Is strictly getting too samey?

[SimplyRed1972]

I've always loved watched Strictly, for me it's the start of winter before ima celeb comes back <3

But can they do more than just dance? It'd be better if they did other stuff or am I weird?

No presenters.
Introduce the couples and dances like they do now with voiceover.
Do the dance, judges comments then straight to scores, no running up the stairs etc.
Streamline it a bit!

Totally agree with previous comments. I stopped watching it this year. It's just too frenetic for me. Nobody reacts/behaves normally - far too much squealing/hysteria/exaggerated behaviour. Tess and Claudia irritate me so much. And the 'celebs' take themselves way too seriously.

If they cut the first programme down they could have a half hour break for another programme, then go straight to the results.

What's ruined it for me is that people are getting 7s, 8s, 9s in week 1 when they are, understandably, crap.

Getting a 9 isn't a big thing any more. Such a shame.

It's going to end up like gymnastics in the 70s, when the difference between 9.8, 9.9 and 9.95 is what ends up as the deciding factor.

I used to think I could tell a good dance if I saw one. Now I think ‘well that wasn’t great’ then all the 8s and 9s come up. 🤔

I agree couples choice is pants. It’s basically letting couples do a show Dan e that previously only the finalists got to do. And I think Charleston/AT should only come later in the competition.

I agree with most of the comments here. Get rid of couple's choice and stop faffing about in the routines and do some actual dancing! I'm sure when dances like the Charleston and the Argentine Tango were first introduced they weren't done until we were past a certain point in the competition - halfway? I preferred that and we got more of the traditional dances. It seems like we rarely see a waltz or a foxtrot now. There seems to be much more focus on the Latin dances, which I feel is a shame. I like a party salsa as much as the next person, but there is something beautiful about seeing a couple dance a smooth foxtrot, gliding elegantly across the floor. Remember the days of arm hankies? Bring those back!

Watched it last night. I know it’s Halloween so the celebs/actors ham it up a bit!

am disappointed in Molly being stage chill background and can still barely dance!

The judges are awful. Only Craig and Shirley are proper dancers. Anton and Motsi are good but they are no good as judges in my opinion as they were dancers first and foremost! Bring back Bruno!

Oh no, please don't bring back Bruno! He was capable of giving good feedback but too often chose not to.

Yes to stopping the Craig booing. it's probably the thing I hate most.

Bring back Len, he was a proper ballroom/Latin judge.

I’m watching for the first time in 4-5 years this year. The judges scores were a bit of a surprise. Might as well just chuck away all the paddles below 4.

Also agree about the camera angles and faffing about. I’m probably not going to still be watching by the end of the series.

I’d never watched it before COVID. I enjoyed it the first year I watched, now I find it a bit boring and never make it all the way through an episode.

Only for the last 7/8 years 😆

Yeah I reckon Len is sitting watching it at home eating his pickled walnuts saying "I told you so". He certainly predicted where it was going. Now the whole show consists of everyone "faffing abhaaat".

I miss the more restrained type of professionals too. Dancers like Lilija and Pasha. Who don't shriek or prat about all the time.

And is it me, but are the actual dances shorter? There is all the unnecessary effort with props, special effects, distracting costumes, ridiculous camera angles and in the midst of all that it seems like the couple barely barely get dancing before the whole thing stops.

I'm not sure the dances are shorter, it's just everything else is so much longer!

Let's watch some people run up some stairs! X14

Let's listen to "that was amazing/I'm so proud of you/I loved every minute of that" X 14.

The silly skits are just cringey and I don't even watch the group dances anymore as they are so samey.

I agree with all of this, although I too still enjoy it.

Motsi might as well not be there. She adds so little to the show she's a net negative overall.

I'd love it if we saw multiple couples dancing their take on the same dance each week again. It's too much like comparing apples with oranges.

Craig and Anton are good judges and offer fair criticism. Stop the dickheads in the audience booing them all the time.

Please no props unless absolutely necessary. Ditto to wire trick/cannon entries. I hate this, such a pointless distraction and nobody is entertained by it.

Love the music, we need to see a weekly feature of the band rehearsing.

There used to be a bit of controversy when a celeb with dance experience was in a series - now the majority of them seem to come from a stage school kind of background. I always find myself rooting for the ones who you can tell are rubbish at the beginning but who do improve with time and practice. Last year Dan for example and this year Tony. Once they eventually get voted out I find myself losing interest.

I agree with a lot of the comments here.

I hate themed weeks, they are always too over the top. Although this halloween costumes this year weren't too bad, and hate too many props and faffing about.

I also preferred when it was half doing one ballroom dance and half doing a latin. I also hate most couples choice routines.

I also really dislike a lot of the pro dances as there is too much going on and you can't possible concentrate on it all, especially with the weird camera angles. I liked when pro dances were all of the couples dressed the same and doing the same moves in unison, it looks so amazing. The pro dances rarely seem to have any ballroom or latin content these days.

^^ This is so true!

Yes it's the endless repetition isn't it. And all the "filling". The dancing has somehow got lost in the midst of it all.

The run upstairs and Claudia chat is to give time for the judges to have a little chat and confirm to the crew their scores.

but the super dull videos between dances could be cut shorter if they had less props to move in / out. And the dances would be better.

problem is too many sports stars won’t do it anymore because of the injury risk, and it goes on for so long many working actors can’t commit to it. (Bar the usual east Enders crowd.)

I do like it though - just needs to be shorter. Less padding that no one enjoys. If they are real celebs I don’t need to hear their story.

I agreed, it’s so boring now and most of the ‘celebs’ are anything but. You don’t have to do anything to be famous these days and then these nobodies end up on there.
I’m friends with a celebrity, I live opposite another, I’ll be signed up next series at this rate.

Also, when they announce the dance off.
Tess going ‘You must be absolutely devastated’
They have to do a dance, they’re not being forced to drown puppies.

I do still quite enjoy it to be honest but of course it's going to be samey. All shows are samey.

But can they do more than just dance? It'd be better if they did other stuff or am I weird?

This comment confuses me. What else should they do? It's a dance based entertainment show, clue is in the title. I actually like the dancing more than all the boring self indulgent VTs with the inevitable sob stories getting trotted out.

I do agree with the scoring though. Massively overinflated scores from the start and blatant favouritism. It feels obvious the BBC knows who they want to win and the judges are unfairly giving that person better scores than they deserve.

The pro dances rarely seem to have any ballroom or latin content these days.

I think this is (at least in part) because years ago they were almost all very good professional couples. It was easy to give them a beginning and end of a dance to learn, and get some of the couples to dance eight bars of their own choreography, or get two couples to work together for twenty four bars or whatever.

Now most of them aren't with their own competitive partner (if they even have one), and they learn the dances more like a stage troupe would.

It's not necessary though. You always see Craig and Motsi talking about their score and pressing their button while the dancers are still on the stairs. (I enjoy watching out for that bit every dance- you see Motsi almost looking over Craig's shoulder like she needs to know what he's giving so she can go higher!) I'd like the scores to be given while they're still downstairs. I can't remember in the beginning if it used to be done like that?