I love Kevin...i have to admit he has really grown on me and he's such a sweetheart and a great partnership with Susannah who is like a breath of fresh air, i adored their American Smooth last night, they both were so into it, they looked like they were having the best time.
I do think Natalie and Artem are the ones to beat. They are almost flawless and again, Natalie was getting right into the dance. I liked Abbey's dance and do not deny that she has talent but there is something about her that rubs me the wrong way. My daughter had a friend who her mum described as a bit of a flibbertigibbit and i think this also describes Abbey very well, until she's on that dancefloor, she's always posing, fiddling with her hair and pawing Aljaz. I think she's really over familiar with him at times too. It grates on me.
Tonight's elimination for me should be Pasha/Rachel and ideally Dave but the voters adore him so perhaps Patrick/Anya? Rachel's paso was awful, she didn't have any of the haughty arrogance that the female paso dancer should have, her paso lines were mournful. Pasha has had very good dancers in the past, he's made the final in the first two years of his Strictly tenure, i really don't think he'll last that long this time, Rachel very much reminds me of Victoria Pendleton last year.
I think there's a lot of expectation regarding Rachel and IMHO she's not quite delivering yet. I think it's all down to confidence, once she gets it, she will do well but last night's paso was not good at all, it was very stiff in places. Dave didn't even try with his routine, they just went for the laughs. I agree that she was better than Dave but she wasn't very good either. As much as i love Dave, i think he's outstaying his Strictly welcome now.
yeah I agree about the expectation, but for her to go over Dave would have been just wrong - IF the competition is based on dancing!
sad actually that the dragon went, the wrong couples were in the bottom two last night!
The competition is only loosely based on dancing - it's naive to think it's anything other than a popularity contest, certainly to begin with anyway.
The scoring is kinda skewed such that the ones at the top of the judges' scoring should stay in, but there is still an expectation that the public has to vote for you. Once we get to 9 or fewer couples, there is a mathematical possibility that any couple could make the dance-off, but they'd have to be VERY unpopular with the public, so generally the right people will make December at least...but there will always be anomalies as the public get behind certain celebrities like Dave.
I think he will (should) go next week. He's done the funny thing but he's not good enough now and others who are also good entertainment value, like Mark, but can actually dance should stay.
I liked Deborah, but Patrick's dance was better, so the right one (from the two) went.
I agree that it was most definitely the wrong two in the dance off this week and i will have to disagree in saying i thought the wrong couple were eliminated. I thought Deborah and Robin were far better than Patrick and Anya. Hand injury aside, the dance was just...'meh' to me. But both Robin and Deborah were gutted at leaving, she really enjoyed her time there and she was really growing on me, i only know her from 'Dragon's Den' and she was always so no-nonsense on that but we saw a whole different side to her on Strictly.
I'm hoping Dave will be eliminated shortly. He's lovely and he's having a great time but he just can't dance and this week he just didn't even try to. And how Rachel got through is a mystery, even she was shocked.
Kevin's charleston was the best from tonights show, i dont care what anyone else thinks! he's such a fun dancer to watch & even with his halloween werewolf costume & hairy face he still looked adorable!
I cant deny it & i feel like like i'm cheating on Damien! (I'm kidding)! Seriously though it has to be Dave Myers to leave tonight.
He's a really nice man , funny entertaining etc but he cant dance! I think Natalie is very good with Artem but she's over rated & i read somewhere that she's been dancing since she was a kid! Very unfair advantage if this is true! Lol @ moi i only started watching for the eye candy & now i'm a expert !
Another week where the voters forgot that no one is safe! Dave should have gone, but people are voting for him, and Mark and Fiona, because they're at the bottom. Abby was a surprise but it's proof that it's now mathematically possible for anyone to be in the dance off so will hopefully spur people into voting for their favourites. It will right itself hopefully next week.
Unbelievable voting going on. Dave survives to dance another week, who on earth is voting for him? I thought for sure, going by dances alone, that he and Mark would be in the bottom two but silly me, thinking this was a dancing competition.
Again, the wrong two were in the dance off, Rachel definitely improved massively this week and there was no way Abbey should've been there either, not at the expense of Sophie who was not very good at all this week.
It's not a dancing competition, not a pure one anyway. It's always been, in part, a popularity contest. If people want the better dancers to stay in, they have to pick up the phone or get online. I think having the free voting has probably helped Dave and Mark as people who probably wouldn't have paid money to vote in previous years are voting via the website this time round; can skew the vote somewhat.
Less than 10% of viewers actually vote; unfortunately if you want your favourite to stay, you have to ring in.
I have to admit, this year, since the online voting was introduced, i have been voting. You can vote five times for free online, i must be an unusual ones because my five votes go on five separate couples. Perhaps that's where i'm going wrong.
Still so sad for Rachel and Pasha, if it had been last week then fair enough, their dance was not good enough (she was stiff and stompy and jerky) but they had massively improved this week and they were eliminated at the expense of far less talented dancers. Shame.
Really enjoyed Abbey and Aljaz's charleston, it really suited her and the length of her legs!! wow!!
Adored Susanna and Kevin's waltz, they are such a lovely, well suited couple. Loving them more each week. Ashley and Ola's quickstep was sensational, so much better since he's sorted out his head and his posture and while i loved Patrick and Anya's American Smooth (so suited him) it was not worthy of a ten, not with the fluff with the lift at the end. He's one to watch.
Sophie just looked dead behind the eyes doing that Argentine Tango. It could've done with being snappier, sharper or crisper but again she looked languid, almost strolling through the steps at times. This could be her downfall, this is three dances where this has been pointed out to her.
Dave....yeesh, stompy tango but the Great British Public will save him once again.
Mark....weird rumba. I'm not a fan of the rumba to begin with but that one, a Bond rumba, just didn't quite work for me.
Was sad not to see Natalie and Artem's jive this week, from the training videos it looked like it could've been something special. Hope she's well enough to perform next week.
I did like Anton and Fiona's Paso, i didn't think i would but it wasn't that bad. Wasn't too fussed about Ben and Kristina's jive but bless him, his improvement from week one has been massive and he has the most beautiful smile.
I enjoyed all but 2 of the dances this evening! my fave this week has to be Abbey/Aljaz.Ben is really improving,boy did he look good in that sailor outfit! & nice to see Pasha again in the wings!
@rubyrosettared....agree with you bout Bens smile!
Sophie and Brendan: Very good quickstep, massive improvement on last week's dance. Sophie looked like she was actually dancing and not going through the motions.
Patrick and Anja. Bad luck about her shoe getting caught in the back of her dress, again! but she recovered well and that was a very sexy samba, Patrick has rhythmn! He's definitely one to keep an eye on.
Ashley and Ola's paso was an interesting concept and for the most part i enjoyed it but it didn't really wow me.
Ben and Kristina's American Smooth was fabulous, i really enjoyed it.
Anton and Fiona's American Smooth was pleasant but there were errors and it didn't wow me.
Mark and Iveta's jive, well there wasn't much in the way of bounce or sharpness of kicks and flicks but it was entertaining.
Aljaz and Abbey's quick step was also very good but i wish she'd leave her blasted hair alone and stop bliddy posing!
Natalie and Artem's Charleston was excellent, technically very very good BUT that wasn't enough fizz-pop for me. I loved the Josephine Baker, Gatsby aura about it but it felt like it was going at about 85% and not 100%, perhaps Natalie is still getting herself together. I liked it but i didn't love it.
The dance of the night for me was Susanna and Kevin's paso...WOW, now that was a proper, good, old fashioned Paso Doble. Lots of welly, passion and fire. I couldn't keep my eyes off them, Kevin really went for it.
The dance off: Mark and Fiona and i'm not bothered which of them to go.
Oh wasn't it wonderful - I do love a good Strictly at Blackpool!
The pro dances always completely wow... it's like being transported to another world, and all that talent they make it look effortless and magical but really they are top athletes!
All the dances were fab last night but for me Fiona and Anton were a touch better than Mark and Ivetta so it is a shame they were voted out tonight. Stll, they were the right couple to be i the bottom two and it must have been refreshing for Anton to stay in the competition this long
I vote each week online, you get 5 votes, I like that!
Forgot to say last week.. last week Sophie and Brendan's argentine tango got a bit too harsh comments, it was amazing! my fave dance of all and I look forward to other couple doing it in coming weeks.
I love the Argentine Tango and technically it was very good but Sophie just looked disconnected through it all, the lights were on but no one was home. There were snatches of connection to Brendan but at other times she just looked too languid and a bit bored. I love the Argentine Tango but i like it sharp, crisp and a bit fiery in places and she wasn't at all fiery, the judges had a point when they said she needed to act it a bit more, and she did this week and the improvement was massive.
The pro dances were fab, i always enjoy them. Yesterday and tonight's were very good.
I watched last night's show on catch up so missed the deadline for voting, if i had been able to, i think Kevin and Susanna would've got them. They're my favourite couple now, i have really warmed to Kevin, he's so lovely. And Susanna looks very much like my sister in law, they even have similar personalities, even my husband has commented on it.
Agree with you Lisa, there is something slightly missing in Sophie's performance isn't there? its like the spirit of the dance is somehow missing, but i can imagine that it is hard to relax into that when you have learnt a brand new thing in a week I hope she finds it because that would make her the exceptional dancer!
Kevin is such a likeable professional I hope he returns for next series
Well i thought last night's episode lacked a bit of something special, perhaps the dancers were suffering from Post Blackpool Fatigue. There was nothing about any of the dances that was particularly special. It all felt curiously flat.
Artem and Natalie's Tango while technically excellent, just felt cold and clinical, there was no whoomph and it didn't look like any kind of Tango i've ever seen.
Abbey and Aljaz's Paso was good, but the music was a weird choice, perhaps i was spoiled by Kevin and Susanna's with the proper paso music.
I think of all of them, the dance i enjoyed the most was Ola and Ashley's waltz (and Ola's dress was just gorgeous) but Ashley needs to get that head sorted out!
Bottom two: Mark and maybe Ben. Again, not bothered who goes home.
-- Edited by rubyrosettared on Sunday 24th of November 2013 04:39:32 PM
I think the problem Ashley has with his head is that he naturally inclines it to the right. Have a look when he is not dancing. Some people do this and it must be very difficult to correct it.
Ben's dance was the worst, although I like him. It should be between him and Mark.
The right two were in the dance-off and I really thought it was Mark's last dance, but Ben messed up bigtime so it was right that he went this week! You can't shake Mark off, lol!
I like that Mark gets so involved in the dances, he tries his very best but i think Craig is set against him no matter what. If Ben hadn't messed up his Charleston so obviously yesterday, Mark would've gone home. Ben is such a sweetie though, such a nice man. He won me over when we saw the VT with him and his daughters and he's such an obviously doting daddy, it was lovely to watch. And Ashley in the Musicals VT last night was hysterical, he's a rather funny man too.
I'm hoping for this week coming, the remaining dancers up their games because this weekend gone past was a bit boring.
Agree that the right two were in the dance off, but Ben was the better dancer overall...just a shame he messed up on the night!
As the competition progresses we are really getting down to the better dancers now, so in truth both Mark and Ben are not main contenders. Ashley and Patrick for the male dancers, Abbey and Natalie for the female - with Sophie and Susanna potentially going either way.
do think they judges are being a bit harsh on Sophie and Brendan though comparing scores across the night. And they seem to have nothing good to say which must be very discouraging!
Oh wasn't it wonderful - I do love a good Strictly at Blackpool! 
