S24.E11: The Finale Part 2

[tessaforever]

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This season was so much fun to watch! I created this visualization using data on each contestant. Check it out! I totally understand the shock over Val/Normani finishing 3rd place, but I really think viewers felt as if she had such an advantage (with such a strong dance background). I think Rashad worked very hard & improved so much (which was really impressive).

Cool! Thank you knhinson!

I noticed two differences from this past season compared to others: no partner switch-up week (I'm fine with that, as it's usually awkward); and no "freestyle encore" vote. Man, I would have rather seen either David or Rashad's freestyle again rather than hear Hailee Steinfeld "sing" twice!!

[spanana]

I think the nature of this show makes it very hard to have the male vs. female celeb debate just because it's a show about couples.  So how many trophies did Derek win because people loved his partners and how many were won because Derek is the most generally popular pro this show has ever seen.  Were people voting for the celeb or for Derek? That also extends to Val.  Do people vote for his female partners or for them?  If you look at his dedicated fanbase, they basically think any celeb that has ever been paired with Val deserved to win, with a few exceptions.  It's not a debate that will ever end.

I will point out though that we have had a season or two where people expected it to be a battle of the men and they wound up cancelling each other out and we have 3 females standing at the end.  All stars comes to mind.  On paper people thought all-stars was all about the men and yet look who were the last ones standing.  In S16, 3/4 finalists were female.  Mind you the dance talent in that season was super weak outside of the top 2.

Did Rashad have a sports fanbase?  Yes, to some extent.  But I really think he won because he dinged every box the core audience eats up.  He got a great edit.  He was shown to be humble, a hard worker, clean living (guy has never touched a drop of alcohol supposedly), upbeat, no drama, grateful, etc.  He has a nice sweet relationship with his also sweet pro.  He had a decent backstory about overcoming odds, plus all the stuff with his dad.  Oh, and he's easy on the eyes.

I also think in some ways Val was both a blessing and a curse for Normani.  I do think they had a good relationship and genuine affection, but for as large and devoted as Val's fanbase is, I still think the core audience probably just didn't want to hand him a back to back trophy.  I don't think that is the only reason Normani lost, but the pros do play a role in the outcome.  It's not just people not liking Normani.  It's also for every person that loves Val, there was likely another who probably wanted to see a different outcome/story for once.

Edited May 24, 2017 by spanana

[crossover]

4 hours ago, bealled said:

I am not sure why some found Normani and Val's partnership to appear fake or non-genuine. Just like David/Lindsay and Rashad/Emma I thought they had a great connection and seemed to really enjoy working together.

 Did anyone else wonder if Sharna may have finally gotten her win if she had been paired with Rashad? I feel like Sharna has been a female pro to get some good male dancers, but the timing is always bad when she gets them (like with James or Nick). Yet I feel like the show wants Sharna to win, it just keeps slipping away. I doubt many expected a male winner this season based on how strong the female cast was.

I thought Val/Normani had a great connection as well.  I THINK people were reading too much into Normani facing Tom at the end when he was talking to her.  They felt she turned her back on Val as soon as she was eliminated.  I think someone's just taught her to be focused on the person interviewing/talking to her and make eye contact.  You can't make eye contact if you're looking at Val.  As she matures, she'll learn how to manage this better.

I don't think Sharna would've won with Rashad.  In fact, I was thinking it was lucky for Rashad that TPTB decided to give Emma and Sasha gifts this season.  Sharna couldn't take Charlie to F4.  This season had more than "Meryl" to contend with.  So this would've been another "bad timing" for Sharna.

[NeverLate]

5 hours ago, ChrisMcGraan said:

One more time because it can't be said enough....THE.WINNER.IS.NOT.THE.BEST.DANCER. This show is about who the is able to combine dance skill with likability. Just because Normani was the best dancer this season doesn't mean she should have automatically won. She didn't get the votes, plain and simple. People can be upset Normani didn't win but please don't pretend that was she robbed.

Right on! Just because the judges loved her, doesn't mean the viewers did! 

Congrats one more time to Rashad and Emma.(.applause.)

[spanana]

Meant to also add that while every season has the ringer versus non ringer debate, for some reason it was at a heightened level this season.  I think it was because the ringerness was so highly stacked on the female side and then the male side was full of guys with absolute zero experience, so there was this cry of unfair from some viewers from day one.  Viewers seemed fairly determined to hand the win to someone without a ton of previous dance experience and the only person that walked the fine line of being good enough while not having tons of previous experience was Rashad. 

Every season has the age old debate of experience versus no experience, but it manifests in different seasons in different ways.  Sometimes a winner is so undeniable that folks don't care- Alfonso, Meryl, etc.  Other times it's a sin worse than death.

[UncleChuck]

35 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

I think that David was speaking from a baseball player's view. He was old for a baseball player, especially for a catcher.

Age is always judged by the group you are in.  Before I was drafted into the US Army, I had obtained several  education deferments for college, one occupational deferment as a teacher, and a 9 month delay of my reporting date until the end of a school year, so by the time I landed in Basic Training, I was 25.  I was years older than the 18-19 year old whippersnappers in my unit.  Heck, I was even older than the Captain and Lieutenant of my training company.  So at the "ripe ole age" of 25, I was called "Grandpa" by the other soldiers. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Dancing With The Stars Makes Us Wait For The Conclusion Of Season 24

After a ridiculously long and drawn-out finale, the show crowns another winner.

[truthaboutluv]

55 minutes ago, tessaforever said:

I think it was great strategy on Derek's part, not a bad thing (sorry if I implied otherwise).

The comment was not directed at anything you wrote. 

[NeverLate]

2 hours ago, DollEyes said:

Congrats to Rashad & Emma! All the lame partners that Emma has had before makes this victory even sweeter. Rashad was the right partner at the right time. However, it was annoying that Sasha apparently didn't even get the chance to congratulate Emma-aka his fiancee'-before she & Rashad got whisked away, and in a golf cart, at that. 

That golf cart at the end sucked, it was beyond stupid,

[crossover]

4 hours ago, twilightzone said:

And all of these women came into the competition with the most dance experience.  Whereas 0 for the guys.

The original premise of DWTS was supposed to be about contestants with no dance experience.   And it was non-dancers like Jerry Rice, Emmit Smith, Helio Castroneves, etc. who had put this show on the map.

For the record, in 24 seasons there have been 13 female winners - compared to 11 with the men.

But it feels more lopsided because in the last 10 seasons, there's been 7 female and only 3 male (includes Rashad).  They've always had celebs with some experience.  However, the women really didn't become competitive until they started allowing celebs with loads of experience. 

[McManda]

3 hours ago, absnow54 said:

feel like any contestant from a 90's boy band should also be considered a ringer, so I would add Drew, any Joey, Lance, and Nick to the list too (and didn't they all make the finals too?)

I wouldn't be so quick to lump all those guys into the same basket and invite you to take a look at some concert footage our music videos. 98° certainly didn't dance. 'N Sync danced more than BSB, but neither did much more than glorified (excuse the pun) in sync line dances. I don't know much about NKOTB so maybe they did more dancing? Really, any  advantage they have is from having a sense of rhythm from being musicians.

[sinkwriter]

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I can't help but wonder if he realized at that moment he had likely won the mirror ball.

I'm not sure about that. I think Rashad was probably expecting a toe-to-toe between him and Normani, or between David and Normani, so when Normani was shockingly given third place, I saw in Rashad a kind of "Holy crap! David's going to win this." At least, I wouldn't be surprised if that's how Rashad thought, given what a "fan favorite" David had been touted all season. So when it came down to the two of them, Rashad closed his eyes and hugged Emma and looked like he was waiting for David to be declared the winner. Which made it all the more awesome when he and Emma were so shocked to win.

I'm thrilled for Rashad and Emma. Until the freestyle on Monday night, I was rooting for Normani to win, with Rashad in second place. (Though I would have been happy with those roles reversed because I liked Rashad as well.) But after watching Normani's freestyle, I just didn't think they should win. At least, not based on the freestyle. Based on the season full of talented dances, yes, I think she should have won against those 2 guys. But based on freestyles, I think she should have gotten second place, with Rashad for the win. So I was stunned for Normani getting third. That just did not see right at all. (No offense, David! You did give it your all.)

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, crossover said:

I don't think Sharna would've won with Rashad.  In fact, I was thinking it was lucky for Rashad that TPTB decided to give Emma and Sasha gifts this season.  Sharna couldn't take Charlie to F4.  This season had more than "Meryl" to contend with.  So this would've been another "bad timing" for Sharna.

To be fair I don't think that had anything to do with Sharna. Charlie was clearly sacrificed that season to get Maks his mirrorball.

[Callaphera]

So, who gagged and hog-tied Mandy Moore in a closet deep in the bowels of the DWTS backstage in order to let Witney choreograph the all female pro (and Heather) dance and not turn it into Stripper-Palooza 2017? Can Witney become the new show choreographer? 

[crowceilidh]

Also, what happened to Bonner during his dance?  They were sure pulling the camera away from him a lot and he looked like he completely effed up.

Loved Mr. T's rap - totally cheesy.  Doesn't make up for the lack of Dance Centre, but it was good.

Nick really really should have gone farther than Bonner.

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TPTB decided to give Emma and Sasha gifts this season

As I maintain on the foil hat thread, in return for the onstage proposal last season...

[howmanywords]

2 hours ago, lavenderblue said:

Paige lost to the charming deaf America's Next Top Model winner who surely was racking up the votes from all sorts of sectors, and speaking as someone for whom Paige is her all-time favorite female contestant, Paige only made it top 2 thanks to her own talent and, probably to some extent, Mark's fanbase (though Mark could only carry Willow and Alexa so far in the seasons before) -- can't imagine there was a big overlap in DWTS and UFC fanbases. Paige beat out Antonio Brown and Von Miller, two well-known NFL stars. Zendaya lost to the flexible, female country singer.

 

I never even heard of Nyle before he was introduced as a contestant. I figured him being deaf would make him interesting..however as soon as week 1 happened and he didn't suck I figured he might go far.  Turns out the deaf community is massive and they were fiercely voting, combined that with overall DWTS fans and the gut wrenching freestyle poor Paige didn't stand a chance.

[Venee]

2 hours ago, spanana said:

Meant to also add that while every season has the ringer versus non ringer debate, for some reason it was at a heightened level this season.  I think it was because the ringerness was so highly stacked on the female side and then the male side was full of guys with absolute zero experience, so there was this cry of unfair from some viewers from day one.  Viewers seemed fairly determined to hand the win to someone without a ton of previous dance experience and the only person that walked the fine line of being good enough while not having tons of previous experience was Rashad. 

Every season has the age old debate of experience versus no experience, but it manifests in different seasons in different ways.  Sometimes a winner is so undeniable that folks don't care- Alfonso, Meryl, etc.  Other times it's a sin worse than death.

THIS! all day THIS.. In the beginning, I was one who thought Normani had this in the bag based on social media tea leaves, but once the big threats started dropping, the writing on the wall read teamnodanceexperience ftw..... The only group that didn't realize this were the "Harmonizers" I gather. Why should Normani be immune, when ever other highly proficient dancer had been taken out....

[marykat71702]

Yay, Rashad!!! So happy they won!

[crossover]

4 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I feel like any contestant from a 90's boy band should also be considered a ringer, so I would add Drew, any Joey, Lance, and Nick to the list too (and didn't they all make the finals too?)

If we're going for boy band members as ringers, I guess all entertainers will apply. 

[spanana]

40 minutes ago, Callaphera said:

So, who gagged and hog-tied Mandy Moore in a closet deep in the bowels of the DWTS backstage in order to let Witney choreograph the all female pro (and Heather) dance and not turn it into Stripper-Palooza 2017? Can Witney become the new show choreographer? 

I was pleasantly surprised by Witney's choreography.  I had heard she was doing a female pro number but I was expecting the normal bump and grind business.  So much better than what Mandy has been throwing down for them.  I thought it was cute at the end Witney gave this self satisfied smile when it was over, which I thought was deserved since it was a well thought out/performed number.

[Venee]

I missed the "Rashad logged 100 more hours than all the dancers" part. I read it here first.  ( I was in and out of the finale). While that's commendable,  How do practices normally work? Are the Pros available at all times to do all the extra time? What about Celebs that have kids, do they spend time with them or are they pretty much away from them the whole time? We saw Normani traveling for work and Laurie had the same situation last season. Simone had some obligations this season too. I'm all about hard work, and having been in the performing arts personally myself and as a Parent, I get that time has to be put in. While that says he has a great work ethic, I don't automatically look at the others as lesser or lazy.  I've been in several dance clinics and classical music masterclasses. The number one question that is always asked of the professional without fail is, "How Many hours do you Practice?" The students are always surprised when it's not as big of a number as they image. The professional will go on to talk about quality of practice vs quantity. I think that is individual for everyone. I've seen dancers/ musicians pick up and perfect a dance or learn a piece in half or less the time it takes another dancer/ musician. I by all means want to give Rashad credit where it's due, but I've seen that being thrown around in other group discussions, as a reason he deserved to win. I just don't see it that way. Frankly I don't think anyone "deserves" to win, especially in a contest set up like this. Whomever wins... wins.

[Venee]

1 hour ago, McManda said:

I wouldn't be so quick to lump all those guys into the same basket and invite you to take a look at some concert footage our music videos. 98° certainly didn't dance. 'N Sync danced more than BSB, but neither did much more than glorified (excuse the pun) in sync line dances. I don't know much about NKOTB so maybe they did more dancing? Really, any  advantage they have is from having a sense of rhythm from being musicians.

I can't speak for those bands, but I recently saw the "New Edition" mini series, and the actors had to reproduce the actual choreography that the original group performed. The actors said it was incredibly difficult, and thought they may not be able to pull it off. I agree that the dance ability of those groups vary across the board.

[Callaphera]

1 minute ago, Venee said:

I can't speak for those bands, but I recently saw the "New Edition" mini series, and the actors had to reproduce the actual choreography that the original group performed. The actors said it was incredibly difficult, and thought they may not be able to pull it off. I agree that the dance ability of those groups vary across the board.

And even within the group itself. There's a reason why Lance Bass was hidden in the back of the NSYNC routines and it wasn't just because he wasn't the face of the group or because he sang the bass line. 

[NeverLate]

Quote

So how many trophies did Derek win because people loved his partners and how many were won because Derek is the most generally popular pro this show has ever seen.  Were people voting for the celeb or for Derek? That also extends to Val.  Do people vote for his female partners or for them?  If you look at his dedicated fanbase, they basically think any celeb that has ever been paired with Val deserved to win, with a few exceptions.  It's not a debate that will ever en

As much as I adore Derek, I didnt always vote for him, because a couple of times I didnt like who he was dancing with. I vote for someone I enjoy, not just because Derek is on the show and is extremely brilliant at freestyles, see what I did there .LOL 

[realdancemom]

7 hours ago, tessaforever said:

I keep thinking about this interview I read with Derek when he was prepping for Kellie's freestyle. He talked about how her 3 strengths were: core, flexibility, and lines, and how he was going to use those 3 things to their full advantage in the freestyle. Which he did. 

Then I think about Normani - obviously an amazing dancer - and I want to know what Val thought her 3 strongest points were, and how he felt that their freestyle showed those off to the max. 

I just don't think Val thought about it that way, and it's too bad. Normani could have had a spectacular freestyle. Also that type of planning is why Derek has won so many times. 

This is why I also like Lindsay.  She has created good freestyles even for non-dancers like Alek and David.  What I also like is that each freestyle represented each contestant, e.g. Alek with army training and David with baseball.

Normani is a great performer.  While she performed her freestyle well, I wanted to see something with more sass like her salsa/hip-hop number.  For some reason, Val thinks she's a great kicker because she always did kicks.  I didn't necessarily think that they fit in certain dances and sometimes it threw her off in balance.  I also think that her freestyle could have fit her more instead of trying to send some message.  I guess it could have been an extension of her bullying story but it seemed like it was a statement on the world situation.

Derek was also really good on the best way to make a freestyle or any dance look good for the cameras.  Emma doesn't have that yet since she hasn't done as many.  This is why I previously mentioned that Rashad's freestyle looked amateurish.  It wasn't just the choreography (although I did like the drumline/stepping portion).  It was the lighting and it looked too busy/messy with too much colors, etc.   I'm happy for Rashad and especially Emma.  She was like the female Tony that got stuck with contestants with no chance.  I hope this leads to more jobs for Rashad besides the DWTS tour.

[Toonces464]

34 minutes ago, F. M. said:

As much as I adore Derek, I didnt always vote for him, because a couple of times I didnt like who he was dancing with. I vote for someone I enjoy, not just because Derek is on the show and is extremely brilliant at freestyles, see what I did there .LOL 

This. Back in the days I was a Maks fan, the only times I ever voted for him were with Misty and Erin. These days I really can't say I have a favorite pro.

[smiley13]

4 hours ago, crossover said:

I don't think Sharna would've won with Rashad.  In fact, I was thinking it was lucky for Rashad that TPTB decided to give Emma and Sasha gifts this season.  Sharna couldn't take Charlie to F4.  This season had more than "Meryl" to contend with.  So this would've been another "bad timing" for Sharna.

Sharna is no where near the teacher and choreographer that Lindsay and Emma are.  The show has given her multiple chances with talented partners and she does not produce.  Her worst issue is her tendency to trash everything up.

Hopefully the producers will wise up and realize that they struck gold with both Emma and Lindsay and stop trying to make Sharna happen.

[saber5055]

My night was made when Normani was relegated to third. I threw my hands up and cheered from the couch. I was hoping for a David win, but was just as happy for Rashad. It proves nice guys can win this show and win the hearts of the viewers. David must have had a fantastic amount of votes to overcome his lesser judges' scores. I hate football, but I love Rashad -- one doesn't have to be some kind of sports fan to vote for or want a sports person to win. Both David and Rashad were shown to be nice guys -- race, occupation (and pro partner) didn't matter a lick in the final results. The best two PEOPLE won IMO. So yeay for that.

[gigiann]

18 hours ago, spanana said:

I think all the celebs always have the option to dance, but some opt out.  My guess is both Chris and Erika opted out from dancing at least.  Why they didn't get to do anything else I don't know.

Chris did a small appearance at the beginning with the dancers mimicking the Roxbury Dance he is famous for and Chris was part of the Mr T video.  I never saw Erika though

[smiley13]

1 minute ago, gigiann said:

Chris did a small appearance at the beginning with the dancers mimicking the Roxbury Dance he is famous for and Chris was part of the Mr T video.  I never saw Erika though

She was shown very briefly.

[dynamiteguy]

32 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

My night was made when Normani was relegated to third. I threw my hands up and cheered from the couch. I was hoping for a David win, but was just as happy for Rashad. It proves nice guys can win this show and win the hearts of the viewers. David must have had a fantastic amount of votes to overcome his lesser judges' scores. I hate football, but I love Rashad -- one doesn't have to be some kind of sports fan to vote for or want a sports person to win. Both David and Rashad were shown to be nice guys -- race, occupation (and pro partner) didn't matter a lick in the final results. The best two PEOPLE won IMO. So yeay for that.

This is so silly. I often see this line of thought propped up as if the others didn't show themselves to be good people. Did Normani show herself to not be a nice, caring, kind person? Did everyone else not? Sure, there are a few who were a bit more aggressive (Charo), but if we're going with that angle, the mirrorball belonged to Mr. T. It's so silly. Just say you connected to them or liked them. Have nice guys not won before? Do nice guys not steal the hearts of America? It's preposterous. Positing them as "such nice guys" creates a false dichotomy that doesn't exist. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by dynamiteguy

[Uke]

9 hours ago, bealled said:

Seriously if Derek were on this season with Normani or Simone he probably would have won. Derek has definitely elevated his partners to wins just because they are paired with him (of course he's a great choreographer too, but on some occasions I didn't think his partner was the best in the cast or even most likeable and they still win).

 

9 hours ago, crossover said:

I think Derek has a dedicated fanbase who votes for him and his partner no matter what.  So the celeb doesn't have to have the largest fanbase (still has to be decent though).  He doesn't really elevate his partner but he does mask them very well.  This is an unappreciated face of his choreography.

Agree he's got a dedicated fanbase but he's gotten A LOT of help from tptb/"judges" with his partners being over praised, over scored, or even not critiqued at all, etc.  I disagree that he masks them well - when we all can see the masking (ex. fog up to their waists) and the judges ignore the masking (great footwork!), well...it's clear what's going on.

[NeverLate]

1 hour ago, Toonces464 said:

This. Back in the days I was a Maks fan, the only times I ever voted for him were with Misty and Erin. These days I really can't say I have a favorite pro.

People vote for all sorts of reasons, they have no need to explain. I guess its nice we all have a choice.:)

Quote

Seriously if Derek were on this season with Normani or Simone he probably would have won. Derek has definitely elevated his partners to wins just because they are paired with him (of course he's a great choreographer too, but on some occasions I didn't think his partner was the best in the cast or even most likeable and they still win).

I agree, especially the freestyle, which imho Val phoned it in with Normani.

Quote

Agree he's got a dedicated fanbase but he's gotten A LOT of help from tptb/"judges

You mean like Val did all season? Non stop. People didn't like that! That's another reason Rashad won.

Edited May 24, 2017 by F. M.

[spanana]

2 hours ago, Venee said:

I missed the "Rashad logged 100 more hours than all the dancers" part. I read it here first.  ( I was in and out of the finale). While that's commendable,  How do practices normally work? Are the Pros available at all times to do all the extra time? What about Celebs that have kids, do they spend time with them or are they pretty much away from them the whole time? We saw Normani traveling for work and Laurie had the same situation last season. Simone had some obligations this season too. I'm all about hard work, and having been in the performing arts personally myself and as a Parent, I get that time has to be put in. While that says he has a great work ethic, I don't automatically look at the others as lesser or lazy.  

I don't think it's a reason Rashad deserved to win, the same way as I don't think busier people should automatically get brownie points for being busy.  Also Rashad still continued to do his football training/workouts every morning at around 6am, so he was doing other things too no matter how much some Normani fans are trying to make fun of his unemployment and thus his ability to do the tour (the reason they think Normani was denied a win).  He wasn't flying back and forth to Asia, and that was insane on Normani's part, but I don't think she should have won solely for that reason either.  

I think the pros/celebs can do as little or as much time as they want, except in cases with minors where they have to be strictly monitored.  So it's probably not fair to tout such rehearsal times when there is a minor on the season.  However on GMA this morning they talked about it and both Emma/Rashad said they had no idea they had logged that much rehearsal time.  Emma said she was always asking production for more because she felt like they didn't have enough.  From how Emma put it, it sounds like you have to ask production for extra rehearsal time and I guess they have to grant you the time (likely since it's not just two people in a room, but you need a camera man, producer, rehearsal space, etc.), so there are logistics to be worked out.  But it didn't sound like there any conscious effort on the part of Emma/Rashad to do more.  They just asked for time as they wanted it during the season.

I agree with you though that quality of time is more important than amount of time.

[McManda]

Didn't one year they cap rehearsal time? They claimed it was a safety issue because the more you practice the likelier you are to get injured, but I always thought it was also to try to make things fair ... which I kind if disagreed with. If you know you need to take more time or want to practice more, then you should get that option. It's not like DWTS has ever been about fairness anyway.

Edit:

I totally understand the shock over Val/Normani finishing 3rd place, but I really think viewers felt as if she had such an advantage (with such a strong dance background).

It's interesting to see everything visualized in that chart. I think it illustrates pretty well my frustration with the pimping of Normani - namely that 1/3 of her dances garnered perfect scores. That's definitely up there in terms most perfect scores in a season.

Edited May 25, 2017 by McManda

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I would love for Mr. T's D.A.N.C.E. infomercial to flood potential DWTS cast member's social media feeds :-) How could they say no without pitying the fool?

Most happy for Emma, who always seemed first or second on the chopping block to get dropped from a season's female pro lineup. Now that she's got the mirrorball, maybe her place is relatively stable moving forward to S26 and beyond...

Rashad, I still think this was his springboard plan b into something entertainment-wise (if not a former athlete talking head) for a 2nd career. 32 year old free agent RB's aren't exactly getting their phone's blown up to join a new team. So good for him, because this certainly raised his profile about a thousand fold.

You would think that Hailee Steinfeld's Oscar nomination (from when she was 13 or 14!) immediately makes her too "good" of a get for DWTS. But damn, if she didn't just scream Val's potential partner next year.

One day I hope we get a full autopsy of Bonner and Sharna's partnership. All these rumours and innuendo that float around immediately post-show on various social media and general media makes me simultaneously skeptical and curious....

Edited May 25, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[spanana]

1 hour ago, McManda said:

Didn't one year they cap rehearsal time? They claimed it was a safety issue because the more you practice the likelier you are to get injured, but I always thought it was also to try to make things fair ... which I kind if disagreed with. If you know you need to take more time or want to practice more, then you should get that option. It's not like DWTS has ever been about fairness anyway.

Yes, I too have memory of them capping rehearsal time at least one season.  I can't remember when it was but I think it had to be after a season with a ton of injuries.  I don't get the impression they stuck with it, or maybe they did to some extent and that is why pros have to ask for extra time.  It never made sense to me either because some celebs can learn in 2 hours what it takes another person 8 hours to do.  You can't dictate how people learn. 

I want to know what happened with Bonner and Sharna.  All I know is they supposedly had some falling out and haven't really spoken since they were eliminated.  They also did interviews separately yesterday.

[Uke]

2 hours ago, F. M. said:

You mean like Val did all season? Non stop. People didn't like that! That's another reason Rashad won.

Yes, like Val did all season.

[Emily-D]

I don't think Sharna was prepared for the hate she'd receive when she went down the showmance angle and as such put the kabosh on it at around week 3. Add that Bonner having no personality and being a bad dance there was no where for them to go except milk his injury. As for Normani being with Val screwed her because she couldn't get a word in edgeways most of the time which is why I think the general audience never connected with her enough. Someone mentioned that Sharna wouldn't have won if she had Rashad, I disagree. Rashad was by the far the best male dancer and with his personality and no dance experience he'd have got to the finals with any pro. Add in Sharna never winning before and I think they would have got over the line. Bonner was a good candidate for her on paper. If he had a personality and could dance he'd have made it to the end. But like Antonio Brown he was dull as dishwater and that's what screwed her.

[Uke]

39 minutes ago, Emily-D said:

I don't think Sharna was prepared for the hate she'd receive when she went down the showmance angle and as such put the kabosh on it at around week 3. Add that Bonner having no personality and being a bad dance there was no where for them to go except milk his injury. As for Normani being with Val screwed her because she couldn't get a word in edgeways most of the time which is why I think the general audience never connected with her enough. Someone mentioned that Sharna wouldn't have won if she had Rashad, I disagree. Rashad was by the far the best male dancer and with his personality and no dance experience he'd have got to the finals with any pro. Add in Sharna never winning before and I think they would have got over the line. Bonner was a good candidate for her on paper. If he had a personality and could dance he'd have made it to the end. But like Antonio Brown he was dull as dishwater and that's what screwed her.

Something apparently happened, enough for Sharna's Dad to comment:

[marykat71702]

9 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

YMMV

Ok, I give up. What does this mean? Google says it means "your mileage may vary", but that makes no sense in this context.

[Toonces464]

12 minutes ago, marykat71702 said:

Ok, I give up. What does this mean? Google says it means "your mileage may vary", but that makes no sense in this context.

It means that as in you might have a different opinion.

[sinkwriter]

I think by YMMV she means you may see the same information differently, but that is how she sees the situation. (Or what Toonces464 explained before I hit 'send.' LOL.)

Quote

Sharna is no where near the teacher and choreographer that Lindsay and Emma are.  The show has given her multiple chances with talented partners and she does not produce.  Her worst issue is her tendency to trash everything up.

I disagree with this. I thought Sharna and James were fantastic together, and by the end I was surprised how much I wanted them to win. I'd been rooting for others in the beginning of the season, and I also rooted for Laurie, but when she ended up winning, I was glad for her but found I felt disappointed for James because he'd done such a great job (especially for not having any dance experience at all). I was really surprised that he did as well as he did. He impressed me. Sharna did a terrific job choreographing their dances, and I thought they made a great pairing on the show.

But, as Toonces464 would say, YMMV.  ;)

Edited May 25, 2017 by sinkwriter

[Callaphera]

17 minutes ago, Uke said:

Something apparently happened, enough for Sharna's Dad to comment:

I was right! Bonner does have a murder basement!

[calipiano81]

Rashad is a respectable dancer, so I'm fine with him winning and am very happy for Emma!

David coming in second, though...

I've been wondering lately about those contestants whose dancing is mediocre, but get tons of votes because of their personalities and likeability...Do they really need to try so hard to learn to dance properly? Do their pros really need to put that much effort into choreographing? Their voters don't care about their dancing anyways, just that they connect to them and they bring them joy. Wouldn't it be a much more efficient use of time to save the long rehearsals, just come out on the floor and wing it each week with enthusiasm? I'm being partly sarcastic, but also partly serious, because in life, I am someone who doesn't like to waste time doing something that makes no difference anyways.

[sinkwriter]

Quote

Something apparently happened, enough for Sharna's Dad to comment

So maybe that 'innocent' grab at the beginning of the season wasn't so innocent. And Sharna was just trying to be a good team player by pretending everything was fine. I think we got a hint that it wasn't so fine in that week when he said he wanted to slap her butt (and the butt of the other trio member). Sharna paused a pretty long time before responding in the negative, like she was trying to find the nicest way to tell him off while still preserving their ability to be teammates, at least in front of the cameras.

Edited May 25, 2017 by sinkwriter

[crossover]

4 hours ago, Uke said:

 

Agree he's got a dedicated fanbase but he's gotten A LOT of help from tptb/"judges" with his partners being over praised, over scored, or even not critiqued at all, etc.  I disagree that he masks them well - when we all can see the masking (ex. fog up to their waists) and the judges ignore the masking (great footwork!), well...it's clear what's going on.

Maybe you're right because the avg viewer is not going to think about "covering up" if the judges don't say anything.  They'll either like it or not.  But he does put his partners in achievable movement.  Sometimes he'll just ignore the syllabus and take his chances with the voters.  MAYBE because the celeb didn't look good in a particular style or did the steps horribly?

[marykat71702]

23 minutes ago, Toonces464 said:

It means that as in you might have a different opinion.

 

22 minutes ago, sinkwriter said:

I think by YMMV she means you may see the same information differently, but that is how she sees the situation.

Ok, thanks. Still doesn't really make sense to me--why can't you just say "you might have a different opinion"?<shrug>

22 minutes ago, calipiano81 said:

.Do they really need to try so hard to learn to dance properly? Do their pros really need to put that much effort into choreographing?

Yes. Yes, they do. Them trying so hard is what makes people want to root for them. If they didn't try, people wouldn't care and therefore wouldn't vote for them. 

[truthaboutluv]

40 minutes ago, Callaphera said:

I was right! Bonner does have a murder basement!

lmao... Seriously, now I really want the dirt on what went down with those two. 

[Uke]

53 minutes ago, calipiano81 said:

Rashad is a respectable dancer, so I'm fine with him winning and am very happy for Emma!

David coming in second, though...

I've been wondering lately about those contestants whose dancing is mediocre, but get tons of votes because of their personalities and likeability...Do they really need to try so hard to learn to dance properly? Do their pros really need to put that much effort into choreographing? Their voters don't care about their dancing anyways, just that they connect to them and they bring them joy. Wouldn't it be a much more efficient use of time to save the long rehearsals, just come out on the floor and wing it each week with enthusiasm? I'm being partly sarcastic, but also partly serious, because in life, I am someone who doesn't like to waste time doing something that makes no difference anyways.

Well, if you know for certain you're not going to be good at dancing (whatever "good" is), you shouldn't bother trying? Wasn't it Rashad's sister who was so certain Rashad couldn't dance?  

You might not relate to Mr. T.  I certainly don't relate to him. But there's a guy sitting at home, watching Mr. T. learn some simple steps and suddenly thinks hey, I can do that too.   I bet David never imagined himself dancing a Jive or anything else until Lindsay spent the time and effort to teach him.  David now has a whole new view of what he's capable of and probably gave some inspiration to guys watching at home.  There's a value in the effort.  

Some celebs are brought on to be, for lack of a better term, canon fodder.  They provide the additional time for others to get up to speed and become competition-worthy.   Sometimes those celebs turn out to be so endearing or have so many fans that they don't leave as fast as some might like.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Uke