The X Factor - Series 6

Considering she is repeatedly named the most popular judge, they don't seem to treat her with any respect at all. Dannii and Simon are the only judges I'd really like back next year - can take or leave the other two.

Getting a bid fed up of the judges calls on The Xtra Factor now - it was good the first time they did it, but I think it would be better just to do it after the one show each weekend, and go back to chatting to them in the studio after the other show.

I loved the description of the X-Factor given by Andy Parsons on this week's News Quiz: http://up.metropol247.co.uk/Inspector_Sands/xfactornewsquiz.mp3

That's the one thing that bugs me about the show. They used to (in the early days) introduce the judges comments which let the crowd shut up a bit before hearing them.

Another thing, why are Louis and Danni switching seats?

But didn't Kate, & Dermot in the early days always seem to tell the audience to shut up?

He barely does it at all now... tonight was the first time I've picked up on it.

Unfortunately I'm not sure Dannii will be back next year. As much as I like Cheryl and Dannii, I think they are the only 2 that are easily replaceable on the show. But that said, if Simon can successfully replace Sharon Osbourne, then maybe it won't be as hard as many think to replace himself and Louis. Sadly (and ironically) Dannii is replaceable because she does her job properly and gives levelled constructive criticism, whereas Cheryl is pretty much only there for looks and it appears she is edited to be 'the nations sweetheart'- she is completely different in live shows and auditions. But if he does ever get round to replacing Louis, he can't use a male singer, it HAS to be a music manager or DJ because otherwise they'll start to compromise the credentials of the panel. I'm not sure if Dannii will be back next year.

apart from good old pete who else is there?

Saying that I like Cheryl and Simon, and even Louis.

There's loads of people who could be a judge on X Factor, it certainly wouldn't be difficult to find someone who knows more about the music industry than Cheryl and Dannii.

And if they replace Cheryl they can have a cloakroom again

Am I missing something? I'm pretty sure that Dannii usually gives good and constructive advice. Will Young would make a good judge. I remember Simon praising him when he mentored last series or one before it.

Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minouge, Will Young

(just imagining Peter shouting out the names)

While it was amusing at first, I'm getting tired of the LOUD VOICE YELLING OUT NAMES every time someone comes out the door. That the judges get introduced twice (once by LOUD VOICE, once by Dermot) makes it seem even more filler.

If you wanted to replace any of the regular fixtures, I'd go with Dannii, though Cheryl will probably go anyway if she's serious about a career relaunch anyway, and Dermot (who seems a bit off for some reason, though probably as a Yank it's that I'm used to Ryan Seacrest who makes Dermot seem rough.)

My guess is that Lloyd will go next week, then Ollie, then Stacey. That leaves a finale of Joe, Danyl, and the twins. J+E third, Danyl runnerup, Joe wins.

The X Factor is a bit like the noughties version of Gladiators, in a way, so I think the loud voice of Peter Dickson is an essential part of the show. I've read complaints elsewhere saying they think X Factor should downsize next year because the set 'looks too expensive' and the voiceover is 'too brash'. But if you remove all of these elements, it just wouldn't be The X Factor any more. And this is commercial TV as well so I don't get why the expense of the set is anyone's concern.

Hopefully Lloyd will finally go next week and I reckon Stacey will be in the final. As the Christmassy atmosphere comes into play I think the public will start taking the voting a lot more seriously, which actually is normally what happens every year as the final approaches. In fact I'll be very surprised if Stacey doesn't win, to be honest.

I don't understand why anyone says that the set or grandiosity should be scaled down. I thought those kinds of comments were reserved for shows funded by licensing. It's one of the few things on ITV that looks respectable in any continent. The point is to take these no-name kids and make them look like stars by way of elaborate lighting and choirs and fireworks and dancers and fog rolling across the floor and whatnot.

Actually, X-Factor and The Cube are the two shows where the production values seem so good that you could confuse it for being the BBC (though that speaks unfortunate volumes about BBC's reliance on these kinds of shows.) I'm new to UK television (well, beyond the occasional import and remake) and when I first started watching ITV some months ago, you had garbage like Aussie Ladette to Lady in a prime block before the Ten! ITV kind of reminds me of the US ABC: if they don't have their few big budget marquee shows (Lost, FlashForward, etc) then they look kind of rubbish compared to the other stations.

If ITV/Cowell/Whoever wanted to save money, I'd say they should invest less in American stars who don't know what the heck is going on.

As far as who wins, IMO Joe and Olly are the two with talent but the audience seems to like Danyl enough that he'll probably make second.

Those kind of programmes do attract decent audience figures on ITV1 though. Even pedestrian filler shows like You've Been Framed, which sometimes gets 6.4m viewers, achieve higher ratings than Merlin, Casualty, Holby and the 9 o'clock dramas on BBC One.