# Dancing with the Stars Fall 2011 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101 "2011-08-25T23:37:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/221 "2011-10-19T03:31:45Z")
Hope is so fed up with dwts. Her behind the scenes footage shows that pretty clearly and some of her twitter comments are very negative. She’s not getting along with Maks and that limits how well he can teach her. It’s a shame that she has to stay and Carson is going. Carson was clearly having a ball on dwts. I do agree that this week Carson and Anna just weren’t entertaining. It was the first dance they’ve done that I won’t be rewatching on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/222 "2011-10-19T04:23:23Z")
Halloween falls on Monday night this year. Sure hope they do a big Halloween party on dwts with the judges and everyone else dressed in costume. They did that a few years ago, but usually they seem to ignore the holiday. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/223 "2011-10-19T07:15:49Z")
That sucks. Not because Carson is such a great dancer, but because Hope is being a poor sport about the whole thing and he was throwing himself into it and appeared to be having a blast doing it. Seeing neither of them can win, I’d rather see the more enthusiastic person dancing. Her tweets are basically insulting to the show and to the viewers. I hope she gets what she asked for next week. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/224 "2011-10-19T12:29:10Z")
So much dead wood, and they start with Carson? I suppose Len would say I didn’t phone, I can’t moan. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/225 "2011-10-19T13:01:31Z")
**amarinth** , what has Hope been saying (I don’t do Twitter)? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/226 "2011-10-19T14:38:46Z")
I do do twitter, but I don’t follow her. Checking her feed, here’s one from yesterday: > [@](#): > > The competitions I live for are ones with clear winners and losers,not ones that are based on popularity and judges subjective opinions.#fb Fuck you too, Hope. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/227 "2011-10-19T14:55:31Z")
Thanks, **twicky**. You knew the job was tough when you took it, Hope. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/228 "2011-10-19T15:09:01Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > Thanks, **twicky**. You knew the job was tough when you took it, Hope. That was the exact quote that came to my mind, and I jumped here to post it first. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/229 "2011-10-19T15:12:30Z")
Okay, none of us have been voting for her … has anyone figured out a way to vote _against_ someone on this show? ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/230 "2011-10-19T15:13:13Z")
Vote once for everyone else, and spend your extra vote on the lowest scorer amongst them. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/231 "2011-10-19T17:57:28Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > That sucks. Not because Carson is such a great dancer, but because Hope is being a poor sport about the whole thing and he was throwing himself into it and appeared to be having a blast doing it. Seeing neither of them can win, I’d rather see the more enthusiastic person dancing. > > Her tweets are basically insulting to the show and to the viewers. I hope she gets what she asked for next week. Yeah, watching Hope’s bitter little face, it made me even more sad to see Carson go. Not because he DIDN’T have the worst dance - he did - but because he was loving it so much and Hope is clearly miserable being there. ☹ She was one of my original favs, too, and now I just want her GONE, for everyone’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/232 "2011-10-19T19:57:53Z")
**twickster** , that’s the tweet I read about. Quite frankly, there are clear winners and losers on the show. There’s also a fuzzy middle, but _she’s not in it_. Her dancing is bad. The judges might not be explaining it to her in a way that she understands, but her scores are not stellar because her dances are not good. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/233 "2011-10-19T20:09:59Z")
I’ve been looking at the various dances the remaining celebrities have completed. They’ve all done 5 dances and have 5 to go. I posted full analysis over on TWOP’s stars threads. J.R. has the biggest advantage. He’s already done the\* hardest\* dances. J.R. has done the Viennese Waltz, Jive, Rumba, Foxtrot, and Samba. That leaves the Quickstep, Tango, Classic Waltz, Paso Doble, and Cha Cha Cha. Of the remaining the Quickstep is the only one that should be challenging. J.R. has three years acting experience on _All My Children_. Nailing the Tango and Paso characters should be simple for him. If his Quickstep next week goes ok, then J.R. has smooth sailing right into the mirrorball. The freestyle is the only thing that could trip him up. Ricki still has tough dances like the Samba and Quickstep to do. She’s at a bigger disadvantage. David is the same. The judges get tougher later in the season. They feel the remaining stars are more experienced. That gives a big advantage to anyone that does the harder dances early in the season. They get more lenient scores. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/234 "2011-10-19T22:09:48Z")
[Karina & Louis dance to The Band Perry -If I Die Young - Results Show 10/18/2011.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gINAyos_6k) Louis has said Karina was his partner years ago in Ballroom Competitions. I think they dance really well together. The lift Louis does with Karina on his back is just incredible. It doesn’t get much better than this. > [@](#): > > LouisVanAmstel Louis Van Amstel > Thanx so much ur your sweet tweets about @Karina\_Smirnoff n I. I love dancing w Smirnova,something unseen becomes visible,it feels rewarding > 3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/235 "2011-10-19T22:41:01Z")
OK, let’s influence DWTS though the magical power of thinking. When I give the word we’ll all think, “Hope need to quit and Carson needs to get reinstated.” Do this five times in a row. Ready? One, two, three…NOW! ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/236 "2011-10-19T23:12:38Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > **twickster** , that’s the tweet I read about. > > Quite frankly, there are clear winners and losers on the show. There’s also a fuzzy middle, but _she’s not in it_. Her dancing is bad. The judges might not be explaining it to her in a way that she understands, but her scores are not stellar because her dances are not good. That’s pretty much how I felt when Chynna was on the talk show circuit saying the same thing. “Oh, it’s not about dancing, it’s about popularity!” smacks of a complete acknowledgement that maybe, just **maybe** you got voted off because you weren’t a great dancer. Also, when people start snarking at the judges like she did during this week’s judging, they usually go home in quick order. You know, I think maybe Chaz is gonna be this season’s Kirstie Alley, not Ricki. He’s really dropping pounds, jazzing up, doing much better. I don’t think he’ll be in the final… but I’m not totally ready to say he won’t, either. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/237 "2011-10-19T23:15:24Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > That’s pretty much how I felt when Chynna was on the talk show circuit saying the same thing. “Oh, it’s not about dancing, it’s about popularity!” smacks of a complete acknowledgement that maybe, just **maybe** you got voted off because you weren’t a great dancer. . If I was a celebrity, my ego would feel a lot better if I convinced myself I was voted off because I was a bad dancer, and not because I was unpopular. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/238 "2011-10-20T00:38:46Z")
There have been good dancers voted off early. Carson–well, I’m sorry. But it wasn’t exactly a surprise. In his case I think it was about the dancing. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/239 "2011-10-20T01:17:05Z")
It partially is a popularity contest and it’s not always the worse dancer that gets voted off. But the contestants should already know this. Complaining about it being a popularity contest is about as stupid as somebody complaining that constantly eating at McDonalds makes them fat. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101/240 "2011-10-20T07:42:43Z")
In the past, when my gut feelings turned out to be wrong, I’d be a little embarrassed, maybe even stunned. Now I’m just flat-out _disgusted_. I know Carson was a goofball, and he had about as much chance of winning this as a Nobel Peace Prize, but dammit, he made an effort to be entertaining! And as far as I’m concerned, his goofy flailing and overdone speech showed exactly as much respect for this show as it deserves. And don’t even pretend that he deserved to go before Nancy Grace, Hope Solo, _and_ Chaz Bono. What the hell happened to rock bottom plus one? This makes three eliminations in a row that I’m at a complete loss to explain. It’s a crapshoot. I don’t even know what it takes to survive anymore; it’s certainly not anything I’ve understood to be part of the winning formula. _Sigh_…what the hell. In no particular order: Hope Solo - She was absolutely lethargic and seemed to be getting literally dragged along at a couple points. Would be looking at a massive score drop if the judges still had the power to actually do that. I’m alarmed by the Twitter comments. Sure, there have been a few disgruntled eliminatees, but I’ve never seen anyone so openly hostile about it. Believe me, the last thing this show needs right now is more hatred. Rob Kardashian - Okay, I have to give him some credit. He’s trying. He seems to be enjoying this. He hasn’t copped an ego (that I could detect, anyway). The problem is that he just doesn’t have the agility. He’s stiff and constrained and tentative, and it looks like a major effort just to get through a routine. He reminds me of the basketball players that have been on this show. David Arquette - To be honest, I don’t think he’s much better than Rob. Gets the job done, not an embarrassment, not too hard on the eyes, and that’s it. Nancy Grace - The increasingly irritating enigma. A major underdog from week 1, she looked like she was swimming through molasses this week. She’s not beautiful. She’s not elegant. She has a nasty attitude, especially in training. Her fanbase can’t be that huge. **What the hell does she have going for her??** Chaz Bono - Ooh, at the halfway mark he’s finally showing some mobility! Hey, give him three more weeks and maybe he’ll get that following-the-music thing down! Watching him has been flat-out depressing, and it’s even more depressing knowing that he’ll last way WAY longer than he should (he already has one “way”) and go out with a shower of accolades as the great, wonderful triumphant example of conquering adversity and giving one’s all. Ricki Lake - It’s easy to see why Derek Hough picked her. She has energy and athleticism, and her enthusiasm has never waned. Stamina could be a question mark, especially now that we’re entering the 2-dance phase, but it won’t hit her as hard as Nancy (much less Chaz). Could be a _little_ more graceful and fluid, but it’s going to take an act of God to keep her out of the final. JR Martinez - Wow. Y’know, I’ll be honest, I had one great, gnawing fear about him, which was that his Iraq service (and to a lesser extent his scars) would completely overshadow everything else and we’d never hear the end of it. But he only trotted it out for Maudlin Sob Story Night (I give the producers credit for getting that nauseating crap over with early), and since then it’s been a complete nonissue. He’s not The War Hero or The Victim, he’s just another contestant, which is how it should be. Well, that’s not entirely accurate, because he’s been _great_. He has all the natural talents and has kept in shape, and you’re seeing it every week. More than that, though, he’s making a real effort to _impress_, to look good and entertain and give us a reason to tune in. And he sounds like a genuinely great guy in his interviews, too. No idea how the rest of this contest will shake out, but I’m tellin’ ya, he SHOULD run away with it. Not only is he the best contestant this season by leagues, he’s the only one I’d be happy winning. Jennifer Gray wasn’t this much of a favorite. As aceplace57 already pointed out, he’s already gotten most of the hard stuff, which will work to his advantage. I’m just hoping he can keep it up the rest of the way and that there are no freak disasters. It’s simply the harsh nature of reality TV’s eternally unchanging last man standing format, where everyone starts at zero at the start of each new round, and until the very last stretch, first place is worth a pat on the head and absolutely nothing else. With so many distractions and so much white noise, it’s easy to forget that he needs the voters to come out strong for him _every_ week. Normally this is the point where I’d say that a Bice Scare would propel him to victory, except that they never tell who the actual bottom three is anymore, only who’s “in jeopardy” (which means nothing). I hope he keeps getting the votes. I hope the judges are deliberately lowballing him to help his chances. I hope that he continues to entertain. I hope. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dancing-with-the-stars-fall-2011/594101.md?page=13)