I happen to think the dancing on So You Think You Can Dance Australia is exhilarating stuff.
The young dancers are terrific with their energy and art, putting celebrity dancers on other shows to shame.
But it’s an endurance test to sit through the rest of the showjust to watch the dance content. It feels like advertorials and verbal padding outweight the actual dance.
If TEN wants to look at one of the reasons why the show is down this year maybe they should be asking if there is too much filler?
On Wednesday night the show pulled a disappointing 767,000. Even in the 18-49 demographic it was beaten by Spicks and Specks, Criminal Minds and Customs. That’s a disaster.
Last night on the results show judge Jason Coleman also layed a big, fat guilt trip on viewers for voting for the wrong 6 dancers.
“…Australia needs to watch these guys with open hearts and open minds and the problem Natalie, I believe is with OPEN. TELEPHONE. LINES,” he said.
“Do not get complacent Australia. These 6 dancers that are standing before us tonight are not the 6 weakest dancers in the competition and they are not the 6 weakest dancers from last night. So please Australia, you’ve done so well in the past. Vote for the dancers. Vote for the routines. We want this to be the best dancer left at the end of the day.
“Now you have given us these 6 dancers so we have to make a decision from these 6 dancers. Australia we are dealing with your decisions here.”
This is patronising stuff.
Shouldn’t we be grateful viewers have engaged enough with the show to pick up the phone, yeah?
These sorts of claims have been tossed around on Australian Idol for years while reality shows continue to profit from telephone voting lines. If TEN is serious about wanting more votes, how about offering it online via a registered email?
Maybe we should just stop voting period and let the judges decide.
If the whole point of the lecture was to ease the pain for the dancers, do me a favour: tell them during the commercial break then maybe the show would finish on time instead of 9:10. Anyway why do we have to come back from yet another commercial break just to watch dancers pulling cards out of a hat to see what routine they will dance next week?
Yes these are harsh claims, because Dance is a show that has brought real dance onto our television screens, been one of several reality shows that celebrates diversity, and epitomises youth when they are too frequently the subject of negative headlines.
But it’s being destroyed from within because it isn’t making enough hard decisions, and it’s being reflected in the figures.
The show is supposed to be about Australia’s Favourite dancer… not best… as the best are probably still out there … a lot of great dancers wouldnt bother to auditon for this show, they are already working in the industry and they certainly wouldnt want to hear an upstart like Jason Coleman or a waffling orange bimbo like Bonnie critiquing them and Matt in the hat is so boring and really Matt… get over the beautiful girls. Honestly I believe it is all about marketing…. marketing Jason Coleman and his own career and dance school and also about giving Bonnie a job away from her ex husband.
Choreographers are restricted as to the content of their work on this show. They are given strict guidelines that they have to follow to be on it, hence no self respecting choreographer of any repute would want to bastardize their work just to have it shown on SYTYCD. Australia has so many fine choreographers but we are subjected week after week to sub standard works with stupid, inane storylines.. since when does a dance piece has to have a story?
The only good thing to come from this show is that it has increased young peoples awareness of dance, but thank goodness for taping and fast forward so I can jump over the stupid judging and fillers.
Please Channel Ten its time for a change. New judges, new choreographers and no choreographical restrictions on them and find a replacement for Nat, she is such a try hard it is uncomfortable to watch. Cat Deeley where are you?
I wholeheartedly agree. As the choreographer of most of the remaining solo routines, and having done some work with the Americans in 2008, the judges should be the judge, and we can all save 50 cents in phone call. Even better, I will be the judge, and save evrybody 50 cents in phone calls by telling you in advance that the winner will be a female. Why, you ask. Because based on tonight’s decision – that risk is the winner. I know how I trained up these people. Women float and men take risks. It’s not about leaping for the crucifix of hope and justice. It’s about continuity with the god that makes us dance.
Bless us all for trying.
I have to agree with everything you have said David.
I have heard that they only have both Carriageworks (where the series is filmed) and host Natalie Bassingthwaighte under contract for 3 seasons.
I cannot stand to watch the full show, I even struggle to watch the recap on the shows website and Then an advertisement for bananas, god awful “choreographer” nacho pop or berocca pops up which compells me to switch off.
Been frustrating aswell that they have pushed particular dancers down our throats. We will be the judge of who we think has “had the biggest improvement” or “deserves this”. We dont need the judges telling us how great Kieran is. He was in the bottom last week get the hint producers!
(didnt mean Kieran in particular, just a hypothetical).
The contestant quality is absolutely rubbish this year. The choreographers are terrible.
I know choreographers who (due to the poor format for choreography submission) have been overlooked and then Its painful to see the same boring choreography be churned out by the same boring choreographers every week!
Errrgh! The show just makes my blood boil!
I, too, record and watch the show back. I guess I don’t count as being part of the “viewers” that they’re measuring to rate the success of the show.
I think you’d be better off looking at how often people are hitting up the catchup tv website to watch the short packages – thank you Channel 10 for giving us a decent way to view your show online!
I love pretty much all of it – especially seeing the rehersals and costuming – the dancing is super short. The only bit that runs on way too long is the judging.
Fortunately, the show is pretty consistent in that each dance performance is about 10 minutes after the previous one (10 minutes of judging and ad breaks). So it’s actually really easy to just skip all that and get to the heart of the show.
I love the dancing. I love the dancers. I love the judging. I hate everything else. It takes too long and feels forced. I always record the show and fast forward through everything except the dancing and the judging. This means that I don’t watch it live. Which means I don’t see the advertisements. Channel 10, if you wish to keep advertisers for this programme, pay attention to all these comments. It’s a little bit of a Catch 22 for you but surely the last thing you want to do is kill the goose that laid the golden egg…
Dancing With the Stars isnt all that much better of a show – same old, same old. But at least the fillers are more watchable.
Killer argument from James there: SYTYCD is such a force for moral decay that any 14yr olds who watch will fall in love with the medium of dance then be inevitably drawn into a life of unemployment and/or stripping for money in Kings Cross. That’s case closed for me.
ps apologies if my spelling and punctuation make this hard to read, mines typing are not such goods.
Haven’t watched it this year due entirely to timeslot. It is a Sunday/Monday show. Does the management at Ten have the first clue about television?
i sick of shows that are aimed at 14 year old who look at this and say “it will be sooo cool when we can go to clubs and dance like that”….ooooh, dare to dream. I sooo wanna be an dancer and…be unemployed or be down in King Cross at the local stripper joint.
Those judges are so obsessed with themselves. It is all about ‘them’. Their remarks about the dancers are so off the planet it was painful. I don’t watch the show but I channel surfed and watched that young upstart crap on, it made me sick. Not watching that show again.
Agree, and they keep adding more fillers..Now on the eliminaion night we have to see Jason call each dancer down and talk and say playback before last dance.. Really! Please stop that.. This is other than not good tv viewing, make the viewer feel ackward as you watch.
I would like to see it returned on Sunday & Monday nights.
I agree with 100% of the observations made here. Everybody has been spot-on pinpointing the show’s problems.
Jason is my favourite judge as he is so knowledgeable and a nice person who is not brutal or nasty to the contestants. That said, he can sound very patronising, particularly with the references to “our world”, as though dancing is a closed community. He’s not the only commentator who does this – several rugby league commentators refer to it as “our game” and I cringe at that as well. It’s just a stupid, elitist way to refer to something. I honestly don’t think they realise how patronising it sounds.
With only 7 couples left, there is no way in hell this week’s show should be two hours long. Considering each dance routine lasts approx. 2 minutes, that is only approx. 15 minutes of contestant dance content. If each couple does two routines that is only 30 minutes contestant content. Outrageous padding – no wonder viewers are voting with their remotes.
@Jenny – indeed, I agree with you, there is no necessity at all for four judges. Again, needless padding, we do not need four opinions on a two minute dance routine. Also, I think it absolutely crucial that the show be put back to its original Sunday/Monday timeslot. That’s a no-brainer.
I totally agree that the padding has to be stopped. It’s painful to watch and because of it I can hardly watch shows like Dance, Idol and Biggest Loser anymore. Hell, just the reality genre itself is becoming unwatchable to me because of this!
For the performance show, it should be 60 mins, 90 mins max. They can achieve this by having a 90 second intro clip before the dancers start, and then giving the judges 60 seconds each to give their opinions. And hell, there’d probably be more time for the dancers to do longer routines!
I’ve given up on Dance this year. It is just physically painful to watch.
Here’s an idea for TEN, try and get a young skewing show that won’t flop completely. Supernatural comes to mind.
Possibly start showing do a 2 hour comedy block, like
The Simpsons (new episodes)
Cleveland
Modern Family
The Office
all new episodes….
I agree with Rachel, and it also annoys me when Jason says ‘our world’ and ‘for all those viewers at home who don’t know dancing’. He seems to say it a lot; once is barely okay whereas more than once is being condescending. He also tends to say “Good job” A LOT.
I have to say he’s my favourite judge because he seems to know what he’s talking about and he’s a straight shooter, but his demeanour is a little overbearing at times. I have met him twice and once upset him no end by opining that I preferred the US version. That’s just my opinion and he took great offence.
And the padding definitely needs to be stopped. Next week it’s still listed as a 2-hour show, even though there are only 14 dancers left; that’s ridiculous indeed especially as they fill up the time with extra long VTs and even performances by professionals (like this week’s Sydney Dance Company). For time wasting, we’re not as bad as the US, but our market is only small enough to have something like the Canadian version, where the results show is only 30 minutes long (20 minus the ads).
the title should be changed to is jason coleman patrionising australia. the guy has one of the biggest ego’s in the whole of australia, his outfit says it all. He thinks he is so much better than everyone else.
@Jenny “2. Also I really don’t like it when Jason introduces the “dance for your life segment – he just sounds so patronising and like he is the “master” asking his slaves to dance for him”
That’s hilarious and so true!
As many have said, it’s just not needed. NatBas intro and that’s it.
Jason Coleman is an arrogant, patronizing w***er. Don’t take your anger out on the show just because of him. Take your anger out…on him
Ah! Finally I get to vent on this years SYTYCD… I really don’t like the changes they have made to the shows formatting this year. There is too much emphasis on the judges this year, and it seems that Jason Coleman has said to the producers, “hey, I want a lot more air time, yeah?”. There is no need for the opening shot of the judges walking out onto stage with their own individual introductions. This has been coverered succinctly in the past with a brief (I use that loosely) greet by NatBas.
Also, the dance for your life is now just a Jason Coleman showpiece. There is no need for him to call down the contestant, then spend the next 30 seconds saying “be calm, quiet please, hit it hard gorgeous etc etc”. It was just fine having the dancer waiting in position for a quick intro by NatBas and then getting on with it.
Oh, and the conveniently placed banana stickers on the mirrors and the dancer just happening to be eating a banana at the time of filming…
Anywho…
If he has a bvald spot wearing a hat won’t hide dude
Gosh agree with all the comments here. Just to put my two cents in –
1.I feel like the judge’s egos have become more and more inflated since the show first started (or maybe they are feeling more comfortable in showing their true personalities) – especially Jason and Matt. It really annoys when Jason says “darlin” and “fella”. I know that sounds petty and that it is just Jason expressing who he is, but it’s still bloody annoying.
2. Also I really don’t like it when Jason introduces the “dance for your life segment – he just sounds so patronising and like he is the “master” asking his slaves to dance for him. Ok I know that sounds harsh but that is the way it appears. For the record I know that Jason means well and is a softie underneath all that puffed up exterior but I really don’t think he realises how he comes across at times. Also I feel that in this season he has become more annoying than previous seasons. I notice he is getting lots of air time too – I wonder if that is an ego thing.
3. Also four judges is just way too much. When they get to the fourth judge to comment I feel exhausted especially if the other three judges have rambled on a bit.
4. Also yes agree I think the show worked better on Sunday and Monday nights at earlier times. It is a family show and I know lots of kids that love dancing so I think it is cruel to have the late start and end show times during the middle of the week.
5. Yes Natalie Bassignthwaite is also very bland at times – she is a beautiful and gorgeous woman but she doesn’t she have the natural charisma of a Cat Deeley to draw viewers in. She comes across as very bland and a try hard at times – like she is forcing a smile. But to be fair I don’t mind her – I just don’t love her.
6. Yes way too much padding on the show – needs to be trimmed in parts – I have no idea why they have the segment at the end showing the dancers drawing the cards. Just let us know on the next show. May build curiosity to watch the show on Wed night.
7. Ok phew – I know I have been very critical but I still watch and enjoy the show because I love dancing. I just flick channels when any annoying bits come on – like judges comments going overboard or lots of sobbing.
I thought it odd Wednesday night that Jason utterly dismissed one of the performances, commenting on the choreography that “he didn’t like it, didn’t understand it” (after also explaining that he didn’t like or understand Picasso!) … but doesn’t this miss the point? His job as a judge is to critique the DANCING, not the chory, or what it means, or the (at times) pretty lame stories being told within. That’s just unfair to the two dancers whose job it is to perform what they’re given to the best of their ability. I just wish they’d strip the show back to great dancers performing great dance.
I’ve never seen Dance, having been sucked into Loser, Idol and BB many years ago. To me they have always patronised the viewing audience, but then you just have to acknowledge the demographic and well it makes sense. I avoid these cheap tacky shows – aside from the odd accidental preview during a show I’m actually watching but usually the mute button works – as I’m sick of the journeys, the tears, the judges softly gushing candidly as to why this season will be the best, unlike the other seasons which they also said would be the best and wait for it…You won’t believe the twist in the next episode.
This genre of tv is slower than a snail watching grass grow, unless you record and fast forward through all the repetitive rinse and repeats after each break.
I read somewhere that people are sick of reality TV that charges alot of money for their votes. I heard that in America voting is for free, maybe the shows here should make a deal with telephone provider with voting prices. It might helps. Instead charging cents per vote charge less. The judges also take took long to talk, and the hosts should get straight to the point.
The tag line for the show is Australia’s ‘favourite’ dancer, not ‘best’ dancer Jason Coleman – you have said so yourself.
Give me a break. The whole premise of the show is to find Australia’s favourite dancer, not Jason Coleman’s favourite dancer. If the outcome of the votes bothers you that much, get rid of the voting system altogether instead of telling viewers who they should or shouldn’t vote for. People are paying for their votes, after all.
More of the dancers, less of the judges. The less they say the better because if I hear “this is what this show is all about” ONE more time, I will swich off, yeah?
The strengths of the show are the choreography and the personalities of the dancers.
The Aust series has always suffered on the former in comparison to the US (with exceptions) and this series is suffering with the latter.
Also, 4 judges is too many (the US series with just 2 permanent and 1 choreographer on rotation is superior)
Also, the costumes and camera work on the Aust series is often shoddy
Good story David. For the past 2 season on both dance and idol, in this house we dont watch the shows live, we record them and fast forward all the “fill”. it is amazing how quickly the show is over doing it this way.
I agree that these are NOT the best dancers!
silly silly judges/execs – shot yourselves in the foot this year!
I’m not sure what the judges problem was – I would have had no problem sending two people home from last night’s bottom three couples (and FYI, Doug would NOT have been one of them). I’ve made the point on previous SYTYCD forum entries that I don’t believe they picked the best 20 dancers and I’m glad to see others agreeing. Honestly, I’m all for diversity among the dancers styles but only when they are the best dancers.
Oh, and I hate the new format of the elimination show with Jason inviting the dancers to perform their solos – it’s just bad tv. For once, please stick to the US format that works! Grrrr!
I used to watch the US version, i loved it, but this was way back when it first started and no one watched it. Was an awesome show.
Then the Australian version came along, i started to watch but stopped after about 3 eps. It was terrible, Nat Bass is awful as host, she sounds so nasal when she talks, the judges are all annoying, and the dance routines were not that great.
Fantastic feedback from viewers on SYTYCD here. Such good points, I so hope Ten execs scan this forum to read this thread.
I agree about the “Australia’s favourite dancer” comments. Yes, Natalie and the judges often refer to it as a contest to find Australia’s “favourite” dancer. Rarely, if ever, do they refer to it as a contest to find Australia’s “best” dancer. As we all know, there is a world of difference between the “best” dancer and the “favourite” dancer. Producers, make up your mind about this once and for all. Do you want us to vote for the best dancer or the one who appeals to us the most? Truly, this is something they have to fix once and for all. It can’t be both – it is either Australian’s fave dancer or Australia’s best dancer that viewers vote on.
@ Bella – really excellent point. The viewers played no part in choosing the Top 20. The Top 20 was wholly and solely the judges’ decision. Therefore, it is totally inane to lambast the audience for favouring weak dancers. There should be no weak dancers in the Top 20, as it is the judges’ job to weed the weak dancers out during the elimination heats. The Top 20 should be made up of outstanding dancers, and if it is not, then the judges have not done their fob.
I’m finding Jason Coleman more and more offensive. The judges selected the top 20. If there are “weak” dancers in there then it’s not Austraia’s fault.
SYTYCD has definitely gone down the gurgler. I agree about the banana commercials and if I hear Jason C say Dullin’ ( I think he is trying so say darling!!!) to any of the girls again I think I will scream. He has turned into a pretentious git. he used to be my fave. Now I tape the show so I can fast forward the judging sections.
Exactly, well said. They need to make a choice about whether it’s Australia’s best or favourite dancer. Jason’s been banging on about being favourite for so long, don’t whinge and complain when the vote doesn’t go the way he wants it to.
You should have seen the padding on the biggest loser the other night. Woman walks into the kitchen and see envelope. Cut to an interview with her saying that she walked into the kitchen and saw an envelope. She walks back into the lounge room. Cut to an interview with a guy telling us that she came in with an envelope. Two more bits of people saying they were nervous followed by her reading out a message to go to another room. They all get up and go. Seriously! Ten! Nothing happened. You could have just had them walking into the room. They are really stretching it. I’ve given up on it. The U.S one is quite good, things happen then they get on the scales. I know we can’t afford to spend that much money in Australia without getting 6 nights a week out of it but it I really wish we could.
I will never watch a show where the public’s decision is the basis for people winning these competitions. Give me Masterchef anyday…
I agree totally. The judges are the worst part of the show. I watch all the dancing and then watch something else while they are speaking (especially Bonnie and Jason). They continually patronise us and it annoys me when Jason says ‘our world’ and ‘for all those viewers at home who don’t know dancing’.
Come on Jason, we are educated people watching the show, don’t treat us like idiots.
Spot on!
I don’t know if the judges/producers are patronising us. I believe that Australia made a stupid decision with the elimation last night. Two exciting personalities were booted out of the competition. WTH?
I am quite shocked there were only 767,000 viewers on Wednesday night – that’s abysmal. But I agree, there is very little dance content for a dance show. Squish the show down to 1hour. Put at least 2 dances in each segment.
This show has fantastic potential – TEN don’t seem to know what they’re doing anymore…
“Also a big lol at whatever jason was wearing…”
Agreed!! Last night Jason said “And now to the bad” and my husband immediately yelled “Your jacket!” at the tv.
Simple – don’t allow for sob stories, just get out there and dance. And instead of trying to be the next simon cowell the judges should simply write notes on a piece of paper and make their decisions behind closed doors………yawn. He might think australians are too dumb to vote but he’s obviously too dumb to develop a tv show. Sheesh, you’re not looking for someone to perform a heart transplant, let people vote for who they like.
I believe the main reason the show is losing ratings is because its on a Wednesday & Thursday night, with Wednesday’s show finishing late at 10pm. Because it’s a family show what parent would let their younger children stay up that late to watch it? It worked well being on a Sunday & Monday night and ratings showed that.
I agree that Jason’s direct comments to the public were a bit off, but it’s obvious he wasn’t happy about sending two very talented dancers home while Don & Issi (easily the worst dancers on Wednesday nights show and overall as well) are getting ready to dance again next week.
I’ve been a huge fan of the show and will continue to watch and vote like I do every year
Used to watch it on Sundays. Never watch it on Wed/Thur. Just the wrong nights.
and…because of the laboured pace and over-run of SYTYCD I now record ‘Burn Notice’ and watch it on the weekends – rather than live.
@DND.. its just another way for Jason to make the show about him thereby saying “playback” would make him sound more unique… it doesn’t. Also a big lol at whatever jason was wearing…
I think that the ratings drop may be due also to the time the show is now on. It is a show that all the family can watch yet goes from 8 to 10pm on a school night. I also record so can fast forward through the boring bits and watch at a more reasonable time.
I too record and watch later in an effort to save time and eye rolling on my part. I don’t care to hear the choreographers explaining the story of the dance. If it’s good choreography it should engage the viewer without the need to hear about the tragic disappearance of the choreographer’s neighbour’s budgie. Bonnie please we just watched it no need for you to verbalise every step of the routine. It’s missing a bit of “wow” this year. I blame the judges for choosing “dancers” who are in reality acrobats and then expect them to point their toes and and extend their lines.
I don’t want to get pedantic, but I thought Australians called it (.) a full stop, not a period.
Have a look at Masterchef – one of the refreshing parts of that show to me was that the voting was taken out of “our” hands and it was left up to the judges to keep the star performers – why can’t that work for this show too
WTF is this crap when Jason starts saying “…ok playback” at the start of each solo performance?
I do agree with a lot of these things… However, as a loyal fan of the show, I don’t think that they’re the biggest problems. I just don’t feel the routines are as exciting this year as compared to previous years, and the contestants really lack personality and individuality. The pace of the show also makes me want to switch off. I actually enjoy Thursdays’ shows more than the Wednesday performances! I love watching the group dances and also the solos.
In my household, we never watch SYTYCD live. It’s always recorded so we can get straight to the dancing. I reckon that’s a saving of over half the run time of the show.
We do listen to most of the judges comments – at 1.3x speed so they sound like chipmonks. But we completely forward through whatever Bonnie has to say.
Excellent David and so true !
90-100 minutes is just too long drawn out for a show that’s on more than once a week.
Personally I think the judges should choose who stays and who goes. However I guess they need the Phone up revenue. I only vote in the Finals…….
TV Tonight patrons keep on telling Ch Ten that they are getting their programming wrong but obviously they are not listening ;-(
I actually think the remaining dancers pulling cards out of a hat to see their next dance routine is a good idea. In the previous two seasons, the draw was done backstage after the results show, and the viewers did not find out until the following week’s performance show. But I think the ad breaks are too long.
I can’t stand the male judges – they can’t speak at all, yeah?
Australian reality shows are just advertising for sponsors, anyone want a NaNa??
Also, how can a show run over 10mins late everytime it’s on?? It’s because of all the filler, I agree David.
David, I agree 100% with everything you said. Great dance, amazing stuff, yet unbearably painful to sit through. And can someone remind Jason what the tagline to the show is. Last I looked it was ‘Australia’s Favourite dancer’. Not Jason’s favourite, not even Australia’s best dancer. The views are always right. Yeah?
Well said David… I wish we could just watch the dancers that really are very talented… the verbal dribble from the judges is so bad sometimes I hit mute on the TV until they are done!
“If TEN is serious about wanting more votes, how about offering it online via a registered email?”
Exactly!! They can get the same sorts of sponsorship – sponsors in reply emails to confirm that the vote has been received (although I’m sure it’ll be from the Navy – “yvan eht nioj”)
Last night’s show was just so…painful. I love the show, i’ve been really disappointed with the ratings – but I completely understand why. It becomes really frustrating seeing that the teeny bopper vote holds such power – because it’s true, the best dancers aren’t getting through – that’s why the sms system fails.
It also becomes ridiculously frustrating at the waste of time on useless crap – why the hell do we need Jason to introduce each dancer before they “dance for their lives” – it’s a wasted 60 seconds before each one, and last night showed his blatant favourtism “Doug, come on down my special mate”… We also didn’t need the five minutes of Jason crapping on about how wonderful the new Hairspray musical will be which will be choreographed by, shock, Jason himself!! That annoyed me more than anything I’ve seen for a while – guess what Jason, the show isn’t actually about you!!!
its all far too worthy…They are just dancers…its the same old story of the producers being too close to the action and they beilieve they are trying to find a cure for cancer…cut the tedious granstanding by the self impprtant judges and a put a bit more production into the actual dance…the direction on the dance numbers is laboured and boring.. the show neeeds a good dose of Berocca to put the zing back into it…it has become exceedingly pedestrian..!!
Excellent critique of the show, I agree with everything you say. There is wayyyy too much filler on SYTYCD, it often runs over time and it is slowly destroying itself. A crying shame as it is one of the better reality shows by a country mile. The laying of guilt trips on on viewers over show voting trends is nothing new – Idol and Dancing With The Stars do this constantly. It’s just that when Jason does it, he sounds like a badgering school teacher, very condescending. Phone-in voting should not be the only way to vote. People should also be able to register votes online, but hey, that would be robbing the network of the fat profits they make off the phone votes. Don’t hold your breath waiting for online voting.
Wow. I haven’t watched this year because there are more interesting things on, but even if I had I wouldn’t have voted because I think its a waste of money and that little speech from the judge wouldn’t have changed my mind that is for sure.
I think he needs to remember that most of Australia aren’t experienced dancers and so we all probably look at the contestants a little bit differently from him. He says “Vote for the dancers. Vote for the routines.” But I honestly can’t think of anything else we’d be voting on. Unless people are voting for the hottest couple or something?
Great article David – completely agree with everything you said. When Dance first started I was hooked, but last year and this year I’ve started tuning in less and less, primarily because of the arrogance and patronising tone of the show, particularly from the judges. Jason especially seems to always give technical information to people “who aren’t part of the dancing world”, explaining “how difficult it is” to do a particular style of dance. While I think he has valid points, it can be quite patronising at the same time. Let Natalie do more talking, and less time for the judges to talk themselves up.
These shows shove the sob stories down our throats – then complain when viewers vote along those lines. If they want viewers to judge on talent alone, don’t offer them any info on the contestants other than their capabilities and ambitions in the genre they’re competing in.
That said, all reality shows pretty much follow the same pattern and whilst there are surprises along the way when clearly those who should be voted out remain over those who should have been kept in, ultimately the winner is the right winner (and the finalist too in fact). And if shows didn’t have upsets along the way – well, people wouldn’t bother watching and wouldn’t bother voting.
Some of these wannabe judges should take a look at Mr Simon Cowell – he never criticises how the public vote in his shows and after controversial outcomes on The X Factor especially he has always defended how the public vote and basically put te blame on the artist (or themselves as mentors) for not doing enough to get the public to vote for them, regardless of how talented they are.
Well said. I am a massive sytycd fan but if it comes back next year they need to get rid of two things-Jason and Bonnie. One is so patronising and plays favourites and the second adds no value to the whole process. It’s still a great show and I’m sure they could get Jason gilkinson and Kelley abbey in as new judges or perhaps David atkins. I’m just sick to death of Jason Coleman trying to educate the viewers at home… It’s too much.
David…you’ve hit the ‘nail on the head’ …. i could have written this article myself – everything you say is completely true and definately the way i (probably most people) feel…. “Shut up Jason”….!!!!!!!
Well here I go blowing this same old trumpet.
I am not paying my hard earned money to place votes on these types of shows.
This format basically subsidises the production costs
It also gives the result of last night and what we have seen on Idol before
If you run with this format – then expect this result, because this is what you will get.
If the Judges disagree – then let them vote, as David has already said.
No One is a winner here – The voters do their money and the judges don’t get the correct pool to keep their favourites.
I think one of the key things here is that they’ve always said they’re looking for Australia’s “favourite” dancer. They never say best. Half of it is ability sure but the other half is likeability. Someone like that Matt guy in my opinion probably won’t last long because I find he comes across as arrogant no matter how well he can dance. (He actually reminds me a lot of Spencer from The Hills both in physical appearance and personality.)
the judging takes too long, the packages are not edited tightly enough, and i hate the banana commercials dressed up as rehearsal footage.
i agree with some of what you have said daivd, the show is def stretched and it should be more like 30 mins long with 3 ad breaks!
I did agree with jason though, australia got it totally wrong last night and the worst couples were saved and the best up for elimination, don should have gone last night.