There's elements of of #1 to be sure. Some people like to cast the contra-vote or reward someone who "tries hard." The structure of the show - no option to cast a negative vote -- allows for this each season. But the bigger factor IMHO is the partisan political support generated by her mother's supporters. I'd say very few view her as being anywhere near the best dancer.
But blame (if that is the case) can also be laid at the feet of the judges under (assumed) direction from the producers. With 50% of the score coming from the judges, they consistently have failed to judge her as harshly as she deserves. Take this past week. Kurt Warner, former Super Bowl QB, danced well and got repeated his best scores of the season, three 8's out of 10 (for an average,, of course of 8). Palin danced much more poorly, even losing her step a couple of times, and received harsh *verbal* criticism from the judges (as befits someone who dances this poorly, this late in the competition), but then they score her 7-8-8 (for an average of 7.7) or only 4% less than Warner, clearly setting up the "upset" that leaves Palin in and Warner (and others before her) out. This has consistently been the way they have scored her, always at least a full point higher than she should and others would have gotten (my opinion having watched all 11 seasons). And exactly what makes Bristol Palin a "star" to qualify her to be a contestant? Officially she is billed as a "teen activist" who speaks out about teen pregnancy. While admirable, hardly star material. And so, her reason for being on the show is her mother's political connection, geared towards energizing her mother's political base into increased ratings. So lay most of the blame -- or credit depending on your point of view -- at the judges/producer's feet. Ron Casalotti Wayne, NJ On Nov 12, 3:38 am, PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 9:33 AM, Mark J. <mjeffr...@marcrealty.com> wrote: > > > On Nov 11, 11:23 am, David Lynch <djly...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 10:29, Mark J. <mjeffr...@marcrealty.com> wrote: > > > > However, politicians or pundits have not particularly done well on > > > > "Dancing" in the past.... Why is it working this time? > > > > Because Sarah Palin's people are different sort of crazy/ devoted/ > > > (insert your preferred word here) than Tom DeLay's people? > > > I think you've got something there. > > > And I find it humorous that the teabaggers have been able to do (even > > if unwittingly) what Howard Stern, a raft of other radio DJs and > > several bloggers and decriers of the evils of reality television have > > been unable to do--throw a monkey wrench into a talent competition > > show. (SNIP) > > I have not been following this thread, and have never seen this program, but > this last post caught my eye and I wanted to get clear on something. Are you > saying that it is obvious to most that Bristol (at first I thought this > thread had something to do with ESPN) is a bad dancer, and is being kept on > because of her novelty value, or because of her mother's partisans? Or is > there a critical mass of relatively politically neutral viewers who just > think she is one of the better dancers on the show? -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
