Dancing with the Stars – A Winner is Crowned Tonight

By On 11/25/2008 · 41 Comments · In Uncategorized

Brooke and Derek win Dancing with the Stars

2nd Place: Warren and Kym
3rd Place: Lance and Lacey

Video and live re-cap after the JUMP…

Brooke and Derek win. Wow, that was…anticlimactic. Do I suck at making predictions for this show, or what. I totally underestimated Warren and Kym’s fan base, even though some peeps warned me earlier in the season not to underestimate the fan bases of the football players.

As far as the finale, I thought the highlights were few and far between all of the unnecessary filler. Most of the show was some sort of do-over–including all the contestant’s routines tonight. In between stuff we’ve already seen ad nauseum, there were a couple of guest performances–Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus–and a few lame bits. The Jeffrey Ross “roast” and Cloris’s interview segment had potential, but fell flat.

I felt about a minutes worth of disappointment that my favorites, Lance and Lacey lost. Everyone will go on with their careers already in progress. I would think the win means more in terms of career advancement for the pros than it does for the stars. In the meantime, stars like Lance and Toni, who don’t have regular day jobs will go on the tour.

Then, it starts all over again in a few short months…

There’s going to be a heck of a lot of filler in tonight’s special finale. Re-cap, pointless interviews, dumb videos…yada yada. And of course, we’ll have to re-live the entire season, I’m sure. Do we have to?

After the requisite recap, Cloris Leachman conducts a man-in-the-street type interview. Well, there wasn’t much to that. I was expecting way more hijinks.

Alicia Keys take the stage to sing “I Need You” with a gaggle of dancers. Alicia’s got a little footwork of her own going on, until she gets behind the piano to do her thang.

Oh look, there’s Miley. She’s next. Yipee.

Jeffrey and Edwina, Ted and Inna and Kim Kardashian reprise a dance. Do we really even want to see these dances again? Jeffrey and Kim–Ouch.

Re-cap of Week 3 and 4 – Misty May-Treanor injures her ankle. I an’t get enough of hearing her tendon pop. Ouch. I can’t get enough of Rocco in a pink ruffled shirt! Misty May is back. She can walk now. That’s a good thing. Look, there’s Maks, and he’s answering questions diplomatically, for once.

Rocco and Karina dance the Mambo. Aww, Rocco sure is cute, but he’s got no rhythm!

Weeks 5 and 6: Four brand new dances, and it was kind of a trainwreck! Michael Flatley judges. Sort of.

Toni Braxton is here, but she’s just come out of minor surgery, and she can’t dance. But who cares about her, Cloris and Corky make their entrance. Everybody loves Cloris! Aw, Cloris isn’t going to Broadway after all, because “Young Frankenstein” is closing… Damn the economy!

Susan Lucci and Tony are back to dance the paso doble. Susan’s dramatic skills held her in good stead here…

Maurice Greene and Cheryl dance the Salsa. Aw, I thought Maurice should have lasted at least another week. Maybe he should be in the finals instead of Warren. Love this salsa…

More and more recap. We’re speeding through the weeks now, to make time for Jeffrey Ross and his roast of his fellow contestants. This is a little corny. But then, he’s got to keep it PG for the kids.

Cody and Julianne dance their Lucy and Ricky jitterbug. Maybe my favorite from them.

The judges assess the competition. For the nth time. The Pop Star, The Hero, The Hot Momma–guess who is who!

Oh geez, presenting the competitors standing on pedestals with blowing smoke to the strains of the Star Wars theme? This show is so cheesy! They’re all cracking up.

The last leg of the competition finally begins…

Warren and Kym – The Hustle – As it turns out, Warren’s football footwork translated to dancing. Kym wants to cuddle Warren! Warren tells Kym he loves her. Aw. Warren’s footwork here is a bit clumpy, but the lifts are really nice. Len says he may not be the judges champion, but he is the people’s champion. Bruno calls him the craftiest hustler of them all. Carrie Ann calls it, “Too cool for school.” Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 – 27 – 80

Lance and Lacey – The Jitterbug – Lance wanted to bring something different to the dance floor. Lance loves Lacey like a sister, and calls her a friend for life. Lacey says Lance is a little butterfly that came out of his cocoon. Lance feels so much more confident! The jitterbug is a total crowd pleaser. Will Lance keep his shoe on? Yes, he does. Bruno tells Lance he’s become a great showman. Carrie Ann nitpicks some mistakes, and adds that they both deserve to be here. Len says they sparkled the last few weeks. Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 10 28 81

Brooke and Derek – Viennese Waltz – Brooke says Derek was her favorite dancer. Derek says Brooke was born to dance. They admit to having problems during the competition, but ultimately came to respect one another. They fully intend to win. They are dancing beautifully. If they don’t get another perfect score, it will be close. Carrie Ann is crying. No sh*t. She calls Brooke a star, and Derek an incredible teacher. Len thinks it was the dance of the season. Bruno says, “Belissima” Aw, Brooke’s husband is tearing up. Carrie Ann – 10 Len – 10 Bruno – 10 – 30 – 88

First couple to be eliminated: Lance and Lacey!

OMG. Color me shocked. I was sure they’d come in second.

Miley Cyrus sings her craptacular hit “Fly on the Wall”. This song is really terrible, and Miley can’t sing at all. I predict the end of her adolescence will be the end of her career.

Samantha interviews Brooke and Derek and Warren and Kym backstage.

Ten minutes to waste. Really, they should just hand out the damn thing now. Tom is out in the audience interviewing the eliminated contestants, who plug, plug away.

Finally, the winner.

Brooke and Derek win Dancing with the Stars….

Aw look, they have their mirror ball. What a prize!

 
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  • Lisa

    Wheeee, I love it! Nothing like my score going down in flames, heh.

    Miley, ugh.

  • jenniewdc

    I’m so disappointed and surprised that Lance & Laqcey took 3rd!

    I want Brooke & Derek to win, but I was so sure Lance would be 2nd.

    sniff….

  • brie200

    I’m excited Lance went third. I honestly think he had a chance if he had done a killer freestyle, but they basically threw it for some unknown reason. Historically a not so great freestyle can do a couple in on this show–see Stacey Kiebler in S2 and Mel B. in S5 for two examples.

    Stacey/Tony did a lackluster freestyle and Drew/Cheryl brought the house down that season. Drew won and Stacey wound up third.

    Mel B./Maks did a lackluster freestyle and ended up losing to Helio.

    So yep, L/L basically killed their momentum last night IMO.

  • gabam

    I’m heartbroken. *tear*

  • snuffles

    Hey man, for her first year as a “pro” Lacey did FANTASTIC! She’ll probably be back next season (especially since Juliane Hough is taking a break). This has got to be a sweet gig for a girl like her.

  • http://www.myspace.com/swood1104 Sarah

    Yawn.

    Again, I was so right. Even though it’s basically typical every season that ALL of the dancers get 30′s for their final routine, this year, no such thing. Only the Chosen One gets a 30 and the guys get scored lower, just as I said earlier would happen.

    I think I’m officially over this show. It’s worse than AI, imo.

  • nomi

    No like Brooke. :(

  • KrazeeK120

    I was going to type something here, but realized that Sarah already typed out my exact thoughts. So ditto to Sarah.

    There is no way Lance or Warren had a shot at overcoming the judge-given gap between themselves and stiff-legged, unfinished arm mover Brooke. Please note, I am in no way saying that Warren or Lance were great technically, but they were deservedly called out when they performed poorly. Brooke was not, other than ONE time. I guess they were trying to cover up that they were making her TCO or something. Two points is close, 7 or 9 points, not so much. The judges completely took any power away from the viewers (aside from allowing us the huge honor of choosing the runner-up). But we didn’t get to choose the winner. Why even let people vote???????

    I have watched this show for many seasons but I’m not sure if I will be watching again. What’s the point if my vote doesn’t really count?

    ETA: I hope Derek gets paired with a completely horrible dancer next season. He needs to get off his high horse.

    /rant

  • sonyab

    Oh crap! Brooke and Derek won!

    After Miley sang they showed the guy in the audience clapping but not smiling! ROFL. He didn’t look very happy. He had dark hair. Not enjoying her singing man? :)

  • teenie

    I am very satisfied with this win. Brooke’s upper body positioning in that waltz was beautiful.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    The only thing I’m upset about is that my laptop power chord is ONCE again giving me fits. And that that I lost 40 points because both Cloris and Cody stayed a week too long.

    If the popular vote makes up 50% of the score, then if one couple is way ahead with the popular vote, it makes sense that it would make an impact. Obviously, it wasn’t the case here.

    Honestly, the idea of TCO is kinda suspect for me on this show. Is it too hard to believe that the judges honestly thought Brooke did the best throughout the season? It isn’t for me.

    I can see the idea of TCO being an issue on AI since they want to sign who they want to sign. But not on DWTS when all they give away is a lousy trophy? I’m not sure there’s a conspiracy here, other than the judges preferred Brooke and Derek’s dancing, which is their right and the point of the show.

    ETA: To build drama for ratings, they would have toned the judges down to make it closer. I’m not sure how it benefits the show to have a TCO. But I’m open to theories.

    I’ll also add that this show has been craptastic from day one. I haven’t watched in several seasons because it comes on way too often and is a bunch of filler. The only reason I watched this year is because of the pool and the camaraderie. :-)

    Congrats to the winner of the pool, whomever you are!

  • brie200

    I’m fine with Brooke winning. Mostly because Warren and Lance were both limited. I’m not saying Brooke was the best dancer ever and in previous seasons she probably would have lost, but as compared to Lance and Warren I’m fine with her win. This was a pretty weak season in terms of celeb talent pool.

    I also expected them to give Brooke all 10′s tonight and not the other couples, but also, I didn’t think either Warren or Lance performed their dance any better than the first time. I thought both of them were off base choosing to redo dances that required lifts and etc. because it gave them more to screw up. Both Lance and Warren had better dances than the ones they chose.

  • http://www.myspace.com/swood1104 Sarah

    There may not be a reason to have a TCO on this show, but there still is one.

    I looked at finale scores for every other season today, and the ONLY other season that there was such a huge point differential in one top person and the other two competitors was last season, when they were gunning for another female winner OR ELSE. As pundits have been pointing out for the past few days, the judges typically score all of the contestants or at least their “top two” pretty much the same and then let the votes decide the outcome – including giving pretty much every 3rd finale dance a 30. Not so this year, and that just reeks of desperation and manipulation to me. YMMV, of course.

    The popular vote making up 50% of the score does not matter when the judges score one contestant so far ahead that viewer votes, no matter how many there are, can’t make a difference. What I understand is that the scoring process works like this: all of the points handed out by the judges during the night are added up and the percentage of that total that the contestants’ score is makes up the first part of their score. Then, whatever percentage of the votes that a contestant gets is added to that for their final score and the contestant with the lowest combined score is voted off.

    Last night (not counting tonight’s scores for the 3rd dance), Brooke got 35% and some change of the judges’ points. Lance and Warren got a little over 32% each. So, even if they were all on equal footing with the fans and split the fan vote between the 3 of them, Brooke would have won because her judges scores were higher. And some would argue that they were justified, some would argue that they were not. Mileage, and all that.

    But basically, as KK said, the judges put it out of the fans hands last night because they seem to be so desperate for Brooke to win. Why? Yeah, they’ve been enamored of her all season, but as KK said, she’s been called out once for mistakes in a dance when there have been plenty of dances that have been not so technically perfect or spectacular or blahblahblah. Yes, she was the most naturally gifted dancer of the season, so if her dancing and ability can really speak for itself, why all the OTT praise? IMO, it’s because they were scared it wouldn’t.

    IMO, if the point of the show is who the judges prefer, why even give the public the ability to vote? They basically took that away from us last night, and again tonight, anyway with their scores putting Brooke as basically a lock to win unless people just somehow forgot to vote for her. So, why should we vote, and even watch, if the judges are just going to decide for us who the winner should be? At least in AI, the judges don’t have an actual vote once the viewers get involved in the voting process.

    This season of DWTS has left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth. I think I’ll be focusing on AI in the spring and give DWTS a break, unless like, Mark Paul Gossalear is on it or something.

  • dancingqueen

    Turned out just like I thought it would, based on the judges giving Brooke very high scores to combat Warren’s fanbase. Lance didn’t have enough of either, then did that boring hip-hop routine to totally seal the deal for 3rd.

    Miley sucks – she’d be nothing, if she hadn’t been Hannah first.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    The show has never been in the fans hands, really. The format is the same as it ever was. Half judges and half fans. The judges each get 1/3 of the score for each dance. Fans get a limited amount of votes, depending on the week of the season..

    I also looked at the judges score averages today on wiki. I was curious. And a few times fans did trump judges in the finals. However, the judges scores in the finale were closer than this season.

    I would argue that this show has had plenty of fans voting for people over judges scores (cloris?), but just not late in the season.

    Bottom line… the show has nothing to gain by having a chosen one. They have always had the same scoring system.

    If the viewers want it to be based on popularity like AI, then I guess a letter writing campaign is in order.

  • brie200

    As pundits have been pointing out for the past few days, the judges typically score all of the contestants or at least their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“top twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  pretty much the same and then let the votes decide the outcome – including giving pretty much every 3rd finale dance a 30. Not so this year, and that just reeks of desperation and manipulation to me. YMMV, of course.

    I think the lower scores are in part because the dancers this season just weren’t that good. There have been a few people in the finale of past seasons that weren’t that great (Helio, Jerry Rice, Marie Osmond), but IMO the majority of finalists we have had were better than the finalists we got this season, or the playing field was at least more even.

    Kristi wasn’t my favorite dancer last season, but technically nobody could touch her. Scores would have been closer IMO if any of the other celebs could remotely keep up with her.

    I also don’t think the judges always get what they want, despite the scoring. If that were the case John O’Hurley would have won S1. Stacey Kiebler S2. Mario Lopez S3. Mel B. S5 and etc. If anything rarely do the judges get what they want.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    As pundits have been pointing out for the past few days, the judges typically score all of the contestants or at least their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“top twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  pretty much the same and then let the votes decide the outcome – including giving pretty much every 3rd finale dance a 30. Not so this year, and that just reeks of desperation and manipulation to me. YMMV, of course.

    If that’s the way the judges used to do it, why have judges?

  • http://www.myspace.com/swood1104 Sarah

    I also looked at the judges score averages today on wiki. I was curious. And a few times fans did trump judges in the finals.

    For the actual winner, only once with Mel B and Helio. And their judges’ point differential was 1 point. The other times it’s only been a 2nd placer.

    However, the judges scores in the finale were closer than this season.

    That is EXACTLY my point. Their scores in the finale were closer than this season (for every season except last season). When the scores are separated by one or two points, a fan vote can make all the difference. But when it’s a 5, 7, 9 point differential, that’s almost impossible to make up, especially at this stage. So basically, they said – Brooke is going to win, we don’t care how you vote.

    This show is about ratings. So, for that alone, it does make sense to have a chosen one. If they have a Cloris win the show, it becomes more of a joke than it already is. Did you read the article of the guy withdrawing from the British version because fans kept voting him through to the point that he was actually becoming a threat to win, no matter how the judges scored him? If only to have a horse to back from beginning to end, there is a benefit to having a chosen one. Otherwise, you risk your fodder, who may have a bigger fanbase, outlasting some of the lesser popular or known but more technically talented dancers. Marie Osmond, anyone?

    Anyway, I’m done with the rant and heading to bed.

  • sabby_rina

    Lance in 3rd place? Boo!

    I’m happy for Derek because he finally won one!

  • brie200

    If thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the way the judges do it, why have judges?

    Agreed. Forgive me if I sound like a DWTS know it all because I’m not trying to at all, but I’ve been a regular watcher since S2. I’ve followed it way more than Idol (until this season). But no matter which way the judges go there will be a portion of viewers unhappy. From about S3 through S5 many viewers were upset because the judges would essentially score all the celebs the same in the semi-finals and finals and leave the voting completely up to those at home. They’d give their 10′s and then many fans would wonder as to what the purpose of even having judges were.

    But on the other hand if the judges show a bias and score one celeb higher as they have in S6 and S7, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of those who are either fans of other celebs or want all viewer voting. It leaves the idea of there being a TCO.

    I just think it’s a no win situation. Either way someone isn’t going to be happy.

    When the scores are separated by one or two points, a fan vote can make all the difference. But when ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a 5, 7, 9 point differential, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s almost impossible to make up, especially at this stage.?

    Then as already asked by someone else, why have judges if they are just going to score everyone the same and leave it all to the home viewer?

    I guess I’m one that likes that there are judges who score on this show. I’m not saying I always agree with them or the way they score my favorites. Often I don’t. But I don’t want this to be another Idol ripoff where it’s all based on viewer vote.

  • http://www.myspace.com/swood1104 Sarah

    I also donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think the judges always get what they want, despite the scoring. If that were the case John Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Hurley would have won S1. Stacey Kiebler S2. Mario Lopez S3. Mel B. S5 and etc. If anything rarely do the judges get what they want.

    They’ve apparently learned from their mistakes. Score the one you want to win so high that it’s impossible for the other competitors to make up the difference and VOILA! The desired result!

    Or they just didn’t want a win for those contestants bad enough to separate them from the other finalists.

    ETA:

    If thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the way the judges used to do it, why have judges?

    The point is, they at least allowed the fan vote have an affect on the outcome. When there is such a big difference in the scoring, it is virtually impossible to make it up with fan voting, no matter how many ardent fans there are for a contestant.

    I’m sorry, but you will never change my mind on that.

    ETA2:

    But on the other hand if the judges show a bias and score one celeb higher as they have in S6 and S7, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of those who are either fans of other celebs or want all viewer voting. It leaves the idea of there being a TCO.

    No, I just want more even handed scoring. Period. The bias this season has been unreal. But I guess that’s what we get when watching a show that has judges’ scoring to begin with.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    Well, that’s my point too. Having judges helps eliminate fodder like Cloris. However, I don’t think they need a TCO to get rid of fodder. They could cast several potentially good dancers and still vote on who they thought danced the best in the end. I believe that’s what happened.

    If anything, they are pretty upfront. There’s no super sekkrit manipulation like on AI. Yes, the judges loved Brooke. How many people think it was fake? I’m curious.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    The point is, they at least allowed the fan vote have an affect on the outcome. When there is such a big difference in the scoring, it is virtually impossible to make it up with fan voting, no matter how many ardent fans there are for a contestant.

    Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sorry, but you will never change my mind on that.

    Fair enough, but if they give them all tens, why have the finale have judges? Why not just let the fans vote? You’re basically saying that it shouldn’t be 50/50. Why should fans have more say than judges?

  • brie200

    Sarah, I’m not trying to argue with you really. I value your opinion. I just think that we get a smaller scoring differential between the celebs when it’s deserved to be so. Usually IMO the dancing between the celebs in the finale is on a similar level.

    The last two seasons I think there has been less of a chosen one so much as one clear frontrunner who usually deserves better scores, and I say that as someone who has never once voted for Brooke. I think the issues the past few seasons has been lackluster celebs who aren’t all that consistent on the dance floor.

    The most famous seasons of DWTS have been the seasons where there has been a true rivalry between two celebs who usually trade off the lead on the scoreboard week in and week out. S2- Drew Lachey vs. Stacey Kiebler, S4- Apolo vs. Joey Fatone and even S3 which saw the show down of Mario Lopez vs. Emmitt Smith. What’s been lacking with the show the past few seasons is mostly inconsistent celebs so we don’t get a showdown of solid dancing.

  • http://www.myspace.com/swood1104 Sarah

    Yes, the judges loved Brooke. How many people think it was fake? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m curious.

    I never said I thought it was fake. I just think the pimping and praise was waaaaaaaaaaaay OTT, especially when some dances she did had just as many mistakes as some of the ones that others did, but excepting ONE occasion, she was never called out on it. That is what makes me call her TCO.

    Also, I never said that the manipulation was secret. To me, it’s more than blatant.

    Fair enough, but if they give them all tens, why have the finale have judges? Why not just let the fans vote?

    I’m not saying that it is or should be all 30′s for every dance in the finals. The final dance, performed on the finale night, is all I was originally referring to with that comment. And believe me, there have been plenty of times that I’ve seen people questioning the reason for that dance in the first place. We’ll never truly know I guess, but my suspicion tonight was that Brooke possibly needed a little extra help. Of course, I could be 100% wrong, but when they break tradition like that (even Kristi’s competition last year, Jason Taylor, got a 30), it makes me question why.

    Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re basically saying that it shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be 50/50. Why should fans have more say than judges?

    No, I’m not. I’m saying I want more even-handed, less biased scoring. Yeah, I know that’s not going to happen. Doesn’t mean I won’t rant about it.

    Anyway, really going to bed now. Rant over.

  • sunchick

    I totally forgot the second half of the finale was on tonight, so thanks for the recap MJ. I hope I didn’t miss much Maks. Not surprised at the outcome. I tend to vote for the quirky or the sexy couples, and the people tend to go for the technically proficient or the cutesy. Yet another season where I don’t dig the disco ball winner. Evs. I do beg to differ about the freestyles. I’d much rather see dancing than tricks and lifts and I loved Lance and Lacey’s freestyle. Oh wells. And put me down for Team: Judging is Bogus. Every season, Carrie Ann has a bug up her butt about someone who is better than she gives them credit, and gushes about someone else who doesn’t really earn it. Kinda over Dancing With the Houghs and Friends, but if Maks comes back next season, I’m sure will not be able to resist his fine, um, dance skills.

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll never truly know I guess, but my suspicion tonight was that Brooke possibly needed a little extra help. Of course, I could be 100% wrong, but when they break tradition like that (even Kristià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s competition last year, Jason Taylor, got a 30), it makes me question why.

    Anyway, really going to bed now. Rant over.

    I’m just not convinced they needed Brooke to win to pull strings for her. I can’t think of a reason to do that, especially if she’s NOT a fan fave.

    If they’re going to give them all 30s, then why waste our time?

    Night Sarah! ;-)

  • http://www.myspace.com/swood1104 Sarah

    Oh, I can think of plenty of reasons, first and foremost, not wanting to sacrifice their pride by having their Golden Child lose after 2344343 weeks of OTT praise.

    If theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going to give them all 30s, then why waste our time?

    That’s the question people have been asking for season after season. There IS no need for a scored dance on the finale. The only reason I see the need is to boost scores.

    Night! :)

  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    Oh, I can think of plenty of reasons, first and foremost, not wanting to sacrifice their pride by having their Golden Child lose after 2344343 weeks of OTT praise.

    From a business standpoint, it makes more sense for them to make it a closer contest with the judges to build suspense.

    If it’s all about ego, then I’m assuming they wouldn’t have praised Brooke in the first place if they didn’t deem her worthy. I’m not sure everyone would agree that it was OTT.

    Now I’m really off. :)

  • bigepaz

    Honestly, the idea of TCO is kinda suspect for me on this show. Is it too hard to believe that the judges honestly thought Brooke did the best throughout the season? It isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t for me.

    –amen PJ. As another one of the minority (in this blog) who has favored Brooke (and Warren) since week 2, it isn’t hard for me to believe either.

    Just my two cents — A TON of people I know who love the show and watch constantly all rooted for Brooke all season long, with the sentimental favorite being Warren. It’s a small sample, but I do believe people voted for her because she has been consistent and is a REALLY good dancer.

  • brie200

    Also not that DialIdol is the be all end all of accuracy, but DI had Warren in first by quite a wide margin. Followed by Brooke who had an even wider margin over third place Lance, so in all honesty if the the dancers had done the same dances on finale night and gotten all equal scores, there is a good chance Brooke would have still come in ahead of Lance–though likely Warren would have beaten them both.

    My other guess is as much as Lance touted himself as the worst dancer in NSync and I certainly agree that he was, for some he was probably still seen as a boybander “ringer”. Usually there are some every season who refuse to vote for people who they think have prior dance training, even if it is as far from ballroom as possible. It reared it’s ugly head with Mario Lopez, Joey Fatone, Mel B. and several others. So I wouldn’t be surprised if some didn’t vote for him for that reason ether.

  • Dlynne

    I would have been happy with any of the three winning. They all worked very hard and I think that all three deserved to be in the final.

    Having said that, I have to say that the show has never been about picking the winner for me. It’s about the totality of the season – watching the struggles and the growth and the joy in watching the “stars” challenge themselves to do something outside of their comfort zone. I also love watching a “live” show when absolutely anything can happen and usually does. Another thing I love is the mix of celebs and pros who get thrown together and become instant family. The stories are great.

    I can’t wait for the next season.

  • Allison

    KrazeeK120
    Nov 25th, 2008 at 11:11 pm

    There is no way Lance or Warren had a shot at overcoming the judge-given gap between themselves and stiff-legged, unfinished arm mover Brooke. Please note, I am in no way saying that Warren or Lance were great technically,

    Brooke – stiff, and unfinished arms???? Not what I saw. Her arm movements were so elegant. As you say, Warren, and to a lesser extent. Lance were not great technically, so they didn’t win. I am glad the bias against the “models” was overcome this time. Brooke is a great winner.

  • t2

    I am glad that Brooke won, and really, really glad that Derek won. His choreography is always so incredibly hard, I am glad that he finally got some recognition for it.

    Poor Alec, they finally get a model who can dance, and they pair her with Derek.

    I would really love to see Edyta or maybe even Kim (such a good sport) win next season.

  • idolbeat

    I don’t think there was any chosen one. I had been rooting for Julianne and Cody but have never thought Cody was the best dancer. At various times throughout the show, many of the dancers gave great performances but Brooke was the most consistently great performer. The Viennese Waltz, was absolutely beautiful – even in slowed down speed, she showed grace and beautiful lines. She did the most difficult choreographed dances as well. I loved Lacey’s choreography and Warren’s personality (except if that story was true that TMZ reported) but there is no doubt that Brooke was the best dancer.

    Congtrats to all the dancers!

  • CRB

    Brooke was the obvious favorite from the beginning, I don’t think this is a show that can really surprise you. Kim K. was as slow as usual. Lance and Lacy mucked up a lift. Also Lacey was trying a bit too hard and made Lance look kind of slow on the last dance, I thought.

    Pure cheese, just what the audience watches for.

  • http://www.myspace.com/gundomom CarieB

    I am cracking up that I finished in 14th place in the pool and barely watched the show, usually on my dvr a couple of days later. I guess not getting caught up in the week to week stuff, I could see Brooke as TCO/winner from miles away.

  • http://myspace.com/susanatfox sumidol

    oh there was a chosen one and you knew right from the start that it would be Brooke, they just went on and on about her, critizing everyone elses feet but ignoring the fact that her arms and hands were stiff and graceless in every dance. She was not fun to watch, she was correct but boring imo

  • Grammie Kari

    The most famous seasons of DWTS have been the seasons where there has been a true rivalry between two celebs who usually trade off the lead on the scoreboard week in and week out. S2- Drew Lachey vs. Stacey Kiebler, S4- Apolo vs. Joey Fatone and even S3 which saw the show down of Mario Lopez vs. Emmitt Smith.

    This is true, as Brooke was the top scorer almost every week. Last night’s conversation here was so compelling; I am sorry I wasn’t here at the time. (Just celebrating my birthday.)

    One point, there was too much praise for Brooke. It was unnecessary as the judges’ scores were so high. At times, I felt they were too hard on Lance and Lacey. Len’s score of 10 on Warren’s dance was undeserved.

    I wish Lancey had not done the Hip Hop dance for the Finale. It was not what I expected or wanted.

    Overall, it was a good season!

  • hcpoirot

    Though I do not think That Brooke and Derek deserve 58 at their finale, but the problem was Lance & Lacey also Warren and Kym also didnot sparkle too.

    Look at the lackluster free style. Compare to Season 2, season 4 when Apollo-Julianne and Joey-Kym awesome freestyle. Helio-Julianne was good too. And of course last season Kristi-Mark.

    Like lots of people said here free style really can make you or break you. From Stacy season 2, Leila season 4, Mel B and Marie season 5, etc etc.

    So we really had to give our hat to Cheryl, Julianne and Mark who can coreograph a good free style round. I am not so sure that Derek free style deserve a 30.

  • hcpoirot

    I also agree based on celeb talent pool, season 7 was the weakest since season 1. Truth that season 4 had only 4 good celeb that can dance but they all can dance pretty good for a celeb. Apollo, Joey , Laila and Ian were neck to neck in the semifinal.

    If Brooke join any season except season 1, she will not win or even get into the final 3.

    HOpe season 8 , the celeb can dance better than season 7 or I will not watch it anymore.