Dancing with the Stars Season 18, Week 9 – Dancing by the Numbers!
I think the writing is on the wall for Candace, this week, I’m afraid. I’ll be very surprised to see her make it to night two. Not that it matters. She made it to the finale with Meryl, Amy and James and she should be VERY proud of that fact. I’m willing to bet that Mark gives her an amazing freestyle and I’m looking forward to seeing it. I’m looking forward to seeing all of them, actually.
In case you’re wondering, my last DBTN post will be on Tuesday morning and will show what the various players have to do to WIN – even though I think the odds are pretty firmly behind Meryl at this point. It all depends on if Maks manages a great Freestyle compared to the others. If they all suck, then he’s fine, but if Mark, Derek and Peta put on amazing freestyles and he doesn’t?? It might change the game. It might not, but it could. And before you start squawking about facebook…that seems to work for who gets eliminated, but I wouldn’t be so sure that it works for who WINS. You have to think about how Facebook likes actually work. You also have to consider the fan groups involved. Do you think that the Meryl and Maks fans are doing everything they can to make sure ALL of them go to facebook and “like” those photos, now that it seems to show something?? I sure do. Do all fan groups do that? Beyond one tweet, probably not. Now that people know it appears to work, they will work harder to “like” – yes, it is extremely counterintuitive, but does that surprise you? You also have to consider that some people probably “like” more than one person or dance – so while the lack of likes may show who’s leaving, an excess of likes may not indicate a WIN. Then there is a duration issue. How long do they wait between posting photos?? Is one couples photos going up first? Just some things to consider. I may analyze it more once the season is over – more from an intuitive angle than an actual math angle.
Anyway. This week I just left out the part of the post that includes Charlie’s numbers and went straight to the four remaining dancers. Sue me, I’m tired and I want to do something else. Here’s how it stacks up after two dances:
That order right there is how I think it will end up, on Tuesday, although it’s heavily dependent on the scores. Anyway, Meryl’s only got a 2 point lead on Amy and a 4 point lead on Candace. Not many points, but at this stage of the game it does equate to a good number of votes.
For Candace to make it to Tuesday night, she needs one of three things to happen:
- Candace needs about 13,100 more votes per million votes cast than James, OR;
- Candace needs about 19,700 more votes per million votes cast than Amy, OR;
- Candace needs about 26,200 more votes per million votes cast than Meryl.
I really don’t see any of that happening. It’s too stacked against her. Both she and James have been the last one standing a couple times, so I think if Candace can pass anyone, it will be James. If she were to do that James would need to get past either Amy or Meryl which involves:
- James would have to get 6,600 more votes per million votes cast than Amy, OR;
- James would need 13,100 more votes per million votes cast than Meryl.
If anything is going to work, he would get past Amy. He is the big heart throb after all. The only question is if the girls are seriously voting. He could be getting past Amy, but that only matters if Candace is getting past him. We won’t know until Monday night.
So, I think that Meryl is the only one safe for sure. The other three are in jeopardy. I predict that Candace is the one to be eliminated on Monday. If Candace is beating James, I think Amy could go home because James doesn’t have to do much to get past her. Remember…heart throb. 🙂
Here’s another prediction for you – I predict that if James makes it into the finale, they call him safe FIRST. Just to mess with ya’lls heads. Well, Meryl and Maks fans heads. We’ll see. And if they call Candace safe first? Amy fans should be worried.
Do they usually wait until the end of the show to give the results during the finale?
Does everyone dance the freestyle?
There is no “usually” any more. 🙂
Yes, everyone dances freestyle.
PH, Gawd help us, ain’t that the truth. TPTB have confused “half-assed chaos” with “creative spontenaiety”.
yeah I worded that very badly. lol
I’m with you…Candace will be eliminated. Then again, I’ve been saying that every week. lol Crazy!! It’s remarkable how far she’s come.
Not counting Charlie’s numbers do make bigger margins. I surely want Amy making it to final 3. And it’s very clear that Meryl has a very nice cushion between her and two other finalists namely James and Candace. I go with your predictions, Princess H. I’ll continue to think positive and hope (very fervently)that Amy is one of the last 3 celebs standing.
Thank you for this post.
My guess is that the 3rd place spot is between James and Candace with Candace going home. Then again, I said the same thing last week and Charlie went home 🙁 so what do I know?
I’ll still stick to the fact that it’ll be between Meryl, Amy and James on Tuesday night (think Candace’s scores just won’t be enough) and as much as I want James (or even Amy) to win, I do not even care who wins anymore. Just get thiss season over with so that I can start watching MasterChef until season 19 starts again 😛
I just hope that Amy gets to Day 2, so we can actually vote for her freestyle. It’s going to be the best, she has Derek behind her, c’mon 🙂
I am new here so I am have missed these type of posts. Wow – it’s fascinating to see the stats laid out like that. Thanks for the info.
I agree that this week’s Facebook “likes” have probably gone wacky this week because word has gotten out, but the Facebook rankings haven’t changed almost at all since week 4 when most people didn’t know about it, so the forecast has already been made.
What’s interesting about Facebook is that the dancers weren’t going up and down from week to week based on a particularly good dance, or a bad dance, or an unflattering package, or mean judge’s comments, or gushing judge’s comments. It looks like fans picked their favorite dancers at the beginning of the season and stuck with that choice to the end.
So for me it will just be interesting to see if the freestyles really shake things up or not.
Where do we see these Facebook rankings? Is someone publishing the stats?
I agree Lippy and would like to see some surprise. It has been Meryl and James for weeks. Would be great of Amy got the top spot with a great freestyle. Since ?Meryl and Maks both said foxtrot which was lovely but heavy on the showmance and not a long in hold ( which Derek criticism used to yell about him and Nicole’s foxtrot) think their freestyle will go that route. Maybe like Erin’s without the bed.
@CC #8
I also think the 3 finalists will be Meryl, Amy and James. I don’t have much hope that Amy will win because TPTB have done everything they could to insure a win for Maks. That said, I’ll still be power voting for Amy and Derek.
I can hardly wait until MasterChef starts. Love that show. Do you know if they renewed MasterChef Juniors for another season?
I just checked Facebook and Amy has been given NO post since May 10, one week ago, so how do we gauge where she stands in this BS of a show?
Candace finally got a post yesterday, but there are FOUR posts for Meryl. Both her jive and her v waltz have gotten separate posts complete with the video.
@Jara As far as I know they did renew it for a second season. Granted I did not watch the first one as it was on Fridays and it made it hard for me to catch up so I just never got around to it. Now the regular ol’ MasterChef .. Won’t be missing a single episode of that for sure! 😛 It’s my biggest guilty pleasure show second to DWTS.
And I tend to agree that there isn’t much hope for any of the finalists besides Meryl to win, however, you just never know with this show. I know the freestyle usually decides everything but I can’t help to think that even if Maks choreographs a lame, boring freestyle the judges will STILL make it seem like it’s amazing. I just don’t even know what to think at this point but like I said, whatever happens, happens. If Maks finally get shis trophy, good for him. He better make the most of it because we know damn well he’s never getting another one.
Yeah, I mproves between fb, Instagram or twitter, everything is Meryl and Maks. They can’t event be subtle.
I will just be glad when this season is over….but good luck to all
I think TPTB had to start giving Meryl more of her own posts because she was getting thousands and thousands of comments that were taking over all the other posts. If she is as popular as the Facebook activity indicates, they are giving people what they want.
#Rose – What you look at is the post where it gives pictures of all the dances and asks people to “like” their favorite dance, not individual posts. I just glanced at this week, and the numbers do seem to be inflated, but the rankings are generally what they’ve most of the season:
Meryl 15,400
James 8,400
Amy 7,700
Candace 4,500
Week 8:
Meryl 6,700
Amy 4,200
James 4,000
Candace 3,000
Charlie 2,000 (eliminated the following week)
I firmly believe there’s no fight for first place going on here, it’s a fight for second between Amy and James.
Kristyn out it best that Meryl’s name on that trophy from the start which makes giving her Maks very obvious. I imagine if Derek for Meryl, people would have said it was propped, producer gift etc. But since it is Maks, every struggle
Meryl has is so much bigger and tougher than Amy who has it easy,
Thanks CC. I’m really glad to hear they renewed it for a second season. Those kids were so amazing, it totally blew my mind. They were better than some of the adult chefs on MC. I hope you get to see the junior chefs this season.
I agree that Candace will likely be eliminated. There are pretty substantial margins for her to make up in votes. Who knows though? If she got this far, maybe her fans were even more fired up to vote …
In my opinion, Amy should at least get 2nd/runner up. However, James does have a big fan base, and he’s motivating them with promises of twitter follows and autographed memorabilia if they vote in large numbers. If he beats Amy, it’ll be because of his fan vote, although there is good support for Amy as well.
Hi Everyone! I agree….now that we’ve made Facebook-ology a “thing,” it’s probably ruined at this point…and every season from here on out. The Figure Skating boards have taken the FB theory to a whole new level.
Looking forward to all of the FS on Monday!
🙂 KB
Lippy, thank you. I hate Facebook and do not use it so I was clueless.
Very true, Kristyn and those same figure skating fans are devoted which is why without fb, figure Meryl wins.
I was James to remain over Candace, but think that Candace could easily pull the votes. She’s got a lot of campaigning going on for her.
If Amy doesn’t make it through, I’ll stop watching. She’s the only reason I watch anymore.
Whoop! I want James to remain over Candace – note to self: don’t type while talking on the phone. 🙂
I would love to see Candace get to Tuesday night, but the odds just aren’t with her. If Amy can’t get by Meryl, and I’m still hoping she can, I’ll be flipping to another channel because I won’t be able to watch Maks and family celebrate. Then he can compare pity wins with Tony.
And like others have said above, I can’t wait for Master Chef to start! Love that show!
Do those of you who’ve been watching for a long time have a sense of whether the viewing/voting audience changes for the finale? Does it come down to a final battle between established fanbases, or do enough casual viewers tune in that they can swing the results?
Yeah, Kristin, I’m of the mind that if Facebook gets the winner right it’s going to be a coincidence as opposed to indicative that it works.
The reason why I have belief in FB is that it didn’t just predict the obvious eliminations (Drew, Nene) it indicated a surprising lack of popularity for Cody and even more surprisingly, Charlie.
If Facebook winds up getting the final rankings correct 1-9, I think that’s way more than a coincidence, but we’ll see. Of course, Kristyn is right, now that it’s a “thing” it’s probably ruined.
AC, I think it changes from one season to the next. Or at least, my mind changes from one season to the next. I think a lot more people are watching, and a lot of people are voting for the first time.
Look at it this way, if it were a battle between established fanbases, Derek would win every time…and no matter how often his detractors make that claim, he doesn’t. Instead, it’s often people who are perceived on the internet to have the smaller fanbase. Meryl has FAR fewer followers than James or Cody, yet Cody is already gone and Meryl will likely beat James. Season 16 is a prime example – Zendaya had millions of twitter followers and Kellie had a mere fraction of that and Kellie won. Of course, that season the Zendaya fans couldn’t spam her to a victory – Kellie’s win was a true measure of the audience vote.
Lippy, I don’t think that’s what I said at all. I said that if it get the WINNER right, it’s probably coincidence. Back when no one was really commenting on what Facebook was indicating, it was PURE, meaning that it was reflective of what the audience was thinking. Now that people see it as an indicator, they’re more likely to get people to campaign to like their favorites, hence those campaigning are easily at the top. But if Candace and Amy fans aren’t campaigning…it doesn’t work.
Intuitively, it’s going to be MUCH easier to predict who’s going to leave via Facebook than who might WIN.
It’s just that the rankings haven’t changed much since Week 4 when it seems like no one was aware of it, and therefore it presumably was still pure.
Switch week:
Meryl 10,000
James 4,400
Amy 3,300
Candace 3,200
Charlie 2,400
Danica 1,900
Drew 1,800
Nene 1,300
Cody 1,200
That’s why it will be so interesting to see whether the final four wind up in exactly the same order FB had them in as of Week 4 or will the freestyle really matter as much as think. (Switch week was also interesting because the “likes” followed the dancer, not the pro.)
The thing is, I fully expect Amy’s freestyle to be orders of magnitude better than James’s…but will it matter?
But what I’m saying Lippy is that it only truly works at the bottom of the leaderboard, not the top. And yes, the dances matter because not only do I think the number of votes cast increase in magnitude, but that the judges scores count.
I tend to believe that it will be Meryl, James and Amy on through to Tuesday night (STILL can’t wrap my head around James still being in the competition. I guess you should never underestimate the tenacity of the Nick crowd, huh.)
There’s obviously something missing in me since I can’t seem to connect with Meryl’s performances (I tend to get the creepy crawlies on my skin during some of them.) I just DON’T GET the public seeming fascination/infatuation with her. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a beautiful dancer, I just don’t feel it.
Amy’s inspiring, but I’ll make my actual comments about her dancing on my own blog because it just incites people when I do it here at Pure. Unfortunately, I think she may end up 3rd, but I guess I should wait until after Monday night to make those predictions.
Candace is a sweetie but I just don’t know if the demographic of her fanbase lends itself to the “power voting” of James’ younger demographic. You need an awful lot of free time on your hands to manage dozens of email accounts and their corresponding FB and ABC.com logins. Most well-adjusted, working adults are just too busy actually managing their own lives to devote that kind of time to a celeb/TV show. That’s why I tend to think it will be James over Candace into Tuesday night. (which should be a relief for Candace since I think the 24 hour Fusion dance would have made her miserable with nerves again.)
Pollyanna here again, folks.
Regarding Facebook, I continue to believe that huge numbers of people who are and will be voting for Amy have never been to Fb, so that Amy’s numbers there are irrelevant. I think that those who have posted disgusting comments about Amy have no idea what they have unleashed.
I think the fact that Maks and his fans would consider a win by M/M legitimate is pathetic and shows their level of desperation. No indictment of Meryl in any of this. She has made the best of the situation she’s been put into. Am sorry that we’ve really not seen, except for her dance with Val, what she’s capable of. Maks will look like a moron if he wins and gloats about it, just like Tony.
And James, though I like him a lot, if he doesn’t fix his Groucho Marx gait, he’s going to have score problems.
Pollyanna signing off for now.
Lol Angie I believe you have already said a mouthful. I know I’m overstepping, just that the crap against a star like Amy has finally hit a nerve. As much as I love Amy and Derek, I am so dismayed at what this season has brought out in people and even more dismayed when I think that these very people are raising children and grandchildren. Hopefully, they aren’t representative of our culture at large.
Rose1 #38, my comment about not critiquing Amy here is simply that it seems that ANY critique (not just bashing/trashing, which is NOT what I’m talking about) tends to make people feel like they have to jump to her defense and things start to get tense and that’s really not what I intended. Obviously, I should have simply said she was inspiring and left it at that. I apologize.
Also, after re-reading my comment it may have seemed that I was saying that it was unfortunate that she would end as HIGH as 3rd. My meaning was the opposite. I think it will be unfortunate that James may pull past her into second and since I don’t feel like he actually belongs in the finals, that’s what makes it unfortunate.
Unfortunately, Angie, most critique of Amy comes off as moronic – if yours does or not is kind of irrelevant, because the moron level is SO HIGH that you are likely to get tarred by the same brush, warranted or not. Attempting to critique Amy as if she is any other dancer is rather stupid because she’s so clearly NOT any other dancer. She should be critiqued on what she can do, instead of some faux comparison to the ice dancer with two legs. And she’s done some amazing dancing.
And you’re right – you did make a mistake in your first comment.
@Angie #36
I don’t feel it either when Meryl dances. She doesn’t move me like other good dancers in the past seasons who made it to the finals. Can’t quite put my thumb on it; but, it seems like she is all technicality and not much “bubbly” on the dance floor. I’m not putting her down, though. She’s is really good, but something is missing. It’s something that she didn’t need so much on the ice; and I don’t think Maks is bringing it out in her. I think another pro would have pushed her towards making it all about her and not the pro. (like Val did with the A.Tango) With Meryl’s help, Maks has been making it all about him to repair the damage he’s done in the past with his image. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel Meryl didn’t reach her full potential; and she has talked like that is why she chose to appear of DWTS. I think Sharna challenged Charlie more than Maks challenged Meryl. And, Charlie should be in the finals by all human reasoning cause he was just that good!
The only conclusion I can draw is that Angie and others believe Amy is fine as a token dancer., but should not be competing against people with two legs.
And that, Rose, is exactly the impression I get from a lot of the comments critiquing Amy. It’s not “all dancers should be critiqued the same” that I hear, but “how dare they score her so well when it’s OBVIOUS she can’t be as good cuz she has no legs like Meryl does” or “Meryl is a pure dancer and Amy can’t be because she can’t pivot”. WTF?? All that bitching about a table and a stool completely negates the fantastic dancing that came out of it. How is that “less” dancing that walking slowly across the floor for 15 seconds, or gazing into Maks’ eyes and nearly kissing him for 15 seconds?? Answer: IT’S NOT. It’s actually a lot MORE.
The thing that these people miss is that it’s really no different this season than it is any others – every dancer is always compared to their own ability. If that WASN’T true, Candace would have been gone a while ago and Charlie would still be there. By THAT metric, Amy has deserved every score she’s gotten. Even without that metric, Amy has deserved her scores. This happens season after season after season – but Amy is actually a dancer, and a good one. This is no different than Leah Remini getting 9’s the same week that Corbin did…except that Amy is a far better dancer than Leah was. Same goes for Bristol Palin’s scores. But Amy is at the Brandy level, not the Bristol level. James is the one getting scores nearly as good as Amy when the dancing isn’t on the same level. The focus is on Amy because people are terrified that the combination of her and Derek could “steal” the MBT.
Rose1, I’m really not trying to be a complete bitch here, but PLEASE, don’t put words in my mouth. I find the word “token” offensive and would NEVER use it to describe anyone.
Even sadder is those who see her as the token dancer then say everyone is patronizing her. They are worse because they are upset she gets to even dance on legs. If you hear Derek, he gave her a table so she would still dance but be independent and balanced, you know, same folks who say Derek just drags her around.
Angie…she’s saying how she perceives the comments that are written, not that you actually used the word. That’s how I perceive many of the comments as well – and I find THEM offensive.
PH, since my comment called Amy “inspiring,” is that now condescending and offensive? *sigh*
I realize my stating that I would make my actual comments on Amy’s dancing on my own blog intimated that they would be negative, but that’s not really the case. I’d simply make some statements that probably would cause a full on melt-down by some people. I’ve felt like ANY comments about Amy that aren’t glowing are immediately jumped on and the poster is automatically assumed to be bashing her. It’s such a fine line that I’ve pretty much just not commented on her at all (since my first couple of posts in regards to her). Obviously, I need to return to that M.O.
I think Amy has gotten a fair amount of special consideration that she never asked to get. She was majorly out of synch with Derek during the side-by-side seated portion of her jazz routine, and yet CAI was the only one who took off a point for it. It had nothing to do with her not having legs — she was just way off the count. Somehow the other judges called it as perfect. I’m pretty sure Amy knows that it was far from perfect, and I’m guessing that she’d have been fine with a deduction.
Except Ziggle amy is not the first or last celeb where that has happened. Jason Taylor literally tripped and still got tens.
I know this is hard to fathom, Angie, but reading back over my comment and Rose’s I see pretty clearly that we were talking about MORE than just you. You opened the door…pretty funny that you now whine about it.
“majorly out of sync” – yeah, that’s like saying that Meryl fans only use a tiny bit of hyperbole. A one point deduction was perfectly acceptable – that you want a four point one is YOUR issue.
Zingle, simply NOT true. Amy was off a couple of counts but it’s the “majorly” and “way off” that tells me you saw only what you wanted to see. Maybe you should watch it again. No table complaint?
PH — I disagree with you that James is being overscored & that his dancing isn’t on the same level as Amy’s. First of all, I think it’s a disservice to Amy and all handicap-able people to put her in the “separate but equal” category. Candace has anxiety about performing, maybe James has scoliosis or some other “disability” that isn’t apparent to the human eye. Marlee Matlin is deaf, but she was scored on the same level as everyone else her season, despite not being able to hear the music. Amy obviously has no feet and can’t “feel” her prosthetics; maybe that means she will have to work harder than everyone else to learn how to stay within the rules of each dance but she shouldn’t be judged differently from the other stars. If you want the judges to change their score to cater to each competitor, push for a season that features only disabled stars (just like the Paralympics following the Olympics).
On to my original point, it is rather unfair to say that Amy is a better dancer than James, as her dancing capability and range are far limited to his in comparison. Amy can’t dance on her own; she needs the support of a partner or stool/desk/prop. James probably is a better dancer solo versus in hold/partnerwork, and he would be even more amazing if he had a partner that could lead him in the ballroom dancers (but that’s not how these things work). The average viewer doesn’t realize this, but the DWTS competition is much more challenging for the males stars than the females. The men have to learn how to lead, in addition to dancing. The successful men on the show have to be able to lead the female pro; not an easy feat by any means. James, even more than Charlie at times, really has mastered that skill this season. I think that the experienced dancers in this forum would agree. There’s just much more involved for a “James” than a “Meryl.” It’s more difficult to make your partner look good doing the dance than to have someone make you look good, and an exceptional male lead (Derek is the best) can really make almost anyone look good — probably even Abby Lee!
The show relies equally on audience vote to compensate for the judges scores. If Amy truly got the scores she deserves, based on her ability and performance, she would have been much lower on the leaderboard each week. She’s an inspiration, and it’s truly amazing to watch her dance — something that tugs at the heartstrings of the majority of the audience I imagine. What she may lack in ability (and a fair & consistent scoring system) in comparison to the other stars can then be balanced out via audience voting. Otherwise, the show should just be based on judge’s scores.
I knew someone once who, when faced with a choice between two things, not only made her choice but also had to kill the alternative. To me, that’s an indication of insecurity about the choice you’ve made, and killing the alternative is the only way to make sure you’re seen as having made the “right” choice. That’s how I see the M/M fan(atic)s. Choose Meryl, by all means, and go on and on and on about how wonderful you think she is. But it’s not necessary to kill Amy in the process. It is petty, and does nothing to enhance the legitimacy of a (potential) M/M win. If you feel it’s necessary to enhance M/M legitimacy, then maybe you should reconsider your choice. But leave Amy out of it.
You’re free to disagree, Vin2, but my point is that Amy is dancing just as well as the others – there is no rule that says you have to stand on your own, there is no rule that you can’t use props, and there is no rule that you have to use the whole floor. Those are PREFERENCES, not rules. Amy does work harder and Derek uses what he has to to make sure she has dances of the same quality as the others. I happen to think she is dancing better than either James or Candance and by a good bit – You and others seem to think that even though she has to work around it to get there means she’s NOT doing as well. She’s not “separate but equal” – she’s just equal. You think that because Amy gets great scores while having no feet automatically means she is being over scored – I think that’s a disservice to “handicap-able” people too. You and others automatically assume there is no way that Amy can possibly produce a dance of high quality, therefore she’s being over scored. I think you’re the one who’s actually discriminating here, Vin. I think she has tons of ability and talent – she can’t point toes she doesn’t have so you would have her be docked points from each judge in spite of the fact that from the knee up her dances are fantastic?? Go back and watch her Jive again, please. I don’t know what to make of your contention that Candace’s anxiety is what is making her dance at a level not even close to Amy and Meryl. Then there’s a fictional scoliosis for James. It boggles the mind. You are approaching it from the assumption that Amy is being over scored because she has no feet and then trying to claim that James and Candace aren’t being over scored because of their “disabilities” real and fictional?? Um, yeah. That’s an interesting point of view for sure.
The competion is harder for the men?? I guess you’ve never heard of back leading then?? It’s much harder for the females, actually – the men only have to be the frame, the women are the picture. As for Derek being able to make anyone look good – that’s his JOB. That’s the job of all the pros. Some don’t do it as well as others. Obviously.
“# Rose1 commented on May 17, 2014:
The only conclusion I can draw is that Angie and others believe Amy is fine as a token dancer., but should not be competing against people with two legs.”
I believe my interpretation of this being an example of someone trying to “put words in my mouth” is a correct one. And since it is NOT accurate, I took issue with it and felt the need to respond.
I also don’t believe I’m whining about anything, but as that is also open to interpretation, I guess I’ll have to leave it at that.
Vin2, just curious, how would u have scored Amy’s jive and why?
:::rolls eyes::: She’s talking about how she reads what you and others write. That’s one of the consequences of posting.
I think, rose, that what he and others like Angie are getting at is that since Amy doesn’t have feet, she should automatically lose two points from each judge, REGARDLESS of how amazing the dance was from the knees up, because clearly, if you don’t have feet, you can’t do everything that you have to do in a dance. Never mind the fact that her “feet” were pointed in the jive and her flicks and kicks were amazing, or that her feet were pointed in her contemporary dance and it was very emotional (as it should be) or that her quickstep was AMAZING (and she was docked for a lack of body contact).
Yeah, even I sound like an asshole when I put it that way. 😀
ETA: I just got it. Vin and Angie and others absolutely want her scored differently than the other contestants – I want her scored the way that everyone else in the competition is scored, that is according to her own ability. They say that want her scored like everyone else is, but that’s just not true. As I’ve said for YEARS, people on this show are scored according to their own ability, by their own yardstick, not as compared to other dancers. In week 1 last season, Corbin got a 24 while Jack got a 23. Do you see them as on the same level?? In week 7, Jack got a 27 while Corbin got a 29. If this were JUST a dance contest, where all that mattered was the dance and they were scored against each other, you guys might have a point. But it’s never been that, and the fact that you are NOW complaining about it…well, it’s interesting.
#37 Suzy “I think the fact that Maks and his fans would consider a win by M/M legitimate is pathetic and shows their level of desperation.”
I don’t understand. Why shouldn’t they consider it a legitimate win? I was rooting for someone else but I’ll still think it’s legit if Meryl and Maks win. They played by the rules, and if they get the scores and the votes, then it’s a valid win.
@AC Well, M&M have been pretty much shoved down people’s throats all season long (the heavy campaigning by ABC for the two is unbelievable.. don’t even think Zendaya was pimped that hard). Not to mention that those scores you mention have often time been WAAAAY too generous. There’s actually MANY factors involved that makes it look like that win was quite manipulated.
I have to side with AC on this one. It’s a “legitimate win” as in it falls within the rules of the show. You don’t have to like it…and you can certainly say there is an element of the “pity vote” to it (there is a lot of evidence for that all over twitter), but that doesn’t make it an illegitimate win. I will also add that it was certainly manipulated…but I don’t think the votes were.
#AC They have received grossly more attention than any of the other couples. Meryl is (to quote PH) the biggest ringer the show has ever had, a fact that M/M fans would have bellyached about forever. Hell, they even bellyache about a contestant with no feet! The “Maks has never won” contingent want a trophy for him, and don’t seem to care why/how he gets it. Maks has more or less said that Meryl gives him an unfair advantage (my words, not his). And the fact that he seems to capitalize on projecting a romance (real or not) rather than just standing behind their dancing I find very childish. And finally as many others have commented, their partnership has been all about him, not Meryl. And so, for me, not legitimate.
Angie, you might want to go all the way back to your first comments on this blog to see why you’re being labeled that way. I have the benefit of being able to see them all in one spot. It’s history. Sometimes it comes back on you.
I wonder if Maks isn’t at a disadvantage doing a striped down freestyle because the last 2 out of 3 season freestyles were stripped down. A stripped down in and of itself isn’t a wow factor anymore. It’s old news so I’m curious if it will come off as big a deal as Maks would like it to. Of course given he has Meryl who can execute extremely well it may not matter.
Well, when you put it like that, Suzy…by hook or by crook would certainly feel illegitimate.
But I think at the end of the day, unless they tamper with the votes, they’re still in bounds.
That doesn’t mean we can’t point and laugh though. 🙂 Really, your only win came at the hands of one of the biggest ringers in the history of the show.
@PH — Just saw your other comment. Do I agree with the judging system? No, but that’s a different topic. My point was in reference to saying that Amy is a better dancer than James. Maybe you’d like her scored differently per her ability, but that doesn’t make her a better dancer…maybe just means that she did better than him in comparing abilities. Like in golf, I’m not a great golfer so I have a higher handicap than my brother who plays quite often. If we went golfing, and I scored a 90 to his 80, that would show he is a better golfer. However, if you factor in that I have handicap that is, say 20, and his is 8, I would beat him at that round of golf. Is that the concept that you are trying to say?
Ugh….. the DWTS Facebook page just posted about Meryl & Maks AGAIN. Do they not know there are 3 other couples in the finals too?!
@Rose2 — Especially since that photo was posted to IG 3 days ago, so the ABC social media team is really fishing to push MM forward!
I would just like to say that dancing is about more than just how you move your feet. And with that I’m off to BWAT, Tristan and Kym edition.
Happy Birthday to the one and only Derek Hough! Hopefully, he can have an extended celebration through Tuesday. 😀
On Slacker radio- Five things to look forward to segment, Meryl said that she wants to win this one for Maks. Alrighty then!!!
TPTB are not going to leave anything to chance. They will push the pimping into overdrive to the finish line. They’ve been working overtime in promoting M&M this season.
I also said, Alvin, the people who have been around on the site for a while have the benefit of history. People know that they are expressing their opinion when they say things. Now yes I will delete you for being an asshole.
Amy’s movements are better than James’. Tricks and back flips are a different matter since he has the balance she lacks, but her lines, arm extensions, and overall posture is much better.
Vin, I don’t know jack shit about golf, nor do I care. All I know is that in my opinion Amy is dancing better than James. I do not care if you know people who are dancers. Their opinion means exactly nothing to me. For all I know you might not even have friends were dancers.
The only “dancer” competing on the show is Meryl. Everyone else is a rank amateur. In that context, and how this scoring has always gone on the show, Amy deserves the scores she’s got and James deserves his…some of the time. He was over scored this past week for sure. You think he’s a better dancer? Fine, that’s your opinion. But no one is required to agree with you. Now why don’t you address the fact that you think Amy should get lower scores just because she’s handicapped. That’s certainly what you appeared to be saying.
Amen, Suzy.
To Vin2, it’s HER blog site, it’s not some open forum, you and I are guests here, if we don’t like it we can not visit. I like it a lot so I visit a lot.
Kate1, can it be that ABC is getting so many hits to their FB site from ice skating fans/shippers that they don’t give a rat’s heiney about anything or anyone else? Either that, or one of the other couples is breathing down Maks’ neck?
And why in the world would Meryl want to win the MBT for Maks? I don’t believe that one at all.
I do love it when people complaining about me making personal attacks follow with their own personal attacks. 🙂
I very clearly laid out why I disagree with you, Vin2 – why can’t you accept that I don’t agree with you and your opinion is neither more valid (“I have friends who dance on Broadway) nor more important? I also stated clearly what it SOUNDS like you are saying. And you rebut that with a personal attack. Um, okay.
I pretty much agree with the predictions but I have a feeling Amy will be #3 and it will come down to Meryl and James at the end. The judges seem to love James no matter what he does.
@Heather they haven’t seemed to love him too much the last 3-4 weeks (outside of the MJ dance). He has struggled with pretty much every body part (knees, butt, hands).
#79 Heather, if Amy won’t take the MBT, I’d rather she gets third place. That way she (and we) gets to see her farewell package, unless tptb bungles it again the way they did to Charlie.
I don’t think Amy needs (or wants) pity scores. When she does well (as in the quickstep, which was simple but executed very nicely) she deserves high scores from the judges. But in the jazz routine she had somewhere between 8 and 10 movements where she forgot the choreography or got confused — not just a matter of being behind during the side-by-side dancing that was supposed to be in unison — flubs that had nothing to do with “no legs” — she deserves to be dinged for it just like others get dinged. That’s more than a one point ding for me. How much did Charlie lose for dropping a cane, grabbing it and getting right back into the action with Sharna?
And to Rose1’s question to me about the use of the table? I liked it. It fit perfectly into this routine, and enhanced the impact of the dance. I think Derek choreographs some visually stunning routines, and this was one.
I liked this dance a lot — but I still don’t think it deserved a 39 as it was executed.
Good for you, Ziggle, several of us don’t agree. Now you’ve said the same thing three times, so it’s time to move along. You’re not making any progress.
As for Charlie – nearly EVERYONE HERE said that he should have only lost a point for the dropped cane. WTF exactly more do you want from us?? You think Amy’s score should be lowered to Charlie’s while some of us think Charlie’s should have been elevated to Amy’s. But shit happens sometimes. Particularly if you’re the dancer that they’re determined to keep down (Charlie).
@Rose2 #68
I have always gotten postings from ABC on my Facebook showing Meryl & Maks in one of their dances (photo) More the last half of the season. Talk about pimping! :O
#71 Really Kate? I know you are not kidding, but that just grates. Win this for Maks. Most people come on the show to learn to ballroom dance and to share their growth story. But hey, hey. If you watched the 2014 Olympics you know 2 things about Meryl: 1) She can dance. 2) Her story. Because nobody does overkill better than NBC during the Olympics EXCEPT for the jerks that run DWTS.
Very sad that Meryl felt compelled to say that. I feel really, really sorry for her and the crap she’s been handed this season. Fake the showmance. Deal with the abusive pro. Kiss TPTB asses. I do not get a vibe from her or Charlie that DWTS was in their career path to get their names out there beyond their Olympic accomplishments. Quite frankly I think those gold medals are a wee bit tarnished for the experience.
#77
No, I’d believe it if wasn’t so blatant every single place. There is more of a push than a pull. This has been going on all season long so I doubt it is the shippers driving it.
#85
I don’t think those Gold medals can ever be tarnished. However, I do feel differently about them ever since this show happened. I think it is because of how they both approached the whole thing. Even though Charlie and Sharna got the worse of it, I commend them for handling everything very professionally and not resorting to BS. They won’t have any skeletons in the closet from this DWTS experience. 😛
All I have to say is that Meryl had a choice.
Yeah it seems like Meryl is helping the show push its narrative, and with that comment she went down a few steps in my eyes. It seems she’s ok with pushing Maks’ win even if that meant the show trying to butcher the spirit of her partner for 17 years.
Okay, you are right. Overstated the tarnished gold medal imagery.
;/
(87, 86) Kate1 and Ananya, you guys both say that Meryl had a choice in helping to push TPTB narrative, but I don’t really see the choice. As for their showmance, when TPTB ask her about her relationship with Maks, she’s not going to say something negative because she’s a sweet lady, who probably just wants everyone to get along. I see this mostly on the part of Maks who is constantly dropping weird hints that there’s something more then romance (how he wants to continue with “whatever” they have) and about how special Meryl is. Meryl, on the other hand, I just hear from her that Maks is a good, nurturing, teacher and they have a good friendship. Thats not that different than what other celebs say about their partners. She does talk about their relationship a lot, but thats likely due to TPTB constantly asking about it. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see much of what Meryl specifically has said or done as promoting the narrative. I just think that there are so many forces going on around her creating that narrative that she can’t do much to go against it. The most you can fault her for is for being too passive, but really what can she do? Even if she knows that she is being pimped, is she supposed openly state that she is being overscored? Tell Maks that his choreography is bad/ simple when he is already struggling to choreograph and yelling her to help? Similar to how Charlie can try to go against the narrative of him not being as good of a dancer by trying to prove them wrong, but at the end of the day, the narrative “won.” She knows she’s a ringer and she has done the best with the dances that Maks has given her, so IDK what more she can do. I don’t see anything wrong with her saying that she wants to help Maks win because he obviously would have made it clear to her that he wants that MBT bad and idk…. why does that take her down a few steps? Because she wants her partner to be happy by doing something that benefits her as well?
Also, I do not think that Meryl is butchering the spirit of their partnership at all. I don’t know where you would get that from Ananya. She’s NEVER said anything bad or even anything that suggests she might think that way about Charlie, in fact she’s tweeted encouragement for Charlie in the past (aka the Paso Doblo and also when Charlie was eliminated.) So to suggest that she is butchering the spirit of their partnership is absurd to me. TPTB are always trying to pit them against each other and she continues to insist that they are in it together.
#Ananya What comment? What did meryl say? Any new interview out?
#89 Annie
If you go to the official facebook page, the first post has a link to the Slacker radio interview with all the couples starting with Meryl and Maks. Meryl said she wants to win this one for Maks.
As she is faking so much, she could have half ass attempted and said maybe for herself and Charlie too? At least, it would have sounded better because she’ll get some of his votes. 😛
Oh… I see, well it’s not available on our side of the world (europe) I think it’s only for the US 🙁 Can someone please sum up what they are all saying ? 🙂
I said from the beginning that I don’t think meryl (or charlie) care much about winning, after their olimpic glory and all she isn’t that desperate to win it really is fun for her, so it makes perfect sense she would say she wants it for maks, given she seems like a genuinely nice person and can probably sense maks’ desperation 🙂
Oh come on, several past celebs have said they wanted to get the win for their pro, JR said it about Karina, Donald for sure said it about Peta, even Bill Engval said how proud he was that he got Emma to the finals.
Kate(1) I completely agree with you. DWTS changed my opinion of both Meryl and Charlie.
Charlie came in and left with a lot of class in my opinion. I’ve always liked him the better of the two of them and I was not wrong. His
attitude to the whole thing, his respect for the judges even when they were clearly hosing him down for no reason at all most of the time, his boundless joy in every thing that he does just endeared him to me.
I am a lot less appreciative of Meryl now because of her willingness to get in with this showmance, the endless pawing and flirting between her and Maks. One thing I sure hope she does not think all of these are real and she is truly just wants to help Maks win his trophy.
One thing is sure my enjoyment of these two are much less now because of the DWTS experience.
#91
Anyone who stoops low enough for a fauxmance on a reality show, must be wholeheartedly invested in the desperation.
Particularly one who is a highly trained dancer and fresh from a gold medal Olympic win. It looks cheap.
Hm. I didn’t see Meryl’s comment the same way. How I look at it is that at the end of the experience, it’s a TV show, and Meryl knows this. She’s already achieved the greatest accomplishment of her ice dancing career, the gold medal – if she wins the mirrorball, it’s just the icing on the cake. She’s won either way in her mind. I mean, it’s not like if she loses the mirrorball that she’s going to lose her gold medal. Meryl has to know that Maks is dying for a win though. Look at how stressed he’s been. Meryl and Charlie imo are both the type of people that have the mentality that they would love to win of course (they are competitive, I mean years of being an elite athlete they have to be), but if they don’t, it’s ok too. Also, Meryl probably knows a bit about working hard and striving to reach that gold or goal you’ve set for yourself for years and not attaining it for awhile. That gold medal took a lot of work, 17 years, and 2nd and 3rd place finishes until Meryl and Charlie broke out these past two years and at the olympics. For Maks and his DWTS career, I’m thinking he wants one for some professional affirmation after so long. It’s hard to be in a competition and not want to win imo unless you’ve won before and it’s just another rodeo. So yeah. Take Meryl’s kind of relaxed mentality and weigh it against Maks really dying for his first win – I think that’s why Meryl says she “almost wants to win more for Maks than for herself”.
Well, everyone is going to see what they want to see and I’m not trying to force my opinion on anyone. But if you are going to say that she is desperate and stooping low for a reality show, then I just urge you to go back and see how much Meryl has actually done to actively “cheapen” her portrayal on DWTS and how much of it is done FOR her. If you still think lowly of Meryl, then that is unfortunate because she just seems like a sweet girl who is just along for the ride.
Minnie, I kind of do think you are trying to force your opinion on everyone….especially when you try and convince everyone of M and M over and over and and tell others what to do. Please stop. You need to try and stop convincing us or urging us to go back and look, etc etc. I’m not going to do anything of the such. Meryl is not a saint and not that great of a dancer as you go on about and I don’t need to go and look back at anything. Sure, she’s had some good dances, etc but, she’s also had her faults in others. Btw, the more you go on about M & M and tell us what we need to do, etc the more I am turned off. Just something to think about.
#97
Who said anything about Meryl being desperate? The only desperate individuals here are Maks and the TPTB. Meryl does not need any fauxmance to prove herself on this show, but she has given in to both.
As it has been repeated time and time again, it seems clear that the show is all about Maksing with the Mirrorball.
I am so thrilled for Candace and Mark, I hope that they make it through to Tuesday night, along with James and Meryl.
It has been fun to watch the growth of both Candace and James. I have been a Candace fan for a long time. I had never heard of James until he was cast this season, and he has been a pleasant surprise. Peta has not even bothered me, except for the underwear dance, due to James.
And Mark is always a joy to watch. He has done such a good job working with Candace.
I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse so this is the last thing I’ll respond on. I apologize if it seems like I am forcing an opinion. I am just defending meryl on the premise that I do not think that she is actively forwarding the narrative that TPTB set up for her. I don’t think I have gone on about her dancing at all and if I have it was way back or on another topic. I haven’t even touched on that in this current discussion. I think you have misinterpreted my words, Voguerista. I am not a fan of M and M and am not trying to convince anyone on them. In fact, I hate that Meryl was paired with such a pompous manchild. but thats neither here nor there.
Kate (1): i agree that the show is all about Maks and he is the desperate one. But for meryl, i think the most you can fault her for is being too passive and I’ve said that before too.
Mona, Jess I agree. That comment actually reminds me of another kind of throwaway comment Tessa and Scott made about their and Meryl and Charlie’s coach about how she might have had split allegiances in Sochi. Is that what they actually think? Imo, probably. But only to a certain extent. I’m sure they’re grateful too for what their coach has done for them (gold in Vancouver, and silver in Sochi, not shabby), but that statement just doesn’t convey that whole story. Similar scenario here. I think of course Meryl wants to win, but Maks wants to win more.
Minnie, sorry I went off like that. I’m just getting so tired of the Meryl saint thing and people saying how she is a such a great and “pure” dancer etc when she hasn’t been all that. It’s just turning me off of them even more. And keep in mind, I love Meryl as an ice skater and respect who she is a lot. I too wish she had been paired with someone else.
Amen, Vogue.
It’s really astonishing that if you are exposed to an idea long enough, it starts being treated as “normal.” Reading all the comments about how much Maks wants the MBT, evaluating Meryl’s statements about that, etc., I stopped for a second and remembered the original concept of the show, and then fast forwarded mentally to the discussion being about Maks winning. This whole situation is a total perversion of the original intent of the show. When looked at this way it becomes quite remarkable that it’s discussed as if it’s the “new normal.” As for Meryl, she gets a complete pass from me. She was put into an insanely ridiculous situation, either promoted or condoned by TPTB. While she may be a bit passive, she should NEVER have been put in the situation of having to wrest this experience back from Maks’s appropriation of it. Hard to overstate Maks’s selfishness. Think about it, a contestant making a comment about how much her pro partner wants to win. It’s just wrong on its face. I am really really sorry that Meryl wasn’t paired with someone who would have let the experience be about her. In the end, she is just another one sacrificed on the altar of Maks’s massive ego. Very sad.
I think that every celebrity who comes on this show wants to win and I think that every celebrity who comes on this show tries to win.
But for someone like Meryl…she doesn’t “need” to win. She and Charlie just became the first US ice dance team to win an Olympic gold medal and they certainly were the stars of the US figure skating team this year. I would think that everything she does for the rest of her life would be icing on the cake. Her world isn’t going to come crashing down if she doesn’t win DWTS.
On the other hand, Maks’ world very well may come crashing down if he doesn’t win (and that’s really his fault, but that’s neither here nor there). He and Meryl have obviously developed a friendship and she wants the win for her friend. I think that losing would affect him exponentially more than it would affect her, and I also have to think she’s aware of that.
I think Meryl and Charlie probably did this show hoping to have a fun experience and be exposed to new styles of dance. I am sure that they have both given 100% effort. At the end of the day, though, their real prize is that Sochi gold medal, not a mirrorball trophy. Meryl already has her greatest prize (as does her partner on the ice, Charlie), and she wants the same for her new friend, Maks.
#Katie — That’s a lovely narrative you wrote. Unfortunately that’s not what the program is about, and I think that’s where Meryl goes wrong. I said before that I don’ t think she should have been put in this position, and I still believe that. However, I think Meryl should know better than to make this about Maks. Since she has such a good rapport with Maks, she could hold his hand and tell him that she knows how much he wants the trophy, but that it’s not appropriate to put that ahead of any of the contestants still vying for the win. She could even bring a pair of “big boy” pants to rehearsal and help Maks figure out how to put them on since I’m sure he would have difficulty. Meryl isn’t there to get her new friend, Maks, a trophy, and she should realize what a betrayal of the other contestants that would be.
I don’t usually comment, so I’m going to go ahead and start this by saying thank you to everyone here on pure, for keeping everyone up to date on what’s happening, recaps, etc. (:
Now, I totally made the mistake of going on dancingabc’s facebook, ’cause oh. my. gawd.
Let’s hope for M/M shippers that they are as active in terms of voting as they are in terms of trash talking lol (not to generalize of course)
Even I as a 17-year-old just kind of stare at the screen in disbelief, because I can’t believe how mean and partially deluded some people are.
“It should be about dancing, but instead it’s more a popularity contest” – Well, no s*t. Glad you finally noticed that in season 18.
And while I did “ship” Shawn and Derek I really hope I wasn’t as bad as some of the people commenting haha
How is throwing a mic pack with Meryl cowering and jumping away from him “cute”? Is there something I’m not getting?
I adore Meryl and no matter how many comments I read, most of them say “It’s Maks time to win! This is his season!” Yeah, well, you seem to have forgotten what and who this show is about then. (Also, is this some sort of thing I don’t understand as many call him “Max”?)
Most of Meryl’s dances have left me saying “Meh” this season, as have some of Amy’s etc.
Charlie’s dances were the ones I enjoyed the most overall so I’m really sad that he’s gone, I feel like he should have gotten a shot at the trophy.
As for my predictions:
a) M & M fan/shippers fail to vote as much as they say they will and she’ll come second to Amy (or maybe even Candace lol just humor me, cause that would cause everyone’s world to collapse haha)
b) Maks and Meryl will win and while he is lost in the crowd containing Tony, Val etc someone (Cherlie, Mark or Derek) will life Meryl on their shoulders (*cough* All-Stars *cough*)
Somehow I do enjoy Candace/Mark and Amy/Derek the most. 🙂
I think Meryl is great and I don’t really care if she’s got an advantage or not, but somehow her relationship with Maks makes me a bit uneasy at times. There are a few cute moments, but I actually liked Maks more with Erin (let’s remember the “humping a fire hydrant” comment from her).
Do you guys have any insight on whether their relationship is really as “unicorns on a meadow underneath a rainbow” -ish as many believe?
Anyways. I should stop, it’s been said by enough people already and after all, I don’t know if e.g. Maks is the same person he is portrayed as in the packages in real life. Those things are only 3 minutes cut together after all.
The way I think it will go: 1 Meryl 2 Amy 3 Candace 4 James