Friday, February 17, 2006
Dancing Judges
The issue on Dancing With The Stars has become the judges. The woman judge is antagonizing everyone. First she irked the other judges, already contentious, and now even one of the professional dancers — the woman who partners with Jerry Rice — looked like she wanted to tear the heart of this female judge right out. It was a legitimate reaction — no other professional dancer had had their choreography criticized. This female judge seems to play more to the audience and her prejudices than to what is in front of her.
The other judges are something of a comedy duo: the hyperbolic Latin gesticulating over the top zero to sixty in two seconds judge; and the proper, most decorous and restrained judge. They could take the act on the road. Frankly, I've always been amazed at the level of credibility judges, critics, and gatekeepers in general receive — good judges are as rare as the top performers in any field. You really can't sniff their resume, you have to listen to the judge to figure out if they warrant consideration. Critical thinking required, always. In the arts the test is always, can they write? If a critic isn't a good writer, hasn't mastered a relatively minor form of writing criticism, how can you consider them credible when assessing a complex art form?
I don't think any of the judges could dance as well as Stacy, who is remarkable. So, Jerry will be voted off, then Lisa, then the guy who is the brother of the other guy who was married to the famous what's-her-name… and then Stacy will win, and all will be right with the world.
The NYT said Dancing got better ratings than one of the other top shows, Survivor or CSI. Not at all surprising — it has a positive spirit does Dancing With The Stars.