Dancing with the Stars...on ABC...in HD! [Text View]

humdinger70

09-13-06, 12:03 AM

Watching this show for the first time, and IMO, this show has nothing on "So You Think You Can Dance" on Fox. Where is the emotion?

Or are these the blooper episodes like the first episodes of AI or SYTYCD?

There are no bloopers here except for the stuff that happens during the rehearsal/practice sessions.

We don't have hundreds or thousands competing for a few coveted spots. It's just these 11 couples, who've had just 6 weeks to practice. Each week, one couple will be eliminated.

Some will have only that one moment of glory or infamy (see Kenny Mayne from last year's competition); others will take a while to reach their level of incompetence (called the Peter Principle, if you didn't know); and still others will surprise us with their abilities (maybe Jerry Springer is a better dancer than he leads us to believe!).

Don't take this as seriously as SYTYCD, where the competition is a lot more fierce, and prestige and a lot of money await. This is more for pride than anything else!

RSF_LA

09-13-06, 12:16 AM

This show and SYTYCD do have one thing in common - both shows are shot in the same studio. Now you can see how these cameras look in HD compared to SD widescreen.

HDTVFanAtic

09-13-06, 04:06 AM

Sara Evans in HD! :)

I much prefer local girl Mandy Williford aka Willa Ford.

There are no bloopers here except for the stuff that happens during the rehearsal/practice sessions.

Actually yes there were. Joey Lawerence's pants ripped wide open during the dance number.

Karyk

09-13-06, 08:05 AM

This show really needed to be in HD from the beginning, but I don't think ABC realized how popular it would be. Nice to see they finally came around.

humdinger70

09-13-06, 10:24 PM

First person was kicked off tonight. I'm not going to mention who as it's 7:20 PM PDT and hasn't aired on the West Coast yet.

Minor spoiler below (doesn't mention the name, but if you read it you can take a good guess who it was).

If you watched the early edition (5:00 PM PDT) of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on MSNBC tonight, he already blabbed who it is. Joe Scarbourough is going to have his own rant on it on his show.

jacmyoung

09-13-06, 11:11 PM

nlk10010

09-13-06, 11:33 PM

I wasn't intersted in this show but the wife kept telling me how surprised she was to see Emmitt Smith dance so well. Is there any truth to that? I figured after seeing Jerry Rice last time, any NFL player would look a good dancer to her. I could be wrong.

Well everyone has their opinion (the judges certainly loved him) but I couldn't understand where they were coming from. He certainly has a nice musicality and feel on the dance floor but a cha-cha it wasn't, not even remotely. OTOH, they seem to be getting further and further away from the stricter styles and closer and closer to show dancing and cabaret, if that. It is entertainment, after all, and ABC will do everything they think is necessary to keep the ratings up, and I'm sure they "discuss" things with the "judges" beforehand.

=NLK=

Karyk

09-14-06, 12:16 AM

I wasn't intersted in this show but the wife kept telling me how surprised she was to see Emmitt Smith dance so well. Is there any truth to that? I figured after seeing Jerry Rice last time, any NFL player would look a good dancer to her. I could be wrong.

They described him as a dancing teddy bear, and that pretty well covers it. He moved really well for such a big man, and he flowed well, not stiff at all. Much better than Rice was. It will be interesting to see how well he can do some other dances.

Mac The Knife

09-14-06, 04:16 PM

Well, Rice did get much better after a few weeks and this group had the benefit of a 6 weeks head start. And, IIRC, Rice was much better when dancing smooth styles like the Foxtrot and Quickstep and was too stiff on the latin dances.

I think Emmitt will be the opposite; better at the latins and not good at all on the smooth styles. The thing that bothered me about Emmitt was that he seemed to off the beat a lot (esp. with his hand movements).

BTW, the audio on the digital broadcast really bad last night. Did anyone else have problems?

archiguy

09-14-06, 04:43 PM

Well, Rice did get much better after a few weeks and this group had the benefit of a 6 weeks head start. And, IIRC, Rice was much better when dancing smooth styles like the Foxtrot and Quickstep and was too stiff on the latin dances.

Saying Jerry Rice "did much better" after a few weeks of practice is faint praise indeed. He was awful at the beginning, and only slightly less awful by the end. The man has absolutely no sense of rhythm or grace, and that's something that unfortunately can't be taught. His second place finish was a travesty, and an insult to the incandescent Stacy Keebler, who placed third, behind Rice (!), but deserved to win (no insult to Drew Lachey, but she was just better at all facets of the competition - and so gorgeous). And Jerry's petulant attitude at the judges' proper criticism of his shortcomings was cringeworthy. Rice's finish was based solely on popularity, not performance, but such is the drawback of audience-vote reality shows like this. Emmitt at least has some semblance of rhythm; grace may be a tougher challenge for him.

coyoteaz

09-14-06, 08:04 PM

Was the DD5.1 mix on 9/13 bad for anyone else? Here, the dialog was coming through both center and L/R with a slight delay between them so there was an echo. The first night was fine. Station is KNXV-DT Phoenix.

jacmyoung

09-14-06, 09:06 PM

Well I did see some footages with the wife last night, Smith indeed danced better than Rice, but I must disagree with the judges' enthusiasm. He showed good rhythm and a few well coached moves but I doubt you can teach him anything too complex. But then for a football player he was incredible.

RSF_LA

09-14-06, 09:13 PM

TVOD

09-15-06, 03:29 AM

Now that this show is HD it's time for a female wardrobe malfunction. That should help sell some sets.

coyoteaz

09-15-06, 07:28 AM

Did you notice this on the entire show or just on some segments?I checked the demuxed AC3 and the entire thing was bad. I don't actually watch the show, but it was on in between the local debut of Wheel in HD and the ABC fall previews and I decided to hold on to it when I noticed the echoing. I don't have Soundforge or any of those nice toys to spit out a pretty 6 channel graph, but I can say that the dialog was still present after unplugging the center channel, and also present after unplugging both L and R and leaving C plugged in. The chief engineer at KNXV says they pass the audio through with no additional processing so it isn't an issue on their side.

Mac The Knife

09-15-06, 04:18 PM

... And Jerry's petulant attitude at the judges' proper criticism of his shortcomings was cringeworthy. Rice's finish was based solely on popularity, not performance, but such is the drawback of audience-vote reality shows like this. ....

Yeah, Rice's attitude was seriously annoying.

And it looks like Milla Ford is the one that is going to get the short-end of the popularity stick this season and get kicked out before Jerry Springer. :(

The overall level of competition seems like it might be a lot higher this season. There's Joey and Mario for the guys and Milla, Monique, Vivica and possible even Shanna if she came improve for the women.

sneals2000

09-15-06, 05:58 PM

The BBC version of Dancing with the Stars is, for the first time, coming from an HD capable studio when it debuts next week. The largest BBC studio in London was upgraded from SD 16:9 to HD 16:9 over the summer I believe - but the shows from it so far (mainly "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" - a reality show to find the lead singer for Andrew Lloyd Webber's new West End production of The Sound of Music!) have only been broadcast on the BBC SD outlet, not on the HD trial service.

Be interesting to see if Strictly Come Dancing is HD - somehow I doubt it will be...

(The screengrabs confirm that the studio layout, lighting and design are VERY similar to the original BBC production - though the "backstage" area looks a bit bigger in the US!)

rasheed

09-15-06, 11:43 PM

(The screengrabs confirm that the studio layout, lighting and design are VERY similar to the original BBC production - though the "backstage" area looks a bit bigger in the US!)

It seems that the format copies of this show are similar across the world. Sony India has started airing its version and is following the BBC style pretty closely as well.

http://www.setindia.com/shows/shows_inside.php?id=71

Did you notice this on the entire show or just on some segments?

I have been seeing the echo and cracks here and there. Audio output is not up to the quality I expect nor am I feeling the true 5.1 that I thought might be used considering the live band and complex audience arrangement, but the picture has been very nice (OTA).

Rasheed

TVOD

09-16-06, 08:06 AM

It seems that the format copies of this show are similar across the world.The US version is actually an import- it's produced by the BBC.

archiguy

09-16-06, 10:03 AM

Yeah, Rice's attitude was seriously annoying.

And it looks like Milla Ford is the one that is going to get the short-end of the popularity stick this season and get kicked out before Jerry Springer. :(

The overall level of competition seems like it might be a lot higher this season. There's Joey and Mario for the guys and Milla, Monique, Vivica and possible even Shanna if she came improve for the women.

Mario would have to be the early favorite, IMO. Vivica surprised me; she's good! She's an awfully good looking woman, but a little "thicker" than I expected. Sadly, no equivalent to Stacy Keebler this year.

sneals2000

09-16-06, 12:28 PM

The US version is actually an import- it's produced by the BBC.

Yep - the original production was the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing". The unusual bit is that, as you correctly mention, ABC didn't just buy the format (as is usually the case when a show transfers) they also got the BBC to (co?)-produce it, with key production members from the original UK show coming to the US to work on it.

This season I think the US and UK versions are on-air simultaneously (our new series kicks off next weekend or the weekend after I think?) - it will be interesting to see which show Alex Rudzinsky is directing.

Mac The Knife

09-16-06, 04:47 PM

... Sadly, no equivalent to Stacy Keebler this year.

Even the judges said that Stacy was by far the best dancer they've ever had on the show. And it seems that they must have also worked one of the non-US versions of the show because I have heard several times when they have mentioned more seasons than have been aired in the US.

So, I think it could easily be several seasons before we see another Stacy Keebler.

humdinger70

09-16-06, 08:25 PM

Even the judges said that Stacy was by far the best dancer they've ever had on the show. And it seems that they must have also worked one of the non-US versions of the show because I have heard several times when they have mentioned more seasons than have been aired in the US.

So, I think it could easily be several seasons before we see another Stacy Keebler.

Anyone know what Stacy Kiebler (please note the spelling folks!) is up to these days? I do know her WWE contract expired July 31 and she chose not to renew.

SnakeEyes

09-16-06, 09:23 PM

This really should have been done last year so we could see Stacy. I doubt I will watch this season, none of the people interest me.

TVOD

09-19-06, 11:33 PM

Seems like there is a good amount of skin detail on this show, technically speaking.

HDTVFanAtic

09-20-06, 02:14 AM

And it looks like Milla Ford is the one that is going to get the short-end of the popularity stick this season and get kicked out before Jerry Springer. :(

The overall level of competition seems like it might be a lot higher this season. There's Joey and Mario for the guys and Milla, Monique, Vivica and possible even Shanna if she came improve for the women.

It's Willa....actually Mandy, but whatever. She predicted locally before the first show she would get voted out early as she doesn't have name value for a following. Appears she was right :(

fredfa

09-20-06, 01:55 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Wednesday, September 20, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
Primetime Ratings For Tuesday, September 19th

… Led by another two-hour edition of Dancing With the Stars, ABC won the first Tuesday of the 2006-07 season, with a first-place finish in the overnights, total viewers and adults 18-49…. ABC’s must see Dancing With the Stars stood head and shoulders above the competition (including a Tuesday edition of NBC’s Deal or No Deal), with a 12.8/19 in the overnights, 18.07 million viewers and a 5.2/14 among adults 18-49 from 8-10 p.m. …

Mac The Knife

09-20-06, 05:30 PM

Looks like I was very wrong on my prediction for Emmitt. He was much better at the Quickstep than I thought he would be. I now think he's a serious contender since he probably has the biggest fan base.

I watched in analog SD last week due to the audio problems, so last night was the first time that I watched the whole show in HD on the projector. All I can say is WOW that dress Willa was wearing was smoking. Now I'm really sad that we didn't get to see Stacy in HD last season. I think they really need to bring Stacy back for a bunch of cameos on the elimination night dances. :D

OTOH, the 5.1 audio encoding for this show sucks. The audio engineer for this show must have some serious hearing problems since he obviously can't hear the echo-cho-cho-cho and having the dialog smeared all the way across the front channels makes it even worse. If he'd just add a few flushing toilet effects, it would sound just like it was recorded in an all tile bathroom.

Anyway, I'm hoping Jerry gets the ax tonight instead of Harry or Willa. Harry is a bit of sentimental favorite of mine. I'd like to see him have a chance to get better since he's Lisa's husband and since Ashely has had such crummy partners in the previous seasons. And Willa just doesn't deserve to get kicked out at this point.

tluxon

09-20-06, 08:20 PM

Anyway, I'm hoping Jerry gets the ax tonight instead of Harry or Willa...I hope so too, but I'm afraid that Jerry's fan base is made up of the most die-hard reality show fans - probably the kind who actually call in their votes (we never do because we're usually at least an hour later watching it on the DVR).

Agree that Emmitt is going to be a serious contender because he does move very confidently and naturally and arguably has the most loyal fan base.

Tim

humdinger70

09-21-06, 01:16 AM

Well, it was Shanna who got the boot. She and Willa were in the bottom two. Jerry was saved by his fan base.

archiguy

09-21-06, 10:25 AM

Well, it was Shanna who got the boot. She and Willa were in the bottom two. Jerry was saved by his fan base.

I hope Willa sticks around for awhile as she's the closest thing to the babe-factor of Stacy Keibler that the show has this year. Too bad she's not that great a dancer. I hope Harry sticks around for a few more weeks too, as he seems like such a nice guy and his wife was a much better dancer last year than her final position indicated (She got jobbed, IMO.). :(

nlk10010

09-21-06, 10:35 AM

Yep - the original production was the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing". The unusual bit is that, as you correctly mention, ABC didn't just buy the format (as is usually the case when a show transfers) they also got the BBC to (co?)-produce it, with key production members from the original UK show coming to the US to work on it.

This season I think the US and UK versions are on-air simultaneously (our new series kicks off next weekend or the weekend after I think?) - it will be interesting to see which show Alex Rudzinsky is directing.

Inferring that you have access to the BBC's version, plus the fact that competitive dancing is huge in the UK, can you offer any insight as to whether that version contains more actual dancing than ours does?

I understand everyone enjoys something different but it's clear that the strict dancing aspect of this show has gone steadily downhill since the first season (and it wasn't too far up the hill at the start, either). Do the judges in the UK actually demand something of the contestants or are they as much a part of the actual entertainment as the crew here is?

Changing standard dances to smooth is one thing, but if cartwheels and tap are OK then they might as well take the dance descriptions off the show's website and put up cabaret and showdancing.

=NLK=

gotsand

09-21-06, 11:50 AM

QUOTE: OTOH, the 5.1 audio encoding for this show sucks. The audio engineer for this show must have some serious hearing problems since he obviously can't hear the echo-cho-cho-cho and having the dialog smeared all the way across the front channels makes it even worse. If he'd just add a few flushing toilet effects, it would sound just like it was recorded in an all tile bathroom. UNQUOTE

Mack, I live in Phoenix area (Peoria) and the sound was horrible. I checked the Phoenix local HDTV thread and no one mentioned it so I was beginning to think my HD DVR (Directv) recording audio was going out or maybe it's just the local ABC transmission which isn't always that great (OTA). I'm happy to hear that, I am not the only one noticing audio problems.
Mark D

fredfa

09-21-06, 12:30 PM

From Marc Berman’s Thursday, September 21, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
Primetime Ratings For Wednesday, September 20th

The live Dancing With the Stars results show won the 8 p.m. hour, with an 11.1/18 in the overnights, 14.89 million viewers and a 3.7/11 among adults 18-49. But the big surprise in the time period was the unexpected sampling for the debut of CBS drama Jericho. Jericho finished a solid second with a 7.7/12 in the overnights, 11.40 million viewers and a 3.2/10 among adults 18-49.

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data

QZ1

09-21-06, 01:05 PM

This show really needed to be in HD from the beginning, but I don't think ABC realized how popular it would be. Nice to see they finally came around.
I wasn't expecting HD the first time, although it would have been nice. :) But, once it was a success, I was surprised and disappointed it wasn't HD for the second season.

QZ1

09-21-06, 01:13 PM

Saying Jerry Rice "did much better" after a few weeks of practice is faint praise indeed. He was awful at the beginning, and only slightly less awful by the end. The man has absolutely no sense of rhythm or grace, and that's something that unfortunately can't be taught. His second place finish was a travesty, and an insult to the incandescent Stacy Keebler, who placed third, behind Rice (!), but deserved to win (no insult to Drew Lachey, but she was just better at all facets of the competition - and so gorgeous).
IMO, Lisa Rinna should have placed higher than Jerry Rice, also.

QZ1

09-21-06, 01:23 PM

Stacy Kiebler (please note the spelling folks!)
Except that is not how it is spelled either! ;) :D It is 'Keibler'.
The way you wrote it is how you would think it is written based on how she pronounces it. In reality, she is mis-pronouncing her name, which is apparently common in the US, as some people Anglicise (sp?) the pronunciation of their name. It should be read 'keye-bler', (with 'eye' = a long 'I'), but she pronounces it 'kee-bler'.

Stryker412

09-21-06, 02:10 PM

Well at least Sara made it through for another round. :)

archiguy

09-21-06, 02:36 PM

IMO, Lisa Rinna should have placed higher than Jerry Rice, also.

I agree completely, and said as much up in post #42. Lisa was no worse a dancer than third, perhaps even second. She got hosed. But, audience-vote shows will do that to ya'.

Well at least Sara made it through for another round.

She seems very sweet, but she's just not very good. In a just world, elimination would be between her and Springer next week, but, see my comment above. She seems to have a large and faithful fan following, kinda' like Jerry.

One more kinda' snarky comment: anyone notice how all the women contestants this year are extremely, ah, well-endowed? Whoever picked this year's Stars gets a gold star! :p :D

Mac The Knife

09-21-06, 03:27 PM

Well, at least we get one more week of Willa, but I'm afraid it'll be her last week since Sara, Harry and (esp.) Jerry seem to have much bigger fan bases.

TVOD

09-22-06, 02:32 AM

One more kinda' snarky comment: anyone notice how all the women contestants this year are extremely, ah, well-endowed? Whoever picked this year's Stars gets a gold star! :p :DCoincidence with this season being in HD? Something tells me no. On this Disney offering it's definitely not a small small world. :D

http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/7086/dancecp1ql9.th.jpg (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dancecp1ql9.jpg)http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4586/dancecp4ib3.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dancecp4ib3.jpg)http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2482/dancecp5jy8.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dancecp5jy8.jpg)http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/7327/dancecp9ka4.th.jpg (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dancecp9ka4.jpg)http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/777/dancecp10kr1.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dancecp10kr1.jpg)http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8100/dancecp11ly4.th.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dancecp11ly4.jpg)

Mac The Knife

09-22-06, 04:58 PM

It might be a lot smaller world by the end of the season. ;)

It's going to be interesting to see how much weight Sara and Vivica end up losing this season.

And Willa and Monica don't have much extra to lose so they might end up as extremely lean and toned as Lisa did at the end of last season. :eek:

archiguy

09-22-06, 06:42 PM

It's going to be interesting to see how much weight Sara and Vivica end up losing this season.

I think it's already started for Vivica. She looked markedly different from week one to week two, I thought. Can't wait to see her at the end! :cool:

Stryker412

09-26-06, 08:04 PM

Anyone having odd audio issues tonight? Sounds like it's in a can. This is from Comcast on WABC.

RSF_LA

09-26-06, 08:08 PM

Are you listening in 5.1 or 2.0? HD or SD?

sneals2000

09-26-06, 08:09 PM

Inferring that you have access to the BBC's version, plus the fact that competitive dancing is huge in the UK, can you offer any insight as to whether that version contains more actual dancing than ours does?

Not sure - as I haven't seen a full episode of the ABC version - I am a viewer of the BBC production.

Our new series hasn't started yet - it starts next month.

I guess how much dancing we see depends on the number of contestants, the amount of "reality" rehearsal coverage, and the length of the show. (We don't have commercials on the BBC in the UK - so our hour long shows are often 58 to 59 minutes of programme)

I understand everyone enjoys something different but it's clear that the strict dancing aspect of this show has gone steadily downhill since the first season (and it wasn't too far up the hill at the start, either). Do the judges in the UK actually demand something of the contestants or are they as much a part of the actual entertainment as the crew here is?

I think we share - or shared (as our new series will be on-air at the same time as the US series for the first time this season - though they don't air on the same days so they could be whizzing across the Atlantic twice a week?) - at least some of our judges - Len and Bruno?

Our panel has historically been 4 judges : Len Goodman (ballroom expert - and often picks up on unapproved steps - though is quite a kind judge), Craig Revel Horwood (choreographer - he recently choreographed "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" which finished recently in the same timeslot as SCD on BBC One - and he is usually the most critical of the men), Arlene Philips (famous British choreographer who worked on Starlight Express etc. - and doesn't pull her punches) and Bruno Tonioli (ex-dancer now choreographer I believe who seems to be less technical and more "emotional" with his comments)

Not all judges are always able to comment on all performances - especially in the early rounds of the show.

This season we have 14 contestants I believe - up from the previous 12 of series 3, 10 of series 2 and 8 of series 1!

Changing standard dances to smooth is one thing, but if cartwheels and tap are OK then they might as well take the dance descriptions off the show's website and put up cabaret and showdancing.

=NLK=

I think the UK version may be a bit "stricter" (the title comes from a play on "Strictly Ballroom" - the Baz Luhrmann film - and the longrunning BBC ballroom dancing show "Come Dancing" - which was real competitive dance championship) - but we also have "Strictly Dance Fever" - which is an amateur contest (with no professionals and no celebrities) with a much wider genre - in the same Saturday night timeslot when SCD is off-air.

Our dances are as follows I believe :

Waltz, Quickstep, Ballroom Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz
Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive, Paso Doble
American Smooth, Cuban Salsa, Argentine Tango (The last 3 introduced in season 3 - I guess because it was a longer season and needed some more variety)

Certainly no tap...

Stryker412

09-26-06, 08:15 PM

Are you listening in 5.1 or 2.0? HD or SD?

HD, and both 5.1 and 2.0. It's doing it on my HDTV and PC card. I flipped over to the analog channel on my MyHD card and it's not doing it. It must be a problem with the 5.1 mix.

humdinger70

09-27-06, 10:05 AM

Well, if Len is kind hearted, he didn't show it last night. He chided both Mario and Joey for breaking the rules of their dance (they were both doing the tango with their professional partners). Studio audience vehemently booed the judges (especially Len) for the low scores given.

Early favorite Emmitt Smith had the lowest score of the night (19) - his extensive travel schedule (to Virginia and back to Texas) during the week cost him valuable practice time. Note to Emmitt: Rent a house or something in LA; it's live you dummy! No stunt doubles!

nlk10010

09-27-06, 11:57 AM

Sneals2000:

Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I think I should have compacted my original post and simply asked: "do the judges in the UK version actually care about the rules of each dance"? It seems that on our show, even with Quickstep and Tango (which are SUPPOSED to be the standard forms) our celebrities/pro partners routinely break in and out of hold. No problem for the judges. Technique is given very low priority. I understand these are neophyte dancers but certainly it doesn't take any skill to know that in certain dances you don't break hold and someone who TRIES to execute proper technique should be appropriately rewarded. They aren't. I was wondering if in the UK version Len, et. al. pays more attention to that sort of thing.

Apropos of this, it appears that the producers of our version have latched onto this "rule/technique" thingie and think it would make for more fan interest if the judges actually pretended they were interested. Last week (Quickstep) virtually no couples stayed in hold as they should but Len got royally PO'd with just one guy who spent 90% of the dance doing what amounted to gymnastics. The judges scolded him appropriately but gave him a good score anyway. That apparently got people talking so this week (Tango, again International) they scolded a few more couples about breaking apart and actually marked them down. Problem was, of course, that they said NOTHING last week when the same thing happened in the Quickstep. Their feigned concern (I was going to use the word hypocritical but of course this IS just entertainment) was pretty funny.

BTW, if you DID see our show you'd know the judges definitely think tap dancing is part of the Quickstep.

Again, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

=NLK=

tluxon

09-27-06, 03:12 PM

Mac The Knife

09-27-06, 04:02 PM

Well the judges didn't say anything embarrassing to Monique while her mom was there, instead Monique mooned her mom when her costume bottom fell down!

Between Monique losing her costume (good thing it had that strap connecting to the top in front or she would have totally lost it) and the judges suddenly getting picky about dancing the correct style and the hypocrisy over lifts, last night was sure a strange night.

I think it's a really twisted set of rules where Monique gets praised for doing a full-speed backwards flying jump off the stage (which I guess doesn't qualify as a lift since he caught her below his waist) but Emmitt gets castigated for a tiny little lift where Cheryl was only one foot off the floor. I guess stage diving into the mosh pit is legal, but jumping off the stage while your partner holds your hands (like Edyta did and got downgraded for) is illegal. :rolleyes:

Rick_R

09-27-06, 04:40 PM

I wish they would get rid of Jerry. He is painful to watch. Good thing his partner is nice looking.

My favorites are Willa and Sara. Entertaining combined with good eye candy.

Rick R

nlk10010

09-27-06, 05:47 PM

Willa is DEFINITELY attractive to watch, to say the least. Sara I could do without (but to each his own).

While I may have issues with what Jerry does OFF this show, I think he's been nothing but a gentlemen on it and very funny to boot. It seems that he's genuinely sorry for having to put his professional partner through this. And, at least from my perspective, he actually IS trying to learn the dances and do them properly. It seems that he actually is trying to follow the rules while Mario (either on his own or instructed to by the producers) is purposely ignoring them and getting rewarded for it (until last night).

=NLK=

humdinger70

09-28-06, 01:04 AM

Well, you Jerry Springer haters, I hate to disappoint you, but Jerry will be back next week to try his luck with the waltz (he wants to dance the waltz with his daughter at her upcoming wedding). He and Harry were in the bottom two, and it was Harry who got voted off (audience disappointed, wife Lisa was sad, partner Ashley was too teary-eyed to speak).

For those of you who wanted Willa to go away, sorry, but she was the 2nd person announced as being safe and advancing to the next week.

Jerry and Emmitt were the in the bottom 2 with the judges vote tally, but Emmitt escaped the bottom 2 after the audience vote was added in. Harry was actually tied for 4th after the judges votes, but (my guess) must have been dead last in the audience vote.

humdinger70

09-28-06, 01:29 AM

For those of you who want the numerics...If you assign the scores: 1st place=9 pts, 2nd place = 8 pts, etc. down to 9th place = 1 pt.

Harry and 3 others were tied for 4th place. So that gives Harry et al (6+5+4+3)/4 = 4.5 points for each. Jerry was alone in 8th (2 pts), Emmitt alone in 9th (1 pt).

Since Harry was last, he most likely got the lowest audience vote (again, 9pts for 1st, 8 pts for 2nd, down to 1 pt for 9th - and also assuming no ties in the audience vote). So Harry's total was (4.5+1) = 5.5 points for his overall score.

Since Jerry was in the bottom two but above Harry, Jerry had to have exactly 4 points (6th place) in the audience vote. Total (2+4) = 6 points for his overall score.

Emmitt was in last place after the judges, but escaped the bottom two, so he had to have more than Jerry's 6 points, so Emmitt had to have at least 6 points (4th place or better) in the audience vote. Total (1+at least 6) = at least 7 points for his overall score.

Maximum score - finishing first in both judges and audience vote is 18 points. Since there was a tie for 1st, max judges points was 8.5 - so the total maximum combined score this week was (8.5+9) = 17.5 points.

I may be over simplifying things, but sometimes the math can be confusing.

HDTVFanAtic

09-28-06, 03:30 PM

I'd sure like to see Jerry Springer go, but his fanbase of hardcore reality fans has made that impossible so far. Last night he all but asked for his fans to not vote him in for another week, so we can only hope they'll honor his desire.

I wonder if the professional dancers are accustomed to creating entertainment-based choreography to such restrictive rules?

Willa would get more votes if she would just stop talking about how hard she's working and how unknown she is. She looks great, but I'm afraid she might not last long.

Tim

Despite what others might think, that Jerry is still in shows it is still a popularity contest.

Willa had interviews locally prior to the first show and admited she felt she would not last long because she had the least name recognition of just about anyone on the show.

Say what you want, but the girl did her homework and knew how the game was played before she started - and better yet - she was right.

Like her or not (and the female judge said she had the most natural ability of any one there) by making the point over and over, it's finally cutting through to J6P and as she wasn't in the bottom 2 this week, they audience is finally beginning to vote on talent - not Q Scores.

Mac The Knife

09-28-06, 04:36 PM

The odd part of Willa's situation this week was that, IMHO, it was her worst performance, but the first time she wasn't in the bottom two.

There were a few times when it looked like she wasn't sure of the steps and was hesitating to see what Max was doing. Or maybe she was over-compensating for Carrie's criticism last week that she was getting ahead of the music.

AFA Harry is concerned. Although he was a sentimental favorite of mine, I don't feel too bad. Realistically, Jerry should have already been gone and it should have been between Harry, Shanna or Sara who are all a notch or two below the others. IMO, Sara has pulled a little ahead of Harry, so Harry should have gone either this week or next week. So even in the most optimistic case he would have only had one more week.

tluxon

09-28-06, 05:38 PM

nlk10010

09-28-06, 06:15 PM

I'm all for honoring the rules, but the judges should keep in mind that "their show" isn't life and death, but remains on the air because it is entertaining. How does Len get off dropping Mario from a 10 to a 6 just because he broke a hold during the tango? What would be the harm in having mandatory deductions so his scores aren't tainted by a judge's emotion at the time?

Funny, but I don't remember these rule issues being such a big deal in prior seasons/episodes - is it just a new problem? Seeing the surprised looks on some of the professional dancers, it seems that there has been a lack of clarity among the partners as to how literally the rules were to be interpreted and what fair penalty would be applied. I for one would've liked it if this sudden crackdown on rule breakers wasn't taking such a subjective turn. It almost makes me want to pick up the phone and vote for those who are unduly (IMO) penalized - too bad I can't because I'm watching on a 1 or 2 hour delay (DVR).

Tim

Absolutely correct. Early in the first season Len paid passing respect to the rules of each dance, then dropped the matter. I think what happened is that when Mario came out and basically stayed in hold for 10% of the dance Len couldn't take it anymore and said something. Some way or some how the producers must have gauged the reaction and sensed that this stirred the audience and garnered even more call-ins, watercooler talk, etc., then told the judges to play that card the following week. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell the pros and celebs that the judges had suddenly decided to stick to the rules. Totally unfair.

BTW, the reason a break in hold SHOULD be heavily penalized is because you don't have to be a pro to comply with the rule. It's a simple thing to do. If you break the hold then it's clear that you did so intentionally, which is not fair to anyone who IS busting their butt to dance in hold and play by the rules. Keeping the hold and dancing is not easy.

=NLK=

sneals2000

09-28-06, 08:21 PM

I'm all for honoring the rules, but the judges should keep in mind that "their show" isn't life and death, but remains on the air because it is entertaining. How does Len get off dropping Mario from a 10 to a 6 just because he broke a hold during the tango? What would be the harm in having mandatory deductions so his scores aren't tainted by a judge's emotion at the time?

Funny, but I don't remember these rule issues being such a big deal in prior seasons/episodes - is it just a new problem? Seeing the surprised looks on some of the professional dancers, it seems that there has been a lack of clarity among the partners as to how literally the rules were to be interpreted and what fair penalty would be applied. I for one would've liked it if this sudden crackdown on rule breakers wasn't taking such a subjective turn. It almost makes me want to pick up the phone and vote for those who are unduly (IMO) penalized - too bad I can't because I'm watching on a 1 or 2 hour delay (DVR).

Tim

How many weeks are you into the competition in the US? In the UK the judges normally get harsher - particularly Len - on the technical aspects as the series continues, accepting that in the early days many of the competitors are new to dancing, and will struggle to stay "within the rules".

However as the series continues, they expect a higher technical standard, and usually penalise choreography that intentionally "breaks the rules", but will often be less harsh on choreography that doesn't but where a mistake causes the rules to be broken.

humdinger70

09-28-06, 09:06 PM

TVOD

09-28-06, 09:20 PM

How many weeks are you into the competition in the US? In the UK the judges normally get harsher - particularly Len - on the technical aspects as the series continues, accepting that in the early days many of the competitors are new to dancing, and will struggle to stay "within the rules".

However as the series continues, they expect a higher technical standard, and usually penalise choreography that intentionally "breaks the rules", but will often be less harsh on choreography that doesn't but where a mistake causes the rules to be broken.Completed week 3 of 10. Here's the rundown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_with_the_Stars_%28US_TV_series%29).

tluxon

09-29-06, 01:59 AM

Does anyone think that they may have to resort to doing disqualifications of couples for breaking the rules? Could make things even more interesting.

They might go to a soccer-style system: you get one warning (same as yellow card); the next time it happens, you get a 2nd yellow, which is the same as a red card - you're disqualified and out of the competition!

I can see Len now: "Mario, you did a lift. We told you, the rules specify no lifts in any of the dances! You're given a warning. (raises a yellow card) The next time this happens, you and your partner are out!"Well this isn't exactly like getting caught using performance enhancing drugs - it's entertainment disguised as a dance competition. If they want to take the rules that seriously, then they shouldn't let the nationwide audience votes decide the outcome?

Wouldn't kicking someone out of the competition for breaking a hold and doing a lift be akin to taking away a driver's license for a parking violation and a speeding ticket? Seems an overly harsh penalty to me.

Tim

TVOD

09-29-06, 02:14 AM

It's a veil of legitimacy. It also makes for controversy which gets free publicity from the entertainment "news" shows.

sneals2000

09-29-06, 08:03 AM

Does anyone think that they may have to resort to doing disqualifications of couples for breaking the rules? Could make things even more interesting.

They might go to a soccer-style system: you get one warning (same as yellow card); the next time it happens, you get a 2nd yellow, which is the same as a red card - you're disqualified and out of the competition!

I can see Len now: "Mario, you did a lift. We told you, the rules specify no lifts in any of the dances! You're given a warning. (raises a yellow card) The next time this happens, you and your partner are out!"

Don't see that happening - whilst the judges have the ability to award low scores, the public can chose to ignore the technical side of the dances if they wish - and save a couple who have been harshly marked by the judges.

If the judges could disqualify a team, that would make them more important than the audience - which should never really happen in reality tv?

Rick_R

09-29-06, 05:01 PM

In my opinion the rules exist to prevent 9 weeks of freestyle dancing. Something that would not benefit ABC or me the viewer. A dancer should be judged on their ability to express themselves within the confines of the dance step specified. I think they came down on the dancers because several of the dances were basically free style dancing and were in no way the dance specified.

I personally think the severity of the punishment is justified so that no one will consider doing it again.

Rick R

WirelessGuru

10-02-06, 01:39 PM

Poor Harry, the only reason people voted against him is because they hate his wife. In my opinion, the guy must be a saint to put up with that whiny beehatch. I'd like to see Willa go next, I'm sick of her talking about how hard she works and how she works out with Ultimate Fighter Chuck Liddell, then she gets pissed off and destroys a poor defenseless fern. If Joey and Mario break the rules again, i expect to see the judges give them a 5 or 6 across the board. That old codger guy is really getting pissed about it.

Gotta love the hosts comment about him not having time to finish his cigarette during the break :)

TVOD

10-04-06, 08:34 PM

Los Lonely Boys were pretty good tonight. Good PQ.

humdinger70

10-05-06, 12:55 AM

Another shocker - Vivica got booted! Studio audience (and probably judges, too) very displeased with the result. Vivica and Monique were in the bottom two. Vivica, Monique and Emmitt were tied for 4th place after the judges vote. Jerry was in 7th after the judges vote, Sara was last.

My guess is Jerry had the highest audience vote and Sara must have also finished near the top. Vivica probably finished last in the audience vote.

humdinger70

10-05-06, 01:01 AM

By the way, my use of ordinals (point scoring) may or may not be valid anymore. Someone pointed out they're using a percentage system - couples score from judges divided by total judges points awarded. That number, expressed as a percentage became the couples points after the judges scoring.

Same thing applies to the audience vote: votes for a couple divided by total votes cast, expressed as a percentage, becomes the points after the audience vote. The two are then added together to get final point total.

generalpatton78

10-05-06, 01:50 AM

I'm glad this show went HD. I just wish the Russian red head was on this year!!!!!

tluxon

10-05-06, 02:16 AM

humdinger70

10-05-06, 01:31 PM

I couldn't believe that Ashly had five sisters, all with names beginning with "A". That family had to have some serious dance lesson bills.

I'm not sure if Jerry was really in the top two (since they said "in no particular order"), but I wonder how long before Jerry starts to feel guilty about his fans' indiscriminate votes eliminating the best and most deserving dancers.

Had to be. The further down you are after the judges vote, the higher you need to be in the audience vote to compensate (see my earlier posting using the ordinals: 1st = 9 pts, 2nd = 8 pts, etc.).

Since both bottom two in the judges vote (Jerry and Sara) were safe - they had to have a much higher percentage of the audience vote than Vivica and Monique did.

Mac The Knife

10-05-06, 04:48 PM

I'm glad this show went HD. I just wish the Russian red head was on this year!!!!!

I'll second that nomination (I'm assuming you're talking about Anya, or was it Anna? :confused: )

Although, mentioning she's Russian really doesn't narrow it down by much on this show since about half of the women and a quarter of the men have been Russian or eastern block. :p

I wonder how much this show has increased the business at the Pro's schools.

humdinger70

10-05-06, 05:07 PM

I still say... Cheryl Burke Rulz!!

archiguy

10-05-06, 05:13 PM

I wonder how much this show has increased the business at the Pro's schools.

I know that 2 new ones have opened here in Charlotte since the show got popular last year, after many, many years of only 2 (now there are 4 total).

edit: I was wrong about the number of new dance studios in town. There are now seven (7) of them! This show had to have had an impact.

I still say... Cheryl Burke Rulz!!

You're right! IMO, she's by far the best of all the female "pros"; anyone who has her as a partner has a built-in advantage. Last year she carried Drew to the winning spot even though Stacy was clearly the best dancer.

TVOD

10-05-06, 06:31 PM

You didn't have to be a good lip reader to figure out what Tony Dovolani (Sara Evans' partner) said when it was announced that they were going on. :D

humdinger70

10-06-06, 12:57 PM

I didn't see that, but it had to be "Yes, we're still in it" or "Crap, we're still in it". :D

humdinger70

10-06-06, 01:17 PM

I'm surprised I didn't ask this earlier...

1) Does anyone know the process of how they match up the pro dancer with the celebrity? Is it a draw out of the hat? Are the pro dancers are given a list of the celebrities involved and told to pick the top three they want to work with?

2) What is the "wow" factor that keeps people coming back to watching the show? Obviously, the dancing on the show (and the judging) will never be of the same level of full-time pro competitive ballroom dancing.

Mac The Knife

10-06-06, 03:42 PM

...
2) What is the "wow" factor that keeps people coming back to watching the show? Obviously, the dancing on the show (and the judging) will never be of the same level of full-time pro competitive ballroom dancing.

Skimpy costumes on hard-bodied female pro dancers. :D

Actually, part of the fun for me, is watching mediocre dancers like Lisa last season and Monique this season, get better each week.

And then there's the skimpy costumes on hard-bodied celebrities like Stacy last season and Willa this season. :p

Part of the problem with actual professional events is that they are just too anal. A great emotional performance can end up getting a bad grade just because someone didn't keep their hand in exactly the right spot in the hold. I just don't care that much about the rules to trade all the emotion for the technique.

rkcarroll

10-06-06, 03:42 PM

I didn't see that, but it had to be "Yes, we're still in it" or "Crap, we're still in it". :D

More like, "Holy $***!, we're still in it. :eek: "

archiguy

10-06-06, 03:46 PM

What Mac said ^. I enjoy ballroom dancing and have kept up with it over the years after learning in college (great way to meet chicks!). But, admittedly, I'm into DWTS mostly because of the Babe Factor. The wife's in it for the dancing, so we each have our priorities. I pity the fools who didn't get to see Stacy Kiebler dance up a storm last year in those aformentioned skimpy costumes. After each telecast, a cold shower was in order. ;)

tluxon

10-06-06, 04:18 PM

I'm into DWTS primarily because I enjoy watching people who have made a name for themselves in one type of entertainment working to achieve some level of success in a completely different arena.

Rick_R

10-06-06, 05:44 PM

But, admittedly, I'm into DWTS mostly because of the Babe Factor. The wife's in it for the dancing, so we each have our priorities.
Ditto in our household.

Rick R

TVOD

10-06-06, 05:54 PM

Skimpy costumes on hard-bodied female pro dancers. :D

Actually, part of the fun for me, is watching mediocre dancers like Lisa last season and Monique this season, get better each week.

And then there's the skimpy costumes on hard-bodied celebrities like Stacy last season and Willa this season. :p.Even better in HD ;)

Mac The Knife

10-07-06, 04:56 PM

And even better when projected onto a 9 foot wide screen!

Now if they'd just fix the f-ing audio problems. And I'm really hating the music selection this season. I've ended up muting a bunch of the songs that I just can't stand to listen to.

TVOD

10-07-06, 05:09 PM

I think you need to get on your affiliate's case for the echo. I listen in 5.1 and it sounds pretty good with no phasing or echo issues at all. Broadcasting the L/R and C channel mistimed indicates a serious malfunction or design problem at the station. ABC uses AC3 for the 5.1 distribution so all the channels should arrive in time. I wonder if they have the L/R channels (normally channels 1 & 2) routed differently in the plant than the other channels.

Can you identify whether it's the L/R or the C channel that's early? That could help trace the problem.

Beyond this show there are other instances where you want all the channels in time. Sometimes effects are panned between channels.

There's been comments from coyoteaz about KNXV-TV 's audio problems.

Mac The Knife

10-07-06, 05:38 PM

Yeah, I've seen all CoyoteAZ posts. The prerecorded shows on ABC don't have the same problems, so I think part of the problem is that the DWTS audio engineers are smearing the dialog across all three front channels. I don't understand why they do this since it sounds bad having dialog in all three channels even without the delay.

Then there seems to be something that the local affiliate is doing that is adding a delay. Unfortunately, our local affiliate has had several different audio issues and it has taken over two years of complaining for them to fix the previous issues.

I wish the audio engineers for live events would use one of the secondary audio streams to send a mono mix. That way when something along the chain is screwing up or when I'm having to fight the typical dialnorm issues, I could switch to the mono mix and just avoid all the DD5.1 issues.

jacksonian

10-09-06, 09:21 AM

It's just a crime that Stacy Kiebler's samba wasn't in HD. I'd pay a lot of money for that. :D

Mac The Knife

10-10-06, 04:12 PM

Maybe we need to have a call-in campaign and demand some cameos from Stacy.

jacksonian

10-10-06, 04:31 PM

Oh great, now you have me dreaming of a "special guest star appearance" encore performance of Stacy on samba night! That would be killer.

TVOD

10-11-06, 09:55 AM

Some nice scenery last night:

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2083/dwts101006img1bd1.jpg

fredfa

10-11-06, 02:13 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Wednesday, October 11 , 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )

“…ABC, of course, danced its way to Tuesday victory with another 90-minute installment of Dancing With the Stars at a hefty 13.5/20 in the overnights, 19.99 million viewers and a 5.6 rating/15 share among adults 18-49 from 8-9:30 p.m….”

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

Mac The Knife

10-11-06, 04:42 PM

They may have to change the name of this series to _Hooking Up With the Stars_ if they have any more couples start dating. :D

In addition to Mario/Karina and Willa/Max, I think something's brewing between Monique and Louis, too.

And last season, I think Drew and Cheryl would have hooked up if Drew wasn't married. ;)
And who danced with Kelly in the first season? I'm trying to remember if there was anything going on there as well.

Anyway, lots of great costumes last night. I had a hard time watching any of the male celebs because their partners looked so hot.

The competition this season is so equal that I'm having a hard time deciding which couple I think should get cut. For instance, Mario and Joey are technically better than Emmitt, but Emmitt looks much more natural, confident and looks like he's really having fun. Similarly, Monique has prettier body movements and poses than Willa, but Willa just seems to be more natural and fun. I'm going to be really disappointed to see any of these couples get cut while Jerry and Sara go forward.

And the audio seemed much better last night, HURRAY! There was still dialog in the L and R channels, but it seemed to be about 3db down and by bumping my center up another 3db I was able to hide the problems. Everything was kind of collapsed into the center, but I prefer that to having a hole in the middle or having everything smeared equally all the way across the front.

TVOD

10-12-06, 02:53 AM

Interesting image from one of the recorded segments on tonight's show. Lots of eyeballs in the background, bigger than the bug.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9062/dwts101106img1tc2.jpg

humdinger70

10-12-06, 10:15 AM

dweebe

10-12-06, 12:04 PM

They may have to change the name of this series to _Hooking Up With the Stars_ if they have any more couples start dating. :D

In addition to Mario/Karina and Willa/Max, I think something's brewing between Monique and Louis, too.

And last season, I think Drew and Cheryl would have hooked up if Drew wasn't married. ;) And who danced with Kelly in the first season? I'm trying to remember if there was anything going on there as well.

Anyway, lots of great costumes last night. I had a hard time watching any of the male celebs because their partners looked so hot.

The competition this season is so equal that I'm having a hard time deciding which couple I think should get cut. For instance, Mario and Joey are technically better than Emmitt, but Emmitt looks much more natural, confident and looks like he's really having fun. Similarly, Monique has prettier body movements and poses than Willa, but Willa just seems to be more natural and fun. I'm going to be really disappointed to see any of these couples get cut while Jerry and Sara go forward.

And the audio seemed much better last night, HURRAY! There was still dialog in the L and R channels, but it seemed to be about 3db down and by bumping my center up another 3db I was able to hide the problems. Everything was kind of collapsed into the center, but I prefer that to having a hole in the middle or having everything smeared equally all the way across the front.

I think his brother Nick took care of that problem: that's what a good wingman is for.

abricko

10-12-06, 12:28 PM

I just don't get this show and I'm not sure how people are able to sit through this.

archiguy

10-12-06, 12:51 PM

Waited long enough...

Willa Ford was voted off last night. She was tied for 1st place after the judges vote (4 couples got 27 points). She and Jerry were in the bottom two. Once again, Jerry's fan base saved him, but it's looking like he may not last after next week.

To his relief, I'll bet - he made it to the point that he wanted to: to last long enough to learn the waltz so he can dance with his daughter at her upcoming wedding.

The way this show is turning out is a shame, thanks to the clueless masses. Jerry has now stuck around at least 2 weeks longer than he should have. He learned his waltz and hugged his daughter in front of America - that was his cue to leave. His 15 minutes of dancing fame are past due to be over. Willa leaving last night was just plain wrong - and there went the best eye-candy as well. :mad:

fredfa

10-12-06, 12:58 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Thursday, October 12,, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )

“…the live Dancing With the Stars results show on ABC scored another considerable victory, with a 12.8/20 in the overnights, 18.14 million viewers and a 4.6/13 among adults 18-49 at 8 p.m. So long, Willa! ...”

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

jacksonian

10-12-06, 01:06 PM

I just don't get this show and I'm not sure how people are able to sit through this.
Then move along.

TVOD

10-12-06, 02:22 PM

“…the live Dancing With the Stars results show on ABC scored another considerable victory, with a 12.8/20 in the overnights, 18.14 million viewers and a 4.6/13 among adults 18-49 at 8 p.m. So long, Willa! ...”Tom DeLay must be writing alot of letters (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2006/09/dancing_with_to.html) to get everyone to dancingwithsara.com. The site has some suggestions for your calender:

10/17/2006 08:00 PM Watch Sara on DWTS
10/17/2006 08:30 PM VOTE NOW FOR SARA
10/18/2006 08:00 PM Dancing with the Stars - Results Show (8pm ET/7pm CT)
10/24/2006 08:00 PM Watch Sara on DWTS
10/24/2006 08:30 PM VOTE NOW FOR SARA

If Sara leaves the ratings will evaporate and fall behind MNTV, especially if that ultra liberal smut vendor Jerry Springer is still there. :D

archiguy

10-12-06, 02:40 PM

Tom DeLay must be writing alot of letters (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2006/09/dancing_with_to.html) to get everyone to dancingwithsara.com. The site has some suggestions for your calender:

Well, to be truthful, he does have a lot of time on his hands these days with nothing better to do, I guess. But I'd rather have him trying to influence the results on a harmless dance show like DWTS than rigging elections and showering favors on his political friends in Washington. ;) But one would think that an endorsement from the likes of Tom DeLay might actually have the same effect these days as an endorsement from the president. If I was Sara, I'd be a little worried about that. :p

johnovox

10-12-06, 02:56 PM

Tom DeLay must be writing alot of letters (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2006/09/dancing_with_to.html) to get everyone to dancingwithsara.com. The site has some suggestions for your calender:

10/17/2006 08:00 PM Watch Sara on DWTS
10/17/2006 08:30 PM VOTE NOW FOR SARA
10/18/2006 08:00 PM Dancing with the Stars - Results Show (8pm ET/7pm CT)
10/24/2006 08:00 PM Watch Sara on DWTS
10/24/2006 08:30 PM VOTE NOW FOR SARA

If Sara leaves the ratings will evaporate and fall behind MNTV, especially if that ultra liberal smut vendor Jerry Springer is still there. :D

I knew I didn't like her for a reason. Too bad Willa is gone.

HDTVFanAtic

10-12-06, 03:48 PM

Mac The Knife

10-12-06, 04:50 PM

Well, we all knew it was coming, that Jerry and Sara's fan base would keep the safe and unjustly get a much better dancer cut.

I really wish they would change the format to something more like the NASCAR Nextel Cup chase. IOW, all the couples would be around for about 8 or 9 weeks and would accumulate points over that time. Then only the top three or four couples would compete for the trophy over the final 3 or 4 weeks.

That way all the couples would get a chance to dance all (or almost all of the different dances) thus making their fans happy and the chase for the cup would actually be among the best couples.

archiguy

10-12-06, 05:19 PM

What I can't understand about Sara is how big her fan base must be. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of country music but I listen to it a bit, and I'd never even heard of her before this show. Ditto for Willa (but I sure do wish I could have seen more of her!).

humdinger70

10-12-06, 05:37 PM

How someone that the judges now say had the most natural ability, came in top vote getting once and 2nd (or tied for second) twice with the judges can get voted out - she was right - this is a popularity contest - dancing has nothing to do with it.

It may have just turned into that. Last year Master P and George Hamilton were kept around long enough to (probably, I don't actually remember) knock out some good dancers who should have stayed.

You can tell by the studio audience reaction (which may be similar to the national audience) that the decision to lose Willa (and Vivica the prior week) were unpopular decisions - they could dance, but their fan base didn't vote for them.

DwTS may have to modify the judging to something along the lines of what "So You Think You Can Dance" on Fox does:

once they get to the final twenty dancers (10 men, 10 women), for the first few weeks, the judges themselves decide among themselves who should be eliminated (on SYTYCD - they eliminate one man and one woman; for DWTS they would eliminate one couple); only after that does the audience vote come into play.

TVOD

10-12-06, 06:34 PM

I would have liked to see Willa on more shows, but in the end it's unlikely she would have won. The voting is a popularity contest which probably drives the ratings higher. It does decrease the predictability of the the results show.

Stacy didn't make it to the finale in season 2, and Jerry Rice was not as good as many other contestants. American Idol had the same issue this year when the contestant that many predicted would win was booted before the finale. AI doesn't include judge votes at all. This issue has been debated for these shows every season and both have only increased in popularity. Without audience voting the series might as well be pre-recorded.

I may be wrong but I think the judges' vote is not weighted according to the actual total but rather the order they ranked. A bottom score of 20 is no different than a score of 3. Maybe weighting is what's required to put things in better balance. The audience vote could also be made proportional to their total.

Regardless of the male/female contestant ratio, we still have plenty of good skin tone reference material as demonstrated with the pool picture above.

nlk10010

10-12-06, 07:08 PM

How someone that the judges now say had the most natural ability, came in top vote getting once and 2nd (or tied for second) twice with the judges can get voted out - she was right - this is a popularity contest - dancing has nothing to do with it.

You just figured this out? :) :) (a rhetorical question, tongue-in-cheek)

Even the judging isn't based on dancing ability. I'm about as far politically from Jerry Springer as you can get but I don't see why he should worry about hanging around. He's only one of many in this show's short history (Jerry Rice comes to mind but there were plenty of others) who had no (dancing) business lasting as long as they did. I don't recall anyone ever uttering a word of regret (in fact Jerry and maybe George Hamilton may be the only exceptions).

I know the ratings are great but I have a feeling (maybe it's more a hope than a feeling) that this selling out of the original idea just to get ratings is going to backfire. As someone pointed out above (maybe it was you) it'll just turn into a freestyle contest with the "judges" falling all over themselves to give points to the people they are told are most popular.

BTW, when did they switch to American-style rhumba?

=NLK=

tluxon

10-12-06, 07:17 PM

Jerry did nothing to hurt his chances of moving on this past week. That number was extremely entertaining - and I came into this season not even liking the guy.

Although it's always been an issue, audience-favored dancers seem to be victimized by fan base voting more this season than in the two previous seasons. Nonetheless, I think Jerry is picking up a lot of votes outside his previous fan base because of his personality and ability to entertain.

Coming into this season, I'm pretty sure Mario didn't have the largest fan base, but I think his almost bashful personality and dynamic dancing are bringing enough new people into his camp to make him tough to beat.

Tim

archiguy

10-13-06, 07:46 AM

Stryker412

10-13-06, 07:59 AM

Read this morning that Sara Evans may have had a reason for her melancholy look on the show. She just filed for divorce (she has 3 kids) and she's quitting the show!

What really stinks is that she obviously planned this, occurring the very next day after this week's results show. Since she was going to step down anyway, she could have done it after Tuesday's performance show and Willa would still be with the show (they wouldn't have had to cut anybody this week if somebody was stepping down).

Yes I'm sure she planned her divorce to coincide with the show........ :rolleyes:

Edit:

From her rep at BMG, "Evans decided she needed to leave the TV show "to give her family her full attention at this difficult time," Brown said.

I can see how you'd want to fault her for wanting to be with her kids and not on a pointless dance show. :rolleyes:

nlk10010

10-13-06, 09:00 AM

I would think a logical way to proceed would be to reinstate Willa.

Yea, logical.........that's it, logical. :) (my best Tommy Flanagan impersonation).

=NLK=

archiguy

10-13-06, 09:00 AM

Yes I'm sure she planned her divorce to coincide with the show........ :rolleyes:

Well, that kinda' was the result, wasn't it?

I can see how you'd want to fault her for wanting to be with her kids and not on a pointless dance show. :rolleyes:

Oh, please, dry those crocodile tears. :rolleyes: All I was saying was that it was pretty low class for her to quit the show a day after her clueless fanbase voted her back in and a much more deserving dancer, Willa, went home. She obviously knew this was going to happen. The honorable thing to do would to have stepped down before the results show. Do you really not see that, or are you too busy being sanctimonious to notice?

People in show business get divorced all the time. It ain't cancer. Sad? Sure. For somebody. Maybe she had an affair with her partner! Who knows? Who cares? The sanctity of marriage only exists in terms of denying it to a certain population group that she and her fans denigrate and marginalize at every opportunity. She still could have "been with her kids" had she resigned a day earlier, no? In fact, she could have "been with them" a whole day earlier! Yeah, it's sad she's dumping her husband (I sincerely doubt it's the other way around - that'd be like Kevin dumping Brittany), but that doesn't excuse her behavior vis a vis the show. That was inexcusable. Sorry if you can't see that.

jacksonian

10-13-06, 10:02 AM

archiguy,
I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep your political views out of this thread. Obviously, you have an axe to grind about gay marriage. Keep that to yourself. And for someone going through a divorce, I really doubt that Sara was thinking about how her actions would affect the show. And I don't think she planned it all out. So drop it and take your anti-conservative diatribe elsewhere before this thread gets closed.

humdinger70

10-13-06, 10:10 AM

Sara's leaving really throws DwTS into a tizzy. :eek:

What do they do - reinstate Willa? And if they do that, how does she and her partner get together and get in enough practice time (they've already lost 2 days) to make a viable performance on the show?

My guess is, they don't reinstate anyone, no voting this week (saves ABC lots of $$$ in phone charges) and the results show is turned into a glorified entertainment hour.

The last time something like this happened was on Survivor, where someone severely burned his hands and was forced to withdraw, eliminating the need for one tribal council to vote someone off.

jacksonian

10-13-06, 10:18 AM

I'd like for them to bring Willa back, I'm sure she could pick it up as good as she is. But she may not even want to come back after being rejected by the fans. I think it would be good for the show though to give her another chance.

DrDon

10-13-06, 01:49 PM

FYI:

Court documents state husband's adultery, pornography reasons for Sara Evans divorce
By Beverly Keel
Celebrity columnist

Sara Evans filed for divorce Thursday from her husband of 13 years, Craig Schelske, in Williamson County, alleging that he had committed adultery, verbally abused her and frequently watched pornography at home. On Thursday, Evans announced that she has dropped out of the ABC show “Dancing with the Stars” to give her family her full attention.
...

On Sept. 28, one of the children confronted Schelske, 43, at the couple’s Franklin home when he was watching pornography on TV, the filing stated. The couple’s children are 2, 3 and 7 years old.

Evans, 35, requested a temporary restraining order prohibiting Schelske from physically and verbally abusing her, exposing their three young children to pornographic materials of any kind, consuming alcoholic beverages to excess in front of Evans or the children, and taking their children to Oregon, which would interfere with her temporary and pending custody.

Evans filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, inappropriate marital conduct and adultery.

Evans requested she be designated the primary residential parent and custodian of the children and that Schelske receive “reasonable residential parenting time” with their children.

She requested exclusive possession of their home and “reasonable child support.”

No court date has been set.

Late Thursday, her representatives released the following statement:

"Recent events that shed light on the status of her marriage prompted Ms. Evans to make the filing.
The statement continued, "A mother of three, Ms. Evans felt it was in her children's best interest that she also withdraw from competition on Dancing with the Stars, an ABC television series that she has been part of this fall, to give her family her full attention at this difficult time. Ms. Evans hopes that her fans and TV viewers who've supported her in recent weeks and throughout her music career will respect and understand her need for privacy in the face of these recent events."

Document edited for brevity and to remove explicit sexual details. -Doc

Rick_R

10-13-06, 03:39 PM

I think the show has two choices. Make next weeks show with no vote or shorten the season by one week. Since the later will cut ABC's profits and get the ending of the show before the sweeps I can not see how thay can do that. Maybe a edited season summery show next week.

In any case with Willa and Sara gone I am too.

Rick R

TVOD

10-13-06, 04:01 PM

There is precedent to bring back Willa. American Idol had a contestant leave the show and they brought back the last person eliminated. Survivor is a pre-recorded show.

tluxon

10-13-06, 04:29 PM

Bring Willa back! She may even get some of Sara's fans votes, so don't be too quick to say she has no chance. Besides, the ratings can only be helped by retaining an apparent budding romance.

HDTVFanAtic

10-13-06, 04:56 PM

Willa should not go back even if asked. Why go back to get voted off again in something that clearly is not about skill - and considering she still has all the young Nick Carter fans continuing to hate her.....

And on a different issue, has anyone noticed on all the other shows that the contestants show up on and what they reveal, its blatantly clear the producers of this show are the ones making up the "couples angles" to get extra exposure and news image for the show - and literally none of it is based in any reality.

TVOD

10-13-06, 05:22 PM

Reality shows are based in reality? :D It's all about the Benjamins.

I wouldn't doubt that it was the producers idea to wait until after the results show to announce that Sara was leaving. If it was, it was stoke of genius. If she had announced it on Tuesday night and they just let her go on Wednesday there would be no speculation as to what they are going to do. Tuesday should get some huge ratings.

The big question remaining is: What Will DeLay Do? The ultra liberal smut vendor is still there :eek:

tluxon

10-13-06, 05:26 PM

...
And on a different issue, has anyone noticed on all the other shows that the contestants show up on and what they reveal, its blatantly clear the producers of this show are the ones making up the "couples angles" to get extra exposure and news image for the show - and literally none of it is based in any reality.When Willa was on Jimmy Kimmel, I got the distinct impression that Willa and Max were both interested in spending more time together. It just wasn't racing along as fast as the media likes to portray. Some of the best, longest-lasting relationships take a little longer to develop than what Hollywood is accustomed to.

Then again, IMO there's no reason to suspect that their relationship was anything more than a result of spending a lot of time working one-on-one with someone on such a "task". It wouldn't surprise me if they part ways as little more than friends who worked hard together and hit it off for awhile.

I still think America would like to see them some more!

humdinger70

10-13-06, 06:17 PM

Will they edit the opening montage to remove Sara or just leave her and Max in? They currently leave in all the stars, even if they've been voted off.

archiguy

10-13-06, 06:24 PM

Will they edit the opening montage to remove Sara or just leave her and Max in? They currently leave in all the stars, even if they've been voted off.

Why wouldn't they leave her in?

HDTVFanAtic

10-13-06, 07:40 PM

When Willa was on Jimmy Kimmel, I got the distinct impression that Willa and Max were both interested in spending more time together. It just wasn't racing along as fast as the media likes to portray. Some of the best, longest-lasting relationships take a little longer to develop than what Hollywood is accustomed to.

Then again, IMO there's no reason to suspect that their relationship was anything more than a result of spending a lot of time working one-on-one with someone on such a "task". It wouldn't surprise me if they part ways as little more than friends who worked hard together and hit it off for awhile.

I still think America would like to see them some more!

You might want to watch that interview again as she admited she is dating a NHL player.

humdinger70

10-16-06, 11:29 AM

Bump.

Any news on the Sara Evans situation (as in, has there been decision on anyone (i.e., Willa) coming back to replace her?)

TVOD

10-16-06, 12:16 PM

ABC is promoting Tuesday's show to answer the questions regarding Sara and what the show is going to do. I'm sure fredfa will inform us if this episode gets the monster ratings that's expected.

tluxon

10-16-06, 01:52 PM

You might want to watch that interview again as she admited she is dating a NHL player.Don't need to watch it again. Dating isn't exactly marriage. I guess I just got a different impression about her status than you did - sorry.

I hope the news is that they'll bring her back in Sara's absence, but I don't expect it.

Tim

Mac The Knife

10-16-06, 04:10 PM

I'm guessing there will be a "buy" week and no one will be eliminated.

That will also give them an excuse to throw a pity party so that they can show that they really "sensitive and caring".

Hopefully I'll be wrong.

sneals2000

10-16-06, 07:35 PM

My guess is, they don't reinstate anyone, no voting this week (saves ABC lots of $$$ in phone charges) and the results show is turned into a glorified entertainment hour.

Not sure I understand the phone charge comment. In the UK most commercial channels MAKE money from the phone voting, rather than it costing them money. Do ABC operate a 1-800 calling system so voters pay nothing? (Over here it is usually around 10-25p a vote, and SMS text voting from mobiles is either a standard text message rate or a bit more)

The BBC - due to their non-commercial set-up - have to either donate any voting profit (over and above the costs of collating the calls) to a registered charity (which is clearly signalled), or have to reduce the call rates if possible. (The BBC show "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" - which found a musical actress to play Maria in the New West End production in London, used their phone vote profit to launch a bursary scheme for young musical theatre actors.)

QZ1

10-17-06, 03:41 PM

I'm guessing there will be a "buy" week and no one will be eliminated.
You mean a 'bye' week. :) If no one is sent home then this week's dancing is nothing more than an exhibition of two dances. Unless they combine this week's and next week's scores to send one person home next week. Of course, this week's 'results show' would have no suspense, but it is mostly and exhibition and singing anyway.

I think Willa should be brought back, but I heard from a relative that she won't be back according to the a TV show, who knows? I see combining scores as the next best thing to do, and is what I predict. I don't think shortening the season is good because we would lose two dances which are part of the competition.

Rick_R

10-17-06, 07:48 PM

The ad for Dancing With the Stars I saw yesterday said "six contestants remain" So I guess that means Willa will not be brought back.

Rick R

humdinger70

10-18-06, 10:28 AM

The ad for Dancing With the Stars I saw yesterday said "six contestants remain" So I guess that means Willa will not be brought back.

Rick R

Actually it's five left: Mario, Joey, Monique, Emmitt and Jerry. And it looks like Jerry will (finally) be eliminated after his somewhat comical but poorly executed paso doble routine.

I watched the interview with Sara Evans. She had to make a choice between caring for her children or go disco dancing (the second routine of the show last night), and she made the necessary choice of her children. Kudos to her. She has said she will be back for the finale.

tluxon

10-18-06, 01:30 PM

fredfa

10-18-06, 02:22 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Wednesday, October 18, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )

“…Led by the rock-solid Dancing With the Stars, ABC remains the network to beat on Tuesday, with another first-place finish in the overnights, total viewers and adults 18-49. The 90-minute installment of Dancing With the Stars opened the evening with a 14.4/21 in the overnights, 21.08 million viewers and a 5.9/16 among adults 18-49 from 8-9:30 p.m...”

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

humdinger70

10-18-06, 04:36 PM

I've started a poll thread asking why you watch the show. Check it out here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=738267

Mac The Knife

10-18-06, 05:35 PM

I notice that of the "Stars" that are left, Monique is the only female. I wonder how much of this has to do with the sense that in many dances the woman is the embellishment, giving a slight advantage to the teams with a professional "embellishment"?

It's certainly more difficult to dance the female parts than to dance the male parts. But women seem to be more naturally talented at dancing than men, so I think that may be a wash.

I'm guessing that really good looking men, like Mario, have an advantage because there's a lot more female voters than male voters and due to the easier dance steps for the men compared to the women. Perhaps Fred could give us a demographic breakdown on those rating numbers so that we could test that theory?

But I think that there's a lot of other weird things that happened this season that made more of a difference. 1) Jerry, who's really bad and Emmitt who's middle of the pack have been safe due to their huge crossover fan base from their real jobs. 2) Shannon who's not very good and Vivica who was decent didn't have the fan base to keep them around. 3) Sara would still be around due to her huge fan base if she hadn't quit. 4) The other two men are either good looking or good dancers or arguably both depending on if you like the Joey Lawrence bald look. So they have been fairly safe.

So this year I think it was more due to the popularity of the male celebs more than the pros they had next to them providing the embellishment and due to the one highly popular woman quiting. Also there were several couples with similar dancing ability so fan base has been even more important this season than in the previous seasons.

Rick_R

10-18-06, 06:37 PM

I notice that of the "Stars" that are left, Monique is the only female. I wonder how much of this has to do with the sense that in many dances the woman is the embellishment, giving a slight advantage to the teams with a professional "embellishment"?
In "real" ballroom dancing the couple with a strong male dancer will out perform a couple with a strong female because the male must lead and thus know what he is doing. However, in this show that is 100% rehearsed correography that is not important and the female embellishmets are more important.

Also the voting population is probably more female thus the votes for male performers.

Just my guesses.

Rick R

WirelessGuru

10-18-06, 06:51 PM

Terrible interview with Sara Evans... They kept alluding to what was found on her husbands computer but she never elaborated on what happened. Then she started complaining about internet gossip and how it was hurting her family. It made it sould like her husband had child porn on his computer or something a lot worse than it really is. Then without explaining the circumstances, we are left to wonder with no real alternative other than to look for internet gossip.

I also think this makes her look bad. She was playing the role of the victim as if she had no role in this but she had been staying with someone who had committed adultery against her and was a drunk and she has issues feeling threatened by pornagraphy. Women threatened by pornagraphy have self esteem issues of their own to deal with. At any rate I really liked her and thought she was down to earth and caring about her family until this situation. In my opinion she should have addressed the issues she was having with her husband long ago. It took her son walking in on her husband watching porn for her to finally do something about it in her life and then come on national TV and play the role of victim. Whatever.

I am just glad they aren't bringing Willa back. As for who she's dating, she is probably dating an NHL player, her dance partner, one of the backstreet boys, Chuck Liddell, and the paperboy. It's no secret, just watch what was said about her on Howard Stern.

I wouldn't be so sure that Jerry is gone next week. The judges were hard on him and they also gave him a 5. Yeah, he sucked, but give the guy a break. It seems when the judges harsh on Jerry the fans really come out and vote. BTW, when Willa was voted off, was Jerry's dance partner crying because she had to do another week with him?

Who is going to win... Monique sure looks hot. Wow! But she seems the most inconsistent from week to week out of who's left. I thought Emmitt actually looked the best last night not counting the Disco but the judges kinda ripped him too. Joey hasn't looked top notch since a few weeks ago when he got the 10's but he did do the Disco better than Mario. Mario just makes everything look easy and right and the women love him. He will be tough to beat.

Could they please bring Stacey back this season for a cameo appearance. I gotta see her in HD!

humdinger70

10-19-06, 12:13 AM

I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!

I said there would be no elimination tonight... and there wasn't! Joey and Jerry wound up in the bottom two, but both will be back next week (to Jerry's utter dismay!!!).

The judge's scores and audience vote DO count and will be combined with next week's judge's scores and audience vote to finally eliminate one couple.

The show runners felt eliminating two couples would be unfair in light of the Sara Evans situation.

nunmobile

10-19-06, 10:10 AM

There was no elimination because advertising money has been collected for a set number of weeks. Having an elimination after Sarah's leaving would have left the program one week short.

Willie_Tee

10-19-06, 11:15 AM

There was no elimination because advertising money has been collected for a set number of weeks. Having an elimination after Sarah's leaving would have left the program one week short.
Exactly. And a highly rated show like this generates much more ad revenue that whatever will replace DWTS. Am I the only one who thinks Sara realized she ain't gonna win this thing and, by quitting, generated a whole bunch of sympathetic publicity toward herself as victim and martyr? C'mon would she be on Access Hollywood, ET, etc. otherwise?

TVOD

10-19-06, 11:22 AM

Women in tiny costumes in HD is good for the country, so ABC had to preserve the original length of the series.

Only Grays and CSI were higher rated than DWTS last week. Even if ABC hasn't sold all the time on the show, it's easy to see why they wouldn't want it end a week early. Quite the opposite problem the had with "The One: Making Of A Music Star".

TVOD

10-19-06, 11:31 AM

Am I the only one who thinks Sara realized she ain't gonna win this thing and, by quitting, generated a whole bunch of sympathetic publicity toward herself as victim and martyr?I've seen similar comments on ABC's message boards.

nashvillecat

10-19-06, 12:03 PM

I've seen similar comments on ABC's message boards.
I must comment here. I'm in Nashville, and I can tell you there are TONS of things coming out about this whole mess. Sara is going though a tough time and wants to be with her family. It has nothing to do with sympathy! I hear that now her husband is alleging that Sara is "messing around" with other country music stars. Comletely baseless, if ya ask me. Did ya catch that nanny? What a mess. Now I hear that a liove lie detector test will be done on her soon on television.

I really feel bad for Sara Evans and even more bad for those of you who think she is asking for pity by leaving the show DWTS!!

jc5810

10-19-06, 12:12 PM

I also think this makes her look bad. She was playing the role of the victim as if she had no role in this but she had been staying with someone who had committed adultery against her and was a drunk and she has issues feeling threatened by pornagraphy. Women threatened by pornagraphy have self esteem issues of their own to deal with.

From http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/13/people.evans.ap/index.html

"According to the court documents, the oldest of the couple's children confronted Schelske when he was watching pornographic material on the television in their home."

There are more details in the article that I won't post here. But, her motherly instinct kicked in to be with and protect her children. The oldest is...I forget how old, but he's young and he apparently caught dad watching the stuff. It's not that the porn "threatened" Sara. From what I gather from the interview, she intended to continue with the show until she learned of the more serious details...which she did not know until a few hours before the show last week.

WaldorfSalad

10-19-06, 12:52 PM

Meanwhile...married men all over America are deleting porn from their computers. ;)

WirelessGuru

10-19-06, 03:37 PM

"According to the court documents, the oldest of the couple's children confronted Schelske when he was watching pornographic material on the television in their home."

There are more details in the article that I won't post here. But, her motherly instinct kicked in to be with and protect her children. I did include that information in my statement, and honestly, I am not kicking Sara when she is down. I am just disappointed in her is all. That interview just caused more questions than answers, if she was really concerned, what was she doing in LA even spending time on the interview and she complained about internet rumors but then didn't explain anything. So what is the audience to do but beleive the rumors. That and I think she needs to take a little bit of responsibility in being an enabler in this situation. Hopefully she is doing the right thing now and all will go well for her.

Last night was the most nervous I have ever seen Joey. I think he thought for sure this week that Jerry was going to move on.

nashvillecat

10-19-06, 03:43 PM

Joey and mario are huigh strung as heck. Whats up with them? I seen an interview with Joey at the beginning of the series and he refered to the interviewer as "dud" (she was a woman). He has a problem.

Mac The Knife

10-19-06, 04:09 PM

Well, I'm going to be interested to see how this next week turns out since it will be kind of a mini test of my idea of having a NASCAR Cup style system of accumulating points.

TVOD

10-19-06, 04:20 PM

Unless Jerry does incredibly well next week, it would be surprising to see anyone else go. He wants to go. Jerry's presence after Sara's departure must be a huge blow to Tom DeLay. Hmmm, in light of the allegations maybe I should rephrase that ...

WaldorfSalad

10-19-06, 04:44 PM

The downside to Jerry going is that Kym goes also. :(

ziltomil

10-19-06, 05:06 PM

What the..!? All this BS is because some guy watched porn?

jacksonian

10-19-06, 05:07 PM

What the..!? All this BS is because some guy watched porn?
No, that's not all. Apparently he was watching porn with her young children in the room and alllegedly having affairs and being abusive.

TVOD

10-19-06, 05:49 PM

It remains to be seen what Sara is calling porn. Maybe she considers R rated movies to be porn. It could have been something really obscene like the 700 club.
The downside to Jerry going is that Kym goes also. :(Hopefully they would bring her back for pro dancer segments.

ziltomil

10-19-06, 05:53 PM

No, that's not all. Apparently he was watching porn with her young children in the room and alllegedly having affairs and being abusive.
Her allegations sound like a person who has another guy lined up and just wants out of her marriage.

jacksonian

10-19-06, 06:35 PM

You guys are really making a lot of assumptions/allegations about someone's life. How about we leave that part out and talk about the show.

ziltomil

10-19-06, 06:44 PM

I hope Jerry wins the whole thing!

jc5810

10-20-06, 07:47 AM

What the..!? All this BS is because some guy watched porn?

Read the CNN article I linked to in my previous post. It's not simply that he watched porn. It's that he watched porn with their young children in the house if not in the room and he has "more than a hundred pictures of himself in various states of arousal" on the computer. IF these are true, then the part about him watching porn with their children able to see it shows he doesn't make sensible decisions with regard to his children. THAT is why I beleive she left the show. Also if he IS abusive, the classic pattern is that abusive parents who only attack their spouses eventually turn it towards the children.

As for Jerry...he needs to go for no other reason than he doesn't care and is making it into a comedy rather than taking it seriously as a dance competition. I feel sorry for Kym. She's a professional who probably takes this as seriously as her real competitions, especially since she's on tv for the "world" to see, and she's paired with a guy who wants to make a joke out of it. Yet people who danced better...like..oh say..Willa or Vivica, are gone. Yes, it's just a show, but it is still a competition in which Jerry elected to compete.

I know with the viewers its nothing more than a popularity contest and it happens every season, but this is just a tad worse to me, becuase Jerry doesn't take it seriously and purposely makes jokes about it and himself.

archiguy

10-20-06, 07:56 AM

What jc said. Last year, Master Pee stuck around for a few weeks longer than he had any right to as well. What a pisser. Even Kenny Maine was a better dancer than that guy, the worst to ever appear on the show.

jacksonian

10-20-06, 08:45 AM

I agree with what you guys are saying, but I think even Jerry has acknowledged since the first episode that he doesn't belong there and basically that they should send him home. It's America that keeps him in it.

ziltomil

10-20-06, 10:09 AM

Read the CNN article I linked to in my previous post. It's not simply that he watched porn. It's that he watched porn with their young children in the house if not in the room and he has "more than a hundred pictures of himself in various states of arousal" on the computer. IF these are true, then the part about him watching porn with their children able to see it shows he doesn't make sensible decisions with regard to his children. THAT is why I beleive she left the show. Also if he IS abusive, the classic pattern is that abusive parents who only attack their spouses eventually turn it towards the children.
YEAH, YEAH!!! And I bet he had sex with his wife while the kids were in the house too! Such a bad parent!

Dude, this porn issue is such a throwaway issue, the kids are smart enough to see the pic on the PC. I don't know what she calls abusive, it could be his porn addiction is what she considers abusive. What I know is that a guy don't become like this in a year, she knew about this before and had no problem, she was probably complicit in it. But now she wants a divorce, and in this society porn = evil.

And of course seeing his father watch porn is going to make a kid cry to the point where you have to call a priest, and not that someone is trying t breakup his family...

What gets me is that she is using her kids. If he cheated on you then fine, but don't give some bull about porn.

jacksonian

10-21-06, 05:33 PM

ziltomil, You probably should stick to your own business. You're way out of line blaming Sara. How about you drop it and let's get back on topic.

TVOD

10-21-06, 06:30 PM

Sara was the primary subject of DWTS this week. The story has a life of it's own now. It may be another sex scandal with someone named "Clinton", but no cigar.

humdinger70

10-24-06, 06:55 PM

Bump. Time to bring it to the front page for tonight's show...

ziltomil

10-24-06, 09:02 PM

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.

jacksonian

10-24-06, 10:15 PM

Hopefully Jerry will go, but that makes for a very tough finish. Emmitt, Monique, Mario and Joey are all excellent.

nashvillecat

10-25-06, 10:15 AM

Joey's partner is outstanding! What is her name? Can someone post screen caps of her?

nc

jacksonian

10-25-06, 11:25 AM

Wolfie

10-25-06, 12:11 PM

Joey's partner is outstanding! What is her name? Can someone post screen caps of her?

nc

I had ABSOLUTELY no idea that was Joey Lawrence until last night. Shows what no hair does for someone in show business. Is he doing it for a part, no pun intended?

Wolfie

nashvillecat

10-25-06, 12:35 PM

Has anyone noticed how Cheryl and Emmit didn't look to "warm & fuzzy" at the beginning of this series? They seem to be more fridnly now. It's noticable, I think.

tluxon

10-25-06, 01:33 PM

I think it's Edyta, isn't it? I can't decide which female pro is my favorite. Cheryl has the strongest/most powerful moves, Kym has the biggest/sweetest smile, and Edyta is probably the most graceful with those high leg kicks.Yeah, but none of them can move and contort like Karina can. And have you seen her spin? Neither have I - it's too fast!

Mac The Knife

10-25-06, 04:12 PM

Karina looked especially hot last night with the blonde wig and that outfit she wore for the latin dance.

But, if I had a choice, I think I'd take Cheryl without the makeup and wearing one of those hoodies that she always seems to wear at practice.

I wonder if Monique hurt a knee last night. In the latin dance, she seemed to be a little off balance and stumbled a little bit and she didn't fully extend her leg when she dropped into the front split.

humdinger70

10-25-06, 05:43 PM

WirelessGuru

10-25-06, 06:13 PM

For some reason I think Monique is going to be voted off tonight. I dont know why... just a feeling.

TVOD

10-25-06, 10:44 PM

Not this week. So long Jerry, thanks for the comedy. Tom DeLay is jumping for joy.

humdinger70

10-26-06, 12:20 AM

You kind of expected it with Jerry's low combined judges score. I don't think he would have stayed even if he had won the combined audience vote. The best of the best still remain - there will still be controversy on who wins!

nashvillecat

10-26-06, 08:42 AM

Emmit is not that good at all, he is just very popular.

Mario & Joey are the best celebrity dancers.

Ya done good, Jerry!

nc

nlk10010

10-26-06, 09:44 AM

Karina and Mario didn't do a Latin dance, they did the jive, which is clearly an American dance. When did they classify the Jive as Latin dance? :confused:

No, actually, jive is in the International Latin category (one of the five). Supposedly adapted from the jitterbug (and perhaps another dance or two) that American GIs taught the British during/after WWII.

Now is it a dance that originated in Latin America or is "traditionally" danced by Latins? No. But it IS technically in the Latin dance category, at least as far as the International style is concerned. I don't know WHAT it qualifies as on DWTS, though. :)

=NLK=

nlk10010

10-26-06, 09:50 AM

Emmit is not that good at all, he is just very popular.

Mario & Joey are the best celebrity dancers.

Ya done good, Jerry!

nc

I agreee about Emmitt. Not bad, but he always dances with bent knees, hunched over a bit, stepping carefully with the ball of his foot. Mario looks like he's done this before, although he hunches as well (and appears to be a bit of a sociopath, but that's for another thread).

The judges seem to be in their own world and terribly enamored of Emmitt. But hey, they're probably making a lot of money (for them) doing this so I can understand it. Were I in their position I'd skewer my judging career as well for a shot at the limelight.

=NLK=

jacksonian

10-26-06, 10:59 AM

I think the judges tend to judge the celebrities for what they are:
Jerry was a great entertainer, like George Hamilton last year. Terrible dancers, but great entertainers.

Emmitt is a regular guy like Jerry Rice was last year. He's a great dancer compared to the 99% of us regular guys.

Joey and Mario are not regular guys, they are very talented and could easily have become professional dancers if they wanted. So the judges grade them that way, just like they did Stacy last year. She was so good, that they nit picked her like they would the professionals.

So the judging makes sense to me. It's not completely fair on a numerical level to give Emmitt a 27 because he did a great routine for a regular guy and then give Mario a 27 because he did a great routine for a professional dancer, but it kind of makes sense when you look at it this way. It gives the regular guys a chance and makes the show more interesting.

Just my opinion.

archiguy

10-26-06, 11:17 AM

^ What Jack said. My wife and I made the very same comment when we watched the Tuesday night show last night. They're judging Mario, who's clearly the best dancer (at least to us), on a different scale from the others. Even Joey is just not in his class. If Mario doesn't win this year, it will be an even bigger crime than Stacy not winning last year.

fredfa

10-26-06, 12:27 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Thursday, October 26, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )

“…ABC mega-hit Dancing With the Stars danced to another stellar time period victory…with a 13.4/21 in the overnights, 19.86 million viewers and a 5.1/14 among adults 18-49. ….”

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

Mac The Knife

10-26-06, 04:30 PM

Karina and Mario didn't do a Latin dance, they did the jive, which is clearly an American dance. When did they classify the Jive as Latin dance? :confused:

I think I repressed the memory that they did a Jive dance because Mario pushed one of my pet peeve buttons by not pointing his toes down in his Jive kicks. [Since Len has his pet peeve of not doing heel leads on the Foxtrot, I think I'm entitled to this one pet peeve. :D ]

tluxon

10-26-06, 05:17 PM

I thought Emmitt was very good this week. Both my DW and I thought he was more in command of the floor than Mario and Joey and very much deserved the high scores from the judges. I love Joey, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Emmitt give Mario tougher competition for the overall title.

Tim

WirelessGuru

10-27-06, 02:50 AM

Did I hear Len right??? Did he tell Joey.... All heel and NO BALLS! ???

jc5810

10-27-06, 12:04 PM

Did I hear Len right??? Did he tell Joey.... All heel and NO BALLS! ???
I haven't seen this episode yet, but he very well could have. Not sure if this is obvious, so don't get offended, but the front part of the foot behind the toes is the ball.

WirelessGuru

10-27-06, 06:20 PM

I haven't seen this episode yet, but he very well could have. Not sure if this is obvious, so don't get offended, but the front part of the foot behind the toes is the ball.yeah, I understand the terminology as it applies to dance. It just sounded funny coming from him, not to mention how much he emphasized "NO BALLS"

tluxon

10-27-06, 06:54 PM

yeah, I understand the terminology as it applies to dance. It just sounded funny coming from him, not to mention how much he emphasized "NO BALLS"Yes, that was hilarious! It seemed pretty obvious to me by the way he said it that he didn't want people to miss the double-meaning. :p

TVOD

10-27-06, 09:06 PM

I thought Bruno would be the one to see if there was the proper use of balls, but it looks like Len was watching even closer.

sneals2000

10-28-06, 09:00 AM

Interesting news this side of the pond.

The BBC Show "Strictly Come Dancing" (the original Dancing With the Stars) broadcasts from studio TC1 at TV Centre (the UK's largest purpose built single TV studio) which was upgraded to HD over the summer. Well this weekend, apparently, the show will start broadcasting in HD on the BBC HD Trial (DSat, Cable and OTA in London)

The cameras are HDC-1500s (which have also been used for the SD broadcasts) - and the editing is on HD Avid Adrenalines I believe.

Be interesting to see what the show looks like in HD.

I haven't checked what the current confguration of the BBC OTA test service is - it has been running at 19Mbs 1080/50i and 13Mbs 720/50p (cross converted from 1080/50i) at various stages to evaluate public response to the picture quality of the two levels of service.

(19Mbs doesn't leave much left in a 24Mbs mux once you add EPG, BBCi digital text etc., whilst 13Mbs would leave enough for a couple of decent SD services - say a couple of interactive streams, and some radio channels)

** EDIT - OTA is 19Mbs 1440x1080/50i H264 again **

TVOD

10-28-06, 12:17 PM

The cameras are HDC-1500s (which have also been used for the SD broadcasts) - and the editing is on HD Avid Adrenalines I believe.I'm a bit surprised the BBC woud be using Japanese cameras, although most people I've talked to think the 1500s are better than the Thomsons. AFAIK DWTS is also using 1500s, although it's 720p here.

sneals2000

10-28-06, 02:21 PM

I'm a bit surprised the BBC woud be using Japanese cameras, although most people I've talked to think the 1500s are better than the Thomsons. AFAIK DWTS is also using 1500s, although it's 720p here.

Yep the most recent re-equipping round which kicked off last year is really the end of an era - it is the first time in the history of the BBC's main London studios that they have been equipped with non-European cameras. (Apart from a few JVC cameras used in small studios aimed at productions for "digital channels", and a few brief periods of Ike and Sony lightweights being deployed in news studios)

Until the recent move to Sony HDC-1500s and BVP-E30s, the BBC in London had been entirely Thomson based in the main studios (1657s, 1647s and tubed Thomsons prior to this) since the 80s - with three Philips LDK100 based news studios.

(The rumour that the reason the BBC went Thomson goes that in the 80s the BBC were buying a new camera from Link - the Link 130 - to replace the previous Links in use. Howeve the 130 effectively bankrupted the company, as the digital control system wasn't reliable enough to be usable. However the BBC had already bought the lenses. The only other European cameras compatible with the lenses were Thomsons - hence the Beeb bought Thomsons rather than Philips or Bosch. Whether this is true... I know not - but the rumour continues, along with other rumours relating to similarities between the Link 130 and cameras from other manufacturers... Nobody who saw the performance of the original Thomsons the BBC bought thought they were bought for their picture quality - though they DID get modified to implement the BBC colour matrix, black stretch and gamma requirements, which continued to be a requirement well into the CCD era, though by then many LDs were requesting that they could switch to a non-BBC matrix to increase saturation on effects lighting)

Prior to this Link, EMI, Marconi and Philips/Bosch cameras were in use in studios. In fact during the 50s and 60s - and even into the 70s - the Beeb had tried to buy British where possible, with EMI, Marconi, Link and Pye.

However BBC Outside broadcasts - and non-London studios had been using Ikegami and Sony lightweight cameras since the 70s and 80s - with BBC OBs in London being nearly universally Sony since they retired their LDK5 tubed cameras in the late 80s/early 90s.

The BBC effectively stopped buying non-lightweight cameras with the Sony BVP370s in the mid 1990s - when they moved to 16:9 cameras, with studios moving entirely lightweight with the Thomson 1657s.

I think there was probably a feeling - though this is just a guess - that the
LDK6000 Mk II camera was getting a bit long in the tooth, though of course there is now the LDK8000.

I think there was also a preference amongst vision ops for the Sony racking (i.e. lift/gain/paint) system as the LDK series panels aren't universally popular. (The BBC engineered their own solution for the LDK5s in the 70s I believe - which they also engineered for their first series of Sony CCD cameras - based on in-desk colour wheels rather than knobs, to allow finer and more intuitive control)

SteveBagley

10-28-06, 06:53 PM

Be interesting to see what the show looks like in HD.

It was an interesting mish-mash -- lots of upconverted SD (not surprising since it only switched to HD this week -- I'm guessing there Z1s are still running DVCam mode).

Most bizarre was that all the overlaid captions looked very much like upconverted SD, overlaid on top of the HD signal.

Steven

sneals2000

10-28-06, 07:12 PM

It was an interesting mish-mash -- lots of upconverted SD (not surprising since it only switched to HD this week -- I'm guessing there Z1s are still running DVCam mode).

Most bizarre was that all the overlaid captions looked very much like upconverted SD, overlaid on top of the HD signal.

Steven

Yep - I noticed the Astons were still obviously Astons. Wouldn't surprise me if it was just an upconverted Ethos...

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Z1s were still running in DVCam rather than HDV mode. I wouldn't be surprised if the VTs in the suites were still not HDV compatible...

I didn't have much time to watch - but I'm assuming the Radio Steadicam was also SD?

The one thing that was quite clear from watching just one dance number is how much more you notice it when cameras are cut up JUST before they have finalised their focus, or steadied their shot - I suspect some cameras are worked VERY hard on the fast numbers. Out of interest - I wonder if the camera ops at The Centre have as strong a views on the Sony viewfinders as the guys at Wimbledon did when it comes to lag and focus judgement.

Certainly LCD is nowhere near ready for that application by all accounts - but then many would argue it isn't ready for quality monitoring situations either - though Sony will tell you otherwise since they don't like selling you CRTs any more... Which just gives Ikegami, JVC et al. a bigger market for their CRTs these days it seems.

(AIUI whilst colour is nice - some camera ops are suggesting that monochrome CRT viewfinders may still be the best way of accurately and quickly framing and setting focus - especially in HD)

TVOD

10-28-06, 08:01 PM

No image captures? The wireless steadicam on DWTS is definitely HD, was the SCD one SD?

sneals2000

10-29-06, 01:24 AM

No image captures? The wireless steadicam on DWTS is definitely HD, was the SCD one SD?

I'll try and post some caps later today. I haven't had a chance to look at the show closely (my PC isn't up to simultaneously recording AND decoding AND de-interlacing H264 MBAFF 1080/50i stuff live unfortunately - H264 is a LOT more intensive in processor terms than MPEG2)

I wouldn't be surprised if the Steadicam is an upconvert from SD - as I expect a lot of the location VT and graphics to be. I suspect the Beeb will only be doing bits in HD initially that are relatively cost-neutral - i.e. they have an HD studio so run the studio in HD to provide more HD material for the HD trial.

After all SCD will be one of the first times the Beeb have originated HD without a co-production partner needing it or a host broadcaster providing it. Wimbledon was the other occasion I guess - though I think NHK may have taken the HD feeds?

sneals2000

10-29-06, 06:56 AM

Some caps from the first day of HD Stricltly. Unfortunately I only have a PC recording of the results show from later in the evening - but here they are. I also apologise for the quality - they are not properly de-interlaced - so have combing on motion (a quirk of the capture software I'm using)

I've scaled them from 1440x1080 to 1920x1080 to keep them the right shape on square pixel displays.

Opening Wide Shot :
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4429/pdvd000tx1.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdvd000tx1.jpg)

Opening Presenter 2 shot (for the results show they start in the balcony area) :
http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1024/pdvd001yn1.th.jpg (http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdvd001yn1.jpg)

Couples waiting to see who is through to next week :
http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/6813/pdvd004jq0.th.jpg (http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdvd004jq0.jpg)

Final Pair of Couples find out who is out - both couples are Celebrity women, Dancing Professional Men:
(Lady on left is an actress in a popular medical drama - and she was eliminated. Lady on right is a popular impressionist and actress on a satirical comedy show - "Dead Ringers")
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7848/pdvd005fg4.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdvd005fg4.jpg)

Closing Titles :
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4177/pdvd007ej5.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pdvd007ej5.jpg)

I think the caption graphics (what we would call Astons and in the US would be called Chyrons) are all upconverted from SD - I'm guessing an Aston Ethos device still - and I have a feeling the titles may be as well.

The Steadicam looks pretty good in HD - but because it is moving so much it is more difficult to tell whether it is SD upconverted or not.

TVOD

10-30-06, 02:02 AM

Thanks for the caps - PQ looks very good. The US version is in 720P so your 1080 has a bit of an advantage for resolution. My local ABC station runs only around 12Mb/s on the HD.

sneals2000

10-30-06, 05:24 AM

Thanks for the caps - PQ looks very good. The US version is in 720P so your 1080 has a bit of an advantage for resolution. My local ABC station runs only around 12Mb/s on the HD.

No worries - the BBC HD trial moved to transcoding 1080/50i origination to 720/50p at 13Mbs H264 a week or so ago (on the OTA trial only - DSat remained at 19Mbs H264 1080/50i) and it was noticably softer and blockier. These grabs were taken after this 720/50p flirtation had ended.

The thing I noticed watching the shows back at home is that floor managers and artists are going to have a much tougher life in HD - as "T" marks on the floor are much more visible in HD! Also - you do notice make-up far more. I guess, at the moment, this show is being made IN HD, but not FOR HD, so they will be concentrating on the SD quality still (as I doubt there is a huge amount of extra budget for HD-specific stuff - and there are still fewer than 100,000 HD receiver install in the UK - as we've only had our HD services for 6 months or less)

When it comes to Strictly Come Dancing - the difference in picture quality is quite marked. The old Thomson 1657 SD cameras used in previous seasons were beginning to give up the ghost - and the colour matching was noticably worse - particularly as the Steadicam was, I believe, already a Sony device (and the colourimetry didn't match - meaning dresses changed colour on shot changes) Since the new season launched on HDC1500s - the improvement in sharpness, colour matching, and general picture quality has been noticable - even on the SD broadcasts.

Out of interest - does the set design look pretty similar to Dancing With The Stars ? (I believe you only have three judges rather than our 4?)

TVOD

10-30-06, 12:18 PM

The stage is identical, but the side balconys are different. I have some shots from the end of the last show (from the beginning of my Lost recording).

This was Jerry Springer's farewell dance. They're mainly from the wireless steadicam which tends to move around quickly so there's some motion blur even at 60fps.

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/8154/dwtsjerrylast4rk5.th.jpg (http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwtsjerrylast4rk5.jpg)http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/4176/dwtsjerrylast3ci3.th.jpg (http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwtsjerrylast3ci3.jpg)http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5964/dwtsjerrylast2wv8.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwtsjerrylast2wv8.jpg)http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5885/dwtsjerrylast5iz4.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwtsjerrylast5iz4.jpg)http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2481/dwtsbbccreditro2.th.jpg (http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwtsbbccreditro2.jpg)

On some scenes they used mattes to block out where the show originates from, but some got through:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/8466/wardrobecreation1al4.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wardrobecreation1al4.jpg)http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/8846/dwts101106img1gz2.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwts101106img1gz2.jpg)http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/149/dwtssidewalk2croppedyp9.th.jpg (http://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwtssidewalk2croppedyp9.jpg)

sneals2000

10-30-06, 12:52 PM

TVOD

10-30-06, 01:33 PM

I don't notice the blocking nearly as much on the moving 720P images, and I did use scenes where there were alot of motion. Watching the show in real time usually looks quite good - nice flesh tones ;)

The ABC O&O station here is running 2 subchannels, and multicasting is really taking it's toll on US OTA HD. Fox has been showing better bitrates @ ~16Mbs and looks very good at times, and CBS O&Os don't multicast (yet). Fox's HD bandwidth is guaranteed but the non CBS owned stations can drive the quality as low as they wish. The NBC O&O here (1080i) also runs 2 subchannels and the blocking is much worse - it's even visible on 24P material. With all the motion on DWTS, it would be unbearable to watch if it was on NBC.

DWTS looks far better in HD than it did before in SD so I'm not going to complain too much - unless they add another subchannel. :) The DWTS material in the SCD Christmas show should be interesting to compare this year.

DWTS was the #2 & #4 rated show (http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,272|||weekly,00.html) in the US the week before last, and might have done even better last week.

EDIT: I went back and compared the BMPs to the JPGs and the JPGs did add noticeable compression artifacts. There's still some in the capture but not nearly as bad.

Mac The Knife

10-30-06, 03:20 PM

Not nearly enough skin showing on the BBC version. ;)

sneals2000

10-30-06, 04:33 PM

Not nearly enough skin showing on the BBC version. ;)

I suspect we have "more mature" lady contestants...

archiguy

10-30-06, 04:56 PM

I suspect we have "more mature" lady contestants...

LOL! And that's why the British version wouldn't work over here. Every guy I know who watches this show does so for the "babe factor", which is remarkably high. They're careful in who they choose as female contestants, and the women pro-partners as well; they're all young and hot. And, I hear they do some hoofing too. This is America, after all. :p

Rick_R

10-30-06, 05:18 PM

TVOD

10-30-06, 05:43 PM

ABC's ticket site (http://abc.go.com/site/tvtickets.html) and the bottom row of pictures in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8774234&&#post8774234) should answer that.

sneals2000

10-30-06, 06:29 PM

LOL! And that's why the British version wouldn't work over here. Every guy I know who watches this show does so for the "babe factor", which is remarkably high. They're careful in who they choose as female contestants, and the women pro-partners as well; they're all young and hot. And, I hear they do some hoofing too. This is America, after all. :p

Yep - I thought it would be a bit different. Over here it is more "character driven" rather than "flesh driven" - though our pro dancers are still very good looking.

Our first series was one by one of the current anchors of the BBC One main evening news (Natasha Kaplinsky - who was at the time a Breakfast TV anchor - kind of the equivalent of a lead GMA or Today anchorwoman) - who then hosted the first half of the second season whilst Tess (the main female presenter) was having a baby.

The second series was won by Jill Halfpenny an actress from EastEnders (one of our two most popular evening soaps). Natash and Jill are both attractive women - but not exactly people you would expect to appear on the covers of "lads mags" like FHM or Esquire.

The third season winner was Darren Gough - a chunky cricketer - the first bloke to win.

I think the "Saturday Night Family Entertainment" aspect of the show means we probably have a wider age range amongst our lady competitors - we've had women "of a certain age" in a number of seasons, as well as young girls.

One of the favourites in this season is a 17 year old soap actress - who comes across very sweetly - and another favourite is former Spice Girl, Emma Bunton!

sneals2000

10-30-06, 06:32 PM

I heard them say that Danging With The Stars is from Hollywood. It looks to me that it is broadcast from the Kodak Theater. Does anyone know for sure where it is broadcast from? It seems to me that the Kodak theater is where the Oscars come from and that has been in HD lately so obviously the Kodak theater is equipped with HD cameras and distribution.

Rick R
As TVOD points out - if you look in the back of shot you will see logos for a rival network - who provide the facilities that the show is shot at...

As for the Oscars - I think they usually cover that using bought in Outside Broadcast facilities (from people like All Mobile or NEP?) that they rig for the occasion and then de-rig straight after (just like a sporting event or a rock concert)

The Kodak Theatre itself wouldn't need to have facilities installed all year round for the Oscars to be in HD.

TVOD

10-30-06, 08:43 PM

I must have missed this DWTS promo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwhG-MSX3dk) when it originally ran. Funny stuff.

Roger Lococco

10-31-06, 09:23 PM

Edyta's outfit tonight is what high definition's all about. :D

IAM4UK

10-31-06, 10:09 PM

Edyta's outfit tonight is what high definition's all about. :D
Caps?

jacksonian

10-31-06, 10:10 PM

How about Cheryl's house? Is her family loaded? Surely she can't make that much money in ballroom dancing. That was a massive estate in/near San Fransisco.

Roger Lococco

10-31-06, 10:18 PM

Caps?
maybe someone will come along with caps soon,she was wearing a bustier, nicely overflowing out of it,tight,tiny shorts(with a half dress in the back),and thigh high boots,I would decribe it as a pirate dominatrix outfit,lol. :D

TVOD

10-31-06, 11:14 PM

For what it's worth, DWTS was the #1 & #2 show last week in the ratings (http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,272|||weekly,00.html), in part due to the weak world series (http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings102406,0,680580.story?coll=zap-tv-ratings-headlines). Maybe HD viewers just couldn't stand all the video noise last Tuesday :D

nashvillecat

11-01-06, 08:36 AM

Edyta's outfit tonight is what high definition's all about. :D
strongly agree! :)

Cool show with the Halloween theme and all. I still think Emit is overrated (but I always thought Cheryl is the best dancer there from the get-go).

How 'bout some screen caps of Edyta!!

humdinger70

11-01-06, 02:10 PM

I thought the music seemed somewhat out of place for the particular dances.

Yes I know it was a Halloween themed program (good grief, even Len Goodman with Dracula-like fangs!) and was done all in good fun, but really:

"The Addams' Family" theme for a tango?
"Ghostbusters" theme for a foxtrot (where's Ray Parker Jr when you really needed him)?

TVOD

11-01-06, 03:14 PM

"Sympathy For The Devil" seemed a bit unusual for ballroom dancing. OTA I was paying more attention to Edyta than the music.

Mac The Knife

11-01-06, 04:16 PM

Almost all of the costumes were really hot last night (except for Monique's :( ).

I sure hope the producers of DWTS are doing everything possible to keep the costume staff happy because they are doing a superb job this season.

There were some really good highlights last night:

Edyta almost fell out of her tango costume on the final move. :eek:
Cheryl, who usually doesn't show any cleavage, just a lot of back and leg, had cleavage galore last night. :D

And Cheryl needs to let her hair grow and wear it all the time like she did with the hair extensions in the first dance. That hair length and style was very flattering on her.

Now for the bitching: Due to the idiotic, incompetant boobs that are running the ABC affliate in Phoenix, the HD transmitter was down "for maintenance". So I had to watch the show in SD. Booooooo. :mad:

WirelessGuru

11-02-06, 01:01 AM

So who is going to the finals against Mario?

Emmitt or Joey?

nashvillecat

11-02-06, 08:35 AM

Prior to even watching the show, I'd'a bet the farm Monique would go last night.

My prediction is Mario.

nc

bdfox18doe

11-02-06, 10:37 AM

Due to the idiotic, incompetant boobs that are running the ABC affliate in Phoenix, the HD transmitter was down "for maintenance". So I had to watch the show in SD. Booooooo. :mad:

GASP! I can't believe they'd do that! :rolleyes: Have you ever though that maybe the transmitter just failed and needed repairs? If that's the case, maybe you need
a mirror.. :)

humdinger70

11-02-06, 12:10 PM

Sorry, fans of female celebrities, but Monique is now gone. For the second session in a row, the winner will be (gasp!), a guy!

Who's next to get the boot? It's hard because all three gents (Emmitt, Joey and Mario) are about equal technically (according to the judges). It's pretty much now to be determined by who has the best (and most active) fan base!

My guess, in order of elimination:
1) Joey/Edyta
2) Emmitt/Cheryl
3) Mario/Karina - the eventual winning duo

Mac The Knife

11-02-06, 02:46 PM

GASP! I can't believe they'd do that! :rolleyes: Have you ever though that maybe the transmitter just failed and needed repairs? If that's the case, maybe you need
a mirror.. :)

That explaination might fly except that these are the same people who shutdown the HD transmitter at the start of March Madness this spring and who shutdown the Tx for a couple of weeks at the start of season 2 of Desperate Housewives. They have a history of this behavior, it's not a one time occurrance.

TVOD

11-02-06, 03:41 PM

They still have the timing error between the center and the L/R channels on the 5.1?

bdfox18doe

11-02-06, 03:48 PM

They still have the timing error between the center and the L/R channels on the 5.1?

From what I hear, yes. Our 5.1 config doesn't change here, and this is the ONLY show we get audio complaints on.

TVOD

11-02-06, 04:19 PM

Are you hearing that from the ABC east net feed? What other audio complaints have you had on this show?

kevinivey

11-02-06, 04:57 PM

I listen to the DD 5.1 feed each week on two different setups and I have no issues at all with any levels. My source is Wolo-DT via TWC Columbia SC.

Mac The Knife

11-03-06, 02:58 PM

I haven't listened critically since the shutdown, but before that it was sometimes not too bad so that I could get a listenable (not good, just listenable) sound by knocking the mains down by 10db. But other times even that didn't help.

That delay never seemed to happen during pre-recorded shows like DH or GA only during the live shows like DWTS. And I've stopped watching DH and GA. DWTS is the only ABC programming that I'm currently watching, so I won't know if they fixed anything until next Wednesday.

humdinger70

11-08-06, 11:25 AM

nashvillecat

11-08-06, 11:32 AM

The Tuesday 11/07 show had some built in breaks to allow for local and/or national election cut-ins. Curious to know if the HD feeds were interrupted (switched to 4:3 upconvert with black side bars) if and when graphics of election results were shown.

By the way, all three couples got a 30 in one dance and a 29 in the other, so all three have a total of 59 points. Now we'll really see who has the best or worst fan base!

Yeh, I have to say Mario did not look that great. He's very mechanical and latin? Michael Jackson? As much as I donnot like Emmit, he did the best dance. And yer right, lloks like the judges are leaving it up to the fans! (I'm a HUGE fan of Edita :))

Mac The Knife

11-08-06, 03:09 PM

Since the judges decided to leave it up to the fans, that almost certainly means Joey is going home tonight since he was the only one of these three to ever be in the bottom two.

IMHO, he's not quite as good (or at least not as consistant) as Emmitt or Mario so he's probably the one that should go anyway.

The next question is: Can Mario get enough votes to beat or Emmitt or will Emmitt have to screw up really bad to lose?

Next season, I'd like to see them get some of the cute female athletes and see how well they do with the audience voting. Perhaps one of the pro beach volleyballers such as May or Wachover. They're season is over at this time of year and they have quick feet and they're already used to performing in really skimpy outfits. :D

And there was at least one cutie on the Olympic swim team (can't remember her name). Or there's a couple of cuties in the LPGA right now, such as Creamer (although they're still playing golf on the Southern courses at this time of year, so that might not work).

humdinger70

11-09-06, 12:16 PM

This one was a hard one, but Joey/Edyta drew the short straw in terms of fan vote and they're gone.

So it's down to Mario/Karina and Emmitt/Cheryl for the mirror-ball trophy!

nashvillecat

11-09-06, 12:19 PM

I'm looking forward to Emmit and Cheryl's dance. Remember Drew and Cheryl last year and the awesome freestyle dance they did? (It was with the cowboy hats :)) Cheryl seems to "pour it on" for the finale. I think she is the best dancer.

nc

archiguy

11-09-06, 12:33 PM

IMHO, he's not quite as good (or at least not as consistant) as Emmitt or Mario so he's probably the one that should go anyway.

Not a chance. Joey is a far better dancer than Emmitt. He's far more flexable, far more graceful, and has a dancer's "carriage". Emmitt is a football player who's only been dancing a few months but who has actually done pretty well, certainly far better than the hapless Jerry Rice from last year. Emmitt is entertaining and certainly seems to be enjoying himself, but he's not even close to being as good a dancer as Joey is/was.

The next question is: Can Mario get enough votes to beat or Emmitt or will Emmitt have to screw up really bad to lose?

Probably not. Because of fan voting, I expect Emmitt to walk away with the trophy. That would be a travesty, of course, but that's what will probably happen.

...Or there's a couple of cuties in the LPGA right now, such as Creamer (although they're still playing golf on the Southern courses at this time of year, so that might not work).

The one you would want to see is Natalie Gulbis. She's the current "sex symbol" of the LPGA tour.