Strictly Come Dancing 2022
#31

It’s an interesting point to be made about chemistry and about balance. Strictly was a huge risk for the BBC, putting ballroom dancing on primetime Saturday night TV- they needed to make it really sparkle, and needed the right combination of judges. 4 unknowns really, but they managed to gel together so perfectly. You can’t force chemistry, either it’s there or not, and they really captured lightning in a bottle with the original Strictly foursome. It was a true magic combination- they all had a very special chemistry, in a way that I don’t think the current panel do. Watching back that documentary about Len, he mentions that he liked that all the judges came from different areas of dance, which is probably why the early years were so great. Series 1-6 with Craig, Arlene, Len and Bruno was true Strictly to me, there was an Alesha blip in the middle, then that magic returned with Darcey on the panel. I think Len-era Strictly and Shirley-era Strictly have immensely different feels. I really like Shirley, and I still love the show, but there was something really special and traditional about the show in those early years- it oozed elegance. I can understand why the current incarnation of the show has more appeal to the younger viewers, and I can understand how Brucie and Len’s departures helped open it up for younger people to get into the show (it may have been seen as too pensionery in the classic era) but there’s a certain charm to those early series that the show somewhat lacks now. It’s become a bit like X Factor, and focused on dances having a backstory sometimes- sometimes it’s sheer magic like Rose’s Couple’s Choice in 2021, but most of the time it’s unneeded. I miss when it was just pure dancing, and whether you loved him or loathed him, you can’t deny that Len was an absolutely integral part of Strictly in those early years, bringing an air of authority to it all, keeping the other judges in check, e.g. telling off Craig if he gave a low-score. The current panel sometimes do that but it’s more in an angry “how dare you” way rather than the gentle banter it was with Len.

Len’s comment about them all coming from different areas of dance stuck with me though: now that 75% of the panel all come from the same ballroom/Latin background, it means their critiques (apart from Craig) all somewhat blend into one as their comments tend to be quite similar. When you think, Craig used to be the one that would be very caustic and cutting; Arlene was the firm but fair one; Len was the traditionalist, and Bruno was the flamboyant exuberant one. I don’t think they really have those distinguished roles anymore.
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#32

I do much prefer where Strictly is today to where it was in the early years especially, though the transition was happening in Len's final few years and Len somewhat walked so without him the show could run.
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#33

(26-04-2023, 03:01 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  I do much prefer where Strictly is today to where it was in the early years especially, though the transition was happening in Len's final few years and Len somewhat walked so without him the show could run.

Yes, I think the transition to the current Strictly probably started around the time Claudia came in and Bruce left.
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#34

I'd say the first transition was in S8 (Alesha's second series).

The previous series had been rather disappointing in terms of ratings, names signed up and a bit of backlash to Alesha. As well as the format, the Sunday results was dropped in favour of one long show which dragged on, so naturally people switched over to X Factor by the end. One year later, they increased the budget, introduced themed nights and a whole new bigger set that really set Strictly on it's way to what it is today
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