My Strictly Christmas
Jan. 3rd, 2013 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessDue to reasons, I watched the last Friday It Takes Two right before the final, didn’t like Zoe’s dress and laughed at people crying. Denise’s daughter is still the cutest Strictly infant.
The Finals (drafted straight after seeing them)
Judges' choice – couldn’t complain too much about these dances, they weren’t always my favourite, but they’d all been pretty good with room for improvement. (I would have liked to see Dani’s outfit change colour and Kimberley’s tweaked a little, if I’m being picky.)
Loved Denise and James’s jive - so fast. (Family Member who was watching in the halcyon days thought it was better than Jill Pennyfarthing’s one. I am quoting. I don’t know if that’s heresy, but I would have liked to know why Craig gave this jive a nine.) Was convinced that however brilliantly they danced, this would be as far as they could go.
Oh, Dani, whatever the wobbles were, they cost you. I didn’t see them, did see more flourishes in the tango that I hadn’t before, wasn’t sold on the beginning but was glad, with Craig, to see them end with the beat.
Kimberley and Pasha’s Viennese Waltz did make me catch my breath just a little. Again, I’d like to know why Craig held back on the ten. Anyway, I felt justified in voting for them for this round
It was interesting (and fair) that Flavia got as much praise as Louis for the salsa. His performance has improved and there was more armography without losing the feel of the dance. Whooping audience.
Bruce’s Mr Nine to Craig was genuinely funny. FM and I had had an argument about Bruce ‘He’s funny’ ‘He’s not as funny as he thinks he is’ ‘Well, who is?’ ‘Yes, but what about all the rest of it?’ ‘Ageist’ etc etc. Given that this has been such a successful year, I doubt they’ll make too many changes – Darcey with ‘her beautiful smile’ will remain to be patronised by Bruce, Tess to be pawed by Bruce and Bruce will dodder on, with Claudia as stand-by. (Better her than Vernon Kay, say I.)
SHOWDANCE
I actually have mixed feelings about the showdance, as it can be misleading about the rest of someone’s series, the tricks overwhelm the dancing and ask too much of the celebs. What we saw didn’t make me much change my mind. I thought the scoring was fair, but ignored it because voting for ‘Do you know what I mean?’ has become a habit with me.
James and Denise’s liftacular number was brilliant and brave (although I think one of James’s comments at the end was exactly why they won’t win). It came off. Vincent and Dani’s didn’t quite, although it wasn’t a bad effort. I don’t know if it’s that she hasn’t got the body to appear to do something spectacular or if Vincent didn’t find a way to play to her strengths like the other pros did with their celebs, but seven points below the rest...I hate to make an equine metaphor, but I thought she fell at this hurdle.
Was choosing Beyonce a slam at Dani? Was I reading too much into Jill Halfpenny’s comments when she did a winner’s panel on ITT that implied that Kimberley’s dances had less content/were easier than everyone else’s? I'm not on Twitter, so I make up my own conspiracy theories. I wished Pasha and Kimberley hadn’t shown their workings out when they admitted they were picking dances to show off her variety. It’s a totally valid tactic, but there’s no need to trumpet it. ANYWAY, my exact words after it was over were ‘that was a bit more of a hot mess than it was meant to be’. I don’t quibble with the marks, and if it was just a vote based on the best showdance, I wouldn’t be voting for them.
I would, actually, be voting for Louis and Flavia’s routine, which was a showdance on their terms. Clever Flavia. I really liked Darcey’s summation of it.
Last week, we had Anton and Brendan mucking about behind Tess; this week, we had Nicky and Michael’s bromance resuming.
Results show (drafted the morning after)
Tess’s dress was fine at the top, but ridiculous at the bottom.
So, we started off with the bit that I always hate. Everyone all dressed up for their final dance and one of them will be dropped. (Flavia looked like a very nervous scarlet Clara Bow.) Like James and Denise, I was expecting it to be James and Denise going, which I thought was a shame and wrong (but not enough to vote for them). While I was chuntering on about bottom twos the FM reminded me that the viewing public had done the right thing WRT Lisa last week, and, it turned out, they did it again. Bye, Dani and Vincent – I liked you despite the way you embraced the comedy VTs and labels. You just didn’t have a flashy enough dance in you.
My immediate thought was that choosing the Charleston might suddenly have been a mistake on Louis’s part. (Spoiler: ha. Silly me.) For lo, Denise and James’s Charleston was flawless. (Another family member had joined us, one who has not followed Strictly so closely. They laughed at ‘From Len, a ten’, I boggled at their innocence.)
I loved Kimberley and Pasha’s tango the first time around (like Denise and James’s – 80s staccato styling really works) and was delighted that they got a 40. Then there was the Turning Point Charleston (I get why they picked it) with the extra somersault. It wasn’t clear to me whether Flavia knew that was coming or not. BUT I was with Craig on the nine. It wasn’t as good as Denise’s, and had more messing about (and, for that matter, more so than Kimberley’s did last week). So, I wasn’t booing at Craig here.
To summarise the ensuing discussion with the Family Member who had been watching the show: I justified voting for Kimberley because although whoever won this year, it wouldn’t be a travesty, but she had showed on the night (and over the show) that she’d mastered ballroom and Latin. At her best, Denise was superlative, but then there were the hips (and she and James were annoying). I also mentioned Louis’s jive, plus the fact that he hadn’t made the most of his potential, it felt like, for most of the series, Denise had stumbled when the others had developed and Kimberley had been consistent before finally getting it. (Habit and fondness for Girls Aloud may have been a factor in my voting for her.) I also voted for Kimberley once more because I thought Craig’s nine to Louis would rile his fans.
Before they announced it, I said it would probably be Louis. I am really pleased for Flavia.
The morning after, setting aside who I voted for and all the stuff about the rest of the series, I’d say that Pasha and Kimberley’s dream of a waltz ‘won the first round’ (to descend to Cowellese), Flavia and Louis’s on-their-terms showdance won the second and James and Denise’s flawless Charleston the last. (The fact that James just couldn’t do Egyptian head added to its perfection for me.) There was one point in it at the end (guh, I’d love for a debriefing where Craig explained his nines), and although I hope a woman celeb wins again soon, I’m not too deflated.
Apparently I have nothing to say about the pro and celeb numbers.
Strictly Christmas Special
The opening snippet of Claudia wasn’t enough. I’m glad they got Darcey to lampoon herself, although they seem to want to dump her into the sympathetic/decorative slot where the biggest compliment one can give a woman is that she’s beautiful. This is to ignore the fact that she can get her tongue around any French titled move and mark as low as Craig. She did it on this show – he got booed and everyone blanked on the fact she’d given an equally low score. In as much as anyone should take the scoring on the Christmas special seriously.
It’s not like the real thing, is it? I was convinced from the second I realised that that footballer was in it that he was going to win and that nothing could have stopped him short of a Paralympian/Claire Balding. I agreed with the judges that JB was the best, but thought that Ian and Sheila’s dance was lovely, and her fluidity and topline were well impressive given her age. Setting aside Anton’s impassioned rant for a better celeb in the future, I was amused by how the judges clearly wanted to give Katy Brand (who was funny! I have never found her to be funny before. In the snippets that I’ve seen of her) concrit, but then remembred it was a one-off. We saw Helen’s mistakes, even if the judges didn’t. However, I apparently have a soft spot a mile wide for Ian and Artem, loved to see Katya back and would like to see Aliona get a decent enough dancer to do moar crazy Russian choreography next year. Well done, studio audience, anyway.
After all the build-up, the all star dance wasn’t all that much, except for a chance to remember how Rachel Stevens was robbed, how annoying Tom Chambers is and to watch Ann Widdicome stomp across the floor.
The Finals (drafted straight after seeing them)
Judges' choice – couldn’t complain too much about these dances, they weren’t always my favourite, but they’d all been pretty good with room for improvement. (I would have liked to see Dani’s outfit change colour and Kimberley’s tweaked a little, if I’m being picky.)
Loved Denise and James’s jive - so fast. (Family Member who was watching in the halcyon days thought it was better than Jill Pennyfarthing’s one. I am quoting. I don’t know if that’s heresy, but I would have liked to know why Craig gave this jive a nine.) Was convinced that however brilliantly they danced, this would be as far as they could go.
Oh, Dani, whatever the wobbles were, they cost you. I didn’t see them, did see more flourishes in the tango that I hadn’t before, wasn’t sold on the beginning but was glad, with Craig, to see them end with the beat.
Kimberley and Pasha’s Viennese Waltz did make me catch my breath just a little. Again, I’d like to know why Craig held back on the ten. Anyway, I felt justified in voting for them for this round
It was interesting (and fair) that Flavia got as much praise as Louis for the salsa. His performance has improved and there was more armography without losing the feel of the dance. Whooping audience.
Bruce’s Mr Nine to Craig was genuinely funny. FM and I had had an argument about Bruce ‘He’s funny’ ‘He’s not as funny as he thinks he is’ ‘Well, who is?’ ‘Yes, but what about all the rest of it?’ ‘Ageist’ etc etc. Given that this has been such a successful year, I doubt they’ll make too many changes – Darcey with ‘her beautiful smile’ will remain to be patronised by Bruce, Tess to be pawed by Bruce and Bruce will dodder on, with Claudia as stand-by. (Better her than Vernon Kay, say I.)
SHOWDANCE
I actually have mixed feelings about the showdance, as it can be misleading about the rest of someone’s series, the tricks overwhelm the dancing and ask too much of the celebs. What we saw didn’t make me much change my mind. I thought the scoring was fair, but ignored it because voting for ‘Do you know what I mean?’ has become a habit with me.
James and Denise’s liftacular number was brilliant and brave (although I think one of James’s comments at the end was exactly why they won’t win). It came off. Vincent and Dani’s didn’t quite, although it wasn’t a bad effort. I don’t know if it’s that she hasn’t got the body to appear to do something spectacular or if Vincent didn’t find a way to play to her strengths like the other pros did with their celebs, but seven points below the rest...I hate to make an equine metaphor, but I thought she fell at this hurdle.
Was choosing Beyonce a slam at Dani? Was I reading too much into Jill Halfpenny’s comments when she did a winner’s panel on ITT that implied that Kimberley’s dances had less content/were easier than everyone else’s? I'm not on Twitter, so I make up my own conspiracy theories. I wished Pasha and Kimberley hadn’t shown their workings out when they admitted they were picking dances to show off her variety. It’s a totally valid tactic, but there’s no need to trumpet it. ANYWAY, my exact words after it was over were ‘that was a bit more of a hot mess than it was meant to be’. I don’t quibble with the marks, and if it was just a vote based on the best showdance, I wouldn’t be voting for them.
I would, actually, be voting for Louis and Flavia’s routine, which was a showdance on their terms. Clever Flavia. I really liked Darcey’s summation of it.
Last week, we had Anton and Brendan mucking about behind Tess; this week, we had Nicky and Michael’s bromance resuming.
Results show (drafted the morning after)
Tess’s dress was fine at the top, but ridiculous at the bottom.
So, we started off with the bit that I always hate. Everyone all dressed up for their final dance and one of them will be dropped. (Flavia looked like a very nervous scarlet Clara Bow.) Like James and Denise, I was expecting it to be James and Denise going, which I thought was a shame and wrong (but not enough to vote for them). While I was chuntering on about bottom twos the FM reminded me that the viewing public had done the right thing WRT Lisa last week, and, it turned out, they did it again. Bye, Dani and Vincent – I liked you despite the way you embraced the comedy VTs and labels. You just didn’t have a flashy enough dance in you.
My immediate thought was that choosing the Charleston might suddenly have been a mistake on Louis’s part. (Spoiler: ha. Silly me.) For lo, Denise and James’s Charleston was flawless. (Another family member had joined us, one who has not followed Strictly so closely. They laughed at ‘From Len, a ten’, I boggled at their innocence.)
I loved Kimberley and Pasha’s tango the first time around (like Denise and James’s – 80s staccato styling really works) and was delighted that they got a 40. Then there was the Turning Point Charleston (I get why they picked it) with the extra somersault. It wasn’t clear to me whether Flavia knew that was coming or not. BUT I was with Craig on the nine. It wasn’t as good as Denise’s, and had more messing about (and, for that matter, more so than Kimberley’s did last week). So, I wasn’t booing at Craig here.
To summarise the ensuing discussion with the Family Member who had been watching the show: I justified voting for Kimberley because although whoever won this year, it wouldn’t be a travesty, but she had showed on the night (and over the show) that she’d mastered ballroom and Latin. At her best, Denise was superlative, but then there were the hips (and she and James were annoying). I also mentioned Louis’s jive, plus the fact that he hadn’t made the most of his potential, it felt like, for most of the series, Denise had stumbled when the others had developed and Kimberley had been consistent before finally getting it. (Habit and fondness for Girls Aloud may have been a factor in my voting for her.) I also voted for Kimberley once more because I thought Craig’s nine to Louis would rile his fans.
Before they announced it, I said it would probably be Louis. I am really pleased for Flavia.
The morning after, setting aside who I voted for and all the stuff about the rest of the series, I’d say that Pasha and Kimberley’s dream of a waltz ‘won the first round’ (to descend to Cowellese), Flavia and Louis’s on-their-terms showdance won the second and James and Denise’s flawless Charleston the last. (The fact that James just couldn’t do Egyptian head added to its perfection for me.) There was one point in it at the end (guh, I’d love for a debriefing where Craig explained his nines), and although I hope a woman celeb wins again soon, I’m not too deflated.
Apparently I have nothing to say about the pro and celeb numbers.
Strictly Christmas Special
The opening snippet of Claudia wasn’t enough. I’m glad they got Darcey to lampoon herself, although they seem to want to dump her into the sympathetic/decorative slot where the biggest compliment one can give a woman is that she’s beautiful. This is to ignore the fact that she can get her tongue around any French titled move and mark as low as Craig. She did it on this show – he got booed and everyone blanked on the fact she’d given an equally low score. In as much as anyone should take the scoring on the Christmas special seriously.
It’s not like the real thing, is it? I was convinced from the second I realised that that footballer was in it that he was going to win and that nothing could have stopped him short of a Paralympian/Claire Balding. I agreed with the judges that JB was the best, but thought that Ian and Sheila’s dance was lovely, and her fluidity and topline were well impressive given her age. Setting aside Anton’s impassioned rant for a better celeb in the future, I was amused by how the judges clearly wanted to give Katy Brand (who was funny! I have never found her to be funny before. In the snippets that I’ve seen of her) concrit, but then remembred it was a one-off. We saw Helen’s mistakes, even if the judges didn’t. However, I apparently have a soft spot a mile wide for Ian and Artem, loved to see Katya back and would like to see Aliona get a decent enough dancer to do moar crazy Russian choreography next year. Well done, studio audience, anyway.
After all the build-up, the all star dance wasn’t all that much, except for a chance to remember how Rachel Stevens was robbed, how annoying Tom Chambers is and to watch Ann Widdicome stomp across the floor.
