. They already knew about the tragedy but poured on the "you were behind the beat, your posture wasn't good, etc". Then when Tom came on and said to wait to hear what perhaps happened with James, it was too late. The judges had done their damage.

Did the judges know at that point, though? Serious question. I am under the impression that they didn't know about what happened until James' package for his second dance was shown.

[Lady Calypso]

12 minutes ago, marykat71702 said:

Did the judges know at that point, though? Serious question. I am under the impression that they didn't know about what happened until James' package for his second dance was shown.

Yeah, I don't see how they wouldn't have. I know the audience was less likely to be informed, but I assume the judges would have been let in on what happened. They didn't seem surprised when everyone else found out.

[FilmTVGeek80]

1 hour ago, breezy424 said:

Bruno was on The Talk today.  Carrie Ann defended her decision to pick Ally over James.  Bruno came on and defended his decision to pick Ally.  I think they are both wrong.  I don't understand the all the judges' persistence in favoring Ally.

I don't watch <i>The Talk</i> (and I didn't even know it would air today with the impeachment hearings) what did they have to say to justify it? I'm sure their excuses are 100% bullshit, but I'm still curious.

[calipiano81]

2 hours ago, marykat71702 said:

Ooh, there's an idea for next season(if there is one)--end up in the bottom two three times and you're automatically out! Take the judges out of it at that point.

What if Ally's third time had been last week against Spicer? Would you still have wanted her to go?