'Dancing' sends home a class act
Posted: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 8:54 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
For a week now, viewers of "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" have been comparing the two shows' voting systems. On "Idol," the judges get to decide which singers make it to Hollywood to compete, but then the power moves to the viewers' hands. If the viewers decide they like Sanjaya better than Stephanie, then Stephanie goes home, and Sanjaya lives to wear seven ponytails in a faux-Mohawk.
On "Dancing," the judging would seem more fair. Three trained ballroom-dance experts dissect each performance, explain what was right and wrong about it, and even award numerical scores. But they don't have all the power. Part of the decision is still made by the viewers, some of whom undoubtedly know nothing about dancing but that they once threw out a knee doing the Macarena at Cousin Julie's wedding
"Would seem more fair" yes, but then we come to Tuesday night's "Dancing" results. Poor Paulina Porizkova. From all appearances, she was a classy contestant who moved elegantly, didn't make any big mistakes, and whose 1980s supermodel beauty had morphed into an age-appropriate elegance. She actually hit the 1980s nostalgia vote on two counts -- not only she was a supermodel during that decade, but she has been married for more than 20 years to Cars' frontman Ric Ocasek. (She was also the topic of the 1990s alt-rock song "Friends of P" by the Rentals, which probably earned her points with exactly one person other than me.)
Yet Paulina was the first one to get booted, joining such awful past dancers as Tucker "I'll sit in a chair the whole dance!" Carlson and Trista Sutter. Did that make a lot of sense? She certainly didn't have the lowest scores from the judges, so it was the viewers who weren't inspired to vote for her. But why not?
From all the nasty "golddigger" comments flying around, Heather Mills would seem to be the most disliked, though she may have earned points for kicking both legs, including her artificial one, up over her head in a backflip. Billy Ray Cyrus' first dance was the most embarrassing, his second only slightly better. Leeza Gibbons, at 50, the oldest woman to dance on the show, was game and perky, yet seemed awkward. And Shandi Finnessey, while every bit as lovely as a Miss USA should be, had to be the least recognizable name on the list. So what happened? How did "Dancing's" system of taking professional opinions and fandom phone calls and mixing them together flop? Or did it?
Porizkova said it best after she got the news: She just didn't have enough family and friends to call in and vote for her, she said with a laugh. Say what you will about Leeza or Billy Ray, their names are really well-known, even if you never watched "Leeza" and can't hum "Achy Breaky Heart." (And if you can't, know how lucky you are.) Paulina is gorgeous, but Shandi Finnessey is younger and blonder. And maybe being a 1980s supermodel and wife of a Car just don't rate in this very different era.
But mostly, when the judging of any contest is turned over to the general public, the results are going to be unpredictable. We've discussed this in the various "American Idol" threads -- anyone who thinks a TV talent show is purely about talent is in for a shocking revelation.
Personally, I still like the "Dancing" system of judging better than "Idol's." Even with the occasional oddball decision, it makes more sense to combine trained judges' observations with viewers' opinions. But anyone who thinks the "Dancing" system of judging would solve all of "Idol's" problems had a rude awakening after tonight's boot.
So "Idol's" system isn't perfect. "Dancing's" system isn't perfect. Maybe no system that involves public votes can be. But there's another option. Maybe it's time to try the same voting-system change that "Idol" viewers have been urging for several seasons now: Maybe viewers should be encouraged to call in for the worst performer instead of splitting their votes among several favorites. The "Idol" Web site "Vote for the Worst," which tries to circumvent the show by keeping awful singers around, would have to change its name to "Vote for the Best."
I've said it before and I still believe the shows will never do it -- it would make them look too outwardly mean -- but I'd sure like to see them try it, once.
