S14.E18: Blackpool

[Occasional Hope]

All overmarked, with the possible exception of Ed, who really wasn't at all bad. I enjoyed Danny's dance, but it wasn't a 40 imo.

I suspect a surprise in the B2.

 

PS: the Judge is clearly OVER teh silliness of the VTs, and who can blame him?

Edited November 19, 2016 by Occasional Hope

[Pete Martell]

My favorite part was when the opening number decided to openly troll the "Danny ringah" base by having Danny leading a troupe of male pros and then slyly sneaking in through the "celeb" door. 

After managing a few strong dances at last year's Blackpool, this year they somehow managed to, through obtrusive background dancers, poor singing ("Mickey," "Spice Up Your Life"),  and poor camera work, managed to at best not completely get in the way of the best.

Best in spite of the show:

Danny and Oti - I can imagine the hoopla over this getting a 40, but it doesn't bother me, in part because I know the other two couples most likely to get the first 40 probably wouldn't have deserved it, and in part because I have no idea what this routine might have been without the "background" dancers (who for an odd length of time actually took up the spotlight with Oti while Danny was left behind her) and without the bewildering camera work that at times seemed to be trying to film Danny and Oti from another studio entirely. I thought I would be "charlestoned" out by this point, but this was a lively and sleek number that didn't have as much of the rictus grin feel as I might have thought. Good work. 

What can you do: 

Claudia and AJ - I doubt she would have been very good at the jive even in more streamlined weeks, but the ridiculous amount of time spent on her having to cheerlead, on the background dancers and the football motif, etc. made her feel sidelined and made the actual dancing seem like an afterthought. This was just not good. I wonder how many of the judge marks were out of pity. 

Greg and Natalie - I can't blame the show for Greg continuing to look like he's in his own personal Groundhog Day, but I can blame them for having "hand jive" for a quickstep, and then, on a night where background dancers repeatedly got in the way, chose to restrain the background dancers on a number where their personality and showboating was most needed. This felt like a very dead, sparse dance. 

Not great but they made it worse: 

Louise and Kevin - Paso was never going to be her dance, as her idea of intensity is occasionally managing to move her face, and she didn't even manage to move it here. But adding 5 million dancers, awful camera work, a ridiculous dais where she seemed to be, rather than doing paso steps, clogging, a cheesy song that sounded like the intro to Hercules or Xena: Warrior Princess, and keeping her detached from Kevin (who got lost in the midst of all of it and also seemed to be dressed in a badly dyed version of one of Graham Parson's old Nude Suits) just kept on dragging this further down. Second week in a row that a dance that is supposed to blow everyone away just sort of dies. 

Good routine, bad partners: 

Ore and Joanne - This was the one dance of the night that properly used background dancers, that had good music, and had genuine atmosphere, yet Ore and Joanne overdanced it, badly overacted it, and struggled to execute the routine to the point where they spun around in a circle for 30 seconds and Ore jumped up and down for no apparent reason for 10 seconds. And Joanne seems to think she's in an old Lucy Ricardo routine at Ricky's club. Why is she always making those Nancy Grace faces? She never completes Ore - instead she just clashes badly with him, even after two months. 

Same old same old: 

Ed and Katya - The piano was, thankfully, not as big a distraction as I'd expected. Katya did try to teach him jive, and he did try to dance. While it wasn't that great, it was still more than poor Claudia managed. Another week where it's difficult to tell much difference between "bad" dancer Ed and most of the "good" dancers. 

Rinder and Oksana - I just found this cringeworthy and very forced. It's nice that he can shake it all about, but everything about him puts me off. I keep thinking he's in a Christopher Guest film I haven't seen yet. 

Edited November 21, 2016 by Pete Martell

[Dots And Stripes]

I get the appeal of Ed Balls. I do not quite get the appeal of Robert Rinder. Maybe it's that he's in between Ed Balls and the truly good dancers both in terms of ability and his OTT expressions? Robert feels like he's playing a character at all times. 

Sad to see Greg go. He wasn't going to win so I can't complain too much about it being the wrong result. I would rather have seen Robert go. 

Louise felt way over praised this week. She looked tentative at times. Overall I didn't like the use of extra dancers and so many props. Strictly has so far been better about keeping props in the background and not having them interfere. I get that they wanted a big production for Blackpool but it made the whole evening feel chaotic.