Soooooo many write-in responses for this one…and the results were quite interesting 
Other responses:
No more theme nights – 10
No Maks/Maks taking a break/Maks sitting out a season/get rid of Maks - 9
New judges – 7 (I think this could fit under “better judging”, as it’s implied that “better judging” could be new judges altogether…)
More Tristan – 4
Better quality of dances/ringers/celebs with better dancing capabilities – 4
No troupe/troupe actually dancing in sync – 3
All of the above – 3
More Derek – 3
Replace Brooke with Carson/Carson added in any format – 2
Get rid of Brooke/new co-host – 2
Bring Chelsie back – 2
Bigger cast/more celebs – 2
I love the show the way it is/If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – 2
Better band – 1
Start sooner – 1
TIE: Better judging & better music – 1
Less talking in between dances – 1
More traditional music (no Katy Perry/Gaga/Beyonce/etc.) – 1
Less Derek – 1
No more Carrie Ann – 1
NO MORE NANCY – 1 (Ummm yeah, pretty sure you don’t have to worry about that, ya asshat.)
Total season’s votes included in calculation of winners – 1
Better intro packages before the dances – 1 (HA! Keep dreaming…)
Courtney: Thank goodness this is the last award, because you guys (as much as I love you all) are killing me with all of these write-in responses. Anywho…I agree that improving the judging could definitely help take some of the edge off of watching the show. Looking back at a lot of my power rankings from the past few seasons, I see that I most often got upset when the judges were way off in their scoring…either for better or worse. Now I don’t think getting rid of the judges we have and starting anew is the solution – and it seems like a lot of you agreed in our poll about the judges last season – new judges altogether could be even worse, especially if those judges haven’t judged on a dance show before. However, I’m not sure how to really force Len, Carrie Ann, and Bruno to judge more fairly – it’s such a subjective thing. As for “better celebs” – I guess I should have been more specific about that one, as “better” can mean different things to different people – better could mean “more famous”, or better could mean “more skilled dancers”. And speaking of which – there is something to be said for having ringers, kids. The past 2 seasons, we haven’t really had a skill ringer – and I notice that a lot of you have complained that the dancing has not been as good as it has in previous seasons. Ringers can ensure that we get to see dynamite dances each week, and tend to raise the level of competition during the seasons in which they compete. More pro dances are always welcome for me – just as long as they’re not troupe dances Better music? Yeah, it would be nice if they didn’t ditto quite so many songs; but to whoever wants “more traditional” music, be advised that this could severely limit the music that can be used on the show, and can run the risk of alienating more casual viewers – contemporary music can make the dances more relatable. I don’t think we need more dance styles OR more couples – whenever someone starts clamoring for that, I start to worry that we might have another season 9 on our hands, aka the “Kitchen Sink” season, where there were just so damn many dances, couples, and nuances that it was hard to keep up. Now to the 2 write-ins I found most interesting: “total season’s votes included in calculation of winners” and “better intro packages before the dances”. Sorry, but I find both of these to be pretty implausible. What would including the total season’s votes in the calculation of the winner accomplish? Do you really think it would change the outcome of a season? It’s possible – but it could have unintended consequences. I think it would tend to help bad dancers who stuck around far too long (think Bristol, Marie, Hope, Kendra, etc.) and could hurt really good dancers that maybe had smaller fanbases (Mya, Chelsea, Brandy, etc.) The bottom line: as much as the whole “50 % scores, 50% votes” scheme may piss off fans who don’t get their desired outcome, it’s probably the fairest system they can use on this show – it’s equal parts popularity contest and dance contest. And as for the “better intro packages before the dances” - I have to wonder if this was written by a Maks fan, as they seemed to be the ones most concerned about the intro packages this past season. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – the producers are going to cut together the footage that will generate the most “buzz”…and if that means using the footage of a couple fighting or crying or storming out of the studio, so be it. The solution? Don’t give them anything negative to work with. If you’re seeing a couple fight in their intro packages week after week, it’s because they’re probably actually fighting week after week and that’s all the editors have to work with – not because the producers are conspiring to ruin them. Asking them to make a warring couple look like they’ve got rainbows shooting out of their ass is futile if all they have footage of is a couple screaming at each other. It’s a tv show, people – they’re gonna go for ratings.
Heidi: Correct – and any pro who’s been on the show for more than a season KNOWS this and SHOULD react accordingly. Just sayin’. :-) As for the total season votes? I don’t think that will work like you would want it to work. 
Increasing the number of votes would likely just make the winner more of a solid winner – it’s a percentage of the whole, not a count. If they don’t have a high enough percentage at the end of the season, adding in their votes through out the season won’t likely change anything, except make the individual votes count less. Particularly if the judging portion remains the same. You wanna make it votes only, like American Idol?? Well, how often does the best singer win that show?? Like, less than half the time? And who’s to say an individual is “best” – it’s subjective. The judges may suck from time to time (particularly when they are for YOUR couple), but I actually trust them to balance out the wacko fans in the audience who will vote for Kate Gosselin just for giggles. Was Donny Osmond the best dancer? No, but if it were up to the audience alone, Mya probably wouldn’t have made it to the final two. This is an extreme case of “be careful what you wish for.” I have a feeling that some haven’t considered the potential ramifications. As for me…I don’t remember what I voted for. I may not have voted because I pretty much like the show the way it is, better the “devil you know” and all that. I would normally say “more pro (non-troupe) dances” but I was pretty happy with that this past season as well, simply because I got a lot of Derek. For a change. I do think they could use more all pro dances similar to those in seasons 5 and 6 – no musical act, just great dancing.
Vogue: I was at a loss on this polling. It seems during the last several seasons I complain the most about the judging. I really think the judges go too far sometimes when they get too “personal” instead of just judging a dance. For instance, dissing about a person’s weight or things a celebrity can’t help is just low. At the same time, I really don’t want any judging changes as all three of them add excitement and diversity to the show. In the end, I voted for “better music”. There is so many times I wish they’d stick to traditional music that fits the dancing styles instead of what they use for theme weeks that don’t match the style of dance.
*photo courtesy ABC/Adam Taylor
In the meantime, send me your soul food recipes at courtney@puredwts.com!
(Laila & Maks’ foxtrot in season 4)
