CBC Revives Battle of the Blades Skating Show!

[aftershocks]

And this is hugely important in a show like this. She not only has an infectious rapport with Andrew, she has an infectious rapport with the audience, both in the arena and on TV. And she's not afraid to go all out. I don't remember Vanessa's partner. At all. Who was he? (rhetorical question). If they get Vanessa back next year may she have someone like Shelley!
Also I do think Spoje's have made excellent music choices to show their strengths. I was concerned how Andrew would be able to lift this big woman, and the first number about Canadian Girl was so perfect for them!

Exactly!

Vanessa's partner seems like a nice guy. He comes across as the strong, tall, silent type. He appeared shy in interviews, but very sweet with a lovely smile. But we didn't get to see him smile much because he was probably thinking so hard about what he was doing. Their departure interview showed how much fun they had together. It's hard for everyone on these type of shows when they get eliminated. I think his messing up steps slightly in their last performance gave the judges something to ding. But they deserved another go-round. Vanessa's beautiful smile made up for her partner's shy reserve.

Eric and his partner were a bit despondent too. It's amazing how far the non-figure skaters progress in a short time. It does take courage, as many of them have expressed.

 

[Sonata]

I don't have anything against Amanda Evora, she obviously is a good pairs skater. I just vaguely remember her name and wondered where her strong-ish fan base would come from, given that she hasn't skated in amateur competition since 2012 and she doesn't come with default Canadian support. E/L are not a team I see mentioned fervently on these boards, so the support behind her surprised me. I don't think I was watching much pairs skating when she competed.

I don't think being a past winner necessarily helps with voting, otherwise Gordeeva and Gervais would not have been in bottom two again despite having the top marks last week. They are obviously not pulling a lot of votes. And I would expect Violetta, despite not having won, would have a good voting base given her longevity on the show and having been runner up in season 4. I don't think regular viewers are voting based on skill, they are voting based on who they connect to. IMO if we were basing on who deserves it most based on skill and connectivity, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Claude Lemieux would have won season 1.

 

[Satellizer]

Oh yea, still not a fan of how the hockey judges out weight the number of figure skating judges. But I guess they want to be inclusive and draw in numbers from both sports.

 

[Alilou]

Oh yea, still not a fan of how the hockey judges out weight the number of figure skating judges. But I guess they want to be inclusive and draw in numbers from both sports.

V&M are coming back for 2 more shows

 

[mackiecat]

It’s not all about the figure skater. The west seems to vote more than Quebec for the hockey players. It also depends on how organized the charity is. Some are very aggressively promoting their team

 

[mapleleafsk8fan]

That and Bruno was never a popular hockey player in general..

I feel like Bruno has no facial expressions, but that just my opinion.

 

[Satellizer]

V&M are coming back for 2 more shows

That's good news, and I hope that they each get to give their own individuals scores but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Sonata]

That's good news, and I hope that they each get to give their own individuals scores but I'm not holding my breath.

I thought that was weird too. I was like, ok, they may skate as one, but they don’t think as one. Give them both a voice - and it would even add a little drama if they marked differently.

 

[rdavies]

Kurt wouldn’t have made that decision without having backing of producers.... personally I think it was discussed beforehand and was set up for tv suspense - this is why they postponed both marks until the end and the two first judges conveniently had scores that cancelled each other out before Kurt made the final “decision”.

I welcome any opportunity to watch new material from Katia Gordeeva, so I’m not upset. It looks to me like Bruno Gervais suffers a bit from nerves because he projected better during the practice sessions. If he were from another smaller province, he might benefit from regional support, but he doesn’t have that default support to help him out.

I had no idea Amanda E had a big voting base. I actually don’t remember her from amateur days

Agree, it was setup beforehand as, if they didn't get rid of somebody this week, it's not like they can shoot another episode. As I said Quebec players in the past had no problem getting votes, Bruno is not colourful and the average Canadian doesn't have the fanaticism for Katia as some figure skating fans do. As for Amanda I believe she is popular within the Filipino community.

 

[rdavies]

Also, while Andrew and Spooner mesh well together, and Spooner has a megawatt smile and shows how much fun she's having, I don't think Spooner's skills nor her performances have been better than the non-skaters who were eliminated. It's Andrew setting the house on fire, plus their strong connection, Spooner's smile, and obviously, her huge popularity among Canadian viewers.

At this point, I have it: Kaitlyn/ Sheldon; Katia/ Bruno; and then Andrew/ Spooner. In fact, Andrew's partner's skills are not better than Vanessa's partner's abilities. Spooner has only smiled more and has shown an infectious rapport with Andrew.

ETA:
No matter how much some people say it shouldn't be about Katia, that boss lady can't help being stunning and soaking up all the attention. Her partner is very capable, but he's overshadowed by Katia's brilliance. Yet, even though Katia is stealing most of our attention naturally and inescapably, the fact is that Bruno is presenting Katia very well, which is no mean feat. Bruno has performed capably, but it would help if he could make more effort to match Katia's oomph, charisma and sex appeal. Alas, David P is the only one doing that these days.

Please, give spoon some credit, I have been biased towards her but even I recognized from the outset Kennedy has been outperforming her but to compare her to the rest, c'mon let's get real. If it was about the figure skaters (like Katia) then why don't they speak at the interviews, because it's not about them! They're supposed to be good.

 

[rdavies]

I would think this is unlikely. She won BotB 6 years ago, so name recognition probably isn't a factor. I would argue she's probably the least well-known of the figure skaters.
I am a huge skating fan (obvs) and have always watched this show.... and I barely remembered that she was on it, let alone that she won.

It's because her team was a one trick pony and that the guys who really skated and went all out with real skating and made some mistakes, lost out. David P made it clear how he felt about lifts, a rest period.

Until this year, and maybe Kennedy will get screwed in the end, but this show has never credited the ice dancers, Shae's teams never got the credit they deserved, I'd rather watch her any day than pairs tricks.

 

[Desperado]

As I said Quebec players in the past had no problem getting votes...

What do you base this on?

 

[rdavies]

I feel like Bruno has no facial expressions, but that just my opinion.

It's not just your opinion, he might be better if he had some.

 

[rdavies]

What do you base this on?

Brisebois, Richer, Lemieux, Dandenault they were able to show some personality, and get some momentum before being screwed, likeable Bruno has not.

 

[Desperado]

Brisebois, Richer, Lemieux

They didn’t win which could be explained by getting less votes. Not sure why you’re insisting past Quebec players have no trouble getting votes when the show runners themselves admitted to Bruno before the competition began that Québec votes less (and I bet watches less), as per my above post. They have numbers, we don’t.

 

[rdavies]

Did they not say it was mixed upon votes and judges scores, who knows what "algorithm" they use.

 

[rdavies]

Just watching the show again, and I think, Sheldon Kennedy may be the greatest "actor" in the history of the show. He wins at the very start with his tableaus, they are truth. He wouldn't have to do a single "trick" and he would still be the best out there. The emotional response to Smile was exceptionally strong and Kaitlyn is the perfect partner for him. He is timeless.

 

[starrynight]

Kaitlyn and Sheldon ought to have the win in the bag, they are head and shoulders above everyone else. I think they are doing very well at showing growth between the episodes and also creating a developing story with each successive routine.

 

[Anemone]

I enjoyed last night's show very much, and regardless of why or how it was arrived at, am happy no one went home and we get to see them all skate another week.

 

[rdavies]

Elladj Balde makes an appearance and we see a clip of him helping the skaters (Sheldon Kennedy might be good at this)

My comments before the first Weaver/Kennedy skate. Sometimes even a blind squirrel can find a nut.

 

[Skate Talker]

If I had my way we would keep all the teams and declare the winner based on cumulative scores over the duration. Of course it would also require that each show is at east 90 minutes long so we can see more than just the competitive performances. Afaic we can skip the celeb in the audience though - the 2 times we have had them they have really been a drag on the excitement of the competition for me.

 

[Sk8tn]

Brisebois, Richer, Lemieux, Dandenault they were able to show some personality, and get some momentum before being screwed, likeable Bruno has not.

It was amazing what Shae-Lynn got out of Brisebois!

 

[Sk8tn]

Nuf ced! Agreed with everything but Andrew's costume, WTH? Something that hasn't really been mentioned is how good Sheldon's lifts are...effortless. He's way older than everybody, acts better than everybody, skates better than everybody, is faster than everybody and also seems stronger than everybody, hockey players I mean.

Does Skate Canada publish any level of tests passed? If anyone sees it published in the future that Sheldon is passing dance tests, please report it here so we can know. Part of me would not be surprised. Just like George Laraque kept figure skating after Battle of the Blades, I would not be surprised to see that the show has birthed an adult ice dancer here.

 

[aftershocks]

I don't have anything against Amanda Evora, she obviously is a good pairs skater. I just vaguely remember her name and wondered where her strong-ish fan base would come from...

On the previously linked podcast interview with Radford and Kessell, the host mentioned that Evora's partner, Colton, is very popular among hockey fans in Canada. So that would help account for the favorable votes they have gotten previously to remain on the show.

 

[Colonel Green]

Kaitlyn and Sheldon ought to have the win in the bag, they are head and shoulders above everyone else. I think they are doing very well at showing growth between the episodes and also creating a developing story with each successive routine.

Mistakes can always happen, of course (there have been surprisingly few so far), but yeah, I would say they're on track. They began the contest ahead of the other teams, and while I wouldn't say they've grown that lead (other teams have also been improving), I think they have thus far maintained it. We'll have to see if one of the other teams can bridge the gap.

I would provisionally say that Natalie/Andrew are in the best position to do so since they're pretty good and they've got (as far as can be determined) audience affection. Ekaterina/Bruno also have the skills, but they don't have the votes thus far, and while it's the judges who ultimately control who goes and such, I do think there will likely be some hesitance to give them the top prize if they can't generate an audience base (this is a TV show that wants the people watching to endorse the result, after all).

 

[aftershocks]

Please, give spoon some credit, I have been biased towards her but even I recognized from the outset Kennedy has been outperforming her but to compare her to the rest, c'mon let's get real. If it was about the figure skaters (like Katia) then why don't they speak at the interviews, because it's not about them! They're supposed to be good.

What? I wasn't comparing Spooner to the veteran figure skaters. I compared her abilities to those of the other non-figure skaters. And I most certainly did give Spooner credit in my earlier commentary, for projecting enjoyment and personality, in addition to meshing well with Andrew.

 

[rdavies]

What? I wasn't comparing Spooner to the veteran figure skaters. I compared her abilities to those of the other non-figure skaters. And I most certainly did give Spooner credit in my earlier commentary, for projecting enjoyment and personality, in addition to meshing well with Andrew.

I believe you said "I don't think Spooner's skills nor her performances have been better than the non-skaters who were eliminated." So you are comparing her against McGrattan and Kessel and you don't think she's better?

 

[Scrufflet]

Watching Wea/Po and partners has been so much fun! If they compete again, I will be very interested to see what, if any, the effect this has had on their skating.
On another note, wouldn't it be fun to have Georges Laraque back as a guest judge? I will never forget him in that Halloween devil costume! I wonder if he is still skating pairs. Anyone know?

 

[rvi5]

Five couples remain, with one being eliminated tomorrow. According to my calculations, BoB should finish on Thursday Nov 7th.

However, a joint hockey camp is scheduled for Nov 4-10th. With exhibition games on Nov 8th & 10th. Spooner is listed on Canada’s team. Last weeks tie seems to have created a scheduling conflict. How will BoB work around the problem if Spooner is in the final BoB competition? Back to back BoB episodes earlier? Will Spooner skip hockey camp?

Poulin, Spooner headline Canada’s roster for November games vs. U.S.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[DaveRocks]

Five couples remain, with one being eliminated tomorrow. According to my calculations, BoB should finish on Thursday Nov 7th.

However, a joint hockey camp is scheduled for Nov 4-10th. With exhibition games on Nov 8th & 10th. Spooner is listed on Canada’s team. Last weeks tie seems to have created a scheduling conflict. How will BoB work around the problem if Spooner is in the final BoB competition? Back to back BoB episodes earlier? Will Spooner skip hockey camp?

Poulin, Spooner headline Canada’s roster for November games vs. U.S.

www.sportsnet.ca

The finale is October 31.