<p>OT, but D talked me in to watching Up in Smoke with her last night. While I was certainly familiar with Cheech & Chong’s comedy, I hadn’t ever seen that movie. Funny to see the 1978 Tommy after the 2014 version. </p>
<p>It was almost too predictable, and we had to suffer through all those bad dancers for the end result!</p>
<p>I don’t like that the couples dance one last time for judges votes only. I don’t think its always been that way. And they often get mostly tens. I think it’s filler for the two hour finale. It takes away from the impact of the freestyle, which should be the last dance we see the couples doing, imo.</p>
<p>Many things could possibly come in to play when it comes to who wins. Janels lovey dovey freestyle may have lost her the trophy. If she’d delivered one like Bethany’s, could she have at least come in 2nd place?</p>
<p>Did the Duck Dynasty millionaires buy votes for Sadie? Or bribe the judges for good scores? How big of a fan base does she, on her own, have to get all those votes,to come in 2nd place. In the end, I liked her attitude, agreeing with saintfan’s comments. She was always willing and never bitchy, having maintained a great relationship with Mark throughout. I just didn’t care for her dancing all that much tho I agree she was worthy of being in the finals.</p>
<p>I also ended up with mixed feelings about Alfonso. Glad he won, but I think it’d have been okay if Bethany or Janel had won, too. </p>
<p>Once again, so much fun sharing and hearing everyone’s comments. Happy Thankgiving.</p>
<p>I watched the finale last night. What’s funny is how I forget who was on during the season until I see them again. I would have been okay with any of the final 4 winning, but I am happy for Witney for getting a win. I imagine it’s extremely competitive for the pros to be chosen to be on in a season. She proved her choreography is up there with the best of them. However, she doesn’t have a real strong personality yet so she was a good foil for Alfonso who is all personality. </p>
<p>I think that’s a good point, eyemamom. I find her so beautiful I like to just look at her, but I know nothing about her personality, which worked out for Alfonso, as he was allowed to shine.</p>
<p>Hm…the reason I ended up with mixed feeling for Alfonso is because he seemed to overshadow Witney. Like she had to dial back because he wanted all the attention for his aches and pains and accomplishments. Hey, look, I wanted this trophy for 10 years, and all that stff.</p>
<p>Alfonso was head and shoulders above the other contestants from day 1, it was sort of unfair, but he definitely deserved to win. I still dont get how Sadie was number two, she was overrated in my opinion. I just dont see why the judges scored her so high. I think Janel shouldve come in second.</p>
<p>I’m sure Duck Dynasty has a bigger following than whatever show that Janel is on. I don’t watch either and didn’t know either one of them before this season. Maybe the lovey dovey stuff with Val didn’t resonate as much. I don’t know. It was amazing to me Derek ended up in 4th, not that he didn’t deserve to, but because he’s so talented. </p>
<p>There have been many, many seasons with nearly professional dancers - like that ■■■■■ cat doll with derek, all the figure skaters, etc. It’s fairly common that people have some kind of experience in movement of some fashion whether it’s sports or entertainment. </p>
<p>I’d be interested in how they decide which pros are on each season and how they decide who gets which celebrity. There is no way you pull Chloris Leachmen or Betsey Johnson and think you’ll make it long. </p>
<p>The STARS, not the pros, are supposed to shine I thought. It is the pros’ job to best showcase their assigned stars, not to be the star. I’m glad that the pros assigned is not the only factor in how well a star does, ie getting Derrick shouldn’t be an automatic win…</p>
<p>Last season’s winning pro was Maks and this season’s was Witney, so it can’t be said that getting Derrick is an automatic win.</p>
<p>Right. Anyone looking forward to the ten year show next spring?</p>
Just a reminder that the new season premiere starts tonight. I guess Derek Hough decided to come back after all. Getting gymnast Nastia Liukin as his partner probably didn’t hurt his decision any. She’s one beautiful and graceful gymnast. I’m betting they will be a frontrunners early on…
I love DWTS! I don’t know much about this new cast but I did hear that the first openly gay football player would be one of the stars so I’m already rooting for him.
That would be Michael Sam.
And on the other side of the coin there are “rumors” that one of the most openly heterosexual pros will be paired with yet another partner where there’s a love interest.
That would be Val.
I had no idea who Willow was, but knowing now that she’s in The Hunger Games tells me she probably has a huge fan base. At least she can dance! That first number was great to be 14 and first up.
I didn’t realize Derek got Nastia. Another ringer for him.
The first three dancers were fantastic for a first week!
I don’t know if Derek gets ringers or if he is so good that he makes them look like Ringers. Amber was not what you would consider a shoo-in as a dancer, nor was a partner with no feet. I think he just looks at what his partners do have going for them and accentuates that aspect.
Really? I think Amber, while not having a “dancer’s body,” is an entertainer with musicality and stage presence, and that counts for a lot. I’m not trying to be negative toward Derek because, clearly, he is an amazing choreographer and coach, but just once I’d like to see him get the Cloris Leachman or Betsey Johnson for the season.
I think it’s fair to say that Derek gets partners with much “potential” and Nastia Liukin is no exception. No disrespect to Derek’s coaching, motivational, and choreography skills. Most can agree, he’s the best of all the pro cast members. Why DID he decide to return, after announcing he wouldn’t be participating this season?
But in a dancing competition, a “dancers body” is an advantage. The fact that she didn’t have one, and struggled because of her weight lead me to think she was not a “shoo-in”. I just think he was able to work with her while not doing the type of lifts he did with his partners in the past and when she really struggled with her knees he worked around it by doing a mostly seated dance. I didn’t mean to slam Amber, just to say he did such a good job, that it might have given the impression that he only gets the Shoo-ins".
It would be interesting to see how that would play out. I agree with you there.