Series 15: All episodes

[Dots And Stripes]

It's back! 

I personally have not heard of any of the celebrities this season. That made week 1 a bit of a mess for me. 

I liked Joe and I'm excited that means Katya should be around a while this season. I read Debbie is a huge ringer and I like that Gio gets a different dynamic this season. Charlotte looked gorgeous and if she can conquer her nerves this could be a good one for Brendan. I'm hoping Alexandra can get Gorka to show more personality.  Pasha having a silly partner in Chizzy seems like a good fit.  I don't watch SYTYCD so I never got Pasha's appeal. To me he always comes across as slightly silly with the faces he pulls. Also excited we could have a Clifton free finale!

Not thrilled that Jeanette has another ringer although I think doing a ballroom themed tour helped her ability to do standard dances. Anton having an older lady who can't dance is dull. 

2 out of the 3 new girls have duds. I could see Rev outlasting more talented dancers tho. Davood was good when he moved Nadia danced circles around him, literally. I was kind of disappointed she didn't challenge him more because he seems capable.

I'll probably be happier in a few weeks when I can get a better sense for who these stars are. Too many actors and hosts feel interchangeable at this stage.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Dots And Stripes

[Occasional Hope]

I was most impressed by Charlotte, Debbie (brilliant espeically considering her age, though yes, total ringer) and Aston.

[Occasional Hope]

Debbie and Aston continue to be the best.  Alexandra was good too (thought she was overmarked last week, but this week was good).  I can't see Debbie or Alexandra winning, and possibly not making the final, for reasons not connected to their talent.  Aston should make the final at least and atm is my pick to win.

Charlotte fell way down this week, and was awful.

Predicted danceoff: Brian vs Simon?

[legaleagle53]

5 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

Debbie and Aston continue to be the best.  Alexandra was good too (thought she was overmarked last week, but this week was good).  I can't see Debbie or Alexandra winning, and possibly not making the final, for reasons not connected to their talent.  Aston should make the final at least and atm is my pick to win.

Charlotte fell way down this week, and was awful.

Predicted danceoff: Brian vs Simon?

You got the prediction for the dance-off half right.  Brian is in it.

And Alexandra = Alesha Dixon 2.0.  That Paso Doble was one of the best I've seen in years on any version of Strictly!

[Occasional Hope]

Brian looked as if he expected to go home.

[Dots And Stripes]

Without knowing who any of these celebrities are its really hard to have any sense of popularity other than what I have stumbled upon online. I'm surprised Chizzy was first out, although I guess it's better to be memorably terrible (Charlotte) than just not very good. I also sense that Charlotte had more popularity going into it.

Brendan was ranting on twitter before about the judges comments. I thought they all tried to be encouraging. Poor Charlotte froze. I was torn between wanting her to have another chance to do better and wanting to let he run away from the ballroom and never return. I think she would have chosen the latter.

Aston having salsa week 2 was interesting. I assumed they would give it to him in the next few weeks so he could have the first 10's or save it until the last few weeks to push him into the final. It was good, but it was also obvious that with Janette this would be a great dance for him. Janette has improved but I think she's more of a hindrance tan a help overall.

I'm liking Shirley as a judge but I was a little surprised she called herself a traditionalist. Doesn't she vocally support Mark and Derek doing weird gimmicks? I guess I should be relieved that she isn't trying to make SCD more like DWTS. I do think she was right to say that to Nadia, and that was probably something Nadia needs to here. She's doing a tad too much.

I liked Mollie a lot and was sad Joe stumbled this week. Overall it was kind of a lackluster week. I hope we have some improvement arcs coming because this feels like a weak group overall.

[Occasional Hope]

Week 3 thoughts:

 

After being fabulous the first two weeks, Debbie came down to earth and was just good.  I doubt she has much of a personal fanbase, but she should be safe ths week.

 

I hate the sillier themes/costumes, so I really couldn't like that stupid troll dance.  They looked ridiculous.  To a lesser extent, the same went for Flash Gordon and Wonder Woman..  Susan could be at risk this week.  However, I loved the Jungle Book animal thing despite the silliness: it had charm.

 

Poor Charlotte might be B2 this week, alongside Brian again or Simon.  She really should be better than she is - she showed some promise in week 1.  Ruth was completely unsexy in that rumba, but I think Anton stil has enough fans to vote blindly for a few weeks more, plus her own daytime exposure will help.

 

My favourite this week was the Russian Viennese waltz.

[Dots And Stripes]

2 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

I hate the sillier themes/costumes, so I really couldn't like that stupid troll dance.  They looked ridiculous.  To a lesser extent, the same went for Flash Gordon and Wonder Woman..  Susan could be at risk this week.  However, I loved the Jungle Book animal thing despite the silliness: it had charm.

 

I'm with you on the troll costumes but I loved Wonder Woman. The samaba there was awful but I could actually appreciate Kevin in that one. 

Aljaz's bear costume was ridiculous although his using the tree to scratch his back was cute and he danced his little ear off. Gemma does nothing for me.

My favorites were probably Mollie and AJ for being so pretty and Debbie and Gio because Gio looked very nice in that suit and Debbie did a good job keeping up on such an energetic dance. I also liked Alexandra this week. I'm happy to see Joe do better after that disastrous tango.

[Occasional Hope]

I thought the Rev had a few weeks left in him, but perhaps not quite OTT or bad enough to get the comedy vote.  The right decision from the danceoff.

[crossover]

22 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

I'm with you on the troll costumes but I loved Wonder Woman. The samaba there was awful but I could actually appreciate Kevin in that one. 

Aljaz's bear costume was ridiculous although his using the tree to scratch his back was cute and he danced his little ear off. Gemma does nothing for me.

My favorites were probably Mollie and AJ for being so pretty and Debbie and Gio because Gio looked very nice in that suit and Debbie did a good job keeping up on such an energetic dance. I also liked Alexandra this week. I'm happy to see Joe do better after that disastrous tango.

After watching the clips, I'm surprised neither of you talked about Aston?  It looked like he performed best.  Every since I saw Debbie Allen perform at the Obama white house, kicking her leg up and all, I'm not surprised that an older dancer can still do it.  I just hope Debbie can hold out.  I wonder if Brendan is going to respond one way or another about the rise and fall in his and Charlotte's tango?  If he agrees, will he give a public apology, like Maks?

SCD cast looks a lot more entertaining than DWTS this time.  There are quite a few who are very good.  When the judges on a reality dance show talk about sickle feet, you know they have a good cast. 

[Occasional Hope]

Aston danced well enough but I couldn't take the dance seriously in those costumes.

[Dots And Stripes]

15 minutes ago, crossover said:

After watching the clips, I'm surprised neither of you talked about Aston?  It looked like he performed best.  Every since I saw Debbie Allen perform at the Obama white house, kicking her leg up and all, I'm not surprised that an older dancer can still do it.  I just hope Debbie can hold out.  I wonder if Brendan is going to respond one way or another about the rise and fall in his and Charlotte's tango?  If he agrees, will he give a public apology, like Maks?

SCD cast looks a lot more entertaining than DWTS this time.  There are quite a few who are very good.  When the judges on a reality dance show talk about sickle feet, you know they have a good cast. 

We did talk about Aston. He had the troll costume. 

Maks' public apology was because of the mess of him missing a performance. I don't think Brendan has anything to apologize for and based on his past comments I doubt he will. I thought he was respectful. He calmly disagreed with Shirley. He's certainly said worse.

[Dots And Stripes]

2 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

I thought the Rev had a few weeks left in him, but perhaps not quite OTT or bad enough to get the comedy vote.  The right decision from the danceoff.

I agree, although I would always vote for Karen to leave.  Simon is a better dancer but Richard felt more at ease and fun to watch. The judges made the right call though for a dance off.

[legaleagle53]

26 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

We did talk about Aston. He had the troll costume. 

Maks' public apology was because of the mess of him missing a performance. I don't think Brendan has anything to apologize for and based on his past comments I doubt he will. I thought he was respectful. He calmly disagreed with Shirley. He's certainly said worse.

What did he say?  Even his best mate James Jordan criticized him on Twitter for having too much rise-and-fall in the Tango.

[Occasional Hope]

Here you go:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4959008/Brendan-Cole-slams-Shirley-Ballas-Strictly-critisism.html

 

It was a bit of a storm in a teacup, really.

[legaleagle53]

Especially since he was wrong. There WAS rise and fall in that Tango, particularly in the last part of the dance.  Shirley and Bruno were right to call him out on it, as was James.

[Occasional Hope]

The judges were nicer to Charlotte this week verbally (to avoid another strop from Brendan?), but they scored her near the bottom.  Correctly so, because she really seems to be getting worse each week.  I predict her in the danceoff vs Brian.

Aston and Alexandra continue to shine the brightest, but Jonnie and Gemma are both improving significantly.

Debbie, otoh, had a second somewhat lacklustre week in a row.  She'll find herself in the danceoff before long if she doesn't get back to the form of the first two weeks, although I think she's safe this week.

[Dots And Stripes]

I thought Shirley took an intentional swipe at Brendan. She mentioned the time wasting but said she couldn't take off because everyone did it.  Something about her demeanor just strike me as her wanting to sound harsh. I thought Charlotte was better this week and she looked happier. Easily one of the weakest overall, but for her it was a victory.

I love Debbie. I think her biggest issue is memory. Giovanni was really talking her through that dance. She can move beautifully but I think age really affects her recall of the steps. Where do I sign up for a delivery from Giovanni?

Alexandra is very good and can sell a dance.

I really liked how much Brian seemed to love the craziness of his dance this week. 

I thought Joe was better than the judges gave him credit for. A little awkward at the beginning but he got better as the dance went on.

[Anothermi]

I've caught up with the dances on the BBC Strictly youtube page.  There were some pretty great ones from Alexandra, Susan (of all people)  and Jonnie (due to Oti's dramatic choreography).  I remember watching Charlotte's and noting the "faffing" but I thought she carried off what dancing she did, and the characterization, quite well for her.  I hoped this would be her week to be sent home so she could go out on a relative high. 

Looks like my wish was granted.  Thanks Great British Public.

[Occasional Hope]

Pretty good show this week.

I don't know if I shall ever recover from Anton's samba, or more precisely his outfit.  The dance was pretty bad, but one's attention was so distracted by the sleeves it was hard to tell.  Presumably this was tactical.

I loved Aston's contemporary.  What, it was meant to be a waltz? Hardly any of it was in hold.

Debbie is back after a couple of lackustre weeks, this was really in her ballpark.

I also loved Gemma, Joe , Alexandra and Jonnie.

Davood wasn't bad, but it was a bit mean to stick him on first when he was in the danceoff last week.  So he could be in DO again, against Brian or Simon.

[Dots And Stripes]

I really hope that someone puts Craig channeling Bruno after Debbie's dance on youtube. That was my absolute highlight.  Debbie was beautiful but I still saw the memory issues where she seemed to not know what came next a few times. I think that's the only thing that stopped her from getting a 10.

I liked Alexandra. I think maybe I would have liked her paired with someone a little taller. She is so energetic and can appear overpowering at moments. Gorka is a lovely dancer though. I liked Joe as well. That 10 was a bit much.

I thought after week 1 that maybe Janette had finally figured out ballroom. The last two weeks have made me realize that's not so. Gemma seemed really slow. She's gotten a lot better in a short time but I don't get star quality from her. 

Anton was awesomely bad. I loved it! He was also brilliant with the judges and poor Claudia who could barely get through the segment.

For the most part I like Shirley as a judge. She knows her stuff. I missed Susan's judging but I find it kind of funny that Shirley overscored Strictly's golden boy pro. Of course she likes Kevin. Of course. 

Simon was just terrible. The judges were kind.

[Occasional Hope]

Yes, I loved Craig's impression of Bruno too.  And I like how technical Shirley is in her critiques.

[Morrigan]

There's a video of Craig channeling Bruno embedded in this article:

http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/21/craig-revel-horwoods-impersonation-of-bruno-tonioli-on-strictly-come-dancing-was-uncanny-7017459/

[legaleagle53]

7 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Anton was awesomely bad. I loved it! He was also brilliant with the judges and poor Claudia who could barely get through the segment.

I really have to give Anton credit here. He's admitted in the past that Latin has never really been his thing (boy, is THAT ever an understatement!), so I can see why he deliberately dialed up the camp factor in Ruth's Samba.  I thought it was one of the funniest Latin routines he's ever done, and it was obvious that Ruth had a ball doing it.

Edited October 22, 2017 by legaleagle53

[Anothermi]

Re: Anton and Ruth's Samba. I, too, believe the camp was a calculated move by Anton to distract from a bad technical Samba by bringing a totally entertaining whatever-it-was. I never thought I'd be mesmerized by Anton's hip action, but in those pants I couldn't turn my eyes away. (and he DID have hip action!)

I enjoyed this week, but everyone - and I mean all of the celebs - were not having their best day.  Even the ones who got 10s. There was always something that was off.  Hope everyone's back in form for Halloween.

Debbie's rumba, and Debbie herself, reminds me so much of Helen George in the way she dances. Both have ballet backgrounds.  It's interesting to me that Helen got a lot more criticism of her ballet habits than Debbie is getting.  It was only after I started noticing the dancing resemblance that I noticed the general physical resemblance too - right down to the platinum hair.

Oti is still a standout choreographer for me, and although I miss my beloved Pasha, I enjoy the rest of Pros now that all but the 3 new women pros have settled in and found their own personas. (Except for Brendan who I tend to like only after his celeb leaves)

This threesome of judges work quite well, but I was both LMAO and touched that Craig missed Bruno enough to channel his presence for this episode.

I also like the kinder, gentler criticism coming from Craig.  Perhaps he's decided that there's enough nastiness in the real world that adding it to escapist entertainment is a bit too much? I also like that Shirley is leading by example by using actual dancing terminology.  Of course I've read some whinging about "I don't know what she's talking about" but it's great for those who watch this show to learn a bit about dance and are not adverse to researching the web to do that learning.

[Anothermi]

Although I thought the bottom two were reasonable, I couldn’t help but wonder what the GBP has against the colour yellow!

[Dots And Stripes]

It was Simon's time to go. He isn't the performer Susan is and his pro is not as charming as Anton. I would say Susan and Ruth are the weakest ones left (excluding Johnie because it's so hard to compare him to the others). It will be interesting to see if they can outlast some of the mid-packers, which I would count as everyone else except Debbie, Alexandra, and Aston.

I do not know how Debbie did that Charleston. I'm mystified. Between Alexandra and Aston, I still prefer Alexandra.

Outside of Debbie I'm not sure anyone really surprised me. Joe is getting more consistent, which is nice. I thought Gemma was slightly overpraised. It was a hard routine and she looked like she lost her place a couple of times. I think Mollie would have benefited from a more traditional latin outfit. Shirts help mask a lot of imperfections.

[Occasional Hope]

Definitely the right one to leave this week.

This was Mollie's poorest dance so far.  I didn't think Jonnie did well this week either.

I wonder if we might get a Shock! B2 next week?

[Anothermi]

Jonnie admitted on ITT that he didn’t remember almost half the dance and that it started right at the beginning.  Otis felt so bad because it started when he didn’t catch the medallion (or whatever that was) and he was able to joke that ,right, it must have been her bad throw.  He didn’t, however, try to actually dodge his responsibility for how badly the dance went. I like that about him. 

[Dots And Stripes]

4 hours ago, Occasional Hope said:

Definitely the right one to leave this week.

This was Mollie's poorest dance so far.  I didn't think Jonnie did well this week either.

I wonder if we might get a Shock! B2 next week?

It's definitely getting to be time for another difficult elimination. I could totally see Ruth (with her popular pro) and Susan (with her popular pro) both sneaking through without hitting the bottom two. Ruth is clearly the worst dancer left and her time maybe up, although she seems popular? I was surprised to see them promoting her co-workers. Aren't they on another network? Anyway, Ruth and Susan sneaking through would mean leave one of the mid-pack dancers to go. 

I feel like the only *real* shock for me would be one of Debbie/Aston/Alexandra ending up in the bottom 2. I don't think we'e there yet.

32 minutes ago, Anothermi said:

Jonnie admitted on ITT that he didn’t remember almost half the dance and that it started right at the beginning.  Otis felt so bad because it started when he didn’t catch the medallion (or whatever that was) and he was able to joke that ,right, it must have been her bad throw.  He didn’t, however, try to actually dodge his responsibility for how badly the dance went. I like that about him. 

I didn't see the interview but "I forgot" feels like a little dodge because it says he could do the dance, it just didn't show on the night. The truth maybe a little bit of both. He may have done it better in rehearsal, but I think the mechanics of the cha cha worked against him. As the judges said, a lot of people have a dance that doesn't suit them as well. I do think he works every hard and has a good attitude overall.

[Occasional Hope]

A difficult week for sure.  I think Jonnie was the worst this week (he looked like a sack of potatoes), and everyone else was at least pretty good.  Apart from the special case of Ruth & Anton, whose dance was, um, deeply flawed, but so very entertaining.  I'm most nervous for both Mollie (who I thought was undermarked) and Gemma, but suspect at least one of them will hit the B2.

Susan seems to be much better at the fast ones than when rying to be graceful  This wasn't as good as her quickstep, but I enkoyed it a lot.  Loved Debbie and Alexandra; really liked Joe; quite liked Davood.

I didn't like Aston's dance, but more for the Michael Jackson elements, especially in the current climate, than the actual dance elements.

[Dots And Stripes]

I agree about Jonnie. I thought the judges were very kind to him. They were very harsh on Aston. Not his best, but that those scores were harsh. I thought Jannette over did it with her arms and flailing. It looked like a lot of her dances.

Anton needs his own show where he does terrible latin dances. Very enjoyable although it feels like Ruth is just along for the ride.

Craig bowing down to Debbie made me so, so happy. 

[legaleagle53]

4 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Anton needs his own show where he does terrible latin dances. Very enjoyable although it feels like Ruth is just along for the ride.

Oh, I don't know.  I remember the last time he took an over-the-top comedic approach like this to Latin routines with Nancy Dell'Olio, and I could tell that she hated every minute of it.  Ruth, on the other hand, still seems to be having a ball and clearly enjoys laughing at herself and encouraging everyone else to do so.

[Anothermi]

Ditto for Judy Moo, but I don't like it when Anton manipulates like that because it seems to me that he stops teaching the dance and just goes for keeping his celeb in.  Katya didn't do that for Ed Balls, and Amy & Reddo appeared to be teaching their admittedly lacking-in-any-dancing-skills partners the proper steps at least.  I dunno.  Judy Moo made me like Anton, but it's just a schtick with him... and it's back. I thought he'd dropped it.

I felt bad for Gemma.  She was so uncomfortable.  She got appropriate critiques though.

Don't think Aston deserved a 4 from Craig even if this wasn't his best dance.

I've had to struggle to remember Mollie's dance, but now that I do, I guess I feel it was low-balled as far as marking went. I clearly didn't find it memorable, but I don't recall finding it awkward or bad.

Think I liked Joe and Katya's Charleston the best followed by Alex, Davood & Debbie.

I like Jonnie Peacock, but these latin dances that require hip movement are just not for him.  He gives it a good try though.

[Occasional Hope]

Well, we did kind of expect a shock this week, but even though I much preferred Mollie's dance I was suprised that  was the decision.  First split this year, I think.

I was really looking at Aston to make the final, and possibly win.  I'm sorry we son't see his showdance.  I think he was hampered by Janette's lack of ballroom background, which is a shame, because he really can dance.

[Dots And Stripes]

19 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Oh, I don't know.  I remember the last time he took an over-the-top comedic approach like this to Latin routines with Nancy Dell'Olio, and I could tell that she hated every minute of it.  Ruth, on the other hand, still seems to be having a ball and clearly enjoys laughing at herself and encouraging everyone else to do so.

I agree that the approach works better with some than with others. Nancy and Jerry Hall never clicked with Anton. Anne sold it more effectively than Ruth. For me really I think Anton is putting on the show and Ruth is trying to keep up. I feel like he's driving and defining the partnership more than she is. 

1 hour ago, Occasional Hope said:

Well, we did kind of expect a shock this week, but even though I much preferred Mollie's dance I was suprised that  was the decision.  First split this year, I think.

I was really looking at Aston to make the final, and possibly win.  I'm sorry we son't see his showdance.  I think he was hampered by Janette's lack of ballroom background, which is a shame, because he really can dance.

You definitely called the shock factor this week. I think Mollie was under marked this week. I have mixed feelings. I like Mollie and AJ better, but I don't see them lasting more than another week or two based on their back to back bottom 2 appearances. As much as I dislike Janette, it feels too soon for Aston to go given his level of talent. The bright spot is I think this sets up an interesting rivalry between Alexandra and Debbie as clearly the best two dancers left.

A few shallow notes leftover from Saturday's show, I thought Alexandra and Nadia looked so beautiful (I want Nadia's dress) and I was happy to see Giovanni out of of that monster make-up.

Edited November 5, 2017 by Dots And Stripes

[Occasional Hope]

Yes, Nadiya's dress was gorgeous!

[doesntworkonwood]

Aston leaving just goes to show that one bad dance can mean the end. It's a shame because his paso was absolutely fantastic, but this week was just... bad.

 

I'm Team Debbie. Honestly, I loved Alexandra's Tina Turner routine, but since then I think her routines are lacking in something. I think Debbie has got that something. 

[Anothermi]

 I'm really put off by this "shock" boot, but I know it's a no win situation.  The judges got a lot of stick back when they did take  a celeb's record into consideration.  I, too, was expecting Aston to be in the Final - if not win the thing. Alex and Debbie are vulnerable too because they have become predictably good and the GBP don't much like that.  They like a journey (as do I).

The only good I can see coming out of this is that it makes the Final wide open for quite a number of new possibilities, which, in turn, adds interest and excitement to the rest of the show. <sigh>

 You win some. You lose some. 

[Llywela]

17 hours ago, doesntworkonwood said:

I'm Team Debbie. Honestly, I loved Alexandra's Tina Turner routine, but since then I think her routines are lacking in something. I think Debbie has got that something. 

Agreed. It would be great to see an older winner - plus it's really lovely to see Debbie coming into her own, instead of always being thought of just as 'Paul Daniel's wife/assistant', as she always has been.

[Dots And Stripes]

Alexandra’s AT was my favorite of the night. She nailed that dance. I didn’t think Davood deserved the same score. Debbie’s eye exam opening was weird. I was nervous Giovanni was going to kill her in that first lift. Not her best, but still a really good dance.

Lots of struggling this week. I think Mollie was too determined and it took her out of the dance. Gemma looked lost. I was surprised at how much the judge’s attitude towards Jonnie has changed.

[Occasional Hope]

The right bottom two for the first time this series.  I would have sent Jonnie home though - he was a sack of potatoes for the second week running.

Davood seems to lack much personality most of the time, so a Charleston which made him have one, meant this was my favorite dance from him.

[legaleagle53]

Yeah, I wasn't quite ready to see Ruth leave just yet, even though I knew it was only a matter of time.

I think it's going to be Alexandra and Davood in the final, with maybe Debbie there, too, if it's a three-person final this year.  I think Alexandra's the one to beat, however.

[Occasional Hope]

Did they forget to provide Joe with an outfit this week?

Danceoff ought to be Jonnie vs Susan, with Jonnie going home, although Molie's charleston didn't look much like a charleston to me.

[Dots And Stripes]

Kevin leaving on a paso at Blackpool would be fun, but I'm afraid it might be too much to hope for. 

I didn't need to see Debbie and some imitation spice girls. I wonder how popular she because she's her position on the leader board this week leaves her a little vulnerable. The only real upside was Craig's smile when Tess called him Scary Spice. This was not her best dance. I don't think this was Joe's best week either. Katya made that dance work though. Her strength and flexibility in those lifts was unreal.

Alexandra was excellent and by far my favorite this week. 

Edited November 18, 2017 by Dots And Stripes

[Occasional Hope]

I expect Debbie being in the Danceoff will be regarded as a big shock, but like you I have had doubts about her fan base.  However, it would have been a complete travesty to send her home over Jonnie, even after one of her less stellar efforts.

[Anothermi]

On 2017-11-18 at 0:07 PM, Occasional Hope said:

Did they forget to provide Joe with an outfit this week?

Hee!  It did look like he'd just arrived - without changing - from an episode of Holby. Still in his scrubs. And the Vicki crew just slapped on a bit of decoration.

I think I'd like to have seen Joe & Katya's Dress rehearsal run through.  I think it might have been better. There is no way they would have put that "Donut Drop" lift at the end if Katya landed like what we saw all the time.

Here's Benji Schwimmer and his cousin Heidi showing it off (think they used the name Donut Drop) at the start of a Mambo they were given on SYTYCD US Season 2.  If Joe and Katya's had worked it would have wowed the crowd - and possibly distracted from the other not-so-successful tricks.  Joe was game and exuding the party feel, but it was just too much.  I like Joe & Katya. But then, the only celebrity I was a bit iffy about was Brian Connolly.

I also like Jonnie and Oti alot and I thought their Cyber Tango was very entertaining.  It was Jonnie's time to go though.  He was not physically going to be able to correct the bum issue and he didn't want special exemptions because of his disability.  He did a surprisingly good job, on quite a few dances, making me forget he didn't have two feet.  Lovely goodbye speech. Hope he's shattered some negative assumptions people make when they hear someone has a disability.

[doesntworkonwood]

I thought that Jonnie and Oti had the best choreography this week, and they made the best use out of the extra dancers, so it's a shame that it was them leaving. I thought Debbie was absolutely awful this week, so I'm not surprised she was in the bottom two

[Dots And Stripes]

Susan was clearly the weakest dancer left. 

I found the paso-athon more difficult to watch than the ballroom dance marathons. I couldn't see much of anything. Alexandra winning feels about right and does Susan being last. Susan and Kevin looked like they weren't really trying to dance, just do some comedy. 

Gemma clearly struggled with samba. I think Gemma is best when she has a character and I think that's what Aljaz was trying to do. Unfortunately a sleepy character just looks sloppy unless its being expertly executed. I think Gemma deserves a trip to the dance off this week. I'm kind of surprised she hasn't been there already because she's hit or miss with dancing and I find her to lack the charisma of some of the others.

The rumba didn't suit Alexandra. She's such a powerful dancer and that power didn't work in her favor in that dance. I don't think she's in *that* much danger of leaving though because she would easily beat Susan, Mollie, or Gemma in a dance off and could probably beat Davood even though he outscored her this week.

I liked Debbie's AT but I didn't love it like I thought I might.  Davood was also just there. My favorites for the week were Joe and Mollie. What was with the "kiss" chants up by Claudia?

[Occasional Hope]

Not totally surprised by Alexandra in the danceoff, but honestly, it made for the least tense DO ever.  She would probably have stayed even if she had fallen over.