SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE to Undergo Changes After Shocking News from Fox
January 1, 2012 by Kath Skerry
Among the New Year’s Day declarations of hangovers and resolutions came one tweet that put a bit of a damper on my 2012 viewing habits.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE producer and judge, Nigel Lythgoe, announced that Fox has decided to cancel the SYTYCD results show.
#FOX have cancelled the results show so I will have to change the format of #SYTYCD. At least we have another season at the end of MAY.
— Nigel Lythgoe (@dizzyfeet) January 1, 2012
While I’m usually the first to complain about the hour-long fluff fest that accompany reality TV elimination shows (I’m talking to you especially over-bloated AMERICAN IDOL), I find the SYTYCD results show rather entertaining. Yes, I hit the fast forward button from time to time, depending on the musical act, but more often than not, the results show “filler” is actually fantastic content for dance fans.
Throughout the season, all genres of dance from around the world are showcased in an attempt to expand the dance vocabulary of the viewing audience. (Before SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, the only dance I knew was the running man, now I can tell you when someone’s fingers aren’t properly extended during a pas de deux.) But what I’m really going to miss is the group performances, often the artistic highlights of the series.
More importantly, the weekly results show is pivotal to the current make-up of the series. Dancers perform. Fan votes. The lowest vote-getters are eliminated. The cancellation of the results show will fundamentally change the DNA of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.
So how is this all going to work?
Seems Lythgoe and team are still trying to figure that out, and with a positive attitude to boot.
I’m certainly not mad at FOX they have supported #SYTYCD FOR 9 seasons. With the help of Mike Darnell I think we have some great new ideas.
— Nigel Lythgoe (@dizzyfeet) January 2, 2012
While the powers that be work this through, I supposed it’s ok for us to speculate what this change will mean for the show, right?
(1) Viewers will vote, but the dancers are eliminated at the beginning of the show, the following week. This is the format of another dance reality show, AMERICA’S BEST DANCE CREW. However, with ABDC an entire dance crew is eliminated – all together. On SYTYCD, dancers are paired up with partners. Eliminating one of the pair would leave the other one in a lurch and at a disadvantage.
…unless
(2)…by the time viewer voting commences, the SYTYCD All Stars have stepped in as partner pairs. Yes, the dancers would have to spend an entire week on a routine only to never perform it if he/she is eliminated, but with an All Star as a partner they aren’t jeopardizing the chances of another competitor.
(3) It’s a possibility that the fans won’t get a vote, hence eliminating the need for a results show. As it stands now, the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE judges have final say over the who stays and who goes until the top 10 dancers remain. Maybe they will just continue on through the finale. Personally, I’m really hoping they don’t go this route. After all winning SYTYCD comes with the honor of being declared ‘America’s Favorite Dancer’. It’s kind of empty if ‘America’ doesn’t really get a say.
Other thoughts on how the format could change to accommodate the lack of a weekly results show? Anyone else a little unsure why Fox felt the need to eliminate the results show entirely. Why not cut the show down to 30 minutes? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Filed under #1 featured, So You Think You Can Dance, SYTYCD
I agree – the group dance routines are some of my favorites. Hopefully they will incorporate those into the single show.
Seaason 1 didn’t have a results show. And if I remember correctly, the judges chose the bottom contestants who had to dance for their lives then America voted. Contestants were booted at the beginning of next weeks episode. Although I seem to remember that part was taped, at the same time they picked new partners/styles, and shown at the beginning of the show. I could be wrong about that though. Still interested to see how they’ll handle it now.
Oh, Heavens. I hope they do not choose to have the judges choose who goes home for the entire show. Nygel always falls in love with some dancer who really doesn’t deserve to be there, and who America sensibly kicks off within the first week or two of America voting. I honestly enjoy the show despite the judges, not because of them.
Yes, this IS interesting, mostly because I’m not exactly sure WHY Fox is doing this–unless they were absolutely cancelling results shows for ALL of their reality programming. Not sure why SYTYCD was singled out in this instance; can’t imagine their production costs are any higher than any other reality competition, right?
I’ll still be tuning in, that is for sure.
I find this so strange – considering this fall was the fall of super-sized reality competition shows with The Sing-Off, Biggest Loser, Idol, etc all running at 2 hours. THAT is too much. But to take away the results show shows complete disrespect for the product.
I am however, hopeful that they will find a way to make it work. With the infusion of All-Stars, this show is still at the top of it’s game, showing little signs of fatigue. But maybe that is what they are trying to avoid and a shake-up like this is sure to keep it interesting.
I am so sad about this! SYTYCD is the only show its type with a meaningful, entertaining results show. I will miss it SO much! Even when I used to watch Idol regularly, I NEVER tuned into their results show until the final 3 minutes.