Is Dancing With The Stars A Fix?
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The Rage Is On...
As the American television show "Dancing With The Stars" continues to eliminate some of its best performers in the early weeks of the show, viewers are becoming restless...
Is "Dancing With The Stars" still a fix for those of the dancing school of mind, or is it now just plain "fixed"?
In a stunning turn of events Tuesday night, October 4, 2011, Kristin Cavallari (with professional partner Mark Ballas) was voted out of the competition, despite receiving a score of 24 out of a possible 30 on Monday's competition from the show's professional judges for her samba.
The trend to cast off the show's more capable dancers ahead of the less talented performers is growing.
The question is, "Why"?
Are people tuning into the show to see professional dancers like Derek Hough partner-up and teach someone who has no dance background? Is it the weekly progress that titillates?
Or do viewers, perhaps, want a chance to see popular celebrities and have some say in which of them can have another shot at competing?
The Question of Fan Bases...
In the first week of this season's competition, judges Len Goodman and company and the fans quickly eliminated basketball star Metta World Peace (a.k.a. Ron Artest), who demonstrated no dancing ability, and strange, quirky shyness in front of the cameras.
In Week Two, Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis, obviously going places and gaining steady praise from the judges' panel, was voted off. Was the determining fan ballot a popularity vote, rather than a judgment of Canalis' talent? Was the populace more unhappy with her spiky attitude than her dances?
Tuesday night, for the third week in a row, the judges ruled Nancy Grace (with professional partner Tristan MacManus) and Chaz Bono (Lacey Schwimmer) to low spots on the totem pole. Yet the fans voted them in, to continue dancing in next week's round four. Grace earned a waltz 21, while Bono garnered an 18 for his rhumba.
Cavallari said she was "a little surprised" at her elimination.
In the meantime, Bono displayed a stunned expression at being named "safe" to dance again and immediately twittered after the show his humble thanks to his "fans". Grace exposed her surprise, as well, when told she would return.
Goodman's reaction was profound: "This is truly crazy!...It's madness!" (He had similar remarks last season in the early weeks.) The judges' scores are combined with each week's fan voting to determine who goes and who survives to dance again.
Here are the types of major questions about fan bases that viewers are beginning to ask:
No.1 -- Could it be that Bono was retained because his superstar mother, entertainer Cher, twittered on Monday that she would be in attendance for the next week's competition if her son made it to Week Four?
No.2 -- Could it be that Grace's huge fan base as a network television commentator and former prosecuting attorney served up a huge number of votes in her favor?
No.3 -- Could it be that last season a moderately talented contestant had the better advantage of fan base voting because her mother ran for President of the United States?
Is it Dancing With The Stars, or Dancing With The Popular?
Website reaction comments say viewers are ready to ditch the show if the popularity contest continues. The majority say they want to see dance.
- Dancing With the Stars: Kristin Cavallari Eliminated! - Yahoo! TV
Read 'Dancing With the Stars: Kristin Cavallari Eliminated!' on Yahoo! TV. She's the third to go in Tuesday's shocking results show
- Another \'Dancing\' star heads for the hills - Yahoo! TV
Read 'Another 'Dancing' star heads for the hills' on Yahoo! TV. Kristin Cavallari is heading off into the hills. The reality starlet was dismissed from "Dancing With the Stars" Tuesday.
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I think it is about the ratings as well. But fan bases do account for alot. I think what a lot of people forget is that the audience for the show is usually older and not people who watched shows like The Hills. If I had to guess, Chaz is also a big favorite with Boomers who loved Sonny and Cher and want to see him come out on top. I think he might go a bit further, but in the end it's a combination of popularity and skills that ultimately win you the prize.
I would hope that people would be watching for great dancing. As for Bono, yes Cher coming might be a reason why Chaz continues. Or it might be a reaction against the show's fans who object to Chaz being on it because he is transgender. I'm not a fan of the show, but I am ticked off at the self-righteousness of people who had no problem with convicted criminals being on the show, but a man who used to be a woman gets all this flack?
as for Astaire and Kelly, I adore them.
@Cogerson...Thanks for lending your ratings experise to this Hub!
"It is all about the ratings" may be at the gist of the problem when an obviously better dancer gets the boot and Chaz Bono, who couldn't move enough to properly present a rhumba, stays.
But what about ballroom dancing?
@Alecia Murphy...Thanks for your input!
I'm a Boomer myself who liked Sonny and Cher, but for DWTS, a dancing competition, I want to see the people who work hard enough to present a good performance battle for the title. Nothing against Chaz Bono's personal choices -- he seems like a happy fellow -- but he can't move well enough to improve. His rhumba was sadly lacking. I believe Cher's Monday declaration to attend if he moved on played a big part of his being chosen to stay.
@FloraBreenRobison...Hello, and thanks for signing in on this Hub!
I agree about the transgender issue -- It shouldn't be an issue. And I don't believe it is. Chaz Bono just can't dance as well as two other people who have already been booted from the show. That says something about popularity and having a famous mother, I think. Ditto, Nancy Grace's fan base. She's not as good as the two people lost over the last two weeks.
I love ballroom dancing, and I think some people have a lot of courage to go on DWTS and compete, including those who remain in this season's group. BUT, consider the professional judges' opinions and look for improvement with each week's individual performances and vote the most improved to continue to the next week's competition!! It's supposed to be about the dancing!!
(Even so, it seems each season that the crown eventually goes to a very good performer.)
If one reads the "website reaction comments" highlighted at the end of my Hub, it follows that one wonders who exactly is voting for what!?!?
I don't think it could be but who knows...seems like everything is rigged these dats nice hub voted up and awesome
@manthy...Thanks for stopping in with input...nice to see you again.
When it comes down to it, I don't think it's a matter of program fixing, so much as it is unbalanced voting due to celebrity fan bases.
Hiya Barb, I love watching DWTS, but I have not been following it for two years now.. just too busy. I'm really surprised to know that Kristin Cavallari got eliminated. I better start watching again..
Have a nice day,
Rosie
@Rosie2010...Thanks for weighing in on this Hub!
Yes, I think for anyone who has ever been a DWTS fan, this season is shaping up to be one of the more interesting ones. Stay tuned!
It seemed to work for Chaz to have mom show up. He stepped up the energy with his "Rocky" routine Monday (Oct. 10) and survived to dance again!
Cogerson Level 8 Commenter 7 months ago
I think having a voting system that leaves some room for the producers to tweak the results makes it easily possible for the producers to influence the results. This season...Bono is probably the biggest story....so it makes sense that Bono is still around although must people would say Bono has not performed better than some of the stars that have already gotten the boot. It is all about the ratings.....an interesting thing to pay attention to in the future.