
As an occasional guest judge, I should remind readers up front that when judging, we don't get to see the backstage drama. We don't know the back-stories and personal histories and are unaware of any personality conflicts -- until we see them on the finished, edited show. The day of competition, the contestants could be giving each other long, lingering back rubs, huddling together devoutly in joint prayer -- or they could be back there menacing each other with jailhouse shanks -- and I wouldn't know it until I saw it on TV, like everybody else.




