‘Dance’ judging format differs from ‘Idol’

Lythgoe and Murphy are interesting, but don’t stand out among the others in the reality show judging genre. What sets the show apart is that it has been able to make the guest judge format work, something that has eluded its rivals.

Guest judges have been tried before on programs like “American Idol,” but only as an addition to the established faces, and rarely for a positive effect.

“Idol” guest judges are almost always uniformly positive, like even perkier versions of Abdul, and don’t add much to the commentary. Occasionally, “So You Think You Can Dance” falls into this trap as well, such as it did earlier in the season when Debbie Allen guest-starred.

Usually, however, the guest judge is one of the choreographers who otherwise would be working with the contestants during the week. Perhaps because they’ve been close to the dancers since the first auditions, they’re generally willing to offer more critical feedback when warranted.

Adding to the drama is that each judge has a different specialty, and their own favorites among the contestants. This adds a degree of randomness to the eliminations, since the judges are the ones who actually decide who gets eliminated.

While viewers can spare their favorite pairs, the dancers with the least votes aren’t a lock to be eliminated, since the judges can choose any man and woman from the bottom three to go home. Instead of millions of viewers deciding the outcome, it’s up to just three people. Since all of the remaining finalists are excellent dancers, personal preferences can be key, which means that a dancer’s fate may hinge on whether the guest judge likes them or not.

All throughout the auditions, choreographer Mia Michaels praised two of the final 20 contestants, Ricky Palomino and Ashlee Langas. She called Ricky her favorite male in the competition, and said that if there was dancing in heaven, it would look like Ashlee.

However, she wasn’t the guest judge during the first week; that was Dan Karaty, with a less positive view of the duo. And when Ricky and Ashlee landed in the bottom three, there were no fans among the jury to save them.

Sometimes that extra chance can be huge; Dominic, another of the males, was in grave danger of being voted off in week one but has since become one of the judges’ favorites.

That unpredictability helps make the Thursday results show the best of its kind. Nobody can be sure what’s going to happen, because it’s a different panel deciding the dancers’ fate each week. Judging from the ratings, that’s a good thing for the show’s future.

Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.

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