S26.E03: Week 3

[BelleBrit]

8 hours ago, tessaforever said:

I have no problem with women being snarky on this show (Erin makes a decently funny comment every so often) but somehow Marai's comments just fall flat. Adam has a clunker occasionally also, but more of his comments seem natural. An example of Marai's awkwardness was when the dance-off was being critiqued, and one of the judges (Len?) mentioned better kicks & flicks, Marai lifted up her leg, as she knew he was referring to her, and it was so strange and out of place that everyone froze. I don't think she understands what works with an audience. 

Fair enough, but there is a difference imo between saying someone lacks comedic timing and is awkward/cringe-y vs people being so "offended" by her silly, faux trash talk remarks (imo you have to reallly reach) , but I'm done talking about this so I'll agree to disagree.  Also, it's Mirai. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by BelleBrit

[Toonces464]

9 hours ago, tessaforever said:

As someone else mentioned, they may not tinker with votes, but from the first moment of the first show of a season, the producers are carefully editing, packaging, assigning songs & dances, giving the judges a script, and on and on and on. There's a ton of manipulation. 

When they announced him as guest judge, I groaned. I normally loathe guest judges! But color me surprised that he was a great judge - pithy, meaningful comments, wove in his own experiences on the show but in a natural way, and had some good critiques. He was better than Cher, Maks, Jessie J, Shania Twain, Pitbull, (not a high bar to clear) and a whole bunch of other guest judges I can't remember. 

There's definitely lots of manipulation going on (just look at Season 18) but I don't think tinkering with viewer votes is one of them.

I think Rashad and David were two of the best guest judges they've ever had. I would be curious to see some of the other, less douchey, pros like Kym, Tony or Cheryl, take a turn as a guest judge and see how they do.

[anonymiss]

1 hour ago, BelleBrit said:

Fair enough, but there is a difference imo between saying someone lacks comedic timing and is awkward/cringe-y vs people being so "offended" by her silly, faux trash talk remarks (imo you have to reallly reach) , but I'm done talking about this so I'll agree to disagree.  Also, it's Mirai. 

Yup. I've even seen on her elimination Access interview a pile-on in the comments starting from a normal "I don't like her" to "She even manipulates people." SMH.

[tessaforever]

1 hour ago, Toonces464 said:

There's definitely lots of manipulation going on (just look at Season 18) but I don't think tinkering with viewer votes is one of them.

I think Rashad and David were two of the best guest judges they've ever had. I would be curious to see some of the other, less douchey, pros like Kym, Tony or Cheryl, take a turn as a guest judge and see how they do.

Yes, Rashad did a great job too! I think David might have been even better. Never would have guessed. 

[crowceilidh]

Quote

They can't make up a finalist. All those things that involve votes are very closely regulated.

I'm with McManda.  I don't think game show rules apply to this show.  I don't really think they have to mess with votes because their editing monkeys are so good at manipulating the outcome anyhow.  They've had years of experience at it.

[boyznkatz]

2 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

There's definitely lots of manipulation going on (just look at Season 18) but I don't think tinkering with viewer votes is one of them.

I think Rashad and David were two of the best guest judges they've ever had. I would be curious to see some of the other, less douchey, pros like Kym, Tony or Cheryl, take a turn as a guest judge and see how they do.

I don't think they are tinkering with votes, but only letting people vote for a couple of hours is a joke. Also not letting the west coast (which has a good chunk of the U.S. population) not vote in the first show is weird. The "winner" is going to be handed a victory by TPTB, not the fans.

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, crowceilidh said:

I don't really think they have to mess with votes because their editing monkeys are so good at manipulating the outcome anyhow. 

As I posted earlier, I don't think it's the dancing so much that wins this, it's the filmed packages that get most viewers for a contestant. Most seasons (heck, all seasons now) there are people no one has ever heard of, then grow to like during the show. Chris might be one this time. Not many of us watch luge, but he got a nice edit and came off as a good guy. Same with Josh, I'd never heard of him but now I like him. And Adam is fantastic all the time. Mirai cut her own throat with how she was portrayed as opposed to how she dances. Yes, bad dancing gets you sent home, but being shown as a diva or snarky or rude gets you sent home too.

I've always felt the judge's scores were pretty set in stone ahead of the live show, with TPTB telling them how to vote and maybe even what to say. It's just a reality show after all. It quit being a dancing show seasons ago. JMHO and, as always, YMMV.

[Thadeeeyus]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

......I've always felt the judge's scores were pretty set in stone ahead of the live show, with TPTB telling them how to vote and maybe even what to say. It's just a reality show after all. It quit being a dancing show seasons ago. JMHO and, as always, YMMV.

Yep, yep, that's what I think as well.  I firmly believe that the judges are told what the total score needs to be for a particular contestant, and what kind of praise/criticism there needs to be, and it's up to them to make that score happen.  It doesn't matter who gives what score.  They watch the dress rehearsals and take notes, so that they're prepared.  It's pretty obvious when something unexpected happens, like a fall.  Then they have a look on their faces like, crap, what do we do now?  

[saber5055]

37 minutes ago, Thadeeeyus said:

It's pretty obvious when something unexpected happens, like a fall.  Then they have a look on their faces like, crap, what do we do now? 

I know, that's hilarious.

[Uke]

16 hours ago, McManda said:

As far as I'm aware, that only applies to game shows, where actual prizes are awarded.

Because the cast of the show - pros and celebs alike - are paid a participation fee and being that the only thing you win on DWTS is a sparkly mirror ball on a stick and some name recognition for your participation, I'm thinking those FCC regulations don't apply. It's why the show is classified as "reality television" and not a "game show".

I believe that is true.  In fact,  there's an article online that discusses the making of the MBT and how they purposely keep it to some nominal value, IIRC it's valued at $20-$25 purposely so it can't be construed as a prize.  1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers are paid the same amount since they participated in the same number of weeks.

[Toonces464]

5 hours ago, Thadeeeyus said:

They watch the dress rehearsals and take notes, so that they're prepared. 

Actually, I believe the judges are kept away from the dress rehearsals. In the blooper clips, there are fill-ins sitting at the judge's table.

[Kira53]

On 5/15/2018 at 7:18 PM, lavenderblue said:

Lex and Taylor's Broadway last season? (I flashed to that set, too.)

Thanks, I needed that!  Gorgeous.  I had forgotten that dance.

[Morrigan]

6 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

Actually, I believe the judges are kept away from the dress rehearsals. In the blooper clips, there are fill-ins sitting at the judge's table.

They watch them on film on a monitor - not on the actual dance floor. That way, they can openly discuss what to say and score with the producers. Otherwise, it could hardly be kept a secret and their chatter would be a distraction to the dancers, director, etc.  They also have access to all the rehearsal video but the judges wouldn't really need all that - just the producers, as they decide how to "guide" the show.  I think they know who'll win before the show even begins (and also where everyone will place), or at least what their plans are, but as the show progresses, they make adjustments, depending on viewer votes, to some extent, but also how things unfold, injuries, personalitybehavior issues, etc.  They don't leave anything to chance.  No reality show does.  Too much money riding on it.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Morrigan

[Gueststar]

America Live Voting was interesting. I wonder how telling that was and much power voting influenced who went home. I’m not surprised Tonya made it. Controversial celebs always survive somehow.

i don’t have an opinion on dancing because at this point they all look like mini middle school musicals. Thanks SYTYCD rejects. 

I’m conflicted- on one hand I’m thankful this season is ending, on the other hand I don’t have high hopes for next season. That’s because celebs were fine, but pros (who’ll most likely return next season) were horrible. New pros please.

 

Another point i wanted to make, if you want to get an exaggerated  glimpse  on how they manipulate reality tv... check out tv show ‘Unreal’ 

Edited May 18, 2018 by Gueststar