In case some of you might have misunderstood the show, it's not a serious dance contest. It's only partly about talent - dancing talent, that is - and that part is provided by the panel of judges who mostly get it right. The other, apparently far larger part is just a popularity contest fueled by viewers calling in to vote for their favorites. Even Dumbo the Flying Elephant would make the cuts, if kids called in. And this has happened with other talent-challenged pop culture figures (many of them plus sizes, or far too old to be agile). One only has to look at who makes the cuts to figure this out.
And please spare me any complaints about my fatism-ageism comments. They are simply reality: fat, out of condition past their primes people have no business pretending to be dancers. They should be marketing their personal brands of low-calorie popcorn or AARP insurance, or something.
As much as your Ostrich Killer likes to watch some of these shows, he has decided to stop watching DWTS until and unless talent is the sole criteria. That is the only fair way - fairest to viewers who tune in to watch what are often incredible dance routines, fairest to the dancers who work very hard to put on the best show they can. It must be professionally disgusting to the judge panel to see the better dancers get eliminated week after week because they don't get as many phone calls as the Pillbury Marshmallow Man, who fell on his ass twice in one dance but who has a great smile. But hey. Judges are professionals. They get paid to judge. They do that. And then they go home and kick the dog.
Maybe there can be two categories of winners: Judge's Choice, and Viewer's Choice. Cuts would be made based solely on dancing talent (Judge's Choice), but at the end of the show there would be a second award of Viewer's Choice. Any contestant pair, no matter when they were cut, would be eligible for that award. This would show beyond any possibility of doubt that viewers don't care a whit or don't know squat about dancing talent, but so what? The judges already chose the best talent.
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