Strictly Purism

[Nero]

Is there anyone else who is glad that the great British public is buggering up the somewhat pompous sesibilities of the SCD panel?

Arlene Philips is on the box at the moment doing her very best to get the viewers to disassociate themselves from their innate sense of democracy and bollocks-to-that sensibility and instead get all purist and vote for the best dancer.

Everyone knows that it's the most popular person wins, who often happens to be a fairly good dancer.

Arlene comes across as prissy, bossy and ultimately humourless. I'm glad she's riled.

Thoughts?

[Moos]

Argh, and I thought we had a lot of Wire threads!

How many threads on the front page referring to Strictly, X-Factor and I'm a Cheese, Stick Me In the Grater?

Nero - sorry, not pointing at you. Don't watch Strictly, but I have a Very Good Friend (honest :-$) who is very upset about last night, and says it's a Travesty. Does that help?

[Asset]

I love it. I am torn between getting annoyed about the lovely Jon still being in which means other people who are obviously much better at dancing have to go, and finding the whole thing very funny.

He's not going to win but could end up in the final, I suppose it doesn't make that much difference in the end whether he stays to the end, the others would have been knocked out at some point.

Arlene was on R4 this morning, it just all makes for great publicity.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Who has the ultimate say when the show gets down to the last 2?

PLEASE say The General Public!:))

[Ladygooner]

Tony.London Suburbs Wrote:

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> Who has the ultimate say when the show gets down

> to the last 2?

>

> PLEASE say The General Public!:))

Yes - it is the general public. What the judges seem to forget that its an entertainment show and its for charity! I really doesn't matter who wins.

[Asset]

He's not that entertaining though, I find the ones who can dance and are improving more entertaining. I suspect it's his parter who most people like to look at! the lovely, shiny Christina.

[RosieH]

She is very shiny and splendid. I hope in a repeat of the Rick Astley best artist ever voting hijack shenanigans (or whatever the MTV thing was) that the public votes John the winner. Power to the people.

Personally I thought the travesty was keeping the wooden narcissist Lisa Snowdon in, in place of the fragrant and quite spectacular Cherie.

[HonaloochieB]

Mind the public voting for stuff can be ignored.

Some years ago David Bowie did a phone-in vote for songs to be played on a greatest hits tour.

Did he play The Laughing Gnome? Did he b@ggery!

[SeanMacGabhann]

Apparantly he had rehearsed it in the style of teh Velvet Underground but when he found out the NME was behind the whole things as a jape he dropped the idea

He did drop a couple of verses into some gigs in 97 tho...

[giggirl]

Only one degree of separation between Strictly and the Laughing Gnome. Who knew.

[indiepanda]

I have to confess that I am a big fan of Strictly Come Dancing. (I know, I know, I can't help it...)

It does seem rather unfair on those that take it more seriously that they get knocked out because the public are busy voting for John, but I have to say I think the judges are seriously missing the point. The more they tell the public they "shouldn't" vote for John because he is a lousy dancer (which by comparison to all those others left in, he certainly is), the more they are going to do so. No one likes being told what to do. If they want people to vote John off they should start being nice to him and the public will soon lose interest and start voting for someone with a bit more talent.

It's a bit like Pop Idol all those years ago - Will Young's popularity soared after he dared to put Simon Cowell in his place in a polite way. He wasn't obviously the winner at first - his audition was pretty forgettabe, but the public like an underdog fighting back against unfair authority. (Admittedly whether you like his music or not, I think most would agree Young does have more singing talent than Sargeant has dancing).

[Pierre]

I think it's quite amusing, and it's certainly in the interests of the people who _make_ the show, if not those who appear in it. People are talking about the show; people are debating it on forums (fora?) entirely unrelated to SCD; it's even been on non-BBC radio news (Planet Rock this lunchtime, of all stations!) - that all means ratings ratings ratings, and for next to no investment. THAT is why the people running the show are happy to let it continue, even if a couple of real dancers are grumpy. After all, the show's not about _them_... ;)

: P

[Nero]

Agreed. BBC bosses will be very happy. In a toss up between keeping Bruno and his pals happy (!) and obtaining high ratings without a big scandal to go with it, they'll take the latter every time. It's been going for six series now, so I wouldn't be surprised if a re-jig for the next series is to come. Ciao Bruno? Ta-ta Arlene?

[Ladygooner]

Just heard that John Sergeant has pulled out of Strictly - shame!! Sorry can't do that link thingy but its on the BBC website

[georgia]

John Sergeant

[Keef]

I can't believe people getting so wound up about this, it's not a serious dance competition, it's a Saturday night celebrity reality show that doesn't count for anything. If they don't want a personality to win over ability, then they shouldn't have a public vote, and it should come down to the judges choice.

Load of nonsense!

[Ladygooner]

georgia Wrote:

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> John Sergeant

Thanks Georgia

[LuvPeckham]

Maybe, now that poor old John has been hounded out of the show, the viewing public should withhold all telephone votes for all of the other dancers this week to make a point to the judges that they are taking it all a little too seriously.

It would be quite interesting to see how the Beeb would react if the only sound down the phone lines was passign tumbleweed... ;-)

[SeanMacGabhann]

Sounds like the judges are taking it a LOT less seriously than some of the public

[RosieH]

Keef Wrote:

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> I can't believe people getting so wound up about

> this, it's not a serious dance competition, it's a

> Saturday night celebrity reality show that doesn't

> count for anything. If they don't want a

> personality to win over ability, then they

> shouldn't have a public vote, and it should come

> down to the judges choice.

>

> Load of nonsense!

I can't believe you wrote that Keef. Of course it counts. Definitely. Tell me it counts. Please.

(*hangs head in despair at precious lifeforce wasted on load of nonsense*)

[Keef]

Sorry Rosie, *crosses fingers behind back* it matters, it really matters! *tries encouraging nodding*

[HonaloochieB]

I've never arsed myself to watch any of this or the previous series, I'm bald, chubby and tend not to finish things that I start. If I apply the same principle to learning about the mobile phones I own (barely reading the manuals and only doing the bare minimum to get them to function, and not really utilising the pretty little things to their full potential) to SCD, i.e. the John Sergeant method, could I not be in the running for a place in there next year?

All I have to do in the meantime is become a celebrity. Shouldn't be too taxing.

There are some actor types in the SE22 postcode, if I pinch a couple of their bums, go on a drug binge, go rehab and go remorse, then job's a good un.

I'll be rubbing shoulders with Forsyth's rug before the judges can say 0, 0, 0, 0.

I can bide my time, I mean waltz another year?

[SeanMacGabhann]

And now we hear that people want their money back from the phone votes because they feel cheated by Sarge leaving the show

Apparently "entertainment" and "charity" are not words close to these peoples hearts after all

[HonaloochieB]

Quite right too, the hell with charity, if I paid good money to challenge the authority of four dancers who dared to cheek up the nation's favourite political correspondent/pie-eating champion/Charles Laughton lookalike*, then I'd be as incandescent as a space-filling hack with a Roman Candle in my bottom, a mouth full of raw Scotch Bonnet peppers and a severe case of prickly heat. IN A BURNING HOUSE.**

'Sargy' has shown himself to be the better man in all of this, and leaves with his head held high and his tap shoes unscuffed.

Let the nation wish 'Sargo' all the best, and God speed with the speaking engagement on the cruise liner, that may have clashed with the final of SCD. Or not.

*Delete whichever ones you think might not apply.

**If anyone knows Jeremy Clarkson, try and flog him this one for me. There'll be a drink in it for you.

[citizenED]

People want their 15 pence back? 15 pence that was going to charity anyhow. Sound reasoning methinks.