Wednesday, October 31, 2007

How could Sabrina get kicked off?

Before I start ranting about "Dancing with the Stars," I guess I better 'fess up to watching it.
I tried not to get hooked but it's pretty hard.
Go ahead, I dare you, try to watch it for only one dance.
Wait, no sense watching it now.
The best dancer got booted from the show, Sabrina Bryan of the girl band, "Cheetah Girls."
Here's the deal for the uninitiated: Celebrities are paired with professional dancers and each week one couple is eliminated based on how the judges vote on the show and how the viewers vote -- over the phone and online -- in the half-hour after the show.
Usually, the couple that gets the boot is the couple that should get the boot. As there are fewer and fewer contenders, better and better dancers get kicked off. But, up until last night, it has always seemed to me that the weakest of the remaining got kicked off.
But after what happened last night with Sabrina, it seems that was just because we have been lucky up to this point.
There are some major problems with the voting.
First, the show's judges do not hold all contestants to the same standards. Wayne Newton was an original member of this year's show. What he had to do to get a "7" from the judges is nothing like what Sabrina Bryan had to do to get a "7."
In the show that led to her ouster, Sabrina got pretty low marks for an almost perfect performance.
Not fair.
Then, although the audience has a half hour to vote after the show, I defy you to try to cast the seven votes allowed to you. It is impossible to get through on the phone. Hang up that option.
But it is also nearly impossible to get onto the Web site to vote because it is experiencing so much traffic.
Some of the comments burning up online fan sites the day after blame Sabrina's defeat on people not voting because she was so good, they didn't feel the need to cast their vote. She was a lock.
Guess not.
I don't know about you but I want the most talented person to win a talent contest.
If that's what "Dancing with the Stars" is all about, they need to fix their voting procedure.
Still on the show is Jane Seymour. Not for anything, and God love her, she's even older than me, BUT she isn't as good as Sabrina Bryan -- by a long shot. Perhaps more Dr. Quinn fans watch the show than Cheetah Girls fans but that shouldn't keep the best dancer from winning.
A lot of people are saying they are done watching the show.
I'm not ready to say that but it sure has lost a lot of its magic as far as I'm concerned.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sabrina was the best dancer and Im done watching the show unless they change the voting. Neither Jane or Marie can hold a candle. This happened once before on Dancing With the Stars.
Viewers don't want to watch a show that is not truely choosing the best dancer. If in fact the fan base is at cause here it should be eliminated as part of the judging process.

Anonymous said...

I'll probably still watch the show, but I won't view it the same way. Judging talent should not be done by an uncontrolled public that doesn't vote for the best talent. Either the voting system needs to be completely changed, or the public vote should only count for 25%. It's incredible that Jane Seymour is still there and Sabrina is gone. Bless her heart, Jane should have been gone much earlier. Nice lady but not a dancer. It's a sad day for the show.

The Black Dancer said...

There are two reasons Sabrina may have been voted off. In reading some of the comment boards around the country, the "anti-Sabrinas" would mention that her youth and current job gave her an unfair advantage or that her manner wasn't likable. Unfortunately, DWTS and the other audience voter driven shows are popularity contests. For a real contest, ABC should bring back the "Superstars" show from the 1970s.