S22.E06: Week 6

[cryptaknight]

Nyle has clarified his comments regarding Val on his Facebook page: he said he compares himself to Val in order to push himself, and because he aspires to be as good a dancer as Val. I think that's fair, and he was edited poorly.

[fishcakes]

Quote

Nyle has clarified his comments regarding Val on his Facebook page: he said he compares himself to Val in order to push himself, and because he aspires to be as good a dancer as Val.

I don't know, that sounds like damage control to me, since what he said was that his biggest competition was Val and then he specified that he meant Val and not Ginger, and that he didn't think the pros were better than him. Now, he very well have been joking and I guess that's a YMMV thing, but to me, he appeared to be quite serious when he said it. I don't have any feelings for Nyle one way or the other, but after his statements, I did feel a little bit of schadenfreude that his quickstep was not that great (and IMO not as good as Julianne's and Helio's to the same song and with Helio in the same banana suit).

A few people have said it's producer manipulation, like it was with Tamar and Rumer, but as I recall, Rumer said the other dancers were no competition for her in an interview; that wasn't a soundbyte on the show. The producers had nothing to do with it. And I'm pretty sure Tamar just out and out lied when she tweeted that the producers had every one of the celebs say, "I think I'm the best dancer here," because none of the other celebs backed her up on that and she deleted the tweet pretty quickly and later said that the reason she said she thought she was the best as a way of pumping herself up. I do think there is sometimes producer manipulation, but not everything is producer manipulation. Sometimes the celebs just lose their minds and say something assy.

Edited April 27, 2016 by fishcakes

[truthaboutluv]

Quote

and that he didn't think the pros were better than him.

He didn't say he didn't think the other pros were better than him, he said he didn't think the celebrities were his competition. Nyle's comment was that Val was his competition, followed by a laugh. When the producer asked for clarification if he meant Val and Ginger, he said no, just Val and said because he didn't think the others were really his competition, which I took to mean the celebrities. So in that vein, I actually think his Facebook clarification is believable and not just damage control. He doesn't believe his competing against the other celebrities, but rather himself and he looks at Val as where he needs to be since Val is a male pro whose skills are obviously top notch. Now one can say that is still arrogant and well delusional because personally I've always said none of these celebrities will ever have perfect ballroom skills no matter how good they are. But I don't believe he was saying he was better than Val or any other pro. YMMV of course. 

[spanana]

My biggest reason for thinking Nyle was somewhat kidding has more to do with my general impression of Nyle from other shows and his general personality.  He has quite a sharp sense of humor and he never was anything but humble on ANTM where he was dealing with far worse people and situations than he is here.  Plus he was half laughing when he said it.  But mileages vary and IMO it's not going to hurt him here as long as the edit isn't continued...and if Nyle was kidding, he will learn not to joke around with the crew for these reasons.  If he wasn't, he knows that he needs votes to win and that isn't the way to get it.  All the contestants have people coming at them over various things and generally once you hitch your train to a certain DWTS contestant/pairing, most uber fans will make any/all excuses for their couple and hate on everyone else.  So far this week I've seen tons of complaining about Wanya getting to do a boy band number, which makes no sense to me since it wasn't his boy band and not all boy band are created equal.  Then we've got the anti-Paige people crying RINGER over her dance background and how she should be disqualified for it, as if we've never had people with dance experience on the show and etc.  Once you are seen as a frontrunner in the eyes of the media or the show, fans will find something to come at you about.  The show just helped Nyle along.

[fishcakes]

Quote

He didn't say he didn't think the other pros were better than him

Okay, I listened to it again, and you're right. What he said was: "[Val] has to be my main competition. It's not the celebrities. I'm looking at Val. Because I don't really necessarily see them being better than me. I'm just feeling confident." I think because he switched back and forth between referring to Val and referring to celebrities, it was a little confusing, but it sounds like he's saying he doesn't think the celebrities are better than he is, not the pros. Which I still think is assy, but just a little. Unless you're Michael Bolton or Master P, it's fair for one celeb to say that the other celebs aren't better, although in general it's probably better to keep that thought to oneself.

Edited April 27, 2016 by fishcakes

[boyznkatz]

34 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

 

A few people have said it's producer manipulation, like it was with Tamar and Rumer, but as I recall, Rumer said the other dancers were no competition for her in an interview; that wasn't a soundbyte on the show. The producers had nothing to do with it. And I'm pretty sure Tamar just out and out lied when she tweeted that the producers had every one of the celebs say, "I think I'm the best dancer here," because none of the other celebs backed her up on that and she deleted the tweet pretty quickly and later said that the reason she said she thought she was the best as a way of pumping herself up. I do think there is sometimes producer manipulation, but not everything is producer manipulation. Sometimes the celebs just lose their minds and say something assy.

Oh okay, I didn't realize that about Tamar and Rumer. With a deaf person though, a lot gets lost in the translation. He could have been kidding, but that doesn't come across through an interpreter. I don't know anything about Nyle, just what I've heard from people who know more about him, and they have mainly said he isn't arrogant.

Edited April 27, 2016 by boyznkatz

[vibeology]

I also think it's a little assy. I'm sure he meant it as a joke but that doesn't mean he doesn't think its true as well. That's where lots of jokes come from. I can't say what was going on in his head when he said that so all I can judge him on are the actual words he said. And I get with an interpreter that gets a little harder to judge, but factoring in his facebooka nd twitter comments, I feel like he probably wasn't trying to be mean, but he does think highly of his dance skills. Nyle may want to push himself to dance more like Val, but he's not even close at this point. He's far closer to Wanyá and Paige (both of who I actually think are stronger than him overall) than to Val or Maks. And it's not like this is Nyle's first reality TV show. He should know that that exact type of statement in a competition show will get played and discussed. I get people get caught up in the moment, but he had an out when the producer offered up "Ginger and Val" and he didn't take it and that says something to me about who Nyle is. I'm not writing him off forever for one comment, but I do think he can be a little assy sometimes.

[iMonrey]

I agree it's tougher to read "sarcasm" from someone who is being interpreted. Same as it's tough to read sarcasm in an internet post or e-mail. He was definitely laughing when he said it.

I just cannot get into Wanya, at all. Admittedly, I am not a Boyz II Men fan, and couldn't name a single one of their songs if you put a gun to my head. But there have been lots of celebrities on this show I'd never heard of before and I warmed up to a lot of them. There is just nothing particularly engaging about Wanya's personality. He's just kind of there. I recognize that he's a good dancer, but his rehearsal packages leave no impression on me about what he's like. 

Kim may think people have started looking at her as "someone to watch" but she seems to me more like middle of the pack fodder. Same with Jodie. And unfortunately I think Paige will probably go sooner than she should too. The show seems to be pimping Ginger pretty hard because she's an ABC darling so she's probably in the best position out of all the women left.

How random was it to have Val suddenly show up in sparkly underwear in that opening number? Honestly, the gratuitous shirtlessness has gotten to an absurd level on this show.

[ari333]

I loved Nyle. He kind of turned me off with the whole "Val" thing.  He's not Val.

I agree; Damage control

If the other celebrities are not his competition (in his opinion) then that only leaves the pros.

[RedFiat]

It's always better to be just a little humble. It came off as arrogant, he probably didn't mean it to, but it did.  Hopefully for him it will be forgotten.  

[enthus-pro]

3a. Jodie & Keo – it's nice to see her back on the floor. Thought the beginning section the couple was immersed and connected to the music. Towards midway and afterwards, felt as if the energy went awry and found myself prematurely awakened from a nice dream. Was a little nervous in the split lift and glad Jodie made it through. Like how she's aware of her free arm and fingers and able to feel the music with it. Hoping she can build upon the last two weeks in her upcoming performances.

 

2b. Ginger & Val – thought she made a nice effort in portraying the artist of the routine. Think she was able to hit all the jazz beats as it seemed relatively sharp and crisp. Agree with Carrie Ann and Len that she could've portrayed and enunciated a bit more visceral attitude in the number. Still think she can put some more convincing power into each step and walk more authoritatively. Nonetheless, thought she made a nice effort and that she blended in well with the troupe.

 

2b. Wayna & Lindsay – its nice to see him in his element. Thought it was a well-controlled choreography (could've been a moment where they could've pushed it at a critical point in music), but nonetheless thought they produced the desired effect. Liked how they moved around on stage, taking advantage of the space to create a large feel to the number. The militaristic feel added a nice touch and liked the jump Lindsay made on Wanya's thigh as well.

 

2a. Nyle & Peta – thought he did a nice solo at the top and that he hit the beats well. It was fun to watch him embody the mad, quirky character well throughout the dance. Thought his swing/sway in hold was a bit off near the judges table with Peta. Would be nice if Nyle could improve upon his frame so Peta can feel/push off his spine. Agree Charleston section was inconsistent but thought it was good Peta paused in timely moments to gather the choreography. It was a fun routine to watch nonetheless.

 

2a. Paige & Mark – the aeriel cartwheel-like move looked smooth. Thought she looked comfortable and that she didn't drift in/out of the moment (i.e. beautiful rumba spin with Sasha, only to look at her feet in the exit). Thought she could've accommodated the music and Mark a little more during the dance (still moves ahead - just a hair) and that untapped growth may still need to be mined. Would be nice to see a lit candle slowly grow into a warm, radiating fireplace on the floor in the coming weeks.

 

Best of luck to all the celebs and looking forward to their dances.

[Primetimer]

The couples perform homages to famous dance numbers, with varying degrees of success.

View the full article

[skittl3862]

I question the famousness of most of these dances. Footloose, Bad, Nasty- ok sure. Hairspray- I guess, since someone performs to that song literally every single year. But Try? I don't even remember the song, let alone the video. If they wanted to do a contemporary music video, Chandelier is way more famous. And I love 'N Sync, but choosing the VMA performance versus the music video performance was odd. I think everyone aged 27-34 still has the Bye Bye Bye video choreography permanently implanted in their brain.

 

If the judges wanted a clean, traditional quickstep from Nyle, they shouldn't have told them to copy Jim Carrey's hammy performance from The Mask. The original is frantic and crazy for comedic purposes. Almost everyone else got "jazz" or "contemporary" this week to match their original dance's, but Nyle alone is punished for not upholding strict ballroom rules? I bet if he threw Peta in the air for 10 seconds like in the movie, he would have been dinged for a lift as well.

 

Why couldn't Karina wear a normal shirt like Freido Pinto does in the movie? Nyle has to get a lime green prosthetic face mask and teeth for the sake of authenticity, but she can't be fully clothed for once?

[RemoteControl88]

I am soooo ready for there to be a non-theme week.  Can we just get back to dancing?

I generally agreed with the judges scores.

Glad the judges called out Nyle for his frame. I didn't think it was good in his tango earlier either. He had a hunched over look about him. 

Glad the judges called out Ginger in her performance. She needs to dig deep and portray an emotion other than happy.

Paige was the best of the night for me. Clean/sharp nothing to complain about. I think she's a more well rounded dancer than Wanya. Don't get me wrong Wanya can dance his butt off, however, when he has to dance in hold I am usually far less impressed with him. I think Paige nails the latin & ballroom fairly well.  Wanya for me excels with the Latin dances or freestyle routines.  For what Nyle lacks in technique he really knows how to perform the hell out of dance which I love to see also.

Everyone else (Von, Antonio, Ginger, Kim, Jodie) I had been waiting for a breakthrough performance. Jodie had hers last week and has continued with the momentum....but Von, Antonio, Ginger & Kim...I'm not sure they have it in them?

[crowceilidh]

Pure DWTS had this to say, this morning, and I think it bears quoting:

Quote

I feel as though now is a good time to remind everyone of a very important thing to heed when watching the rehearsal packages: BEWARE THE EDIT. Last night, we saw two packages that very clearly illustrated how the tone of a package can get skewed with the right editing – they made Nyle, the well-loved, down-to-earth frontrunner seem like a self-absorbed egomaniac; and they took Antonio, the lazy narcissist who has only put in an average of 10 hours of rehearsal time for the first 5 weeks of the season, appear to be a hard-working, misunderstood victim of his pro’s apathy.  That latter in particular made me wanna toss my cookies, because as we reported (and as it’s been parroted all over Twitter) – Antonio has done nothing but make excuses for his lateness/lack of rehearsal time, and then apparently spent 45 minutes ranting to the confessional camera about how Sharna has checked out of their partnership and he’s “putting her on notice”.  He failed to assume any responsibility whatsoever for their partnership failing to “boom”, cast all the blame onto her, and came across as chillingly aggressive – and yet, because of the edit he was given (and the subsequent falling into line that the judges did), he appeared to be the uber-dedicated “comeback kid” this week, and managed to skate by with nary a negative word uttered about a routine that would probably gotten torn to pieces if it had been performed by Nyle, Wanya, Paige, or even Von. On the other side of the coin, I’m fairly certain poor Nyle got baited into one of the many loaded questions production loves to ask the celebs in order to illicit some of the juicier sound bytes we hear in packages – I’m guessing it was something like “Who is your biggest competition this season? Do you think you’re sexier than anyone in the cast? Who do you see yourself beating in a wet t-shirt contest?” Given that I’ve heard nothing but praise for how Nyle was on ANTM (“the nicest guy EVER” is a phrase that gets tossed out a lot), I find it hard to believe that he’d suddenly decide to start seriously throwing shade and bragging about himself. 

[spanana]

I'd also keep in mind that Pure is an incredibly biased DWTS site.  Don't get me wrong in that their factual insider info is usually based in truth.  They without a doubt have a source on the inside that gets them information. They have been saying for weeks that Antonio is putting in next to no time and detailing all the issues that he and Sharna have been having and etc. and they even spoiled ahead of time a lot of what wound up in their package, with them having a "heart to heart" and Sharna apologize and re-committing to the team.  All of which has been very, very true.  Sharna has even confirmed in interviews that Antonio was basically practicing 10 hours a week. Where Pure and I part ways is often in how they interpret the facts they present.  They have pros they like and pros they don't like.  Same with the celebs.  Then they will spin the info in whatever way they want.  Everything Derek does is perfect (in theory, I know he's not there this season).  Anybody who doesn't kiss Derek's ass is evil.  Everything Val does is evil.   A handful of the pros have had it out with them at times.  Val being one, I think when they tried to claim he was being a big ole meanie to poor Bindi last season.  But I'm pretty sure I remember Mark having it out with them over something too.  They are good for facts.  For spin? You have read between the lines.

[vibeology]

The sad thing is, if that's what Antonio is producing on 10 hours a week, imagine what he could do if he actually put the time in. He's got potential and pulls off a few nice moments in every routine. If he was actually putting in the time, I bet he's be really great. He could have run away with the competition between his fanbase, his charm and strong routines. Its a shame he committed to the show now, when he can't really commit the time. We'll never know how good he actually could have been.

[truthaboutluv]

Quote

They are good for facts.  For spin? You have read between the lines.

While I agree in general with your comment and to be honest, I don't go to Pure and have no idea why people who bitch and whine about their bias and awful attitude continue to, I have to say nothing I read in that quote seemed off or suspect to me. Hell I came to all these conclusions on my own just watching Monday's show. As you said, it is a fact that Antonio is not putting in the hours, does constantly make excuses and never takes responsibility for his dances and the brief part of his confessional they showed aligned with the longer confessional posted online with all his rantings.

So yeah it does personally make me side-eye that the producers chose to significantly edit his rant down to just him saying he was bothered that Sharna picked someone else to win, while they highlight Nyle as some narcissist, complete with Len scolding him about comparing himself to Val. And the fact is it definitely worked on some viewers judging by comments here and other places. If my friend hadn't sent me the post of Antonio's long rant that was floating online, a few days before the show, I'd watch the show and be none the wiser. 

Now I've watched reality shows long enough to know about producers and their editing tricks so this is hardly shocking to me. I guess what I'm surprised by is the motivation behind it. Why sugar coat for Antonio of all people and knock the deaf guy with the nice human story down? I mean maybe it was just the "Nyle needs to take a hit" week but again, they've jumped at highlighting celebrities' bad moments before (they sure couldn't wait to show Mischa's after her Cha Cha) and yet they sugar coat Antonio's? That really surprises me. Makes me wonder if he's killing in votes or something so they figure people must love him and want to see him.

Edited April 28, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[kitcloudkicker]

33 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

Why sugar coat for Antonio of all people and knock the deaf guy with the nice human story down?

I'm not sure that the propping up of Antonio and the knocking down of Nyle are 1 to 1 connected, but my guess for the motivation behind sugar coating for Antonio would be a (perceived or real, I don't know) notion that "Steeler Nation"/NFL fans would bring more viewers, and a fear that an NFL-free finale would bring a hit to the ratings.  

Edited April 28, 2016 by kitcloudkicker

[spanana]

The reason people go to Pure is they are one of the only sites posting insider info.  I have no problem with it because I can read between the lines.  Facts, cool.  Spin on how they feel about everyone?  I ignore that stuff.  It's their site and they can present their info however they want, with the caveat that the pros will bite back now and again when some of their insider claims make it back to them.  And I mostly meant it in the sense that once they have made up their mind about someone, everything posted about said person will be through the lens of how they feel about said person.  They have hated Antonio since day one.  Possibly for good reason.  They love Von.  So everything posted is pro Von and and anti Antonio.  They also love Nyle.  So only pointing out that their posts are colored through the lens of who they like/dislike.

I also agree with the above.  I tend to think Antonio has a lot of support, no matter how he acts.  I saw a bunch of Steelers fans coming at Maks over whatever comments he gave Antonio the week before.   My guess is that the TPTB feel the need to have one NFL person stick around and at one point it seemed like they were going to back Von over Antonio, probably in large part because behind the scenes supposedly Von is working hard and really into the whole process--even if his dancing doesn't always show that.  However they also probably realized that since Von isn't exactly lighting up the place on the dance floor, he's also not really pulling the votes--and I think the Steelers fans are more intense than his fans.  I wouldn't be surprised if we lose Von in the double elimination this week.

Personally I think the ones most in danger this week for the double elimination are Kim, Von and Ginger. I know some will scoff at the latter since she gets ABC pimpage, but at least online she just doesn't seem to have the support and a lot of people really seemed to dislike her Nasty dance.  Even many of the hardcore Val fans don't care about her. I think once you get rid of the bad dancers, the boring dancers are often the next to go and that is Ginger in a nutshell.  Plus if anything I think her pimpage is somewhat backfiring. 

Edited April 28, 2016 by spanana

[radishcake]

Guys please link to other web sites vs pasting their content over here. 

[OakGoblinFly]

22 hours ago, RedFiat said:

It's always better to be just a little humble. It came off as arrogant, he probably didn't mean it to, but it did.  Hopefully for him it will be forgotten.  

Why?  What is wrong with being confident?

I hated everything about this episode - I thought nearly all the dances were lackluster.  I'd rather the show let the pros choreography their own routines rather than force them to use/copy other work.

[TeeMo]

52 minutes ago, kitcloudkicker said:

I'm not sure that the propping up of Antonio and the knocking down of Nyle are 1 to 1 connected, but my guess for the motivation behind sugar coating for Antonio would be a (perceived or real, I don't know) notion that "Steeler Nation"/NFL fans would bring more viewers, and a fear that an NFL-free finale would bring a hit to the ratings.  

I've been wondering if Antonio is getting tons of votes from Steelers fans and it is in the show's best interest to start portraying him in a positive light so they don't end up with a possible winner who has a rep for being lazy and uninterested. Unlike some reality shows, I can't think of time when DWTS has ended up with a winner who had a mostly negative edit. In general the show seems to want everyone to feel good about whoever wins in the end. If Antonio is killing it in votes, the producers may have decided to go with a redemption arc for him to put a positive spin on the whole thing. 

[andipandi]

Is it just me, or are all the videos a promo for grey's anatomy? I tried watching through it to see if it was a commercial, but nope, all the same.

[Uke]

5 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

 If my friend hadn't sent me the post of Antonio's long rant that was floating online, a few days before the show, I'd watch the show and be none the wiser. 

 

Would you mind sharing the link to Antonio's rant?  Thank you.

[stillbored]

Nyle didn't say that he was better than all the celebrities, he just said that they were not better than him. It's an important difference (and one that for the most part is supported by his scores). I interpreted his statement as meaning that he felt like he was on par with the celebrities. And that if he wanted to win this, he didn't need to be as good as the celebrities (cos that wouldn't guarantee a win) he needed to be as good as Val. If he could be as good as Val then he'd more than likely win (I don't believe he actually thinks he can be as good as Val, just that that is what he needs to aim for).  (And I'm not a Nyle fan, I think he's overscored at times)

Edited April 28, 2016 by stillbored

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, Uke said:

Would you mind sharing the link to Antonio's rant?  Thank you.

I'm not sure with all the new features if this will show up properly and I apologize mods if it isn't allowed. But here you go. My friend basically just screen capped what was posted on twitter and sent it to me on Skype. I believe the source of the info was Pure though.

Edited April 28, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[RedFiat]

5 hours ago, OakGoblinFly said:

Why?  What is wrong with being confident?

I hated everything about this episode - I thought nearly all the dances were lackluster.  I'd rather the show let the pros choreography their own routines rather than force them to use/copy other work.

There's nothing wrong with being confident, but if he feels he is not in competition with the others, and is comparing himself to Val, the inference is with less than two months training he's as good as a dancer with 14 world titles. I don't think that's what he meant. It's just how many heard it.    

I prefer the people who say things like they are in competition with themselves. That makes sense. You want to push yourself to do better. If it's better than others at any given week, then so be it. The audience is assessing you. Have fun, and let the audience decide if it was great or not.. 

I have an inkling where this came from. Back in Season 8 Gilles was doing great week after week but Cheryl had some running commentary about him needing to dance more masculine. . Maks then made the statement, I get it,"you're doing me" since Cheryl told Gilles to try to copy what Maks did to make his dancing more masculine. There could very well be a similar type of conversation about Nyle , because like Gilles he is a model with that sinewy type of dancer's body. Peta could very well have encouraged  Nyle  to emulate Val's movement and the convo got turned into something that sounded more narcissistic than confident.  Just my two cents. 

[RedFiat]

5 hours ago, TeeMo said:

I've been wondering if Antonio is getting tons of votes from Steelers fans and it is in the show's best interest to start portraying him in a positive light so they don't end up with a possible winner who has a rep for being lazy and uninterested. Unlike some reality shows, I can't think of time when DWTS has ended up with a winner who had a mostly negative edit. In general the show seems to want everyone to feel good about whoever wins in the end. If Antonio is killing it in votes, the producers may have decided to go with a redemption arc for him to put a positive spin on the whole thing. 

Just looking at the twitter feed after the show, Antonio is definitely a favorite with a lot of fans. I assume they vote.   

[Vinyasa]

There are entirely too many people on that dance floor. UGH! Why does there need to be a cast of thousands?

Can't it just be the "star" and the "pro"?

[dwtsgueststars]

Speaking of Nyle and his comment, RadarOnline reported, just before his snafu, that other celebs don't like him much. 

 

Wanya's dance was the only dance I liked. The rest of celebs look tired or injured. 

[RedFiat]

7 hours ago, vibeology said:

The sad thing is, if that's what Antonio is producing on 10 hours a week, imagine what he could do if he actually put the time in. He's got potential and pulls off a few nice moments in every routine. If he was actually putting in the time, I bet he's be really great. He could have run away with the competition between his fanbase, his charm and strong routines. Its a shame he committed to the show now, when he can't really commit the time. We'll never know how good he actually could have been.

I am hoping this week Antonio is a bit more into the whole thing and wants to improve on his dancing.  

[calipiano81]

Nyle can aspire to be like Val all he wants, but if he thinks he doesn't have competition from the other celebs, I would suggest he pay more attention to Wanya and Paige, because their fans would beg to differ. 

And yes, people continue to go to Pure because it IS the best site to go to for insider info, spoilers, and news regarding DWTS. It is unfortunate that a couple of the moderators taint their work with their biases and unpleasant way of dealing with people who don't agree with them.

[truthaboutluv]

For the record, I don't care about anyone going to Pure all day long. My comment was in reference to the people who bitch about it and the moderators. My opinion is "then why go there and keep giving them hits?" And as for the whole spoilers and all that stuff - it's the internet. Anything on that site will show up on tumblr, twitter, instagram, etc. minutes after it's posted there. I should know. I don't go there and I always know who's dancing what and when, if I care enough to search. 

[Jal]

On April 27, 2016 at 0:38 PM, vibeology said:

he had an out when the producer offered up "Ginger and Val" and he didn't take it 

That's the most suspicious thing. He kept going on, and then they showed him making super confident faces at Pete and telling her that he's totally got some of the dance moves down already, as if to say he doesn't need to keep practicing them.

It's fine to be confident, but when you say a few weird comments in a row, people will start to wonder about you.

I was on Antonio's side when I watched the show, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. He definitely could've handled the situation differently (if that rant above is real).

Jodie deserved higher scores.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Jal

[calipiano81]

In hindsight, it might have been a good thing that Mark and Paige had to change their dance. Doing Paula Abdul would have been another music-video-type dance, and we already had three other couples doing that (Von/Witney, Ginger/Val, Wanya/Lindsay). With Austin Powers, they got to do something more unique.

[Dewey Decimate]

In the opening number to "Puttin' on the Ritz", did I see correctly that Mark was NOT wearing spats? WHAT IS WRONG HERE??

[calipiano81]

Mark hasn't really worn spats for a few seasons now.

[Uke]

5 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I'm not sure with all the new features if this will show up properly and I apologize mods if it isn't allowed. But here you go. My friend basically just screen capped what was posted on twitter and sent it to me on Skype. I believe the source of the info was Pure though.

 

Thanks! Now I see why I couldn't find it. I thought it was a video and was looking through youtube and daily motion.

What a pill this guy is.  The gist of it seems to be that for the one week Karina had to train him, she stroked his ego (probably just to get some effort out of him).  Sharna is straight with him and he sees that not being a team player.  He prefers being pumped up and deluded.  I think someone needs to tell him to "get with it or get lost".

[OnceSane]

Please stick to discussing the episode, not PURE and/or its possible biases.

[Uke]

10 minutes ago, calipiano81 said:

Mark hasn't really worn spats for a few seasons now.

I laugh when I see the other pros wearing the spats for all the heat Mark has taken for wearing them.

[katha]

21 minutes ago, Uke said:

I laugh when I see the other pros wearing the spats for all the heat Mark has taken for wearing them.

I think the "problem" for Mark is now that he's been on the show for so long that it has created "baggage" for him to some degree. So he's still getting heat for things he was doing five years ago or so, but IMO isn't really doing now. He's not really outdancing his celebs anymore most of the time (sometimes he gets overexcited about a theme and runs with it, but that's the exception), he's not doing the spats etc. In a recap a few weeks a go there was the suggestion that Mark was thrilled that he could be shirtless in a dance and I was like huh? It's pretty obvious that Mark is reluctant to go bare chested these days, he does it when he thinks it's necessary for the theme, but he's not interested in putting an emphasis on super sexy dancing in general. But season 12 Mark had different ideas about his role on the show, and IMO he was his most extreme and also his most memorable that season (good and bad), so that picture of him kinda stuck with a lot of people. Even though it was six years ago and he's in many ways a different dancer, choreographer and teacher now.

[calipiano81]

1 hour ago, katha said:

I think the "problem" for Mark is now that he's been on the show for so long that it has created "baggage" for him to some degree. So he's still getting heat for things he was doing five years ago or so, but IMO isn't really doing now. He's not really outdancing his celebs anymore most of the time (sometimes he gets overexcited about a theme and runs with it, but that's the exception), he's not doing the spats etc. In a recap a few weeks a go there was the suggestion that Mark was thrilled that he could be shirtless in a dance and I was like huh? It's pretty obvious that Mark is reluctant to go bare chested these days, he does it when he thinks it's necessary for the theme, but he's not interested in putting an emphasis on super sexy dancing in general. But season 12 Mark had different ideas about his role on the show, and IMO he was his most extreme and also his most memorable that season (good and bad), so that picture of him kinda stuck with a lot of people. Even though it was six years ago and he's in many ways a different dancer, choreographer and teacher now.

I agree. I used to defend Mark from all the criticisms because they were never true in my mind. However, I did notice Mark starting to change midway through Season 17 (after the Julianne debacle). While I still hold to my defense of him in earlier seasons, I can see a significant difference between now and what people used to complain about him, and I admire Mark even more for his willingness to change. And because of that willingness, I get irked when people say he's still doing certain things (e.g. overdancing, making dances about him), when to me, he's made an obvious effort to NOT do those things.

To make this post more relevant to this episode, I actually thought Paige outshined Mark a bit in their jazz. Part of it, I think, was the configurations in the dance, but also, some of the side-by-side choreography just looked more graceful on her (yes, I know, it's because she's had training in it). I tried to just watch Mark so I could enjoy his facial expressions, but my eyes kept drifting back to Paige. 

[jhlipton]

On 4/26/2016 at 10:41 PM, LexieLily said:

Did Kim just totally shade Keo this week? She said something about how he was good for a one-week-Switch-Up-partner, but maybe not for the whole season. And then she said how much she missed her Sasha.

Keo deserved the shade and more.  He totally screwed Kim over last week (I don't think "switch-up votes should count but they do) by messing up the choreography.  And when called on it, he didn't apologize; not to the judges and not to Kim, but instead went and pouted like a little boy.  If I were Kim, I'd be glad he was a "one and done", as well. 

[spanana]

I agree on Mark.  There was one point a long time ago where he was my least favorite pro by a long shot, at least of the males.  I hated the overdancing.  I hated the spats.  All of it.  He's now one of my fave pros, possibly favorite male pro, and I'm dreading what this show will look like without him, particularly from a choreography standpoint.  I can't really pinpoint when the change with him happened anymore, but it's definitely been welcome. Obviously there are some partners/situations he seems more into than others, but I think he's a great pro who generally almost always puts the focus on his partner.

This week IMO was a prime example.  Of course Mark is theatrical and he went all out doing his best Austin Powers because that is what the number called for, but he smartly kept Paige in the forefront during most of the dance so your eye would be drawn to her and not to his crazy antics.  He sold his character, but IMO didn't go overboard and detract attention away from Paige.  Also to Paige's credit, she sold it on her own.  After I watched it back a few times I realized that I didn't even notice Mark in the dance and went back to watch him specifically.

Mark is also the only one doing any sort of out of the box choreography at this point, though not Austin Powers specifically.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but at least his numbers are rarely boring.  I don't think it will happen this season but I'd love to see Mark get another mirrorball before he leaves the show.

I don't see how anyone could accuse Mark of getting naked all the time either.  These days he is the most covered up of the male pros.  If you were talking about Val, then sure.  Still not entirely sure what the part of the opening dance was with him in his underwear, unless it was some homage to Risky Business, but the clothes were off for that to hit any sort of mark.

[vibeology]

It was an homage to Risky Business for sure. Val came sliding in, wearing the glittery shorts and socks. That move with the socks and underwear on iconic dance night can really only be one thing.

I have to agree with loving Mark. I hated him so much back in the day but he's grown up a lot these past few years and as a result I've been won over. I don't think the Mark of today would put a partner in a gorilla suit and I don't think the Mark of today would go online about the "tribal shit" he was wearing. I think he's calmed down quite a bit and after having a few young partners in a row has come to realize that he can't make it all about himself and that his partner needs to be a part of the team. His choreography has gotten stronger because he designs dances to suit his partners and they are able to rise to the challenge rather than be overwhelmed by something beyond them. Also, now that he's ben around a few years I think he's more mellow when it comes to winning. I think every pro wants to win, but the smart ones also know how to read the show and figure out when they're actually in the running and when their not.

[spanana]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

It was an homage to Risky Business for sure. Val came sliding in, wearing the glittery shorts and socks. That move with the socks and underwear on iconic dance night can really only be one thing

I figured it was, but wasn't Val still wearing the top part of the suit from the rest of the number?  The part that threw me off is costume wise, it wasn't really fully Risky Business, since outside of the socks, that isn't the iconic wardrobe from the film.  If you are going to do that then send him out in a button up shirt and go all the way.  Though I assume it was done for the ease of the quick change?

[RedFiat]

I definitely prefer Mark this season over really any other season he's been on the show. I think that has a lot to do with his partner. There is outstanding dancing from Paige and yet she's not a drama queen, she's humble, but there's a toughness there. The mix of martial arts and dance is exciting. She's really coachable without the whining.  Dare I say she's the type of individual a girl can aspire to?    Can I say she's a ringer...for Julie Christie cira 1965?  

 

[crowceilidh]

Wow - that's an amazing alikeness.

[Gardencrown]

Frankly, I worry the most about Jodie this week (she's a favorite -- seems like a lovely person who turned her life around, and I'm a sucker for such stories!). I think that Keo is -- at best -- a non-entity in her voting. But this week we had him being all pouty and assy, and I could see him actually being a detriment. OH, how I wish that Jodie had gotten Artem! I think Ginger will stay a bit longer because Val is a pretty popular pro. And I feel pretty certain that Kim will go home -- which is also too bad because she and Sasha have been delightful, but she had Keo last week and her scores are a bit anemic. She has endeared herself to me for sure. And her face! If she's had work done, it's damn good work because she looks like she hasn't aged since Facts of Life.

And save a seat for me on the Ginger and particularly her husband are super annoying train!