S31.E11: The Finale

[Milakaren]

That's it, I guess. I am not sure if the show will excite me anymore  The dances were not really wow to me. I  watched this season only for Wayne. He started off great but I guess he had too much in his plate. Also the choreography was a let down. Witney is a great pro but sometimes there is lack of content in her routines. It was understood that Charli was going to win. With the number of 10s she got it would look stupid if anyone else had won the show. Overall a boring finale. 

[Gigi43]

1 hour ago, LadyMustang65 said:

Everyone keeps saying Charli is shy, but I have never met an actual shy person who puts themselves in the spotlight constantly.  I just don't buy it.  Nor am I really buying either her or Mark's protestations of not finding joy in dancing any longer.  If that were true, it seems the last thing you would want to do is have to force yourself not only to dance but to dance how someone else wants you to (the show assigning dances) and then have them judge you for it.  Unless, maybe, you're just really an attention ***** and don't care how you get it.  I think that was a narrative dictated by the show (and yes, they can do that; it's in the contract) and not terribly convincingly acted by either of them.

Yeah and they tried the shy and surprised by internet attention line with Heidi, too. The family is on season 2 of their reality show, Heidi has a YouTube, and her daughters have been making internet videos since they were underage but she was surprised by internet comments not being nice?

Charli reminds me of a line from House when he tells a famous doctor "you can't say you're just like everyone else and have a press conference!" Charli saying she's shy but you can't say you're shy but seek out as much attention as possible, complete with a move to LA wherein she got in the Kardashian orbit. Now Charli and Heidi are going on tour after another tv show (Heidi's gotten the performance career she used to want for herself it seems riding her daughters coattails) and it wouldn't surprise me if Charli pops up on the Kardashian show now that she's dating Kourtneys step kid.

[LadyMustang65]

40 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I've met plenty of shy people who genuinely open up more while performing in some way.

In psychological terms, shyness is defined as a fear of negative judgment.  So for someone who is truly shy and just not mistaking it for some other form of social anxiety to constantly put themselves in a position where they are inviting others to judge them does not make sense.  I've known some people who were truly shy, and they never did anything to draw attention to themselves.  Just the thought of being noticed was enough to cripple them.  To the point where even asking a salesclerk in a store where to find something they needed was a horrible experience for them.  So I don't believe Charli is actually shy.  She may have some form of social anxiety, but I don't believe she is actually shy.  More likely she is an introvert (who is someone who can enjoy being around people and performing but then needs time alone to recharge), but that doesn't garner the same sympathy as being "shy" does.  I still think that whole "shy" thing was a manufactured narrative by the show runners (along with the whole "I wasn't finding joy in dancing any more so I went on a dance show where I was forced to dance to regain that joy" arc).  I was surprised to find out that, as part of the contract for being on the show, the show has complete control over the celeb's narrative, and they are have to go along with it.  So if they sense chemistry, they craft a "showmance" angle.  If they sense conflict, the celeb can be portrayed as a total bitch, and the celeb has no say in it (like what they did to Nadia Comenci).  So they can sell it, but I'm not required to buy it, and in this case, I don't.  Your mileage may vary.

[Gigi43]

5 minutes ago, Milakaren said:

That's it, I guess. I am not sure if the show will excite me anymore  The dances were not really wow to me. I  watched this season only for Wayne. He started off great but I guess he had too much in his plate. Also the choreography was a let down. Witney is a great pro but sometimes there is lack of content in her routines. It was understood that Charli was going to win. With the number of 10s she got it would look stupid if anyone else had won the show. Overall a boring finale. 

I wonder if Whitney's pregnancy had anything to do with the choreography? She's probably known for a few weeks, has a small one at home already and combine that with Wayne's schedule, it just made for unfortunate bad timing for these two to be teamed up. 

[realdancemom]

Love the tributes to Len and that he got his own mirrorball trophy.  Cheryl's tribute dance was nice too. 

Shangela's freestyle was my favorite and the most entertaining. Gleb was a sport dressing in drag. I do think that she could have inched up in placement if there was overnight voting. I don't think she would have got enough votes to win.

Wayne was my favorite going in the season since he was really the only one out of the four that I knew.  I saw Charli in Derek/Julianne's special but that was just one dance.  He started out with a bang but I do think he overextended himself.  He seemed tired after he got sick and started doing other things.  I did like his freestyle and I don't think that Witney's choreography was lacking.  The beginning was great with Wayne dancing solo and then Witney strutting in with the other female pros.  The problem is that they did too much hip hop during the season so that it wasn't special for the finale.

Yes, Gabby's foot got stuck and it's bad that it was towards the end where you're supposed to make a lasting impression.  Should have used a different song so that there weren't any comparisons to Laurie's dance.  It's too bad she was on this season since I think she's a better all around dancer than either Hannah or Kaitlyn.

Charli is the best dancer technique wise all season.  The freestyle showcased that again.  What I really liked was that at one point during the dance, Mark smiled at her and she had a big smile back.  That's the first time, I actually saw genuine joy in her face while dancing.  Last week, I commented that I didn't feel like she enjoys herself while dancing not like Shangela who is always having a ball.

[babyhouseman]

 I wonder if Tyra's speech on internet hate had something to do with most people online not liking her. 

I know it wasn't possible, but I wish Tom could've been involved with Len's goodbye. 

[Melonie77]

2 hours ago, vibeology said:

Like I said above, I think if there had been time to vote after the freestyles instead of before, Shangela would have done better in the results. She was the moment and the only one I saw trending on what's left of twitter. I do think the in-episode vote has dramatically changed the show not for the better. 

This is most definitely true! I wrote about the voting window ending before the show being a problem at the beginning of the season. They should have done what they did in the past  and used the public votes for the next week's elimination. If this would have been a problem for the first episode they could have kept everyone and had no eliminations that week or had a results show for that one week only.

I agree with everyone who said the voting format may have hurt Shangela's final placement and I think she may have moved up into 3rd or even second place if there had been more time to vote. Having a results show this week would have allowed everyone to see the entire show before having to vote and even those who have been catching the dances on YouTube would have been able to vote. The current format allowed Charli's SM fans to vote in huge numbers whether they watched the show or not.

I wasn't able to vote last night for the first time…I normally vote both online and via text but last night I made the mistake of rewinding/pausing a couple of times and then lost track of the time. When I tried to vote the window had closed already yet I had not seen 2 of the freestyle dances.

[Melonie77]

2 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

I wonder if Whitney's pregnancy had anything to do with the choreography? She's probably known for a few weeks, has a small one at home already and combine that with Wayne's schedule, it just made for unfortunate bad timing for these two to be teamed up. 

Yes I agree with this. I thought for the last few weeks Whitney appeared somewhat checked-out and I wonder if she hasn't been feeling well. Last night during a rehearsal package Wayne spoke at length about the show, his experiences, their partnership and I don't think Whitney said anything at all. 

[Melonie77]

4 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

Everyone keeps saying Charli is shy, but I have never met an actual shy person who puts themselves in the spotlight constantly.  I just don't buy it.  Nor am I really buying either her or Mark's protestations of not finding joy in dancing any longer.  If that were true, it seems the last thing you would want to do is have to force yourself not only to dance but to dance how someone else wants you to (the show assigning dances) and then have them judge you for it.  Unless, maybe, you're just really an attention ***** and don't care how you get it.  I think that was a narrative dictated by the show (and yes, they can do that; it's in the contract) and not terribly convincingly acted by either of them.

I too do not buy Charli's story of being shy. I see an aloof teen not too interested in other people. 
She sure is the polar opposite of Shangela who went out of her way to get to know the rest of the cast and was supportive of everyone's journeys on the show.

Does anyone else feel like this season had a lot to do with pushing Disney? I know D has been promoted for several years on DWTS now but with the move to D+, this season felt like it was scripted to help the Disney company out of the problems it has encountered in recent years including those caused by the pandemic.
You can't watch the ABC channel lately without constant mention of Disney...one commercial after another for some sort of program - plus Bob Iger's return in the news. I saw last night a promotion for an upcoming Disney Christmas show headed by none other than Derek and Julianne Hough. And then there was the push for a younger audience with Charli and the script to help her win.

During the season I periodically checked out other DWTS forums, Reddit, SM, and the media for info about the show and I noticed a lot of younger people pushing for Charli, especially on Reddit. This group did not seem to take into consideration how her participation was unfair due to her high level of training on top of a lack of star status. I think they came out in force last night to help give her the trophy.

I also noticed that Gabby's plea for votes that I posted at the top of this thread seemed geared towards younger people - younger than Gabby herself who is 31.

As has been discussed before the show may have lost a lot of the 'older' viewers with the move to Disney. And for those who did not want to pay to watch if they waited to catch the dances on YouTube they may not have voted.

[Melonie77]

31 minutes ago, babyhouseman said:

 I wonder if Tyra's speech on internet hate had something to do with most people online not liking her. 
I know it wasn't possible, but I wish Tom could've been involved with Len's goodbye. 

There was an online petition on Change.org started 2 years ago calling for Tyra's removal from the show. People are still signing it and it has over 15,000 total signatures.

 https://www.change.org/p/dancing-with-the-stars-remove-tyra-banks-from-dancing-with-the-stars

[White Dog]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

There's actually a surprising amount of people who would. I've met plenty of shy people who genuinely open up more while performing in some way. I know shyness and introversion don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, but Charli could also be introverted, and there's a lot of introverted celebs who love performing.

Thank you for saying that. It’s so true that many are introverts. I would never put myself in a class like Charli when it comes to dancing but she really spoke to me. As a child I was painfully shy but I really loved performing dance and it was an outlet for me for self expression.  

[Melonie77]

16 hours ago, MissPriss said:

 And while I’m mad, just how BIG is Tyra??? Nothing like a dwarf co-host to emphasize her clunkiness. 

I totally agree that the hosts look very awkward together.

Tyra looks so much nicer in simple black or darker colored gowns -they make her look slimmer and more elegant. And they do not distract from the show.
I really dislike the over the top brightly colored dresses she wears - she sported 2 'beauties' last night that looked like fabric and trim had been churned up in a blender before being thrown over her just before she strutted out onto the stage.
Erin used to wear beautiful elegant gowns why can't Tyra do the same?

In addition Tyra is very tall, apparently big-boned and is over-weight. Why did they choose a short man to host with her? They do not look aesthetically pleasing together. Instead their body types contrast each other and it's distracting. Neither can help this but I don't think TPTB thought about how they would look together before casting Alphonso.

According to the Internet Alphonso is 5'6" and Tyra is 5'10". I'm not sure if this is right as they look more like at least a foot apart in height.
I don't say this to be unkind but they each make the other look bad - she appears to be a giant next to him especially with all the huge architectural trim her gowns sport, and he looks like a dwarf when standing with her. Maybe she should wear lower heels along with simple dark toned gowns and he should get lifts. The show is demanding over appearance with the cast and pros - why not with the hosts?

[Melonie77]

15 minutes ago, White Dog said:

Thank you for saying that. It’s so true that many are introverts. I would never put myself in a class like Charli when it comes to dancing but she really spoke to me. As a child I was painfully shy but I really loved performing dance and it was an outlet for me for self expression.  

I watched a number of Charli's TikTok videos and she seemed very confident to me whether she was dancing or hawking makeup products. The whole family is on TV. With all this attention now I wonder what she will be like as an adult.

[Melonie77]

3 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

I still think that whole "shy" thing was a manufactured narrative by the show runners (along with the whole "I wasn't finding joy in dancing any more so I went on a dance show where I was forced to dance to regain that joy" arc).  I was surprised to find out that, as part of the contract for being on the show, the show has complete control over the celeb's narrative, and they are have to go along with it.  So if they sense chemistry, they craft a "showmance" angle.  If they sense conflict, the celeb can be portrayed as a total bitch, and the celeb has no say in it (like what they did to Nadia Comenci).  So they can sell it, but I'm not required to buy it, and in this case, I don't.  Your mileage may vary.

I totally agree. This was her crafted narrative for improvement during the course of the season.

[LadyMustang65]

40 minutes ago, Melonie77 said:

According to the Internet Alphonso is 5'6" and Tyra is 5'10". I'm not sure if this is right as they look more like at least a foot apart in height.

Tyra probably wears stilettos so add another 4" - 6" to her height.  Maybe if she switched to flat shoes and wore simpler dresses that weren't so overwhelming, it might look better.

[LadyMustang65]

1 hour ago, Melonie77 said:

I too do not buy Charli's story of being shy. I see an aloof teen not too interested in other people. 
She sure is the polar opposite of Shangela who went out of her way to get to know the rest of the cast and was supportive of everyone's journeys on the show.

Shangela was a true gem and just a really good person.  I loved how on Instagram she would congratulate the couple who went home each week and say something nice about them or share a memory.  Loved her spirit.

[Josh371982]

22 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

What a surprise! The winner is exactly who we said would win from Week One.  The show could not have pushed her any harder unless she'd been the only contestant.  I was hoping against hope right up til the end that we'd have a surprise upset, but nope.  Yawn!  Didn't even get an amazing Mark freestyle out of it, which might have made it somewhat worthwhile.  My husband didn't even realize that was their freestyle.  And I am so way past over the ridiculous gushing over her.  

Wayne and Witney were great.  He really improved his Quickstep over his last outing, which was good to see.  The freestyle was a lot of fun and really enjoyed it.  

Gabby and Val did their usual good job.  Could see improvement in her cha cha, and I liked their freestyle even with the little glitch at the end.  

Charli's "redemption" dance was one where she scored a 38 first time around - that's 2 10s and 2 9s - and it was the highest scored jive of the season.  Yeah, she really needed to "redeem" herself on that one.  <lol>  Not sure why they didn't go for her cha cha or Quickstep, since those were her lowest scoring dances.  So dumb.  And even with all that, she still is not a great performer, but the judges act like she's some prodigy.  I had really been looking forward to seeing one of Mark's uber-creative freestyles, which would have made up somewhat for the show's pushing of Charli on us all, and instead we got a retrospective of their greatest hits of the season.  Well danced of course but completely forgettable.

Shangela and Gleb are the season's biggest revelations for me.  Shangela did much better with her Quickstep this time around, and that freestyle really brought down the house.  Just pure joy, light and energy.  Absolutely loved it!  And huge props to Gleb for going all in and becoming a drag queen.  He's a good-looking man but who knew he'd be such a beautiful woman?  That was so different and so fun it was worth having to put up with the inevitable coronation of the TikTok princess.

Some real fun moments tonight, but overall this has been the second most disappointing season after Bobby Bones.  They orchestrated that right up to the faux showdown between Charli and Gabby they've been pushing all season with the inevitable winner that we all saw coming the entire season despite their ludicrous attempts to pretend her win wasn't inevitable.  I just hope they've gotten it all out of their system now, and we can have an actual fair-ish competition next season.

They were probably mad their chosen one last season Jojo lost so they made sure to make sure Charli won this season

[White Dog]

Before anyone thinks this was a done deal the producer of the Bachelor franchise tweeted this out during the show - so basically the voting was not a runaway - If Gaby had a better night she could well have been the champ. IMHO Val once again shit the bed with the decision to do cell block tango and for me Gaby was 4th in terms of the freestyle. Bachelor Nation was voting their asses off. This makes sense to me, when I looked at Charli’s social media the majority could care less about DWTS much less vote. Granted all she needed was a portion to vote but it made it a lot closer than many thought.

Edited November 23, 2022 by White Dog

[babyhouseman]

24 minutes ago, White Dog said:

Before anyone thinks this was a done deal the producer of the Bachelor franchise tweeted this out during the show - so basically the voting was not a runaway - If Gaby had a better night she could well have been the champ. IMHO Val once again shit the bed with the decision to do cell block tango and for me Gaby was 4th in terms of the freestyle. Bachelor Nation was voting their asses off. This makes sense to me, when I looked at Charli’s social media the majority could care less about DWTS much less vote. Granted all she needed was a portion to vote but it made it a lot closer than many thought.

Tyra said last night there were many votes, and the voting was close. I remember Shawn Johnson barely beat Gilles Marini by less than one percent. Maybe if Val gets in the finals again, he'll do a better freestyle. 

[MissPriss]

4 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

Tyra probably wears stilettos so add another 4" - 6" to her height.  Maybe if she switched to flat shoes and wore simpler dresses that weren't so overwhelming, it might look better.

…add a muzzle.
She just grates. 

[anonymiss]

On 11/22/2022 at 10:30 AM, Lady Calypso said:

There's actually a surprising amount of people who would. I've met plenty of shy people who genuinely open up more while performing in some way. I know shyness and introversion don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, but Charli could also be introverted, and there's a lot of introverted celebs who love performing.

Agree. Charli also is very young and she comes across as a girl who has spent most of her life on one thing and hasn't had much other life experience or education. Those people tend to be self-conscious about this and more in their shell when having to rely on their knowledge/personality. She only comes alive while dancing--where she is confident and where she can sort of become the alter ego of the character of a dance.

As for her continuing to put herself in the spotlight, well...we are all encouraged, motivated, pressured by $ucce$$ and would be crazy to turn down all the opportunities.

I speak from a bit of personal identification in having been shy before but thrusted myself into the spotlight under the safety net of a character/role  which helped me gain confidence overall as it was very successful and encouraging. And aging helped. Charli is still a teenager, which is very apparent off stage.

That said, was underwhelmed by their freestyle and their win. Enjoyed her redemption jive as her first one suffered from focusing mostly on the contemporary. It was the jive I expected from her before.

Shangela and Natasha aka Gleb were amazing and wish they could have somehow won or at least gotten 2nd. But I can be glad my all-time fave, Mark, got to dance his heart out and receive the respect I always felt Derek got but Mark deserved (also/more?).

Edited November 24, 2022 by anonymiss

[Lady Calypso]

18 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

In psychological terms, shyness is defined as a fear of negative judgment.  So for someone who is truly shy and just not mistaking it for some other form of social anxiety to constantly put themselves in a position where they are inviting others to judge them does not make sense.  I've known some people who were truly shy, and they never did anything to draw attention to themselves.  Just the thought of being noticed was enough to cripple them.  To the point where even asking a salesclerk in a store where to find something they needed was a horrible experience for them.  So I don't believe Charli is actually shy.  She may have some form of social anxiety, but I don't believe she is actually shy.  More likely she is an introvert (who is someone who can enjoy being around people and performing but then needs time alone to recharge), but that doesn't garner the same sympathy as being "shy" does.  I still think that whole "shy" thing was a manufactured narrative by the show runners (along with the whole "I wasn't finding joy in dancing any more so I went on a dance show where I was forced to dance to regain that joy" arc).  I was surprised to find out that, as part of the contract for being on the show, the show has complete control over the celeb's narrative, and they are have to go along with it.  So if they sense chemistry, they craft a "showmance" angle.  If they sense conflict, the celeb can be portrayed as a total bitch, and the celeb has no say in it (like what they did to Nadia Comenci).  So they can sell it, but I'm not required to buy it, and in this case, I don't.  Your mileage may vary.

Ok, so maybe shyness is the wrong term here. Maybe she's just introverted and has social anxiety. It's interesting, because I think back to how the word shy was used when I was her age (which was about 10-11 years ago) and I think the word shy was used because social anxiety wasn't particularly well known. So maybe that's my mistake in interchanging the two, though I think the show used the term first. 

And I agree that every celeb gets a manufactured story at some point. I knew they'd need to put something in for Charli...but this works better than anything else they could have forced in for her, and at least I BUY this, since we did see her disconnected/distant for weeks. Plus, again, Charli's no actress. If she was faking her introvertedness, we'd know. Nobody in her family can act; I've seen her sister try to act and she's terribly wooden, even more so than Charli was. Heidi is clearly no better from what we've seen. 

But I do think she's introverted and gets anxious and feels comfortable performing vs being herself. I still stand by my opinion that she's far from the worst social media star we've seen. She does seem very nice and not stuck up (again, we've had stuck up stars before; look at Olivia Jade from last season, who tried to elicit sympathy from her parents buying her way into college and trying to force herself back into the spotlight. Look how hard that failed). Two extremely privileged girls, for sure, but Charli literally funds her entire family's success, so I DO think it's more complex. I could see some extreme pressure from her family to maintain the level of fame since, without Charli's fame, the entire family would be just another rich family. And she's BARELY eighteen. She's still growing and developing. She's still very, very young, and I think many, including me, have forgotten that. She became mega-famous as a teenager, when her parents still dictated her decisions. She wasn't able to make the decisions that adults could, so who knows what she personally chose to do and what her family told her to do. Who knows how much she's enjoyed for herself and how much she's felt like she's had to do for her family.

And, to reiterate, I came into the season not caring about Charli and even resenting her being here. Now, am I going to follow her and become a fan? No. But I don't see her as an awful bratty social media star anymore. She's still basically a kid who's had to grow up a bit too fast for her family. Of course she still is immature and reacts poorly at times; most teens are like that. 

I cannot believe I'm arguing FOR Charli right now. I'm stunned at that, because even up to three weeks ago, I was still wishing she wasn't on the show.

I still am surprised by how much I still dislike Gabby's freestyle, even two days later. Man, the disappointment is real. I rewatched it last night and I still thought "well, this isn't a freestyle dance!" It didn't make Gabby stand out in any way. It was fine, slightly bigger than their average routines, but nowhere on the level that it should have made her pop. I wonder if she COULD have garnered more votes with a better freestyle.

I also rewatched Shangela's freestyle. Still a lot of fun, still a highlight, still should have bumped her to at least third place. I found myself looking at the judges more during her freestyle and Len had a HUGE smile at one point AND I think he was even standing. I don't think I've seen Len smile that big at a freestyle.

[realdancemom]

15 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

Shangela was a true gem and just a really good person.  I loved how on Instagram she would congratulate the couple who went home each week and say something nice about them or share a memory.  Loved her spirit.

Jordin is another person that came off really well.  Last week, I mentioned that both Jordin and Shangela express joy in their dancing.  Jordin was very gracious when she was eliminated.  Last night, it was really special to see Selma dance again.  And it was also really nice how Jordin cheered for her at the end of her dance.

[Lady Calypso]

10 minutes ago, realdancemom said:

Jordin is another person that came off really well.  Last week, I mentioned that both Jordin and Shangela express joy in their dancing.  Jordin was very gracious when she was eliminated.  Last night, it was really special to see Selma dance again.  And it was also really nice how Jordin cheered for her at the end of her dance.

It's so great to see so many celebs this season be supportive of one another. This cast HAS been very strong in many ways. We haven't had any celebs who were outright assholes and it does seem like this cast is closer than some others. Shangela, Gabby and Vinny are the three that seem the most extroverted and the ones interacting with the most couples throughout the season. I can see why Vinny/Shangela were highly praised in the Superlatives segment a few weeks back and why Gabby has been in multiple photos.

But seeing everyone be super supportive for each other has been one of the many highlights this season. I'm sure past seasons have had the cast just as supportive, but something about this season stands out to me with the cast. 

[realdancemom]

21 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

It's so great to see so many celebs this season be supportive of one another. This cast HAS been very strong in many ways. We haven't had any celebs who were outright assholes and it does seem like this cast is closer than some others. Shangela, Gabby and Vinny are the three that seem the most extroverted and the ones interacting with the most couples throughout the season. I can see why Vinny/Shangela were highly praised in the Superlatives segment a few weeks back and why Gabby has been in multiple photos.

But seeing everyone be super supportive for each other has been one of the many highlights this season. I'm sure past seasons have had the cast just as supportive, but something about this season stands out to me with the cast. 

Although not very strategic, I believe Vinny chose Team Wicked based on his friends in the cast.  I think I heard something like that during their rehearsal.  That's why he chose Gabby, Shangela, and Jordin for his team.  Heidi was the last one left which probably never happened to her when they were picking teams for gym class.

[ljenkins782]

14 hours ago, White Dog said:

Before anyone thinks this was a done deal the producer of the Bachelor franchise tweeted this out during the show - so basically the voting was not a runaway - If Gaby had a better night she could well have been the champ. IMHO Val once again shit the bed with the decision to do cell block tango and for me Gaby was 4th in terms of the freestyle. Bachelor Nation was voting their asses off. This makes sense to me, when I looked at Charli’s social media the majority could care less about DWTS much less vote. Granted all she needed was a portion to vote but it made it a lot closer than many thought.

How did he know what the voting totals were? Do the DWTS people share voting number information with the Bachelor producers?

Quote

It's so great to see so many celebs this season be supportive of one another. This cast HAS been very strong in many ways. We haven't had any celebs who were outright assholes and it does seem like this cast is closer than some others. Shangela, Gabby and Vinny are the three that seem the most extroverted and the ones interacting with the most couples throughout the season. I can see why Vinny/Shangela were highly praised in the Superlatives segment a few weeks back and why Gabby has been in multiple photos.

I go back and forth on whether I think Vinny is a nice person, the Jersey Shore fame (that wasn't really on him in the early days, he was one of the lesser characters) seemed to have gone to his head a lot of the time. 

However, I did think it was sweet the way he always made an effort to catch Daniel's eye and do the sign language version of clapping when Daniel was declared safe. It was always very deliberate so it stood out to me.

[BrainyBlonde]

There is a legit baby boom going on over at DWTS right now. Daniella and Pasha just announced that they're expecting: Instagram Their baby will arrive in May (the same month Witney and Lindsay will be having their babies!). And, of course, Jenna and Val are expecting their little one in January. It'll be interesting to see if any of these female pros return to the show in Fall 2023, or if we'll end up with a bunch of fresh faces on the female pro side.

[vibeology]

2 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

I go back and forth on whether I think Vinny is a nice person, the Jersey Shore fame (that wasn't really on him in the early days, he was one of the lesser characters) seemed to have gone to his head a lot of the time. 

However, I did think it was sweet the way he always made an effort to catch Daniel's eye and do the sign language version of clapping when Daniel was declared safe. It was always very deliberate so it stood out to me.

I stopped watching Jersey Shore after the second season but I've always felt with most of the Jersey Shore people that they way the show blew up really gassed those kids up. They have a bit of a big head as a result but that they're all very sweet, kind people at heart. So, I think it's both. Vinny is a genuinely nice person but sometimes he gets caught up in his celebrity. 

[White Dog]

On 11/22/2022 at 2:30 PM, Gigi43 said:

I wonder if Whitney's pregnancy had anything to do with the choreography? She's probably known for a few weeks, has a small one at home already and combine that with Wayne's schedule, it just made for unfortunate bad timing for these two to be teamed up. 

Hmm I kind of doubt it, unless Wit was having a lot of morning sickness, she let  the cat out of the bag  at just the right time. Allison Holker also did a baby announcement when she and Andy Grammer competed and hung in for another 3 weeks. Allison also had a young one at home so I lean towards happy announcement happy dance team. Any votes would be a bonus If anything I think Wit made adjustments to the choreo due to her partner’s visible pain in his knees in rehearsal 

 

 
 

Edited November 23, 2022 by White Dog

[Melonie77]

1 hour ago, BrainyBlonde said:

There is a legit baby boom going on over at DWTS right now. Daniella and Pasha just announced that they're expecting: Instagram Their baby will arrive in May (the same month Witney and Lindsay will be having their babies!). And, of course, Jenna and Val are expecting their little one in January. It'll be interesting to see if any of these female pros return to the show in Fall 2023, or if we'll end up with a bunch of fresh faces on the female pro side.

I was wondering why Daniella and Pasha were not doing the tour this year - congratulations to the couple as well as all the other expecting cast members!😊

Family and friends frequently attend the tour shows in our area and I noticed that this year they have a smaller group of pros. Both the tour and next season will be affected by the DWTS baby boom. So I wonder who they will bring in for Season 32...I'm guessing troupe member Alexis will be a good choice and hopefully Sharna will be able to return. I believe she was supposed to dance this season but had to drop out prior to it's start. Derek's finance Hayley Erbert might be another choice. I know she trained in contemporary but she is a beautiful dancer who appears to have cross-trained extensively. I always wondered why they never elevated her from the troupe during the years she danced on the show.

[babyhouseman]

11 hours ago, anonymiss said:

ut I can be glad my all-time fave, Mark, got to dance his heart out and receive the respect I always felt Derek got but he deserved (also/more?).

I agree. Derek overshadowed him. I just have great memories of Mark on the show, and I was glad to see him again.

[TVbitch]

I understand his partner was injured, but I am so bummed Derek did not have a stand in or do a solo dance! I was mostly looking forward to that.

It was so weird this season not being at my tiny table for one in liking Gleb. Hopefully he does not revert back to aloof, pervy, lazy choreo Gleb next season! 

I thought Mark's freestyle was some kind of tribute to Gene Kelly, particularly Singing in the Rain. I was reminded of the ladder and tap numbers with Debbie Reynolds, they had the lamp post, and seemed like some moves from the Cyd Charisse bit. I was watching Mark, and he is so talented. ...but nothing comes close to the original, of course. 

Edited November 23, 2022 by TVbitch

[White Dog]

8 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

How did he know what the voting totals were? Do the DWTS people share voting number information with the Bachelor producers?

He’s a showrunner I’m sure voting for a Bachelorette is in his shows best interest. He would be in a position to know how cross promotion of reality shows on ABC works, so yeah it wouldn’t surprise me if that information is widely shared with Tv insiders on the same network. 
 

Also another Twitter user who was at some of the tapings said the live show announced to the studio audience that viewership is 27 million a  show. If this true and I have no idea if it is, the reach has increased enormously after moving to the streaming service, plus bringing in Canada and Mexico for the vote should have helped somewhat. This is the ratings of the Emmitt Smith years. Given last years finale was only around 6 million tops this was a power move by Disney. 

3 minutes ago, White Dog said:

. Already posted 
 

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Edited November 24, 2022 by White Dog

[marykat71702]

Dang, couldn't avoid spoilers this time.  I still haven't had a chance to watch it, but I will when I can.

Of course Charli won. It kind of takes the fun out of it when there is, for all intents and purposes, a professional dancer that you know will win, especially when the judges fawn all over them.

I don't mind contestants that have some previous dance experience, in fact they would be hard-pressed to find a full cast that didn't. However, there should be a limit as to how much experience they have.

[katha]

So, late to this LOL. I'd given up on watching the show, but I think Green coming back and the move to Disney Plus has helped. The pros getting back more creative control and more focus on the dancing has been very obvious and a clear improvement IMO. Of course the demo changes with a move to streaming but whatcha gonna do.

I thought it was a strong, entertaining group with a refreshing lack of unpleasant personalities. Would have been fine with any of the top four winning and agreed that they were the top four. As to the ringer debate, as far as I'm concerned that train left the station with Nicole Scherzinger and we've had variations of ringers and super ringers throughout the years. It is what it is. I don't see that Charli was more extreme than Nicole, Corbin, Meryl and Charlie, Riker, Jordan, JoJo and assorted other people. And then we had all sorts of gymnasts, figure skaters, athletes and performers who brought in relevant experience as well. In the top four this year, Gabby had dance exprience since she was a professional cheerleader, Wayne has performing experience on Broadway and Shangela has relevant performance experience as well.

Mark delivered a choreography and teaching clinic all season IMO. Glad they brought him back. For all her training, it was obvious to me that Charli is not used to performing for big audiences, so that needed careful packaging and development. Also, she's an introverted teenager, so not very interesting compared to the big personalities around her. That's no shade, just natural. She seems a nice and polite kid, but the careful and controlled way she has seems pretty typical of shy people who have learned to cope with big gatherings. She also seems to be getting a ton of hate as is sadly usual for influencer. So her demeanor made perfect sense to me.

I think Mark found a good balance of pushing her beyond her comfort zone but still delivering dances that reflected her personality. Hence why all of it was just the two of them, not a lot of frills, no big show effects. That would have overwhelmed her and distracted from her strengths. I also thought the freestyle was perfect for her. She already did the emotional contemporary, no need for a repeat. Shangela and Wayne are bigger performers, so drowning her in production would have worked against her. This old school Hollywood musical vibe suited her and she could show off what a strong dancer she is. And the focus on the two of them took the pressure off her having to carry the freestyle on her own, as the other three celebs did. She just doesn't have the big persona for that and it was strategically the right choice to steer away from something like that IMO.

Gabby was fun if a bit chaotic LOL and I thought Val delivered a really good season with her. Don't think the freestyle was good. Cell block tango always limits what you can do and it didn't reflect her personality super well IMO. She performed it well, though.

Wayne had a strong season and a freestyle that suited him. Agree that Witney's choreography has been sharper, but it wasn't bad or anything. Just a bit predictable perhaps.

Shangela was super and a real asset this season. Also brought out the best in Gleb. I've often been frustrated with him because he's shown himself to be a competent pro in other versions of the show but IMO became the worst version of himself on DWTS. This season was really great for him and showed what he can do. I hope he doesn't revert back next season.

[Omeletsmom]

On 11/21/2022 at 8:43 PM, thesupremediva1 said:

Forget it. Give this whole thing to Shangela and Gleb. Best thing ever on DWTS. Even my tiny iPad can’t dull their sparkle.

I’m so speechless and happy for them! AHHHH 🤩

I was spoiled for who won so I wasn't going to bother watching the finale, but I am SO GLAD I got to see that number.  Absolutely the best thing I have ever seen on this show!