Dancing With The Stars, Week 7

[danceronice]

I was thinking the same. that was kinda scary. judges fos as ever.

krob actually got a couple Woobie points from me for that--he looked genuinely like he was thinking "Um, he just shoved a girl...you aren't supposed to beat up girls...should we be breaking this up? That's really not right...."

I don't mind a bit of shoving or a (light) smack when it's clearly part of a good-natured relationship. This just looks like that's how Maks teaches.

[skateboy]

I'd rather see Nancy stay than Hope, but I don't Nancy ever lifted her feet off the ground in that dance with Tristan...

[LadyNit]

Maks crossed the line in the group dance practice. I feel sorry for Hope. If she wasn't under contract, I bet she'd walk. He's being a complete jerk.

Their personality clash must be exhausting. He can't intimidate her, she's too confident. But the battle is taking its toll.

eta: Nice to see that Tristan objects too. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...g-stars-255700

[rfisher]

There's nothing on this show that isn't scripted and heavily edited, especially the rehersals. I don't know what the producers are trying to do with this, except generate more publicity. If Maks was really being abusive toward Hope, she'd have decked him, then kneed him in the groin. That was staged. I just don't know to what purpose. If you watched Maks closely, you could tell he was reluctant to do this.

[Oreo]

There's nothing on this show that isn't scripted and heavily edited, especially the rehersals. I don't know what the producers are trying to do with this, except generate more publicity. If Maks was really being abusive toward Hope, she'd have decked him, then kneed him in the groin. That was staged. I just don't know to what purpose. If you watched Maks closely, you could tell he was reluctant to do this.

I totally agree. The whole thing with Maks is a put on--as well as all the other "drama." Be assured, the producers put together exactly what they want.

[Cupid]

wrong thread, sorry.

[Jimena]

There's nothing on this show that isn't scripted and heavily edited, especially the rehersals. I don't know what the producers are trying to do with this, except generate more publicity. If Maks was really being abusive toward Hope, she'd have decked him, then kneed him in the groin. That was staged. I just don't know to what purpose. If you watched Maks closely, you could tell he was reluctant to do this.

I'm not willing to give Maks that much benefit of the doubt.

[numbers123]

I totally agree. The whole thing with Maks is a put on--as well as all the other "drama." Be assured, the producers put together exactly what they want.

I'm not willing to give Maks that much benefit of the doubt.

Maks has always been painted as the bad boy with a temper. I used to believe part of Maks's behavior as a true expression of who he is. I no longer believe that - the producers want to generate ratings. They are pitting the goodie goodie pro can make a dancer out of the poor injured women aka Derek against the bad boy tries to dominate his partners to attempt to win Maks. If you look at CarrieAnn's scripted response of "No No No no disrespect here, he is a respected dancer and who are you" tripe, it was meant to instill sparks to a slowly fading reality show. It is tiring this season - there are really no big names to bring in viewership this season. The only thing to do is to create fake drama.

Question yet to be answered, Will it be picked up for the next season? Probably - will viewership drop? Probably

[Sassafras]

Question yet to be answered, Will it be picked up for the next season? Probably - will viewership drop? Probably

My viewership is already dropping. I watch The Sing-Off and occasionally switch to DWTS to see specific dancers.

[danceronice]

There's bad boy, and there's hitting a girl. Do I honestly think Hope would hit back if she weren't scripted? Not really, unless she is COMPLETELY faking her entire personality. Heck, I'd hate to see how someone less easy-going would have dealt with Karina's snapping and temper.

Not to mention if they're trying to set up a Derek-Maks showdown THIS season, they're nuts. Any one of the others remaining has more business making the final than Hope. Also, there's no way Maks comes out of that comparison looking like anything but sour grapes, which only helps Derek's image.

[Yazmeen]

But Hope is likely to get sympathy votes this week from people who feel bad that she has to put up with Max.

I do think Max crossed a line here; but I also think Hope has been a nightmare as a partner. She totally refused to go outside her "I'm a strong, star athlete, I can't be girly" mode and they are both stubborn as mules. Max pushes too hard, but Hope also refuses to listen. She may have worked better with Teddy, but the two of them did act very juvenile, like two teenagers laughing at their stodgy old professor.

As I've said, I cannot stand Nancy Grace personally, but I think Hope deserves to go before she does. And what do you want to bet that JR will be "in jeopardy" tonight just so they can highten the drama??? Ugh, I miss the days of Apolo, Kristi, Gilles, and Evan...

[pixie cut]

There was a moment last night where Hope was so awful I thought she had to be faking it. Then I thought, it's real, but clearly she has a serious mental block about dancing.

There were at least of couple of pieces of music last night that had been used previously. Monique and Louis cha cha'd to Ghost Busters on the Halloween show five years ago and Lance and Lacey tangoed to Disturbia three years ago, also for a Halloween show if I'm not mistaken. Think this was a first for Werewolves of London. Keeping Warren Zevon's memory alive!

[rfisher]

If you look at CarrieAnn's scripted response of "No No No no disrespect here, he is a respected dancer and who are you" tripe, it was meant to instill sparks to a slowly fading reality show. It is tiring this season - there are really no big names to bring in viewership this season. The only thing to do is to create fake drama.

Question yet to be answered, Will it be picked up for the next season? Probably - will viewership drop? Probably

All of these reality shows are scripted and manipulated by the production crew. The better ones make you believe that the events are unscripted and real. DWTS has run out of celebs. A and even B list celebs cannot make the time committment. Same for a lot of athletes. This is overall the worst cast they've had. I, like a lot of viewers, just watch for the pros now. Maks knows this and that's the reason TV Guide has given him a blog. I think the show is nearing it's natural end. It did well against AI last spring, which is also aging, but may not do as well against the Voice. I expect to see more attempts to create controversy in an effort to keep a cheap show that produces good revenue from slipping away. However, they will need to make some dramatic changes to do so. Changing the set design wasn't it.

[Rob]

I think it is winding down too. It has gotten boring. One thing that might help is sticking to 1 hour. 1 1/2 - 2 hours is Zzzzzzz.

[LadyNit]

That is the sort of thing the producers want to script and portray? Really?

For me, this is the moment when the show jumped the shark.

[Fridge_Break]

I'd like to see them bring back some of the newer dance styles they introduced in past seasons. They've been using the same dances for the last 4 or 5 seasons. I FLOVED when they did the jitterbug and charleston, salsa, lambada, etc. Just no country two-step! I think changing things up with that could make things a bit more exciting for the viewers. But realistically, the cast is the biggest audience draw.

[Desperado]

I know the show picks and chooses only the segments they want us to see of the rehersals and that people bickering might increase the show's popularity with some people but I doubt they would go as far as choreographing a guy manhandling a woman, no matter how athletic she is, for better ratings.

I really don't think people who go for that sort of thing would ever watch a dance show, and it makes them look bad for allowing such behavior. As to the reason why they chose to show that segment, I'm stumped, unless it's to diminish Maks' reputation which I'm pretty sure he can do all on his own.

I also don't think Maks' popularity grew because of his bad boy behaviour, I think it grew from the chemistry he had with people he liked to work with, like Mel B and Kirstie Alley

[Veronika]

Maks and Kirstie were a revelation--they worked so well together, and I thought they would bicker all of the time. Maks and Hope clearly don't get along.

[rfisher]

I think they think any discussion about the show is better than no discussion. They chose to put that particular bit of footage out of a couple of hours on the air. That was deliberate.

[skatingfan5]

I also don't think Maks' popularity grew because of his bad boy behaviour, I think it grew from the chemistry he had with people he liked to work with, like Mel B and Kirstie Alley

Maks and Kirstie were a revelation--they worked so well together, and I thought they would bicker all of the time. Maks and Hope clearly don't get along.

Maks seemed to work well with Erin Andrews and Laila Ali too, but Hope + Maks definitely is not a good partnership -- they certainly don't bring out the best in each other -- in fact, quite the opposite. I guess the producers playing up the "Mad Max" schtick is their way of trying to "make lemonade out of lemons" but it is misguided and leaves a sour taste for me.

I did think that Hope was a bit better last night (and seemed more relaxed) -- but she still is pretty bad. Nancy didn't do at all well last night either. Sigh.