Fox tried this format a few years ago. I’ve heard nearly all the celebs got hurt. The blades on those skates are razor sharp. If someone runs over your hand, you’re in serious trouble. Broken bones, back injuries etc. Are a real possibility.
My concern is the accelerated learning that these shows expect. Trying to teach an amateur a new routine every week seems too fast. The consequences are a lot worse than what the celebs on dwts deal with.
Anyone know more about the injuries on the Fox show?
I think the U.K. has a skating with the stars show. Anyone know anything about it?
Yeah, Dancing on Ice: a bit of a surprise hit when it started (ITV hadn’t been too successful with their weekend entertainment shows), but we’ve had five series of it now.
There have been injuries, but they’ve mainly been on the level of bruises and sprains, I think, plus the odd mild concussion – certainly no amputations (other than Heather Mills, obviously).
So far no has died yet. I’d feel better if they wear wearing training helmets. I keep thinking of Natasha Richardson. No question she’d be alive and well today if she had worn a 20 dollar helmet.
The skating surprised me. It was actually pretty darn good for amateurs with 5 weeks training. I like the judging. They have technical scores and performance. Dick Button provides 60 years of skating experience. I can’t imagine a more qualified judge. Johnny Weir is a bit too weird for me. All that heavy make-up reminds me of Boy George and Culture Club. Laurieann Gibson reminds me of Carrie Ann from dwts. She brings the hip hop vibe to the judging.
I’m too lazy to look up the pro partners tonight. I’ve wondered if any of them are pairs skaters? I’m no expert by any means. I’ve always heard there is a major difference in singles skaters and pairs. It’s like two different sports. If these pro partners are singles skaters, then they have their own learning curve to climb.
I got to vote tonight for someone. More after people have watched posted comments.
I like figure skating (used to follow it avidly, through the '90s into the early part of this century), and I obviously love DWTS, but this didn’t do it for me. I had it on while I was on the computer, but wandered off and did dishes in the middle, so when I came back I turned it off and went to read in bed for a while.
I’m kinda bummed, I was kind of hoping I’d get into it.
Had 2 skaters fall tonight. One week isn’t enough time to learn this stuff. I was surprised to see lifts this early. Pros needed combat pay to risk it with a newbie partner. I like the analysis of the ice dances. Sure wish dwts did this.
One great plus is the required ice dance steps. The pros can’t fake it with flashy moves like they do on dwts. There’s a technical score and artistic.
So far, I like Rebecca Budig, Brandon Mychal Smith, and Jonny Moseley.
First eliminated is…
Sean Young - not a surprise. She fell tonight. Vince Neil was also in the bottom. I doubt he’ll get past next week.
First accident reported today during rehearsal. One of the pros got a finger slashed open after a skating mishap. She’s getting stitched up and says she’ll skate during tonight’s live performance.
Also today celeb Brandon Smith came to the set sick. They think it’s food poisoning. He’s at the hospital. I’m not sure what will happen tonight. Maybe they can use rehearsal footage like dwts has done a few times?
This show doesn’t have many celebs. I think it only runs six weeks. Maybe 7? Sure hope Brandon doesn’t get eliminated for not skating.
Tanith Belbin did a great job with her Olympic partner during the pro exhibition. Very pretty skating on such a tiny piece of ice.
It’s hard watching these people struggle with their skating. Hats off that they find a way to overcome their inadequate training. The amateurs definitely need an extra two weeks training just for the very basics if this show is renewed.
I’m stunned at the performance tonight of Jonny Moseley & Brooke Castile. They had never completed this routine in rehearsal. Brooke gets tripped in todays rehearsal and gets a finger sliced to the bone. She comes straight from the hospital and nails this routine; that was freaking amazing!! They had the best scores of the night. Talk about some grit and determination. For Jonny to push all that blood from his mind and still skate a routine they had never completed shows why he won those gold medals skiing.
Rebecca Budig and Fred Palascak are still among my favorites. She did some beautiful work tonight. I wish they’d stop giving her the whiner edit. Rebecca deserves better.
I’m pissed that Vince left. I agree with the older judge that Vince was finally starting to remember his childhood skating. Another couple weeks and maybe the guy would have preformed a good routine. At least his routines had some harder moves.
Bethenny Frankel didn’t waste much time bringing her bitch mode out. Third show and she’s already saying the judges are irrelevant. Bethenny is still literally skating by on easy routines. I was so hoping she’d go before Vince Neil.
I had to laugh when even Brandon’s partner admitted that she wished it were her sick because she could have found a way to compete. These pro skaters and dancers are hard core when it comes to performing no matter what. I wish Brandon could have sucked it up long enough to skate. Even if it meant having a puke pail close by. But, this isn’t the Olympics and maybe it’s not worth pushing that hard to compete.
This week was full out trick & lifts skating. I felt a little uncomfortable knowing these people were under prepared. Fortunately, the pro partner was able to help the amateur get through it in one piece. The stuff they did this week was amazing for people with almost no experience. It takes a lot of guts to try this stuff.
We had our first quitter. Brandon missed last week because of the stomach flu. He decided this week to give up altogether. It’s hard to respect a quitter. But, it was his choice.
Next week is the semi-final Monday and then the final Tuesday. A very short season.
The semi-final was the first time this show felt like a real competition. I always got the feeling the celebrities were more worried about getting through the routine unhurt then competing against each other. Heck, I spent half my time in those early episodes holding my breath, wondering if someone was going to get a face plant in the ice or a hand sliced open.
Everyone seemed so much more confident in tonights semi-final. They are starting to fix the smaller problems. Better posture, correct body positioning and so on during the routine. Bethany bent her knees, Rebecca kept her body flat during the life, Jonny did better. Everyone was focused on making the routine better and beating the others. That’s such a wonderful change from the early episodes.
It’s a shame this wasn’t the first or second episode. So many fans tuned out because the skating was so bad. What I saw tonight looked pretty respectable. Buttons said it best when he mentioned Rebecca skated a complete routine. Everything flowed and looked like what you’d expect from a figure skating routine. If this show gets renewed, they definitely need to add two extra weeks of training before the cameras start rolling. Bad, figure skating is dangerous and boring to watch. We’re at the very end and just now seeing good skating.
Tuesday night (12/21) is the final. It should be really, really good. The show started out slow, but it’s finally starting to take off.
We got a strong reminder that Skating with the Stars is a clone of dwts. The fan vote sent a great skater home tonight. Bethany is a distant fourth in this competition (behind Rebecaa, Jonny, and Brandon). But, she does have one huge fan base. There’s an ugly chance Bethany may win this whole thing. That would be a shame.
I am disappointed that Jonny went home. He was so good and had a chance of out skating Rebecaa.
Well, the first (probably only) season of Skating with the Stars wrapped up. It’s been a pale, sad imitation of Britain’s Dancing on Ice. Primarily because the Brit version spends more time training the celebrities before the cameras start filming. The Brit version doesn’t rush the complicated lifts so soon. They focus more on the basic element of ice skating.
Watching amateurs skate badly is not very entertaining. This show lost a lot viewers after the first week. It’s a shame because they were skating pretty good this week in the finals.
The winner is…
Rebecca Budig. By far the best skater all season. She had skated as a child, and it didn’t take long to get the rust off her skills.
There’s little reason to renew this show unless ABC is willing to invest in three extra weeks of training. The skating this season in Ep 1 was nearly unwatchable.
