It's 70s night. As we can tell from the giant letters projected onto the centre of the ice which read “70s night!” And the outfits. Though I do wonder about the mentality of the stylists some weeks anyway and so barely look twice anymore, even when someone (Kieron) is wearing a shirt-and-trousers combo that is too bright to look at directly...
As I'm typing this up after the show I'm not going to go through the acts in the order which they performed, cos that just gets boring! Instead...
*Stars of the night*
Hayley, Mikey, Danniella
Hayley has been top of the leaderboard every week so far, though it should be noted that her score tonight (23.0) is what some celebs have achieved in week 1 in previous series! That aside, her skating and dancing skills are fantastic, and her energy is infectious. As close to a sure bet for the final as is possible at this point in the series.
Mikey was skating a comedy routine to the song “Cecilia”, the same song which Torvill and Dean themselves performed a comedy routine to back in the day. He certainly has the skill, the personality and – it has to be said – the fanbase to go far in this competetion.
At the beginning of the series, I expected Danniella to blend in around the middle of the pack and not really get noticed much til she got voted out around the middle of the series. Instead, she is showing fantastic skating ability and dance skills, unrivalled bravery in lifts and a bubbly personality that will work well for her in gaining public support.
In my opinion Kieron also deserves a mention here. I know he only got a score of 15.0, but I love him. His dancing was fantastic, his skating skills are greatly improved (especially when he's skating solo) and he's putting in all the lifts his muscles can manage! He got my vote tonight!
*Blending in somewhere in the middle...*
Sharron, Gary and Danny
In fairness, this is an improvement for Sharron – I would have placed her right at the bottom the past couple of shows! Her posture is improving and her lines in her lifts are good, but she's still hesitant and unsure of herself on the ice. Despite this, Jason's comparison of her to fecal matter that won't flush ("It just goes round and round...") was completely unwarranted. I can just imagine the calls being made to Ofcom already...
Gary and Danny were both good, but not the best of the night. Both had some wobbly moments, some hesitant moments, and some great moments. Both are in danger of being forgotten. Simple as that.
*Down at the bottom...*
Heather, Hillary and Emily
Yes, I understand that Heather had to be fitted with a new prosthetic leg this week, and this affected her skating. I feel for her, really I do. But she volunteered for this show – nobody forced her to sign up – and so I feel she needs to be judged exactly like any other contestant. None of them get a by-ball if they have an injury, and so for that reason I think she could be in trouble tonight.
Hillary – and I refuse to call him Dr Hillary, cos unless we're calling the others Mr Mikey, Mrs Sharron (etc) it's totally stupid (rant over!) - is scary to watch. He always looks like he's going to injure either himself or someone else, and is likely to if he stays in much longer. Is his skating improving? Yes. Does that make it good? No.
Emily is, unfortunately, not showing much improvement week on week. She's very unsure of herself on the ice, and she seems less able to deal with the pressure of the show than some of the other, older contestants. If she could bring her persoanlity out more she'd do a lot better, but we're not seeing that at the moment.
*Down at the bottom – so much that I forgot to put her on the list*
Tana. I seriously couldn't tell you a single move that she has done (well, badly or any other way) over the past 3 shows, any of the outfits she has worn, or any of the music she has skated to. Actually that's a lie – I know she skated to Waterloo tonight, but that's only cos I have it stuck in my head now and I know nobody else skated to it (I would remember!) It's not that she's worse than everyone else – in fairness, Hillary and Emily are possibly both worse than her (but that's debatable, and I do find myself sometimes wondering if the judges are keeping her off the bottom of the leaderboard cos they're scared of her husband!?) She's just so forgettable. Which is a shame, cos she comes across as a lovely woman, but I think in her case it won't be enough to save her for much longer.
In the results show it was revealed that Danny and Tana were in the skate-off. Tana and Stuart didn't look overly shocked. Danny looked concerned. Frankie looked ready to hit someone (probably Jason). Both celebrities ("skating stars"? Really?) came out and gave performances which were greatly improved on those given earlier in the night, but the judges unanimously voted to save Danny. He will have to really up his game next week is he doesn't want to be forgotten again when it comes to the voting.
Did the right person go? Who do you want to win? How angry will Frankie look if they're in the skate-off next week? And what will Jason find next to wear in place of a tie? Have your say on the Dancing on Ice board!