Ron - I'm confused about the respect factor on DWTS.
Are Carrie Ann, Len and Bruno somehow ABOVE the professional dancers (or anybody) in the hierarchy in that proper respect (in terms of human decency) is due to them but not due from them to others? Is there some manner in which they're not all just performers on the show all there together to make for a successful TV show?
Fred: The way I see it, this show is a competition, just like "American Idol." The competitors are amateurs and they are paired with (supposedly) professional dancers whose "job" it is to coach them, teach them, train them, rehearse them and then perform with them in each competitive episode of the show dancing specific types of dances. While on "American Idol", the competitors are critiqued (and anyone who knows who Simon Cowell is knows just how far critiques can go), on "DWTS" they are scored. The judges express their assessments of the dances proffered and then the scores are posted. The audience gets to vote, too, and the votes are combined with the judges' (in some manner). Competitor/professional duo with the lowest number of votes gets sent packing each week.
Each week, competitors are expected to show they are paying attention, rehearsing, learning and striving to improve. It is paramount that their "paid" pros ensure that when they hit the dance floor that they do the very best they can. However, the judges are also privy to rehearsal tapes...they see what goes on and how much effort has or has not been made. They certainly take that into account when they assess each dance and award each score.
All of that said, yes, the judges are above the professional dancers. They are the ones who determine whether each pro is properly presenting his paired celebrity during the competition. They are the ones who "judge" and score. So, yes...the judging is the end-all be-all result aspired to by the show.
"In terms of human decency", however, is not something I think has any relation to what has gone on this season. None of the judges breached human decency in their remarks. After six weeks, one couple was notably lackluster and their rehearsal videos showed a celebrity either unable or unwilling to listen/learn and a petulant, pouty professional acting out. One of the judges called them out on it. He said exactly what he felt about their dance and took the professional to task for being at fault.
The incident was reported this way:
"On Monday's Dancing with the Stars, Hope Solo's pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy really, really went off on judge Len Goodman after he called their rumba their "worst dance of the season."
"Chmerkovskiy angrily objected to Goodman, charging that the remarks were "disrespectful," and that the judges' criteria for contestants wasn't fair.
"'I've been in this business for 50 years,' Goodman argued.
"'Then maybe it's time to go!' Chmerkovskiy barked back amid their verbal battle.
'The outspoken dancer wasn't exactly contrite backstage talking with co-host Brooke Burke Charvet, either. 'With all due respect, this is my show,' he said. 'I helped make it what it is,' he said."This so-called pro challenged the judge's qualifications to properly judge them. Another judge jumped in and told the so-called pro that he was way out of line. He was. And it WAS their worst dance of the season. Dreadful. And they needed to be told. Nothing indecent about what was said to them, IMO.
In any discipline a judge has a responsibility to express his opinion. If it's harsh, then it's harsh, IMO. Simon Cowell never minced words. Len doesn't mince words, either. I suppose they could just say, "Not very good" and say no more. Then when the 6's or 7's pop up (if that high), they'd be doing their jobs, except the pro and the celebrity wouldn't have a clue what displeased the judges and what more they needed to work on.
I was not offended by what Len said because I felt it needed saying. He was neither crude nor abusive nor vulgar. Hope Solo was noncomittal in her approach to each dance through most of this competition. Maks was pouty and sullen. They consistently turned in less-than-stellar dances....UNTIL the week after the incident.
I suppose Maks' disrespect toward Len as a judge can be seen as retaliation for Len's comments but it's Len's job to comment and it's the pro's job to listen, heed and do better. The other judges were in line with Len on his comments and they awarded the same points. Sometimes, bluntness can be effective and that team needed something to wake them up. It worked...for one week. They were back to their piddling/middling selves Monday night, and then it was lights out...and deservedly, IMO. Both Hope and Maks approached the judges before any comments were made (this was a week after receiving their best scores ever) and they were disrespectful in their smirks and body language and comments the judges overheard them make. Hope turned her back as soon as Len started talking. Maks turned her around. I don't think either of them was a class act, but I think the judges meant well and were trying to get the pair's attention before it was too late.
No one goes on "DWTS" without knowing they are subject to criticism. Some, however, cannot handle it.
