Today's cuppa: Newhall Coffee Patriot Blend (believe it or not, I'm out of tea. That must be rectified ... quickly)
Monday night, a man in Wisconsin shot his television and threatened to shoot himself, winding up in a standoff with police (all ended without violence, and he's in jail), because he reportedly was so incensed over Bristol Palin's scores on "Dancing With the Stars."
On Tuesday, she advanced to the finale, airing next Monday and Tuesday on ABC.
I don't even know what to say about the guy with the gun, except to be glad that the only casualty was electronic.
While fervently hoping this sort of idiocy is not repeated ever again, this is far from the first time that controversy has erupted over "Dancing With the Stars."
In fact, the first time there was controversy was the first time the show aired in America in the summer of 2005.
"General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco and pro Alec Mazo faced off against former "Seinfeld" star John O'Hurley and pro Charlotte Jorgensen in the finale, where Monaco eared three perfect 10s, to the surprise of many viewers -- including me -- who saw several flaws in her final dance.
The furor continued into another ballroom, one of the hotel ones where North America's TV press gathers twice a year for the Television Critics Association Press Tour. When the show's producers stated during a press conference that they believed the outcome was fair, there was dissension in the room, with many reporters speaking out on behalf of angry fans who had written to them.
The producers then decided for the first -- and so far, only -- time, to bring back O'Hurley and Monaco for a dance-off, which O'Hurley won.
Later on, in early 2008, after male stars began to dominate the show, figure-skater Kristi Yamaguchi was cast, prompting me to yell, "Ringer!" I wondered whether the producers had stacked the deck with someone who already had many of the necessary skills for dancing to ensure that a female won the competition.
For all I know, that's exactly what they had in mind, and if so, they got their wish when Yamaguchi took the crown, to absolutely no one's surprise.
And they probably cast ABC soap stars because soap fans will watch (and the show is on ABC). They throw in Disney Channel stars because, well, one big happy corporate family. They throw in athletes because they have built-in fan bases, and they throw in controversial figures because people will tune in, stories will be written, and ratings will go up.
In other words, it's a TV show. I gave up complaining after the Yamaguchi incident and just decided to go with the flow. After all, it's BBC Worldwide's show, and the producers can put anyone on it they want. The definition of "Star" is based on two critieria: A, the show asked the person to participate, and B, the person said yes.
There is no objective standard as to what constitutes a star on "Dancing With the Stars."
(Therefore, Sig Hansen of "Deadliest Catch" should not be kept waiting any longer!)
Also there are really no objective standards to the judging. This isn't a real ballroom-dancing competition or the Olympics (frak, after watching a lot of dodgy figure-skating judging at the Olympics, I'm pretty sure the Olympics isn't always the Olympics).
While there are specific things the judges look for (although Carrie Ann Inaba marks down for illegal lifts, while her fellow judges seem often to ignore them), they also have enormous wiggle room when it comes to judging style and performance.
Is the show a dancing contest or a publicity contest? It is, always has been, and always will be ... BOTH.
Emmitt Smith (with pro partner Cheryl Burke, below) didn't win in 2006 because he was technically the most perfect dancer. If you recall, he tied in the scores at the end with former "Saved by the Bell" star Mario Lopez, but ultimately won because the fan voting pushed him through.
I was thrilled at the ending while knowing full well, and not caring in the slightest, that Lopez was the superior hoofster.
A person advances because of judges' scores and vote totals (which are never revealed to the public). If your scores are lousy, even huge voting probably cannot save you for long. But if your scores are not great but good enough, heavy fan voting can carry you through.
Have Palin fans gamed the online voting, as Jezebel is claiming, because email addresses don't have to be verified? Maybe, but that's an issue for the ABC.com webmasters to solve -- if they want to, that is. And I'd be gobsmacked if this is the very first time that this particular technical loophole was utilized, whether or not it's the first time it's been used to a large extent.
UPDATE: Click here for an article quoting "Dancing" executive producer as saying that the show's voting system prevents efforts at online ballot-stuffing.
Is there going to be a "Quiz Show" scandal moment? I doubt it, because the contestants are not just members of the general public, they're paid to participate, and there is no money prize at stake, just a fugly mirror-ball trophy (although the winners do get to go on a nationwide tour).
But, if someone suspects real irregularities in the judging or voting, I suspect the FCC would be happy to hear about it.
Is Palin's advancement, as has been alleged, a possible death blow to the credibility of the franchise? I can't help but think that if there wasn't a large group of people inclined to object to her before she ever set foot on the dance floor, we might not be having this conversation.
Or we might. It's happened before.
"Dancing With the Stars" is a reality-TV show that is not even a competition on the level of "The Amazing Race" or "Survivor," where cash money is on the line. The producers cast for talent, they cast for name recognition, they cast for ABC/Disney stars, and they cast for controversy.
Mostly they cast for ratings.
People will win because of talent or because of personal charisma or because of having built-in fan bases -- or all of the above.
Is there a larger political aspect to the voting for Palin? Maybe, probably, so what? Soap fans vote for their faves; sports fans vote for theirs; reality-show fans vote for theirs. It's not as if the "Dancing With the Stars" producers didn't know exactly what they were doing when they cast Bristol (according to her dad Todd, after they asked him first).
The producers could also choose to change the way the show is scored. They've done that before, and could do it again.
I've read a lot of comments from people threatening to never watch the show again because they don't like the results so far.
Awesome, that's exactly how you should react if you don't like something on TV -- DON'T WATCH. That's how fans really send messages to TV execs. If the audience drops significantly for the next season's premiere, a message will have been sent loud and clear.
All shows have "jump the shark" moments, and many think this may be "Dancing's." I don't know if that's true, time will tell, and since another cycle of the show will ramp up in early 2011, we won't have long to wait.
There's even talk there may be a same-sex couple on the next season.
I'm quite sure that wouldn't garner any publicity or fan reaction at all, not even a little bit.
Monday night, a man in Wisconsin shot his television and threatened to shoot himself, winding up in a standoff with police (all ended without violence, and he's in jail), because he reportedly was so incensed over Bristol Palin's scores on "Dancing With the Stars."On Tuesday, she advanced to the finale, airing next Monday and Tuesday on ABC.
I don't even know what to say about the guy with the gun, except to be glad that the only casualty was electronic.
While fervently hoping this sort of idiocy is not repeated ever again, this is far from the first time that controversy has erupted over "Dancing With the Stars."
In fact, the first time there was controversy was the first time the show aired in America in the summer of 2005.
"General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco and pro Alec Mazo faced off against former "Seinfeld" star John O'Hurley and pro Charlotte Jorgensen in the finale, where Monaco eared three perfect 10s, to the surprise of many viewers -- including me -- who saw several flaws in her final dance.
The furor continued into another ballroom, one of the hotel ones where North America's TV press gathers twice a year for the Television Critics Association Press Tour. When the show's producers stated during a press conference that they believed the outcome was fair, there was dissension in the room, with many reporters speaking out on behalf of angry fans who had written to them.
The producers then decided for the first -- and so far, only -- time, to bring back O'Hurley and Monaco for a dance-off, which O'Hurley won.
Later on, in early 2008, after male stars began to dominate the show, figure-skater Kristi Yamaguchi was cast, prompting me to yell, "Ringer!" I wondered whether the producers had stacked the deck with someone who already had many of the necessary skills for dancing to ensure that a female won the competition.
For all I know, that's exactly what they had in mind, and if so, they got their wish when Yamaguchi took the crown, to absolutely no one's surprise.
And they probably cast ABC soap stars because soap fans will watch (and the show is on ABC). They throw in Disney Channel stars because, well, one big happy corporate family. They throw in athletes because they have built-in fan bases, and they throw in controversial figures because people will tune in, stories will be written, and ratings will go up.
In other words, it's a TV show. I gave up complaining after the Yamaguchi incident and just decided to go with the flow. After all, it's BBC Worldwide's show, and the producers can put anyone on it they want. The definition of "Star" is based on two critieria: A, the show asked the person to participate, and B, the person said yes.
There is no objective standard as to what constitutes a star on "Dancing With the Stars."
(Therefore, Sig Hansen of "Deadliest Catch" should not be kept waiting any longer!)
Also there are really no objective standards to the judging. This isn't a real ballroom-dancing competition or the Olympics (frak, after watching a lot of dodgy figure-skating judging at the Olympics, I'm pretty sure the Olympics isn't always the Olympics).
While there are specific things the judges look for (although Carrie Ann Inaba marks down for illegal lifts, while her fellow judges seem often to ignore them), they also have enormous wiggle room when it comes to judging style and performance.
Is the show a dancing contest or a publicity contest? It is, always has been, and always will be ... BOTH.
Emmitt Smith (with pro partner Cheryl Burke, below) didn't win in 2006 because he was technically the most perfect dancer. If you recall, he tied in the scores at the end with former "Saved by the Bell" star Mario Lopez, but ultimately won because the fan voting pushed him through.
I was thrilled at the ending while knowing full well, and not caring in the slightest, that Lopez was the superior hoofster.
A person advances because of judges' scores and vote totals (which are never revealed to the public). If your scores are lousy, even huge voting probably cannot save you for long. But if your scores are not great but good enough, heavy fan voting can carry you through.
Have Palin fans gamed the online voting, as Jezebel is claiming, because email addresses don't have to be verified? Maybe, but that's an issue for the ABC.com webmasters to solve -- if they want to, that is. And I'd be gobsmacked if this is the very first time that this particular technical loophole was utilized, whether or not it's the first time it's been used to a large extent.
UPDATE: Click here for an article quoting "Dancing" executive producer as saying that the show's voting system prevents efforts at online ballot-stuffing.
Is there going to be a "Quiz Show" scandal moment? I doubt it, because the contestants are not just members of the general public, they're paid to participate, and there is no money prize at stake, just a fugly mirror-ball trophy (although the winners do get to go on a nationwide tour).
But, if someone suspects real irregularities in the judging or voting, I suspect the FCC would be happy to hear about it.Is Palin's advancement, as has been alleged, a possible death blow to the credibility of the franchise? I can't help but think that if there wasn't a large group of people inclined to object to her before she ever set foot on the dance floor, we might not be having this conversation.
Or we might. It's happened before.
"Dancing With the Stars" is a reality-TV show that is not even a competition on the level of "The Amazing Race" or "Survivor," where cash money is on the line. The producers cast for talent, they cast for name recognition, they cast for ABC/Disney stars, and they cast for controversy.
Mostly they cast for ratings.
People will win because of talent or because of personal charisma or because of having built-in fan bases -- or all of the above.
Is there a larger political aspect to the voting for Palin? Maybe, probably, so what? Soap fans vote for their faves; sports fans vote for theirs; reality-show fans vote for theirs. It's not as if the "Dancing With the Stars" producers didn't know exactly what they were doing when they cast Bristol (according to her dad Todd, after they asked him first).
The producers could also choose to change the way the show is scored. They've done that before, and could do it again.
I've read a lot of comments from people threatening to never watch the show again because they don't like the results so far.
Awesome, that's exactly how you should react if you don't like something on TV -- DON'T WATCH. That's how fans really send messages to TV execs. If the audience drops significantly for the next season's premiere, a message will have been sent loud and clear.
All shows have "jump the shark" moments, and many think this may be "Dancing's." I don't know if that's true, time will tell, and since another cycle of the show will ramp up in early 2011, we won't have long to wait.
There's even talk there may be a same-sex couple on the next season.
I'm quite sure that wouldn't garner any publicity or fan reaction at all, not even a little bit.
I am done...this is capital hill...I will not tine in any longer
Yahoo! My sentiments EXACTLY. Great column!
I have watched DWTS since the very beginning and now am done with it. Something must be done if this wants to stay a good dancing show and not about popularity and this season politics. It is disgusting that Bristol would be on over Brandy - Bristol should have been gone in week one or two. If Bristol wins next week I will not ever watch the show again and I definitely think a recount is in order.
Using the percentage of fan votes received is OK but using the percentage of total points awarded by the judges is a FLAWED concept. Why? Because there is essentially no limit to the number of viewer votes that can be cast and you basically have the equivalent of an election result. But the highest score the judges can award is 10. No matter how good the performance, 10 is the highest score and that compresses the results. Let's say Brandy gives a great performance and gets 10's, then Jnnifer comes out and blows the judges away with the best performance they have ever seen, amature or professional. It's still only a 10.
it must be nice . we all now that Bristol mom had to pay off the show to keep Bristol in . she can NOT dance. and Bristol had the bigest smile on her face she new that she was going on .
The best form of protest is to no longer watch the show.
This show has lost all of it's credibility. First of all, I thought it was dancing with the stars not dancing with a teen who got knocked up!!
"First of all, I thought it was dancing with the stars not dancing with a teen who got knocked up!!"
Ohhh --- classy.
I want Bristol to win it all. NOW I do anyway. Before it was just a show but now seeing the deranged rants of the dying left, it's personal. I want her to win just so that people such as the genius who posted that quote feel even worse about their lives. They deserve it.
As for the rest of you ---- stop watching DWTS. Who cares ? That just means that next year we can get Sarah herself on to win it all again. :-)
I have been a fan of this show, too. However, I'm so disgusted with what has happened this season with Bristol and how they have featured her mom so much in order to get votes and Jennifer featuring something new to get votes. I believe that there has only been one fair judge this season and that has been Len. I quit watching American Idol for the unfairness, so I guess I will quit watching DWTS for the same reason.
People please. I don't think people voted as much for Bristol, as against Brandy. Remember, when people vote they don't know who will be in the bottom two. It's a level playing field each week. Brandy is so full of herself its nauseating. Her strutting around week after week - and even being the focal point in the commercial - makes me roll my eyes every time. I can barely watch her and have to fast forward. The others genuinely are excited and gracious when they do well. Brandy thinks she's MISS THING and is as fake as they come. Karma's a *****.
NOT EVER GOING TO WATCH THIS SHOW! FIXED!!
i WILL NEVER WATCH THIS SHOW AGAIN,IT HAS NOW BECOME POLITICAL I WAS A DEVOTED FAN NOW I CAN SAY I HATE IT AND WILL NEVER WATCH IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE IS TH WORSE DANCER AND SHE GOES THOROUGH!!!!
We should all stop waching this joke of a show! Bristol is a over weight nobody, that can't dance!!! How in the world is she a star in the first place????? A joke from the start!
Some may feel Brandy is full of herself,however, she is a great, gracious and beautiful dancer though. She is a confident woman, good for her I say!! I really liked her, and loved watching her dance. Brandy,just know you won this competition!
No, thanks. I will not be watching this anymore. Not next week or in the future.
I think this year's voting has been ridiculous. Several much better dancers were eliminated while marginal Bristol continued, due to politicized voting. I think one way to fix this is to allow only one vote per person, and to have the viewers' total votes equal to, not greater than, the judge's votes. In other words, have the viewers become the 4th judge. Let's just hope that the anger and disappointment of the faithful fans of the show translate into a more appropriate outcome in the finals. If not, I may or may not continue to watch, but I will understand that the outcome has nothing to do with awarding the trophy to the best dancer.
dancing with the stars is sending a very bad message to our young people.the worst can win, so why strive for excellance.our phones and computers were blocked. preventing us from voting in La and ms brandy's states.igis an embarrassment to all dancers even the bad ones.this is strictly political. if you want to be a star become an unwed baby maker and get divorced before you are 21 years old.she is nothing more than a ,big,fat slute.i have no respect for abc. i will never watch dws and maybe abc again. the show was fixed.
dancing with the stars is sending a very bad message to our young people.the worst can win, so why strive for excellance.our phones and computers were blocked. preventing us from voting in La and ms brandy's states.igis an embarrassment to all dancers even the bad ones.this is strictly political. if you want to be a star become an unwed baby maker and get divorced before you are 21 years old.she is nothing more than a ,big,fat slute.i have no respect for abc. i will never watch dws and maybe abc again. the show was fixed.Brandy you won this competion.you are the real STAR.
Its time for the producers of this show to STOP! It's more politics than dancing. The last two seasons winner did't deserve to win.
So disappointed! It's not about dancing at all.
I've had enough of this show.
I don't think a result show has ever made me happier. I, for one, was totally sick of Brandy's attitude. The statement she made, "this is the most important thing in my life" made me want to retch. At least Bristol is not playing to the camera, acting like she is praying while getting the judges scores. Bristol has taken the knocks the judges gave her graciously and stuck in there thru all the criticism with a smile. And the statement that her mother paid off the producers is laughable. It makes me sad to think that all of you think everything is reduced to money and politics.
A big, fat, slut? And you have no respect for her? I don't know who you are and I hope I never meet you. How narrow minded and ignorant can you be? I have no respect for you!
Sorry, but this show is not a popularity contest, it is a dance contest, so it is for the judges to have the main authority to determine who is the best dancer, what about changing the %%%%%%%%%%The judges should have the 75% and the people the 25%, I hope the show will think about.
Don't know or care how she got into the finals,the point is....Bristal, "CAN'T DANCE" and she isn't at all soft or graceful on her feet, she's hard and claudy on her feet! The show has turned into an unfair disgrace, and they are ruining it and humiliating the people whom are good dancers! If that's the way their going to run the show,I'm through watching it!
Jennifer Gray was an early favorite of mine this season, enjoyed her as an actress in her one hit wonder, Dirty Dancing. As the season progressed, however, I continually voted against her. Although she may have the dance moves and talent, she is horribly immature. I am so tired of her crying, stomping out of the room, outbursts, etc. etc. her lack of professionalism and maturity caused me to vote for everyone else.
Amen Patrica
If you idiots are just realizing now that this show is rigged you need to pull your heads out of your *****.
This show is a joke, I will never watch it again.
Totally agree with you. Neither Kyle or Bristol have had the back stage drama that the other two contestants have had. I would vote for Bristol because she doesn't have the need to show her body with the skimpy costumes. She and Kyle are very genuine!
They need to change the public voting to 30% and that will make the real dances get ahead and make the show better. It is a mockery if the awful dancers won over the ones who can dance and work harder for it.