NBC to show 2 hour commemorative of American skating Sunday afternoon at 2 PM EST

sk8nlizard

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1,395
The people complaining in the thread are people highly invested in skating to begin with and we all know we can spend 2 seconds finding all of this on YouTube. It’s not the end of the world who they show. 20 years ago- yes. I’d be annoyed if all of the stuff I had on VHS from the previous 3 seasons was just re-aired with no older stuff shown.

NBC is always trying to get new viewers via a method that not many people in their target range are even bothering to use anymore, and of course they want to choose the most relatable/viral programs. But come on. The method is old school and probably not effective in the least.
While I agree with you, for a casual viewer if any of these skaters caught their eye they could see the vast majority of them again in 2 weeks. While they may not be the best ever, if they are trying to get new viewers showing skaters that are still competing is probably smart, especially with Nationals so soon!
We complain so much about skating never being on TV, we should be grateful that this is on network TV. And hopefully Nationals will go ahead because there seems to be quite a bit of coverage on Peacock and NBC.
 

Rukia

A Southern, hot-blooded temperamental individual
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I'm not sure why some people seem to be taking it as a personal insult that they included Starr like...we know where to go to watch our faves over and over. And I definitely agree with the point about diveristy.

In the end no one on here was going to be completely pleased with what NBC showed. It's just not possible.
 

missing

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I enjoyed the show much more than I thought I would.

It was essentially a commercial for upcoming Nationals, and that's not unreasonable. I can barely remember that there is an upcoming Nationals, and I'm what can be called a dedicated fan.

They showed the reigning gold and silver medalists for men and women and I liked that they didn't just pick last year's medal winning skates. They gave space to the gold and silver dance medalists, while giving additional time to the US Olympic dance medalists. US pairs is a mess so they made the best of it.

They showed popular "name" skaters- Johnny and Gracie and Ashley. And they threw in Starr for good measure, which, if nothing else, was a surprise.

They even gave a shout out to the cutouts. And I, who am not a Johnny Weir fan, was moved that he and his parents found out live that he's going into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame (I was surprised he wasn't already in it).

It's been quite the weekend for figure skating and a very nice distraction from everything that's going on these days.
 

VGThuy

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Well if they think Starr Andrews is going to bring viewers they are only kidding themselves. Her video went viral years ago due to a tacky gimmick and that's it. If NBC wasn't pushing her every year she would have been forgotten. In fact the general audience probably already did since she never stood on any podium or come close.

Contrary to popular belief the American public do like winners and those who compete with the best. Not showing Bradie is beyond ridiculous
Well if they think Starr Andrews is going to bring viewers they are only kidding themselves. Her video went viral years ago due to a tacky gimmick and that's it. If NBC wasn't pushing her every year she would have been forgotten. In fact the general audience probably already did since she never stood on any podium or come close.

Contrary to popular belief the American public do like winners and those who compete with the best. Not showing Bradie is beyond ridiculous
That’s funny because we’ve had nothing but posts upon posts and threads for the past two or so years bemoaning that Bradie is the best we could do. Anyway, it’s not like this one special is going to make or break Bradie’s career. If she was going to be famous, she’d be famous by now with the push she got in 2018. She still has a chance to get the promotion once the 2022 Olympics come around and NBC starts promoting the skaters they think will be Olympians so long as she keeps or starts bringing hardware and keeps her name in contention for a viable Olympic spot.
 

Carolla5501

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I’m currently watching a replay of the Salt Lake City Olympics, bring back Scott. Watching him makes the sideshow act look even worse. I’m sorry he wasn’t perfect but at least he didn’t think you only tuned into see him.And he never giggled and Was able to restrain his jealousy over skaters who are better than him.

Personally having someone really excited about a great skate and not acting because that’s what it calls for is a completely different experience. Tara and Johnny are scripted and acting, particularly Weir.

I skipped the hundred year celebration since they can only do 10 years worth of skating. LOL
 
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PRlady

Cowardly admin
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I wonder if NBC still Q rates skaters or just goes by social media buzz. Either way, I guarantee you that although they know Gracie will not medal again, her story is an emotional one. Other than Meryl and Charlie who won Oly gold, most casual fans don’t follow ice dance and have only a casual notion of who C/B and H/D are, so they tried to hype the rivalry in Charlie’s interview. And I bet if Nguyen/Kolesek hadn’t split and could be sold as The Next Big Thing, they would have been on as well.

In other words the choices you make to promote an upcoming event are not as logical as skating accomplishments would dictate.
 

Rhumba d’Amour

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I forgot this was on and so didn’t watch, but reading the comments here, I’m thinking that the real issue was the title of the show; if there had been no suggestion of “100 Years of US Figure Skating History,” and the show had instead been billed as a preview of 2021 US Nationals—Happening Right Here Next Month!!! Tune In and Watch!!! Etc., etc—I don’t think anyone would have been disappointed.
 

BittyBug

Disgusted
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....I don’t think anyone would have been disappointed.
Trust me, there would have still been plenty of bitching about the show and then plenty of bitching as thread drift. Who they showed, who they didn't show, which programs they showed, which programs they didn't show, who wuzrobbed, whose edges sucked, whose jumps were cheated, what Johnny said, what Johnny should have said but didn't say, what Tara said, what Tara should have said but didn't say, what Johnny wore, what Tara wore, bring back Dick and Peggy, what they would have shown on a show that was shown 20 years ago if in fact there had been a show but it absolutely would have been better than this stinking show, who should have won pairs in SLC, the nerve of Evan winning gold in Vancouver without a quad, etc. etc. :argue: :2faced:
 

misskarne

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I forgot this was on and so didn’t watch, but reading the comments here, I’m thinking that the real issue was the title of the show; if there had been no suggestion of “100 Years of US Figure Skating History,” and the show had instead been billed as a preview of 2021 US Nationals—Happening Right Here Next Month!!! Tune In and Watch!!! Etc., etc—I don’t think anyone would have been disappointed.
While I still think some people would have been disappointed, I think this is a fair point.

I had basically no expectations given Weir was supposed to be involved in the choosing, but some part me still thought perhaps the story of the young man who won his national title seemingly out of nowhere might have got a run. I should have known better, of course.
 

Aerobicidal

Shut that door.
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I forgot this was on and so didn’t watch, but reading the comments here, I’m thinking that the real issue was the title of the show; if there had been no suggestion of “100 Years of US Figure Skating History,” and the show had instead been billed as a preview of 2021 US Nationals—Happening Right Here Next Month!!! Tune In and Watch!!! Etc., etc—I don’t think anyone would have been disappointed.
I think it's safe to say that no matter how perfect this show and its title were, many people at FSU would have complained before, during, and after it.
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
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My goodness. This was even worse than I had imagined! What a sham of a "100 year commemoration"!!! We didn't even get a tip-off to Dick & Peggy or other pre-2010 greats. No 30-second photo montage of faces. !!! ROTFL! Shame on NBC.

p.s. One small positive note: While the expected inclusion of Alysa Liu took place, there was NO overhyping. No goo-goo gah-gah prediction of a “three-peat” title for Alysa next month. Unlike Nathan and Mariah (and even Gracie), Alysa was not Zoomed into the special...not interviewed.
 
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SorrySkater

Member
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I enjoyed the special. While I didn’t agree with all of their choices, I did agree with most. i totally agree with those who would’ve chosen a different program for Nathan (Rocket Man!) and Adam Rippon, and I don’t get the selection of Starr Andrews. I loved seeing Jason Brown’s Riverdance, the Shib Sibs Fix You, and Mariah Bell’s Hallelujah again. I also like the Kneirims‘ short program to At Last. The program from Cain/LeDuc was the only time I’ve liked them. That was a great skate and they deserved to win. I think they should have someone other than Tara and Johnny choosing the programs, though. Most of their selections for this special were skates that they called, which means they totally ignored some great programs from earlier in the decade.

Maybe NBC should consider a retrospective series, with best programs by US skaters by decade - or maybe by 5 years? And, how about not limiting it to US Championships? For some skaters, I think they’d have a difficult time picking one program. Or, here’s another idea. Have current skaters pick programs from the skaters that influenced them and made them take up skating.
 

Spiralgraph

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I enjoyed the program. However I kept my expectations low, so I wasn't disappointed. The only real surprise to me was not showing Evan L at all, since he is an Olympic gold medalist. Very happy to see the Shibs' Fix You and Meryl and Charlie again. Like a previous poster I'm glad they didn't over hype Alysa Liu, just her first program from 2019 and no gushing about quads and triple axels
I didn't expect to see any pairs highlighted so it was a pleasant surprise to see C-G/L's 2019 again. And I'm probably in the minority but Tara and Johnny don't annoy me more than Dick and Peggy did. I try to ignore commentators anyway when they talk too much over the music and that's something they all do, unfortunately.
 

Japanfan

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I had hoped to see skaters from decades past, given that it was a 100 year commemoration. So I was disappointed.

It was okay to see past performances, but TBH, I don't feel I would have missed much if I had just skipped the show altogether. I particularly enjoyed seeing Wagner's Moulin Rouge again.
 

VGThuy

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I had hoped to see skaters from decades past, given that it was a 100 year commemoration. So I was disappointed.

It was okay to see past performances, but TBH, I don't feel I would have missed much if I had just skipped the show altogether. I particularly enjoyed seeing Wagner's Moulin Rouge again.

That's certainly a thing to say considering the work and effort the skaters put to perform those programs.
 

Japanfan

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That's certainly a thing to say considering the work and effort the skaters put to perform those programs.

:confused:

I don't deny the work and effort the skaters put in. But it doesn't mean I want to watch programs I have seen already from skaters who are not my favorites, or watch performances that were not memorable to me first-time round.

TBH I was mostly looking forward to seeing clips of skaters I've not seen before, going back through the last 100 years.
 

Yazmeen

All we are saying, is give peace a chance
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I think leaving out Evan was the biggest slight, but I guess that since this was Johnny's HOF year, they went with him as a compliment to his induction.
 

VGThuy

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And Evan's 2010 Nationals skates in both the SP and LP weren't really too hot either, so his exclusion also makes sense in that way.
 

tony

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I didn't mind the Lysacek absence. :lol: I would've loved to see Abbott's 2014 SP again, but I know I can just go to YouTube. I was building a Lego set anyways and it was mostly background noise ;)
 

NAOTMAA

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959
My goodness. This was even worse than I had imagined! What a sham of a "100 year commemoration"!!! We didn't even get a tip-off to Dick & Peggy or other pre-2010 greats. No 30-second photo montage of faces. !!! ROTFL! Shame on NBC.

p.s. One small positive note: While the expected inclusion of Alysa Liu took place, there was NO overhyping. No goo-goo gah-gah prediction of a “three-peat” title for Alysa next month. Unlike Nathan and Mariah (and even Gracie), Alysa was not Zoomed into the special...not interviewed.
They probably didn't overhype Alysa because they saw her most recent performances and now know she won't be attempting any quad or 3A. They know she ain't happening so for once they pulled back. Don't be shocked if the commentary she gets at nationals is far more picky and less then flattering then the past two years.

This "special" combined with what happened at Skate America its clear they are setting up Mariah for a run away victory if they can. You can almost describe it as Alysa getting dropped. And no Braide at all here and Skate America tells you where she stands with them and it isn't good for her either
 

Karen-W

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They probably didn't overhype Alysa because they saw her most recent performances and now know she won't be attempting any quad or 3A. They know she ain't happening so for once they pulled back. Don't be shocked if the commentary she gets at nationals is far more picky and less then flattering then the past two years.

This "special" combined with what happened at Skate America its clear they are setting up Mariah for a run away victory if they can. You can almost describe it as Alysa getting dropped. And no Braide at all here and Skate America tells you where she stands with them and it isn't good for her either
Oh, come on. No one has seen how these three ladies are skating in 2+ months, apart from their coaching teams. Yes, Alysa is going through a growth phase, in addition to the coaching changes. Brady just changed coaches this summer. It isn't necessarily unfair to think that Mariah probably does have the edge going into Nationals since her coaching/training situation and health has been the steadiest of the three. This isn't about dumping Alysa or that Brady has no standing/support from the USFS.
 

Yazmeen

All we are saying, is give peace a chance
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Oh, come on. No one has seen how these three ladies are skating in 2+ months, apart from their coaching teams. Yes, Alysa is going through a growth phase, in addition to the coaching changes. Brady just changed coaches this summer. It isn't necessarily unfair to think that Mariah probably does have the edge going into Nationals since her coaching/training situation and health has been the steadiest of the three. This isn't about dumping Alysa or that Brady has no standing/support from the USFS.
I mostly agree; however, if Alysa had not performed so poorly at the post-SA event, I think she would have been interviewed and also hyped a bit more. Alysa is the one skater who, so far, has shown that she is really having issues with her skating this year due to her body changes. I wouldn't call it "dumping her," but I would call it backing away from the hype of the last two years.
 

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