Double Strictly post
Dec. 27th, 2024 08:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessHope you've had or are having a merry Christmas. I am settling nicely into a quiet Twixmas myself.
I watched Strictly Come Dancing: 20 Fabulous Years more or less when it first aired. All the talking heads were new, but it felt like it covered a lot of the same ground as those documentaries they did a couple of years (or longer) ago. I wished they’d talked a little bit more about the second series, about what it was like to return to a bona fide hit, what changes had been made, but we moved on to the usual highlights after looking in some detail at the first series and how it came together. And, of course, by now, the youngest celebs (and British pros) have grown up watching it, it’s something that a professional Latin or ballroom dancer has in mind, just as celebs consider it alongside other reality tv shows.
Arlene and Bruno made welcome returns, and Zoe Ball got a fair bit of air time. No Ann Widdicome, so Anton had to make do with Judy Murray, and Gemma turning up with Aljiaz made me mutter ‘Couldn’t get Abbey Clancy, then’ and unsurprisingly Gemma ended up on a sofa with Gorka. But I was amused to learn that the reason Ed Balls and Katya can still do the Gangnam Style routine is that it’s basically a party trick.
They didn’t feature Aliona, and yes, she had good dancers (who were also fine looking young men), but I was reminded to be impressed by Aliona’s success as the first double winner. Due homage was paid to Queen Oti. Jonnie Peacock claimed to have been the first disabled celeb (they’d had an amputee on with a spin-off featuring civilians, before him, hadn’t they? But yeah, fair dos.)
The longer this feature went on, gracefully giving some time to the heads of departments and people who have passed away, some of which is a reminder that the show has been running for 20 years, some of which is still tragic, I did get sarkier, because this has been the year where we’ve heard about the partnerships that did not lead to gossiping over teas and getting matching tattoos. (And they listed the number of Strictly babies, but not the number of Strictly affairs.) I absolutely take Claudia’s point that Strictly was particularly needed during lockdown, I want Strictly to be all sparkly and uplifting, but we all know it isn’t always, and maybe the length of the show made this too self-congratulatory. But it was a reminder of all the celebs who grew in confidence, glimpses of some excellent dances, and ended, as suspected from the title, with Craig chopping the f-word into three, as is his catchphrase.
I didn’t watch the Strictly Christmas special on the day itself, but Boxing Day isn't too delayed, is it? Neil was a kind of Christmas magician in the opening routine, where you could tell that Tamzin and Tayce were the best dancers among the celebs, given the amount that they could do. Enter TessnClaud, Tess in white and silver, Claud in black (which she has more or less embraced this year) and big hoop earrings that peeked out every so often. Motsi shone the brightest of the judges, outfitwise.
We opened up with Harry and Nancy, and his VT and routine were kind of about objectifying him. He had good timing in his street commercial, and they made the most of his strength for the lifts. Craig had decided to be nice, to Motsi’s surprise, and there was Christmas inflation all round with the scores. Best moment of the show, arguably, was Motsi raising her paddle the wrong way around.
Next up Tamzin (owning to theatre work, if not West End musicals) and Nikita, doing his first Christmas show, and they were performing a Viennese waltz, with extra lifts. Really fast, pretty good, except she was a touch skippy in hold and there was a definite mistake that got referred to as lumpy custard because of an Anton metaphor. She was disappointed in herself, but someone I’d love to see do the show properly (like a taller Sarah Hadland who did a sci-fi show I have a soft spot for.)
This was followed by very tall Vogue with Gorka (instead of an injured Carlos) doing a jive. A definite step down from what we’d already seen, and she wasn’t given as much content to do, but the hard work she’d put in came off for the lifts, and the judges were kind.
Then double amputee Billy and Nadiya (winning on the dress front) doing an American smooth. He was mainly being asked to present Nadiya, and although the judges were too kind (Craig aside, as he decided he could pick on the hand shaping), it was charming and his partnering work was decent. Craig gave it a 7, the lowest score of the show. I also imagine Billy was the celeb with the least performance experience.
The low bar set for Josh and Karen was to be the best Widdicome that’s ever been on Strictly, which he was always going to smash. The penguin costumes were explained by their doing a Charleston, and it was certainly entertaining. In a first, we had some skateboards, and it was pretty decent until the last five or so seconds when Josh visibly flagged. It was confirmed that he was doing it for his daughter (as was Harry and a couple of the others referenced big Strictly fans among their family or friends). It was clear that he watches the show from how he celebrated his 10 from ‘the toughest judge’ i.e. Anton wot gave Tamzin a 10 after she’d made an obvious error. James Acaster was mentioned, the subtext being that the producers would love for him to consider being on the show.
Finally, Tayce and Kai would perform a cha cha, and once it got going it was clearly the best routine. Their footspeed! (Tayce’s.) Kai had to emulate Harry on the lifting front, but had obviously been pushing his celeb once he saw they were better than decent. A message from Danni Minogue. No obvious errors, Christmas full house.
Emma Bunton sang ‘2 become 1’ (reminding us that Mel C is the best singer of the Spice Girls) and Katya and Luba seem to be the pro ladies who are happiest with same-sex dancing.
The results came through more quickly than on the show proper and the best couple did win, making it a very good year for Kai (winner of this year’s pro challenge too) for someone who didn’t have a partner. He and Harry lifted Tayce.
Closing group number, where Neil was a kind of Christmas magician again (having turned up as an extra in some of the routines.) The whole routine, involving the judges too, was a bit of a mess, but it was a perfectly fine Christmas episode.
I watched Strictly Come Dancing: 20 Fabulous Years more or less when it first aired. All the talking heads were new, but it felt like it covered a lot of the same ground as those documentaries they did a couple of years (or longer) ago. I wished they’d talked a little bit more about the second series, about what it was like to return to a bona fide hit, what changes had been made, but we moved on to the usual highlights after looking in some detail at the first series and how it came together. And, of course, by now, the youngest celebs (and British pros) have grown up watching it, it’s something that a professional Latin or ballroom dancer has in mind, just as celebs consider it alongside other reality tv shows.
Arlene and Bruno made welcome returns, and Zoe Ball got a fair bit of air time. No Ann Widdicome, so Anton had to make do with Judy Murray, and Gemma turning up with Aljiaz made me mutter ‘Couldn’t get Abbey Clancy, then’ and unsurprisingly Gemma ended up on a sofa with Gorka. But I was amused to learn that the reason Ed Balls and Katya can still do the Gangnam Style routine is that it’s basically a party trick.
They didn’t feature Aliona, and yes, she had good dancers (who were also fine looking young men), but I was reminded to be impressed by Aliona’s success as the first double winner. Due homage was paid to Queen Oti. Jonnie Peacock claimed to have been the first disabled celeb (they’d had an amputee on with a spin-off featuring civilians, before him, hadn’t they? But yeah, fair dos.)
The longer this feature went on, gracefully giving some time to the heads of departments and people who have passed away, some of which is a reminder that the show has been running for 20 years, some of which is still tragic, I did get sarkier, because this has been the year where we’ve heard about the partnerships that did not lead to gossiping over teas and getting matching tattoos. (And they listed the number of Strictly babies, but not the number of Strictly affairs.) I absolutely take Claudia’s point that Strictly was particularly needed during lockdown, I want Strictly to be all sparkly and uplifting, but we all know it isn’t always, and maybe the length of the show made this too self-congratulatory. But it was a reminder of all the celebs who grew in confidence, glimpses of some excellent dances, and ended, as suspected from the title, with Craig chopping the f-word into three, as is his catchphrase.
I didn’t watch the Strictly Christmas special on the day itself, but Boxing Day isn't too delayed, is it? Neil was a kind of Christmas magician in the opening routine, where you could tell that Tamzin and Tayce were the best dancers among the celebs, given the amount that they could do. Enter TessnClaud, Tess in white and silver, Claud in black (which she has more or less embraced this year) and big hoop earrings that peeked out every so often. Motsi shone the brightest of the judges, outfitwise.
We opened up with Harry and Nancy, and his VT and routine were kind of about objectifying him. He had good timing in his street commercial, and they made the most of his strength for the lifts. Craig had decided to be nice, to Motsi’s surprise, and there was Christmas inflation all round with the scores. Best moment of the show, arguably, was Motsi raising her paddle the wrong way around.
Next up Tamzin (owning to theatre work, if not West End musicals) and Nikita, doing his first Christmas show, and they were performing a Viennese waltz, with extra lifts. Really fast, pretty good, except she was a touch skippy in hold and there was a definite mistake that got referred to as lumpy custard because of an Anton metaphor. She was disappointed in herself, but someone I’d love to see do the show properly (like a taller Sarah Hadland who did a sci-fi show I have a soft spot for.)
This was followed by very tall Vogue with Gorka (instead of an injured Carlos) doing a jive. A definite step down from what we’d already seen, and she wasn’t given as much content to do, but the hard work she’d put in came off for the lifts, and the judges were kind.
Then double amputee Billy and Nadiya (winning on the dress front) doing an American smooth. He was mainly being asked to present Nadiya, and although the judges were too kind (Craig aside, as he decided he could pick on the hand shaping), it was charming and his partnering work was decent. Craig gave it a 7, the lowest score of the show. I also imagine Billy was the celeb with the least performance experience.
The low bar set for Josh and Karen was to be the best Widdicome that’s ever been on Strictly, which he was always going to smash. The penguin costumes were explained by their doing a Charleston, and it was certainly entertaining. In a first, we had some skateboards, and it was pretty decent until the last five or so seconds when Josh visibly flagged. It was confirmed that he was doing it for his daughter (as was Harry and a couple of the others referenced big Strictly fans among their family or friends). It was clear that he watches the show from how he celebrated his 10 from ‘the toughest judge’ i.e. Anton wot gave Tamzin a 10 after she’d made an obvious error. James Acaster was mentioned, the subtext being that the producers would love for him to consider being on the show.
Finally, Tayce and Kai would perform a cha cha, and once it got going it was clearly the best routine. Their footspeed! (Tayce’s.) Kai had to emulate Harry on the lifting front, but had obviously been pushing his celeb once he saw they were better than decent. A message from Danni Minogue. No obvious errors, Christmas full house.
Emma Bunton sang ‘2 become 1’ (reminding us that Mel C is the best singer of the Spice Girls) and Katya and Luba seem to be the pro ladies who are happiest with same-sex dancing.
The results came through more quickly than on the show proper and the best couple did win, making it a very good year for Kai (winner of this year’s pro challenge too) for someone who didn’t have a partner. He and Harry lifted Tayce.
Closing group number, where Neil was a kind of Christmas magician again (having turned up as an extra in some of the routines.) The whole routine, involving the judges too, was a bit of a mess, but it was a perfectly fine Christmas episode.
