One has to hand it to Fox. In the knock-down, drag-out world of ratings competition, Fox came out swinging against ABC's Dancing With the Stars, a competition running concurrently with this series.
Better, Fox's reality competition allows for eliminations on each night of the contest whereas ABC has a follow-up show for such eliminations. I'm not sure that having strictly judges processing eliminations — such as done by Fox — or allowing audience voting — such as done by ABC — matters all that much but it is less constraining not having to commit to another night to see the eliminations.
At any rate, with only three contenders left on the night of 2/13/06, Fox introduced another facet to the competition by something called a "skate-off". On this night, the songs for the performances were chosen by the judges. I didn't recognize a single song.
Kristy Swanson skated last that evening but she wowed the audience and the judges. I noted there was lots of skating on one-foot during Kristy's performance and was impressed. The choreography was very good as well. One judge pronounced the performance "hot, sexy and seamless". Kristy and her partner scored highest for the evening with a combined technical and artistic score of 58.0 out of a possible 60 points.
Jillian Barberie, the darling and leader of the competition until this particular evening, performed smoothly and competently. Because Jillian is female, she has a bit of an edge in that her partner can pick her up frequently and perform magnificent artistry. Yet, I must ask, how difficult is it to be carried around the ice? The judges lamented that Jillian did not provide enough variety in the routine. Jillian and her partner scored a combined score of 55.4.
Article comments
1 - Beth
Were you aware that Kristy and Lloyd were an item off the ice? Supposedly their affair was a shock to his wife as well...Oops!
2 - Pat Fish
I heard that Beth.
I wonder if it's a rumor floated to garner interest or hey, it could be true. I'm paying attention.
3 - James
It's not a rumor. Lloyd's ex-wife has gone to the tabloids with the story.
As for Skating With Celebrities vs. Dancing With the Stars, I watch both shows, and enjoy both shows (John Nicks is probably a better judge than any of the other reality show judges). I think SWC's ratings are lower, and the show runs on a much less competitive night (Monday) than DwTS, so I'm not sure if I have a ton of praise for FOX's bravery. They do knockoffs of other network reality shows all the time.
4 - Joanie
This article has been selected for Advance.net!
5 - Pat Fish
Hey, I'm impressed.
But then, insert wink here, I'm the author.