The 34th season of “Dancing with the Stars” has recently come to a close, and with it has come a slew of fan complaints and nitpicks. I won’t go in depth on my thoughts on the actual elimination order or winner (though I did text ROBERT to 21523 every week). Still, there are some changes I believe the hit show would greatly benefit from to make it more fair for contestants and enjoyable for audiences.
Let’s start with the scoring system. Quite frankly, I think the judges have been giving scores that are too high in the early rounds. This season, both Robert and Witney and Whitney and Mark received 15/20 points on opening night. That’s already a fairly high score – and there were still countless weeks to go where the goal was progress.
Scoring too high too early makes it harder to see significant score improvements as the contestants learn, improve, and branch out. In older seasons, scores of two and three were not uncommon. If the dance really fails to wow the judges, they should not be afraid to score accordingly.
I would also like to see the judges be able to give half points. This could really help differentiate the couples, as even when two pairs receive the same score, one is typically the stronger team. The difference between a seven and a seven and a half could be profound, especially when it comes down to a close competition.
Having every couple do the same dance style every week would also be beneficial to seeing who shines and is taking corrections from the judges. When one couple is dancing a smooth, elegant waltz while another performs a fiery, rhythmic rumba, it’s difficult to see if one star is truly a better dancer than the other or if they just happen to excel at one style. I think certain themed nights, like a Halloween or Disney night, could have more variety, but standardizing the styles might help the audience vote more accurately.
Furthermore, I am a proponent of bringing “judges’ save” back to “Dancing with the Stars”. This was a rule that allowed the judges to decide which of the bottom two couples would be eliminated. It was introduced in Season 28, following the controversial victory of Bobby Bones, but was removed before the start of Season 32 because producers felt the viewers’ vote should have more impact on the elimination process.
Fans often save stars who aren’t necessarily the best dancers, which goes against the whole point of a dance show. I understand that popularity and fan support are what keep a show like this so popular and in media discussion, but there is no reason that the more talented dancers should be eliminated just because they aren’t the most lovable or you don’t feel bad for them.
This season, many fans were especially adamant about bringing back “judges’ save” after Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and her partner Mark Ballas were eliminated. Whitney was receiving some of the highest scores week after week and was clearly a standout dancer, yet her controversial behavior on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives made her a polarizing figure and ultimately cost her. I firmly believe Whitney deserved to be in the final this season, and a “judges’ save” could have helped her get there.
Something also needs to be done about the whole time zone debacle. “Dancing with the Stars” airs at eight p.m. ET/PT, and viewers can watch it live – if you live in the Eastern or Central regions of the USA. Pacific and Mountain viewers see a delayed broadcast. The voting, where fans text their favorite stars’ names, only occurs during the live broadcast, meaning viewers who don’t see it live are voting blindly. This isn’t very fair to those on the West Coast; this system needs to be revisited.
Finally, this is a long shot – but I would love the show to return to twice a year. “Dancing with the Stars” used to have two seasons a year, airing in the spring and the fall. However, in 2019, the switch was made to one season per year, likely due to production fatigue, the need to revamp and in the hopes of building more hype throughout the year. As a fan of the show, I’d love it if even more celebrities got the chance to take the dance floor every year.
“Dancing with the Stars” has proven to be a well-loved show, remaining successful after many years and countless seasons. However, with some alterations, I believe it could be produced even better and more fair to the stars pouring hours into their routines each week.
