Strictly 2022

[sheepdog]

Seems its that time of the year when the BBC license tax earns it's value by making me watch Saturday night TV in the main room. Yes, Strictly Come Dancing is back on our screens with the usual list of "celebs"!

Starting with failed pop star turned relatively successful actress and grandmother, it's none other than Kym Marsh with probably a show to promote in between:

Not to be outdone, second on the list is jobbing soap actor and failed pop singer (oh the 90's had so many forgettable acts, cue exhibit 1): Will Mellor

Lets see what tomorrow brings us in the surface analysis of celebrity barrel sampling.

Also 4 new pros to be shoved in the background replacing Aljaz & Oti. No change in the judges other than Bruno will no longer be in the cupboard at all making Anton permanent. Guess we're still getting Craig and Shirley and probably a guest judge as well at some point. Unfortunately the BBC won't get rid of TessBot & Grimace so yet again, the teleprompter will be in full effect with Christmas cracker jokes. 

On the other hand, the Masked Dancer is slated for an autumn release this year. 

[sheepdog]

Kind of found the opening dance engrossing though no idea what it was trying to do.

Ladies: want to recreate tonights opening dance number style without spending a fortune? Well you can and you have almost all the items in your kitchen!!! You just need black bin bags, vileda rubber gloves, cling film and lots and lots of glitter!!!!! Get the kids involved, no get the entire family to make their own for that unique bonding experience only Strictly can provide. Sunday roasts will never be the same in your household ever again!!!!! Just send a cheque or Postal Order SMS to the BBC with the words GLITTER ME for the instructions. Check the bill payers permission before sending. 

Tess: so that's how you wear a christmas cracker and get away with it! Claudia, no girl, you need to break up all that black as you looked like a mime artist.

So, Robbie Williams is hitting the back catalogue now and would you believe it, it is now 32 years since Take That formed. Not a great performance and not sure if the pro's needed to dance. I'll give him a borderline pass as he's the second music act of the series and he didn't move around aimlessly. 

Onto the dance-off. Kind of surprised at the bottom two though I was secretly hoping the Poundland GC would be in there but there has to be a villain and she's it this series.

Kaye really did not perform second time round as Anton said. Matt on the other hand was better but what on earth did Shirley see to say Kaye was the better? Granted Motsi said Kaye did improve though gave the right vote to save Matt but Shirley? At some point there's going to be a head judge eliminator and she's obviously got her favourites regardless. 

Oh dear, next week's themes are an absolute disaaaaster for movie week. I for one will not be looking forward to the Poundland GC doing the infamous chair shower scene:

Though we're unlikely to see this recreated:

I need to go look at cat videos and get the images out of my head. 

Also: Flashdance was and is a really bad movie only memorable by the soundtrack. Almost as bad as The Bodyguard and I watched that with subtitles! Oh did I hear Top Gun being done as well which is another atrocious movie memorable for the soundtrack and the planes. Watching it with subtitles only makes it worse.

[sheepdog]

Week 3 already and the impending atrocities for movies week are:

Ellie and Nikita: Quickstep to Peppy and George from The Artist

Ellie and Johannes: Cha Cha Cha to The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) from Mermaids

Fleur and Vito: American Smooth to Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid

Helen and Gorka: Viennese Waltz to Hopelessly Devoted To You from Grease

Jayde and Karen: Cha Cha Cha to What A Feeling from Flashdance

Kym and Graziano: Charleston to If My Friends Could See Me Now from Sweet Charity

Molly and Carlos: Waltz to One Hand, One Heart from West Side Story

Hamza and Jowita: Rumba to the Theme from Jurrassic Park

James and Amy: Cha Cha Cha to Hooked On A Feeling from Guardians of the Galazy

Matt and Nadiya: Viennese Waltz to Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick

Richie and Giovanni: Samba to Hakuna Matata from The Lion King

Tony and Katya: Samba to You Sexy Thing from The Full Monty

Tyler and Dianne: Charleston to Flash, Bang, Wollop! from Half a Sixpence

Will and Nancy: American Smooth to Cry To Me from Dirty Dancing

Honestly, I have no words that aren't preceded with expletives to whoever thought up that the theme to Jurassic Park would in any way be suitable for Rhumba. Bottom two by default I'm afraid for Hamza. Choice between James and the Poundland GC to join him. Not ruling out Ellie S on this one either as the Quickstep may be a challenge too far. Its going to take some clever choreography by Nikita to keep her in. 

[Cleoriff]

I hope Tyler and Dianne manage to pull off a great Charleston to Flash Bang Wallop. I expect they will go for the comedy element. They are very promising but have been undermarked for both weeks just gone.

Re Ellie S and Nikita aren't given the sympathy vote as per the last two weeks,

I agree with your comments about the music choice for Hamza and Jowita. Hell's Teeth!!

I'm expecting Helen and Gorka to do well, along with Molly and Carlos

If Matt gets his act together they could be safe. However I would like to see Tony gone next week.

[sheepdog]

Extremely tedious opening number based on Encanto which if you've seen you'd probably find it boring too. I haven't so naturally, I won't be putting Encato on my Disney+ watchlist. Motsi had a bonsai tree on tonight. DAO grated for half the show. Tess respectable in a flared jumpsuit, Claudia in a pale pale blue its almost white outfit. Flares. FLARES. Serious tent flares. 

Richie and Giovanni: Opening act and WTF? Pretty awful in my opinion and no progression at all I'm afraid. More running and wide arms again. For some reason, I kept on thinking Harry Kane. In that outfit 😁 By the very nature of being the worst costume of the night and first out should be in the dance off. Scored a bizarre 27 which makes him safe this week as there are too many others below him. 

Molly and Carlos: Was this Molly or a ringer? Didn't recognise her in dark hair. Usual top class performance though felt it was a little sharp in places. Score of 34. 

Kym and Graziano: Charleston and did she make a big big step up this week. Hardly recognised her and yeah, liked it so keep it up. Scored 33. 

Hamza and Jowita: Rumba & Jurrassic Park. No just no. Even slowed down he might as well have danced in silence as there was no rhythm to it. Probably not the greatest fashion item to have a long body warmer covering any hip movements. Saying that, he's not bad but its the rhumba so no chance anyway. Actually, I think he'd do well in the Viennese whirl. 25 from the judges which may have been on the generous side.

Ellie and Johannes: Oh dear. After last weeks step forward this was a big step back. If you watch in on youtube, use the playback at +25% option. Needs to speed up as it was too slow and too conscious of making a mistake. Verging on being a dance-off regular. Scored 21. 

Matt and Nadiya: Good promo for sunglasses and RAF museum. Beige? Did the wardrobe department run out of material to give us both couples in beige. Big improvement for Matt but also disappointing and may not be enough to keep out of the dance-off. Scored the same as Ellie T with 21. 

Tyler and Dianne: Charleston to Flash, Bang, Wollop! from Half a Sixpence. Mid-way through the show and by far the biggest wollop. A big warning this guy is going all the way to the other contestants. Worthy of the high score and definitely the best of the night and the series so far. Scored 38. 

Fleur and Vito: Solid performance though needs to transition better. Needs a bit more elegance when standing with her legs apart. Really ugly though it maybe because she leans back too much. Otherwise good progression. Judges gave 29. 

James and Amy: Started as like he meant it but it didn't really mean a Cha Cha. Oh well. Wasn't bad and kind of went in for the movie theme so a plus on that. Will be safe, possibly. Should I ask the BBC to have more green women like Amy on tv? A score of 22. 

Ellie and Nikita: Not so Quickstep but as expected, some clever choreography made it look very good. Some issues but thumbs up as she did well. Was given 27.

Will and Nancy: Started off as he meant to but I'm not sure what he meant to be dancing. Otherwise, yeah heading towards that final in the fast lane. 33 from the judges. 

Tony and Katya: You know, this is one of THE moments in Strictly that becomes a legend. I won't spoil it but lets just say you won't forget it 😂 (emoji was my actual state and that's rare!) Wasn't half bad and improved but even though he's bottom of the board, I think he's safe for this week. No surprises at a score of 18 but who cares 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Helen and Gorka: After the previous dance, it was nice to have calm and coolness. Good stuff and showing the consistency needed. Needs to work on the performance side as she comes across a bit too robotic. Scored 31.

The Poundland GC and Karen: Oh dear. I'll admit it did have a good start but sadly ran out of ideas halfway through and resorted to gimmicks. Also terrible when you look at it. Why the fuss over closing the show, I don't know, it really wasn't great in any form. A well overmarked 29.

Well I reckon its between Ellie T, Matt and James for the dance off. Outside chance of Hamza and no chance of Tony being there. Out of the four, Ellie is the one who needs to be error free though her best bet is to be against Hamza purely on the technique aspect as against Matt, she may lose out on performance. James may just edge it on content/performance against anyone. If Tony is there, any one of them is safe. 

[Cleoriff]

Never heard the music of the opening number. It didn't matter, as it was boring. Tess looked lovely in a great outfit. Claudia, nice jacket, shame about the trousers. Motsi and THAT hair!! She looked as if Edward Scissorhands  had performed a bit of topiary on it. Does she ever look in the mirror?

Ritchie and Giovanni.  Samba. Absolutely ridiculous. Ritchie arm waving and running. Judges had a good laugh and bizarrely  gave them 27

Molly and Carlos. Waltz. Quite Lovely. I didn't see any mistakes. Scored a well deserved 34

Kim and Graziano. Charleston. Her very best dance. Her acting allowed her to get really into character. Loved her red wig, Well done Scored 33

Hamza and Jowita, Rhumba. If you are going to do the dance of death, then give them  relevant music.

Silly outfit, appeared to be standing still most of the  time. Poor by his standards and dull Scored an overmarked 25

Ellie and Johannes ChaChaCha. Limited technique. Not much cha cha Scored 21. (Doesn't she rattle on post dance?!)

Matt and Nadiya. Viennese Waltz. He was improved but disliked by Shirley who has her favourites. He was better than Ellie but still scored 21

Tyler and Dianne. Charleston to Flash Bang Wallop. My favourite celeb who has been undermarked for last two week. Absolutely Superb dance and best of the night and series. Scored 38

Fleur and Vito  American Smooth. Quite a good dance and one she wanted so much. She needs better positioning and smoother transitions Scored 29

James and Amy ChaCha cha. Wrong music for the dance, made a lot of mistakes Scored 22

Ellie S and Nikita Quickstep. Well done Nikita on the choreography. However the patronising comments and marks from the judges drive me mad Scored 27

Will and Nancy,. American Smooth He's very cocky I think. However, it was a good dance, with the right music Scored 33

Tony and Katya Samba to The Full Monty. Well, what a funny dance. Not a Samba but so so hilarious. I couldn't take my eyes off David Seaman in the audience who was in hysterics Scored 18 but that wont matter

Helen and Gorka  American Smooth . A lovely dance although slight improvements can be made Scored 31

Jayde and Karen. Cha Cha Cha. Flashdance. What mess. Scored 29 (for going last) Poor.

Worst Movie week I've ever seen, bar 3-4 dances, I agree with you for the bottom 3 @sheepdog 

[Cleoriff]

Motsi had changed her hair for the 'results' show thank gawd!

Brilliant opening number (Elvis themed) by the professional dancers. 

I love Adam Lambert  but I love Queen more, so he seemed out of place somehow.

In the Dance off...

Fleur and Vito (Shock!!) and

Ritchie and Giovanni (Not shocked)

Three votes to save Fleur and Shirley (as usual) would saved the worst couple...Ritchie and Giovanni

So Fleur dances again next week.

[sheepdog]

Found the opening routine dull but not the Elvis tunes but I was in the middle of an eBay thing so wasn't quite into it. Tess in wardrobe offcuts and pvc blue bin bag whilst Claudia looked good in rhinestone polka dots. I'd like to see Claudia in green. Not clothing but green. Mind you given Halloween is coming up, she might pull off the Wicked Witch of the West with little effort 🤣

Though Adam Lambert was a waste of time though he is getting a bit podgy these days. Really didn't like the two dancers either so the current award for Mediocre Music Act goes to Adam. Not saying he delivered his tune but meh, bored. 

Now we know who the most unpopular celeb is don't we. Emphasis on "the". Really surprised to see both Fleur and Richie there given their position on the leaderboard but unless the voting system failed to register any votes for them, to drop that far really means the public don't think much of them. Given Fleur was higher than Richie,  sadly it means Fleur is automatically next weeks dance-off contestant. 

Also: Shirley is blind. 

Also: Strictly movie week rule 1 - never dance in a costume. 

[sheepdog]

Week 4 and throw your hands up in the air in disbelief at these musical mis-matches:

Ellie and Nikita: Salsa to I Love Your Smile by Shanice

Ellie and Johannes: Viennese Waltz to Boom Bang A Bang by Lulu

Fleur and Vito: Argentine Tango to Paint it Black by Ciara

Helen and Gorka: Paso Doble to Tamacun by Rodrigo y Gabriela

Jayde and Karen: American Smooth to Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler

Kym and Graziano: Samba to Volare by Gipsy Kings

Molly and Carlos: Cha Cha Cha to Do What I Do by Lady Bri

Hamza and Jowita: Salsa to Ecuador by Sash! featuring Rodriguez

James and Amy: Quickstep to Don't Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders

Matt and Nadiya: Jive to All Shook Up by Paul McCartney

Tony and Katya: American Smooth to With A Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker

Tyler and Dianne: Couples' Choice: Garage Megamix

Will and Nancy: Rumba to The Joker and The Queen by Ed Sheeran featuring Taylor Swift

Hmmm. Are they trying to get rid of Hamza already? Ecuador by Sash isn't exactly salsa and I'm curious to see the DAO intrepretion of a 90's dance tune. Could be worse, it could have been Sandstorm by Darude 😂  Lets see how Tony comes back after last weeks performance as he could surprise us all.

Will doing the rhumba will probably pull it off so still will be safe no matter how bad he does.  Matt may have reached his peak last week as I don't think he'll pull off a decent jive to escape the dance-off again. Interesting choice for Fleur this early but she has no choice but to go for broke now.

The Poundland GC should be in the bottom 2 as it will be more arm-ography and it will be all too obvious she has no ability this weekend. 

[Cleoriff]

Oh we have the first Argentine Tango. My favourite. Hope Fleur does it justice.

Interested to see how Tyler gets on with the Couples Choice.

@sheepdog Now is the time F1 moves to  America, Mexico and Brazil. So Qualifying (Saturday) and the Races (Sunday) will be starting in the evenings (from 23rd October until 11th November). I will be recording SCD. and commenting  Sunday and Monday.

[Cleoriff]

I think this week has been amazing. As if this is week 7. With a couple of exceptions.

Firstly the presenters /judges. Tess looked nice and Claudia was wearing bacofoil boots. Motsi's hair was full of  horns. She looked damn stupid!

Ellie and Nikita. Salsa.

I find it hard to comment on her dancing. I thought she did quite well but was overmarked Scored 30

Will and Nancy. Rhumba. This was a very emotional dance for Will. For the most part he was quite good. the top was, his transitions weren't. He seemed quite shocked at the judges critical comments Scored 23

Matt and Nadiya. Jive. So he was flat footed and out of time.   Scored 20.

Jayde and Karen. American Smooth. Quite amazed at how good this was. Very emotional dance. Scored 31

Molly and Carlos. Cha Cha Cha. Wow, just brilliant. Craig said they started off 30's then moved into 50's but he liked it.  I loved it. Scored 35

James and Amy. Quickstep. Another improved week  and his best dance ever. Scored 32

Fleur and Vito. Argentine Tango I don't care about the marks of anyone else, this, for me, was the best dance of the night. The musical interpretation of Paint It Black was damn good. The dance was dramatic and near faultless Scored a well deserved 38

Kim and Graziano. Samba A really good dance and a major improvement. Great rhythm Scored 32

Tony and Katya. American Smooth. What can I say? His best dance yet. His lifts were ok and Tony was quite emotional. Scored 26.

Hamza and Jowita. Salsa. Stunning dance I couldn't fault it. The lifts were superb. Fully deserved Score of 39

Helen and Gorka. Paso Doble. Another favourite dance of mine but sadly Helen didn't do it full justice. It lacked passion. Scored 29

Ellie and Johannes. Viennese Waltz. I thought this was a bit dull. Johannes seems to have lost his spark dancing with a female. A few good moves. Scored 3o

Tyler and Dianne. Couples Choice. I really loved this. Tylers type of dance. Scored 37.

Great week by most of the couples. Matt is surely for the dance off.